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US court leaves $62mn Volvo penalty in place

  • Market: Emissions, Oil products
  • 15/06/15

The US Supreme Court today declined to hear automaker Volvo's appeal of a $62mn penalty for making heavy-duty diesel engines that did not meet federal emissions requirements.

The court without explanation denied a petition for review filed by the company's Volvo Powertrain subsidiary, which manufactures heavy-duty trucks and engines.

Volvo sought to overturn part of a DC Circuit Court of Appeals decision last year upholding a $72mn fine against the company for manufacturing about 8,300 engines in violation of a settlement with the US Environmental Protection Agency and California Air Resources Board. The settlement, which resolved allegations Volvo and six other companies added illegal devices to their engines to meet 1998 emissions standards, required certain engines made by the companies to meet 2006 NOX standards a year early.

Volvo Powertrain wanted the Supreme Court to review $62mn of the penalty covering about 7,300 engines it says were not sold in the US. But because the company sought EPA certification for the engines, it violated the agreement, the US said. The DC Circuit and a district court that originally upheld the fine, said the settlement was broadly worded to apply to engines produced at any facility "owned or operated" by Volvo.

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05/02/26

Rotterdam biomarine 2025 sales fall as bio‑LNG surges

Rotterdam biomarine 2025 sales fall as bio‑LNG surges

London, 5 February (Argus) — Marine biodiesel sales fell on the year in Rotterdam in 2025, but bio-LNG and biomethanol made sharp gains while conventional bunker fuels were roughly steady. Marine biodiesel blend sales fell by 16pc to 629,700t in 2025 from 2024, according to data from the Port of Rotterdam. Sales declined by 18pc in the fourth quarter from the third quarter. Data from the Port of Singapore, on the other hand, showed strong growth in blend sales, with marine biodiesel sales higher by 56pc year-on-year in 2025. This was driven by higher uptake of B24, B30 and B100 used to meet FuelEU Maritime requirements, which came into effect in 2025 and require ships coming in, out of, and operating within EU waters to reduce emissions. Rotterdam sales fell due to more competitive pricing east of Suez, pulling demand towards Singapore. B24 Ucome dob Singapore prices averaged $685.71/t in 2025, compared with $797.23/t for B30 Ucome dob ARA. Shipowners bunkering marine biodiesel in Singapore for EU-bound voyages can use it for FuelEU Maritime compliance. Energy used on voyages between EU and EEA ports and non-EU ports has a 50pc share of regulatory coverage, and full coverage for voyages intra-EU. Compliance generated from bunkering marine biodiesel in Singapore can then be used to achieve compliance on vessels operating European routes, via the pooling mechanism, in which obligated companies can combine their compliance balance with other vessels. This has driven an emerging FuelEU compliance surplus market, where participants can buy compliance via pooling to avoid physical bunkering of alternative marine fuels. For use of bio-LNG, over-compliance has sold at a significant premium to cost. As a result, bio-LNG bunker sales in Rotterdam jumped by more than 500pc on the year to 17,650m³ in 2025 on strong demand , and by 1,975pc on the year in the fourth quarter. Biomethanol sales rose by 200pc on the year to 11,800t in 2025, also supported by FuelEU Maritime and an increase in the number of methanol-capable vessels coming into operation — 60 methanol-capable vessels were in operation or on order in 2025, according to DNV data, compared with 17 in 2024. Sales of conventional bunker fuels in Rotterdam in 2025 were largely stable, up by 1pc on the year to 8.73mn t. But ultra-low sulphur fuel oil (ULSFO) sales rose by 16pc on the year, to the highest since 2021, as demand rose to reflect stricter requirements after the Mediterranean was designated an emissions control area (ECA) by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) in May. Vessels transiting the sea are limited to emitting 0.1pc sulphur. The sulphur emission limits of the ECA in the Mediterranean also contributed to firmer demand for marine gasoil (MGO) and marine diesel oil (MDO). Sales of the products at Rotterdam were up 7pc on the year while fourth quarter sales were unchanged on the year but up by 4pc on the quarter. MGO-based marine biodiesel blends firmed to record highs of 93,200t in 2025, supported by the ECA expansion. But European decarbonisation and regulations — such as EU ETS expansion, FuelEU Maritime, and RED III — made very-low sulphur fuel oil (VLSFO) less attractive for shipowners that are seeking ECA-compliant 0.1pc sulphur fuels such as ULSFO or marine gasoil. VLSFO sales fell by 7pc on the year in 2025 while fourth quarter VLSFO sales were down 8pc on the year but up 17pc quarter on quarter. The increase in scrubber-fitted vessels continued to support sales of high-sulphur fuel oil (HSFO) at Rotterdam, which increased 3pc on the year. HSFO sales at the port in the fourth quarter were up by 3pc on the year but down by 8pc on the quarter. By Hussein Al-Khalisy and Siew Hua Seah. Rotterdam bunker sales t Fuel 2025 2024 y-o-y % 4Q 2025 3Q 2025 q-o-q % 4Q 2024 y-o-y % ULSFO 864,782 748,186 16% 219,039 232,720 -6% 193,567 13% VLSFO 2,850,083 3,076,817 -7% 745,786 635,638 17% 810,831 -8% HSFO 3,420,908 3,330,327 3% 804,962 872,077 -8% 780,437 3% MGO/MDO 1,590,902 1,483,332 7% 402,781 387,173 4% 395,903 2% Conventional total 8,726,675 8,638,662 1% 2,172,568 2,127,608 2% 2,180,738 -0% Biofuels blends 629,706 752,103 -16% 161,934 198,515 -18% 118,201 37% LNG (m³) 992,911 941,366 5% 192,433 331,620 -42% 263,068 -27% Bio-LNG (m³) 17,644 2,775 536% 11,932 960 92% 575 1975% Biomethanol 11,819 3,946 200% na na na 930 na Port of Rotterdam Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

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Crude Summit: Brazil not worried about Venezuela crude

04/02/26
News
04/02/26

Crude Summit: Brazil not worried about Venezuela crude

Houston, 4 February (Argus) — Rising volumes of heavy sour Venezuelan crude will not compete with Brazilian grades because they cater to different markets, panelists said at the Argus Americas Crude Summit in Houston, Texas, today. In the short term, less than 300,000 b/d of Venezuela crude will head to the US while Brazil will keep sending barrels worldwide, mainly to Asia, said PetroChina International Trading's vice president of crude Alipio Ferreira. "It makes a lot of sense for American refiners to buy this," Ferreira said. The Venezuelan crude will compete with other grades including Western Canadian Select (WCS), and crudes from Mexico, Ecuador and Colombia, said state-controlled Petrobras' global crude oil manager Fernando Colares Nogueira on the sidelines of the conference. More Venezuelan heavy sour crude is hitting the global market after trading firms Trafigura and Vitol were approved by the US government to market unsanctioned Venezuelan oil following the US capture of former Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro on 3 January. More recently, the US lifted sanctions on Venezuela's oil exports, with caveats prohibiting sales to Cuba, business deals involving many Chinese companies and oil-for-debt arrangements. The lifting of sanctions will allow Venezuela's state-owned PdV to directly sell cargoes to eligible buyers abroad. Brazil is the sixth-largest oil producer, with output increasing by about 400,000 b/d in 2025, part of a boom in crude production in Latin America that will continue, Nogueira said. Most of Brazil's exports will continue to go to Asia though the end of the decade , Ferreira said. Growing supply from Brazil and Argentina could also lead to an increase in co-loading cargoes with crude from the two countries going to China, Ferreira said. Petrobras has already co-loaded crude from the two countries on a very large crude carrier (VLCC) — one time late last year and once early in 2026, Ferreira said. The co-loading involves a ship-to-ship transfer. Argentina sent a few cargoes of light sweet Medanito crude to Asia-Pacific at the start of this year as producers try to expand the grade's market in the region. Only four Medanito cargoes headed to Asia-Pacific in 2024, according to data from oil analytics firm Vortexa. The growing number of shipments to Asia come as a consortium of eight Argentinian producers build a new oil pipeline, the 271-mile Vaca Muerta Sur, connecting the Vaca Muerta shale fields, from where Medanito is produced, to the Punta Colorada port. The new port will handle VLCCs. The lack of VLCC loading has been one of the biggest bottlenecks for expanding Medanito's reach to Asian markets. Currently, draft limitations cap Argentina exports to a maximum 800,000 bl on Suezmaxes or Aframaxes, which makes sales to Asia-Pacific mostly unfeasible. By Eunice Bridges Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

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Crude Summit: Court tariff overturn likely: Lighthizer

04/02/26
News
04/02/26

Crude Summit: Court tariff overturn likely: Lighthizer

Houston, 4 February (Argus) — At least parts of President Donald Trump's sweeping tariff regime will likely be overturned by the US Supreme Court, according to former US trade representative Robert Lighthizer, but the administration will find other ways to keep their intent intact. "My guess is that there'll be, to some extent, an overruling of what he did," Lighthizer said today at the Argus Americas Crude Summit in Houston, Texas. Lighthizer, considered an architect of the current White House tariff policy, said they would not go away even with an unfavorable court ruling, which is expected in the coming weeks. "It's clearly easier and better if you can do it under IEEPA," Lighthizer said, referring to the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, the 1977 law that Trump has used to impose reciprocal tariffs on dozens of global trading partners. "But if he can't, I think he'll have the same policy," just using other tools to impose similar tariffs. "He has those tools. It's a little more complicated process." Lighthizer, who helped orchestrate the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) in 2020 that spells out trade between the three countries, said further changes were needed as a renewal of the deal approaches later this year. "There will be some tweaks in Canada," he said, particularly with regard to agriculture. "There'll be some more substantial change with respect to Mexico, and particularly taking on this issue of China's influence in Mexico." Direct energy imports have largely been spared from most of the Trump tariffs, but oil companies complain tariffs have increased drilling costs by making steel imports more costly. The uncertainly of the on-again/off-again tariff have also increased economic uncertainty and made planning difficult for energy firms. But Lighthizer said Trump has a "very favorable attitude" toward the energy sector in general. While tariffs may have increased the cost of steel "the payoff will be pretty big" he said, when the wider economy takes off as a result of a rebalance of long-standing trade deficits. Lighthizer dismissed arguments that tariffs cause inflation, and said the policy has been a great success. "You can say they could have done it in a less chaotic way," Lighthizer said. "Maybe that's true, maybe it's not true." By Stephen Cunningham Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

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UK marginally narrows sixth carbon budget shortfall

04/02/26
News
04/02/26

UK marginally narrows sixth carbon budget shortfall

London, 4 February (Argus) — The gap between the UK's projected greenhouse gas emissions and meeting the country's sixth carbon budget has narrowed by 42mn t of CO2 equivalent (CO2e) since last year, latest government data show. Government projections now assume a shortfall in the UK's emissions cuts of 737mn t CO2e against its sixth carbon budget of 965mn t CO2e, which covers 2033-37. This is down from a projected shortfall of 779mn t CO2e in last year's assessment. The country is expected to meet its fourth (2023-27) and fifth (2028-32) carbon budgets comfortably, with projected headroom of 126mn t CO2e and 86mn t CO2e, respectively, against targets of 1.95bn t CO2e and 1.73bn t CO2e. This is up from surpluses of 104mn t CO2e and 83mn t CO2e in last year's projections. The estimates stem from a projected 25pc fall in UK emissions in 2023-50, calculated on the basis of policies implemented or close to being finalised as of June 2025. New policies included since last year's projections include the Warm Homes Local Grant, the third wave of the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund, and collection and packaging reform policies affecting the waste sector. The new policies are projected to contribute 0.7mn t CO2e to emissions savings in the fourth budget, 9mn t CO2e in the fifth and 14mn t CO2e in the sixth. The sixth budget is the first to include emissions from UK international aviation and shipping, adding 24mn t CO2e to the 1990 base year emissions on which carbon budget calculations are based. The UK must set its seventh carbon budget, covering 2038-42, by June. It has a legally binding target of net zero emissions by 2050. The government has also updated projected average carbon prices under the UK emissions trading scheme (ETS), which it used as part of its new carbon budget calculations. The figures are not forecasts, but are designed for use for modelling purposes, and do not take into account any potential changes to the scope of the scheme or linkage to the EU ETS, negotiations on which continue. The government models four scenarios — one assuming decarbonisation in line with achieving net zero emissions by 2050; one assuming low fossil fuel prices and low economic growth; one assuming low fossil fuel prices and high economic growth; and one assuming "unobservable market factors" in the early years of the projections. These produce a range of £22-47/t CO2e in 2026, rising to £25-66/t CO2e in 2030, £74-178/t CO2e in 2040 and £167-298/t CO2e in 2050. The trajectories become steeper over time as carbon abatement options become more expensive, the government said. These have changed significantly from last year's ranges — £62-103/t CO2e in 2026, £50-107/t CO2e in 2030, £94-151/t CO2e in 2040 and £85-154/t CO2e in 2050 — because of adjustments to underlying business-as-usual emissions projections and corresponding marginal abatement cost curves, and assumptions relating to the power sector and interconnectors, the government said. By Victoria Hatherick UK ETS government price projections £/t CO2e Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

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India’s Varaha secures finance for CO2 removal projects

04/02/26
News
04/02/26

India’s Varaha secures finance for CO2 removal projects

London, 4 February (Argus) — Indian carbon project developer Varaha has closed an initial $20mn tranche of a $45mn financing round intended to help scale its carbon dioxide removal (CDR) projects, the firm said on 4 February. Varaha also aims to use this second growth stage to pass on its biochar know-how to partners worldwide, it said today. Varaha today announced a $45mn series B financing round — an advanced stage of investment for a start-up company that has proven early traction and is looking to scale. It has already closed an initial tranche of $20mn, with the financing led by private equity firm WestBridge Capital. The developer aims to strengthen its scientific research capabilities, as well as its measurement, reporting and verification (MRV) processes. It also plans to scale its services to partners worldwide, it said. As part of its scaling-up operations, Varaha has launched a biochar-focused partnership model for industrial operators, called the Varaha Industrial Partners Programme (VIPP). Through VIPP, partners with gasification capabilities and access to sustainable biomass will be able to leverage Varaha's expertise in MRV and carbon credit origination. As part of such partnerships, Varaha will train partner staff, install sensors, implement MRV systems and bring credits to the market. The VIPP is already operational, with current partners including a project with a large cashew company in west Africa, multiple agribusiness partners in India, and a major Indian steel company that has decarbonisation goals, Varaha said. Varaha has four main types of CDR projects — biochar projects, afforestation, reforestation and revegetation projects, regenerative agriculture projects, and enhanced rock weathering projects. It has signed long-term offtake deals with companies including technology giants Microsoft and Google, as well as "a major US-based aviation company", Varaha said. German airline Lufthansa is one of Varaha's offtake counterparties, WestBridge said. "Varaha has built… deep scientific credibility in a nascent industry alongside a commercially viable business model," WestBridge co-founder and managing partner Sandeep Singhal said. WestBridge believes in Varaha's "potential to shape the next phase of climate infrastructure worldwide", Singhal said. This deal is WestBridge's first climate technology investment. Varaha sold 100,000 CDR credits to Microsoft in January, as well as 100,000 and 30,000 credits to Google and trading firm Louis Dreyfus, respectively, in 2025. Venture capital firm RTP Global also took part in the latest financing round, having led Varaha's series A funding. RTP Global made a "super pro-rata investment", Varaha said in its statement. Agritech investment firm Omnivore was also an early stage investor in Varaha and participated in the series B round. By Erisa Senerdem and Kiara Campagne Nieva Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

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