Montfort aims to restart Fujairah refinery in August
The 67,000 b/d Fort refinery in Fujairah, the UAE, aims to resume production in August after halting operations in May because of a lack of feedstock, the plant owner told Argus.
The refinery is owned by a consortium comprising trading group Montfort and a UAE-based investment group owned by Sheikh Ahmed bin Dalmook al Maktoum.
The Fort refinery is a major producer and exporter of 0.5pc marine fuel — or very low-sulphur fuel oil (VLSFO) — with a maximum 5mn t/yr production capacity, but it has been unable to import feedstock from South Sudan because of damage to a pipeline carrying heavy sweet Dar Blend crude.
Crude from South Sudan remains the preferred option, but the refinery operators have been looking into other options in order to restart the plant.
"We have analysed different flexible and profitable business models, and we are planning to restart production in August," said Montfort Investments' head of corporate affairs Joya Chehab. He said the owners "remain committed to the refinery and take a long-term view on managing the refinery."
The prolonged absence of Fort's VLSFO, the main marine fuel used by vessels, has led to an increase in imports to Fujairah, the world's third largest bunkering centre, in the May-July period. Arrivals rose by 56pc on the year to 36,000 b/d to compensate for the fall in local production, according to global trade analytics firm Kpler.
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California regulator floats future LCFS linkage
California regulator floats future LCFS linkage
Monterey, 17 September (Argus) — California would welcome bringing US low-carbon fuel standard (LCFS) programs together in a common market, one of the state's top regulators said on Tuesday. Such a linkage is unlikely to occur in the near future, but California Air Resources Board (CARB) deputy executive director Rajinder Sahota said it is something worth pursuing. "I totally think we should link our LCFS programs," she said at the Argus North American Biofuels, LCFS and Carbon Markets Summit in Monterey, California. Sahota said California and other LCFS states are working on a system that could allow the trading of compliance credits between companies covered by each program, but did not provide any other details. Her comments mark a change in tenor from CARB, which historically has said a linkage would be difficult given the differing starting points and carbon intensity targets of each program. Oregon's Clean Fuels Program (CFP) started five years after California's LCFS, while Washington launched its Clean Fuel Standard just last year. New Mexico is working on its own program that will begin by 2026. Oregon and Washington regulators at the conference said there have not been any formal discussions about a linkage, but did not completely dismiss the idea, highlighting the close informal coordination between the states. "All puzzles can be solved eventually," said Bill Peters, interim director of the CFP. By Michael Ball Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
California still eyeing 2025 start to LCFS changes
California still eyeing 2025 start to LCFS changes
Monterey, 17 September (Argus) — California regulators plan to propose changes to the state's Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) in coming days in hopes of ensuring updates to the program take effect in early 2025. The California Air Resources Board (CARB) will soon issue a new rulemaking package for a 15-day public comment period, Rajinder Sahota, the agency's deputy executive officer, said today at the Argus North American Biofuels, LCFS & Carbon Markets Summit in Monterey, California. "We will be working very hard to ensure we have the targets in place" by 1Q, she said. On a practical level, CARB will have to adopt any amendments to the LCFS by early January or will be forced to start over. California law requires the agency to wrap up a rulemaking within 12 months of the first proposal. Sahota declined to say what changes, if any, to the most recent language would be part of the next 15-day package. The previous language included a 9pc "step down" in the carbon intensity requirement in 2025 and also contemplated a 20pc/yr cap on a company's credit generation from soybean- and canola-oil-based biodiesel or renewable diesel to begin in 2028. That new language "is coming very shortly," she said. The agency's board is scheduled to hold a hearing on the proposed changes on 8 November and could adopt the new language at that session. The LCFS requires yearly reductions in the carbon intensity of on-road transportation fuels. Fuels with scores above the targets produce deficits, which must be offset with credits generated from distribution to the market of approved, lower-carbon alternatives. California currently requires a 20pc drop in carbon intensity by 2030. The ongoing rulemaking could bump that carbon intensity reduction up to 30pc. Surging use of renewable diesel and outsized credit generation from renewable natural gas have overwhelmed deficit generation to create a glut of credits available for future compliance. LCFS credits do not expire, and 26.1mn metric tonnes of credits — 16pc more than all the new deficits generated in 2023 — were available for future compliance by the end of March. Credits fell in May to trade at $40/t, the lowest level for current quarter credits since June 2015, but have since rebounded as the CARB process has played out. But credit prices are still well below their historical highs. Argus on Monday assessed spot LCFS credits at $58/t. By Michael Ball Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Competitive SAF prices, policy needed to scale market
Competitive SAF prices, policy needed to scale market
Monterey, 16 September (Argus) — Efforts to scale the US sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) market will hinge on the industry's ability to narrow the price premium to conventional jet fuel, an impossible task without expanded policy and a coordinated industry focus, stakeholders said today. "The final frontier of scale is cost," SGP Bioenergy chief executive officer Randy Delbert Letang said at the Argus North American Biofuels, LCFS and Carbon Summit. Airlines are ultimately concerned with the economic feasibility of low carbon fuels versus conventional, Letang said, adding that where finer details on the road to the lowest-cost and -carbon SAF are concerned, they don't necessarily want to "know or see how the sausage is made". Fellow panelists deemed advancement in feedstock technology, risk mitigation for investors and lenders and a coordinated industry effort as essential in scaling SAF in the US and abroad via the lowering of SAF prices. Incentive programs such as Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) programs across the west coast, and the potential for expansion into other states, are one way to narrow the gap. But those present opposed restrictions on incentives between renewable feedstocks, such as those recently proposed for diesel alternatives in California, and agreed the market remains in too early a stage for complicating incentives. To narrow the scope of the aviation industry's carbon-reduction discussion to specific feedstocks and their respective carbon intensity scores could "let perfect be the enemy of good," said Eric Holle, Phillips 66's renewable fuels commercial optimization manager. As SAF projects are alternately proposed and shuttered , panelists emphasized a need for the industry to mitigate but ultimately accept the risks inherent to an adolescent and quickly evolving market. Ensuring the industry's narrative is consistent will be key in the next few years to convincing investors and lenders to accept that risk, Letang said. Reducing the carbon footprint of conventional petroleum fuels via blending biofuels, as well as expanding the applicability of those fuels — to the maritime and aviation industries, as example — is the best focus of industry efforts in the near term, he added. By Jasmine Davis Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
NGL pipeline burning in La Porte, Texas: Update
NGL pipeline burning in La Porte, Texas: Update
Houston, 16 September (Argus) — A natural gas liquids (NGL) pipeline operated by Energy Transfer Partners caught fire in La Porte, Texas, this morning, sending a bright orange plume of flame hundreds of feet into the air and leading to evacuations of nearby homes and businesses. The fire started at a valve station for a 20-inch NGL line, Energy Transfer said, located in a right-of-way shared with a number of other pipelines and high voltage power lines about 17 miles southeast of downtown Houston. Energy Transfer said the line has been isolated so that the residual product in the line can safely burn itself out. "We have no timeline at this point on how long that process will take, but we are working closely with local authorities," the company said. In a broadcast press conference today La Porte officials said it would likely be many hours until the fire burns out. Energy Transfer said it was aware of reports indicating that an unknown passenger car entered the right-of-way and struck the valve location. A vehicle could be seen very close to the flaring pipeline in video broadcasts of the fire this morning. The fire was first reported at 11:24am ET by the La Porte Office of Emergency Management via the X social media platform. The fire is near the intersection of Somerton Drive and Spencer Highway. First responders, including Harris County hazardous materials officials, were on the scene at the time of the post. The right-of-way includes a refined products pipeline system, various petrochemical pipelines, a Shell butadiene line, a Chevron ethylene line and an Enbridge Energy natural gas pipeline. Chevron said its pipeline was not affected by the fire. A shelter-in-place order has been issued for the nearby San Jacinto College campus and La Porte is recommending an evacuation of all homes and businesses between Luella and Canada roads. By Michael Camarda and Gordon Pollock Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
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