News Desk

In Brief

IEA launches clean energy commission

PARIS: The International Energy Agency (IEA) has launched a new high-level global commission that will examine ways to ensure people are at the centre of clean energy transitions around the world.

The commission, which will be headed by Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen of Denmark, will provide key recommendations based on its work ahead of COP26 in November.

The new initiative – Our Inclusive Energy Future: The Global Commission on People-Centred Clean Energy Transitions – was convened by Dr Fatih Birol, the IEA’s Executive Director, and will be chaired by Dan Jørgensen, Denmark’s Minister of Climate, Energy and Utilities. Prime Minister Frederiksen will be the honorary patron.

As countries seek to advance their shifts to clean energy technologies, the success of these efforts will rest on enabling citizens to benefit from the opportunities and navigate the disruptions. This includes social and economic impacts on individuals and communities, as well as issues of affordability and fairness.

 

Biden suspends new oil drilling leases

WASHINGTON: The Biden administration has announced a new batch of executive actions aimed at combating climate change that will pause new oil and gas leases on federal land and strengthen measures to protect poor and minority neighborhoods from pollution.

Biden has called for a pause on new federal oil and gas leases and directed the Interior Department to review the program's climate impacts and taxpayer benefits. He also set a goal to conserve 30 per cent of federal land and waters to protect wildlife.

The orders will impact large swathes of acreage onshore in mostly Western states, as well as offshore drilling acreage located mainly in the US Gulf of Mexico.

Word of the measure has drawn criticism from some states that depend on drilling revenue and the oil industry, which has warned the move will costs jobs and economic growth.

 

UAE to develop first solar landfill project

ABU DHABI: Emirates Waste to Energy Company, a joint venture between Bee’ah and Masdar, will undertake a pioneering project to develop Bee’ah’s landfill into a solar farm, the first of its kind in the UAE.

The solar photovoltaic (PV) project will comprise 120 MW and will be constructed on top of Bee’ah’s Al Sa’jah landfill in close proximity to the Sharjah waste-to-energy facility and Bee’ah’s Waste Management Complex. The solar landfill project will be delivered across three phases, with the first phase due for completion in 2023.

Emirates Waste to Energy Company will be responsible for the financing, design, procurement and construction. Under the terms of the lease agreement, operation and maintenance services will also be provided by the company for a 25-year period.

 

Sumitomo stops investment in oil

TOKYO: Japanese trading house Sumitomo Corporation will stop investing in new oil development projects as it shifts away from fossil fuels businesses amid a global push to cut greenhouse gas emissions.

The move comes as global miners and Japanese trading companies cut their exposure to coal operations, including mining and power generation to trim harmful carbon dioxide emissions and to slow climate change.

Sumitomo will no longer participate auctions for new oil projects, though it will continue its existing oil projects including those in North Sea. It will focus its management resources on renewable energy such as offshore wind farms and base metals, including copper and nickel used in electric vehicles, the Nikkei said.

 

Norway awards exploration rights

OSLO: Norway has awarded 61 offshore exploration blocks to 30 oil firms in its latest pre-defined areas (APA) licensing round.

Winning firms included Equinor, Shell, Aker BP, ConocoPhillips, Total, Lundin Energy, Aker BP and Eni's Vaar Energi, among others.

Norway has also invited oil firms to submit applications by February 23 for 136 exploration blocks in frontier areas in the Barents Sea and the Norwegian Sea.

 

Kosmos finds oil in Gulf of Mexico

LONDON: Kosmos Energy has announced an oil discovery in the Green Canyon Block in the US Gulf of Mexico, potentially unlocking 100 million barrels in surrounding blocks in which the group holds stakes.

'(The) Winterfell (well) was designed to test a sub-salt Upper Miocene prospect located in Green Canyon Block 944,' Kosmos said, referring to the type of rock off the coast of Louisiana the well tested for oil.

 

Hydrogen plant planned at Masdar

ABU DHABI: Masdar has announced that it is joining forces with the Abu Dhabi Department of Energy, Etihad Airways, Lufthansa Group, Khalifa University of Science and Technology, Siemens Energy, and Marubeni Corporation in an initiative designed to support the development of Abu Dhabi’s green hydrogen economy.

The initiative aims to establish a demonstrator plant at Masdar City, Abu Dhabi’s flagship sustainable urban development community, to explore the development of green hydrogen, sustainable fuels and e-kerosene production for transport, shipping, and aviation.

Masdar, Siemens and Marubeni will jointly develop the infrastructure to implement the demonstration project and each of these companies will contribute to secure the needed funding.

 

Apex discovers oil in Egyptian desert

CAIRO: Apex International Energy has announced a new oil discovery in Southeast Meleiha Concession (SEM), located in the Western Desert of Egypt.

The discovery was achieved at the SEMZ-11X well located 10 km west of Zarif field, the nearest producing field. The well was drilled to a total depth of 5,700 ft and encountered 65 ft of oil pay in the Cretaceous sandstones of the Bahariya and Abu Roash G formations.

Testing of the Bahariya resulted in a peak rate of 2,100 barrels of oil per day with no water. Additional uphole pay exists in the Bahariya and Abu Roash G formations that can be added to the production stream in the future.