Romgaz to build 200MW of gas, solar capacity

: Electricity, Natural gas
20/09/11

Romanian state-owned utility Romgaz will commission 200MW of gas and solar capacity in Halanga, southwest Romania, the firm said.

Romgaz will build a 150MW combined-cycle gas turbine (CCGT) plant and a 50MW solar photovoltaic park near the 247MW Halanga lignite-fired plant. The firm will develop both projects in partnership with Romanian offshore drilling firm Grup Servicii Petroliere.

A hydrogen production facility is also planned, to be integrated with the CCGT unit, Romgaz said, without giving further details.

Romgaz is looking to expand its power generation portfolio by 2025 with new gas-fired and renewable units. It expects to launch a public procurement procedure during the first half of 2021 for the development of a second CCGT unit at Mintia. The unit could have an installed capacity of 405MW, according to a feasibility study conducted by the firm.

Romgaz is currently building its first CCGT facility, the 430MW Iernut complex in northwest Romania. The firm expects to commission the unit by the end of this year, having delayed from an estimated start-up in the first quarter and then in the second quarter.

Romgaz also plans to build 250MW of renewable capacity from a total investment of around 1.2bn lei ($290mn) over the next five years.

By Bilal Muftuoglu

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25/04/14

IMO GHG pricing not yet Paris deal-aligned: EU

Brussels, 14 April (Argus) — The International Maritime Organisation's (IMO) global greenhouse gas (GHG) pricing mechanism "does not yet ensure the sector's full contribution to achieving the Paris Agreement goals", the European Commission has said. "Does it have everything for everybody? For sure, it doesn't," said Anna-Kaisa Itkonen, the commission's climate and energy spokesperson said. "This is often the case as an outcome from international negotiations, that not everybody gets the most optimal outcome." The IMO agreement reached last week will need to be confirmed by the organisation in October, the EU noted, even if it is a "strong foundation" and "meaningful step" towards net zero GHG emissions in global shipping by 2050. The commission will have 18 months following the IMO mechanism's formal approval to review the directive governing the bloc's emissions trading system (ETS), which currently includes maritime emissions for intra-EU voyages and those entering or leaving the bloc. By EU law, the commission will also have to report on possible "articulation or alignment" of the bloc's FuelEU Maritime regulation with the IMO, including the need to "avoid duplicating regulation of GHG emissions from maritime transport" at EU and international levels. That report should be presented, "without delay", following formal adoption of an IMO global GHG fuel standard or global GHG intensity limit. Finland's head representative at the IMO delegation talks, Anita Irmeli, told Argus that the EU's consideration of whether the approved Marpol amendments are ambitious enough won't be until "well after October". Commenting on the IMO agreement, the European Biodiesel Board (EBB) pointed to the "neutral" approach to feedstocks, including first generation biofuels. "The EBB welcomes this agreement, where all feedstocks and pathways have a role to play," EBB secretary general Xavier Noyon said. Faig Abbasov, shipping director at non-governmental organisation Transport and Environment, called for better incentives for green hydrogen. "The IMO deal creates a momentum for alternative marine fuels. But unfortunately it is the forest-destroying first generation biofuels that will get the biggest push for the next decade," he said. By Dafydd ab Iago Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Bio-LNG could boom by early 2030s under IMO deal

25/04/14

Bio-LNG could boom by early 2030s under IMO deal

London, 14 April (Argus) — Compliance with the International Maritime Organization's (IMO) newly agreed global greenhouse gas (GHG) two-tier pricing mechanism will require LNG-powered ships to transition to bio-LNG by 2029 under the encouraged 'direct compliance' tier, or by 2033 for the minimum 'base target' tier, or else potentially incur heavy costs. The pricing mechanism was approved by IMO delegates on 11 April in London. Formal adoption will be decided in October, at the next Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) meeting, when a two-thirds majority vote will be required. The text says ships must reduce their fuel intensity by a "base target" of 4pc in 2028 (see table) against 93.3g CO2e/MJ, the latter representing the average GHG fuel intensity value of international shipping in 2008. This gradually tightens to 30pc by 2035. The text defines a "direct compliance target", that starts at 17pc for 2028 and grows to 43pc by 2035. Well-to-wake emissions for LNG diesel-type engines at dual fuel slow speed are equal to 76.08g CO2e/MJ, an 18.4pc emission reduction from the IMO's 2008 benchmark. In theory, this means the average LNG-vessel is compliant with the IMO's scheme until 2029 under both maximum and minimum tiers, or until 2033 under the base target. Waste-based bio-LNG carries a GHG intensity of between 30 and -100g CO2e/MJ depending on feedstock and production, which translates to between 68.09-206.4pc GHG emissions savings, making it compliant across all tiers. However, the uptake of bio-LNG may be capped. Many LNG-capable vessels run on dual-fuel engines, meaning ship-owners may be more inclined to adopt biodiesel, ammonia or other diesel-engine applicable fuels, depending on price levels and other real-world drawbacks. The pricing mechanism establishes a levy for excessive emissions at $380 per tonne of CO2 equivalent (tCO2e) for ships compliant with the 'base' target, called Tier 2. For ships in Tier 1 — those compliant with the base target but that still have emission levels higher than the direct compliance target — the price was set at $100/tCO2e. Instead of physically transitioning to a greener fuel, ships could meet targets using 'surplus units', which will be allocated to over-compliant vessels equal to their positive compliance balance, expressed in tCO2e, and valid for two years after emission. Ships then will be able to use the surplus units in the following reporting periods, transfer to other vessels as a credit, or voluntarily cancel as a mitigation contribution. This could give rise to an entirely new ticket market or emissions trading scheme (ETS) common in many European markets for other transport fuel sectors. LNG vessels accounted for more than 2pc of the active global shipping fleet as of October last year, according to energy industry coalition SEA-LNG, but make up the majority of new-build alternative marine vessel orders over the next 10 years. By Madeleine Jenkins IMO GHG reduction targets Year Base Target Direct Compliance Target 2028 4% 17% 2029 6% 19% 2030 8% 21% 2031 12% 25% 2032 17% 30% 2033 21% 34% 2034 26% 39% 2035 30% 43% Source: IMO Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Shale patch on edge after tariff drama

25/04/14

Shale patch on edge after tariff drama

New York, 14 April (Argus) — US president Donald Trump's back and forth over tariffs that sent oil prices tumbling to a four-year low last week has sparked jitters across the shale patch, although most producers are likely to take their time to respond. The oil and gas industry, one of Trump's biggest cheerleaders and donors during his election campaign, has been taken aback by the speed and scale of the president's escalating trade wars and executives are signalling growing impatience. Meanwhile, Trump's "Drill, baby, drill" mantra is even less likely to become a reality now, after oil slid below the $65/bl level that executives surveyed by the Dallas Federal Reserve Bank last month warned was needed to profitably sink a new well. Trump's imposition of punitive tariffs on nearly every major US trading partner led to a sell-off in stock, bonds and commodity markets until he announced a 90-day pause for most nations — except China — on 9 April. While it may be too early for talk about dropping rigs and curtailing production, companies will face tough questions from analysts about their contingency plans when first-quarter results start coming through later this month. One key difference from previous downturns in 2014 and 2020 is that exploration and production (E&P) firms are in a better position this time, with less debt on their balance sheets and more modest growth plans, which may help limit the initial fallout. But higher costs owing to tariffs on steel imports could offset the efficiency savings that have kept production going in an era of restrained spending. "E&Ps are likely to mostly take a wait-and-see approach — with a high level of uncertainty about future policy — and not prematurely lay down rigs," consultancy Enverus principal analyst Andrew Dittmar says. "If prices are weak headed into 2026, that is where you are likely to see a more material reduction in drilling budgets. Feeling dominated The shale industry has welcomed Trump's "energy dominance" agenda and his promise of a permitting overhaul. But cracks are appearing in that relationship because of his stop-start policy on tariffs. "This administration better have a plan," Diamondback Energy president Kaes Van't Hof said in a social media post, in a direct appeal to energy secretary Chris Wright. Shale is the "only industry that actually built itself in the US, manufactures in the US, grew jobs in the US and improved the trade deficit — and by proxy GDP — in the US over the past decade", Van't Hof, who is due to become Diamondback chief executive later this year, said. His company became the largest pure-play producer in the prolific Permian basin of west Texas and southeast New Mexico following its $26bn takeover of Endeavor Energy Resources last year. While few public producers were planning any kind of meaningful growth this year as higher dividends and buy-backs continue to be the priority, even that could eventually find itself on the chopping block. "The corporate reality for public players means that already modest growth could be at risk if prices remain near $60/bl," Rystad Energy vice-president for North American oil and gas Matthew Bernstein says. Little in the way of growth was forecast outside the core Permian this year even before Trump rolled out his tariffs. A prolonged period of lower prices could spur a downturn in the top-performing US basin. A combination of short-term activity levels, investor distributions and production could be sacrificed in order to defend margins, according to Rystad. And producers in the Delaware sub-basin could be especially vulnerable, given the region's steep initial decline rates, high well costs and large capital return requirements, the consultancy says. By Stephen Cunningham WTI breakeven price Nymex WTI futures month 1 Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Japan’s Renova boosts renewable power sales in March

25/04/14

Japan’s Renova boosts renewable power sales in March

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Brunei LNG undergoes unplanned downtime

25/04/14

Brunei LNG undergoes unplanned downtime

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