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According to the Carbon Tracker Initiative (UK), since 2018, major oil & gas companies have approved around US$50bn of new investments that will not be able to thrive if countries comply with the Paris Agreement’s goal to keep global temperature rise below 1.5-2˚C. A further US$21bn non-Paris-aligned project pipeline is set to be approved by end-2019.

The US$50bn correspond to 18 major projects that will be in financial constraints under a +2˚C-max world. The report shows that majors players have spent up to 30% of their investments in projects non-consistent with the target, which require an oil price above US$40/bbl (the estimated threshold for viable projects under a 1.6˚C scenario). Players with the most risk of stranded assets are ExxonMobil, Shell, Total, Chevron, BP and Eni. 

Among the projects listed are ExxonMobil’s US$2.6bn Aspen oil sands project in Canada, Shell’s US$13bn LNG project in Canada, BP’s US$4.3bn ACG deepwater oil project (Azerbaijan) and BP’s US$1.3bn Zinia 2 deepwater oil project (Angola).

US power producer NextEra Energy has agreed to sell US$1.5bn of equity units to Barclays, Goldman Sachs, and Credit Suisse, with each unit valued at US$50. The net proceeds, which are expected to be US$1.45bn, will be added to the fund of its subsidiary NextEra Energy Capital Holdings, to finance investments in energy projects and other expenses. …

Russian oil & gas company Rosneft, Sodeco, ExxonMobil and ONGC Videsh (all partners at the Sakhalin-1 oil field exploration project) have decided to build the 6.2 Mt/year Far East LNG project the De Kastri port in the Khabarovsk region (Russia).  …

US ExxonMobil plans on selling its Norwegian oil & gas exploration assets to Italian Eni’s affiliate Vår Energi for a total consideration of NOK38bn (US$4.2bn). ExxonMobil carries minority stake on 20 fields across Norway, all operated by Equinor and Shell. The company’s oil output in Norway reached 96,000 bbl/d and 374 bcf/d (10.5 mcm/d) in 2018.  …

The Indian state of Rajasthan has plans to reach 50 GW of total solar installed capacity within the next 6 years, with an intermediary target of 25 GW by 2021-2022. The new target is part of a proposed policy package to establish the state as a solar hub and includes proposals to develop decentralized, grid-connected solar projects between 500 kW and 3 MW.

Kenya has received almost US$200m in financing for the expansion of its Last Mile Connectivity Project. The French Development Agency and the European Union (EU) contributed US$132m, while the European Investment Bank (EIB) provided US$66.3m.

Pakistan LNG has issued a note listing the 9 companies that were qualified under the LNGT15 LNG supply tender process for its floating Storage regasification Unit (FSRU) at Port Qasim, Karachi (Pakistan).

According to a recent report, the World Nuclear Association foresees that the world’s uranium resources are enough to respond to the nuclear reactor’s demand beyond 2040. The current level of uranium production, which fell 14% between 2016 and 2018 (to 53,498 tU) is preventing further development of the technology.

Argentinian state-owned energy corporation YPF (Yacimientos Petrolíferos Fiscales) is determined to pursue its US$5bn LNG export terminal project, despite Argentina’s current political and financial situation.