Norway Parliament rejects any challenge to LNG plant power supply
The Norwegian parliament rejected on Thursday a proposal that would have blocked?Equinor from supplying electricity to its Hammerfest LNG plant using the power grid of the region. This allowed the "ongoing" development to continue. The Socialist Party, which had previously supported the plan but now deemed it to be "in reality unlawful", withdrew their support. The Storting is the parliament of the Netherlands. It has 48 members. Opedal said that such an intervention "would be destructive to the trust and predictability necessary for long-term investment" for Equinor, but also for all Norwegian industry.
Holm, CFO of green steel startup Stegra, has been appointed to the position in order to raise additional funds
Swedish green steel startup Stegra announced on Monday that it had appointed Markus Holm to the position of chief financial officer. The company is scrambling?to raise additional cash in order to complete its hydrogen-based'steel plant' in northern Sweden. In Europe, many green steel projects are being delayed or have run into problems because the technology is still new and the investment costs are high. Stegra originally planned to open the plant in this year but will now do so by 2027. Stegra announced in October that it is seeking additional financing of $1.1 billion.
Trinidad's Atlantic LNG Shuts Down Train 4 for Maintenance
Trinidad and Tobago's flagship Atlantic LNG plans to shut its 6 million metric ton per annum Train 4 for up to 50 days in May and June for extensive maintenance and repairs, three people with knowledge of the plan told Reuters.Atlantic LNG is majority owned by Shell and BP - each with a 45% stake - while Trinidad's National Gas Company holds 10%. The facility accounted for roughly 15% of BP's total global LNG production and 10% of Shell's LNG output in 2025, according to company documents.The maintenance and repairs…
Nigeria's Dangote Refinery will begin full-capacity testing in February
A senior executive at Nigeria's Dangote Refinery said that the facility will start performance testing?runs? in February, after it has completed planned maintenance. This is a crucial step to ensuring a steady operation throughout the year. Africa's biggest oil refinery started operations in 2024. It has run at 450,000 to 485,000 bpd since its startup phase due to difficulties obtaining enough local crude during the ramp-up period. Operating the $20 billion refinery to full capacity would reduce Nigeria's fuel bill…
Norway Parliament Rejects Challenge to LNG Plant's Power Supply Plan
Norway's parliament on Thursday rejected a proposal to block Equinor's plan to supply electricity to its Hammerfest liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant from the region's power grid, allowing the ongoing development to continue.Opposition parties had sought to revoke the LNG plant's planned link to the power grid, but the motion failed when the Socialist Party withdrew its support for the plan, calling it "in practice unlawful".A total of 48 members of parliament, known as the Storting, backed the opposition's proposal while 54 voted against."For Equinor and our partners, it is crucial to be able to trust the authorities' decisions," Equino
Commonwealth LNG signs 20-year supply agreement with Mercuria in response to US LNG export growth
Commonwealth LNG announced on Tuesday that it had signed a sale-and-purchase agreement for 20 years to supply Mercuria 1 million metric tonnes of liquefied gas per year. The deal stipulates that Mercuria would provide Commonwealth with the equivalent amount of natural gas (estimated at 133 millions cubic feet per day) and Commonwealth will convert it to LNG, which Mercuria can then purchase. Commonwealth, a company owned by energy asset management firm Kimmeridge and majority-owned by Commonwealth, is attempting to build America's first integrated export facility for LNG. Kimmeridge will provide gas from Eagle Ford shale to the plant.
Eni, the Italian biorefinery company, has teamed up with Q8 in Sicily to build a biorefinery.
The two companies announced on Tuesday that they had agreed to "jointly" build and operate a biorefinery at Priolo in Sicily. This is a "major" step in the conversion of former chemical facilities. Eni is reorganizing its?chemical division, which has been losing money. The European petrochemical industry is struggling with "overcapacity". Eni shut down its steam cracker in Priolo last year and plans to move part of its staff to a new biorefinery?and possibly a new mixed plastic recycling?plant. The investment in the 'biorefinery' follows an offer made by Q8 that was accepted both by Eni…
Norway Socialist Party Withdraws Support for LNG Electricity Project Opposition
Norway's Socialist Party has withdrawn its support for a proposal to block Equinor's Hammerfest liquefied natural gas plant from receiving a planned onshore power connection, clearing the way for the grid development to proceed.Parliament is due on Thursday to vote on an opposition proposal seeking to revoke the LNG plant's planned link to the power grid, but the motion is likely to fail without backing from the Socialist Party.The government approved the connection in 2023 to cut greenhouse gas emissions at the plant on Melkoeya island off Hammerfest and extend its lifetime.Critics say hooking up the currently gas-driven plant to the re
The US LNG production was cut in January by the winter freeze; imports from Trinidad filled the gap.
LSEG's preliminary data shows that exports of liquefied gas from the U.S. in January fell to 11.3 million metric tons, down from December’s record of 11.5 MT. A winter freeze in late-January shut some plants while lowering output at others. On January 26, gas flows into U.S. liquefied natural gas plants reached a record low. Freeport LNG, the country's third largest LNG exporter, was partially offline during the freezing. Kinder Morgan's Elba Island plant in Georgia, which stopped taking in feedgas in the week before the freeze, imported LNG from Trinidad and Tobago.
Trinidad and Tobago talks with Indian Oil about reviving refinery
Trinidad and Tobago is in talks with ?Indian Oil Corp to restart its mothballed 165,000-barrel-per-day Guaracara oil refinery, Energy Minister ?Roodal ?Moonilal said, as the Caribbean nation looks to revive refining capacity shut more than seven years ago. The refinery in the south was shut down in 2018 by the previous government, which blamed its closure on massive losses and debt. Moonilal said in an interview at the India Energy Week that "we can come up with a new type of commercial structure" for Indian Oil.
Exxon CEO: First LNG expected at Golden Pass in March
Exxon Mobil's CEO Darren Woods announced on Friday that production?of liquefied gas will begin at the Golden Pass export terminal in Texas in March. This marks a significant milestone for the project. The?project, a joint venture between QatarEnergy and the U.S. government, will be the newest LNG?plant in the U.S. After construction began in 2019, the $10 billion project has suffered from delays and cost increases. The project had to switch its lead contractor when it filed for bankruptcy, claiming overruns in cost.
Hokkaido Electric will build a new gas-fired power plant and LNG terminal by the mid-2030s
Hokkaido Electric Power announced on Friday that it would build a new gas fired power station in Tomakomai (northern Japan) and a terminal for liquefied natural gas (LNG) by the mid-2030s. This will be to meet the rising demand of electricity from data centres and semiconductor plants. The project is part the utility's strategy to expand their gas business. They cite significant potential in Hokkaido for a switch towards lower-carbon gas, where oil and coke still make up a large portion of energy consumption. The new plant is expected to have a 0.5-1 gigawatt capacity and will be able to use cleaner fuels like hydrogen…
US natgas prices soar by 140% in the Arctic storm, increasing consumer costs
U.S. Natural Gas?Futures have jumped 140% in the last seven trading days. Cash gas and power prices also hit record highs this week, as an Arctic blast sent heating demands soaring, and frozen?oil?and?gas wells cut gas production to a 2-year low. Power prices are expected to rise sharply, putting pressure on consumers already paying higher bills due to the demand for power, particularly from data centers. Retail electricity prices are on the rise, rising faster than inflation since 2022. The U.S. Energy Information Administration has predicted that retail residential power prices will increase by another 4% this year…
EWE CEO: Germany's EWE will not participate in the first round of power plant tendering
The CEO of German utility EWE said that the company has no intention to participate in a upcoming tender in Europe's largest economy for new power plant capacities. However, this could change if additional rounds are scheduled later in this decade. Germany announced earlier this month that it had reached an accord with the European Commission regarding a plan to construct new power plants. It added it would tender 12 Gigawatts of capacity by 2026 with a particular focus on gas-fired sites. Plans are being developed to ensure the security of the supply by constructing baseload power stations.
Mozambique and TotalEnergies launch $20 billion LNG project
TotalEnergies and Mozambique agreed to restart construction of the French energy giant's $20 billion "liquefied natural gas" project in the country on Thursday, even though they are still negotiating over the additional costs associated with delays. Construction on the project was stopped in 2021 after a series of jihadist attacks in Cabo Delgado in northern Mozambique. TotalEnergies has added equity to its partners' projects after some investors pulled out. It announced late last year that it was ready for work to resume.
Malaysia's Petronas wants to increase its exploration and production over the next three months
Petronas, Malaysia's state-owned energy company, said it would increase exploration and production over the next three year to improve domestic energy security. Petronas stated that it will maintain its domestic production?at??close to?two million barrels of equivalent oil per day? between 2026-2028. It will also continue to invest in exploration, deepwater developments, enhanced oil recovery, and new production-sharing contracts awarded in the Malaysia bid round 2024. In its 'activity outlook report for 2026-2028…
Australia reaches new renewable milestone over 50%
The Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO), a'statement made on Thursday,' said that Australia had achieved a clean energy milestone in the quarter ending December, despite a rise of over 2,2% in power demand from a year earlier. The gas-fired generation has fallen to its lowest levels since 2000. Meanwhile, the total electricity production across the National Electricity Market grew 3.1% from one year ago to just under 25,000 megawatts. The share of generation from renewables increased by 5 percentage points compared to a year earlier, and now exceeds 50%. The NEM excludes Western Australia and the Northern Territory.
Internal reports indicate that Mexico's Olmeca refining plant ceased operations on Monday.
According to two internal reports, Mexico's Olmeca Refinery, located at the Gulf Port of?Dos Bocas, and operated by state oil company?Pemex ceased its operations Monday due to a power outage. Sources claim that Olmeca has resumed operations at its unit on Tuesday. Pemex said it would consult the relevant departments before resuming operations. Pemex said on Monday that it initiated a safe shut down after a change in pressure caused the catalytic convert to smoke. The reports showed ?that Olmeca shut ?down its coking plant, catalytic plant and hydrodesulphurization plants due to the outage.
Australia and Timor call for progress on Greater Sunrise Gas Field
On Wednesday, East Timor's Xanana Gushmao and Australia's Anthony Albanese said that the Greater Sunrise -gas project should begin "as quickly as possible" with Australia pledging a third of state revenues to its neighbour. Albanese signed a partnership agreement on Wednesday with Gusmao, during his first visit to Australia's northern neighbor. The agreement covers deeper defence ties, border security, and economic development. The visit coincides with the tiny Catholic nation's?push to build a Liquefied Natural Gas plant on its southern coast, instead of?piping gas to an Australian plant in Darwin.
The UK National Wealth Fund has set its sights on carbon capture, batteries, and hydrogen as a way to boost growth
The National Wealth Fund of Britain announced on Wednesday that carbon capture, power grids and battery manufacturing will be among ten'sector' it will concentrate on in the next five-year period to help the relatively sluggish British economy recover. Oliver Holbourn, CEO of the company, aims to invest between 4 and 5 billion pounds per year (between $5.49 billion and £5.50 billion) in projects. This will be done from now on until 2030/31. He said that this should support or create 200,000 jobs. The NWF was created by the Labour government of 2024 in order to support the UK's transition to net zero and drive economic growth.