Executives, investors adjust transition plans: Survey
The vast majority of energy company executives and investors have altered their energy transition strategies over the past year, with energy security concerns gaining focus, according to a new survey.
More than 70pc of both executives and investors have changed their plans this year, according to the second annual survey conducted by law firm Womble Bond Dickinson. Executives have deepened their interest in energy efficiency, electrification and biofuels and biomass while investors have deprioritized environmental, social and governance (ESG) in 2022 compared to last year.
While the industry remains committed to developing sustainable energy sources and is accelerating adoption of renewables and decarbonization technologies, market and geopolitical conditions paired with energy security concerns have shifted the focus toward boosting all energy supplies, with natural gas as the transition fuel of choice, according to the survey.
Of the nearly 140 energy executives and investors surveyed this year, 93pc represented companies headquartered in the US.
Most respondents said they expect at least five more years are needed until hydrogen and geothermal have a meaningful effect on the energy transition. They also expect that last year's Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act will help develop battery storage.
This year's survey found increasingly divergent views on the likelihood of meeting the White House's greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction goals, with rising percentages saying energy companies are "not prepared" and that they are "very prepared."
Executives agreed that the most pressing challenges facing the industry are fuel availability, supply chain disruptions and regulatory compliance. Investors, however, appear significantly more concerned about the financial burden of stranded assets.
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EU adopts sustainability due diligence rules
EU adopts sustainability due diligence rules
Brussels, 24 April (Argus) — The European parliament has formally approved a Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD), which will require large EU companies to make "best efforts" for climate change mitigation. The law will mean that relevant companies will have to adopt a transition plan to make their business model compatible with the 1.5°C temperature limit set by the Paris climate agreement. It will apply to EU firms with over 1,000 employees and turnover above €450mn ($481mn). It will also apply to some companies with franchising or licensing agreements in the EU. The directive requires transposition into different EU national laws. It obliges member states to ensure relevant firms adopt and put into effect a transition plan for climate change mitigation. Transition plans must aim to "ensure, through best efforts" that business models and company strategies are compatible with transition to a sustainable economy, limiting global warming to 1.5°C and achieving climate neutrality by 2050. Where "relevant", the plans should limit "exposure of the company to coal-, oil- and gas-related activities". Despite a provisional agreement, EU states initially failed to formally approve the provisional agreement reached with parliament in December, after some member states blocked the deal. Parliament's adoption — at its last session before breaking for EU elections — paves the way for entry into force later in the year. Industry has obtained clarification, in the non-legal introduction, that the directive's requirements are an "obligation of means and not of results" with "due account" being given to progress that firms make as well as the "complexity and evolving" nature of climate transitioning. Still, firms' climate transition plans need to contain "time-bound" targets for 2030 and in five-year intervals until 2050 based on "conclusive scientific" evidence and, where appropriate, absolute reduction targets for greenhouse gas (GHG) for direct scope 1 emissions as well as scope 2 and scope 3 emissions. Scope 1 refers to emissions directly stemming from an organisation's activity, while scope 2 refers to indirect emissions from purchased energy. Scope 3 refers to end-use emissions. "It is alarming to see how member states weakened the law in the final negotiations. And the law lacks an effective mechanism to force companies to reduce their climate emissions," said Paul de Clerck, campaigner at non-governmental organisation Friends of the Earth Europe, pointing to "gaping" loopholes in the adopted text. By Dafydd ab Iago Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
New ISO 8217 eyes wider scope for alternative fuels
New ISO 8217 eyes wider scope for alternative fuels
London, 24 April (Argus) — The 7th edition of ISO 8217, to be published in the second quarter of this year, will outline a broader integration of marine biodiesel blending, delegates heard at the International Bunker Conference (IBC) 2024 in Norway. Tim Wilson, principal specialist fuels of Lloyds Register's fuel oil bunkering analysis and advisory service (FOBAS), presented on the upcoming iteration of the ISO 8217 marine fuel specification standard, which will be released at IBC 2024. The new edition will incorporate specification standards for a wide range of fatty acid methyl ester (Fame)-based marine biodiesel blends up to B100, 100pc hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO), as well as synthetic and renewable marine fuels. This will also include additional clauses to cover a wider scope, and briefly touch on biodiesel specifications that do not entirely align with road biodiesel EN-14214 specifications. This follows the emergence of widening price spreads for marine biodiesel blends because of specification differences and the lack of a marine-specific standard for the blends. The new edition of ISO 8217 is also expected to remove the limit of 7pc Fame when blended with distillate marine fuels such as marine gasoil (MGO) which was in place in the previous ISO 8217:2017. Other changes to distillate marine biodiesel blends include changes to the minimum Cetane Index, oxidation stability alignment to be connected to either ISO 15751 for blends comprising 2pc or more of Fame biodiesel and ISO 12205 for blends comprising a Fame component of under 2pc. Cold-filter plugging point (CFPP) properties will be determined by the vessel's fuel storage tanks' heating capabilities and requirements will be set in place to report the CFPP for distillate marine biodiesel grades, according to the new edition of the marine fuel specification standard. Wilson said that a minimum kinematic viscosity at 50°C will be in place for various forms of residual bunker fuel oil along with a viscosity control alerting suppliers to inform buyers of the exact viscosity in the supplied fuel. He said they have seen delivered fuel viscosity come in at much lower levels than ordered by the buyers, which was the reasoning behind the viscosity control monitoring requirement. By Hussein Al-Khalisy Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Peninsula eyes B100 marine fuel supply in Barcelona
Peninsula eyes B100 marine fuel supply in Barcelona
London, 24 April (Argus) — Marine fuel supplier and trader Peninsula has added a chemical tanker to its fleet in Barcelona, with a view to supply the port with B100 marine biodiesel. Aalborg meets chemical tanker regulations under the International Maritime Organisation (IMO)'s International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL) Annex II. This means the tanker can supply marine biodiesel blends containing up to 100pc fatty acid methyl ester (Fame), which conventional oil tankers are unable to do . Oil tankers and barges are limited to up to 25pc Fame. Peninsula added that the Aalborg is also used to supply conventional fossil bunker fuels such as very-low sulphur fuel oil (VLSFO) and marine gasoil (MGO). It is yet to complete a B100 delivery in Barcelona. Market participants pointed to limited demand for B100 in the Mediterranean, but regulatory changes such as the introduction of FuelEU maritime next year may help to support demand for marine biodiesel blends. By Hussein Al-Khalisy Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Norway-German H2 pipeline hinges on demand: Equinor
Norway-German H2 pipeline hinges on demand: Equinor
London, 24 April (Argus) — Norway and Germany have renewed a commitment to the idea of a hydrogen pipeline, but Norwegian state-owned Equinor expects the link will come in a secondary stage of development as it is focused on hydrogen production in mainland Europe as a first step. Equinor plans to take a final investment decision in late 2025 on its 210,000 t/yr Eemshaven low-carbon hydrogen plant in the Netherlands, the company's director of H2 northwest Europe Henrik Solgaard Andersen said at the Hydrogen and Fuel Cells conference in Hanover. Equinor hopes the project will supply German buyers that participate in the country's carbon contracts for difference (CfD) auctions, which are designed to help large industry decarbonise, Andersen said. Equinor has entered the final phase of studies for the plant. The facility would reform natural gas from the Norwegian offshore to hydrogen with carbon capture and storage (CCS). Undertaking this in the Netherlands means existing pipelines can be used to carry the gas from Norway rather than having to build new links. Equinor sees this as its most mature hydrogen project, followed by one near the German port of Rostock , and one near Ghent in Belgium , according to Andersen. These "local European projects" are designed for early market development and "will be the first step," he said. Equinor expects to start large-scale production of hydrogen in Norway with pipeline exports to the continent only when there is a big enough market, he said. "You don't invest in a pipeline €4bn-6bn just for [transporting] a few molecules," he said. "You need to believe in the market." Equinor in early 2023 announced a plan to supply hydrogen from Norway to German utility RWE for use in power plants. But Berlin has shifted its plans for hydrogen power a couple of times since then. It also has ambitions to use hydrogen in sectors like steel, but companies have not yet taken firm investment decisions, meaning there is uncertainty about how much hydrogen demand will materialise and when. A joint government task force working on a Norwegian-German pipeline has identified the first regulatory barriers that need to be addressed, and private infrastructure companies will continue to study the logistics, according to an announcement from Oslo and Berlin. This will build on the positive feasibility study from last year. German gas system operator operator Gascade, which is developing the AquaDuctus North Sea pipeline connection to Germany, and Norwegian state-owned operator Gassco that is developing the Norwegian side, are aiming for a 2030 start date, the companies reaffirmed this week. Gascade has proposed an open access pipeline that would be able to aggregate hydrogen exports from England, Scotland, Norway, Denmark, and North Sea wind farms. By Aidan Lea Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
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