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Woodside Energy anticipates that demand for LNG will grow by 50% in the next decade
Woodside is bullish about LNG demand, despite TotalEnergies’ market glut warning Louisiana LNG is the largest foreign investment ever made in a state. Starting in 2029, exports will target Europe and Asia. Arathy S. Somasekhar, Curtis Williams HOUSTON, September 15 - Woodside Energy CEO Meg O'Neill announced on Monday that the global demand for LNG will grow by 50% in the next decade. She was speaking at the groundbreaking ceremony of the Australian company's Louisiana export facility. This dispelled concerns about the rapid expansion of U.S. LNG supply. The complex was the largest foreign investment ever made in Louisiana and the first U.S. gas project to receive financial approval after President Donald Trump took office in January. He had promised to unleash U.S. power on the world. The exports will begin in 2029, and they will be aimed at Europe and Asia. The market is already there. However, many nations are unable to take part in the market because of their price-sensitive nature. O'Neill, who spoke at an event in Calcasieu Parish Parish, Louisiana, said that she was "very bullish" on LNG demand over the long-term. O'Neill told reporters that she took the recent comments of TotalEnergies CEO Patrick Pouyanne who warned about a possible market glut as a result of the new capacity being built in the U.S. with "a pinch of salt." Woodside has a large amount of experience in Australia. However, the Louisiana facility marks its first venture into owning and running a U.S. LNG Export facility. The first phase will cost approximately $17.5 billion, and is expected to produce 16,5 million metric tonnes of supercooled gas per year. Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry said that the U.S. Energy Policy was aimed at stabilizing world markets. Markus Hatzelmann was also present and stated that the European nation will receive a significant share of the gas produced by the facility. He said: "It is a tangible expression of the strong energy transatlantic partnership between Germany, the United States and Canada."
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Sources say that Russia's Primorsk Oil Port partially resumes loading after drone attacks
Two sources familiar with this matter reported that the Baltic Sea port Primorsk - a major outlet of Russian oil exports - partially resumed its operations on Saturday after being disrupted and damaged by Ukrainian drone attacks. The sources stated that Primorsk's capacity to load 1 million barrels per day is likely to be reduced due to damage. The sources added that they expect the loading schedule to be delayed several days. Sources said that only a few vessels loaded oil on the weekend. It was unclear if all berths are operational. Transneft Pipeline Operator, which manages this port, has not responded to our request for comments. According to LSEG, the tankers Kusto, Cai Yun and other vessels that were damaged during the attack of Friday remain at anchor in the vicinity of the port. Jan Harvey (Editing and Reporting)
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Nigerian conservationists are fighting to protect sea turtles in Nigeria from pollution and poaching
Conservationists fighting to save the turtles say that plastic pollution, fishing nets left behind and coastal development have taken a toll. "We are seeing a dramatic decline," said Chinedu Mogbo. The founder of Greenfingers Wildlife Conservation Initiative has treated and released over 70 turtles in the past five years. Mogbo stated that at least five threatened or endangered sea turtle species live in Nigerian waters. However, the exact number is unknown and monitoring resources are inadequate. Mogbo's team has saved Olive Ridley turtles, Hawksbill turtles and Leatherbacks. Mogbo’s group, which is mostly self-funded and works with local fisherman to save animals, has worked with them since its inception. "Fishers are in need of income." "We offer net repair kit in exchange for turtles or nests that have been rescued," he said at the turtle sanctuary of the group in Lagos, Nigeria's capital. Mogbo, a conservationist, said that the lack of marine protected areas, and the shrinking nesting sites, have made the coast a trap for turtles. He called on state authorities to take more action to protect these animals. The Nigerian environmental agency has not responded to any requests for comments. In Nigeria, the demand for sea turtle meat, eggs, and shells is high, for both consumption and for traditional rituals. "We eat the eggs, and give them sometimes to village elders as voodoo," says Morifat Hassan who sells seafood in the coastal region of Folu near Lagos. Hassan says sea turtles can fetch as much as 90,000 Naira ($60). Rescuers rescued a large green turtle that had been injured by a fishing net in July. He was named Moruf. Mogbo, after negotiating with the fisherman who discovered Moruf was able to deter people from trying to purchase the injured turtle. Mogbo, who was standing on the shore, said, "Normally, a turtle like this would be butchered, or sold. But we intervened, and will make sure it's returned to the sea safely."
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US natgas at Waha hub, Texas, falls into negative territory
The U.S. Natural Gas Prices for Monday in West Texas' Permian Shale Basin turned negative due to the fall pipeline maintenance. The financial company LSEG reported that the average gas production in the Lower 48 States has fallen to 107.6 bcfd so far in September. This is down from a monthly record of 108.3 bcfd set in August. The Waha Hub spot gas price has been boosted by traders who have noticed that the Permian Basin is flooded with gas due to the maintenance of the pipeline. The price of British thermal units (mmBtu), which was 6 cents on Friday, fell by 2,350% to a 17 week low of minus 1,26 dollars on Monday. This was the sixth time that Waha prices averaged less than zero in 2025. The previous averages were $1.66/mmBtu for 2025, 77c in 2024, and $2.91 in the five years prior (2019-2023). In 2019, the Waha price average was first below zero. This happened 17 times between 2019 and 2020, six times each in 2021, once in 2023, and 49 times on record in 2024. Analysts said that low prices are a sign that the Permian needs more gas pipelines. Some pipes are under construction including Kinder Morgan's Gulf Coast Express, Blackcomb, and Energy Transfer's Hugh Brinson. However, they will not be in service before 2026. The Permian Basin in West Texas, and Eastern New Mexico, is the largest and fastest growing oil producing shale region of the United States. With the oil, a lot of gas is also released. Energy companies are willing to accept some gas losses, even though U.S. Crude Futures have fallen about 12% in 2025. They can still compensate for the oil profits. Some energy companies are planning to cut back on the capital they spend this year on new oil drilling, as oil prices are expected to fall for a third consecutive year in 2025. This could eventually lead to less oil and gas coming out of the Permian. According to the federal outlook, U.S. oil production is expected to hit record levels in 2025, before declining in 2026. Scott DiSavino (Reporting) and David Goodman (Editing)
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Data shows that a ship carrying Russian oil with Adani banned switches to an Indian port
Ship tracking data revealed that the blacklisted vessel Noble Walker, carrying Russian oil, has changed its course and is now heading to India's Vadinar Port after Adani Group in India banned entry into Mundra port for ships on the sanctions list. According to data and shipping reports from LSEG, the Noble Walker was headed for Mundra until Friday, with about a half-million barrels of Russian crude oil bound for Indian refiner HPCL Mittal Energy Ltd. The European Union and Britain have blacklisted the vessel for violating sanctions by transporting Russian oil. HMEL didn't respond to an email seeking a comment. According to LSEG, Mancera Shipping, which owns Noble Walker has no contact information. Adani has issued an order to bar vessels sanctioned by Britain, the EU and the United States from entering its 14 ports, including Mundra, in western India. The port is used by Indian refiners HMEL, Indian Oil Corp and others to import oil from Russia. After the Western sanctions against Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine in 2022, India is now the largest buyer of Russian oil by sea. India has tightened its surveillance on vessels and transactions that involve Russian supplies. The majority of Russian oil is shipped by the so-called "shadow fleet" after the United States and EU imposed sanctions on vessels, traders, and companies to reduce Moscow's oil revenues, which are its lifeline. Spartan, another sanctioned tanker carrying 1,000,000 barrels of Russian crude oil, was anchored Monday near Mundra port. Kpler data indicated that the vessel was to discharge its crude oil at the port Monday. Reporting by Nidhi verma. Beijing Bureau contributed additional reporting. Editing by Florence Tan, Mark Potter and Mark Potter
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Alaska Air's third-quarter profits are expected to be at the low end of forecasts on fuel costs
Alaska Air said that it expects to earn a profit at the lower end of its forecast due to high fuel prices and operational challenges. Fuel prices have risen due to refinery shutdowns on the U.S. West Coast. Alaska expects to spend up to $2.55 a gallon, compared to its previous projections of around $2.45. Alaska also highlighted weather and air traffic management issues that are driving costs up, such as compensation for passengers and crew overtime expenses. Storms and an overstretched air traffic control system have led to costly disruptions in the U.S. aviation industry this year. Alaska also suffered a major IT failure in July, which disrupted hundreds and thousands of flights during the busy summer travel season. Later, the airline attributed the outage to an erroneous software update. Alaska expects to achieve its adjusted third-quarter profit per share between $1 and $1.40, which was the previous forecast. However, the airline pointed out that revenue trends were improving due to a strong premium demand as well as a rebound of corporate bookings. It said that unit revenue, which is a key indicator of pricing power was moving toward the upper limit of its previous forecast. (Reporting and editing by Sahal Muhammad in Bengaluru, with Shivansh Tiwary from Bengaluru)
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US and Europe trade billions of dollars with Russia despite sanctions
U.S. president Donald Trump stated on Saturday that he was willing to impose new energy sanctions against Russia, provided all NATO countries stopped purchasing Russian oil. The U.S., and the European Union, import Russian energy and commodities worth billions of Euros, from liquefied gas to enriched Uranium. The main commercial ties between the EU and U.S. with Russia and their evolution in the last four-years are listed below: EU TRADE WITH RUSSIA According to Eurostat's latest data, the EU has placed various import and export restrictions upon several products. This resulted in a 61% drop in exports to Russia, and an 89% decline in imports into Russia, between the first and second quarters of 2025. In the second quarter 2025, EU imports from Russia decreased while exports increased. This resulted in a trade surplus of 0.8 billion euro. The EU continues to buy oil, nickel and natural gas from Russia, as well as fertilizer, iron, steel, and iron ore. The EU ban on the maritime import of Russian crude oil has reduced the share of Russia to just 2.01% by 2025, down from 28.74% at the end of 2021. The share of oil imports from Russia dropped from 29% in 2021's first quarter to only 2% in 2025's second quarter. NATURAL GAS The share of Russian natural gas imported by the EU in 2025 dropped from 48 percent in 2021 to 12 percent in 2025's second quarter. Algeria (+2%), the EU's biggest partner, now accounts for 27%, of its natural gas imports. TurkStream, a Turkish-built undersea pipeline that supplies gas to Russia, still reaches some EU countries like Hungary and Bulgaria. As prices rose sharply, the value of EU imports from Russia of liquefied gas increased significantly between the first and second quarters of 2022. The share of LNG imported by the EU from Russia has decreased to just 14%, down from 22% during the first quarter 2021. In the second quarter of 2010, the United States had a share of 54% of the frozen gas that was shipped to Europe. IRON AND STAINLESS STEEL In the second quarter 2025, Russia's share of non-EU imports of iron and steel dropped to 6% from 18% in 2004. FERTILIZERS As of the second quarter 2025, Russia was still the largest fertilizer exporter to the EU of 27 nations, and the share of its market increased from 28% in the previous four years to 34%. The European Parliament voted to impose prohibitive duties on Russian fertilizer exports in May. However, these tariffs will be implemented in phases. It is still too early to determine their impact on the market. U.S. Imports FROM RUSSIA According to data from the U.S. Census Bureau, and U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, U.S. imports of Russian goods fell from $14.14 to $2.50 billion during the first half of 2025. Since January 2022 the United States imported $24.51billion of Russian goods. FERTILIZERS In 2017, the U.S. imported approximately $1.27 billion worth of Russian fertilizers. This is up from $1.14 in 2021. URANIUM, PLUTONIUM In 2024, the U.S. will import enriched uranium (plutonium) and uranium from Russia for around $624 millions. This is down from $646 in 2021. PALLADIUM In 2024, Russia will export palladium worth $878 million to the United States. This is down from $1.59 Billion in 2021.
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Indonesia announces economic stimulus package of almost $1 billion
Indonesia announced on Monday a new economic stimulus program worth 16,23 trillion rupiah (989.33 million dollars), which includes food assistance and a programme to build infrastructure that could provide temporary employment for over 600,000. Airlangga Hartarto, Indonesia's chief economist, told reporters that the stimulus measures would be implemented by the fourth quarter in 2025. He also said that some of the measures would be extended until 2026. Southeast Asia's biggest economy grew by 5.12% in the second quarter. This was its best rate of growth in two years. However, some policymakers have said that there are signs the economy will slow down in the third quarter. Airlangga, a reporter, said: "We hope that we can still achieve the 5.2% target for economic growth this year with this stimulus package." Airlangga announced that the government would give 10 kilograms to households in the fourth-quarter, eliminate personal income tax from workers in tourism, and allocate 5.3 trillion Rupiah in September to December for a scheme called "cash for Work" for over 600,000 people. Cash for Work schemes typically involve paying daily wages to people who are mostly from rural areas to work on infrastructure like roads and bridges. Airlangga stated that the stimulus package included a paid-internship programme for 20,000 graduates of universities and a discount of 50% on policy payments to state-provided insurance for work injury for motorcycle taxi drivers and trucks. Airlangga announced that the removal of personal income taxes for certain sectors, as well as the insurance scheme, will be extended until 2026. Airlangga stated that the government decided to keep the current tax rate in place until 2029. Airlangga stated that the government would also launch in 2026 a replanting program on 870,000 hectares of plantations, which will include commodities like sugar cane and cocoa. Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa, the Finance Minister, said that the new measures would have no impact on the budget deficit forecast for 2025. The latest forecast for the deficit was 2.78% GDP.
What disturbances have been reported after the global tech failure?
An international tech outage that appeared to be related to concerns at cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike and Microsoft on Friday affected operations in sectors consisting of airports, airline companies, media and banks.
Below is a list of disruptions that have been reported:
AIRLINES, AIRPORTS
Airports and airlines around the world have actually cautioned of delays and cancellations or changed to manual check-in, with some halting flights.
- Berlin airport temporarily halted all flights, a. spokesperson told . Lufthansa's Eurowings stated. it was halting domestic German flights in addition to flights to and. from Britain until 3 p.m. (1300 GMT).
- Spanish airport operator Aena reported a. computer systems incident while Lisbon airport, Portugal's. greatest, likewise experienced disturbance. Amsterdam's Schiphol. Airport rebooted services after its operations were impacted. Dubai airport was running generally once again after the interruption. affected check-ins for some airline companies, its operator stated.
- Top Dutch airline KLM said it could not deal with flights on. Friday and that it had actually suspended the majority of its operations. Air. France, KLM's parent company, stated its operations were. interrupted.
- Turkish Airline companies is experiencing problems with ticketing,. check-in, and reservation, it stated in a post on X. Budapest Airport. said numerous airline check-in systems were out of operation.
- Major U.S. providers consisting of American Airlines,. Delta Airlines and United Airlines halted. flights on Friday early morning citing communication problems. American. Airlines later on said it had actually re-established operations. Frontier. and Spirit too cancelled regulations to ground aircrafts.
- An SAS spokesperson said the Scandinavian airline was. expecting hold-ups. Australia's national airline Qantas. and Sydney airport stated airplanes were postponed but still flying.
- Swiss air traffic control service business Skyguide temporarily. minimized Swiss air traffic capability by 30%.
- Indian airlines, including SpiceJet, Indigo,. Akasa Air, Vistara, Air India and Air India Express were also. facing issues on Friday.
- Panama's Copa Airlines stated its os were. experiencing troubles.
FINANCIALS
- Australia's biggest bank, Commonwealth Bank, stated. earlier concerns impacting PayID instant transfers had been. dealt with. Provider consisting of Netbank, the CommBank app, CommBiz,. merchant payments and ATMs are available.
- Numerous significant oil and gas trading desks in London and. Singapore were struggling to perform trades, 6 industry. sources told .
- Macquarie Capital was unable to provide liquidity for. unexpired warrants on HKEX.
- South Africa's Capitec stated card payments, ATM and app. services were fully restored following substantial nationwide. disruptions.
- LSEG Group's Workspace news and information platform. suffered a failure that impacted user access worldwide, triggering. disturbance throughout monetary markets. It later on said information and. services were back up and running once again.
- Some brokerages in India dealt with technical difficulties,. traders at the brokerages told .
- German insurer Allianz said it was experiencing. a major blackout that was impacting staff members' capability to go to. to their computer systems.
- Some German banks were dealing with interruptions, a spokesperson. for the Deutsche Kreditwirtschaft monetary industry. association, stated on Friday, without offering additional details.
- Barclays said its digital investing platform. Smart Investor was affected.
- Brazilian loan provider Bradesco said its digital platforms were. unavailable on Friday.
MEDIA
- Britain's Sky News resumed broadcasting after an. hours-long interruption, however operating at very little capacity and without. many of its usual services.
- Australia's state broadcaster ABC stated it was experiencing. a major network outage, without giving a factor.
- Regular programs at Sky News Australia was interfered with.
EMERGENCY SERVICES, HEALTHCARE
- England's National Health Service (NHS) stated reservations of. medical professionals' appointments and patient records were disrupted, but. emergency services had actually not been affected.
- A number of hospitals in the Netherlands had to scale down. their operations, Dutch press company ANP reported.
- Victorian state police in Australia stated some internal. systems had been struck but emergency services were operating. usually.
- Copenhagen's fire department said on X it was experiencing. problems receiving immediately transferred emergency alarm, and. advised people to call 112 in case of a fire.
- 2 healthcare facilities in the northern German cities of Luebeck and. Kiel cancelled elective operations arranged for Friday.
OTHER
- Important facilities in Germany has actually been affected, an. interior ministry representative stated.
- New Zealand's parliamentary computer system systems were. affected, according to Rafael Gonzalez-Montero, head of the. parliamentary service.
- Australia's Telstra Group was facing interruptions. to some of its systems, a representative for the telecom company informed. .
- The Baltic Center container terminal in the Polish city of. Gdansk stated it was struck by the worldwide failure and was working to. resolve the issue.
- The Paris Olympics organising committee said the failure. was slowing its operations, however the effect was limited and. ticket sales were unaffected.
- The United Arab Emirates foreign ministry stated its. electronic systems were operating generally again.
- Maruti Suzuki, India's biggest carmaker, stated it. quickly halted production and despatch operations. It has. resumed operations and does not expect any material effect from. the incident.
- FedEx Corp said it faced considerable disruptions. throughout its networks due to the outage.
- Italy's greatest energy Enel stated there were. breakdowns and downturns in its online customer services.
- Dominion Energy said customer service call centers. had been affected by the outage.
(source: Reuters)