BP to ship first LNG cargo through Panama Canal: ACP

Spanish Market: Natural gas
28/06/16

BP will ship the first LNG cargo through the expanded Panama Canal aboard the 138,000m3 British Merchant tanker late next month, with a cargo originating in Trinidad and Tobago, according to the Panama Canal Authority (ACP).

BP declined to comment.

The BP-owned tanker has yet to declare a destination, but The Society of International Gas Tanker and Terminal Operators (SIGTTO) said the vessel is bound for Chile.

Chile's 15mn m3/d Quintero terminal is scheduled to receive one spot cargo in July, in addition to four contract cargoes from long-term supplier BG. Alternative destinations could be in northeast Asia-Pacific.

Panama inaugurated a third set of locks on 26 June, enabling larger vessels, including LNG tankers, to traverse the strategic Atlantic-Pacific route for the first time.

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18/09/26

Territorial risks cloud Mexico’s Centauro expansion

Mexico City, 18 September (Argus) — Territorial risks threaten to delay the second phase of Mexico's Centauro del Norte natural gas pipeline, designed to bring cheaper US Permian basin gas to northwestern power plants, while disparate metrics obscure its rate of progress. Grupo Carso is building the $1.43bn, approximately 442km (275-mile) pipeline across Baja California and Sonora states. The project will supply two of state-owned utility CFE's newest combined-cycle power plants and add generation capacity in a region facing grid constraints. The 72km first phase runs from an interconnection with Sempra's Rosarito pipeline near Mexicali to San Luis Rio Colorado, connecting the new plants to existing infrastructure. Mexicali's 641MW Gonzalez Ortega plant began commercial operations in May. CFE is also developing the 648MW San Luis Rio Colorado plant. Construction of the 365km second phase is not scheduled to begin until early 2027, with completion targeted for December 2028, but market sources doubt that schedule can be met. The expansion would receive Permian gas primarily through the Samalayuca-Sasabe pipeline system and northern cross-border hubs connected to west Texas supplies. The second phase presents territorial risks that engineering alone cannot resolve, Carlos Alberto Torres, a former official at state-owned Pemex, told Argus . These include its proximity to the El Pinacate y Gran Desierto de Altar biosphere reserve, consultations with Tohono O'odham communities along the Sonoyta-Caborca corridor, rights of way across agricultural land near Caborca and Altar, and security conditions affecting workers and contractors. None has been confirmed as currently blocking the project, Torres said, but each could delay construction. Uncertainty has been compounded by the different scopes used to report progress. The energy ministry's 15-year hydrocarbons development plan, released on 7 September, put overall project progress at 7.12pc. Carso filings, meanwhile, showed progress rising from 47pc at the end of the first quarter to 77pc as of 30 June, likely referring only to the first phase. Those figures measure execution of a $47.85mn contract held by Carso subsidiary CICSA rather than the entire project. Carso's filings also vary in describing Centauro as either a two- or three-phase project. Carso has not responded to Argus requests for clarification, while the energy ministry's plan provides little detail beyond funding. "The question is not whether there is money, it is whether we are budgeting for territorial and regulatory risk with the same rigor as capex," Torres said. By James Young Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Germany, Spain, Portugal urge EU windfall tax options

18/09/26

Germany, Spain, Portugal urge EU windfall tax options

Brussels, 18 September (Argus) — The European Commission should present clear options for an excess profits tax on oil companies, German finance minister Lars Klingbeil said today, gaining support from some EU counterparts. France, however, cautioned against a one-size-fits-all approach. Klingbeil and his peers from Austria, Spain, Portugal, Poland and Italy called on the commission to outline possible windfall tax models ahead of a 9 October meeting of EU finance ministers in Luxembourg. "My clear expectation from the commission is to present models for an excess profit tax now," Klingbeil said at an informal ministerial meeting in Dublin. "There are also instruments we can use to steer the market. That includes a fuel price cap, but also the excess profit tax." French finance minister Roland Lescure said he was not opposed to a windfall tax but said national circumstances differ. "I'm willing to see what the commission is going to come up with," he said. "We also want to make sure that we don't put one-size-fits-all measures in place when national situations are different." European economy commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis said the commission is not preparing an EU-wide proposal, and member states remain free to pursue national windfall tax measures. "There is a possibility, certainly for member states to proceed with this windfall profit taxation," Dombrovskis said, adding any measures should be temporary and targeted and should not increase fossil fuel demand. "When we are facing a supply shock, driving up demand will not help," he said. Klingbeil said Berlin is discussing reductions in fuel-related taxes, as flagged by German chancellor Friedrich Merz. "I want a clear, rapid signal at the gas pumps," Klingbeil said. "We are doing this as the federal government, but Europe must also contribute now to getting fuel prices down." Spanish economy minister Carlos Cuerpo also urged the commission to analyse energy-sector profits. "And if there are windfall profits, then we should go and tax them," Cuerpo said, arguing for a European approach so the costs are shared fairly. Portuguese economy minister Joaquim Jose Miranda said the commission has generally favoured national responses over a European solution. He said Portugal's automatic fuel tax reduction, introduced after the outbreak of war between Iran and the US, will remain in place for a "certain period". Austrian finance minister Markus Marterbauer called on the commission to examine energy-sector profit margins and earnings, and said he would be open to reintroducing a domestic cap on fuel margins. "Neither the state nor companies should profit from the high prices," he said. By Dafydd ab Iago Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Cameron LNG undergoing planned maintenance

16/09/26

Cameron LNG undergoing planned maintenance

Houston, 16 September (Argus) — Cameron LNG is carrying out planned maintenance on one of three liquefaction trains at its 15mn t/yr (2bn ft³/d) export terminal in southwest Louisiana, a company spokesperson told Argus on Wednesday. The company declined to comment on how long the maintenance is intended to last. Feedgas nominations to Cameron LNG fell to 1.3bn ft³ on Wednesday from 1.4bn ft³ on Tuesday and an average of 1.9bn ft³/d over the previous 30 days, pipeline data show ( see chart ). Cameron is the second US LNG export terminal to schedule maintenance during the September-October shoulder season. Berkshire Hathaway Energy's 5.75mn t/yr Cove Point LNG terminal in Maryland plans about two weeks of work beginning on 19 September. This comes with the LNG market constrained by the de facto closure of the strait of Hormuz, which has effectively shut in about 20pc of global supply since the US-Iran war began in late February. But Cameron LNG said it does not anticipate any disruptions to its customers. France's TotalEnergies and Japanese trading firms Mitsubishi and Mitsui are Cameron LNG's offtakers, each with a 16.6pc stake in the project. Sempra Infrastructure holds the remaining 50.2pc stake and operates the terminal. No ships were docked at Cameron LNG on Wednesday afternoon. But the Mitsui-operated 174,000m³ Marvel Phoenix departed with a 72,700t cargo earlier in the day, Kpler ship-tracking data show. The terminal has three LNG storage tanks, each with capacity of about 72,000t, giving Sempra Infrastructure flexibility to minimize loading disruptions during maintenance. Cameron LNG most recently carried out maintenance on one of its trains throughout May, when feedgas flows averaged 1.5bn ft³/d. The terminal exported 870,000t of LNG that month, down from an average of 1.2mn t/month in the previous three months. The decline was equivalent to about 1.1 fewer cargoes per week, assuming a standard cargo size of 72,000. Meanwhile, work on Cove Point LNG's pipeline system is expected to begin on 19 September, capping feedgas at 20mn ft³/d through 24 September and at 30mn ft³/d from 25 September to 2 October. The outage could remove another three cargoes from the market during that span. By Tray Swanson Feedgas flows to Cameron LNG bn ft³/d Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Pa. study finds PJM short on generation

16/09/26

Pa. study finds PJM short on generation

Houston, 16 September (Argus) — Grid operator PJM Interconnection is projected to miss its reliability planning standard through 2030 even with the new power generation it expects to add, because data-center driven electricity demand is growing faster than supply, according to a Pennsylvania study. The study's base-case outlook, which uses PJM's 2026 load forecast and assumes resource supply gradually improves through 2040, found the grid operator fails to meet its reliability standard from 2027-30 in the absence of new policies. The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC) said it commissioned the study to understand how rapid load growth, generator retirements and delays in new resource development could affect reliability across Pennsylvania and the broader PJM region, which covers 13 states the District of Columbia, making it the biggest grid operator in the US. "Across all scenarios, new in-state generation additions do not keep pace with the growth of in-state load," the report said. The system remains "tightly constrained" even as new resources are added, with the model selecting most generation technologies up to their assumed build limits, the report said. Under the study's base-case scenario, PJM's gas combined-cycle fleet increases to 71.8GW in 2030 from 61.4GW in 2025, while solar capacity rises to 56.1GW from 14.7GW. Onshore wind capacity grows to 21GW from 11GW and battery storage expands to 7.9GW from 0.5GW. Pennsylvania policymakers are increasingly focused on how data center growth effects electricity prices and reliability. Governor Josh Shapiro (D) has lobbied his counterparts to take a more active role in shaping PJM's policies as it grapples with unprecedented load-growth projections. Shapiro recently imposed new requirements on data center development to ensure new large-load customers pay for the infrastructure needed to serve them and do not shift costs to existing ratepayers. The report projects Pennsylvania will remain PJM's largest generation state, but its share of regional generating capacity shrinks over time as more resources are added in states such as Virginia and Ohio. Pennsylvania's share was 23pc in 2025 and is projected to fall to 20-21pc by 2030 and 14-17pc by 2040. Through 2030, most new generation added in Pennsylvania consists of solar and battery storage. By 2040, the state's gas combined-cycle fleet rises to 32GW from 20GW in 2025, while coal capacity falls to about 1GW from 4.6GW. Across all modeled scenarios, the study projects 14-29GW of coal retirements across PJM by 2040 as plants reach the end of their useful lives and face competition from more economic resources. The study did not evaluate specific solutions to the projected reliability shortfall, including whether extending the lives of existing coal plants or adding capacity beyond the modeled resource mix would improve reliability outcomes. Thermal generators were assumed to retire on or before their scheduled retirement dates, with additional retirements based on modeled economics, PUC officials said in response to questions from Argus . By Jasmina Kelemen Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Dutch fossil exit roadmap highlights difficulties

16/09/26

Dutch fossil exit roadmap highlights difficulties

London, 16 September (Argus) — The Netherlands has published a roadmap on transitioning away from fossil fuels, outlining the difficulties the country will face in the transition and setting no date for an ultimate halt to fossil fuel use. The plan aims at the "minimisation" of fossil fuel use by 2050, with its "ultimate" phase-out date left undefined. It identifies challenges in moving away from each of natural gas, oil and coal. The country committed to producing a roadmap to end fossil fuel use at the UN Cop 30 climate summit in Brazil last year, and recommitted to it at the Transitioning away from Fossil Fuels conference in Santa Marta in May. The latter conference was organised outside of formal UN channels and attended only by countries keen to advance on cutting fossil fuel use. The Netherlands co-hosted the meeting with Colombia. But the Latin American country's new administration has since said it plans to pursue a different approach to transitioning to cleaner energy, reopening the door to expanding oil and natural gas. The Dutch government said that the transition away from gas is made more difficult by the fuel's role in the Netherlands' energy system. "As long as full-fledged, sustainable alternatives are insufficiently available, natural gas remains essential for our society," the roadmap reads. Gas plays a large role in balancing the Netherlands' renewable-heavy power system, filling in during periods of low intermittent renewable output. Replacement of gas in domestic heating is underway, with increased electrification and insulation reducing consumption in recent years. But "uncertainties are considerably greater" on the use of gas in industry, the government said. Allocating fixed costs of the gas network to a shrinking number of users during the transition represents another difficulty. Some changes have been made which frontload costs to the coming years, when they can be spread across more users. Gas consumption would fall to around 110TWh by 2040, from around 250TWh in 2025, under the government's plan. But alternative government projections suggest consumption could fall to 140-190TWh. The government plans to prioritise domestic production of gas, citing its lower climate impact compared to imported LNG, and lower dependence on other countries. The country produces around 20 mn m³/d of natural gas, or the equivalent of 100TWh/yr. On oil, the government considers the transition to be relatively sure in mobility. But it said that phasing out of fossil fuel use in the chemical sector is more uncertain as demand for sustainable raw materials remains slow as a result of a lack of policy support. Coal use in the Netherlands is limited to the power and steel sectors. In the former, a ban will come into force in 2030, although this will negatively affect security of supply, according to the roadmap. In the steel sector the replacement of the country's two coal-consuming blast furnaces could take place in the 2030s, although this will depend on "technological and market developments," the government said. Environmental non-governmental organisation (NGO) welcomed the publication of the roadmap, but criticised the absence of phase out dates for oil and gas and ongoing gas production. By Rhys Talbot Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

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