Monday, January 13, 2025

Louise Heavens News

Centrica: Britain's gas reserves are "concerningly small"

Centrica, the operator of Britain's largest storage facility, stated on Friday that Britain's gas levels were "concerningly" low, with less than one week's worth of gas left to be consumed following a recent cold snap. Britain relies heavily on gas to heat its homes and generate electricity. As of 9th January 2025…

Oil rises by 1% in a 3-week period as sanctions on Russia and Iran increase

The price of oil rose by about 1% on Friday to a record high for three weeks, as a result of expectations that additional sanctions against Russia and Iran would tighten up supplies. Lower interest rates in Europe or the U.S. may also boost the demand for fuel. . U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI)…

OPEC cuts oil demand forecasts for 2024 and 2025

OPEC reduced its estimates for the growth of oil demand this year and in 2019. The producer group has now revised their forecasts downward five times in a row. The weakened outlook shows the challenges facing OPEC+ which includes the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies, such as Russia.

Russia extends deadline for Exxon to sell Sakhalin-1 stake to 2026 in a decree

On Monday, Russian President Vladimir Putin issued a decree extending by one year the period of sale for Exxon’s share in Russia’s Sakhalin-1 gas and oil project until January 1, 2026. Exxon will take a $4.6 billion charge in 2022 for abandoning its development on the Pacific Island of Sakhalin. This was…

Upwind, a cloud security company based in Israel and the United States, raises $100 Million

Upwind, a cloud security company based in the United States and Israel, announced on Monday that it had raised $100m from private investors to meet increasing demand as businesses move their data rapidly to cloud storage. Craft Ventures led the round, with new investors TCV, Alta Park Capital, and existing investors Greylock…

Rystad reports that Argentina's Vaca muerta region has achieved record oil production during the third quarter.

Rystad, a consultancy, said that Argentina's Vaca Muerta shale formed produced a record 400,000 barges of oil per day (bpd), in the third quarter. This figure represents a 35% increase in production year-over-year, thanks to improvements in productivity and evacuation capability. The formation is on track to reach its goal of 1,000,000 bpd, by 2030.

Exxon executive: US oil producers are unlikely to switch to "drill baby, drill" mode

LONDON, November 26 - U.S. producers of oil and gas are unlikely to increase production dramatically under President-elect Donald Trump, as companies remain focused upon capital discipline, said a senior Exxon Mobil executive on Tuesday. Liam Mallon is the head of Exxon’s upstream division. He told the Energy…

Ukraine's DTEK will receive 107 million euros from EU and US for the rebuilding of power facilities

The European Commission and the United States have announced that Ukraine's largest private power company DTEK will receive 107 millions euros ($112,30 million) to restore the power plants destroyed by Russian attacks against the Ukrainian energy system. The company stated that it would receive 62.8 million Euros from the EU, and $46.1 from the U.S. Government.

Edison CEO: US utilities want Trump and Republicans to save the inflation act

Pedro Pizarro said that the U.S. Utility Industry wants the incoming Trump Administration and the Republican-led Congress in Congress to maintain clean energy and EV Tax Credits in the Inflation Reduction Act. The 2022 IRA is a law that contains hundreds of billions in subsidies for clean power and was signed by outgoing president Joe Biden to combat climate changes.

Ifx: Russian Energy Minister says lifting the gasoline export ban is possible

Interfax reported that Russian Energy Minister Sergei Tsivilev stated on Wednesday the ministry believes it is possible to lift restrictions regarding gasoline exports due to fuel prices being stable. According to RIA, the Ministry sent its proposals regarding gasoline export restrictions to the Government.

Bursa Malaysia plans to launch futures on used cooking oil in December

The director of Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange said that the new contract for used cooking oil would be launched as soon as December. It is in its final stages. The regulatory approvals are still pending," said Mohd Saleem Bakas, director of the oilseeds conference in Dalian. He said that the contract could launch in December 2025 or the first quarter…

MPLX's earnings for the third quarter increase as pipeline throughputs rise

The U.S. midstream firm MPLX announced a higher net profit for the third quarter 2024 compared to the previous year on Tuesday, as it transported more energy products via its pipeline system. The adjusted earnings before taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA), were $1.7 billion, compared to $1.6 billion at the same period a year earlier.

OPEC is optimistic about global oil demand and does not see a peak in sight

Haitham Al Ghais, secretary general of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries in Abu Dhabi, said that oil demand is expected to be very high in the near and medium term. He said that while there are challenges, the overall picture is not as bad as it sounds. The so-called "peak demand" will not occur as long as the global economy grows.

CorPower Ocean, a wave energy technology company, has secured 32 million Euros.

The firm announced on Wednesday that it had secured funding of 32 million euros ($35 millions) to help commercialise wave energy technology. Wind and tidal projects are being developed in some countries to reduce emissions and achieve climate goals. The wave power industry is still in its early stages of commercialisation and costs are high.

Pertamina Indonesia is looking for more than 1.6 million bbls of gasoil in October, according to sources

Three sources familiar with the matter confirmed on Tuesday that Pertamina, Indonesia's gasoil producer, is looking to procure more than 1.6 million barrels at a high sulphur level of 2500ppm for delivery during the second half of October. The state-owned energy giant is looking to purchase - through its trading arm- six cargoes ranging in volume from 200…

EU sugar production forecast to increase 6% by 2024/25

The European Commission forecast Tuesday that sugar production in Europe will increase to 16.6 million tons in 2024/25, from 15.6 millions in 2023/24. After farmers planted more beet sugar this year, it was expected that the production of sugar would increase in 2024/25. In the bloc, beet harvesting is underway.

Gunvor chair: Mideast conflict will not affect oil supply but demand is a concern

The CEO of trading firm Gunvor is confident that the conflict in the Middle East won't impact oil supply. He said this on Tuesday. He told the Gulf Intelligence Energy Markets Forum, held in Fujairah that the situation in the Red Sea and Yemen was a nuisance but not disruptive. The market, he said, was more concerned about the weak demand.

Sources say that Indonesia's Pertamina is looking for up to 1.1 million bbls Oct gasoil with high sulphur content.

Three trade sources on Wednesday said that Indonesia's Pertamina was seeking up to 1.1 millions barrels of gasoil with a sulphur content of 2500ppm for delivery in October's first half. They added that this could be because of refinery production issues. The state-owned firm wants to load up to two 200,000 barrels of cargo from Singapore or Malaysia between Sept. 28 and Oct.

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.

Orsted and Iberdrola among the winners in record British renewable energy auction

Orsted and Iberdrola are among the winners in a British renewable energy auction that supported a record-breaking number of projects. The government announced this on Tuesday. The Labour government that came to power in July plans to decarbonise electricity by 2030. This will require an increase in renewable energy capacity, such as solar and wind.