Energy NEWS

India’s petroleum and natural gas minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Tuesday said that there is an increased push for adopting “hydrogen fuel mix."This comes in the backdrop of India’s National Hydrogen Energy Mission in the works, which may mandate fertilizer, steel and petrochemicals industries to shift to green hydrogen use.

Jennifer Granholm used her first speech as U.S. Energy Secretary to warn oil and gas companies they risk being left behind unless they embrace a transition to cleaner sources of energy, while also offering them an opportunity to partner with the new administration. Granholm’s remarks come as the Biden administration seeks to reassure hundreds of thousands of workers in oil, gas, and coal who feel imperilled by his fight against climate change, which includes a plan to rid the economy of carbon emissions by 2050.

Abu Dhabi’s de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Zayed, has cemented his control over the emirate’s state energy company by becoming chairman of a newly-established board of directors. The decision comes after Abu Dhabi in December merged the Supreme Petroleum Council, which used to set the government’s energy policy, with a new Supreme Council for Financial and Economic Affairs. Other members of the executive board include Khaldoon Al Mubarak, head of Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund Mubadala Investment Co., and Suhail Al Mazrouei, the UAE’s energy minister.

Transaction covers all of Equinor’s operated and non-operated acreage, totaling 242,000 net acres, and associated midstream assets in the Bakken. “Equinor is optimizing its oil and gas portfolio to strengthen profitability and make it more robust for the future,” says Anders Opedal, president and chief executive officer of Equinor. The effective date of the transaction is 1 January 2021. Closing is subject to the satisfaction of customary conditions, including authority approvals.

Wind farms and massive arrays of solar panels are cropping up across s the world. Joe Biden, has directed the Interior Department to identify suitable places to host 20 gigawatts of new energy from sun, wind, or geothermal resources by 2024 as part of an effort to move away from a carbon-based economy and electrical grid.

The long shadow cast by the covid pandemic over most of 2020 is likely to remain the overarching theme for many of the important economic decisions that will be made in 2021, too. While it would be futile to expect too quick a recovery, we can definitely hope for 2021 to be better than 2020.

He added that a land parcel of 90 acres is being considered for installing the project in a developer mode for a capacity of about 20 megawatt (MW).The project was announced in Dec 20 and will be set-up with Western Railway near Dahod in Gujarat.5 bidders have expressed interest for the project.

Neptune Energy and its joint venture partners bp and JAPEX, announced drilling has commenced on Seagull project in the UK Central North Sea. The Gorilla VI (JU-248) jack-up rig, operated by Valaris, will drill four wells for development over the course of drilling campaign which is expected to last 18 months. Seagull is expected to produce 50,000 boe/day (gross).

Tata Power Solar, India's largest integrated solar company and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Tata Power, has received a "Letter of Award (LoA)" to build 320 MW of ground mounted Solar PV project for NTPC, a company statement said.The move has been predicted to benifit India greatly.

Libya is seeking funding from foreign oil companies to fix its ailing infrastructure after years of war and neglect, the nation's top energy official said. The state-owned National Oil Corp. was forced to shut down a leaking pipeline on Saturday, which cut the OPEC member's crude production by around 200,000 barrels a day.

Chevron Corp. decided to invest in Zap Energy Inc. Chevron came up with this decision as companies are facing increasing pressure from investors to reduce emissions and spend more on low-carbon energy and disclose the impact of their fossil fuel production on climate change. Chevron Corp. is added to the list after Italy’s ENI and Norwegian state oil company Equinor.

This Tuesday history will be made with the start of the machine assembly of the world's largest experimental fusion reactor at ITER facility in southern France. The event will be Live on Youtube in the presence of government officials from seven ITER members, including India. The launch demonstrates the willingness of 30,000 people of the 35 partner countries to join together in an enduring way in their common fight against climate change.

Massachusetts attorney general Maura Healey has called on the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities (DPU) to open an investigation into the future of the natural gas industry as Massachusetts transitions away from fossil fuels and toward a clean renewable energy future by 2050. Massachusetts could become the third state to launch a regulatory proceeding to proactively manage the state’s transition away from natural gas.

As the coronavirus pandemic and low oil prices continue to strangle the market, Canadian oil and gas firms are looking to cut over C$2.4 billion to C$3.5 billion ($1.7 billion-$2.5 billion) from financial budgets for 2020. The latest in the line of producers releasing capital spending cuts include Crescent Point Energy Corp., NuVista Energy Ltd., Vermilion Energy Inc. and Enerplus Corp. Husky Energy is planning to cut C$1 billion in expenditure.

S&P Global Platts yesterday informed about publishing the first-to-market suite of hydrogen price assessments. Platts’ hydrogen price assessments will indicate the value of hydrogen produced at hubs in the significant regions of consumption across the US and Europe. Platts is also looking to assess other additional prices in other geographies, including Asia. S&P Platts is an independent provider of information and benchmark prices for the commodities and energy markets.

Indian upstream major, ONGC has unveiled a new vision to increase its oil and gas output twofold from its domestic and overseas fields. The vision incorporates magnifying its refining capacity to three times alongside diversification into renewables. ONGC Chairman Shashi Shanker said that the company envisions to become "A diversified energy company with a strong contribution from non E&P business; 3x revenues and about 5-6x market capitalisation,".

At the 16th International Energy Forum (IEF) Ministerial in New Delhi, oil ministers and top executives from major companies across the globe have come together to debate the way forward for the energy sector. The focus shall be on how global shifts, transition policies and new technologies influence market stability and future investment in the energy sector.