The partners include Texas-based affiliate Dastur Energy and M. N. Dastur & Co (P) (Dastur); Air Liquide Global E&C Solutions (Air Liquide) and the Bureau of Economic Geology (BEG) at the University of Texas at Austin.

IOCL’s Koyali refinery is said to have the potential to capture more than 5,000 tonnes per day (tpd) or over 1.5mtpa of CO₂ for large scale EOR operations.

The captured CO₂ from the hydrogen generation units at the refinery will be mainly utilised for Enhanced oil recovery (EOR) at the Oil and Natural Gas Commission’s (ONGC) oilfield located at Gandhar, Gujarat, near Koyali.

Dastur to lead the techno-economic feasibility project

Dastur said that the project will study the technical viability, economic cost and feasibility of capturing CO₂.

It will also involve developing technical specifications, designs and plans as well as review and identification of necessary approvals and permits which are required.

In addition to EOR, the project will also study the applications of capture CO₂ in other areas to make the project technically and economically feasible.

The project will be led by Dastur, which is the prime contractor for it.

The United States Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) is funding the project, as part of its to efforts to promote the development of sustainable infrastructure projects and boosting economic growth in partner countries like India.

IOCL board member and director (R&D) Ramakumar said: “This sustainability initiative from IOCL is probably the first of its kind industrial scale carbon capture project in a large refinery in India.

“IOCL hopes to capture over 250-500 thousand tons of CO₂ in a year initially and to use the CO₂ for cost-effectively enhancing oil production from ONGC’s oil fields. In this ambitious and path breaking project, we were pleased to receive global interest from many global firms.”

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The company has appointed AUSPAN, a steel frame construction company, to complete the stage one building structural design and construction works.

AUSPAN has mobilised at the project site, which is located 220km south east of Perth, Western Australia.

A team of 20 workers have started on the footings and laying the slab on the plant building, which was delivered to site on 6 January.

AUSPAN general manager Ben Richardson said: “Mobilisation is well under way and construction on site is ramping up following the Christmas break.

“Footings are almost complete and we will be ramping up to a construction team of approximately 25 by early February. It is exciting to be working with WA Kaolin on this world leading Kaolin Processing Plant.

“With approximately 100T of structural steel already delivered to site, the landscape is about to change with the commencement of structural steel installation.”

WA Kaolin said that the work on the project is in line with its kaolin contracts and orders continue to grow.

The company added that the Kwinana production facility is sold out on a two shift five-day basis.

WA Kaolin’s Wickepin Kaolin project is claimed to be one of the largest known remaining premium primary resources of kaolin in the world and is estimated to have an ore reserve of 30.5 million tonnes to be mined over a 30-year mine life.

The company has developed a dry processing method, called K99, to convert raw material into market suitable feedstock for global customers and also built a small-scale commercial processing plant at Kwinana.

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Chevron Technology Ventures’ ongoing investment in carbon capture and utilization technologies supports Chevron’s focus on a diverse portfolio of lower-carbon solutions. In connection with its investment, Chevron and Blue Planet also executed a letter of intent to collaborate on potential pilot projects and commercial development in key geographies, with the goal of jointly advancing lower-carbon opportunities.

Blue Planet creates carbonate-based building aggregate made from flue gas-captured CO2. Distinct from some other industrial carbon capture and utilization technologies, Blue Planet’s process does not require CO2 purification and enrichment prior to use which can reduce cost and unit energy consumed during capture. Founded in 2013, Blue Planet’s technology potentially enables permanent capture of CO2 in building materials at scale, converting CO2 to a lower-carbon product for sale in the growing global market of aggregates.

“Carbon capture, utilization, and storage, or CCUS, is viewed to be essential to advancing progress toward the global net zero ambition of the Paris Agreement,” said Barbara Burger, VP of innovation and president of Technology Ventures at Chevron. “This investment is made through our Future Energy Fund which focuses on startups with lower-carbon technologies that can scale commercially, and we welcome Blue Planet to this portfolio,” said Burger.

“Chevron is a leader in scouting and identifying innovative and game-changing approaches to lower-carbon intensity,” said Brent Constantz, founder, CEO, and chief scientist at Blue Planet. “The investment may also provide future opportunities to incorporate Blue Planet’s approach into Chevron’s projects.”

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In October 2019, Equinor farmed in to the YPF CAN 100 block and agreed to take over the operatorship. Equinor and YPF currently both hold 50% equity in the license, and will after the transaction hold 35% each, with Shell holding the remaining 30% in the block.

The CAN 100 block comprises an area of 15,000 km2 and is the largest block in the North Argentinian Basin.

The agreement is pending governmental approval.

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Sinopec Hainan Refining and Chemical Company has awarded the contract to expand its refinery development in the Hainan Free Trade Zone (FTZ).

Under the terms of the contract, Wood will be responsible for providing engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) services for the project.

The company’s engineering and project management teams based in Shanghai and on site will deliver the project.

The scope of contract includes EPC services for the sitewide pipe rack and associated pipework, cables for power, telecommunications and lighting.

Wood Projects executive president Mike Collins said: “We are delighted to win this new contract with Sinopec which demonstrates the strength of our long-standing relationship with the client and their confidence in our extensive EPC expertise in the petrochemical sector.

“We look forward to continuing our partnership to deliver this project safely, sustainably and on-time, making a positive contribution to this significant development.

“Wood is uniquely placed to leverage our engineering design expertise and global petrochemical track record to play a significant role in the growth of Sinopec’s business and the economic development of Hainan, boosting the local supply chain.”

Upon completion of the expansion, the ethylene renovation and expansion project is expected to produce up to one million tonnes of ethylene derivatives as well as the refined oil per year.

It is also expected to boost the economic growth in China’s downstream sector by over $14.1bn.

Furthermore, the output of the expanded Hainan FTZ will serve the ethylene demand across China and worldwide.

Last month, Wood was given the go-ahead from IAMGOLD to deliver engineering, procurement and construction management (EPCM) services for the $1.3bn Côté Gold open pit gold mine in Canada.

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The contracts awarded include integrity management and fabric maintenance services for the gas production platform.

The company said that the contracts have been awarded on a three-year agreement basis, with options to extend them to two further one-year contracts.

Neptune Energy UK managing director Alexandra Thomas said: “We are pleased to be awarding these contracts to Oceaneering and Stork, which demonstrates our commitment to supporting service partners and to maximising efficiency.

“Combining the scopes of work for our Cygnus production facility within a broader agreement creates additional synergies and reduces complexity.”

Under the terms of the contract, Oceaneering will be responsible for the supply of integrity management services for the gas facility.

These services include pressure systems, structural, pipeline, erosion management and offshore inspection services.

Stork to deliver fabric maintenance and scaffolding services for Cygnus

Additionally, Stork will be responsible to provide fabric maintenance and scaffolding services for Cygnus gas production facility.

The Cygnus gas field is located within UK Continental Shelf blocks 44/12a and 44/11a in 23m of water.

It is claimed to be a crucial component of the UK North Sea energy infrastructure and has the capacity to produce nearly 6% of UK domestic gas demand, which is enough to fuel for 1.5 million UK homes.

Neptune Energy is the operator of the gas field with a 38.75% ownership stake and the remaining 61.25% stake is owned by Spirit Energy.

Stork UK regional director Steve Hunt said: “We are committed to supporting Neptune and confident we will continue to deliver the highest quality and standards of work, whilst maximising on efficiencies in support of daily operations.

“It has been a challenging year for the industry and our global communities; to be awarded this contract demonstrates our place in the supply chain, as well as a true reflection of Stork’s dedication to being a trusted service partner to Neptune.”

Last month, Neptune Energy has received Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD) approval for the start-up of on the Gjøa field expansion in the North Sea.

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In a letter responding to the State’s November 13 notice, Vern Yu, Enbridge Executive Vice President and President, Liquids Pipelines, wrote, “Our dual lines in the Straits are safe and in full compliance with the federal pipeline safety standards that govern them.”

Both lines were reviewed and approved for operation by the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) back in June and September of 2020.

Mr. Yu further stated that Enbridge has no intention of shutting down the pipelines based on the State’s unspecified allegations and its violation of federal law.

The company has requested that the United States District Court dismiss the State of Michigan’s action in that the revocation of the easement is contrary to federal law and that pipeline safety resides with the federal Pipeline Safety Act and its enforcement is the responsibility of an expert federal agency (PHMSA).

“The Notice ignores scientific evidence and is based on inaccurate and outdated information,” Mr. Yu wrote of the State’s action.

Repeated offers by Enbridge over the past year to meet with State officials to discuss pipeline issues of concern to the State, provide technical information and discuss matters that might be helpful to the State’s review of the easement were consistently ignored and dismissed.  Consequently, the State made its claim on ill-informed, inaccurate, out of date and unsupportable opinion.

In his letter, Mr. Yu wrote that the State acted unlawfully in issuing the Notice to revoke and terminate the 1953 easement by attempting to upend federal jurisdiction.

Enbridge’s response further underscores that the Governor and the DNR Director cannot disregard Michigan laws authorizing the original 1953 easement and the replacement tunnel, nor displace PHMSA, the federal agency responsible for the safety of interstate pipelines. The company, consistent with the past, is offering to meet with the State to resolve any differences.

“In the meantime, the dual pipelines will continue to operate safely until they are replaced on completion of the Tunnel Project,” wrote Vern Yu.

Residents, businesses and refineries throughout Michigan, other Great Lakes states and Canada’s two largest provinces – Ontario and Quebec – rely on the safe transportation of oil, propane and other product through the dual pipelines. Enbridge looks forward to continuing to provide this critical source of energy while focusing on plans to construct the Great Lakes Tunnel as another measure to enhance safe operation of the dual pipelines.

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Peter Bennett, Clough CEO and Managing Director said: “Clough and the Waitsia Joint Venture (Mitsui E&P Australia and Beach Energy) have been working together to optimise the design of the Waitsia Stage 2 project in terms of plant operability, capital costs and ongoing sustainability in operations. The Waitsia project development is a showcase for the benefits in true collaboration between Client and Contractor and we are very grateful to the Waitsia team for this opportunity.”

John Galvin, Executive Vice President Australia and Asia Pacific, said: “We are proud to bring to this project our demonstrated capability in the resources industry and local project delivery experience. During the construction phase an estimated 200 jobs will be created which will bring significant economic benefits to the local region and Western Australia at large.”

The Waitsia gas field is ranked one of the largest gas fields ever discovered onshore in Australia and it is forecasted to bring significant economic benefits to the Mid-West region from both construction and operating phases. The Waitsia Stage 2 project includes a new 250 TJ/day gas processing plant with a 20-year life-cycle that will convey gas via the nearby Dampier to Bunbury Natural Gas Pipeline.

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The well 15/12-26 is planned to be drilled using the COSLInnovator, a semi-submersible drilling rig designed to operate in water depths up to 750 meter.

The rig will commence the drilling activity at the well 15/12-26 upon completion of the drilling Chrysaor Norge’s wildcat well 15/12-25 which is also located in production licence 973.

NPD said: “The area in this licence is part of block 15/12. The well will be drilled about 10 kilometres south of the 15/12-21 (Grevling) oil discovery.

“Production licence 973 was awarded on 1 March 2019 (APA2018). This will be the second exploration well to be drilled in the licence.”

The well 15/12-26 drilling programme relates to drilling a wildcat well which is also in production licence 973.

Chrysaor Norge holds 50% ownership stake in production licence 586

Chrysaor Norge is the operator of the production licence 586 with an ownership interest of 50% while the other licensees include OKEA (30%) and Petoro (20%).

Furthermore, the drilling permit is subject to securing all other permits and consents by the operator as required by other authorities prior to commencing drilling activity.

Recently, Lundin Energy Norway, a subsidiary of Sweden-based Lundin Energy, has secured the NPD permit to drill the 16/4-13 S well in the North Sea.

The well is planned to be drilled nearly 6km northwest of the discovery well 16/4-6 S on the Solveig field. It will be drilled using the West Bollsta semi-submersible drilling rig.

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Both Worley Argentina and Worley Chile are subsidiaries of Worley, an Australian-American engineering company.

The development strategy for 3Q project focuses on producing 20,000 tonnes of lithium carbonate a year with the flexibility to expand production to 40,000 tonnes per year upon completion and operations of the first phase.

The DFS on the project is scheduled to be completed in the third quarter of the year.

Neo Lithium chief operating officer Gabriel Pindar said: “On the back of CATL’s investment and involvement, we are very pleased to have engaged and be working with Worley who bring a wealth of lithium knowledge and experience to our 3Q Project.

“Worley is a leading global engineering firm and has been involved in all aspects of lithium brine operations which will be invaluable in executing our DFS.”

The company has been operating the pilot evaporation ponds at the site for more than three years, and the pilot lithium carbonate plant has been in operation for about two years.

The decision to proceed with a DFS was made in partnership with a Chinese battery manufacturer Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL), which now owns 8% of Neo Lithium.

Pre-feasibility study on 3Q project published in May 2019

The results of a pre-feasibility study (PFS) on the 3Q project performed by GHD Chile (GHD) and Groundwater Insight were published in May 2019.

The production output for the project was put at 20,000 tonnes of lithium carbonate production a year with an after-tax net present value of $1.143bn.

Last month, Neo Lithium has closed the previously announced equity investment by Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL).

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