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The government of Ecuador has decided to repeal the law ending fuel subsidies that was announced 10 days before and that sparked mass protests. The government will discuss with indigenous leaders a new law to ensure fuel subsidies are not used by fuel smugglers.

Subsidies on gasoline and diesel were introduced in the 1970s and are estimated at around US$1.4bn, burdening the budget. The government had agreed to liberalise fuel prices under a US$4.2bn deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The announced removal of subsidies led to a nearly 30% increase in gasoline prices and to a 123% surge in diesel prices, prompting nationwide protests, and the declaration of the state of emergency.

Earlier in October 2019, Ecuador announced that it would leave the OPEC and planned to raise its crude oil production from around 516 kb/d in 2017 to 560 kb/d in 2019 and 590 kb/d in 2020.

 

According to the Fiscal Monitor released by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), finance ministers worldwide could reshape the fiscal policies to discourage CO2 emissions from fossil fuels to curb climate change. Carbon taxes are presented as the most powerful and efficient tools, but only if they are implemented in a fair way, i.e.

The French constitutional court has rejected an appeal by Total and upheld a law excluding palm oil from the national biofuel scheme. The constitutional court has ruled that the Parliament was right to adopt in late 2018 a resolution removing a tax exemption on palm oil-based products as of 1 January 2020, taking into account palm oil culture’s indirect effects on greenhouse gas emissions.

BP expects to deliver divestment proceeds and announced transactions totalling approximately US$10bn by the end of 2019, comprising most of its 2-year divestment programme planned to complete by the end of 2020. In 2018, BP acquired BHP’s US onshore assets for US$10.25bn and announced a US$10bn divestment programme over the next two years.

The government of Nigeria is seeking to recover US$62bn from international oil companies, considering that they failed to comply with a 1993 law regulating production sharing agreements. Under this regulation, oil companies must transfer a greater share of their revenue to the State when oil prices exceed US$20/bbl.

South African state-owned electricity utility Eskom has started legal proceeding against the latest tariff rise decided by the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (NERSA), arguing that the regulator failed to comply with the Electricity Regulation Act and the multiyear price determination methodology. …

Wind Estate has submitted three applications to the Danish Energy Agency (DEA) to conduct preliminary studies for the development of three "open door" offshore wind projects totalling up to 1.8 GW. The first application is for a 60-62 turbine wind project with a total capacity ranging between 434 and 720 MW in an area north of Djursland and east of Randers Fjord, called Treå Møllebugt.

Eni plans to quadruple the gasoline production capacity at its Luanda’s refinery in Angola from 110,000 t/year (2,200 bbl/d) to 470,000 t/year (9,400 bbl/d), with the installation of a platformer by Italian company Maire Tecnimont at a cost of US$200m. The new facility is expected to be operational in 2021. …