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US freezes new federal drilling permits, leases

  • Market: Crude oil, Electricity, Emissions, Natural gas
  • 21/01/21

President Joe Biden's administration has temporarily halted the approval of new drilling permits and leases across US federal lands, drawing complaints from industry groups.

The 60-day suspension on approvals is necessary for a "targeted and time-limited" review of recent decisions, the US Interior Department's acting secretary Scott de la Vega said in an order signed yesterday. The freeze will apply to permits, leases, easements and federal land management plans.

But producers holding federal leases will still be allowed to continue drilling wells using the more than 5,600 unused drilling permits they amassed over the past two years. That will likely avoid most near-term disruptions to operations. Oil and gas producers typically acquire permits months before drilling crews begin operations, to avoid the risk of disruptions and to aid in planning.

Biden during his presidential campaign promised to "ban" new oil and gas drilling permits and halt new federal fossil fuel leasing. But the administration will need to figure out a way to achieve that goal, while still complying with laws that generally support production. Oil output on federal lands and waters averaged 2.7mn b/d in 2019, representing 22pc of domestic production.

Oil and gas groups have strongly opposed Biden's plans to constrain the industry's access to federal lands, which cover nearly all offshore acreage and a fifth of the US landmass. Halting federal development will hurt the economy and increase reliance on energy imports, they say.

"Blocking American companies from accessing our country's natural resources is bad for American jobs, bad for state budgets and bad for national security," American Exploration and Production Council chief executive Anne Bradbury said. "It also raises serious legal concerns."

The Interior Department has the option to extend or modify the suspension order. Former president Barack Obama's administration in 2016 placed a moratorium on new federal coal leasing, combined with an environmental review, that lasted until it was repealed by Trump more than a year later.


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25/02/25

Trump's Canada, Mexico tariffs deadline looms

Trump's Canada, Mexico tariffs deadline looms

Washington, 25 February (Argus) — US president Donald Trump has given little indication on whether he will delay or implement his plan to impose stiff import duties on Canadian and Mexican energy commodities and other products on 4 March. Some market participants are hopeful for another extension or cancellation of Trump's executive order that would impose a 10pc tax on Canadian energy imports, a 25pc tariff on non-energy imports from Canada and a 25pc tariff on all imports from Mexico. The uncertainty over the implementation has had vast segments of the energy industry — oil and gas producers, refiners, pipeline operators, traders — bracing for potentially disruptive outcomes. The three governments are negotiating to avert a full-blown trade war, addressing Trump's pretext for imposing the tariffs — Mexico's and Canada's alleged unwillingness to cut flows of fentanyl and immigrants into the US. Trump and Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau last spoke on 23 February, with the two leaders noting that the flow of fentanyl across the shared border had fallen in the preceding month. But Trump, speaking the following day, said that "the tariffs are going forward on time, on schedule". And on Tuesday, Trump repeated to reporters at the White House his previous off-the-cuff remarks about Canada becoming "the 51st US state". "We don't need their oil," Trump said. "We don't need their lumber." Even without the broad tariffs in place, trade disputes will pick up pace next month when Trump's 25pc tariff on all imported steel and aluminum goes into effect on 12 March. The imposition of tariffs after decades of free trade in energy across North America is expected to create legal uncertainty in contractual obligations related to the payment of tariffs and reporting requirements. The current US import duties on crude are set at 5.25¢/bl and 10.5¢/bl, depending on crude quality. The new tariff would be based on the value of the commodity — without specifying how that will be calculated and at what specific point during the transportation process. US government agencies are not expected to clarify the implementation details until Trump's executive order on tariffs goes into effect. US oil industry groups have lobbied the Trump administration to exempt energy imports from tariffs. Trump instead lowered the planned tariff on Canadian energy imports to 10pc, from the originally proposed 25pc. US lawmakers, including close Trump allies, have expressed concern about the potential impact of tariffs. But the Republican lawmakers have shied away from confronting Trump over the issue. "Texas' number one trading partner is Mexico, number two is Canada, so what happens will have an impact on us," US representative Randy Weber (R-Texas) said today at an event hosted by Politico. But Weber added that Texas governor Greg Abbott (R) is "on top of this stuff" and that "if it was going to be a problem for Texas, I think [Abbott] would have been either singing out loud, or he would have gone to talk to the president directly". Nearly all of Mexico's roughly 500,000 b/d of crude shipments to the US last year were waterborne cargoes sent to US Gulf coast refiners. Those shipments in the future could be diverted to Asia or Europe. Canadian producers have much less flexibility, as more than 4mn b/d of Canada's exports are wholly dependent on pipeline routes to and through the US. Canadian producers also have expressed concern about the uncertain impact of tariffs on crude volumes trans-shipped through the US, either for exports to third country destinations from Gulf coast ports or transported on US pipelines to destinations in eastern Canada. India is a key destination for trans-shipped Canadian crude. Buyers in India loaded 150,000 b/d from the US ports last year, including around 40,000 b/d of trans-shipped Canadian heavy sour crude, data from oil analytics firms Vortexa and Kpler show. By Haik Gugarats and Chris Knight Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

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Energy Traders Europe against EU storage regs extension


25/02/25
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25/02/25

Energy Traders Europe against EU storage regs extension

London, 25 February (Argus) — Industry association Energy Traders Europe wants the European Commission to rule out a possible extension of the EU's gas storage obligations past the end of 2025 in order to "restore some calm" to the market, gas committee chair Doug Wood told Argus . While the association recognises the drivers behind the introduction of the original legislation in 2022, it is "concerned about the distortive nature of some of these measures, and strongly recommended they should not be sustained into times of normal market operation", it told Argus . Since the energy crisis in 2022, additional LNG import capacity in Europe has come on line, interconnection capacities between member states have increased, more renewable electricity capacity has reduced the call on gas-fired power generation and industrial demand has dropped or "become more responsive", meaning the need for "ongoing strict interventionist measures is no longer present", the association said. The continued emphasis on storage filling as opposed to a "broader approach to security" has led to a "concentration of activity" in this area, which in combination with other factors has driven summer prices above winter, the association noted. This leaves EU member states "trapped between having a very expensive form of security, or saving money but leaving storage under-filled", Wood said. But some member states are "fuelling further uncertainty" by calling for the extension of these storage obligations past the end of 2025, but with more flexibility or exemptions, the association said. This "creates the greatest uncertainty for those who would plan for storage injections", and the risk of further interventions, or "worse still, unpredictable responses by member states in how they choose to apply obligations", will deter commercial storage filling, Energy Traders Europe said. This risks extending the uncertainty to future years, and member states will repeatedly need to "choose between filling storage using non-commercial entities as a distressed buyer, or leaving it empty", it added. The current situation has made the market "highly volatile", so the most helpful action now "would be to restore some calm by ruling out a possible extension of storage obligations to 2026 and beyond", Wood said. Many of these points echo similar ones made by gas industry association Eurogas earlier this month . The commission will publish a legislative proposal on the extension of its gas storage regulation before the end of March , according to a document seen by Argus . By Brendan A'Hearn Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

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South Korea to submit new climate plan in September


25/02/25
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25/02/25

South Korea to submit new climate plan in September

Singapore, 25 February (Argus) — South Korea will submit its new national climate plan, or nationally determined contribution (NDC), to the UN in September, after the deadline of 10 February. The government plans to establish the 2035 NDC with a "challenging and feasible" greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction target, announced the Presidential Commission on Carbon Neutrality and Green Growth on 24 February. South Korea's 2030 NDC, which was submitted in December 2021, aims for a 40pc reduction in emissions by 2030 from 2018 levels. The government also plans to establish the "4th National Climate Crisis Adaptation Measures" for 2026-30. This will include measures to alleviate price volatility of agricultural products owing to the climate crisis, among others. UN climate body the UNFCCC had set 10 February as the deadline for countries to submit their third NDCs, which are supposed to set out climate action and targets up to 2035. But many countries have missed the deadline , while research group Climate Action Tracker found that several are not aligned with Paris accord goals. By Tng Yong Li Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

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Australia’s Woodside sees robust demand for LNG


25/02/25
News
25/02/25

Australia’s Woodside sees robust demand for LNG

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Reopening New Zealand refinery could cost $4bn: Study


25/02/25
News
25/02/25

Reopening New Zealand refinery could cost $4bn: Study

Sydney, 25 February (Argus) — Reopening New Zealand's mothballed 135,000 b/d Marsden Point refinery (MPR) could take six years and cost up to NZ$7.3bn ($4.2bn), according to a government-commissioned study. MPR, New Zealand's only refinery that is located north of largest city of Auckland, was converted to an oil product import terminal in 2022. The interim report, which was commissioned by New Zealand's National-led government last year, cited Australian professional services firm Worley's estimates that reestablishing refining would require NZ$4.9bn-7.3bn. This imposes significant risks and costs on MPR owner Channel Infrastructure, which has imported oil products since refining ended in 2022. A reopening would provide more resilience against quality issues with imported fuels, increase stockholding and provide local employment. But this is offset by a dependence on crude imports, with MPR becoming a single point of failure risk, and increased greenhouse gas emissions associated with refining. Fuel Security Study The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment on 25 February separately released a Fuel Security Study, which found that fuel security remains threatened by supply disruption. It recommends that the nation instead focus on increased storage and zero-emission vehicles instead of reopening MPR. The strategies considered for improving New Zealand's fuel supply security included reopening the refinery or building a new one, increasing jet fuel and diesel storages, expanding trucking capacity to mitigate against infrastructure failures, investing in biofuels production and increasing uptake of zero-emissions transport. Resurrecting MPR or building a new refinery for locally produced crude would be inefficient given either expense or the limited effectiveness that a new facility would have in supplying all fuel types required, the study found. The most cost-effective security enhancement is increasing storage levels of diesel and jet fuel, while gasoline was less of a concern given generally high stocks, with more gasoline storages to be converted to other fuels as demand falls owing to electric vehicle (EV) uptake. EVs will likely diminish New Zealand's reliance on gasoline but diesel use will taper off more slowly given less advanced alternatives, while jet fuel demand is likely to rise without other realistic options in the short term. Biofuels were found to be viable for securing domestic jet fuel and diesel supply, but further study is required and developing this sector would cost more. About 70pc of New Zealand's fuel imports are from Singapore or South Korea, exposing the country to shipping disruptions, but fuel companies' ability to adjust supply chains would mitigate any major impacts, the study said. Internally, the threat of natural disasters impacting pipelines or import terminals should lead to more thorough planning for such events. New Zealand would carefully weigh the costs and benefits of the actions suggested in the fuel study, associate energy minister Shane Jones said on 25 February, including considering the creation of energy precincts and special economic zones to spur a domestic biofuels sector. Jones, a member of the NZ First party in coalition with National, added that creating such zones with special regulations and investment support could help attract overseas investors. By Tom Major Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

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