Industry News
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Islamic State says it launched rocket attack on northern Iraq oil refinery
A rocket hit a small oil refinery in northern Iraq on Sunday, causing a fire at a fuel storage tank and forcing a complete shutdown of operations after the blaze spread to a nearby pipeline network, two refinery officials said.
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Polish refiner PKN sees investment at $37B in 2020-2030
Poland's biggest oil refiner PKN Orlen expects to invest around 140 billion zlotys ($37.45 billion) over the next ten years as it shifts focus to building clean energy sources rather than oil refining, it said.
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China to force firms to report use of plastic in new recycling push
Restaurants, e-commerce platforms and delivery firms will be forced to report their utilization of single-use plastics to the authorities and also submit formal recycling plans, China's commerce ministry said in published proposals.
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U.S. distillate inventories have fallen back within the five-year range
According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s Weekly Petroleum Status Report, for the week ending November 13, 2020, U.S. distillate inventories fell to 143 million barrels, back within its previous five-year (2015–19) range for the first time since May 8. U.S. distillate inventories reached 180 million barrels in late July, only 3% less than in December 1982, the largest U.S. inventory in EIA’s data, which go back to 1982.
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Petronas aspires to be net zero by 2050
PETRONAS has said it aspires to achieve net zero emissions by 2050, becoming the latest oil and gas major to make an emissions reduction pledge.
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Alstom to supply Italy’s first hydrogen trains
Alstom will supply six hydrogen fuel cell trains, with the option for eight more, to FNM (Ferrovie Nord Milano), the main transport and mobility group in the Italian region of Lombardy, for a total amount of approximately €160 million.
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Global oil and gas contract activity report marginal increase during Q3 2020
The global oil and gas industry has witnessed a marginal increase in the number of oil and gas contracts from 1,104 in Q2 2020 to 1,136 in Q3 2020. This is in spite of challenges such as crude oil process and the COVID-19 outbreak, says GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.
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Plastic Energy’s push to close loop on plastics wins top IChemE Award
A PROCESS to chemically recycle plastic waste that cannot be mechanically recycled won IChemE’s top honour at its annual Global Awards.
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Neste and DSM partner to create high performance materials made from sustainable feedstock
Royal DSM, a global science-based company active in nutrition, health and sustainable living, today announced that it will start a strategic partnership with Neste, the world’s leading producer of renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuel and a forerunner as provider of renewable and circular solutions for the chemical industry, to enable the production of high performance polymers.
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China hits 26% of 2020 target for U.S. energy imports under trade deal
China has accelerated imports of crude oil, propane and liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the United States since July, but total energy product purchases through October remain far short of targets for 2020 set out in the Phase 1 trade deal with Washington.
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Asia Distillates-Gasoil stays firm on U.S., Singapore stock drawdowns
Asia's benchmark 10ppm diesel crack stayed above $5 a barrel for a fourth day this week, following stock drawdowns in the United States and Singapore.
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Malaysia's Petronas warns of challenging fourth quarter amid volatile oil prices
Malaysian state-owned energy giant Petronas warned on Friday that the remainder of the year would remain tough due to prolonged low oil prices and moderate demand recovery hampered by the coronavirus, as it recorded a third-quarter loss.
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Partnership forms Australia’s first biomethane-to-gas project
ENERGY infrastructure company Jemena has entered a partnership with Sydney Water to inject biomethane generated from wastewater treatment into the gas distribution network.
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Suez agrees to explore CCS for energy-to-waste plants
SUEZ will explore developing a modular system to capture carbon dioxide from energy-to-waste plants, with a demonstration project being considered for Teesside, UK.
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UK funding to help SMR programme advance
RECENT funding, announced as part of the UK’s ten-point plan for an industrial revolution, will help UK SMR, a consortium for small modular reactor (SMR) development, as it works to build 16 SMR power stations to boost green economic recovery. The effort is expected to create 40,000 jobs over the next 15 years.
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Narrabri project receives environmental approval
SANTOS’ controversial A$3.6bn (US$2.64bn) Narrabri gas project has received environmental approval from the Australian Government, subject to conditions aimed at protecting regional biodiversity, groundwater, and local communities.
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Chinese operator lets contract for PDH units
Ningbo Kingfa Advanced Materials let a contract to Lummus Technology to license technology for two new PHD units to be built at its complex in Ningbo City, Zhejiang Province, adjacent to China’s second largest port of Beilun.
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Shell launches ‘blue’ hydrogen technology
SHELL Catalysts & Technologies, which licenses technologies and brings capabilities to market, has launched Shell Blue Hydrogen Process, which integrates proven technologies to significantly increase the affordability of greenfield “blue” hydrogen projects.
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Partnership to develop AI technologies for industry
WOOD and industrial software company Cognite have partnered to accelerate industrial transformation by creating AI technologies that will allow heavy-asset infrastructure and industry to achieve more connected, sustainable, and data-driven operations.
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IChemE publishes position on climate change, committing to net zero
ICHEME has published its position statement on climate change, committing to collaborate in the global push to a net zero future including for its own operations by 2025.
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Project to convert medical waste into hydrogen fuel gets funding from Welsh Government
A PROCESS being developed by researchers in the UK and India to convert medical waste – such as PPE used during the Covid-19 pandemic – into hydrogen fuel has received £47,000 (US$63,000) from the Welsh Government.
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Chemical JV to close BDO plant in Malaysia
BASF Petronas Chemical (BPC), a Malaysian-based joint-venture (JV) between BASF and Petronas Chemical Group (PCG), will close its butanediol (BDO) and derivatives plant in Kuantan, Malaysia, in March 2021. This comes as competition in the region increases.
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Agreement for £230m UK waste-to-energy plant
MAJOR port group PD Port and Wentworth Clean Power (WCP) have entered an agreement for a project to develop a £230m (US$307.7m) waste-to-energy plant in Teesside, UK.
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UK announces funding for five new circular economy R&D centres
UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) has announced £22.5m (US$29.9m) in funding for five new circular economy R&D centres.
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UK to invest £12bn for a ‘green industrial revolution’
UK PRIME Minister Boris Johnson has announced £12bn (US$15.87bn) in funding for a ten-point plan to incite a green industrial revolution that could create and support up to 250,000 highly-skilled jobs.
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Micropore Technologies partners with South Korean pharmaceutical company
MICROPORE Technologies has announced a licence agreement for its membrane technology with South Korean company G2GBIO.
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IChemE welcomes vaccine announcement but calls for engineering focus
ICHEME’s Covid-19 Response Team has welcomed the early results on the Pfizer and BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine and called on the Government to focus on the engineering needed to ensure the required number of courses of the vaccine can be delivered.
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Two killed in Indian reactor explosion
ON 5 November, in the early hours of the morning, two people were killed as a result of a reactor explosion at a pharmaceutical and specialty chemicals company’s facility in India, reports The Times of India.
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US oil and gas lagging in efforts to achieve net zero, says Carbon Tracker
US OIL and gas majors are lagging behind European rivals as companies seek to transition towards net-zero, according to a report from think tank Carbon Tracker. However, both US and European companies have work to do to ensure they are prepared for the energy transition challenge.
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Ineos launches new clean hydrogen business
INEOS has launched a new clean hydrogen business to develop capacity for clean hydrogen across Europe.
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MoU for CO2-free hydrogen production in Malaysia
ENEOS has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Sarawak Economic Development Company (SEDC) Energy and Sumitomo to consider collaborating on establishing a CO2-free hydrogen supply chain using renewable energy.
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UKAEA’s £55m device successfully takes a step closer to fusion power
TAKING a step to achieving a fusion power plant, the UK Atomic Energy Authority’s (UKAEA’s) £55m (US$72.2m) Mega Amp Spherical Tokamak (MAST) Upgrade device has achieved “first plasma”, after a seven-year build.
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ExxonMobil announces 1,900 US job cuts
EXXONMOBIL has announced that it will cut 1,900 US jobs as part of ongoing global efforts to achieve efficiency, which have been made more urgent by the impacts of Covid-19.
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CSB releases update on TPC explosion
THE US Chemical Safety Board (CSB) has released its factual update on the explosion that took place at the Texas Petroleum Chemical (TPC) facility in Port Neches, Texas, on 27 November 2019.
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Swedish refinery to convert to produce renewable fuels
PREEM’s refinery in Lysekil, Sweden, will be converted to produce renewable fuels.
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BP to halt production at Kwinana Refinery
BP will stop fuel production at its Kwinana Refinery in Western Australia and convert it to an import terminal, as the refinery had become uneconomical.
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UK government will host Brexit webinars to advise chemicals industry
CHEMICALS companies are being urged to get going on key actions as the UK counts down to its new trading relationship with the EU after 31 December.
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Shell and Linde collaborate on low-carbon ethylene
SHELL and Linde have agreed to collaborate to commercialise low-carbon technology for the production of ethylene.
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WSP to advise on HyNet North West
CONSULTANCY WSP has been appointed as an advisory service for HyNet North West’s CO2 pipeline.
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Solvay opens second plant for bio-based solvent in Brazil
SOLVAY has started up its second dedicated plant for manufacture of sustainable bio-based solvents in Brazil, boosting capacity from 6,000 t/y to 20,000 t/y.
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LyondellBasell sets ambitious plastics sustainability target
LYONDELLBASELL has released its 2020 Sustainability Report in which it sets the target of producing and marketing 2m t/y of recycled and renewable-based polymer by 2030, one of the most ambitious goals of the industry, the company claims.
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IChemE’s partnership with SAIChE ends
THE South African Institution of Chemical Engineers (SAIChE) has advised IChemE it no longer wishes to become an IChemE Branch and so will cease to offer dual membership to its members.
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Australia and Singapore partner on low emissions technologies
THE Australian and Singaporean governments have signed a memorandum of understanding to advance cooperation on low emissions technologies.
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Four proposed UK plastic recycling facilities receive funding
UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) has invested £20m (US$26m) in four proposed plastic recycling plants.
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BES appointed to fit out UK’s VMIC
SERVICES company BES has been appointed to fit out the UK’s new Vaccine Manufacturing Innovation Centre (VMIC), which is being fast tracked for early completion in 2021 due to Covid-19.
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New partnership to develop CO2 storage infrastructure in North Sea
BP, Eni, Equinor, National Grid, Shell and Total have formed the Northern Endurance Partnership (NEP) to develop CO2 transport and storage infrastructure in the UK North Sea.
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Australian Government backs renewable energy hub
THE Australian Government has backed a green hydrogen and ammonia production facility in Western Australia.
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Monolith Materials to build carbon-free ammonia plant
CLEAN technology company Monolith Materials plans to build a large-scale carbon-free ammonia plant in Nebraska, US.
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EU project targets nuclear accident combustion risk
A project to look at hydrogen and carbon monoxide combustion risk management in the case of severe accidents at nuclear power plants has been launched.
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EU introduces new chemicals strategy
THE European Commission has unveiled its new chemicals strategy which aims to make chemicals production more sustainable while phasing out potentially harmful substances such as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and endocrine disrupters.
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