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The power ministry may not participate in the accelerated coal transition investment plan submitted by the World Bank as it is not considering repurposing or retiring any coal-based thermal power plant before 2030, said people with knowledge of the matter.

The plan offers to facilitate a transition away from coal.The ministry’s stance comes as energy demand has been increasing in the country and capacity availability needs to be ensured, said the people.

Power minister RK Singh had said in September that India needs 25-30 GW more of thermal capacity than the 51 GW already planned in the country. Most of this capacity is expected to come from coal-based units.

“We will make available the electricity required for our growth and we are not going to default on that,” Singh had said.

Thermal power plants have already been advised by the ministry to implement renovations and modernisation and life extension of their units for running up to 2030 and beyond or operating in two-shift mode to facilitate solar and wind energy integration into the grid.

Since August, power demand has increased sharply, led by irrigation, cooling appliances, lower hydro power generation and higher economic growth, according to government officials.

Overall power consumption between September 1 and October 22 increased about 14% year-on-year to 240.4 billion units.

Grid India, the demand and supply management cell of the power ministry, expects demand to “remain elevated” throughout this financial year.

As per a Goldman Sachs report, India will need 23 GW more coal capacity than was planned by the government as stationary storage capacity could fall short of demand by 2031-32.

The World Bank’s accelerated coal transition programme is aimed at a just transition from coal power to clean energy in emerging economies.

Source: Economictimes.indiatimes.com

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​(WO) – QatarEnergy has announced the signing of a partnership agreement with China Petrochemical Corporation (Sinopec) for the North Field South (NFS) expansion project.

The two sides also signed a long-term sales and purchase agreement (SPA) for the delivery of 3 million tons per annum (MMtpa) of LNG from the NFS project to Sinopec’s receiving terminals in China over a span of 27 years.

The partnership agreement is the second of its kind with Sinopec, following a similar one signed in Doha last April, which marked Sinopec’s entry as a shareholder in one of the North Field East (NFE) joint venture companies that own the NFE project, one of the most critical projects in the global LNG industry. The agreement will not affect the participating interests of any of the other shareholders.

The long-term LNG SPA follows another SPA signed in November 2022 for the supply of 4 MTPA of LNG over 27 years, the longest LNG supply agreement in the history of the industry.

These historic milestones are a testament to the excellent bilateral relations between the People’s Republic of China and the State of Qatar as well as between Sinopec and QatarEnergy.

The agreements were signed in Shanghai by His Excellency Mr. Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi, the Minister of State for Energy Affairs, the President and CEO of QatarEnergy, and Dr. MA Yong-sheng, the Chairman of Sinopec, in a special ceremony attended by senior executives from both companies.

Pursuant to the terms of the partnership agreement, QatarEnergy will transfer a 5% interest to Sinopec in a joint venture company that owns the equivalent of 6 MMtpa of LNG production capacity in the NFS project.

Source:

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Aramco maintained its payout to the Saudi government and investors at $29.4 billion, helping state finances amid a widening budget deficit.

The world’s biggest crude oil exporter maintained the payout at the preceding quarter’s level despite third-quarter net income dropping 23 percent to $32.6 billion compared with a year earlier, according to a statement.

Aramco provides much of the Saudi government’s income via generous dividends. The distribution is becoming ever more vital as the kingdom pushes ahead with expensive projects such as the futuristic city Neom, the purchase of high-profile footballers and stakes in sporting leagues.

Lower oil production hit Aramco’s earnings in the quarter. Saudi Arabia is keeping output at around 9 million barrels a day, about 1 million below the average over the past decade, in an effort to boost prices. The levels will remain until at least the end of this year.

Oil prices have also fluctuated in recent weeks. The market has shrugged off concerns that Israel’s war on Hamas will spill over to the wider region and threaten global supplies. Brent crude is back to where it was before Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack on Israel, at about $85 a barrel. That’s keeping the Saudis and their OPEC+ partner Russia intent on maintaining their unilateral output cuts for now.

There are also signs that the physical oil market is weakening, which could prompt Saudi Arabia to prolong its supply cuts into next year. Demand for fuels such as diesel is softening in Europe in a sign of lackluster economic growth.

Still, Aramco aims to gradually increase payouts. As part of its new performance-based dividend, the company linked the distribution to free cash flow. Other international oil majors have also have prioritized shareholder returns, with Shell Plc increasing its stock buyback program.

Source: Rigzone.com

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The Republic of Korea’s $750 billion National Pension Service, the third largest pension fund in the world, has acquired a minority stake in U.S.-based private-equity real estate investment company Stockbridge Capital Group LLC. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

“NPS is an ideal partner to support the continued growth of our firm,” said Terry Fancher, Stockbridge’s CEO and founder, in a statement. “NPS’ investment in Stockbridge will assist us in completing our corporate reorganization and provide new capital for our continued growth while allowing us to execute independently.’’

The pension giant is acquiring the minority interest in the firm through a separate account investment program administered by Blue Owl Capital Inc., while Berkshire Global Advisors was Stockbridge’s financial advisor.

The NPS and Stockbridge have a pre-existing working relationship, having formed a joint venture in December 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, to acquire core logistics properties in the U.S.

Real estate accounts for 5% of the NPS’ total asset value at 49.5 trillion won (approximately $38 billion) in assets, as of the end of the second quarter, a 58% increase from the 31.3 trillion won worth of real estate assets the portfolio held in 2020. The vast majority of the pension fund’s real estate portfolio is held in assets abroad, with the Americas drawing the largest amount of investment at 38.8%, followed by Europe at 24.8% and Asia at 20.5%. Only 13.5% of the real estate portfolio is invested domestically.

San Francisco-based Stockbridge also announced a reorganization of its two business units: Stockbridge Platform Business and Core and Value Advisors.

According to the company’s website, its core portfolio construction seeks out high-quality, stabilized properties in markets with historically strong performance, while its core investment strategy is income-focused and aims to produce the highest returns with low volatility.

Stockbridge’s value-added portfolio construction focuses on “non-stabilized” assets in which a higher percentage of total return is generated by growth; however, returns are subject to greater volatility. It also aims to add value through active management strategies, including additional capital investment, leasing, recapitalization, renovation and redevelopment.

Source: Ai-cio.com

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A turbine the size of a regular office desk could soon power 10,000 households, as per a press release from the Southwest Research Institute (SwRI), which has set up a pilot plant in San Antonio, Texas. Called the Supercritical Transformational Electric Power (STEP), the demo pilot plant has seen the SwRI collaborate with GTI Energy, GE Vernova (GE), and the US Department of Energy.

The steam turbines used in power plants worldwide are entirely a dated technology. The origins of the steam turbine go back to the 19th century and have not seen radical improvements in technology, even as one can find steam turbines in varying sizes and applications.

The turbine’s job is to use water as a thermal medium in power cycles. However, if one were to change the medium itself, the turbine could be much smaller in size. Enter carbon dioxide as a working fluid, and the turbines can be significantly downsized.

Supercritical CO2 turbines

Carbon dioxide exists in a gaseous form, but it can also be concentrated using high temperature and pressure, where it behaves like a gas but with the density of a liquid. Called supercritical CO2 (sCO2), this gas form has been on the US Department of Energy’s (DOE) radar for a while since it allows the turbines to be as much as 10 percent more energy efficient than conventional turbines.

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