Trading Hub Europe in Germany will be responsible for implementing any changes in the rules regarding gas storage filling that are decided by national and European policymakers in response to claims that rigid targets inflate prices. According to a draft EU report due to be released next week, The European Commission intends to work on more flexible goals for EU countries in order to fill their gas storage before winter. The unwieldy acronym THE is the state-mandated manager of the gas market. He has stated that there are no decisions yet made on the timing and shape of the changes...

Dutch wholesale gas contracts recovered earlier losses which sent prices to near four-week lows. Prices also rose after an EU draft will be working on more flexible targets for filling gas storage. A draft EU document revealed that the European Commission would work to develop more flexible targets so EU countries can fill their gas storage before winter. This follows concerns from some governments about Europe's strict deadlines for filling up. According to LSEG, the benchmark front-month contract for the Dutch TTF Hub reversed earlier losses, and rose by 1,63 euros, or $15.16/mmBtu to 49.45 Euros per megawatt hour The...

A draft of the Clean Industrial Deal, which was released on Tuesday, showed that the European Commission would propose next week a wide range of measures designed to help struggling EU industries. These include helping to reduce risk in power purchase agreements and simplifying state aid rules. Ursula von der Leyen, the President of the European Commission in her second term, has focused on reversing Europe’s industrial decline. Von der Leyen released a Competitiveness Compass in January that outlined the Commission's goals for the next two-years. The Clean Industrial Deal is one of the most important packages that the Commission...

Separatist authorities announced on Friday that the pro-Russian Transdniestria region of Moldova, which is a breakaway region, has begun receiving gas under a Moscow loan. Transdniestrian leader Vadim Krsnoselsky stated in a Telegram statement that the Russian loan assistance as well as cooperation with Russia's Ministry of Energy made gas deliveries possible. The Russian gas flow to Transdniestria through Ukraine ceased at the beginning of January after Ukraine refused to renew a transit contract. Earlier this month, the Moldovan Prime minister Dorin Recean stated that his country will not block gas flows to the region. The Swiss-based MET Group subsidiary...

Kojiro Higachi, the president of Tohoku Electric Power in Japan, said that Tohoku Electric Power should review its LNG procurement strategy if it is to stop buying from Russia. Under a contract that runs for 20 years, the utility will import 420,000 metric tonnes of LNG per year from Russia's Sakhalin-2 Project. Higuchi stated that this accounted for approximately 10% of the LNG produced by his company. He said at a press conference that "we must think about (our future procurement plans) assuming we will eventually stop purchasing from Russia." Later, the company stated that no decision had been made...

American Electric Power, a U.S. utility, posted an increase in its fourth-quarter profits on Thursday as the demand for electricity from commercial customers was boosted by data centers. Big Tech is investing billions of dollars in artificial intelligence and the infrastructure required to develop it. As a result, power utilities are experiencing a massive surge in demand. Bill Fehrman, CEO, said: "In 2024 we saw significant growth in commercial loads, due largely to the economic development of Indiana, Ohio, and Texas." The utility said that it expects retail loads to grow by up to 9% per year over the next...

The German gas market manager's meeting with key stakeholders at a trade show has not led to the subsidised gas auctions that could boost underground storage caverns. In the absence of progress, the biggest economy in Europe faces a question mark over its energy supply during the winter months. The country is trying to conserve funds before a general elections. The slides of Trading Hub Europe (THE) stated that a tender was not planned at this time. However, incentives for new injections during the summer months had been discussed. THE's state supervision must decide and specify these incentives. The wholesale...

The European price of liquefied gas (LNG), currently trading at a premium compared to Asia, is reaching levels which will begin to hurt demand, said the CEO of global energy and commodities firm Vitol on Wednesday. "Europe is attracting more LNG, and the European price now exceeds the Asian price." Russell Hardy, speaking at the India Energy Week in New Delhi, said that it is usually the other way around. The higher European prices and lower temperatures have led to a greater demand for LNG in the region. Hardy stated that Europe will have sufficient gas to replenish its gas...

The U.S. Energy Information Administration's (EIA) Short-Term Energy Outlook Report, released on Tuesday, said that the U.S. production of oil is expected to be higher than previous estimates. However, it did not change its forecast for growth in demand. The EIA now expects U.S. oil production will average 13,59 million barrels per daily (bpd) by 2025. This is up from the previous estimate of 13,55 million bpd. The agency maintained its estimate of U.S. petroleum and liquid fuel consumption at 20.5 millions bpd by 2025. Donald Trump, the president of the United States, has pledged to maximize U.S. production while...

A draft document from the industry ministry showed that Vietnam's power production targets have been lowered for offshore wind and gas in this decade. Coal and other renewables will fill the gaps until nuclear reactors become part of the energy mix, which is expected to happen by 2035. The document was released late Tuesday night and is still subject to change. It aims to replace 2023's power generation plan. The Southeast Asian export hub is trying to meet the increasing electricity demand of domestic manufacturers as well as multinationals in the country. According to the revised plan Vietnam will not...

WEC Energy Group announced on Tuesday that its profit had more than doubled during the fourth quarter. The utility was able to achieve this due to lower operating costs and increased revenue. Nearly 4.7 million customers are served by the company in Wisconsin, Illinois Michigan and Minnesota. The power companies will benefit from the rise in electricity usage, which is mainly driven by artificial intelligence and data centers. Also, homes and businesses are increasingly using electricity to heat their homes and for transportation. Energy Information Administration (EIA), a U.S. government agency, expects that power consumption will reach new records in...

A company spokesperson confirmed that Norway's Equinor stopped all production from its Johan Sverdrup field in the North Sea on Tuesday due to a failure in the offshore electricity system. This is the largest oilfield producing in western Europe. The spokesperson did not elaborate. "Repair works have been started, and we're working on a plan to restart the system," he said. The oil price could be supported by the outage, as it was under pressure Tuesday due to concerns over global demand after U.S. Tariffs on China went into effect. Sverdrup produced up to 755,000 barrels per day of oil...

The Supreme Court of Sweden ruled Wednesday that Greta Thunberg and other young activists cannot sue the Swedish state over their alleged inaction against climate change. Activists A district court in 2022 could file a class-action lawsuit claiming that the state has violated their rights under the European Convention on Human Rights, by failing to do enough to limit the climate change or mitigate its effects. After the state asked for the case to be dismissed, the district court of 2023 requested clarification from the Supreme Court on whether such a lawsuit can be effectively tried in a Swedish Court....

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency granted West Virginia, the fourth such state to receive this authority, formal authority on Tuesday to oversee carbon-capture projects in the State. The agency has signed a final regulation granting West Virginia primary enforcement authority (also known as primacy) to allow so-called Class VI Wells to accelerate approvals and progress the development of massive Carbon Sequestration Projects. As one of my very first acts as EPA administrator, I'm proud to have signed this rule, which will allow West Virginia to be independent in regulating and granting permits, and also work to protect our environment and...

The court approved a debt relief of 3 billion pounds ($3.8 billion), preventing the nationalisation of Britain's largest water provider in the short-term and giving the company time to fix its finances. The government is ready to place Thames Water in special administration. Thames Water has 18 billion pounds of debt and needs temporary nationalisation in order to keep the taps running in the event of a financial collapse. The public is angry at the privatised water sector in the country, which they blame for polluting the rivers with sewage. The government is focused on reforming this sector and wants...

Friends of the Earth Netherlands, a climate activist group in the Netherlands, is bringing its case against Shell before the Netherlands Supreme Court. It continues to demand a specific target for the reduction of carbon emissions by the company and products. Shell won its appeal in November against a landmark 2021 ruling that required it to increase efforts to reduce greenhouse gases emissions. The court of appeals said Shell had a responsibility to lower emissions in order to protect the public from global warming. However, it said that they could not set a reduction target specific for the company. Friends...

According to Environment Minister Susana Muhamad, the deforestation rate in Colombia is projected to increase in 2024 compared to the previous year. However, it is still expected to be one of the lowest rates in over two decades. According to the Environment Ministry, deforestation decreased by over a third, from 1,235 square kilometers to just 792 square km (305 square miles) by 2023. Muhamad warned last year that 2023's success would not be repeated due to drought and the breakdown of talks with rebels who, according to the government, are fueling illegal logging and road construction, as well as cattle...

Johnson Matthey, a British auto catalyst manufacturer, announced on Monday that Richard Pike, an outsider, would be appointed chief financial officer and that Chairman Patrick Thomas would step down as part of its efforts to strengthen its operations. Standard Investments, the company's largest shareholder, has pushed the company to examine its operations and restructure the board in order to improve its performance. Johnson Matthey, a company that manufactures catalytic convertors and pollution filters and processes platinum-group metals for automobiles, announced Pike would join them from packaging firm DS Smith. Pike's "proven record of financial leadership" will be crucial as we...

According to two Italian Green Party lawmakers, Donald Trump Jr. broke Italian and European Union laws on environmental protection when he hunted a duck near Venice in December. Andrea Zanoni is a member of Veneto's regional assembly. Luana Zanella is a national parlamentar. They have filed separate questions in the parliament urging the regional and national authorities take action. Zanoni, in a post on Facebook, said that he saw footage of Trump Jr. standing next to a dead ruddy shaddy, a protected animal, in an EU conservation zone "Natura 2000", in the lagoon at Venice. The video shows Trump Jr....

Japan's agricultural, forest and fishery exports rose by 3.7% in 2024 to reach a new record, despite China banning seafood imports after the Fukushima nuclear plant water discharge. The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries said that exports in 2018 totaled 1.507 trillion yen, up from 1.454 billion yen by 2023. Kazuyoshi Nakasugi, deputy head of MAFF’s export policy planning department, noted that it was the 12th consecutive year of growth and a new record. He also pointed out that exports from China and Hong Kong were down, but exports in other parts of Asia and the United States increased....

Eleven U.S. States, as well as dozens of counties and cities file lawsuits Climate action lawsuits demand payment Supreme Court declines to review key case By Carey L Biron The U.S. Supreme Court now has a tacit approval of legal efforts that allow local officials to use public nuisance laws or consumer protection laws to ask major oil and gas companies for funds to cover climate change related losses and upgrades. Richard Wiles of the Center for Climate Integrity said that "the Supreme Court's ruling creates a path for communities and state to seek climate justice in state courts." The...

African countries are planning to make a new push this year at international summits for standard measures of strength economics such as the GDP in order to better recognize their vast natural resources and assets. The African Development Bank is driving the initiative in the hopes that recalibrating the GDP will automatically improve debt metrics, and ease borrowing market pressures which have triggered dozens economic crises over the past decades. It has been long debated how much money precious ecosystems could generate for the poorest countries. The U.N. estimates Africa to be home to one quarter of all mammal and...

First, there were the rapid-fires that caused so much destruction. Workers are now tackling the delicate and massive task of cleaning up hazardous debris from the wreckage of the homes that were destroyed in the Los Angeles fires earlier this month. Last week, President Donald Trump ordered the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to speed up the removal of contaminated materials. His administration set a deadline of Feb. 25, 2019. On Thursday, workers in hazmat suits and hard hats, as well as other protective gear, picked through the rubble to find paint cans, batteries, and other items. The buckets were emptied...

On Thursday, Britain provided further details about its plan to reduce carbon emissions to United Nations Climate Body. It outlined the actions it was taking to reach the ambitious targets set by Prime Minister Keir starmer last year. Starmer announced Britain's climate goals at the UN COP29 summit last year, promising to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 81 percent by 2035. He did not explain how he would achieve these goals. The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, or UNFCCC, submission announced by Britain’s climate minister Ed Miliband to Parliament is the official paperwork required by this UN body that...