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Along the partially built road, lush rainforest towers on either side – a reminder of what was once there. Logs are piled high in the cleared land which stretches more than 13km (8 miles) through the rainforest into Belém.

Diggers and machines carve through the forest floor, paving over wetland to surface the road which will cut through a protected area.

Claudio Verequete lives about 200m from where the road will be. He used to make an income from harvesting açaí berries from trees that once occupied the space.

“Everything was destroyed,” he says, gesturing at the clearing.

“Our harvest has already been cut down. We no longer have that income to support our family.”

He says he has received no compensation from the state government and is currently relying on savings.

He worries the construction of this road will lead to more deforestation in the future, now that the area is more accessible for businesses.

“Our fear is that one day someone will come here and say: ‘Here’s some money. We need this area to build a gas station, or to build a warehouse.’ And then we’ll have to leave.

“We were born and raised here in the community. Where are we going to go?”

BBC / Paulo Koba

His community won’t be connected to the road, given its walls on either side.

“For us who live on the side of the highway, there will be no benefits. There will be benefits for the trucks that will pass through. If someone gets sick, and needs to go to the centre of Belém, we won’t be able to use it.”

The road leaves two disconnected areas of protected forest. Scientists are concerned it will fragment the ecosystem and disrupt the movement of wildlife.

Prof Silvia Sardinha is a wildlife vet and researcher at a university animal hospital that overlooks the site of the new highway.

She and her team rehabilitate wild animals with injuries, predominantly caused by humans or vehicles.

BBC / Paulo Koba

Once healed, they release them back into the wild – something she says will be harder if there is a highway on their doorstep.

“From the moment of deforestation, there is a loss.

“We are going to lose an area to release these animals back into the wild, the natural environment of these species,” she said.

“Land animals will no longer be able to cross to the other side too, reducing the areas where they can live and breed.”

The Brazilian president and environment minister say this will be a historic summit because it is “a COP in the Amazon, not a COP about the Amazon”.

The president says the meeting will provide an opportunity to focus on the needs of the Amazon, show the forest to the world, and present what the federal government has done to protect it.

But Prof Sardinha says that while these conversations will happen “at a very high level, among business people and government officials”, those living in the Amazon are “not being heard”.

The state government of Pará had touted the idea of this highway, known as Avenida Liberdade, as early as 2012, but it had repeatedly been shelved because of environmental concerns.

Now a host of infrastructure projects have been resurrected or approved to prepare the city for the COP summit.

Adler Silveira, the state government’s infrastructure secretary, listed this highway as one of 30 projects happening in the city to “prepare” and “modernise” it, so “we can have a legacy for the population and, more importantly, serve people for COP30 in the best possible way”.

Speaking to the BBC, he said it was a “sustainable highway” and an “important mobility intervention”.

He added it would have wildlife crossings for animals to pass over, bike lanes and solar lighting. New hotels are also being built and the port is being redeveloped so cruise ships can dock there to accommodate excess visitors.

Brazil’s federal government is investing more than $81m (£62m) to expand the airport capacity from “seven to 14 million passengers”. A new 500,000 sq-m city park, Parque da Cidade, is under construction. It will include green spaces, restaurants, a sports complex and other facilities for the public to use afterwards.

BBC / Paulo Koba

Some business owners in the city’s vast open-air Ver-o-peso market agree that this development will bring opportunities for the city.

“The city as a whole is being improved, it is being repaired and a lot of people are visiting from other places. It means I can sell more and earn more,” says Dalci Cardoso da Silva, who runs a leather shoe stall.

He says this is necessary because when he was young, Belém was “beautiful, well-kept, well cared for”, but it has since been “abandoned” and “neglected” with “little interest from the ruling class”.

João Alexandre Trindade da Silva, who sells Amazonian herbal medicines in the market, acknowledges that all construction work can cause problems, but he felt the future impact would be worth it.

“We hope the discussions aren’t just on paper and become real actions. And the measures, the decisions taken, really are put into practice so that the planet can breathe a little better, so that the population in the future will have a little cleaner air.”

That will be the hope of world leaders too who choose to attend the COP30 summit.

Scrutiny is growing over whether flying thousands of them across the world, and the infrastructure required to host them, is undermining the cause.

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Energy News Beat

• President Trump’s new tariffs on energy imports from Canada and Mexico are expected to significantly impact US refiners, particularly those reliant on heavy crude.
• While Canadian oil imports are likely to continue despite tariffs, Mexican oil imports may see a sharp decline due to alternative sources available to Gulf Coast refiners.
• These tariffs could lead to higher fuel prices for consumers, increased market volatility, and broader economic repercussions for industries dependent on oil and gas.

President Donald Trump’s newly imposed 25% tariffs on goods from Mexico and a 10% tariff on energy products from Canada have the potential to send ripples through the U.S. oil and gas market.

These tariffs, effective March 4, come after last-minute negotiations failed, raising concerns about higher costs for refiners and potential disruptions to North America’s tightly integrated energy supply chains.

How Canadian Oil Tariffs Could Disrupt U.S. Refiners

The U.S. imports approximately 4.4 million barrels per day (MMb/d) of crude oil from Canada, accounting for about 27% of total U.S. refinery demand.  The Midwest (PADD 2) is particularly dependent on Canadian oil, receiving about 3.5 MMb/d—roughly 75% of Canada’s total crude exports.

Many U.S. refiners, particularly in the Midwest and Rocky Mountain regions, have spent billions upgrading facilities to process Canada’s heavy, sour crude. These refiners prefer Canada’s discounted barrels because they provide the best refining margins.

A 10% tariff on Canadian crude will increase costs for these refiners, and this will both erode margins, and get passed on to consumers in the form of higher gasoline and diesel prices. Refiners do have some options for replacing this crude, but they are more expensive, and there may be logistical challenges. Further, in the short-term it will definitely cause some disruptions to U.S. refinery operations, much as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine did in 2022.

However, because of how deeply integrated the U.S.-Canada crude supply chain is, analysts believe that nearly 90% of Canadian oil imports will continue flowing into the U.S. despite the tariff. The bigger concern is for refiners in California and the Northeast, which rely on Canadian crude shipped from Newfoundland and Alberta. Some may seek alternative sources such as Alaskan North Slope (ANS) crude or heavier Middle Eastern grades but switching suppliers could present the aforementioned logistical and pricing challenges.

Impact on Mexican Oil Imports

The 25% tariff on Mexican crude is even more significant. The U.S. imported about 625,000 barrels per day from Mexico in 2024, mainly heavy Maya crude destined for Gulf Coast refiners (PADD 3). This heavy crude is a critical feedstock for refineries that specialize in processing lower-quality oils into usable fuels.

Unlike Canadian crude, Mexican oil imports could see a sharp decline because refiners along the Gulf Coast have more alternative sources. Venezuelan crude, Middle Eastern heavy grades, and even some Canadian barrels rerouted from PADD 2 could replace Mexican oil. However, redirecting supply chains is not seamless—it involves higher transportation costs and potential disruptions. In the short term, refiners may absorb some of the higher costs, but over time, fuel prices could inch higher as a result.

Wider Economic and Market Impacts

Beyond oil and gas prices, tariffs on energy imports can have broader economic repercussions. Higher refining costs could squeeze profit margins for U.S. refiners, potentially leading to lower capital expenditures, delayed maintenance schedules, and even job reductions in refinery-dependent regions. Additionally, any sustained increase in energy costs could impact industries that rely heavily on oil and gas, such as transportation, agriculture, and manufacturing.

Energy markets also react strongly to uncertainty. If tariffs introduce supply chain inefficiencies or raise the prospect of retaliatory actions from Mexico and Canada, crude oil futures could experience higher volatility. Canada and Mexico could respond by imposing tariffs on U.S. refined fuel exports, making American gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel more expensive in key foreign markets.

Final Thoughts

The U.S. oil market is deeply intertwined with those of Canada and Mexico, and tariffs on crude oil imports will have consequences—some immediate, others playing out over time. While U.S. refiners will still process the majority of Canadian crude despite the 10% tariff, the 25% tariff on Mexican oil could shift trade patterns and raise costs for Gulf Coast refiners.

Ultimately, the energy industry is adept at adjusting to policy shifts, but those adjustments come at a cost. It also takes time to adjust, and prices can be volatile during the adjustment period. If sustained, these tariffs could contribute to higher fuel prices, market volatility, and economic inefficiencies—raising the question of whether the benefits of trade leverage outweigh the financial burden imposed on American consumers.

By Robert Rapier

Source: Oilprice.com

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• India’s Coal Ministry is proposing a coal trading exchange to manage increased domestic coal production and facilitate competitive sales.
• This initiative aims to shift from a government-controlled sales model to a “many-to-many” platform for efficient price discovery.
• The exchange is planned as India’s domestic coal production is expected to reach 1 billion tons in 2024-2025 and 1.5 billion tons by 2030.

India’s Coal Ministry is proposing to establish a coal trading exchange as domestic coal production jumps with the government push for higher output and sector reforms allowing private firms to operate mines.

“With the increased availability of domestic coal in the country, it is envisaged that there would be a paradigm shift towards a surplus coal scenario,” the Coal Ministry said in a notice launching a public consultation on the creation of a coal trade exchange.

The surge in domestic coal supply would change the existing mechanisms of coal sales channels, necessitating a major market reform to promote competitive markets for the sale of coal, the ministry added.

Currently, the government-owned companies Coal India Limited (CIL) and Singareni Colleries Company Limited (SCCL) sell coal. So the country – the world’s second-largest coal consumer after China – needs a platform such as a Coal Trading Exchange (CTE), to allow commercial miners to sell their coal on the market, the ministry says.

The exchange is envisaged to lead to a ‘many-to-many’ platform where both buyers and sellers can bid simultaneously, thereby, making price discovery of coal more efficient and competitive, according to the government.

India reduced its imports of coal in 2024 as it began to boost its domestic supply of coal.

India has been looking to cut its dependence on foreign coal supply to meet its surging power demand and has hiked domestic production. While coal is abundant in domestic mines, it is typically of lower quality and contains lower levels of energy when burnt compared to most imports.

India’s coal production is expected to reach new heights in the coming years, the coal ministry said. The country is set to produce 1 billion tons of coal in the 2024-2025 financial year ending March 31, 2025. Annual coal output is likely to exceed 1.5 billion tons by 2030, according to government estimates.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

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• The U.S. transformed from an energy importer to the world’s top LNG exporter due to the shale revolution and fracking.
• Rising costs, environmental concerns, and potential shifts toward renewables pose challenges to long-term demand for U.S. LNG.
• Geopolitical tensions, Chinese trade measures, and the uncertain future of fossil fuels could impact the sustainability of America’s LNG boom.

Once upon a time, in the not-so-distant past, the United States was the world’s largest importer of energy, guzzling down foreign oil and gas like a frat boy at a kegger. But the script has since flipped. Thanks to the shale revolution and a penchant for hydraulic fracturing (fracking), the U.S. has transformed from energy junkie to pusher, with liquefied natural gas (LNG) as its hottest commodity.

The Shale Gale: A Brief History

In the early 2000s, the U.S. was staring down the barrel of energy scarcity. Natural gas production was declining, and Alan Greenspan, then Federal Reserve Chairman, was advocating for increased imports to keep the lights on. Enter fracking—a technique that involves injecting high-pressure fluid into shale rock to release trapped gas and oil. This method unlocked vast reserves across states like Texas, Pennsylvania, and North Dakota, catapulting the U.S. into the upper echelons of energy producers.

By 2016, the U.S. had become a net exporter of natural gas, and by 2023, it was the world’s largest LNG exporter, surpassing heavyweights like Qatar and Australia. In December 2023 alone, U.S. LNG exports averaged a whopping 13.6 billion cubic feet per day, contributing to a record annual total of 20.9 billion cubic feet per day for all natural gas exports.

LNG: The Cool Kid on the Block

Liquefied natural gas is essentially natural gas that’s been supercooled to -260°F (-162°C), turning it into a liquid that’s easier to transport across the globe. This chilling process shrinks the gas to 1/600th of its original volume, making it feasible to ship it to markets previously out of reach via pipelines.

The U.S. has capitalized on this by building massive LNG export terminals along its Gulf Coast, like  Cheniere Energy and Venture Global, who have invested billions in facilities that chill, liquefy, and load natural gas onto specialized tankers destined for Europe, Asia, and beyond.

Geopolitical Gas Games

U.S. LNG exports aren’t just padding energy company profits—they’re redrawing the global energy chessboard. For decades, countries like Germany, Japan, and South Korea had to play nice with traditional gas suppliers, even if those suppliers were unreliable or outright hostile. Now, they’ve got options.

Take Europe, for example. Once addicted to Russian gas, the continent was left scrambling after the 2022 invasion of Ukraine made Russian pipelines a liability. Enter U.S. LNG—riding in like the cavalry, tankers full of liquid freedom sloshing toward European ports.

By 2023, the U.S. had become Europe’s top LNG supplier, effectively neutering Russia’s gas stranglehold.

Asia isn’t far behind. Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan are all doubling down on American gas to hedge against price volatility and geopolitical risk. Trump even floated the idea of these nations investing in an ambitious natural gas pipeline from Alaska. Whether that deal ever materializes is anyone’s guess, but the mere fact that it’s on the table shows how central U.S. LNG has become to global energy security.

Boom or Bust: The LNG Debate at Home

Not everyone’s thrilled about America’s LNG dominance. While exporters, Gulf Coast communities, and energy investors are celebrating, environmentalists and some policymakers are clutching their pearls. Their concerns? The fracking boom fueling LNG exports could drive up domestic gas prices, prolong dependence on fossil fuels, and wreck the planet.

The Biden administration even hit the brakes on new LNG export approvals in early 2024, citing environmental concerns and potential cost impacts for U.S. consumers. The industry howled in protest, and the Department of Energy’s own study later undercut the rationale for the pause, showing that increased U.S. LNG exports would have a negligible impact on global emissions. In the end, it didn’t matter—Trump overturned Biden’s freeze on his first day back in office, greenlighting more projects without so much as a nod to climate activists.

The Road Ahead: Smooth Sailing or an Iceberg?

In the short term, U.S. LNG is riding high. Demand is strong, global buyers are locked into long-term contracts, and new export terminals are coming online. But cracks are forming.

For one, the economics of LNG are shifting. The cost of building and operating liquefaction plants has soared. In response, companies like Energy Transfer and Venture Global have renegotiated sales contracts at higher prices. Buyers, especially in China, are pushing back.

Then there’s the geopolitical wildcard. Europe is cozy with U.S. LNG now, but as renewable energy scales up and nuclear power makes a comeback, some analysts suggest that long-term demand isn’t guaranteed. China is already playing hardball, slapping retaliatory tariffs on U.S. LNG in early 2025.

A Gas-Fueled Future… for Now

For all the hype, U.S. LNG’s reign as a geopolitical kingmaker has an expiration date. Sure, the world is hungry for energy, and American gas is cheap and plentiful. But energy transitions happen in waves. For now, though, America is the undisputed heavyweight champ of natural gas. And as long as the world keeps buying, U.S. producers will keep shipping. The only real question is whether the boom lasts.

By Julianne Geiger for Oilprice.com

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South Dakota Governor Rhoden signed a bill banning eminent domain for carbon capture pipelines, protecting landowners’ property rights.

​Republican South Dakota Governor Larry Rhoden signed a bill Thursday banning the use of eminent domain for carbon dioxide pipelines, ensuring land protections for farmers across the state. [emphasis, links added]

The bill, HB 1052, prohibits the government seizure of land for C02 pipelines. This leaves the fate of Summit Carbon Solutions’ $9 billion, 2,500-mile pipeline project potentially hanging in the air, as South Dakota was a key player in the plan.

Summit’s pipeline was to transport captured C02 from five Midwest states to an underground storage spot in South Dakota, which has been referred to as the world’s largest carbon capture project.

“South Dakota landowners feel strongly that the threat of involuntary easements for the proposed carbon dioxide pipeline infringes on their freedoms and their property rights,” Rhoden wrote in a letter to the legislature and to the people of South Dakota.

“I have said many times that Summit needs to earn back the trust of South Dakota landowners. Unfortunately, once trust is lost, it is a difficult thing to regain.”

“Here is my open message to Summit Carbon or anyone else who wants to try to come abuse our fellow South Dakotans,” Republican South Dakota House Speaker Jon Hansen wrote on X.

“Your green new deal boondoggle; your lawsuits; your threats; and your intimidation against our people, our counties, and our grassroots commissioners ARE NOT WELCOME HERE.”

Summit spokesperson Sabrina Zenor said in a statement that “it’s very unfortunate that, despite our approvals in Iowa, North Dakota, and Minnesota, South Dakota changed the rules in the middle of the game.”

“The governor has made it clear that HB 1052 targets one company – Summit Carbon Solutions,” Zenor continued. “It’s unfortunate that a piece of legislation has been framed around a single company rather than addressing broader infrastructure and economic policy.”

“This is definitely a win for the little guy,” Steve Milloy, a Senior Legal Fellow at the Energy & Environment Legal Institute, told the DCNF.

“Carbon capture is economically, politically, and physically impossible.” He said, referring to carbon capture as “totally bogus” and that “the only reason it’s happening is because oil companies can get taxpayer subsidies for it.”

Read rest at Daily Caller

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Media hype fuels climate panic, but data shows disaster deaths, burned areas, and flood costs drop with adaptation—far cheaper than costly climate policies.

​Nearly half of young Canadians surveyed in a 2022 study said they believed humanity is doomed because of climate change, while more than three-quarters said they were frightened. No wonder. [emphasis, links added]

They have grown up bombarded both by footage of natural disasters, not just in Canada but around the world, and by activists’ claims that climate change is making the planet unliveable. But that’s just wrong.

The ubiquity of phone cameras and our ability to communicate instantly — the “CNN effect” — means the media can show more weather disasters now than ever before.

But that doesn’t mean the disasters are deadlier or costlier.

As we saw in the first article in this series, deaths from climate-related disasters have dropped precipitously. On average in the 1870s, five million people a year died from such disasters.

A century ago, about half a million people a year did. In the past decade, however, the death toll worldwide was fewer than 10,000 people a year.

As the global population has more than quintupled, disaster deaths have declined 500-fold. This dramatic decline is true for all major disaster categories, including floods, flash floods, cold waves, and wind disasters, and for both rich and poor countries. But you never hear about that during disaster reporting.

Floods are the most costly and frequent Canadian disasters. But the common claim that flood costs are rising dramatically ignores the obvious fact that when a floodplain has many more houses on it than decades ago, and the houses are worth much more, then the same flood will cause a lot more damage.

We need to keep these changes in mind and measure costs in proportion to GDP. Even the UN says that’s how to measure whether cities and towns are safer.

Though peer-reviewed analysis for Canada is lacking there is plenty to draw on elsewhere. As so often, the U.S. has the most comprehensive data.

It shows that while flood costs have increased in absolute terms, that’s only because more people and property are in harm’s way. In the country’s worst year for flooding, 1913, damage exceeded two percent of GDP, though the yearly average in that era was 0.5 percent.

Today it’s less than 0.05 percent of GDP — just a tenth of what it was a century ago.

We know adaptation makes disasters much less threatening over time. Consider sea level rise, which threatens to flood coastal zones worldwide.

A much-cited study shows that at the turn of this century an average of 3.4 million people a year experienced coastal flooding, with $11 billion in annual damages. At the same time, around $13 billion, or 0.05 percent of global GDP was spent on coastal defenses.

By the end of this century, more people will be in harm’s way, and climate change could raise sea levels by as much as a meter. If we don’t improve coastal defenses, vast areas may be routinely inundated, flooding 187 million people and causing $55 trillion in annual damages, more than five percent of global GDP in 2100.

This finding does routinely make headlines.

But it ignores adaptation, which research shows will cost much less. On average, countries will avoid flood damage by spending just 0.005 percent of GDP.

Even with higher sea levels, far fewer people will be flooded — by 2100 just 15,000 people a year. Even the combined cost of adaptation and damage will be just 0.008 percent of GDP.

Enormously ambitious emissions-reduction policies costing hundreds of trillions of dollars could cut the number of people flooded at century’s end from 15,000 to about 10,000 per year.

But notice the difference: Adaptation reduces the number currently being flooded by almost 3.4 million and avoids another 184 million people being flooded annually by 2100. At best, climate policy can save just 0.005 million.

We often hear that the “world is on fire” because of climate change. New Liberal leader Mark Carney repeated that in his acceptance speech Sunday. And it’s true that in 2023 more of Canada’s surface area burned than in any year since 1970, with climate change probably partly to blame.

Even so, two points need to be kept in mind.

First, most studies projecting an increase in wildfires ignore adaptation. Humans don’t like fire and make great efforts to reduce it, which is why since 1900 humanity has seen less burned area, not more.

The data from the last century involve historical reconstruction, but since 1997 NASA satellites have tracked all significant fires.

The record shows a dramatic fall in the global burned area. Last year it was the second lowest, and in 2022 the lowest ever. And studies find that with adaptation the area burned will keep falling, even without climate action.

Second, reducing emissions is a terribly inefficient way to help.

Studies by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency show that even drastic cuts in emissions would reduce the burned area only slightly this century.

Simpler, cheaper, faster policies like better forest management, prescribed fires, and cleaning out undergrowth can help much more.

The flood of disaster porn is terrifying our kids and skewing our perception, and that can only lead to bad climate policy.

Read more at Financial Post

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Kinshasa has accused the tech giant of tainting supply chains with tin, tungsten, tantalum, and gold smuggled by Rwanda.

The post Why Congo Is Suing Apple appeared first on Energy News Beat.

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ENB Pub Note: This will be a vast opportunity zone for the U.S. shipbuilding business if it can get organized. President Trump is on task with the new shipbuilding office, and this needs to get investments and legs to run. The office of shipyards in the White House should also look at a scrapyard next to the shipyards or steel mills for new contracts on reusing the steel hulls and usable components. 

According to a report by Drewry released last week, modern LNG carriers will replace these carriers, with high deliveries scheduled between 2024 and 2027.

As the steam turbine carriers come off the charter, they invariably become idle with no re-employment opportunities. They also act as a ‘buffer’ in the total supply, further limiting any potential growth in rates, Drewry said.

“Some shipowners remain cautious and prefer laying up vessels to scrapping them (considering the upcoming liquefaction capacity build-up). However, growing uncertainty, rising scrutiny and increasing cost associated with lay-up challenge their strategy,” the consultancy said.

“Amid high operating costs and historically low rates, these carriers are losing their economic viability faster than expected, making them highly uneconomic. Moreover, the demolition age is reducing and regulations are becoming stringent yearly, making several vessels potential candidates for demolition,” Drewry said.

Drewry expects more than 100 candidates to be potentially removed by 2030, and “considerable” scrapping will be required to restore the supply-demand balance.

According to Drewry, rates will start to stabilize in 2027 and follow an upward trajectory thereafter.

Spot rates for steam carriers averaged $23,000 per day in 2024, plummeting to $5,000 per day by the end of 2024, recording a historic low, Drewry noted.

Subdued demand in Europe, weak competition between Europe and Asia, ample vessel supply, and limited capacity addition squeezed rates across all engine types—steam, TFDE/DFDE, and MEGA/XDF.

Moreover, the oversupply of vessels outpaced the increased tonne-mile demand generated due to the re-routing of LNGCs via the Cape of Good Hope (COGH), with steam carriers failing to reap any benefits from longer voyages, Drewry said.

“This trend is likely to continue in 2025-26, with rates for steam carriers remaining lower throughout the year,” the consultancy said.

Drewry said that charters will likely become more reluctant to deploy steam carriers as it will incur substantial costs.

While some shipowners remain hopeful of any reversal of the current market conditions, the cost embedded with lay-ups and increasing market uncertainty could influence their decision, it said.

Drewry said the fall in rates questions the economic feasibility of these carriers as they are unable to cover operating costs, increasing idle vessels as these carriers come off their charter with negligible chances of finding employment opportunities.

“The cost differential (of about 16-17 percent) between 10-year and 15-year-old steam carriers is quite substantial, which is growing further and affecting the status quo of steam carriers,” the consultancy said.

DRewry noted that some owners are also considering placing their ships in lay-up conditions, hoping that the vast liquefaction capacity expected towards the end of the decade will generate demand.

“Although we expect a supply-demand squeeze, demand for steam carriers will still be low, and even after laying up the ships for three-four years (with the laid-up costs depending on condition), vessels might only get a short burst of employment, resulting in vessel owners bearing the cost,” Drewry said.

“Moreover, we expect older steam carriers to find conversion opportunities as the demand for FSRUs and FSUs is expected to be on an uptrend amid the rising energy security concerns and growing LNG supply,” it said.

However, “only a few” will be qualified to be potential conversion candidates, given the technical feasibility and the vast number of such carriers, Drewry said.

Thus, lower rates, minimal employment and conversion opportunities will also support scrapping.

Steam carriers comprise 25 percent of the current fleet, acting as a buffer and exaggerating the oversupply conditions.

“We expect demolitions to accelerate in 2025, and this momentum will continue in the following years, reinstating a steady rebalance to the ongoing oversupply market conditions. However, demolitions could face some headwinds amid concerns over perlite disposal and easing steel prices,” Drewry said,

Drewry also said that the increasing environmental scrutiny has started impacting LNG shipping as vessels slow steam and market fragmentation (based on engine type) is underway.

According to Drewry AIS, the average speed of LNGCs has been reducing, signalling changes in LNG shipping to comply with maritime regulations, such as CII and EEXI.

“Steam carriers are expected to face the steep brunt of these regulations and become highly incompliant with the increasing scrutiny. While shipowners opt for slow steaming to keep up with regulations, we believe this will not be a way out for steam carriers as speed reduction will become uneconomical after a certain threshold due to higher boil-off gas,” Drewry said.

Meanwhile, the rising scrutiny on steam carriers with speed reduction becoming impractical will further question the employability of these carriers – especially as these carriers are coming off their long-term charter and will be primarily available for spot trading/charter, it said.

“According to Drewry AIS, market fragmentation is already underway, with steam carriers routing and trading towards Asia, as these vessels remain operable and capable of catering to any short-haul trade requirements,” Drewry said.

Drewry expects these carriers to support short-haul or inter-regional trade, with a low possibility of them finding employment on long-haul routes. These carriers will be deployed towards Asia as trading in European waters is becoming challenging, with the rollout of regional regulations such as EU-ETS and EU-FEM, Drewry said.

Moreover, market fragmentation will be fuelled by second-hand transactions, with most steam vessels purchased by Middle Eastern and Asian players as they manage to sail through Asian waters due to Europe’s stricter regulations, it said.

“However, in the long run, steam carriers will struggle to find employment, even in Asia, as a greater emphasis on regulations will escalate shipping costs, making them highly incompliant environmentally and economically with low earning opportunities. Additionally, the growing environmental stringency coupled with the gloomy outlook for steam carriers has reduced the demolition age from 38 years in 2023 to 28 years in 2024, boosting scrapping,” Drewry said.

Drewry said that tight regulations are compelling shipowners to opt for modern carriers with lower emissions.

About 95 percent of the ordered carriers will be equipped with XDF/MEGA engines, which are “highly efficient” compared to conventional engines.

“Currently, MEGI/XDF provides the best solution for shipowners to tackle the growing regulatory risks. Several technological improvements and advancements are underway to reduce the amount of methane slip from these engines, which remains a concern, especially with the rollout of EU-FEM, as it accounts for the methane slip,” Drewry said.

“Despite this, we expect these modern carriers to be able to operate hassle-free, at least until 2035. Beyond that, employability will also depend on technological advancement and breakthroughs in improving engine efficiency,” Drewry said.

Source: Lngprime.com

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Daily Standup Top Stories 

Highlights of the Podcast

00:00 – Intro

01:26 – Venezuela Stops Taking US Deportees After Trump Orders Chevron Out

02:57 – ‘Strangling Our Economy:’ Report Shows Net Zero Hampers Growth, Doesn’t Lower Emissions

04:39 – Energy Sec To Shatter Biden’s Climate Shackles, Unleash U.S. Energy Boom

07:08 – Cheniere gets FERC OK for two more Corpus Christi LNG trains

08:39 – China’s Oil Imports Could Rise as Newest Refinery Begins Trial Runs

09;36 – Germany’s New Government Is Set to Reshape Its Energy Policy

11:51 – Outro

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Video Transcription edited for grammar. We disavow any errors unless they make us look better or smarter.

Stuart Turley [00:00:10] Hello, everybody. Welcome to the Energy Newsbeat podcast. My name’s Stu Turley, president and CEO of the Sandstone Group. Today is March 12th. And I mean, we have got some stories for you. Venezuela stops taking U .S. deportees after Trump orders Chevron out. That’s kind of a big deal. Strangling our economy. Report shows net zero hampers growth, doesn’t lower emissions. And on the front of that picture, you got a poor old Helga, whatever her name is there. She is a child that has been pampered and abused there. Let’s go to the next story here. Energy secretary to shatter Biden’s climate shackles, unleash US energy. Boom. We love Chris Wright. He is absolutely on fire. Chenier gets FERC OK for two more Corpus Christi LNG trains. Oil’s China imports could rise as the newest refinery begins trial runs. Germany’s new government is set to reshape its energy policies. This is following their announcements following that they want more nuclear weapons. So, boy, it’s going to be an interesting time in Germany.

Stuart Turley [00:01:26] So let’s start with Venezuela. Venezuela stops taking U .S. deportees after Trump orders Chevron out. Chevron’s joint ventures with Venezuela’s state oil company Petrola de Venezuela were producing approximately 135 ,000 barrels per day, according to the independent estimates and shipping data. This figure marked a significant increase over 2022 levels. By February 2025, posts on its reports indicated Chevron was producing around 220 ,000 to 235 ,000 barrels per day in Venezuela. That is from social media, but hey, it’s pretty cool. Chevron’s production targets were aimed higher, but Bloomberg says, will stop receiving deportees from the U .S. to President Trump’s, Donald Trump revoke Chevron’s license. Oops. You know, I can understand why President Trump is wanting to do that, but this is gonna raise a little bit of another issue and that is we need to import heavy oil and so we’re gonna have to look at how and who we’re importing the oil from. This comes on the heels of Scott Sheffield telling, I believe it was MSBC News, that the reason Pioneer sold out to Exxon was because they had very depleted inventory for available drilling sites. So that is a huge issue right there.

Stuart Turley [00:02:57] Let’s go to the next story here. Strangling our economy. Report shows net zero hampers growth, doesn’t lower emissions. A new report argues that net zero policies harm the economy, stifling growth, energy policy and productivity while failing failing to reduce global emissions. Cutting greenhouse gas emissions was going to save the planet at no cost. Turns out it’s an economy wrecker, which is more feature than bug than a bug for many climate alarmists. You have Greta Thornberg there on the picture of that. And she has absolutely been used by her parents and run around and paraded around. That poor kid is just messed up. That’s really sad. The results of the UK’s decarbonization efforts appears to erect economic growth, stalling living standards, high energy prices, and deindustrialization without denting rising global emissions,” he wrote last week in the Telegraph. Net zero is strangling our economy, says the headline over Pickering’s column, because the limiting the available electricity has stifled productivity. So this falls along with, I jokingly talked with Michael about this, and that is the Turley’s Law. The more that we invest in renewable wind, solar, and hydrogen, the more fossil fuels are used. So call it Turley’s Law if you want. Maybe we add a byline to Turley’s Law and is net zero equals deindustrialization. That could be another sideline there. So I’m just feeling sorry for the folks in the UK because you don’t have the Second amendment to get yourself out of this mess.

Stuart Turley [00:04:39] Let’s go to the next story here. Energy secretary to shatter Biden’s climate shackles unleashed the US energy boom. Chris Wright is again the right man for the right job and he is Chris Wright. So slam Biden’s climate policies, vowing that Trump will admin will prioritize energy, prosperity and scientific realism. He characterized the Biden administration’s manacle focus on the climate change as counterproductive and improvising ordinary people, pledging to take a radically different approach than his predecessor by unleashing U .S. and energy private sector. The previous administration’s climate policies are horrible. There are no winners in that world except the politicians and rapidly growing interest groups. The only interest groups that we’re concerned about with is the American people. Our focus is steadfast on the American people and our allies abroad. Chris Wright, I absolutely love that saying the only interest group that we are concerned about with is the American people. Oh, my goodness. That is refreshing. The Trump administration will treat climate change for what it is. a global physical phenomenon that’s a side effect of building the modern world. That’s an interesting way to put it. And I kind of agree with it. The Trump administration is moving forward and will end the Biden administration’s irrational quasi -religious policies on climate change. And I think that this is gonna be something that we’re gonna see in the next few months and that is additional graft and greed and corruption that net zero that the climate policies have done and they’ve been done intentionally. Yesterday I released the seven P podcast. It was the podcast where George McMillan and I talked about how we got here and how we got here is by design since the 60s to turn this into the left plan to turn this into a communist regime and we almost failed. Hats off to Secretary Wright and I really applaud him. You have to understand how we got here, but yet more importantly, how we’re going to get out of this problem and I believe we’re on the right track.

Stuart Turley [00:07:08] Chenier gets the OK for two more Corpus Christi LNG trains. This is huge. FERC set its approval date at January 10th that it granted an application filed by Corpus Christi liquefaction and CCL mid -scale in March, 2023. Man, since March of 2023 to get an approval process done. Hey, way to go, Chris Wright. Clear off that desk. The applicants are authorized under section three of the NGA to site construct and operate the CCL mid -scale trains eight and nine project and described in condition. This is exciting. Uh, Shanir CEO Jeff Frusco recently commented that the company still expects to make final investment decisions to build two more mid -scale trains at Corpus that’s exciting way to go Shanir and shout out to our sponsor. Got to pay the bills. Now, the sponsor of the Daily Show is Steve Reese with Reese Consulting. He let me know that with all of the things going on and the growth in the LNG and natural gas space, that there is a training issue. And if your employees need training, reach out to Steve Reese at Reese Consulting, ReeseEnergyConsulting .com. They are fabulous. But if you are in looking to sell natural gas, if you’re looking to buy or put in a power plant, you need Reese Consulting. Anyway, thank you again for our great sponsors.

[00:08:39] Let’s go to the next story here. China’s oil imports could rise as newest refinery begins trial runs. This is in the Shandong Yulong Petrochemical is set, you know, I can’t pronounce a lot of things, but I think I got that one. That’s kind of funny. Is set to begin trial runs at its second of 200 ,000 barrels per day crude processing unit increasing Chinese refining capacity. This expansion could lead to boost Chinese crude import despite recent declines. Refinery has been diversifying its crude sources, increasing purchases from West Africa and Brazil and also Iraq. So go figure that out, Iran. So you gotta sit back and kind of, they are taking ships in from the dark fleet. It’s kind of fun to see how that goes through. But if they can buy everything that they can from Russia and Iran, they will.

Stuart Turley [00:09:36] Germany’s new government is set to reshape its energy policy. Germany’s new coalition government is shifting energy policy, potentially rolling back an ambitious climate targets. The climate, the government plans a 500 billion infrastructure fund to upgrade the nation’s aging power grids. Concerns over high energy costs and energy security are driving the new policies decisions. They’ve ramped up their clean energy spending under the previous coalition. Oh, it sounds like the UK, Delaware, New Jersey, California, New York, where there is that kind of spending, there is deindustrialization. The other key developments taking shape for Germany’s energy sector under the new government will be ramping up investments in its aging and insufficient power grids. But I want to know are they looking at firing up the nuclear reactors that were shut down? The government did sneak in a purchase of a very large purchase of uranium from last year in Germany from Russia. So I’ve been waiting for the approval process on this. In fact, when I saw the article come out yesterday or day before that nuclear was changing their nuclear policies. It wasn’t their nuclear plants. It was that they want to talk to president Trump about the nuclear U S NATO base as nuclear weapons there. And if we pull out of NATO and we pull those nuclear weapons out, they’re going to be kind of like naked. So they were wanting to figure out how they get and become a nuclear power again. So put the wrong kind of nuclear power. Anyway, I just hats off for Germany. They don’t have the second amendment, just like the UK to defend themselves should they need to. Anyway, we hope the best for Germany and the UK. But I believe that the EU UK and Germany and NATO are financially and fiscally in trouble. Buckle up. It’s going to be an interesting next few months. I’m excited to see the end of the Russia war and hopefully let’s get this thing going.

Stuart Turley [00:11:51] So like, subscribe, share, go to the energynewsbeat .substack .com or go to energynewsbeat .com or energynewsbeat .co and absolutely look forward to seeing you. If you’re an energy expert, I want to talk to you on the podcast. I just recorded Alexander Duncan. He is a young man that is going to be taking on a Rhino and look forward to getting that podcast out there. If you are going to be running as an America First person, I want to interview you and get your story out there. If you’re a Democrat with America First, let’s check your voting record, but I’d still love to interview you. Anyway, have a great day. Have a good time.

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