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International Energy Agency News

07 Mar 2024

Sharp Uptick Seen in Crude Tanker Ordering

© Carabay / Adobe Stock

Contracting activity for for crude tanker newbuilding has risen sharply to start 2024, driven by a steep rise in orders for very large crude carriers (VLCC), according to shipping organization BIMCO.In the first two months of 2024, crude tanker newbuild contracting surged to 7.4 m DWT, a 490% leap y/y. Notably, the 19 VLCCs ordered in January and February is more than was ordered for the entirety of 2023.Freight rates for crude tankers spiked at the start of the war in Ukraine, and they have largely stayed strong since, said Filipe Gouveia, shipping analyst at BIMCO.

14 Feb 2024

Oil Production, Chinese Buying Buoys Brazil Crude Exports 19%

Chart courtesy BIMCO

“The reshaping of global crude tanker markets continued in 2023. In 2022, sanctions shifted Russia’s exports from Europe to Asia while OPEC production cuts in 2023 increased the Americas’ share of exports. Brazil’s oil production increased by 12% year-on-year in 2023 while crude tanker exports rose 19%,” said Niels Rasmussen, Chief Shipping Analyst at BIMCO.According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), Brazil’s oil production reached 3.49 million barrels per day (mbpd) in 2023, up from 3.12 mbpd the year before.

23 Jan 2024

What Does Red Sea Disruption Mean for Europe's Economy?

Weeks of attacks by Iranian-backed Houthi militants on vessels in the Red Sea have disrupted shipping in the Suez Canal, the fastest sea route between Asia and Europe, carrying around 15% of global sea trade.For the European economy, already skirting a mild recession as it tries to shake off high inflation, prolonged trade disruption could derail plans by central banks to start cutting interest rates this year.Here are some factors policymakers are considering as they assess the implications of the disruptions.WHAT HAS BEEN THE IMPACT ON THE EUROPEAN ECONOMY SO FAR?In macroeconomic terms…

07 Dec 2023

Carbon Capture Chasm Exposed at Climate Summit

Copyright VectorMine/AdobeStock

Carbon capture and storage has emerged as flashpoint at the UN climate conference in Dubai about how big a role it is destined to play in reaching the target of net zero emissions.It has also prompted an unusual and bad-tempered confrontation between senior officials at the International Energy Agency (IEA) and the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).In the run up to the conference, the IEA called on oil and gas producers to let go of "the illusion that implausibly…

03 Dec 2023

ExxonMobil CEO Rebuffs IEA Criticism of Carbon Capture Strategy

Darren Woods (Source: ExxonMobil)

ExxonMobil CEO Darren Woods on Saturday rejected the International Energy Agency's recent claim that using wide-scale carbon capture to fight climate change was an implausible "illusion", saying the same could be said about electric vehicles and solar energy."There is no solution set out there today that is at the scale to solve the problem," Woods told Reuters on the sidelines of the COP28 climate summit in Dubai."So, you could say that about carbon capture today, you could say that about electric vehicles, about wind, about solar.

23 Nov 2023

Coal Shipments to Advanced Economies Down 17%

Source: BIMCO

“In the first 10 months of 2023, coal shipments to advanced economies fell by 17% y/y, as demand for electricity declined and the share of electricity produced using renewable energy rose. Also slowed economic activity and high energy prices affected electricity demand,” says Filipe Gouveia, Shipping Analyst at BIMCO.Between January and August, electricity production in advanced economies fell by 4% y/y, according to data from the International Energy Agency. In 2023, measures against high inflation slowed economic growth in advanced economies.

16 Nov 2023

US Sanctions Maritime Companies, Vessels for Shipping Oil Above Russian Price Cap

© Kalyakan / Adobe Stock

The U.S. on Thursday imposed sanctions on maritime companies and vessels for shipping Russian oil sold above the G7's price cap, as Washington seeks to close loopholes in the mechanism designed to punish Moscow for its war in Ukraine.The U.S. Treasury Department in a statement said it slapped sanctions on three United Arab Emirates-based companies and three vessels owned by them in the action, accusing the vessels of engaging in the export of Russian crude oil priced above the $60 a barrel cap.

13 Oct 2023

Growing Tanker Fleet, Cheaper Freight Challenge Russian Oil Price Cap

Russian crude oil producers are enjoying the cheapest costs to ship to refiners in China and India in almost a year thanks to a growing number of vessels plying the routes, according to trading and shipping sources.The arrival of new shippers working outside the purview of Western governments allows Russian firms to earn more than the $60 per barrel cap that the U.S. and its allies had aimed to impose on Russia through sanctions. It also means that enforcing the price cap will have a limited impact on Russian revenues.On Thursday, the U.S. imposed the first sanctions on owners of tankers carrying Russian oil above the cap, one based in Turkey and one in the United Arab Emirates…

12 Oct 2023

US Sanctions Two Tanker Owners for Carrying Russian Oil Above Price Cap

The U.S. on Thursday imposed the first sanctions on owners of tankers carrying Russian oil above the G7 price cap of $60 a barrel, one based in Turkey and one in the United Arab Emirates, in an effort to close loopholes on the mechanism designed to punish Moscow for the war in Ukraine.The U.S., other G7 countries and Australia imposed the cap last year, seeking to reduce Russia's revenues from seaborne oil exports as part of sanctions for its invasion of Ukraine.The cap bans Western companies from providing maritime services, including insurance, finance and shipping, for Russian seaborne oil exports sold above $60 a barrel, while seeking to keep oil flowing to markets. Caps also were imposed on Russian fuel exports.U.S.

29 Sep 2023

US Plans Sharp Reduction in Offshore Oil and Gas Lease Sales

Credit: scandamerican/AdobeStock

The Biden administration on Friday unveiled a plan to phase down oil and gas auctions in federal waters with the release of a long-awaited leasing schedule that includes a maximum of three sales in the Gulf of Mexico through 2029.The Interior Department's plan includes by far the lowest number of sales since the agency began producing Congressionally-mandated five-year oil and gas leasing schedules in 1980. Previous programs have ranged between 11 and 41 sales, according to Interior's U.S.

21 Sep 2023

Product Tanker Newbuild Contracting hits 10-year high

Source: BIMCO

“During the first eight months of 2023, contracting of product tanker newbuilds hit a 10-year high, reaching 140 ships and 10.72 million deadweight tons (DWT). The last time more than 10 million DWT were contracted from January through August was in 2013,” said Niels Rasmussen, Chief Shipping Analyst at BIMCO.Newbuild contracting activity during the past five years has been low at about 5.46 million DWT per year. In addition, the product tanker order book hit a low of 9.67 million DWT in December 2022…

13 Sep 2023

US Dirty Tanker Export Demand Jumps

Source: BIMCO

During the first eight months of 2023, US dirty tanker export demand increased 33% year-on-year while the global dirty tanker exports increased only 5%. Measured in deadweight tonne miles, US exports now account for 14% of global dirty tanker demand, says Niels Rasmussen, Chief Shipping Analyst at BIMCO.US oil production has increased since 2013 while US refinery runs peaked before the COVID pandemic. This has allowed dirty tanker exports to increase from 0.4 million barrels per day (mbpd) in 2016 to 3.5 mbpd during the first eight months of 2023.

15 Aug 2023

Amogy Calls for Ammonia Incentives

Source: Amogy

In its recently published white paper, ammonia-to-power technology company Amogy calls for policy makers to provide clear incentives for the uptake of ammonia as a shipping fuel.The paper Ammonia as an Essential Energy Carrier for the Energy Transition states that shipowners currently lack investment support for zero carbon propulsion systems and technologies.In the US, strong progress is being made on clean ammonia production. According to International Energy Agency project data…

27 Jul 2023

Why Ammonia Is the Fuel of the Future for Maritime Shipping

© egokhan / Adobe Stock

Commercial maritime shipping has a fuel problem. While the industry has cemented its position as the essential piece of the global supply chain—moving more than 80% of all international goods by volume—its dependence on carbon-emitting fuel has come with a high cost.Maritime shipping is responsible for roughly 3% of all greenhouse gas emissions, according to the International Maritime Organization. The longer that ships continue to run on carbon-emitting fuel, the harder it will be to reach net zero emissions by 2050 and to prevent the worst damage predicted by climate scientists.

27 Jul 2023

Contracting of Product Tankers Jumps

Source: BIMCO

The product tanker orderbook to fleet ratio has surged from 5.4% in December 2022 to 9.3% in June 2023, driven by a remarkable 337% y/y rise in contracting during the first half of this year.“A spike in freight rates and product tanker demand is likely behind the surge in contracting,” says Filipe Gouveia, Shipping Analyst at BIMCO.By June 2023, product tanker contracting reached 8.9 million DWT. This means that more product tankers were already ordered in the first half of 2023 than during all of 2022.While the contracting of MR and LR1 ships saw notable growth…

10 Jul 2023

Deep-sea Mining: A New Gold Rush or Environmental Disaster?

Image courtesy of the NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research, 2019 Southeastern U.S. Deep-sea Exploration

In the depths of the Pacific Ocean between Mexico and Hawaii, trillions of potato-shaped rocks are scattered across the seabed - containing minerals such as nickel, cobalt and manganese vital for new green technologies in the global energy transition.In this ocean region - the Clarion-Clipperton Zone (CCZ) - an abundance of the rocks, known as polymetallic nodules, is increasingly fuelling debate about the mining of metals needed to produce technology such as batteries for electric…

11 Sep 2023

Northern Lights CCS: Trailblazing the Path to Europe’s Net Zero Emissions

Image © Equinor

In the global quest for achieving net zero emissions and slowing down global warming, carbon capture and storage (CCUS) technology has emerged as an important solution. Among the notable projects being developed in the field is the Northern Lights offshore carbon capture and storage project in Norway, a country with long experience with offshore CO2 storage.The transition to a sustainable energy future requires innovative solutions that go beyond simply halting fossil fuel projects.

06 Jun 2023

Black Sea Grain Deal Could Hinge on Ammonia Pipeline

© Elena / Adobe Stock

A possible extension next month of a deal allowing the safe wartime export of grains and fertilizers from three Ukrainian Black Sea ports could hinge on the reopening of a pipeline that delivers Russian ammonia to one of those Ukrainian ports.The dealsThe United Nations and Turkey brokered the Black Sea Grain Initiative for an initial 120 days last July to help tackle a global food crisis worsened by Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, one of the world’s leading grain exporters. It has been extended three times since…

13 Apr 2023

Australian Government Highlights Nation’s Green Hydrogen Ambition

Suiso Frontier courtesy of Kawasaki

The Australian government has released its annual State of Hydrogen report, saying it reinforces that Australia has the foundations to become a global leader in green hydrogen.The report illustrates local industry is advancing hydrogen as a chemical feedstock and for export to generate electricity, but there’s an urgent need to speed up priority pilot projects and hydrogen hubs to compete internationally.In 2022, more than 100 Australian green hydrogen projects such as green ammonia and green methanol manufacturing were announced.

09 Feb 2023

EverWind Gets Approval for North America's First Green Hydrogen Facility

EverWind Fuels, a company founded by private equity veteran Trent Vichie, told Reuters it became the first green hydrogen producer in North America to secure the necessary permits for a commercial-scale facility on Tuesday.Provincial authorities in Canada granted environmental approval for EverWind to begin converting a former oil storage facility and marine terminal at Point Tupper in Nova Scotia into a green hydrogen and ammonia production hub.Green hydrogen is different than conventional hydrogen only in its production…

09 Feb 2023

Oil Shipping and Refining Firms Benefit from Western Sanctions on Russia

© komi$ar/AdobeStock

Western sanctions on Russia have significantly reduced state oil revenues and diverted tens of billions of dollars towards shipping and refining firms, some with Russian connections.Most of the winners from the sanctions are based in China, India, Greece and the United Arab Emirates, at least 20 trading and banking sources said. A handful are partly owned by Russian companies.None of the firms is breaching sanctions, the sources told Reuters, but they have benefited from measures…

18 Jan 2023

MAN ES: Moving Forward on Ammonia Engines

MAN ES will start testing on its ammonia engine in Copenhagen in Q1 2023. Images courtesy MAN ES

As shipowners ponder future fuels, MAN Energy Solutions is sailing full speed ahead optimizing dual fuel marine powerplants while preparing to start testing ammonia fueled engines in early 2023. Bjarne Foldager, Senior Vice President, head of two stroke business at MAN ES hosted Maritime Reporter & Engineering News in Copenhagen for a look behind the scenes at a cornerstone of its mandate to ‘Move big things to Zero.’Just 10 years ago, in December 2012, word came that General Dynamics NASSCO finalized a contract with TOTE…

11 Jan 2023

Chinese Inbound Coal Shipments Plummet 12.2%, Says BIMCO

Weak economic activity, a 10.5% increase in domestic coal mining, and a recovery in coal imports from Mongolia via rail alleviated coal shipments to China in 2022. However, the end of China’s zero Covid policy and an anticipated recovery of the Chinese economy have strengthened expectations for the country’s coal imports in 2023. A return of import tariffs, the end of China’s unofficial ban on Australian coal, and the energy transition in China could shape the coal shipment outlook.Coal shipments fell 12.2% in 2022…