Palm prices rise despite profit-taking and premium concerns
Malaysian palm futures rose for the second session in a row on Wednesday, despite profit taking pressure and fears that a wider premium over competing oils could dampen demand. The benchmark contract for palm oil delivery in January on the Bursa Derivatives Exchange rose 58 ringgit or 1.25% to 4,695 Ringgit ($1,073.14) per metric ton. The contract has increased by 3.67% in two sessions. Thursday is a holiday and the market will be closed. Crude palm futures prices showed resilience in the previous session, but a slight retracement due to profit-taking activities is expected, said Darren Lim.
Wilmar, a trader, claims that ethanol production will prevent Indian sugar from being exported.
Wilmar, a Singapore-based commodities broker, said that the increase in ethanol produced in India will result in lower local sugar availability. This will prevent the country exporting sugar during the 2024/25 period. India, the second largest sugar producer in the world after Brazil has not been able to export its sugar to ensure local supply as a larger share of its sucrose production is diverted to produce alcohol instead. Wilmar estimated on Monday that India will divert 5 million metric…
McKinsey says that Europe's power consumption for data centres is expected to triple between now and 2030.
A McKinsey study showed that Europe's data center power consumption will almost triple by 2030. This will require an increase in electricity, mostly from low carbon sources, as well as grid infrastructure upgrades. In the last couple of years, data centre investment has increased as digitalisation (AI) and digitalisation have gained momentum. The question is how the countries will be able to meet the anticipated rise in electricity demands that the increasing number of data centres create. The International Energy Agency states that the United States will see the most growth in data centers…
Southeast Asia must increase investments by five times to achieve climate goals by 2035, according to the IEA
International Energy Agency stated on Tuesday that Southeast Asia must increase its clean energy investment to $190 billion by 2035, or five times current levels, to achieve climate goals. The IEA stated in a recent report that increasing energy investments must be accompanied with strategies to reduce emissions at the relatively new fleet of coal-fired power plants. The report also stated that the rapid expansion of the economy would pose a challenge to energy security and climate change goals.
Azerbaijan's oil production for 9 months down 4.8%, says ministry
Azerbaijan’s oil production fell by 4.8% in the first nine-month period of 2024 to 21.6 millions metric tonnes, down from 22.7million metric tons one year ago, said Energy Minister Parviz Shabazov on Monday. He didn't explain the cause of the decline. Production of oil in Azerbaijan has been declining for several years as the output at Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli complex of offshore oilfields, operated by BP, has passed its peak. Azerbaijan belongs to the OPEC+, a group of major oil producers that has reduced oil production in order to stabilize energy markets.
Indonesia adds palm oil to the government's online tracking system
Senior minister Luhut Paandjaitan announced on Wednesday that the Indonesian government plans to add palm oil to its online tracking system to improve accountability. Indonesia is the largest palm oil producer and exporter in the world. In 2022, the online system SIMBARA was implemented for the first time to track coal movements. The government began tracking domestic shipments for nickel and tin using SIMBARA this year. Indonesia has committed to improving the governance of palm oil industry in order to ensure compliance with taxes…
Russia aims to increase coal exports to India
Alexander Novak, Russian deputy prime minister, said that Russia was interested in increasing its coal exports to India in order to meet the growing demand for fuel in Asia. China is still the largest buyer of Russian coal, but Moscow says India could overtake China by the beginning of the next decade due to Beijing's plans for reducing coal use in power generation. India is increasingly relying on coal for its record-breaking power demand. The increase in coal-fired electricity output this year has outpaced renewable energy growth since at least 2019.
OPEC+ unlikely change policy on output at Oct. 2 panel
Five sources within the group said that despite recent drops in oil prices an OPEC+ panel will not recommend any changes this week to its current agreement to reduce production or to begin unwinding cuts made since December. On Wednesday, 1200 GMT, top ministers of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC+) and its allies, led by Russia, will meet online to form a Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee (JMMC). Brent crude oil prices fell in 2024. Last month, Brent crude dropped below $70 a barrel for the first since 2021. This was due to concerns about global supply and demand outside of OPEC+.
Spot prices fall on increasing wind and solar volumes
The European power price fell on Thursday as a result of the expectation that wind and solar energy will be more available in the days ahead. This overshadowed the effect of the rising demand due to the cooling temperatures. At 0820 GMT, the price of German baseload electricity for Friday had fallen by 71.1% to 17.0 euros per Megawatt Hour (MWh). The French equivalent contract was 21.0 euros/MWh down 16.8%. LSEG data indicated that the German wind power production was expected to be 41.1 gigawatts on Friday compared to 30.5 GW Thursday.
Shell cancels the Norway Hydrogen Project due to a lack of Demand
Shell announced on Monday that it had scrapped plans to build a low carbon hydrogen plant along Norway's westcoast due to lack of demand. This comes just days after Equinor canceled a similar project planned in Norway. Blue hydrogen is a combination of natural gas and carbon capture and storage. It has been hailed as a way to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide in European industry. However, it's more expensive than other methods. Equinor announced on Friday that it had scrapped its plans to export blue hydrogen to Germany and produce it in Norway because it was too costly and insufficiently demanded.
Sources say that OPEC+ is discussing a delay in the planned increase of oil production for October.
Three sources within the group said that OPEC+ was discussing a possible delay to a planned increase in output next month, as oil prices have fallen to their lowest level in nine months. Oil prices are falling along with other asset classes due to concerns over a weakening global economy, and in particular soft data coming from China, which is the world's largest oil importer. Sources said that the group was initially planning to increase production by 180,000 barrels per day in October. However…
Demand rises outweighs gains in renewable energy
European spot power prices dropped on Monday as wind and solar energy production is expected to outweigh the growing demand in the region. By 0952 GMT on Tuesday, the German baseload electricity price was 87.50 Euros per megawatt-hour (MWh), down 21.2% compared to Friday's price for Monday delivery. LSEG data revealed that the equivalent French contract was 62 euros/MWh. Data showed that the French Monday contract had not been traded on Friday. Naser Hashemi, LSEG analyst, says that Germany's residual load is expected to be lower due to a stronger renewable energy supply. Imports are also expected.
Ukraine approves $20 billion plan to increase renewable energy by 2030
The government of Ukraine said that Ukraine needs to invest $20 billion to develop the renewable energy sector. This is part of a plan to increase the share of renewables in the country's mix by 2030. As a result, the country's energy sector lost half its generating power as a direct result of Russian drone and missile attacks. These increased in spring 2024. This forced it to rely solely on nuclear plants, solar, and wind generation. The government approved a plan that aims to add approximately 10,000 megawatts of new generation equipment.
German Cabinet OKs Emergency Measures to Fast-track Renewables Expansion
Germany's cabinet on Monday approved measures to accelerate the expansion of wind and solar power by simplifying licensing and setting deadlines for permitting procedures, the economy ministry said.Berlin aims to generate 80% of electricity from renewables by 2030, but red tape has been hampering Germany's efforts to meet that goal.The cabinet adopted a package of European Union emergency regulations, agreed last year, to speed up wind and solar permits and clarify the environmental and grid permit deadlines that approving authorities must meet for such projects.The package of measures, which is yet be voted on i
Greece's Sole LNG Terminal Ramps Up Imports to Replace Russian Gas
Greece has cut Russian gas imports by more than half this year thanks to increased deliveries from other producers to its sole liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal near Athens, the country's gas grid operator said on Thursday.Greece has relied on Russia for about 40% of its gas needs for years but it has ramped up LNG purchases from other countries in line with a European Union plan to cut dependence on Russian energy. It has been receiving Russian gas via the Turkstream pipeline which also delivers to Hungary via Serbia.Its LNG facility on the Revithoussa islet…
White House Welcomes OPEC+ Decision to Stick to Planned Output Increase
The White House on Tuesday welcomed a decision by top oil producers to stick with their plans to raise crude production and touted "close" coordination with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.Earlier on Tuesday, a group of producers comprising the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and allies including Russia stuck to a planned increase of 400,000 barrels per day for February.The decision not to hike output even more helped lift oil prices further. Brent crude rose 50% last year and has rallied so far in 2022…
LNG Demand to Rise 25-50% By 2030 - Morgan Stanley
Demand for liquefied natural gas (LNG) is expected to rise by 25 to 50% by 2030, making it the fastest growing hydrocarbon over the next decade, analysts from Morgan Stanley Research said in a note on Monday.Morgan Stanley has raised its long-term LNG price outlook to $10 per million British thermal units (mmBtu), expecting spot prices of the super-chilled fuel to average 40% higher over the next decade, versus the past five years.Asian spot LNG prices hit a record above $56 mmBtu earlier this…
Lithuania Seeks Alternative Bids for LNG Import Terminal
Lithuania is seeking alternative bids from providers of floating liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals to potentially replace its existing import terminal, operator Klaipedos Nafta said on Friday.The Baltic state leases a floating storage and regasification vessel (FSRU) from Norway's Hoegh LNG and has an option to buy it when the lease expires in 2024.The state-controlled Klaipedos Nafta said it had decided to seek alternative bids to make sure that it gets the best terms, and has to make the final decision by the end of 2022.Lithuania has been importing LNG via the current terminal, dubbed Independence, since 2
ADNOC Raises $1.6 Billion
Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) said it raised $1.64 billion by issuing exchangeable bonds and additional shares to investors in its listed retail unit ADNOC Distribution on Wednesday.It issued about $1.2 billion in senior unsecured bonds due in 2024, with a 0.7% annual coupon, exchangeable into existing common shares of ADNOC Distribution.Alongside the transaction, ADNOC offered 375 million shares in ADNOC Distribution to eligible institutional investors through a bookbuilding process.The combined offering was placed at a blended price of 4.82 dirhams ($1.31) per share, ADNOC said in a statement, adding t
Oil Surges After OPEC+ Extends Cuts
Oil prices jumped about 3% on Friday, hitting their highest levels in over a year, following a stronger-than-expected U.S. jobs report and decision by OPEC and its allies not to increase supply in April.Brent futures rose $2.10, or 3.2%, to $68.84 a barrel by 11:25 a.m. EST (1625 GMT). Earlier in the session, the global benchmark hit its highest since January 2020.U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose $1.87, or 2.9%, to $65.70 per barrel, after earlier scaling its highest since April 2019.For the week…
