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. Belgium and the Netherlands saw a dramatic increase in imports since then. In a Monday letter, France and nine countries asked the European Commission for stricter reporting requirements on Russian LNG (liquefied natural gases) by storage companies and suppliers.
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. Belgium and the Netherlands saw a dramatic increase in imports since then. In a Monday letter, France and nine countries asked the European Commission for stricter reporting requirements on Russian LNG (liquefied natural gases) to storage companies and suppliers.
New Zealand passes law to reverse oil and gas exploration ban
New Zealand announced on Monday that it will pass laws before the end of the year to reverse an offshore oil and natural gas exploration ban and to take urgent steps to eliminate regulatory hurdles for importing liquefied gas (LNG), amid energy shortages. The right-of centre government wants to attract investment into the oil and gas industry in the country. This law will end the ban on exploration that has been in place since 2018 outside of onshore Taranaki. Energy prices have risen to the highest level among developed economies due to severe shortages in the past few weeks, according to Prime Minister Christopher Luxon.
U.S. LNG Exports to Europe on Track to Surpass Biden Promise
When U.S. President Joe Biden promised European leaders in March that he would help secure new supplies of liquefied natural gas to offset shortages from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, his pledge was greeted with skepticism.After all, the U.S. LNG industry was already hitting its export limits and the global market is dominated by long-term contracts that can dictate where exported gas would go for 20years at a time.It turns out, however, that Biden's promise may have been far too modest.The United States is on track to blow past Biden’s March commitment of an additional 15 billion cubic meters of LNG for Europe this year…
Cheniere Asks for More Time to Build Texas Corpus LNG Expansion
Top U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) exporter Cheniere Energy Inc asked federal regulators to extend the amount of time it has to build the proposed Stage 3 expansion at its Corpus Christi LNG export plant in Texas due to pandemic delays.When the U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) approved construction of Stage 3 in November 2019, the regulator gave Cheniere five years, or until around November 2024, to complete the project.Cheniere asked FERC in a filing late Tuesday to extend the amount of time it has to put Stage 3 into service…
IEA: World Must Triple Renewable Energy Spending by 2030 to Curb Climate Change
Investment in renewable energy needs to triple by the end of the decade if the world hopes to effectively fight climate change and keep volatile energy markets under control, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Wednesday."The world is not investing enough to meet its future energy needs ... transition‐related spending is gradually picking up, but remains far short of what is required to meet rising demand for energy services in a sustainable way," the IEA said."Clear signals and direction from policymakers are essential. If the road ahead is paved only with good intentions…
Offshore Wind – A Brief History
Happy 80th birthday Maritime Reporter & Engineering News! Eighty years is a significant publishing and business accomplishment!Birthdays always cause a look back. An 80-year review starts in 1939, the close of one very challenging decade, the start of events still reverberating today. History’s most important history is contained in the last 80 years.Energy dominated every one of those decades. Consider energy use, say, starting after World War II, from 1950 to 1975. There was power for everything, from seemingly endless sources of oil, gas and coal, and nuclear power was standing by.Next, recall energy from 1975 to 2000. Not so happy.
US Oil Industry Set to Break Record, Upend Global Trade
Surging shale production is poised to push U.S. oil output to more than 10 million barrels per day - toppling a record set in 1970 and crossing a threshold few could have imagined even a decade ago. And this new record, expected within days, likely won't last long. The U.S. government forecasts that the nation's production will climb to 11 million barrels a day by late 2019, a level that would rival Russia, the world's top producer. The economic and political impacts of soaring U.S. output are breathtaking, cutting the nation's oil imports by a fifth over a decade…
Egyptian Oil Company Takes $200 Mln Loan for Electricity Generation
Egypt's state oil company signed a $200 million loan agreement on Tuesday with the African Export-Import Bank to help expand electricity generation and distribution, an Afreximbank statement said. The government announced in August that it was raising household electricity prices by 40 percent as part of plans to eliminate power subsidies in the next few years. Consumption of cheaper electricity has exacerbated energy shortages and power cuts in summer months. Afreximbank president Benedict Oramah said the facility agreed with the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation would ensure uninterrupted energy supply for Egyptian industry by financing imports of oil and gas products.
Sweden to Cut Taxes on Nuclear Power Generation
Sweden said on Friday it would phase out some taxes on nuclear power and build new reactors to replace aging plants and secure energy supplies for decades to come. Nuclear power providers in Sweden have said they would be forced to shut the country's loss-making nuclear reactors unless a tax on nuclear capacity is abolished, risking a spike in electricity prices and energy shortages for industry. "The aim is ... to make sure we can always guarantee electricity at competitive prices, in a stable and sustainable way, both in the short and long term," Energy Minister Ibrahim Baylan told reporters.
Zohr Gas Field to Begin Production by end-2017
Egypt has agreed with Italy's Eni to begin production of 1 billion cubic feet per day of gas at the Zohr gas field, the biggest in the Mediterranean, by the end of 2017, oil minister Tarek El Molla said on Tuesday. Zohr, discovered by Eni last year, has an estimated 30 trillion cubic feet of gas. It is expected to plug Egypt's acute energy shortages and save it billions of dollars in precious hard currency that would otherwise be spent on imports. The company has so far completed three of the field's wells, El Molla said. Eni has said it will invest about $4 billion in the first phase of the project which includes drilling four wells.
Bangladesh Inks LNG Deal with Excelerate
Bangladesh on Thursday signed a deal with Texas-based Excelerate Energy to build its first floating terminal for importing liquefied natural gas (LNG) as it looks to ease chronic energy shortages. The floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) terminal at Moheshkhali Island in the Bay of Bengal will be able to handle 5 million tonnes of LNG per year, Istiaq Ahmed, chairman of the state-run Bangladesh Oil, Gas and Mineral Corporation, said at a signing ceremony in Dhaka. Excelerate will develop the terminal by the first quarter of 2018 and operate it for 15 years, he said.
U.S., India in Talks to Settle Solar Power Trade Dispute
The United States and India are in talks that could settle a long-running solar power trade dispute, delaying the announcement of a ruling by the World Trade Organization, an Obama administration official said on Friday. Washington filed the WTO challenge three years ago, claiming that India's national solar power program illegally discriminated against imported solar panels and related products though its domestic content requirements. The WTO in recent weeks has twice delayed the public announcement of a ruling in the case, rescheduling it for next Wednesday.
Rosneft to Supply Egypt with 6 Fuel Oil Shipments by End 2015
The Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation has agreed to import six shipments of fuel oil from Rosneft, Russia's largest oil producer, by the end of 2015, petroleum minister Tarek El Molla told Reuters. Egypt's oil ministry said in July it had signed initial deals with Rosneft to supply benzine and bitumen, as well as 24 LNG cargoes for state gas company EGAS over two years starting from the fourth quarter of 2015. Egypt has become a big importer of gas because it needs to plug severe energy shortages that have crippled its industrial production. (Reporting by Eric Knecht. Editing by Jane Merriman)
Egypt Extends Med Gas Exploration Tender
Egypt has extended its tender for natural gas exploration in the Mediterranean Sea by two months with the addition of four new blocks, the state gas board said on Tuesday, as the country seeks to boost domestic energy production. The bidding period now runs to July 30 and will include 12 offshore concessions instead of eight, the Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS) said in an advertisement published in state-run Al Ahram newspaper. Egypt is going through its worst energy crisis in decades, with increasing consumption and declining production turning the country from a net energy exporter to a net importer over the past few years.
European Oil Majors Take aim at Coal
Europe's oil and gas companies took direct aim at the coal industry Monday, calling upon governments to set a global price on carbon emissions that could dramatically drive market share from coal to natural gas. The joint declaration issued by six European oil and gas majors was cautiously embraced by the United Nations, which will host negotiations this December in Paris aimed at designing a plan to cut the fossil fuel emissions that scientists blame for rising temperatures. The companies argued that when burned to make electricity, natural gas typically generates around half the carbon emissions of coal.
Data Availability Bias in Oil Market: Kemp
Why is there such good data about oil in the United States but such poor data about everywhere else? Accurate information is essential for good decision-making, so it is remarkable how little reliable and timely data exists about the production and consumption of crude oil and refined fuels outside the United States. The situation in the other advanced economies, not to mention emerging markets, is mostly guesswork. The result is that oil analysts cannot even agree on production and consumption yesterday and today, let alone predict what will happen tomorrow.
WTO Rules Against India in Solar Dispute with U.S.
The World Trade Organization (WTO) has ruled against India in a dispute with the United States over its solar power program, Indian business newspaper Mint reported on Wednesday. Mint quoted an unnamed official from the Indian commerce ministry as saying the country planned to appeal the decision, made after the United States complained about domestic content requirements in a program aimed at easing chronic energy shortages in India, Asia's third-largest economy. India has said it expects peak power demand to double over the next five years from around 140,000 megawatts today.
Egypt's Power Choices Appease Public, Squeeze Industry
Far fewer Egyptians are complaining about the kind of power cuts that fuelled unrest in the past but government energy policies apparently focused on appeasing the public are dealing a blow to industries vital for economic growth. Companies say production will continue suffering unless the government starts diverting some of the gas supplied to electricity plants powering homes to factories. Research group Capital Economics estimates manufacturing output contracted by almost 30 percent year-on-year in June due to foreign exchange restrictions and gas shortages. "Factories have been beset by power outages and (economic) activity has suffered," it said in a note.
Senator Urges Obama Admin to Detail Oil Swaps with Mexico
One of the U.S. Senate's top advocates for lifting the ban on domestic crude exports urged the Commerce Department on Thursday to disclose whether any oil swaps with Mexico have actually been finalized after the agency approved the transactions in August. Administration officials told Reuters in August that the Commerce Department was "acting favorably on a number of applications" to export U.S. crude in exchange for imported oil from Mexico, in a step seen as loosening the ban on most crude oil exports. Senator Lisa Murkowski, a Republican from oil-producing Alaska and the head of the Senate's energy committee…
