2024-11-15 08:00

Nov 15 (Reuters) - British energy regulator Ofgem said on Friday a 2 billion pounds ($2.53 billion) funding package has been greenlit to build nearly 200 kilometres of new subsea and underground cables to boost energy security and cut bills. The project, which was initially awarded last year, will reduce Britain's reliance on volatile international gas markets by further harnessing the power of the homegrown North Sea wind, the regulator said. The project could help consumers save more than 870 million pounds in bills annually, Ofgem said, by cutting the need to compensate British wind generators due to lack of grid capacity. Ofgem said its fast-track process would give developers access to some initial upfront funding from the projected budget so they can secure the supply chain commitments needed to deliver the project as soon as possible. Of the 196 kilometers of cables for the Eastern Green Link 1, 176 km will be under the North Sea and the remaining 20 km underground linking the cable to substations and converter stations in Scotland and England, it said. "However, streamlining our process does not mean we've handed a blank cheque to the developers. We've built in safeguards," Ofgem Director of Major Projects Beatrice Filkin said in a statement. ($1 = 0.7891 pounds) Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/uk-energy-regulator-green-lights-253-bln-funding-new-subsea-cable-2024-11-15/

2024-11-15 07:53

PENANG, Malaysia, Nov 15 (Reuters) - Iran's condensate exports to China and the United Arab Emirates will probably decline if U.S. President-elect Donald Trump tightens sanctions on Tehran, but supply to Venezuela would continue, analysts at consultancy FGE said. Offsetting the loss in Iranian supply, more condensate will be produced from projects in Qatar and Saudi Arabia from 2026, they added. Condensate, an ultra light oil, is typically processed at splitters to produce mainly petrochemical feedstock naphtha or used as a diluent for heavy crude such as those from Venezuela. Iran currently exports 100,000-150,000 barrels per day (bpd) of condensate which mainly goes to China, Venezuela and the United Arab Emirates, according to FGE. If Trump tightens sanctions on Iran, its condensate exports to UAE and China will likely fall or stop completely as there are less buyers for the ultra light oil than for Iranian crude, Iman Nasseri, a managing director at FGE, told the Condensate & Naphtha Forum. However, Iranian condensate exports to Venezuela, at around 30,000 bpd, would continue, he added. The Middle East produces around 2.5 million bpd of condensate, accounting for about 40% of global supply, with more production to come from gas fields in Qatar and Saudi Arabia. Qatar's North Field Expansion project, expected to start from the first quarter of 2026, will add 400,000 bpd condensate capacity though 2030, said FGE analyst Samuel Ho. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia is expected to launch the Phase 1 of its Jafurah Basin development by 2026 with potentially 100,000 bpd of condensate production capacity, and Phase 2 sometime in 2028 with potentially over 200,000 bpd of condensate production capacity, he added. More condensate supply is expected to come from Asia, Vietnam and Indonesia, as well as Africa, Ho said, as countries boost natural gas production for energy transition. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/china-uae-may-cut-iran-condensate-imports-if-trump-tightens-curbs-fge-says-2024-11-15/

2024-11-15 07:52

BUDAPEST, Nov 15 (Reuters) - The European Union needs to reconsider sanctions against Russia as they are keeping energy prices elevated, hindering the bloc's economic competitiveness, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on Friday. European Union leaders signed a declaration on competitiveness at their informal summit last week. "Energy prices need to be lowered by all means. This means that sanctions need to be reconsidered because under the current sanctions policy, energy prices will not go lower," Orban said in an interview on Hungarian public radio. Orban said U.S. companies pay a quarter of the amount their European counterparts spend on gas and electricity, a disadvantage that could not be overcome by other means. Since Russia invaded Ukraine in early 2022, Orban has emerged as a vocal critic of EU sanctions against Moscow and the bloc's financial and military support for its neighbour. While countries in western Europe have made serious efforts to wean themselves off Russian energy, landlocked Hungary gets 80-85% of its gas from Russia, with 80% of its crude oil supplies also coming from its former communist ally. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/eu-needs-rethink-russian-sanctions-cut-energy-costs-hungarys-orban-says-2024-11-15/

2024-11-15 07:26

NAIROBI, Nov 15 (Reuters) - The Kenyan shilling was barely changed on Friday, as dollar supply from exports matched demand from the manufacturing sector and oil retailing companies , one trader said. The shilling traded at 128.70/129.70 at 0716 GMT, LSEG data showed, compared with Thursday's closing rate of 128.75/129.75. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/currencies/kenyan-shilling-stable-export-dollar-inflows-match-demand-2024-11-15/

2024-11-15 07:23

Oct refinery runs 14.02 mln bpd, down 4.6% y/y Jan-Oct refinery runs 14.14 mln bpd, down 2% y/y Refinery closures offset new plant, holiday travel Declines are deeper, Reuters calculations off 2023 data show Nov 15 (Reuters) - China's refinery throughput in October fell 4.6% from last year, down from year earlier for a seventh month, as plant closures offset the ramp up of a newly started complex and demand from holiday travel, official data showed on Friday. Refiners processed 59.54 million metric tons of crude oil last month, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed, equivalent to 14.02 million barrels per day (bpd). The October figure was down from September's 14.3 million bpd and 15.05 million bpd in October 2023. Additionally, Reuters' calculations based on last year's NBS figure of 63.93 million tons showed October output contracted 6.9%, which suggests the data agency has revised down the year-ago figures. Throughput slid even as Yulong Petrochemical, China's newest refiner that started up one of its two 200,000-bpd crude processors in late September, has raised the unit's operations to about 90% of capacity. And it slumped even as analysts reported last month's consumption of aviation fuel and gasoline rose as more people travelled for the National Day golden week holiday. Some of the throughput decline appeared to occur at smaller independent plants known as teapots. Data from consultancy Sublime China Information showed these plants, mostly located in the refining hub of Shandong province, were operating at 58.7% of their capacity by late October, sharply below the 77% rate a year earlier. Five Chinese refineries were fully closed or under maintenance, Sublime said. These include Sinochem's plants at Zhenghe, Huaxing and Changyi that were declared bankrupt in September, a Sublime analyst said. PetroChina's shutdown of a 90,000-bpd crude unit at its plant in northeastern Dalian, part of a massive relocation project, also contributed to the lower throughput. For the first 10 months of the year, the NBS data showed throughput was 590.59 million tons, or 14.14 million bpd, down 2% year-on-year, the fifth decline for year-to-date volumes. Similarly, Reuters' calculations using last year's reported data of 590.59 million metric tons showed a larger decline of 4.55% for the 10-month period. Domestic crude oil production last month gained 2.5% on the year to 17.17 million tons, or 4.04 million bpd, the NBS data showed. Year-to-date output rose 2% from a year earlier to 177.64 million tons, or 4.25 million bpd. Natural gas production expanded 8.4% in October from a year ago to 20.8 billion cubic meters (bcm), and year-to-date output rose 6.7% to 203.9 bcm, the data showed. (1 metric ton = 7.3 barrels crude oil) Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/chinas-oil-refinery-output-falls-year-ago-seventh-month-2024-11-15/

2024-11-15 07:19

JOHANNESBURG, Nov 15 (Reuters) - The rand eased early on Friday, extending a week of losses following Donald Trump's U.S. election win, and ahead of S&P Global's scheduled review of South Africa's sovereign credit rating. At 0705 GMT, the rand traded at 18.28 against the U.S. dollar , about 0.2% weaker than its previous close. The rand has endured five sessions of losses as the dollar rallied after Trump's victory, while markets fretted over potential policies by the president-elect, which could include tariffs and tax cuts. Investors will on Friday look to S&P Global's scheduled review of South Africa's sovereign credit rating. Analysts expect Africa's most industrialised economy to remain three notches into sub-investment grade at 'BB-', with a stable outlook. On the Johannesburg stock market, the blue-chip Top-40 index (.JTOPI) , opens new tab was flat. South Africa's benchmark 2030 government bond was little changed in early deals, with the yield at 9.155%. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/currencies/south-african-rand-extends-losses-sp-rating-review-due-2024-11-15/