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Freeport LNG Export Plant in Texas to receive more natgas after Monday's outage
According to a filing made by the company with the state's environmental regulators and data from LSEG, a financial firm, Freeport LNG is on track to receive more natural gas at its Texas export plant on Monday. This indicates that a liquefaction station that was shut down on Saturday will likely be back in operation. Freeport LNG is closely watched by the global market because its start-ups and stop-offs often cause price fluctuations. Gas prices in the United States typically fall when flows to Freeport decrease due to a lower demand for fuels from the export facility. Prices in Europe usually rise due to the drop in LNG supply available on global markets. The U.S. futures market was on course to reach a six-week peak on Monday, due to many factors including the anticipated increase in gas flow to Freeport. Prices in Europe, however, rose by about 3%, for reasons that were not necessarily connected to the plant. Freeport informed Texas environmental regulators that Train 1 of the three liquefaction train at its plant shut down on Saturday because there was a problem with its compressor system. Freeport officials had no comment about the latest outage. Freeport has experienced numerous compressor system problems at its plant in the last month. According to the company's filings to regulators, liquefaction train shut down five times due to these issues. LSEG reported that the amount of natural gas flowing into Freeport is on track to hit 1.9 billion cubic foot per day (bcfd), up from 1.8 bcfd Sunday, and a low of 1.4 bcfd Saturday. This compares to an average of 1.8 billion cubic feet per day over the previous seven days. Three liquefaction plants at Freeport can convert about 2.1 billion cubic feet per day of gas to LNG. A billion cubic feet of natural gas can supply five million U.S. households for one day. (Reporting and editing by Scott DiSavino)
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Israeli military claims it intercepted drones launched from Yemen
Israel's military announced on Monday that it intercepted a Yemeni drone after sirens were heard near Eilat. A day earlier, Yemen's Houthis had launched a drone at an airport in the vicinity of southern Israeli city. The military announced that sirens sounded later on Monday in the Negev region after another drone had been detected. The military did not reveal what happened to the drone. Israel's Ramon Airport, near Eilat, has resumed its operations after a drone fired from Yemen hit the arrivals area on Sunday. Since the beginning of the Gaza war, the Houthis, backed by Iran have launched missiles and drones towards Israel thousands of kilometers north. The militant group claims that this is an act in solidarity with Palestinians. Israel responded by bombing Houthi controlled areas in Yemen, including Hodeidah's vital port. (Reporting and editing by Gareth Jones, Helen Popper, and Ahmed Elimam)
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Milei's heavy defeat in Buenos Aires sets the stage for Argentina's market to sell off
The Argentinian markets are on the verge of a further selloff after a heavy defeat in Buenos Aires for President Javier Milei’s ruling party. This is raising concerns ahead of a crucial October election. According to the official results, the Peronist opposition party won the Sunday legislative elections in the province's key region, while the radical reformist Milei party came in second. The scale of Milei's defeat was far beyond expectations, said JPMorgan analyst Diego Pereira. He added that the resounding win for the opposition during the regional contest meant Milei had a much steeper climb ahead as he tries to deliver a successful outcome at the national midterm election on October 26. The administration could recalibrate its political strategy in order to correct missteps made over the past few months. According to the official count, the Peronists have won 46.8% in the province. The candidate from Milei's Party has taken 33.8%. Argentina, one of the biggest reform stories in emerging markets since Milei was elected president in December 20,23, has seen its market come under pressure over recent weeks. Markets were impacted by political woes and economic pressures. The latter included allegations of corruption involving Milei’s sister Karina Milei and a sharp drop in government and consumer confidence. MARKET SELLOFF Since the scandal broke out, Argentina's main stock index has fallen by around 20%. Its international government bonds are also down and the pressure on the newly unpegged peso has forced the authorities to intervene in the foreign exchange market. Investors said that early market indicators priced a 5 to 6-point drop in the international bonds of the country. Viktor Szabo is the portfolio manager of Aberdeen Investments. Morgan Stanley warned that international bonds would fall by up to 10 percentage points if Milei's radical reform agenda was thwarted. JPMorgan stated that the currency was also vulnerable to further weakening, which could force central banks to reduce their FX spot reserve to absorb excess pesos. Wall Street banks, however, said that the election dynamics in the rest of the nation would be different from Buenos Aires – a Peronist hotspot. The Milei government was also expected to adhere to its fiscal discipline programme despite economic difficulties. The PBA election was held amid tightening domestic financial conditions. This included a depreciation in the peso and expectations for a slight increase in inflation in August. It also coincided with a slowdown in economic growth, according to Goldman Sachs' analyst Sergio Armella. The provincial election will have very little impact on the policy mix adopted by the Milei government, but it is a setback in terms of politics for the government.
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London's Tube system shuts down as workers start a week-long strike
London's Tube system came to a halt on Monday, as workers began a strike over pay and conditions of work. This caused commuters and visitors to the British capital great inconvenience. Between Monday and Thursday, there are not expected to be any London Underground trains. The Docklands Light Railway that connects Canary Wharf with the City of London will also not operate on Tuesday or Thursday. Many Londoners chose to cycle to work and others took detours on Monday morning. Laura Sutton, 46 a legal adviser, was at London Bridge Station. She said, "The prospect of having to wait all week is a nightmare... I've probably taken twice as long this morning." The RMT union stated that the dispute was centered on pay, fatigue, shift patterns, and a reduction of the working week. Eddie Dempsey, RMT's General Secretary said: "They're not looking for a king-sized ransom but fatigue and shift rotations can have serious impacts on the health and well-being of our members." Transport for London operates the public transport network in London. The union said it would accept only a deal that led to a shorter working week. Staff typically work 35 hours. It claimed to have worked hard to resolve the conflict and offered staff a pay increase of 3.4%. During the strike, some train services will run in the capital. There were minor delays on the Elizabeth Line (which operates trains to Heathrow Airport) and Overground rail networks. The strikes will also cause disruption to commuters and tourists. Coldplay, a British rock band, has rescheduled two concerts in Wembley Stadium for this week. Post Malone, a U.S. musician, has also postponed two of his London shows until later in the year. Sachin Ravikumar, Will Russell and Marissa Davison. Reporting by Will Russell. William James edited the story.
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Ukraine's Energy Ministry says that Russian forces have attacked a power station in Kyiv Region.
Ukraine's Energy Ministry said that Russian forces attacked a thermal power plant in the Kyiv area as part of a nighttime attack. This caused localised blackouts, and gas shortages. The strikes came a day following the largest air strike by Moscow in its three-and a-half-year war against Ukraine. The ministry posted a message on Telegram saying that the goal was to "cause even more hardship for the peaceful population in Ukraine", and to leave Ukrainian homes and hospitals, kindergartens, schools and other institutions without heat and light. On Monday, rescuers and technical workers were on the scene. The Russian defence ministry has confirmed that they have hit Ukrainian energy infrastructure. Since its invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Moscow has bombarded Ukraine’s energy infrastructure on a regular basis. This caused massive blackouts the previous years. Ukrenergo, Ukraine's electricity grid company, said Monday that Russia has attacked the power infrastructure of several regions in Ukraine causing localised blackouts. It said that "emergency repairs are ongoing and the majority of consumers have had their power restored on Monday." Mykola Kashnyk, governor of Kyiv Region, stated that the attack damaged the local grid. Over 8,000 properties from eight settlements will be disconnected over the next two day as repairs are carried out. Serhiy Kovalenko wrote in X that the enemy had been attacking energy system installations for several weeks. He added that the recent strikes were not a reason for optimism. (Reporting and writing by Anastasiia and Yuliia, edited by Himani Sarkar & Joe Bavier; Max Hunder).
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Trans Mountain executive says ships will be able load more TMX by the early 2027.
Trans Mountain, the Canadian pipeline operator, expects the dredging work at the Vancouver port to be finished by the end of 2026, or in early 2027. This will allow ships load more oil, according to a senior executive on Monday. Jennifer Pierce, Chief Administrative Officer of Trans Mountain, said this at the APPEC Conference in Singapore. When this dredging project is finished at the end or beginning of 2027 (end of '26), an Aframax could move out of the dock with 100% of its cargo. This will boost our shippers' competitiveness. Aframax tanks can transport up to 800 000 barrels. However, at Westridge Marine Terminal, they are only able to load around 550,000 barrels due to draft restrictions. Trans Mountain operates the newly expanded 890,000-barrel-per-day pipeline, which has been operating at approximately 85% capacity in the second quarter. (Reporting and editing by Florence Tan, Siyi Liu)
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Sources say that Wood Mackenzie has been hired by Japan to evaluate the Trump-backed Alaska LNG Project.
Two sources familiar with the matter confirmed that Japan hired Wood Mackenzie, an energy consultancy, to assess the proposed 800-mile Alaska gas pipeline project and LNG plant. This is a sign of its support for the $44billion project pushed by U.S. president Donald Trump. One of the sources said that the assessment could ease concerns of potential Japanese investors and off-takers about a project which has been stalled for decades because of cost and logistical issues. It is not clear what the scope and cost of this deal will be, nor if any report that results from it will be made publicly available. The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry in Japan declined to comment. Wood Mackenzie and Glenfarne, the project developers Glenfarne as well as the state-owned Alaska Gasline Development Corporation AGDC did not respond to comments immediately. Trump, since returning to office in 2017, has pledged to advance the mammoth plan to transport gas from Alaska's remote northern region across the state to be chilled and then shipped overseas as LNG. Trump announced in July that Washington and Tokyo would form a joint-venture to develop the Alaskan LNG Project. Japan hasn't confirmed this plan. The final terms of the trade agreement agreed last week included Tokyo's commitment to explore a potential new offtake agreement for Alaskan LNG. Japan has also committed $550 billion in unspecified U.S. investments, including energy and pipelines. When asked about the Alaska LNG Project, Japan's Trade minister Yojimuto said at a late-July press conference that they were continuing to have close discussions with U.S. government officials. CUSTOMERS KEY Despite Trump’s optimism, several Japanese government officials and leaders in the energy industry have expressed doubts over the projected cost of the project which could make gas more expensive than other sources. Source: Yet, project developers are in discussions with at least five Japanese companies. These include JERA, Japan’s largest LNG buyer, Tokyo Gas, Osaka Gas and trading house Mitsubishi Corp. Inpex is an oil and natural gas explorer, whose biggest shareholder is the Japanese Government. JERA's spokesperson said that it is "considering" this project. Tokyo Gas stated that it was "one candidate for procurement". Inpex stated that nothing has been decided about the project. Osaka Gas & Mitsubishi declined to comment. Alaskan LNG developers already signed non-binding agreements with the state-owned Thai Oil and Gas company PTT Group, and Taiwanese State Energy Firm CPC Corp. Securing a deal with Japan would boost the project's success chances. It is the No. The country is the world's No. A deal of this kind could also open up financing options from Japanese state-owned banks, such as Japan Bank for International Cooperation. JBIC announced earlier this year that it would be willing to provide support, considering factors like any involvement of Japanese companies. U.S. officials are promoting the Alaska project to Tokyo, highlighting its security benefits, comparing it to Middle East projects and pointing out that the project is closer to Japan than the Middle East. They also stress the fact the shipments will avoid choke points like the Straits of Hormuz, Malacca and South China Sea. According to Japan's Finance Ministry, Japan receives approximately one-tenth its LNG from the U.S. and similar proportions of LNG from Russia and Middle East. Australia is responsible for 40%. Wood Mackenzie conducted three studies for the Alaska LNG Project over the past decade, commissioned by AGDC as well as other stakeholders. In a 2016 study, it was ranked poorly in comparison to other projects that could provide Asian markets such as Japan. However, a review of 2022 that took into account different financing structures and cost-reductions found it competitive with U.S. Gulf Coast supplies. Alaska LNG developers have hired Australian engineering company Worley to conduct a cost estimate of the project. The goal is to reach a decision on the investment by the end the year. (Additional reporting from Yuka Obayashi in Tokyo and Katya Glubkova; Editing by Christian Schmollinger).
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Source: India revokes grid acces for 17 GW clean energy projects
According to an official document and a source with knowledge of the issue, India has canceled grid access to nearly 17 gigawatts (17 GW) of clean energy projects that have been delayed. This is to give priority to those projects which are already operational or close to completion. Documents show that the state-run Central Transmission Utility of India Ltd. (CTUIL), informed companies such as Adani Green Energy, ReNew Power NTPC Avaada Group JSW Energy, ACME Solar, and ReNew Power about the cancellations. According to a federal agency that oversees interstate transmission access, the affected projects are located within renewable-rich Indian states like Rajasthan, western Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh. Source who requested anonymity said that the grid access terminations took place in the quarter of June after notices had been sent to the companies. The firms are seeking help from the federal regulator for power, the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission. New Delhi has been prompted by India's rising power demand, driven by mechanised agriculture, industrialisation and urbanisation, to streamline grid regulations to better integrate clean-energy projects and ensure uninterrupted supply of electricity for its 1.4billion people. By 2030, the country wants to reach 500 GW in non-fossil energy capacity. The country's transmission network, which stretches over 495,000 circuit kilometers, is behind the growth of its generation capacity. Officials said that the Central Transmission Utility performed manual inspections prior to revoking access, and will continue its efforts to release transmission lines for projects on track to completion. JSW Energy appealed against the revocation. However, the regulator refused to grant interim relief in an order dated 24 June, and asked CTUIL on 10 July to share its response. According to orders on the CERC's website, the petition has been scheduled for October 7. A spokesperson for Adani stated that there was no cancellation of connectivity due to delays in project commissioning dates. He did not provide any further details. Emails seeking comments from the CTUIL and other companies were not answered. India tightened its rules last week to limit the trading of grid access. Developers are no longer allowed to change their source of generation once they have secured connectivity. CERC mandated also that the project promoters retain control of their projects until commissioning. Violations can lead to the forfeiture of bank guarantee and the revocation or connectivity. (Reporting and editing by Nidhi verma, Sonali Paul, and Sethuraman N.R.)
The once-acquisitive Chinese Oil giant is looking to revive global deals
CNPC is Asia's largest oil producer and it has reviewed its global strategy to revitalize dealmaking. It will focus on gas liquefaction, deepsea drilling, as well as improving its track record in producing more from aging fields.
China National Petroleum Corp. (CNPC) & its listed subsidiary PetroChina are facing stagnant oil production at home, a lack of new projects worldwide to boost reserves and a slowing economy and a surge in EV use eroding domestic demand. However, mounting geopolitical obstacles limit their room for manoeuvre.
Lu Ruquan is the director of CNPC’s Economics and Technology Research Institute and is actively involved in discussions about strategy. He said that CNPC could rekindle its investment in large oil and natural gas assets, just as it did 20 years ago when it bought Canada’s PetroKazakhstan for $4 billion and took over Devon Energy’s operations in Indonesia.
The Asian oil giant's new strategy would return it to its more acquisitive 1990s-2000s, when they moved into Sudan and Chad as well as completed the Kazakh and Indonesian agreements.
Lu compared the company's 30 years of overseas investments to a "ship sailing towards midstream" as he explained the need for CNPC embarking on more global acquisitions.
Lu, who was the former head for strategy and development of CNPC International, before moving to ETRI's headquarters, said: "One must paddle harder or else the boat will go backward." This rare insight into the strategic thinking at one of China's largest state-owned enterprises is a fascinating look at how the company thinks.
PetroChina alone holds $37.5 billion cash equivalents by 2023, which is enough to give CNPC the power to impact the oil and gas deal landscape.
Lu said that CNPC could expand its LNG investments in Qatar. This follows the deal last year, which ties a small share in QatarEnergy’s massive gas liquefaction facilities to a multiyear offtake contract.
He said that CNPC would also scout out opportunities on deep-sea acreage in South America adjacent to the fields in Guyana, where China's CNOOC Ltd, part of an Exxon Mobil led consortium, made massive discoveries.
PetroChina is a more productive company than Exxon Mobil, but according to data from the company, its output share from global operations has shrunk to 11% in 2018 from nearly 14% a year earlier. Chinese companies have limited their global acquisitions since the 2014/15 oil prices collapse.
Lu warned that due to the sanctions restrictions in hydrocarbon-rich countries such as Venezuela and Iran, it is more practical to extend existing contracts, such as those with Kazakhstan and Indonesia which are about expire.
PetroChina's greatest strength is the ability to extract oil from aging fields, said he. This capability was developed over many decades in the Daqing field of northeast China.
Wood Mackenzie analysts predict that national oil companies will resume international acquisitions after a two-decade low last year as the industry refocuses its attention on oil and natural gas in response to a slowdown of energy transition activities.
Woodmac stated that "International business development is a top priority for China's biggest NOCs. However, they have taken a cautious approach in recent years to deal-making."
Lu said that CNPC is likely to face the greatest geopolitical challenges since its first overseas venture in 1993.
Chinese firms have not made new investments in Russia, as many global companies left the country after Russia's conflict with Ukraine. China is still one of Russia’s largest oil customers and its natural gas market is growing rapidly.
The strained relations with the United States has hindered business opportunities in this country, where 250 billion dollars worth of deals were made last year during industry consolidation.
CNPC, PetroChina and other Chinese companies do not have any assets in the United States. PetroChina was delisted by the New York Stock Exchange due to auditing concerns.
Lu warned that alliances combining CNPC’s engineering and construction expertise with the commercial and legal knowledge of oil majors, like Kashagan, Kazakhstan, with Chevron have limitations as a model.
As a small-scale investor, it's difficult to protect your interests and gain access to sufficient operational information. He said that we would need to have strong commercial and legal abilities, which are our weakest links.
(source: Reuters)