Vietnam seeks Saudi Aramco's investment in petrochemicals, oil refining

Vietnam is seeking investment from oil giant Saudi Aramco in its petrochemical and oil refinery projects, the Southeast Asian country's government said, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh met on Thursday with Aramco's Yasser M. Mufti, its vice president of production and customers, on the sidelines of a summit of Southeast Asian and Gulf countries in Riyadh.

Chinh suggested arranging a meeting between Aramco and Vietnam's state oil firm PetroVietnam to discuss details of the investment projects, according to a government statement released late on Thursday.

"Aramco is interested in exploring opportunities to invest in Vietnam, particularly in petrochemical and refinery projects," the statement said. Saudi Aramco did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

The company has been selling crude oil to Vietnam but has yet to make any investment in the country, according to the statement.

We remind, Vietnam's largest refinery Nghi Son completed major maintenance at the facility on Wednesday, one week ahead of schedule. The 200,000-barrel-per-day Nghi Son Refinery and Petrochemical will resume sales of refined fuels from Thursday, the company said in a statement. Nghi Son is 35.1% owned by Japan's Idemitsu Kosan Co , 35.1% by Kuwait Petroleum, 25.1% by Vietnam's state oil firm PetroVietnam and 4.7% by Mitsui Chemicals Inc.

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Sika’s sales in the Americas rose 14.0% year on year in local currency terms in the first nine months of 2023 – although rising rates of inflation, high interest rates, and an increasing shortage of specialist labour weighed on construction markets, said the company.

Sentiment in the region’s largest market, the US, has improved generally as a result of infrastructure projects, supported by state subsidy programmes and projects planned in the context of reshoring of manufacturing facilities and the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), Sika said.

In July, Sika acquired Thiessen Team USA, a manufacturer of shotcrete and mortar products for the US mining sector. Thiessen supplies mining companies in the west of the US, which among others supply the growing electro-mobility industry with critical minerals.

The takeover of Thiessen should open up “significant cross-selling potential”, Sika said.

Overall, the company’s nine-month sales rose by 12.4% in local currencies, with double-digit growth in all regions, driven by the newly acquired MBCC business, as well as the company’s “innovative products and solutions”, it said.

For the full 12 months of 2023, Sika expects its total sales, in local currencies, to rise by more than 15%.

We remnd, Sika disclosed a new “Strategy 2028”, with 6-9% annual sales growth, in local currencies. For a comparison, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has projected global GDP growth of only 3% for 2023 and 2024 and signalled that growth may be muted through to 2028. Sika’s sales growth target until 2023 was 6-8%.

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Emirates and Neste have expanded their partnership by solidifying their collaboration for the supply of over 3 million gallons of blended Neste MY Sustainable Aviation Fuel in 2024 and 2025, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), which will be blended with conventional jet fuel, will be supplied over the course of 2024 and 2025 for Emirates’ flights departing from Amsterdam Schiphol and Singapore Changi airports.

Emirates’ expanded partnership with Neste represents the largest volume of SAF to be uplifted of any airline based in the Middle East and Africa to date. The blended SAF will be comprised of over one million gallons of neat SAF. This represents a blended ratio of over 30% neat SAF combined with conventional Jet A-1 fuel.

Before the end of this year, the airline will also uplift SAF for the first time from its Dubai hub. SAF reduces carbon emissions of air travel by up to 80%* over the fuel’s life cycle when compared to using conventional jet fuel.

Sir Tim Clark, President Emirates Airline said: “Today’s announcement is a milestone for Emirates and represents the acceleration of SAF procurement for our operations. It’s also one of the many initiatives we are focused on to reduce our carbon emissions, which includes operating fuel-efficient aircraft, stepping up our fleet renewal from 2024, in addition to driving operational fuel efficiency. Our ongoing partnership with Neste also demonstrates our active engagement and support of the rapidly developing SAF industry, and we hope that the robust demand coming from Emirates and other airlines encourages the scaling up of SAF and other emerging clean propulsion technologies.”

Alexander Kueper, Vice President EMEA from the Renewable Aviation business unit at Neste said: “Sustainable aviation fuel is a readily available solution for reducing the greenhouse gas emissions from air travel. We are proud to expand our existing cooperation with Emirates into 2024 as we are ramping up our global SAF production and continue to support their commitment to reduce emissions by supplying our Neste MY Sustainable Aviation Fuel.”

Earlier this year, Emirates, in partnership with Neste and other industry stakeholders, successfully completed the first 100% SAF-powered demonstration flight in the region, utilizing a Boeing 777-300ER operating on 100% SAF in one engine. The airline has made significant strides along with its industry partners around the technical analysis and certification requirements that support standardization and future approval of 100% SAF flying.

The airline’s first flight powered by SAF blended with jet fuel took place in 2017 from Chicago. Since then, the airline has also uplifted SAF for flights from Stockholm, and currently operates flights from Paris, Lyon and Oslo with blended SAF.

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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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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