PetroChina Company Limited has reported a revenue of RMB 753.11 billion ($103.5 billion) for the first quarter, with a net income of RMB 46.81 billion ($6.4 billion), up 2.3 percent year-on-year. The company said in a media release that it sustained growth in oil and gas output while bolstering momentum in new energies. It said it enhanced cost management in oil and gas production, as well as improved the structure of its overseas assets. Oil and gas output rose 0.7 percent year-on-year to 467 million barrels of oil equivalent (MMboe). Domestic production rose 1.2 percent year-on-year to 418 MMboe. Wind and solar power generation grew 94.6 percent to 1.68 billion kilowatt-hours. The oil, gas, and new energies business reported an operating profit of RMB 46.09 billion ($6.3 billion). The company responded to market demand by advancing refining and chemical upgrades, optimizing production plans, and focusing on specialty refined products and new materials to boost high-value-added product sales, it said. The company said it is advancing its refining and chemical operations with key projects Jilin and Guangxi Petrochemical, and Dushanzi Petrochemical Tarim Ethane-to-Ethylene. In Q1 2025, it processed 337 million barrels of crude oil, with refined product output at 28.57 million tons. Ethylene output reached 2.27 million tons, chemical commodities totaled 9.96 million tons, and new materials surged by 37.5 percent year-on-year to 0.80 million tons. The company’s chemicals and new materials business generated an operating profit of RMB 5.39 billion ($741.2 million), supported by improved marketing and steady market share growth. It enhanced coordination in product dispatch and inventory management, adopted flexible marketing strategies, and promoted retail sales, maximizing efficiency across the industrial chain. The company said it has also advanced non-fuel businesses and proprietary products, improved its integrated energy service network, and expanded international trade capabilities. Natural gas marketing

Real progress is being made on the report which charts a future for Grangemouth, the deputy first minister has said after oil refining finally ended at the industrial site earlier this week. Kate Forbes said the end of oil processing at Scotland’s last refinery was a “dark moment” in the country’s industrial history. However she said Scottish Enterprise has received 66 inquiries related to Project Willow – which plots a future for Grangemouth in low-carbon energy – as well as other activities at the site. Owners Petroineos confirmed on Tuesday that Grangemouth has now transitioned to become an import terminal for finished fuels rather than an oil refinery. The company says the refinery, which opened in 1924, is loss-making. In recent months, hundreds of workers have taken voluntary redundancy while a number of compulsory redundancies have also been made. Forbes delivered an update on the situation to MSPs on Wednesday. Both the Scottish and UK governments had commissioned Project Willow to try and preserve jobs at the site. She said: “Yesterday’s news that Petroineos has now ceased refining at Grangemouth is a devastating blow to Scotland’s economy, the workforce and the local community. “My thoughts are with all of the workers impacted as they navigate these difficult times. “Whilst we have anticipated this moment since Petroineos made their decision last September, it is none the less a dark moment in Scotland’s industrial history. “It is clear that real progress is being made on both the outputs from Project Willow and other associated manufacturing opportunities. “Scottish Enterprise are dealing with 66 inquiries aligned to both the full range of technologies set out in the report as well as to manufacturing activities carried out across the wider cluster.” She said the situation is “nothing short of an economic crisis” as she called

Storegga has “dramatically” slowed down spending in the UK amid delays to funding for the Acorn carbon capture and storage (CCS) project in Scotland. It comes amid claims from the SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn that Scotland is being treated as an “afterthought” over delays to Acorn. Speaking to Energy Voice, Storegga chief executive Tim Stedman said the company is allocating more resources to projects in Norway and the United States amid continued uncertainty for the Acorn. Stedman also warned that if Acorn does not go ahead, it “would have fairly major ramifications” for Scotland’s ability to decarbonise its existing heavy industries. Backed by Storegga alongside North Sea operators Shell, Harbour Energy and North Sea Midstream Partners, the Acorn project is aiming to decarbonise industrial emitters across Scotland. The industrial sites included in the Scottish Cluster emit an estimated 9.3 million tonnes of CO2 per year, accounting for around 80% of Scotland’s industrial emissions. After capturing industrial emissions, the Acorn partners will transport the CO2 to Peterhead via repurposed pipelines for permanent offshore storage. In addition, the Acorn developers are also exploring options to receive CO2 shipments by sea at Peterhead. A report released last year estimated the Acorn project and Scottish Cluster could bring an estimated £17.7 billion in economic benefit to the UK economy by 2050. Track-1 and Track-2 Clusters Acorn received initial UK government funding in 2023 when it was shortlisted for so-called Track-2 status alongside Harbour Energy’s Viking CCS project in the Humber. But since 2023, the Track-2 projects have endured months of uncertainty around future government support. Meanwhile, the two Track-1 CCS projects in north west and north east England are moving ahead after Labour committed £22bn last year. Stedman said while the news that the Track-1 East Coast Cluster and HyNet North West projects are proceeding

As global energy markets shift, travel company ATPI has appointed Aberdeen-based Zara Higgins as its head of energy, a role previously held in Houston, Texas. The UK and US, which were formerly largely aligned on energy transition policy, have become divided as politicians at either side of the Atlantic opt for widely different approaches to security of supply and sentiment towards green technologies, namely wind turbines. Under Joe Biden, the US introduced the Inflation Reduction Act, which was seen as a game changer for renewables manufacturing and now under Donald Trump, Equinor has suspended the construction of its 2.1 GW Empire Wind project. Despite this, ATPI’s customers are still pursuing lower-carbon opportunities, especially within travel plans. Higgins told Energy Voice: “Regardless of what’s going on politically, I do think that all of these big companies are still trying to diversify and know that they’ve got to over the course of the next three, five, ten years and whatever that might look like.” © Shutterstock FeedCharts listing the country-by-country tariffs President Trump levied on ‘Liberation Day’ are displayed in the press briefing room at the White House. Photo by SHAWN THEW/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock (15236643e) With that in mind, ATPI needs to ensure that “what we’re doing is in line with what the industry’s future looks like,” the new energy boss added. Addressing the gulf in approaches between the UK’s approach, which has been seen as anti-oil and gas, to Trump’s “drill baby drill” mentality, Higgins said “it’s worlds apart in terms of what’s happening in North Sea versus what’s happening in other parts of the world, the US included.” Ahead of the 47th US president’s inauguration, he took to his social media platform Truth Social to call for the UK to abandon its offshore wind ambitions and “open up the North Sea” as

Glasgow-based Synaptec has developed new technology designed to tackle the issue of cable failures on offshore wind farms that can cost operators millions. The company’s Greenlight provides automated monitoring of the joints and terminations in a cable network, delivering early warnings of emerging faults before they become failures. The system is based on Synaptec’s Distributed Electrical Sensing (DES) technology, which was Synaptec previously deployed on the latest phase of the Dogger Bank wind farm. Cable failures are a major issue facing offshore wind farms, with a single fault in transmission networks and offshore wind developments capable of costing up to £1m per day in lost revenue. Allianz, the insurer for UK offshore wind projects including Dogger Bank and East Anglia Three, warned that damage to cables is the main cause of offshore wind insurance claims, accounting for 53% of claims across its global portfolio from 2014-2020. Around 70% of these failures originate in the joints and terminations rather than the cables themselves. The Global Underwater Hub (GUH) recently launched a forum to tackle rising costs and reliability issues facing subsea cable systems on the UK’s offshore wind farms. Synaptec vice-president of applications, Dr Steven Blair, said: “Greenlight gives operators control over the most unpredictable and expensive aspect of offshore cable operations and maintenance. “It’s a system designed not just to collect data, but to deliver clear, early, and location-specific insight that finds the early warning signs of failure. “The return on investment is immediate – it pays for itself the first time it pre-empts an issue that would otherwise shut down a wind farm.” Synaptec has made the first commercial installations of Greenlight with offshore wind operators and transmission systems internationally. There are plans for further large-scale installations throughout 2025. The firm previously raised £6.5m in funding last year, with

Roughly half of the SNP’s voters believe nuclear power should be part of Scotland’s mix of clean energy generation, a poll suggests, despite the party’s longstanding opposition to it. Polling for the campaign group Britain Remade found 52% of those who voted for the party in 2021 believe nuclear power should be included in Scotland’s energy mix to meet the 2045 net zero target. Meanwhile, 57% of those who voted for the party in last year’s general election felt the same way, the poll found. A total of 56% of Scots thought nuclear power should be part of Scotland’s clean energy mix to meet the targets, while 23% disagreed, and 21% said they did not know. Opinium surveyed 1,000 Scottish adults between April 22 and 25. Britain Remade describes itself as a grassroots campaign for economic growth. Founder Sam Richards said: “The message from our polling is clear: when it comes to safe and reliable nuclear power, the SNP is not just out of step with the majority of Scots – they’re at odds with a huge number of their own supporters. “It’s time for the SNP to stop saying ‘no’ to new nuclear and start listening to the people, the experts, and the communities who know what’s at stake. “Investing in a new generation of nuclear power is not just critical if Scotland is to hit its 2045 net zero target – it is essential for Scotland’s economy. Grangemouth could be transformed by SMR (small modular reactor) technology, but the SNP’s opposition is standing in the way.” Scotland nuclear energy Scotland has one remaining active nuclear reactor, at Torness in East Lothian, which is due to shut down in 2030. Last week the deactivated Hunterston B power station was declared “nuclear free” as all fuel elements were removed ahead