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PetroVietnam, South Korea’s Mubo partner on gas

  • : Natural gas
  • 24/06/21

Vietnam's state-owned PetroVietnam (PVN) today agreed an initial financing deal with the Korea Trade Insurance Corporation, also known as Mubo, to strengthen and streamline South Korean companies' participation in natural gas projects with PVN and its subsidiaries.

The $1bn package has both mid- to long-term financial tranches available if South Korean companies secure PVN's natural gas projects.

PVN has plans to expand its gas field development, pipeline construction and gas-fired power plants in projects valued at around $12bn. This is aligned with the government's plan to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 through increased reliance on gas-fired power generation. PVN manages at least four gas-fired power plants, two coal-fired power plants and two hydropower plants, with 5404MW of total capacity, according to the firm.

State-owned PetroVietnam Gas (PV Gas) is at the forefront of the gas power sector projects. It operates the 1mn t/yr Thi Vai LNG terminal, commissioned in July 2023 and has started supplying gas-fired power generation to industrial customers since 15 March.

Vietnam is expecting to import more LNG, in anticipation of the start-up of the 1.6GW Nhon Trach LNG thermal power plant in November this year. The plant is comprised of two units that could require as much as 775,000 t/yr of LNG each, assuming a generating efficiency of 60pc.

It is also building the 3.6mn t/yr Son My LNG import terminal in Binh Thuan province in southcentral Vietnam. The first phase of commercial operations is scheduled for 2027. A second and third phase at Son My will lift's Vietnam's overall LNG import capacity to 10mn t/yr.

PV Gas is to supply 70,000t of LNG to state-owned utility EVN for use at its 715MW Phu My 3 thermal power plant in April and May, marking the first LNG supplies to the county's power sector.

Russia has also expressed interest to partner with Vietnam for oil and gas supplies, including LNG, following a state visit by Russian President Vladimir Putin to Hanoi on 20 June.


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25/04/24

Investment funds slash net long position on Ice TTF

Investment funds slash net long position on Ice TTF

London, 24 April (Argus) — Investment funds have slashed their TTF net long positions on the Intercontinental Exchange (Ice) nearly in half so far in April, with commercial undertakings' net long position conversely rising. Investment funds' net long position on Ice dropped to 86TWh in the week ending 17 April, well below the 146TWh at the end of March, and was as low as 73TWh on 11 April ( see net positions graph ). The near-halving of their net position was driven entirely by the closing of longs, which dropped to 308TWh by 17 April from 383TWh on 28 March. In contrast, shorts dropped by only 16TWh in the same period, the exchange's most recent Commitments of Traders report shows. This left investment funds' total amount of open positions at 529TWh by 17 April, well down from 620TWh on 28 March. Global commodity market turmoil in recent weeks following the US' ‘liberation day' on which president Donald Trump announced tariffs on nearly every country may have prompted funds to reduce their exposure to gas market. The resulting fallout in global commodity, stock, bond and currency markets would have hit multi-strategy hedge funds in particular, which had exposure to many different assets, some of which are thought to be among the largest players in the overall investment fund category of participant. Wider macroeconomic factors rather than market fundamentals have driven the TTF this month, according to many traders, with daily TTF movements frequently having tracked wider moves across global macroeconomic indicators such as the S&P 500 index. In contrast with investment funds' sharply reduced net long position, commercial undertakings — the other largest category of market participant, mostly comprising firms with retail portfolios — more than doubled their net long position to 85TWh on 17 April from 33TWh on 28 March. This means commercial undertakings' and investment funds' net positions now have nearly exactly converged, with the difference between them having been as wide as nearly 350TWh as recently as early February. Commercial undertakings first flipped to a net long position in the week ending 28 February, and the net long has steadily increased every week since then. While investment funds significantly reduced their overall exposure to the TTF, commercial undertakings increased both their long and short positions in April. Total shorts rose by about 34TWh between 28 March and 17 April to 1.055PWh, while longs soared by 86TWh to 1.140PWh. This leaves their total open positions at about 2.195PWh, more than quadruple investment funds' 529TWh. The data could suggest that commercial undertakings took advantage of hedge funds unwinding their long positions, leading to a reallocation of about 90TWh of liquidity from speculative positions to risk reduction contracts. The large majority of commercial undertakings' overall open positions are risk reduction contracts, which total 1.457PWh out of aggregate open positions of 2.195PWh, or 66pc. In contrast, investment funds hold zero risk reduction contracts, making it likely that all of their interest is speculative. Commercial undertakings' risk reduction shorts increased only by about 7TWh between 28 March and 17 April to 747TWh, but longs soared by 92TWh over the same period to an all-time high of 710TWh. As recently as 28 February, risk reduction longs were as low as 550TWh, meaning an overall increase of nearly 200TWh in less than two months. The only other time in recent history when risk reduction longs increased at such a rapid pace was in 2018, when they jumped from 445TWh on 30 July to a peak of 644TWh on 15 October ( see risk reduction graph ). One explanation for such a distinct increase in risk reduction longs while shorts remained roughly even could simply be that utilities have purchased winter contracts instead of the more usual practice of hedging physical gas bought for summer injection by selling winter contracts. Typically, summer prices are below winter thanks to lower seasonal consumption, so a utility would buy the summer to inject the gas and sell the winter for when it will be withdrawn, locking in a profit margin. But because summer prices this year remained above winter, there was no commercial incentive to lock in a negative spread, meaning utilities may simply have opted to buy winter contracts to cover their expected demand. But since the turn of April, TTF summer-month prices have increased their discount to the front-winter, providing more of an incentive to inject gas. By Brendan A'Hearn Net positions on ICE TTF TWh Commercial undertakings' risk reduction positions TWh Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Eni cuts capex on macro headwinds, tariff uncertainty


25/04/24
25/04/24

Eni cuts capex on macro headwinds, tariff uncertainty

London, 24 April (Argus) — Italy's Eni has cut its spending plans for this year in response to macroeconomic headwinds, uncertainty around trade tariffs and a lower oil price outlook. The company is planning a series of "mitigation measures" worth over €2bn [$2.28bn], a key element of which is a reduction in 2025 capex to below €8.5bn from previous guidance of €9bn. Eni now expects net capex — which takes into account acquisitions and asset sales — to come in below €6bn this year, compared with its initial plan of €6.5bn-7bn. Other savings will come from "mitigating actions" around its portfolio, operating costs and "other cash initiatives", the firm said. Eni's plan reflects a tariff-driven deterioration in the outlook for the global economy and, in turn, global oil demand and oil prices. The company has revised its Brent crude price assumption for 2025 down to $65/bl from $75/bl previously. It has also lowered its refining margin indicator assumption for the year to $3.5/bl from $4.7/bl. The lower oil price assumption has not changed the company's upstream production forecast — it still expects 2025 output to average 1.7mn b/d of oil equivalent (boe/d). But Eni's production in the first quarter was only 1.65mn boe/d, 5pc lower than the same period last year. The firm's gas production took the biggest hit, falling by 9pc on the year to 4.5bn ft³/d (861,000 boe/d) as a result of divestments and natural decline at mature fields. Liquids output fell by 1pc year on year to 786,000 boe/d. Eni reported a profit of €1.17bn for January-March, 3pc lower than the same period last year. Underlying profit— which strips out inventory valuation effects and other one off-items — fell by 11pc on the year to €1.41bn. Eni said the fall in profits was mainly due to lower oil prices. The company also had to contend with weaker refining margins and throughputs, as well as a continuing downturn in the European chemicals sector. By Aydin Calik Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

US states including New York sue Trump over tariffs


25/04/23
25/04/23

US states including New York sue Trump over tariffs

New York, 23 April (Argus) — A coalition of 12 states including New York is suing the administration of President Donald Trump for imposing "illegal" tariffs that threaten to raise inflation and derail economic growth. The lawsuit, filed by attorneys general from the 12 states, argues that Congress has not granted the president the authority to impose the tariffs and the administration violated the law by imposing them through executive orders, social media posts, and agency orders. "President Trump's reckless tariffs have skyrocketed costs for consumers and unleashed economic chaos across the country," said New York governor Kathy Hochul (D). "New York is standing up to fight back against the largest federal tax hike in American history." The lawsuit alleges the tariffs will increase unemployment, threaten wages by slowing economic growth and push up the cost of key goods from electronics to building materials. The lawsuit, which was filed in the United States Court of International Trade, seeks a court order halting the tariffs. By Stephen Cunningham Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Tariffs could cut FY profit $100mn-$200mn: Baker Hughes


25/04/23
25/04/23

Tariffs could cut FY profit $100mn-$200mn: Baker Hughes

New York, 23 April (Argus) — Oilfield services giant Baker Hughes expects a cut in its annual profit of as much as $200mn from tariffs, if current levels applied under President Donald Trump's 90-day pause stay in place for the rest of the year. That hit to profits does not include secondary effects, such as the impact of Trump's trade wars on slower global economic growth, as well as a renewed bout of weakness in oil prices. While the company is taking steps to mitigate tariff impacts, its "strong weighting" to international markets helps reduce its overall financial exposure, according to chief executive officer Lorenzo Simonelli. Increased oil price volatility due to tariffs , as well as the return of Opec+ barrels to the market, have resulted in a softening outlook for the market. As such, Baker Hughes now expects global upstream spending will be "down by high single digits" this year. The company forecasts a low-double digit decline in North America spending by its clients, and a mid-to-high single digit drop internationally. "A sustained move lower in oil prices or worsening tariffs would introduce further downside risk to this outlook," said Simonelli. "The prospects of an oversupplied oil market, rising tariffs, uncertainty in Mexico and activity weakness in Saudi Arabia are collectively constraining international upstream spending levels." The company has identified three areas of tariff exposure within its industrial and energy technology division, including volumes exported to China, critical equipment supplies from its facilities in Italy, and an expected modest impact from steel and aluminum tariffs as well as US-China trade activity. Mitigation efforts include exploring domestic procurement alternatives to reduce input costs and improving its global manufacturing footprint. In relation to its oilfield services and equipment segment, Baker Hughes has been working to boost domestic sourcing and is working with customers to recover some costs. Elsewhere, the repeal of an US LNG permitting moratorium under the Trump administration has resulted in higher orders. Baker Hughes has booked about $1.7bn in LNG orders in the US over the past two quarters, and several LNG customers in the Gulf Coast have signaled plans to expand capacity beyond 2030. Profit of $402mn in the first quarter was down from $455mn in the year-earlier period. Revenue held steady at about $6.4bn. By Stephen Cunningham Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

US wants IMF, World Bank to drop climate focus


25/04/23
25/04/23

US wants IMF, World Bank to drop climate focus

Washington, 23 April (Argus) — US president Donald Trump's administration today called on the IMF and the World Bank to focus resources away from climate action and energy transition and to make lending available to fossil fuels programs. The IMF "devotes disproportionate time and resources to work on climate change, gender, and social issues," US treasury secretary Scott Bessent said in remarks today timed to coincide with the two international lending institutions' annual meeting in Washington. "Like the IMF, the World Bank must be made fit for purpose again," he said, during an event hosted by trade group Institute of International Finance. The IMF and the World Bank in recent years have followed the preferences of their largest shareholders — the US and European countries — in incorporating the effects of climate change in their analysis and to facilitate energy transition in the emerging economies. The World Bank, together with other multilateral development banks globally, announced at the UN Cop-29 climate conference last year that they could increase climate financing to $170bn/yr by 2030, up from $125bn in 2023. "I know 'sustainability' is a popular term around here," Bessent said. "But I'm not talking about climate change or carbon footprints. I'm talking about economic and financial sustainability." Bessent urged the World Bank to "be tech neutral and prioritize affordability and energy investment," adding that "in most cases, this means investing in gas and other fossil fuel based energy production." "In other cases, this may mean investing in renewable energy coupled with systems to help manage the intermittency of wind and solar," Bessent said. The US is the largest shareholder at both the IMF and the World Bank, with a 16pc stake in both institutions. The Trump administration, which has slashed climate programs at US government institutions and withdrew the US from climate-focused international efforts, has so far refrained from interfering in the operations of the IMF and the World Bank. By Haik Gugarats Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

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