Chevron pledges to triple investment in low-carbon fuels and projects by 2028

MOSCOW (MRC) -- U.S. oil producer Chevron pledged to triple to USD10 billion its investments in low-carbon fuel and projects through 2028 amid pressure to boost clean-energy markets, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Oil producers globally have stepped up plans to transition to a less carbon intensive production. Shareholders and governments are insisting they address their role in climate change and plot a path to sharply cut greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

Chevron outlined plans to develop hydrogen energy, biofuels as well as carbon capture. It reaffirmed a goal of paring greenhouse gas intensity by 35% through 2028, compared to 2016 levels from its oil and gas output. European oil producers have ambitious plans to shift away from fossil fuels with large investments in renewables. Chevron, Exxon Mobil Corp and Occidental Petroleum sought to reduce carbon emissions per unit of output while backing carbon capture and storage.

BP Plc has said it will invest USD3-4 billion a year in low-carbon projects by 2025 and shrink oil and gas production by 40% in the next decade. Royal Dutch Shell Plc in February set annual investments of USD2-3 billion in clean energy.

Chevron said it would expand renewable natural gas production to 40 billion British thermal units (BTUs) per day and increase renewable fuels production capacity to 100,000 barrels a day to meet customer demand for renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuel. "With the anticipated strong cash generation of our base business, we expect to grow our dividend, buy back shares and invest in lower-carbon businesses," Chief Executive Michael Wirth said in a statement.

Chevron plans to grow hydrogen production to 150,000 tonnes a year to supply industrial, power and heavy duty transport customers and raise carbon capture and offsets to 25 million tonnes a year by developing regional hubs along with others. Its focus is on offsetting emissions from oil and gas output, not reducing oil output, environmentalists said.

"Chevron's new announcement does not represent a particularly large strategic shift," said Axel Dalman, an associate analyst with climate change researcher Carbon Tracker. "The main item is that they plan to spend more on 'lower-carbon' business lines."

The company this year announced the creation of a new unit to manage the second-largest U.S. oil producer's low-carbon investments, with an initial focus on alternative energy sources such as hydrogen and technologies including carbon capture. Chevron reaffirmed its expectation to generate USD25 billion in cash flow, above its dividend and capital spending, over the next five years.

As MRC reported earlier, in August 2021, Chevron and other partners said they are investing in a startup to build modular waste-to-green hydrogen and renewable synthetic fuel facilities in northern California with tentative plans to eventually grow worldwide. The USD20 million investment in Wyoming-based Raven SR is focused on technology to develop combustion-free, green hydrogen for transportation that is cleaner than so-called blue hydrogen derived from natural gas.

We remind that Chevron Phillips Chemical, a joint venture of Phillips 66 and Chevron, will make a final investment decision on a new cracker in far southeast Texas in 2022, followed by an FID in 2023 on an USD8 billion joint venture petrochemical complex along the US Gulf Coast in 2023.

Ethylene and propylene are the main feedstocks for the production of polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP), respectively.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 1,176,860 tonnes in the first half of 2021, up by 5% year on year. Shipments of exclusively low density polyethylene (LDPE) decreased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market were 727,160 tonnes in the first six months of 2021, up by 31% year on year. Supply of homopolymer PP and block-copolymers of propylene (PP block copolymers) increased. Supply of statistical copolymers of propylene (PP random copolymers) subsided.

Headquartered in San Ramon, California, Chevron Corporation is the the second-largest integrated energy company in the United States and among the largest corporations in the world. Chevron is involved in upstream activities including exploration and production, downstream activities including refining, marketing and transportation, and advanced energy technology. Chevron is also invested in power generation and gasification processes.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- bp, ADNOC and Masdar have signed three agreements with the potential to lead to billions of dollars of investment into clean and low carbon energy, creating potentially thousands of energy jobs, as per bp's press release.

The first agreement would see the companies collaborate to initially develop 2GW of low carbon hydrogen across hubs in the UK and UAE, with the intention to expand as the project progresses. Access to clean hydrogen - a critical fuel in the decarbonization of hard-to-abate industries - can reduce emissions, enable new, low carbon products, and unlock future fuels. This announcement could enable a significant contribution towards the UK Government’s target to develop 5GW of hydrogen production by 2030.

It could also lead to the first international investment in the low carbon hydrogen facility in Teesside (H2Teesside), which aims to produce 1GW ofblue hydrogen starting in 2027. H2Teesside would capture and store up to two million tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) a year through the Northern Endurance Partnership (NEP). The investment is expected to support thousands of jobs and stimulate economic growth. It is also expected to diversify and bolster local supply chains in both the UK and UAE.

As part of the first agreement, bp, ADNOC and Masdar also intend to pioneer decarbonized air corridors between the UK and UAE - one of the busiest global air travel routes - further strengthening the commercial and cultural ties between the two countries in a sustainable way.

Bernard Looney, bp’s chief executive officer, said: “The UK and UAE governments have bold plans for decarbonization. The UK is our home and we have worked in the UAE for nearly a century. By partnering with the visionary leaders of ADNOC and Masdar, we see massive business opportunity to generate the clean energy the world wants and needs - and at the same time revitalise local economies and create the jobs of the future.”

bp and Masdar have also agreed to explore opportunities to develop, build and operate sustainable energy and mobility solutions for cities - in the UK, UAE and beyond - on the road to net zero. The two companies will initially focus on the application of energy efficiency and storage, cleaner fuels and distributed renewables generation.

Finally, bp and ADNOC plan to deepen their collaboration to decarbonize oil and gas operations in Abu Dhabi, including the potential development of Carbon Capture Use and Storage (CCUS) hubs. The two companies would also harness advanced methane emission detection and reduction technologies and create Smart Decision Centres in the UAE, where digital and AI technology would then be used to accelerate operational efficiency.

The expected areas of collaboration align with the key areas of both the UK government’s 10-point plan for a green industrial revolution and the UAE Government’s ‘Principles of the 50’, which includes the development of a dynamic domestic economy through scientific and technical excellence.

As MRC reported earlier, bp expects to invest around USD2 billion in low carbon energy in 2021, rising to USD3-4 billion in 2025 and aiming for around USD5 billion in 2030.

We remind that bp and Lukoil want to quit their Iraqi energy projects due to the current investment environment, the country's oil minister said in July, 2021, as OPEC's second biggest producer faces an exodus of international oil companies that want to exit unattractive contracts. Lukoil wants to sell its stake in West Qurna 2 to Chinese companies.

We also remind that Russian energy major Lukoil (Moscow) is studying several potential petrochemical projects in Russia and Bulgaria, with investment decisions expected to be made on two of them in 2021.

Thus, Lukoil announced an investment decision in June, 2019, to proceed with a 500,000-metric tons/year polypropylene (PP) plant at its Kstovo refinery. In September this year it selected Lummus Technology’s Novolen PP technology and basic design engineering for the facility’s production unit. Kstovo is one of Lukoil’s largest crude refineries in Russia with a throughput of 17 million metric tons/year, with the company recently adding a catalytic cracking unit that almost doubled the refinery’s production of propylene feedstock to 300,000 metric tons/year.

At Budennovsk in Russia’s far south west, the company’s Stavrolen petchems complex currently has the capacity to produce 350,000 metric tons/year of ethylene, 300,000 metric tons of polyethylene (PE), 120,000 metric tons/year of PP, and 80,000 metric tons of benzene. Lukoil has for several years been considering construction of a new gas chemicals plant at Stavrolen to crack more ethane extracted from associated petroleum gas produced by its oil and gas fields in the north of the Caspian Sea. The potential new plant would raise Stavrolen’s ethylene and PE output to around 600,000 metric tons/year each, and increase PP production to 200,000 metric tons/year.

Ethylene and propylene are the main feedstocks for the production of PE and PP, respectively.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 1,176,860 tonnes in the first half of 2021, up by 5% year on year. Shipments of exclusively low density polyethylene (LDPE) decreased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market were 727,160 tonnes in the first six months of 2021, up by 31% year on year. Supply of homopolymer PP and block-copolymers of propylene (PP block copolymers) increased. Supply of statistical copolymers of propylene (PP random copolymers) subsided.

bp is one of the world's largest oil and gas companies, serving millions of customers every day in around 80 countries, and employing around 85,000 people. bp’s business segments are Upstream (oil and gas exploration & production), and Downstream (refining & marketing). Through these activities, bpP provides fuel for transportation; energy for heat and light; services for motorists; and petrochemicals products for plastics, textiles and food packaging. It has strong positions in many of the world's hydrocarbon basins and strong market positions in key economies.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Honeywell announced the completion of a commercial refinery trial with Preem AB for co-processing of biomass-based pyrolysis oil in a fluidized catalytic cracking (FCC) unit, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Utilizing UOP’s proprietary bioliquid feed system with OptimixTM GF Feed Distributor, pyrolysis oil was successfully co-processed in the FCC at Preem’s Lysekil refinery to produce partially renewable transportation fuel. This test marks the 6th commercial co-processing trial conducted by UOP worldwide of this technology in an FCC and the first pyrolysis oil co-processing trial in Scandinavia using UOP’s Optimix GF Feed Distributor technology.

“Preem's production of renewable petrol is an important piece of the puzzle that Sweden must solve to achieve the climate goals,” said Peter Abrahamsson, Head of Sustainable Development at Preem AB. “Residual products from our Swedish forests have a unique potential and this is an exciting step in our work to develop the fuel of the future."

To meet Sweden’s long-term goals of greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reductions, fuel suppliers must reduce the carbon intensity of transportation fuels. Co-processing of biomass-based pyrolysis oil is one method to reduce the carbon intensity of transport fuels at the refinery compared to blending of biofuels downstream. Pyrolysis oil produced from sustainable solid biomass materials such as sawdust or agricultural residuals is a low carbon feedstock suitable for refinery upgrading. Biomass-based pyrolysis oil can qualify as an Annex IX Part A feedstock under the European Union Renewable Energy Directive, which is directly supported by Sweden’s Integrated Energy and Climate Plan. Pyrolysis oil co-processed in an FCC is an economically attractive method of meeting RED biofuel mandates for Advanced Biofuels.

"UOP is excited to support Preem for the production of low-carbon transportation fuels” said Ben Owens, vice president and general manager, Honeywell Sustainable Technology Solutions. “FCC co-processing of biomass-based pyrolysis oil is an integrated production solution using existing refinery infrastructure to convert sustainable feeds into advanced biofuels."

FCC co-processing technology is part of a portfolio of renewable fuel solutions offered by the Sustainable Technology Solutions group at Honeywell UOP. Using the UOP Optimix GF Feed Distributor system, many types of bioliquids can be successfully co-processed in an FCC unit. Refinery co-processing is one method for meeting biofuel mandates and produce low carbon fuels.

Preem AB is the largest fuel company in Sweden, with a refining capacity of more than 18 million cubic meters per year. Preem refines and sells gasoline, diesel, heating oil and renewable fuels to companies and consumers in Sweden and worldwide. By 2030, Preem will produce approximately 5 million cubic meters of renewable fuels, and thereafter aims to become the world’s first climate neutral biofuels- and refining company.

Honeywell recently committed to achieve carbon neutrality in its operations and facilities by 2035. This commitment builds on the company’s track record of sharply reducing the greenhouse gas intensity of its operations and facilities as well as its decades-long history of innovation to help its customers meet their environmental and social goals. About half of Honeywell’s new product introduction research and development investment is directed toward products that improve environmental and social outcomes for customers.

As per MRC, Honeywell announced that Lotte GS Chemical Corp. will use Honeywell UOP Q-Max, Phenol 3G, and Evonik MSHP technologies to produce more than 565,000 metric tons per year of phenol and acetone at its petrochemicals facility in Yeosu, Korea. UOP is providing a license for the technology, in addition to basic engineering design services, key equipment, catalysts and adsorbents and technical services. As part of the project, UOP will provide a cumene unit and a phenol unit with alpha-methylstyrene (AMS) hydrogenation. The combined technologies will allow Lotte GS Chemical to produce phenol and acetone derivatives from benzene and polymer-grade propylene.

Ethylene and propylene are the main feedstocks for the production of polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP), respectively.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 1,176,860 tonnes in the first half of 2021, up by 5% year on year. Shipments of exclusively low density polyethylene (LDPE) decreased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market were 727,160 tonnes in the first six months of 2021, up by 31% year on year. Supply of homopolymer PP and block-copolymers of propylene (PP block copolymers) increased. Supply of statistical copolymers of propylene (PP random copolymers) subsided.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The euro zone's trade surplus with the rest of the world declined in July from a year earlier, data released by the European Union's statistics office showed today, as imports grew at a faster rate than exports, said RTE.

Eurostat said the euro zone's unadjusted trade surplus with the rest of the world fell to EUR20.7 billion in July from EUR26.8 billion the same month last year.

However, the surplus for the first seven months of 2021 was comfortably higher, at EUR122.4 billion from EUR112.8 billion the same time last year. Adjusted for seasonal swings, the euro zone trade surplus increased to EUR13.4 billion in July from EUR11.9 billion in June, as exports rose 1% on the month while imports were only 0.3% higher.

For the European Union as a whole, the non-seasonally adjusted data showed a decline in the trade surplus in both July and in the January to July period from a year earlier. The bloc is a major importer of oil and other raw materials and a major exporter of chemicals, machinery and vehicles.

The European Union's trade deficit with China increased, while its surplus with the US and Britain expanded in the first seven months of 2021. To Britain, which has left the bloc, exports rose by 6.2% and imports fell by 17.1%, although Eurostat has calculated trade with Britain differently since the start of the year. Goods that had an origin outside Britain are now treated as imports from that country rather than from Britain.

As it was written earlier, EU chemicals trade flow growth in and out of the bloc in the first half of 2021 undershot the levels seen in the wider manufacturing sector compared with January-June last year. At EUR217.7bn and EUR128.6bn, EU chemicals exports and imports rose by 3% and 5.3% respectively, compared with double-digit percentage-point growth, compared with 13.5% and 11.9% for overall manufactured goods trade flows.

Ethylene and propylene are the main feedstocks for the production of polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP), respectively.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 1,176,860 tonnes in the first half of 2021, up by 5% year on year. Shipments of exclusively low density polyethylene (LDPE) decreased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market were 727,160 tonnes in the first six months of 2021, up by 31% year on year. Supply of homopolymer PP and block-copolymers of propylene (PP block copolymers) increased. Supply of statistical copolymers of propylene (PP random copolymers) subsided.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Eleven companies have expressed interest in supporting the large-scale deployment of carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology in Houston, according to Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Calpine, Chevron, Dow, ExxonMobil, INEOS, Linde, LyondellBasell, Marathon Petroleum, NRG Energy, Phillips 66 and Valero have agreed to begin discussing plans that could lead to capturing and safely storing up to 50 million metric tons of CO2 per year by 2030 and about 100 million metric tons by 2040.

The companies plan to help address industrial CO2 emissions in one of the largest concentrated sources in the United States. Collectively, the 11 companies are considering using CCS technology at facilities that generate electricity and manufacture products that society uses every day, such as plastics, motor fuels and packaging.

If CCS technology is fully implemented at the Houston-area facilities these 11 companies operate, nearly 75 million metric tons of CO2 could be captured and stored per year by 2040. There are ongoing discussions with other companies that have industrial operations in the area to add even more CO2 capture capacity. They could announce their support at a later date and add further momentum toward the city of Houston’s ambitions to be carbon neutral by 2050.

“Houston can achieve our net zero goals by working together, and it’s exciting to see so many companies have already come together to talk about making Houston the world leader in carbon capture and storage,” said Sylvester Turner, Mayor of Houston. “We’re reimagining what it means to be the energy capital of the world, and applying proven technology to reduce emissions is one of the best ways to get started.”

CCS is the process of capturing CO2 from industrial activity that would otherwise be released into the atmosphere and injecting it into deep underground geologic formations for safe, secure and permanent storage. With supportive regulations, CO2 from the Houston industrial area could be safely stored in the U.S. Gulf Coast region in formations thousands of feet below the surface or seabed. The US Department of Energy estimates that storage capacity along the US Gulf Coast is enough to hold 500 billion metric tons of CO2 - more than 130 years of the country’s total industrial and power generation emissions, based on 2018 data.

Although renewables will continue to play an important role in a lower-carbon energy future, CCS is one of the few proven technologies that could enable some industry sectors to decarbonize, such as manufacturing and heavy industry. The International Energy Agency projects CCS could mitigate up to 15% of global emissions by 2040, and the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) estimates global decarbonization efforts could be twice as costly without CCS.

As MRC wrote before, Chevron U.S.A. Inc., through its Chevron New Energies division, and a subsidiary of Enterprise Products Partners L.P. have just announced a framework to study and evaluate opportunities for carbon dioxide (CO2) capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) from their respective business operations in the US Midcontinent and Gulf Coast. The companies expect the initial phase of the study in which they will evaluate specific business opportunities to last about six months.

We remind that Chevron Phillips Chemical, a joint venture of Phillips 66 and Chevron, will make a final investment decision on a new cracker in far southeast Texas in 2022, followed by an FID in 2023 on an USD8 billion joint venture petrochemical complex along the US Gulf Coast in 2023.

Ethylene and propylene are the main feedstocks for the production of polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP), respectively.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 1,176,860 tonnes in the first half of 2021, up by 5% year on year. Shipments of exclusively low density polyethylene (LDPE) decreased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market were 727,160 tonnes in the first six months of 2021, up by 31% year on year. Supply of homopolymer PP and block-copolymers of propylene (PP block copolymers) increased. Supply of statistical copolymers of propylene (PP random copolymers) subsided.
MRC