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Producción y mercados energéticos 15/02/19

Latest Energy News

15 February 2019

TOP STORY: Spanish government plans to phase out nuclear energy by 2035 The Spanish Ministry for the Ecological Transition has announced plans to close all the domestic nuclear power plants between 2025 and 2035 as part of the country’s objective to generate all its electricity from renewable sources by 2050. In 2018, nuclear energy accounted for 7% of the domestic installed capacity and 20% of the gross power production. Spain has 7 nuclear reactors in operation with a total combined capacity of 7.1 GW, spread over 6 sites and licensed to operate until 2020-2025: Almaraz-1 (1,011 MWe), Almaraz-2 (1,006 MWe), Asco-1 (995 MWe), Asco-2 (997 MWe), Cofrentes (1,064 MWe), Trillo-1 (1,003 MWe) and Vandellos-2 (1,045 MWe). They are owned by power utilities Iberdrola, Endesa and Naturgy. Other nuclear reactors have already been closed such as José Cabrera (142 MWe) in 2006 and Garoña (446 MWe) in 2013. In November 2018, the government unveiled a draft energy and climate plan (Plan Nacional Integrado de Energía y Clima), which aims to cover 70% of domestic power generation with renewables by 2030 (up from 23% in 2017) and 100% by 2050. It targets 35% of renewables in final energy consumption by 2030, in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 20% by 2030 and as much as 90% by 2050 compared to 1990 levels. The draft encourages the installation of at least 3 GW per year of renewable – mainly wind and solar – capacity. If the draft becomes a law, this would mean that Spain’s national objectives would outstrip the targets adopted under the EU’s clean energy package. The European Parliament and the Commission agreed in 2018 that member states would have to contribute to an EU-wide objective of 32% for renewable based power generation and 32.5% for energy efficiency uptake by 2030.

Companies Total and Saudi Aramco will develop a fuel retail network in Saudi Arabia State-run oil and gas company Saudi Aramco and Total have signed a joint venture (JV) agreement for the development of a network of fuel and retail services in Saudi Arabia. Expected to be developed on a 50:50 basis, the JV will invest approximately US$1bn over the next 6 years in the domestic fuel retail market in order to develop premium retail services and fuels. Read more Statkraft’s total power production decreased by 1.4% in 2018 (Norway) Norwegian state-held power utility Statkraft’s power generation declined by 1.4% in 2018 to 61.7 TWh, as gas-fired generation fell by 32% to 1.5 TWh. Hydro and wind power generation were stable at 57 TWh and 2.7 TWh, respectively. Most of the electricity generation is based in Nordic countries, since 79% (48.6 TWh, as in 2017) were produced in Norway and 9.7% (6 TWh, -9.1%) in Sweden. Read more Sempra Energy sells wind power assets to American Electric Power (US) North American energy infrastructure company Sempra Energy has entered an agreement with the US electric utility American Electric Power (AEP) for the divestment of its wholly-owned subsidiary Sempra Renewables, which owns 724 MW of operating wind power generation and battery assets. The total amount of the transaction nears US$1bn, of which US$551m in cash,…. Read more Policy & Regulatory US DoI announces new oil and gas lease sale in Gulf of Mexico The United States Department of the Interior (DoI) and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) will offer 78 million acres (about 316,000 km²) for GoM Lease Sale 252, a region-wide oil and gas lease sale in the Gulf of Mexico (GoM) scheduled for March 2019. Read more Forecasts Uganda’s first oil production will be delayed by one year to 2022 The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development of Uganda has delayed the startup of domestic oil production by one year until 2022. The country discovered its crude reserves more than 10 years ago but the production has been repeatedly delayed by disagreements with field operators over taxes and the development process. Besides,… Read more Infrastructure & Investments Power utility EWEC initiates 2 GW solar PV tender (UAE) Emirati state-held power and water utility Emirates Water and Electricity Company (EWEC) has issued a tender for the development of a 2,000 MW solar PV independent power project at Al Dhafra, near Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates). Read more Ørsted’s Hornsea One offshore wind project achieves first power (UK) The first turbine of Ørsted’s 1,218 MW Hornsea One offshore wind project in the North Sea (United Kingdom) has been commissioned and it has started to deliver power to the British domestic grid. The project broke ground in fourth quarter of 2017 and the export cable system was installed in December 2018, a few months ahead of schedule. Read more NNPC takes FID on ANOH offshore gas field development in Nigeria Nigerian state-run oil and gas company Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and its partners have made the final investment decision (FID) on the 4.3 tcf (121 bcm) Assa North/Ohaji South (ANOH) gas project in Imo State, Nigeria. First gas from the project is currently expected between the last quarter of 2019 and the first quarter of 2020. When fully developed,… Read more