Gas prices in Europe are rising on a weak wind ahead of the US election
The Dutch and British wholesale prices of gas rose slightly Tuesday morning due to a weak wind and in anticipation of what should be a close U.S. Presidential election. LSEG data shows that the benchmark front-month contract for the Dutch TTF hub at 0942 GMT was 0.37 euros higher, at 40.85 Euro per megawatt hour or around $13/mmBtu. The British day-ahead contracts rose 1.15 pence, to 102.50 pence/therm. Meanwhile, the weekend contract increased by 1.40 pence at 101.25 pence/therm. Gas traders said that the UK's prices are currently being supported by the fact that wind (generation) has been weak. The trader said that there was also uncertainty because of the U.S.
Russian oil and Gas Revenues Jump 57% m/m In October
The Finance Ministry reported on Tuesday that the proceeds from oil and natural gas sales to Russia's federal government in October increased by 57% compared to September, to reach 1.21 trillion Russian roubles (12.35 billion dollars), thanks to the quarterly payment of oil profit tax. This is compared to a calculation-based forecast of 1,17 trillion roubles, down from 1,63 trillion roubles as of October 2023. The Kremlin's most important cash source has been oil and gas revenues, which have accounted for between a third and a half the total federal budget revenue over the last decade.
Uniper buys German hydropower to hedge against future price increases
The German utility Uniper said that it has sold large quantities of future hydropower production as part of an hedging strategy. Uniper sold 75% (134.86 euros) of its German hydropower production for 2025 and 30% (2026) at an 88 euro/MWh average, according to a presentation made for a conference call with analysts on the earnings of the first three months of 2024. LSEG data revealed that the wholesale benchmark price of round-the clock German power for all generation sources for 2025 was 87.0 euros, while it was 82.2 euros in 2026. Fuel elements at wholesale are priced differently, resulting in discrepancies.
Researchers say that a late-season storm could disrupt the US oil production by 4 million barrels.
Researchers said that a late-season tropical storm, which is predicted to intensify this week into a Category 2 hurricane in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, could reduce U.S. crude oil production by approximately 4 million barrels. Storm Rafael, which was in the Caribbean Sea on Monday evening, is expected to move into the Gulf of Mexico via a path that will take it through oil-producing regions. The National Hurricane Center reported that winds could reach up to 100 miles per hour (161 km/h) on Tuesday. Earth Science Associates, an energy analytics firm, estimated that U.S.
Diamondback Energy misses Q3 profit estimates, raises annual production forecast
Diamondback Energy missed Monday's estimates for the third quarter profit as it was hit by lower prices. However, its forecast for production for this year got a boost thanks to its acquisition of Endeavor Energy for $26 billion. Oil prices dropped in the third quarter, after an interest rate reduction by the Federal Reserve that was larger than expected sparked concern about the U.S. economic situation as well as global demand. The company has been announcing its results for the month of September. Lower prices for its third quarter oil and gas production. This makes it the third U.S. shale producers to do this in just a few weeks after Occidental Petroleum, and Exxon Mobil.
Egypt's Petroleum Ministry ties arrears payment to production boost amid decreasing gas output
According to a statement from the petroleum ministry on Monday, Egypt plans to link arrears payment to increased production as part of its plan to settle outstanding debts with international oil companies. The statement said that the ministry recently introduced an incentive package to encourage partners to increase output above current levels. Additional revenue generated by this increase will be used to reduce existing debt. Karim Badawi, Egypt's Petroleum Minister, said that Egypt had begun to implement mechanisms to ensure regular payment to oil partners. These include consistent fixed payments to promote continuity and dependability in arrears repayment.
Major Salzgitter shareholder mulls takeover bid
Salzgitter announced on Monday that its second-largest shareholder GP Gunter Papenburg is considering a possible takeover of the German Steelmaker with a partner. The offer is only valid if TSR Recycling and the two-party consortium reach a minimum of 45% of Salzgitter plus one share. Salzgitter has not disclosed the price of its offer. The news caused the shares of the Frankfurt-listed company to rise by nearly 26% as early as 1854 GMT. GP Gunter Papenburg holds 25,1% of Salzgitter. This is slightly less than the 26,5% held by Lower Saxony in Germany, where Salzgitter has its headquarters.
Canada proposes a sharp reduction in emissions from the oil and gas industry by 2030
On Monday, the Canadian government released draft regulations which would cap greenhouse gas emissions from the oil and natural gas sector. Producers will be required to reduce emissions by 35% from 2019 levels and 2030. In a press release, the Environment Ministry said that the regulations would create a cap and trade system to reward companies with better performance. It will also provide an incentive for polluting firms to improve their production processes. Ottawa stated that oil and gas production would still grow by 16% in 2030-2032 compared to 2019 levels, but without a cap. The Canadian GDP will only decrease by 0.1%.
TotalEnergies executive: Trump unlikely to undo Biden’s IRA climate law
TotalEnergies, a French oil company, does not believe Donald Trump will pull the U.S. from the Paris Agreement to combat climate change and undo the Inflation Reduction Act legislation if he becomes president of the United States again. This was stated by the strategy director on Monday. Aurelien Hamelle said this while presenting Total’s energy outlook, which forecasts global demand scenarios up to 2050. The current trends scenario of the company does not also project a lifting by the U.S. government of its current ban on new LNG export facilities.
Public Service Enterprise Group exceeds Q3 profit expectations on the back of higher sales
Public Service Enterprise Group surpassed Wall Street expectations for the third quarter profit on Monday as the electric utility and gas utility benefitted from higher retail sales and growth in distribution margins.U.S. Electric firms are looking to increase customer bills in order to fund upgrades to the grid. This is due to extreme weather conditions, such as hurricanes and storms, and an increased demand for industrial consumers, like data centers.Public Service Enterprise has reached a settlement with the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities for its case regarding base rates of electric and gas distribution. The agreement will take effect on Oct.
Canada wants the energy sector to reduce emissions up to 35% from 2019 levels
The Canadian government released on Monday a draft regulation that would limit emissions of greenhouse gasses from the oil and natural gas sector to 35% below 2019 levels. This is a little less than originally anticipated. In a press release, the Environment Ministry said that the regulations would create a cap and trade system to reward companies with better performance. It will also provide an incentive for polluting firms to improve their production processes. The Liberal government originally said that it wanted to reduce emissions from the energy sector, Canada's most polluting industry, by 38% by 2030. The news release on Monday did not mention 2030.
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. Ghais stated that the oil producing group was optimistic about the global economy. He noted growth in the U.S. as well as in China. He reiterated that he does not expect the demand to peak anytime soon. "It makes me think of the discussions about peak supply that took place many years ago.
Prices for gas in Europe are rising as the low wind increases demand.
Dutch and British wholesale prices of gas rose on Monday as low wind speeds increased gas demand for electricity generation. Strong inventories and temperatures above normal could limit further increases. LSEG data shows that the benchmark front-month contract for the Dutch TTF hub at 0926 GMT was 0.98 euros higher, at 39.88 Euro per megawatt hour. The contract for the day-ahead contract was 1,28 euros higher, at 39.53 Euro/MWh. LSEG data shows that the British contract for the weekend rose 4.00 pence to 99.25 p/therm while the contract for the day ahead increased by 2.75 pence to 99.75 p/therm.
Sources say that OPEC+ has agreed to delay the December production increase by one month.
Three sources within the producer group said on Sunday that OPEC+ had agreed to postpone by one month the planned increase in oil production for December, due to the weak demand, notably coming from China, and the rising supply from outside the group. The OPEC+, which consists of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, Russia, and other allies was supposed to increase output by 180,000 barleys per day in the month of December. The increase was already postponed from October due to falling prices. Sources told the media last week that the lack of demand and the economic data had raised concerns in the group regarding the addition of more supply.
US regulators reject amended agreement on interconnect for Amazon Data Center
A filing on Friday showed that U.S. Energy regulators had rejected an amended agreement to interconnect an Amazon datacenter directly with a nuclear plant in Pennsylvania. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission members said that the agreement to increase capacity of the Talen Energy Susquehanna nuclear generating plant's data center could affect grid reliability and raise electricity bills for consumers. As Big Tech race to expand its data centers to support technologies such as generative artificial Intelligence, the option of locating these centers on power plant sites is becoming more attractive.
Exxon and Chevron are expected to top Q3 profits as US oil production hits a record high
Exxon Mobil, a U.S.-based oil producer, and Chevron, a U.S.-based fuel company, posted higher-than-expected profits for the third quarter on Friday. This was due to soaring U.S. crude oil production, which cushioned soaring fuel prices. Both companies focused on increasing oil and gas production, while rivals BP & Shell invested heavily in wind, solar & renewables. These investments have not yet paid off. The two U.S. firms have both benefited from the acquisition of smaller oil companies. Despite their surging production, they could face a challenge in the near future from an uncertain demand…
U.S. regulators consider the issue of data centers in power plants
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission held a technical meeting on Friday to discuss the reliability and cost concerns associated with the growing trend of building data centers that are energy-intensive on the site of U.S. nuclear power plants. The technology industry is racing to build data centers to support technologies such as generative artificial intelligence. However, accessing the huge amounts of electricity required for these centers quickly has become a major problem. Co-location, the arrangement that connects data centers to power plants directly…
Fugro is confident that it will achieve its revenue growth target of 2024 as the wind and LNG markets stabilize.
The CEO of Dutch geological data specialist Fugro said that the company is confident in meeting its target of mid-single-digit revenue growth for full-year, as it anticipates the wind energy and LNG market to stabilize after next week's U.S. elections. Fugro shares fell up to 21.3% Friday, after the company announced a 21% drop in revenue for the Americas due to the postponement offshore wind, carbon storage & storage and liquefied gas projects in the United States. These sectors receive geological data from the company. The company's revenues in the Middle East fell by 21%.
Data shows that Russian LNG exports in Jan-Oct are up by 6%.
LSEG data on Friday showed that Russia's January-October LNG exports increased by 6% compared to a year ago, reaching 26,4 million metric tonnes. Just over half of these were shipped to Europe. The data show that the October supply rose 10% over September, to 2,97 million tons. This is a record monthly volume for this year. The data for September was revised to 2.7 millions tons, down from the originally reported 2.81million tons. In the first ten months of this year, Europe imported around 13,4 million tons of Russian exports. The last month's supplies to Europe were 950,000 tons. This is down from 1.1 millions tons in September 2024, and 1.2million tons in October 2023.
Chevron exceeds expectations for quarterly profits on the back of higher oil production
Chevron Corp. beat Wall Street expectations for the third quarter profit on Friday. However, its earnings dropped from a previous year. Chevron Corp, which has had its proposed $53 billion takeover of Hess delayed by Exxon Mobil Ltd and CNOOC Ltd due to their challenge, reported a profit adjusted of $4.53 billion. This compares to $5.72 million a year earlier. The shares rose by 2.6% ahead of normal trading hours. The oil industry has seen profits fall this year as a result of lower crude prices and a weaker growth in fuel demand. Oil futures for the quarter ending Sept. 30, averaged 17% less than the previous quarter.
