Latest Energy News
Policy & Regulatory
Hungary aims to become carbon-neutral by 2050
9 Jun 2020The Hungarian parliament has adopted a law to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, supporting the EU net-zero emissions strategy. In the medium term, the country remains committed to a binding greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction target of at least 40% by 2030 compared to 1990, like other EU countries.
Read morePortugal initiates a 700 MW solar tender
9 Jun 2020The Directorate-General of Energy and Geology (DGEG) of Portugal has launched a 700 MW auction for large scale solar projects. The bid submission period will end on 31 July 2020. The auction was initially expected in January 2020 but was postponed to March 2020 and then suspended due to the pandemic.
Read moreFossil fuel subsidies fell by 18% in 2019 in 77 OCDE and G20 economies
9 Jun 2020According to the OECD, government support for the production and consumption of fossil fuels (coal, oil, gas and petroleum products) in 77 economies declined by 18% from US$582bn in 2018 to US$478bn in 2019, mostly due to a drop in global oil prices reducing consumption subsidies. However, support for fossil fuel production and consumption rose by 10% in 44 OECD and G20 countries to US$178bn in 2019, mostly through investments in infrastructure, budgetary support to absorb corporate debt or preferential tax treatment for spending on production.
Read moreGermany will spend €11bn to lower EEG renewable surcharge in 2021-2022
8 Jun 2020Under a two-year €130bn stimulus package, the German government coalition plans to lower levies on power prices for households and small businesses and to invest in hydrogen technologies.
Read moreEnergy & Climate Markets
CEZ phases out 440 MW Prunerov I coal-fired power plant (Czech Republic)
9 Jun 2020The Czech state-owned power group ČEZ has shut down the 440 MW Prunéřov I coal power plant in the Czech Republic, which was commissioned in 1967.
Read moreOman’s PDO intends to produce 700,000 bbl/d of oil by 2024
9 Jun 2020Oman’s state-owned oil company Petroleum Development Oman (PDO) has raised its crude oil production target, from 670,000 bbl/d in 2023 to 700,000 bbl/d by 2024. Part of the production increase will come from the Rabab Harweel project that started operations in 2018 and is ramping up production to its plateau level of 76,000 bbl/d, thanks to an enhanced oil recovery (EOR) project. In addition, the Yibal Khuff project will start up in February 2021 and will produce another 10,000 bbl/d of crude oil and 5 mcm/d of gas.
Read moreForecasts
Indonesia intends to reach oil product self-sufficiency by 2026
9 Jun 2020According to the Indonesian government, Indonesia’s oil product demand is expected to rise by 3.2%/year to 1.47 mb/d by 2026 (+12%). Meanwhile, the country’s refined product output should rise by around 70%, to reach 1.5 mb/d by 2026. Thus, Indonesia would be self-sufficient for oil products as of 2026, instead of its 2023 target.
Read moreInfrastructure & Investments
Ecuador officially commissions 270 MW Minas hydropower project
9 Jun 2020Ecuador’s state-owned power utility Celec has officially commissioned the 270 MW Minas hydropower project in Southern Ecuador, which was built by the Chinese company Harbin Electric. In 2013, Ecuador secured a US$312.5m loan from the Export-Import Bank of China for the construction of the project. Commissioning was originally scheduled in 2015.
Read moreAker Energy plans to revive Pecan offshore oil project in Ghana
9 Jun 2020Aker Energy to revive plans to develop its Pecan deep-water oilfield off Ghana that it froze in April 2020 due to the fall in oil prices and the coronavirus outbreak. The Norwegian oil and gas company intends to divide the project into two phases, beginning with a floating production, storage and offloading unit (FPSO) in the south and later adding a second unit in the north. It would reduce the field’s break-even cost and increase the likelihood of making a final investment decision (FID), which was originally planned in 2020.
Read moreCompanies
South Africa power utility Eskom delays its unbundling after 2022
8 Jun 2020According to Eskom’s CEO, the South African state-owned power utility will not meet the unbundling timetable due to legal processes. As presented in November 2019, the company was expected to be split into three separate companies dedicated to power generation, transmission and distribution by the end of 2022. The 3 companies would remain under a state-owned holding company but Eskom would abandon its near-monopoly and face increased competition from independent power producers (IPPs) with lower power generation costs.
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