Thursday, January 22, 2026

Industry News

After E15 deal fails, US Congress creates ethanol taskforce

After a failed attempt to include such legislation into a funding bill this week, Republican U.S. legislators plan to form a taskforce to examine the potential for year-round sale of?E15 gasoline blended with higher ethanol in the U.S. Farm groups and Midwest Ethanol advocates have blasted the formation of a taskforce instead of legislation. They called it a blow for American farmers who are already hurt by low prices…

Documents show that Venezuela's proposed oil-reform will give companies operating autonomy and cash proceeds to companies.

Drafts of a proposed overhaul of Venezuela's hydrocarbons laws showed that foreign and local companies could operate oilfields independently through a new model of contract, commercialize the?output?, and receive sales proceeds, even when acting as minor partners of PDVSA. Delcy Rodriguez, Venezuela's interim president, presented the proposal last week to the National Assembly.

TotalEnergies CEO anticipates EU mandate on sustainable aircraft fuel being dropped in the future

TotalEnergies CEO Patrick Pouyanne stated on Wednesday that he expects the European Union will water down its mandate in the future to include sustainable aviation fuel, similar to the recent decision of the bloc to drop the proposed ban on combustion-engine vehicles from 2035. Last year, the EU required that 2% jet fuel available at airports be sustainable aviation fuel. This requirement will increase to 6% by 2030 and 20% by 2035.

Chairman of Siemens Energy says that the CEO will attend Trump's meeting with business leaders.

Joe Kaeser, Chairman of the Supervisory Board at Siemens Energy, said that Christian Bruch, CEO, will be attending a meeting with U.S. president Donald?Trump? scheduled for later in Davos on Wednesday. Kaeser said that he was sure to go. He is also the chairman of Daimler Truck's supervisory board. Kaeser said that the United States is an important market for us from many perspectives…

Engie signs first-ever biomethane deal with Pepsi UK

Engie announced on Wednesday that it had won a 10-year contract to supply biomethane to PepsiCo UK. This is the first?deal of its kind between a biomethane manufacturer and a?food?industry?player in Britain. The utility company said that PepsiCo UK would buy 60 gigawatt-hours of biomethane per year from Engie’s newly built anaerobic digester in Northern England. It is expected that the facility will start operating in the second half 2027…

Trafigura Makes First Venezuelan Crude Sale Under Supply Deal

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Trading house Trafigura has sold its first cargo of Venezuelan crude oil as part of a 50-million-barrel supply deal between Caracas and Washington, industry sources said on Thursday, with Spanish refiner Repsol taking the shipment.The cargo is expected to be delivered to Repsol in Spain in February, two of the sources said.Trafigura did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Kazakhstan CPC Oil Exports Struggle After Tengiz Field Shutdown

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Kazakhstan's CPC oil exports could remain restricted even as extensive maintenance on its primary oil export route wraps up, sources said on Wednesday, with force majeure declared at the country's largest oilfield, Tengiz, following a fire.The CPC terminal, which handles about 1.5% of global oil supply and 80% of Kazakhstan's crude exports, has been operating below capacity…

Global LNG demand to increase in 2026, while supply increases.

Analysts say that global liquefied gas (LNG), which is a form of natural gas, will increase this year. This will ease the constraints since the Ukraine War in 2022 and lower prices, which may spur demand, including from China and India, who are major importers. Analysts expect a massive wave of supply to continue until 2029. This will?depress?prices, which could lead to more demand coming from emerging economies.

Kazakhstan's Tengiz Oil Field to Remain Shut for Another 7-10 Days

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Oil production at Kazakhstan's vast Tengiz oil field, one of the world's largest, could be halted for another 7-10 days after shutting down on Sunday, cutting crude exports via the Caspian Pipeline Consortium, three industry sources told Reuters.The field's operator Tengizchevroil (TCO) said on Monday that due to power supply problems, production at the Tengiz and Korolevskoye field had been stopped.A day earlier…

Mitsui to consider smaller turbines and construction delay at Niigata Wind Farm

Mitsui & Co. and its partners, a Japanese trading company, are looking at using'smaller turbines' and delaying?construction of their offshore wind farm in?Niigata. The Mitsui consortium, including Germany's RWE, Osaka Gas and Osaka Gas, has won the development rights for the 684 megawatt (MW), offshore wind farm near Murakami-Tainai in 2023, but it is now facing steeply higher development costs, as seen in other offshore wind projects around world.

Palm prices rise on the back of reduced production and improved exports

The price of palm oil futures in Malaysia rose on Tuesday, as traders anticipated a sharp drop in production and stronger demand for exports. By midday, the benchmark palm oil contract for April delivery at the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange had gained 37 ringgit (0.91%) to 4,104 Ringgit ($1,013.33) per metric ton. Exports are up significantly and traders expect a drop in output of between 15% and 17%…

Maha Capital asks for US approval to purchase stake in Venezuelan oil company

Paulo Thiago Mendonca is the chairman of Maha Capital's board. He said that the United States has approved the acquisition of an indirect minority stake in a PDVSA controlled oil company. The firm has until the end of May to "exercise" an option to acquire a majority stake. Novonor is a subsidiary that owns 40% PetroUrdaneta - a small oil company in Venezuela with underdeveloped oilfields.

Official: Shell wants to exit Syria's al-Omar Oilfield, but US firms are interested in the sector.

Youssef qeblawi said that the head of Syria Petroleum Company Youssef qeblawi stated on Monday that Shell asked to withdraw its oil from the al-Omar field and transfer their?share to Syria’s state-owned operators, but that U.S. firms were interested in?the?country's energy sector. Al-Omar, Syria's biggest oilfield, was taken over by the government at the weekend following…

Palm oil prices will average lower in 2026 due to higher supply and weak biofuel demand

A poll revealed that Malaysian crude palm futures prices are expected to be slightly lower than they were last year in 2026, due to a stronger supply by'major' producers and a subdued demand for biofuels. According to 14 traders, analysts, and industry participants, the benchmark palm oil price will average 4,125 Ringgit per metric ton in 2018, down 2,55% from 2025.

Venezuelan oil companies are pushing for rapid reforms to allow them to control oil exports

Sources involved in the talks say that oil executives and lawyers from international oil companies are lobbying for changes to the hydrocarbon laws of OPEC members in order to 'give them the freedom to export the oil produced in Venezuela. Many potential investors want to know how they can make this happen without waiting years for the legal and contractual reforms to protect their investment.

Another legal defeat for Trump as US judge allows Dominion to restart offshore wind project

Federal judge cleared Dominion Energy, a U.S. energy company to resume its Virginia offshore project on Friday. This is the third legal blow this week against President Donald Trump’s anti-offshore winds agenda. Judge Jamar Walker of U.S. District Court for Eastern District of Virginia has issued a temporary injunction that allows Dominion Construction to resume construction on the $11.2billion project…

Urals Freight Rates to India Rise Due to Bad Weather, War Risks

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Freight rates for tankers to ship Urals crude from Russia’s western ports to India have risen this month, as bad weather made fewer vessels available, disrupted loading and unloading and the cost of insuring for war risks increased, industry sources told Reuters on Friday.Drones struck two oil tankers in the Black Sea on Tuesday, including one chartered by U.S. oil major Chevron…

What excites and concerns LNG exporters by 2026? Maguire

In 2025, the LNG industry will make history after exports and production of super-chilled fuel broke records and generated billions in revenue across the global supply chain. Gas sellers were encouraged by the 25% increase in LNG purchases in Europe. This was an important development and raised expectations that gas consumption in countries like Germany, Italy and United Kingdom will continue to grow in 2026.

What excites and concerns LNG exporters by 2026? Maguire

In 2025, the LNG industry will make history after the production and exports of super-chilled fuel broke records and generated billions in revenue across the global supply chain of liquefied gas. The 25% increase in LNG purchases in Europe was a major highlight. This gave gas sellers hope that gas consumption in countries like Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom will continue to grow in 2026.

India's clean-energy industry opposes the revocation due to delays

NEW DELHI (Jan 15) - India’s renewable energy groups objected to a proposed regulatory measure that could strip developers from interstate transmission system connectivity if they fail to sign long-term power purchasing agreements in a timely manner, according?to letters sent?to India’s power regulator. The groups said that the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission…