Pakistan fuel pump operator association calls national strike

Fuel pump operators across Pakistan are to hold a nationwide strike on July 22 in a bid to secure larger margins amid an inflation crisis, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

"We will shut down all petrol pumps across Pakistan on July 22, 6 p.m.," said the association, which says it has more than 10,000 members.

In a statement it said interest rates and inflation have hit operators' businesses and called for the dealership margin to be increased. It said sales have slumped by 30% due to Iranian fuel being smuggled into the country.

"Around 8,000-9,000 (operators) ... represented by us, will be shut on July 22," Abdul Sami Khan, chairman of the association, told Reuters.

The South Asian country is dealing with a weakening currency and a prolonged period of inflation with the national rate hitting 29.4% in June, down from a record high of 38% in May.

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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Russia's successor to McDonald's has teamed up with energy company Gazprom Neft to fuel marine vessels with biofuel produced using waste cooking oil an effort to lower their carbon footprints, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Russia has said it was still committed to its climate targets despite the deepest political rift with the West in decades. Biofuels are widely considered to be less harmful in terms of emissions than conventional fuels.

Gazprom Neft's bunkering business subsidiary, Gazprom Neft Marin Bunker, said it was the first company in Russia to feed a vessel with marine fuel blended with biofuel in the Baltic Sea port of St. Petersburg.

It said the new fuel is in compliance with technical regulations and can be used for most sea and river vessels.

We remind, Russian oil exports from western ports are set to fall by some 100,000-200,000 barrels per day next month from July levels, a sign Moscow is making good on its pledge for fresh supply cuts in tandem with OPEC leader Saudi Arabia.

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Paint and coatings maker PPG Industries Inc. (PPG) on Thursday reported second-quarter results that beat Wall Street's estimates and raised its full-year profit forecast, but management warned of continued "tepid" industrial production and lower home sales, said the company.

PPG reported net income of USD490 million, or USD2.06 a share, compared with USD443 million, or USD1.86 a share, in the same quarter last year. Revenue rose 4% to USD4.87 billion, up from USD4.69 billion in the prior-year quarter.

Adjusted for acquisition and restructuring costs, PPG earned USD2.25 a share. Analysts polled by FactSet expected PPG to report adjusted earnings per share of USD2.14, on sales of USD4.84 billion.

The company also raised its full-year adjusted earnings per share forecast to USD7.28 to USD7.48 per share, compared with FactSet forecasts for USD7.30. "Looking ahead, we anticipate that the global macroeconomic environment will remain generally consistent with the second quarter including continued tepid global industrial production, along with some incremental slowing in U.S. architectural residential repaint due to significantly lower existing home sales," Chief Executive Tim Knavish said in a statement. Shares fell 1.9% after hours.

We remind, PPG announced the opening of a Color Creation Lab in collaboration with automaker Chery Automobile Co., Ltd. At the facility, located in Wuhu, China, PPG color stylists and Chery designers will create new colors tailored to specific vehicle designs, from initial color recommendations to final materials for application in Chery’s manufacturing plants.

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Trinseo, a specialty material solutions provider, today announced a restructuring of its Executive Leadership Team (ELT) to accelerate the Company’s continued transformation as a provider of more sustainable, highly engineered, specialty materials and solutions, said the company.

This new structure is focused on creating an environment that will further enable and enhance the Company’s strategic focus on strengthening transformative innovation, customer-centric solutions and increased sustainability across all its products and businesses.

The restructuring will include the departure of three members of the Executive Leadership Team and a corresponding reassignment of responsibilities for three existing members of the ELT. Francesca Reverberi, currently Senior Vice President, Chief Sustainability Officer, will take on added responsibilities as head of Engineered Materials, a position she has held previously in the organization.

Andre Lanning, who previously held the position of Chief Commercial Officer, will be leaving the organization to pursue other opportunities, as will Nicolas Joly, SVP, Polystyrene & Feedstocks and Jean-Luc Beal who held the position of SVP, Engineered Materials. After a short transition period, these changes will be effective August 1, 2023.

We remind, Trinseo, a specialty material solutions provider, announced the inauguration of its polycarbonate (PC) dissolution pilot facility in Terneuzen, the Netherlands. The new pilot facility is a major step in Trinseo’s commitment to sustainability, part of the journey in realizing the company’s sustainability goals. The guests of honor at the inauguration ceremony included Jo-Annes de Bat, Provincial Executive (responsible for regional economy) of the Netherlands.

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Air Liquide, through its Engineering & Construction Division, will work with KBR to offer fully integrated low-carbon ammonia solutions based on Autothermal Reforming (ATR) technology, said the company.

Air Liquide is a world leader in ATR technology, one of the most suitable solutions for large-scale production of low-carbon hydrogen (H2), which is then combined with nitrogen (N2) to produce low-carbon ammonia (NH3). The solutions provided with KBR, the world leader in ammonia technology, will also contribute to the development of a global low-carbon hydrogen market as, when transformed into ammonia, hydrogen can be easily transported over long distances.

Air Liquide will provide its unique and proprietary expertise in Autothermal Reformer (ATR), and KBR its mastery and world leadership in ammonia production technology. Air Liquide has established its leadership in oxygen-based ATR technology through nearly seven decades of experience. Since 1943, KBR has licensed, engineered, or constructed over 250 grassroot ammonia plants worldwide. The Air Liquide and KBR solutions can achieve outstanding energy efficiency and world-leading reliability with a production process which also allows for a carbon capture rate of up to 99% in highly integrated industrial facilities when combined with carbon capture technology.

The global ammonia market size reached Ca. 78 billion US dollars in 2022 and is projected to surpass 129 billion US dollars by 2030; it is expected to grow by 6.5% per year on average between 2022 and 2030, according to Precedence Research[1]. Today, ammonia is mainly used as a fertilizer for agriculture.

In the longer term, Air Liquide and KBR will work together to contribute to the development of low-carbon hydrogen as a key enabler of the energy transition. Ammonia can be easily transported over long distances and a global supply chain infrastructure is already in place for the production, transportation and utilization of ammonia at large scale. Once transported, ammonia can be converted back into hydrogen to contribute to the decarbonization of industry and mobility. In March 2023, Air Liquide announced the construction of an industrial scale ammonia cracking pilot plant in the port of Antwerp, Belgium. Using innovative technology, this plant will make it possible to convert, with an optimized carbon footprint, ammonia into hydrogen.

We remind, Air Liquide has signed its first long-term power purchase agreement (PPA) with two China Three Gorges Corp subsidiaries for the supply of renewable electricity in China. Under the PPA, Air Liquide will purchase a total of 200-megawatt/y of renewable power to be supplied by China Three Gorges Renewables and China Three Gorges Corp Jiangsu branch, beginning in Jan 2024.

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