Sources say that the US study is likely to refrain from concluding that LNG exports are not in the public interest.
Two industry sources familiar with the matter said that the administration of President Joe Biden will release a report on Tuesday regarding the export of liquefied gas. The study is not expected to conclude that the trade does not serve the public's interest. Biden halted in January the Department of Energy’s approvals of U.S. LNG imports to major consumers in Asia, Europe and the Middle East in order to allow his administration to study the economic and environmental impacts of this booming industry. Donald Trump, the president-elect, has stated that he is against this pause and will act quickly to reverse it.
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.
Oil prices drop on forecast surplus supply in 2025, but are set to rise by a weekly gain
Oil prices fell on Friday, as investors shifted their focus to a forecast for ample supply. They also shrugged off the expectation of higher demand in 2013 due to Chinese stimulus measures. Meanwhile, they were watching a Federal Reserve rate cut scheduled next week. Brent crude futures were down 8 cents at $73.33 per barrel as of 0125 GMT, while U.S. West Texas intermediate crude was down 7 cents at $69.95 per barrel. The International Energy Agency (IEA) expects non-OPEC+ countries to increase their supply by approximately 1.5 million barrels per daily (bpd), led by the United States of America, Canada, Guyana and Brazil.
Oil Rises as Syria's Assad Departs, China eases Monetary Policy
Oil prices rose by nearly 2% on Monday on increased geopolitical risk after the fall of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, and as top importer China flagged its first move towards a loosened monetary policy stance since 2010.Brent crude futures were up $1.34, or 1.9%, to $72.46 per barrel at 11:25 a.m. ET (1625 GMT). U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures CLc1 were up $1.5, or 2.23%, to $68.70."Events in Syria over the weekend could impact the crude market and increase the geopolitical risk premium on oil prices in the weeks and months to come amid yet more instability in the Middle East region…
More wind and lower demand causes spot prices to fall
European power prices fell on Thursday, as the main German market was expected to have more wind energy and demand in the area had slowed down ahead of the weekend. LSEG data shows that German baseload power for the day ahead was 17.1% lower at 87 Euros ($91.69), while still remaining at multiple-week highs. The French equivalent contract was not traded but the settlement indicated a significant drop from its previous 108 euros. The German wind energy output is expected to increase by 12.3 gigawatts per day (GW), to reach 37.1 GW. The French nuclear capacity remained unchanged at 82%.
Sechin, Rosneft CEO, says that OPEC+ cuts in output made the US the top energy exporter.
Igor Sechin, head of Russia's biggest oil producer Rosneft, said that the OPEC+'s decision to reduce oil production in 2016 and 2020 has helped the U.S. shale sector and made it a major global energy exporter. Sechin said, at a forum held in the United Arab Emirates that Russia and its partners had made the most significant contributions to stabilising the global energy markets in the last 10 years. Sechin, a long-time ally of Russian president Vladimir Putin, has expressed scepticism in the past about Russia's collaboration with OPEC. He said that the United States benefited the most from the 2016 deal.
Palm prices rise on lower-than-expected end-Nov stock forecasts
Malaysian palm futures rose on Thursday due to lower estimated November stocks. The country is the second largest palm oil exporter in the world. By midday, the benchmark palm oil contract on Bursa Malaysia's Derivatives exchange for February delivery had gained 70 ringgit or 1.39% to $5,102 ringgit (1,152.47 USD) per metric ton. A survey shows that Malaysian palm oil inventories fell to 1,79 million tons during November. This is the second consecutive month of declines as torrential rainfall disrupted production. Anilkumar bagani, head of commodity research at Mumbai's Sunvin group…
QatarEnergy signs LNG long-term deal with Shell to deliver LNG to China
State-owned QatarEnergy signed a long-term agreement with Shell, the oil and gas giant, to supply LNG to China. QatarEnergy said in a Monday statement that the deal will see the LNG supply increase to three million tons per year. The agreement is expected to begin in January 2025. QatarEnergy said that the agreement highlighted the continued growth in China's market for LNG, but did say how long it would last. Four sources in the industry and trading have confirmed that Shell will use these volumes to supply its China portfolio. China is the largest LNG importer in the world.
Argentina's Pampa Energia joins LNG export project
Pampa Energia, a subsidiary of Argentina's Pampa Energia, announced on Friday that it had joined Pan American Energy (PAE) and Golar in a joint project to export liquefied gas from the South American country. Pampa Energia announced that it will own a 20% stake of Southern Energy, a joint venture between Pan American Energy and Golar to produce LNG. The project will require $2.9 billion in investment over the next ten years to achieve its goal of exporting 11.5 million cubic metres of LNG each day. Pampa Energia has committed to supplying 22,2% of these volumes from its fields located in the Neuquen Basin, which is home to the massive Vaca Muerta shale.
Palm oil prices near record highs as Soyoil takes the lead -Braun
Palm oil is not the cheapest oil in the world, despite being the most abundant vegetable oil. Supply concerns have driven up the price by almost 30% this year. Prices for soybean oil, a rival product, have fallen by more than 11 % this year due to record global soybean production. In recent weeks, this has led to a near-record discount in palm oil compared to soybean oil. Palm oil makes up about 40% of the global production of major vegetable oils, including rapeseed, sunflower, and soybean oil. Palm oil is therefore almost always cheaper than soya oil. The average discount in the past decade was $170 per ton.
LNG can solve Europe's gas problems, but it comes at a cost: Russell
The fears that Europe will face a shortage of natural gas this winter are exaggerated. The liquefied gas (LNG), market has already taken steps to prevent any shortage, although at higher prices.The price of natural gas in Europe reached its highest level in over two years on November 22, when the benchmark contract for the front-month contract, at the Dutch TTF Hub, reached 49.03 euros/megawatt hour. This is equivalent to 14.97 British thermal units per million (mmBtu).The prices have risen by about 40% since the middle of September amid fears that Russian pipeline supplies will be stopped or further restricted.The new U.S.
Eni, the Italian LNG company, is preparing a second floating LNG plant for Congo
Eni, the Italian energy company, announced on Saturday that it had launched in the shipyard of Wison Heavy Industry in Nantong in China the hull of Nguya Floating Liquefied Natural Gas facility, which will be deployed off the coast of the Republic of Congo. ENI announced that the FLNG would have a liquefaction capability of 2.4 millions tons per year (MTPA). This will complement Tango FLNG which is currently operational and has a 0.6 MTPA capacity. It said that the combination of both will bring the total liquefaction capability of the Congo LNG Project to 3 MTPA at the end of 2025.
President says Indonesia can achieve net zero emission before 2050
Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto told the G20 that he is confident it will reach zero net emissions by 2050, 10 years earlier than originally planned. According to a Wednesday statement released by his office, Prabowo said Indonesia also planned to retire coal and fossil fuel-fired electricity plants within the next fifteen years. This is compared to an earlier target date of 2056. He added that Indonesia would build 75 gigawatts worth of renewable energy plants in the next 15-years, echoing a promise made by his envoy at the COP29 Climate Summit last week. Indonesia is the largest emitter of greenhouse gases in the world and exporter of thermal coke.
Sources say that Chinese exporters will increase prices and renegotiate after the tax rebates are cut.
Analysts and traders said that Chinese exporters will increase prices on a variety of products, from used cooking oil to aluminium, and renegotiate their contracts to pass the cost of Beijing’s tax incentives. On Friday, the world's second-largest economy announced that it would reduce its export tax rebate rates for certain refined oil products, solar panels, batteries, and non-metallic minerals from 13% down to 9%. It also said that it would cancel the rebates for products made of aluminium, copper, and fatty acids and oils derived from animals, plants, or microorganisms which have been chemically altered, including used cooking fat (UCO).
US natgas exports to LNG plants are on track to reach a 9-month high
According to data provided by financial firm LSEG, the amount of gas going to seven large U.S. liquefied gas export plants is on track to reach a new nine-month record on Thursday. This was due to feedgas reaching multi-week records at a few plants. Energy market is concerned about feedgas flow to U.S. Liquefied Natural Gas plants, because in recent years exports were the largest source of growth for the gas industry. In 2023, the U.S. will be the largest LNG exporter in the world, surpassing Australia and Qatar. This is due to higher prices worldwide, which are a result of supply disruptions, and sanctions related to Russia's invasion in Ukraine in February 2022. The U.S.
Australia may lose $45 bln amid green steel rush, report says
A think tank on Friday said that Australia, the world's largest iron ore exporter, could lose up to half of its revenues from this sector if it does not produce green iron quickly enough. Other countries are now making steel with renewable energy. Australia's largest export is iron ore, but progress in developing green-iron has been slow. According to a Climate Energy Finance report, Australia could lose around A$69 Billion ($45 Billion) in revenue each year as global steelmakers, including those in China, decarbonise and restructure supply chains. If Australia were to become a leader in the green iron industry, its current revenues could be doubled to A$250 Billion per year.
Exporters group says Brazil is likely to export record volumes of soybean meal by 2024.
According to the local grain traders' lobby Anec, Brazil's soybean meals exports will likely set a record in 2024, surpassing the previous best mark recorded in history in 2023. According to the US Department of Agriculture, Brazil will once again be the world's second largest soybean meal exporter in 2023/24. It had previously been the leader in 2022/23, following a crop failure that occurred in Argentina, the traditional leading exporter. Brazil also leads the world in soybean production and exports. According to Anec, Brazil expects to export 21,12 million tons (22,35 million tonnes) of soybean meal from January to November.
Egypt reiterates its 42% renewable energy target for 2030 but calls on international assistance
The Egyptian government still aims to have renewable energy make up 42% of the mix for electricity generation by 2030. However, this goal is at risk if international support does not increase, said Prime Minister Mostafa Mdbouly on Tuesday, speaking at the COP29 Conference. According to a cabinet report from July, the current share of solar, wind and hydropower in Egypt's power generation is only 11.5%. The country relied heavily on gas in recent years, and defended it during the United Nations' COP27 Conference in 2022. It was a net gas exporter at that time.
YPF, the Argentine oil company, is focusing on Vaca Muerta and a production boost by 2025.
The CEO of Argentina's state-owned oil company YPF, Horacio Martin, said that the firm expects shale production to rise by 30 to 40 percent next year. Marin said that YPF, during a conference call to discuss its financial results, will concentrate its capital investments in its main shale resources, specifically the massive Vaca Muerta Formation. Vaca Muerta has the second largest shale-oil reserve in the world and is also home to one of the largest shale-gas reserves. YPF has been leading the activity in this area with hopes of making it a major exporter of energy. Marin stated that we expect to increase unconventional oil production by 30 to 40%.
Cargill estimates that China's palm oil demand in 2024 will drop 30% year-on-year.
A Cargill executive said that the demand for palm products in China will drop by 30% between 2024 and 2019. This is because high prices have made it less appealing than soyoil, while vegetable oil demand stagnates. The benchmark palm oil price in Malaysia has risen over 30% this year, despite the fact that production in Indonesia's top producer is falling and there are positive sentiments about its plans to expand its biodiesel mandate. Ryan Chen, director of Cargill Investments China Ltd, said at the Indonesian Palm Oil Conference on Friday that this is the first time in many years soybean oil has been so cheap in comparison to palm oil for an extended period in China.
