WORLD NEWS USA | Fossil
fuel production set to rise
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fter declining in 2020, the combined production of US fossil fuels increased by 2% in 2021 to 77.14 quadrillion Btu. Based on forecasts in the US Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) latest ‘Short-Term Energy Outlook’ (STEO), US fossil fuel production is expected to continue rising in both 2022 and 2023, surpassing production in 2019, to reach a new record in 2023. Of the total US fossil fuel production in 2021, dry natural gas
accounted for 46%, crude oil accounted for 30%, coal 15%, and natural gas plant liquids (NGPLs) 9%. The EIA expects those shares to remain similar through 2023. US dry natural gas production increased by 2% in 2021, based on monthly data through October and estimates for November and December, while US crude oil production dropped slightly, by an estimated 1%. However, the EIA expects crude oil production to increase by 6% in 2022 and 5% in 2023.
Poland | SABIC
signs MoU with Saudi Aramco and PKN Orlen
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ABIC has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Saudi Aramco and PKN Orlen for the exploration of potential petrochemical growth or expansion projects in Poland and Central and Eastern Europe. The agreement will enable several potential collaboration and investment opportunities to be studied, including a new chemical production facility in Poland, the expansion of several existing assets and the development of a new world-scale cracker.
Abdulrahman Al-Fageeh, SABIC’s Executive Vice President for Petrochemicals, said: “By bringing together the scale, expertise and technologies of three world-leading companies, this MoU enables us to identify and assess opportunities for ambitious and sustainable growth.” Upon completion of the exploration phase, and if the parties agree to pursue any potential petrochemical project, they will enter into a separate project joint development agreement (JDA).
USA | Shell
Oil Co. sells interest in Deer Park refinery to Pemex hell Oil Co. has completed the SRefining sale of its interest in Deer Park Ltd Partnership, a 50-50 joint
venture (JV) between Shell Oil Co. and P.M.I. Norteamerica S.A. De C.V. (a subsidiary of Petroleos Mexicanos, or Pemex), for US$596 million. The agreement covers the sale of Shell’s 50.005% interest in the partnership, and therefore transfers full ownership of the refinery to Pemex. Shell Chemical L.P. will continue to operate its 100%-owned Deer Park Chemicals facility, located adjacent to the site. “The completion of this sale marks the start of a new chapter of our history in Deer Park as we have worked closely with Pemex over the past few months to ensure a safe and responsible handover of operations for the refinery”, said Huibert Vigeveno, Shell’s Downstream Director. As part of its ‘Powering Progress’ strategy, Shell plans to consolidate its refinery footprint to five core energy and chemicals parks. These locations will maximise the integration benefits of conventional fuels and chemicals, and offer future potential hubs for sequestration.
UAE | TotalEnergies,
Masdar and Siemens Energy team up to produce SAF from hydrogen
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asdar, Siemens Energy and TotalEnergies signed an agreement on the sidelines of Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week (ADSW) 2022 to act as co-developers for a demonstrator plant project, which will be established at Masdar City, Abu Dhabi. Having joined the initiative, the aim is for TotalEnergies to offer its
expertise in sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) production, offtake and supply to partner airlines. Since January 2021, the partners in the initiative have completed a range of evaluations on technology suppliers, feasibility studies and conceptual designs, while working with regulators on compliance issues.
The aim is to proceed to the FEED stage later in 2022. By leveraging their areas of expertise and their local and global market reach, the co-developers believe that the demonstrator project can pave the way to commercial production of SAF, helping to reduce production costs and making it commercially-viable. HYDROCARBON
ENGINEERING
5
February 2022
