GreenergyDaily

Jul. 24, 2024

1. QatarEnergy signed an agreement with Chevron to acquire a 20% working interest in a production-sharing contract for block 5 offshore Suriname. Block 5 is located offshore Suriname in shallow water depths of about 30-45 m. The license is currently proceeding to its second exploration phase with a commitment to drill an exploration well. Chevron (the operator) will retain a 40% interest, while Paradise Oil Company, an affiliate of Suriname's national oil company "Staatsolie", will own the remaining 40%.

2. China's installed power generation capacity reached 3.07 billion kW as of June 2024, up 14.1% YoY. The installed capacity of wind power and solar power hit 1.18 billion kW in the same period, accounting for 38.4% of the country's total to exceed that of coal-fired power for the 1st time.

3. South Korea's LG Energy Solution is in talks with about three Chinese suppliers to produce low-cost electric vehicle batteries for Europe, a senior executive said, with competition set to intensify after the EU slapped extra tariffs on China-built EVs. LGES' potential partnerships come as the global EV industry is grappling with a sharp slowdown in demand, and underscore growing pressure non-Chinese battery firms face from automakers to lower prices to levels matching cheaper Chinese rivals.

4. CNOOC, China's state-owned oil and gas firm, has made a significant discovery in the Beibu Gulf. The Wushi 16-5 structure in the Wushi Sag has yielded over 1,000 cubic meters of oil equivalent per day from an appraisal well drilled to a depth of 4,185 meters. This well encountered 65 meters of oil pay zones and is the first in the area to demonstrate such high productivity. The discovery is expected to lead to the development of a medium-sized oilfield, adding to the more than 100 million cubic meters of proven oil in place in the Wushi oilfields.

5. Coal-fired power plants generated 59.6% of China's total electricity output during the opening half of 2024, the first time on record that coal produced less than 60% of the country's total electricity during that period. China's coal-fired generation from January to June was 2,793.5 terawatt hours, which was up 2.4% from the same months in 2023 and the highest tally for the opening half of the year since at least 2015, data from energy think tank Ember shows.

6. Chinese autonomous driving startup Pony.ai, is expected to make an IPO in the US as soon as September, local media Jiemian said today, citing people familiar with the matter. The startup, which is backed by Toyota and Nio Capital, has received clear investment interest from several institutional investors, according to the report. 

7. Chinese Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang on Tuesday visited the opening ceremony of the 6th China-Russia Energy Business Forum in Moscow. During the event, he pledged to further promote strategic cooperation in the energy field between the two countries. Ding, who is also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, noted that China-Russia energy cooperation has developed into a comprehensive, wide-ranging, deep, and high-level partnership.

8. A subsidiary of China State Shipbuilding Corporation has secured an order to build as many as 13 liquefied chemical gas tankers for AW Shipping, a joint venture between United Arab Emirates' ADNOC Logistics & Services and Chinese chemicals giant Wanhua Chemical Group. Jiangnan Shipyard Group will build 9 very large ethane carriers with a capacity of 99,000 cubic meters each and two to four very large ammonia carriers with a capacity of 93,000 cbm each, it announced late yesterday.

9. The staff of State Grid Zhejiang Electric Power Company regularly came to Zhejiang China Railway Combined Transport Port Co., Ltd. to carry out power services, conduct comprehensive inspection of power equipment,and provide sufficient "electric power" for the China-Europe train.

10. More than 10,000 fresh college graduates have joined BYD, the Chinese new energy vehicle maker announced today. Nearly 70% of these newly hired freshmen have master's or doctoral degrees, and nearly 80% are research and development personnel, BYD said on Weibo.