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This month, we examine the latest developments in gas markets, with a focus on the United States and China. This brief is by Karine Pollier, Enerdata’s Head of Energy Statistics and Morgan Crenes, Enerdata’s Head of Market Research.

G20 Energy & Emissions: Was 2018 a Repetition of 2017?

The latest final statistics show that 2018 was not exceedingly different from 2017, with very similar energy consumption trends. Global energy consumption in G20 countries continued to grow in 2018 at the rather same rate as in 2017 (+2.1%) with the most significant increases in natural gas (+4.8%) and electricity (3.7%). These growth rates are the result of robust economic growth in most G20 countries, plus increased heating and cooling needs in some countries. Figure 1 shows key figures for 2018.

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The National Energy Administration (NEA) of China has set mandatory renewable power quota for each of its provinces for 2019 and 2020, requiring local grid companies to buy a defined volume of renewable electricity. The scheme is divided in two: quotas for renewable energy excluding hydropower.  …

Italian energy group Eni has made a new light oil discovery on the Ndungu exploration prospect, in the Block 15/06, in Angola’s deep offshore. The new discovery is estimated to hold up to 250 mbl of light oil in place.

The US Energy Information Administration expects the end of the Production Tax Credit (PTC) mechanism at the end of 2019 to accelerate wind capacity additions in the United States in 2019: up to 12.7 GW of new wind capacity could be added during the year, i.e. slightly below the 2012 record (13.3 GW), when the PTC was initially due to expire. Nearly 45% of the 2019 new wind capacity – i.e.

Beatrice Offshore Windfarm Limited (BOWL) has commissioned the last of 84 offshore wind turbines at the 588 MW Beatrice offshore wind park, located in the Outer Moray Firth in Scotland (United Kingdom), after three years of construction. The project was approved by the Scottish government in March 2014 and granted an Investment Contract by the UK government in May 2014. …

The Norwegian Ministry of Petroleum and Energy (MPE) has approved the plan for development and operation (PDO) of the second phase of the Johan Sverdrup oil field development submitted by national oil and gas group Equinor. …

Polish energy group Polska Grupa Energetyczna (PGE) has synchronised the 900 MW Opole-6 coal-fired power unit to the Polish power transmission network. The unit should be commissioned before the end of 2019, along with a similar 900 MW ultra-super critical (USC) unit – Opole-5 – that was already synchronised to the grid in January 2019.

The first liquefaction train of the Cameron LNG export project in Hackberry, Louisiana (United States) has started to produce LNG, reaching an important milestone for the project. The US$10bn Phase 1 of the Cameron LNG export project will include three trains of 4.5 Mt/year each (total of 13.5 Mt/year), with trains 2 and 3 set to be operational in late 2019 and mid-2020, respectively.