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Biodiesel20-Sep-2024
HOUSTON (ICIS)–Australian global miner Rio
Tinto has announced it will develop Pongamia
seed farms in Australia as part of a new
biofuels pilot and explore the potential of
Pongamia seed oil as a feedstock for renewable
diesel, a cleaner alternative to traditional
fossil fuels.
The company also wants to determine if it can
contribute to Rio Tinto’s renewable diesel
needs while potentially contributing to the
growth of a new biofuel sector in Australia.
Pongamia is a legume tree native to Australia
which is fast-growing, resilient and produces
oil-rich seeds that can be processed into
renewable diesel with the seed able to be
harvested annually, leaving the trees and soil
intact to store carbon dioxide.
Rio Tinto said it is in the final stages of
acquiring approximately 3,000 hectares of
cleared land near Townsville in north
Queensland to establish farms to study growth
conditions and measure seed oil yields.
It has partnered with Midway Limited, to
oversee the planting and management of the
Pongamia seed farms and who will also engage
with nurseries, agricultural experts and
research organizations throughout the pilot.
As part of its ongoing efforts to achieve
net-zero Scope 1 and 2 carbon emissions by
2050, Rio Tinto is actively exploring the
potential of biofuels in the low-carbon energy
mix.
The company said it sees biofuels as an avenue
to reduce reliance on fossil diesel, while
fleet electrification technologies mature. It
is also investigating how biofuels could be
used in scenarios where electrification may
face practical limitations.
“Diesel accounts for around 10 percent of our
emissions footprint in Australia. While we
continue to pursue electrification as the
long-term solution for displacing the majority
of our diesel use, the Pongamia seed pilot is
an important parallel pathway that could reduce
our reliance on diesel in the mid-term,” said
Jonathon McCarthy, Rio Tinto Chief
Decarbonisation Officer.
“Australia does not yet have a biofuel
feedstock industry sufficient to meet domestic
demand. A sustainable biofuels industry here
could enhance the region’s fuel security,
create local economic opportunities and
contribute to emissions reductions targets.”
The company said this pilot follows a
smaller-scale trial at Rio Tinto Gove
operations in the Northern Territory where
Pongamia saplings were planted to learn more
about their response to low soil quality, heat
and other climatic conditions in northern
Australia.
Speciality Chemicals20-Sep-2024
HOUSTON (ICIS)–Rates for shipping containers
from Asia to the US fell again this week, but
carriers are warning customers that they will
stop accepting export bookings from unionized
US Gulf and East Coast ports ahead of a looming
1 October strike deadline.
Earlier this week the International
Longshoremen’s Association (ILA), which
represents about 25,000 port workers employed
in container and roll-on/roll-off operations at
ports on the US East and Gulf coasts,
reiterated that it
will strike without a new collective
master contract agreement.
At the same time, unions in the Netherlands and
Bermuda – as well as other worldwide unions –
have pledged solidarity with the ILA.
The United States Maritime Alliance
(USMX) is representing the ports and is
urging the ILA to resume negotiations.
A market participant told ICIS this week that
it anticipates a work stoppage.
Robert Khachatryan, founder and CEO of Freight
Right Logistics said the strike looks like a
certainty.
“Even if the president gets involved, the ILA
president said they will do slowdowns (an
action where employees intentionally reduce
their productivity to show dissatisfaction with
their employer and gain leverage),” Khachatryan
said.
Khachatryan said cargoes are already being
diverted to the US West Coast, which is likely
to contribute to longer delivery times and
could create congestion and backlogs at the
West Coast ports.
“If a strike was to stretch into weeks, that
would certainly be enough time to overwhelm
other ports,” Khachatryan said.
Khachatryan said the fact that much of the
typical peak season cargo has been pulled
forward amid efforts to beat the work stoppage
may ease some of the strain on supply chains.
“Product for Black Friday and Cyber Monday (two
of the busiest shopping days ahead of the
Christmas holidays) should already be in the
country now,” he said, adding that volumes have
been tame this year compared with busier years.
“The big retailers are not expecting a massive
season, and the orders reflect that,” he said.
CONTAINER RATES
Global average rates for shipping containers
fell by 5% this week, according to supply chain
advisors Drewry and as shown in the following
chart.
Rates from Asia to both US coasts fell at a
slower rate, with Shanghai to New York down by
4.5% and rates from Shanghai to Los Angeles
down by less than 1%, as shown in the following
chart.
Drewry said that while the looming port strike
casts a shadow, weak demand is expected to
drive further decreases in east-west spot rates
in the coming weeks.
Judah Levine, head of research at online
freight shipping marketplace and platform
provider Freightos, thinks the federal
government will act before a strike stretched
into a second week.
“Especially in an election year, the vocally
pro-labor administration may be hesitant to end
a strike via the Taft-Hartley Act,” Levine
said. “But the economic impact of a prolonged
shutdown is something the White House likely
also wants to avoid, leading many to imagine
that an ILA strike would, one way or another,
not be allowed to last more than a week.”
Container ships and costs for shipping
containers are relevant to the chemical
industry because while most chemicals are
liquids and are shipped in tankers, container
ships transport polymers, such as polyethylene
(PE) and polypropylene (PP), are shipped in
pellets.
They also transport liquid chemicals in
isotanks.
LIQUID TANKER RATES
STEADY
US chemical tanker rates held steady this week.
Most trade lanes had limited activity due to
lack of interest for spot tonnage.
On the transatlantic route things were steady
this week. An outsider is going on berth for
end of September dates.
However, contract volumes have been steady with
regular owners.
Space for this trade lane does seem to remain
available among the regulars.
Otherwise, this route has been mostly quiet,
and most owners still have pockets of space
left on their vessels for October.
While rates for chemical tankers ex-USG remain
firm this week, as the USG
to Mediterranean, and EC Mexico are
steady.
The firming is due to a lack of available
tonnage amid more inquiries and fixtures in
this trade lanes.
However, rates to both Asia and India
have been soft, especially for stainless steel
vessels. It is very possible there is
another rate decrease next week should this
trend continue.
Overall, throughout the month the spot market
should remain soft as there is open
partial space in the US Gulf and as most owners
continue to depend on contract tonnage.
Focus article by Adam Yanelli
Additional reporting by Stefan Baumgarten,
Kevin Callahan
Thumbnail image shows a container ship
carrying cargo on its way to Antwerp Harbour.
(OLIVIER HOSLET/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock).
Ammonia20-Sep-2024
LONDON (ICIS)–On 12 September Spain’s
Iberdrola and British oil and gas major BP
announced that the two companies had taken
final investment decision on their joint 25MW
electrolyser project, which will produce
renewable hydrogen to decarbonise BP’s
Castellon refinery operations in Spain.
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Diammonium Phosphate19-Sep-2024
HOUSTON (ICIS)–US subsea mineral exploration
company Odyssey Marine Exploration announced it
has been awarded $37.1 million in its
arbitration with Mexico under Chapter Eleven of
the North American Free Trade Agreement
(NAFTA).
Odyssey said it has received notification from
the International Centre for Settlement of
Investment Disputes (ICSID) of the arbitral
award on the claims involving Odyssey and its
subsidiary, Exploraciones Oceanicas (ExO)
related to a planned offshore phosphate
project.
The company took legal action in 2018 over the
rejection of an environmental permit in 2016.
Finding it difficult to resolve, Odyssey said
it took the NAFTA action after it determined it
needed to commence the arbitration to protect
its shareholders’ investment.
The award orders Mexico to pay the fine for
breaching its obligations under NAFTA, plus
interest at the one-year Mexico Treasury bond
rate, compounded annually, from 12 October
2018, until paid in full as well as the
arbitrators’ fees and ICSID administrative
costs.
The company said the amounts awarded are net of
Mexican taxes and Mexico may not tax the award
and that it expects most, or all will be used
to satisfy its litigation financing
obligations.
Odyssey said ExO is also once again challenging
the decision of the environmental agency before
Mexico’s highest federal administrative court,
the Tribunal Federal de Justicia
Administrativa. It did not reveal when it
expects a decision.
Company officials said the ruling validates
their position that the environmental agency
wrongfully denied the permit despite it having
received extensive input to determine not only
an economically feasible development plan but
one which is environmentally responsible.
“The project remains strategically significant
and commercially viable,” said Mark Gordon,
Odyssey Marine Exploration CEO. “We are poised
to continue advancing our projects globally,
while also collaborating with nations
interested in exploring their underwater
mineral resources to meet the escalating demand
for critical minerals. “
“Our focus remains on minerals that offer
solutions to pressing global challenges, such
as mitigating carbon emissions through
renewable energy adoption and enhancing
fertilizer accessibility to support an
ever-growing global population.”
Gas19-Sep-2024
SINGAPORE (ICIS)–Thai conglomerate Siam Cement
Group (SCG) plans to use ethane imported from
the US as feedstock for its Long Son
Petrochemical (LSP) complex in Vietnam to boost
the project’s long-term competitiveness.
Storage, supporting facilities for ethane
to be built on site
Ethane targeted as major feedstock for LSP
cracker; C2 market “turbulence” expected
LSP commercial operations start October
SCG is in talks with a contractor for the new
ethane storage project, with construction of
the facilities expected to take about three
years to complete, the company said in roadshow
presentation on 16 September.
“The site is equipped with a central utility
system, ready for the installation of ethane
gas storage tanks and pipelines,” the company
said in a separate statement on 16 September.
SCG has yet to finalize the capital expenditure
for the project, and the prospective US ethane
supplier for LSP was not disclosed.
The $5.4bn LSP project in Ba Ria-Vung Tao
province is Vietnam’s first integrated
petrochemical complex and is 100%-owned by Thai
conglomerate SCG.
The mixed-feed cracker at the site currently
uses propane and naphtha feedstocks imported from Qatar
under a long-term supply deal.
The cracker can produce 950,000 tonnes/year of
ethylene; 400,000 tonnes/year of propylene; and
100,000 tonnes/year of butadiene (BD).
SCG said that LSP is already operating flexible
gas cracker which can use a variety of
feedstocks, including ethane, propane, and
naphtha.
Ethane imported from the US is currently
cheaper by $200-400/tonne than existing
feedstock, SCG said, noting that the average
price of ethane has been around 40% lower than
that of naphtha and propane over the past three
years.
The feedstock derived from shale gas also
provides greater price stability as it is
linked to US natural gas prices, unlike
naphtha, which is influenced by oil price
fluctuations.
FEEDSTOCK
DIVERSIFICATION
The enhancement to LSP’s feedstock flexibility
is part of SCG’s efforts to bolster its
chemicals business in the face of global
oversupply, low demand and oil price
volatility, SCG said.
For ethylene (C2), the company expects “future
turbulence” in the market, especially in
2027-2028 amid a wave of new global cracker
additions, especially in China.
Global ethylene supply is projected by SCG to
grow at a slower average rate of around 3-4% in
2025-2030, compared with 5% in 2019-2024.
China will comprise around 53% of new ethylene
supply additions in 2025-2030, it noted.
SCG expects an “extended chemicals trough with
low margin” in 2025-2030 amid continued naphtha
price volatility.
“The current global situation and the future
outlook over the next 2-5 years will be marked
by increased volatility,” SCG CEO and president
Thammasak Sethaudom said on 16 September.
“All SCG businesses are moving forward with
strategies that align with these dynamics while
also reducing carbon dioxide emissions…to
ensure long-term competitiveness.”
LSP COMMERCIAL OPERATIONS START
OCTOBER
The LSP complex has completed performance test
runs in September and is on track to start
commercial operations next month, according to
SCG.
Its utilization rate following start-up will be
“determined by global demand dynamics”, it
said.
LSP’s downstream plants include a 500,000
tonne/year high density polyethylene (HDPE)
unit; a linear low density PE (LLDPE) unit of
the same capacity; and a 400,000 tonne/year
polypropylene (PP) unit.
The cracker had an outage in February due to a
technical issue and resumed normal operations
in August.
It had declared a force
majeure in February due to issues at the
cracker that also shut its downstream PE and PP
units.
Credit ratings agency Fitch Ratings in a note
on 17 September said that it expects LSP to
ramp up its utilization rate to 70-80% in 2025,
“supported by its cost competitiveness versus
imports and the flexibility to use both propane
and naphtha as feedstock”.
Imports currently fulfil nearly all of
Vietnam’s petrochemical requirements.
Focus article by Nurluqman Suratman
Thumbnail photo: Aerial view of SCG’s Long
Son Petrochemical Complex in Vietnam (Source:
SCG)
Phosphoric Acid18-Sep-2024
HOUSTON (ICIS)–Mineral development company
First Phosphate announced it has the results of
its initial mineral resource estimate for its
Begin-Lamarche project, located in the
Saguenay-Lac-St-Jean Region, Quebec.
The MRE was undertaken by P&E Mining
Consultants and it showed favorable results
with there being an inferred pit-constrained
mineral resource of 214 million tonnes at a
phosphate grade of 6.01%, with an indicated
pit-constrained mineral resource of 41.5
million tonnes with a grade of 6.49%.
First Phosphate said the Begin-Lamarche deposit
also presents the potential for recovering two
additional primary mineral products which are a
magnetite concentrate, iron and an ilmenite
concentrate, titanium. It added that it
contains very low levels of potentially
deleterious elements.
“We have demonstrated that the company benefits
from a substantial strategic phosphate deposit
located at only 70 km from the deep-sea port of
Saguenay and Canadian Air Forces NATO Base
Bagotville,” said John Passalacqua, First
Phosphate CEO.
“Our goal will be to bring this mineral
resource into preliminary economic assessment
later this year to then be able to evaluate the
commencement of a feasibility study.”
Ethanol18-Sep-2024
HOUSTON (ICIS)–Singapore-based SACL has
identified sites in Australia where three
biofuel plants could be built that would use
process technology provided by Comstock, the
US-based company said on Wednesday.
A site in southeastern Australia could
accommodate a 250,000 tonne/year renewable
refinery, Comstock said.
One in northwestern Australia could be home to
another 250,000 tonne/year renewable refinery,
the company said.
The eastern coast of northern Australia could
have a 750,000 tonne/year renewable refinery,
Comstock said.
If built, the three refineries would have total
costs of $2.4 billion and produce 160 million
gallons/year (606 million liters/year) of
gasoline, sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and
other renewable fuels from biomass as well as
140 million gallons/year of renewable fuels
from vegetable oils.
SACL also signed an exclusive marketing
agreement for Comstock’s processes in Australia
and New Zealand.
Comstock’s process technology works as follows:
It digests and fractionates biomass.
Cellulose is converted into ethanol.
Lignin is converted into mixture of
hydrocarbons that Comstock calls Bioleum.
The Bioleum is converted into a
deoxygenated oil by using hydrogen.
The oil is refined into fuel.
Gas-to-liquids emissions are captured and
converted into fuel.
Ammonia18-Sep-2024
HOUSTON (ICIS)–RWE Supply & Trading
announced it has signed a memorandum of
understanding (MoU) with AM Green Ammonia (AMG)
for the long-term supply of green ammonia from
its plants based in India.
The terms outline the supply of up to 250,000
tonnes/year of green ammonia to be sourced from
AMG’s production sites in Kakinada and
Tuticorin, India.
Deliveries from AMG’s sites are expected to
start by 2027 with a subsequent offtake
agreement between RWE and AMG forthcoming which
will detail the contractual provisions.
The plan is that initially there will be 50,000
tonnes coming from the Kakinada site, with the
remaining volume of up to 200,000 tonnes to be
sourced from the Tuticorin facility.
AMG’s ammonia manufacturing facilities will be
powered entirely by carbon-free energy sources
such as solar, wind, and hydroelectric power
and the produced ammonia will meet standards
for Renewable Fuels of Non-Biological Origin
(RFNBO).
AMG’s facility in Kakinada has already been
pre-certified for RFNBO compliance.
Pre-certification for other facilities is
underway.
“RWE is committed to investing in hydrogen and
its low-carbon derivatives to help industries
achieve their climate goals. For this end, we
are building strong supply chains with partners
globally. Partnering with AMG allows us to
secure green ammonia capacities at an early
stage,” said Costas Papamantellos, RWE Supply
& Trading Head of International Hydrogen
Investments.
Potassium Chloride (MOP)18-Sep-2024
HOUSTON (ICIS)–Australian Potash Limited (APC)
announced it has reached a land access
agreement for exploration with Tjamu Tjamu for
the Nexus project located in West Arunta.
Tjamu Tjamu has agreed, subject to APC
complying with the terms, to allow access to
their native lands and for the conducting of
exploration activities.
The Nexus project is comprised of three
exploration licenses and is described by the
company as an early-stage exploration
opportunity surrounded by globally significant
and emerging rare earth and critical mineral
element deposits.
APC said the agreement recognizes the existence
of native title rights and interests in the
whole of the determination area, which covers
large areas of the West Arunta region of
Western Australia including the Nexus site.
Officials said the West Arunta area has drawn
increased interest in undertaking high value
exploration over the past couple of years, and
it expressed gratitude to the traditional
owners for generously giving their time to
review the exploration proposal.
APC said the next step involves proposing work
programs for heritage clearance assessment.
“We have been working with our geophysics
consultants to plan air-borne magnetic and
ground-based gravity surveys, and with our
geological consultants to plan our initial
on-ground, non-intrusive mapping and rock
chipping program,” said Matt Shackleton
Australian Potash Limited managing director and
CEO.
“We look forward to updating our shareholders
as we progress through the heritage clearance
assessment and move into unlocking the
potential of our tenements in the highly sought
after West Arunta region.”
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