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

The U.S. Department of Energy will focus on growing baseload and dispatchable generation to meet growing electricity demand, DOE Secretary Chris Wright said Wednesday in an order outlining the department’s priorities under the Trump administration. “We must … permit and build energy infrastructure and remove barriers to progress, including federal policies that make it too easy to stop projects and far too difficult to complete projects,” Wright said. DOE will focus on adding energy resources, not taking them away, according to Wright, who was confirmed by the Senate on Monday. “Net-zero policies raise energy costs for American families and businesses, threaten the reliability of our energy system, and undermine our energy and national security,” Wright said. “They have also achieved precious little in reducing global greenhouse gas emissions.” DOE will “exercise all lawful authorities” to strengthen the U.S. power grid, including the transmission system, according to Wright. “This is an imperative as we consider current and anticipated load growth on our nation’s electric utilities,” Wright said. Also, DOE will support more efficient permitting to enable private sector energy investments, according to Wright. “The department will identify and exercise its legal authorities to expedite the approval and construction of reliable energy infrastructure,” he said. Wright said DOE will support emerging nuclear power technologies. “The department will work diligently and creatively to enable the rapid deployment and export of next-generation nuclear technology,” he said. DOE will review its process for setting energy efficiency standards for appliances, Wright said. “The department will pursue a commonsense approach that does not regulate products that consumers value out of the market; instead, affordability and consumer choice will be our guiding light,” he said. In its research and development programs, DOE will focus on “affordable, reliable, and secure energy technologies,” such as fossil fuels, advanced nuclear, geothermal and

Dive Brief: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Solar For All program, funded through the Inflation Reduction Act’s Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund with the aim of delivering residential solar to low-income and disadvantaged households, has seen its funds frozen as part of President Donald Trump’s overall halt on certain IRA disbursements.  Though all IRA funding was approved by Congress, and the freeze has been subject to temporary restraining orders from two federal judges, funding associated with the Solar For All program remains frozen, said Vote Solar’s executive director Sachu Constantine. Solar projects are capital-intensive upfront, Constantine said, “and the way you justify those investments is if you know this funding is coming through. So as soon as the funding goes into question, a whole chain of activities and steps have to be held up. You can’t keep moving forward.” Dive Insight: Regarding the freeze, “neither EPA nor the Department of Justice can provide further information on pending litigation,” an EPA spokesperson said Wednesday.  The Solar For All program was in the process of disbursing $7 billion in grants to 60 awardees that included states, territories, tribal governments, municipalities and nonprofits, with the aim of delivering solar to at least 900,000 households in the U.S. Despite the freeze, grantees are continuing to try to access this funding. Pennsylvania state representative Elizabeth Fiedler, D, on Tuesday introduced a bill seeking legislative approval for the Pennsylvania Energy Development Authority to access the $156 million that it was granted to create a state Solar For All program. The nonprofit Indigenized Energy announced Jan. 30 that the Chippewa Cree Tribe and the Oglala Sioux Tribe had completed kickoff projects funded by their $135.5 million Solar For All grant, creating residential solar installations on tribal land “that deliver approximately 8kW of clean, low-cost power to participating homes …. The