The US election attracted global attention this week as Republican Donald Trump looking rather stumped by Democratic candidate Kamala Harris in a widely-watched televised debate. The country also made headlines on the energy front, as Hurricane Francine swept through New Orleans.
US natural gas futures surged to their highest month-ahead close since early July on Thursday after Hurricane Francine made landfall, causing mayhem on the Gulf Coast.
Hundreds of thousands of households lost power and production of crude oil, natural gas and LNG were disrupted. By Friday the likes of Shell and Exxon were assessing damage to their Louisiana refineries.
Still in the US, the American Petroleum Institute partnered with Chevron and others to appeal the 19 August ruling by the US District Court for the District of Maryland which struck down the National Marine Fisheries Services’ biological opinion in the Gulf of Mexico. The group argues the judgment is threatening to halt new and existing oil and natural gas production in the region.
In another legal battle in the US, NextDecade signalled it is appealing a court decision to revoke regulator FERC’s approval of the Rio Grande LNG project in Texas and is prepared to fight to the Supreme Court to see the decision overturned. If the ruling is upheld, NextDecade CEO Matt Schatzman said the project could be halted, jeopardising as many as 5,000 jobs and contracts with companies including Shell, TotalEnergies, ExxonMobil and Chinese companies ENN and China Gas, Bloomberg reported.
Separately, Exxon's flagship hydrogen project in Texas continues to draw global interest. Last week, Abu Dhabi major ADNOC took a 35% stake in the facility. This week, Japanese firms Mitsubishi and Idemitsu Kosan indicated an interest in joint equity and ammonia offtake.
ADNOC started the week with an announcement of its 15-year agreement to supply LNG to Indian Oil, while the government of India revealed a plan to boost use of the fuel for trucking in a bid to cut emissions.
Further afield in Europe, Italy's former prime minister Mario Draghi released a report suggesting Europe bolster its competitiveness through setting up joint purchasing of gas and LNG via a single buyer for the bloc. No doubt the subtext is that the EU needs to up its game.
The resounding message was all too clear from outgoing energy chief Kadri Simson, who pulled no punches at a press conference in which she scolded member states for failing to submit their climate plans. “These plans are essential to turn commitments into action, and to give certainty to investors,” outgoing energy commissioner, Simson said, adding that the next five years will be critical to a clean energy transition and fulfilment of the Paris Agreement commitments. She continued: “I really urge Member States to deliver their missing National Energy and Climate Plans. To date, we have only received 10 final plans. And we are now way past the deadline.”
Here's the rest of your weekly news catch up service from Gas Matters Today:
India reveals plans to boost LNG as a fuel for trucking to cut emissions
Draghi proposes EU step up competitiveness with single bloc buyer to take on LNG transactions
ADNOC secures 15-year agreement to supply LNG to Indian Oil
NextDecade braces for legal battle over $18 billion Rio Grande LNG project
Brookfield takes $1bn bet to boost scale-up of Infinium’s ultra-low carbon e-fuel
INEOS-led consortium to advance Denmark's first CO2 storage project
Spain and China’s Envision agree $1bn plan to build electrolyser production plant
Energean predicts positive outlook for Israel, Egypt energy demand as production grows
UK industry says high costs blocking switch from gas to electricity
EC energy chief Simson chides states over late climate plans ‘essential for investor certainty’
The US dilemma: energy demand growth and long-term climate ambitions
Europe faces ‘wake-up call’ as underutilised terminals signal peak LNG point
US petroleum industry files appeal against court’s Gulf of Mexico biological ruling
Exxon’s Baytown hydrogen project in Japanese firms' sights post ADNOC stake
Sign up for Gas Matters Today's free daily newsletters, with top news, price reporting, and more
Photo: Shutterstock
Got a question or comment about this story or other energy matters? Drop our editor, Penny Sukhraj, a line: [email protected]
Subscription Benefits
Our three titles – LNG Business Review, Gas Matters and Gas Matters Today – tackle the biggest questions on global developments and major industry trends through a mixture of news, profiles and analysis.
LNG Business Review
LNG Business Review seeks to discover new truths about today’s LNG industry. It strives to widen market players’ scope of reference by actively engaging with events, offering new perspectives while challenging existing ones, and never shying away from being a platform for debate.
Gas Matters
Gas Matters digs deep into the stories of today, keeping the challenges of tomorrow in its sights. Weekly features and interviews, informed by unrivalled in-house expertise, offer a fresh perspective on events as well as thoughtful, intelligent analysis that dares to challenge the status quo.
Gas Matters Today
Gas Matters Today cuts through the bluster of online news and views to offer trustworthy, informed perspectives on major events shaping the gas and LNG industries. This daily news service provides unparalleled insight by drawing on the collective knowledge of in-house reporters, specialist contributors and extensive archive to go beyond the headlines, making it essential reading for gas industry professionals.
