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Malaysia’s PKS exports fall in 2024, wood pellets rise
Malaysia’s PKS exports fall in 2024, wood pellets rise
Singapore, 13 March (Argus) — Malaysia's total PKS exports stood at 1.27mn t in 2024, down from 1.33mn t in 2023 because of lower demand from Japan and Thailand as well as heavy rain that affected crude palm oil (CPO) output and PKS availability. Malaysia exported 118,000t of PKS in December, down by 32pc from a year earlier, and 20pc lower than 148,000t in the previous month, according to GTT customs data. This is because of lower demand from Thailand, with Japanese demand levels rising slightly on the month in December. But Japanese demand dropped on the year in 2024, because of outages at several power plants following fire incidents, with longer maintenance periods capping PKS consumption in early 2024. But demand picked up after August 2024, and this was reflected in prices. Argus assessed prices for PKS fob Malaysia compliant with Japan's feed-in-tariff (FiT) at $94.63/t on 24 December, up from $83.92/t on 28 August. Argus last assessed the price at $95/t on 5 March this year. The country shipped 117,000t of PKS to Japan in December, down by 7.5pc from 126,000t a year earlier and higher by 10pc from 107,000t in November. Japan was the top export destination for PKS, accounting for 99pc of Malaysia's total exports in December. Shipments to Thailand stood at 829t in December, down by 98pc from 47,200t a year earlier, and 63pc lower from November. Wood pellets Total wood pellet exports from Malaysia were at 1.13mn t in 2024, rising by 31pc from 2023. Malaysia exported 143,000t of wood pellets in December 2024, 28pc higher from 111,000t a year earlier but lower by 10pc from 159,000t in November 2024, according to GTT customs data. The increase in shipments comes as top wood pellet-consuming countries like South Korea and Japan look to diversify their sources, especially as prices of pellets from key supplier Vietnam have continued to increase. Argus assessed the fob Vietnam to South Korea market at $131.63/t on 5 March from $122.19/t on 4 December, with the fob Vietnam to Japan market also climbing to $144/t from $134.83/t over the same period. Japan accounted for 39pc of the country's wood pellet exports in December. Malaysian wood pellet shipments to Japan stood at 56,000t in December, almost tripling from 19,800t a year earlier, but 39pc lower than 91,700t in November. Malaysian shipments of wood pellets to South Korea stood at 26,400t in December, more than doubling on the year but down by 31pc on the month. Shipments to South Korea accounted for 19pc of Malaysia's total wood pellet exports in December. There was a significant volume of wood pellets shipped to the Netherlands in December, with one cargo of 60,000t. This shipment made up 42pc of Malaysia's pellet exports in December. By Joshua Sim Malaysia's biomass exports in December 2024 t Quantity on month (%) on year (%) PKS Japan 117,367 10.2 -7.5 Thailand 829 -62.8 -98.2 Total 118,196 -20.4 -32.1 Wood pellets Netherlands 60,000 na -23.9 Japan 56,067 -38.8 182.8 South Korea 26,440 -31.4 133.8 Total 142,682 -10.5 28.3 Source: GTT Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Lower Rio Tinto Al output cuts New Zealand power demand
Lower Rio Tinto Al output cuts New Zealand power demand
Sydney, 13 March (Argus) — New Zealand's industrial electricity demand fell on the year in October-December 2024, after Rio Tinto cut production at its Tiwai Point aluminium smelter in the previous quarter. The country's industrial electricity demand was down by 9pc compared with a year earlier, data from the Ministry of Business, Innovation, and Employment show ( see table ). Rio Tinto cut production at Tiwai Point in late-July 2024, after New Zealand utility Meridian Energy requested that it reduce its energy use by 205 MW. Many of the plant's potlines remained off line until late-September 2024, when Rio Tinto began restarting production at a reduced level. The Tiwai Point Aluminium Smelter is New Zealand's largest industrial energy user, consuming 572MW of power, often accounting for 12-13pc of national electricity demand, according to New Zealand's Electricity Authority. But it only accounted for about 10pc of total demand in October-December because of its lower production level. Rio Tinto's decreased power use and the country's rising geothermal generation in October-December pushed New Zealand's coal- and gas-fired generation to their lowest levels since late-2022. Utilities produced 2.1PJ from coal- and gas-fired generation, down by 73pc on the quarter and by 42pc on the year ( see table ). Coal- and gas-fired plants accounted for just 6pc of total generation in the fourth quarter of 2024, down from 19pc in July-September and 10pc a year earlier. Meanwhile, New Zealand's renewable power generation grew in importance over October-December, even as the government continued taking steps to promote coal- and gas-fired generation. The share of renewable electricity rose to 94.3pc, the highest level since December 2022 and the fourth highest on record. The New Zealand government is eager to promote oil, gas and petroleum generation, resources minister Shane Jones told Argus in December 2024. New Zealand's government has rolled back a ban on offshore gas exploration and has been fast-tracking coal developments since taking office in 2023. The country's largest utility, Meridian Energy, also warned of a structural gas shortage in late February, calling for new gas exploration. By Avinash Govind New Zealand Energy Quarterly Oct-Dec '24 Jul-Sep '24 Oct-Dec '23 q-o-q ± % y-o-y ± % Electricity Consumption (PJ) Industrial 11.0 10.1 12.1 8.7 -9.0 Total 33.7 38.1 35.2 -11.4 -4.3 Electricity Production (PJ) Coal 0.5 3.2 1.3 -84.9 -64.2 Gas 1.7 4.6 2.4 -63.8 -29.8 Geothermal 7.6 8.5 7.1 -10.9 6.6 Total 37.7 41.5 38.2 -9.3 -1.4 Source: Ministry of Business, Innovation, and Employment (MBIE) Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Japan’s MGC to fund US biomass-based plastic start-up
Japan’s MGC to fund US biomass-based plastic start-up
Tokyo, 13 March (Argus) — Japanese petrochemical producer Mitsubishi Gas Chemical (MGC) announced on 12 March that it decided to invest an undisclosed value in a US biomass-based plastics start-up ReSource Chemical. ReSource Chemical is developing technology to generate furandicarboxylic acid (FDCA), which is a raw monomer used to produce plastic polyethylenefuranoate (PEF), from wooden biomass-based lignocellulose. PEF is expected to replace polyethylene-terephthalate (PET) once a reasonable production method is established, as PEF is likely to have stronger heat-resilience and durability as well as lower gas-transmission rate and moisture permeability than PET. US venture capital funds Khosla Ventures, Fathom Fund and Chevron Technology Ventures and other individual investors also plan to finance ReSource Chemical with MGC. ReSource Chemical will raise $15mn in total. The funds will be used to build a pilot plant to manufacture FDCA. MGC aims to procure furoic acid, which is an intermediate product in ReSource Chemical's FDCA production process. MGC said furoic acid is not currently in use, but the firm will explore potential usage of this biomass-based feedstock in future. Japanese companies have attempted to develop biomass-based plastics for decarbonisation. Domestic trading house Mitsui plans to explore producing 400,000 t/yr bio-PET in the southeastern region of the US, targeting to start output during 2025-2026. By Nanami Oki Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
US gas producers gear up for return to growth
US gas producers gear up for return to growth
Firms have changed their tune since the start of the winter, as weather-related factors have increased the appeal of boosting output, writes Julian Hast New York, 12 March (Argus) — Some large US natural gas-focused producers plan to boost their output in the coming years, in response to higher prices and booming US LNG export capacity. This would reverse a years-long trend among US producers of holding output steady to avoid oversupply, which drags down prices. The largest producer of US gas by volume, Expand Energy, aims to lift production by 3.4pc from last year to 7.1bn ft³/d (201mn m³/d) in 2025 and to boost drilling to bring on line 300mn ft³/d of sidelined production capacity that could hit the market in 2026. Fellow US gas producer Comstock Resources plans to add drilling rigs in the Haynesville shale of east Texas and northern Louisiana this year in a bid to offset output declines triggered by low prices in 2024 and bring new output on line when needed. US firm Range Resources, which operates in the Appalachian region, expects to boost production by 19pc from 2024 to 2.6bn ft³/d by 2027, with most of this growth set to take place in 2026-27, when the majority of the planned new LNG export terminals on the US Gulf coast are slated to begin operations. Range's sharp upward growth trajectory represents a break from its recent past, given that its 2024 output was just 2.5pc higher than in 2020. US gas producers appear poised to raise output by about 2bn ft³/d combined over the next 12-24 months, to refill inventories that have been depleted by a cold 2024-25 winter season and to keep up with booming LNG exports, according to investment bank RBC Capital Markets. But if every US gas producer grows at same the rate that Range Resources envisages, "the macro backdrop could quickly deteriorate", US bank Tudor Pickering Holt said in a note to clients last month. US gas inventories were at an 80bn ft³ deficit to the five-year average at the end of February, compared with a 215bn ft³ surplus on 1 November, according to US government agency the EIA. US gas prices now have now climbed above the marginal breakeven price of the industry, Expand Energy chief executive Nick Dell'Osso says, putting the US breakeven US gas price at about $3.50/mn Btu. This means "supply will ultimately show up and compete", he says. Expand Energy and fellow US producer EQT, which made the same estimation of the industry breakeven price early last year, say their own breakeven figures are lower because of their ample acreage in the Marcellus and Utica shale formations of Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia, where production costs are lower. Nymex gas futures prices at the US benchmark Henry Hub in Louisiana for delivery in 2026 settled at $4.38/mn Btu on 7 March, up from $3.91/mn Btu at the start of this year. Fair-weather friend The recent growth plans of US producers stand in contrast with many producers' reluctance to boost output earlier this winter, in response to weather-driven shifts in supply and demand. "You don't want to grow for a season" but rather "grow for something that is durable over several years", Dell'Osso said in January. And the production plans of gas-focused firms may end up being overshadowed by those of crude-focused players in the Permian basin of west Texas and southeast New Mexico. These are set to remain the main drivers of production growth in the coming months, thanks to new gas pipeline infrastructure connecting associated gas supply to end markets near the US Gulf coast. Total US marketed gas production is forecast to increase to 114.7bn ft³/d this year and 117.9bn ft³/d in 2026, from 113.1bn ft³/d in 2024, the EIA says. Permian basin output is expected to account for 75pc, or 3.6bn ft³/d, of the additional production by 2026, with output from the basin increasing by 7pc/yr in 2025-26. This would be slower than the 14pc/yr recorded in 2022-24 but would still make it the US' fastest-growing production area. Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
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