Oil & Gas

Natural Gas

Energy Markets

World Bank will end nuclear energy ban, but still debate upstream gas

Ajay Banaga, president of the World Bank, said that its board had agreed to lift a ban on financing nuclear energy projects for developing countries. This is part of an effort to meet the growing demand for electricity. Banga sent an email outlining the bank's new energy strategy to its staff following what he described as a constructive meeting with the board. Banga said that the board had not reached a consensus on whether or not the bank should be involved in upstream natural-gas projects. He wrote, "This will need further discussion." In 2017, the global development bank, a lender...

Power Markets

EIA: Data centers will drive US electricity use to new highs by 2025 and '26.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said Tuesday that data centers, which are power-hungry and provide computing power to artificial intelligence and crypto currencies, will drive U.S. electric consumption to new records in 2025 and in 2026. EIA projects that power demand will increase to 4,193 billion Kilowatt Hours (kWh) by 2025, and 4,283 kWh by 2026. This is a significant rise from the record 4,097 kWh of 2024. The United States is expected to increase its electricity consumption for heating and transportation, in addition to data centres. EIA estimates that by 2025, residential customers will consume 1,517 billion kWh...

Natural Gas

Taiyo Oil purchases first Russian crude oil in over two years at government request

The Japanese refinery Taiyo Oil said that it had purchased its first Sakhalin Blend from Russia in over two years, at the request of the Japanese government. This was to ensure the stability and reliability of the plant, which also supplies Japan with liquefied gas. Trade data shows that Japan imported its last Russian crude oil in February 2023 after Tokyo and other G7 nations agreed to phase out the imports as a response to Moscow's invasion of Ukraine in 2022. According to Kpler and traders, China is the only importer of Sakhalin Blend since the Biden administration imposed sanctions...

Energy Markets

Centrica, a British company, signs a $27 billion gas deal with Equinor in Norway

British Energy's Centrica signed a 10-year contract worth over 20 billion pounds ($27.07billion) with Norwegian producer Equinor to receive gas, the companies announced on Thursday. Gas-fired power stations account for about a quarter (70%) of Britain's electricity. In a press statement, Centrica CEO Chris O'Shea stated that "this landmark agreement highlights the vital role natural gas plays in our transition to a low-carbon energy future." Equinor is supplying five billion cubic metres (bcm), or around 8%, of the gas required by Britain until 2035. The contract allows the sale of natural gas to be replaced in future with hydrogen. The...

Natural Gas

Sempra Port Arthur Phase 2 receives US approval for LNG export

The Department of Energy announced on Thursday that Sempra’s Port Arthur Phase 2 Project in Texas had won U.S. approval for exporting liquefied gas to Europe and Asia. The first final LNG export approval was given by President Donald Trump, reversing a pause in the approvals ordered by former President Biden to study the environmental and economic impacts of this booming industry. According to U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright, the project is "a significant expansion of a first phase that was already under construction – turning more liquid gold underneath our feet into energy for the American public." Port...

Electric Utilities

NextDecade: JERA signs 20-year LNG Supply Deal

NextDecade, a U.S. producer of liquefied gas, announced on Thursday that it had signed a deal for supplying Japan's largest power generator JERA 2 million tonnes of LNG per year from the fifth liquefaction plant in its Rio Grande Project. Early trading saw NextDecade shares up 5.5% to $8.11. The United States will be the largest LNG exporter in the world in 2024. It is expected to ship 11.9 billion cubic foot per day. This has been boosted by President Donald Trump lifting a moratorium in January on new export licenses. NextDecade’s deal with JERA - Japan's largest LNG buyer...

Natural Gas

Poland reduces household gas prices and increases the chances of lower interest rate

The Polish energy regulator has reduced the gas prices charged by wholesaler PGNiG to households, hospitals and schools as well as vulnerable users such as schools and hospitals by 14.8%. This increases the chances of further interest rate reductions. The regulator, URE said that gas distribution fees will remain the same, resulting in average bills dropping between 8.1% to 11%, depending on consumption volume. The regulator sets the gas prices for household use, and this has a significant impact on inflation. The main reason for the central bank's hesitation to reduce interest rates was uncertainty over energy prices. ING economists...

Fossil Fuels

Prices of European Gases remain stable as a weaker demand offsets Norwegian Supply Cuts

The Dutch and British wholesale prices of gas were not much different on Tuesday morning, as the warmer weather helped to reduce demand and offset a weaker Norwegian supply due to maintenance at Troll gas fields. LSEG data shows that the benchmark Dutch front-month contract was 36.84 euros per Megawatt Hour (MWh) or $12.25/mmBtu at 0818 GMT. This is a decrease of 0.31 euros. The Dutch July contract increased by 0.06 Euros to 36.88 euros/MWh. The British day-ahead contracts rose 0.35 pence, to 87.60p/therm. In a daily research report, LSEG analyst Saku Jusli stated that "demand is slowly decreasing with...

Renewable Energy

Danish trader InCommodities reports a 47% decline in profit annually as trading slows

InCommodites - a Danish energy trading company backed by Goldman Sachs - reported on Monday a 47% decline in its pretax profits for 2024, citing lower volatility and fewer trading opportunities. The company's profit before taxes was 72.5 million euro ($82.28) down from 136.4 millions the previous year. This is its lowest level since 2020, but it still falls within a range of target of 50 to 140 million euro. It has predicted a profit before tax of 85 to 195 millions euros for 2025. The company's report stated that "the 2024 performance was shaped primarily by a smaller number...

Climate Change

Woodside's North West Shelf expansion is a result of a study on ancient Australian rock art

A study released Friday, days before a decision is made on the extension of Woodside's large gas project in Western Australia, found that emissions from industrial sites are not damaging ancient rock art. Why it's important The findings of the ongoing Murujuga rock art monitoring program by the Western Australian Government could pave the way for Woodside to extend its North West Shelf liquefied gas (LNG), as well as adding the Murujuga Cultural Landscape on the UNESCO World Heritage list. CONTEXT Murujuga is a rock art that is believed to be as old as 50,000 years. It is culturally and...

Renewable Energy

Prices for Europe GAS hit a six-week high due to tighter supplies, Middle East and Ukraine concerns, and concerns about tighter supply.

The Dutch and British wholesale prices of gas rose on Wednesday to their highest level in over six weeks, boosted by a lower Norwegian supply, the competition for liquefied gas, and concerns about peace talks in Ukraine and unrest in Middle East. The benchmark Dutch front month contract rose 0.48 euros to 37.63 euros per Megawatt Hour at 0813 GMT. This was its highest level since 7 April. The British contract for the month of June increased by 1.29 pence, to 90.31 p/therm. This is the highest price since April 4. Day-ahead gas rose 0.70 pence to 90.50 p/therm. A...

Fossil Fuels

Mubadala Energy is ready to sell South Andaman Gas to Indonesia at the right price

A senior executive at Mubadala Energy said that the company would be happy to provide all of the natural gas produced in its South Andaman Block for Indonesian domestic consumption, and do so at the best possible price. Indonesia wants producers of gas to increase their supplies to domestic consumers as the demand is increasing. The producers have been focusing on exports of LNG and asked the government to revise price caps for domestic gas. They argue that it is not a good business decision when spot LNG prices are so high. Abdulla Bu Ali (President Director of Mubadala Energy...

Environment

Climate Change

The EU's leading legislator on sustainability laws suggests more cuts

The European Union needs to further reduce the number of businesses subject to its corporate sustainability and environmental rules, said the European Parliament Member leading the negotiations on these policies on Thursday. The European Commission announced in February a "simplification package" that would allow European companies to compete more effectively with their foreign competitors by reducing the reporting requirements and obligations for sustainability. According to Swedish center-right legislator Jorgen Warborn who has proposed amendments that would further scale back laws to cover only companies with at least 3,000 employees and a turnover of over 450 millions euros ($521million) he believes...

Fossil Fuels

US CPC expects ENSO neutral weather conditions in June and August.

The United States Climate Prediction Center announced on Thursday that El Nino-Southern Oscillation neutral conditions will be likely in summer 2025 in the Northern Hemisphere, with an 82% chance of occurring in June-August. ENSO neutral conditions could continue into winter 2025-2026. However, confidence is lower. There's a 48% chance for neutral, and a 41% chance for La Nina. Why it's important La Nina is a part of El Nino-Southern Oscillation, a climatic cycle that affects the water temperatures in central and eastern Pacific Ocean. La Nina causes cooler water temperatures which increases the risk of droughts and floods. This can...

Climate Change

Indonesia invites foreign investors to invest in seawall worth $80 billion that will protect the coasts against flooding

The President of Indonesia, Prabowo Subianto, announced on Thursday that foreign investors were invited to invest in Indonesia's plan for a seawall of hundreds of kilometers to prevent flooding along the north coast Java island. The project builds on a plan from 2014 by the government of Jakarta to protect the city against rising sea levels and subsidence which have caused frequent floods along the north Java coastline. Prabowo announced that he will form an agency for the project to build a giant seawall stretching from Banten province to East Java, which could take up to 20 years to finish....

LNG

Pollution

Coal

Sources say that Trump Administration is set to announce rollbacks of power plant regulations

According to three sources, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will announce Wednesday that it is rolling back the Biden administration's rules to reduce carbon dioxide, mercury, and other air pollutants from power plants. This follows through on the promise made by the agency in March. The announcement is a major step in President Donald Trump’s efforts to undo environmental regulations that he believes are unnecessary barriers to industrial growth and increased energy production. In March, EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin announced his intention to undo three dozen air and water regulations. Sources say Zeldin is expected to roll back carbon...

Pollution

What is the High Seas Treaty for protecting world oceans?

While many countries have taken steps to protect vast, ungoverned areas of the oceans around the world, their High Seas Treaty has yet to come into force. The U.N. Oceans Conference, which is taking place in Nice this week, hopes to change this. What is the High Seas Treaty? Signed in 2023, the treaty provides a legal framework to create marine protected zones on the “high seas”, or ocean areas beyond national jurisdiction. Less than 3% are currently protected, despite the fact that the oceans cover more than two thirds of our planet. The treaty includes 75 points that cover...

Pollution

Canadian Indigenous wildfire evacuees seek refuge at Niagara Falls

Joseph Garry, aged 63, was forced to flee the Mathias Colomb Cree Nation, or Pukatawagan in Manitoba's remote northern region, as wildfires spread. He took a helicopter from his Mathias Colomb Cree Nation reserve. He and other evacuees took three different government flights, before boarding a shuttle bus to reach Niagara Falls, Canada’s most popular tourist attraction, some 2,000 km from his home. Since the beginning of May, scores of wildfires have spread across Canada, forcing more than 35,000 people to flee in three provinces. Smoke has also been spreading into the United States and disrupting crude and mining production....

Climate Change

UN urges ratification to treaty protecting fragile oceans

U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres urged world leaders on Monday to ratify an agreement that would allow nations the ability to create protected marine areas within international waters. He warned that human activity is destroying ocean eco-systems. Guterres spoke at the opening ceremony of the third U.N. Ocean Conference in Nice warned that illegal fishing and plastic pollution, as well as rising sea temperatures, threatened fragile ecosystems and people who depended on them. The ocean is a shared resource. Guterres stated that we were failing to protect the ocean, citing collapsed fish stocks, rising levels of sea water and acidification....

Pollution

Smoke from Canadian wildfires spreads to a third of the US

Forecasters reported that smoke from wildfires burning across three Canadian provinces covered a third or more of the U.S. Wednesday. However, the air quality was not affected except for New England, parts of New York State and the Midwest. According to the National Weather Service Weather Prediction Center, College Park, Maryland, the haze that brought dangerous levels of particulate pollutants to Minnesota the day before, stretched from Dakotas to Ohio Valley to the Northeast, and even as far as Georgia. The haze was particularly thick in New York, New England and the Midwest. Marc Chenard, National Weather Service, said that...

Pollution

Scientists in Japan have developed plastic that dissolves within hours in seawater

Researchers in Japan developed a plastic which dissolves in the seawater in just a few hours. This could be a solution to a problem that is destroying oceans today and harming animals. Researchers from the RIKEN Center for Emergent Matter Science at the University of Tokyo claim that their new material breaks up much faster and leaves no residue trace. The team showed that a piece of plastic vanished from a container of salted water after stirring it for an hour. The team's research, according to project leader Takuzo Aida, has drawn a lot of interest from the packaging industry....

Pollution

KKR pulls out of Thames Water Rescue Deal

Thames Water announced that U.S. Private Equity firm KKR pulled out of a multi-billion pound plan to save the company. This has reignited fears about Britain's largest supplier needing to be nationalised in order to avoid a financial collapse. The company's 18 billion pound ($24.35billion) debt load has pushed it to the edge. It was counting on KKR to invest about 4 billion pounds of new equity in order to stabilize its finances. The government said that it was prepared to temporarily nationalise Thames Water if the company failed to recapitalise. The utility has become the focus of public anger...

Energy Markets

Britain faces race to avoid $1 Billion in EU Carbon Tax Costs

Market experts say that Britain will have a difficult time linking its carbon market with the EU's within the next seven months to avoid UK companies being charged the carbon border tariff by the EU and facing annual bills of around 800 million pounds ($1.08billion) for the UK. As part of "a reset" of relations following Britain's exit from the European Union in 2016, the two sides announced that they would link their carbon emission trading systems by the year end. The two sides have not set a deadline or described the steps that need to be taken before January...

Pollution

EU advisors warn against lowering new climate goal

Independent advisers to the European Union have warned against lowering the planned climate goal for 2040, while EU officials are considering a softer target in order to curb a political backlash towards ambitious environmental policies. In July, the European Commission will propose a legally-binding target for EU countries to reduce their emissions by 90 percent by 2040 compared to 1990 levels. Brussels, however, is considering options to overcome the pushback of governments. These include setting a lower goal for domestic industries and using international credits to bring up the gap. The European Scientific Advisory Board on Climate Change, or ESABCC,...

Pollution

Sources say that the EU will propose a more flexible climate goal for July.

EU diplomats said that the European Commission would propose a new EU Climate Target in July, which will include flexibility for countries to meet. This is part of Brussels' efforts to combat mounting criticisms about Europe's environmental goals. Wopke hoekstra, the European Union's Climate Commissioner, confirmed Wednesday that he would present a 2040 EU climate goal on July 2 during a closed-door meeting with EU country representatives. Diplomats stated that the proposal would set an EU target to reduce net greenhouse gas emission by 90% from 1990 levels by 2040. The EU executive intends to make this target more flexible,...

Pollution

West Africa ECOWAS at 50: Jihadist violence, coups and more

The Economic Community of West African States faces growing threats from terrorism, climate changes, military coups and poverty, said its most senior official on Wednesday, as leaders celebrated 50 years since the formation of the bloc in Nigeria. This year, jihadist violence in Nigeria, the Sahel, Burkina Faso and Mali has increased. These nations recently left ECOWAS to protest sanctions after military coups. Omar Alieu Touray, President of the ECOWAS Commission, said: "We face the biggest challenges today, terrorism and climate change, unconstitutional changes in government, poverty, and economic disparities." He expressed confidence that the challenges would be overcome. ECOWAS...

Pollution

Cummins India's quarterly profit drops as rising costs offset the price increases

Cummins India announced a lower profit for the fourth quarter on Wednesday as rising costs offset price increases it made to some of its generators. The company is a subsidiary of U.S. truck-engine maker Cummins Inc. Its profit was 5.30 billion rupees (about $62.1 million), which is 1.7% less than the 5.39 billion rupees it made a year earlier. Analysts attribute the company's increased sales of 6.4%, to 24.14 billion rupies, to higher prices during the quarter. This is especially true for its CPCB generator sets. About 40% of the sales are CPCB4+ generators, which comply with India's Federal Pollution...

Wind Farms

Wind Farms

Chartwell Marine to Design CTV for NR Marine Services

NR Marine Services has commissioned Chartwell Marine to design a new crew transfer vessel (CTV) in response to client requests for a new class of vessel capable of supporting older generation assets, now referred to as legacy turbines.Chartwell Marine has developed the Defiant Class vessel, a 20-meter CTV designed to Workboat Code Edition 3 with IMO Tier 3 compliance featuring a step free flush forward deck, superstructure and modern furnishings and materials used in larger CTVs.The Defiant Class comes in response to the need for a new class of smaller CTV required for legacy turbines.The vessel will retain flexibility to...

Wind Farms

UK: Renewables Workforce to Grow to 42,000 In Next Five Years

New research published today by the Engineering Construction Industry Training Board (ECITB) has revealed that the engineering construction industry (ECI) workforce deployed in renewables, hydrogen and carbon capture and storage could total more than 42,000 by the end of the decade.The ECITB’s latest forecast reports that by 2030 the offshore wind workforce could grow to more than 28,000, an increase of 48%, while the CCS sector workforce within the ECI could increase by 144% to more than 3,750.The hydrogen workforce could grow to more than 4,500, an increase of 195%, while the combined workforce across other renewable sectors, including onshore...

Wind Farms

GHD Tackles Offshore Wind Noise Impacts with New Modelling Kit

Engineering specialist GHD has unveiled a new subsea noise modelling program designed to mitigate the environmental impacts of offshore wind farms.GHD's solution, the RAT (R Acoustics Toolbox), has been developed to address challenges related to underwater noise by providing a bespoke, web-based interface that utilizes existing algorithms in a customizable manner.Developed using R programming language, the RAT is said to enhance efficiency and accuracy in underwater noise modelling. The program automates processes such as transect generation and data handling, which were previously done manually, and represents complex numerical data visually, making it easier to understand and analyses.The company is conducting...