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Gas demand at the two largest US LNG plants is declining
According to data provided by financial firm LSEG, two of the United States’ largest liquefied gas export plants experienced a major drop in natural gas demand on Monday. This suggests that parts of these facilities may be down. According to LSEG, Cheniere's Sabine Pass facility in Texas that uses up to 4.5 billion cubic feet of natural gases per day was down to 3.7 bcf. Sempra Cameron LNG in Louisiana which processes 2 bcfd was down 1.3 bcf. Cheniere declined comment while Sempra didn't immediately respond to an inquiry for comment. Cameron is the United States fourth-largest LNG plant, while Sabine Pass has the largest. Together, they have kept the U.S. the largest LNG exporter in the world since 2023. According to LSEG, Monday's decline in demand from these two facilities brought the day's consumption down to 14,7 bcf - the lowest level for two months. U.S. Natural Gas Futures dropped about 1% Monday morning. Front-month gas contracts for September delivery at the New York Mercantile Exchange fell 2 cents, to $2.90 per 1 million British Thermal Units. Curtis Williams, Houston (reporting) and Jan Harvey (editing).
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Former New Hampshire Governor heads US airline lobbying group
The group announced Monday that former New Hampshire governor Chris Sununu will be the new leader of the trade group Airlines for America. Sununu passed up the chance to run for U.S. Senate 2026. American Airlines, Delta Air Lines and United Airlines are among the members of this influential airline lobbying organization. Sununu will replace Nick Calio on September 9th, who has been the leader of the group since 2011 and was a senior adviser to George W. Bush. Airlines have aggressively lobby Congress this year to spend billions to modernize America's aging air traffic system. They warn that it "fails Americans." Since years, the Federal Aviation Administration has had problems with staffing and technology. Public alarm was sparked by a series of high-profile incidents, close calls and the deadly crash in January involving an American Airlines Regional Jet that killed 67 near Reagan Washington National Airport. Congress approved $12.5 billion to reform air traffic control, but the airlines and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy are asking for another $19 billion. FAA announced this month that it will extend flight reductions at Newark Airport, one of three major airports in the New York City region, until October 2026, as the FAA continues to struggle with air traffic controller shortages and congestion. The airlines have been fighting against a proposal that would lower fees charged by Visa or Mastercard. They claim that it could force the airlines to stop providing rewards credit cards which give frequent flyer miles when consumers make transactions. The airlines also succeeded in lobbying Congress to provide $54 billion for COVID-19 bailout money. (Reporting and Editing by Rod Nickel.)
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Caspian Pipeline suspends one mooring for maintenance for 3 weeks
Caspian Pipeline Consortium announced on Monday that it halted operation at SMP-3 on August 15, for maintenance which could take up to 3 weeks. It added that loadings were carried out via SMP-1 and SMP-2. CPC uses two moorings at the Black Sea Terminal, with one holding back as a backup. Three sources in the trade told us last week that Black Sea CPC blend crude oil exports would be just under 1.6 million barrels a day (bpd). This is a significant drop from the 1.66 million bpd that was scheduled to be loaded in August. The CPC pipeline, which connects Kazakhstan oilfields to export markets via the Russian Black Sea Port of Yuzhnaya Ozereyevka in Novorossiisk near Novorossiisk handles more than 80% all of the oil exported by Kazakhstan. (Reporting and editing by Hugh Lawson, David Goodman, and Vladimir Soldatkin)
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BlackRock's GIP will take a stake in Eni’s carbon capture business
The infrastructure fund of U.S. asset management company BlackRock, GIP, has agreed to purchase a 49.99% share in Eni’s carbon capture-and-storage business (CCUS), said the Italian firm on Monday. The proposed deal forms part of Eni’s strategy to fund its growth by selling minority stakes in satellite operations. Eni CCUS Holding consists of the HyNet and Bacton project in Britain, and L10 in The Netherlands. Eni and Snam, the Italian gas grid company, have launched a carbon capture project together in Ravenna. Claudio Descalzi, Eni's Chief Executive, said that the decision to consolidate Eni's CCUS portfolio into a single entity and to add GIP as a partner will enhance Eni’s ability to provide large-scale decarbonisation solutions. GIP and Eni have announced a partnership to share the costs of developing the business. Bayo Ogunlesi, GIP's Chairman and CEO, said that the combination of Eni's industrial and technical capabilities with GIP's midstream infrastructure expertise will accelerate the deployment and adoption of CCUS at a meaningful scale. The CCUS technology captures CO2 at the point of emissions and stores it underground. International Energy Agency (IEA) says that the technology could play a crucial role in meeting global climate goals. Critics have questioned the technology's commercial viability, and have warned that it may prolong fossil fuel use. (Reporting and editing by Francesca Landini)
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TSX slips past Canada inflation data at Fed conference
Canada's main index of stocks fell on Monday, as investors stayed away from big bets in anticipation of the domestic inflation data that is due on Tuesday. Also, a U.S. Central Bank Conference starting on Friday will have a major impact on markets. At 9:55 am ET (1355 GMT), the Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index was down 0.17% at 27,858.27 points. The S&P/TSX Composite Index of the Toronto Stock Exchange was down 0.17% to 27,858.27 at 1355 GMT. Investors will be watching the annual U.S. Federal Reserve economic policy symposium, which begins in Jackson Hole on Friday. Shiraz Ahmed is the founder and CEO of Sartorial Wealth Inc. Many investors are in a waiting-and-see mode at the moment. CME Group's FedWatch tool shows that traders have priced in an 85.1% probability of a September rate cut. Investors are also watching the Canadian inflation data on Tuesday for July. According to a poll of economists, the rate is expected to have dropped to 1.8% in July. The Bank of Canada could cut rates if the rate of inflation in Canada falls. At its last policy gathering, the central bank indicated that it would cut rates if inflation remained contained and the economy weakened. Later that day, U.S. president Donald Trump will After Trump's Friday meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin failed to result in a peace accord, the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy met with European leaders. The TSX energy index, which fell 0.8% on Monday due to lower crude oil prices in advance of the Trump-Zelenskiy summit, led the losses. Materials dropped 0.6%. Communications and consumer staples, which are capped, have capped the overall losses. They gained 0.9% and 0.5% respectively. Air Canada's stock fell by 2.6% following the suspension of its third-quarter and year-end profit forecasts. Its planes were still grounded as striking flight attendants refused to obey a return-to work order. (Reporting and editing by Nikhil Singh; Sahal Muhammad)
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Sources say that Lukoil Volgograd refinery has halted oil processing following drone attacks.
Two sources familiar with the situation said that Lukoil, a Russian oil company, shut down its Volgograd refinery after it was hit by drones. Ukraine intensified drone strikes on Russian oil installations last week. The attacks targeted major refineries, oil depots and other oil-related facilities in the south and central regions of Russia. This was done daily to prepare for a meeting between U.S. president Donald Trump and Russian president Vladimir Putin. According to market sources, Volgograd Refinery was attacked on August 13 by drones and oil processing at the crude distillation unit CDU-5 has been suspended. This unit has a daily capacity of 9,110 tons. Sources said that the next drone attack, on August 14, damaged two more crude distillation units. CDU-1 has a daily capacity of 18,590 tonnes and CDU-6 has a daily capacity of 14,570 tonnes. Lukoil didn't respond to a request for comment. Local authorities announced on Thursday night that a fire at an oil refinery had been extinguished as of August 14. Sources said that oil processing at Volgograd has been stopped at least until mid-September. The Volgograd refinery will process 13.7 million tons of oil in 2024, which is 5.1% of all the Russian refineries. Reporting by In Moscow. (Editing by Jan Harvey.)
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Google announces Tennessee for the site of a small modular nuclear reactor
Google and Kairos Power have selected Tennessee to build an advanced nuclear plant. The facility is expected to provide electricity for the Big Tech Company's data centres in the U.S. Southeast starting in 2030. Why it Matters Big Tech requires massive amounts of energy to scale up technologies such as generative artificial intelligence, which is used in data centers that are very energy intensive. These record energy demands are pushing U.S. energy consumption to new heights and driving the development of fresh energy sources such as next-generation nuclear power. Google announced last year that it would buy nuclear energy through multiple small modular reactors. The Tennessee reactor was the first of these to be deployed. The agreement would allow California-based Kairos to develop 500 megawatts, enough power to run about 350,000 homes. A 50-gigawatt modular small nuclear power plant is being built in Oak Ridge in Tennessee under a long term power purchase agreement between the utility Tennessee Valley Authority and Google to supply electricity to data centers in Alabama as well as locally. KEY QUOTE Google's Amanda Peterson Corio said, "This collaboration will accelerate the deployment and support of innovative nuclear technology and help to support our growing digital economies while also bringing carbon-free electricity to the electric system." According to the companies, this is the first time that a U.S. electric utility has signed an agreement for a power purchase contract for nuclear energy of the so-called Generation IV variety, which, according to most experts, is the safest and most sustainable form currently being developed. The Energy Secretary Weighs In In announcing site selection, U.S. Energy Sec. Chris Wright stated that "the deployment of advanced nuclear plants is essential for U.S. AI leadership and energy leadership." The Department of Energy assisted Kairos Power in overcoming technical and operational challenges, as well as regulatory ones, while participating in the Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program. DOE will continue to accelerate the next American Nuclear Renaissance. There are currently no advanced nuclear power stations available in the U.S.
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Kyiv claims that Russia deliberately struck Azerbaijani SOCAR oil installations in Ukraine.
Ukrainian officials reported that Russian drones deliberately attacked an oil depot owned by the Azerbaijani State Oil Company SOCAR, in southern Odesa Region of Ukraine on Monday for the second time within two weeks. In an article published on X, Volodymyr Zelenskiy said that the "deliberate Russian attack...was not only an attack on us, but also on our relationships and energy security." Baku should "respond diplomatically and legally" to the actions he called "against Azerbaijani interests". SOCAR, a company that operates 60 fuel stations in Ukraine, and Azerbaijani officials have not yet commented. Russia has not commented publicly on the matter. The Ukraine energy minister said to reporters in Kyiv that it was "hard" to assess the damages and that rescue crews are still working. Two industry sources said that the attack on Monday followed a Russian drone attack in August, which damaged a SOCAR Oil Depot. According to them, at least four people were injured in the strike. The Russian military has often targeted Ukrainian energy and infrastructure facilities located far from the front lines. (Reporting and writing by Max Hunder, Yuliia dysa; editing by Hugh Lawson and Kirby Donovan).
Kyiv reports that Ukraine and Azerbaijan are in negotiations on a gas import agreement.
Ukraine is in negotiations with Azerbaijan for gas imports from the South Caucasus nation this year, Kyiv’s energy minister announced on Monday.
We are in the middle of discussions. Svitlana Hynchuk, a Ukrainian journalist for RBC-Ukraine, said that Azerbaijan was interested in the project.
Ukraine has been testing Azerbaijani gas since the beginning of this year, as it looks for alternative sources of supply after Russian long-range missile attacks have severely damaged its domestic production.
Hrynchuk stated that the test project has now ended and Ukraine is working to secure a deal for further supplies by 2025.
Kyiv reported that earlier in August Russia had attacked the Orlovka Interconnector, a part of the Transbalkan Route, through which Ukraine receives its gas, including from Azerbaijan. Yulia Shvyrydenko, Ukraine's Prime Minister, said that the country plans to store 13,2 billion cubic meters of gas underground for the coming heating season.
Separately on Monday, Kyiv’s Foreign Minister accused Russia of attacking a SOCAR oil depot owned by the Azerbaijani government for the second time within two weeks.
(source: Reuters)