Gas giants claim that Australia's opposition plan to reserve supplies may worsen the shortage
Gas giants around the world said that a proposal made by Australia's coalition of opposition to force producers to divert more gas from exports into the domestic market in an attempt to win votes would discourage investment and not solve the looming gas shortages. The conservative Liberal-National Coalition has pledged to lower power bills by implementing a gas reservations scheme. The center-left Labor government led by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has introduced a cap on wholesale gas prices…
Shell warns that Australia's gas reservations plan could worsen shortages
Shell warned Tuesday that Australia's proposal to force more gas from export onto the domestic market would end up discouraging investment and worsening shortages. Energy has become a major issue in the campaign ahead of Australia's general election on May 3. The conservative Liberal-National Coalition pledged to lower power bills and avoid a shortage on the East Coast through a reservation scheme. Shell Australia Chair Cecile wake said that export controls are not the best solution. She also questioned if they would have a material impact on consumer prices.
Sources say India is considering scrapping the import tax on US LNG to boost purchases.
Four government and industry sources have said that India is considering scrapping the import tax on U.S. LNG to increase purchases and reduce the trade surplus, which is a major irritation for President Donald Trump. Both sides want to increase volumes in order to meet the energy needs of India's fast-growing economy. Qatar is India's top LNG supplier. India and the United States agreed that they would increase their energy purchases in the U.S. by $10 to $25 billion over the next few years. Both leaders also agreed to reach $500 billion of bilateral trade by 2030.
Sources claim that Indian state firms are interested in SQM’s lithium projects in Australia.
Four sources have confirmed that four Indian state firms were in discussions with Chilean mining company SQM about acquiring a 20% stake of its two projects in Australia. The deal would cost $600 million. This is New Delhi's largest effort to secure supplies for the metal used in EV batteries. Sources said that Khanij Bidesh India Ltd, a government-backed company, has partnered up with Coal India Ltd, Oil India Ltd, and ONGC Videsh in order to secure a 20% stake in SQM’s Mount Holland Lithium Project and Andover Lithium Project in Western Australia.
Australia pours billions into missile procurement amidst global shortages
Australia's plans for developing its own missile component capability will likely be slowed by the Ukraine war and increased European defense spending, even though it is pushing ahead with a multi-billion dollar effort to purchase long-range attack missiles. Last year, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese committed A$74 billion (46.68 billion dollars) for missile acquisition. This included A$21 billion towards the establishment of a Guided Weapons and Explosive Ordnance Enterprise. His Labor government had reshaped Australia's defence policy to counter China's military buildup.
Australia's east Coast could experience gas shortages during winter, warns regulator
The Australian Competition Regulator warned on Thursday that the East Coast could be left with a shortage of gas during its winter period spanning from July to September if LNG producers export all their gas not contracted. In its quarterly update, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission said that the east coast may face a shortage of 9 petajoules while the southern states might face a 40 PJ deficit. Winter in Australia is a time of peak demand for gas due to the colder temperatures. Unexpected weather events and power plant failures can also increase the risk of shortages.
The prize is worth billions of dollars, but winning it is the key: Russell
Decarbonising steel is one of the biggest challenges to meeting climate goals. However, it could be extremely profitable for those companies and governments willing to take on the risk. Steel value chain is responsible for 7 to 9% global carbon emissions. It is the biggest industrial contributor, and therefore a primary target for many countries' and companies' goals for net-zero in 2050. About 80% of the steel emissions are caused by one single process. This is the removal of oxygen and other impurities from iron ore to produce pig iron, or crude iron. The process now requires vast amounts of coal.
Trafigura cancels plans to build a $471 million hydrogen facility in South Australia
Trafigura, the global trading company for commodities, has canceled plans to build a green hydrogen plant worth A$750m ($471.2m) at its Port Pirie Lead Smelter in South Australia. A spokesperson said this on Tuesday. Trafigura, a Swiss company, had commissioned a design study, funded jointly by the South Australian government and Trafigura, in order to reduce the carbon emissions of the plant. Trafigura has completed a feasibility study worth A$5million for a green hydrogen project in Port Pirie.
The EU Commission has told Spain that it will not pay in a long-running case of renewable subsidies
The European Commission gave Spain a win on Monday when it told the country that they would not be paying any compensation for claims in the billions of Euros for renewable energy subsidies cut over a decade earlier. After the conservative government of Spain cut renewables subsidies to reduce an artificially low power tariff deficit that had been built up over years, foreign investors, mainly investment funds, filed a lawsuit against Spain. In 2018, French infrastructure-focused private equity…
Kazakhstan fires its energy minister amid tensions between OPEC+ and oil majors
The country's president announced on Tuesday that Kazakhstan's Energy Minister will step down as a minister. This comes amid the government's struggle to convince U.S. companies and European oil firms to reduce production levels above OPEC+ targets. In a Tuesday decree, the president's office announced that Almasadam Sakaliyev would become the new head of the newly-created atomic agency. Uncertainty remains about who will replace Satkaliyev at the Energy Ministry. Satkaliyev has been the minister since April 2023.
Australia shares gain for the second straight session, as energy and tech leads gains
Tuesday saw Australian shares rise for the second session in a row, boosted by energy and technology stocks. Rising oil prices, and Wall Street's positive lead, also helped to boost sentiment. By 2335 GMT, the S&P/ASX 200 Index had risen 0.6% to 7,904.2. The benchmark closed Monday 0.8% higher. The energy sub-index on the local exchange increased by 1.5%, as oil prices continued to rise due to escalating geopolitical conflicts in the Middle East. Meanwhile, stronger Chinese economic data also boosted demand expectations. Woodside Energy, a major sector player, and Santos both added 1,2% and 0,6% respectively.
Commodities ignore Trump's noise and focus on fundamentals of trade: Russell
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: adapting rapidly changing circumstances.
CEO CERAWEEK Woodside says that the Louisiana LNG investment decision may be delayed until Q2.
Meg O'Neill, the CEO of Woodside LNG Australia, said on Monday that the company may delay a final decision on the Louisiana plant's liquefied gas project until the second quarter 2025 if talks to sell the half of the project continue. Woodside is looking to sell up to 50% of the project. The company has been reported to be in discussions with several buyers, including Tokyo Gas and Japan's JERA. The goal is to have it ready by the end of the first quarter. O'Neill refused to identify the parties in talks with Woodside.
CERAWEEK - Australia's Santos will increase investment in the US due to pro energy policy - CEO
Kevin Gallagher, CEO of Santos Australia, said that the company will increase its investments in the United States due to the energy-friendly policies of President Donald Trump and his administration. Trump wants to maximize the domestic oil and natural gas production, and has reverted many of Joe Biden's policies that were meant to encourage a shift to a low-carbon economy. Gallagher, in remarks made at the CERAWeek Conference in Houston, said: "We will increase our investment in the U.S. as it is a very attractive proposition. The U.S.
Australian shares gain modestly as commodities support
Australian shares rose on Monday and hovered below the important 8,000-level as commodities fueled a slight recovery in the benchmark index after a selloff in the previous session amid market uncertainty. As of 2341 GMT, the S&P/ASX 200 was up 0.2% to 7963.8. The benchmark index fell 1.8% on Friday to close below 8,000 for the first six-month period, amid uncertainty about global trade. Energy stocks gained nearly 1% in tandem with a recovery of crude oil prices after U.S. president Donald Trump warned about sanctions against Russia…
Russell: China's commodity imports will continue to decline until 2025 due to economic and trade concerns
China's imports have been weak in 2025. This is in line with the recent trend of a softer economy. According to data released by the official customs on Friday, imports of crude, natural gas and iron ore, as well as copper, have all decreased in the first half of this year when compared to the same period of last year. The January-February period saw a rise in coal imports compared with the same period of 2024. However, the figures were significantly lower than in November and Decemeber, indicating that China's appetite is decreasing for the fuel.
Russell: China's commodity imports will continue to decline until 2025 due to economic and trade concerns
China's imports have been weak in 2025. This is in line with the recent trend of a softer economy. According to data released by the official customs on Friday, imports of crude, natural gas and iron ore, as well as copper, have all decreased in the first half of this year when compared to the same period of last year. The January-February period saw a rise in coal imports compared with the same period of 2024. However, the figures were significantly lower than in November and Decemeber, which suggests that China is losing interest in this fuel.
The gender pay gap in Australia has improved slightly but women are still paid 18.6% lower than men
A government report revealed that the gender pay gap in Australia has shrunk slightly, but women still earn nearly a fifth of what men do. The biggest disparities are found in the mining, construction and finance industries. The Workplace Gender Equality Agency's survey showed that 72.2% had a gender gap in favour of men, while 21.3% of employers had an equal gap between the two groups within +/-5%. The remaining employers had a gender gap in their favour. The median wage gap in March 2024, which was 19% the previous year, was now 18.6%. About 56% of businesses reduced their pay gap.
Inpex CEO: Buyers' interest in Indonesia's Abadi Liquefied Natural Gas exceeds planned production
Inpex Corp., Japan's largest oil and gas exploration company, said it received interest in buying liquefied gas from its $20 billion Abadi project in Indonesia, which exceeds the planned output. Inpex expects the long-delayed LNG project to drive growth. It is aiming to make a final investment decision by 2027. He said that Inpex would proceed with the marketing and finance talks. Inpex holds a 65% share in the Abadi Project in eastern Indonesia. Shell will purchase Shell's remaining 35% in 2023. Abadi said that 90% of its long-term contracts for the Ichthys project in Australia were with Japanese buyers.
The massive Simandou iron ore mine could end Australia's golden age of iron ore, or it can start a new one. Russell
It is overused to the point of being meaningless. But the Simandou mine, located in Guinea, West Africa is a game changer. It is expected that the full 120 million tons of cargo per year capacity will be reached fairly quickly. The four Simandou blocks are impressive for their size and infrastructure challenges. They boast a 620-kilometre rail line (384-mile) as well as a new port that has dedicated vessels to transship bulk carriers offshore. Simandou, however, is not just a technical marvel. It will also meet about 10% of China's annual seaborne imports, which are the largest in the world.
