Daily Energy News
Policy & Regulatory
Argentina strengthens Ieasa’s control over the energy sector
22 Jun 2021
The Argentinian government has granted greater power to the state-owned power utility Ieasa (former Enarsa), strengthening the development capacity of the company in the national energy sector and repealing a previous administration’s plan to privatise US$1bn of energy assets.
The Philippines considers an intensity-based emission trading scheme (ETS)
21 Jun 2021
The Philippine Department of Finance is considering the establishment of a CO2 intensity-based emission trading scheme (ETS) focused on the power sector. The system will put a cap on the volume of CO2 emissions power producers can generate, measured through a «grid emission factor” in tCO2/MWh, with a trading platform to exchange emissions permits.
The Brazilian Senate approves bill on Eletrobras privatisation
21 Jun 2021
The Brazilian Senate has approved the basic text of a bill allowing the privatisation of the state-owned power utility Eletrobras, following the approval of the lower house of Congress in late May 2021. The Senate version withdrew a requirement for auctions to buy electricity from gas-fired power plants as a counterpart to the privatisation, but it maintained a requirement to contract gas-fired power capacity in the North, Northeast and Midwest (requirement raised from 6 GW to 8 GW). It also extends subsidies for coal-fired power plants from 2027 to 2035.
Companies
NTPC’s electricity production increased by 8% in FY 2021 (India)
22 Jun 2021
The Indian national power utility NTPC (51% state-owned) has generated 314 TWh in the fiscal year ended 31 March 2021 (+8% compared to FY 2020). The company’s revenue reached INR1,035.5bn (US$14bn, +3% compared to FY 2020). NTPC’s installed capacity stood at 65.8 GW as of 31 March 2021.
In 2020, India’s electricity production declined by 2.5% at 1,557 TWh. The country has an installed capacity of 412 GW (end-2020).
Energy & Climate Markets
The 4MMC countries join the Pan-European day-ahead power market
22 Jun 2021
The 4MMC countries (Czechia, Slovakia, Hungary and Romania) have coupled their day-ahead markets with the Pan-European day-ahead power market. The project was launched in 2018 and connects the borders of the 4MMC countries with the Multi-Regional Coupling (MRC, i.e., Austria, Germany, Poland) by introducing a capacity allocation based on calculating net transfer capacity (NTC) on six consecutive borders: Poland-Germany, Poland-Czechia, Poland-Slovakia, Czechia-Germany, Czechia-Austria and Hungary-Austria.
CNPC makes two oil and gas finds totalling 2 Gtoe in north-western China
22 Jun 2021
China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) has discovered a shale oil field containing 1 Gt of shale oil in the Ordos Basin in north-western China. In addition, the company has discovered a new oil and gas field in the Tarim Basin, also located in north-western China, holding 900 Mtoe of oil and gas. This field is estimated to produce 4 Mt/year of oil and 1.4 bcm/year of gas before 2025.
China’s proven oil reserves are estimated at 3.5 Gt (at the end of 2020, reserves/production ratio of nearly 18 years). Reserves of conventional natural gas are estimated at over 2,800 bcm.
Duke Energy seeks licence extension for the Oconee nuclear power plant (US)
22 Jun 2021
Duke Energy has submitted a 20-year licence renewal application for the three units of the 2,500 MW Oconee nuclear power plant in South Carolina (United States). The reactors, rated 887 MW each (design net capacity), were commissioned in 1973 and 1974. Their licenses were issued by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and were supposed to be valid for 40 years.
Infrastructure & Investments
Russia’s Zarubezhneft plans a 1 GW offshore wind plant in Vietnam
22 Jun 2021
The Russian stated-owned oil company Zarubezhneft and JV Vietsovpetro (a Russian-Vietnamese joint venture of Zarubezhneft and the Vietnamese national oil and gas company Petrovietnam) have created a consortium with two affiliates of the Belgian company DEME (DEME Offshore BE and DEME Concessions Wind) to build the 1 GW Vinh Phong offshore wind plant in Vietnam.
Vietnam has 600 MW of wind capacity, including 99 MW offshore, accounting for less than 1% of the country’s installed capacity (69 GW in 2020).
Russia will start building two new reactors at Kola in 2028
22 Jun 2021
Rosatom plans to start building two 600 MW nuclear reactors at the 1,644 MW Kola nuclear plant in the Murmansk region (Russia) in 2028. The first unit should be operational in 2034. The two new units will be two-loop water-cooled VVER-600 reactors, based on the design of larger VVER-1200 reactors. The Kola nuclear plants comprise four reactors rated 411 MW each, which entered operations between 1973 and 1984. They are due to be decommissioned between 2033 and 2039.
The Baltic Pipe gas project authorised to restart construction in Denmark
22 Jun 2021
The Danish Environmental Protection Agency has authorised the 10 bcm/year gas pipeline Baltic Pipe to restart construction in selected areas in the country. The project will be delayed by 3 months from October 2022 to the end of 2022. The Baltic Pipe project is a proposed gas pipeline project between Denmark and Poland, which secured an environmental permit to build an onshore section across Denmark in July 2019. Earlier in June 2021, the Danish Environmental and Food Appeals Board cancelled the permit for the pipeline project on land, due to environmental concerns over the local fauna.
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