Energy Ministry News

Indonesia is looking to offer more oil and gas blocks in North Sumatra basin this year following a major discovery by Mubadala Energy in a bid to accelerate gas production, a senior energy ministry official said on Tuesday.The energy ministry is currently reviewing potential energy blocks for auction this year, director general for oil and gas Tutuka Ariadji told reporters."North Sumatra basin is one of the potential area for further exploration after a major discovery recently in Layaran-1 by Mubadala Energy," Tutuka said.United Arab Emirates' Mubadala said in December it had discovered a maj

A severe storm in the Black Sea region has disrupted up to 2 million barrels per day (bpd) of oil exports from Kazakhtsan and Russia, according to state's officials and port agent data.Oil loadings from Novorossiysk and the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) terminal in nearby Yuzhnaya Ozereyevka have been suspended since last week.Kazakhstan's largest oilfields - Tengiz, Kashagan and Karachaganak - are cutting combined daily oil output by 56% from November 27 as the storm disrupts loadings at CPC…

Environmental groups on Tuesday will ask a Norwegian court to block the development of three North Sea oil and gas fields, citing insufficient assessment of global climate impact from future petroleum use.The lawsuit filed by Greenpeace and its partner Nature and Youth concerns the Equinor-operated Breidablikk and Aker BP's Yggdrasil and Tyrving fields, which hold combined reserves of some 875 million barrels of oil equivalent.The two NGOs in 2020 lost a case against Arctic drilling at Norway's top court…

The Danish government has postponed the launch of a tender to establish a North Sea energy island project due to high costs, the country's ministry of energy said on Wednesday.The project included the construction of an artificial island in the North Sea that would serve as a hub to gather and distribute power generated by surrounding offshore wind turbines.

The number of ships loading liquefied natural gas (LNG) in Spain and taking it across Europe doubled in 2022 compared with the previous year, helping ease the energy crisis driven by Russia's invasion of Ukraine, gas grid operator Enagas said on Thursday."Our plants are contributing very significantly to the energy security of other countries and from the Barcelona plant, especially for Italy," Enagas chief executive Arturo Gonzalo Aizpiri told reporters, adding that a total of…

Western oil tankers ramped up their shipments of Russian crude in January as prices for Moscow's flagship Urals grade held below an international price cap, according to market sources and Eikon data.The Group of Seven nations (G7), Australia and the 27 European Union countries placed a price limit on Russian crude oil of $60 per barrel on Dec. 5.The cap allows non-EU countries to import seaborne Russian crude oil, but prohibits Western shipping and insurance companies from handling…

An underwater pipeline to carry green hydrogen between Barcelona and Marseille will cost around 2 billion euros ($2.1 billion), according to preliminary estimates of the project agreed between Spain, Portugal and France, two sources told Reuters. It comes as an energy crisis caused by the war in Ukraine has accelerated European plans to bolster renewable energy as an alternative to Russian gas. Spain and Portugal aim to become clean hydrogen hubs and net energy exporters, causing…

Russia is concerned about a build-up of oil tankers in the Bosphorus Strait and is discussing the issue with insurance and transport companies, RIA cited Russian deputy foreign minister Alexander Grushko as saying on Wednesday.At least 20 oil tankers queuing off Turkey face more delays to cross from Russia's Black Sea ports to the Mediterranean as operators race to adhere to new Turkish insurance rules added ahead of Europe's ship insurance ban and a G7 price cap on Russian oil…

The Danish authorities on Monday asked ships to steer clear of a five nautical mile radius off the island of Bornholm after a gas leak overnight from the defunct Russian-owned Nord Stream 2 pipeline drained into the Baltic Sea.The German government said it was in contact with the Danish authorities and working with local law enforcement to find out what caused pressure in the pipeline to plummet suddenly. Denmark's energy ministry declined to comment.The pipeline has been one…

Iran is ready to send ships loaded with fuel to Lebanon within one or two weeks to help run the country's power plants, the Iranian embassy in Beirut told Al-Manar TV as a Lebanese delegation was in Tehran to discuss energy cooperation.A Lebanese energy ministry spokesperson said they were unaware whether a fuel import deal had been struck but said "any gift from anywhere is welcome".Iran had previously proposed providing fuel to the Lebanese state in the form of a donation in an effort to avoid U.S.

The Baltic Exchange's main sea freight index, tracking rates for ships carrying dry bulk commodities, fell for a third straight week on Friday, as rates across vessel segments dropped.The overall index, which factors in rates for capesize, panamax and supramax shipping vessels, was down six points, or about 0.3%, at 2,067 points, posting a weekly fall of 6.6%The capesize index gained 65 points, or nearly 3%, at 2,270 points.Capesize rates shed about 4.7% for the week, posting their third consecutive weekly decline.Average daily earnings for capesizes, which typically transport 170,000-180,000

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said he was confident liquefied natural gas (LNG) could start flowing into the country via the Baltic Sea port of Lubmin within a matter of months, as Germany rushes to phase out Russian energy imports."Our goal is to get as much as possible there by the turn of the year, or a little bit later, so we can get gas quickly from wherever," Scholz said on Tuesday in Berlin after a meeting with the regional government of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.State premier Manuela Schwesig said the federal economy ministry and local energy ministry were conducting joint audits.

Russian fuel oil arrivals offshore Greece jumped to record levels in April, as sanctions on Moscow drive traders to find new ways to export Russian oil via ship-to-ship (STS) loadings, Refinitiv Eikon data showed and sources said.Trading Russian crude and oil products remains legal for now as the European Union is yet to fully agree on a proposed embargo, but banking and other financial sanctions on Russia following its invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24 has made it increasingly more difficult to do so.In April…

Indonesia and Australia, among the world's top coal exporters, have hit their production limits and are unlikely to meet Europe's demand for additional supplies if the European Union bans Russian coal imports, mining executives said on Wednesday.The European Commission proposed on Tuesday new sanctions against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, including a ban on buying Russian coal and on Russian ships entering EU ports, and said it was working on banning oil imports too.The EU depends on Russia for around 45% of its coal imports…

Oil prices rose on Tuesday, recovering some of the previous session's losses as Kazakhstan's supplies continued to be disrupted and major producers showed no sign of being in a hurry to boost output significantly.Brent crude LCOc1 rose $1.54, or 1.4%, to $114.02 a barrel by 1110 GMT, and U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude CLc1 was up $1.34, or 1.3%, at $107.30. Both benchmarks had lost about 7% on Monday."There was an overreaction on Monday and the market is re-considering it," UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo said.

Russian and Kazakhstan oil exports via the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) from the Black Sea may fall by up to 1 million barrels per day (bpd), or 1% of global oil production, due to storm-damaged berths, a Russian official said on Tuesday.Pavel Sorokin, a deputy energy minister, said the second berth could also turn out to be damaged after initial information about one of the three being damaged by a storm.Sorokin said the maintenance could take up to two months, which could…

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said last week that Germany may consider halting the Nord Stream 2 pipeline if Russia attacks Ukraine, reflecting growing political pressure on the Gazprom-led project.Russia has massed troops on the Ukrainian border but denies it is planning an attack, while the United States and Europe have promised to impose sanctions on Moscow should it invade, with Nord Stream 2 one of the possible targets.Europe's most divisive energy project, Nord Stream 2 is designed to double the amount of gas flowing from Russia straight to Germany…

Indonesia has so far allowed 48 coal export vessels to depart, a senior Trade Ministry official said on Tuesday, although the country's broader coal export ban remains in place until the end of the month.The world's biggest thermal coal exporter implemented an export ban on Jan.

Indonesia's state utility Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN) said on Friday that together with the energy ministry it was strengthening a coal delivery monitoring system to ensure enforcement of domestic sales rules and energy security.The world's biggest thermal coal exporter introduced an export ban on Jan. 1 as coal inventories at local power plants were at critically low levels, amid low compliance with a so-called Domestic Market Obligation (DMO).Under the DMO, miners must sell 25% of their output to the local market with a price cap of $70 per tonne for power plants…

Indonesia said on Thursday it would allow 37 vessels loaded with coal to depart, in the strongest sign yet that the world's biggest thermal coal exporter is relaxing its ban on shipments.A senior cabinet minister said in a statement the ban implemented on Jan. 1 had been eased for miners that have met a requirement to sell a portion of their output for local power generation, after the state utility procured enough coal to ensure 15 days of operation."I request that this is supervised closely so this also becomes a moment for us to improve domestic governance…

Chinese thermal coal futures fell on Tuesday after Indonesia, the world's biggest thermal coal exporter, eased a ban on overseas shipments that surprised buyers at the start of the year, alleviating concerns about supply disruptions.The export ban was introduced after state power utility Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN) reported critically low coal stockpiles amid complaints miners were not fulfilling their responsibilities to supply fuel to the company. Driven by concerns about the impact to their economies which depend on coal-fired power generation…

Indonesia, the world's biggest thermal coal exporter, sent shockwaves through global energy markets this week by suspending exports of the fuel in January due to critically low coal supplies at domestic power plants.WHY DID INDONESIAN AUTHORITIES DECIDE TO ACT?Coal makes up around 60% of Indonesia's energy mix and its energy ministry said by the start of 2022 only 35,000 tonnes of coal had been delivered to state power firm PLN.PLN had secured 13.9 million tonnes by Wednesday but needs another six million tonnes to ensure a 20-day stock level of 20 million tonnes.

Indonesian authorities on Wednesday postponed a meeting with coal miners to discuss a ban on coal exports, as scores of ships moored off the coast due to load remained in limbo.The world's top exporter of thermal coal and China's largest overseas supplier on Saturday announced a ban on exports in January to avoid outages at its own generators.The ban sent thermal coal futures in China surging reflecting concerns it could threaten energy security in some of the world's biggest…