TotalEnergies expands downstream low-carbon, R&D projects: Top exec

Tribune News NetworkDohaTotalEnergies’ presence in Qatar has spanned more than 85 years beginning in 1936. In the downstream sector, TotalEnergies has stakes at QAPCO, Qatofin, RLOC and Laffan Refineries 1 and 2. The company has developed initiatives to reinvent and diversify to promote renewable and decarbonised energies in Qatar, alongside refining and petrochemical products."We are continuing our efforts of recent years to improve energy efficiency in Refining and Chemicals, by leveraging our expertise in CO2 conversion, carbon capture and storage, biofuels, and plastic recycling through various ways including R&D. Our ambition is to position TotalEnergies as a leader to meet the challenges of sustainable development,” said Ghazi Shahin, Managing Director of TotalEnergies Refining & Chemicals - Qatar.At TotalEnergies Refining and Chemicals, oil and gas derivatives are converted into a variety of everyday products such as fuels, plastics, and resins. These products have numerous applications in transportation, household appliances, medical, food and industrial packaging, and other sectors.Qatar is a key development area for TotalEnergies’ refining and petrochemical activities and serves as a strategic location allowing the Company to cater to the growing demand for conversion of crude oil into high-value-added products such as polymers in the Asian and Middle East region."Meeting the growing needs of these products in the region and around the world is not only a challenge: it is also our mission. As a shareholder in major downstream activities in Qatar, we aim to share our technical know-how and integrated approach with the energy industry, particularly our partners and stakeholders,” added Shahin.Speaking about the Company’s decarbonising efforts to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, he said: "Climate change is one of the greatest challenges that the world is facing today. Man-made problems require man-made solutions. Every part of society has a role to play to combat it. TotalEnergies has embarked on a joint effort with its partners worldwide to help decarbonise industry and reach net zero emissions by 2050."Our activities are fully aligned with our ambition to reach carbon neutrality by 2050, together with our society. We are therefore performing research and development collaborations on low-carbon solutions, GHG reduction, large-scale carbon capture and storage (CCS), and renewable hydrogen production in our worldwide affiliates, to build a more sustainable future,” he added.Around the world, TotalEnergies is leveraging new technologies such as green hydrogen development and sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) production to help combat the carbon intensity of energy products used by its consumers."In Qatar, in collaboration with Texas A&M University at Qatar (TAMUQ), we are innovating reactor technologies and new processes to develop a sustainable process to convert natural gas to chemical products. This will help us to achieve low to near zero CO2 emission, and maximise energy efficiency,” said Shahin.He added: "We are perfectly positioned to meet our customers’ growing demand for more efficient and environmentally friendly polymers while producing tangible solutions to end-of-life plastics. Our investments will help us contribute to our ambition of producing 30 percent recycled and renewable polymers by 2030. Projects are already underway in Europe, with studies ongoing for Qatar”.TotalEnergies is a founding member of the Alliance to End Plastic Waste and has pledged to allocate more than $1bn to the implementation of solutions to eliminate plastic waste in the environment, with a goal to reach $1.5bn by 2025.TotalEnergies is globally working on mechanical and chemical recycling. This includes its subsidiary Synova, a leader in the production of recycled polypropylene for sustainable applications for the automotive and construction industry, as well as chemical recycling which is used as feedstock in TotalEnergies’ steam crackers to produce polymers with properties identical to virgin polymers.TotalEnergies is also a world leader in bioplastics, producing 75,000 tonnes/year of PLA (Polylactic acid), a 100 percent bio-based, recyclable and biodegradable bioplastic."We strive to contribute to the society we live in,” Shahin observed of the Company’s broader objectives. "That is a commendable ethic that, if followed with respect to the Company’s operations in Qatar and elsewhere, will produce positive results. Sustainable development has thus become front and centre for TotalEnergies’ corporate strategy, with the Company looking to provide energy that is ever more affordable, reliable and clean,” he added.