Latest Energy News
Policy & Regulatory
European Commission unveils a new renewables projects funding scheme
11 May 2020The European Commission has launched a public consultation on draft rules to create a new EU financing mechanism to support renewable energy projects. The scheme would allow contributing EU member states to pay voluntary financial contributions into the scheme, which will be employed to tender support for new renewable projects in all EU member states willing to host such projects.
Read moreEU and Swiss ETS linking postponed to September 2020
11 May 2020The European Commission and Switzerland have decided to postpone the launch of a provisional solution for the transfer of carbon emission allowances between the EU Emission Trading Scheme (ETS) and the Swiss ETS for a few months, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The linking was initially expected in May 2020 but will now be operational in September 2020.
Read moreGreece adopts a new environmental bill easing investment in renewables
7 May 2020The Greek parliament has adopted a new environmental bill, with the objective to promote investment and accelerate the country’s economic recovery from the coronavirus crisis. The new regulation aims at simplifying investment procedure in renewables, by reducing the average environmental permit issuance period from 8 years currently to 150 days, as the country aims at ending the use of coal by 2028. It also changes rules governing land use, environmental licensing, and the management of protected areas.
Read moreThe UK Oil and Gas Authority presents strategy to support net-zero target
7 May 2020The Oil and Gas Authority (OGA) of the United Kingdom plans to modify its main goal of maximising economic recovery (MER) and to include a requirement for industry to help the UK government achieve the target of net-zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2050. Low carbon obligations on operators would comprise cutting flaring and GHG emissions as much as possible, fully assessing low carbon development options like platform electrification, and requiring negotiations in “good faith” on carbon capture and storage (CCS).
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Companies
PetroChina makes a new natural gas find in southwest China
11 May 2020PetroChina, through its affiliate PetroChina Southwest Oil and Gasfield Company (SWOG), has discovered a large gas belt with an estimated reserve of over 1,000 bcm in the Sichuan Province (southwest China). After production testing, the company extracted 1.22 mcm/d of natural gas. The Sichuan Basin has a natural gas production capacity of 15 bcm/year.
Read moreEletrobras maintains US$933m 2020 investment budget (Brazil)
11 May 2020The Brazilian power utility Eletrobras still plans to invest BRL5.3bn (US$933m) in 2020 despite the coronavirus outbreak. However, quarantine and lockdown measures could lead to delays, mainly with regards to environmental licensing.
Read moreInfrastructure & Investments
EDC will finance TC Energy’s Coastal GasLink pipeline project (Canada)
11 May 2020The Canadian export credit agency Export Development Canada (EDC) plans to lend between CAD250m (US$179m) and CAD500m (US$359m) to TC Energy to build the Coastal GasLink, a 670-km long gas pipeline linking the Western Canadian basin in northeast British Columbia to the West Coast around Kitimat (BC), where the shipped gas will be liquefied at the Shell-led LNG Canada project. Coastal GasLink took a final investment decision on the pipeline in October 2018 and the project broke ground in early 2019 with commissioning expected in 2023.
Read moreThird train of Freeport LNG starts commercial operations (US)
11 May 2020The third 5 Mt/year (6.75 bcm/year) liquefaction train of the Freeport LNG project in Texas (United States) has officially started commercial operations.
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