In the background of the recent winter storm Uri that hit the USA, IHS Markit is providing an update on the US oil and gas production as well as the refining and petrochemicals sector in the region.

The MOL Group has begun biofuel production at its Danube Refinery in Hungary. The move is in line with the company’s updated strategy of ‘Shape Tomorrow’ and the firm will make use of bio feedstock to create sustainable diesel.

Total and the Shenergy Group have entered into an agreement to supply up to 1.4 million tons per annum of LNG from Total, along with the establishment of a joint venture to further market LNG in China.

OMV intends to develop a ‘Glycerin2Propanol’ pilot plant at its Schwechat Refinery in Austria which will produce second-generation biofuels. The company will use a patented process for the production phase and the unit is expected to be operational in 2023.

The H2Teesside project is expected to produce 1 GW of blue hydrogen and is in line with the UK’s goal of achieving 5 GW of hydrogen production by 2030. The project will also assist in decarbonizing the industries in the region.

The German Machinery and Plant Manufacturers Association (VDMA) has recently revealed that new orders booked by members of the VDMA Large Industrial Plant Manufacturers´ Group (AGAB) in 2020 were 35 % below the previous year’s level however, industry players are optimistic that there will be an upswing in 2021.

Bota Bio is developing a next-generation biotechnology platform which is a combination of computation and cutting-edge biotechnology. The platform is expected to assist sustainable and economical production of high value products for a broad array of industrial applications.

Under the terms of the agreement, Total and Microsoft will collaborate to explore and co-innovate across numerous segments including sustainability, digital transformation and AI in order to achieve a net-zero economy.

Enegix Energy’s Base One facility which is claimed to be the world’s largest green hydrogen plant is expected to produce more than 600 million kilogrammes of green hydrogen every year.

Numaligarh Refinery has selected Axens for its Numaligarh Refinery Expansion Project in Assam, India. Under the terms of the agreement, the refinery’s crude capacity will be expanded from 3 MTPA to 9 MTPA by setting up a new refinery of 6 MTPA.