First political hurdle cleared for EU's plan on phase-out of Russian energy
EU diplomats reported that the ambassadors of European Union countries agreed on Wednesday to push ahead with the plan to stop Russian oil and natural gas imports by the year 2028. This agreement cleared the first political hurdle for the law before it is voted on later this month. The EU is currently negotiating proposals that would phase out Russian gas and oil by January 2028. This is an attempt to deny the Kremlin any revenue to fund their war in Ukraine.
Russia expects the new Sakhalin-3 project to begin operations in 2028
Russian news agencies reported on Thursday that the country is expecting to begin natural gas production in 2028 at the new Sakhalin-3 Project in the Pacific Ocean to supply gas to China as well as for domestic use. Valery Limarenko said that Gazprom, the Russian energy giant, and regional authorities were working together on a plan for a refinery to be built in southern Sakhalin, to produce jet-fuel, diesel, and naphtha using gas condensate. A crisis…
Russia downgrades gas exports, production outlook
Russia's forecasts for 2025 gas and oil exports have been lowered, while projections on oil exports have increased. The fallout of its conflict with Ukraine as well as its strained relations with the West continue to impact the energy sector. While Russia's economy is still thriving despite the sanctions, signs of stress are appearing in several industries. Gazprom, the state-owned gas exporter, suffered losses of nearly $7 billion in 2023. This was its first loss since 1999 due to a breakup with the European Union.
Russia's LNG Exports by Destinations and Volume
EU sources confirmed on Friday that the European Commission would propose to ban Russian LNG imports a year sooner than originally planned as part of the 19th package sanctions against Moscow. Here are some statistics about Russia's gas exports, by volume and destination. In January-August 2025, Russia exported 18.8 million metric tonnes of liquefied gas. Of this amount, 9.5 million tons went to Asia while 9.2 millions tons went to Europe. Eurostat…
Chevron, Israel Natural Gas Lines to Begin Construction of Gas Pipeline to Egypt
Chevron has signed a deal with state-owned pipeline operator Israel Natural Gas Lines to kickstart construction of the Nitzana natural gas pipeline to transport gas from the Leviathan gasfield to Egypt, the U.S. company said on Tuesday.Nitzana would ease an energy crisis in Egypt, which has spent billions of dollars on importing liquefied natural gas and is part of a concerted effort to boost Israeli gas exports to the Arab world's most populous nation.Last month…
Chevron and Israeli pipeline operator will launch new gas pipeline towards Egypt
Chevron announced on Tuesday that it had signed a contract with Israel's pipeline operator, a state-owned company, to begin construction of the Nitzana pipeline. The pipeline will transport gas from Leviathan to Egypt. Nitzana will ease Egypt's energy crisis. Egypt has spent billions on the importation of liquefied gas. This is part of an effort to increase Israeli gas exports into the Arab World's largest nation. The owners of Leviathan, a natural gas field located off Israel, signed a deal worth $35 billion last month to export gas to Egypt.
Trump urges NATO nations not to buy Russian oil
Nations stop purchasing Russian oil and take similar measures. Trump wrote on social media that he was ready to impose major sanctions against Russia once all NATO countries agreed to the same and stopped buying Russian oil. The United States has increased pressure on NATO nations to tighten energy restrictions on Russia to help end the war in Ukraine. Trump has faced criticism in the United States for setting deadlines of two weeks for Russia to deescalate, and then letting them pass without any concrete action.
US Energy Secretary downplays climate risk as Washington seeks EU Gas Deals
Chris Wright, the U.S. Energy secretary, downplayed climate change risks on Thursday as he promoted Washington’s return to a “commonsense policy” while the Trump Administration worked to increase oil and gas exports to Europe and other allied countries. Wright spoke with reporters in Brussels after he met the European Union energy commissioner Dan Jorgensen. U.S. Doug Burgum, the Interior Secretary of the United States, was also in Europe last week to sign energy deals.
Energy secretary: Russian gas sales to China will not harm US
Energy Secretary Chris Wright stated on Friday that the U.S. fuel exporters would not be affected by any Russian gas sales to China. Russia and China approved a new gas pipeline, Power of Siberia 2 this week. This shows that Chinese President Xi Jinping has no regard for Western demands to back off from a deeper partnership with Moscow. Wright praised the Trump administration’s focus on expanding rapidly the liquefied gas exports during an event held at the Council on Foreign Relations on Saturday.
WhiteWater, Partners Move Ahead with Eiger Express Pipeline Construction
WhiteWater and its partners have reached a final investment decision (FID) to move ahead with the construction of the Eiger Express Pipeline, the infrastructure firm said on Monday.Driven by a boom in U.S. liquefied natural gas exports as well as rising demand for natural gas on the back of increasing electricity consumption, gas production in the country's shale fields is expected to rise even as oil output begins to plateau.U.S.
Increasing US LNG Exports to Catalyze Shale Production Growth
U.S. liquefied natural gas exports will soar by roughly 10% a year through 2030 as energy firms double their LNG production capacity, according to analysts, providing a shot in the arm to the country's maturing shale industry which has seen growth slow and costs rise.The U.S. is the world's largest oil and natural gas producer, but many of its best drilling locations have been tapped. While oil production is expected to plateau or fall in coming months, gas remains a bright spot for the industry thanks primarily to the country's booming exports.U.S.
Angola aims to increase gas production as oil output stagnates despite OPEC's exit
Azule Energy, a company optimistic about Angola's gas potential and having had success with its first gas drilling campaign last month, is now considering another exploration. Angola is expecting gas production to increase by more than 20 percent in the next five year as the country targets increased exports to Europe, Asia and domestic demand. Its oil output will stagnate despite leaving OPEC. Angola, Sub-Saharan Africa’s second-largest oil producer…
Angola Looks to Gas Growth as Oil Output Flatlines
Optimistic over Angola’s untapped gas potential, Azule Energy is considering another gas exploration well after leading the country’s first drilling campaign targeting gas and hitting success last month, the CEO told Reuters.Angola expects gas production to rise more than 20% in the next five years as it targets higher exports to Europe and Asia and to meet growing domestic demand, while its oil output stagnates despite the country exiting OPEC.Sub-Saharan Africa's second-largest crude producer after Nigeria…
Afipsky Oil Refinery Fire Extinguished After Drone Attack
A fire at the Afipsky oil refinery in Russia's Krasnodar region, caused by fallen drone debris, was extinguished, local emergency services said on Thursday.The Russian Defence Ministry said air defence systems had shot down nine Ukrainian drones over the region overnight.The Ukrainian military confirmed that its drone units had hit the refinery in Krasnodar region, without providing details.It was not immediately clear what the extent of the damage was at the Afipsky refinery…
Equinor extends Norway LNG Outage until August 3
Equinor, a Norwegian company, has extended a maintenance outage to its Hammerfest LNG Terminal, Europe's biggest liquefied gas export facility by another five days, until August 3. The company announced this in a filing with the regulatory authorities on Saturday. The Melkoeya plant, which is also known as Hammerfest in Arctic Norway, was scheduled to resume operation on July 19, but went offline on April 22 for maintenance. Equinor announced earlier this month that the plant would be back in operation by July 29.
US Natural Gas Prices Rise to Two-Week High Amidst Hot Weather
U.S. natural gas futures edged up about 1% to a two-week high on Wednesday as hot weather boosts the amount of gas power generators must burn to keep air conditioners humming and on near-record flows of gas to LNG export plants.Front-month gas futures for August delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange rose 2.8 cents, or 0.8%, to settle at $3.551 per million British thermal units, their highest close since June 27 for a second day in a row.The U.S.
Equinor Extends Maintenance Outage at Hammerfest LNG Plant
Norway's Equinor has extended the maintenance outage at its Hammerfest LNG terminal, Europe's largest liquefied natural gas export facility, by 10 days to July 29, the company said on Monday.The Hammerfest plant in Arctic Norway, also known as Melkoeya LNG, went offline for annual maintenance on April 22, and was initially scheduled to return to operation on July 19.However, the facility will remain offline until July 29, an updated regulatory filing…
Russian LNG exports dropped 4.4% year-on-year in January to June, according to data
LSEG's preliminary data on Wednesday showed that Russia's liquefied gas exports in the first six months of this year fell by 4.4% compared to a year ago, reaching 15.2 million metric tonnes. This was despite international sanctions over Ukraine. The United States, in particular, has imposed sanctions against companies and vessels connected to Russia's Arctic LNG 2 plant due to the conflict in Ukraine. This effectively freezes the project as Moscow is unable find buyers. U.S. president Donald Trump said that he wanted the European Union (EU) to buy more U.S.
US LNG Exports Fall in June Amidst Maintenance
U.S. liquefied natural gas exports fell to their second lowest monthly level for the year in June, as maintenance work at some of the country's largest export facilities hurt output, according to preliminary data from financial firm LSEG.The United States, the world's top exporter of LNG, sold 8.4 million metric tons of the superchilled gas during the month, down from 8.9 MT in May and well below April's record of 9.3 MT, LSEG data showed.The reduction in LNG exports was primarily due to seasonal maintenance…
Source: Russian government talks tax relief for Gazprom
A government source revealed on Monday that the Russian government is considering tax reliefs for the energy giant Gazprom. These could be offset by higher taxes on gas producers in general. Novatek and Rosneft, two other major gas producers in Russia, are also listed. Moscow must balance the need for increased military spending in the face of the conflict in Ukraine, with the rising budget deficit as well as providing adequate support to Gazprom which has seen its lucrative sales into Europe fall. Gazprom lost almost $7 billion dollars in 2023.