BP Plc plans to sell oil refining and chemical assets in Germany, as the company scales back operations in the country due to high costs. The process, which involves the potential sale of a refinery in Gelsenkirchen and the DHC Solvent Chemie GmbH chemical plant in Mülheim an der Ruhr, will begin immediately with an aim of concluding the sales agreement this year, according to a company statement. The timing of the handover to a new owner will depend on regulatory approvals and operations will continue as usual during the sales process.  European refiners face increasing competition from fuel imports originating in the Middle East and Asia, where capacity is being increased. The continent’s fuel and chemical producing sites have been particularly hobbled by higher natural gas prices and carbon levies relative to other parts of the world, sparking a wave of closures and sales. Slumping fuel margins in the fourth quarter led to disappointing earnings results last week for the world’s oil supermajors as a flood of new output competes with stagnating demand. The Gelsenkirchen site has the capacity to process 240,000 barrels a day of crude, and is Germany’s third largest refinery.  BP isn’t the only oil major trying to sell out of refining assets in Germany. Shell Plc has been trying to sell its stake in the Schwedt plant, while Exxon Mobil Corp was in advanced talks with shareholders last year to pave the way for its sale of a stake in Germany’s second-largest refinery.  BP previously said it planned to scale back operations at Gelsenkirchen due to high costs at the site and those plans will continue, BP Spokesman David Nicholas said on Thursday. The sale comes as BP recently announced widespread job cuts with CEO Murray Auchincloss shedding projects that don’t make money or fit into his plans to turn the company

Oil edged down as US President Donald Trump’s renewed pledge to drive down the price of crude overshadowed his push for tighter Iranian sanctions. West Texas Intermediate dipped 0.6% to settle below $71 a barrel, extending a three-day slump that brought futures near oversold territory on the relative strength index. Prices swung wildly during the session, first giving up gains after Trump reiterated a campaign promise to boost oil production, then rebounding as much as 1.2% after the US Treasury sanctioned an international network for facilitating the shipment of Iranian crude oil to China.  Prices then faded again on the prospect that tighter Iranian sanctions may have a more immediate and material effect on supplies as relaxed US enforcement allowed Iran to boost oil exports by about 1 million barrels a day in recent years. By contrast, skepticism abounds that Trump’s proposed overhaul of energy policy will spur US fossil fuel producers to boost output and abandon their focus on capital discipline and shareholder returns. “We remain strongly of the view that President Trump could ultimately prove to be a bearish influence on the oil market,” Citigroup analysts including Francesco Martoccia wrote in a note. “Specifically, Trump has consistently highlighted lower energy prices as the central solution to US inflation, interest rate, debt, and cost-of-living issues, and that this is a core issue for which he was elected.” Since Trump returned to office last month, crude futures have been subjected to several sharp intraday swings, buffeted by his tariff threats and other trade moves. Thursday’s fluctuations mirrored a volatile day in the equity and municipal bonds markets, with participants parsing mixed signals ahead of Friday’s jobs report.  Trump frequently moved crude prices by several dollars in his first term with social media posts and other pronouncements, a pattern that has begun to re-emerge over the last

Abu Dhabi Chemicals Derivatives Co. RSC Ltd. (TA’ZIZ)—a joint venture of Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. (ADNOC) and Abu Dhabi Developmental Holding Co. PJSC (ADQ)—has let a contract to Samsung E&A Co. Ltd. to build the UAE’s first methanol plant at the TA’ZIZ chemicals and transition fuels ecosystem (TCTFE) under development in the Ruwais industrial complex of Al Ruwais Industrial City, in Abu Dhabi’s Al Dhafra region (OGJ Online, Jan. 5, 2023). As part of a Jan. 31 contract, Samsung E&A will deliver engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) services for the grassroots natural gas-to-methanol plant that will be equipped with a nameplate production capacity of 1.8 million tonnes/year (tpy), according to a series of separate early February releases from the service provider, TA’ZIZ, and ADNOC. Samsung E&A said its scope of work under the $1.7-billion, 44-month contract award will include integration of the service provider’s proprietary technologies involving modularization and automation. Chemicals production  To be powered by clean energy from the regional grid, the planned methanol project—slated to become one of the most energy efficient and low-emissions plant of its kind—is scheduled to begin production in 2028 to help meet growing domestic and international demand for methanol as a cleaner fuel and chemical building block in industrial applications such as adhesives, solvents, pharmaceuticals, and construction materials, ADNOC and its TA’ZIZ methanol project strategic partner Proman AG said in various releases dating back to 2022. Upon announcing the EPC contract, Mashal Saoud Al-Kindi—TA’ZIZ’s chief executive officer—said advancing the methanol project at the TCTFE marks a major step in realizing TA’ZIZ’s vision of driving the UAE’s industrial growth by creating a world-scale integrated chemicals ecosystem in Al Dhafra region. “The [methanol] plant will enhance the UAE’s position as a leader in sustainable chemicals production and strengthen TA’ZIZ’s role in enabling ADNOC’s global

US oil tariffs enacted by the Trump administration on Canada and Mexico would lead to a ‘significant shift in crude flows in North America,’ as higher prices push a portion of US imports into overseas markets, Wood Mackenzie said in a recent report. The proposed US tariffs of 10% and 25% on Canadian and Mexican oil products, respectively, would alter crude flows for all three countries. Higher ensuing prices would ultimately affect demand in the US, although the impact is expected to be softer than a more disruptive 25% tariff on Canadian oil, according to the report. “A wide range of scenarios are still at play, as the implementation of tariffs has been delayed by a month,” said Dylan White, principal analyst, North American Crude Markets, Wood Mackenzie. “The uncertainty surrounding US policy is likely to continue; ongoing talks could lead to a lifting of tariffs or could spiral into steeper penalties on oil imports. As the tariffs currently stand, the North American market will see several impacts.” Tarriff impacts on Mexico In a scenario where a 25% tariff is imposed on Mexican oil, Wood Mackenzie forecasts that Mexican exports are likely to redirect from the US to alternative markets in Europe and Asia. This shift could affect about 600,000 b/d of oil imports from Mexico into the US. However, the potential impact might be alleviated by the closure of the Lyondell Houston refinery and the commissioning of Pemex’s Dos Bocas refinery, the report noted. “Backfill options for heavy barrels in the US crude slate, especially in the US West Coast and US Gulf Coast, would need to come from waterborne imports via Latin American and Middle East countries,” said White. “Iraq, in particular, flexes the largest alternate pool of heavy crude exports. However, these imports are generally cost disadvantaged compared

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s failure to act soon on ISO New England’s interconnection reform proposal may prevent up to 3 GW of resources from participating in the grid operator’s next capacity auction, according to Flatiron Energy Development. “Failure to act by the commission could result in sharply higher capacity rates and therefore less affordable electricity for the region, while increasing the risk of a resource shortfall,” Flatiron said in a Wednesday filing at FERC. Further delay by FERC “may exacerbate concerns about acute winter resource adequacy challenges,” the utility-scale storage developer said. In mid-May, ISO-NE filed proposals to reform its grid interconnection rules in response to FERC’s landmark Order 2023, which set new interconnection requirements — including shifting to a first-ready, first-served cluster study process instead of first-come, first-served reviews of interconnection requests. ISO-NE asked FERC to approve the proposals by Aug. 12, 2024. The proposals were widely supported by ISO-NE stakeholders and the region’s states. FERC, however, hasn’t acted on the proposals. The New England States Committee on Electricity, which represents the region’s governors, has urged FERC to make a decision on ISO-NE’s interconnection reform proposal. “Near-term action on the widely supported filing is necessary to help alleviate the interconnection queue backlogs and uncertainty that continues to exist in New England,” NESCOE said in a Nov. 25 letter to FERC. In response, former FERC Chairman Willie Phillips said Jan. 21 that the agency would act on the proposals “as expeditiously as possible.” FERC needs to make a decision by the end of March to allow new resources to participate in ISO-NE’s upcoming auction, which has been delayed to 2028, according to Flatiron. A decision is needed so project developers can meet deadlines that would be set under ISO-NE’s proposed transition to a new interconnection review process, the Boulder,

Puerto Rico utility LUMA Energy on Thursday announced plans to add almost 1 GW of renewable energy and more than 700 MW of energy storage in its bid to transition away from fossil fuels and strengthen the island’s fragile electric grid. The new capacity represents more than $4 billion in private investment, creating over 4,200 construction jobs and 139 permanent jobs, according to the Renewable Energy Producers Association, or APER, the group’s Spanish acronym. LUMA’s agreement with Linxon US and its partner AtkinsRéalis Caribe calls for the development of nine “energy interconnection points” as part of Puerto Rico’s Tranche 1 energy transition efforts, the utility said. Puerto Rico is aiming to eliminate coal-fired generation by 2028 and develop a 100% renewable energy grid by 2050. The island’s electric system was destroyed by Hurricane Maria in 2017, resulting in a full rebuild and the development of a plan to modernize and decarbonize the power grid. The new renewable generation is “expected to potentially save customers millions of dollars by reducing reliance on fossil fuels and mitigating price volatility. It will also help decrease outages related to energy generation,” LUMA said. Puerto Rico’s electric grid experienced over 100 load shed events last year due to insufficient or sudden generation failures, the utility noted, citing data submitted to the Puerto Rico Energy Bureau. The new renewables and storage will make the island’s electric grid cleaner, more resilient and more affordable, LUMA President and CEO Juan Saca said in a statement. “We are stabilizing the electrical grid and ensuring a more resilient and sustainable system for generations to come,” he added. APER Executive Director Julián Herencia said the group expects the new resources will pass Puerto Rico’s interconnection process “without delays, finally ending the service interruptions caused by a lack of generation we have all endured