Solvay and Carester plan rare earths strategic partnership

Solvay and Carester have signed a memorandum of understanding to establish a partnership to pursue manufacturing opportunities in rare earths for the permanent magnets value chain in Europe, said the company.

Solvay will contribute industrial assets and operational experience, and Carester will add expertise in recycling end-of-life equipment, upstream market knowledge and related activities.

Solvay announced plans in 2022 to expand its rare earth operations at La Rochelle, France, including expansion into the magnet value chain, aiming to enhance European self-sufficiency as China increasingly dominates rare earth refining.

Carester was planned to build a plant at Lacq, France, dedicated to magnet recycling and the extraction of heavy rare earths from mining concentrates.

Europe's transition to electrification in the automotive industry, expansion of wind power energy and acceleration of digitalization necessitate the use of rare earth permanent magnets, Solvay said.

The alliance will "reinforce our dedication to the green energy transition and the rare earths industry through our investment in the magnet value chain, in partnership with Carester," said Philippe Kehren, CEO of Solvay. "By collaborating with established rare earths players outside of China, we're laying the groundwork for a powerful rare earths hub in Europe and establishing a strong European manufacturing base to supply the critically important magnets industry."

A Solvay spokesperson said it would not disclose potential investment “for business reasons, but considering Solvay's already large existing asset base, infrastructure and skilled staff in operation at the La Rochelle site, we are convinced that we can implement this investment in a fast and economic manner.”

We remind, Solvay and Huatai expand hydrogen peroxide capacity in China to meet growing photovoltaic demand. said the company. Building on its existing partnership with Huatai Chemical, the strategic alliance will enable the site to produce 48 kilotons of photovoltaic-grade hydrogen peroxide annually by 2025. This strategic investment not only reinforces Solvay's worldwide market leadership but also positions it to efficiently meet the rising demand from the photovoltaic industry, further supporting the growth of the renewable energy sector in Northern China.

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Malaysia's biodiesel production could rise to 1.8 MMt in 2024 if the government expands its 20% biodiesel mandatory program to more areas in the country, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Malaysia has rolled out a B20 program, where diesel for transportation must be blended with 20% palm-based biodiesel, in phases with most areas in the nation currently implementing 10% blending or a B10 program for the transportation sector.

"We can get (several blending) facilities up and running faster, then we obviously can go into B20 then," MBA president U.R. Unnithan told Reuters in an interview, adding that nationwide implementation would take more time and cost.

Unnithan said the group has submitted the recommendation to the government and hope expansion of the program could be done in the second half of this year, however further discussions with other stakeholders is needed before a decision is made.

Malaysia launched a nationwide mandatory 20% palm-based biodiesel blending for the transportation sector in 2020, however the program has only been implemented in some areas as the COVID-19 pandemic and multiple changes of government in recent years hampered progress.

The government has considered expanding its B10 biodiesel program, which requires the mandatory use of 10% palm oil, to the industrial sector and has a mandate to use biodiesel with 30% palm oil by 2025.

The Southeast Asian country exported nearly 300,000 tons of biodiesel last year, while around 1.1 million tons was consumed domestically.

Unnithan, however, cautioned that the government's intention to review price controls and fuel subsidies could hurt domestic demand for biodiesel.

We remind, Equinor, officially known as EQNR.OL, found itself at a critical juncture on Thursday when it made the difficult decision to halt operations at its Mongstad oil refinery in western Norway. This decision came in the wake of a fire that erupted within an electrical facility on the premises. Recognizing the potential risks posed by the situation, the company swiftly sprung into action, initiating the evacuation of the majority of its workforce as a precautionary measure. The primary objective behind the shutdown of production was unequivocally clear: to prioritize the safety and well-being of its personnel and to mitigate any potential escalation of the unfolding crisis.

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Thailand-based chemicals company Indorama Ventures plans to shift away from debt-funded acquisitions and list its businesses to fund growth organically, its founder and CEO Aloke Lohia told Reuters.

One of the world's largest petrochemical makers, IVL is in the midst of a "significant pivot" after structural changes in the industry since the pandemic, he said. It aims to lift its earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBIDTA) to USD2.1 billion by 2026.

"Now we have the scale. We have the assets. The next phase of IVL is built on organic growth," he said in an interview in his Bangkok office. The comments come after the company posted its worst financial results in 2023, booking losses of USD310 million versus profits of $884 million in the year before.

As part of the pivot, the company will bring down debt by USD2.5 billion to around USD4.3 billion in 2026, sell off non-core assets worth USD1.3 billion, and eliminate six high-cost assets mostly in Europe.

IVL will also list some of its businesses to raise funding to service debt. Lohia said its integrated oxides and derivatives business may be listed "somewhere in the West" while its packaging business may be listed in India or elsewhere in Asia, for a total of USD1 billion.

Founded in 1994, Indorama Ventures grew its business with 50 acquisitions in the past two decades with a total enterprise value of USD10.9 billion, according to its website. Forbes ranks the India-born Lohia as Thailand's 17th richest with a net worth of USD1.96 billion.

The company, which has more than 140 facilities in 35 countries, produces polyethylene terephthalate (PET), the resin used to make plastic bottles. Another major business is IODs, which have a variety of uses in personal care and agriculture.

We remind, Indorama Ventures Public Company Limited, a global sustainable chemical company, has been selected for inclusion in the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index (DJSI World) for the fifth consecutive year and the Dow Jones Sustainability Emerging Markets Index (DJSI Emerging Markets) for the seventh year in a row, said the company. The continued inclusion reflects the company's commitment to sustainability and robust ESG practices. Indorama Ventures ranked in the 92 nd percentile amongst 11 chemical companies eligible for listing out of 89 chemical companies invited, with a Corporate Sustainability Assessment (CSA) Score of 73 out of 100.

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A possible reimposition of U.S. oil sanctions on Venezuela next month would stagnate the OPEC-member country's crude output, wiping out the small gains it has achieved in recent years, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Washington said in January it will allow the expiry of a temporary license it granted last year to Venezuela as part of negotiations for a fair presidential election if the government does not allow an internationally observed election with participation of a candidate chosen by the opposition.

The U.S., which first imposed oil sanctions on Venezuela in 2019, in October granted the license that has allowed state oil company PDVSA to resume crude exports to some of its established customers, ease price discounts and slowly boost oil output to 783,000 barrels per day (bpd) last year, compared with 569,000 bpd in 2020.

Production is expected to barely grow through 2026, declining from then on if oil sanctions are fully restored, said Francisco Monaldi, an expert on Latin American energy policy with Rice University's Baker Institute.

If the temporary license is extended or granted again at least partially, that would fuel a larger increase, driving output to slightly above 1 million bpd from 2025 on, according to a forecast by consultancy Rystad Energy shown by Monaldi at a conference organized by Harvard University.

"There is still room for a scenario where U.S. license 44, granted in October, is renewed at least partially if (Venezuelan President Nicolas) Maduro does the bare minimum to meet the electoral conditions set as part of the Barbados agreement," Monaldi said.

It remains unclear what will happen with other authorizations granted by Washington since 2022, including to producers Chevron, Eni, Repsol REP.MC and Maurel & Prom. If those individual licenses remain, production might still decline but not collapse, Monaldi said.

Maduro and the opposition last year signed a pact in Barbados setting conditions for a presidential election later this year. They included international observation, the withdrawal of legal bans to opposition candidates and guarantees for a transparent process. Maduro has failed to progress on most.

Chevron's Vice President of Midstream Colin Parfitt told Reuters on Tuesday risks related to the license in Venezuela remain. However, the company plans to continue producing Venezuelan oil and exporting to the U.S. "as long as we have the license."

Chevron does not have long-term incentives to invest in Venezuela under the current license, Parfitt added, so any production increase will remain limited by that.

We remind, Chevron, a prominent player in the energy sector, has joined forces with its partners in the Tamar reservoir situated off Israel's Mediterranean coast, announcing a substantial investment of $24 million to bolster the production of natural gas from the offshore field. This financial commitment forms an integral part of a meticulously crafted two-phase strategy aimed at significantly enhancing the natural gas production capacity of the Tamar field to approximately 1.6 billion cubic feet/day. Located west of Ashkelon, this initiative is strategically designed to meet the burgeoning energy demands within Israel while concurrently facilitating the export of gas to Egypt.

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Asia's exports of diesel slumped to a multi-year low in February, and while volumes may recover in March on rising shipments from China and India, it's likely prices will come under further downward pressure, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

A total of 6.6 million metric tons of diesel were exported from Asia in February, down from January's 8.13 million and the weakest monthly figure for at least two years, according to data compiled by LSEG Oil Research.

Despite the drop in diesel supply, the profit margin on the key transport fuel remained weak, suggesting demand growth remains tepid at best. The profit of making a barrel of gasoil, the building block for middle distillate fuels such as diesel and jet kerosene, at a typical Singapore refinery GO10SGCKMc1 ended at $22.01 on Monday, down from the previous close of $22.17.

The margin has been trending weaker since August last year, when it peaked at $36.13 a barrel on Aug. 28. The profit on gasoil is likely to come under further pressure this month as higher volumes of diesel are expected to be shipped in Asia, especially from leading exporters China and India.

China's exports of diesel were 713,290 tons in February, down from January's 986,200, according to LSEG, as refiners kept more of the fuel for the domestic market to meet any increased demand over the week-long Lunar New Year holidays, when millions of people travel to see relatives.

With key domestic sectors like construction and manufacturing remaining under pressure, it's likely that China's refiners will seek to lift exports in March and April, especially since the profit margin on diesel remains attractive to them, assuming they are able to make the fuel from discounted crude oils from Russia and Iran.

India's shipments of diesel were 2.01 million tons in February, down from 2.02 million in January and some 29% below the recent peak of 2.84 million in December.

It's expected that more Indian diesel will head to Asia as cargoes are diverted from Europe, partly because of lower demand as the Northern Hemisphere winter ends and partly because of the attacks on shipping in the Red Sea by Yemen's Houthi rebels, which has forced vessels to take the longer, and costlier, route around the Cape of Good Hope.

This trend can already be seen in the LSEG data, with India's diesel exports to the West being assessed at 665,960 tons in February and 280,000 in January, a marked drop from December's 1.28 million and 1.12 million in November.

India's exports to Asia were 700,440 tons in February and 716,420 in January, up from 371,320 in December and November's 393,050. If India continues to switch diesel exports to Asia from Europe, and China does export more as expected, the profit margin on diesel is likely to come under further pressure.

The main factor that may ease some downward pressure is Asia's refinery maintenance season gets underway in March and typically lasts through April and May.

We remind, Since early January 2024, U.S. refinery utilization has decreased 11%, falling as low as 81% during the two weeks ending February 9 and February 16, and briefly dropped below the five-year (2019–23) low. Although U.S. retail average prices for gasoline and diesel are below 2023 prices for this time of year, decreasing regional inventories for the major U.S. refining regions increased retail prices for both fuels last month.


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