Industry News
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Vale opens plant to make mining waste into construction products
MINING company Vale has opened a pilot plant that will make products for civil construction using mining tailings, helping to foster circular economy within local iron ore processing activities.
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Assessing the feasibility of carbon capture in the glass industry
C-CAPTURE has announced that it will work alongside glass manufacturer Pilkington to assess the possibility of using its technology to capture CO2 emissions from glass production.
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Asia needs flexible LNG deals not linked to oil prices says India's oil minister
Asia needs flexible liquefied natural gas (LNG) contracts with no links to oil prices to reflect changes to the market as demand recovers from the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, India's oil minister Dharmendra Pradhan said.
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Japan may ban sale of new gasoline-powered vehicles in mid-2030s
Japan may ban sales of new gasoline-engine cars by the mid-2030s in favour of hybrid or electric vehicles, public broadcaster NHK reported on Thursday, aligning it with other countries and regions that are imposing curbs on fossil fuel vehicles.
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Cargill, IFPEN and Axens collaborate to advance lactic-to-acrylic-acid technology
Cargill, IFP Energies nouvelles (IFPEN) and Axens are joining forces to further develop and scale biobased acrylic acid.
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Japan plans to cut aviation fuel tax by 80%
Japan plans to temporarily cut its aviation fuel tax by 80% at most to help the airline industry, which is struggling with the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, the Kyodo news agency reported on Tuesday.
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New buyers spur a near doubling in Venezuela oil/refined product exports in November
Venezuela's oil exports almost doubled in November from the previous month as new customers linked to a Russian trading firm stepped in to boost purchases from state-run PDVSA amid U.S. sanctions.
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Equinor fire shuts Europe's biggest methanol plant
A fire at Norway's Tjeldbergodden industrial facility on Wednesday triggered an evacuation of staff and the shutdown of Europe's largest methanol plant and a gas processing terminal, state-controlled oil firm Equinor said .
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Pioneer Natural Resources CEO sees oil demand recovery in 2022
Global oil demand will likely recover to its pre-pandemic levels of 100 million barrels per day (bpd) by 2022 or early 2023, Pioneer Natural Resources Chief Executive Scott Sheffield said on Tuesday at the Reuters Future of Oil and Gas 2020 virtual conference.
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Indonesia looks at policy revamp to keep biodiesel program alive
Indonesia must make policy changes to ensure it can keep subsidizing its ambitious biodiesel program, the head of a government agency in charge of collecting and managing palm oil export levies said.
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Sempra to buy remaining stake in Mexican unit in $6.13 B deal
Sempra Energy said on Wednesday it would buy the remaining stake in a Mexican unit in a deal valued at $6.13 B as it eyes new investments in renewables and energy storage amid growing global demand for cleaner fuels.
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Sasol's JV with LyondellBasell now established
South Africa’s Sasol said on Wednesday its Louisiana Integrated Polyethylene joint venture (JV) with chemical company LyondellBasell Industries had been established
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New council to upskill Shell employees in Singapore
SHELL has partnered with the Singapore Shell Employees’ Union (SSEU) to set up a council focussed on retraining and upskilling employees for future roles as part of the company’s plans to repurpose its core business to cut emissions.
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Water UK unveils plan to reach 2030 net zero target
FOLLOWING its announcement earlier this year that it was setting a target to be net zero by 2030, UK Water has published the details of its plan to reach that goal.
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ExxonMobil to keep Bass Strait stake
EXXONMOBIL has abandoned plans to sell its 50% stake in Bass Strait gas fields off Victoria, Australia.
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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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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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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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