PTQ Q1 2023 Issue

• Installing a multiple-train 150 KTA MPW (total capacity) recycling unit • Replacing all furnaces with electric heaters. The cost of furnace replacement and electric heating have narrowed to the point that it is more efficient to skip the furnace effi - ciency improvement measures as discussed under 2.1 and replace furnaces by electric heaters. • 700 MW of green electricity for various services • 190/68 KTA EC/e-methanol production capacity. It is assumed that green electricity/electric heaters will be implemented in stages, with the first steps in 2026. Co-processing vegetable oil in the existing DHT and HCU unit may start as soon as the pretreatment plant has been installed. Construction of the new units (EC, HVO, MPW, and e-methanol plants) can proceed in parallel with the implementation of pre-combustion CO₂ capture at the SMR. There is no need for a post-combustion CO₂ capture plant. E-methanol and electric heaters are the last items to be implemented, considering the long installation times and costs for sourcing green power, and advantageously banking on the cost reduction of electrolysers and elec - tric heaters to occur in the latter half of this decade. This plan hinges on several important parameters with respect to pricing, project implementation, permitting, and avail- ability of feedstocks, while also ignoring considerations with respect to turnaround planning for major inspection/ maintenance and supply chain interruptions (due to the large number of decarbonisation projects being executed simultaneously). The plan nevertheless shows the techni- cal feasibility towards achieving a 55% reduction in overall refinery CO₂ emissions by 2030, relative to the reference point assumed to correspond to 1990 values. Achieving net-zero CO₂ emissions by 2050 is more chal - lenging and may only be achieved by converting to more renewables processing or directing all products to petro- chemicals. This will be the subject of a separate discussion. Takeaways Refiners are facing great challenges with respect to decar - bonising their facilities. If they want to continue producing motor fuels and not move (further) into petrochemicals pro- duction, they will have to resort to renewables processing, either MPW and/or vegetable oil. Several decarbonisation techniques were evaluated based on the aggregated cost per ton of CO₂ avoided, considering operating and investment costs and overall Scope 1, 2 and 3 CO₂ emission reductions relative to the base case. Improving furnace efficiency is the most direct way to reduce CO₂ emissions with a positive return on investment. However, in a scenario of very low electricity prices, install- ing electric heaters may be more compelling. Depending on assumptions with respect to the price of feedstocks and pre - mium for their products, renewables processing also results in low CO₂ abatement costs. In this study, the ultimate resort is post-combustion CO₂ capture, with the CO₂ being sent to remote storage (after liquefaction and ship transportation). Developing roadmaps for refinery decarbonisation is a challenging exercise facing many uncertainties with respect to feed prices, products, especially regarding new

feeds (such as biomass, MPW, EO) and products (such as e-methanol, EC, urea), and utilities (such as green electric- ity), supply uncertainties (such as natural gas, green elec- tricity), and taxes. Many decarbonisation efforts also have major interface issues with outside parties (electric grid operators, authorities). Although challenging, the study shows that it is techni- cally and economically feasible for refineries to achieve Fit for 55 emission reduction targets by 2030. Achieving net- Although challenging, it is technically and economically feasible for refineries to achieve Fit for 55 emission reduction targets by 2030 zero CO₂ emissions by 2050 is more challenging and can likely only be reached by converting to more renewables processing or directing all products to petrochemicals. Given that no single common solution applies to two or more refineries, explorative studies to assess options and their sensitivities to the various parameters should be initi- ated post-haste for companies to determine the most suit- able/economical way to meet target deadlines. References 1 World Business Council for Sustainable Development/Word Re - sources Institute, Green House Gas Protocol , Mar 2004. 2 Fluor, Sustainable refining via improvements in design, operations and project execution, ADIPEC Virtual 2020 Downstream Technical Conference, Nov 9-12, 2020. 3 Fluor, Energy Efficiency in Refining: Picking the Low Hanging Fruit , European Refining Technology Conference, Nov 16, 2021. 4 IEA, Putting CO₂ to Use , Sep 2019. 5 IEA, Special Report on Carbon Capture Utilisation and Storage, En- ergy Technology Perspectives 2020 . 6 Smith E E, et al, The Cost of CO₂ Transport and Storage in Global Integrated Assessment Modelling, MIT/ExxonMobil, Intl. Journal of Greenhouse Gas Control , 2021. 7 www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/ethylene-carbon - ate-market-229766138.html, accessed Apr 20, 2022. 8 www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/global-ethylene-carbonate- market-is-expected-to-reach-550-26-million-by-2027--301099300. html, accessed Apr 6, 2022. Fred Baars is a Senior Process Director with 24 years of experience at Fluor B.V., Amsterdam, the Netherlands. His experience includes refin - ery operations, process design and managing studies. He was named a Fluor Fellow in 2005. He holds an MS in mechanical engineering from Delft University of Technology, the Netherlands. Samiya Parvez is a Process Engineer with seven years of experience at Fluor B.V., Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Having worked on a num - ber of feasibility studies and (pre-) FEED projects in the refining and petrochemical industry, her more recent areas of interest include tech- nologies for sustainable hydrogen production, CCUS, and plastic recy - cling. She holds an MS in chemical engineering from Delft University of Technology, the Netherlands.

PTQ Q1 2023