Business

Quadrise Fuels International positioning MSAR® for commercialisation in 2020

Highlights ‘firm foundation for growth’ with GBP 4.5 million funding in place, as company announces promotions of key staff members instrumental in the development of MSAR trials during 2019.

Published

5 years ago

January 17, 2020

Admin

Emulsion bunker producer Quadrise Fuels International plc (QFI) on Wednesday (15 January) announced the promotions of key staffs who are integral to its recent business development initiatives in 2019 which culminated in the recently announced heavy fuel oil (HFO) MSAR® pilot trials in Morocco.

“At the recent AGM we provided shareholders with an update which demonstrated the success of our strategy to broaden and deepen our business development pipeline,” said QFI Executive Chairman Mike Kirk.

“Along with the secured funding now in place we have a firm foundation for growth and the Board took the view that this was the right time to further develop the senior management team through the promotion of Jason to CEO and Mark to COO.”

Effective 1 February 2020, Jason Miles (Chief Operating Officer since 2014) is appointed to the position of Chief Executive Officer.

Mark Whittle (currently Head of Projects) succeeds Jason as Chief Operating Officer and becomes a director of the Company.

Mike Kirk continues as the Company's Chairman.

“I have worked closely with Jason since joining Quadrise and during the last two years have also worked increasingly closely with Mark, both of whom have been integral to the recent business development initiatives which culminated in the recently announced trial in Morocco,” he added.

QFI was able to secure funding of GBP 4.5 million during Q3 2019 which will enable QFI to continue its business development activities through to the end of 2020 on the basis of current planned expenditure.

Below are the key business development updates on MSAR® in 2019:

Morocco- The in-country representative has proven to be very effective for Quadrise in Morocco - having been instrumental in securing the agreement with the major chemicals business to undertake an initial pilot trial at their manufacturing facility which was announced earlier today. Pending the positive outcome of this first stagetool would then seek to progress to a larger-scale study and trials as a precursor to commercial roll-out.
Freepoint Commodities -Remains an important partner for QFI and the management remain in close contact on opportunities in Central and South America. QFI expects itself will be more valuable in terms of assisting in the commercialisation of projects, rather than identifying new ones. Freepoint also introduced QFI to Aleph Commodities who we are working with in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.
Redliner - Have demonstrated a good understanding of MSAR^®technology and has arranged meetings with key parties within Mexico, most recently in November 2019. This is a significant opportunity for QFI, although the management cannot overlook the challenges to progress new projects rapidly in the region on a fully funded basis, even for MSAR^® projects that deliver material economic gains in the short-term. The Company will follow up during 2019 and into 2020.
European Oil Major- This work has not progressed materially to date - further progress will, QFI believe, be dependent on the development of major power or industrial customers for the substantial MSAR^® volumes that would be generated at the refinery. QFI will continue to progress this market development work - which will also be the key to enabling the samples to be provided to enable full testing - given the operational challenges that there have been with the sample lines.
European Refiner- The initial stage of testing has been completed and visits carried out at both the client site and at QRF. The next stage is currently underway - with the client reviewing the economics of MSAR^® compared with other IMO 2020 options, and if this proves positive, QFI expects to be developing a plan for a site trial during H1 2020.

Maersk/Marine - Discussions have continued in relation to the Royalty Agreement alongside Maersk's revised approach to IMO 2020 compliance that includes the installation of scrubbers on a significant number of their vessels. However, like most operators in the sector, meaningful engagement is not likely until the operational challenges of IMO 2020 readiness is concluded during Q1 2020.

Kingdom of Saudi Arabia- Good progress has been made with Al Khafrah as our new local partner and we expect high level engagement with one of the major stakeholders shortly which will help to define the route to enabling project delivery to commence at the earliest possible time during 2020. This work includes the opportunity to consider MSAR® manufacture in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia at lower cost.

Kuwait - The market in Kuwait is undergoing extensive change, with a new grass-roots refinery nearing completion and a major upgrading being completed which will effectively combine two smaller, existing refineries. Recent meetings have confirmed that there is an opportunity at the new refinery and we will undertake initial feasibility work to present to the client team in Kuwait once technical information is received.

Bitumina – QFI have continued to review opportunities to access the residue sources and terminals available to Bitumina - which will ultimately depend on accessing suitable consumers in the power, marine or industrial markets.

Asia -QFI is continuing to review opportunities in Japan through JGC and the management is reviewing a refinery refuelling opportunity. API Poly GCL undertook a study in China and concluded the market in the power and industrial sectors was constrained by local coal and gas, though opportunities in the marine market remain under review - subject to the local operators' (COSCO, etc.) approach to scrubbers in 2020. As a result of challenging economics versus gas from LNG in combined-cycle plants and a change in its approach to the use of its existing assets, we have reached mutual decision with YTL Power Seraya to not renew the current MoU.

Merlin -QFI is continuing to review various heavy oil opportunities that would benefit from the use of MSAR®, though none are at the stage of progressing to active projects at this stage.
Nouryon - a new three-year agreement was signed on 8 October 2019 and recent discussions confirm that there are further opportunities for closer collaboration between Quadrise and Nouryon on project development.

“We are very pleased to have entered into this Agreement with this major industrial group in Morocco, which is a world leader in the sectors in which it operates and is a material consumer of fuel oil,” he commented on the agreement.

“We are looking forward to working with the Client's team in Morocco to develop and deliver the MSAR® pilot trial and feasibility studies and, ultimately to demonstrate the wider potential for MSAR® use in the industrial sector, in addition to the power and marine markets.”

“We are confident that we will successfully demonstrate the economic and environmental benefits of MSAR® and, therefore, be able to progress through to commercial supply of MSAR® to the Client in due course," he concluded.

Photo credit: Quadrise
Published: 17 January, 2020

Business

Shell MGO bunker heist: Bunker clerk pleads guilty to helping Sentek acquire misappropriated fuel

Wong Wai Meng, who received more than USD 286,000 from Sentek Marine & Trading for his assistance, pleaded guilty to 12 counts of intentionally helping the firm acquire the misappropriated marine gas.

Published

7 hours ago

December 2, 2024

Admin

A bunker clerk, Wong Wai Meng, who received more than USD 286,000 (SGD 384,681) from Singapore-based Sentek Marine & Trading (Sentek) for his assistance, pleaded guilty to 12 counts of intentionally helping the company acquire misappropriated marine gas oil, The Straits Times reported on Friday (29 November).

The 58-year-old Singaporean was employed at the Sentek when he assisted in acquiring more than 28,000 metric tonnes (mt) of the misappropriated fuel worth USD 13.58 million (SGD 18.26 million).

Wong committed the offences over 46 occasions between August 2014 and December 2017.

Wong is among the three bunker clerks previously employed by Sentek, who were charged for offences under the Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Crimes (Confiscation of Benefits) Act (CDSA) and the Prevention of Corruption Act (PCA).

Another bunker clerk among the three charged, Wong Kuin Wah, 61, was sentenced to seven years and six months’ jail on 18 November for his role in misappropriating more than 27,000 tonnes of gas oil worth around USD 12.8 million (SGD 17.2 million).

The third individual who was charged, Boo Pu Wen, reportedly passed away in July 2023 and had his charges abated following his death, meaning Boo’s court proceedings over his 19 charges at the time came to an end.

Former Shell employees, who were key members of a group who dishonestly misappropriated fuel from Shell Pulau Bukom, were sentenced to jail in court earlier.

Earlier coverage of developments by Manifold Times regarding the Shell MGO bunker heist can be found below:

Photo credit: Katrin Bolovtsova
Published: 2 December, 2024

Biofuel

Singapore: GCMD introduces new technique for FAME bio bunker fuel fingerprinting

Fingerprinting identifies feedstock origins of FAME-based biofuels used in shipping industry; can be used as a potential tool to detect fraud in marine fuel supply chains and ensure biofuel authenticity.

Published

7 hours ago

December 2, 2024

Admin

Singapore: GCMD introduces new technique for FAME bio bunker fuel fingerprinting

The Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonisation (GCMD) on Monday (2 December) released its latest report, presenting a new technique that creates a fingerprint for Fatty Acid Methyl Esters(FAME) bio bunker fuels.

This fingerprint identifies the feedstock origins of the FAME-based biofuels used in the shipping industry.

GCMD said FAME fingerprinting is needed as the shipping sector is increasingly using biofuels, such as FAME, to reduce its GHG emissions. With that, concerns have arisen regarding the legitimacy of biofuels and whether they are truly sustainable.

Industry bodies are seeing a rising number of cases mislabelling biofuels purported to be made from recycled oils and fats, while suspicions persist that they might be produced from cheaper and less sustainable virgin oils.

“To address these concerns, FAME fingerprinting can be used as a potential tool to detect fraud in marine fuel supply chains and ensure biofuel authenticity. By providing a physical validation method that complements existing certification schemes, FAME fingerprinting can help justify the green premium with genuine environmental benefits and safeguard the integrity of marine fuels supply chain,” GCMD said.

FAME fingerprinting is based on the principle that the fatty acid profile of FAME is unique to its feedstock and can be preserved during feedstock transesterification to produce FAME. The "fingerprint" can then be compared against a database of known fatty acid profiles to identify the feedstock origin.

GCMD worked with VPS who modified existing fuel testing methods to carry out sample analyses using a gas chromatograph with flame-ionisation detection, an instrument commonly found in fuel test laboratories.

The analysis takes about an hour, comparable to the turnaround time for current marine fuel quality testing in the supply chain.

“We have tested this method on a variety of FAME samples from different suppliers, including virgin oils, used cooking oils, palm oil mill effluent, beef tallow and food waste and were able to identify the feedstock origins for each sample,” GCMD added.

Manifold Times previously reported Captain Rahul Choudhuri, President, Strategic Partnerships at marine fuels testing company VPS, forecasting the use of finger printing technology today will likely establish a blueprint of how future alternative bunker fuels’ feedstocks are authenticated.

Captain Choudhuri said this when he gave an update of VPS’ biofuels finger printing trials with GCMD.

Note: The full report, titled ‘Rapid forensic analysis of FAME-based biofuels: Potential use of its fingerprint as a fraud detection tool’, can be downloaded here.

Photo credit: Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonisation
Published: 2 December, 2024

Methanol

PLAGEN to produce and supply green methanol bunker fuel with Latvia plant

Korean firm’s MoU with AE Risinājumi will see construction of Latvia’s first commercial-scale green methanol production plant, which will supply green methanol to ships in EU’s maritime fleet.

Published

7 hours ago

December 2, 2024

Admin

PLAGEN to produce and supply green methanol bunker fuel with Latvia plant

South Korean clean energy firm PLAGEN on Friday (29 November) signed an MOU with Latvian company, AE Risinājumi, for the production of green methanol in Latvia at the “2024 Latvia-Korea Business Forum” hosted by the President of Latvia.

The agreement will result in the construction of Latvia's first commercial-scale green methanol production plant, which will supply green methanol to ships in the EU's maritime fleet, contributing to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from maritime transportation.

PLAGEN's MoU aims to produce 20,000 metric tonnes (mt) of green methanol per year and will begin feasibility studies in the first half of 2025, and full-scale production will begin in 2028.

With 53% of Latvia's land area covered by forests, timber production and wood processing make a significant contribution to Latvia’s economic production, which generates a large amount of forest residues and wood wastes. In addition, Latvia also has an abundance and low price of renewable electricity from wind power.

Latvia is one of the most competitive countries in the European Union, as it can produce clean methanol at a competitive price by using abundant wood waste as a raw material and renewable electricity from cheap wind power.

The use of abundant forest residues and wood wastes as a feedstock and cheap renewable electricity from wind power makes it possible to produce green methanol with a competitive price, making Latvia is one of the most competitive countries in the EU.

In the European Union, the European Emissions Trading Scheme (EU-ETS) will come into effect in 2025, requiring shipping companies to purchase carbon credits for their greenhouse gas emissions.

In addition, the EU is implementing FuelEU Maritime, which aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 2% below the 2020 average by 2025 and 80% by 2050. This is expected to result in an energy transition to green methanol.

In July 2023, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) adopted a revised strategy that calls for reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from ships to net-zero by or around 2050, and plans to introduce full-scale regulations from 2027, and shipping companies have begun ordering methanol-powered ships fueled by green methanol, a carbon-neutral fuel.

“We expect to start producing green methanol in Latvia in 2028, which will reduce greenhouse gas emissions from EU maritime transport vessels and contribute significantly to the revitalization of the Latvian economy and national energy security,” said John Kyung, CEO of PLAGEN.

In November 2024, PLAGEN completed the purchase of an industrial complex and received a government permit for the construction of the country's first green methanol plant in Dongjeom Industrial Complex in Taebaek City, Gangwon-do.

The project, which will produce 10,000 mt per year, is scheduled to begin construction in the first half of 2025 and begin production in the second half of 2027.

Photo credit: PLAGEN
Published: 2 December, 2024