ADNOC, Petronas sign Abu Dhabi unconventional oil resources deal

Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) and Malaysia's Petroliam Nasional Berhad (Petronas) on Monday signed a deal awarding the first concession in the Middle East for unconventional oil resources, said Reuters.

The six-year agreement is the first investment by a Malaysian company in an Abu Dhabi concession, United Arab Emirates state news agency WAM said. "ADNOC will continue to responsibly unlock value from Abu Dhabi’s vast hydrocarbon resources in a reliable and sustainable manner," Minister of Industry and ADNOC's CEO, Sultan Ahmed al-Jaber said after the signing.

Petronas will retain a 100% stake in the operating rights of the concession to explore and appraise resources in "Unconventional Onshore Block 1", which covers an area of more than 2,000 square kilometers in Abu Dhabi's Al Dhafra region.

"We have driven the de-risking of Abu Dhabi’s unconventional oil resources and look forward to building on this with Petronas to realize the full potential of Unconventional Onshore Block 1,” al-Jaber added. The agreement comes after ADNOC conducted preliminary operations in the concession area, WAM said, adding that the parties can enter a production concession of 30 years after a successful appraisal phase. This starts from the date of awarding the first concession to Petronas.

ADNOC could also have the option to hold a 50% stake in the concession, which offers the potential to create significant in-country value for the UAE, WAM said.

Abu Dhabi’s unconventional recoverable oil resources are estimated at 22 B barrels of very light and sweet crude, comparable to ADNOC’s flagship lower-carbon Murban grade, WAM added. Malaysia's King Al-Sultan Abdullah, who is in an official visit to the UAE, witnessed the signing, along with President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed.

We remind, Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) and ADQ, the majority shareholders in TA’ZIZ, launched the next phase of growth at the TA’ZIZ Industrial Chemicals Zone, in Al Ruways Industrial City, which will more than double the number of chemicals produced at the industrial hub. The centerpiece of the expansion will be a new world-scale, low-carbon footprint steam cracker to supply feedstocks for the various downstream production units, bringing multiple new product value chains to the UAE for the first time. The project is in the feasibility study phase, with the design phase set to commence in Q1 2023.
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Air Liquide announces that it has signed an agreement to divest its business in Trinidad and Tobago to Massy Gas Products Holding Ltd, said the company.

As a consequence of this divestiture, the approximately 30 employees of this business will be integrated within MGPHL. This transaction is part of Air Liquide’s strategy to regularly review its asset portfolio and focus on selected fast developing areas and activities.

Air Liquide is well-positioned to further grow its presence in Latin America where it intends to pursue the opportunities emerging with the clean energy transition, including hydrogen energy leveraging the area's abundant natural resources.

This agreement is subject to regulatory approvals of the Trinidad & Tobago Fair Trading Commission for completion and other customary closing conditions.

We remind, Air Liquide and TotalEnergies plan to produce low-carbon hydrogen at the Grandpuits site in France, the pair said on Tuesday, as France looks to increase its sources of renewable energy. Under a long-term contract committing TotalEnergies to purchase the hydrogen produced for the needs of its platform, Air Liquide will invest over EUR130 million in the construction and operation of a new unit producing hydrogen.

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The Board of Shell plc announced the pounds sterling and euro equivalent dividend payments in respect of the third quarter 2022 interim dividend, which was announced on October 27, 2022 at USD0.25 per ordinary share, said the company.

Shareholders have been able to elect to receive their dividends in US dollars, euros or pounds sterling. Holders of ordinary shares who have validly submitted US dollars, euros or pounds sterling currency elections by November 25, 2022 will be entitled to a dividend of USD0.25, EUR0.2398 or 20.61p per ordinary share, respectively.

Absent any valid election to the contrary, persons holding their ordinary shares through Euroclear Nederland will receive their dividends in euros at the euro rate per ordinary share shown above. Absent any valid election to the contrary, shareholders (both holding in certificated and uncertificated form (CREST members)) and persons holding their shares through the Shell Corporate Nominee will receive their dividends in pounds sterling, at the pound sterling rate per ordinary share shown above.

Euro and pounds sterling dividends payable in cash have been converted from US dollars based on an average of market exchange rates over the three dealing days from November 30 to December 2, 2022. This dividend will be payable on December 19, 2022 to those members whose names were on the Register of Members on November 11, 2022.

We remind, Shell Chemical Appalachia LLC announced it has commenced operations of its Pennsylvania Chemical project, Shell Polymers Monaca (SPM). The Pennsylvania facility is the first major polyethylene manufacturing complex in the Northeastern United States and has a designed output of 1.6 MMt annually.

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Dow announced the launch of V PLUS Perform™ next, an evolution of its legacy V PLUS Perform™ polyurethane technology for insulated metal panels, said the company.

The offering brings together the high-performance energy efficiency and fire safety features of V PLUS Perform™, with low carbon and circular ingredients designed to customer specifications.

“The new energy performance of buildings directive1 adds urgency for buildings that require energy efficient insulation with decreased embodied carbon,” said Alberto Mercati, Marketing Fellow at Dow. “For the last five years, V PLUS Perform™ has enabled insulated metal panel manufacturers to deliver building envelopes that couple energy efficiency and fire safety. V PLUS Perform™ next supports insulated panel manufacturers to select lower carbon and circular construction ingredients from the design phase to the delivery of a novel class of products for more sustainable buildings."

“The construction industry currently accounts for around half of all extracted material2 and has been identified as one of the main European industries requiring a coordinated and efficient strategy to achieve the EU Green Deal goals,” said Cyrille Schenck, Senior Sales Director, Dow Polyurethanes. “Dow has developed V PLUS Perform™ next to respond directly to these challenges. We look forward to collaborating with customers through the V PLUS Perform™ next Alliance Program.”

Dow sources alternative raw materials from bio-based feedstocks from non-competing food and feed sources and technical circular feedstocks from various sources of post-consumer and post-industrial waste. These alternative feedstocks are used in the production of polyurethanes and allocated using the mass balance chain of custody, which is validated by the International Sustainability & Carbon Certification (ISCC) PLUS. Over a quarter of total energy used in the production process of V PLUS Perform™ next is renewable, certified with EU Renewable Energy Systems (RES) Certification.

We remind, Dow announced its 2022 Business Impact Fund selections: nine projects that help solve social challenges and advance sustainable solutions through multistakeholder collaboration. Founded in 2016, the Business Impact Fund brings together nonprofit organizations, entrepreneurs, and Dow customers, partners and employees to tackle many of society’s biggest challenges.

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The Heads of Agreement builds upon a joint study and memorandum of understanding that was signed at COP26 in Glasgow, Scotland to assess carbon capture and storage technologies, low-carbon hydrogen and geologic data, said the company.

The agreement defines next steps for the project including concept-select, pre-Front End Engineering Design, and a subsurface work program. The agreement was signed by Pertamina President Director and Chief Executive Officer Nicke Widyawati and Irtiza Sayyed, vice president, ExxonMobil Low Carbon Solutions and president of ExxonMobil Indonesia. The signing was witnessed by U.S. Ambassador for Republic Indonesia, H.E. Sung Y. Kim and Indonesia’s Coordinating Minister for Maritime and Investment Affairs H.E. Luhut B. Pandjaitan, and Jack Williams, senior vice president, Exxon Mobil Corporation.

“This agreement supports Indonesia’s net-zero ambition and its goal to become a carbon capture and storage leader in the region,” said Dan Ammann, president, ExxonMobil Low Carbon Solutions. “By providing a large-scale storage solution for hard-to-decarbonize sectors, our companies will support Indonesia’s growing economy through low-carbon investments, creating job opportunities and adding revenues for the country.”

The Indonesian government is working to develop supportive CCS regulations and initiating discussions with other governments in the region. “This milestone is a solid foundation for Indonesia to systematically work toward our net-zero target by 2060 or sooner,” said H.E. Luhut B. Pandjaitan. “Indonesia is growing, and it is imperative for us to address our carbon footprints for our future generations.”

ExxonMobil Low Carbon Solutions is working to bring lower-emission technologies to market, making them accessible to hard-to-decarbonize industries, including its recent agreement with a leading global manufacturer of nitrogen and hydrogen products in Louisiana, United States. It is focusing its carbon capture and storage efforts on point-source emissions, the process of capturing CO2 from industrial activity that would otherwise be released into the atmosphere. Once captured, the CO2 is injected into deep, underground geologic formations for safe, secure and permanent storage.

Carbon capture and storage is a safe, proven technology that can enable some of the highest-emitting sectors to meaningfully reduce their emissions. These industries include manufacturing, power generation, refining, petrochemical, steel, and cement operations. With effective government policies in place, broad deployment of commercial-scale carbon capture and storage projects could create a new industry, resulting in job creation and economic growth.

We remind, ExxonMobil and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) have joined forces to deploy MHI’s leading CO2 capture technology as part of ExxonMobil’s end-to-end carbon capture and storage (CCS) solution for industrial customers.
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