Category: Industrial

Romanian oil and gas group OMV Petrom has commissioned a new sulphur recovery unit at its Petrobrazi refinery, near the southern city of Ploiesti. Development work on the new SRU began in 2023, and represents the second at the site, treating acid gas produced during the refining process. The euro 45 million investment is part of euro 2 billion of improvements that have been made over the past 20 years as part of the company’s strategy to modernise its refining capabilities, aiming to reduce environmental impact. Last year, the company said it would invest around euro 750 million to build several sustainable fuel plants at the refinery, which are expected to become operational in 2028.

The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), working in partnership with Italy’s Eni and Thailand’s PTT Exploration and Production, has completed a structured financing transaction of up to $11 billion for its huge Hail and Ghasha sour gas development. Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, UAE’s Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and ADNOC’s Managing Director and Group CEO, commented: “This landmark transaction builds on ADNOC’s successful track record of global energy partnerships and unlocks capital to drive progress at Hail and Ghasha, one of the world’s most ambitious offshore gas projects. The exceptional demand from over 20 leading global and regional financial institutions reinforces confidence in ADNOC’s value creation strategy, innovative approach to financing, and expertise in delivering mega projects. Hail and Ghasha is an important contributor to ADNOC’s gas strategy and is on track to generate significant value for ADNOC, our partners, and the UAE, while unlocking important new gas resources for our customers.”

Metso says it has won a €180 million order for the delivery of engineering and key process equipment for a new primary copper smelter investment at an undisclosed location in Asia. The planned production capacity of the copper smelter complex is 300,000 t/a of copper cathodes and 1.1 million t/a of sulphuric acid, based on licensed Outotec® Flash Smelting, PS Converting and Lurec® technologies. It includes the design and supply of key process equipment for the main areas of the smelter complex, and the gas cleaning and sulphuric acid plant, copper electrolytic refinery, and precious metals refinery. The delivery also comprises site services and spares.

Ecovyst Inc, a provider of sulphuric acid, sulphuric acid regeneration services and catalyst activation services, has announced today that it has completed the sale of its Advanced Materials & Catalysts segment to Technip Energies. The company expects net proceeds after taxes and transaction expenses to be approximately $530 million.

Australia’s Nickel Industries is to sell a 10% share of the Excelsior Nickel Cobalt high-pressure acid leach (HPAL) project in Indonesia to South Korea’s Sphere Corp. The $240 million price tag represents a $2.4 billion valuation for the company. Sphere will acquire the stake from Hong Kong-based Decent Resource, while Nickel Industries will retain its 44% stake in the project, according to Nickel Industries.

PT Vale Indonesia Tbk says it has officially received the first two autoclave units for the Pomalaa high-pressure acid leaching (HPAL) project, a key component of the Indonesia Growth Project (IGP) Pomalaa. This delivery marks a critical milestone in preparing Indonesia’s high-tech nickel processing facility for operation. The welcoming ceremony was attended by PT Vale and PT Kolaka Nickel Industry (KNI) management, along with strategic project partners including Indonesia Pomalaa Industrial Park (IPIP), Huayou Southern Construction Command, MCC20, and other stakeholders.

Ivanhoe Mines says that the first copper anodes were produced by Kamoa-Kakula’s 500,000 t/a direct-to-blister copper smelter on December 29, 2025, approximately five weeks after the commencement of the smelter’s heat-up and one week after the first feed of concentrate.

Metso has booked the third part of its order for JSC Almalyk Mining and Metallurgical Complex’s copper smelter project based on the equipment and project services delivery contracts announced on August 9, 2024. The first parts of the order, worth €146 million were booked in 4Q 2024, and the second part, worth €50 million in 1Q 2025. The order value recorded in 4Q 2025 is €70 million.

Three German subsidiaries of the Belgian chemical group DOMO Chemicals have filed for insolvency, following weak demand in the European chemicals sector, high energy costs and a significant increase in imports of polyamide resins from outside the European Union, in particular from China. Court appointed administrator Prof. Lucas F. Flöther said that day-to-day operations would continue for the time being. Around 585 employees are affected across the three companies; DOMO Chemicals GmbH and DOMO Caproleuna GmbH in Leuna and DOMO Engineering Plastics GmbH in Premnitz.

Viva Energy has commissioned a new ultra-low sulphur gasoline (ULSG) plant at its Geelong refinery to meet Australia’s updated fuel standards, which came into effect on December 15. Under the standards, all gasoline grades must contain a maximum of 10 parts per million (ppm) sulphur, a so-called Euro-V standard. The ULSG plant was officially opened by the Minister for Climate Change and Energy, Chris Bowen MP, alongside Viva Energy Chairman Robert Hill and CEO Scott Wyatt.