Global energy ,automotive news, commentary and analysis; Oil demand growth in 2025 forecast to reach 1–1.4 million bpd
London, December 19, 2024 (Oilandgaspress) –-People across the world reported that climate change was on their minds. Globally, 56% said they were thinking about it regularly, i.e. daily or weekly, including some 63% of those in Least Developed Countries (LDCs).
More than half of people globally said they were more worried than last year about climate change. This was much higher across the nine Small Island Developing States surveyed – as much as 71% said they were more worried than last year about climate change.
69% of people globally also said their big decisions like where to live or work were being impacted by climate change. Read More
Hyundai’s high-performance IONIQ 5 N electric SUV has been awarded The Drive’s Best EV of 2024 award, marking a back-to-back repeat win for the Hyundai brand that won the same award in 2023 with the IONIQ 6. The Drive’s editorial staff declared IONIQ 5 N the winner against a tough field of more expensive competitors well outside of IONIQ 5 N’s direct competition. “It’s such a huge honor for the IONIQ 5 N performance SUV to be named The Drive’s Best EV of 2024,” said Olabisi Boyle, senior vice president of product planning and mobility strategy at Hyundai Motor North America. “We feel the IONIQ 5 N is a beast, with features like N e-Shift and N Grin Boost, the 5 N flips the script on what EVs can do—bringing serious power and excitement to the streets and proving electric performance can truly thrill.” The Drive concludes, “Hyundai’s electron-shredding hot hatchback is among the most fun you can have for under six figures, regardless of powertrain….Hyundai managed to add simulated gearshifts and engine noise in a way that feels fun and extremely, eerily convincing. It is handily the most fun electric car I’ve driven so far, and yes, mostly because it does not feel like an electric car.” Read More
Three companies have been offered exploration licences for CO2 storage in two areas in the North Sea.
The authorities have reviewed applications from six companies following announcement of three suitable acreage in June 2024.
The companies are:
Aker BP ASA
Equinor Low Carbon Solutions AS
Harbour Energy Norge AS
This is the seventh time acreage is being awarded for CO2 storage pursuant to the CO2 Storage Regulations. Read More
The Ministry of Energy is offering two new exploration permits for CO2 storage on the continental shelf. Both permits are located in the North Sea.
– Norway has a unique opportunity to take a leading role in large-scale commercial CO2 storage in Europe. The government is committed to facilitating CO2 storage to become a profitable and sustainable industry in Norway. Today’s awards are an important step in ensuring that the entire value chain is in place, so that our ambitious plans can be realized, says Minister of Energy Terje Aasland (Labour Party).
The two exploration permits being offered are located in the North Sea. One of the permits is being offered to a group consisting of Harbour Energy Norge AS (operator) and Equinor Low Carbon Solution AS, the other permit is being offered to a group consisting of Equinor Low Carbon Solution AS (operator) and Aker BP ASA.
The permits are offered with a binding work program, with milestones that ensure efficient progress, or return of the areas if the licensees do not implement the storage project.
– These exploration permits are offered to companies that have presented good plans for the development of CO 2 storage. A number of players in the industry have shown interest in new storage space. This makes me optimistic about further progress in the work to make CO 2 storage part of the solution to the world’s climate challenge, says Aasland. Read More
Alpine is continuing its commitment in padel, a dynamic and spectacular sport in full expansion, reflecting the brand’s DNA through its quest for sporting performance, lightness and agility, by becoming title sponsor of the opening tournament of the international season: the Hexagon Cup.
While the first edition of the Hexagon Cup attracted 28,000 visitors, Alpine is strengthening its support for the tournament, which will become the Alpine Hexagon Cup in 2025. At this year’s event, the players of the A-Padel Team (A for Alpine) will be particularly in the spotlight, with Claudia Fernandez joining the women’s team as its main player, as part of the 10 Padel franchise, a new participating team managed by Pierre Gasly, driver of the BWT Alpine F1 Team, and entrepreneur Loïc Fery.
As in the previous edition, the Alpine logo will appear on the nets and sides of the main courts, while the A110 and A290 models will be on display during the tournament in the main alleyway of the Madrid Arena site. Finally, an area dedicated to the brand will welcome the public on site to give visitors an unforgettable experience during the tournament.
New for 2025, the A290, Alpine’s new sporty city car, will be making its debut on the padel court for the duration of the tournament. Read More
On 9 January 2024 at 10:00 o’clock, you can hear the figures, trends and stories straight from Director general Torgeir Stordal.
The Shelf in 2024 is a summary of activity on the Norwegian continental shelf (NCS) over the past year: Exploration results, annual production figures and investment and production forecasts for the next five years.
The shelf has seen vigorous activity this year. Keywords include high investments, significant oil and gas production, increasing interest in storing CO2 on the NCS and ongoing efforts to learn more about seabed minerals. Future value creation for the Norwegian society will depend on continued investments in exploration and development on the shelf. This launch will take place on sodir.no (digitally). Please visit our website to find the actual report along with background figures and the presentation. Read More
Vestas has received a 224 MW order from Vinliden Vindkraft AB for the 70 MW Vinliden and 154 MW Fjällberg projects in Sweden. The projects are a joint venture of funds managed by Prime Capital AG and Polhem Infra, a leading renewables and infrastructure investor in the Nordics.
Sweden is a leader in onshore wind energy with one of Europe’s highest penetrations of renewable energy in the grid. The two projects are located in the county of Västerbotten in Northern Sweden in a region where the renewable energy industry has been active for decades and where several new companies find the area suitable for new energy projects.
The order includes supply, delivery, and commissioning of 35 V162-6.4 MW wind turbines with 24 units for Fjällberg and 11 units for Vinliden, all equipped with Vestas Anti-icing Solution. Upon completion, Vestas will service the turbines under a long-term Active Output Management 5000 (AOM 5000) service agreement designed to ensure optimised performance of the assets with the support of local service technicians for decades to come. Read More
The Ministry of Energy has today set requirements that grid companies must assess whether projects are mature before they are allowed to reserve grid capacity or a place in the capacity queue. The purpose is to ensure that projects that are actually being implemented will receive capacity in the grid.
– There are many good projects that want to be connected to the electricity grid. At the same time, there are many places in the grid that are full, and it takes time to increase capacity. To ensure that we use the grid in the best possible way, mature projects should be prioritized. These are projects that are being implemented that create value and jobs, says Energy Minister Terje Aasland.
There has been a lot of input from the consultation, and there is broad support for enshrining requirements for maturity assessments in regulations. Based on input from the consultation, the Ministry has made some changes and clarifications. See further down in the text for additional information.
– Existing businesses should have good conditions to demonstrate maturity, and thus be able to reserve capacity. The regulations facilitate existing businesses to adapt and I assume that existing businesses are prioritized if there are two projects that are otherwise equally competitive, says Aasland.
Through the Energy Act and the connection obligation, everyone who requests a connection has the right to receive it. Where there is no capacity in the network, it may take time before the players’ projects receive a connection. This proposal facilitates the prioritization of projects with the ability to be implemented. Immature projects should not displace projects that are actually ready to be realized.
The changes require grid companies to conduct a maturity assessment of connection requests of more than 1 MW. Seven criteria have been set that the grid company, as a minimum, must use in this assessment. If the maturity assessment indicates that a project is mature, the actor shall be allowed to reserve capacity or a place in the capacity queue. The actors must have progress to keep the reservation or the queue place. If they do not have sufficient progress, the grid company shall withdraw the reservation. This shall be notified in advance and justified. The changes to the regulations on network regulation and the energy market (NEM regulations) enter into force on 1 January 2025.
The Ministry maintains the proposal for a requirement for registration and reporting of time usage for connections below 1 MW. Based on a review of the consultation inputs (RME report 10-2024), some adjustments are being made to ensure that the requirements better meet the relevant connection requests. The reporting requirements will be implemented from 1 January 2026, so that grid companies can put good reporting solutions in place. Read More
Moldova is facing a challenging winter. Increased energy prices and uncertainties about gas deliveries from the new year make the country extra vulnerable. Norway is now providing a new contribution of NOK 60 million through the World Bank’s multi-donor fund M-GROW. Moldova gets most of its electricity from a gas-fired power plant in the breakaway region of Transnistria, which produces electricity with gas supplied by Russia’s Gazprom through Ukrainian pipelines. The transit agreement between Ukraine and Russia expires on December 31, 2024, and alternative routes are expected to cost significantly more. In addition, Gazprom is said to have linked the issue of further supplies to Transnistria to alleged outstanding debts, allegations that Moldova has disputed, supported by an independent audit report. Read More
| Oil and Gas Blends | Units | Oil Price | Change |
| Crude Oil (WTI) | USD/bbl | $70.56 | Up |
| Crude Oil (Brent) | USD/bbl | $73.46 | Down |
| Bonny Light 17/12/24 CBN | USD/bbl | $74.80 | Down |
| Dubai | USD/bbl | $72.85 | Down |
| Natural Gas | USD/MMBtu | $3.45 | Up |
| Murban Crude | USD/bbl | $73.50 | Down |
| OPEC basket 18/12/24 | USD/bbl | $73.73 | Up |
Renault expands its in-car entertainment offering by integrating Nextory into the catalog of applications for its connected vehicles equipped with the openR link multimedia system. Nextory, one of the European leaders in audiobook streaming, offers hundreds of thousands of ebooks and audiobooks in each respective market, with the addition of magazines in France, Sweden, and Spain. Additionally, Nextory offers selected newspapers in France. Users thus have access to ebooks and audiobooks across all categories and genres—including a wide selection of children’s books.
With more than 50 onboard applications, Renault aims to continuously offer more customization and benefits to its customers by constantly enriching the onboard experience through new collaborations with technology companies that are experts in their fields. Drivers and passengers can thus enjoy a wide range of interactive and fun entertainment, making journeys more enjoyable and exciting.
Nextory’s content is accessible anytime and anywhere on tablets and smartphones. The integration of the app into Renault’s multimedia system now allows users to extend their listening experience into their car with audiobooks and the possibility to enjoy ebook content via smartphone and tablet. Nextory users can now access their account in their Renault vehicle equipped with the openR link system. New subscribers can benefit from a Renault subscription offer at a preferential rate of € 6.99 instead of € 9.99. The Nextory application is available in France, Germany, Spain, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands, Norway, Switzerland, and Austria. Read More
Neste to supply sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) to Air New Zealand
Neste and Air New Zealand have signed an agreement for the supply of 23,000 tons (30 million liters) of neat, i.e. unblended Neste MY Sustainable Aviation Fuel™. It is the airline’s largest purchase of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) to date. The SAF will be used by Air New Zealand at Los Angeles (LAX) and San Francisco (SFO) international airports through to February 2026.
The agreement follows earlier deliveries of Neste-produced SAF to Air New Zealand at LAX in 2024 and at Auckland Airport in New Zealand in 2022. The sustainable aviation fuel will be blended with conventional jet fuel before use to meet the jet fuel specifications. The fuel will be delivered to Air New Zealand via the fuel supply systems at both US airports using Neste’s existing fuel supply capabilities into these airports.
“This purchase represents 1.6% of Air New Zealand’s total fuel supply for our financial year 2025 meaning we will reach our SAF target for the year. It is still a very small proportion of our total fuel use but it is four times more than the volume of SAF we used in our financial year 2024, so I am very happy with the trajectory. Like all airlines, we urgently need to move away from our high reliance on fossil fuels as quickly as we can, and securing year-on-year higher volumes of SAF is critical,” says Kiri Hannifin, Air New Zealand’s Chief Sustainability and Corporate Affairs Officer. Read More
DNO ASA, the Norwegian oil and gas operator, today announced that the Company’s wholly-owned subsidiary DNO Norge AS has entered into a swap agreement with OKEA ASA to farm into a 10 percent interest in PL1119 containing the Mistral prospect. In exchange, OKEA will pick up a 10 percent interest in PL1109 containing the Horatio prospect.
The Mistral prospect is located just south of the Åsgard area in the Norwegian Sea. Drilling is expected to commence shortly using the semi-submersible rig Deepsea Atlantic, targeting estimated predrill volumes of 19-57 million barrels of oil equivalent with a medium chance of success. Total drilling time is estimated at 60 days in case of a discovery. Other Mistral partners include Equinor Energy AS (50 percent and operator), Pandion Energy AS (20 percent) and OKEA (20 percent after the transaction).
DNO will retain a 20 percent interest in PL1109 following OKEA’s entry. In this license, the Horatio well is scheduled for drilling in the first quarter of 2025 using the semi-submersible rig Transocean Norge. Other Horatio partners include OMV (Norge) AS (30 percent and operator), Aker BP ASA (20 percent) and Pandion (20 percent).
There is no consideration to be paid by either party for the swap of working interests. Each party will carry its relative share of the drilling costs for the respective wells.
The transaction is subject to government approval. Read More
FREMANTLE AND WOODSIDE STRENGTHEN ONGOING PARTNERSHIP TO 2027
The Fremantle Football Club and Woodside Energy have agreed to an extension of their long-standing
partnership for an additional two years, securing the collaboration until the end of 2027.This additional two years builds upon their current agreement and continues a 15-year relationship that has delivered significant benefits to the Club and the wider Western Australian community. As the Club’s Indigenous Program Partner and co-major sponsor, Woodside’s support enables Fremantle to deepen its impact across critical community programs, including the Next Generation Academy (NGA), the Fremantle Dockers School Programs, and the ongoing implementation of Fremantle’s Stretch Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP). A key highlight of the extended partnership will be the rollout of an exciting new schools’ program in the Pilbara, set to launch in 2025. Fremantle Dockers President Chris Sutherland said the extension underscored the strength and alignment of values between the two organisations. Read More
Woodside and Chevron have agreed to an asset swap under which Woodside will acquire Chevron’s interest
in the North West Shelf (NWS) Project, the NWS Oil Project and the Angel Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) Project, and transfer all of its interest in both the Wheatstone and Julimar-Brunello Projects to Chevron. Chevron will also make a cash payment to Woodside of up to $400 million. The transaction highlights include:
Streamlines Australian portfolio and consolidates focus on operated LNG assets;
Simplifies NWS joint venture ownership, unlocking economic recovery of existing production and future development opportunities; and Strengthens near-term cash flow to support shareholder distributions and ongoing investments. Read More
Baker Hughes Rig Count: U.S. unchanged at 589 Canada -3 to 191
U.S. Rig Count is unchanged from last week at 589 with oil rigs unchanged at 482, gas rigs up 1 to 103 and miscellaneous rigs down 1 to 4.
Canada Rig Count is down 3 from last week to 191, with oil rigs down 4 to 120, gas rigs up 1 to 71 and miscellaneous rigs unchanged at 0.
International Rig Count is down 31 rigs from last month to 919 with land rigs down 14 to 712, offshore rigs down 17 to 207. International Rig Count is down 59 rigs from last year’s count of 978, with land rigs down 46, offshore rigs down 13.
The U.S. Offshore Rig Count is unchanged at 16, down 5 year-over-year.
The Worldwide Rig Count for October was 1,754, up 4 from the 1,751 counted in September 2024, and down 22, from the 1,776 counted in October 2023.
| Region | Period | Rig Count | Change |
| U.S.A | 13 December 2024 | 589 | +0 |
| Canada | 13 December 2024 | 191 | -3 |
| International | November 2024 | 919 | -31 |
Thomas Klein will become Head of Mercedes‑Benz Vans starting on March 1, 2025. He succeeds Mathias Geisen, who is appointed to the Board of Management on February 1, 2025, and will take over the Board of Management position for Sales as of March 1, 2025. Thomas Klein (46) entered the former DaimlerChrysler AG in 1999 and started his career at Mercedes‑Benz Vans in the Düsseldorf plant, before moving to the DaimlerChrysler headquarters as a marketing specialist. Read More
This November was the second warmest on record, confirming expectations that 2024 will be the hottest year since records began.
Global temperatures were on average 14.10C – 0.73C above the 1991 to 2020 average for November, according to the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S). Overall, November 2024 was 1.62C above pre-industrial levels. This makes it the 16th month out of the last 17 where global average temperatures have exceeded 1.5C above pre-industrial times. So far this year, from January to November, global average temperatures have been 0.72C above the 1991 to 2020 average. This is the highest on record for this period and 0.14C warmer than the same period in 2023. Read More
The Norwegian Offshore Directorate has granted Aker BP ASA drilling permit for wellbore 6306/6-3 S in production licence 886 and 6507/5-13 S in production licence 212, cf. Section 13 of the Resource Management Regulations. Read More
Nuclear and coal power in the EU have decreased significantly over the last 20 years, with nuclear dropping to 23% and coal to 12%, while renewables have risen. The European Union is no longer generating electricity in the manner it did two decades ago.
Nuclear-powered generation shrank to 23% of the EU’s energy mix last year, down from 32% in 2000, while coal-fired generation declined to 12% from 30% over the same period. While the electricity mix differs significantly between EU member states, renewable energy has steadily increased in nearly all of them over the past two decades. Read More
Artificial intelligence is bringing massive changes to all areas of life, including development. In this interview, Markus-Christian Eberl, CEO of Porsche Engineering, and Dr. Matthias Peissner, Head of the Human-Technology Interaction Research Unit at the Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Engineering IAO in Stuttgart, talk about the opportunities and limitations of the new technology. Read More
Tata Motors has secured an additional order for 148 electric buses from Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC). TML Smart City Mobility Solutions Ltd., Tata Motors’ wholly owned subsidiary will be responsible for the supply, operation and maintenance of the Tata Starbus EV 12-metre low-floor electric buses for a 12-year period. This order follows an earlier order of 921 electric buses, most of which have been delivered, and are running successfully with an uptime of over 95% by BMTC.
Tata Starbus EV boasts of superior design and best-in-class features, for a sustainable and comfortable commuting experience. These zero-emission electric buses are developed on next-gen architecture, powered by advanced battery systems for safe, comfortable and convenient intra-city commute across the city of Bengaluru. Read More
This year is expected to break 2023’s global average temperature record and the effects of the warming – more powerful hurricanes, floods, wildfires and suffocating heat – have upended lives and livelihoods. All year, Associated Press photographers around the globe have captured moments, from the brutality unleashed during extreme weather events to human resilience in the face of hardship, that tell the story of a changing Earth. Read More
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OilandGasPress Energy Newsbites and Analysis Roundup | Compiled by: OGP Staff, Segun Cole @oilandgaspress.
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