Europe
The Refinery Restructuring Trend Continues Across Europe
Neste of Finland recently announced that it plans to shut in the refining operations at its 58,000 barrel per day Naantali refinery by the end of March 2021. This complex’s closure decision had been accelerated by the substantial decline in oil demand worldwide, in addition to competition from Asia and from environmental rulings.
Trans Adriatic Pipeline Explores Feasibility of Blending Hydrogen
Developers of the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) have started feasibility studies on blending hydrogen with the natural gas the pipeline will bring in from Azerbaijan, the TAP head said.
France has its sights on offshore
France’s highest court, the Council of State, has rejected an appeal against Iberdrola’s offshore windfarm project in Brittany, in the countries Northwest. Iberdrola is the sole owner of the planned 2.4 billion euro, 62-turbine, 496MW Saint-Brieuc windfarm, which will be located 16km off the French..
Neste of Finland to Shut in Naantali Refinery Next Year
Neste of Finland recently announced that it was planning to shut down the refinery operations at its Naantali facility by April 2021. This decision was made due to the pandemic driven decline in demand.
Minesto reaches historic milestone – delivers first tidal energy to the Faroese grid
As a part of the ongoing commissioning work of its DG100 tidal kite system Vestmannasund, Faroe Islands, leading marine energy developer Minesto has reached the milestone of delivering electricity to the Faroese grid facilitated by the Power Purchase Agreement with the utility company SEV
Green industrial revolution in UK but does solar count
Despite the ongoing social and economic issues surrounding Covid-19 the United Kingdom government has issues its plans for a green industrial revolution. The policy paper announced by the UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has a slogan of “Building back better, supporting green jobs, and accelerating our path to net zero”
The UK's Green Industrial Revolution
The UK’s Green Industrial Revolution The UK recently announced an ambitious 10-point plan for a Green Industrial Revolution. Including clean energy, the blueprint will allow the UK to forge ahead with eradicating its contribution to climate change by 2050. Central to the plan is the further develo..
Italy Pens Draft for National Hydrogen Strategy
Italy has released a draft National Hydrogen Strategy in an ongoing effort to reduce reliance on fossil fuels and invest in renewable energy.
Support for wind's growth
The International Energy Agency (IEA) report, Renewables 2020 released on 10 November 2020, proclaims that renewable power is defying the Covid crisis with record growth this year and next. It goes on to say that renewables will account for almost 90% of the increase in total power capacity worldwide in 2020 and will accelerate in 2021 to their fastest growth in the last six years. Wind and solar additions are set to jump by 30% in both the United States and China as developers rush to take advantage of expiring incentives.
Nord Stream 2 Sanctions Included in U.S. Defense Bill
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Sanctions that could hinder one of Moscow's most important projects in Europe, the Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline, have been included in the annual U.S. defense policy bill, two congressional aides said on Wednesday.
McDermott wins contract for large Russian ethane cracking project
McDermott International, Ltd recently announced it had secured the upcoming phase for the large ethane cracker project from China National Chemical Engineering & Construction Corporation Seven, Ltd (CC7).
Azerbaijan to Proceed with Gas Pipeline Extension, Despite War
BAKU (Reuters) - Azerbaijan will press ahead with plans to feed natural gas into an extended pipeline network to southern Europe, a senior official said, even as conflict rages for a sixth week in the enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh.
Shell announces plans to reduce its refining portfolio
Royal Dutch Shell recently announced that it plans to reduce its refinery portfolio down to a count of six as the company plans to increase its lower carbon projects and to further support future cash planning. A time frame was not specified but could be completed in the next five years.
An Arctic solution
Novatek’s plans to build two LNG trans-shipment terminals in Russia have taken a step closer to becoming realized. Two giant FSRU’s are on order with Daewoo’s Geoje shipyard in South Korea for delivery by end-2022, although they may not be operational until 2023/24. Each one is expected to have a storage capacity of 360,000cm, and be capable of receiving shipments from Novatek’s expensively assembled Arc7 Arctic-class fleet and transferring it to more conventional vessels for onward delivery.
Renewable refinery conversions increase across Europe
The energy transition continues across the globe as Preem AB of Sweden recently announced that it is indeed proceeding with its newly announced plan to convert the long-running Lysekil refinery into what is designed to become the largest renewable fuel facility in Scandinavia.
Repsol announces plans to build the first advanced biofuels plant in Spain
Repsol of Spain recently announced its intention to construct an advanced biofuels plant at the company’s existing Cartagena facility site to supply transportation fuels with a reduction in emissions.
Pipelines to restore harmony
The Eastern Mediterranean region has been a much-discussed area in recent months, with claim and counterclaim flying around. Turkey has managed to antagonize almost every nation in the region at some point, inparticular neighbouring countries Greece and Cyprus, with its maritime claims and offshore surveys and drilling. It even threatened to suspend diplomatic relations with the UAE over their proposed deal with Israel. However, beyond the geopolitics, 2 pipeline projects may restore some semblance of harmony in the near future.
The UK to rely even more on Qatar
The UK to rely even more on Qatar | Qatar Petroleum and National Grid of the UK, operator of the 14.80 million t/y Grain LNG import terminal, recently entered into a long-term agreement for LNG storage and regasification capacity.
Electricity’s new king will be solar PV
The latest World Energy Outlook published in October from the International Energy Agency (IEA) suggests that solar photovoltaic generation will be the largest source of power by 2040. Unlike other sectors during the Covid-19 pandemic the renewable electricity market has remained buoyant throughout 2020. The IEA suggests that renewables is set for rapid growth. In the Stated Policies Scenario (STEPS), renewables will rise by two-thirds between 2020 to 2030.
How to utilize solar potential
In an age where traditional methods of energy generation, such as burning coal and gas to generate electricity emit greenhouse gases, the energy transition movement has seen the need to investigate alternative or renewable energies. Wind and solar seem to be favored forms of alternative energies to be scaled up first.
As COVID-19 conditions persist, some struggling refineries are trending towards renewable diesel conversions to survive
With the continuing pandemic driven reduction in fuel demand, refineries in North America have worked to survive in ways ranging from reducing production, additional maintenance scheduling, and the permanent shutting in of some complexes altogether. But another direction has begun to persist in North America and abroad with the decision to convert aging refineries away from traditional crude oil production into renewable diesel plants.
BP Says Trans Adriatic Pipeline to be Ready by End of 2020
BAKU (Reuters) — Oil major BP has confirmed plans to start shipping natural gas from Azerbaijan to Europe by the end of the year.
Global Project Data update for October 2020
Although the gas processing and LNG industries took a major hit during the COVID-19 pandemic, new project announcements within the sector have increased for two straight months
Business Trends: The downstream dilemma: Past, present and future of downstream energy
The oil industry’s interest in the downstream segment of the business has known ups and downs. This article reviews the past, present and projected future of the downstream sector and its companies.
Business Trends: Global LNG projects to compete with pipeline gas
Expanding LNG supply worldwide will continue to dominate the changing landscape of the natural gas industry and gas trade. By 2040, LNG is expected to account for more than 15% of global gas consumption, after overtaking interregional pipeline deliveries in the late 2020s.
Ultra-low-sulfur fuels: The evolution of clean fuels production
One of the most significant trends affecting the refining industry over the past 30 yr is the drive toward clean fuels production. A major aspect of “clean fuels” focuses on mitigating pollutants—carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxide, hydrocarbons and particulate matter—from vehicle exhaust.
Business Trends: Application of blockchain technology in the petrochemical industry
A JV between Equatorial Guinea’s Ministry of Mines and Hydrocarbons and Marathon Oil plans to build a modular refinery on Bioko Island. In late April, the JV signed a contract to VFuels to conduct a feasibility study for the 5,000-bpd facility. The project involves dismantling a methanol plant and converting it into a refinery. If built, the facility—part of Equatorial Guinea’s Year of Investment 2020 initiative—would provide refined products to satisfy increasing domestic demand.
Offshore wind continues strong growth, bolstered by new floating projects
As spending on renewable energy, particularly offshore wind, accelerates, floating projects will make up a growing share of activity.
PosHYdon: The key to unlocking offshore hydrogen’s future energy potential
The PosHYdon pilot project will create the world’s first offshore green hydrogen production plant in the Dutch North Sea. The project will gain experience in integrating working energy systems at sea and producing hydrogen in an offshore environment.
2020 AFPM Summit: Five trends to watch as coronavirus reshapes the global olefins industry
The coronavirus outbreak is having a transformational effect on global olefins. Supply, demand, trade, pricing, costs and margins are all being affected to the extent that it will undoubtedly reshape the wider industry.
