Natural gas
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Latest natural gas news
Browse the latest market moving news on the global natural gas industry.
Petrobras cuts spending in updated 5-year plan
Petrobras cuts spending in updated 5-year plan
Sao Paulo, 28 November (Argus) — Brazilian state-controlled Petrobras cut its spending plans by $7bn to $91bn in its 2026-2030 business plan, it said on Thursday. Petrobras outlined $109bn in overall capital spending in the current plan, down from $111bn in the previous five-year plan . The firm envisages $69.2bn in upstream spending over the next five years, of which around 62pc — about $42.6bn — is earmarked for pre-salt assets and $7.1bn for exploration. The figures represent an overall decrease from the $77.3bn in the previous plan. Pre-salt assets increased its share in the spending from 60pc, but their investments decreased from $46bn in the 2025-29 plan. Petrobras set $18bn to its evaluation portfolio. Of the total, $9bn will go for upstream activities, $5bn for refining and other activities, and $5bn for natural gas and low-carbon initiatives. The upstream figure is nine times higher than the envisioned amount in the previous plan, while refining figures increased slightly from $4bn. But gas and low-carbon initiatives decreased from $8bn from the previous plan. Exploration spending of $7.1bn is split between offshore fields in Brazil's south and southeast, the equatorial margin and foreign assets such as Colombia, Sao Tome and Principe, and South Africa. Petrobras received the environmental license to drill a well in the environmentally-sensitive equatorial margin in October . The company expects eight new projects to come on line by 2030, with seven new floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) platforms — most of them in the pre-salt — and the Raia project , which Petrobras does not operate. The firm also expects 16 complimentary projects in the pre-salt, 15 in the post-salt and eight in onshore regions. The new FPSOs include the P-79 , P-80 , P-82 , P-83 units in the Buzios field, P-84 in the Atapu field and P-85 in the Sepia 2 field. All units have capacity of 225,000 b/d and all fields are in the pre-salt Santos basin. Petrobras included the deepwater oil and natural gas project Sergipe Aguas-Profundas in the plan, expecting its partial conclusion by 2030. Mines and energy minister Alexandre Silveira said this week that the executive veto on the new crude royalties formula was "a way to push Petrobras to maintain its investments from its previous plan," including the Seap and the Campos field revamp project. The firm expects oil and natural gas production to hit 3.3mn b/d of oil equivalent (boe/d) by 2030, with peak production at 3.4mn boe/d in 2028-29. The figures represent an overall increase from 3mn boe/d in the previous plan and an increase from 3.2mn boe/d for the 2028-29 timeframe. Petrobras' plan considered Brent crude prices at an average of $63/bl for 2026 and $70/bl for 2027-2030. It also considered average US dollar-Brazilian real exchange rate of R5.80/$1 in 2026-2030, it said. Refining, fertilizers Combined spending on refining, transportation, sales, petrochemicals and fertilizers is set to fall by over 19pc from the previous five-year cycle to $15.8bn, despite a forecast increase in diesel production. The company aims to prioritize 10ppm diesel over 500ppm. It will produce the fuel mainly in 21mn m³/d Boaventura Energy Complex, in southeastern Rio de Janeiro state, and in its recently upgraded 230,000 b/d Abreu e Lima plant in northeastern Pernambuco state, it said. Petrobras plans to focus investments on expanding and upgrading refineries with low-carbon fuels production, it said. The company aims to increase its installed processing capacity to 2.1mn b/d by 2030, up from 1.8mn b/d today, without acquiring or building new refining assets, it said. The firm also plans to increase logistics in the center-west and north, it said. Those plans include spending $2bn to build 20 cabotage vessels, 18 barges and charter other 40 supporting vessels for oil and gas production. The nitrogen fertilizers plant UFN-III in Tres Lagoas, in central-western Mato Grosso do Sul state, is the main investment in the sector, it said. Spending on the fertilizer sector is stable from the previous five-year plan. Energy transition in the corner Energy transition investments decreased by nearly 20pc from the previous plan to $13bn. While investments in bioproducts — including ethanol, biodiesel and biomethane — rose by over 11pc to $4.8bn, planned spending for decarbonization operations fell by 19pc to $4.3bn. Investments in low-carbon energies almost halved to $3.1bn. But spending on research and development initiatives grew by 20pc to $1.2bn. The plan earmarks $4bn in spending on natural gas and low-carbon energy projects, up by 54pc from the previous plan. Petrobras will prioritize ethanol, biodiesel, biomethane production through partnerships and shared assets, in tandem with its own projects for renewable diesel, sustainable aviation fuel and biobunker prompted by regulatory advances, it said. By Maria Frazatto and João Curi Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Hedge funds switch to net short position on TTF
Hedge funds switch to net short position on TTF
London, 27 November (Argus) — Investment funds entered a net short Dutch TTF gas position on the Intercontinental Exchange (Ice) for the first time in 20 months, according to the most recent commitment of traders report. Hedge funds held a net short position of 11TWh for the first time since March 2024 in the week ending 21 October, after increasing their short contracts to an all-time high of 463TWh. But investment firms have also slightly increased their longs in recent weeks, increasing their aggregate TTF exposure to 915TWh. The report does not provide data on how positions vary across contracts. The high levels of both long and short exposure could therefore derive from diverging strategies for different contracts along the curve. "The market is structurally changing its positioning style," a market participant told Argus . Companies may also have different outlooks for this winter, with near-term risks potentially tightening Europe's gas balance later in the winter. In addition, hedge funds could have increased their shorts in recent week to capitalise on the volatility brought about by the reported peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, market participants told Argus . And they may be also waiting for higher TTF prices later this winter to exit their longs and collect higher returns than in the current low-price scenario. This has kept TTF prices mostly unchanged, despite a cold snap in Europe last week, they added. But fundamentals have largely supported the downward pressure on the TTF front-month price, owing to ample LNG supply, largely mild weather so far this winter and a firmly shut arbitrage between the Atlantic and Pacific basins. The TTF front-month price has fallen in recent weeks and hit an 18-month low of €29.735/MWh on 24 November, following news about the peace plan drafted by the US and Ukraine. Unlike financial market participants, companies with retail portfolios — defined as commercial undertakings on Ice — have extended their net long position in recent weeks, reaching a three-year high of 169TWh in the week ending 21 October. They did so largely by purchasing long risk reduction contracts, which moved to a net long position in the week ending 14 November for the first time since January 2024. By Isabel Valverde Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Narrow spreads could bring gas storage closures
Narrow spreads could bring gas storage closures
London, 26 November (Argus) — Narrow and at times inverted seasonal spreads have weighed on the uptake of capacity and profitability of Europe's slower-cycling storage facilities, which has led to applications to close sites, and may lead to more in the coming years. TTF summer-winter spreads for gas year 2026-27 and 2027-28 have improved in recent months but remained narrow at -€0.97/MWh and at -€1.25/MWh, respectively, at the last close ( see summer-winter spread graph ). And the 2028-29 summer-winter spread closed at -€1.185/MWh. Narrower and even inverted summer-winters spreads limited storage capacity bookings in Europe last year. The 16.5TWh Rough storage site in the UK closed in 2017 because of high operational costs, before reopening during the energy crisis of 2022. At the time of operator Centrica's closure application , the front-summer contract was at a 6.78p/th — €2.56/MWh — discount to the following winter contract across the month of June. The spread between these two contracts had held at an average -4.615p/th or -€1.72/MWh throughout 2016. Since the reopening of the site, Centrica has repeatedly called for regulatory support to "upgrade and redevelop" the facility, while the profits from its storage-focused subsidiary plummeted last year. It has also stressed the need for a "regulatory support model" from the government to prevent Rough's closure given its low profitability. While fast-cycling sites retain a comparative advantage in their capacity to provide quick injections into the grid in moments of peak demand, and allow firms to take advantage of short-term price differentials the inflexibility of slow-cycling sites limit the attractiveness of purchasing and making use of capacity. The slow-cycling 45TWh Rehden storage site is struggling to sell storage capacity for the second year in a row. The site has a maximum 353 GWh/d firm injection capacity and 543 GWh/d firm withdrawal capacity, giving it a churn rate — injection and withdrawal capacity relative to its storage size — of 1.75. This is the fourth-lowest churn rate of any storage site in Germany, and below the 4.9 average rate in the country. Comparatively, the Rough storage site has a 103 GWh/d and 126 GWh/d firm injection and withdrawal capacity, with a 1.25 churn rate. This is below the 8.46 average rate in the UK. Rehden's operator Sefe Storage was only able to sell 30pc of capacity ahead of this winter, after it had to adjust the "product structure" by increasing injection capacity on offer but reducing storage capacity to 24.6TWh. Sefe Storage also indicated in August that it would need government intervention to be able to fill the site to legally-required levels. The company pointed to "unfavourable market conditions" and an "exceptional market situation" as their reason behind its failure to sell storage capacity. The "facility has not been in as high demand on the market as other storage facilities in Germany" [BMWE told Argus ](https://direct.argusmedia.com/newsandanalysis/article/2758349). "Rehden no longer has the same significance for security of supply as it did previously" because of changes in gas supply since 2022, including the expansion and heavy use of LNG, the ministry added. "There are currently no plans to close UGS Rehden," Sefe said when asked for comment on the matter. And the operator of slow-cycling Breitbrunn applied in October for approval to decommission the site on 31 March 2027 after it had struggled to sell capacity this summer. The site has a technical capacity of 11.5TWh, of which only 6.8TWh was booked for the 2025-26 storage year. Breitbrunn has 69 GWh/d of firm injection capacity and 144 GWh/d of firm withdrawal capacity, with 1.48 churn rate, making it the slowest cycling site in Germany. Bayernugs also announced its intention to close its 4.1TWh Wolfersberg storage site — with a 2.36 churn rate. The site has been unable to sell any capacity over the past storage year and has not sold any capacity for the coming storage year so far. The Uelsen, Inzenham-West, Frankenthal and Schmidhausen storage sites in Germany all have a churn rate below 2, making them the slowest-cycling and potentially most-at-risk sites in the country. That said, any storage closure must receive receive government approval beforehand. A possible decommissioning of the Breitbrunn storage site "would not jeopardise the security of supply in Bavaria, Germany or our neighbouring countries", the German economy and energy ministry BMWE told Argus . A good supply balance in Germany and the connection of Austrian storage facilities Haidach and 7Fields to the German grid further support this conclusion, the ministry added. In the Netherlands, the government has yet to take a decision regarding operator Nam's phase-out plan for the 59.3TWh Norg low-calorie site. Nam envisions a halt to summer injections and the drawdown of stocks during the winter as part of the plan. The closure of the Norg storage site has been projected as part of plans to phase out large underground gas infrastructure in the Groningen region . The site has a maximum 449 GWh/d firm injection capacity and 733 GWh/d firm withdrawal capacity, with a 1.71 churn rate. Storage closures in Europe might nevertheless allow governments to produce or use the remaining cushion gas as emergency stocks . By Lucas Waelbroeck Boix TTF summer-winter spreads €/MWh Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . 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Australian farmers oppose Santos' Narrabri gas pipeline
Australian farmers oppose Santos' Narrabri gas pipeline
Sydney, 26 November (Argus) — Australia's largest farmers' organisation has hired lawyers in an escalation of plans to oppose Australian independent Santos' Narrabri coal seam gas project in northwestern New South Wales (NSW) state. NSW Farmers will seek to defend Australia's groundwater from mining giants that could contaminate artesian resources, the lobby representing the state's primary producers said on 26 November. It is not clear what avenues remain open to NSW Farmers who are appealing previous approvals for Narrabri. Senior counsel will investigate and report back regarding legal options, a spokeswoman for the organisation said. But the NSW government has found the risk of any significant impacts from Narrabri are low, a Santos spokeswoman said, adding that the state's Land and Environment Court had already dismissed an appeal against project approvals in 2021. The controversial Narrabri project has cost Santos more than A$1.5bn ($970mn) since 2011 and faced long-term opposition from the region's native title holders, the Gomeroi. An appeal against the National Native Title Tribunal's approval of the project was to be heard by the Federal Court of Australia in November but the judge presiding has excused herself from the case, citing a perceived conflict of interest. The case is now likely to be heard in 2026. Santos has continued to sign offtake deals for the domestic supply scheme , as it pushes forward with easement deals for landholders along its proposed 833km Hunter gas pipeline needed to transport the gas. The state government has swung firmly in favour of the development, with NSW Labor premier Chris Minns last month flagging compulsory land acquisition to secure the pipeline route. Santos acquired Narrabri in 2010 and has said the project could supply 150-200 TJ/d (4mn-5.34mn m³/d) into the NSW gas grid to ease shortfalls predicted in eastern Australia's network from 2029 . By Tom Major Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.