FERC commissioner Phillips resigns from agency

Spanish Market: Coal, Crude oil, Emissions, Natural gas, Oil products
22/04/25

Democratic commissioner Willie Phillips has resigned from the US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) after serving more than three years at an agency responsible for permitting natural gas infrastructure and regulating wholesale power markets.

Phillips' departure will clear the way for President Donald Trump to nominate a replacement at FERC, who once confirmed by the US Senate would provide Republicans a 3-2 majority for the first time since 2021. Phillips, whose term was not set to expire until June 2026, had a reputation for negotiating bipartisan deals on contentious orders involving pipelines and power market issues in the two years he served as FERC's chairman under former president Joe Biden.

Phillips has yet to release a statement explaining his abrupt resignation. But Trump has already fired Democratic commissioners and board members at other agencies that, like FERC, are structured as independent from the White House. Two of the fired Democrats, who were serving at the US Federal Trade Commission, have filed a lawsuit that argues their removal was unlawful under a 1935 decision by the US Supreme Court.

The White House did not respond to a question on whether it had pressured Phillips to resign.

FERC chairman Mark Christie, a Republican, offered praise for Phillips as a "dedicated and selfless public servant" who sought to "find common ground and get things done to serve the public interest". Christie for months has been downplaying the threats to FERC's independence caused by Trump's executive order that asserts sweeping control over FERC's agenda. Energy companies have come to depend on FERC in serving as independent arbiter in disputes over pipeline tariffs and electricity markets, without the consideration of political preferences of the White House.

Former FERC chairman Neil Chatterjee, a Republican who served in Trump's first term, said in a social media post it was "disappointing" to see Phillips pushed out after he "played it straight" in his work at the agency. As chairman, Phillips was able to authorize a "massive LNG project" — the 28mn t/yr CP2 project — at a time when Biden had sought to pause LNG licensing, Chatterjee said.

Separately, Paul Atkins was sworn in as the chairman of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on 21 April, after the US Senate voted 52-44 earlier this month in favor of his confirmation. Atkins was previously the chief executive of financial consulting firm Patomak Global Partners and served as an SEC commissioner from 2002-08. Republicans will now have a 3-1 majority at the SEC.

By Chris Knight

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14/05/25

German road firms issued €10.5mn tender-rigging fines

London, 14 May (Argus) — German competition authorities have found seven companies guilty of co-ordinating tenders and contracts with order values usually of between €40,000 and €200,000. The German Federal Cartel Office (Bundeskartellamt) imposed fines totalling €10.5mn ($11.8mn) on seven road repair companies for customer and tender collusion, it announced on 13 May. The companies involved are AS Asphaltstrassensanierung, bausion Strassenbau-Produkte, Bitunovia, Gerhard Herbers, alles fur den Bau, Mainka Strassenunterhaltung, and Muritzer Oberflechentechnik (Mot). The companies AS, bausion, Herbers and Bitunova were found to have divided various clients from the federal states of Saxony, Thuringia and Saxony-Anhalt among themselves across 2018 and 2019. In 2016-19, the companies bausion, Liesen, Mainka and Mot were discovered to have regularly co-ordinated on tenders from public contracting authorities in Brandenburg and, in 2016 and 2017, Saxony-Anhalt, and the companies Liesen and Mot also co-ordinated tenders in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The violations affected a large number of tenders and contracts from public contracting authorities such as municipalities and state road construction authorities. The orders included road repair measures including surface treatment, patching of road surfaces, crack repair or the supply of bitumen emulsion or chippings. In addition to breaking antitrust law, the bid agreements are also punishable under Section 298 of the Criminal Code. The findings came to a head when the German Federal Cartel Office carried out a search operation in August 2019 together with the Dusseldorf Public Prosecutor's Office and the North Rhine-Westphalia State Criminal Police Office. When setting the fine, it was taken into account that Bitunovia had co-operated with the federal office within the framework of the leniency programme. All proceedings were concluded by way of amicable settlement and the fine notices are final. By Fenella Rhodes Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Mauritania weaves GTA project into industrial strategy

14/05/25

Mauritania weaves GTA project into industrial strategy

Paris, 14 May (Argus) — Offshore gas production could help to meet Mauritania's power demand by 2030 while also supporting mining activity, particularly of iron ore, energy minister Mohammed Ould Khaled told the Invest in African Energy forum today. BP last month loaded the first LNG shipment from its 2.7mn t/yr Greater Tortue Ahmeyim (GTA) joint venture in Mauritanian and Senegalese waters. GTA is export-oriented, but Mauritania could still tap the project for power, Khaled said, although he added that infrastructure would need to be built to facilitate this. A tender to build a power plant fired by GTA gas will be launched in the next couple of weeks, he said. Mauritania wants to become a regional power hub within 20 years, Khaled said, and hopes to see construction of a power link "to the north" — in the direction of Western Sahara/Morocco. The Mauritanian power grid is already connected to Senegal and Mali, he said. Future power generation projects will be funded by the private sector and incentivised through tax breaks, Khaled said, with 550MW set to become available to the domestic market through private-sector projects over the next couple of years. Mauritania is also looking for partners to develop the 50 trillion-60 trillion ft³ Bir Allah gas field for export and domestic markets. The area lies 50km north of GTA and exclusively in Mauritanian waters, according to Khaled, with two wells already having been sunk. Bir Allah is "three times bigger than GTA", he said. BP and Kosmos Energy signed an exploration and production-sharing agreement for the site in late 2022 , with BP saying gas from the field will be used to expand GTA to 10mn t/yr. It is unclear whether BP or Kosmos Energy are still partners in the Bir Allah development project. By George Maher-Bonnett Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Opec downgrades non-Opec+ supply growth forecasts

14/05/25

Opec downgrades non-Opec+ supply growth forecasts

London, 14 May (Argus) — Opec has downgraded its 2025 and 2026 non-Opec+ liquids supply growth forecasts for a second month in a row, mainly driven by lower output expectations from the US. In its Monthly Oil Market Report (MOMR), published today, Opec revised down by 100,000 b/d its non-Opec supply growth forecasts for 2025 and 2026 to 810,000 b/d and 800,000 b/d, respectively. This follows identical downgrades of 100,000 b/d for each year in Opec's previous report . While Opec did not give a reason for its supply revisions, the recent decline in oil prices is likely to have played a role. Production growth in the US, particularly in the shale patch, is highly sensitive to price movements, for example. US shale producer Diamondback Energy chief executive Travis Stice earlier this month said US onshore crude production had likely peaked as drilling activity slowed in response to lower oil prices. Opec sees US supply growing by 330,000 b/d in 2025 and 280,000 b/d in 2026, compared with 450,000 b/d and 460,000 b/d in its March MOMR. Lower non-Opec+ supply expectations may have played a role in the decision by some Opec+ members to accelerate their planned supply increases for May and June. Opec kept its global oil demand growth forecasts unchanged for this year and next at 1.3mn b/d and 1.28mn b/d, respectively. These forecasts remain bullish compared to those of the IEA and US' EIA. Opec+ crude production — including Mexico — fell by 106,000 b/d to 40.92mn b/d in April, according to an average of secondary sources that includes Argus . Opec puts the call on Opec+ crude at 42.6mn b/d in 2025 and 42.9mn b/d in 2026. By Aydin Calik Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Sierra Leone plans upstream licensing round in 2025

14/05/25

Sierra Leone plans upstream licensing round in 2025

Lagos, 14 May (Argus) — Sierra Leone will launch an upstream licensing round by October, as part of efforts to start producing crude within two to three years. The west African country is "on the cusp of producing", according to upstream regulator PDSL's director general Foday Mansaray, with the government putting measures in place to make offshore investments attractive. "Once all the de-risking of the basin happens, we'll be in a position to launch a licensing round," Mansaray said at the Invest in African Energy Forum in Paris. Sierra Leone's most recent licensing round, held in 2023, resulted in six blocks awarded to FA Oil, which is part of a Nigerian conglomerate that owns a non-operated stake in Nigeria's Agbami oil block. PDSL has approached BP and Chevron, separately, in the past five months to gauge their interest in negotiating for oil blocks directly, offering a 10pc royalty rate, 25pc company income tax rate, a petroleum tax that applies only when realised crude prices are above $60/bl and several other fiscal terms. But Sierra Leonean acreage is lightly explored, with only eight wells drilled since exploratory work started in the 1980s. A spate of exploration activity between 2003–13 resulted in the Venus, Mercury, Jupiter and Savannah discoveries, but none proceeded to commercial development. "We are hoping this time next year that we can announce Sierra Leone will be drilling its first well since 2012," Mansaray said. PDSL previously told Argus it has 140,000km² of offshore open acreage available with 50,000km² of that categorised as "best prospective" and 15,000km² as "highly prospective". The country is likely to offer 55,000km² in this year's licensing round. By Adebiyi Olusolape and George Maher-Bonnett Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

India’s coal imports drop in Apr 2024-Feb 2025

14/05/25

India’s coal imports drop in Apr 2024-Feb 2025

Singapore, 14 May (Argus) — India's imports of all types of coal declined on the year from April 2024 to February 2025 because domestic supplies rose, the federal coal ministry said. The country's imports of all types of coal — including thermal and coking coal — fell by 9.2pc from a year earlier to 220.3mn t during the 11-month period, the ministry said. India's production rose by 5.5pc from a year earlier to 929.15mn t over the same period. The drop in imports resulted in foreign exchange savings of about $6.93bn, it said. Imports declined as the country continued to boost output, in line with federal efforts to expand commercial coal mining and coking coal output as well as reduce imports, the ministry said. Increases in domestic supplies could weigh on demand for imports, although key coal-consuming industries could continue to source seaborne material for their operations, especially as domestic coal is comparatively inferior in quality. Utilities' imports for blending with domestic coal fell by 39pc during the period, the ministry said, without elaborating on the volume. The drop comes as Delhi did not renew its order on imported-domestic coal blending after the directives expired in October last year. But it has extended its directive requiring imported coal-fired utilities to boost generation until 30 June , a move that could support demand for seaborne coal during the peak summer period. Imports Imports would continue to be part of the mix to power India's economic growth, especially as it serves as a primary energy source for critical industries including power, steel, and cement, the ministry added. Imports have been vital to meet the needs of key sectors because India faces challenges in meeting the growing domestic demand, especially for coking coal and high-grade thermal coal, the ministry said. India imported 38.29mn t of thermal coal in January-March, down from 41.87mn t a year earlier, according to data from shipbroker Interocean. Imports may have remained under pressure in April, with India's seaborne thermal coal receipts estimated at 15.77mn t for the month, down from 15.84mn t a year earlier, according to trade analytics platform Kpler. By Saurabh Chaturvedi Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

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