Maguire: Slow rollout of charge points could stall US EV sales momentum
The United States has seen a 140% increase in electric vehicle sales since 2023. However, further growth could be hindered if public charging stations are not rolled out more evenly and at a slower pace. According to the Alternative Fuels Data Center, U.S. electric vehicle registrations will reach just over 3.5 millions by September 2024. This is up from 1.4m registrations in 2023 and represents the steepest growth rate ever in EV adoption in the country. AFDC data show that the number of public EV chargers has increased by just 22% in the same time period to 176 032 units.
Maguire: Slow rollout of charge points could stall US EV sales momentum
The United States has seen a 140% increase in electric vehicle sales since 2023. However, further growth could be hindered if public charging stations are not rolled out more evenly and at a slower pace. According to the Alternative Fuels Data Center, U.S. electric vehicle registrations will reach just over 3.5 millions by September 2024. This is up from 1.4m registrations in 2023 and represents the steepest growth rate ever in EV adoption in the country. AFDC data show that the number of public EV chargers has increased by just 22% in the same time period to 176 032 units.
Helene reaches hurricane strength in Gulf of Mexico and threatens Florida
The National Hurricane Center reported that the powerful storm Helene became a hurricane Wednesday morning. It was packing winds of up to 130 kph (80 mph) as it churned off the coast of Yucatan Peninsula in the eastern Gulf of Mexico. Forecasters said that Helene would continue to intensify throughout Thursday and bring a life-threatening storm to Florida's coast. The National Weather Service warned that more than 40 millions people in Florida and Georgia, as well as Alabama, were under tropical storm and hurricane warnings on Wednesday. Several evacuations have been ordered along Florida's Gulf coast. This includes Sarasota, Charlotte, and Hillsborough counties.
Cuba and Florida prepare for Tropical Storm Helene's impact
The U.S. National Weather Service reported that Tropical Storm Helene will cause mudslides, flooding and major hurricane-like conditions in Cuba. It is then expected to reach major hurricane status on Thursday when it reaches Florida with a life-threatening ocean tide. The National Hurricane Center in Miami said that Helene was moving northwest at a speed of 45 mph with sustained winds up to 72 kph. Forecasters say Helene is expected to strengthen rapidly over the warm waters of Gulf of Mexico, resulting in a major hurricane with winds up to 115 mph. State and national authorities in the U.S.
Four states join forces to build an interconnector for Azeri windfarms
Azerbaijan formed a joint-venture company with Georgia, Romania, and Hungary on Tuesday. The aim is to build an interconnector undersea across the Black Sea to connect planned Azeri Windfarms with Europe. Green Energy Corridor Power Company, based in Bucharest, Romanian capital will oversee the construction of a 1,000 megawatt cable that runs 1,100 km (685 miles) from Azerbaijan into Romania. This is part of the wider European Union effort to diversify its energy resources and away from Russia during the Ukraine War. The Romanian Minister of Energy…
US offers conditional loan guarantees of $1.5 billion to Qcells in Georgia for solar plant
The U.S. Department of Energy announced on Thursday that it has made a conditional commitment of up $1.45 billion in loan guarantees to South Korea's Qcells for the company's Cartersville, Georgia solar manufacturing plant. The Loan Programs Office of the agency said that funding will help Qcells construct a $2.5 Billion facility to produce solar panels, as well as inputs such a cells, ingots, and wafers. The department stated that the factory could produce enough panels to cover half a million American homes per year. Qcells has won a victory with this announcement. The company had warned about the threat of cheap imports to U.S. Solar factories.
US LNG Exports at 20-month Low
Natural gas flows to U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) export plants plunged this month after falling to a 20-month low in June as coronavirus lockdowns cut global demand for the fuel.Before the pandemic slashed energy demand, U.S. producers counted on LNG exports to keep growing fast as an outlet for their record gas output. But after soaring 68% in 2019 and 53% in 2018, U.S. LNG exports were only expected to rise about 7% in 2020.Gas pipeline flows to U.S. LNG export plants dropped to an average of 3.1 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) so far in July from a 20-month low of 4.1 bcfd in June and a record high of 8.7 bcfd in February, according to Refinitiv data.With U.S.
Azerbaijan's Jan-April Oil Output Flat
Azerbaijan's oil and gas condensate output was flat in January-April at 12.4 million tonnes compared with 12.44 million tonnes in the same period last year, the Energy Ministry said on Thursday.Natural gas output rose to 13.4 billion cubic meters (bcm) in the first four months of 2020 from 11.6 bcm.Azerbaijan exported 10.26 million tonnes of oil in January-April, 9.8 million tonnes of which was oil produced by an international consortium led by BP while 409,000 tonnes were produced by Azeri state energy firm SOCAR.Natural gas exports from Azerbaijan to Turkey and Georgia in the first four months of the year totaled 4.6 bcm.
EXIM Bank Amends Mozambique LNG Loan. Earmarks $1.8B for Offshore Work
The U.S. EXIM Bank has amended its previously approved September 2019 direct loan supporting U.S. exports for the development and construction of the Total-operated LNG project located on the Afungi Peninsula in northern Mozambique.The original scope of the $4.7 billion loan for the project has been amended from exclusively the onshore portion of the LNG plant and related facilities to also allocate an estimated $1.8 billion to support the project’s offshore production. "As a result, the transaction now will support an increased number—16,700—of estimated American jobs over the five-year construction period," EXIM said Friday.The number of U.S.
SOCAR Petrofac JV Wins BP Contract
Petrofac, in a joint venture (JV) with the State Oil Company of the Republic of Azerbaijan (SOCAR), has secured a Project Management Services contract to support BP’s operations in Azerbaijan and Georgia.The three-year contract will support both onshore and offshore activity for BP operated projects in the Caspian Sea area including Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli (ACG), Shah Deniz, Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC), South Caucasus Pipeline (SCP) and Western Route Export Pipeline (WREP).
GA LNG Terminal Evacuated Ahead of Dorian
Kinder Morgan Inc has halted the startup process of its liquefaction facility at Elba Island near Savannah, Georgia, following mandatory evacuation orders as Hurricane Dorian approached, Chief Executive Officer Steven Kean said on Wednesday.The Houston pipeline operator began construction on the $2 billion facility in late 2016, underpinned by a 20-year contract with Royal Dutch Shell Plc for exports of U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG).The company will resume startup operations at the LNG plant when workers can safely return to the island, Kean told investors at a Barclays energy conference in New York."We're making very good progress on Elba…
Block Energy Acquires West Rustavi Asset
The oil and gas company in Georgia, Block Energy said its working interest in the West Rustavi licence, in Georgia, has increased to 100%.The increase, from 71.5% and originally from 25%, follows an agreement made with Georgian Oil & Gas Ltd in late February.With immediate effect, Block will benefit from a 100% economic interest in the contractor's share of oil revenue and have greater control over the development plan to realize West Rustavi's full potential.Block is implementing a fully-funded back-to-back drilling program designed to ramp up oil production at the Field and test its historic gas discoveries.West Rustavi has an estimated 0.9 MMbbls 2P oil reserves…
Oil Shipments from Georgia's Batumi Port Drop
Oil and oil-related shipments from Georgia's Black Sea port of Batumi dropped 24 percent in the first four months of 2019 from a year earlier, an official at a KazMunaiGas-operated terminal at the port said on Wednesday.Shipments of crude oil and refined oil products from Batumi have fallen in recent years, partly because Azerbaijan prefers to send its oil through the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline or via its own terminal at the Georgian port of Kulevi, rather than from Batumi, which is operated by a Kazakh company.There were no shipments of crude oil…
BP Invests $6 Bln in Offshore Azerbaijan Project
The British multinational oil and gas company BP and its partners will lead a $6 billion development of the giant Azeri-Chirag-Deepwater Gunashli (ACG) oil-field complex offshore Azerbaijan.The supermajor said that the Azeri Central East (ACE) project includes a new offshore platform and facilities designed to process up to 100,000 barrels of oil per day. The project is expected to achieve first production in 2023 and produce up to 300 million barrels over its lifetime. The $6 billion sanction is the first major investment decision by the ACG partnership since the extension of the ACG production sharing agreement (PSA) to 2049 was agreed in 2017.
EIA: Azerbaijan Surges in Natural Gas
Azerbaijan is an important supplier of crude oil and natural gas in the Caspian Sea region, particularly to European markets, the US Energy Information Administration said in its report.The EIA’s report notes that Azerbaijan’s exports of natural gas are poised to become a more significant part of the country’s economy.Azerbaijan produced about 600 billion cubic feet (Bcf) of dry natural gas in 2017 and exported about 210 Bcf, according to EIA’s International Energy Statistics.“Azerbaijan is planning to expand its natural gas exports to Europe. European…
Roll Group Completes at Elba Island LNG
Heavy lift specialist Roll Group said it has completed its activities on the expansion of the LNG plant at the Elba Island project in Savannah, Georgia."The activities on Elba Island have come to an end for Roll-Lift USA. Mid-January the last equipment was removed, after working more than two years with an extensive fleet of equipment and a large team on the expansion of the LNG plant at the Elba Island Project located in Savannah, Georgia," said a press release.The first challenge to overcome was the low weight limit and deteriorating condition of the only access bridge on to the island.
Block Energy Recovers Oil at West Rustavi
Block Energy Plc, the exploration and production company focused on the Republic of Georgia, is pleased to announce that more than 200 barrels of oil were recovered from the legacy vertical well 16a at its West Rustavi permit during a 10 hour flow period.An additional 300 barrels of light oil flowed to a temporary wellsite production facility over the following days. The results of the test confirm the well lies in an active hydrocarbon system and that the previously producing Middle Eocene reservoir still contains reserves and remains pressurised.
Georgia Bullish on Offshore Natural Gas and Oil Reserves
Georgia Petroleum Council noted released results from a new study highlighting how Georgia’s economy could benefit from over $200 million in tax revenues as a result of offshore leasing in the Atlantic Outer Continental Shelf (OCS).“Cutting-edge technology can safely and accurately discover what resources lay off Georgia’s coast and make possible the potential for millions of dollars in state and local tax revenues from offshore activity detailed in this new study,” said Georgia Petroleum Council Executive Director Hunter Hopkins.“This could be a turning point for Georgia.
Several US States Likely Withheld from Offshore Drilling Plan
Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke has hinted to at least six coastal states that he will keep their waters out of a looming plan to expand U.S. offshore drilling, telling some they lack enough oil to be included anyway, according to state officials and transcripts from public hearings.Zinke's comments are the clearest indication to date that the Trump administration’s initial proposal to open nearly all U.S. waters to drilling, announced in January, will be significantly pared back by the time it is finalized. The proposal is expected later this year.The administration had billed its initial plan as a good way to boost domestic energy production…
LOOP Resumes Normal Operations After Storm
The Louisiana Offshore Oil Port (LOOP), the largest privately-owned crude terminal in the United States, said it resumed normal operations at its Marine Terminal on Thursday after operations were suspended ahead of Hurricane Michael.Major oil producers and drillers began returning workers and restoring output at U.S. Gulf of Mexico facilities shut as Hurricane Michael blew through.Michael, the fiercest storm to hit Florida in more than 80 years, weakened into a tropical storm over central Georgia after it slammed into the Florida Panhandle on Wednesday as a Category 4 hurricane.(Reporting by Karen Rodrigues in Bengaluru Editing by Marguerita Choy)
