Japan's JERA receives government subsidy on US ammonia imports
JERA, Japan's largest power generator, has received a 15-year government subsidy to cover the?difference between coal and ammonia prices. It aims to import ammonia to its planned U.S. The government has agreed to provide a subsidy for 15 years, covering the?difference between ammonia and coal prices. JERA aims to import ammonia from its planned?U.S. plant in 2029. JERA, CF Industries, and Mitsui Trading formed a joint-venture in April to build the Blue Point Project, one of the largest ammonia plants with low carbon emissions in the world. The project is estimated to cost $4 billion.
Japan will increase public funding for nuclear power renewal
Japan has announced plans to increase public funding for its crippled nucleopower sector. This is essential, say experts, to kick-start an industry that was previously financed by utilities owned by shareholders. Japan closed all 54 reactors in the wake of the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster. The public was concerned about safety standards and shut them down. Only 14 out of 33 reactors that were available to restart are operational due to stricter rules and in some cases opposition from locals. The recovery of the…
Woodside's new CEO must navigate LNG projects with high costs through glut risk
Woodside Energy is facing a leadership shake up after Meg O'Neill's unexpected departure for the top position at?BP. This comes at a time when the Australian company is trying to deliver on key projects in a?braced?for a glut of supply. Analysts say that the oil and gas company will continue to pursue its global growth strategy. This requires continued investment in new assets as well as continuity in mature fields. After project delays and rising costs, it will be important to advance the Louisiana LNG project. The Louisiana LNG project, valued at $17.5 billion, will be Woodside's key project.
What is Fusion Energy, the Quest that Trump Media is so enamored with?
Scientists and businesses have tried for decades to harness the fusion energy that powers the sun to produce electricity on Earth. The $6 billion merger announced on Thursday between U.S. president Donald Trump's Trump Media and Technology Group and?Google-backed TAE technologies is the latest development for an industry still a long way from commercialization. What is Fusion? The process of fusion energy that powers the sun and the stars occurs when light isotopes such as hydrogen are forced to fuse together under extreme temperatures and pressures to release enormous amounts of energy.
Woodside's new CEO must navigate LNG projects with high costs through glut risk
Woodside Energy is facing a leadership shake up after BP's?chief executive Meg O'Neill's unexpected departure for the top position at BP. This comes as the Australian 'firm' is trying to deliver key projects on a market that's braced for an oversupply. Analysts say that the oil and gas "producer" is expected to continue with its global strategy of growth, which requires sustained investment in both new assets and continuity within mature fields. After project delays and rising costs, it will be important to advance the Louisiana LNG project. The Louisiana LNG project, valued at $17.5 billion, will be Woodside's key project.
EUROPE GAS-European Gas Prices Rise on Colder Weather Demand
Dutch and British gas rates posted modest gains on Thursday, but it is expected that they will remain flat as the 'increased demand due to colder weather' can be easily met through pipelines and liquefied natural gas deliveries. LSEG data shows that the benchmark Dutch front-month contract was 27.57 euros per Megawatt Hour (MWh) or $9.48/mmBtu at 0907 GMT. This is an increase of 0.19 euros. The Dutch day-ahead contracts was up by 0.41 euros to 27.36 Euro/MWh. The British day-ahead price of gas was 0.90 pence higher at 71.00 pence/therm. Meanwhile, the front-month contract for gas was 0.62 pence higher at 72.90 pence/therm.
In Poland's 2030 climate plan, renewable energy will make up 51-53% of the power mix.
The energy ministry said that Poland aims to have 51%-53% of its electricity mix made up by renewable energy sources by 2030. This is according to a draft version of the national energy and climate plans, which Warsaw will submit to the European Commission. The range of policy scenarios is higher than the 30% Poland announced a year ago, but still slightly lower than the 56% Poland predicted a year ago, as natural gas will now be used to generate more electricity. By 2040, it is projected that the share of renewables will rise to between 65% and 68%.
Freeport LNG Export Plant in Texas will take in more natgas data shows
Data from the financial firm LSEG revealed that U.S. liquefied gas company Freeport LNG was'set to receive more natural gas in its Texas export plant on Wednesday. This implies a resumption of service by one of three liquefaction train after it had been shut down on Tuesday. It is one of the U.S. LNG facilities that are closely monitored in the world, as changes in its operation can lead to a?price spike in global gas markets. Gas prices in the U.S. typically?decline due to lower demand from the export plant. Prices in Europe are usually higher because there is less LNG available for global markets. The futures price in the U.S.
EUROPE GAS-European gas prices rise due to a colder and less windy climate, LNG shortage
Gas prices in the Netherlands and Britain rose on Wednesday, supported by an improved weather forecast and an interruption at the Freeport Liquefied Natural Gas?plant. Storages are still 'below previous years' levels. LSEG data shows that the benchmark Dutch front-month contract was 27.50 euros per Megawatt Hour (MWh) or $9.44/mmBtu at 0941 GMT. This is an increase of 0.60 Euro. The February contract increased by 0.45 euros to 27.19 Euro/MWh. The British day-ahead gas prices increased by 1.40 pence to 70.50 pence a therm.
Kyivstar, Ukraine's largest mobile network operator, purchases solar power plant for increased resilience
Kyivstar, Ukraine's mobile operator, announced on Tuesday that it has?acquired? solar power company Sunvin 11?as it steps up energy investments to keep its network running amid Russian attacks against the country's grid. Kyivstar is Ukraine's largest mobile operator, which offers digital?healthcare, entertainment and other services. It has added backup?capacity as well as alternative connectivity options in response to Russia's attacks on the?Ukrainian?energy infrastructure. Starlink's direct to cell SMS service was introduced in November to support customers who live in remote areas and are affected by blackouts.
Solarig, a Spanish company, invests over $400 Million in Poland in biomethane facilities
Solarig, a Spanish renewable developer, announced on Monday that it would invest more than 1.5 billion zlotys ($415 millions) in Poland to build and operate 20 biomethane plant over the next five-year period. Solarig's Biorig subsidiary, which also develops similar portfolios in Spain and Italy, will deploy the investment. The company claims that the facilities will be deployed in several regions across Poland and generate a terawatt-hour of gas each year. This is enough to cover the consumption of 400,000 households. Biomethane is produced from organic waste such as food scraps and damaged crops.
DL Chemical plans to shut down Yeochun NCC No. 1 plant under restructuring
DL Chemical, a South Korean petrochemical firm, announced on?Monday the closure of?Yeochun NCC Co.'s No. According to an emailed announcement, the No. 1 plant with a capacity of 900,000.000 metric tonnes should be closed as part of a restructuring plan. Yeochun NCC Co, the third largest ethylene producer in Korea, is a joint venture of DL Chemical with Hanwha Solutions. Local petrochemical companies should submit a restructuring plan by the end of this year to reduce oversupply, and to improve their financial situation. The Korea Economic Daily reported Sunday that Hanwha Chemical and DL Chemical have agreed to close YNCC’s No.
Australia announces rescue bid for Rio Tinto Tomago Aluminium Smelter
The Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, announced on Friday that a "rescue" effort would be launched to keep Australia's biggest aluminium smelter open, the struggling Tomago plant majority owned by Rio Tinto after its current energy contract expires 2028. The announcement comes after the company had warned in October of a possible closure for Tomago Aluminium. It employs more than 1,000 employees and 200 contractors. Albanese stated that aluminium was becoming a "vital product", making it vital to keep Tomago operating. He said that if Australia does not produce aluminium, the knock-on effects in other industries are significant.
Drax plans on converting coal-era power stations into data centres by 2027
Drax Group announced on Thursday that it could convert a part of its power plant in Yorkshire, Northern England, into an data centre by 2027. The land, cooling systems, and transformers were previously used for coal generation. Europe's old coal- and gas-fired plants are in need of a new lease on life. Tech giants like Microsoft and Amazon want to convert them into data centers, using the existing power and water supply, to meet the rise in AI-driven demand for energy. Drax is preparing an application for a 100-megawatt potential data centre on the site, with ambitions of expanding capacity beyond 1 gigawatt by 2031.
Kyiv reports that Russia has hit the gas transport system of Ukraine's Odesa Region.
A senior Ukrainian official reported on Wednesday that Russian drones had 'hit the gas transport system' in Ukraine’s southern Odesa Region. This area contains several pipelines bringing U.S. Liquefied Natural Gas to Ukraine from Greece. Mykola Kolysnyk, the deputy minister of energy, refused to say what had happened. The Ukrainian gas transit operator reported that planned volumes for the Transbalkan route, also known as the Transbalkan Gas Transit Route, were mostly unchanged. In recent months, Russia has intensified its attacks on Ukrainian energy and gas infrastructure. This includes both gas production and transmission systems.
Venture Global responds to Shell's fraudulent claims in LNG arbitration
Venture Global responded late Tuesday night to Shell's legal challenge over the oil major losing an arbitration case involving liquefied gas cargoes. They rejected Shell's allegations of fraud and accused Shell of violating arbitration confidentiality. The legal documents filed in New York Supreme Court are the latest in a long saga about Venture Global's alleged failure to deliver LNG in accordance with long-term contracts, while selling LNG on the spot market at a time when prices were soaring after Russia's invasion in Ukraine. Shell, BP and Edison are among the companies that have filed arbitration cases against Venture Global.
Venture Global responds to Shell's fraudulent claims in LNG arbitration
Venture Global responded late Tuesday night to Shell's legal challenge over its loss in an arbitration case involving liquefied gas cargoes. The company rejected allegations of fraud, and accused Shell of breaching arbitration confidentiality. The legal documents filed in New York Supreme Court are the latest in a long-running saga about Venture Global's inability to deliver LNG in accordance with long-term contracts, while selling LNG on the spot market when prices rose after Russia's invasion in Ukraine. Shell, BP, Edison and other companies filed arbitration claims in 2023 against Venture Global.
Russian Syzran Oil Refinery Halted by Ukraine Drone Attack
Russia's Syzran oil refinery on the Volga River halted oil processing on December 5 after being damaged by a Ukrainian drone attack, two industry sources said on Tuesday.Ukraine and Russia have been attacking each other's energy facilities as peace talks have failed to progress.The Ukrainian military said on Friday that it had carried out long-range strikes overnight on an oil refinery in the Russian city of Syzran and the Temryuk port in the Krasnodar region.The sources said the drones hit the plant's CDU-6 crude distillation unit, which is primary equipment that was also targeted by drones in August and required two weeks of repairs.On
Sources: Russian Syzran oil refinery was halted on December 5, by a drone attack
Two industry sources reported on Tuesday that the Russian Syzran refinery, located on the Volga River, stopped?oil production on December 5, after it was?damaged by an Ukrainian drone attack. As peace talks failed to progress, Ukraine and Russia began attacking each other's nuclear energy plants. The Ukrainian military said that they had carried out long-range attacks overnight on an oil refining plant in the Russian city Syzran, and on the Temryuk Port located in the Krasnodar Region. Sources said that the drones targeted the CDU-6 crude distillation unit of the plant…
Sources say Saudi Aramco will export the first condensate in February from Jafurah Gas Plant
Two sources familiar with the matter confirmed on Tuesday that Saudi Aramco, the state energy company, plans to export the first condensate from the Jafurah Gas Plant in 'February. Aramco is aiming to be a global leader in natural gas by increasing its production capacity. The $100 billion Jafurah Project, which contains 229 trillion standard cubic feet of raw gas, and 75 billion barrels condensate according to estimates, is at the heart of this ambition. Saudi Finance Ministry said that the first phase of production began in early this month.