Baker Hughes reports that US drillers added oil and gas rigs in the US for a second consecutive week.
Baker Hughes, a leading energy services company, said that U.S. firms added oil and gas rigs this week for the second consecutive week for the first since February. The number of oil and gas drilling rigs, a good indicator of future production, increased by two in the week ending April 25. Baker Hughes reported that despite this week's increase in rigs, the total count is still 26 or 4% lower than this time last year.
Total and Shell back out of carbon storage project in the Netherlands
AMSTERDAM (25 April) - After TotalEnergies & Shell retracted part of their planned investment, the Dutch government announced on Friday that it would invest 639 million euro ($726 millions) in the construction of the largest carbon capture and storing project of the Netherlands. The two major oil companies have decided not to invest in the infrastructure needed to connect…
Enagas' chief executive says that Spain's national hydro network plan is ahead of schedule
The chief of Spanish gas grid operator Enagas announced on Friday that plans to build a 2,600 km (1.615 mile) network of hydrogen in Spain were progressing ahead of schedule. Infrastructure is also on track for a start-up in 2030. The H2Med Corridor is a planned trans-European corridor that will connect the Iberian Peninsula with Northwest Europe. Arturo Gonzalo, the Chief Executive of the company…
Spot prices remain unchanged as sunny and still weather is expected on Monday
German and French spot price were not traded on Friday morning. A surge in solar energy supply on Monday, and a lower demand because of higher temperatures was expected to offset an expected fall in wind supply. This would put pressure on prices. LSEG data shows that the German and French baseload power prices for Monday were not traded by 0946 GMT. According to LSEG analyst Naser Hachemi…
Prices of gas in Europe remain stable as the market searches for new inputs
The Dutch and British wholesale prices of gas were volatile on Friday due to a lack fundamental news and a sufficient supply. According to LSEG, the benchmark Dutch front-month contracted eased 0.20 euros to 33.45 euro per megawatt hour. The June contract rose 0.30 euro to 33.63 euro/MWh at 0859 GMT. The British day-ahead contract is down 0.81 pence to 81.00 pence per therm.
Norway's Yara trounces profit estimates despite rising gas costs, tariff concerns
Yara's shares rose 4.7% early in the morning trade after it reported a first-quarter core profit that was well above expectations. This was due to higher volumes and better margins. The company highlighted its ongoing cost reductions, as well as portfolio optimization. It said that this would allow it to continue growing in a nitrogen market which is becoming increasingly tight.
RWE has ceased offshore wind activity in the United States
RWE's CEO stated in a speech draft published in advance of the annual general meeting that the company has temporarily halted its offshore wind activities in the United States due to the regulatory uncertainty caused by the Trump administration. Markus Krebber's comments highlight the challenges facing European energy companies on the U.S. Offshore Wind Market, which is a major target of Trump’s energy policy.
Indonesia wants fair and square trade in US tariff discussions
Indonesia's senior economic minister, and its top negotiator, said that it is prioritizing its national interests in ongoing negotiations about U.S. Tariffs. It wants to have a "fair-and-square" trade relationship. Airlangga hartarto, head of the delegation, and Sri Mulyani indrawati, finance minister, have been in the United States for the last week, negotiating proposed tariffs of 32% that the U.S. would like to impose upon Indonesia.
Japan's greenhouse gases emissions drop 4% to a record low in FY23/24
Government data released on Friday showed that Japan's greenhouse gases emissions dropped by 4%, reaching a new record low for the fiscal year ending March 2024. This was due to lower energy consumption, increased use of renewable energies, and restarting nuclear power plants. The data of the Environment Ministry showed that emissions for 2023/24 dropped from 1.116 billion to 1.071 billion tons of carbon dioxide.
Local media report that Argentina's YPF has ruled out building a land-based LNG facility
YPF, Argentina's state-run energy company, has ruled out the construction of an onshore liquefaction facility for natural gas. Instead, it will rely on floating vessels to carry out this process. Horacio Marina, CEO of Rio Negro LNG, said in an interview that there will be no onshore plants and the three phases of its plan to export LNG will be done by ship. Marin explained that the timeframes are shorter than for a land-based facility…
US wants to increase offshore oil drilling through easing of pressure rules
The U.S. Interior Department announced on Thursday that it had implemented new guidelines regarding pressure differentials allowed in certain types of oil drilling, in part of Gulf of Mexico. The department expects the changes to boost U.S. output of oil. The Energy Dominance Council, led by Doug Burgum, Interior Secretary to President Donald Trump, is seeking ways to reduce costs for oil and natural gas producers…
Britain Emphasizes Collaboration on Energy Security at Global Summit
Britain urged closer international cooperation to improve energy security on Thursday, telling dozens of other governments and business leaders that they would otherwise be vulnerable to those who were willing to weaponise supplies.Security of energy supply shot up the agenda of countries around the world after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 drove up…
US utility Xcel claims tariff exposure is 2% to 3% of capex plan
Executives with the company stated on Thursday that a global trade war is likely to affect renewable energy supply chains and storage systems, exposing 2%-3% of Xcel Energy’s $45 billion plan for capital expenditures. The expansion of AI data centres and the electrification in industries such as transportation are driving U.S. electricity consumption to record highs.
EU to Present a Roadmap in May for the Phase-out of all Russian Fossil Fuel Imports
Ursula von der Leyen, the President of the European Commission, said that in two weeks it will present a roadmap outlining how it plans to eliminate all Russian fossil fuel imports. She made this announcement at a London energy event on Thursday. In response to Moscow's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the European Commission has committed to stop using Russian fossil fuels before 2027.
African energy exploration company Rhino Resources discovers light oil offshore Namibia
Namibia got a boost Thursday after Rhino Resources found "high-quality" light oil at its latest well. U.S. oil company Chevron also announced that it is considering a drilling campaign for 2026 or 2027. The southern African nation, a global hotspot for exploration, aims to produce its oil by the end of the decade, following a series of recent discoveries by Shell, TotalEnergies, and Galp Energia.
Chilean regulator approves Codelco and SQM joint venture
Codelco announced in a Thursday statement that Chile's competition regulator had approved the deal between Codelco and SQM, the state-run copper company, to create a joint venture for the expansion of lithium production on the Atacama Salt Flats. In a statement, the FNE regulator in China has yet to approve the deal. This approval is expected to be incorporated into the decisions made by the European Union, Brazil and South Korea.
Xcel Energy's first-quarter profit misses estimates due to higher costs
Xcel Energy, a U.S. utility, missed Wall Street expectations for the first-quarter profits on Thursday due to higher operating and interest costs. The high interest rates have made it difficult for utility companies to build and maintain vital infrastructure at a time of increasing electricity demand. Data centers are booming due to AI. Xcel Energy reported that its total operating costs increased 8.7% to $3.23 Billion…
CMS Energy reports higher profits on the strong demand for power from data centers
CMS Energy, a U.S. gas and electric utility, reported on Thursday a higher profit for the first quarter. This was due to heightened power demand. In February, the U.S. Energy Information Administration forecast that power demand would reach record levels in 2025 and in 2026 as data centers are experiencing a surge. After warning of potential supply-chain problems due to tariffs…
Ukraine's Naftogaz signs a contract with Orlen for 100 mcm gas
Ukraine's Naftogaz signed a contract on Thursday for another 100 million cubic meters (mcm), bringing its total purchase volume from Orlen to 300 mcm. After Russian missiles damaged the production facilities to the east of Ukraine, Ukraine was forced to increase gas imports and withdraw more gas from storage this winter and in the spring. Sources in the industry told us earlier this month Orlen plans to sell 10 LNG cargoes to Ukraine this coming year…
Spot prices are affected by lower demand and more solar.
The drop in demand for power and the increase in solar power in Germany pushed spot prices down on Thursday. These changes also overshadowed a predicted drop in wind energy supply on Friday. German baseload electricity for Friday fell 7.5% to 92 euros (104.65 dollars) per megawatt-hour (MWh) at 0826 GMT. The French equivalent contract dropped 1.3%, to 74 Euro/MWh. LSEG data shows that power usage in Germany will drop by 1.8 gigawatts to 54.3 GW.
