Malaysia unveils transition plan with eye on oil risks

: Crude oil, Emissions, Hydrogen, Natural gas
23/07/28

Resource-rich Malaysia has unveiled interim measures to meet its net zero target with the launch of an energy transition roadmap, driven in part by the "diminishing" role of oil and gas in its development.

"Our ability to continuously rely on finite oil and gas resources is diminishing," economic minister Rafizi Ramli said on 27 July at the launch of the first phase of the national energy transition roadmap (NETR). "Frequent price shocks and structural decline in the fossil fuel industry has made it harder for us to treat oil and gas as Malaysia's be-all and end-all."

Malaysia is the world's fourth-largest LNG producer and second-biggest palm oil producer. Its state-owned oil firm Petronas produces around 1.8mn b/d of oil equivalent and operates about 400,000 b/d of refining capacity.

Phase one of the NETR has six key energy transition levers — energy efficiency, renewable energy, hydrogen, bioenergy, green mobility, and carbon capture, utilisation and storage. It also mentions 10 flagship catalyst projects that seek to open up investment opportunities of between 435bn ringgit ($96bn) and 1.85 trillion ringgit by 2050.

This includes the setting up of an integrated renewable energy zone with a 1GW hybrid solar photovoltaic power plant, in what Rafizi describes will be the "largest of its kind in southeast Asia".

Malaysia has set a target to be net zero by 2050. It aims to achieve 31pc or 12.9GW renewable energy capacity by 2025 and 40pc or 18GW by 2035, from an existing 23pc or 8.45GW of renewable energy in its installed power generation capacity, it said in its renewable energy roadmap in 2021.

"To double down on our commitment, we even stretched our RE [renewable energy] installed capacity targets by nearly two times, from 40pc to 70pc by 2050," Rafizi said.

Coal and natural gas made up around 93pc of Malaysia's power generation in the first quarter of this year, not much different from a year earlier, data from Malaysian state-owned utility TNB show.

The NETR also aims to make Sarawak the hydrogen hub of the country and put in place a framework for carbon capture and storage (CCS) so that catalyst projects can be implemented in these two years. These include state-owned Petronas' CCS projects at the Kasawari gas field — which the firm describes as one of the world's largest offshore CCS projects — and at the Lang Lebah gas field in partnership with Thailand's state-controlled PTTEP, both offshore Sarawak.

The roadmap reiterated a goal of having 10,000 electric vehicle charging stations installed along highways and commercial buildings by 2025. "The first- and last-mile of public transport will also be electrified so that we travel with cleaner energy," Rafizi said. Malaysia has set a 38pc market share for electric vehicles by 2040.

Committed investments for phase one of the NETR total 25bn ringgit. "In a few weeks' [time], the government shall complete the final piece of NETR in phase 2 with comprehensive action plans and initiatives to spur investments and economic activities," Rafizi said.

By Reena Nathan

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25/05/08

FinBalt gas demand down on the year in April

London, 8 May (Argus) — Combined gas demand across the Finnish and Baltic region fell by 4pc on the year in April despite gas-fired power generation rising by nearly 50pc. Aggregate consumption in Finland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania in April fell to 3.42TWh, down from 3.56TWh the previous year and the three-year average of 5.12TWh in 2019-21. That said, it was still higher than in both 2022 and 2023 ( see consumption graph ). Lithuania remained the region's largest consumer, as it has been for every month since June, again driven by an increase in gas-fired power generation. Average gas-fired output soared by nearly 400pc on the year in April to 254MW according to data from Fraunhofer ISE, more than making up for a 43pc drop in Finnish production ( see power table ). Following the de-synchronisation of the Baltic states from the post-Soviet Brell system, gas-fired power plants have become particularly important in the region, not just for producing electricity but also for providing ancillary services such as frequency reserves. Lithuania has the largest gas-fired fleet in the region, and its output jumped despite domestic power consumption falling by more than 5pc on the year and renewable output increasing, which allowed the country to cut its power imports last month to 104MW, from 546MW in the previous year. With power sector gas demand increasing in April but overall gas consumption in the region dropping, demand from households and industries must have been lower on the year. Weather patterns were split across the region, with lower average minimum temperatures than the previous year in Vilnius and Riga, but higher in Tallinn and Helsinki. That said, overnight lows in all four capitals were still above the 2015-24 average last month, limiting strong heating demand in the shoulder month ( see temperature table ). Traded volumes on the region's gas exchange GET Baltic rose to 1.1TWh last month, an "unusually high result for this time of year" according to the exchange's senior account manager Karolis Bagdonas. Of the overall volume, 56pc traded in Lithuania, 28pc in the joint Estonia-Latvia market area, and the remaining 16pc in Finland. The average price on GET Baltic was €39.40/MWh last month, down by around 8pc from March. GET Baltic announced in April that its full integration into the European Energy Exchange (EEX) had been delayed again until 9 September , having previously been planned for 27 May . Across all of January-April FinBalt consumption totalled 18.43TWh, down from 20.04TWh in the same period of 2024. Stocks at the region's only storage facility in Latvia ended the storage year on 1 May at 8.4TWh, below 11.3TWh on the same day last year and 9TWh in 2023, but still above all other years since 2018 ( see data and download ). The entire 100pc of capacity, amounting to just over 23TWh, had been booked for the 2024-25 storage year, but for the new 2025-26 cycle a lower 17TWh has been allocated, representing around 68pc of the cycle's total technical capacity of 24.9TWh. Consistently positive summer-winter spreads over the winter period, which gave no financial incentive to book storage, may have driven lower interest in 2025-26 capacity, although they had normalised by April. Lower overall booked volumes is despite operator Conexus managing to sell all 9TWh of the new five-year capacity product it offered in February and March . Slow start to injection season Injections into Incukalns have been weak so far this year, with not a single day of net injections until 24 April. In the previous year, there had been some brief net injections on 1-4 April at an average of 54 GWh/d, and across all of April they averaged just over 7 GWh/d. In contrast, this year's April averaged net withdrawals of 32 GWh/d across the month, with injections only on 24-30 April. This slow stockbuild has continued in the first week of May, with 35GWh of net injections on 1 May but then a flip back to very minor net withdrawals of 0.2 GWh/d on every day of 2-6 May, the latest data from GIE show. Last year, there were average net injections of 47 GWh/d on 1-6 May, and 39 GWh/d in 2021-23. Despite weak injections, overall LNG sendout across the region's three terminals of Klaipeda, Inkoo and Hamina has increased significantly from April, nearly doubling to 150 GWh/d on 1-7 May from 80 GWh/d in April. Sendout from these terminals averaged 84 GWh/d on 1-7 May last year. Rather than injecting all of the regasified LNG, some of it is being sent southward to Poland at Santaka, with exit flows at the point averaging 22 GWh/d on 1-7 May, switched from net inflows of 2 GWh/d in April. This is likely to be linked to Polish incumbent Orlen's deals to supply LNG to Ukraine's Naftogaz, of which one of the contracts specified that it would be delivered to Klaipeda and transited to the Ukrainian border . By Brendan A'Hearn FinBalt gas-fired power production MW Apr-25 Apr-24 year-on-year % change Finland 118 206 -43 Estonia 6 5 20 Latvia 85 53 60 Lithuania 254 52 388 Total 463 316 47 — Fraunhofer ISE FinBalt average minimum temps °C Apr-25 Apr-24 2015-24 avg Helsinki 0.7 0.1 0.1 Talinn 2.2 2.0 1.0 Riga 4.8 5.0 4.0 Vilnius 3.8 5.2 2.8 — Speedwell FinBalt gas demand by country GWh Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Trump to grant partial tariff relief to UK

25/05/08

Trump to grant partial tariff relief to UK

Washington, 8 May (Argus) — The US will carve out import quotas for UK-produced cars and, eventually, reduce tariffs on UK steel and aluminum, under a preliminary deal US president Donald Trump and UK prime minister Keir Starmer announced today. The Trump administration will allow UK car manufacturers to export 100,000 cars to the US at a 10pc tariff rate, instead of the 25pc tariff to which all foreign auto imports are subject. The US and the UK will negotiate a "trading union" on steel and aluminum that will harmonize supply chains, US commerce secretary Howard Lutnick said. The US commended the UK government on taking control of Chinese-owned steelmaker British Steel last month. As a result of that action, under yet to be negotiated arrangements, the US would reconsider the UK's inclusion in its 25pc tariffs on steel and aluminum, the White House said. Starmer, speaking after the ceremony, told reporters that US tariffs on the UK-sourced steel and aluminum would, in fact, fall to zero. Trump announced the deal during a ceremony at the White House, with Starmer phoning in. The two leaders suggested that their preliminary deal was as significant as the end of World War II in Europe, 80 years ago. But that deal, which Trump described as "full and comprehensive" hours before its announcement is anything but that. Under the "US-UK Agreement in Principle to negotiate an Economic Prosperity Deal", the US will maintain the 10pc baseline tariff on nearly all imports from the UK that went into effect on 5 April, Trump said. The UK, Trump said, would lower the effective rate on US imports to 1.8pc from 5.1pc. The actual details of the agreement are yet to be negotiated. "The final deal is being written up" in the coming weeks, Trump said, adding that it was "very conclusive". Boeing, beef and biofuel The UK would commit to buying $10bn worth of Boeing airplanes, Trump said. He described the UK market as "closed" to US beef, ethanol and many other products, and said that the UK agreed to open its agricultural markets as a result of his deal. US ethanol exports to the UK, in fact, rose by 23pc year-on-year in March. Under the deal, the UK would expand market access to US ethanol, creating $500mn more in US exports, the White House said. The UK will reduce to zero the tariff on US-sourced ethanol, the UK Department of Business said, adding that "it is used to produce beer". Trump previewed the preliminary deal with the UK as the first of the many trade agreements the US administration is negotiating with many other countries. Trump contended today that there are trade talks underway with the EU and expressed confidence that the US-China trade discussions expected over the weekend would produce results. But Trump added that he will not lower the high tariffs on imports from nearly every US trade partner he imposed last month and described the UK's 10pc tariff rate as a favor to that country. By Haik Gugarats Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Sonatrach Augusta refinery restart extends into May

25/05/08

Sonatrach Augusta refinery restart extends into May

Barcelona, 8 May (Argus) — Crude deliveries to Algerian state-owned Sonatrach's 198,000 b/d Augusta refinery in Italy were higher in April, but it appears a full restart from planned works will take longer than initially expected. Crude deliveries last month were around 70,000 b/d, up from 20,000 b/d in March. Receipts averaged 95,000 b/d in January-April, down from 160,000 b/d overall in 2024. The refinery has been under a planned five-year maintenance shutdown since the end of January, the first turnaround since shortly after Sonatrach bought the plant from ExxonMobil in 2019. Sonatrach initially said the facility would be back online by 30 April, with units restarting in two phases. But the company in an updated note to local authorities said an atmospheric distillation unit, propane deasphalter, hydro-desulphuriser, propane splitter and other secondary units would potentially flare on restart up to 31 May. One of these segments is the butamer unit, which caught fire in April . It is unclear if the fire added to the length of the overall stoppage. Sonatrach has not replied to queries on the matter. It was anticipated the turnaround would be a little quicker than in 2019 (see chart), but the two periods of maintenance now appear to be roughly similar. Crude delivery last month included over 45,000 b/d of Saudi Arab Light, 15,000 b/d of Kazakh Kebco and over 5,000 b/d of Algerian Saharan Blend. Argus assessed these at a weighted average gravity of 33.7°API and 1.5pc sulphur content, compared with 36.5°API and 0.9pc sulphur in February, before receipts all but stopped for the works. Receipts averaged 34.7°API and 1.2pc sulphur in January-April, compared with 35.2°API and 0.9pc sulphur overall in 2024. The pace of delivery in May is slow. Around 750,000 bl of Arab Light has discharged but no tankers are signalling arrival. By Adam Porter Augusta crude receipts mn bl Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Cop 30 head urges upgraded climate co-operation: Update

25/05/08

Cop 30 head urges upgraded climate co-operation: Update

Updates with comments from Copenhagen climate ministerial London, 8 May (Argus) — The incoming president of the UN Cop 30 climate summit today called for climate co-operation to be "better equipped" to implement the Paris climate agreement and Cop decisions, including "upgraded global governance" on climate action. Cop 30 president-designate Andre Correa do Lago has called for "innovative governance approaches" and for the aggregation of "currently fragmented" efforts. This would reinforce the decision-making process for UN climate body the UNFCCC and support the implementation of the Paris agreement, he noted. Climate advocates including former UN secretary general Ban Ki Moon last year wrote an open letter to the UN calling for a reform of the Cop climate change summits which they said have failed to deliver change at the speed and scale required. "Climate change will increasingly supervene and disrupt political and socioeconomic agendas", Correa do Lago wrote in a second letter outlining his priorities for the summit, which will be held in November in Belem, Brazil. The president-designate has previously set out his hopes for Cop 30 to be "a Cop of action". Minister and leaders are "still committed to finding solutions together", Danish climate minister Lars Aagaard said today. He co-hosted a climate ministerial this week in Copenhagen, Denmark, alongside Correa do Lago, at which country representatives "worked to lay the foundation" to Cop 30. "Even though the international backdrop is marked by war and unrest, and even though we are experiencing nations pulling in a darker direction, there is still momentum for global climate action," Aagaard said. Correa do Lago acknowledged "serious geopolitical, socioeconomic, and environmental challenges", calling for reinforced multilateralism. And he set out his vision for a "Global Mutirao" — an "unprecedented" global mobilisation of "self-driven" climate action. Brazil's Cop 30 presidency has set up four "circles of leadership", including one comprised of previous Cop summit presidents, and a "circle of finance ministers". The latter, chaired by Brazil's finance minister Fernando Haddad, will offer advice to the Cop 30 presidency on climate finance issues, from "policy-making perspectives", Correa do Lago wrote. Climate finance dominated Cop 29 in Baku, Azerbaijan, last year , where countries agreed that developed nations would provide at least $300bn/yr to developing nations by 2035 for climate action and their energy transitions. Countries will this year discuss a promised "roadmap", intended to forge a path to climate finance of $1.3 trillion/yr, but this will likely lie outside formal negotiations. Correa do Lago today pointed to recent data from the World Meteorological Organisation , which confirmed that 2024 was the hottest year on record. It surpassed the previous record set in 2023. But his letter failed to mention the key driver of climate change — greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuel consumption. Correa do Lago's first letter also neglected the topic , provoking criticism from environmental campaigners. By Georgia Gratton Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Cop 30 president urges ‘upgraded’ climate co-operation

25/05/08

Cop 30 president urges ‘upgraded’ climate co-operation

London, 8 May (Argus) — The incoming president of the UN Cop 30 climate summit today called for climate co-operation to be "better equipped" to implement the Paris climate agreement and Cop decisions, including "upgraded global governance" on climate action. Cop 30 president-designate Andre Correa do Lago today called for "innovative governance approaches" and for the aggregation of "currently fragmented" efforts. This would reinforce the decision-making process for UN climate body the UNFCCC and support the implementation of the Paris agreement, he noted. Climate advocates including former UN secretary general Ban Ki Moon last year wrote an open letter to the UN calling for a reform of the Cop climate change summits as they said they have failed to deliver change at the speed and scale required. "Climate change will increasingly supervene and disrupt political and socioeconomic agendas", Correa do Lago wrote in a second letter outlining his priorities for the summit, which will be held in November in Belem, Brazil. The president-designate has previously set out his hopes for Cop 30 to be "a Cop of action". Correa do Lago acknowledged "serious geopolitical, socioeconomic, and environmental challenges", calling for reinforced multilateralism. And he set out his vision for a "Global Mutirao" — an "unprecedented" global mobilisation of "self-driven" climate action. Brazil's Cop 30 presidency has set up four "circles of leadership", including one comprised of previous Cop summit presidents, and a "circle of finance ministers". The latter, chaired by Brazil's finance minister Fernando Haddad, will offer advice to the Cop 30 presidency on climate finance issues, from "policy-making perspectives", Correa do Lago wrote. Climate finance dominated Cop 29 in Baku, Azerbaijan, last year , where countries agreed that developed nations would provide at least $300bn/yr to developing nations by 2035, for climate action and their energy transitions. Countries will this year discuss a promised "roadmap", intended to forge a path to climate finance of $1.3 trillion/yr, but this will likely lie outside formal negotiations. Correa do Lago today pointed to recent data from the World Meteorological Organisation , which confirmed that 2024 was the hottest year on record. It surpassed the previous record set in 2023. But his letter failed to mention the key driver of climate change — greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuel consumption. Correa do Lago's first letter also neglected the topic , provoking criticism from environmental campaigners. By Georgia Gratton Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

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