Stockholm to ban gasoline, diesel cars from city center

Stockholm will ban gasoline and diesel-powered cars from key parts of the city center from 2025 as it seeks to improve air quality and reduce traffic noise, the Swedish capital's vice mayor for transport said, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The plan introduces an environmental zone across 20 blocks of Stockholm's inner city, covering high-end shopping streets and some of Sweden's most expensive office real estate.

The Green Party, part of the Stockholm City Council's ruling coalition of left-wing and environmentally-focused parties, hopes this will boost the speed at which people exchange combustion-engine cars for electric ones.

"Nowadays, the air in Stockholm causes babies to have lung conditions and the elderly to die prematurely. It is a completely unacceptable situation," Green Party Vice Mayor for Transport Lars Stromgren said in a statement.

A so-called class-three environmental zone primarily allows fully electric cars to drive. Exceptions apply for bigger vans, where plug-in hybrid vehicles will be allowed under the regulation. Some vehicles are exempt from the regulation, including ambulances and police vehicles as well as cars where the driver or a passenger has a documented disability.

The plan is to further expand the environmental zone after the initial introduction, the Green Party said. Companies in the transport sector said the plan went too far and that the city should instead focus on investing more in electric charging points to bring about voluntary change.

"Since 2010, we have reduced emissions by 34%. But the Green Party and their colleagues in the city of Stockholm are now in far too much of a hurry," the Swedish Confederation of Transport Enterprises said in a statement. Stockholm will be the first city in Sweden to introduce the class-three environmental zone.

We remind, Navigator CO2 Ventures has canceled its Heartland Greenway pipeline project aimed at capturing 15 million metric tons of carbon dioxide annually from Midwest ethanol plants and storing it permanently underground, the company said on Friday, citing "unpredictable" state regulatory processes.

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Kuwait Petroleum Corp (KPC) has ramped up its spot tenders for high-sulfur fuel oil (HSFO) sales this month, with the latest one closing on Friday, said trade sources, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The increase in HSFO export tenders came as domestic requirements for HSFO to be used for power generation eased.

In its latest spot tender, KPC is offering 80,000 metric tons of 380-cst HSFO with 2.5% maximum sulfur content, for loading between Oct. 29 and 30, said trade sources.

The tender closes on Friday at noon Kuwait time, with validity until 23:00 Kuwait time. This came on top of three spot HSFO tenders issued for October loading so far, each of 60,000 tons.

The number of HSFO cargoes offered for October has risen compared to previous months this year, with typically zero to two HSFO cargoes offered per month, tender records showed.

We remind, Navigator CO2 Ventures has canceled its Heartland Greenway pipeline project aimed at capturing 15 million metric tons of carbon dioxide annually from Midwest ethanol plants and storing it permanently underground, the company said on Friday, citing "unpredictable" state regulatory processes. The cancellation of one of the biggest projects of its kind is a setback to the development of carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects in the U.S., which are a pillar of President Joe Biden's climate strategy. It is also a blow to the ethanol industry, which sees CCS as key to cutting emissions from producing the fuel.

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China's fuel oil imports eased for a third consecutive month in September, hitting the lowest in the year so far, data from the General Administration of Customs showed on Friday, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Imports have eased in the third quarter amid high inventory levels, as bunker hub Zhoushan is well-supplied with local output and previous import purchases. Total fuel oil imports were down 25% from August at 1.04 million metric tons in September, though still 3% higher compared to the same month last year.

The imports included purchases under ordinary trade, which is subject to import duty and consumption tax, as well as imports into bonded storage. Imports tapered off in Q3 after extending robust gains through the first half of 2023, when independent refiners ramped up purchases for refinery feedstock usage.

Meanwhile, exports of low sulfur marine fuels, measured mostly by sales from bonded storage for vessels plying international routes, totaled 1.47 million tons in September, down 5% from August and easing 23% from a year earlier. Marine fuel sales have also trended steady to lower at other key global bunker hubs, with Singapore sales stable and Fujairah sales weakening in September.

Meanwhile, China's Sinopec Corp has also applied to the government to swap some of its marine fuel export quotas for allowances to export light products. The refiner has asked to swap a quota to export 800,000 metric tons of low-sulfur fuel oil, part of the 3 million tons of marine fuel quota recently issued by Beijing, for a similar amount of allowances for light product exports.

The table below shows China's fuel oil imports and exports in metric tons. The exports section largely captures China's low sulfur oil bunkering sales along its coast.

We remind, Navigator CO2 Ventures has canceled its Heartland Greenway pipeline project aimed at capturing 15 million metric tons of carbon dioxide annually from Midwest ethanol plants and storing it permanently underground, the company said on Friday, citing "unpredictable" state regulatory processes. The cancellation of one of the biggest projects of its kind is a setback to the development of carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects in the U.S., which are a pillar of President Joe Biden's climate strategy. It is also a blow to the ethanol industry, which sees CCS as key to cutting emissions from producing the fuel.

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The president of BASF Canada, Apala Mukherjee, has been appointed chair of the board of directors of trade group Chemistry Industry Association of Canada (CIAC), said the company.

In her new role at CIAC, Mukherjee succeeds Helder Botelho, head of operations at LANXESS Canada. Mukherjee has been leading BASF Canada since March 2021.

Rocky Vermani, senior vice president of sustainability and innovation at NOVA Chemicals, has been appointed as vice-chair of CIAC’s board.

We remind, Senior Vice President, Care Chemicals North America, BASF Corporation, Florham Park, will, as President, assume responsibility for the Division South & East Asia, ASEAN & ANZ, BASF South East Asia Pte. Ltd., Singapore, effective February 1, 2024, said the company. The current head of the Division, Carola Richter (50), has decided to leave the company. Klaus Welsch (60), President, Mega Projects Asia, BASF (China) Company Ltd., Shanghai, will retire effective December 31, 2023.

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LyondellBasell acquired its 50% share from De Paauw Sustainable Resources (DPSR) CEO Roy de Paauw and ING Corporate Investments, said the company.

DPSR is a plastics waste recycling company based out of the Netherlands. The Dutch plastic recycling firm engages in the procurement, processing, and trade of post-consumer and post-industrial plastic packaging waste. DPSR runs manufacturing plants situated in Hengelo and Enschede, the Netherlands, with an annual processing capability that matches the quantity of plastic packaging waste produced by more than 1.7 million Dutch residents annually.

“Investing in DPSR aligns with our strategy to increase our access to plastic waste feedstock, which supports our integrated hub strategy that allows us to build scale and expand our production and offering of CirculenRecover products,” says Yvonne van der Laan, LyondellBasell executive vice president, Circular and Low Carbon Solutions. “Demand for recycled plastics continues to grow as consumers and brand owners ask for sustainable materials. Through this collaboration, we can further expand our CirculenRecover portfolio of mechanically recycled polymers, creating solutions for our customers”.

DPSR was founded in 1956 and has over time built up an extensive network of plastic waste sources, processing waste into recycled polypropylene (PP) and low-density polyethylene (LDPE) materials. It maintains its independence and commitment as a reliable plastic recycling partner. The LyondellBasell partnership enhances its capabilities, offering more options for plastic waste recycling and expanding production to meet growing demand.

“With a great team of driven employees, we have steadily built our business over the years by responsibly and carefully finding new use for used plastics," says Roy de Paauw, CEO of DPSR. "I greatly appreciate the cooperation we had with ING CI. I am proud that LyondellBasell is participating in our company and that we are now joining forces to recycle even more plastic waste into high-quality raw material."

We remind, LyondellBasell announced its investment in the first close of the Lombard Odier Investment Managers (LOIM) Plastic Circularity Fund SCSPp, said the company. This fund will focus on investments providing solutions to reduce pollution from plastic waste and decrease greenhouse gas emissions in the plastic value chain.

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