Seven countries warn EU against changing the energy market design
Seven EU member states, including the Netherlands, Sweden and Belgium, warned the executive of the bloc 'on Thursday' against interfering in the system that determines Europe's energy price. Officials at Brussels are scrambling to reduce bills. This year, energy prices are a major political issue in Europe. Industries have warned that they can't compete with the lower-cost companies from China and the United States. The European Commission has been under increasing pressure to intervene due to the soaring prices of oil and gas worldwide as a result of the conflict in Iran.
Pluspetrol in Peru stops gas production following pipeline leak
Pluspetrol, Peru's liquefied gas producer, has halted production of LPG following a rupture and leak on a pipeline in the Amazon region. The ruptured pipeline was operated by Transportadora de Gas del Peru, (TGP), and occurred in Megantoni district, Cusco region, just a few kilometers away from the Camisea field, where Pluspetrol extracts gas. Pluspetrol's Pisco fractionation plant has been cut off from receiving natural gas. According to company data, the facility provides approximately 70% of Peru’s?LPG needs.
Qatar closes down gas liquefaction; restarting will take several weeks, say sources
Qatar declared a 'force majeure' on its gas exports Wednesday, amid the U.S. and Israeli war against Iran. Sources said that it could take at least a month to return to normal production levels. Qatar is supplying 20% of the world's liquefied gas. Two sources familiar with this matter have confirmed that Qatar Energy, the state energy giant, which has stopped producing gas in recent weeks, will completely shut down gas liquefaction by Wednesday. Two sources familiar with the matter said that they asked to remain anonymous because they were not permitted to speak to media.
EUROPE GAS-European Gas Prices soar by more than 40% due to LNG Supply Fears
The benchmark Dutch and British gas price rose by more than 40% in the morning of Tuesday, as fears about supply grew after Iran and Israel intensified their attacks on the Middle East, and Qatar stopped 'production' at its Ras Laffan plant, which is the largest export facility in the world. Europe has been increasing its LNG imports over the last few years to replace Russian gas after Russia invaded Ukraine. It will need to import even more to replenish its rapidly depleting LNG storage. Due to the conflict in the Middle East…
NY court refuses overturn arbitral ruling that favors Venture Global over Shell
A state judge in New York rejected Monday the request of British oil giant Shell to overturn an arbitration award which favored Venture Global. The dispute was about Venture Global's alleged improper sales of liquefied gas by American company. Justice Joel Cohen, of the Supreme Court of California, determined that no further discovery was necessary because the court must defer to arbitral rulings. Shell has effectively lost its challenge against Venture Global for failing to supply it with LNG cargoes years after the plant first produced supercooled gas.
Spain's Moeve joins forces with Masdar to launch a $1.2 billion green hydrogen project
The Spanish energy company Moeve approved a major green hydrogen investment project that involved more than one billion euros ($1.2 billion) of investments. Masdar, an Abu Dhabi renewable energy company, was a minority partner. Moeve announced on Monday that it had made the final investment decision for the first part in the Andalusian Green Hydrogen Valley, Spain. This will have a 300 megawatt capacity and the option to add an additional 100 MW based on grid availability and board approval. It said that it will be the biggest project of its kind in southern Europe.
China Oil Refiners Feel Safe From Iran Conflict Disruption with Crude Stockpile
Refiners in China, the world's top oil importer, have enough supply on hand to weather near-term disruption from the Iran conflict, bolstered by recent record purchases of Iranian and Russian crude and robust government stockpiling, traders said.A prolonged supply disruption could, however, force the country's refiners to curb output and run down commercial stockpiles, some of the traders said.China has around 900 million barrels in strategic inventories, or 78 days' worth of imports, according to estimates by Vortexa and traders.Its independent refiners…
Godavari Biorefineries in India to launch grain-based distillery by June quarter
Godavari Biorefineries in India plans to commission a grain-based distillery capable of producing '200 kilolitres per day (KLPD) by the end of the June quarter. This move is intended to diversify a company's feedstock, and allow it to use both sugarcane and corn - depending on the market price. The new distillery is integrated into our existing distillery. Samir Somaiya?, the managing director of the company said that it will be a fungible plant which can change feedstock. He said that the company has a sugar mill in northern Karnataka. This is a major corn-growing area.
GKN's cancellation of plans for a magnet factory is a setback to Europe's goal for rare earths
GKN Powder Metallurgy scrapped plans to manufacture rare earth permanent'magnets' in Europe. Three sources familiar with the matter confirmed this, highlighting Europe’s struggle to create a domestic rare Earths?industry that can compete with China, the dominant producer. China controls 90% of the rare earth output processed and 70% of the mining production. Europe is being criticized for falling behind the U.S. when it comes to offering financial support to projects that develop its own supply. One source said that GKN PM's plans to manufacture rare earth magnets for EVs…
Sources claim that India wants to reduce coal imports for the power sector by 30% in this year.
India, which is the second largest thermal coal importer in the world, wants to reduce its imports by at least 30 percent. It has asked the industry to experiment with blending more domestic 'coal' with imported coal. India's power stations will import nearly 50 million tonnes of coal from countries such as Indonesia, South Africa and Russia by 2025. Two government officials and an industry source said that the government wants to reduce this number by at least 15 millions tons this year. Even though it is accelerating its transition to renewable energy at an unprecedented pace…
Eni CEO: Eni can receive Venezuelan oil as payment for gas
Eni CEO, Eni, said that Venezuela is now able to pay for the gas it receives from the Italian company with oil, thanks to recent easing of U.S. sanctions. This has helped to resolve a situation where the Latin American nation was left with a huge debt to Eni. "That was a huge upside. Before, we were stuck for nearly a year. This led to a 'build-up in our outstanding', Claudio Descalzi said during a call following the results. Descalzi confirmed that Venezuela owes a debt of around $3 billion to the Italian group.
US provides historic $26.5 billion loan to Southern Co subsidiaries
The?U.S. The Energy Department announced on Wednesday that it has provided a loan of $26.54 billion to'subsidiaries' of Southern Co in order to improve grid reliability. This is the largest loan ever offered by its loan office. According to the Energy Department, this financing will allow power customers in Georgia & Alabama to save more than $7 billion. Southern announced last year that it would freeze power bill increases for three years. Negotiations over loans made the company's decision possible, according to the?department. The Trump administration changed the name of the loan office to Energy Dominance Financing.
As global pressure increases, German Chancellor Merz travels to China in search of opportunities
The German Chancellor Friedrich Merz is visiting China this week. He's the latest European leader to seek a reset of relations with Beijing following a year which exposed the fragility in their supply chains and the collapse of their alliance with the U.S. Merz is making his first trip to China as a?chancellor' and leads a delegation that includes some of Germany’s top business leaders. This includes the heads of carmakers Volkswagen BMW and Mercedes-Benz. Their companies, along with their European counterparts, have been hit twice by the suffocating Chinese electric vehicle manufacturers and U.S.
As global pressure increases, German Chancellor Merz travels to China in search of opportunities
The German Chancellor Friedrich Merz is visiting China this week. He is the latest European leader to seek a reset of relations with Beijing following a year which exposed the 'crumbling' of their alliance with?the United States. The collapse of their alliance with the United States was exposed in a year that revealed vulnerabilities within their supply chains. Merz is leading a delegation that includes some of Germany's top business leaders. This includes the heads of Volkswagen, BMW, and Mercedes-Benz. Their companies…
In mid-2026, Inpex will invite bids for the construction of Indonesia's Abadi Liquefied natural gas project.
Inpex, a Japanese oil and natural gas exploration company, said that it would begin the engineering tender for its Abadi project in Indonesia by the middle of this year. Jakarta has pledged to eliminate 'bureaucratic snags' in order to expedite development on the $21 billion project. Abadi, the liquefied gas project (LNG) in Indonesia's Masela Block has been delayed for years due to the request of the previous administration that the plant be moved onshore. Purbaya Yudhi Satewa, Finance Minister, chaired on Tuesday a meeting to "debottleneck" the project with Inpex…
EIA: US power plants could avoid retirement by 2026
The Department of Energy's Research arm stated on Monday that U.S. Power Plants scheduled to retire in?2026 may stay online for longer. This builds on a trend which began last year as electricity prices and usage reached record highs in certain parts of the nation. According to the Energy Information Administration, 11 gigawatts worth of electricity-generating capacity was expected to close in the U.S. this year. The EIA's research shows that nearly 60% of this power is coal-fired and the rest is gas-fired. The…
Engie to install bitcoin mining and storage at massive new Brazil solar plant
Eduardo Sattamini is the Engie Country Manager for Brazil. He told journalists last week that he was looking into possible offtakers. Assu, located in northeast Brazil has 895MWp of installed capacity and began full commercial operations last month. Sattamini stated that the production was curtailed by 'curtailments' made to balance Brazil’s power grid. He did not specify how much of the?production had been affected. Since 2023, curtailment has been a major problem for solar and wind farm owners in Brazil. This has caused energy companies to lose billions of reais.
Saudi Aramco has sold its first Jafurah condensate cargos to US firms and India, according to sources
Four 'trade sources' said that Saudi Aramco, the state energy giant, has sold several cargoes - of ultra-light crude oil from its $100 billion Jafurah plant - to U.S. refiners and majors in India as it prepares to ship its first cargo this month. Aramco is aiming to increase its natural gas production to become one of the world's major players and expand its light crude grade offerings. The Jafurah Project, which contains an estimated 229 trillion standard cubic feet of raw gas, and 75 billion barrels condensate of liquid gas, is at the heart of its ambitions. Sources said that U.S.
Trump EPA will weaken the rule limiting harmful air toxins and mercury from coal plants
The Trump administration announced Friday that it would roll back clean air regulations that limit mercury and hazardous toxic pollutants from power plants. Public health groups warned it would harm America's most disadvantaged. The Environmental Protection Agency of President Donald Trump has stated that easing pollution standards would?alleviate the costs for utilities who run older coal-fired plants, at a moment when the demand for electricity is on the rise due to the expansion data centers for artificial intelligence.
Trump's tariff reversal may reduce costs for US energy companies, but it will likely not affect broader flows.
Although the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn trade tariffs that President Donald Trump imposed last year could ease costs for certain?oil drillers and producers, analysts and experts said that energy flows in general would?remain unchanged for now. The ruling of the court could lower the cost to build LNG plants and large-scale infrastructures that depend on modules and parts made in countries affected by tariffs. Venture Global, for instance, builds its LNG plant components in Italy and then imports them to the U.S.A. for final assembly. Trump's tariffs increased costs for U.S.