S Korea election offers potential for nuclear change

Spanish Market: Coal, Electricity, Hydrogen, Natural gas
25/01/22

South Korea's upcoming presidential election on 9 March opens up the possibility for a sharp change in the country's nuclear policy.

The leading two candidates to replace presidential incumbent Moon Jae-in — Lee Jae-Myung from the ruling liberal Democratic Party and Yoon Seok-Yeol of the conservative opposition People Power Party — are running neck and neck in the polls. While both have pledged to honour the country's emissions targets, their proposed roadmaps to reach that goal stand far apart from one another, most notably on the use of nuclear plants.

South Korea has already reduced its nuclear generation capacity in recent years, as president Moon pushed for halting construction of new nuclear plants and shutting down existing units nearing the end of their working lives.

The 679MW Wolsong reactor 1 was retired early in June 2018, despite the fact the country's nuclear commission (NSSC) had previously cleared it to operate until 2020. Plans to build the 1.4GW Shin-Hanul reactor 3 and 4, along with the 1.5GW Cheon-Ji reactor 1 and 2, were also scrapped under Moon's administration.

Moon's nuclear phase-out policies have faced criticism as the president set ambitious renewable targets to reach 2050 carbon neutrality, while simultaneously phasing out coal burn. Nuclear and coal-fired power generation accounted for around 27pc and 37pc of South Korea's power mix in 2019-21, respectively. In contrast, renewable output was around 5pc of the total power generation during the same period.

Lee Jae-Myung: Nuclear reduction not phase-out

The Democratic Party's Lee has proposed policies that are mostly in line with goals set by Moon, although one notable shift is towards a reduction in nuclear capacity rather than a full nuclear phase-out.

Under Lee's announced policies, no new nuclear units would be built, but plants already in operation or under construction would be maintained. Lee also plans to review plans to build the Shin-Hanul reactors 3-4.

The change in tack probably comes in response to both a public backlash to the nuclear phase-out policy and Lee's earlier target date to reach carbon neutrality by 2040 rather than 2050. He aims to achieve a 40pc reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, compared with 2018 levels, already by 2030.

To reach this goal, the Democratic Party candidate has proposed bringing forward coal-fired plant closures, relying instead on other forms of generation to meet power demand, and introduce carbon taxes. He also plans to gather the dispersed energy governmental ministries under a new climate and energy ministry, and increase government investment to build an AI-based power transmission and distribution network nationwide to better enable trade of renewable energy.

Yoon Seok-Yeol: Revival of the nuclear industry

While People Power Party candidate Yoon Seok-Yeol has yet to announce any detailed climate and energy policies, he has pledged to put an end to Moon's nuclear phase-out plan.

The opposition candidate has not only pledged to resume construction of the 1.4GW Shin-Hanul reactors 3-4, but also revive South Korea's nuclear industry to strengthen exports of equipment, material and technology. That said, Yoon has not announced immediate plans to build new capacity, as he would first invest in developing new technologies aimed at extending the life span of nuclear reactors, including Small Modular Reactors (SMRs), as well as producing green hydrogen using nuclear energy.

The People Power Party candidate has pledged to slash the share of fossil-fuel output in the country's generation mix by a third, and fine-dust air pollution by more than 30pc, although details of such plans are scarce.

Yoon has criticised Moon for an increasing reliance on "expensive" gas-fired generation to enable his nuclear programme, resulting in state-owned Kepco's financial losses, and emphasised instead the role of nuclear energy in base-load power supply as coal-fired output is phased out. The candidate has pledged to maintain a level of nuclear output that would help to cut consumer energy costs in an effort to protect low-income families.

By Evelyn Lee

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28/04/25

Cement sales at India’s Dalmia fall on year in Jan-Mar

Singapore, 28 April (Argus) — Indian cement maker Dalmia Bharat reported a 2.8pc decline on the year in January-March sales, although sales increased by a sharp 28pc on the quarter because of an uptick in demand. Bombay Stock Exchange-listed Dalmia sold 8.6mn t of cement over January-March, down from 8.8mn t a year earlier but well above the 6.7mn t sold in October-December 2024. Sales rose by 2pc to 29.4mn t in the 2024-25 fiscal year ending 31 March. Cement demand was "relatively slow" in the first three quarters of the last fiscal year at 3-3.5pc growth, while the industry's full-year growth is estimated at 4-5pc, the company said. It expects cement demand to grow by 7-8pc in the current year. The year-on-year decline in sales in January-March was because of a higher base in the year-earlier period, when the company sold 0.6mn tthrough a tolling arrangement in January-March 2024, Dalmia told investors on 24 April. This arrangement was discontinued in July 2024. Power and fuel costs fell by 7.2pc from a year earlier to 945 rupees/t ($11.10/t) of cement in January-March. This was primarily because average fuel consumption costs fell by $19/t on the year to $95/t in the latest quarter. Cement plants use petroleum coke and thermal coal as fuel in cement kilns. The Argus -assessed delivered India price of 6.5pc coke averaged $98.38/t for October-December, down by almost 25pc from the average of $131.04/t a year earlier. Most of the US high-sulphur coke that Indian cement makers consumed in January-March would typically have been booked in the previous quarter, considering a voyage time of approximately six weeks. Revenue from sales fell by 5pc on the year to Rs40.91bn in January-March, a sharper decline compared with the 2.8pc drop in sales volume because of lower cement prices. The fiscal year's revenue also slipped by almost 5pc to Rs139.8bn. The company reported higher cement prices this quarter, and it is reasonably optimistic about the sustainability of recent hikes. It expects the rising industry consolidation in cement industry to eventually give producers a higher pricing. Dalmia's profits increased by 37pc on the year to Rs4.4bn over January-March, but the annual profit declined by 18pc to Rs7bn from the year earlier. Dalmia Bharat added approximately 5mn t/yr of cement capacity in 2024-25 to 49.4mn t/yr. It had earlier announced an aspiration to raise cement capacity to 75mn t/yr by 2027-28, but details have not yet been made public. By Ajay Modi Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Japan’s Erex starts up biomass power plant in Vietnam

28/04/25

Japan’s Erex starts up biomass power plant in Vietnam

Tokyo, 28 April (Argus) — Japan's renewable energy developer Erex has started commercial operations at the 20MW Hau Giang biomass-fired power plant in Vietnam, the company announced on 25 April. The power plant in southern Vietnam's Hau Giang province is Erex's first biomass-fired generation project in the country and burns around 130,000 t/yr of rice husks. The electricity generated by the plant is sold under Vietnam's feed-in tariff (FiT) scheme. Erex aims to build up to 18 biomass-fired power plants in Vietnam following Hau Giang, and five plants in Cambodia. The company has started building two 50MW plants in northern Vietnam. These plants are expected to come on line by mid-2027 and burn wood residues. Erex also plans wood pellet production projects in southeast Asia, with up to 20 factories in Vietnam and several ones in Cambodia. The company's first wood pellet factory in Vietnam with a capacity of 150,000 t/yr has already started commercial production in late March. Erex's profits from projects in Vietnam and Cambodia are expected to grow rapidly and will account for more than half of its whole profits around 2030, according to the company. By Takeshi Maeda Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Canada H2 sees opening as political chaos engulfs US

25/04/25

Canada H2 sees opening as political chaos engulfs US

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SLB taking steps to offset tariffs: Update

25/04/25

SLB taking steps to offset tariffs: Update

Adds details from call. New York, 25 April (Argus) — Oilfield services contractor SLB said it is taking proactive steps to offset the impact of US tariffs by reviewing its supply chain and manufacturing network, pursuing exemptions and talking to customers to recover related cost increases. "We have made progress on all these fronts in the last two weeks, and we are stepping up those actions across the organization as we speak," chief financial officer Stephane Biguet told analysts after the company reported first quarter results today. SLB is partly protected from the overall tariff fallout given 80pc of total revenue comes from international markets, as well as its in-country manufacturing and local sourcing efforts. But other areas are exposed to increasing tariffs, such as imports of raw materials into the US, as well as exports from the US subject to retaliatory action. Under the current tariff framework, most of the likely effects come from trade activity between the US and China. "As the second quarter progresses and ongoing trade negotiations continue, we will hopefully gain better visibility of where tariffs may settle and the extent to which we will be able to mitigate their effects on our business," Biguet said. In the current climate, SLB says customers are likely to take a more cautious approach to near-term activity. Given industry headwinds from volatile oil prices and demand risks, SLB expects global upstream investment to decline this year from 2024, with customer spending in the Middle East and Asia holding up better than elsewhere. SLB reported a "subdued" start to the year as revenue fell 3pc in the first quarter from the same three months of 2024. The company noted higher activity in parts of the Middle East, North Africa, Argentina and offshore US, along with strong growth in its data center and digital businesses in North America. However, those gains were more than offset by a larger-than-expected slowdown in Mexico, a slow start in Saudi Arabia and offshore Africa, and a steep decline in Russia. Even so, SLB remains committed to returning a minimum of $4bn to shareholders through dividends and share buybacks this year. "The industry may experience a potential shift of priorities driven by changes in the global economy, fluctuating commodity prices and evolving tariffs — all of which could impact upstream oil and gas investment and, in turn, affect demand for our products and services, said chief executive officer Olivier Le Peuch. "In this uncertain environment, we remain committed to protecting our margins, generating strong cash flow and delivering consistent value." First quarter profit of $797mn was down from $1.07bn in the same three months of 2024. Revenue of $8.5bn compared with $8.7bn last year. SLB is the last of the top oilfield services firms to post first-quarter results. Halliburton and Baker Hughes reported earlier this week. By Stephen Cunningham Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Nations, groups ramp up efforts on climate unity

25/04/25

Nations, groups ramp up efforts on climate unity

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