Perstorp and Project Air renew EU application for major green chemistry investment

Sweden’s leading chemistry group Perstorp, and partner companies Fortum and Uniper, has submitted an EUR97 million application to the EU Innovation Fund for Project Air. This unique project aims to build a production facility for sustainable methanol in Stenungsund, Sweden, which could reduce global CO2 emissions by 400,000 tonnes, equivalent to approximately 1% of Sweden’s territorial emissions, as per the company's press release.

The ambition is to already by 2026 achieve large-scale production of sustainable methanol, which in turn can be used in making chemical products with thousands of applications, enabling an improved climate footprint in several value chains.

The project is possible thanks to an innovative usage of biogas, hydrogen from electrolysis and residue streams, as well as carbon dioxide recovered from Perstorp’s own facilities, to produce the methanol. This means the project will utilize carbon atoms that would otherwise become CO2 emissions.

“The chemicals industry is a key player in the sustainable transformation of society. Making Project Air a reality is an urgent priority for Perstorp, our customers, and partners as it creates increased availability of sustainable chemical products throughout our value chains,” said Jan Secher, President and CEO of Perstorp. “This project is a unique opportunity, but also a challenge for Swedish industry and energy policy. It is one of several industrial transformation projects seeking to use biogas as a raw material, and Sweden should take steps to stimulate a sufficient supply for these purposes.”

Perstorp believes that Project Air with a modified application is well positioned to receive support from the EU Innovation Fund, but the company is also investigating alternate modes of future funding. The total investment in Project Air is expected to be EUR236,3 million.

As MRC reported previously, in December 2021, Perstorp, the world leader in the production of Trimethylolpropane (TMP), ramped up the capacity to meet growing demand from the European market. TMP is used to enhance the properties of numerous materials. Common applications include the use in saturated polyesters for coil coatings, polyurethanes for coatings and elastomers, acrylic acid esters for radiation curing, esters for synthetic lubricants, and for the surface treatment of pigments.

Perstorp Specialty Chemicals AB is a subsidiary of Perstorp Holding AB. The company was founded in 1881 and is based in Perstop, Sweden. Perstorp Specialty Chemicals AB manufactures chemical products. The company offers base and specialty polyols, formates, organic acids and formaldehyde products.
MRC

Technip Energies has renounced new business opportunities in Russia following its invasion of Ukraine, the head of the French oil and gas services provider said on Thursday, as its full-year margin guidance drove up shares, said Reuters.

"We have ceased to work on future business opportunities in Russia," Arnaud Pieton said in an earnings statement, but added that the potential financial impact of the crisis was "contained".

BP , Shell and ExxonMobil are among the oil majors that have announced plans to exit positions and joint ventures in Russia amid crippling sanctions on the energy-rich nation for what it calls a "special operation" in Ukraine. By the end of December, about 3.8 billion euros (USD4.22 billion), or 23% of Technip Energies' order backlog, was related to Russian projects in execution, said the firm, which specialises in engineering and technology for the energy sector.

As per MRC,TechnipFMC plc has announced the sale of 9 MM Technip Energies N.V. shares through private sale transactions. The sale price of the shares in the sale is set at EUR13.15 per share, yielding total gross proceeds of EUR118.4 MM.

As MRC reported earlier, in December 2021, Technip Energies provided the technology licensing and process design to SP Olefins (Taixing) Co. Ltd., for China’s first gas-cracking ethylene plant in Taixing, Jiangsu Province, China. The 780,000 tpy plant successfully started up in August 2019, reaching on-spec olefins shortly thereafter. Earlier last year, the plant passed all performance guarantees, and the final acceptance certificate was recently issued, which was delayed due to COVID-19. The Taixing plant is not only the first gas-cracking ethylene plant in China, but also the first plant to use imported US ethane as feedstock.
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MRC has launched a new website www.mrchub.com

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We try to stop the war together. We address all our partners and colleagues, as the current situation simply leaves no choice.

We ask you to express the principled ground of your companies and put out a call to stop the war, which can lead to catastrophic consequences for the whole world.

In 1994, Ukraine voluntarily gave up the third largest global nuclear arsenal to strengthen the peace on our planet. Today Ukraine is attacked, with Russia violating all security guarantees.

The Russian nuclear forces are on high combat alert today, affecting global stability. We must stop this together!

MRC team

MRC

Venezuela's exports of oil and refined products last month recovered to mid-2021 levels, boosted by sales of its flagship crude grade and fuel oil bound for Asia, according to tracking data and documents from state-run oil company PDVSA, reported Reuters.

Higher exports come as Russia's invasion of Ukraine and resulting shipping bans and financial sanctions could spur demand for Venezuela's crude and residual products, traders said. Oil importers this week have rejected Russian vessels, sending buyers searching for new crude and fuel supplies.

Venezuela's state-run PDVSA and its JVs shipped a total of 22 cargoes in February, carrying some 730,930 bpd, the highest since July 2021 and a 76%-increase over January, according to the data and company documents.

Most cargoes departed bound to China through trans-shipping hubs like Malaysia.

As MRC informed earlier, in November 2021, Venezuelan petrochemicals produced by joint ventures between state-run chemical firm Pequiven and foreign partners have arrived in the United States, despite Washington's efforts to limit trade with the OPEC oil and gas producer. At least two cargoes of methanol, a widely used industrial product whose prices have soared this year, have discharged at Houston area ports since October amid a rapid expansion of the South American country's global sales of petrochemicals and oil byproducts, according to tanker tracking and US customs data.

We remind that from January to October, 2021, PDVSA and Pequiven exported about 1.75 MM tons of petrochemicals and byproducts, putting the trade on track this year to double the 1.03 MM tons exported for the whole of 2020. Shipments of methanol this year ranged between 20,000 and 60,000 metric t per month, mostly bound for the Netherlands, Spain, Japan and China, according to the data and the three people.
MRC