Cham, 25th August 2020 - VARO Energy (VARO) today announces that it is the first company to offer its customers in Germany the possibility to meet some of the mandatory 6% FQD (Fuel Quality Directive) obligation through Upstream Emission Reductions (UERs) Certificates. This new product is now available as a result of the company’s cooperation in a newly built water treatment facility in Oman.
The first ever tranche of UER, equivalent to about 23.000 mt CO2e reduction of greenhouse gas intensity of transport fuels was awarded mid-August. It also allows VARO to cover its own FQD-related obligations.
In Germany, UERs are a new instrument to achieve a significant CO2 emission reduction through projects at the upstream side of the transport-fuel supply chain. Among a long list of regulatory rules, projects need to be newly built and prove additional CO2 reduction benefits.
The first ever German UER-approved project is a water treatment facility in Oman, owned by the German environmental solution provider BAUER Resources GmbH and its subsidiary BAUER Nimr LLC (BAUER). BAUER has been successfully treating large volumes of wastewater generated from the oil production using constructed wetlands. Traditionally, this water was disposed by re-injecting it through deep wells, far below shallow aquifers. This disposal practice is an energy-intensive process, but with BAUER’s sustainable and green solution, it is now possible to cost-effectively treat and reuse water at the surface. The shift away from deep well disposal offers substantial energy savings and CO2 emissions reductions amounting to around 75.000mt of CO2e per annum.
Following the joint effort of BAUER, GORD, Energy Changes, ClearBlue Markets and VARO to successfully secure the project approval by the German authorities (DEHSt) last year, last week VARO received the first ever tranche of German-issued UER certificates from BAUER.
Theo Pannekeet (VARO Head of Renewables) and Dr. Norbert Kamp (Managing Director VARO Germany) comment: “The BAUER produced water treatment facility is a fascinating project and we are very proud to have contributed to such an impressive and innovative journey. Through this UER project, we are able to extend our offer to our customers and support them to reduce or better manage their emissions. VARO is continuously exploring new ways of addressing and combating climate change challenges. We look forward to further extending our efforts and to successfully navigate the energy transition as a valuable partner to our customers and partners. This is another new and important step of a long journey.”
Dennis Kronborg Alexandersen, responsible for International Business Development at BAUER Resources GmbH comments: “At BAUER, we are extremely pleased with the joint efforts made by all parties to develop and realize this important carbon emission reduction project. Thanks to a dedicated operations and quality assurance team within our Omani organization, we have been able to develop sound data collection and monitoring processes, which guarantees successful and risk-free delivery of UERs. As a German company we are also pleased that our international projects can contribute to European carbon offsetting activities. We look forward to widen our customer base as we have other pioneering projects in pipeline and can offer our carbon credits in other compliance or voluntary markets.”
About VARO Energy
VARO Energy (“VARO”) is an energy company operating throughout the complete downstream fuel supply chain with refining, storage, blending, distribution, sales and marketing assets. It safely delivers high-quality fuels from fossil and renewable sources to its national and international business customers and end-consumers.
The company owns a refinery in Cressier, Switzerland, a majority share in the Bayernoil refinery, Southern Germany, as well as storage facilities, distribution and marketing businesses in Benelux, France, Germany and Switzerland.
VARO’s shareholders include private investment company Reggeborgh; Carlyle International Energy Partners, an advisory fund which is part of the global alternative asset manager The Carlyle Group; and international energy and commodities company Vitol.
For more information about VARO, please visit www.varoenergy.com.
About Bauer Resources GmbH
Based on over 30 years of experience, the Resources Segment of the BAUER Group has grown into the leader in its field both within Germany and on the international market. Bauer Resources provides a comprehensive range of services, including planning and consulting in all environmental areas. Our expert remediation work covers the treatment of contaminated soil and water, as well as landfill site remediation and disposal of mineral wastes. Not only land recycling is becoming an increasingly important aspect of our business, this also counts for a variety of services ranging from exploration drilling to construction of water wells and turnkey solutions for constructed wetlands. In 2019, Bauer Resources were ranked no. 46 on Engineering News Record’s list of Top-200 environmental firms world-wide.