Natural gas
Overview
Natural gas has been fuelling industrial and economic growth across developed and developing countries. Its usage is set to increase as it is also being considered as a low-carbon fuel that can help make the transition to a no-to-low-carbon economy. Argus is your irreplaceable source of price information, news, expert analysis and fundamentals data for international natural gas markets.
Whether you need access to key gas prices and indexes, expert commentary on all the latest industry developments, or market data to aid your business planning, we give you the information you need and the expert view to understand it.
Latest natural gas news
Browse the latest market moving news on the global natural gas industry.
US Senate bill cuts 45Z extension, boosts crops
US Senate bill cuts 45Z extension, boosts crops
New York, 30 June (Argus) — The latest Senate draft of a major US budget bill would extend a biofuels tax break for an additional two years, down from four years in the prior draft, and set far more sweeping limits on foreign feedstocks. The "45Z" clean fuel production credit would last until 2029 and be available for only domestically produced fuels produced from North American feedstocks starting next year, according to a draft released over the weekend by Senate leaders that could be voted on as soon as Monday. An earlier Senate draft proposed extending the incentive through 2031 and cutting credit values for foreign feedstocks by just 20pc. The incentive, part of the Inflation Reduction Act, kicked off this year and currently offers a sliding scale of subsidy to US-made alternative fuels through 2027 based on their greenhouse gas emissions. The updated language is a win for farm groups, which have worried that imports of used cooking oil, tallow, and sugarcane ethanol are hurting demand for home-grown crops that can also be turned into biofuels. Refiners that had previously looked abroad for renewable diesel inputs, expanding US production to record levels last year, would have to pay up for scarcer domestic options. A shorter credit extension could frustrate corners of the industry that had emphasized the need for policy certainty — including companies with plans to start producing novel fuels later this decade — although biofuel incentives have a long history of extensions. For instance, the Senate bill would revive an expired tax credit for small biodiesel producers in a major change from earlier drafts. Facilities with capacities of no more than 60mn USG/yr could claim a 20¢/USG subsidy for up to 15mn USG of annual production this year and next year, supplementing tax breaks they can already claim under 45Z. That could keep more biodiesel plants, which have struggled to adapt to policy changes and competition from larger renewable diesel producers, running after a difficult start to the year. Smaller producers also would benefit from the latest Senate draft preserving the ability of companies without enough tax liability to sell tax credits to others. The bill is otherwise similar to earlier versions. It would still bar regulators next year from considering indirect emissions from land use changes, a shift from current law that in effect ups subsidies for fuels made from crops, another top priority for farm groups. If passed, the typical gallon of US dry mill corn ethanol and canola biodiesel would likely qualify for some 45Z subsidy — unlike under current rules — and soybean-based road fuels would earn larger credits next year. Aviation fuels conversely would see slimmer subsidies starting next year, since the bill would eliminate extra credit under current law for jet fuels over road fuels. That would be a major disruption to airlines and to those refiners that have invested in upgrading more of their renewable diesel output to instead produce sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). Trucking groups had argued that the imbalance was diverting feedstocks away from road markets to costlier SAF production — and that treating fuel types equally was one way conservative lawmakers could reduce the credit's price-tag. More changes possible The bill could be changed further Monday as the Senate proceeds with a process in which lawmakers can propose amendments. If the bill passes, it would go back to the House for approval. President Donald Trump has pushed lawmakers to finalize the sprawling package this week, an ambitious timeline given lawmakers still disagree on key issues. Any revised 45Z credit would also need final rules from the US Department of Treasury, which still has questions to answer about eligibility this year. The ultimate profitability of biofuels will depend on interactions between the tax credit and other policies that are also in flux. That includes a federal biofuel blend mandate, which the Trump administration wants to revamp to discourage foreign feedstocks, and newly tougher carbon intensity targets in California's influential low-carbon fuel standard market. By Cole Martin Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Australian gas firm sued over ‘greenwashing’ claim
Australian gas firm sued over ‘greenwashing’ claim
Adelaide, 26 June (Argus) — Australia's competition regulator is suing gas distributor Australian Gas Networks (AGN) in the federal court, alleging "greenwashing" occurred in an advertising campaign in 2022 and 2023. AGN misled customers when it ran "Love Gas" TV and digital advertisements claiming that gas in its network would be renewable within a generation without holding reasonable grounds that would be the case, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) said. "It is not currently possible to distribute renewable gas at scale and at an economically viable price," ACCC chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb said on 26 June. "We allege even though AGN knew the future of renewable gas was uncertain, it made an unqualified representation to consumers that it would distribute renewable gas to households within a generation." AGN, a major gas distribution firm owned by Hong Kong-based conglomerate CK, forms part of the firm's Australian Gas Infrastructure (AGIG) business. The distributor services more than 1.3mn customers via about 27,000km of distribution networks and 1,300km of gas pipelines. The firm strives to provide clear and accurate communications about the role and benefits of natural gas today and renewable gas into the future and that the company will defend the claims in court, a spokesman for AGIG said. AGIG, an early developer of small-scale green hydrogen blending in gas networks, plans to start operations of its 10MW Hydrogen Park Murray Valley project in late 2025. A 1.25MW project in South Australia's state capital Adelaide began operations in 2021 . Canberra promised to police claims about emissions more strictly, pledging millions of dollars in 2023 to fund regulatory oversight of fossil fuel producers and distributors . The Australian Securities and Investments Commission's first court action for alleged greenwashing was against Mercer Superannuation and concluded in August 2024. The federal court fined the pension fund A$11.3mn ($7.4mn) for misleading statements about seven "Sustainable Plus" investment options. The court found that the options included investments in 15 companies involved in fossil fuel sales, such as BHP, Glencore and Whitehaven Coal. By Tom Major Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Brasil eleva mandatos para E30 e B15
Brasil eleva mandatos para E30 e B15
Sao Paulo, 25 June (Argus) — O Ministério de Minas e Energia (MME) e o Conselho Nacional de Política Energética (CNPE) aprovaram a elevação do mandato de mescla de etanol e de biodiesel nos combustíveis fósseis, a partir de 1º de agosto. A mistura para o etanol na gasolina subirá de 27pc para 30pc, enquanto a participação do biodiesel no diesel passará de 14pc para 15pc. O CNPE avalia a possibilidade de aumento da mescla de etanol para uma faixa entre 22-35pc, disse o diretor de biocombustíveis do MME, Marlon Arraes, durante a Conferência de Biocombustíveis e Insumos da Argus , nesta quarta-feira, em São Paulo. Para o biodiesel, o órgão vê possibilidade de elevação para até 25pc no combustível fóssil. A Lei do Combustível do Futuro, sancionada em outubro de 2024, impulsionou o investimento de mais de R$53 bilhões no setor de biodiesel que possibilitaria alcançar uma mescla de 25pc em 2026, além de R$24 bilhões no mercado de etanol para um mandato de 35pc no mesmo período, segundo Arraes. Somado a investimentos em biometano e produtos como combustível sustentável de aviação (SAF, na sigla em inglês) e diesel verde, o impacto total do programa soma R$260 bilhões nos últimos anos, segundo o diretor. Custos de competitividade, riscos no suprimento de matérias-primas e instabilidade regulatória, no entanto, estão entre os fatores que prejudicam a evolução de regras que estimulam o uso de biocombustíveis no Brasil, disse Arraes. A Lei do Combustível do Futuro evitou a emissão de 705 milhões de toneladas (t) de CO2, segundo o diretor do MME. "Precisamos nos empenhar na nossa forma de produzir biocombustíveis e em energias sustentáveis para entregar à sociedade a descarbonização da maneira mais barata", afirmou Arraes. Por João Curi Envie comentários e solicite mais informações em feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . Todos os direitos reservados.
Brazil's E30, B15 blends to start 1 Aug: Update
Brazil's E30, B15 blends to start 1 Aug: Update
Adds statement from National oil and gas institute IBP. Sao Paulo, 25 June (Argus) — Brazilian regulators have approved an increase in ethanol and biodiesel blending into fossil fuels effective 1 August. In a meeting of the mines and energy ministry and national energy policy council CNPE today, the government decided to move forward with an increase in ethanol blending rates into gasoline to 30pc to make E30, and to blend 15pc biodiesel into diesel to create B15. CNPE is evaluating the feasibility of raising ethanol blends to a 22-35pc range and biodiesel blends to a 13-25pc range, mines and energy ministry's biofuels department director Marlon Arraes said during Argus ' Biofuels & Feedstocks Latin America Conference, in Sao Paulo, Brazil. National oil and gas institute IBP declared its support for the ethanol and biodiesel blend increases, while asking for more autonomy for hydrocarbons regulator ANP to improve quality monitoring and ensure safety to final consumers. The fuel of the future program, introduced to the Congress on September 2023, spurred more than R53bn ($9.6bn) of investments in biodiesel to achieve a 25pc mix by 2026, as well as R24bn invested in ethanol to reach a 35pc blend that same year, Arraes said. Investments in carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) through advanced geological techniques reached R140bn, while investments in biomethane and products such as sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and green diesel reached bring that total up to R260bn. Cost competitiveness, feedstock supply risks and regulatory instability remain hurdles to a wider biofuel framework in Brazil, he said. The fuel of the future program avoided 705mn metric tonnes (t) of CO2 equivalent, Arraes said, mostly from CCUS and biodiesel investments. "We need to engage in our way to produce biofuels and sustainable energy to deliver to society the cheapest decarbonization that we can", he added. By João Curi Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Spotlight content
Browse the latest thought leadership produced by our global team of experts.
Uncertainty dims outlook for data center power demand boom
The advent of energy-intensive data centers to run artificial intelligence software has stoked speculation about the future of US power demand as well as the fuels and infrastructure required to develop that new technology.
On Demand Webinars - 25/02/25Hydrogen Developments - Midyear 2023 Outlook
On Demand Webinars - 24/11/26Global Gas and LNG Outlook 2025
Explore our natural gas products
Key price assessments
Argus prices are recognised by the market as trusted and reliable indicators of the real market value. Explore some of our most widely used and relevant price assessments.
