Aramco eyes stake in Australia's Louisiana LNG project

Spanish Market: Fertilizers, Natural gas
14/05/25

Australian independent Woodside and Saudi state-owned oil firm Aramco have entered into an agreement for Aramco to possibly buy a stake in Woodside's 16.5mn t/yr Louisiana LNG project and to explore other opportunities, including lower-carbon ammonia.

As part of the non-binding agreement, Aramco could buy an equity interest in and LNG offtake from its Louisiana LNG project, Woodside said without disclosing further details. This comes after Woodside reached a final investment decision on the project in late April.

Woodside and Aramco signed the agreement in Riyadh in Saudi Arabia at the Saudi-US investment forum, which was attended by Arabian crown prince Mohammed bin Salman and US president Donald Trump.

The collaboration shows Woodside's Louisiana project is generating interest among "high-quality potential investors," Woodside's CEO Meg O'Neill said, after selling 40pc of the project's infrastructure to US-based investment firm Stonepeak in early April.

The agreement will also help the firm build a more diverse portfolio, as it branches into chemical production, O'Neill said. The firm's wholly-owned Beaumont New Ammonia project in Texas is expected to produce first ammonia in the second half of this year, and lower-carbon ammonia by the second half of next year.

By Grace Dudley

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12/06/25

Spanish May industrial gas use hits multi-year low

London, 12 June (Argus) — Spanish industrial gas burn last month was higher than in April but the lowest for May in at least nine years, the latest data from grid operator Enagas show. Industrial gas demand of 449 GWh/d in May edged up from 441 GWh/d in April, but remained lower than the 465 GWh/d a year earlier and was the weakest for May since at least 2016, when Enagas' public dataset begins. Before last month, the lowest industrial demand for May over the past nine years occurred in 2024, when Mibgas day-ahead reference prices averaged €32/MWh. Spanish industries last month also consumed less gas than in May 2022, when day-ahead reference prices on the Mibgas exchange averaged €77/MWh, more than double the Argus -assessed €34/MWh day-ahead average last month. Spanish industrial demand has remained lower on the year every month so far in 2025, largely because of limited gas use by refineries. Spanish refiners last month consumed 84 GWh/d, down from 100 GWh/d in May 2024, but the sector still accounted for the largest single portion of industrial demand. There was also a significant decline in demand from the food sector, which decreased by 13pc on the year, combined heat and power (CHP) plants (11pc drop) and the paper sector, which fell by 7pc on the year. Gas burn by CHPs last month held lower on the year, despite overall demand for Spanish power generation holding more or less stable and Spanish renewables and nuclear plants contributing less to the mix. That change may at least partly relate to stronger competition from combined-cycle gas turbines, which generated 4.4GW last month, 63pc higher than a year earlier. The metal, chemical and construction sectors all used marginally more gas on the year, but that change only partially offset the decline in other sectors ( see table ). By Iris Petrillo Spanish gas demand by sector GWh/d May-25 May-24 Refineries 84 98 Chemical and pharma 61 59 Construction 61 60 CHPs 51 58 Food 44 50 Other 36 39 Metals 36 35 Paper 31 33 Services 29 29 Textiles 5 5 Enagas Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

EPA readies new biofuel blend mandate proposal

12/06/25

EPA readies new biofuel blend mandate proposal

New York, 12 June (Argus) — President Donald Trump's administration is close to releasing two regulations informing oil refiners how much biofuel they must blend into the conventional fuel supply. The two rules — proposed biofuel blend mandates for at least 2026 and most likely for 2027 as well as a separate final rule cutting cellulosic fuel mandates for last year — exited White House review on Wednesday, the last step before major regulations can be released. Previously scheduled meetings as part of the process appear to have been cancelled, another signal that the rules' release is imminent. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has said it wants to get the frequently delayed Renewable Fuel Standard program back on its statutory timeline, which would require volumes for 2027 to be finalized before November this year. Any proposal will have to go through the typical public comment process and could be changed. A coalition of biofuel-producing groups and feedstock suppliers, including the American Petroleum Institute, has pushed EPA to set a biomass-based diesel mandate of 5.25bn USG for 2026, hoping that a record-high target will support biorefineries that have struggled this year. Many plants have idled or run less recently, as uncertainty about future blend mandates, the halting rollout of a new clean fuel tax credit, and tariffs that up feedstock costs all hurt margins. EPA administrator Lee Zeldin also told a House subcommittee last month the agency wanted "to get caught up as quickly as we can" on a backlog of small refiner requests for program exemptions. Courts took issue with EPA's exemption policy during Trump's first term and again during President Joe Biden's tenure, leaving officials now with dozens of waiver requests covering multiple compliance years still pending. It is unclear whether the rule will provide clarity on EPA's plans for program waivers — including whether the agency will up obligations on other parties to make up for exempt small refiners — but biofuel groups have worried that widespread exemptions would curb demand for their products. The price of Renewable Identification Number (RIN) credits used for program compliance have been volatile this year on rumors about these exemptions, which EPA has called market manipulation. RIN trading picked up and prices rose on the news as Thursday's session began. Bids and offers for 2025 ethanol D6 RINs, the most prevalent type currently trading, began the day at 96¢/RIN and 98¢/RIN, respectively. Deals were struck shortly after at 98¢/RIN and 99¢/RIN, with seller interest at one point reaching 100¢/RIN — well above a 95.5¢/RIN settle on Wednesday. Biomass-based diesel D4 RINs with concurrent vintage followed the same path with sellers holding ground as high as 107¢/RIN. By Cole Martin and Matthew Cope Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

UK ETS emissions fell by 11pc on the year in 2024

12/06/25

UK ETS emissions fell by 11pc on the year in 2024

Seville, 12 June (Argus) — Emissions in sectors covered by the UK emissions trading scheme (ETS) declined by 11.5pc year on year in 2024, data published by the UK ETS authority show, slowing their decline slightly from the previous year. Stationary installations covered by the UK ETS emitted 76.7mn t of CO2 equivalent (CO2e), down by 12.9pc from 2023, the data show. But this was offset somewhat by a 2pc increase in aviation emissions to 8.99mn t CO2e. Overall UK ETS emissions now have declined for two consecutive years, having fallen by 12.5pc in 2023. Emissions under the scheme rose by 2.5pc in 2022, as a strong rebound in aviation activity following earlier Covid-19 restrictions outweighed declining stationary emissions. Stationary emissions have decreased in every year since the scheme launched in 2021. The majority of the decline in stationary emissions under the UK ETS last year took place in the power sector, where emissions dropped by 18.2pc to 30.6mn t CO2e. The country's last coal-fired plant, Ratcliffe-on-Soar, closed in September last year. And the share of gas-fired output in the generation mix dipped as wind, solar and biomass production and electricity imports edged higher. Industrial emissions also declined, by 8.9pc to 46.1mn t CO2e. The iron and steel sector posted the largest relative drop of 30pc to 6.54mn t CO2e. Emissions from crude extraction fell by 6.4pc to 6.0mn t CO2e, while emissions from gas extraction, manufacture and distribution activities decreased by 8.9pc to 5.3mn t CO2e. The chemicals sector emitted 2.28mn t CO2e, down by 5.2pc on the year. A total of 43 installations were marked as having surrendered fewer carbon allowances than their cumulative emissions since the launch of the UK ETS, as of 1 May. A further two installations failed to report their emissions by the deadline. "Appropriate enforcement action" will be taken against operators that fail to surrender the required allowances, the UK ETS authority said. Overall greenhouse gas emissions across the UK economy dropped by a smaller 4pc last year, data published by the government in March show. This decline also was driven principally by lower gas and coal use in the power and industry sectors, with smaller declines in transport and agriculture, not covered by the UK ETS, and an increase in buildings emissions, also out of the scheme's scope. Emissions under the EU ETS in 2024 dipped by a projected 4.5pc from a year earlier, based on preliminary data published by the European Commission in April. The UK and EU last month announced that they will "work towards" linking the two systems together. By Victoria Hatherick UK ETS emissions mn t CO2e Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Indonesia seeks stronger potash trade with Belarus

12/06/25

Indonesia seeks stronger potash trade with Belarus

London, 12 June (Argus) — Indonesia is looking to improve trade flows of potash with Belarus after a meeting last week between Indonesian foreign minister Sugiono and the Belarusian ambassador to Jakarta. Sugiono intends to enhance "co-operation in potash" with Belarus to support the Indonesian government's goal of "achieving national food security", the foreign ministry said in an official statement. Belarus is one of the world's largest exporters of potash fertilizer. State-owned producer Belaruskali exported more than 10mn t of potash last year. Indonesia is the largest importer of potash in southeast Asia and applies most of the fertilizer to the country's large palm oil plantations. Indonesia sourced almost a fifth of its total MOP imports from Belarus last year. Indonesia imported 245,000t of MOP from Belarus last year, in addition to roughly 406,000t of MOP from Uzbekistan, the majority of which is likely to be from Belarus, GTT data show. In the first four months of this year, MOP imports from Belarus and Uzbekistan totalled about 331,000t. Indonesian president Prabowo Subianto has outlined food security as a core objective of his government. Since coming to power in October, his administration has introduced plans to increase agricultural output by converting some of the country's swamplands into rice fields. By Aidan Hall Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

EU adopts new Russia, Belarus tariffs

12/06/25

EU adopts new Russia, Belarus tariffs

Brussels, 12 June (Argus) — The EU has now formally adopted new tariffs on remaining Russian and Belarus agricultural products, as well as on a range of fertilizers. The regulation, implementing the tariffs, enters into force on 1 July. EU officials estimate the new agricultural tariffs cover up to 15pc of Russian agricultural exports to the EU in 2023. The EU would, from 1 July, place an additional 50pc tariff customs duty based on value on over 145 CN codes. Goods covered include animal, dairy, live trees and other plants, coffee and meat as well as various animal fats and plant oils, including palm and palm kernel oil. The implementation of tariffs is to take place over three years for nitrogen-based and compound fertilisers. The new tariffs add an additional €40/t on imports of most nitrogen fertilizers — including urea, amsul, AN, CAN, and UAN — from Russia and Belarus, beginning on 1 July. They also add €45/t to the import of DAP, MAP, NPKs, NP and some other grades. The new tariffs are additional to already-existing import tariffs to the EU. For most grades from Russia these import tariffs are set at 6.5pc. From 2026 until 2028 the rates increase to reach levels of €315/t and €430/t respectively for the two product groups. The legal text also foresees immediate application of the highest rates, if cumulative imports exceed 2.7mn t in 2025-2026, 1.8mn t in 2026-2027, or 0.9mn t in 2027-2028. The European Parliament adopted the additional tariffs last month. Like EU states, parliament confirmed the commission's legal proposal, leaving unchanged the rates and phase-in period of tariffs proposed by the commission at the end of January. By Dafydd ab Iago EU proposed import tariffs for Russia and Belarus ( €/t *) Urea, Amsul, AN, CAN, UAN NPKs, DAP, MAP, NP Jul 25-Jun 26 40 45 Jul 26-Jun 27 60 70 Jul 27-Jun 28 80 95 From Jul 28 315 430 *All tariffs on top of 6.5pc import duty. Levels are applicable for a total of 2.7mn t in 2025-26, 1.8mn t in 2026-27, and 0.9mn t in 2027-28. Once the quota has been reached, levels jump to the level from July 28 — EU Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

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