As Germany struggles with the energy crisis sparked by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, many communities there are looking with added urgency at ways to try to wean themselves off gas and oil. Abensberg in Bavaria is among a number of towns which have pioneered alternative energy solutions in recent years. The town of 15,000 people is focussing on solar power, and has ambitions to be self-sufficient in electricity by 2030. Lothar Stich pointed enthusiastically at the streetlights along the bicycle path near his home. “They are all solar powered,” ...

Europe’s gas storage probably peaked this week ahead of the winter after a refill season that shattered records for its length and the volume of gas injected into storage sites across the region. Inventories in the European Union and the United Kingdom reached 1,079 terawatt-hours (TWh) on Nov. 13, according to Gas Infrastructure Europe (“Aggregated gas storage inventory”, GIE, Nov. 18). They have since fallen slightly as cold weather and lower prices encourage more consumption, in what probably marks the end of the summer refill season and the start of ...

The European Commission’s proposed price cap on natural gas will “distort” market signals with potential “unintended consequences” for demand and supply, Rystad Energy said in a report on Friday. The EU plans to propose a cap on natural gas prices after November 24, as part of its efforts to contain an energy crisis resulting from Russia’s military offensive in Ukraine, the EU’s energy policy chief told Reuters on Wednesday. This proposal includes a market correction mechanism for the Dutch TTF gas futures, the benchmark European contract. “Any move to limit ...

European refiners have found themselves oversupplied with crude as an expected shortage owing to the looming EU ban on Russian oil has yet to materialise. The front-month Brent crude futures spread narrowed sharply this week, reflecting better supply in the physical oil market as fears over the EU embargo on Russian crude begin to subside. Premiums on prompt prices to future prices – known as a backwardated market structure – usually indicate supply tightness. Traders cited Europe’s ability to replace Russian oil with grades from the Middle East, the United ...

Fitch Ratings expects US refiners’ crack spreads to fall in 2023 from record setting levels, resulting in an approximate 40% decline in median sector EBITDA and median leverage increasing to slightly over 2.0x. Weaker than expected global economic growth next year and sharply higher inventories due to other oil product market factors are key downside risks to our EBITDA forecasts. We expect US refiners’ ratings to remain stable even with weaker-than-expected profitability absent large, debt-funded acquisitions or shareholder friendly activities that exceed companies’ financial policies. Our ratings case projections assume ...

Paris-listed engineering and technology company Technip Energies and Nasdaq-listed Baker Hughes signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to cooperate on the joint development of a new above one and up to two million tonnes per annum (MTPA) range liquefied natural gas (LNG) modularised solution for the onshore market. The joint development seeks to provide an additional offering to the two companies’ respective proprietary LNG modularised solutions, they said in a joint statement. Baker Hughes’ 1 MTPA range LNG Mid-scale Modular Solution (MMS) has a production capacity of 0.8 to 1 ...

U.S. natural gas futures eased 1% on Friday, paring losses of more than 5% earlier in the session, after Freeport LNG said it expects to restart its liquefied natural gas (LNG) export plant in Texas in December. Freeport LNG said it was targeting a mid-December restart for its export plant, which has been shut for six months after a fire. Futures prices were down much more earlier in the day on forecasts for warmer weather that will reduce heating demand in late November and early December. In recent days, a ...

U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) company Freeport LNG said on Friday it was targeting initial production at its export plant in Texas in mid-December. “It is expected that approximately 2 (billion cubic feet per day) of production will be achieved in January 2023,” it said in a release. It said it expects full production utilizing both docks to commence in March 2023. Federal pipeline safety regulators released a heavily redacted consultant’s report this week that blamed inadequate operating and testing procedures, human error and fatigue for the June 8 explosion ...

Australia proposed on Friday to tighten gasoline quality requirements by 2025 in line with most rich countries, while offering more aid to its two refiners, Ampol Ltd ALD.AX and Viva Energy VEA.AX, to meet the new standards. The move advances by two years the preliminary, undefined plan of the previous government, which left office in May. In the proposal seeking to meet emissions standards called Euro 6d, the government said its preferred option would be to cut aromatics in premium-grade 95 RON gasoline to a maximum of 35%, with no ...

Investigators have found traces of explosives at the site of the damaged Nord Stream pipelines, confirming that gross sabotage had taken place, a Swedish prosecutor said on Friday. Swedish and Danish authorities are investigating four holes in the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines which link Russia and Germany via the Baltic Sea and have become a flashpoint in the Ukraine crisis. Denmark last month said a preliminary investigation had shown that the leaks were caused by powerful explosions. “Analysis that has now been carried out shows traces of explosives ...

Asian spot liquefied natural gas (LNG) prices eased this week on unusually warmer weather and solid inventories, but market players believe the U.S. Freeport LNG plant’s delayed restart would support prices in the coming weeks. The average LNG price for January delivery into northeast Asia LNG-AS was $25.5 per million British thermal units (mmBtu), down $0.50, or 1.9%, from the previous week, industry sources estimated. This is well below the price range of around $31/mmBtu that prevailed at this time last year. “Prices have continued to decline this week, in ...

India and China will drive the liquefied natural gas (LNG) regasification capacity additions in Asia between 2022 and 2026, as the two countries step up imports of natural gas to reduce carbon emissions. Together, the two countries will account for 55% of the region’s total capacity additions by 2026 through new build and expansion projects, says GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company. GlobalData’s report, “LNG Industry (Liquefaction and Regasification) Capacity and CapEx Forecast by Region and Countries, All Active Plants, Planned and Announced Projects, 2022-2026,” reveals that Asia is ...

British and Dutch wholesale gas prices mostly rose on Friday morning as cooler temperatures increased gas demand for heating and as some European countries withdrew gas from storage sites. The Dutch day-ahead contract rose by 9 euros to 109 euros per megawatt hour (MWh) by 1006 GMT. In the British gas market, the day-ahead contract rose by 15 pence to 120 pence per therm, while the weekend contract gained 13 pence to 120 p/therm. “Temperatures continue to decline and are expected to drop below seasonal normal from tomorrow both in ...

It is highly possible that the restart of U.S. Freeport’s LNG plant will be delayed beyond a scheduled date of mid-November, the president of Osaka Gas Co Ltd 9532.T said on Friday, adding that it had not restarted yet. Osaka Gas, which buys 2.32 million tonnes of liquefied natural gas (LNG) annually from the project, understands construction work is on track but regulatory approvals from local authorities may be delayed, President Masataka Fujiwara told reporters, but gave no date for the restart. A blast and fire on June 8 had ...

One of Europe’s largest liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals has confirmed plans to expand capacity at its site after backing from investors. South Hook in Milford Haven, Pembrokeshire, processes about 20% of UK current demand for natural gas. But new research has revealed LNG’s environmental costs, and Friends of the Earth Cymru are “very concerned”. The Welsh government said it is developing Wales’ pathway to a net zero system. South Hook has been importing liquefied gas from various parts of the world before turning it into gas and delivering it ...