Page 16 - EurOil Week 40

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European downstream operators

announce upgrades

EUROPE TWO European downstream operators have $75-250mn.
announced progress at projects that will reduce The upgrades at Moerdijk are part of Shell’s
The upgrades will emissions from their operations. wider efforts to decarbonise its business and
improve efficiency and Royal Dutch Shell has awarded a contract reach net-zero emissions by 2050. It expects the
reduce emissions. to TechnipFMC for the replacement of ethyl- revamp work at the site to be completed in 2025.
ene furnaces at the 971,000 tonne per year (tpy)
Moerdijk petrochemicals complex in the Neth- Sicilian upgrades
erlands, the contractor said on September 30 Meanwhile Raffineria di Milazzo (RAM), a 50:50
TechnipFMC will provide engineering, pro- joint venture between Italy’s Eni and Kuwait
curement and module fabrication of equipment Petroleum International, has announced com-
and related services for the steam cracker fur- pleting upgrades at a combined heat and power
naces. Using the company’s multi-lane radiant plant (CHPP) that serves its 200,000 bpd refin-
coil design, the new furnaces will replace 16 ery in Milazzo, northern Sicily.
older units. This will increase energy efficiency The RAM-owned Termica Milazzo power
and reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, station has had its 9E gas turbines upgraded with
without compromising on production capacity. General Electric (GE)’s Axial Fuel Staging tech-
The furnaces will reduce the facility’s CO2 nology, GE said on October 1. The revamp work
emissions by around 10%, TechnipFMC said. means the refinery’s energy consumption is fully
The units will be delivered to the site in mod- met by Termica Milazzo.
ules, so that the complex’s cracker can maintain The improved turbines have led to increased
continuous operations while the project is car- flexibility and efficiency and fuel savings. They
ried out. TechnipFMC did not disclose a time- have also resulted in a 20% reduction in CO2
frame for its work, but valued the contract at emissions, as well as cuts in CO and NOX. ™

POLICY

Spain outlines green hydrogen plans

SPAIN SPAIN has approved plans to replace 25% of its been recently closed to ensure that the EU-spon-
current fossil fuel-sourced hydrogen with green sored concept of “just transition” is embedded in
The EU is pushing to hydrogen as part of plans to meet international the hydrogen plan, Aagesen said.
develop its capacity to carbon emissions targets. In the shorter term, the government wants
produce hydrogen. The Madrid government aims to replace a to have 300-600 MW of electrolyser capacity by
quarter of the almost 500,000 tonnes per year 2024.
(tpy) of fossil fuel-based hydrogen consumed The European Union is pushing to develop
by industry with fuel produced using renewable its capacity to produce hydrogen, widely used in
energy, Reuters reported. heavy industry, from renewable power sources,
The plans also call for green hydrogen to be currently a prohibitively expensive process.
used more widely by cars and railways. Hydrogen, if it’s made with renewables, could
The plan will cost €8.9bn ($10.5bn) over the replace oil, natural gas and coal and help elimi-
next 10 years, the government says, with most nate about a third of emissions from industries
of the new cash coming from the private sector. like steel and cement by mid-century, according
By 2030, Spain aims to install 4 GW of the to research from consultants BloombergNEF.
electrolysers needed to split water into hydro- Spain has plans to develop a green hydrogen
gen and oxygen. This represents 10% of the EU export industry, using its gas storage and transport
40-GW target, Sara Aagesen, the Secretary of system, combined with solar and wind projects.
State for Energy. said in a statement. Meanwhile, France has earmarked €2bn to
Electrolysers would use electricity generated invest in green hydrogen over the next two years,
by renewables projects such as solar and wind while Germany is set to invest €9bn by 2030.
farms. At present, Spain’s Iberdrola is investing
The government wants these new plants to be €150mn in what it terms Europe’s biggest green
built in places where other types of factories have hydrogen project. ™

P16 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 40 08•October•2020