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BHP to expand gas-fired West Australia power station

  • Market: Electricity, Natural gas
  • 17/04/24

Australian resources firm BHP plans to increase power generation at its 154MW Yarnima gas and diesel-fired facility near the Pilbara iron ore mining hub of Newman in Western Australia (WA) state.

The proposal, according to documents filed with WA's Environmental Protection Authority (EPA), will see output increase by 85MW to a total of 239MW through gas reciprocating engines and associated infrastructure with up to 120MW of nominal new capacity to be built in stages.

Peak scope 1 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the project are predicted to be 480,030 t/yr of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e), while scope 3 emissions related to supplying the gas are expected to be 37,260t CO2e/yr.

Power demand at BHP's iron ore operations in the Pilbara is forecast to increase from 150MW currently to 1GW by 2040, as the company reduces its GHG emissions through electrification of its rail and mining fleets and must balance renewables with firmed generation.

The iron ore mining sector is a large-scale producer of Australian GHG emissions through its Pilbara-based operations. Displacing liquid fuels such as diesel, which Australia consumes at an average rate of around 500,000 b/d by electrifying processes and switching to lower CO2-emitting sources such as gas, is expected to trend as Australia's largest polluters meet government mandates. Yarmina currently runs a 35MW diesel-fired temporary power station as part of its installed capacity.

Canadian energy firm TransAlta earlier this year lodged plans to build a new 150MW gas-fired power station for BHP's Nickel West operations in WA's Northern Goldfields region.

WA's domestic market is likely to be short on gas later this decade despite being Australia's largest LNG export state, the Australian Energy Market Operator (Aemo) has warned in its Western Australia Gas Statement of Opportunities. Aemo's modelling released last year shows the closure of WA's state-owned coal-fired power stations will drive increased requirements for gas-fired electricity generation in the next decade.


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06/12/24

Republicans weigh two-step plan on energy, taxes

Republicans weigh two-step plan on energy, taxes

Washington, 6 December (Argus) — Republicans in the US Congress are considering trying to pass president-elect Donald Trump's legislative agenda by voting first on a filibuster-proof budget package that revises energy policy, then taking up a separate tax cut bill later in 2025. The two-part strategy, floated by incoming US Senate majority leader John Thune (R-South Dakota), could deliver Trump an early win by putting immigration, border security and energy policy changes into a single budget bill that could pass early next year without Democratic support. Republicans would then have more time to debate a separate — and likely more complex — budget package that would focus on extending a tax package expected to cost more than $4 trillion over 10 years. The legislative strategy is a "possibility" floated among Senate Republicans for achieving Trump's legislative goals on "energy dominance," the border, national security and extending tax cuts, Thune said in an interview with Fox News this week. Thune said he was still having conversations with House Republicans and Trump's team on what strategy to pursue. Republicans plan to use a process called budget reconciliation to advance most of Trump's legislative goals, which would avoid a Democratic filibuster but restrict the scope of policy changes to those that directly affect the budget. But some Republicans worry the potential two-part strategy could fracture the caucus and cause some key policies getting dropped, spurring a debate among Republicans over how to move forward. "We have a menu of options in front of us," US House speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) said this week in an interview with Fox News. "Leader Thune and I were talking as recently as within the last hour about the priority of how we do it and in what sequence." Republicans have yet to decide what changes they will make to the Inflation Reduction Act, which includes hundreds of billions of dollars of tax credits for wind, solar, electric vehicles, battery manufacturing, carbon capture and clean hydrogen. A group of 18 House Republicans in August said they opposed a "full repeal" of the 2022 law. Republicans next year will start with only a 220-215 majority in the House, which will then drop to 217-215 once two Republicans join the Trump administration and representative Matt Gaetz (R-Florida) resigns. By Chris Knight Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

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Denmark's wind tender flop linked to H2 network doubts


06/12/24
News
06/12/24

Denmark's wind tender flop linked to H2 network doubts

London, 6 December (Argus) — Denmark's failure to attract bids in an offshore wind tender was partly caused by the country's lack of firm commitment to a hydrogen pipeline network, according to Danish and European hydrogen associations. For Denmark's hydrogen industry the failed tender is raising concerns that Copenhagen might resort to state aid for offshore wind, which could jeopardise renewable hydrogen production that is compliant with EU rules. Denmark unsuccessfully offered three areas totalling 3GW in a first part of the auction that ended on 5 December, and will offer another 3GW in a second part ending in April 2025. The "very disappointing" result will now be investigated by the Danish Energy Agency to discover why market participants failed to bid, energy minister Lars Aagaard said. Wind project developers may have worried that low electricity prices in an increasingly saturated power market and inadequate export routes — either via power cables or as hydrogen via pipeline — would deny a return on investments, industry participants said. Ample offshore wind potential could allow Denmark to generate power far in excess of its own needs. But in order to capitalise on this the country would need to find a way of getting the energy to demand markets. Turning offshore wind into renewable hydrogen for export was "a very attractive solution" for developers, Hydrogen Europe chief policy officer Daniel Fraile said, but would rely on timely construction of a network "all the way from the coast to Germany's hydrogen-hungry industry." Denmark's hydrogen network was recently pushed back to 2031-32 from an initial 2028, partly because of an impasse over funding that provoked anger from industry. The government has said it will only help fund the hydrogen transport network if there are sufficient capacity bookings guaranteeing its use. But this approach increases risks for developers, according to Fraile. "You need to handle the risk of winning the offshore tender, finding a hydrogen offtaker in Germany and commit to inject a large amount of hydrogen over several years. Then deliver the project on time and on cost," he said. "This is a hell of an undertaking." Industry association Hydrogen Denmark's chief executive Tejs Laustsen Jensen agreed, calling the failed tender "a gigantic setback". "The uncertainty about the hydrogen infrastructure has simply made the investment too uncertain for offshore wind developers," he said. "Now the task for politicians is to untie this Gordian knot." "Of course, the tender must now be re-run, but if the state does not guarantee in that process the establishment of hydrogen infrastructure, we risk ending up in the same place again," he said. The booking requirement as a prerequisite for funding the network "must be completely removed," Jensen said. Green energy association Green Power Denmark said "there is still considerable uncertainty about the feasibility of selling electricity in the form of hydrogen," but pointed to other factors that may have led to the tender failing to attract bids. Wind turbines and raw materials have become more expensive because of inflation while interest rates have risen sharply, reducing the viability of such projects, the group's chief executive Kristian Jensen said. Unlike some other countries, Denmark does not intend to fund grid connections or provide other subsidies, he said. Unwanted help Hydrogen Denmark's Jensen warned against the government resorting to subsidies to help get offshore wind farms built. "State support for offshore wind would be the death knell" for the hydrogen sector and would "de facto kill all possibilities for a green hydrogen adventure in Denmark," he said. Granting state support for offshore wind farms would mean these assets would not comply with the additionality requirement of the EU's definition for renewable fuels of non-biological origin (RFNBO), which are effectively renewable hydrogen and derivatives. EU rules state renewable assets are only considered 'additional' if they have "not received support in the form of operating aid or investment aid," although financial support for grid connections is exempt from this. "If state aid is provided for the offshore wind that is to be used to produce the hydrogen, we will lose the RFNBO stamp, and the Danish hydrogen cannot be used to meet the green EU ambitions for, among other things, industry and transport, and the business case is thus destroyed," Jensen said. By Aidan Lea and Stefan Krumpelmann Geographical divisions of Denmark's H2 network plan Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

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UK fuel mix disclosure ‘no longer fit for purpose’


05/12/24
News
05/12/24

UK fuel mix disclosure ‘no longer fit for purpose’

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Shell, Equinor to create biggest UK producer: Update


05/12/24
News
05/12/24

Shell, Equinor to create biggest UK producer: Update

adds details throughout London, 5 December (Argus) — Shell and Norway's state-controlled Equinor plan to combine their UK upstream businesses into a joint venture to create the UK North Sea's largest oil and gas producer. The new business will produce more than 140,000 b/d of oil equivalent (boe/d) from 2025, the companies said. Bank analysts reckon growth projects will enable production to eventually increase beyond 200,000 boe/d. It marks the latest deal in a wave of consolidation in the the UK sector of the North Sea, including Italian firm Eni's deal earlier this year to merge its UK upstream assets with those of independent producer Ithaca Energy and UK company Harbour Energy's tie-up with Germany's Wintershall Dea last year . Shell and Equinor are following a similar 50:50 ownership structure and self-financing model that BP and Italy's Eni employed in Angola when they combined their offshore assets there to create Azule Energy in 2022 . The Shell-Equinor joint venture's assets will include Equinor's stakes in the Mariner and Buzzard fields, alongside Shell's interests in Shearwater, Penguins, Gannet, Nelson, Pierce, Jackdaw, Victory, Clair and Schiehallion projects. A consequence of the deal is that Shell, having walked away from Ithaca's contentious Cambo oil project in the UK's west of Shetlands area last year, will now be exposed to Equinor's equally controversial 300mn bl Rosebank project , which is currently under judicial review . If Rosebank goes ahead, it is likely to be the largest growth driver of the new company with around 70,000 boe/d of production from 2027. Although Shell's assets will contribute a greater share of the joint venture's production to begin with, Equinor's assets have greater growth potential. Through the new entity, Shell will also benefit from Equinor UK's £6bn ($7.6bn) of tax losses. "Equinor's higher UK tax loss position and growth potential offsets the higher current production in Shell's UK portfolio, hence the 50:50 split in ownership of the new company," Barclays analysts wrote in a note. The deal does not include Equinor's assets that straddle the UK's maritime border with Norway — Utgard, Barnacle and Statfjord. Equinor will also retain ownership of its UK offshore wind portfolio, as well as other low-carbon and gas storage assets. Shell will retain ownership of its interests in Scotland's Fife NGL plant and St Fergus Gas Terminal, as well as floating wind projects under development. It will also remain the technical developer of the Acorn carbon capture and storage (CCS) project in Scotland. By Jon Mainwaring Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

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Australia’s Woodside inks Bechtel EPC for Louisiana LNG


05/12/24
News
05/12/24

Australia’s Woodside inks Bechtel EPC for Louisiana LNG

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