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Producción y mercados energéticos 07/02/19

Latest Energy News

07 February 2019

TOP STORY: South Africa will implement a new carbon tax as of June 2019 The Parliament of South Africa has approved a law that will implement a carbon tax as of June 2019. The carbon tax was set at ZAR120/tCO2eq (US$8.85/tCO2eq) but due to many tax-free allowances, the effective tax will range from ZAR6/tCO2eq (US$44c/tCO2eq) to ZAR48/tCO2eq (US$3.5/CO2et). The tax-free allowances are limited to 95% of the tax amount and could be eliminated in 2022. The tax will be applied in two phases. The first phase will go from June 2019 to December 2022 and will impact sectors with a thermal capacity above 10 MW (except the agriculture forestry and other land use and waste), while the second phase will go from 2023 to 2030. After the first phase, a study on the impacts in emissions will be conducted. Following the COP21 in 2015, South Africa ratified the Paris Agreement in November 2016 and submitted its NDC, in which the country committed to unconditionally keep its GHG emissions between 398 MtCO2eq and 614 MtCO2eq by 2025 and 2030. These efforts will lead GHG emissions to peak between 2020 and 2025, plateau for a ten-year period from 2025 to 2035 and decline from 2036 onwards.

Companies Equinor’s hydrocarbon production rose by 1.5% in 2018 Norwegian oil and gas company Equinor has released its 2018 results, posting a 46% increase in net operating income (US$20bn) thanks to higher oil and gas prices (over 30% increase in prices) and higher volumes. In 2018 hydrocarbon production rose by 1.5% to 2.1 mboe/d, including 1.1 mboe/d of liquids (-1%) and 979 kboe/d of gas (+4%). Proved reserves rose by 15% to nearly 6.2 Gboe,… Read more Greece’s PPC examines other options if coal-fired capacity sale fails Greek state-owned power utility Public Power Corporation (PPC) is going ahead with its effort to sell three coal-fired power plants corresponding to 40% of its lignite-fired capacity along with a license for the construction of a fourth one. However,… Read more Energy Markets Kansai Electric delays nuclear reactor’s restart (Japan) Japanese power utility Kansai Electric has informed the Fukui Prefecture (Japan) that the restart of the Takahama-1, Takahama-2 and Mihama-3 nuclear reactors (all rated 780 MW) must be delayed by around 9 months, as safety works will require more time than anticipated. Read more Infrastructure & Investments Indonesian government advocates for the 15 Mt/year Tuban refinery The government of Indonesia advocates for the construction of the Tuban refinery, as residents in the East Java region strongly object to the project and have delayed the land acquisition process and the start of construction. Read more EIB approves €670m support for renewables in Europe, Africa and Asia The European Investment Bank (EIB) has approved a €670m financing to support renewables in Europe, Africa and Asia. Projects include upgrading the electricity transmission grid of Finland, promoting the use of residential and commercial solar systems in Africa and Asia,… Read more ExxonMobil and QP made FID on US$10bn Golden Pass LNG project (USA) ExxonMobil and Qatar Petroleum have reached final investment decision (FID) on the development of the US$10bn Golden Pass project in Sabine Pass, Texas (United States). The LNG export project will consist of three liquefaction trains rated 5.2 Mt/year each (15.6 Mt/year). Construction will start in the first quarter of 2019 and commissioning is expected for 2024. Read more