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US soybean oil futures volatile

  • Spanish Market: Agriculture, Biofuels
  • 24/06/21

US soybean oil futures recovered after falling earlier in the week, while premiums for crude degummed soybean oil against the futures basis were mixed.

The July Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) soybean oil contract on 23 June settled higher at 62.13¢/lb, amid hot and dry weather concerns.

The July contract settled down by the 3.5¢/lb trade limit on 16 June and by the extended 5.5¢/lb trade limit on 17 June, following a record-high set on 8 June at 72.08¢/lb.

After the 5.5¢/lb decrease, soybean oil futures reversed course and settled higher for the rest of the week. Activity this morning was showing downward movement in the futures basis, due to heavy rains and cooler temperatures in the forecast.

Differentials for crude degummed soybean oil, a feedstock for renewable diesel and biodiesel, were mixed in response to the volatility in the futures basis.

The premium for crude degummed soybean oil in the Carolinas delivered market against the July CBOT decreased by 1.5¢/lb over the week to last stand at +7.5¢/lb. In the Iowa fob market, the differential premium increased by 1¢/lb, while other markets were unchanged.

US soybean planting progress was at 97pc complete as of 20 June, up from 94pc from the previous week, according to the US Department of Agriculture (USDA). This is above the five-year average for this time of 94pc complete.

Growers in Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota and Wisconsin reached 100pc planting progress this week, joining Minnesota and Nebraska who reached it previously.

Soybean emergence was at 91pc as of 20 June, up from the 85pc five-year average for this time. As of 20 June, 5pc of planted soybeans were blooming, which is in line with the five-year average. The soybean crop conditions were little changed from the week ending 13 June.

USDA's Acreage report is due next week, which will release the details on planted soybeans against the 87.6mn acres forecast in the Prospective Plantings report from March.


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27/11/24

Q&A: AtJ learnings, mandate critical for Australian SAF

Q&A: AtJ learnings, mandate critical for Australian SAF

Sydney, 27 November (Argus) — Australian bioenergy developer Jet Zero has received strong government backing for its proposed Project Ulysses, an alcohol-to-jet sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) project in the northern Queensland state city of Townsville. Argus spoke to chief executive Ed Mason on the sidelines of the Townsville Summit on 27 November about the project's initial engineering. Edited highlights follow: Regarding the proposed 102mn l/yr refinery here in Townsville, what are some of the initial engineering study findings? So with front-end engineering and design (FEED), what we're doing is value engineering, which you typically do at the end of FEED, we're doing it at the front because we've seen so many opportunities to improve on the reference project design in Georgia, US — they're just basically lessons learned from what LanzaJet have seen, as well as what we've identified as opportunities to eliminate, reduce, simplify costs. We've got hydroprocessed esters and fatty acids (HEFA), that's the kind of space rocket that can get you to the moon, we've now got alcohol-to-jet commercialised, which is like the space shuttle — slightly better, which can do more. But we really need to see a SpaceX type of system where you can go up and down and make it more efficient, so it's making those technologies far more capital efficient and better, so that's what we're focused on. W here are negotiations at with refiners Wilmar and Manildra, the two main producers of ethanol in Australia? We basically have constructive discussions in particular with Wilmar, they have surplus capacity, they're vocal supporters of development of the ethanol market, as you know, for many years. We've got ample supply (183mn l/yr) and confidence about what we need for SAF and importantly, assisting that supplier getting that feedstock RSB and Corsia certified. Looking at the regulatory situation at the moment, a low-carbon fuel standard. How critical is that to building a project like yours to final investment? We made a submission on the [low-carbon liquid fuel paper]. We're advocating both supply and demand measures and were fairly aligned with the wider industry submission. We believe a modest mandate, 1-2pc, supports and is ahead of what the project pipeline is, so you're not putting a mandate that can't be achieved by the projects at our stage but that sends a strong signal, like other countries have already sent. Secondly, supply measures around financing like other types of mechanisms you've seen with Hydrogen Headstart , just to get the industry going. How tight is the window for Australia to catch up with the rest of the world? It's very tight. I think we've got to move in the next two years — there is a wall of demand from 2030 and these projects take five years to develop from start to finish. If we don't move in this in the next few years, we'll end up seeing the feedstock develop that market, but not the production of SAF and we'll lose out on those jobs. A standard size plant has been proposed in Townsville, how much room do you have to grow that capacity in Townsville? We'd very much like to be bigger if the market was there for ethanol. We've sized it at the minimum size that we feel can deliver commercial volumes of SAF at a price that's in line with benchmark, but the bigger you go, the bigger economies of scale you get. These are modules, we can increase and add another train to Townsville quite easily, so a huge opportunity to grow that. The actual plant construction timeframe, what does that look like? The longest lead item is 14 months, but I'd assume two years. So if we are at final investment decision in the second half of next year, we could conceivably see this project start producing SAF by the second half of 2027. Is sugarcane going to be sufficient for growing AtJ SAF, or will we need other feedstock in the future? The sugarcane industry has theoretically got the biggest contributing opportunity, particularly short to medium term with this industry. But you've got agave, you've got other types of crops that can produce like sorghum and other types of sources of ethanol that can be used, and they are a potentially medium-to-long-term supply opportunity. [Farming lobby] Canegrowers ran a fairly extensive campaign around the potential of biofuels in the last Queensland state election, and we've seen other bodies in the sugar industry run similar campaigns so the industry, from grower to miller, is supportive of developing the industry. We've only seen sugar mills close in north Queensland over the last decade, I think ultimately the rest of the world's sugar industry has already moved on [biofuels]. By Tom Major Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Norden agrees marine biodiesel deal with Meta


26/11/24
26/11/24

Norden agrees marine biodiesel deal with Meta

London, 26 November (Argus) — Danish shipping company Norden has agreed with tech giant Meta to utilise marine biodiesel blends on operated vessels. The deal is based on Norden's book-and-claim, a system that can be used to deliver proof of sustainability (PoS) documentation to customers to offset the latter's scope 3 emissions and fulfil their voluntary demand. The PoS can be obtained on a mass-balance system, allowing shipowners flexibility with regards to the port at which a blend can be bunkered. Norden did not specify which marine biodiesel blends it will use as part of this agreement, but said the biofuel will be ISCC-certified and will have an 80-90pc greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction potential. The agreement follows recent drops in Argus assessments for marine biodiesel blends comprising Advanced Fatty acid methyl ester (Fame) 0 in the ARA trading and refining hub. By Hussein Al-Khalisy Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Bimco develops FuelEU clause for charter parties


26/11/24
26/11/24

Bimco develops FuelEU clause for charter parties

Sao Paulo, 26 November (Argus) — Danish shipping association Bimco has developed a contractual clause to support time charter parties ahead of FuelEU Maritime regulations that come into force at the beginning of 2025. The clause designates the shipowner to be the party responsible for FuelEU Maritime. Bimco said the clause is intended to be the standard applicable for most scenarios and commercial relationships. Among the recommendations, the clause states it is mandatory for a shipowner to present the vessel's compliance balance for the previous two years and in the current year. The FuelEU maritime regulation will start in 2025 and will require that ships traveling in, out of, and within EU territorial waters gradually reduce their greenhouse gas (GHG) intensity on a lifecycle basis. It will start with a 2pc reduction in 2025, 6pc in 2030, and will be 80pc by 2050, all compared with 2020 levels. The regulation applies to all commercial ships above 5,000 gross tonnes (GT) carrying passengers or cargo. "The clause we have adopted today is the result of a collaborative process between owners, charterers, Protection and Indemnity (P&I), legal experts, and other stakeholders," said Bimco's documentary committee chairman Nicholas Fell. Bimco has also already adopted a clause for emission trading allowances under the EU emissions trading system (ETS) for ship management agreements, voyage charter parties, and contracts of affreightment. By Gabriel Tassi Lara and Natália Coelho Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Blenders credit extension stalled in US Senate


22/11/24
22/11/24

Blenders credit extension stalled in US Senate

New York, 22 November (Argus) — A push for US lawmakers to extend various biofuel incentives before the end of the year has met resistance in the Senate. A growing coalition of biofuel and soybean groups has endorsed extending for one year a $1/USG federal tax credit for blenders of biomass-based diesel, which would otherwise expire after December and be replaced by the Inflation Reduction Act's carbon-intensity-based "45Z" credit. But lawmakers have various other priorities in the final weeks of this legislative session, and a staffer with the Democratic-controlled US Senate Finance Committee confirmed that prospects for a deal to extend biofuel tax credits are slim. "Republicans have showed very little interest in working with Democrats on much of anything related to tax," said Ryan Carey, chief communications advisor and deputy policy director at the Committee on Finance. "Their focus is primarily on the next Congress, when they're going to attempt to pass an extension of the first Trump tax law on a partisan basis." Another Senate office acknowledged on background that it is "unlikely" Congress will come to any major tax deal before the end of the year. Congress has other priorities for its brief lame duck session before president-elect Donald Trump begins his second term, including government funding, the federal debt limit, and a new farm bill. Tax policy could still fit into an end-of-year package, with some less controversial tax provisions and a bipartisan business tax proposal backed by Senate Finance Committee chair Ron Wyden (D-Oregon) still under discussion. But prolonging the biodiesel blenders credit — plus other biofuel credits benefiting sustainable aviation fuel and cellulosic fuels that some groups have also pushed to extend — appears to be a tougher lift. With Trump in the White House and Republicans set to control both chambers of Congress, Republicans are now preparing major tax policy legislation next year to prolong tax cuts passed during Trump's first term that are set to expire at the end of 2025. Lawmakers are likely to look at repealing some Inflation Reduction Act clean energy subsidies to help offset the cost of that proposal. Republicans on the House tax-writing committee this week requested public input on the 45Z credit specifically, a signal that they are at least open to modifications — and are already looking to tax policy next year. Biofuel subsidies are seen by analysts and lobbyists as less likely targets for repeal than other Inflation Reduction Act credits, given support for the industry among farm state lawmakers. But the request-for-information this week suggested that Republicans are wary of elements of the current 45Z credit and could support changes that benefit agribusiness. Even biofuel groups generally supportive of the 45Z credit's structure have been frustrated by President Joe Biden's administration, which has yet to issue guidance clarifying how it will calculate the carbon intensities of different fuels and feedstocks. By Cole Martin Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Shell will supply Brussels airport with SAF via DHL


21/11/24
21/11/24

Shell will supply Brussels airport with SAF via DHL

London, 21 November (Argus) — Shell and German logistics group DHL Express have signed a one-year deal for the supply of 25,000t of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) at Brussels airport. Shell will deliver the SAF via pipeline to the airport. The SAF will be co-processed, meaning it will be produced in a fossil refinery by replacing fossil crude oil with renewable feedstocks. It will be certified by the international sustainability and carbon certification (ISCC) programme. DHL Express customers will be able to claim verified emission reductions (VER) carbon credits linked to the use of the SAF through DHL's book and claim model . DHL recently signed a supply agreement with US-based fuel supplier World Fuel Services for the latter to supply Miami International Airport with around 227mn l of blended SAF — 68mn l of which will be pure SAF — over a two-year period. DHL said it consumed 72,000t of SAF in 2023 for its Scope 1 operations — which refer to a company's direct emissions, becoming one of the top three SAF buyers globally. This amounts to around 15pc of global annual SAF output, based on the International Air Transport Association's estimate of around 500,000t of SAF produced in 2023. By Evelina Lungu Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

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