Sources say China's Norinco sweetens its bid for Congo copper mining as the deal stalls.
China North Industries Corp., also known as Norinco has offered to increase the Congo government stake in its bid to purchase copper and cobalt assets from Chemaf SA to help smooth the way to a deal. The $1.4 billion offer made by China's defence and industrial giant, in June, stalled when Congo state miner Gecamines put forward its own unsolicited proposal for the Chemaf asset. This exacerbated a standoff that was already complicated by U.S. officials who were lobbying against China’s grip on central Africa’s mineral-rich Copperbelt.
After the Russian attacks, Ukraine plans to import 800 million cubic meters of gas by April.
Ukraine will import 800 million cubic meters (mcms) of gas in February and march to compensate for the sometimes 40% decrease in production following Russian missile attacks on the sector. A senior industry source said on Friday. Since its invasion in 2022, Russia has launched many missiles and drones at Ukraine's electric sector. However, it has intensified attacks on gasfields over the past few weeks. The Ukrainian state gas company Naftogaz, and the major private energy firm DTEK, have both reported that Russia has damaged and attacked their facilities at least two times in February.
Anglo writes off De Beers and continues with business overhaul
Anglo American reported a $3.1billion loss on Thursday, after writing down its De Beers business. The company is continuing to shed unwanted assets. Anglo wants to concentrate on iron ore and copper assets following BHP's failed attempt at a takeover last year. This means that Anglo will spin off its diamond and platinum businesses following the sale of its nickel and coal mines. Duncan Wanblad, CEO of Codelco, said that the company is also exploring the possibility of running its Los Bronces mine in Chile jointly with Codelco.
Aker BP and Total are seeking to increase their stakes in the giant Equinor oilfield
Aker BP announced on Wednesday that TotalEnergies, Aker BP and Equinor are seeking a review of their shares in Equinor’s Johan Sverdrup field in order to increase their holdings. Sverdrup, which is built across several offshore oil-and-gas licences, is owned by Equinor 42.63%, Aker BP 31.57%, Norwegian oil company Petoro 17,36%, and France's TotalEnergies 8.44%. Owners of a field that began producing oil in 2019 have the right of requesting a review of their stakes, based on data from production and reservoirs.
French prompts on increasing demand as temperatures drop
The French spot electricity prices rose on February 2nd on the back of increased demand on the weather-exposed wholesale markets, as well as a reduction in wind generation and a tightening of nuclear supply in the country. LSEG data show that the French power price for the day ahead was 70.5 euros ($73.51 per megawatt-hour (MWh) as of 0855 GMT. This is up 90.5% compared to a day before. The German baseload was not traded for the next day, after closing at 103.8 Euros, which is a significant premium to France.
Russia's proposed gas pipeline to Iran
The Russian President Vladimir Putin announced on Friday plans to build a pipeline to Iran that will eventually transport up to 55 billion cubic meters (bcms) of gas per year into the West Asian nation. Here are some background details about the cooperation between Iran, Russia and the gas sector. Iran is the second largest gas producer in the world after Russia. However, U.S. sanctions are preventing access to technology as well as slowing down gas exports. In July 2022, the National Iranian Oil Company and Russian energy giant Gazprom agreed to a Memorandum of Understanding worth about $40 billion.
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.
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
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.
