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India’s leading gas importer Petronet LNG expects its liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports to rise by up to 15 percent this fiscal year from a year ago once an expansion at its largest terminal is completed, the company’s top official said. Natural gas is projected to double as a share of India’s energy mix by 2030 as oil-fired power plants convert to natgas, while pipelines are being built to expand the fuel’s use in the residential and transportation sectors. The pace of growth largely depends on how quickly gas infrastructure ...

“Gasoline exports have started in small quantities, but we are currently trying to store the fuel and boost our inventories… We will put gasoline exports high on our agenda in the next [Iranian] year,” Zanganeh said on Sunday. He did not provide further details about the current exports and the customers of Iranian gasoline. Iran became self-sufficient in gasoline production back in February after the inauguration of the third phase of the Persian Gulf Star Refinery (PGSR) in the southern port city of Bandar Abbas. PGSR, known as the world’s ...

Mexican utility CFE is seeking a liquefied natural gas (LNG) cargo for delivery in April, two industry sources said on Monday. The tender closes on March 19, one source said. Source: Reuters (Reporting by Jessica Jaganathan Editing by Darren Schuettler)

China’s raw coal production fell 1.5 percent year on year to 510 million tonnes in the first two months of the year, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). The country’s daily average output stood at 8.71 million tonnes. The raw coal production increased 2.1 percent in December from a year ago. Imports of raw coal jumped 19.5 percent year on year to 33.5 million tonnes in January, but dropped 15.6 percent to 17.64 million tonnes in February. Source: Xinhua

Chicago wheat futures slid on Monday, falling for the first time in three sessions as abundant world supplies weighed on the market which was underpinned last week by short-covering. Corn rose for a fifth consecutive session on support from planting delays, while soybeans dipped after closing higher on Friday. The most-active wheat contract on the Chicago Board Of Trade was down 0.8 percent at $4.58-3/4 a bushel by 0305 GMT, after earlier in the sessions climbing to $4.64 a bushel, the highest since March 6. Corn rose 0.2 percent to ...

Saudi energy minister Khalid al-Falih said on Sunday the job of OPEC and its allies was not done yet adding that the group of oil producers needed to “stay the course” at least until June when the current global supply cut agreement is due to expire. Falih who was speaking at a press briefing in Baku, said Saudi Arabia’s oil production in April will be below its output target under the OPEC-led deal. “We will continue to lead by example and do what we have to do,” he said. Source: ...

Life doesn’t seem to be getting any easier for hydrocarbon producers despite their return to bumper earnings from firmer prices. As energy executives prepare to face activist investors at annual general meetings next month, pressure for faster change seems to be coming from all angles. Already under siege to de-carbonise their long-term business models, Big Oil is still struggling to attract talent and overhaul its male-dominated management structures. With the AGM season fast approaching, climate-change related proposals from US investor groups alone are expected to hit a new record of ...

Crude oil futures closed higher on Monday at the Shanghai International Energy Exchange (INE). The most active crude oil contract for April delivery was up 0.6 yuan (about 9 U.S. cents) to close at 452.8 yuan a barrel. On Monday, INE recorded a total of 281,272 transactions in 6 listed crude oil futures contracts, with a turnover of 126.26 billion yuan. China launched the crude oil futures trading on March 26 last year. It was the first futures variety on the Chinese mainland open to overseas investment. Source: Xinhua

India’s demand for liquefied natural gas (LNG) is set to rise by about 10 percent this year even as the country adds import capacity at a faster clip, because infrastructure constraints keep gas from getting to consumers and hinder growth rates. New Delhi made a commitment in the Paris Agreement of 2015 to reduce the carbon emissions intensity of India’s economy by one-third, and aims to more than double the share gas has in its energy mix to 15 percent by 2030, from 6.2 percent now. India had four terminals ...

Conventional wisdom says the success or failure of the next wave of North American LNG export projects depends largely on the ability of developers to secure long-term offtake contracts with buyers. That contention has been challenged by two recent decisions to go forward without new contracts. The different approaches highlighted a debate Wednesday at a Houston energy conference about how to align the needs of consumers of the chilled fuel that want flexible terms and transparent pricing mechanisms with those of producers that want to satisfy banks and investors with ...

Global stocks started the week with gains, ahead of a meeting of the Federal Reserve in which the U.S. central bank is expected to affirm its intention to keep interest rates unchanged for now. In Europe, the Stoxx Europe 600 edged up 0.1%. In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei 225 gained 0.6% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng jumped 1.4%. U.S. futures pointed to an opening loss of 0.3% for the Dow Jones Industrial Average and a flat open for the S&P 500. Fed officials aren’t expected to signal any appetite for rate ...

The pound fell towards $1.32 on Monday as Prime Minister Theresa May tried to salvage her Brexit deal by winning over doubtful lawmakers with threats and promises to avoid any move to oust her. May is expected to hold a third vote on her Brexit deal on Tuesday or Wednesday, after it was heavily defeated twice in rebellions by Eurosceptic Conservative lawmakers and by members of Northern Ireland’s Democratic Unionist party. If it is approved, she will ask the European Union for a short extension to the March 29 exit ...

A host of central banks meet next week, but with a global economic slowdown underway alongside political and trade strife, they are unlikely to tinker much, if at all, with policy. An escalation in the U.S.-China trade war would trigger a sharper downturn, economists say, putting major central banks on a more cautious path just as they want to wind down crisis measures. On Wednesday, the United States Federal Reserve will release its updated forecasts for the U.S. economy, and its latest dot plots will probably point either to no ...

Wall Street wants more stimulus from China. More money from the government is a backstop to equities, so why not? Sadly, judging by this week’s “two-sessions” meeting in Beijing, they are not going to get what the Chinese government used to give. The Communist Party leaders are meeting this week to iron out the economic wrinkles and discuss what sectors of the economy should be opened up to increased foreign direct investment. China has reached a point where it needs more foreign capital to grow. Here is what we know ...

The European Central Bank may have missed its opportunity to raise interest rates before the next downturn, according to a Reuters poll that shows a majority of central bank policy watchers aren’t confident they will. In a poll taken after the ECB said it would offer new long-term loans to banks later this year, nearly 90 percent of economists who answered an extra question also said it would not conduct any more asset purchases until at least the end of 2020. That comes even though the ECB cut its 2019 ...