Brazil to issue hydrogen regulations in 60 days
Brazil's national energy policy council (CNPE) plans to issue hydrogen regulations by late June as part of a national hydrogen strategy.
The mines and energy ministry, the science and technology ministry and government-controlled energy research company Epe are drafting the regulatory framework to address production, storage, transport and distribution infrastructure and safety.
The hydrogen regulations are part of a broader government initiative – dubbed "Future Fuel" – that aims to encourage the use of low-carbon fuels, including green naphtha, biokerosene and renewable marine fuels. It would replace diesel by creating "green corridors" where heavy vehicles will have guaranteed access to biomethane, LNG or natural gas to fuel trucks.
Because Brazil's electricity generation mix is already 83pc renewable, the country has the potential to become a global low-cost hydrogen supplier, mines and energy minister Bento Albuquerque says.
The new regulations will also address the potential for blue hydrogen and carbon storage. Green hydrogen is derived from renewable energy such as solar and wind farms, while blue hydrogen uses natural gas combined with carbon capture and storage.
The national hydrogen plan will analyze domestic demand potential for hydrogen, including the energy, transport, fertilizers, chemicals and steel industries.
Three preliminary green hydrogen projects have surfaced just over the past month, involving state-controlled utility Eletrobras and Germany's Siemens; Australia's Enegix Energy with the Ceara state government; and Australia's Fortescue Future Industries (FFI) and Brazil's port operator Prumo Logistica.
The government announced the hydrogen plan as a US-sponsored international climate summit gets underway. This week Brasilia also proposed a $1bn/yr international payment to fight Amazon deforestation.
Elsewhere in South America, Chile is advancing hydrogen regulations and funding to support emerging projects as well.
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North Germany sees May holiday gasoline surge
North Germany sees May holiday gasoline surge
Hamburg, 6 May (Argus) — Driving activity in Germany increased around the public holiday on 1 May, leading to a rise in regional demand for fuels, particularly gasoline, in the past week. Oversupply of diesel is also pressuring premiums in Europe. Daily volumes of diesel and E5 gasoline reported to Argus this week were higher than the average for the current year. Demand for gasoline in the North region notably increased, with reported volumes in the past week reaching the highest daily average in 2024. The filling station sector is almost entirely responsible for the increased demand, market participants said. Many end-users took Monday and Tuesday off as additional holidays, leading up to 1 May. This resulted in a temporary increase in travel activity. In anticipation of this, filling station operators stocked up on fuel. But compared with previous years, overall demand for diesel in Germany remains weak. Coupled with plenty supply of diesel on the international market, this has led to premiums of cif Hamburg in April reaching their lowest level since July 2023. In the face of oversupply the difference between cif Hamburg diesel and cif ARA assessment fell further as well over the past week. The volume of diesel imported to northern Germany increased by 18pc in April compared with March, reaching around 71,000 b/d, data from Vortexa show. The low premiums of the diesel cif assessments, along with the ICE Gasoil Future's contango — which has encouraged the storage of product in tanks since mid-April — have particularly boosted import demand. By Johannes Guhlke Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Mexico's long refining quest tilts in its favour
Mexico's long refining quest tilts in its favour
Mexico City, 6 May (Argus) — Mexico's six-year campaign to boost refinery output and cut its dependence on US oil imports is starting to pay off, but time will tell if it can sustain the effort. State-owned Pemex's six domestic refineries processed more than 1mn b/d of crude in March for the first time in almost eight years, boosting its gasoline and diesel output by 32pc and cutting its imports by 25pc from a year earlier. Combined with Pemex's still declining crude production, this has pulled approximately 500,000 b/d of Mexican crude exports — mostly medium and heavy sour grades — from the market compared with a 2023 peak of 1.2mn b/d in June — equivalent to the loss of about 175,000 b/d on average this year compared with 2023. The government said earlier this year that it was not planning "significant" export cuts after cancelling some term contracts. But the drop in shipments combined with the eventual start of its long-delayed 340,000 b/d Olmeca refinery, possibly in 2025, has the potential to shift global flows. At least two independent US Gulf coast refiners are sceptical of major shifts. Road fuel demand is expected to exceed capacity additions in the coming years, Marathon Petroleum chief executive Michael Hennigan said recently. Valero, which is opening a marine storage terminal in Mexico, where about 250 retail outlets carry its brand, expects demand from Mexico to remain strong and grow, chief operating officer Gary Simmons said in its latest earnings call. The impact of Mexico's shift to greater self-sufficiency will depend heavily on its ability to sustain its long-promised refinery renaissance. Mexico's crude exports have already picked up in April from March, to roughly 660,000 b/d based on ship tracking data, although still about 125,000 b/d lower than a year earlier. Energy independence Pemex's refining rates started to fall in 2014 after the previous administration chose to rely less on domestic production and focus more on opening the energy market to outside investment. President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador vowed to make Pemex great again and build a big refinery to reach "energy independence" when he took office in late 2018. Lopez Obrador poured at least $3.7bn into maintenance alone at Pemex's ageing refineries in 2019-23, excluding major projects including uncompleted ones to add cokers at two refineries that will cost $6bn-8bn and a spiralling $16bn-20bn for the Olmeca plant. It bought out Shell's share in the Deer Park refinery in Texas , taking full control of the plant in 2022. With presidential elections set for June, it was time to show results. But Pemex has a long history of high accident rates , making refinery operations unreliable. The next administration may have to sustain some of this spending and tackle Pemex's $101.5bn debt at a time of calls for structural reform. In addition, the 330,000 b/d Salina Cruz and 315,000 b/d Tula refineries — Mexico's largest — have long struggled with elevated high-sulphur fuel oil (HSFO) production that takes up valuable storage space and makes it hard to run both plants at high rates simultaneously. Record-high exports of HSFO in March helped and Pemex is building coking units at both refineries to solve this, but they are unlikely to both start until early 2025. Attention is on whether and when the Olmeca refinery will affect Mexican demand and offer balance more permanently. Pemex said it will start producing diesel in late May, but also does not expect more than 9,000 b/d of output of all fuels this year . The refinery has missed multiple deadlines, the latest in April. Olmeca's crude unit — the first processing unit — faces "major issues", a source familiar with Pemex refinery operations says. But others say secondary processing units are ready. Pemex refinery operating rates % Domestic refineries Mar 24 Feb 24 Tula 78 80 Salina Cruz 72 40 Madero 69 60 Salamanca 62 60 Cadereyta 58 60 Minatitlan 53 50 Pemex Pemex exports, imports ’000 b/d Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Neste inks deal to supply SAF to Singapore's SIA, Scoot
Neste inks deal to supply SAF to Singapore's SIA, Scoot
Singapore, 6 May (Argus) — Finnish biofuels producer Neste has signed an agreement to supply 1,000t of neat sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) from its Singapore refinery to Singapore Airlines (SIA) and Scoot. The blended jet fuel will be delivered from Neste's Singapore refinery to Changi Airport's fuel hydrant system in two batches, once in this year's second quarter and the next in the fourth quarter. The delivered fuel will be a blend of neat SAF, which is made from renewable waste and residue raw materials, and conventional jet fuel. But the exact ratio of the two remains undisclosed. Neste's Singapore facility has a production capacity of 1mn t/yr of SAF, making it the world's largest SAF plant, according to Neste. The firm completed an expansion of its refinery in May 2023 . Neste is also the only company in Singapore producing SAF after Shell scrapped plans to set up a biofuel refinery in the city-state . The delivery from Neste's Singapore refinery to Changi Airport's fuel hydrant system cements the firm's end-to-end SAF supply chain capabilities in the country. Neste is also a minority shareholder at Changi Airport's fuel storage and infrastructure joint venture Changi Airport Fuel Hydrant Installation, to offer blended SAF directly to airlines at the airport. The SIA group aims to use a minimum of 5pc of SAF in its total fuel uplift by 2030, according to the group's chief sustainability officer Lee Wen Fen. This comes as Singapore mandates a 1pc SAF use for flights departing from Singapore from 2026, alongside a SAF levy, in their sustainable airhub blueprint on 19 February. The mandate is projected to rise to 3-5pc by 2030, subject to global developments and wider SAF availability and adoption, according to the blueprint. SIA to offer BCUs SIA will also offer 1,000 SAF book and claim units (BCUs) for purchase by its corporate customers starting from May, with each BCU representing 1t of neat SAF with its associated CO2 reduction benefit. This allows corporate travellers, shippers, and freight forwarders to claim the associated environmental benefits for flights related to their business travel and operations under the Roundtable on Sustainable Biomaterials (RSB) book and claim system, to ensure traceability and credibility of the transactions. By Deborah Sun Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Fire hits Vance Bioenergy's Pasir Gudang facility
Fire hits Vance Bioenergy's Pasir Gudang facility
Singapore, 6 May (Argus) — A fire broke out at Malaysian biodiesel producer Vance Bioenergy's Pasir Gudang facility in southern Johor today, but did not affect biodiesel production, said sources close to the company. Some auxiliary products were affected, a source said but declined to name them because of commercial sensitivity. The cause of the fire is still under investigation. Vance Bioenergy produces biodiesel for the Malaysian and European markets, but there has been limited market reaction to the news so far. The company has a total biodiesel production capacity of 450,000 t/yr, with 300,000 t/yr at Tanjung Langsat and 150,000 t/yr at Pasir Gudang. By Sarah Giam Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
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