Belgium's king meets Vietnam's leaders, hydrogen deals signed
On Tuesday, King Philippe of Belgium and Vietnamese leaders signed agreements to collaborate in areas such as green hydrogen. The first visit by a Belgian royal to Vietnam is accompanied by a large delegation of businessmen, academics and politicians. According to Vietnamese state-run media, Vietnam's president Luong Cuong described Philippe's visit as a landmark in bilateral relations. According to the EU Council's website, he urged Belgium ratify a 2019 investment protection agreement signed between Vietnam and the European Union.
The prize is worth billions of dollars, but winning it is the key: Russell
Decarbonising steel is one of the biggest challenges to meeting climate goals. However, it could be extremely profitable for those companies and governments willing to take on the risk. Steel value chain is responsible for 7 to 9% global carbon emissions. It is the biggest industrial contributor, and therefore a primary target for many countries' and companies' goals for net-zero in 2050. About 80% of the steel emissions are caused by one single process. This is the removal of oxygen and other impurities from iron ore to produce pig iron, or crude iron. The process now requires vast amounts of coal.
Vingroup Vietnam plans LNG and renewable energy ventures
Vingroup, Vietnam's largest conglomerate, announced on Tuesday that it is looking to develop renewable energy sources and liquefied gas power plants. This would be the company's first ventures in the energy sector. The state-run newspaper VietnamNet reported, citing documents the company had submitted to the Government, that the company wanted to be added to a revised national power development plan. Vingroup responded to the request for comment by saying it was "interested and studying this issue" and that more information would be provided at a future date.
Finland's Fortum explores options for long-term nuclear power
Fortum, a Finnish utility, said Monday that it would focus on renewable energy sources and nuclear life extension to meet the growing demand for electricity. It will also continue to explore long-term options such as new nuclear generation or pumped hydro. He added that the Nordics will meet this new demand by combining onshore solar and wind power with storage and flexibility solutions, and extending the life of existing nuclear reactors. Fortum has agreed to build pumped hydropower plants in addition to the pipeline of renewable energy projects it already has. The CEO of Loviisa Nuclear Power Plant said.
Polish Cabinet approves liberalisation in wind farm regulations
Polish authorities approved on Friday a draft law that eases the rules for building onshore wind farms. This is a major step towards delivering on a promise made at 2023's election to increase power production using renewable energy sources. The new rules must be approved by the parliament. They reduce the distance between planned installations, and residential areas, but keep permitting restrictions for projects near national parks and natural protected areas. The draft law for onshore wind farms has been adopted by the Council of Ministers…
Polish Minister sees the energy price cap expiring this year
According to Polish Climate Minister Paulina Hnnig-Kloska, the government should be able to lift the cap on energy prices in the final quarter of this year due the falling wholesale prices. Since 2022, Poland has capped power bills to protect vulnerable consumers from the rising costs of energy. It also pays compensation to utilities to offset these costs. The cap has been extended multiple times and is now in place until September. Poland's central banks has repeatedly stated that energy prices are a risk to policy, and that lifting the cap on price could lead to an increase in inflation.
Shell's LNG enthusiasm for Asia is a conundrum of volume vs. price: Russell
Shell's long-term outlook is contradictory, which shouldn't be surprising. Shell's annual LNG outlook was released last week. It predicted that the demand for LNG would increase by 60% by 2040. This is largely due to the strong economic growth of Asia, artificial intelligence, and the need to reduce emissions in heavy industry and transportation. Shell has said that the global LNG demand is expected to rise from 407 millions tons in 2024 to 630-718 million metric tonnes by 2040. Shell's estimates reveal a large potential gap in supply.
Shell's LNG enthusiasm for Asia is hampered by a conundrum of volume and price: Russell
Shell's long-term outlook is contradictory, which shouldn't be surprising. Shell's annual LNG outlook was released last week. It predicted that the demand for LNG would increase by 60% by 2040. This is largely due to the strong economic growth of Asia, artificial intelligence, and the need to reduce emissions in heavy industry and transportation. Shell has said that the global LNG demand is expected to rise from 407 millions tons in 2024 to 630-718 million tons by 2040. Shell's estimates reveal a large potential gap in supply.
Romanian government extends the energy price cap
Marcel Ciolacu, Romania's Prime Minister, announced on Thursday that the coalition government would extend the price cap for electricity to households and businesses up until June, and for gas, for one year. This is in order to protect consumers from recent increases in energy prices. Since November 2021, Romania caps gas and electricity bills for households, small business, hospitals, schools, and public institutions at certain monthly consumption levels, and compensates suppliers for any difference. The scheme was modified several times, and it was set to expire by the end of march.
Shell anticipates a 60% increase in global LNG demand between 2040 and 2040
Shell's annual report said that the global demand for liquefied gas will increase by 60% by 2040. This is mainly due to economic growth in Asia and AI, as well as efforts to reduce emissions in heavy industry and transportation. As the world moves to cleaner fuels, demand for natural gas is increasing. Shell's 2025 LNG annual outlook forecasted that the industry will demand between 630 and 718 millions metric tons of LNG per year by 2040. The most recent forecast from the world's biggest LNG trader shows a higher global LNG demand than last year, when it was estimated at 625 to 685 millions tons per annum.
The EPA chief wants to recover $20 billion in climate funding
He said that the head of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency wants to terminate contracts signed by the previous administration for the distribution of $20 billion in grant funds to fund clean energy projects and transportation in disadvantaged areas. In a message on X, EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin stated that he would ask the Inspector-General, Congress, and Justice Departments to work together with the agency in order to terminate the contracts with eight regional organizations who were named as financial agents…
EIA: US natgas production and demand will reach record highs by 2025
The U.S. Energy Information Administration released its Short-Term Energy Outlook Tuesday, predicting that both the U.S. Natural Gas output and demand would reach record highs by 2025. EIA's projected dry gas production is expected to rise from 103.1 billion cubic feet per day in 2024, to 104.6 bcfd by 2025, and then 107.3 bcfd by 2026. This compares to a record-breaking 103.6 bcfd for 2023. The agency projected that domestic gas consumption will rise from 90.2 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) in 2024, to 90.7 in 2025 and then ease back to 90.2-bcfd by 2026.
TotalEnergies exceeds expectations in the fourth quarter profit and signals a stronger 2025
TotalEnergies, the French oil giant, beat the expectations for its fourth-quarter earnings Wednesday. Higher trading profits on the gas market helped to offset the impact of low fuel prices and weak demand. The adjusted net income for 2024's final quarter was $4.4 billion. This is down 15% on the $5.2 billion of the previous year, but still slightly above the $4.1 billion in the third quarter. According to a LSEG analyst consensus, the results exceeded expectations of $4.2 billion. The company expects to see higher gas prices, production upstream and sales of power in early 2025.
Engie continues to see a strong US demand for renewables
Edouard Neviaski, executive vice president of French power company Engie, said that the U.S. is still a major market for the company in terms of renewable energy projects. The U.S. president Donald Trump ordered a stop to spending on the Inflation Reduction Act and Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. These climate and infrastructure laws were signed into law in 2009 by his predecessor Joe Biden. Engie signed 4.3 gigawatts in power purchase agreements globally in 2024. This is up from 2.7 gigawatts in 2023. Neviaski stated that there is a high demand for such contracts in the United States.
Chevron will build gas plants for data centers in the AI boom
The oil and gas company Chevron announced on Tuesday that it will build natural gas power plants near data centers in the U.S. as the energy demand for artificial intelligence growth is expected to grow. The second largest U.S. oil and gas producer has partnered with Engine No. The project is a partnership between Engine No. 1 and electric service company GE Vernova. Chevron announced the project a day after Chinese startup DeepSeek revealed an AI model it claims uses much less computing power than leading models in the United States.
Engine No. 1: Chevron and Engine No. GE Vernova will power US datacenters
Chevron, the world's largest energy company, announced on Tuesday that it had signed an agreement to invest with Engine No. 1 and GE Vernova will build natural gas-based energy plants in the U.S. to power co-located data centres. The announcement came just one week after U.S. president Donald Trump announced a private investment of up $500 billion in infrastructure for artificial intelligence. This was done to keep pace with rival nations. The project will use GE Vernova natural gas turbines…
Oil industry unlikely rush to Alaska despite Trump’s call for drilling
U.S. companies will not expand their development in Alaska or the Arctic after President Donald Trump signed an executive order that allows them to do so. Industry representatives and company officials said this, pointing out that a future president would be able to reverse Trump's decision. U.S. Oil Production is Already at Record Levels. This is largely due to the increased production of oil in more accessible areas such as Texas and New Mexico. Companies have also limited their spending on new projects, focusing on returning cash to investors.
BOEM Advances Offshore Wind Leasing in Guam
In support of the current administration’s goals to deploy 30 gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind energy capacity by 2030 and 15 GW of floating offshore wind energy capacity by 2035, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) today announced the publication of a Call for Information and Nominations (Call) for possible wind energy leasing off the coast of the U.S. Pacific Territory of Guam.This Call will gather public comments to inform potential leasing areas, and results from close collaboration with the Government of Guam…
Mexico's oil production drops to its lowest level of the year in November
Mexico's production levels of liquid hydrocarbons and natural gas fell in November to the lowest recorded all year, and were well below the averages for last year. Official numbers published by regulator showed. The country has missed its 1.8 million barrels per day crude oil and condensate production target twice in November. President Claudia Sheinbaum had promised to keep this goal for the six years of her term. The numbers released late Monday show that Mexico produced 1.747 millions bpd liquid hydrocarbons in November. 1.488 billion bpd was crude oil, and 259,000 bpd was condensate.
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. In its climate and energy plans, Spain has set high targets for renewables.
