US to seek 'disapproval' of California tailpipe rule

Spanish Market: Battery materials, Crude oil, Emissions, Oil products
18/02/25

President Donald Trump's administration is taking a procedural step to enable the Republican-led US Congress to block a California program requiring 100pc of in-state sales of new cars and trucks to be electric, plug-in hybrid and hydrogen models by 2035.

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said it plans to subject its previous approval of the program to "disapproval" under the Congressional Review Act, which could allow a vote to halt the standards without a potential filibuster. Oil groups backed such an approach, hoping to kill off a state program that threatened long-term demand for gasoline and diesel in California and nearly a dozen other states that are following its lead.

California's program, called Advanced Clean Cars II, requires 35pc of new vehicles sold in the state in model year 2026 to be zero emission vehicles, rising to 100pc of vehicles by 2035. Under former president Joe Biden, EPA granted federal waivers that authorized the program and a separate California plan for limiting emissions from heavy-duty trucks.

The Biden administration said its approval of the waivers were not subject to the Congressional Review Act, which aligned with a formal opinion by the US Government Accountability Office (GAO). But EPA administrator Lee Zeldin, on 14 February, said he would reverse course and "submit" all the waivers for potential disapproval. The prior administration attempted to prevent Congress from having input on an "extremely consequential action", Zeldin said, "and the Trump administration is "transparently correcting this wrong".

It remains unclear the pathway for a vote to disapprove the EPA waivers, given the conflicting opinion by GAO, which for years has served as an independent arbiter of what actions Congress could disapprove. But some outside attorneys have argued that once an agency action is made subject to the Congressional Review Act, federal courts would not have jurisdiction to "second-guess" a decision to hold a vote.

The US Supreme Court separately plans to hold oral arguments in the coming months on a lawsuit by refiners and biofuel producers that want the ability to sue EPA over its approval of an earlier version of the tailpipe program that runs through model year 2025. A federal appeals court last year said the case could not proceed.

By Chris Knight

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21/03/25

Shell ends direct bitumen sales to some German buyers

London, 21 March (Argus) — Shell will stop directly supplying bitumen to some of its low-volume customers in Germany, with effect from 1 April. Shell told customers it has restructured its bitumen distribution channels and can no longer directly distribute to certain customers, according to an email from Shell's bitumen supply unit in Germany seen by Argus . It recommended they instead buy from German bitumen trading and supply firm Bitumina Handel. Neither Shell Germany nor Bitumina Handel have commented, but Argus understands the oil major, which is one of Europe's leading refinery bitumen producers, has concluded a deal with Bitumina to take over supply to its affected customers. The move is part of a wider switch by Shell to focus more on trading bitumen cargoes and less on directly supplying truck volumes to inland customers. The company ended a long-term throughput and supply arrangement into the French market through the Nantes and Bayonne terminals on the French Atlantic coast. Spain's Repsol and Moeve have taken over those operations . Shell last year ceased its South African bitumen retail and truck supply operations . Shell's European bitumen production is at its 187,000 b/d Godorf refinery in western Germany and at its 447,000 b/d Pernis refinery in Rotterdam. The firm recently stopped processing crude at the 147,000 b/d Wesseling section of its 334,000 b/d Rhineland refinery complex. The effect of that on bitumen production at Godorf, the other section of Rhineland, is unclear. By Fenella Rhodes Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Australia's Simcoa may buy carbon credits until 2028

21/03/25

Australia's Simcoa may buy carbon credits until 2028

Sydney, 21 March (Argus) — Australia's silicon producer Simcoa will likely need to buy and surrender Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs) until 2028 for safeguard mechanism compliance obligations before it completes a key decarbonisation project, it told Argus today. The project was awarded federal funds on 20 March. Australia's federal Labor government granted Simcoa A$39.8mn ($25mn) under its Powering the Regions Fund (PRF) to expand charcoal production at its Wellesley facility in Western Australia (WA) and remove the use of coal in silicon production. The project is expected to reduce the company's scope 1 emissions by around 90pc, or approximately 100,000 t/yr of CO2 equivalent (CO2e). Simcoa is Australia's only silicon manufacturer, which is a key component of solar panels. The funding will help maintain silicon manufacturing capability in the country in addition to cutting emissions, energy minister Chris Bowen said. The company currently uses 35,000 t/yr of metallurgical low ash coal in its operations, and anticipates usage will drop to zero after it doubles its charcoal production capacity by 25,000 t/yr to 50,000 t/yr. The completion date for the expansion is not expected before 2028. The firm may continue to buy [ACCUs] as it must use coal as a reducing agent for part of its production for calendar years 2025-27, or until the expansion project can be commissioned, the company told Argus on 21 March. Simcoa surrendered 22,178 ACCUs in the July 2022-June 2023 compliance year as it reported scope 1 emissions of 122,178t of CO2e with a baseline of 100,000t CO2e at its Kemerton silicon smelter. Figures were lower for the July 2023-June 2024 compliance period, the company said, without disclosing details. Australia's Clean Energy Regulator (CER) will publish 2023-24 safeguard data by 15 April . Simcoa anticipates scope 1 emissions at the Kemerton smelter to be "considerably below" the baseline once the charcoal expansion is completed and could make it eligible to earn and sell safeguard mechanism credits (SMCs), which traded for the first time in late February . "We will take whatever opportunity is available to us," the company said on potentially holding or selling SMCs in future. By Juan Weik Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Opec+ overproducers outline new compensation plans

21/03/25

Opec+ overproducers outline new compensation plans

London, 21 March (Argus) — Seven Opec+ members have submitted plans to the Opec secretariat detailing how they intend to compensate for producing above their crude production targets since January 2024. The plans show that Iraq, Kazakhstan, Russia, the UAE, Kuwait, Oman and Saudi Arabia will reduce their combined output by an average of 263,000 b/d over the 15 months to June next year (see table) . This is to compensate for exceeding their production targets by a cumulative 4.203mn b/d between January 2024 and February 2025. This figure does not represent a monthly average, but rather the sum of the monthly volumes by which the group's overproducers have surpassed their respective output ceilings. It works out to an average monthly overproduction of 300,000 b/d in the same period. If implemented fully, these compensation related cuts would partly offset a plan by these seven members plus Algeria to return 2.2mn b/d of voluntary production cuts starting in April over 18 months. In fact, the scheduled output increases for April and May would be entirely wiped out. But there is no guarantee the compensation related cuts will be delivered. Some members, Iraq and Kazakhstan in particular, have largely failed to deliver on past commitments to reduce output to below their production targets. By Aydin Calik Opec+ overproduction compensation plan* Iraq Kuwait Saudi Arabia UAE Kazakhstan Oman Russia Total Mar-25 116 15 38 5 25 199 Apr-25 116 8 9 5 53 7 51 249 May-25 135 15 6 10 57 10 76 309 Jun-25 130 23 10 72 12 102 349 Jul-25 120 30 10 66 14 127 367 Aug-25 115 38 10 81 18 152 414 Sep-25 120 27 10 85 20 173 435 Oct-25 120 10 90 13 233 Nov-25 120 20 84 224 Dec-25 120 20 49 189 Jan-26 123 33 39 195 Feb-26 123 33 38 194 Mar-26 123 33 40 196 Apr-26 123 50 38 211 May-26 125 55 42 222 Jun-26 125 56 36 217 Average reduction 262.7 *the amount by which members pledge to produce below their existing targets each month Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Canada needs more oil pipelines: PM Carney

20/03/25

Canada needs more oil pipelines: PM Carney

Calgary, 20 March (Argus) — Canada needs to build more oil pipelines to reduce its dependence on foreign supplies while opening up new trade corridors for exports, prime minister Mark Carney said today, amid an escalating trade war with the US. "It's about getting things done. It's about getting, yes, getting pipelines built, across this country, so we that can displace imports of foreign oil," Carney said while in Edmonton, Alberta. A US-triggered trade war has sparked an urgent need across Canada to diversify its trading partners and limit the country's reliance on the US. This has lifted public support for getting pipelines and other infrastructure energy projects built. The prime minister envisions the federal government "using all of its power" and new legislation to expedite such projects, adding "additional levers" will be discussed when he meets with provincial premiers on 21 March. "We need to do things that had not been imagined or had not been thought possible, at a speed we haven't seen before," said Carney. "That's the nature of the time." TC Energy's current chief executive along with 13 other executives from the country's largest oil and gas companies urged the federal government this week to declare a "Canadian energy crisis" to expedite infrastructure projects. General election soon Carney is expected to call a general election soon with his Liberal party riding high in the polls. Despite the Liberals' recent track record on energy infrastructure, Carney is looking to appeal to Alberta voters eager for pipelines who typically vote for the rival, pro-oil patch Conservatives. A combined C$280bn ($194bn) of Canadian oil and natural gas projects have been cancelled over the past decade, according to the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers. Of this, C$164bn in the form of LNG projects, C$63bn in pipeline projects, C$30bn in oil sands projects and C$22bn in refinery projects. TC Energy's 1.1mn b/d Energy East pipeline is commonly referenced by industry as a nation-building project that, proposed in 2013, would have supplied Albertan oil to eastern Canada but was abandoned because of changing regulations. There was still no clear indication of when a decision by the federal government could be obtained when TC Energy cancelled it in 2017. Energy East would have piped oil as far east as Irving Oil's 320,000 b/d refinery in Saint John, New Brunswick, which relies on foreign imports, while also giving shippers an outlet to export to Europe and beyond. Canada imported 490,000 b/d of crude in 2023, according to the Canada Energy Regulator (CER). Of this, 355,000 b/d came from the US, 63,000 b/d from Nigeria and 53,000 b/d from Saudi Arabia. Canada meanwhile produces about 5mn b/d, sending about 80pc of that to the US. Carney's infrastructure push includes the proposed Pathways Alliance project in Alberta, which entails a C$16.5bn carbon capture and storage hub that could remove up to 22mn t/yr of CO2 by 2030. Generally, Carney wants to pursue energy and trade corridors and trade including potentially from Alberta to either the Canada's Arctic coast in Nunavut or to Hudson Bay via Churchill, Manitoba. Or both. The subject of trade and pipelines was front and center during a meeting with Alberta premier Danielle Smith earlier in the day, who has criticized the federal Liberals for years. "Albertans will no longer tolerate the way we've been treated by the federal Liberals over the past 10 years," said Smith in a statement, adding a specific list of demands, including "unfettered oil and gas corridors to the north, east and west". The Nunavut project, called the Grays Bay Road and Port Project, is a proposed deepwater port that would cater to critical mineral exports. The proponent, West Kitikmeot Resources, told Argus earlier this month that it had not yet had discussions with Alberta about developing crude capabilities. By Brett Holmes Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Phillips 66 weighs Louisiana refinery expansion

20/03/25

Phillips 66 weighs Louisiana refinery expansion

Houston, 20 March (Argus) — US independent refiner Phillips 66 is seeking state tax incentives for a possible expansion of its 264,000 b/d refinery in Lake Charles, Louisiana. The expansion would increase production capacity and improve operational efficiency through upgrades and new specialized equipment, according to a summary of the project posted by the Louisiana Department of Economic Development. The agency, which administers state incentives, said that the Phillips 66 project is in review. Phillips 66 said today that it does not typically comment on refinery operations, regulatory filings or commercial activities. According to the Louisiana Department of Economic Development posting, the $99mn upgrade would include adding a 5MW steam turbine power generator, a boiler feedwater chemical system, LCR kerosene product rundown system upgrades, a reactor, a naptha fractionator, and other pieces of equipment. The budget includes $40mn for machinery and $59mn for labor and engineering. The project is estimated to be completed at the end of 2027. By Eunice Bridges Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

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