Uganda will begin blending ethanol and petrol in January
The energy ministry announced on Tuesday that Uganda will begin requiring fuel distributors to mix locally produced ethanol with all petrol sold within the country in January next year. This could help reduce the nation's oil import bill. Uganda imports petroleum products worth about $2 billion annually. In 2023, it gave exclusive rights to supply all these products to an energy trading unit of the global energy company Vitol. In a press release, the Ministry of Energy said that the blending program is part of a government initiative to promote clean energy.
EU approves Italian scheme to support energy-intensive industries
Italy's Energy Minister said that the European Commission had approved a scheme by the Italian government to support power-intensive industries as well as a green transition in Italy. Gilberto Pichetto-Fratin, in a press release, said that the Commission considered "Energy Release 2.0" to be compatible with EU rules on internal markets and regulations on state aid. In its first phase, the scheme will offer electricity at a price fixed of 65 euros per Megawatt-hour. According to statistics from the government, last year in Italy, the average price per megawatt hour was 108.5 euro.
Shell announces it will not be buying BP and UK rules prohibit bids for six months
Shell said that it has not made a bid to buy BP, and it is not considering it. It added that it was bound by UK regulation, which means such a statement would prevent it from making a BP bid in the next six-months. The Wall Street Journal cited on Wednesday sources claiming that Shell is in talks to buy BP. Shell responded by saying no talks are taking place. Shell issued a statement saying that "in response to recent media speculation Shell wishes clarify that it had not actively considered making an offer for BP. Shell confirms that it does not intend to make an offer for BP.
ADNOC, the UAE's oil company, boosts US investment and says AI is a once in a lifetime opportunity to invest.
ADNOC Chief Sultan al-Jaber stated on Tuesday that the state oil company in the United Arab Emirates aims to increase its U.S. investments by six-fold, to $440 billion over the next ten years. Jaber, speaking at an event in Washington, told the audience that AI was a rare investment opportunity. Jaber cited the UAE's recent anchor investments in the largest liquefied gas plant in Texas and in petrochemicals across the U.S., as well as a planned addition 5.5 gigawatts in renewable energy and storage from coast to coast.
Qatar confirms that its gas production at the field shared with Iran has remained steady following Israeli strikes
Qatar announced on Tuesday that its gas production is stable and the supply is proceeding as normal, following Israel's Saturday strike on the world's biggest gas field, which caused Iran to temporarily suspend its production. Qatar, which is the third largest liquefied gas exporter in the world after the U.S.A. and Australia shares the South Pars field with Iran. Iran has partially halted production on the field following an Israeli attack that caused a Saturday fire. Gas supplies have been going smoothly so far.
German utility RWE announces partnership with tech giant Amazon
The German utility RWE announced on Thursday a strategic framework deal with tech giant Amazon, in which the utility will deliver clean energy and receive cloud services in exchange. Cloud services include artificial intelligence and data analysis in exchange for electricity provided by RWE's solar and wind facilities. Some of these are already operational and others are in construction. RWE, a major utility company in Europe, has a portfolio of renewable energies in operation or in development that it can sell to Amazon and other hyperscalers in data centres to help them reach their green energy goals.
German prompt price falls amid weak demand
The wholesale price of German spot electricity dropped on Thursday due to the fact that France was celebrating a holiday and the weekend. France was largely closed for the commemoration of Nazi Germany's defeat in World War Two. This has withdrawn a sizeable amount of consumption from the market while solar supply increased across the region. LSEG analysts cited a number bearish factors in demand and supply, which overshadowed an expected decline in German wind energy generation for the day ahead. At 0810 GMT, the German baseload day-ahead traded at 88.3 Euros ($99.66 per megawatt hour), a 9.6% decline.
Operator data shows that Ukraine increased its gas imports on Thursday by 40%.
The operator of the national gas transmission system announced that Ukraine would increase its gas imports on Thursday by almost 40%, to 13,3 million cubic meters. This is due to an increased import from Hungary. After Russian missiles damaged the production facilities to the east of Ukraine, Ukraine was forced to increase gas imports and withdraw more gas from storage this winter and in the spring. According to data from the operator, Ukraine will import 9,8 mcm (million cubic meters) of gas from Hungary on Thursday and 3.5 million cubic metres from Poland.
Kazakhstan commits to reducing oil production after April. Russia claims OPEC+ could reverse output.
Alexander Novak, the deputy prime minister of Russia, said that the OPEC+ had agreed to increase oil production starting in April. However the group could change its mind if market imbalances occur. Officials from Kazakhstan, who have often exceeded the OPEC+ production quotas in recent years, spoke at a briefing online almost simultaneously with Novak. They pledged to reduce output in March April and May. Novak said that Russia also produced less oil than the quota agreed with the OPEC+, which includes the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies.
Source: Kazakhstan increased oil production to a record of 2,12 million bpd during February.
A source said that Kazakhstan increased crude oil and condensate output in February by 13% compared to January, reaching a record of 2,12 million barrels a day. This was again a higher production than its quota for the OPEC+ oil producing group. According to a source familiar with official statistics and calculations that take into account Kazakhstan’s tons per barrel ratio of 7, the crude oil production in January was up 15.5%. Last month, it reached 1.83 million barrels per day. Kazakhstan consistently exceeded its production quota of 1.468 millions bpd…
BP changes course by increasing fossil fuel investments while cutting back on renewable energy
BP announced on Wednesday that it would increase its annual oil and natural gas investment by $10 billion. This will return the focus to fossil-fuels as part of Murray Auchincloss’ efforts to improve financial performance and boost returns. The oil giant has slashed its planned annual investment into transition businesses by over $5 billion compared to the previous forecast. It now expects to invest between $1.5 and $2 billion annually. "We will increase upstream production and investment to enable us to continue producing high-margin energy for many years.
Sources say China's Norinco sweetens its bid for Congo copper mining as the deal stalls.
China North Industries Corp., also known as Norinco has offered to increase the Congo government stake in its bid to purchase copper and cobalt assets from Chemaf SA to help smooth the way to a deal. The $1.4 billion offer made by China's defence and industrial giant, in June, stalled when Congo state miner Gecamines put forward its own unsolicited proposal for the Chemaf asset. This exacerbated a standoff that was already complicated by U.S. officials who were lobbying against China’s grip on central Africa’s mineral-rich Copperbelt.
After the Russian attacks, Ukraine plans to import 800 million cubic meters of gas by April.
Ukraine will import 800 million cubic meters (mcms) of gas in February and march to compensate for the sometimes 40% decrease in production following Russian missile attacks on the sector. A senior industry source said on Friday. Since its invasion in 2022, Russia has launched many missiles and drones at Ukraine's electric sector. However, it has intensified attacks on gasfields over the past few weeks. The Ukrainian state gas company Naftogaz, and the major private energy firm DTEK, have both reported that Russia has damaged and attacked their facilities at least two times in February.
Anglo writes off De Beers and continues with business overhaul
Anglo American reported a $3.1billion loss on Thursday, after writing down its De Beers business. The company is continuing to shed unwanted assets. Anglo wants to concentrate on iron ore and copper assets following BHP's failed attempt at a takeover last year. This means that Anglo will spin off its diamond and platinum businesses following the sale of its nickel and coal mines. Duncan Wanblad, CEO of Codelco, said that the company is also exploring the possibility of running its Los Bronces mine in Chile jointly with Codelco.
Aker BP and Total are seeking to increase their stakes in the giant Equinor oilfield
Aker BP announced on Wednesday that TotalEnergies, Aker BP and Equinor are seeking a review of their shares in Equinor’s Johan Sverdrup field in order to increase their holdings. Sverdrup, which is built across several offshore oil-and-gas licences, is owned by Equinor 42.63%, Aker BP 31.57%, Norwegian oil company Petoro 17,36%, and France's TotalEnergies 8.44%. Owners of a field that began producing oil in 2019 have the right of requesting a review of their stakes, based on data from production and reservoirs.
French prompts on increasing demand as temperatures drop
The French spot electricity prices rose on February 2nd on the back of increased demand on the weather-exposed wholesale markets, as well as a reduction in wind generation and a tightening of nuclear supply in the country. LSEG data show that the French power price for the day ahead was 70.5 euros ($73.51 per megawatt-hour (MWh) as of 0855 GMT. This is up 90.5% compared to a day before. The German baseload was not traded for the next day, after closing at 103.8 Euros, which is a significant premium to France.
Russia's proposed gas pipeline to Iran
The Russian President Vladimir Putin announced on Friday plans to build a pipeline to Iran that will eventually transport up to 55 billion cubic meters (bcms) of gas per year into the West Asian nation. Here are some background details about the cooperation between Iran, Russia and the gas sector. Iran is the second largest gas producer in the world after Russia. However, U.S. sanctions are preventing access to technology as well as slowing down gas exports. In July 2022, the National Iranian Oil Company and Russian energy giant Gazprom agreed to a Memorandum of Understanding worth about $40 billion.
Palm prices rise despite profit-taking and premium concerns
Malaysian palm futures rose for the second session in a row on Wednesday, despite profit taking pressure and fears that a wider premium over competing oils could dampen demand. The benchmark contract for palm oil delivery in January on the Bursa Derivatives Exchange rose 58 ringgit or 1.25% to 4,695 Ringgit ($1,073.14) per metric ton. The contract has increased by 3.67% in two sessions. Thursday is a holiday and the market will be closed. Crude palm futures prices showed resilience in the previous session, but a slight retracement due to profit-taking activities is expected, said Darren Lim.
Wilmar, a trader, claims that ethanol production will prevent Indian sugar from being exported.
Wilmar, a Singapore-based commodities broker, said that the increase in ethanol produced in India will result in lower local sugar availability. This will prevent the country exporting sugar during the 2024/25 period. India, the second largest sugar producer in the world after Brazil has not been able to export its sugar to ensure local supply as a larger share of its sucrose production is diverted to produce alcohol instead. Wilmar estimated on Monday that India will divert 5 million metric…
McKinsey says that Europe's power consumption for data centres is expected to triple between now and 2030.
A McKinsey study showed that Europe's data center power consumption will almost triple by 2030. This will require an increase in electricity, mostly from low carbon sources, as well as grid infrastructure upgrades. In the last couple of years, data centre investment has increased as digitalisation (AI) and digitalisation have gained momentum. The question is how the countries will be able to meet the anticipated rise in electricity demands that the increasing number of data centres create. The International Energy Agency states that the United States will see the most growth in data centers…
