Equinor's Mongstad refinery reduces output after lightning strike

Equinor has evacuated some staff and reduced output at its Mongstad oil refinery on Norway's west coast after a lightning strike near the plant disrupted power supplies, said Reuters.

Mongstad is Equinor's largest refinery with a crude oil and condensate distillation capacity of 226,000 bpd. "We have had a power cut in parts of the Mongstad facility because of a lightning strike close to the flaring site," an Equinor spokesperson said. "Because of this we have cut down production in the affected parts of the facility."

There were no injuries reported and the evacuated staff was not critical to operations, he said. The wider Mongstad area contains refinery operations, a terminal for crude oil exports as well as other facilities.

We remind, Equinor has reported the start of test production at its 60 MW Zagorzyca solar facility in Poland. Situated in the Damnica municipality in the north of the country, the Polish project would yield 61 GWh/y of renewable energy that is equal to the power use of 31,000 local homes. It would operate for three decades. The launch of Equinor's second Polish solar unit is a move towards making a strong renewable portfolio in the country. The project was developed by the Norwegian company's 100%-held arm, Wento. The latter will also run the solar unit.

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Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said on Thursday that individual companies would decide whether to cut oil production or exports in August but Russia's task was to reduce supplies to world markets, said Reuters.

Russia said it would cut oil output by 500,000 million barrels per day (bpd) in August, but it was not clear from which level it would reduce supplies. There were also conflicting signals about whether Russia would cut the corresponding amount of oil production.

"Companies will decide on their own how they will act: either they will reduce exports or reduce production. But in general, the task is to reduce supplies to world markets," Novak was quoted as saying by TASS.

Russia has already pledged to reduce its oil output by around 500,000 bpd, or some 5% of its oil production, from March until year-end. Novak said that Russia kept unchanged its oil output forecast for this year at 515 million tons (10.3 million bpd).

We remind, Pakistan is negotiating to buy a second shipment of discounted Russian crude oil, the South Asian country's petroleum minister said on Wednesday. Musadiq Malik told reporters there was no scenario where the country was "not benefiting" from Russian crude and added that Pakistan was "finalizing another cargo". The first cargo of Russian Urals docked at Karachi port last month and was paid for in China's currency. Islamabad made the first purchase in April.

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A fire and explosion was reported near an INEOS pipeline in Brazoria County, Texas, Thursday afternoon, said Fox26houston.

Paul Ajibogun, Senior Corporate Counsel for INEOS, said the company was in the process of shutting off valves in the affected area, located outside INEOS Chocolate Bayou at 15926 FM 2004 and Chocolate Bayou.

"Today’s fire is due to release on ethylene and propylene pipelines at a remote valve site," Ajibogun said. "There are no reported injuries. Affected segments of the pipelines have now been isolated. Company and local emergency responders are on the scene. Cause is undetermined at this time."

We remind, Ineos Olefins & Polymer Europe has signed a renewable power agreement with Skagerak Energitjenester to provide 100 % green energy to its Rafnes and Bamble plants in Norway. Combined with the recently announced Ineos Inovyn deal in Norway, all of Ineos’ assets in the region are now supplied with 100 % green power generated from hydroelectric production.

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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Technip Energies, a leading player in the energy sector, has made a significant investment in Evok Innovation’s Fund II, said Netzeroprofessional.

This cleantech fund is dedicated to supporting the development of hard-tech solutions that contribute to achieving a net-zero future. It focuses on cutting-edge sectors such as low carbon hydrogen, carbon capture and removal, electrification, and critical minerals.

This investment marks a significant milestone, as Technip Energies becomes the first strategic partner with Engineering Procurement and Construction capabilities within Evok’s distinguished investors ecosystem. Evok is renowned for its venture capital investments in early-stage technologies, particularly in sectors that are challenging to decarbonise. The fund brings together a group of experts, including technologists, business builders, and climate investors, to provide startups with the necessary resources, networks, and expertise to scale their operations and achieve maturity.

The investment sectors of Evok align closely with Technip Energies’ markets, encompassing critical areas such as carbon capture, use and storage, clean fuels, electrification, and industrial decarbonisation. This partnership not only aims to generate substantial returns for shareholders but also connects Technip Energies with a network of emerging hard-tech players. By merging its engineering expertise and global project delivery know-how with the visionary approach of Evok’s ecosystem, Technip Energies demonstrates its steadfast commitment to creating an affordable, sustainable, and reliable energy future.

Samir Karoum, Chief Strategy and Sustainability Officer of Technip Energies commented: “We are delighted to join Evok’s Fund II – a reputable venture capital fund with a proven track record of scaling cleantech companies – as a strategic investor. By bringing our engineering, technology and project competencies in fields such as hydrogen, clean fuels and carbon capture, we set the stage for a new wave of innovations that will certainly shape a sustainable future”.

Marty Reed, founding partner of Evok Innovations, said: “We’re very glad to have Technip Energies join Evok’s Fund II as a strategic limited partner. Technip Energies’ vision and commitment to a Net Zero goal by leveraging clean technologies, along with its global experience in engineering and industrial scale-up, can help accelerate the commercialisation of our startup technologies.”

We remind, Technip Energies and LanzaTech Global, Inc. signed a Joint Collaboration Agreement to create a new pathway to sustainable ethylene utilizing their combined technologies. Together LanzaTech’s carbon capture and utilization technology with Technip Energies’ Hummingbird technology transform waste carbon into ethylene, the most common building block in petrochemicals.

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PreZero wants to use its experience in collecting, sorting and processing plastics to develop new solutions for the selection and conversion of waste into plastic recyclates, said the company.

Shell will push new technologies that allow plastic waste to be converted into its chemical components, which in turn can be used to make new plastics.

The first joint initiative from the agreed cooperation is currently being developed in the Netherlands.

In addition to these projects, PreZero and Shell will explore other opportunities for collaboration in areas such as low-carbon fuels and renewable energy generation.

We remind, Shell (London) has agreed to pay nearly USD 10 mn (EUR 9.3 mn) for breaking emissions rules at its Monaca polyethylene complex in the US state of Pennsylvania, according to the office of governor Josh Shapiro, which said the resin maker had formally acknowledged the violations.

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