ExxonMobil may drop several major oil and gas projects

MOSCOW (MRC) -- ExxonMobil Corp board is debating whether to continue with several major oil and gas projects amid a global push from investors for fossil fuel companies to be more cost-conscious and green-energy friendly, according to Reuters with reference to WSJ's report.

Activist investor Engine No. 1 in May shocked the oil-and-gas industry when three of its four nominees were elected to the board by Exxon shareholders, who were frustrated by weak returns and the company's flagging attention to climate concerns.

The appointment of activist Jeff Ubben in March put a third of the 12-member board in new hands.

The board members expressed concerns about some projects, including a USD30 B liquefied natural gas development in Mozambique and another multibillion-dollar gas project in Vietnam, the WSJ report said, citing people familiar with the matter.

The Mozambique and Vietnam projects have been stalled for long periods over local fights as well as sour gas and high costs. No final investment decisions have been taken on these projects.

The talks on projects are taking place as part of a review of Exxon's five-year spending plan, on which the board is set to vote at the end of this month, WSJ reported.

Exxon is also analyzing the expected carbon emissions from each project and how they would affect its ability to meet pledges to reduce emissions, the report said.

The annual projected emissions from the Mozambique and Vietnam projects were among the highest in Exxon's planned pipeline of oil and gas projects, according to a pre-pandemic internal analysis by Exxon, which was reviewed by WSJ.

As MRC reported earlier, ExxonMobil plans to build its first, large-scale plastic waste advanced recycling facility in Baytown, Texas, and is expected to start operations by year-end 2022. By recycling plastic waste back into raw materials that can be used to make plastic and other valuable products, the technology could help address the challenge of plastic waste in the environment. A smaller, temporary facility, is already operational and producing commercial volumes of certified circular polymers that will be marketed by the end of this year to meet growing demand.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 1,638,370 tonnes in the first eight months of 2021, up by 10% year on year. Shipments of all grades of ethylene polymers increased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market were 989,570 tonnes in the first eight months of 2021, up by 30% year on year. Deliveries of homopolymer PP and block-copolymers of propylene (PP block copolymers) increased, whereas shipments of injection moulding PP random copolymers decreased significantly.

ExxonMobil is the largest non-government owned company in the energy industry and produces about 3% of the world's oil and about 2% of the world"s energy.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- PPG announced that it has been honored with British Coatings Federation (BCF) awards in the Sustainable Innovation and Marketing Campaign of the Year categories, said Coatingworld.

The prestigious awards recognize excellence in companies and individuals working in the coatings sector. The novel PPG MOONWALK robotic system for mixing automotive refinish coatings earned first place in the Sustainable Innovation category. The award recognizes commitment to sustainability through the launch of innovative sustainable products, processes or services.

"The innovative PPG MoonWalk system saves labor, reduces waste and transforms the mixing room into a clean and safe environment, setting a new standard for the refinish market,” said Timothy Nevell, PPG regional business solutions manager, automotive refinish. “Paint technicians and body shop managers benefit from the extreme accuracy of the automation of the mixing process, improving speed, quality and color consistency."

The LEYLAND TRADE SMART product range by PPG received the Marketing Campaign of the Year award. The honor recognizes the BCF member company that has produced and delivered the most innovative and effective marketing campaign that makes a demonstrable impact on the target audience.

"The Leyland Trade Smart range by PPG is designed to address the frustrations the multi-skilled tradesperson faces,” said Ben Wilde, PPG marketing manager, architectural coatings. “We designed a simple, jargon-free marketing campaign that shows how the paint saves them time, money and space and delivers a high-quality end result, helping to ensure repeat business."

PPG was also a finalist in four other BCF award categories – Corporate Social Responsibility, Young Leader of the Year, Coatings Care Progress, and Diversity & Inclusion.

As per MRC, PPG Industries announced it will acquired Worwag (Stuttgart, Germany), a producer of liquid, powder and film coatings for industrial and automotive applications.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia"s estimated PE consumption totalled 1,396,960 tonnes in January-July 2021, up by 7% year on year. Shipments of all grades of ethylene polymers increased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market were 841,990 tonnes in the first seven months of 2021, up by 29% year on year. Supply of propylene homopolymers (homopolymer PP) and block-copolymers of propylene (PP block copolymers) increased, whereas supply of statistical copolymers of propylene (PP random copolymers) subsided.

PPG Industries Group was founded in 1883 in the USA. PPG Industries Inc. is an international American company producing paints and varnishes, chemicals, optical components, specialty materials, glass and fiberglass. The company includes over 150 production units and representative offices in more than 60 countries around the world. PPG is one of the 500 largest US corporations by sales.

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Thailand will extend its diesel price cap of 30 baht (USD0.8987) per liter beyond this month, its deputy prime minister said on Wednesday, as global oil prices put a strain on consumers and an economy struggling from the pandemic, reported Reuters.

The support will be financed by the country's oil fund and a loan, Deputy Prime Minister Supattanapong Punmeechaow, who is also energy minister, told a news conference.

He did not provide a timeframe for how long the price cap, which was due to end this month, would be in place.

However, the current oil fund of about 9 B baht (USD269.5 MM) and a loan of 20 B baht should support the price freeze for four to five months, if global oil prices stay at USD87.5 per barrel, Supattanapong said.

"By that time, we expect oil prices to gradually fall due to a warmer climate," he said.

If the funds are still insufficient, however, the energy ministry will work with the finance ministry on other measures, including a possible excise tax cut, Supattanapong said.

We remind that, as MRC wrote before, PTT Global Chemical (PTTGC) is in plans to undertake a brief shutdown for maintenance at its low density polyethylene (LDPE) plant in October. However, the exact dates of the turnaround were not given. Located at Map Ta Phut in Thailand, the LDPE plant has a production capacity of 345,000 mt/year.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, July estimated LDPE consumption in Russia grew to 52,280 tonnes from 45,190 tonnes a month earlier. Russian producers raised their PE output, imports also increased. Russia's estimated LDPE consumption was about 332,840 tonnes in the first seven months of 2021, up by only 1% year on year. PE production and exports decreased, whereas imports increased.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Perstorp announced that Patrice Pinsard has been appointed EVP strategic markets & innovation as of Oct. 18, 2021, where he will drive value creation and growth focusing on Perstorp’s portfolio of specialty chemicals, said Coatingsworld.

Pinsard is an experienced executive with a long track record in the chemicals industry. He has held senior positions in companies such as Rhodia and Cognis and, most recently as global EVP coatings, Industrial Solutions & Amines at Solvay.

"We are excited to have such an experienced professional as Patrice joining us at this stage in our transformation,”said Jan Secher, Perstorp president & CEO. “His appointment fits perfectly with our strategy of focusing more on selective segments and the specialty part of our portfolio. Patrice has proven more than once that he knows what it takes and with his strong result orientation and track record I am convinced this will be a win-win, for us and him."

In the first quarter of 2021, Perstorp redefined its business strategy to become a leading sustainable solutions provider, focusing on the global Resins & Coatings, Engineered Fluids and Animal Nutrition markets.

As per MRC, Perstorp plans to build a large-scale commercial carbon capture and utilization (CCU) unit at Stenungsund, Sweden, dubbed Project AIR, that will use a production concept the company has developed to produce sustainable methanol from a variety of recovered end-of-life streams and hydrogen from electrolysis.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 1,396,960 tonnes in January-July 2021, up by 7% year on year. Shipments of all grades of ethylene polymers increased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market were 841,990 tonnes in the first seven months of 2021, up by 29% year on year. Supply of propylene homopolymers (homopolymer PP) and block-copolymers of propylene (PP block copolymers) increased, whereas supply of statistical copolymers of propylene (PP random copolymers) subsided.

Perstorp is one of the world leaders in various sectors of the specialty chemicals market, it's pioneer in formalin chemistry, plastics and surface materials. Perstorp was founded in 1881 and is controlled by PAI partners,a major European private equity company. The company has around 1,500 employees in with 22 production plants in Europe, Asia and North America.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Neste and Ravago aim to establish a joint venture to build an industrial facility for chemical recycling in North Sea Port in Vlissingen, the Netherlands, according to Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The facility is intended to be the starting point of joint global chemical recycling (often also called “advanced recycling”) activities, built upon the advancement of the thermochemical liquefaction technology of US-based Alterra Energy, an innovative chemical recycling technology company.

With this, Neste, the world’s leading producer of renewable diesel, sustainable aviation fuel, and drop-in renewable feedstocks and solutions for the polymers & chemicals industry, and Ravago, the world’s leading distributor and recycler of polymers, plan to demonstrate and advance the commercialization of chemical recycling. The transaction is awaiting for and subject to regulatory approval.

This strategic partnership combines Ravago’s expertise in the mechanical preparation of plastic waste, Alterra Energy’s proprietary liquefaction technology, and Neste’s expertise in the processing of hydrocarbons. Neste and Ravago are aiming for the first industrial chemical recycling site in North Sea Port in Vlissingen with an annual processing capacity of about 55,000 tons of mixed plastic waste, corresponding to the plastic packaging waste generated by some 1.7 MM average EU citizens per yr. The long-term aspiration of the partners is to significantly increase the processing capacity on a global scale and continuously develop the joint venture into a global leader for chemical recycling of mixed plastic waste.

This targeted investment is the consistent continuation of the fast-paced progress in the cooperation between the partners. In 2019, Neste and Ravago set a joint target to reach the capacity to process over 200,000 tons of mixed waste plastic per yr by 2030. Ever since, the companies have evaluated technologies, the raw material market, and built joint business cases to develop chemical recycling capacities. Already in 2020, Neste also successfully conducted the first of several industrial trial runs with liquefied waste plastic at its oil refinery in Finland.

As MRC reported earlier, in July, 2021, Finnish Neste and LyondellBasell announced a long-term commercial agreement under which LyondellBasell will source Neste RE, a feedstock from Neste that has been produced from 100% renewable feedstock from bio-based sources, such as waste and residue oils and fats. This feedstock will be processed through the cracker at LyondellBasell’s Wesseling, Germany, plant into polymers and sold under the CirculenRenew brand name.

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 1,638,370 tonnes in the first eight months of 2021, up by 10% year on year. Shipments of all grades of ethylene polymers increased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market were 989,570 tonnes in the first eight months of 2021, up by 30% year on year. Deliveries of homopolymer PP and block-copolymers of propylene (PP block copolymers) increased, whereas shipments of injection moulding PP random copolymers decreased significantly.

Neste (Helsinki) creates solutions for combating climate change and accelerating a shift to a circular economy. The company refines waste, residues and innovative raw materials into renewable fuels and sustainable feedstock for plastics and other materials. The company is the world’s leading producer of renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuel, developing chemical recycling to combat the plastic waste challenge. In 2020, Neste's revenue stood at EUR11.8 billion, with 94% of the company’s comparable operating profit coming from renewable products.
MRC