Varo targets net zero by 2040, ups transition funding
Swiss refiner Varo Energy plans to reach net zero emissions by 2040 and will spend the bulk of a committed $3.5bn in investment between 2022-26 on sustainable energy.
Varo will focus on two sectors — conventional energy and sustainable energy. It expects "high levels of cash flow" from the former, which it will invest in biofuels, biomethane and bio-LNG, hydrogen, e-mobility and carbon removals. Two-thirds of the $3.5bn in planned investment will go to its sustainable energy sector, while it envisages capital expenditure of around $140mn/yr in the conventional fuels segment.
Conventional energy covers manufacturing, storage, trading, marketing and distribution. Varo plans to reduce carbon intensity in this sector, although it emphasised the energy security it provided. The company plans to move "decarbonised assets" into its sustainable energy section.
This "twin-engine" approach will increase Varo's earnings before interest, taxes, interest, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) threefold by 2026 to $1bn, the company said. It aims for sustainable energy to account for more than half of Ebitda in the same timeframe.
Varo has set an interim target of a 40pc absolute reduction in its scope 1 and 2 emissions by 2030, and a 15pc cut in carbon intensity for scope 3 emissions by 2030.
Low-carbon fuels ambitions
Varo plans to ramp up its biofuels production, with a goal of over 250,000 t/yr of net biofuels capacity by 2026 and a longer-term target of more than 500,000 t/yr. It will build new production facilities and "repurpose older assets," it said. The company also eyes expansion in the biomethane and bio-LNG sector, through acquisition and development.
It aims to develop hydrogen production and will add an electrolyser at the 207,000 b/d Neustadt-Vohburg refinery in southern Germany to this end. The plant is operated in a joint venture with Russia's state-controlled Rosneft and Italy's Eni.
Varo will also look to increase its stake in the e-mobility market through partnerships and acquisitions, and plans to invest in forestry projects to drive carbon removal. It owns a majority stake in SilviCarbon, which focuses on forest-based carbon removal projects.
Varo is owned by trading firm Vitol and investment firm Carlyle.
Related news posts
Climate finance goal is top priority: Cop 29 president
Climate finance goal is top priority: Cop 29 president
London, 17 July (Argus) — Addressing and aiming to finalise a new climate finance goal will be the "centrepiece" of the UN Cop 29 climate summit, the event's president, Mukhtar Babayev said today. Cop 29 is scheduled to take place in Baku, Azerbaijan, on 11-22 November. Babayev — officially Cop president-designate until the summit begins — is the country's ecology and natural resources minister. The Cop 29 presidency's "top negotiating priority is agreeing a fair and ambitious" new climate finance goal — known as the new collective quantified goal (NCQG) — Babayev wrote in a letter to countries and other stakeholders. He had previously been clear that finance will be a key topic at Cop 29. The NCQG represents the next stage of the $100bn/yr of climate finance that developed countries agreed to deliver to developing countries over 2020-25. But much is still up for discussion and must be finalised at Cop 29, including the amounts involved and timeframe. Babayev noted "disagreements", flagging that "the politically complex issues will not be solved by negotiators alone". The Cop 29 presidency has appointed Egyptian environment minister Yasmine Fouad and Danish climate minister Dan Jorgensen to lead consultations on the NCQG, Babayev said today. Announcements on ministerial pairs for other issues are expected in September, he said. "Adopting the NCQG will be a pivotal moment for whether parties can make progress on the means of implementation and support, and the Paris Agreement more broadly", Babayev said. Climate finance needs a "substantial increase", and the presidency "will spare no efforts to act as a bridge between the developed and developing nations", he added. Babayev also called for more financial pledges to the loss and damage fund , which countries agreed at Cop 27 to establish, to address the unavoidable effects of climate change in vulnerable countries. He encouraged all countries to submit national climate plans — known as nationally determined contributions (NDCs) — aligned with the Paris agreement, which seeks to limit the rise in global temperature to "well below" 2°C above pre-industrial levels, and preferably to 1.5°C. "The Cop 29 presidency will lead by example", Babayev said. Azerbaijan and its "Troika" partners, Cop 28 host the UAE and Cop 30 host Brazil, are working on 1.5°C-aligned NDCs, he said. The Article 6 mechanism of the Paris agreement, which relates to international carbon trading, will also be a priority at Cop 29, Babayev said. The presidency "is committed to finalising the operationalisation of Article 6 this year", he added. Cop 28 ended without a deal on Article 6, but "in recent months… there was clear will to advance work" on the topic, Babayev said. By Georgia Gratton Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
TotalEnergies agrees to sell stake in Nigeria SPDC JV
TotalEnergies agrees to sell stake in Nigeria SPDC JV
London, 17 July (Argus) — TotalEnergies has agreed to sell its 10pc stake in Nigeria's SPDC onshore oil and gas joint venture to Africa-focused independent Chappal Energies for $860mn. Other partners in the SPDC joint venture comprise operator Shell with a 30pc interest, state-owned NNPC with 55pc and Italy's Eni with 5pc. Shell agreed to sell its stake in the joint venture to a consortium of five companies for up to $2.4bn in January. That deal remains subject to a due diligence process by regulators. The joint venture's assets include around 50 producing oil and gas fields across 18 licences. TotalEnergies will transfer its 10pc interest and all its rights and obligations in 15 of the licences to Chappal. These licences mainly produce oil and netted TotalEnergies around 14,000 b/d of oil equivalent last year. The other three licences — OML 23, OML 28 and OML 77 — mainly produce gas and account for 40pc of supply to the Nigeria LNG (NLNG) joint venture, in which TotalEnergies has a 15pc stake. TotalEnergies will also transfer its 10pc stake in these licences to Chappal but it will retain "full economic interest" in them, it said. The divestment "allows us to focus our onshore Nigeria presence solely on the integrated gas value chain and is designed to ensure the continuity of feed gas supply to Nigeria LNG in the future", said TotalEnergies' exploration and production president Nicolas Terraz. Chappal specialises in taking over and operating mature fields. It agreed a deal in November last year to acquire Norwegian firm Equinor's stake in Nigeria's OML 128 block, a transaction that was finally approved earlier this month . The company said last month that it is contemplating issuing a bond to raise up to $450mn to help it finance acquisitions. By Jon Mainwaring Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
China’s CNOOC gets record gas results from Bohai well
China’s CNOOC gets record gas results from Bohai well
Singapore, 17 July (Argus) — Chinese state-controlled oil firm CNOOC has achieved what it described as record gas production results from a test well at its Longkou 7-1 (LK7-1) oil and gas field in the eastern region of China's Bohai Sea. The LK7-1-1 exploration well could produce almost 1mn m³/d of natural gas and about 210m³/d (1,320 b/d) of crude oil, the company said on 15 July. The former set a record for natural gas tested productivity in the Bohai Sea, according to CNOOC. China produced 123.6bn m³ of natural gas in January-June, up by 6pc from a year earlier, according to the National Bureau of Statistics of China (NBS). The country produced 4.15mn b/d of crude in 2023, NBS data showed. The potential output adds to CNOOC's reserves and production in the Bohai Sea, which stood at 1.97mn b/d of oil equivalent (boe/d) and 599,847 boe/d as of the end of 2023, according to CNOOC. The region represents 29pc of the company's total reserves and approximately 32pc of its production. CNOOC, along with other state-controlled firms like PetroChina and Sinopec, dominates China's domestic oil and gas production. CNOOC has also separately started production at an oilfield offshore China. The Wushi 23-5 oilfield development project — located in the Beibu Gulf of the South China Sea — is expected to produce light crude, and achieve peak production of 18,100 boe/d in 2026. "The project will realise full-process recovery and utilisation of the associated gas through integrated natural gas treatment," the company said on 1 July. CNOOC in November 2023 started production at its Bozhong 19-6 condensate gas field in the Bohai bay. The gas field is currently producing an estimated 37,500 boe/d, exceeding an initial expectation of peak production of about 37,000 boe/d, the company said on 11 July. CNOOC in March 2023 discovered the Bozhong 26-6 field with over 100mn t of oil equivalent reserves, also in the Bohai Sea. By Joey Chan Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
EU must review 'overly ambitious' H2 targets: Audit
EU must review 'overly ambitious' H2 targets: Audit
Hamburg, 17 July (Argus) — The EU needs a "reality check" on "overly ambitious targets" for renewable hydrogen production and imports, the European Court of Auditors (ECA) has said. The European Commission's RePowerEU targets of producing 10mn t/yr renewable hydrogen by 2030 and importing the same amount were based on "political will" rather than "a robust analysis," the ECA said in a report on EU renewable hydrogen policy. The bloc is "unlikely to meet" the targets "based on available information from member states and industry". Some industry participants have for a long time criticised the EU goals as unrealistic . In a response to the ECA's report, the commission said it "acknowledges the challenges" associated with reaching these "aspirational targets". The commission said it will "assess whether the aspirational targets can be reached," but noted it "cannot commit to any update at this stage". It said the underlying objectives "are still valid" and that "a downward review of the targets" could increase uncertainties for investors. But earlier this year, an assessment in which the commission set out scenarios for the energy sector anticipated much lower domestic renewable hydrogen production of around 3mn t/yr by 2030 . The commission told Argus at the time that the RePowerEU projections for 2030 would be reviewed once member states have submitted updated national and energy climate plans (NECPs). These were due by the end of June, but only a few member states submitted them on time . Responding to the ECA report, the commission said it would accept a recommendation to review its hydrogen strategy more broadly — including incentive mechanisms, the prioritisation of funds and the role of imports compared with domestic production — noting it would take the NECPs into account for this. EU funding could amount to €18.8bn in 2021-27, based on the ECA's estimates. But the commission itself "does not have a full overview of needs or of the public funding available," the ECA said. Funding opportunities are "scattered between several programmes," which makes it "difficult for companies to determine the type of funding best suited for a given project," it said. The ECA acknowledged that progress has been made on key regulatory areas, including a definition of renewable hydrogen. But the body notes that this took a long time, leading to investment decisions for projects being delayed. By Stefan Krumpelmann Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Business intelligence reports
Get concise, trustworthy and unbiased analysis of the latest trends and developments in oil and energy markets. These reports are specially created for decision makers who don’t have time to track markets day-by-day, minute-by-minute.
Learn more