Natural Gas

CenterPoint Energy announced a decline in its first-quarter profits on Thursday. However, the U.S. utility increased its capital expenditure plans to meet anticipated demand from data centres used for artificial intelligence technology. In January, a winter storm along the U.S. Gulf Coast slowed down major cities such as Houston and New Orleans and broke the record for coldest day in the region. Damage to power lines, and the widespread outages that followed, increased operating and maintenance costs for utilities. CenterPoint reported that its O&M cost rose by 5.4% compared to a year earlier, reaching $747 million in the third quarter....

On a Tuesday visit to India, JD Vance, the Vice President of the United States, said that the United States was looking to sell more defence and energy equipment to India. He added that the ties between India and the United States will shape this century. In a speech delivered in Jaipur, a city in northwestern India, he stated that if India and the United States worked together effectively we would see a prosperous and peaceful 21st century. "But I believe that the 21st Century could be very dark for humanity if we do not work together effectively." After their...

The Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis said that reopening coal plants decommissioned to achieve this goal would be "no longer economically viable". IEEFA reported that Trump's executive order could delay the closing of coal-fired plants and encourage restarting of 102 coal-fired units recently closed. The report states that the units have had a total generation capacity of 36.566 megawatts for the last four years. However, only a few are likely to be reopened. As coal plants age, their maintenance costs rise. This in turn increases the cost of generation. IEEFA stated that in addition to these costs any...

According to a letter sent by community groups to the county health department, Elon Musk's xAI nearly doubled the number of gas turbines in its Tennessee data center. This is more than the previously known numbers and the number that the company had submitted for permits. Southern Environmental Law Center, along with local groups, has called on the Health Department to stop operating all turbines until the company adheres to the Clean Air Act as well as local protections. The Environmental Protection Agency, Shelby County Health Department, and xAI have not responded to our requests for comment. The Southern Environmental...

Exxon Mobil said on Thursday that the higher prices of crude oil, natural gas and oil refining will boost its first-quarter profits by $900 million over the previous quarter. Exxon Mobil, the largest U.S. energy company, gets most of its operating profits from oil and gas production. Its earnings snapshot is closely monitored for clues as to how the industry will do when companies report quarterly results in the next few weeks. Benchmark Brent crude averaged $74.98 per barrel in the first quarter. This was up 1.3% compared to the previous quarter but down by 9% compared to a year...

The wholesale gas prices in the Netherlands and Britain fell on Tuesday as mild weather reduced demand. Market participants also watched the U.S. led talks in Saudi Arabia aimed at ending the conflict in Ukraine. LSEG data shows that the Dutch front-month contract fell by 0.53 euros to 41.75 Euro per Megawatt Hour (MWh) or $13.35/mmBtu by 0900 GMT. The British front-month contracts was down 0.50 pence to 102.50p/therm. LSEG data shows that temperatures in north-west Europe will be 0.1-0.2C milder than normal and range between 7C and 9C. This is slightly above average. Ulrich Weber, LSEG analyst, said that...

Alaskan state officials, including the governor and energy officials, visited South Korea to discuss energy collaboration on Tuesday. This was in response to President Donald Trump's call for U.S. ally countries to join an stalled pipeline project. The American Chamber of Commerce in Korea said that the Governor Mike Dunleavy delegation included officials from the Glanfarne Group, which is a partner in a project to transport natural gas from Alaska's remote northern region via a $44-billion pipeline, and the state agency for gas. Dunleavy and South Korean Industry Minister Ahn duk-geun discussed energy issues including the Alaska LNG project and...

OPEC+ released a new schedule on Thursday for seven members nations to continue to cut oil production to compensate for pumping over agreed levels. This will be more than the monthly production increases the group plans to implement next month. According to a table posted on the OPEC website, the plan calls for monthly cuts between 189,000 barrels a day and 435,000 bpd. The planned cuts will last until June 20,26. OPEC+ (which includes OPEC, Russia, and other allies) has agreed to a series steps to support the global market. Since 2022, they have cut their output by 5,85 million...

Alaska's Governor and State Representatives will be visiting Japan and three other Asian Countries starting this week in order to court investors for the natural gas project that President Donald Trump claims could pump trillions into the U.S. Tim Fitzpatrick, spokesperson for the Alaska Gasline Development Corporation and Glenfarne Group, said that officials from both organizations will be visiting allied Asian nations "to inform industry leaders about Alaska LNG's competitive advantages and economics", and to discuss possible opportunities. Officials want to ship liquefied gas from Alaska's remote northern region to Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan via a 1,300 km (800...

Executives at the CERAWeek Conference in Houston explained that artificial intelligence has accelerated oil and gas drilling, and prompted companies to reconsider areas they previously deemed too expensive or difficult to develop. AI was a major topic in several sessions of the largest energy conference. Oil producers are looking for ways to stay profitable amid a plummeting price of oil and concerns that U.S. president Donald Trump's tariffs may slow down global energy demand. Ann Davies, BP’s senior vice-president of wells, revealed that the UK oil giant BP uses AI to predict problems and steer drill bits before they occur....

The Dutch and British gas price continued to drop on Friday morning, amid high expectations for wind power production and talk of a potential ceasefire in the Ukraine conflict. The Dutch front-month contracts > dropped by 0.29 euros to 41.79 Euro per megawatt hour at 0907 GMT on ICE. The Dutch March contract fell by 0.27 euros to 41.66 Euro/MWh. The British front-month contracts were down 0.43 pence to 102.56 p/therm. LSEG data indicated that stronger wind speeds are expected for the beginning of next week. Gas for power in Northwest Europe is forecast to be down 201 gigawatt-hours a...

The best way to navigate the challenges that the U.S. president Donald Trump's inconsistent and erratic trade policies are posing for the global commodity markets is to ignore the noise and concentrate on the fundamentals. While the media focuses on every headline-grabbing announcement or social media post regarding new and retaliatory duties from the U.S. president and his administration the commodity markets continue to do what they have done in the past: adapt to rapidly changing conditions. It's important to distinguish between commodities that are already affected by Trump's policies and those likely to be impacted in the future. There...

Taiwan's Premier proposed on Thursday another $10 billion as a budget special to help the economy cope with the impact U.S. Tariffs. Taiwan was due to receive 32% U.S. Tariffs in two weeks, but President Donald Trump suspended his "reciprocal Tariffs" for 90-days. At a press conference held in Taipei on Tuesday, Premier Cho Jung Tai said that the initial T$88.9 billion ($2.71billion) aid package will be increased up to T$410.9 billion ($12.61billion), which includes financing assistance for businesses, measures to stabilize the job market, and subsidies for electric. The special budget must be approved by the parliament. Opposition parties,...

The Ministry of Finance (MOF), on Thursday, reported that Japan's crude oil imports cleared by customs in 2024 fell 7.1% from the previous year, and the value of the imported crude oil dropped 5.7%, to 10.65 trillion Japanese yen ($74.7billion), due to the lower oil price. The preliminary data show that Japan, which is the fourth largest crude buyer in the world, imported 2,32 million barrels of crude oil per day (134,67 million kilolitres), for the period ending March 31. The MOF reported that this was the second consecutive decline in value and volume year-over-year. The volume of Japan's LNG...

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...

After Beijing retaliated to President Donald Trump’s tariffs by imposing its own measures, the trade between China and the United States in crude oil and liquefied gas is now effectively dead. China, which is the largest importer of three energy commodities in the world, imposed import duties on Tuesday of 15% for U.S. coal and LNG, and 10% for crude oil and farm machinery. Beijing made its move after the Trump administration imposed a 10% additional tariff on all Chinese imports into the United States. The 10% tax was less than the 60% Trump had threatened during his last-year campaign...

Japanese power generator JERA and city gas supplier Toho Gas stated on Monday they will develop the No. 7 and No. 8 gasfired power systems at JERA's Chita thermal power station in central Japan, targeting operations in 2029. The 2 new systems, each with a capability of 659.9 megawatts ( MW), will replace the decommissioned No. 1- No. 4 gas-fired systems, which had actually an integrated capacity of 225.8 MW, a JERA spokesperson said. Ownership of the new units will be split in between the 2 business, with JERA taking a 75% stake and Toho Gas 25%. Electrical energy output...

Japan wants renewable energy to account for approximately 50% of its electrical energy mix by fiscal year 2040 with nuclear power using up another 20%, according to a. draft of its revised standard energy policy, as it makes a tidy. energy push while meeting rising power need. As the world's second-largest importer of melted natural. gas and a major consumer of Middle Eastern oil, Japan and its. fundamental energy plans are drawing worldwide attention from oil, gas. and coal producers. Thermal power usage, particularly from inefficient. coal-fired power plants, is set to decrease to in between 30% and. 40% by...

Asia's imports of Russian crude oil and melted natural gas are set to log little declines this year and while coal had a bigger drop, there's little evidence that Western sanctions are working well. Russia has concerned depend on Asia, the world's most significant purchaser of energy products, to absorb freights that are no longer able to be sold to buyers in Europe and elsewhere as an outcome of sanctions put against Moscow in the wake of the February 2022 intrusion of Ukraine. China and India became significant buyers of Russian crude, coal and LNG after the invasion, taking freights...

Asia's biggest oil and gas manufacturer PetroChina Co Ltd reported a 5.3% yearonyear decline in thirdquarter net revenue as weaker fuel sales and lower oil rates exceeded growing gas and oil output. Net revenue was up to 43.91 billion yuan ($ 6.15 billion), the business said in a stock filing on Tuesday. Revenue fell 12.4% to 702.4 billion yuan. PetroChina's net profit stayed the highest amongst domestic peers. Offshore oil and gas manufacturer CNOOC Ltd posted record quarterly revenues of 36.93 billion yuan while top Asian refiner Sinopec Corp's halved to 8.5 billion yuan in the exact same three-month duration....

Japan's leading power generator, JERA, said on Tuesday its AprilSeptember internet earnings halved, hit by a steep drop in gains from lagged fuel price modifications and its U.S. power generation organization. The utility adhered to its annual earnings price quote of 200 billion yen ($ 1.3 billion), that included the impact of the shutdown of its Taketoyo coal-fired power plant following a fire on Jan. 31. No date has been set yet for rebooting the plant. JERA, an unlisted business jointly owned by Tokyo Electric Power and Chubu Electric Power, reported internet profit of 138.9 billion yen for the six...

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission allowed Chevron's $53 billion purchase of Hess Corp on Monday, in an order that disallowed Hess CEO John Hess from Chevron's board. The FTC's order leaves Exxon Mobil's difficulty to the deal, which is anticipated to stretch deep into next year, as its final difficulty. The proposed merger included a Chevron board seat for Hess when it was first revealed last October, and the FTC sent a. second details demand to Chevron 2 months later on. Hess had actually interacted publicly and privately with members of. the Company of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). group...

Japan's biggest oil and gas explorer Inpex on Thursday reported a 14.5% drop in its firsthalf net profit, but raised its yearly dividend forecast and revealed an additional share buyback strategy to improve shareholder returns. For the complete year, it stayed with its earnings forecast of 360 billion yen ($ 2.5 billion) regardless of lower than predicted output at its crucial Ichthys liquefied natural gas project in Australia. Net profit for the 6 months through June 30 was up to 212.6 billion yen from 248.5 billion a year previously due to increased expedition expenditures in Australia and higher tax payments....

China's imports of major products continued to lose momentum in July, with petroleum arrivals plunging to the weakest in almost 2 years, while those of iron ore, coal, copper and gas were mostly consistent. The headline-grabber in Wednesday's official information release was the drop in petroleum imports to 9.97 million barrels per day in July, the lowest daily given that September 2022. China, the world's biggest importer of crude, has seen arrivals slump this year, with imports of 10.90 million bpd in the very first 7 months of the year, down 2.9% from the 11.22 million bpd over the very...