Spain's demand for electricity is increasing as renewables set records
According to Red Electrica's estimates, the amount of electricity consumed in Spain increased this year, after two years of decline. A record 56% came from renewable sources, such as solar and wind. The Spanish renewable energy industry has warned about the dangers of future investment in this sector due to the lack of demand for electricity. The preliminary figures indicate that demand increased by 1%, or 1.6% when adjusted for working hours and temperatures from 2023 to 244 terawatt-hours.
Indonesia will increase crude palm oil export tax to 10%
Indonesia's chief economic minister announced on Thursday that it will increase the export levy on crude palm oil (CPO), from 7.5% to 10%, to fund higher biodiesel subsidy. Airlangga Hartarto stated that the levy would be implemented as soon as the Finance Ministry has issued its relevant regulation. Indonesia, which is the largest palm oil producer in the world, collects levies for its mandatory biodiesel program, where the bio-content, or B40, will increase to 40% from the current 35% starting January 1. Subsidies will increase with a higher blend.
Nuclear roadblock to EU's new renewable energy target
On Monday, pro-nuclear countries expressed their opposition to the European Union's plans for a renewable energy goal. They said they would not support a goal which excluded atomic energy. Nuclear power is a controversial energy source that has caused political disagreements among the 27 EU member states. These disputes have delayed recent EU initiatives to reduce energy prices and to drive Europe's shift to low-carbon sources of energy. Nuclear power plants do not emit CO2…
BP's offshore Wind Head to Step Down
A spokesperson for BP announced on Monday that Matthias Bausenwein, the head of offshore winds, is leaving the firm. This comes after the oil giant announced its intention to spin off its offshore operations into a JERA-JERA joint venture. Bausenwein, who joined BP in August 2022 from the Danish renewables giant Orsted, will lead BP's expansion of offshore wind project. Anja-Isabel Dotzenrath - a former CEO at RWE Renewables - left the company last April after less than two years on the job.
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 the company's largest investment in Russia after the beginning of what Moscow refers to as a special military operations in Ukraine. Exxon Mobil Corp owned a 30% stake as operator in Sakhalin-1.
Russia's Oil Tsar: Trump's actions to defend US Producers are 'fitting.'
Igor Sechin is the president of Rosneft - Russia's biggest oil producer. He said on Saturday that he agreed with Donald Trump's plans to protect domestic energy producers. He said at a Qatar conference that Trump's election campaign promises included "fitting" measures to protect domestic energy producers, the market, and other economic factors. Some Russians are cautiously optimistic about Trump's return on Jan. 20, while others believe that another U.S. President will not make much of a difference.
Qatar's energy minister has no concerns about Trump's promise to lift LNG export caps
Qatar is not concerned about the promise of Donald Trump, U.S. president-elect, to lift the cap on LNG exports. Qatar's energy minister Saad Al-Kaabi stated on Saturday that his country will cope with any competitiveness. "And you know, even if we open up LNG, and say that we're going export another 300,000,000 tons or 500,000,000 from the U.S. All these projects are driven primarily by private companies who look at the viability of the projects," Kaabi said, who is the chief executive officer of QatarEnergy (a state-owned company) during the Doha Forum.
Sechin, Rosneft's boss, says that targets and costs are a hindrance to the appeal of green energy.
Igor Sechin is a well-known sceptic of green energy and the boss of Russia's largest oil producer Rosneft. He believes that investors are losing interest in clean energy because of elusive targets, high cost and lack of funding. Russia, the world's largest producer of oil, natural gas and coal, as well as China, have set targets to achieve carbon neutrality in 2060. This is 10 years later than other developed countries. The Russian president Vladimir Putin criticised the green movements in Europe for exploiting people's fears over climate change.
Lazard hires Miller from Citigroup in its energy investment banking drive, sources claim
People familiar with the matter said that Lazard hired Citigroup veteran investment banker Chris Miller to lead its dealmaking efforts within the energy sector. Miller, who was based in Houston, and had the title of vice-chairman of energy investment banking for Citigroup, recently resigned his position with the Wall Street bank and will begin his new role at Lazard early in 2025, after a period gardening leave, according to the sources. The sources…
Blockchain enables firms to offer physical uranium for sale to small investors
On Tuesday, a blockchain platform and an uranium company launched a market to allow small investors buy physical uranium. They hope to increase spot liquidity for the niche commodity. Uranium prices have risen in recent years due to a rise in investor interest and the reduction of miner output. This is because utilities are looking for new sources of this mineral, which fuels nuclear energy. Nuclear power plants are also gaining in popularity due to the surge in demand for electricity from data centres that use artificial intelligence (AI).
Eletrobras Santo Antonio Power Plant bounces back after Brazil's historic drought
Santo Antonio is one of Brazil's biggest hydroelectric plants. Its head said that the plant had survived an extreme drought. He credited the plant's resilience with a series of measures which kept it running, even at record low water levels. According to the Brazilian geological service, Santo Antonio on Amazon's Madeira River was forced to temporarily stop operations in 2023 due to drought, which lowered water levels to an all-time low of 1.1 meters (3.6 feet).
Woodside's O'Neill says that the LNG market will grow by 50% over the next decade.
Woodside Energy's CEO, who spoke on Tuesday, said that the company expects global demand for liquefied gas (LNG), to increase by 50 percent in the next decade. Over the past decade, the LNG market has grown by 50%. Meg O'Neill, speaking at the Energy Intelligence Forum held in London, said that she expects the market to grow another 50% over the next decade. O'Neill stated that the company has received interest from many onshore gas companies and other companies in partnering with its Driftwood LNG Project and that talks are ongoing.
China has finalised stricter guidelines on solar manufacturing investment
According to an announcement on the ministry's website, China's Industry Ministry finalised on Wednesday investment guidelines for solar photovoltaic manufacturing projects to curb overcapacity. Companies are directed to maintain a capital ratio of at least 30% for solar PV project. This standard was previously only applicable to polysilicon projects, while the minimum capital ratio for all other PV projects remained at 20%. The ministry didn't provide a definition for the ratio.
Cyprus says that Europe has set the bar too high for climate change.
The president of Cyprus stated on Friday that Europe has set too high a bar for its climate goals, without paying enough attention to economic competitiveness. This is adding fuel to the growing debate about the pace of reforms. The European Union has strict rules that aim to reduce net greenhouse gas emission in the bloc 90% by 2040 and achieve zero net emissions by 2020. Nikos Christodoulides, President of the EU, who had just returned from COP29 in Azerbaijan…
TotalEnergies and BP, Equinor, and Shell each commit $500 mln for energy access
TotalEnergies BP Shell Equinor, oil and gas giants BP and Equinor, pledged to invest $500m on Friday in order to increase the availability of affordable energy, primarily for sub-Saharan Africa and south and southeast Asia. The announcement was made at the United Nations COP29 Climate Summit in Azerbaijan where discussions have focused on raising $1 Trillion in climate finance to assist developing countries from richer nations. TotalEnergies has declined to reveal the name of the global private equity firm that will manage the fund…
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.
Shell sales increase in Q3 vs TotalEnergies due to higher Asian LNG prices
LONDON, October 31 - Analysts and traders say that higher production and sales of liquefied gas in Asia helped Shell to outperform TotalEnergies in the third quarter. However, group profits for both companies were affected by a drop in oil refining. Shell's quarterly profit of $6 billion beat forecasts by 12 percent, while TotalEnergies reported a profit of $4.1 billion that was slightly below expectations. Shell and TotalEnergies both reported quarterly profits that were down 70% and 82%, respectively.
TotalEnergies CEO: Up to $2 billion in Russia still stuck
Patrick Pouyanne, CEO of TotalEnergies, told analysts that the French oil giant's stakes in Russian gas company Novatek and its Yamal LNG project in Russia generate between $1.5 and $2 billion annually in dividends. Pouyanne stated that although the company was able to move some money out of Russia in the early stages of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, "today there is little or nothing coming" because of the Western sanctions against Moscow. TotalEnergies has 19.4% ownership of Novatek.
TotalEnergies' third-quarter revenue drops as refining profits collapse
TotalEnergies, the French oil giant, reported a third-quarter net profit at $4.1 billion, a three-year-low. The company was hit by a collapse in refining margins as well as upstream outages. The adjusted net income fell 37% compared to a year ago and 12.7% compared to the $4.7 billion of the previous quarter. Analysts had expected $4.2 billion. The adjusted earnings before interest tax, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA), which is the total of all these items, fell by 23.6% to $10 billion.
Egypt to bid for LNG cargoes up to 20 to meet Q1 2025 Demand
Three trading sources said on Monday that Egypt will issue an tender to procure up to 20 LNG cargoes to meet the demand in the first quarter 2025. The largest Arab country, which has the most people in it, is now a net gas importer. It has bought more than 50 cargoes this year. Plans to be a reliable gas supplier to Europe have been abandoned. Sources said that the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation is expected to announce the tender for the purchase of between 15 and twenty cargoes LNG.
