EU plans one-year delay to methane law for oil, gas

: Crude oil, Emissions, Natural gas
26/09/28

The European Commission is assessing legal options to delay by one year key monitoring provisions in its 2024 methane emissions regulation (MER) for oil, gas and coal imports due to enter into force in 2027, according to an official source.

EU energy commissioner Dan Jorgensen is expected to present the proposal before an EU leaders' meeting on 15 October. A Commission official said Brussels is examining whether to postpone "some" parts of the MER. "That is now ongoing at technical level," the official said today.

The moves comes after French president Emmanuel Macron last week called for a one-year postponement. The Commission at the time said it would examine Macron's proposal. But energy spokesperson Anna-Kaisa Itkonen had said that Brussels would consider additional measures only if it identified risks to energy security or supply.

Under the MER, oil, gas and coal importers must show that the fossil fuels coming to the EU were produced in a jurisdiction with monitoring, reporting and verification requirements equivalent to those applied in the bloc. The rule was due to apply to all contracts signed or renewed after 4 August 2024.

The Commission in July had already put forward formal recommendations that member states refrain from imposing penalties for non-compliance with the MER between 2027 and 2029.

But the oil and gas industry continued to ask for a three-year delay to the regulation.

The Commission official today said that, in the absence of an energy supply emergency, the Commission is unlikely to use emergency legislative powers.

The EU last used such powers in 2022 to cap power market revenues at €180/MWh and impose a temporary solidarity contribution on excess profits in the oil, gas, coal and refining sectors.

The official said a delay would have the greatest short-term political impact compared to energy demand saving and other measures because the regulation's reporting obligations are due to take effect on 1 January 2027.

EU energy ministers are expected to discuss the methane regulation and energy security issues at an informal meeting in Dublin on 29 September. But no decisions are expected.

More than 10 member states earlier this year said they were considering backing an initiative led by the Czech Republic government calling on the Commission to review the regulation and delay its implementation.

The regulation has also been a major point of contention between the EU and the US in recent months. And both European LNG buyers and US exporters have repeatedly complained that uncertainty over how to comply with this regulation is holding back the signing of long-term LNG deals.

In a letter to ministers, Jorgensen said EU gas storage is exceptionally low but there are "currently no immediate risks to security of supply".

He also urged EU states to make use of flexibility in the gas storage regulation by reducing the filling target to 80pc to alleviate immediate pressure on refilling costs. But he also noted governments should consider taking or continuing to take measures that can sustain injections or reduce gas and electricity demand.

By Dafydd ab Iago

Related news posts

Argus illuminates the markets by putting a lens on the areas that matter most to you. The market news and commentary we publish reveals vital insights that enable you to make stronger, well-informed decisions. Explore a selection of news stories related to this one.

News

26/09/28

Trump still thinking 'seriously' about export ban

Washington, 28 September (Argus) — President Donald Trump said on Sunday that a ban on diesel exports remains a top option the administration is considering to bring down prices of the fuel, despite the potential for the policy to raise gasoline prices. "We're thinking about it very seriously," Trump said in a televised interview in Illinois on Sunday. "That can often times lead to a little bit of an increase on gasoline for cars, so we're looking at it very seriously. We may do it." Trump called for a diesel export ban on 22 September, joining a growing group of Republicans who believe cutting off exports of the fuel would quickly lower diesel prices that hit a record high last week of $6.53/USG. US energy secretary Chris Wright subsequently downplayed the idea of an outright ban, saying any government restrictions on diesel flows would likely be voluntary. Trump said last week he would decide soon whether to implement diesel export restrictions. A diesel export ban would initially put 25¢/USG of downward pressure on retail diesel prices each week it is in effect, the bank Goldman Sachs said in a research note on 26 September, reducing an incentive for US refiners to maximize production. That downward pressure on diesel prices would intensify once storage space runs out, at which point refiners would likely curtail output of diesel, gasoline and jet fuel, putting 30¢/USG of upward pressure each week on gasoline prices, Goldman said. Total US ultra-low sulphur diesel (ULSD) inventories were 96.4mn bl in the week ended 18 September, down by 14pc from a year earlier . Louisiana, Alabama and Nebraska last week temporarily waived restrictions on highway use of untaxed diesel fuel in response to high prices. Ohio lawmakers this week are considering waiving the state's 39¢/USG tax on gasoline and 47¢/USG tax on diesel for 90 days. By Chris Knight Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

News

Foreign oil operators see growing Brazil appeal

26/09/28

News

26/09/28

Foreign oil operators see growing Brazil appeal

Rio de Janeiro, 28 September (Argus) — US president Donald Trump claimed this week that "the biggest oil companies in the world are going in" to Venezuela, but leading private-sector firms continue to see Brazil as their prime opportunity. The country's abundant deepwater resources, stable regulatory environment and favourable geography make it an attractive investment destination for leading international oil companies, as wars and uncertainty continue to rattle global oil markets. Executives at this week's ROG.e conference in Rio de Janeiro were only too eager to talk up Brazil's advantages. Shell is the biggest private-sector producer in Brazil, with equity output of about 500,000 b/d. Chief executive Wael Sawan said growing disruption from the Russia-Ukraine and US-Iran wars will present a "multi-month challenge to supplies" globally, but he saw Brazil as a winner. "Brazil has the optionality and flexibility to not just support Brazilians but also support the rest of the world in the export of energy," he said. Led by state-controlled Petrobras, Brazil's upstream producers pushed crude output to a record 4.5mn b/d in July, according to hydrocarbon regulator ANP. The country has redirected crude exports to new Asian markets this year, driven by reduced demand from China, and to Europe thanks in part to a 50pc cut to a temporary 12pc crude export tax under an agreement between the EU and Mercosur trade bloc. "I was quite happy to have big production in Brazil to fill my European refineries," TotalEnergies chief executive Patrick Pouyanne said. BP vice-president for upstream Gordon Birrell said the world is entering a new upstream era defined by the need to meet growing demand while building more resilient energy systems. "For BP and the wider industry, Brazil represents a great opportunity in the new upstream era," Birrell said. Petrobras chief executive Magda Chambriard told the conference the company is nearing record crude output of 3mn b/d, and that its increased production and technological development is helping to push back Brazil's production peak to 2034-35. Brazilian state-run energy research agency Epe currently forecasts a national production peak of 5.1mn b/d in 2032. Eyes on the frontier Petrobras is betting on new frontiers such as the equatorial margin off the northern coast to keep up production levels as pre-salt output naturally declines. It began drilling in the environmentally sensitive region last year following an extensive licensing process, and hopes next year to prove up the commerciality of hydrocarbons it has found there. Foreign firms are also eyeing Brazil's new deepwater frontiers as opportunities for further growth. Shell has "appetite to continue to grow beyond our current positions", Sawan said. ExxonMobil hopes to bring its Guyana expertise to Brazil's equatorial margin, where it holds 10 exploration licences with Petrobras. "We want to be a part of that next chapter that's written in Brazil," senior vice-president for deepwater Hunter Farris said. But foreign executives also warned that maintaining a stable fiscal and regulatory environment is key to remaining attractive to investors. The temporary 12pc tax on crude exports has rattled producers, while Brazil started taxing dividends this year, and will introduce a selective "sin tax" covering oil from 2027 as part of a broad reform — factors that "might jeopardise future investments", Repsol Sinopec Brasil's deputy chief financial officer, Gilberta Lucchesi, said. TotalEnergies' Brazil country chair, Olivier Bahabanian, flagged up difficulties in obtaining environmental permits, which led his firm to exit the equatorial margin in 2020: "Not having the certainty that you will get that licence, even if you do the work properly, is not compatible with the business of exploration." By Constance Malleret Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

News

EEA includes EU CBAM in agreement

26/09/28

News

26/09/28

EEA includes EU CBAM in agreement

London, 28 September (Argus) — The European Economic Area (EEA) committee has now included the EU's carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM) in the EEA agreement, enabling the scheme to apply in Norway and Iceland, the Norwegian government said. "CBAM is one step closer to coming into force in Norway," climate and environment minister Sigrun Aasland said. The country's parliament in June adopted legislation to introduce CBAM. Norway aims to apply CBAM "in full" from 2027, it said, which would require importers to submit their first declarations in 2028 for goods imported in 2027. The Icelandic parliament must still approve the incorporation before CBAM can take effect there. The measure is being taken as "quickly as possible", the government said, adding that it is in close contact with Iceland's authorities. The EU fully launched CBAM at the start of this year. The mechanism imposes a carbon price on certain goods imported to the bloc in the cement, aluminium, fertiliser, iron and steel, hydrogen and electricity sectors. It aims to tackle carbon leakage, whereby firms relocate to avoid carbon costs or more carbon-intensive imports displace EU products. Norway, along with fellow EEA countries Iceland and Liechtenstein, is subject to carbon costs in CBAM sectors under the EU emissions trading system. By Kiara Campagne Nieva Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

News

Cop: Article 6 activity mounts but key gaps remain

26/09/25

News

26/09/25

Cop: Article 6 activity mounts but key gaps remain

London, 25 September (Argus) — Countries are increasingly engaging in the carbon market mechanisms established under Article 6 of the Paris climate agreement. But two years after its rulebook was agreed, the number of buyer countries remains limited, developing nations hosting emissions-saving projects have reservations about participating, and disagreements rumble on over some underpinning standards, writes Victoria Hatherick The Article 6 rulebook was eventually finalised at the UN Cop 29 climate conference in Baku, Azerbaijan, in 2024, nine years after negotiations began. But the promised centralised UN-regulated carbon market under Article 6.4 — the Paris agreement crediting mechanism (Pacm) — has not yet materialised, with its registry expected to launch in the fourth quarter of this year. And only seven countries have so far traded so-called internationally traded mitigation outcomes (Itmos) under the Article 6.2 mechanism, according to UN Environment Programme (Unep) data, a system which allows countries to exchange emissions savings bilaterally to be counted towards their nationally determined contributions (NDCs) to the Paris Agreement. There are so far 10 buyer countries under Article 6.2, Unep data show. Japan has signed 32 agreements under the mechanism, followed by Singapore at 28, Switzerland at 20, South Korea at 14 and Norway at nine. Norway recently indicated its intention to deepen its engagement with Article 6 going forward. "At the next Cop we want to contribute to building infrastructure, including registries," deputy director-general of the Norwegian climate ministry's climate change department Guri Storaas told delegates at the Nordic Climate Finance Summit in Oslo earlier this month. The country also expects to sign more Article 6 agreements, she said. Article 6 is a "priority" for Norway because of its role in reducing the risk of Norway not meeting its climate targets solely through collaboration with the EU, and its cost effectiveness, Storaas said. And Norway "wants to make it work", she said, which is why the country is deliberately positioning itself as an early mover under the mechanism. It has set aside a 15bn Norwegian krone ($1.6bn) "buying envelope" for Article 6 credits. Norway's bilateral agreement signed last year with Switzerland on carbon removals also sends an important signal that Article 6 is not just relevant for developing countries, Storaas said. Switzerland signed a similar agreement in May with Sweden, which itself has a further six bilateral agreements. Sweden is hoping to sign another Article 6 agreement by the end of the month, fund manager for the Swedish Article 6 climate co-operation fund at the Global Green Growth Institute Ash Sharma told delegates at the summit in Oslo. Singapore this month advanced its tender for at least 12mn Itmos, following a first tender for 2.17mn Itmos last year. Project host countries are higher in number. A total of 55 have signed bilateral agreements under Article 6.2 across the Americas, Africa, Europe, Australasia and Asia. Kenya and Ghana have signed the most, at five each, followed by Zambia, Senegal, Mongolia and Indonesia with four each, according to Unep data. And 58 countries are listed by Unep as having approved activities under Pacm, led by Brazil with 92 activities, followed by Chile with 30 and Vietnam with 23. Hurdles to participation But project host countries must strike a delicate balance between trading emissions savings to raise climate finance without damaging their ability to meet their own NDCs, a factor that has been limiting some countries' engagement with Article 6. Kenya did a "good job standing up for its needs to meet its NDC" in the case of clean cookstove developer Koko, Sharma said at the Oslo conference. The company shut down earlier this year after failing to obtain a letter of authorisation from the Kenyan government to sell credits generated by its projects internationally, a result of the government's uncertainty about its capacity to retain sufficient emissions reductions to meet its targets. Countries also need people engaging with the mechanism full time, and not many have the capacity to do so, Charlotte Streck of consultancy Climate Focus said at an online event this week. It is therefore important for like-minded groups to come together to avoid being overwhelmed by complexity, she said. Private sector on the sidelines Private-sector interest in Article 6 has been dampened by the perceived complexities of the mechanism, the head of special funds at international financial institution the Nordic Environment Finance Corporation (Nefco), Dennis Hamro-Drotz, told delegates at the conference in Oslo. They are engaging a bit later than governments, he said. Nordic companies are more likely to participate by exporting their technology solutions first, before becoming credit offtakers later, Hamro-Drotz said. Nefco is "looking at re-engaging in carbon markets", he added, having been involved in the Paris Agreement's predecessor the Kyoto Protocol. Governments also stepped up first under the Kyoto Protocol, Sharma said, but linking that framework's so-called certified emission reduction credits with the EU emissions trading system brought lots of other actors into the market. "I am sure we will see this again," he said. The European Commission in July proposed using up to 260mn international credits underpinned by Article 6.4 standards over 2036-40 to count towards its 2040 climate target. But the commission as it stands will not review whether there are sufficient high-integrity credits available to justify the approach until 2033. This is "way too late" to provide the necessary demand signals to the market, International Emissions Trading Association international policy director Andrea Bonzanni told Argus . Underpinning standards edge forward In the meantime, parties to the Paris deal continue to disagree on the standards themselves. So far only three methodologies governing project activities under Pacm have been adopted, relating to flaring or use of landfill gas, N2O abatement from nitric acid production, and electricity generation from renewable sources connected to an electricity system. Experts tasked to work on the methodologies indicated last week that they are sticking to their controversial decision to require clean cooking activities to contribute some of the credits they generate to a buffer for reversals, a debate that has held up agreement on clean cooking standards. Scant progress on getting Pacm up and running has also left many in the wider carbon credit market in limbo. Demand in the voluntary carbon market has seen a marked shift lately to credits linked with compliance mechanisms, after a series of environmental integrity concerns in recent years undermined confidence in purely voluntary approaches. But developers hoping to set up projects that will issue credits remain constricted by a lack of clarity on which standards they should adhere to, and uncertainty as to whether countries will give them the approval they need to sell generated units internationally. The Article 6.4 supervisory body will meet in Germany in the first week of October, where it is scheduled to discuss a range of issues including methodologies. But debate on the mechanism's approach to certain activities is likely to spill over once again into the UN climate conference, with Cop 31 to be held in Antalya, Turkey in November. Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

News

More dark Hormuz transits lift Qatari LNG hopes

26/09/25

News

26/09/25

More dark Hormuz transits lift Qatari LNG hopes

Singapore, 25 September (Argus) — A total of at least five LNG carriers operated by state-owned QatarEnergy (QE) have sailed through the strait of Hormuz without displaying their location over the past week, raising hopes of a potential restart in Qatari LNG exports. The 217,000m³ Al Shamal issued an Automatic Identification Signal (AIS) signal in the Indian Ocean late on 24 September, ship-tracking data from Kpler show. The vessel's previous signal was broadcast on 19 September from nearby Qatar's now-64.2mn t/yr Ras Laffan terminal. This brings the total number of visible QE transits so far this month to 13. The increased number of dark Hormuz transits in the past week was likely one of the factors that raised hopes of Qatari exports restarting, weighing on LNG spot prices, traders said. But they were quick to point out that this may not result in sustained, large-scale outflows of Qatari LNG. The front half-month of the ANEA, the Argus assessment for spot LNG deliveries to northeast Asia was last assessed at $26.20/mn Btu on 25 September, $1.65/mn Btu lower than a week earlier. The front half-month ANEA last hit a peak of $29.56/mn Btu on 15 September, the highest front half-month price since 22 October 2022, before mostly tracking softer European gas hub prices lower. Europe's benchmark gas hub, the Dutch TTF, has also fallen considerably, opening at €75.025/MWh on 25 September, as compared to above €80/MWh just over a week ago, on 14-15 September. Most of the laden vessels that exited the strait of Hormuz has found their way to India, with others destined for Pakistan. Since India began receiving Qatari LNG deliveries, importers in the country have started seeking cargoes further out. Over 25-27 August, some Indian importers were issuing tenders for very prompt deliveries, for delivery as early as 1 September. This just leaves about 11 days as nomination period, compared to the standard nomination period of 20-25 days. But in the past week, a slew of tenders was mostly seeking for deliveries from early October to as late as 21 November, with nomination periods of about 13-58 days from the tender closing date. This implied that their most prompt requirements were met by Qatari deliveries, allowing them to instead plan for their downstream demand further out. Indian importers have issued about 20 tenders so far in September, almost matching the 20 and 21 tenders issued in July and August, respectively, according to Argus data. Most recently, on 23 September, aside from the Al Shamal , three other LNG carriers sailed through the strait of Hormuz without displaying their location. By Naomi Ong and Rou Urn Lee Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Business intelligence reports

Get concise, trustworthy and unbiased analysis of the latest trends and developments in oil and energy markets. These reports are specially created for decision makers who don’t have time to track markets day-by-day, minute-by-minute.

Learn more