Western Europe

It might seem audacious to the world's biggest natural gas producer that it demands its largest market stop purchasing from a rival. This is exactly what happened this week in Milan at the annual meeting of the global gas industry. U.S. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum delivered a clear message at the beginning of the Gastech Conference. Doug Burgum, the Interior Secretary of the United States, delivered a message that was clear: Europe should cease purchasing gas from Russia. The United States will gladly replace it. Burgum said that American energy dominance is a key part of Donald Trump's agenda in...

It might seem audacious to the world's biggest natural gas producer that it demands its largest market stop purchasing from a rival. This is exactly what happened this week in Milan at the annual meeting of the global gas industry. U.S. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum delivered a clear message at the beginning of the Gastech Conference. Doug Burgum, the Interior Secretary of the United States, delivered a message that was clear: Europe should cease purchasing gas from Russia. The United States will gladly replace it. Burgum said that American energy dominance is a major part of Donald Trump's agenda in...

Alparslan Bayraktar, the Energy Minister, said that Turkey had signed LNG supply agreements with international energy companies. The deals will secure around 15 billion cubic meters (bcms) of gas over the period 2026-2028. Gastech 2025, a conference held in Milan by the Turkish state energy company BOTAS and eight suppliers, saw contracts signed over two days. The initial agreements with BP ENI Shell covered 8.7 bcm. Five additional deals were signed on Wednesday to expand the portfolio, including deliveries from companies based out of Britain, Germany, Japan, and Norway. Hartree, a UK-based supplier, will provide 600 million cubic metres over...

The Asian spot LNG prices remained stable this week, as regional demand was muted. Meanwhile, a gas supply agreement between Russia and China could curb future LNG shipments by the largest Asian importer. Average LNG price for delivery in October to Northeast Asia Industry sources estimate that the price per million British Thermal Units (mmBtu) was $11,30, a slight increase from $11,15/mmBtu in the previous week. Masanori Odaka of Rystad Energy said that east Asian importers showed a muted interest in purchasing cargoes, although some Japanese and Korean firms offered to deliver them by the fourth quarter. Current prices are...

The U.S. Department of Energy has granted the final export authorization for Commonwealth LNG's export facility in Louisiana. The United States is making an effort to consolidate its position as the largest exporter of LNG after replacing Qatar and Australia, who were previously LNG export leaders. Soon after taking office, Donald Trump lifted the pause placed by the previous administration on the new LNG export permits in 2024. This was to allow for an assessment of the criteria of public interest. The United States could triple their export capacity by 2030, with new projects currently under construction or awaiting financial...

Venture Global's regulatory filings indicate that it could produce liquefied gas at Plaquemines in the near future from all of its blocks. The facility produces 27.2 million metric tonnes per year. According to a Federal Energy Regulatory Commission order, the company was granted permission to introduce nitrogen to Block 15 as a first step towards natural gas production. The move by the regulator followed an authorization on Wednesday to introduce natural gases at Block 18. Each block has two trains, which are also known as trains. According to regulatory filings, it had skipped Block 15 at first after being granted...

The Asian spot price of liquefied gas (LNG), despite a lackluster demand, fell this week due to an abundance of supply. A cargo of LNG from a sanctioned Russian facility was also delivered. This added to the supply concerns. Average LNG price for delivery in October to Northeast Asia Industry sources estimate that the price per million British Thermal Units (mmBtu) was $11.15, down from $11.40/mmBtu a week ago. "LNG market mood remained calm, with arbitrage still destined for Europe. Due to the high stock levels and the relatively loosening of Pacific balance, major Northeast Asian buyers are not interested...

Ship-tracking data provided by Kpler and LSEG revealed that China received its first liquefied gas cargo this week from a Russian sanctioned project. This was just days before the meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping. Putin will be one of more than 20 world leaders including Indian Prime Minister Narendra modi who will attend on Sunday and Monday the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Summit in China's northern city port Tianjin, where he expects to meet Xi for a revival of trade between the two countries. After meeting with U.S. president Donald Trump earlier this month in...

Gas traders in Europe have been racing against time to fill up depleted storage facilities before winter. As demand on Asian markets is waning, Europe will see a spike in liquefied gas imports. This will give traders and governments more breathing space. It was a niche concern to ensure that European gas supplies are at maximum levels before the cold weather arrives. But it has become a political necessity after Russia's invasion of Ukraine 2022, which led to a sharp reduction in pipeline gas imports. The EU implemented rules in that year that have since been relaxed, requiring that storage...

Gas traders in Europe have been racing against time to fill up depleted storage facilities before winter. As demand on Asian markets is waning, Europe will see a spike in liquefied gas imports. This will give traders and governments more breathing space. It was once considered a niche issue to ensure that European gas supplies are at maximum levels before the cold weather arrives. But it has now become a political necessity after Russia's invasion of Ukraine 2022 led to a sharp reduction in pipeline gas imports. The EU implemented rules in that year that have since been relaxed, requiring...

The trade wars of U.S. president Donald Trump are pushing the global plastics sector toward a painful, but necessary restructuring in order to deal with the acute overcapacity which has caused the industry's profit to be in a long-term slump. In the next few decades, demand for plastics will increase dramatically as middle class populations grow, especially in Asia. This will increase oil demand. The consumption of petrochemical products - such as naphtha and propane - was responsible for 95% percent of the total growth in oil demand between 2019 and 2024. According to the International Energy Agency, it is...

The preliminary data of financial firm LSEG shows that exports of U.S. liquefied gas (LNG), which is also known as liquefied petroleum gas, jumped from 6.9 million metric tones (MT) to 9.1 millions metric tons (MT) during July. This was a significant increase compared with June, when some plants completed maintenance and Venture Global’s Plaquemines plant ramped up its production. The U.S. exports the most LNG in the world, and its July output was its third-highest ever. According to LSEG, the U.S. saw three of its highest monthly LNG production numbers ever this year. Freeport LNG's third-largest export facility could...

Canada announced five major projects that would be eligible to receive fast-track approvals on Thursday as part of its campaign to diversify its economy and reduce the reliance on United States due the tariffs. A major projects office has been set up by the government of Mark Carney to reduce red tape. Companies can spend a decade to get approval for a mine, pipeline or other project. "We used build large things in this nation, and we used build them quickly." "It's time to get going again," said Prime Minister Carney at a televised news conference. One of the five...

According to Redeia's chair, the owner of grid operator REE, the mismanagement of a large plant of solar panels in southwest Spain left the power system of the country more vulnerable when a major blackout struck the Iberian Peninsula on April 28. The power outage in Spain and Portugal paralyzed many areas for several hours. This prompted numerous investigations by the government, energy watchdogs, and the grid and power companies. Beatriz Corredor, who spoke at a Senate hearing Thursday, said: "We have evidence that shows that the extraordinary oscillation which began at 12.00 was caused by the poor management and...

Sources said that the differential between Urals and Brent crudes in Russia remained unchanged, but that exports of this grade were revised upwards for September due to lower domestic refining. Two industry sources and calculations show that Russia revised its September crude export plans from western ports up to 2.1 millions barrels per day, an 11% increase over the initial schedule. This is due to drone attacks on domestic refining plants reducing local demand for crude. PLATTS WINDOW On Wednesday, there were no bids or offers made on Urals, Azeri BTC Blend or CPC blend in the Platts Window. The...

According to the Commission president, eight bottlenecks in the power grid will be addressed as a priority by the European Union, in order to reduce the uncompetitive prices of energy and improve energy security. "I present today a new project called Energy Highways. Eight critical bottlenecks have been identified in our energy infrastructure. "From the Oresund Strait and the Sicilian Canal", said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in her State of the Union Address in Strasbourg. We will work to eliminate these bottlenecks, one at a time. The 27-member states of the EU have a wide range of...

A senior executive of Malaysian state oil company Petronas stated on Wednesday that Southeast Asia was well positioned to export its biofuels into other markets, such as Europe, as the production capacity in the region exceeds demand. Ahmad Adly Alias told the APPEC Conference in Singapore that by 2030, Asia's annual sustainable aviation fuel production capacity is expected to reach 4,000,000 metric tons. He said that "this surplus positions ASEAN to be a viable net-exporter into markets such as Europe." Ahmad Adly stated that Asia's strength lies in the availability of feedstocks, increased production capacity, and an accelerating demand. He...

London's Underground rail network halted on Monday, as workers began a strike over pay and conditions of employment. This caused travel disruptions for both commuters and tourists. The underground rail network is expected to be shut down until Thursday. This means that the 3.7 million people who use it daily will have to work from home or find other ways to travel. Forest, which operates 15 000 e-bikes throughout London, reported that it was experiencing four times the demand for its ebikes at 9 am. Some commuters opted for buses or the few remaining train lines, but most reported longer...

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...

London Underground workers will begin rolling strikes Sunday. The action is expected to cause major disruptions for Londoners and bring the network to an end. The staff are staging a series staggered walksouts, so there will be almost no "Tubes" between Monday and Friday. The Docklands Light Railway that connects Canary Wharf with the City of London and its financial centre, the City of London will also not run on Tuesdays and Thursdays. 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:...

According to an initial report, a problem with a cable caused a Lisbon funicular rail popular with tourists, to hurtle down the hill. It crashed into a house, killing 16 people, and injuring 22 others. After leaving the track, the yellow tram-like carriage that carries people up and over a steep slope in the Portuguese capital hit a building on Wednesday. It was only a few metres away from its identical twin at the base of the steep hill. The Office for Air and Rail Accident Investigations in Portugal released on Saturday its first investigation report into the crash. The...

The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, said that thousands of troops may be sent to Ukraine as part the security guarantees offered by allies after Russia's war against his country is over. On Thursday, French President Emmanuel Macron announced that 26 countries have pledged to provide Ukraine with post-war security guarantees including an international force on the land, sea and air. Macron said initially that these countries would deploy to Ukraine but later stated that some would provide guarantees whilst remaining outside Ukraine. For example, by helping train and equip Kyiv’s forces. Zelenskiy told reporters after a meeting with Antonio...

The Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy announced that he will meet with the President of the European Council, Antonio Costa, and Slovak prime minister Robert Fico to discuss energy matters on Friday. Roman Andarak, Ukraine's deputy minister of energy, said on Friday in Copenhagen that Zelenskiy would be expected to discuss with Fico a phased out Russian oil delivery via Ukraine during their meeting. Slovakia relies heavily on oil supplies from Russia via Druzhba, whose infrastructure Ukrainian drones attacked recently. This caused repeated interruptions in supply, which prompted a furious response from Bratislava. Ukraine has been fighting a full-scale Russian invasion...

Rosneft Germany (the refinery's biggest shareholder) said that oil flows through the Druzhba pipe to Germany's PCK refinery are expected to return back to normal by the week's end following repairs to damages. Last month, Ukrainian drones hit an oil pumping facility in Russia's Tambov Region, causing a disruption of supply via the Druzhba pipe. After the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the PCK refinery in Schwedt in northeastern Germany is partly supplied by crude oil from Kazakhstan. Burkhard Woelki, a spokesperson for Rosneft Deutschland, said that the company imports 120,00 tons of oil per month from Kazakhstan. He added that...