Trinidad: Key gas project in Venezuela is not slowing down, despite US pressure
Trinidad Prime Minister Stuart Young stated on Thursday that companies planning an offshore gas project between Venezuela and Trinidad and Tobago have "not slowed down" their work despite increased pressure from the United States on Venezuela and uncertainty regarding the extension of the license for the project. After talks with U.S. Young, who spoke to South American and Caribbean nations this week, said that the "landscape" is changing.
Sources say that EU is targeting energy laws to reduce red tape.
Sources familiar with the matter said that the European Commission is considering changes in EU energy laws to reduce the regulatory burden on struggling industries as part of its next set of proposals. Brussels has started a campaign to eliminate layers of bureaucracy, which European businesses claim puts them at a competitive disadvantage with China and the United States where the Trump Administration is aggressively rollingback regulation.
Vucic: Serbia will lose access to oil imports when the deadline for sanctions looms.
Serbia may lose access to essential oil imports as of Friday, after discussions to stop the imposition by the United States of sanctions on its sole oil refinery failed. President Aleksandar Vucic stated this in an interview published. The waiver of sanctions expires at midnight. If it is not extended, NIS, which is owned by Russia's Gazprom and Gazprom in majority, may face a reduction in crude oil supply. NIS is the sole oil refinery in Serbia, with a capacity of 4.8 millions tons per year.
UK watchdog warns SLB-ChampionX could harm competition
The British Competition Regulator said that the proposed $8 billion acquisition of smaller competitor ChampionX by oilfield services firm SLB could lead to a significant lessening in competition in the United Kingdom. SLB and ChampionX will not be allowed to proceed with an in-depth investigation unless they offer corrective measures, said the Competition and Markets Authority. The companies have until April 3, 2019 to provide these remedies.
Energy assets affected due to sanctions and standoff between Russia and the West
On Tuesday, the United States and Russia reached separate agreements to stop attacks on energy and maritime targets. Washington also agreed to press for the lifting of some sanctions against Moscow. In the event that a peace agreement is reached between Russia and Ukraine, the potential for a relaxation of U.S. sanctions and EU sanctions has led to the question of what will happen to the disputed assets which were affected by international sanctions.
Australia pours billions into missile procurement amidst global shortages
Australia's plans for developing its own missile component capability will likely be slowed by the Ukraine war and increased European defense spending, even though it is pushing ahead with a multi-billion dollar effort to purchase long-range attack missiles. Last year, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese committed A$74 billion (46.68 billion dollars) for missile acquisition. This included A$21 billion towards the establishment of a Guided Weapons and Explosive Ordnance Enterprise.
Can Trump's drive for critical minerals pass the test of copper? Andy Home
The executive order issued by U.S. president Donald Trump on increasing domestic mineral production is designed to cut through the mine permit maze in the United States. According to S&P Global, it takes on average nearly 29 years to bring a new mine from discovery to production. This is the second longest lead time in the entire world, after Zambia. The U.S. Government is uniquely qualified to address the problem of granting permits on federal land.
Nigeria’s Refining Revolution is Reshaping West Africa’s Energy Landscape
The launch of the Dangote Refinery near the Port of Lagos presents an exciting opportunity to transform the energy and shipping markets in West Africa. And it stands to boost Nigeria’s role as an influential player in the global oil industry, fostering economic growth and regional development.Nigeria’s standing in the global energy landscape is getting a boost with domestic refining capacity expanding in 2025. The Dangote…
Exports of crude oil by Mexico's Pemex rose 33% from January to February
The crude oil exports of the Mexican state energy company Pemex increased 33% from January to February, recovering from the drop in the previous month but still being down 25% when compared with February 2024. Pemex published data late Tuesday showing that crude exports reached 709,793 barrels a day (bpd) in February. About 60%, or 428 357 bpd of these exports went to the United States. The majority of this was the Maya heavy crude blend.
Osaka Gas' president claims that it has no immediate requirement for additional US LNG.
Osaka Gas' president stated on Wednesday that the company does not need to purchase more liquefied gas from the United States as it already has enough to last until the middle of next decade. U.S. president Donald Trump pushes energy sales to Asian allies, while threatening tariffs on trade. This is reviving Alaska LNG's stagnated LNG ambitions. Last month, Shigeru Ishiba, the Japanese Prime Minister, and Donald Trump discussed a 20 million ton per year Alaska LNG Project…
EUROPE GAS - Prices fall on mild temperatures and energy attack pause
The Dutch and British gas price fell on Wednesday morning, as the mild temperatures reduced gas demand. Meanwhile, the U.S. made deals with Russia and Ukraine to stop attacks against energy targets and at sea. LSEG data shows that the Dutch front-month contract fell by 0.15 euros to 40.97 euros per Megawatt Hour (MWh), or $12.96/mmBtu at 0917 GMT. The Dutch May contract is down 0.75 euros at 40.95 Euro/MWh. On ICE, the British day-ahead contract fell by 0.80 pence to 99p/therm.
Tokyo Gas expects its net profit to double in FY26
Tokyo Gas, Japan's largest city gas provider, said that it aims to double its net profits in 2026 and has plans to expand into the United States. The plan was released in a mid-term management report on Wednesday. The company expects its net profit to increase to 131 billion Japanese yen ($871million) for the fiscal year 2025-26, which starts on April 1. This is up from 72 billion yen in the current year that ended this March. The company expects to increase its dividend by 10 yen, or 80 yen a share, in the current fiscal.
European investors warn that the clock is ticking on AI adoption
European companies who are investing heavily in generative artificial intelligence must start showing results by the end of next year or investors will lose patience. AI-exposed shares have been downdrafted with the broader equity market in recent weeks, as fears of recession rise. This has added to the pressure on the sector, which was already under strain in January when the launch low-cost Chinese AI DeepSeek sparked a tech sale.
Galp, a Portuguese company, is confident that it will find other markets in the event of US tariffs.
The Portuguese oil company Galp Energia is confident that it can find other destinations for its gasoline exports. Galp's Executive Board member Ronald Doesburg who is responsible for industrial assets said on Tuesday that the company will be able deal with a drop in demand from Americans due to higher prices resulting from proposed tariffs of 25%. Galp's Sines refinery produces approximately 2 million metric tonnes of gasoline each year. Of this, between 1.2 and 1.5 million tons is exported to the United States.
UAE renewables firm Masdar weighs possible IPO, sources say
Three people familiar with the situation have confirmed that Masdar, Abu Dhabi's state owned renewables company, is considering a public offering. Two sources said that the company was considering a dual listing, one in New York and another in Abu Dhabi, to raise funds for renewable projects. A third person confirmed that Masdar had held informal discussions with banks. Two people have said that an IPO will not happen before 2026. One person said that the company might not even pursue an IPO.
LSEG data indicates that Freeport LNG will resume service in Texas after a lightning strike.
Data from the financial firm LSEG revealed that natural gas flows at Freeport LNG's Texas export plant were expected to increase on Tuesday, after a lighting strike on a pipe caused it to close on Monday. Freeport is one the most closely monitored LNG export plants around the world, as the start and end of its operations can cause large price swings on global gas markets. Gas prices in the U.S. typically drop when flows to Freeport decrease due to the lower demand from the export plant for the fuel.
Shell increases shareholder distributions and cuts spending
Shell raised its shareholder distribution policy to 40-50% from 30-40% on Tuesday, focusing on share buybacks. It also lowered its outlook for spending to $20-$22 billion through 2028. The world's largest LNG trader has said that it wants to increase LNG sales by 4%-5% per year over the next five, while increasing its production by 1% each year, and keeping its oil output at 1.4m barrels per day. Shell predicts that global demand for natural gas liquefied will increase by 60% by 2040.
South Korea hosts Alaska Governor, energy team amid talks of gas pipeline
Alaskan state officials, including the governor, and energy officials will visit South Korea Tuesday amid expectations that talks with U.S. ally countries in Asia can revive a natural gas project that has been stalled. The main U.S. Business lobby in Seoul announced that the delegation of Governor Mike Dunleavy will include representatives from the Glanfarne Group, which is a partner on the project to transport natural gas from Alaska's remote northern region via a $44-billion pipeline, and the state agency for gas.
The EU Commission has told Spain that it will not pay in a long-running case of renewable subsidies
The European Commission gave Spain a win on Monday when it told the country that they would not be paying any compensation for claims in the billions of Euros for renewable energy subsidies cut over a decade earlier. After the conservative government of Spain cut renewables subsidies to reduce an artificially low power tariff deficit that had been built up over years, foreign investors, mainly investment funds, filed a lawsuit against Spain.
Russian central bank expects low oil prices to continue for a while
The Russian central bank warned Kremlin policymakers that the United States and OPEC could flood the oil markets and cause a similar price collapse to what occurred in the 1980s, which led to the fall of the Soviet Union. The warning was issued weeks before Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. president Donald Trump began negotiations to end the conflict in Ukraine. Trump warned that he would impose additional sanctions against Russia if a peace agreement was not reached. He has also promised to increase U.S.
