China posted record production in 2024 for commodities including coal, gas and aluminum. Steel output dropped, although it held above 1 billion tons for a fifth consecutive year. The figures from the statistics bureau on Friday reflect the ongoing importance of energy security to the policy agenda, and China’s desire to cut its reliance on fossil fuel imports. But they also show how the old economy is being forced to shrink, as Beijing seeks to promote greener industries to replace property and state-led investment as the main engines of growth.   For all of China’s massive buildout of renewable power, coal remains its mainstay fuel. Production in 2024 rose 1.3 percent to 4.76 billion tons, and another increase is likely this year. Cleaner-burning natural gas surged 6.2 percent to 246 billion cubic meters, while crude oil output rose 1.8 percent to 213 million tons, the second-highest total in history. Oil processing, however, is an industry in decline as the Chinese economy slows and gets greener, cutting demand for fuels like gasoline and diesel. Refiners saw output fall 1.6 percent to 708 million tons. Aluminum is one of the metals benefiting from green demand, with output rising 4.6 percent to 44 million tons. Growth is likely to ease this year as the government’s 45-million-ton annual capacity cap puts limits on smelters.  The steel industry, however, can’t shake the impact of the yearslong crisis in Chinese real estate, historically its chief pillar of demand. Production fell 1.7 percent to just over 1 billion tons in 2024 and a further contraction is likely this year as consumption keeps falling.  WHAT DO YOU THINK? Generated by readers, the comments included herein do not reflect the views and opinions of Rigzone. All comments are subject to editorial review. Off-topic, inappropriate or insulting comments will be removed. MORE FROM THIS AUTHOR

BP (LON:BP) chief executive Murray Auchincloss sent a letter to all staff on Thursday setting out the firm’s plans to cut 4,700 jobs across the business and a further 3,000 contractor roles – although he said 2,600 of these had already left the business. In April, the firm set a target to slash $2 billion (£1.64bn) a year by end 2026 in order to “simplify and focus BP in pursuit of value”. The cut in staff represents a 5% cut of the firm’s global workforce of about 90,000. Hello everyone, We began a multi-year programme to simplify and focus BP last year – strengthening our competitiveness and building in resilience as we lower our costs, drive performance improvement and play to our distinctive capabilities. We have got more we need to do through this year, next year and beyond, but we are making strong progress as we position bp to grow as a simpler, more focused, higher-value company. We are focusing resources on our highest value opportunities and have stopped or paused 30 projects since June. We are expanding our business & technology centres. This cost-effectively enhances support to our businesses across the world, alongside the expertise in our current hubs. We’re driving digitization into our organization, with AI delivering value in engineering, marketing and our operations, as well as playing an important role for our functions. Supply, Trading & Shipping (ST&S) is now stood up, simplifying the midstream and enhancing our potential to grow value. And it’s been good to see increased collaboration between P&O and G&LCE (gas and low carbon energy), following the changes to simplify reporting lines and remove duplication. This week, several entities shared more detail about the transformation programmes that began last year. In terms of what this means for jobs across BP as a

US oilfield services Helmerich & Payne (H&P) has completed its acquisition of Aberdeen-headquartered KCA Deutag International Ltd. Under the nearly $2-billion deal, CEO of KCA Deutag Joseph Elkhoury will not continue with the new combined company. H&P  (NYSE: HP) will retain its headquarters in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and John Lindsay continues to serve as president and CEO. Meanwhile, KDA Deutag is expected to remain at its Aberdeenshire headquarters following the acquisition. With the acquisition of KCA Deutag, H&P expects to deliver near- and long-term growth and value creation by accelerating its international growth strategy by significantly increasing its Middle East presence. It also aims to enhance scale and diversification, with a robust geographic and operational mix across US and international crude oil and natural gas markets; and strengthen the company’s cash flow with a more diversified and durable revenue stream. KCA Deutag announced last year that it had secured $513 million (£418m) in land and offshore drilling contracts for projects across the Middle East, Africa, Latin America and the UK. Lindsay said: “Today marks an important milestone for our company, customers and shareholders as we create an organisation with an enhanced global footprint, exceptional service capability and superior technology offering. “We are focused on ensuring a seamless transition and delivering on the strategic and financial benefits of the transaction.” Lindsay continued: “Over the past several months, team members across the company have been diligently working on the planning associated with this integration and providing excellent service to our customers. I am appreciative of and impressed by the entire team across our global operations for all of their hard work and commitment. I’d also like to thank KCA Deutag CEO Joseph Elkhoury for his support throughout this integration planning process and wish him the best in his future endeavours.” H&P expects to

The United States and Singapore have signed an agreement to cooperate on the non-arms deployment of nuclear energy. The memorandum of understanding provides a “framework for cooperation and a mutually aligned approach to non-proliferation on civil nuclear issues and for engagement between experts from government, industry, national laboratories and academic institutions”, a joint statement said. The pact “reflects our steadfast shared commitment to the highest international standards of civil nuclear safety, security and non-proliferation”, the partners added. It “further enhances our cooperation on energy security, promotes the development of zero-carbon baseload power in support of our climate goals, and strengthens our diplomatic and economic relationship”, they said. The agreement was signed by U.S. Ambassador to Singapore Jonathan Kaplan and Singapore Trade and Industry Permanent Secretary Beh Swan Gin. The agreement builds on an earlier one that took effect late last year, called the Agreement for Cooperation Concerning Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy (123 Agreement). “Through this 123 Agreement and other capacity building initiatives, such as the Foundational Infrastructure for the Responsible Use of Small Modular Reactor Technology program, the United States and Singapore intend to further strengthen civil nuclear cooperation to better understand how advanced nuclear energy technologies, including small modular reactors meeting the highest nuclear security, safety, and non-proliferation standards, can potentially support climate goals, while balancing critical energy needs”, the U.S. State Department said in a press release December 12, 2024. “This will support Singapore’s efforts to understand and evaluate advanced nuclear energy technologies, should viable options emerge”. In Southeast Asia, besides Singapore, the Philippines has a similar agreement with the U.S., signed 2023 and put into force 2024. The Manila-Washington deal allows for the transfer of U.S. nuclear equipment for peaceful uses in the Philippines. “With access to U.S. material and equipment, the U.S. and the Philippines

Octopus Energy, Utility Warehouse and 100Green have been named the best energy providers in an annual survey by watchdog Which? British Gas, Scottish Power and Ovo Energy languish at the bottom of the rankings, based on the experiences of almost 12,000 energy customers and the consumer group’s assessment of 16 firms’ practices and policies. British Gas, Ovo Energy, Scottish Power and So Energy all achieved an overall score of less than 60%. British Gas achieved a below-average customer score of 61% and was one of only four suppliers to receive just two stars for overall customer service. It also received two stars for value for money, and performed poorly for the volume of customer complaints it received in the first half of 2024 and for how efficiently it resolved these complaints, for meeting its smart meter targets and for switching. Ovo, now the third-largest energy provider in the UK, received the lowest customer score of 56%, with customers reporting negatively on its value for money and communication. So Energy fared better than British Gas and Ovo Energy on customer satisfaction to achieve a score of 63% but rated poorly for meeting its smart meter targets, switching and limited monitoring of phone lines and emails outside working hours and the weekend. Scottish Power scored marginally higher with an overall score of 59% but its 58% customer score was the second-lowest in the survey. It received only two stars for overall customer service, ease of contact, value for money and customer communications. Octopus Energy achieved the highest overall score of 74%, with just under nine in 10 customers saying they were satisfied and would recommend it to others. It scored maximum points for customer support in Which?’s behind-the-scenes assessment of supplier practices. Utility Warehouse received the second-highest overall score of 73%, while

BP’s confirmation that it will be cutting 7,700 jobs has served as a “hammer blow to the north-east” of Scotland, one politician said in response to the news. The London-listed supermajor told staff on Thursday that it would be cutting 4,700 internal jobs and 3,000 contractor positions as it looked to cut costs and drive profitability. In 2024 BP (LON:BP) announced plans to cut costs by $2 billion (£1.64bn) by the end of next year and this move is set to play a part in the supermajor’s penny-pinching drive. Ashley Kelty, director and oil and gas research analyst at Panmure Liberum, told Energy Voice: “I don’t think it would have been a surprise that there would be job cuts. “However, the issue is that this is their opening move in their cost reduction programme when they’re already under pressure to change strategy. © Supplied by BPBP chief executive Murray Auchincloss. “Rather than change the strategy which persists with low margin renewables, they’ve decided to just slash headcount, now that’s not going to give them returns. They could have maintained the headcount and pivoted back to traditional energy projects, like their peers have done, and they would have improved performance. “They seem to think ‘oh well, cut the bottom line costs, that’s going to make a difference,’ whereas if you’d actually improve the top line margin, that would have given them a lot more leeway.” The analyst argued that the firm is “not happy to change direction” as its fellow UK supermajors have done. ‘There’ll be lots of people going in Aberdeen’ This lack of change in company strategy and recent market trends has led to speculation that Aberdeen is set to be hit hard by looming redundancies. “There’ll be lots of people going in Aberdeen, I think that’s pretty clear,”