Daily Energy News
Policy & Regulatory
South Korea intends to close 30 coal-fired power plants by 2034
9 Sep 2020The government of South Korean plans to shut down 10 existing coal-fired power plants by 2022, and another 20 by 2034, in a bid to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and to promote renewable energy sources. Four coal-fired units have already been closed, namely Yeongdong Units 1 and 2 (325 MW) and Seocheon Units 1 and 2 (400 MW).
Read moreMexico plans to stop exporting crude oil in 2024
9 Sep 2020Mexico intends to stop exporting crude oil abroad by 2024. The government plans to leave greater reserves at the end of the mandate (2024) than those that were registered at the time of initiation (2018) and will seek not to overexploit oil resources. Consequently, it proposes to produce only what is needed for domestic consumption, to process its entire production in the country – thus stopping exporting crude oil – and to reach self-sufficiency in petroleum products.
Read moreEgypt delays electricity sector privatisation to 2025
8 Sep 2020The Egyptian government has delayed from 2023 to 2025 the deadline to privatise the electricity sector and to transition from a market player to the electricity market regulator. In 2015, the country passed a law that required the government to privatise the state-owned electric companies and to separate power generation from transmission and distribution.
Read moreCompanies
Eesti Energia acquires a 100 MW onshore wind project in Finland
9 Sep 2020Enefit Green, the renewable subsidiary of Estonian state-owned energy group Eesti Energia, has completed the acquisition of the 100 MW Tolpanvaara onshore wind project in Finland from the Finnish state-owned enterprise Metsähallitus, which manage state-owned forests in Finland. The two parties entered into an agreement in 2018. Eesti Energia intends to produce 43% of electricity and heat from renewables in 2024.
Read moreVeolia buys EPH’s CHP, district heating assets in Hungary and Czechia
9 Sep 2020EP Infrastructure, an affiliate of EPH (69%) and Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets (MIRA) (31%), has sold its 95.6% stake in Budapesti Erőmű Zrt. (BERT), which owns three gas-fired CHP plants in Budapest (Hungary) to Veolia. The CHP plants have a combined capacity of 1,402 MWt / 396 MWe and cover 56% of the heat consumption of FÖTÁV Zrt., a municipal district heating network operator owned by the city of Budapest. The transaction, whose amount was not disclosed, still needs to be approved by the Hungarian competition authority.
Read moreCairn Energy sells stake in RSSD oil project (Senegal) to Woodside
8 Sep 2020Woodside Petroleum has entered into a binding sale and purchase agreement to buy Cairn Energy’s 40% stake in the Rufisque Offshore, Sangomar Offshore and Sangomar Deep Offshore (RSSD) project in Senegal. In August 2020, Woodside Petroleum had pre-empted the sale by Cairn Energy’s wholly-owned subsidiary Capricorn Senegal to Lukoil of its project. Woodside will make an upfront payment of US$300m, along with contingent payments of up to US$100m. The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2020.
Read moreInfrastructure & Investments
CNNC completes hot tests at Karachi-2 nuclear power project (Pakistan)
9 Sep 2020China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) has completed hot functional tests at the second unit of the Karachi nuclear power plant in Pakistan. Two 1,100 MW Chinese-designed ACP-1000 units (Hualong One reactors) are currently being built near Karachi in the Sindh province. Construction started in 2015 at unit-2 and in 2016 at unit-3. The two reactors are expected to be commissioned in 2021 and 2022, respectively.
Read more1,000 kV Hebei-Xiong’an power transmission line commissioned in China
9 Sep 2020The State Grid Corporation of China has commissioned the Zhangbei-Xiong’an 1,000 kV ultra-high voltage (UHV) alternating current (AC) power transmission and transformation project. The project entered construction in April 2019 and required an investment of CNY5.98bn (US$876m). The 315 km-long transmission line connects the renewable demonstration zone in Zhangjiakou in the Hebei province (North China) to the Xiong’an New Area. The renewable capacity in Zhangjiakou reaches 2 GW and is forecasted to attain 5 GW in 2030.
Read morePetroChina commissions 3.5 Mt/year Daqing refinery extension (China)
9 Sep 2020PetroChina, the listed branch of state-owned China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), has extended the capacity of its Daqing refinery in the Heilongjiang province (northeast China) from 6.5 Mt/year to 10 Mt/year, after a two-year upgrade, which will allow the plant to process 3.5 Mt/year of Russian ESPO Blend crude oil. The upgrade project, which included the revamping of a 1.2 Mt/year hydrocracker and 1.2 Mt/year gasoline and diesel hydrotreating units, required a CNY4.5bn (US$660m) investment.
Read moreChennai Petroleum plans a new 9 Mt/year refinery in Tamil Nadu (India)
9 Sep 2020The Indian Ministry of Environment has approved Chennai Petroleum Corporation’s 9 Mt/year Cauvery Basin refinery project in the Nagapattinam district of Tamil Nadu. The greenfield refinery project will require an INR330bn (US$4.5bn) investment. The new refinery will be able to produce 4 Mt/year of diesel, 1.8 Mt/year of gasoline of BS-VI grade, 0.6 Mt/year of LPG and 0.3 Mt/year of aviation fuels.
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