South Korea's trade minister could ask for an extension of the tariff freeze during US-South Korea talks
South Korea's Trade minister Yeo Han Koo said that he may request an extension to the U.S. Tariffs Freeze that expires in a few days, when he travels to Washington to meet with U.S. officials. Yeo, South Korea's newly appointed trade envoy, will fly to the U.S. this Friday. He plans to meet with U.S. Representative Jamieson Greer, and other senior officials, on Saturday. This is just before the deadline of July 9, when U.S. Tariffs may increase dramatically. Donald Trump, the president of the United States, said that his administration will begin sending letters to countries on Friday specifying which tariff rates they must pay on imports from other countries.
Official: US withdrawal from Indonesian coal phase-down program will have limited impact
Indonesia's top official in the initiative, who is also the United States' representative to the international collaboration to assist developing countries transition away from coal, said that the withdrawal will only have a minimal impact. As part of the President Donald Trump’s plan to reduce foreign aid, the U.S. resigned from the Just Energy Transformation Partnership (JETP), a group of 10 donors. A U.S. official described the partnership as "the single largest climate finance transaction", but little money was actually disbursed. Paul Butarbutar…
PTT Thailand to purchase 2 MTPA LNG from Glenfarne Alaska LNG for 20 years
Glenfarne announced late Monday that the Thai state-owned PTT Group, which is an oil and gas company, had signed an agreement with Glenfarne to purchase 2 million metric tonnes of liquefied gas annually from its Alaska LNG project for a period of 20 years. PTT stated that it would continue to study the Alaska LNG Project in order to expand its LNG businesses and improve Thai energy security. Thailand has increased its LNG imports in recent years, to meet the rising demand for electricity and decreasing domestic gas production. It has also expanded its import capacity.
EnQuest CEO: EnQuest will finalise its $84 million Vietnam oilfield purchase soon
Amjad Bseisu, CEO of UK-based EnQuest, said that the company expects to acquire Harbour Energy's Vietnam business within the next two months and will drill new wells in order to increase production. The North Sea-focused firm's expansion beyond its home market is part of this $84 million purchase. EnQuest is acquiring a little over 53% of the Chim Sao & Dua production fields located in Vietnam. Bseisu said earlier this week that he was excited about the asset because he saw development and infill opportunities. Once we take control, we will invest in the field to try to increase its productivity.
Energy companies race to Southeast Asia for gas to meet AI power demand
Energy companies are investing in gas exploration and production to meet the rising demand for power from a growing population and the proliferation of data centers in this region. As countries pursue different paths of energy transition, European majors are pivoting back to conventional fuels that are more profitable. Southeast Asian governments also want to increase the affordability of local gas to improve economic growth and energy security. Anwar Ibrahim, Malaysia's Prime Minister, said that Shell had committed to increase its investment in Malaysia to 9 billion ringgit (2.12 billion dollars) in the next two or three years at the Energy Asia Conference in Kuala Lumpur.
Petronas CEO: Company is planning to import LNG within 4-5 years
The chief executive of Malaysian state-owned energy company Petroliam Nasional said that the firm is preparing to face a scenario where the country, which is currently a major LNG exporter in the world, begins to import super-chilled fuel. Tengku Muhammad Taufik, the Chief Executive of Petronas, said that they plan to import LNG within four to five year. He made this statement at a conference press briefing. The domestic gas demand in Southeast Asia is expected to rise. Tengku Taufik said that Petronas was also working on getting a third regasification facility up and running in Malaysia. He did not say when this would happen.
Malaysia PM pledges $10 billion for national grid upgrade
Anwar Ibrahim, Malaysia's Prime Minister, said that Tenaga Nasional had committed to upgrading the national grid infrastructure with 43 billion ringgit (about $10 billion). Anwar, who opened the Energy Asia Conference, said that the grid upgrade will help the country achieve its ambitions in artificial Intelligence and battery energy storage system. Anwar also said that he plans to build three carbon-capture storage facilities offshore to serve the oil and gas industry as well as other industries. He said Malaysian CCS efforts include more than ten international partners, including those from Japan and South Korea as well as energy companies such as TotalEnergies or Shell.
The vote of the US Trade Panel opens the door to imposing stiff tariffs on solar imports
The U.S. International Trade Commission decided on Tuesday that a flood cheap imports from Southeast Asian countries threatened or materially damaged domestic solar panel manufacturers. This decision brings the United States closer to imposing heavy duties on these goods. The three-member ITC voted "yes", meaning that the Commerce Department would issue orders to enforce anti-dumping and countervailing tariffs on solar panels imported from Malaysia. Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam. This was a decision the agency made last month. This vote settles a trade dispute that lasted a year…
Equinor's executive states that Europe needs to compete on prices for gas refilling.
A senior Equinor executive said that Europe might need to continue offering attractive prices in order to secure the additional 30 billion cubic meters (bcm), of liquefied gas (LNG), needed to replenish their storage levels. Equinor estimated that Europe would require around 250-300 additional LNG cargoes in comparison to last year, to fill storage tanks that were left empty by two-thirds after the winter. This would result in a tight gas market. Peder Bjorland said that securing such volumes would be possible if Europe offered prices competitive with China and other Asian customers. Bjorland stated that China is returning and can be competitive.
Vietnam and Russia quickly agree to sign a nuclear power plant agreement
In a joint press release, Vietnam and Russia agreed to sign and negotiate agreements quickly on the construction of nuclear power plants in Vietnam. The statement was issued on Sunday, following a visit by To Lam to Moscow. Southeast Asia has resumed its plans to build nuclear power plants, which were suspended almost a decade earlier. This is part of the nation's efforts to increase its power generation capability to support its rapidly growing economy. The government had previously stated that it expected nuclear power plants to have a combined output of up to 6 GW between 2030 and 2035.
US tariffs and Europe's slowdown change global solar panel trade
Trade data revealed that solar panel manufacturers in Laos, Indonesia and Cambodia, which are mostly owned by Chinese companies, increased their market share in the U.S. after tariffs on exports to other Southeast Asian nations, including Cambodia and Thailand were imposed. After two rounds of tariffs last June and November, the U.S. Government finalised steep levies against imports of solar modules and cells from Vietnam, Malaysia and Thailand in April. This was to prevent dumping of these products by factories owned mainly by Chinese in these countries.
US tariffs and Europe's slowdown change global solar panel trade
Trade data revealed that solar panel manufacturers in Laos, Indonesia and Cambodia, which are mostly owned by Chinese companies, increased their market share in the U.S. after tariffs on exports to other Southeast Asian nations, including Cambodia and Thailand were imposed. After two rounds of tariffs last June and November, the U.S. Government finalised its steep levies against imports of solar modules and cells from Vietnam, Malaysia and Thailand in April. This was to prevent dumping of these products by factories owned mainly by Chinese in these countries.
The growth of the Indonesian GDP in Q1 is at its lowest level for more than three quarters.
Official data released on Monday showed that Indonesia's economy has grown by 4.87% over the past year, its lowest growth rate in three years. Analysts had predicted a growth rate of 4.91%. The growth rate between January and March was the lowest since the third quarter in 2021, down from the previous quarter's 5.02%. Statistics Indonesia showed that the gross domestic product decreased by 0.98% on a quarter-to-quarter non-seasonally-adjusted basis. Since the pandemic, Indonesia's economy has grown at a rate of 5%. The President of Indonesia, Prabowo Subianto, took office in January and has promised to increase that figure to 8% over his five-year tenure.
China's solar sector remains red as the trade war causes problems
China's solar producers reported losses in the last week, as President Donald Trump's Trade War put additional pressure on demand. This was an industry that already faced low prices and tariffs for exports to America. Longi Green Energy, JinkoSolar and other top producers reported a combined net loss of 1.4 bn yuan (193 million dollars) in the first quarter. Losses for competitors JA Solar, Trina Solar, and others totaled 1.6 bn yuan, 1.3 mn yuan, and 1.6 mn yuan respectively. Longi, who also reported a loss of 8.6 billion Yuan in 2024, informed analysts on a conference call that the demand for solar products is expected to remain flat in 2025.
First Solar reduces its annual sales and profits forecast due to near-term tariff problems
First Solar lowered their annual sales and profits forecasts on Tuesday, citing near-term challenges due to the ongoing U.S. - China trade war. They also cited a tepid demand for residential solar in the United States. This sent its shares down by 11% after hours trading. The U.S. demand for residential solar has been weakening due to high rates of interest and new metering regulations in California, the top market. These reforms have decreased the credits that customers get when they feed excess electricity into the grid. In the first week of this month, U.S.
Enphase Energy misses quarterly profit estimates, forecasts weak Q2 revenue
Enphase Energy, a solar inverter manufacturer, missed analyst expectations for the first-quarter profit due to a softening of demand in the United States. It also forecast revenue for the second-quarter below market expectations. Shares dropped 12.5% in after market trading. Enphase's residential solar inverter sales were affected by a softening of demand in California, the top U.S. state. The reform will be implemented in 2023. Enphase, based in Fremont, California, saw its quarterly revenue rise 35% from a quarter earlier to $356.1 millions, but it fell short of the estimated $360.9million.
US finalizes tariffs against Southeast Asian solar imports
U.S. Trade officials finalized tariffs on solar panels and cells from Southeast Asia. This is a major step in settling a trade dispute that has been raging for a year, with American manufacturers accusing their rivals overseas of flooding the market unfairly with cheap goods. The Commerce Department imposed preliminary antidumping, antisubsidy, countervailing duty on solar equipment imported from Malaysia, Cambodia Thailand and Vietnam last year. Hanwha Qcells from Korea, Arizona's First Solar Inc., and a number of smaller producers filed the case to protect their billions in investment in U.S. Solar Manufacturing.
Thailand will import more US LNG in the next five years.
Thailand will import more LNG from the United States in the next five-year period, said Finance Minister Pichai Chunhavajira on Wednesday. This was ahead of next week's meeting with U.S. officials to discuss tariffs. He said that there is an agreement for the import of 1 million metric tonnes of LNG valued at $500 million in 2020 as part of a plan to total 15 million tons over 15 years starting in 2026. Pichai stated that Thailand plans to sign an additional contract worth $600 million for the purchase of more than 1,000,000 tons of U.S. LNG over the next five-year period. He added that Thailand imports LNG and wants to become a distributor of the gas in the region.
South Korea and Vietnam boost their economic ties despite looming US trade tariffs
South Korea and Vietnam have agreed to expand their economic cooperation following a ministerial meet on Monday. This comes at a time of great urgency for both countries to reduce the impact of possible U.S. Tariffs. Ahn Duk-geun, South Korea's Minister of Industry, is in Vietnam to try and negotiate a reduction in the threatened U.S. Tariffs of 25% or 46% that would apply otherwise after July, when a global moratorium ends. Vietnam is South Korea's third largest export destination. 3 export destination. According to a South Korean statement,…
Mubadala Energy acquires Kimmeridge LNG and gas projects in the US
Mubadala Energy is an arm of Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund. It signed a deal with Kimmeridge, a US-based energy investor, on Thursday that gives it stakes in American gas assets. This marks its entry into the United States market, as part of the company’s growth plans. Mubadala Energy announced that the deal to purchase 24.1% of Kimmeridge’s SoTex HoldCo would give Mubadala Energy direct access to Kimmeridge’s unconventional gas production and to a Louisiana liquefied gas export project. The latter is expected to reach a final decision this year, with a first offtake scheduled for 2029.
