Brazil authorizes mining company Vale to import LNG
Brazil has authorized iron ore producer Vale to import LNG to serve its own heating demand.
Brazilian oil and gas regulation agency (ANP) will allow Vale to import LNG equal to 1.66mn m³/d (58.6mn cf/d) of regasified fuel, to be supplied by any country, by sea transport. It marks the first time Vale has requested this authorization.
LNG imports to Brazil are increasing this year as the country faces a severe lack of rainfall and constrained hydropower generation, which makes up 65pc of Brazilian installed power capacity. Until recently, companies in Brazil typically bought gas directly from state-controlled Petrobras. But as the country opens its gas market and the hydropower crisis worsens, authorizations to import LNG from external sources may become more frequent.
The country regasified an average of 17mn m³/d of LNG in the January-April period this year, compared with an average of 8.28mn m³/d in 2019 and 8.38mn m³/d in 2020, according to Ministry of Mines and Energy data.
In June Petrobras was authorized to increase LNG imports by 50pc to 30mn m³/d.
Gas-fired power generation has gained more importance in Brazil this year as a result of hydropower generation restrictions, absorbing a larger share of Brazilian gas production. Brazil's gas output averages 57mn m³/d, with an additional average of 59mn m³/d reinjected into oil and gas wells.
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US judge halts 'pause' on LNG export licenses
US judge halts 'pause' on LNG export licenses
Washington, 1 July (Argus) — A federal judge in Louisiana has ordered President Joe Biden's administration to end its five-month-old "pause" on the approval process for new LNG export licenses until the resolution of a lawsuit by states that said the policy is unlawful. The US Department of Energy (DOE) and other administration officials are immediately "enjoined and restrained" from "halting and/or pausing the approval process" for LNG export applications requesting licenses to export to countries without a free trade agreement with the US, federal district court judge James Cain wrote today. DOE did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The court's ruling is a potential blow for the Biden administration, which had said it would need until the first quarter of 2025 — after the November elections — to finish a more thorough review of the economic and climate-related effects of fully licensing LNG terminals, beyond the 48 Bcf/d of US liquefaction capacity that is fully permitted today. DOE officials have cited concerns that licensing more LNG projects could end up increasing natural gas prices for consumers. "So much has changed, including the volumes of what we're exporting," US deputy energy secretary David Turk said last week at a congressional hearing. "So we said, 'Let's take a step back, let's update our economic analysis." Biden announced the LNG licensing pause in January, delighting climate groups that have argued that approving additional projects would amount to a "climate bomb." But the pause enraged gas industry officials that worried the pause could threaten investments in a set of projects that were nearing a final investment decision. The pause raised uncertainty on the status of LNG export projects that have yet to obtain licenses, including Venture Global's proposed 28mn t/yr CP2 project in Louisiana that last week cleared a key part of the federal permitting process. The court's ruling does not explicitly require DOE to issue new LNG export licenses, or set an explicit deadline for the agency to take final action on pending applications. But the judge said that under the Natural Gas Act, DOE is required to act "expeditiously" once it receives an export application. Before Biden formally announced the pause, some LNG export applications were already subject to reviews that industry officials said amounted to a de facto freeze. In the ruling, Cain said that Louisiana and other states that challenged the LNG licensing pause were likely to succeed on the merits in showing Biden's policy was arbitrary and capricious, in part because DOE failed to provide a "detailed explanation" for its halt of the approval process. Cain said that DOE had made a "complete reversal" from its position in July 2023, when it defended its licensing process in its rejection of a complaint from environmentalists. By Chris Knight Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Shale to emerge leaner from M&A boom
Shale to emerge leaner from M&A boom
New York, 1 July (Argus) — The recent flurry of deals in the US shale patch is poised to deliver significant productivity gains, potentially offsetting a drilling slowdown and suggesting that it might well be a mistake to bet against the sector any time soon. Ownership of top shale basins, such as the Permian in west Texas and New Mexico, is increasingly falling into the hands of fewer but larger operators, with the necessary resources to chase technology breakthroughs and drive economies of scale that could support further output growth. The flood of deal-making comes as shale growth is likely to slow after defying all expectations last year. Even as acquirers look to fine-tune their combined portfolios and slow activity in favour of shareholder returns, they will still be targeting ever longer lateral wells that reduce the need for more rigs and hydraulic fracturing (fracking) crews. Fracking multiple wells at the same time and shifting to electric fleets will also help them become more efficient. All in all, shale could continue to be a thorn in Opec's side for years to come. Underestimate US shale at your peril was the title of a recent report from analysts at bank HSBC. "We expect the mergers and acquisitions to result in substantial capital efficiencies," they wrote. Concentrated operations have reduced inefficiencies in the supply chain, and the elimination of downtime has also helped producers become leaner, according to consultancy Wood Mackenzie. But costs remain 15-30pc higher than 2020-21 levels, suggesting scope for further improvements. And while efficiency gains will inevitably become exhausted at some point, opportunities to tackle unproductive processes might still crop up. "The will and the technology are there for some operators, who should be able to keep cutting capex while modestly growing and maintaining shareholder distributions for a while to come," Wood Mackenzie research director for the Lower 48 Maria Peacock says. ExxonMobil flagged $2bn in annual savings from its $64.5bn takeover of shale giant Pioneer, with two-thirds to come from improved resource recovery and the rest from efficiencies. Leading US independent ConocoPhillips says improved technology will help it extend its inventory of top-quality drilling locations in both the Eagle Ford and Bakken basins after its $22.5bn tie-up with Marathon Oil. Return to spender Productivity gains are hardly the preserve of firms that have been active participants in the $200bn of shale deals seen over the past year. For example, US independent EOG, which has sat out the mergers and acquisitions (M&A) boom so far, plans to deliver the same level of growth for this year as seen in 2023 with four fewer rigs and two fewer fracking fleets. "Technology has evolved so much that you can go and drill horizontal wells in these and exploit that technology and you can get just absolutely outstanding returns," chief operating officer Jeff Leitzell says. Still, almost half of oil and gas executives recently polled by the Dallas Federal Reserve think that US oil output will be "slightly lower" if consolidation continues over the next five years. But the answer differed by company size. All executives from E&P firms that produce 100,000 b/d or more envisaged "no impact". Service company executives are more concerned: "Consolidation by E&P firms has curtailed investment in exploration," one said. "Our hope is that it's a temporary situation that will work itself out as the integration is completed." And even though the prolific Permian basin is due to peak before the end of the decade, analysts forecast robust growth in the intervening years. Relatively high oil prices that remain above breakeven costs and efficiency gains — which will shift the mix of wells to newer and more productive ones — will be the main drivers, according to bank Goldman Sachs. By Stephen Cunningham US tight oil production Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Japan mulls seeking more gas-fired capacity in auction
Japan mulls seeking more gas-fired capacity in auction
Osaka, 1 July (Argus) — Japan is considering further adding to gas-fired power generation capacity through its long-term zero emissions power capacity auction, given forecasts of rising electricity demand with the rapid adoption of artificial intelligence. A working group under the trade and industry ministry Meti has proposed to look for an additional 4GW of gas-fired capacity over two fiscal years from April 2024-March 2026 via a clean power auction. This came after awarded gas-fired capacity reached 5.76GW in the first auction held in January , with the auction seeking about 6GW over three years. The second auction — which Tokyo plans to hold in January 2025 — could seek 2.24GW, including the remaining 0.24GW in the first auction, for 2024-25 and another 2GW for 2025-26 in a third auction, the working group suggested. It has also proposed to extend the period within which awarded gas-fired projects have to start operations to eight years from the previous six years, given current resource shortages at plant manufacturers. Japan has launched the auction system to spur investment in clean power sources by securing funding in advance to drive the country's decarbonisation towards 2050. This generally targets clean power sources — such as renewables, nuclear, storage battery, biomass, hydrogen and ammonia. But the scheme also applies to new power plants burning regasified LNG as an immediate measure to ensure stable power supplies, subject to a gradual switch from gas to cleaner energy sources. These measures will not necessarily lead to increased demand for LNG, as Japanese import demand for the fuel would further come under pressure from expanded use of renewables and nuclear power. But the power sector will have to secure enough capacity to meet peak demand, especially with power consumption by data centres and semiconductor producers expected to continue to increase. Japan's peak power demand in 2033-34 is forecast at 161GW, up from an estimated 159GW in 2024-25, as the country's digital push will more than offset the impact of falling population and further energy saving efforts, according to the nationwide transmission system operator Organisation for Cross-regional Co-ordination of Transmission Operator. By Motoko Hasegawa Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
US Supreme Court ends 'deference' to regulators
US Supreme Court ends 'deference' to regulators
Washington, 28 June (Argus) — The US Supreme Court's conservative majority, in one of its most significant rulings in years, has thrown out a landmark, 40-year-old precedent under which courts have offered federal agencies significant leeway in deciding how to regulate the energy sector and other industries. In a 6-3 ruling that marks a major blow to President Joe Biden's administration, the court's conservatives overturned its 1984 ruling Chevron v. NRDC that for decades has served as a cornerstone for how judges should review the legality of federal regulations when a statute is not clear. But chief justice John Roberts, writing for the majority, said experience has shown the precedent is "unworkable" and became an "impediment, rather than an aid" for courts to analyze what a specific law requires. "All that remains of Chevron is a decaying husk with bold pretensions," the opinion said. For decades, under what is now known as Chevron deference, courts were first required to review if a law was clear and if not, to defer to an agency's interpretation so long as the government's reading was reasonable. But the court's majority said the landmark precedent has become a source of unpredictability, allowing any ambiguity in a law to be a "license authorizing an agency to change positions as much as it likes." Roberts wrote that the federal courts can no longer defer to an agency's interpretation "simply because" a law is ambiguous. "Chevron is overruled," Roberts writes. "Courts must exercise their independent judgment in deciding whether an agency has acted within its statutory authority." The court's ruling, named Loper Bright Enterprises v. Gina Raimando, focuses on lawsuits from herring fishers who opposed a rule that could require them to pay about $710 per day for an at-sea observer to verify compliance with regional catch limits. The US Commerce Department said it believes it interpreted the law correctly, but the fishers said the "best interpretation" of the statute was that it did not apply to herring fishers. The court's three liberal justices dissented from the ruling, which they said will likely result in "large-scale disruptions" by putting federal judges in the position of having to rule on the merits of a variety of scientific and technical judgments, without the benefit of expertise that regulators have developed over the course of decades. Overturning Chevron will put courts "at the apex" of policy decisions on every conceivable topic, including climate change, health care, finance, transportation, artificial intelligence and other issues where courts lack specific expertise, judge Elena Kagan wrote. "In every sphere of current or future federal regulations, expect courts from now on to play a commanding role," Kagan wrote. The Supreme Court for years has been chipping away at the importance of Chevron deference, such as a 2022 ruling where it created the "major questions doctrine" to invalidate a greenhouse gas emission rule limits for power plants. That doctrine attempts to prohibit agencies from resolving issues that have "vast economic and political significance" without clear direction from the US Congress. That has led regulators to be hesitant in relying on Chevron to defend their regulations in court. The Supreme Court last cited the precedent in 2016. The ruling comes a day after the Supreme Court's conservatives, in another 6-3 ruling , dramatically curtailed the ability of the US Securities and Exchange Commission — and likely many other federal agencies — to use in-house tribunals to impose civil penalties. The court ruled those enforcement cases instead need to be filed as jury trials. That change is expected to curtail enforcement of securities fraud, since court cases are more resource-intensive. By Chris Knight Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
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