Panama clears $10bn biofuels project
Panama's government has approved the construction of a $10bn biofuels project owned by US firm SGP BioEnergy.
The project is now waiting a final investment decision that the firm expects will be reached by the end of this year.
Japan's industrial conglomerate Sumitomo Group will build the Ciudad Dorada biorefinery on 130 hectares (ha) in the Colon free zone, SGP BioEnergy said.
The project will produce 180,000 b/d of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) to be exported mainly to the US market and 405,000 t/yr of low-carbon hydrogen.
"For the national government, it is important to promote fair and inclusive processes that lead us to migrate to systems dominated by renewable energy or energy from clean sources for the benefit of the country" Panama's commerce and industry minister Julio Molto said.
The plant will be developed in three phases of 60,000 b/d each. The first phase is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2027 and the following phases within 15-18 months each.
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New Mexico statute could make LCFS tricky
New Mexico statute could make LCFS tricky
Houston, 12 July (Argus) — US independent refiner Valero warned other New Mexico's low-carbon fuel standard (LCFS) advisers today that lawmakers may make the program uniquely difficult. The language lawmakers passed earlier this year appeared to require the state's Clean Transportation Fuel Standard to reduce the carbon intensity of blended transportation fuels, said Brian Bartlett, part of Valero's public policy and strategic planning group, in a presentation to fellow advisory committee members on the draft rulemaking. That could mean tougher initial targets for the program if the state sets requirements for finished fuels already blended with biofuels, in addition to requirements for neat gasoline and diesel common to other markets, he said. "We are looking at it from the definition that is in the statute, and that is a different definition than is in any other statute," Bartlett said. Regulators and some other advisers in the meeting did not agree with the interpretation as the only way to read the law. LCFS programs require yearly reductions to transportation fuel carbon intensity. Higher-carbon fuels that exceed the annual limits incur deficits that suppliers must offset with credits generation from the distribution to the market of approved, lower-carbon alternatives. New Mexico lawmakers earlier this year directed the state Environment Department to establish an LCFS by July 2026. The state is speeding toward a formal rulemaking this summer to establish a program on a faster timeline. California's LCFS exists almost entirely through agency rulemakings. The law that led to its creation directs the state to reduce emissions, but legislators did not prescribe a transportation program. Oregon lawmakers, in part building off of that model, referenced a low-carbon fuel standard (LCFS) in 2009 legislation but did not include blended fuels in its definitions. Washington's legislation, passed in 2021 and leading to a program that began enforcement last year, defined regulated fuels as "electricity and any liquid or gaseous fuel" used for transportation. The law explicitly directs reductions using gasoline and diesel baselines, similar to other states. Under the interpretation proposed today, New Mexico would be unique in needing to determine a baseline for blends such as 10pc ethanol gasoline, or 5pc biodiesel. Blended fuels, especially renewable diesel blends, have driven much of the recent credit generation and carbon intensity reductions in west coast programs. "I think that's a novel interpretation that you have presented, and the Environment Department will definitely consider it," the agency's environmental protection division director Department Michelle Miano said. Representatives of ExxonMobil and Phillips 66 suggested that the process may need more time to offer sufficient technical expertise to the department. The Environment Department is seeking to complete a technical report ahead of a planned August petition for a rulemaking establishing the program to the state's Environmental Improvement Board. The advisory committee will meet to discuss the technical report and hold public comment on 26 July. By Elliott Blackburn Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Spanish biodiesel demand flat in May
Spanish biodiesel demand flat in May
Barcelona, 12 July (Argus) — Spain's biodiesel consumption was flat on the month in May but down sharply on revised figures for May 2023, according to strategic reserve Cores. There is ongoing fallout from an energy ministry audit into blending compliance. Cores figures show a little over 110,000t of demand in May, very close to levels in January-April. Consumption in the first five months of the year was 545,000t, lower than a revised 715,000t in January-May 2023. The reserve made significant revisions to 2023 demand in the previous two months of data, citing a "certification audit" by the energy ministry at the end of March. It made no major revisions to 2023 data this month. Cores data show biodiesel demand for 2023 at 1.93mn t, up from an original 1.32mn t, and a blend rate of 8.9pc in volume terms, up from 6.1pc. The audit was highly critical of 2023 domestic biofuels blending, including missed obligations and payments. It said a failure to hit blending obligations meant more than €581mn ($631mn) needed to be paid. One fuels distributor has been temporarily suspended from the programme, under a resolution passed by markets regulator CNMC on 28 June. This company has been removed from the ministry's list of companies eligible to participate in the biofuels blending certification system Sicbios. It appears a significant amount of the debt owed to the ministry comes from this firm, which has been receiving imports of diesel loaded in Turkey . A further 51 companies are waiting to formalise their exit from Sicbios, the ministry said. Other problems in the system include companies that insist they have not blended biofuels but are unable to provide documentation. Others have made sales and not completed the full process, were not registered but have asked for tickets, have exceeded blending of biofuels made from first generation feedstock, or have gone out of business. By Adam Porter Spanish biodiesel demand '000t Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Port Houston fully reopens, others to follow
Port Houston fully reopens, others to follow
New York, 11 July (Argus) — Port Houston fully reopened today in the wake of Hurricane Beryl after the US Army Corps of Engineers and US Coast Guard gave the all-clear, with other Texas ports soon to follow, according to the Greater Houston Port Bureau. "As of this morning, we are lifting all restrictions for the Houston ship channel — no more draft restrictions," port bureau president Captain Eric Carrero said. Draft restrictions remain in place at 35ft for the port of Galveston, at 30ft for Texas City, and at 36ft for Freeport, according to Carrero. Freeport is also restricted to daylight operating hours. "We are reviewing the surveys for Texas City, Galveston, and Freeport and we are hoping to lift those restrictions as well," Carrero said. The return of Port Houston to full capacity three days after Hurricane Beryl made landfall on 8 July will likely assuage concerns that damage to Texas ports would cut the supply of refined product shipments from the region at a time when refineries along the US Gulf coast hit 97pc utilization in the week ended 5 July, the highest rate since June 2023, according to US Energy Information Administration data. Any vessel glut that had built up outside of Port Houston is likely to clear quickly now that full operating conditions have been restored, according to vessel piloting services in the region. The port of Freeport was the closest of the Houston-area ports to Hurricane Beryl's landfall, which could explain additional caution given to the port in maintaining its daylight hours, given the larger potential for the storm to have blown obstructions into the port's waters. The reopening of Port Houston will likely help to shift additional Army Corps and Coast Guard personnel to the other Texas ports to help complete the necessary surveys and ensure that critical aids to navigation are where they should be before giving the all-clear. By Ross Griffith Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Texas ports could fully reopen Thursday: Pilots
Texas ports could fully reopen Thursday: Pilots
New York, 10 July (Argus) — Major Texas ports are likely to rescind draft restrictions and begin operating at full capacity Thursday with port facility damage limited and shipping channels free of significant blockages following Hurricane Beryl, according to vessel piloting services. The US Coast Guard authorized most Texas ports to open for daylight hours only starting today , with 30 ft draft restrictions in the port of Houston and 35 ft in the ports of Galveston and Texas City. But with "no major obstructions" being found in the channels and final surveys by the US Army Corps of Engineers and the US Coast Guard expected soon, those restrictions may be lifted by the end of day Wednesday, according to Galtex Pilots director of operations Erik Stramblad. The restrictions slowed vessels traffic in and out of the port of Houston to about 66pc of the "typical count of 55-60 vessels daily", according to Houston Pilots Association chief operating officer JJ Plunkett. "We're working with the Coast Guard and the Army Corps of Engineers to get their final surveys," Plunkett said. "Tomorrow [the port of Houston] will probably have a deeper draft." The resulting buildup of vessels around Texas ports is likely to clear quickly once normal operations resume, according to Stramblad. "The number of vessels waiting is about the same [as usual]," Stramblad said. "It's only been a couple of days [of downtime]. It tends to clear itself up quickly once we have the full draft back." Some private terminals within the ports of Texas City and Galveston need to provide their own status assessments before operations can fully resume, Stramblad said. "Nobody wants to hit something that shouldn't be there," Stramblad said. Ship-to-ship transfers of crude, refined products and other commodities resumed off the Texas coast on Tuesday. At least two charterers today sought Suezmax tankers for crude lighterings in the US Gulf coast from 12 July. By Ross Griffith Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
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