Rosatom, a Russian company, has opened a new wind turbine blade manufacturing facility to replace Vestas.
The governor of Russia’s Ulyanovsk Region said that Rosatom, the state nuclear corporation of Russia, has opened a factory for wind turbine blades at the site of an old Vestas plant. Vestas, a Danish wind turbine manufacturer that produces blades for wind farms near Ulyanovsk, closed the plant in 2022. It left Russia 2023 with all its assets. After the start of the conflict in Ukraine the sanctions imposed by the West on Russia have isolated Russia from Western technologies, components and the renewable energy sector. Last April, Russian…
Document filed by Venture Global LNG shows that it wants to extend the force majeure for its first plant until 2025.
Venture Global LNG intends to extend force majeure for its Calcasieu Pass plant in Louisiana until 2025. This would delay the first deliveries under long-term contract to three years following production. Due to power problems, the plant's prolonged commissioning has resulted in contract arbitration actions brought by BP, Shell, Edison, Repsol Galp and Orlen. Venture Global could lose the cases and be forced to pay billions in damages, according to an IPO filing on Friday. Venture Global informed potential investors that under the extended force majeure clause, customers will not be able cancel their purchase and sales agreements after June 20, 2025.
California sets clear course to close Aliso Canyon Gas Storage Facility
California's utilities regulatory agency on Thursday set out a clear path to potentially close SoCalGas Aliso Canyon's gas storage facility. The regulator prioritized energy reliability and affordability, as the state moves towards cleaner energy. In a press release, the California Public Utilities Commission said that it has set an annual peak natural gas demand of 4,121,000,000 cubic feet. This is the level at which Southern California will be able to meet its demand without Aliso Canyon. The regulator stated that the natural gas demand is on a downward trend in Southern California as a result the state's climate goals and policies.
Israel strikes port, energy targets in Yemen
Israel launched strikes against ports and energy infrastructure in Houthi-held parts of Yemen on Thursday and threatened more attacks against the Iran-aligned militant group, which has launched hundreds of missiles at Israel over the past year.As Israeli jets were in the air, the Israeli military said it intercepted a missile headed towards central Israel which destroyed a school building in Ramat Efal in the western part of Tel Aviv with what a military spokesperson described as falling shrapnel.The Houthis - who have launched attacks on international shipping near Yemen since November 2023…
Nigeria approves Shell’s $2.4 billion asset sales to Renaissance
Shell received approval from Nigeria’s oil minister to sell $2.4 billion worth of onshore and shallow water assets to Renaissance Group. Renaissance Group said this in a Wednesday statement. Shell has been operating in Nigerian oil and gas for nearly a hundred years. The Shell approval is part of an overall retreat of western energy companies, such as Exxon Mobil and Eni of Italy, and Equinor of Norway. The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, NUPRC, blocked Shell's sale of Renaissance, which comprises five companies, in October.
Qcells claims that a new technology could reduce the space required for solar panels
Hanwha Corp.'s Qcells announced on Wednesday that it had made a significant breakthrough in a new solar technology. This has the potential of reducing the space needed by panels to generate electricity from the sun's light. The solar industry is facing a number of pressing challenges, including the need for more space. In some areas of the United States, large-scale projects that occupy vast tracts of land are being met with opposition. Qcells announced that it had achieved a record in the world for the efficiency and cost of large-area silicon cells with perovskite as the top layer. Perovskite is a material with a crystallized structure which absorbs a lot of light.
US LNG Rises 2% on LNG Plant Volume Data
U.S. natural gas futures climbed about 2% on Wednesday on rising flows to the nation's liquefied natural gas (LNG) export plants and expectations utilities pulled more gas out of storage than usual to heat homes and businesses during extreme cold for a second week in a row last week.Analysts, however, projected rising output and forecasts for mild weather and low heating demand through the start of the new year should keep storage withdrawals smaller than normal in coming weeks. There was currently about 4% more gas in storage than usual for this time of year.
French and Benelux stocks: Factors to watch
Here are some company news and stories that could impact the markets in France and Benelux or even individual stocks. TotalEnergies French oil giant Total Energies has sold half of its shares in the UK's West Burton Energy Gas Power Plant to Epuki. Vallourec French steel tube maker Vallourec has announced that it will sell a significant majority of the production facility in Dusseldorf-Rath to CTP, for 155 millions euros. The transaction should close by the end of 2024. EssilorLuxottica Ray-Ban manufacturer EssilorLuxottica announced that it had signed an agreement with Italy's Espansione Group to purchase the company.
BHP and Rio Tinto will build a low-carbon iron plant in Western Australia
BHP Australia and Rio Tinto Australia will develop together a pilot plant for producing low-carbon iron using Pilbara ore as part of their efforts to accelerate decarbonisation within the steel industry. The companies announced this in a statement released on Tuesday. The facility will produce molten steel using direct reduced iron technology (DRI), and renewable energy in an electric melting furnace (ESF). It could have a production of up to 40,000 tons per year. BlueScope Steel will develop the facility in Western Australia's Kwinana Industrial Hub.
Chevron Australia signss long-term gas supply agreement with Alcoa
The Australian unit of U.S. oil company Chevron said Tuesday that it will supply 130 petajoules (petajoules) of gas over a period of 10 years, starting in 2028, to the aluminium manufacturer Alcoa. Chevron Australia announced in a press release that the gas would be supplied by its 530 terajoules per day Gorgon and Wheatstone plants, and North West Shelf Venture, located in Western Australia. Alcoa, on the other hand, said that it would use this gas to power its refineries for alumina in Western Australia. Alcoa signed gas supply agreements with Chevron in 2020…
Venture Global says it has produced the first LNG at its Plaquemines plant.
Venture Global LNG produced its first LNG (liquefied natural gases) on Friday at its Plaquemines facility in Louisiana. The first U.S. plant to produce super-chilled natural gas in two years, Cheniere Energy Corpus Christi's midscale expansion project has been beaten to the market. Venture Global said that it had built two of its fastest greenfield LNG plants to go from financial approval to first LNG production. Plaquemines, when completed, will be the largest LNG plant in the world. It will also help the United States remain the world's leading exporter of super-chilled fuel.
Venture Global Louisiana Plaquemines LNG Plant "on track"
U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) company Venture Global LNG's Plaquemines export plant under construction in Louisiana was on track to pull in enough natural gas on Friday to produce first LNG, according to data from financial group LSEG and energy analysts.Plaquemines was on track to pull in about 0.16 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) of pipeline gas on Friday, up from 0.10 bcfd on Thursday and an average of 0.04 bcfd during the prior seven days, according to LSEG data.Analysts have said that once feedgas to the plant hits around 0.15 bcfd or higher, it likely means the plant is pulling in enough fuel to run at least one 0.15-bcfd block of two liquefaction trains.
Eastern Canadian provinces replace controversial Churchill Falls Hydropower deal
On Thursday, the Canadian province Newfoundland and Labrador signed a Memorandum of Understanding with its neighboring Quebec to create a deal for hydroelectric generation in Labrador. This agreement is expected to generate revenue of approximately C$200 billion (US$140.97 billion). The agreement will replace the contentious 1969 contract for the export of power from Upper Churchill Falls Hydroelectric Facility in Labrador, which has been the source of bitter tensions between the two provinces over the past decades. The majority of revenue from the Churchill Falls plant has always been sent to Quebec.
Cenovus Energy predicts increased production by 2025 for new projects
Cenovus Energy, a Canadian energy company, forecasted higher oil and natural gas production in 2025. It expects to benefit from the new projects that will be coming online. According to LSEG, the company expects upstream production of between 805,000 and 845,000 boepd by 2025. The midpoint is higher than analyst estimates of 820140 boepd. The company anticipates between 770,000 and 810,000 boepd this year. The U.S. Energy Information Administration has predicted that power consumption in the U.S. will increase in 2025, with data centers, manufacturing and other operations driving the demand. This could help gas producers like Cenovus.
In 2025, the global diesel price will be supported by refinery closures
Analysts and traders said that the global diesel market would likely see a price boost in 2025 due to the closing of around 1% of the refining capacity. This will offset the current weakness of the market and the structural downward pressure caused by the shift towards cleaner fuels. Markets end 2024 in a shaky state, despite the peak season demand. Margins in key energy hubs around the world, such as Singapore, Northwest Europe, and the Gulf of the United States, have fallen from November's high levels, due to the return of some refineries after maintenance shutdowns.
US Energy Department: Two LNG reviews must be waited for by regulator
The U.S. Department of Energy announced on Tuesday that it will not be able to finish its reviews of two proposed liquefied gas export terminals planned for Louisiana until an independent regulatory agency completes their environmental assessments of these projects. The Department of Energy said that it must wait until the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has completed its work to review applications for exports of LNG from terminals to nations with whom the United States does not have a free trade agreement before it can evaluate the applications.
Phillips 66 and NextEra team up to power California refinerys with solar energy
The refiner announced on Tuesday that Phillips 66 would power its Rodeo refinery with a solar facility operated and owned by NextEra Energy. In a press statement, Phillips 66 said that the solar plant will be constructed on 88 acres of land (36 hectares), adjacent to the renewable fuels facility located in the San Francisco Bay Area. The solar plant will be composed of over 70,000 modules that will produce around 60,000 Megawatt Hours of electricity per year. The refinery said that the solar plant will help to reduce its grid power consumption by half, and its carbon dioxide emissions in the first quarter 2025 by about 33,000 metric tonnes.
USDoE: LNG Reviews must await EIA's
The U.S. Department of Energy announced on Tuesday that it will not be able to finish reviews of two projects for liquefied gas in Louisiana until a regulatory agency independent of the Department has completed its environmental assessments.The DOE stated that it must wait until the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has completed its work to review export applications to countries where the U.S. doesn't have free-trade agreements. Venture Global LNG’s CP2 facility, which is a 20 million ton facility per year, and Commonwealth LNG’s planned 9.5 million tons per annum facility are the two projects.
India will mandate the use of solar cells made locally in all clean energy projects by June 2026
From June 2026, Indian clean energy companies will have to use solar photovoltaic modules made from local cells by a list of approved companies. This is a measure to reduce imports from China, the top supplier. India has already required the use of solar cells made in India for government projects. The government intends to increase the non-fossil energy capacity of its country to 500 GW from 156 GW currently. India currently has a capacity to produce solar PV modules of around 80 gigawatts, while its capacity to manufacture cells is slightly over 7 GW. Companies rely heavily on Chinese cells for the production of modules.
Freeport's copper concentrat exports will only temporary ease global shortages
Sources in the industry said that Freeport-McMoRan’s unit, located in Indonesia, will help ease global shortages of copper concentrate, but only for a short time and if Indonesian authorities allow it. Since last year, the competition for copper concentrate has intensified due to shortages caused by stoppages at First Quantum's operations and China's massive expansion in smelters. In October, a fire at PT Freeport Indonesia (PTFI), a $3.7 billion Manyar smelter, halted operation. PTFI's ownership is split between Freeport and the state-owned Indonesian firm MIND ID with 48.8% each.
