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OPEC members and allied oil producers – the so-called OPEC+ – have decided to extend voluntary production adjustments for an additional period of nine months, from 1 July 2019 to 31 March 2020. The latest agreement between OPEC and non-OPEC oil producers was reached in December 2018. The parties agreed to jointly reduce crude oil production by 1.2 mb/d, effective as of January 2019 for an initial period of six months, in an attempt to strengthen global oil prices.  The cuts are shared among OPEC countries (0.8 mb/d, Iran, Libya and Venezuela being exempted) and non-OPEC countries such as Russia (0.4 mb/d). Most of the actual reduction in OPEC’s production comes from production losses in Iran and Venezuela.

The shareholders of the Brazilian power group Neoenergia, namely Iberdrola (52.45%), pension fund Previ (38.21%) and Banco do Brasil Investimentos (9.34%) have completed the initial public offering (IPO) of Neoenergia. The company has begun trading in the Novo Mercado segment of the São Paulo B3 stock market (formerly Bovespa).

Saudi Arabia’s state-run oil and gas company Saudi Aramco has confirmed plans to launch an initial public offering (IPO) in 2020-2021, once the acquisition of a 70% stake in Saudi petrochemical group SABIC will be completed.

The Directorate General of Hydrocarbons (DGH) under the Indian Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas has announced the results of the second and third rounds of oil and gas auctions held under the Open Acreage Licensing Policy (OALP).

The eastern Chinese province of Shandong (100 million inhabitants), one of the most industrialised provinces of the country, has decided to cut its coal consumption by 50 Mt in five years, in an attempt to switch to cleaner energies and to reduce its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. This would correspond to a 13% cut, based on the coal consumption target set for 2018 (378 Mt).

The Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) of Pakistan has announced that gas prices would triple, shortly before the International Monetary Fund (IMF) decides whether to approve a US$6bn loan to the country. The price increase, the third since the new government took office in August 2018, is expected to ease a more than US$1bn deficit at state-owned gas suppliers Sui Northern and Sui Southern.

According to the Central Electricity Authority (CEA) of India, the share of coal in the Indian power mix should remain dominant until 2030, despite a planned decline from around 73% in 2018 to around 50% in 2030. This erosion is related to the current boom in solar and wind projects.

Sweihan PV Power Company, the joint venture of Abu Dhabi Power Corporation (AD Power, 60%), Marubeni (20%) and JinkoSolar (20%), has commissioned the 1,177 MW Sweihan solar PV project in Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates). The project has secured a 25-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with the Emirates Water and Electricity Company (EWEC). …