Energy NEWS

Portuguese oil and gas company Galp Energia reported a 90% jump in adjusted second-quarter profit on Monday, citing soaring oil prices and a sharp increase in its refining margin. Rapid recovery in demand after pandemic lockdowns and a surge in energy prices driven by Russia's invasion of Ukraine have boosted profits for oil companies around the globe.

China's finance and investment spending in Belt and Road countries fell slightly in the first half compared to a year earlier, with no new coal projects and investments in Russia, Egypt and Sri Lanka falling to zero, new research showed. Saudi Arabia was the biggest recipient of Chinese investments over the period, with about $5.5 billion, According to the Shanghai-based Green Finance and Development Center (GFDC) in research published on Sunday.

French oil and energy company TotalEnergies has begun production from the Ikike field in Nigeria, which is expected to deliver peak production of 50,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day by the end of 2022, it said on Monday. The European Commission's deputy director general for its energy department this month said that the European Union was seeking additional gas supplies from Nigeria as the bloc prepares for potential Russian supply cuts.

European shares notched up their best week in two months on Friday as concerns over an energy supply crunch eased, bringing some calm to investors worried about a big rise in interest rates and a political crisis in Italy. The pan-European STOXX 600 index closed 0.3% up at its highest level since June 10, while for the week it jumped nearly 2.9%. While Russian gas flows to Europe resumed after a scheduled maintenance outage, market participants fretted as euro zone business activity unexpectedly shrank in July, due to a downturn in manufacturing and a near-stalling of service sector growth.

Investors purchased small volumes of petroleum last week, after exceptionally heavy sales the week before, squaring up short positions after an unusually sudden and steep pull back in prices on recession fears. Hedge funds and other money managers purchased the equivalent of 8 million barrels in the six most important petroleum futures and options contracts in the week to July 12. That came after cumulative sales of 201 million barrels over the previous four weeks, culminating in sales of 110 million in the week to July 5, according to ICE Futures Europe and the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

German energy giant Uniper on Friday said it is having to draw down gas from storage facilities, reducing supplies needed for winter even as Europe is experiencing an extreme heatwave.The embattled utility told CNBC in a statement that reducing gas volumes from its own storage facilities was necessary “in order to supply our customers with gas and to secure the Uniper’s liquidity.”

Solar stocks tumbled Friday after Sen. Joe Manchin said he will not support increased spending to address climate change, according to NBC News, citing a Democrat briefed on the conversations.The Invesco Solar ETF, which tracks the industry, fell more than 7% at one point. Some of those losses were recovered later in the day, with the fund ending Friday’s session about 2% lower. For the week, the fund is down more than 10%. Sunrun, Sunnova, First Solar and Maxeon Solar all fell more than 10% at one point.

Hilcorp Energy Co., Exxon Mobil Corp., ConocoPhillips and Occidental Petroleum Corp., are the U.S. oil-and-gas industry’s top emitters of planet-warming greenhouse gases, according to a new report based on federal data.

Privately-owned Momentum Midstream has agreed to buy pipeline assets in the East Texas part of the Haynesville Shale from Mid-coast Energy for $1.3 billion, including debt, people familiar with the matter said on Friday. Houston-based Momentum has been a prolific developer of pipeline companies, although it has been out of the market since 2019 when it sold its fourth and fifth projects to Williams Companies and DT Midstream respectively.

British lawmakers approved a 25% windfall tax on oil and gas producers in the British North Sea on Monday, which the government says will raise 5 billion pounds ($5.95 billion) in one year to help people struggling with soaring energy bills.The Energy Profits Levy will target profits made from a spike in oil and gas prices as energy demand is going up after pandemic lockdowns ended and the Russia-Ukraine conflict started.

With thermal coal and liquefied natural gas (LNG) prices holding close to record highs in Asia, it would be logical to expect demand destruction, especially in developing nations said to be price sensitive. But it isn't happening yet.India, the world's second-biggest coal importer, behind China, saw record arrivals in June of thermal coal, used mainly to generate electricity, according to data compiled by commodity analysts Kpler.

Norwegian offshore workers on Tuesday began a strike that will reduce oil and gas output, the union leading the industrial action told Reuters. The strike, in which workers are demanding wage hikes to compensate for rising inflation, comes amid high oil and gas prices, with supplies of natural gas to Europe especially tight after Russian export cutbacks. "The strike has begun," Audun Ingvartsen, the leader of the Lederne trade union said in an interview.

An energy expert says he is "skeptical" of the Australian Energy Market Operator's (AEMO) target to build five major transmission projects within the next 10 years. Yesterday AEMO released its 30-year roadmap for the electricity grid's transition from fossil fuels to renewables, which it said would require more than $12 billion of investment in new transmission lines that should begin "as urgently as possible" to ensure supply was secure in the coming decade. Key points: AEMO's timeline for major transmission targets is flawed, according to an energy expert The Western Renewables Link in Victoria is being delayed due to community opposition VNI West powerlines are proposed in order to connect the Snowy Hydro with Victoria

The size of the common global economic shocks from the pandemic and from Russia's invasion of Ukraine has been the overwhelming driver of high inflation and slower growth for most European countries. But in recent days, the Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey warned inflation is set to be higher for longer here in the UK, and growth in the economy weaker too. These gloomy forecasts echoed those made by the International Monetary Fund and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, which has 38 member countries.

Millions of customers and businesses are concerned about whether and how the current energy crisis, which resembles the oil crisis and the high inflation of the early seventies, will impact net zero plans. This concern was echoed by Phil Manock, Head of Sales and Business Development at British Gas – which works in partnership with Centrica Business Solutions, who spoke to Sumit Bose, the Founder of future Net Zero during The Big Zero Show at the Coventry Building Society Arena. Mr. Manock said: “I think the main challenge right now is rising energy costs. Only 12 to 18 months ago, a customer spending a million pounds a year for the same energy today is probably spending three million pounds a year. “Part of the situation is to help customers through that energy crisis with solutions that we can try and find through better energy purchase or looking at how we can decarbonize and reduce energy costs more differently, it’s about where they are wasting energy? “We are investing £500 million in building a 900MW portfolio of solar and battery storage assets by 2026.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) has outlined that nuclear power can help countries in securing energy transitions. In its report titled "Nuclear Power and Secure Energy Transitions: From Today's Challenges to Tomorrow's Clean Energy Systems," the IEA on Thursday said that nuclear power can "reduce reliance on imported fossil fuels, cut carbon dioxide emissions and enable electricity systems to integrate higher shares of solar and wind power". Without nuclear power, the costs and complications for building systems for energy transitions are important, the IEA noted. A total of 32 countries have nuclear plants and nuclear power is the second largest source of low emissions power after hydropower, the IEA said. According to the IEA, with the peak of oil, gas, and electricity prices, nuclear power is "likely to be further stimulated," Xinhua news agency reported.

Global “Energy Sector Composite Materials market” 2022 report highlights information regarding market size, share, trends, growth, product price trend analysis, global market competition landscape, market drivers, challenges and opportunity, manufacturer production volume, revenue, sales data and forecast to 2028. This report contains an in-depth analysis of the Energy Sector Composite Materials market, including all of the factors that influence market growth. This report includes comprehensive quantitative evaluations of the Energy Sector Composite Materials industry and data for emerging market growth and efficacy. The report examines the competitive landscape, major manufacturers’ product and service offerings, and the business strategies deployed to retain leading position in the global market.

Wood Mackenzie announces the launch of the second edition of its Power & Renewables Asia Pacific (APAC) Virtual Conference on July 26 – 28. The Asia Pacific is the world’s biggest electricity consumer and carbon emitter, larger than Europe and North America combined. With strong demand growth and coal still accounting for over half of the power supply, the region has yet to peak carbon emissions and is at its infancy in the long journey to net zero. The path to success is now paved with even more obstacles as fuel and power prices soar, geopolitical tensions rise, supply chains are stressed and project developers face rising costs and unprecedented revenue risks. The big question now is whether the Asia Pacific can rise above these challenges and take a proactive role in the energy transition. How are companies dealing with economic pressures while recalibrating environmental and net-zero strategies?