Four years after terrorist attacks halted a massive liquefied natural gas project in Mozambique, momentum behind $57 billion in facilities that will export the fuel is picking up. TotalEnergies SE and Eni SpA have readied contractors and signed agreements for preliminary work on projects to add capacity. In addition, the French major’s Chief Executive Officer Patrick Pouyanne was scheduled to meet Mozambican President Daniel Chapo on Thursday, according to people with knowledge of the matter who asked not to be identified because the information is not public. Revenue from gas exports could be significant for the southern African nation, one of the world’s poorest. At the same time, developers must weigh the risk of renewed terrorist attacks, which prompted Total to halt its $20 billion facility in 2021 in the northern province of Cabo Delgado.  Mozambique has deployed its army, police, mercenaries and regional armed forces to end the attacks by the Islamic State-linked insurgents. But they have not been stamped out. “Activity by the insurgent group will remain a threat to LNG timelines and the operating environment across Cabo Delgado province,” said Ryan Cummings, director at Cape Town-based Signal Risk. “A near-term resumption of LNG-related activity could be a trigger for renewed attacks.” Fighting intensified in June, with Islamic State claiming what would be among its deadliest single assaults on security forces. Chapo said in an interview last week that Total’s 2021 declaration of force majeure would remain in place indefinitely “if we’re waiting for Cabo Delgado to be a heaven.” He described business as proceeding as usual in the district of Palma, where attacks occurred that precipitated shuttering the project.  Over the last few months, Total received approval for key financing from the US Export-Import Bank. Pouyanne has likened remaining obstacles to “more a question of paperwork,” while

Argentina asked a US appeals court for an emergency delay of an order requiring it to hand over by a Monday deadline its controlling stake in energy company YPF SA to help satisfy a $16 billion judgment. The government of Argentine President Javier Milei requested the delay Thursday afternoon, hours after filing notice it was appealing the June 30 handover order by US District Judge Loretta Preska in New York. The South American nation likened Preska’s order to a foreign court directing the US government to “pack up the gold stored at Fort Knox and ship it abroad.” Argentina wants the federal appeals court in New York to put the order on hold while it considers the country’s arguments to overturn Preska’s decision, a process that could take months. Preska, who ruled in 2023 that Argentina owed billions to shareholders affected by a 2012 nationalization of YPF, found last month that the country’s 51 percent stake wasn’t shielded by foreign sovereign immunity. Preska ordered Argentina to turn over the shares within 14 days to a group led by Burford Capital, a litigation funding firm that acquired the interests of original YPF shareholders.  An Argentine law passed at the time of the nationalization bars Milei’s government from transferring the government’s YPF stake without a two-thirds vote of the national Congress. Without a delay, Argentina on Monday faces a choice among “changing its own domestic laws, violating those laws, or disregarding a US court’s order,” the country said in a court filing. The June 30 ruling came as a major blow to Milei, who inherited the case when he took office about 18 months ago promising to turn around Argentina’s flailing economy. Argentina’s sovereign bonds and YPF shares both dropped after the ruling, while the country’s parallel exchange rate weakened.  Milei vowed to

Puerto Rico’s finance watchdog is refusing to OK a $20 billion natural gas supply deal that it said would give New Fortress Energy Inc. a near monopoly over the island’s energy future.  The Financial Oversight and Management Board has “profound concerns” about a proposed 15-year contract between Genera PR – a New Fortress subsidiary that operates the territory’s power plants – and the company unit that delivers liquefied gas, according to a letter to Puerto Rico’s energy czar, Josue Colon.  Approving the contract would “lock the island into a long-term commitment with a single supplier, potentially undermining market competition and limiting flexibility,” the board wrote, saying the deal would create a “monopolistic arrangement that would ultimately jeopardize energy security.” New Fortress Energy did not respond to a request for comment. Colon’s office declined to immediately comment on the letter. The watchdog’s objections are just the latest blow to New Fortress, which lost more than 80 percent of its market value in the last year as it struggles to shore up its finances and reassure investors and bondholders. The shares fell as much as 19 percent on Thursday. “Given the magnitude of the proposed contract and the critical nature of the services at stake, it would be irresponsible for the Oversight Board to review the proposed contract thoroughly in this short time,” the board wrote.  Even so, the board said it is willing to meet with all those involved to ensure the deal is “fiscally responsible.” New Fortress already is a key supplier of LNG to Puerto Rico’s power sector. Other sources include EcoElectrica and Crowley, which ship the fuel to plants operated by other companies. New Fortress’ initial LNG supply contract was due to expire in June but has been extended on a temporary basis.  In April, government agencies called for bids to provide

WASHINGTON—The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today announced the authorization of an exchange from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) with ExxonMobil Corporation to address logistical challenges impacting crude oil deliveries to the company’s Baton Rouge refinery. U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright authorized this action to help maintain stable regional supply of transportation fuels across Louisiana and the broader Gulf Coast. This action preserves the SPR’s operational flexibility and will not impact or delay the Department’s ongoing efforts to refill the reserve. Under the exchange agreement, DOE will provide up to 1 million barrels of crude oil from the SPR. The exchange will support ExxonMobil’s restoration of refinery operations that were reduced due to an offshore supply disruption. ExxonMobil will return the borrowed crude along with additional barrels of crude oil for the SPR at no cost to the taxpayer. The Department remains in close coordination with industry partners to ensure stability in the fuel supply chain during the peak demand season. DOE continues to encourage refiners to prioritize efficient production and delivery of refined fuels, stands ready to support the nation’s energy security through the responsible use of strategic resources, and will continue to deliver on President Trump’s commitment to protect American energy security by refilling the SPR. Background: Sections 159 and 160 of the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (EPCA), 42 U.S.C.A. §§ 6239 and 6240, authorize the Secretary of Energy to exchange SPR petroleum products and to acquire petroleum products by exchange for storage in the SPR. The Secretary of Energy has previously exercised this legal authority to conduct emergency exchanges in response to supply disruptions, including Keystone Pipeline in 2022, and the Calcasieu Ship Channel closures in 2006 and 2000. An oil supply disruption has led to reduced operations at the Baton Rouge refinery, limiting production

There is a “misalignment” in grid interconnection and transmission planning processes that could harm competitive power markets, according to Judy Chang, a member of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Amid surging electric demand forecasts, the interconnection logjam has led grid operators to propose short-term solutions, Chang said Thursday at a meeting held in Woodstock, Vermont, by WIRES, a transmission-focused trade group. The PJM Interconnection, the Midcontinent Independent System Operator and the Southwest Power Pool have proposed one-time processes that would create a fast-track interconnection review for planned generating projects that meet certain criteria. FERC approved PJM’s plan earlier this year over the opposition of some renewable energy companies that contend selected projects will be able to unfairly jump ahead of others that have been waiting in interconnection queues. “I don’t really love short-term fixes,” Chang said. “I really prefer to have better processes — fair and competitive processes — so that generators interconnecting know the rules of the game.” Chang said various issues are coming to a head at the same time, including disputes over interconnection cost allocation and the system’s ability to upgrade interconnection infrastructure and bring on new generation as fast as possible. Those issues could affect the future of competitive power markets, Chang said, noting that some states are considering withdrawing from regional transmission organizations. “I worry about how much states might want to compromise … the open access and competitive access to transmission and competitive markets by pulling back and finding internal solutions, or by complaining about competitive markets not meeting the challenge of the day,” she said. Getting generation online as quickly as possible is a key priority, according to Chang. “We should plan, design, permit — all faster,” Chang said. “So I am a big supporter of permitting reform on all infrastructure, but also

Five advocacy groups on Thursday sued the Bonneville Power Administration for deciding to join the Southwest Power Pool’s Markets+ day-ahead market. The BPA’s May 9 decision to join Markets+ instead of a day-ahead market for the West developed by the California Independent System Operator will lead to higher electric costs, inefficient operations between market seams and potentially the need to build more generating facilities, according to the lawsuit filed by NW Energy Coalition, the Idaho Conservation League, the Montana Environmental Information Center, the Oregon Citizens’ Utility Board and the Sierra Club. “Bonneville’s decision on markets will affect the transmission and generation of electric power across the West and is exactly the type of major federal action that should first consider the harms it could cause to our air quality, grid system reliability, [and] fish and wildlife,” Jaimini Parekh, a senior attorney for Earthjustice, said in a press release. Earthjustice represents the advocacy groups. The BPA’s decision violated the Pacific Northwest Electric Power Planning and Conservation Act, the National Environmental Policy Act and the Administrative Procedure Act, according to the groups. “BPA did not rationally explain how joining the smaller, non-contiguous Markets+ footprint will enable it to meet its duty to promote an adequate, efficient, economical, and reliable power supply for the region that also gives priority to clean, renewable resources,” the groups said in the lawsuit filed at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. The groups also contend that BPA’s choice to join Markets+ will likely increase the risk of blackouts during periods of high or extreme electricity demand because of the “many and complex” seams that power must be transferred across in the market as compared to CAISO’s Extended Day-Ahead Market or a “no-action” alternative. BPA does not comment on active litigation, said Nick Quinata, a