Has Green Hydrogen Sprung a Leak?
The green hydrogen express is gathering pace, but it may have a worrying problem with leaks.As governments and energy companies line up big bets on the much-touted fuel of the future, some scientists say the lack of data on leaks and the potential harm they could cause is a blind spot for the nascent industry.At least four studies published this year say hydrogen loses its environmental edge when it seeps into the atmosphere.
Asian Countries Looking to Release Oil Reserves after U.S. Request
The world's biggest economies said on Thursday they were looking into releasing oil from their strategic reserves, following a rare request from the United States for a coordinated move to cool global energy prices.The U.S. move reflects frustration with the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and allies such as Russia who have rebuffed Washington's requests to speed up oil production as the world economy rebounds from the pandemic.It also comes as U.S.
Japanese Refiners See Bullish Oil Price Trend Continuing
Oil prices are set to remain on a bullish course this year given the strong recovery in global demand following the COVID-19 pandemic-induced slump, the head of the Petroleum Association of Japan (PAJ) said on Wednesday."Global crude demand is expected to further recover in the second half of this year, given the convergence of the pandemic and the revival of economic activity in the United States and Europe," PAJ president Tsutomu…
Oil Profits Soar: Oil Majors Shed Pandemic Blues
Europe's major energy companies profited from a rise in oil prices to report big increases in first-quarter earnings on Thursday, putting the worst of the pandemic era slump in fuel demand behind them.Last year's demand collapse forced BP, Royal Dutch Shell and Equinor to slash their dividends and preserve cash as they to try to transform themselves into companies that can thrive in a low-carbon world.With benchmark oil prices recovering from an April 2020 low of $16 a barrel to about $67 a barrel this month…
Vattenfall Shortlisted for 1 GW French Offshore Wind Tender
France has shortlisted Swedish utility Vattenfall and its two partners to bid in a tender to develop an offshore wind farm with a capacity of about 1 gigawatt (GW) off Normandy, the company said on Tuesday.Vattenfall and its partners - German wind farm developer wpd and French institutional investor Banque des Territoires - would participate in France's fourth offshore wind tender alongside five other groups, it said."France is an attractive market for Vattenfall's offshore wind energy activity…
Shell to Slash Jobs and Capacity at Major Singapore Refinery
Royal Dutch Shell will halve crude processing capacity and cut jobs at its Pulau Bukom oil refinery in Singapore as part of an overhaul to reduce its carbon emissions.The refinery on Pulau Bukom, a small island in the Southeast Asian city-state, can process 500,000 barrels per day (bpd) of oil and is Shell's largest wholly-owned refinery worldwide.The move brings the total refining capacity cuts by Shell in recent months to 571…
Oil Industry Veterans to Launch Hydrogen Investment Fund
Two energy industry veterans plan to launch an investment fund focused on hydrogen this year as more and more governments include the niche fuel in their global warming battle plans.Hydrogen has long-been touted as a potential clean fuel as it only emits water vapour but it has failed to gain traction, mainly because of historically high production, transportation and storage costs.But with the European Union for one now looking to promote so-called green hydrogen to help reach net zero emissions…
Equinor Raises $3.9 Bln in the Bond Market
Norwegian oil company Equinor raised $3.4 billion in euro and dollar bonds on Monday, in its latest push to secure long-term funding at a time of weak crude prices."In the current volatile market situation characterised by high uncertainty going forward, we see the value in further increasing our financial flexibility and resilience," Chief Financial Officer Lars Christian Bacher said in a statement.Initial issues of a six-year…
Shell Cuts Dividend for First Time Since World War Two
Royal Dutch Shell cut its dividend for the first time since World War Two on Thursday as the energy company retrenched in the face of an unprecedented drop in oil demand due to the coronavirus pandemic.Shell also suspended the next tranche of its share buyback program and said it was reducing oil and gas output by nearly a quarter after its net profit almost halved in the first three months of 2020.Shell's shares in London dropped 6.7% in early trading on Thursday…
Vattenfall Pulls Out of Dutch Offshore Wind Tender
Swedish utility Vattenfall will not take part in a Dutch tender for a 700 megawatt (MW) offshore wind farm in the North Sea because of the uncertainty created by the coronavirus pandemic, the state-owned firm said on Thursday.Vattenfall won the two most recent Dutch tenders for offshore wind farms in 2018 and 2019, which were the first granted without government subsidies on the energy produced."There is too much uncertainty right now to make this kind of investment decision"…
Oil Prices Bounce, But Gains Only Temporary, Analysts Say
Oil prices bounced nearly 7% on Thursday after a three-day selloff drove them to their lowest in almost two decades as demand plummeted due to the coronavirus and supplies surged in a fight for market share between Russia and Saudi Arabia.Benchmark Brent, which has lost half its value in less than two weeks, got some respite as investors across financial markets assessed the impact of massive central bank stimulus measures.Brent crude jumped $1.43…
Iran's Oil Tanker Fleet Being Squeezed as Sanctions Bite
Iran is running short of options to replace its ageing fleet of tankers and keep oil exports flowing because renewed U.S. sanctions are making potential sellers and flag registries wary of doing business with Tehran, Western and Iranian sources said.Since U.S. President Donald Trump reimposed sanctions in November, exploratory talks with South Korea for up to 10 new supertankers have stalled and Panama has also removed at least 21 Iranian tankers from its registry forcing Tehran to put the vessels under its own flag…
Aker Bets on Software Engineers for Its Oil Business
When the owners of Norwegian oil firm Aker BP decided to digitise its assets and operations, they searched high and low for the right software company. But they failed to find a suitable one.So instead they set up their own, Cognite, to create digital maps of Aker BP's oil industry assets, integrating data from equipment such as pumps, heat and pressure sensors, maintenance records and even staff rotas to improve efficiency and safety.Less than two years later…
Saudi Aramco Restructures Non-oil Assets ahead of IPO
Saudi Aramco has created a subsidiary to house its multibillion-dollar pension fund and could spin off its aviation division, sources said, as it restructures some assets not related to oil and gas ahead of its planned initial public offering (IPO).The move is designed to streamline Aramco's operations and could make it easier to value since its business risk would be clearer and that may help it achieve a higher price for its shares…
Big Oil Takes Stage for Post-austerity Beauty Contest
With years of austerity in their rear-view mirrors, the world's biggest oil companies are locked in a beauty contest to lure investors with promises of growth and greater rewards. Royal Dutch Shell and Total are emerging as frontrunners after a three-year slump thanks to strong growth projections but Exxon Mobil, the biggest publicly traded oil company, has largely disappointed with a weaker outlook. Major oil companies slashed…
Noble Group Reports $1.75 Bln Q2 Loss
Commodities trader Noble Group reported a second- quarter loss of $1.75 billion on Thursday, weeks after warning it faced its steepest quarterly loss in a year and a half and would slash jobs and sell assets to cut debt. Once Asia's largest commodities trading house, Noble is slimming down drastically to its core Asian coal trading business after a crisis-wracked two years. Last month, it announced the sale of its U.S. gas and power business and began a process to sell its oil liquids unit.
Terna Energy $69 Mln Bond Issue Oversubscribed
Renewable energy producer Terna Energy raised 60 million euros ($69 million) through an oversubscribed bond issue, the banks which managed the sale said on Wednesday. The yield was set at 3.85 percent, Alpha Bank and Eurobank said, at the lower end of the indicative 3.75-4.25 percent range, with total offers coming in at 154.4 million euros. Terna Energy has said the proceeds will be used to fund investments in Greece and the United States.
Workers at Sri Lanka's State-run Oil Firm Call off Strike
Workers at Sri Lanka's state-run oil firm CPC called off a strike on Monday less than 24 hours it started after the government agreed to consult them before signing an oil tank deal with India. CPC Managing Director Nadun Fernando said the trade unions agreed to call off the strike after six and a half hours of talks that also involved Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe. A trade union official said they called off the strike after Wickremesinghe agreed in writing to consult them about the deal…
Libyan Oil Output Rises after Port Fighting Ends
Libya's oil production has reached 700,000 barrels per day (bpd), the National Oil Corporation (NOC) said on Wednesday, recovering from a drop earlier this month caused by fighting at two key oil ports. "We are working very hard to reach 800,000 barrels by the end of April 2017, and, God willing, we will reach 1.1 million barrels next August," NOC Chairman Mustafa Sanalla was quoted as saying in a statement. The NOC said in a separate statement it hoped to produce 55…
Italy's 15-Cargo LNG Buy Tender Attracts Competitive Bids
A tender to supply Italy with about 15 liquefied natural gas (LNG) cargoes between April and September attracted highly competitive winning bids from traders including Gunvor, Trafigura, MET and Uniper, trade sources said. Companies offered to supply the shipments at only a slight premium to prevailing prices at Britain's National Balancing Point (NBP) trading hub, traders said. At the same time bids for a tender to supply Argentina…
