Saturday, February 15, 2025

Energy Ministry News

Palm prices rise on lower production and log a fourth weekly gain

Malaysian palm futures closed higher on Friday, logging a fourth consecutive weekly gain. Lower stocks supported the market in spite of demand concerns and uncertainty surrounding Indonesia's mandate for biodiesel. At the close, the benchmark April palm oil contract on Bursa Derivatives Exchange rose 41 ringgit (0.9%), to 4,595 Ringgit ($1,036.78) per metric ton. The contract increased by 2.02% in the past week. Paramalingam Supramaniam of Selangor-based brokerage Pelindung Bestari said that the market was slightly adjusted due to concerns about demand, but lower end stocks supported prices.

Palm production drops, resulting in a fourth-week gain.

Malaysian palm futures increased on Friday as lower inventories supported the market, despite concerns about demand and uncertainty surrounding Indonesia's mandate for biodiesel. At midday, the benchmark April palm oil contract on Bursa Derivatives Exchange rose 35 ringgit or 0.77% to 4,589 Ringgit ($1,033.56) per metric ton. This week, it has increased by 1.62%. Paramalingam Supramaniam of Selangor-based brokerage Pelindung Bestari said that the market was slightly adjusted due to concerns about demand, but lower end stocks supported prices.

Indonesia is expected to complete the full implementation of B40 Biodiesel by March

Eniya Listeiani Dewi, an official with the energy ministry, said that Indonesia is expecting its B40 Biodiesel Programme, which aims to reduce its dependence on diesel fuel imported from abroad, to be fully implemented next month, after initial delays. She stated that distribution of palm oil-based Biodiesel in this year had reached approximately 1.2 million Kilolitres by Friday. Indonesia planned to introduce the mandatory B40 blend, which contains 40% palm oil fuel, on January 1, but regulatory issues caused some delays. Fuel distributors received until the end February to transition.

Hungary's MVM expects the E.ON Energie Romania agreement to close in June or September

MVM Group, the state-owned energy firm in Hungary, expects to complete its deal to purchase a majority stake in E.ON Energie Romania by June or July. MVM's CEO told Portfolio.hu Thursday. E.ON announced this deal in December. It is subject to the approval of Romanian authorities. MVM, unlike most energy providers in Europe, gets a significant portion of its gas from Russia. In January, the Romanian energy ministry warned that this sale could be halted for security reasons. Romania's…

Reforms to the Mexican oil company Pemex will give it more flexibility in forming partnerships

A bill that was sent to Congress Wednesday will allow Pemex, the state-owned Mexican oil company, to work with private companies. This will ease restrictions imposed by the previous administration. The bill is expected to be passed by a large margin. Pemex can then enter into exploration and extraction contracts with private companies, after these contracts were canceled by the former president Andres Manuel Obrador. In August, just before Lopez Obrador’s successor Claudia Sheinbaum assumed office in October of that year…

Israel urges the public to install solar panels on their roofs in order to generate electricity

Solar panels are being installed on roofs in Israel to harness the sun's power and help Israel meet its growing demand for electricity. Around 15% of Israel's electric production comes from renewable sources, while about 70% of it is natural gas. The Energy Ministry set a 30% target by 2030, which will increase dramatically by 2050, when the goal of net zero emissions becomes a reality. Ron Eifer is the head of the sustainable energy division at the Ministry. Several households produce their own energy and sell the remainder to the national grid.

Aramco's chief executive expects an additional oil demand of 1,3 million bpd in this year

Amin Nasser, the chief executive of Saudi oil giant Aramco, said that he believes the oil market is healthy and anticipates a demand increase of 1.3 million barrels a day this year. Nasser, speaking on the sidelines at the World Economic Forum, Davos, was answering a question about the impact of U.S. president Donald Trump's decisions on energy, which could lead to an increase in U.S. oil production. He said that oil demand will reach 106 million barrels a day this year, after having averaged 104.6 million barrels a day in 2024. He said: "We still believe the market is healthy.

Argentina negotiates gas imports with Bolivia and Chile after heatwave increases demand

Bolivia and Chile have begun talks to resume gas exports to Argentina, amid a spike in demand sparked by a heatwave this summer. This highlights the challenges facing the government of Buenos Aires in its quest to become self-sufficient in energy. Armin Dorgathen Taia, the head of Bolivia's state energy company YPFB told me by phone on Friday that "we are in a negotiations with Argentina to create a contract spot". These talks were previously unknown. In a Friday statement, Chilean…

Energy Minister: South Korea may buy more US oil and natural gas

South Korea wants to import more U.S. gas and oil in order to diversify its energy sources, and maintain stable supplies in light of the tensions in the Middle East. He said that the government might need to increase its support for non-Middle East crude oil purchases. His comments coincide with the announcement that Donald Trump, the U.S. president-elect who will take office on January 20, has pledged to impose 10% tariffs on all global imports. He has also said that the European Union must increase its U.S.

Market uncertainty caused by Indonesian B40 palm oil delays

Indonesia is yet to implement the higher blend of biodiesel that was planned for January 1, as industry participants are awaiting technical details of the regulation. This has caused confusion among palm oil dealers. The government pledged that it would mandate a 40% blend of palm oil in biodiesel starting Jan. 1. This is known as B40. It will replace the current 35% blend. The benchmark March palm oil contract on the Bursa Derivatives Market closed at 4,336 Ringgit ($968.72), down 2.5%, amid uncertainty over B40 implementation.

Peru's No. Adolfo Heeren is named new CEO of Antamina, Peru's No.

Antamina is the second largest copper mine in Peru. It announced on Thursday that Adolfo Héren was appointed as its new CEO and General Manager. Heeren will take over the role of CEO for Anglo American Peru on February 1, 2025. Victor Gobitz Colchado is leaving his position due to personal reasons. Heeren, who is controlled by Glencore BHP Teck and Mitsubishi, will oversee the optimization process of Antamina's mine, as well as projects aimed at solving operational challenges.

Indonesia will increase crude palm oil export tax to 10%

Indonesia's chief economic minister announced on Thursday that it will increase the export levy on crude palm oil (CPO), from 7.5% to 10%, to fund higher biodiesel subsidy. Airlangga Hartarto stated that the levy would be implemented as soon as the Finance Ministry has issued its relevant regulation. Indonesia, which is the largest palm oil producer in the world, collects levies for its mandatory biodiesel program, where the bio-content, or B40, will increase to 40% from the current 35% starting January 1. Subsidies will increase with a higher blend.

Romania allocates 1.5 GW of renewable energy projects

The Energy Ministry announced in a Monday statement that Romania had allocated 1.5 gigawatts of renewable energy project funding through an EU-funded contract for difference scheme. The long-awaited low carbon energy support scheme fixes the price of electricity to providers at a level agreed for 15 years. The Ministry selected 10 projects for onshore wind worth 1.09 GW and 11 projects with a total capacity of 432 MW. The energy ministry stated that the projects would have an average weighted cost of 51 euros for solar projects and of 65 euros for wind projects.

Data shows that Tengiz oilfield's output in December was 20% lower than planned.

Estimates based on data from the Kazakh energy ministry and analysis service SAC TEK show that output from Kazakhstan's largest oil field Tengiz operated by U.S. giant Chevron was 20% below its planned plan in December. This helped Kazakhstan meet its OPEC+ production target. Tengiz had been expected to return to full oil production early in December after a maintenance program that began late in October. Kazakhstan, which depends on Tengiz, the Karachaganak, and Kashagan for most of its oil production, has to meet output targets because it is a member of OPEC+.

India will mandate the use of solar cells made locally in all clean energy projects by June 2026

From June 2026, Indian clean energy companies will have to use solar photovoltaic modules made from local cells by a list of approved companies. This is a measure to reduce imports from China, the top supplier. India has already required the use of solar cells made in India for government projects. The government intends to increase the non-fossil energy capacity of its country to 500 GW from 156 GW currently. India currently has a capacity to produce solar PV modules of around 80 gigawatts, while its capacity to manufacture cells is slightly over 7 GW.

Greece announces new round of subsidies on household electricity bills

Greece announced on Friday a new round in subsidizing electricity bills to assist households struggling with the rising costs of electricity in December. Greece spent almost 10 billion euros ($10.58billion) on power bill subsidies to households and businesses between 2021 and 23. This is the largest amount of subsidies that an EU country had ever paid as a percentage of its GDP. In November, wholesale power prices in Europe reached their highest level in more than a year. Greece's economy…

Jordan Signs Deal to Use Egyptian FSRU Until 2026, Ministry Says

Jordan's Energy Ministry announced on Monday that Egypt and Jordan had signed an agreement allowing Jordan to use a floating storage and regasification Unit (FSRU) from Egypt until 2026. The FSRU is helping Jordan to secure liquefied gas supplies for emergencies before the completion of Aqaba LNG Import Terminal scheduled for the fourth quarter 2026. Jordan will receive around 350 millions cubic feet of FSRU per day. This would be 50% of the LNG capability of a single FSRU or 25% if additional capacity is added.

Austrian legal expert believes OMV can end gas contracts with Gazprom

Austrian energy company OMV can legally cancel a contract with Russia's Gazprom that lasts until 2040, according to an Austrian lawyer who was given access the contracts on Wednesday. OMV had been one of the last European buyers of Russian gas after Russia invaded Ukraine on a full scale in 2022. But, on Nov. 16, Gazprom stopped supplies to OMV due to a contract dispute. In a radio interview with ORF, Andreas Kletecka, a law professor, said that if a supplier is "in default, given a grace-period and fails to deliver", the contract could be terminated.

Moldova and Russia hold talks about Transdniestria Gas Supply amid Ukraine Transit Uncertainty

Moldova reported that the energy minister of Moldova met with the head Russian gas giant Gazprom to discuss alternative routes for supplying Russian gas to Transdniestria, Moldova's breakaway region. If transit through Ukraine is stopped, Moldova will look at other options. Ukraine has stated that it will not prolong the gas transit agreement. Transdniestria, a region backed by Russia, relies heavily on Russian gas delivered via Ukraine. After the St Petersburg talks, the Moldovan energy ministry released a statement saying that the two men (energy minister Victor Parlicov…

Germany pushes 17-billion-euro gas power plan despite election uncertainty

According to sources in the government, Germany's Economy Minister pushed forward on Friday legislation that would provide billions of Euros to build gas-powered plants. However, the chances of this plan being approved by the parliament were slim. Robert Habeck, who was previously the head of the Economy and Energy Ministry, has been given a caretaker position ahead of the snap elections scheduled for February after the collapse of a governing coalition. Sources said that he sent…

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