Monday, December 23, 2024

David Evans News

Tata Power CEO: India's Tata prefers the domestic market to lucrative solar exports

Tata Power’s newly constructed 4.3 gigawatts (GW) solar cell and module manufacturing facility in southern India is mainly aimed at domestic markets, according to its chief executive, despite the fact that exports have increased exponentially. Tata Power is one of India's largest integrated power companies. It has invested…

What OPEC+ oil production cuts are currently in effect?

OPEC+ will likely make more changes to its oil policy at its meeting on December 5, delaying a planned production increase further into the next year, as it is facing a weaker outlook for oil demand. In June, the oil producers' group reached a complex agreement to extend production cuts deep into 2025. The agreement has…

Document shows that the EU Commission has set a 50% storage target by February 2025.

The European Commission announced on Friday that Europe had set a target to have its gas storage 50% full by February 1, 2025. This is to ensure supply security amid cold weather forecasts and fears of Russian gas disruption. It is important to ensure that the gas supplies of the EU do not fall too low during the winter months…

Mexican firefighters put out a second fire at Pemex in a week

The fire at the refinery of Pemex, Mexico's state oil company, has been put out, according to both the firm and authorities on Thursday. No injuries have been reported. Pemex has not yet revealed what caused the accident at its Minatitlan Refinery, located in eastern Veracruz State. The refinery can process up 285,000 barrels of oil per day.

UN: Companies and countries are lagging behind in tackling methane emissions

Since the U.N. began monitoring oil and gas infrastructure for leaks of methane last year, 1,200 alerts have been sent to government and company officials. Only 12 out of the 2,000 alerts for large plumes, or 1%, were followed up with "substantive" action to stop the leaks. This was according to the report released by the U.N. International Methane Emissions Observatory.

Signals of bearishness are triggered when price trends diverge.

On Wednesday, the direction of spot electricity prices in Germany and France diverged. However, the dominant trends of increasing renewable output and declining demand created a bearish wholesale environment. In Germany, the demand for electricity is down by 1.7 Gigawatt Hours per Hour (GWh/h), but wind and solar power generation are both up by 7.3 GWh/h & 0.9 GWh/h respectively.

Statkraft CEO: Statkraft will sell assets in 3 countries

Statkraft's CEO announced on Wednesday that the Norwegian utility, Europe's biggest renewable energy producer and Statkraft's state-owned subsidiary, would sell assets in India as well as Croatia and The Netherlands, to concentrate the group's investment on fewer markets. Statkraft announced its strategy in June and cut its growth goals for solar…

Oil prices rise, recovering some of the 7% drop from last week

The oil prices increased on Monday as the Middle East conflict continued and markets were worried about the supply of crude from the region. Brent crude futures rose 58 cents or 0.79% to $73.63 per barrel at 11:02 am ET. ET (15:02 GMT). U.S. West Texas Intermediate Crude Futures were up 67 cents or almost 1% at $69.89 per barrel. Brent closed the week more than 7% down, while WTI fell around 8%.

EU Energy Ministers Discuss Ukraine Energy Crisis and Russian LNG

Officials said that EU energy ministers met on Tuesday in Luxembourg to discuss the rising Russian LNG imports into the EU, Ukraine's energy shortages before winter and how to equalize energy prices among member states. In June, the EU approved a 14th set of sanctions including a ban of transhipments of Russian Gas as of March of next year. However, it did not impose a complete ban.

EU Energy Ministers Discuss Ukraine Energy Crisis and Russian LNG

Officials said that EU energy ministers met on Tuesday in Luxembourg to discuss the rising Russian LNG imports and Ukraine's energy shortages before winter, as well as how to balance energy costs across member states. In June, the EU approved a 14th set of sanctions including a ban of transhipments of Russian Gas as of March of next year. However, it did not impose a complete ban.

Tereos warns that its results will be weaker as EU sugar prices plummet

Tereos CEO Olivier Leducq said that a fall in European sugar price more than expected in recent months, due to large supply, will impact the company's results in the second half. This will prompt Tereos to increase exports. In the last two years, EU markets have suffered due to large imports cheaper Ukrainian sugar. The EU executive halted shipments of Ukrainian Sugar…

BP warns that weak margins in refining will hit Q3 profits

BP has said that a decline in the refining margins will reduce its third quarter profit by $400 to 600 million dollars compared to the previous three-month period. In a press release, the British group said that it also expects its oil trading results to be poor. Oil refineries around the world are experiencing a decline in profits that is at a multi-year low.

EU sugar production forecast to increase 6% by 2024/25

The European Commission forecast Tuesday that sugar production in Europe will increase to 16.6 million tons in 2024/25, from 15.6 millions in 2023/24. After farmers planted more beet sugar this year, it was expected that the production of sugar would increase in 2024/25. In the bloc, beet harvesting is underway. Early estimates…

Copper output at Freeport's Manyar smelter delayed until November

Two sources familiar with the situation said that due to leakages of water and steam during an initial testing period, copper production at Freeport McMoRan’s giant Manyar smelter will be delayed until late November. Analysts expect that new supplies will be available soon. If the $3.7 billion smelter is delayed, it could support the price.

Grid operator: Dutch gas reserves must be 90% full before 25/26 winter.

The Netherlands must have its gas storages at 90% capacity by the beginning of winter 2025/2026 to avoid shortages in the event of a severe cold snap, Dutch national grid operator GTS announced on Monday. Why is it important? Due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Netherlands are now heavily dependent on imported gas due to the permanent closure of Groningen's major gas field.

UAE's Masdar eyes Iberian renewables champion after recent deals

Masdar, the renewable energy company of the United Arab Emirates, will continue to grow its presence on the Iberian Market after signing two deals there in recent months. Masdar has signed its second major renewables deal with Spain in the last two months. It bought Saeta Yield, a Canadian company owned by Brookfield, for $1.4 billion.

Wind power production increases impact on spot prices

The European wholesale electricity prices dropped on Tuesday, as forecasts showed a doubled wind power generation capacity in Germany. Demand in the region was not affected by this change. The daily report by LSEG analyst Francisco Gaspar Machado predicted more renewables, but less gas, lignite and nuclear capacity. The hard coal capacity was on the rise.

Ecuador orders a series of power outages due to drought

The government of Ecuador announced late Monday that it would implement eight-hour power cuts every night across the Andean nation next week. It cited a severe dry spell which had caused water levels in hydroelectric plants to plummet. The government of Ecuador has declared a power shortage, which it attributes to the lack of maintenance on existing dams…

Russia is considering limiting metals exports to the West

In response to Western sanctions, Russian President Vladimir Putin suggested this week that Moscow limit exports of metals or other commodities in which Russia has a large share on global markets. Putin mentioned uranium and nickel as well as titanium, but suggested that other commodities could be restricted, pointing out that Russia is a major producer for natural gas, diamonds, and gold.

OPEC lowers its global oil demand growth forecast for 2024 and 2025

OPEC cut its projection for the global oil demand in 2024 based on data collected so far this season. It also lowered its expectations for next year. This is the second successive downward revision by the producer group. The weaker outlook highlights the challenges that OPEC+ faces in balancing the markets. OPEC+ is made…