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Producción y mercados energéticos 17/01/19

Latest Energy News

17 January 2019

TOP STORY: New York state (US) pledges to develop 9 GW of offshore wind by 2035 The governor of New York (United States) has announced a new offshore wind capacity target of 9,000 MW for 2035, which is a nearly fourfold increase compared with the previous target of 2.4 GW by 2030. The additions in offshore wind capacity are essential in order to achieve its renewable electricity target of 70% by 2030, up from the previous target of 50%. The state also committed to 6,000 MW of solar capacity (up from 3 GW) and to double its onshore wind capacity by 2025. Around US$1.5bn will be invested in offshore wind and other renewable projects in 2019. The state also committed itself to move to 100% carbon-free electricity by 2040 in December 2018, shortly after the notice of a new policy setting an electricity storage objective of 3,000 MW by 2030 with an interim goal of 1,500 MW by 2025. The state of New York is moving forward quickly with the development of renewable energies and launched an 800 MW offshore wind solicitation in November 2018.

Companies Californian power utility PG&E may file for bankruptcy (US) Californian energy utility Pacific Gas & Electric Company (PG&E) is preparing to seek bankruptcy protection under Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code, amid pressure from potentially staggering liabilities related to wildfires in 2017 and 2018 (estimated at more than US$30bn). Once the company files for this chapter,… Read more Energy Markets Algeria cuts crude oil output by 25,000 bbl/d under OPEC agreement Under the OPEC and non-OPEC agreement to reduce global oil output, Algeria has decided to reduce its oil production by around 24,000 bbl/d – 25,000 bbl/d from the current 1.08 mb/d. According to the state-run oil and gas company Sonatrach, the country still has some spare production capacity and only reduced its production in order to respect the agreement’s quota. Read more Forecasts EIA forecasts global crude oil prices to stand at US$65/bbl in 2020 According to the United States Energy Information Administration (EIA), global benchmark brent crude oil prices are predicted to average US$61/bbl in 2019 and US$65/bbl in 2020, which is higher than the prices recorded at the end of 2018 but lower than the 2018 overall average of US$71/bbl. As a result,… Read more Infrastructure & Investments TenneT will connect Hollandse Kust (Zuid) wind park to the Dutch grid Swedish power company Vattenfall has signed an agreement with the Dutch power transmission system operator TenneT for the offshore grid connection of the 1,400 MW Hollandse Kust Zuid 1 and 2 projects off the South Holland coast. The agreement entails the connection between the two 700 MW wind parks and TenneT’s Hollandse Kust Zuid Alpha offshore platform. Read more China plans to build a 6 GW subsidy-free wind project in Inner Mongolia China’s State Power Investment Corporation (SPIC) has announced plans to build a 6,000 MW subsidy-free onshore wind complex in Inner Mongolia (northern China). Read more Equinor takes lion’s share in Norwegian APA oil and gas licensing round The Norwegian Ministry of Petroleum and Energy has offered ownership interests in 83 production licenses on the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS) to 33 companies in the Awards in Predefined Areas (APA) 2018. This is the largest number ever awarded in one licensing round. Out of the 83 production licenses, 37 are located in the North Sea, 32 in the Norwegian Sea, and 14 in the Barents Sea. Read more