Service Resumed at Berkshire Hathaway Energy Cove Point LNG Export Plant
U.S. energy firm Berkshire Hathaway Energy's Cove Point liquefied natural gas (LNG) export plant in Maryland returned to service on Sunday after a planned autumn maintenance outage, according to a company notice to customers and data from financial firm LSEG.The amount of natural gas flowing to the plant, which shut around September 20, rose from about zero to 0.9 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) on October 12, the LSEG data showed.The plant can turn around 0.8 bcfd of gas into LNG.
Berkshire Hathaway Energy Cove Point in Maryland LNG export plant is back in service
According to a notice sent to customers by the company and data provided by financial firm LSEG, on October 13, U.S. energy giant Berkshire Hathaway Energy’s Cove Point liquefied gas export plant (LNG) in Maryland resumed service after a planned maintenance outage. The LSEG data revealed that the amount of natural gases flowing into the plant after it shut down around September 20 rose from zero to 0.9 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd), on October 12. The plant is capable of converting 0.8 bcfd into LNG.
Saudi Aramco CEO: Saudi Aramco's maximum oil production capacity can be sustained for an entire year at 12 million barrels per day.
Saudi Aramco's Chief Executive Amin Nasser said that the company can maintain crude oil production of 12 million barrels a day (bpd), for an entire year, without incurring any additional costs. Saudi Arabia has a large share of the world’s spare oil supply – idle oil that can be quickly brought to market. Nasser, speaking at the Energy Intelligence Forum held in London, projected that global oil demand will rise by between 1.1 and 1.3 million barrels per day (bpd) this year, as well as by 1.2 to 1.4 millions bpd by 2026.
Australia's renewables drive powers a 'golden rush' of big battery bets
Investors in Australia’s battery energy storage industry are taking advantage of the chaos on the spot markets. They have been emboldened by Australia’s efforts to expand its renewable energy infrastructure. Investors in the sector are now funding projects that do not have a fully-guaranteed long-term revenue. The first two battery projects exposed to the market this year were funded. As the demand for renewable energy grows, analysts say that more flexible financing will make money available in this sector.
Anglo-Teck's merger with Glencore will unlock Chile mine synergies if Glencore approves
Analysts say that the proposed Anglo American and Teck merger could be hampered by Glencore, a Swiss miner-trader. Glencore and London-listed Anglo are equal partners at Collahuasi. This is one of the largest copper deposits in the world, located about 10 kilometers from Teck's flagship Quebrada Blanca Mine. Investors view the merging of operations at both sites as the key to the AngloTeck merger. This is one of the largest deals in the history of mining and would propel two medium-sized companies into the top tier global copper producers…
US Defense Department buys cobalt up to $500 Million
As part of its efforts to increase the supply of critical minerals, the U.S. wants to buy cobalt for up to $500,000,000 to be used in defense stockpiles. After China implemented restrictions on rare earth magnets, companies have scrambled to find them. This led to a drop of 75% in exports in June. Some automakers even suspended production. In March, U.S. president Donald Trump invoked emergency powers in order to increase domestic production of vital minerals. This was part of an effort to counter China's near total control of this sector.
INSIGHT-Oklahoma! How America hopes it can compete with China on critical minerals
A two-story warehouse nestled under Oklahoma's Wichita Mountains contains the only machine capable of refining Nickel, an important energy transition metal that is now dominated by China. The facility, which is owned by Westwin Elements a startup, hopes to make Oklahoma the epicenter of critical minerals processing in the United States, a field that was largely abandoned a few decades ago. To get there, the state must overcome many obstacles, such as a lack in major mineral deposits and a weak educational system…
Rural Oklahoma aims to become a hub of critical minerals processing in the United States
A two-story warehouse nestled under Oklahoma's Wichita Mountains contains the only machine capable of refining Nickel, an important energy transition metal that is now dominated by China. The facility, which is owned by Westwin Elements, hopes to make Oklahoma the epicenter of critical minerals processing in the United States, a field that was largely abandoned by the country decades ago. To get there, the state must overcome several obstacles, including the lack of important mineral deposits…
Japanese trading houses cautious on profit forecasts despite US tariffs
Japanese trading houses Mitsui & Co., Sumitomo Corp. and Sojitz issued cautious profit predictions for the current fiscal period as U.S. Tariffs threaten global supply chain and increase economic insecurity. Ryosei Acazawa, Japan's chief trade negotiator, is currently in the United States to try and negotiate a tariff agreement with President Donald Trump. The Bank of Japan cut its forecast of economic growth for the year that ends March 2026 from 1.1% to just 0.5% and maintained interest rates at their current levels.
Elliott builds $1.5-billion stake in Hewlett Packard Enterprise
A person with knowledge of the matter confirmed on Tuesday that hedge fund Elliott Investment Management had built up a stake in Hewlett Packard Enterprise worth more than $1.5 Billion. Elliott, one the world's largest activist investors, is now among the biggest investors in the company and plans to engage the management, according to the person who wasn't allowed to discuss the campaign publically. It was not immediately clear what Elliott might be trying to convince HPE, a company valued at 20 billion dollars, to do.
Mozambique President discusses LNG and hydro projects with TotalEnergies CEO
Patrick Pouyanne (CEO of TotalEnergies) met Mozambique President Daniel Chapo on Monday. The two discussed several projects of the company in the southern African nation, including the long-delayed development of liquefied gas worth $20 billion. The French oil major confirmed last week that the force majeure on the project had not yet been lifted. This pushed back the deadline for Mozambique LNG to start construction in 2024. It was originally scheduled to begin gas production by 2029.
DeepSeek's "Sputnik moment" prompts investors to dump big AI players
Investors sent technology stocks like Nvidia and Oracle tumbling on Monday as the appearance of a Chinese artificial intelligence model that is low-cost cast doubts on Western firms' dominance in the sector.Startup DeepSeek launched last week a free assistant that it claims uses less data and costs a fraction of what existing models cost. This could be a turning point for the amount of investment required in AI.Futures for the Nasdaq 100 fell almost 4%.
Maryland Cove Point LNG Export Plant of Berkshire Hathaway shut down for maintenance
According to a notice sent to customers, U.S. energy company Berkshire Hathaway Energy closed its Cove Point LNG export plant in Maryland during the annual autumn maintenance period of about three weeks. According to data from the financial firm LSEG, the amount of natural gases flowing into the plant has dropped to almost zero since August 1, when it averaged around 0.7 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd). Since mid-October 2023, when it was returned to service from its previous autumn maintenance outage…
Andy Home: Nickel market is no longer worried about Russian supply
The market has shrugged off the suggestion by Russian President Vladimir Putin that Moscow could consider capping nickel exports in retaliation to Western sanctions. The London Metal Exchange's (LME) 3-month price managed to make a slight bounce above the $16,000 per metric ton mark, but momentum is fading. It's a long way from the first Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. The fear that sanctions could be imposed on metal produced by Russian giant Norilsk Nickel sparked a massive rally in 2022, which culminated in a complete meltdown of LME nickel.
Floating Solar: DNV Advises on Indonesian Floating Solar Photovoltaic Project
Floating solar photovoltaic (PV), initially considered a niche technology, is now the fastest-growing solar PV category, alongside ground-mounted utility-scale solar and rooftop PV. As of August 2020, more than 60 countries have actively pursued the deployment of floating PV, with more than 35 installing an estimated 350 operational floating PV systems, equal to a total 2.6 GW of installed capacity. DNV acted as the Lender’s Technical Advisor, during the development phase…
Survival of the fittest: petrochemical manufacturers battle global glut
The survival mode of petrochemical producers is on in Europe and Asia. Years of capacity building in China, the top market for petrochemicals, and high energy prices in Europe have pushed margins down two years in a row. The weakness of the sector is concerning for an oil industry that looks to petrochemicals as a way to maintain profits in future years when transportation fuel demand will fall with the energy shift. Industry executives and analysts report that major producers in Asia…
Virus Lockdowns Pummel Global Gas Demand, Force LNG Output Cuts
Lockdowns to slow the coronavirus pandemic are pummelling gas demand in the world's biggest buyers of liquefied natural gas (LNG), pushing Asia's spot prices to record lows and forcing some suppliers to start cutting output. Economies worldwide have ground to a halt as virus containment measures have taken their toll, slashing gas demand for power generation, heating, cooking, vehicles and chemical manufacture. The world's biggest LNG markets - Japan, China, South Korea, and India - are all seeing a drop in demand.
WFW Advises on Race Bank Wind Farm Deal
Watson Farley & Williams (WFW), an international law firm based in London, said that it has advised Race Bank Wind Farm Limited on its USD 608 million sale of transmission system assets relating to the 573 MW Race Bank offshore wind farm to Diamond Transmission Partners.Race Bank is a joint venture owned by Ørsted (50%), Macquarie European Infrastructure Fund 5 (25%), a fund established by Sumitomo Corporation, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation and Development Bank of Japan (12.5%)…
Belgium: Northwester 2 Offshore Wind Farm Complete
The 219 MW Northwester 2 wind farm has been completed and is now supplying the Belgian grid electricity by all of its 23 fully operational wind turbines producing 9,5 MW each. This wind farm, owned by Parkwind (70%) and Sumitomo (30%) is the first to use the MHI Vestas V164-9.5 MW turbines in commercial operation. The first turbine was installed in December 2019.This is the seventh wind farm in the Belgian North Sea, which now brings the total offshore energy capacity to 1…
Japan's LNG Investments Drive Faces Risk of Souring
Japan's banks and public agencies have funneled nearly $25 billion into liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects since 2017 but the investments may sour as prices plummet from the COVID-19 pandemic and as climate change risks rise, a new study shows.Spurred on by the government to boost energy security since the 2011 Fukushima disaster shut down the country's reactors, Japan's investment in LNG rivals that for coal, the dirtiest fossil fuel, while more…