Oilandgaspress Energy / Automotive News and analysis; Gas @ $3.93/MMBtu
London, January 10, 2025 (Oilandgaspress) –-The Norwegian Offshore Directorate’s summary of activity on the Norwegian continental shelf in 2024 shows that gas production is higher than ever. Gas production reached a record-high in 2024. A total of 124 billion standard cubic metres (Sm3) was sold. In comparison, 122.8 billion Sm3 of gas was sold in 2022. ‘The Shelf in 2024″ is a summary of activity on the Norwegian continental shelf (NCS) over the past year: Exploration results and annual production figures, and investment and production forecasts for the next five years.
Overall production will remain at a high and stable level. In 2024, it reached about 240 million standard cubic metres of oil equivalent (mill scm o.e. – 1510 million barrels o.e). This is the highest level since 2009. Moving forward, production is expected to remain at a stable, high level before a gradually decrease is expected toward the end of the 2020s. Exploration activity was also high in 2024. Most of the discoveries are small, but several are being considered for development tied back to existing fields. Read More
TotalEnergies (45%, operator) and its partners Basra Oil Company (30%) and QatarEnergy (25%) launched today the construction works of ArtawiGas25, a first processing facility for the associated gas from the Ratawi field, located in the Basra region.
This facility, which is part of the Gas Growth Integrated Project (GGIP), represents an investment of around USD 250 million and will process 50 million cubic feet per day (Mcf/d) of gas previously flared. The gas will supply local power plants, covering the demand of approximately 200,000 households in the Basra region.
Signed in September 2021, the GGIP project is a USD 10 billion multi-energy project designed to enhance the development of Iraq’s natural resources and improve the country’s electricity supply. The GGIP includes a large-scale gas processing plant, with a first phase of 300 Mcf/d that will recover gas being flared on three oil fields and supply gas to 1.5 GW of power generation capacity.. Read More
Renault 5 E-Tech electric and Alpine A290 have been named “Car of the Year 2025”. The result was announced at a ceremony organised by the European COTY “Car of the Year” jury at the Brussels motor show in Belgium on Monday 10 January. This award highlights the relevance of the electrification strategy and the quality of the new Renault and Alpine models, developed as part of the Renaulution plan. Unique in Europe, the AmpR Small platform allows both vehicles to deliver a high level of customer value, while leaving each brand free to express its own positioning in terms of design, development, onboard technologies and customer experience. The winning duo was chosen by 60 motoring journalists from 23 countries. Renault 5 E-Tech electric and Alpine A290 took first place with 353 points. Renault’s new electric pop icon becomes the eighth brand vehicle to win the prestigious “Car of the Year” award after Renault 16 (1966), Renault 9 (1982), Clio I (1991), Scenic (1997), Megane (2003), Clio III (2006) and Scenic E-Tech electric (2024). Read More
The Alpine A290 wins the prestigious 2025 Car of the Year title, awarded by the European COTY jury. This internationally recognised award crowns the first model of a new electric generation for the Alpine brand. The votes of 60 automotive journalists from 23 countries chose the winner. The Alpine A290 and Renault 5 E-Tech duo took first place with 353 points, succeeding the 2024 winner, the Renault Scénic E-Tech electric.The Alpine A290 reinvents and modernises the hot hatch category, the small sports cars that have left their mark on automotive history through their agility and dynamism. With the A290, Alpine is reintroducing this category with a modern twist and cutting-edge technology while delivering Alpine’s characteristic driving pleasure.
The design and development of the Alpine A290 marks a significant technological leap forward, incorporating the latest advances in electric vehicle technology. Boosted by the Alpine DNA, the A290 packs all the sensations of a genuine new-generation sports car into a compact car. Developed on the AmpR Small platform shared with Renault 5 E-Tech electric, the A290 is compact, agile and offers high performance easy to harness while guaranteeing comfortable day-to-day use.The A290 is produced in France at the Manufacture de Douai, part of ElectriCity, and its electric motor, available in 180 and 220 bhp versions, comes from the Cléon site. Read More
Subsea7 today announced the award of a contract by Equinor for a front-end engineering and design (FEED) study with EPCI1 option for the Fram Sør development project, offshore Norway.
The study will finalise the technical definition of the proposed subsea development prior to Equinor and its partners making the final investment decision. Work will begin immediately in our offices in Norway and UK. If the EPCI option is exercised, any resulting subsea structures, umbilicals, risers and flowlines (SURF) installation scope would be a direct, substantial2 award to Subsea7. Offshore installation activities associated with this contract would be scheduled for 2026, 2027 and 2028. The Fram Sør area is located 10-30 kilometres north of the Equinor-operated Troll C platform, approximately 70 kilometres north-west of Bergen. The development will be connected to the existing Fram and Troll C infrastructure.. Read More
| Oil and Gas Blends | Units | Oil Price | Change |
| Crude Oil (WTI) | USD/bbl | $76.61 | Up |
| Crude Oil (Brent) | USD/bbl | $79.68 | Up |
| Bonny Light 06/01/25 CBN | USD/bbl | $77.17 | — |
| Dubai | USD/bbl | $76.28 | — |
| Natural Gas | USD/MMBtu | $3.83 | Up |
| Murban Crude | USD/bbl | $79.96 | Up |
| OPEC basket 09/01/25 | USD/bbl | $76.13 | Down |
Mercedes-Benz Group achieved its best quarter of the year in Q4 with 625,800 cars and vans sold in the October to December period. Full-year 2024 sales reached 2,389,000 cars and vans in a challenging global market environment. Mercedes-Benz Cars sales rose quarter-on-quarter in 2024 to 520,100 units and reached the prior-year’s level. A good sales performance in Germany, China and the U.S. in the fourth quarter led to full-year sales of 1,983,400 vehicles in 2024.
Top-End vehicle sales grew by 34% quarter-on-quarter to 82,800 units driven by Mercedes-AMG, S-Class and G-Class sales underpinned by solid demand in the United States in particular. The G-Class achieved its best-ever sales quarter after new model launches in 2024, including the all-new electric G-Class. Furthermore, Mercedes-AMG sales in Q4 resulted in a best-ever quarter, thanks to further improved product availability and customer demand especially for the Mercedes-AMG GT and Mercedes-AMG GLC models.
Full-year Top-End vehicle sales were below 2023 levels, reaching 281,500 units, mainly impacted by market conditions in China, model changes and weak EV demand. The S-Class remained the undisputed leader in its segment with a market share of around 50% in all key regions.
Sales of the Core segment increased 6% to 1,167,100 vehicles in 2024 driven by good demand for the E-Class and the top selling GLC models. Plug-In-Hybrid sales grew by 13% year-on-year across all regions, while slower EV adoption in core markets led to lower battery electric vehicle sales in 2024.
Worldwide sales of Mercedes-Benz Vans rose by 16% on the quarter to 105,700 units, the best quarterly results of the year despite global macroeconomic challenges. Sales growth was mainly driven by the European market, with midsize and small van sales up and large van sales on a stable level compared to the previous quarter. For the full year 2024, Mercedes-Benz Vans sales reached 405,600 units, mainly impacted by the planned discontinuation of the Metris (Vito) in the U.S. as well as the midsize vans model changeover in Europe (1st HY) and China (2nd HY). Furthermore, a declining market development of large vans with combustion engine in the U.S. and midsize vans with combustion engine in China has affected overall sales. In Germany and the U.S., sales in the commercial segment were down mainly due to lower demand in the recreational vehicle business compared to previous year. Read More
Tata Motors Group global wholesales in Q3 FY25, including Jaguar Land Rover** were at 341,791 nos., higher by 1%, as compared to Q3 FY24.
Global wholesales of all Tata Motors’ commercial vehicles and Tata Daewoo range in Q3 FY25 were at 97,535 nos., lower by 1%, over Q3 FY24.
Global wholesales of Tata Motors passenger vehicles* in Q3 FY25 were at 139,829 nos., higher by 1% as compared to Q3 FY24.
Global wholesales for Jaguar Land Rover** were 104,427 vehicles, higher by 3% as compared to Q3 FY24. Jaguar wholesales for the quarter were 5,604 vehicles, while Land Rover wholesales for the quarter were 98,823 vehicles. . Read More
Tata Motors, India’s leading SUV manufacturer, today opened bookings for the 2025 Tiago, Tiago.ev and the Tigor. Starting at an attractive of Rs. 4.99 Lakhs for the Tiago, Rs. 7.99 Lakhs for the Tiago.ev and Rs. 5.99 Lakhs for the Tigor,Tata Motors will be offering the 2025 Tiago in Petrol, CNG and Electric versions and the 2025 Tigor in Petrol and CNG versions. Both cars will be available in MT and AMT options. Read More
Hyundai Motor Group (the Group) today announced a strategic partnership with NVIDIA to accelerate the development of advanced AI technologies to drive the future of mobility. In the AI era, Hyundai Motor Group is driving innovation through strategic AI integration, positioning itself at the forefront of smart mobility solutions. The Group operates a variety of AI initiatives and through this partnership aims to further enhance the application of intelligence to its core mobility products, such as software-defined vehicles and robotics, and across its business operations.
“Hyundai Motor Group is exploring innovative approaches with AI technologies in various fields such as robotics, autonomous driving, and smart factory,” said Heung-Soo Kim, Executive Vice President and Head of Global Strategy Office at Hyundai Motor Group. “This partnership is set to accelerate our progress, positioning the Group as a front runner in driving AI-empowered mobility innovation.”
As part of the agreement, Hyundai Motor Group will harness NVIDIA accelerated computing and AI Enterprise software to help manage the massive amounts of data required to safely develop and train its AI models for various applications.
The Group will also utilize the NVIDIA Omniverse platform to develop physical AI and digital twin applications to simulate its factories, helping improve manufacturing efficiencies and quality, and streamline costs. In addition, the Group will use the NVIDIA Isaac robot development platform to develop and safely deploy AI robots. Both parties will also work closely to create virtual simulation environments for safe and reliable autonomous driving technology and robotics systems. Read More
Norway’s oil and gas investment is expected to grow even higher in 2025. Greater development activity on new projects and the cost of inflation have contributed heavily to the increase in Norway’s oil and gas investment in 2024. Norway’s oil and gas investment is expected to total around $22.9 billion this year, marking an all-time high, according to the country’s statistics office. Total investments in oil and gas activity in 2024, including pipeline transportation, are estimated at NOK 253 billion. This is NOK 12.4 billion more than estimated in the previous quarter. The estimate for 2024 is now NOK 256 billion. Read More
(Xinhua) — China’s Ministry of Commerce announced Friday that starting from Jan. 14, 2025, it will launch an expiry review of anti-dumping measures aimed at solar-grade polysilicon originating in the United States and the Republic of Korea (ROK).
The expiry review, requested by the domestic solar-grade polysilicon industry, will determine if terminating anti-dumping measures will lead to continued dumping and harm, the ministry said in a statement. The Customs Tariff Commission of the State Council will maintain the anti-dumping duties during the review, with scope and rates remaining unchanged, according to the ministry.
Solar-grade polysilicon is the main raw material for the production of crystalline silicon photovoltaic cells. Read More
Americas crude exports started to stagnate during the second half of 2024 with the US, the largest exporter, showing signs of slowdown. Similarly in Canada, exports out of Vancouver via the new Trans Mountain Expansion (TMX) pipeline also declined for two consecutive months from November 2024. But these declines were offset by increased exports from LatAm countries, especially Brazil and Guyana. Looking ahead in 2025, Americas exports might see some reshuffling in a scenario where President Trump imposes import tariffs on Canadian and Mexican crude. As a result, exports of US origin crude might decline as US refiners process more domestic crude. Canadian and Mexican crude exports would then have to pivot towards Asian buyers. It would also incentivize US refiners to import more LatAm grades to replace Canadian and Mexican grades. Whether this scenario plays out or not is yet to be seen but growing exports from the Americas will nonetheless continue to keep a lid on oil prices in a subdued oil demand environment going into 2025. Read More
Crude/condensate exports from Saudi Arabia, US and Russia (the “Big-3”) fell in December, led by a sharp drop in Russian-origin exports. A decline in December of key seaborne exports, particularly in the case of discounted Russian crude could be seen as bullish, but this is countered by lingering concerns over weak demand as we head into the new year. Big-3 crude/condensate exports stood at just below 13mbd in December, marking an almost 500kbd m-o-m drop. Of the 500kbd decline, around 300kbd was due to lower exports from Russia, with the remaining 200kbd drop split roughly equally between Saudi Arabia and the US. Read More
All 411 buildings owned and operated by the City of Chicago now either run on renewable energy or offset their emissions through financing renewables across the country. The news helped ring in the new year and marks three years since the city signed a major agreement to receive solar power from the largest solar farm east of the Mississippi. Former Chicago mayor Lori Lightfoot signed an agreement to buy power from Constellation, an electricity supplier, in 2022. Constellation Energy now furnishes the supply from the 593-megawatt Double Black Diamond solar farm in Sangamon and Morgan counties, about 30 miles from Springfield, which has been under construction since the same year.
Owned and developed by Swift Current Energy, the farm will deliver about 70% of the municipal buildings’ total electricity needs. Read More
China has nearly tripled its lithium reserves, elevating its status to the world’s second-largest holder of this essential metal for renewable energy technology, according to the state news agency Xinhua.
The nation now controls 16.5 percent of global lithium reserves, surpassing Australia, Argentina, and Bolivia, and trails behind just one country – Chile.
Previously estimated to possess 6 percent of the world’s lithium reserves, China’s significant increase is the result of new deposit discoveries and advanced extraction methods that make it feasible to retrieve metal from various minerals. Read More
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OilandGasPress Energy Newsbites and Analysis Roundup | Compiled by: OGP Staff, Segun Cole @oilandgaspress.
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