Australia’s Queensland pledges state-owned retail fuel
Australia's Queensland Labour party government has promised to open a chain of state-owned retail fuel outlets and cap day-to-day fuel increases, as part of its campaign in the lead-up to the 26 October state election.
State-owned stations would charge a fair price for fuel and increase competition for Queensland motorists, premier Steven Miles said, adding that the fuel stations will be built in areas where competition was needed, operate on a cost-recovery basis, sell gasoline and diesel, as well as charging stations for electric vehicles.
"Currently when you fuel up your car with petrol you're sending money offshore to big multinationals. Our publicly owned fuel stations won't be taking a profit," Miles said on 6 August.
Miles also promised to legislate to limit gasoline price rises to once per day and to trial capping daily increases no more than 5A ¢/litre, with fuel outlets required to release price changes a day in advance, saying Queensland has the nation's least competitive gasoline market. The fuel retailing policy has been costed at A$36mn ($23.4mn), to be funded by borrowings in the government-owned corporations sector, Miles said.
Queensland's retail gasoline sales were 47,000 b/d during January-May this year, according to Australian Petroleum Statistics, with diesel retail sales of 42,000 b/d over the same period. The state's capital Brisbane hosts the 109,000 b/d Lytton refinery, one of only two remaining in the country, which is operated by Australian refiner and retailer Ampol.
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Guyana seeking to market carbon credits to airlines
Guyana seeking to market carbon credits to airlines
Kingston, 5 August (Argus) — Growing oil producer Guyana has started discussions with several airlines for the sale of its carbon credits, saying other efforts to transact its forest carbon are progressing slowly. The heavily forested country in northern South America will use a compliance market in Singapore to trade its certified carbon credits with airlines, vice president Bharrat Jagdeo said. The country faced the prospect of not being able to sell its credits after being proactive in establishing a low carbon development strategy and getting its credits certified, he said. "We have been fighting to get our carbon sold into a compliance market, and there is a Singapore-based market that allows trading in forest carbon for airlines," Jagdeo said. "We have started discussions to see whether we can sell our certified carbon to some of the airlines and hopefully the prices will be good." The government did not identify the potential buyers. Guyana aims to monetize its forests' climate and ecosystem services while promoting low-carbon economic development that is guided by its low carbon development strategy, the government said. Guyana's low-carbon development strategy is aimed at combating climate change globally, it said. "Guyana has set out a vision for monetizing the climate and ecosystem services provided by our standing forest, while accelerating the country's economic development along a low carbon trajectory," it said. Guyana has secured 7.14mn carbon units from Architecture for REDD+ Transaction (ART) for its low deforestation rate along with sustaining high levels of forest coverage. ART is a global initiative that encourages governments to reduce forest degradation and to restore forests. "This achievement made Guyana the first country to be issued carbon credits eligible for use by airline operators in their efforts to reduce carbon emissions," the government said. The credits were issued "in recognition of Guyana's successful efforts to reduce emissions from forest loss and degradation and maintain one of the world's most intact tropical forests," ART said. Heavily forested Guyana has a population of 750,000. It is a carbon sink with forests covering an area the size of England and stor ing 19.5 gigatons of carbo n , the government said. Guyana's deforestation rate is less than 0.05pc, it said. Airlines have been working towards their targets in the 2024-2026 phase of the International Civil Aviation Organization's carbon offsetting and reduction scheme. "There are some new standards required for the aviation sector and in those new standards there will have to be carbon credit offtake," Guyana's president Irfaan Ali said. ART issued 33.47mn TREES credits in December 2022 to Guyana for 2016-2020. The credits are ART's standard for measuring and quantifying greenhouse gas emission reductions. Guyana has had some success in transacting its carbon credits. It negotiated an agreement with Hess Corporation to sell carbon credits for $750mn. It received the first $150mn in 2023. Hess is part of an ExxonMobil-led consortium that started producing crude offshore Guyana in 2019. US major Chevron's planned takeover of Hess will not affect the agreement, Jagdeo said. Norway had earlier committed to providing Guyana up to $250mn for avoided deforestation once certain performance indicators were met. Guyana started negotiating with airlines after failing to get the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNfccc) and some non-governmental organizations to add forest carbon to a compliance market, the government said. But it made "no significant" progress" in the discussions, Jagdeo said. "The UNfccc is treating the tropical countries badly," he said. "If we didn't branch out on our own since 2009, and set up our low carbon development strategy that gave us the $250mn deal with Norway, then the $750mn agreement with Hess, we would be left back like some other countries." By Canute James Guyana forest credit payments $ Credit years Payment $/ton 2016-2020 187.5 15 2021-2025 250.0 20 2026-2030 312.5 25 — Guyana Payment by Hess, for approximately 30pc or 37.5mn of Guyana's ART TREES credits Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Singapore’s middle distillate stocks hit 13-week high
Singapore’s middle distillate stocks hit 13-week high
Mumbai, 5 August (Argus) — Singapore's middle distillate stocks rose to a 13-week high of 11.35mn bl for the week ended 31 July, Enterprise Singapore data show. Light distillates fell for the first time since 10 July and fuel oil inventories dropped to a three-week low. Singapore middle distillate stocks rose with more gasoil imports from swing suppliers India and the Mideast Gulf. The influx in middle distillate stocks was led by the latest stock build with Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and India, the top suppliers to Singapore after South Korea. Singapore's light distillate stocks eased because of a sharp fall in naphtha and gasoline imports. Naphtha imports fell by a third as supplies from Malaysia, India and Bahrain dried up. Exports surged to 19.2mn t from 3.7 mn t a week ago. Gasoline imports fell by 25pc with no supplies from Brunei in the reporting week. Fuel oil inventories continued to decline and fell to a three-week low on the back of lower imports. Oman, Brazil and the US were the top origin for arrivals into Singapore, while exports to China held steady on the week at around 880,000 bl. By Roshni Devi Singapore onshore stocks week to 31 July 2024 (mn bl) Volume ± w-o-w ± w-o-w (%) Light distillates Stocks 14.39 -1.33 -8.51 Naphtha imports 0.72 -1.49 -67.28 Naphtha exports 0.17 0.13 412.96 Gasoline imports 1.99 -0.68 -25.61 Gasoline exports 4.73 -0.11 -2.38 Middle distillates Stocks 11.35 0.30 2.72 Gasoil imports 1.63 -0.50 -23.54 Gasoil exports 3.29 1.76 115.71 Jet fuel imports 0.50 0.33 195.27 Jet fuel exports 0.71 0.68 208.97 Light distillates Stocks 19.56 -0.30 -1.51 Fuel oil imports 5.27 -2.50 -32.39 Fuel oil exports 1.59 -1.38 -46.58 Source: Enterprise Singapore Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
China to set hard targets for curbing CO2 emissions
China to set hard targets for curbing CO2 emissions
San Francisco, 2 August (Argus) — China is planning a shift in the way it controls greenhouse gases, specifically carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, in a move that could support progress in its national emissions trading scheme (ETS), although it is unclear what emissions levels will be targeted. The country currently measures CO2 against economic growth, or emissions per unit of GDP in what is known as carbon intensity. This allows it to tout progress despite rising emissions so long as these do not rise faster than GDP. But it plans to change this. Beijing aims to incorporate CO2 indicators and related requirements into national plans and establish and improve local carbon assessments in a goal to improve CO2 statistical accounting. This will affect sectors including the power, steel, building materials, non-ferrous metals, and petrochemicals sectors, according to a state council work plan issued on 2 August. It will evaluate CO2 emissions of fixed asset investments and conduct product carbon footprint assessments while local governments will implement provincial carbon budgets that could enter trials in 2025. The latter will involve a wide range of industries including oil, petrochemicals, coal-to-gas, steel, cement, aluminium, solar panels manufacturing and electric vehicles, among others. Beijing is hoping such measures will allow it to set hard targets for CO2 emissions from 2026-2030, although the government will still prioritise intensity control in the meantime in what it calls a ‘dual-control mechanism' — switching from controlling intensity to actual emissions of CO2. Provinces are expected to be allowed to further refine this dual control mechanism, suggesting it will may give localities some leeway to adjust. China's ETS currently includes only the power sector due in large part to challenges collating accurate CO2 emissions data from other sectors, although it is expected to include other sectors like aluminium into the scheme soon. China unveiled new regulations for its ETS earlier this year, aiming to crack down on falsification of data. It sees the ETS as a tool to help it meet a goal to peak carbon emissions before 2030 and reach carbon neutrality before 2060. Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Oregon CFP credit bank continues to grow
Oregon CFP credit bank continues to grow
Washington, 2 August (Argus) — The surplus of Oregon Clean Fuels Program (CFP) credits grew to a record volume in the first quarter of the year with renewable diesel continuing to increase its share of the state's diesel pool. The pace of credit generation slowed in the quarter but still exceeded deficits by about 105,000 metric tonnes (t), bringing the total volume of credits available for future use to nearly 1.3mn t, according to state data published on Thursday. The growth in the surplus came largely as the result of a continued surge in renewable diesel use in Oregon, with totaled more than 55.6mn USG in the quarter. The fuel accounted for more than 60pc of all new credits in the first quarter with more than 444,000, a more than 10pc increase from the previous quarter and a more than 210pc jump from 1Q 2023. It also represented more than 29pc of the liquid diesel pool. Biodiesel generated about 13pc of new credits or about 92,400t during the quarter, as total use fell by more than 26pc from the previous quarter and about 14pc from a year prior. Deficit generation increased by about 3.6pc from the previous quarter to about 611,000 t as the new year brought with it an increase in the overall carbon intensity target for the program. Gasoline deficits jumped by more than 10pc compared with the fourth quarter of 2023 and 18pc from the first quarter last year. Petroleum diesel deficits also increased by more than 9pc even as consumption declined by more than 7pc from the prior quarter and 17pc from a year ago. LCFS programs require yearly reductions in the carbon intensity of transportation fuels. Fuels that exceed the annual limits incur deficits that suppliers must offset with credits generated from the distribution to the market of approved, lower-carbon alternatives. Oregon requires a 20pc reduction by 2030 and 37pc by 2035. This year's target is 8pc, up from 6.5pc last year. An ongoing rulemaking process this year will consider changes to how the state calculates the carbon intensity of fuels and verifies the activity of participants, but it will not touch the annual targets. Spot Oregon credits have fallen by nearly 60pc since the previous data release in May and about 88pc since late September, when state data offered the first indications that renewable diesel that was already inundating the California market had found its way to the smaller Oregon pool. Argus assessed Oregon credits at $20/t on Thursday. By Michael Ball Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
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