Europe's US LNG supply has peaked: MET

Spanish Market: Natural gas
23/09/24

US LNG deliveries to Europe have probably already reached their peak, because the continent is reducing its gas consumption, European integrated energy company MET Group's chief executive Benjamin Lakatos told Argus.

"We do not expect Europe to consume more gas — it is going down," Lakatos said on the sidelines of last week's Gastech conference in Houston.

Lakatos believes that natural gas will play a transition role in Europe for "10-15 years longer than people think" and that it will remain important in the medium term, particularly following the buildout of regasification capacity.

But zooming out from Europe, the debate is whether natural gas is only a transition fuel or is really a "new booming economy" that will drive global energy demand in Asia and Africa, Lakatos said. This approach "is like fresh air for a European gas player", he said.

The MET head is unconcerned by President Joe Biden's administration's freeze on new US LNG export licences. MET is affected, having signed an initial agreement for 1mn t/yr of offtake from the 9.3mn t/yr Commonwealth LNG export terminal on a 20-year term. But "talking to our partners here, everybody looks relaxed", Lakatos said. "In Europe, we learn to be exposed to regulation."

In any event, those LNG projects without a permit "won't have a direct effect on European supply" as the incremental LNG supply will most likely go to Asia, Lakatos said.

Lakatos foresees no physical supply issues in Europe this winter. He assumes that Russian gas transit through Ukraine will stop from 1 January when the existing Russia-Ukraine transit contract expires. But "the total volume effect of this by now is smaller than the weather effect", Lakatos said.

"I believe that the overall gas supply security is solved for Europe," Lakatos said. But Europe is not out of the woods from a financial perspective — "gas is a commercial issue for Europe", with high prices meaning that industries are uncompetitive, Lakatos said.

Lakatos expects price volatility in Europe to stay lower than in 2022 and 2023 but higher than in the years before that. And "the drivers are slowly shifting", with Asian demand starting to play a bigger role in this volatility, he said.

By Natasha Fielding

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21/11/24

Cop: EU, four countries commit to 1.5°C climate plans

Baku, 21 November (Argus) — The EU, Canada, Mexico, Norway and Switzerland have committed to submit new national climate plans setting out "steep emission cuts", that are consistent with the global 1.5°C temperature increase limit sought by the Paris Agreement. The EU and four countries made the pledge at the UN Cop 29 climate summit in Baku, Azerbaijan today, and called on other nations to follow suit — particularly major economies. Countries are due to submit new climate plans — known as nationally determined contributions (NDCs) — covering 2035 goals to the UN climate body the UNFCCC by early next year. The EU, Canada, Mexico, Norway and Switzerland have not yet submitted their plans, but they will be aligned with a 1.5°C pathway, EU climate commissioner Wopke Hoekstra said today. The Paris climate agreement seeks to limit the global rise in temperature to "well below" 2°C and preferably to 1.5°C. Canada's NDC is being considered by the country's cabinet and will be submitted by the 10 February deadline, Canadian ambassador for climate change Catherine Stewart said today. Switzerland's new NDC will also be submitted by the deadline, the country's representative confirmed. Pamana's special representative for climate change Juan Carlos Monterrey Gomez also joined the press conference today. Panama, which is designated as carbon negative, submitted an updated NDC in June. It is planning to submit a nature pledge, Monterrey Gomez said. "It is time to streamline processes to get to real action", he added. The UK also backed the pledge. The UK announced an ambitious emissions reduction target last week. The UAE — which hosted Cop 28 last year — released a new NDC just ahead of Cop 29, while Brazil, host of next year's Cop 30, released its new NDC on 13 November during the summit. Thailand yesterday at Cop 29 communicated a new emissions reduction target . Indonesia last week said that it intends to submit its updated NDC ahead of the February deadline, with a plan placing a ceiling on emissions and covering all greenhouse gases as well as including the oil and gas sector. Colombia also indicated that its new climate plan will seek to address fossil fuels, but it will submit its NDC by June next year . By Georgia Gratton Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

LNG diversions to Europe reach double digits

19/11/24

LNG diversions to Europe reach double digits

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Cop: Countries join fossil fuel subsidy phase-out group

19/11/24

Cop: Countries join fossil fuel subsidy phase-out group

Baku, 19 November (Argus) — Colombia, New Zealand and the UK today joined a Netherlands-led international coalition focused on phasing out incentives and subsidies for fossil fuels. They made the announcement at the UN Cop 29 climate summit in Baku, Azerbaijan. The coalition was first formed at Cop 28 in December last year. Member countries that sign up to the coalition commit to publish an inventory of their fossil fuel subsidies a year after joining, and to develop a plan to phase them out. Countries agreed at Cop 26, in 2021, to phase out inefficient fossil fuel subsidies, and reaffirmed this a year later at Cop 27. G20 members first pledged in 2009 to do the same. But global fossil fuel consumption subsidies hit over $1.2 trillion in 2022 and more than $600bn in 2023, IEA data show. "We truly feel that this is something we should tackle at a European level as well", EU energy commissioner Wopke Hoekstra said today. "This is something the next Commission will push; this is something I will personally push", he added. New Dutch climate and green growth minister Sophie Hermans admitted that phasing out fossil fuel subsidies is a "sensitive topic", but that the country is working on a plan. The first step is to make transparent which fossil fuels subsidies are in countries' systems, she said. The coalition now has 16 members — Austria, Antigua and Barbuda, Belgium, Canada, Costa Rica, Denmark, Finland, France, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Spain and Switzerland, as well as the three countries that joined today. Four members have made their national inventory of fossil fuel subsidies transparent — Belgium, France, Ireland and the Netherlands. By Georgia Gratton Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

G20 mayors call for $800bn/yr to address climate change

19/11/24

G20 mayors call for $800bn/yr to address climate change

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Brazil natural gas supplies diversifying

18/11/24

Brazil natural gas supplies diversifying

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