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Euroil: European refining developments

Royal Dutch Shell is looking to construct the first ever commercial bio-power-to-liquid (bio-PTL) unit at its Rheinland refinery in Germany, the company said on February 26.

The project will involve expanding an existing 10-MW electrolyser to a capacity of 100 MW. Using green hydrogen produced from the electrolyser as well as biomass, the PTL unit would produce 100,000 tonnes per year (tpy) of synthetic kerosene and naphtha. Construction could start in 2023, Shell said, with commercial operations kicking off in 2025.

Shell, alongside partners ITM Power and Linde, is already in the process of commissioning the 10-MW polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) electrolyser, which will be the biggest of its kind in Europe. Work on expanding the facility could begin in 2022 pending a final investment decision (FID), with ITM and Linde remaining partners, the Anglo-Dutch major said.

Meanwhile, UK fuel trader Prax Group announced on March 1 it had wrapped up the purchase of the Lindsey oil refinery on England’s east coast from France’s Total.

Total agreed to sell the 108,000 barrel per day (bpd) plant in July last year, as part of its broader divestment programme and a shift away from conventional oil refining. Besides the refinery itself, the deal covers the Finaline pipeline linking the plant with the Buncefield fuel terminal, and the Killingholme loading terminal. It also includes stakes in joint venture operations Hertfordshire Oil Storage (60%), Associated Petroleum Terminals (50%), Crude Oil Terminals (50%), Humber Oil Terminals Trustee (50%) and Warwickshire Oil Storage (50%).

The selling price has not been disclosed.

Lastly, Irish junior Providence Resources and Norway’s SpotOn Energy have pushed back the deadline for closing a farm-out deal at the Barryroe oil and gas field in the Celtic Sea by two months until April 30.

The farm-out was conditional on SpotOn obtaining at least $166mn in financing to cover 100% of the cost of an early production scheme at Barryroe. The deal’s terms remain the same, but SpotOn has requested more time after failing to secure 20% of this sum from the Norwegian Export Credit Agency.

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