Rosneft Oil Refinery Warns of US Sanctions
Management at a Russian-owned oil refinery in Germany have privately warned Berlin that U.S. sanctions are hurting its business and threatening fuel supply for the country's capital and the region, according to correspondence seen by Reuters.In a January letter, management of the PCK Schwedt refinery, controlled by Rosneft, made an "urgent appeal" to economy and energy minister Katherina Reiche to resolve a standoff with the United States over the refinery's future.The letter outlines escalating problems at the refinery…
Draft law shows that Germany wants renewable energy firms to pay for grid connections.
According to a draft of a law, the German government intends to charge renewables companies for connecting to the electric grid in order to meet 'the rapid?demand? for expansion. The move, which was first reported by Spiegel magazine, would replace the current ?system where companies are allowed to connect to the ?grid on a first-come-first-served basis. This is due to the sheer volume of grid connection requests facing grid operators in Germany. Germany is one of the European countries that are pushing forward with a green agenda despite increasing criticism from U.S. president Donald Trump.
Namibia's Energy Ministry blasts TotalEnergies and Petrobras for failing to follow procedure
Namibia expressed concern that TotalEnergies and Petrobras acquired new offshore positions within the Luderitz basin without notifying the energy ministry and/or obtaining the necessary approval. Both French and Brazilian oil companies, TotalEnergies & Petrobras, announced on Friday that they each acquired a 42.5% share in an offshore Namibia exploration license. The firms are looking to develop oil at one of the last frontiers in exploration. Maravilla Oil and Gas and Eight Offshore Investments Holdings acquired the stakes of the PEL104 license.
Shell stops further Kazakhstan investment due to legal disputes, CEO states
Shell has halted new investments in Kazakhstan due to legal actions taken by the government against the oil giant and other international companies over cost disputes. CEO Wael sawan confirmed this. Kazakhstan has been in conflict with international oil companies for many years. It launched arbitration proceedings against the developers who developed its Kashagan oilfields and Karachaganak, claiming $13 billion of disputed costs and $3.5 billion. One claim?involves a field operated by the Karachaganak Petroleum Operating Consortium…
Shell stops further Kazakhstan investment due to legal disputes, CEO states
Shell has halted new investments due to legal actions launched by the government against it and other international companies for cost disputes. CEO Wael Sawan said that Shell would halt its new investments because of the legal proceedings. Kazakhstan has been in conflict with international oil companies for many years. It launched arbitration proceedings against the developers who developed its Kashagan oilfield and Karachaganak, claiming $13 billion of disputed costs and $3.5 billion.
Tengiz Oilfield Power Facility Fires Damage Kazakhstan's CPC Oil Exports
Kazakhstan's planned oil exports could fall by as much as 35% this month via its main route through Russia, four trading sources have told Reuters, as the giant Tengiz oilfield slowly recovers from fires at power facilities in January.U.S. oil major Chevron leads the Tengizchevroil (TCO) consortium that operates the field.Oil exports through the Caspian Pipeline Consortium system, which crosses into Russia en route to the Black Sea, could drop from the preliminary schedule of…
Officials say that Indonesia will increase the mandatory bioethanol content in gasoline from 5% to 10% by 2028.
Tri Winarno, a senior official in the energy ministry, said that Indonesia will impose a 10% bioethanol content requirement for gasoline by 2028. Indonesia aims to increase the use of biofuels produced from palm oil or sugar cane in order to reduce imports, and to become more energy independent. Despite the ethanol shortage, it has decided to delay its plans to increase the bioethanol content in gasoline. The energy ministry had previously said that the 10% mandatory bioethanol level would be implemented in 2027, but this has now been pushed back a year.
Moroccan Energy Ministry Pauses Gas Pipeline Project
Morocco's energy ministry said on Monday it has paused a tender launched last month for a gas pipeline project, without giving details on the reasons for the suspension.The tender sought bids to build a pipeline linking a future gas terminal at the Nador West Med port on the Mediterranean to an existing pipeline that allows Morocco to import LNG through Spanish terminals and supply two power plants.It also covered a section that would connect the existing pipeline to industrial zones on the Atlantic in Mohammedia and Kenitra."Due to new parameters and assumptions related to this project...
Kazakhstan announces that oil production at Tengiz has resumed
The energy ministry announced on Saturday that oil production at Kazakhstan's massive Tengiz Oilfield has been restored, with five wells now operating again. Since the outage, production data for the largest field in Kazakhstan has been unavailable. Kazakhstan announced on Wednesday that it would restart the Tengiz Oilfield in stages. It aims to reach full production within a week. Three unexplained electric?fires cost it 7.2 millions barrels of crude oil earlier this month. Tengiz…
Officials claim that Indonesian President did not consult the energy ministry before revoking China's hydro permit.
Eniya Listeiani Dewi said that the Indonesian energy ministry had not been consulted before the President Prabowo decided to revoke a permit for a 'China-backed'?hydroelectric plant on Sumatra Island. The government announced on Tuesday that 28 companies had their permits revoked for environmental violations. These were alleged to have worsened the deadly floods of last year in Sumatra. The companies include PT North Sumatra Hydro Energy (NSHE), which operates the Batangtoru Hydropower facility. The company is owned by China's SDIC Power Holdings Co. Ltd.
Official: India will no longer set annual clean energy targets
A senior government official announced that India would no longer set annual targets for clean-energy tenders, after failing to meet the goal last year and building up an enormous backlog of projects?without buyers. Indian developers already own the rights to build 43 gigawatts worth of renewable energy, but they have yet to find buyers. State utilities delayed purchasing clean power because they expected prices to drop and were concerned about the delivery of power due to delays with transmission infrastructure.
Zelenskiy, the Ukrainian Zelenskiy, orders faster imports for electricity and power equipment
Volodymyr Zelenskiy, the president of Ukraine, said that he has ordered imports to be as fast as possible. This is because Ukraine is facing its worst energy crisis since World War II. The government declared an emergency because the damaged system is only meeting 60% of its electricity needs. Extremely cold temperatures have exacerbated the situation. Zelenskiy, after a meeting of top military and government officials on X, said that "all decisions are already in place" for the importation increase. According to the energy ministry, scheduled power cuts were in place in?most of the regions.
Indonesia will increase palm oil export tax if it abandons its plan to introduce B50 Biodiesel in this year.
Indonesia has scrapped plans to introduce a mandatory B50 palm oil-based fuel this year, and will instead stick with B40 due to "funding and technical concerns", government officials announced on Wednesday. This eases concerns about strains on palm oil supplies globally. Indonesia had planned to launch B50, a blend of palm oil-based 50% biodiesel with 50% conventional diesel in the second half this year. The B40 blend, which is 40% palm oil-based, will continue to be the standard.
Indonesia will increase palm oil export tax if it abandons its plan to introduce B50 Biodiesel in this year.
Yuliot Tajung, the deputy energy minister, said that Indonesia had scrapped plans to raise the mandatory biodiesel mix to 50% in 2019. Instead, it will maintain the current blend of 40% palm oil based fuel and 60% diesel. Indonesian energy minister had previously planned to implement the 50-50 mixture of palm oil-based diesel and fuel in the second half of this year to reduce the country's dependency on imported diesel. Eniya. Listiani. Dewi, an official with the energy ministry…
Minister: Indonesian B50 Biodiesel launch is subject to crude oil and CPO prices
A senior official stated on Tuesday that the timing of Indonesia's B50 biodiesel mandate - which blends 50% palm oil with diesel - will be subject to the difference in price between crude oil & crude palm oil. Indonesia, which is the largest palm oil producer in the world, had previously set the goal to "start the B50 mandate" by the second half 2026. The current mandate is 40% blend. The palm oil export levies are used to subsidise the country's biodiesel program. The amount of the'subsidy' depends on the difference in crude oil prices and crude palm oil.
Norway will outline future oil and gas drilling in its 2027 policy update
The Norwegian government announced 'on Monday' that it would present to the parliament a document next year on 'the future of oil and gas', which will include companies' access rights to exploration land. In a speech, Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere stated that the oil and gas sector is vitally important to Norway and should not be?phased out. The official forecasts indicate that Norway's offshore oil production will be roughly constant in 2026. As major fields slowly deplete, we will see them disappearing by the end of the decade and into the next.
Malaysian palm oil set to gain weekly on rival oils with Indonesia levied plan
Malaysian palm oils futures were up for a third session on Friday, and they are expected to rise weekly. This is due to the strength of rival edible oils on the Dalian and Chicago Exchanges as well as Indonesia's plans to increase its palm oil export tax. By midday, the benchmark March palm oil contract on the Bursa Derivatives Exchange had gained 35 ringgit or 0.87% to 4,078 Ringgit ($1,003.94) per metric ton. This week, the contract has gained 2.18%. Anilkumar Bagani is the commodity research director at Mumbai-based Sunvin Group.
VEGOILS - Palm rises again for a second meeting on Indonesia's plan to raise the levy
The price of Malaysian palm oils futures increased for the second session in a row on Thursday. This was largely due to Indonesia's plans to increase?palm export levies, but pressure from rising stock expectations?limited gains. The benchmark palm-oil contract for March delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives exchange gained 9 ringgit or 0.22% to 4,042 Ringgit ($995.57) a metric ton as of closing. Eniya Dewi, an official from the energy ministry, told reporters that Indonesia would likely increase its palm-oil export levy in order to support biodiesel production, citing a lack of funds.
Indonesia considers increasing the palm oil export tax to support biodiesel mandate
Eniya?Listiani Dewi, an official in the energy ministry, told reporters on Thursday that Indonesia would likely increase its palm?oil export levy to help support biodiesel production. She cited tightening finances. Indonesia, as the largest palm oil exporter, has introduced a 40% biodiesel blend that is mandatory. This blend is known as B40 and it's the highest blending ratio in the world. It aims to increase the blend by 50% later this year. The biodiesel program in Indonesia is subsidized by the proceeds of palm oil export levies. These are set at 10% and range between 4.75% to 9.5%.
Palm gives up early gains on stock rise expectations
The price of Malaysian palm oils futures was little changed on Thursday, despite the early gains. This is because expectations for rising stocks were countered by stronger edible oils from rival companies and a weaker Malaysian ringgit. By midday, the benchmark palm oil contract on Bursa Derivatives Exchange for March delivery had fallen 1 ringgit or 0.02% to 4,032 Ringgit ($992.86) per metric ton. The market expects a lower decline in December production, which could push Malaysia’s inventories over?3million tons.