As part of its transformation into a liberalized natural gas market, forged in the image of its liquid European neighbors, Ukraine’s natural gas transmission network GTSOU was made legally, financially and operationally independent from state-owned company Naftogaz at the beginning of this year, as a requirement of European benefactors who have helped fund the development of the country’s natural gas industry.
Platts Insight: the essential perspective on global commodities
 
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October 6, 2020 07:38 UTC 
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Alaskans will vote in November on a ballot proposition that would hike taxes on large oil producing fields, more than doubling the state production tax and threatening future crude output in the state. The initiative would extract more than $1 billion a year from North Slope producers, state officials estimate, and includes a provision that make companies’ confidential financial information filed with tax returns public. |
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October 5, 2020 08:16 UTC
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This week’s Commodity Tracker kicks off with a look at easing stocks of refined oil products at the Middle East’s biggest storage hub of Fujairah, as well as the prospects for gas supply in Europe over winter amid bulging storages. The return of 2.7 GW of capacity to the German and Dutch power markets goes some way to easing fears of shortages with French nuclear capacity low, and European steel plants are eyeing up improved margins for 2021. |
 
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October 1, 2020 07:03 UTC
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Hugo De Stoop, chief executive of one of the world’s largest crude tanker companies, Euronav, took an hour in September to answer questions from S&P Global Platts on supply and demand, floating storage, strategies to manage the coronavirus pandemic, the post-IMO 2020 landscape and the future of marine fuels. Here are the key takeaways. The company, which operates shipping and storage of crude oil, benefited from soaring demand for oil storage at sea as buyers struggled to find storage space on land for surplus crude during a global economic slump caused by the coronavirus pandemic. › Continue Reading |
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September 30, 2020 06:27 UTC
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Gulf Arab countries are forging ahead with renewable projects despite an abundance of fossil fuels and the coronavirus pandemic. Record-low tariffs and plans to reduce dependence on crude oil and natural gas as feedstock for power and energy-intensive water desalination plants are the main factors behind the rapid development of renewables in the region. |
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September 29, 2020 08:00 UTC
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There were more questions than answers on oil’s roadmap at the S&P Global Platts virtual Asia Pacific Petroleum Conference, but delegates betting on Asia’s voracious appetite may have found solace in two key messages: China’s demand outlook looks promising and India’s refining expansion is far from over. The comments from industry leaders at the three-day conference in mid-September will not only send a strong signal about the resilience of consumption in one of world’s biggest oil consumers but are also an indication the push toward energy transition may not necessarily mean the end of refining growth. |
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September 28, 2020 08:00 UTC
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This week’s selection of key talking points from S&P Global Platts news editors looks at how Saudi Arabia faces ballooning crude stockpiles caused by poor demand in Asia. Meanwhile, the political saga surrounding the Nord Stream 2 pipeline shows no sign of abating, Asia’s aviation industry remains in the doldrums, UK gas plant margins are looking up, and the recovery in US LNG exports continues apace. |
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September 28, 2020 06:25 UTC
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The EU’s aim to be the world’s first climate-neutral region by 2050 could disrupt global commodity trade flows, as it mulls ways to cut its emissions while protecting its industry and raising money for postpandemic recovery spending. The European Commission wants EU governments to focus on switching more sectors to renewable electricity, improving energy efficiency, and replacing fossil fuels with hydrogen and other low-carbon gases and liquids, as part of its European Green Deal strategy to cut emissions. |
 
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September 24, 2020 11:20 UTC
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The global tanker shipping industry is likely to find a new normal in the medium term, with sales of second-hand ships taking center stage while orders for newbuilds slow down. Meanwhile, existing tanker companies may become bigger as ships change hands, or they may form pools to enable better bargaining with charterers, while shying away from ordering new ships. |
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September 24, 2020 06:40 UTC
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The Hin Leong scandal rocked the Singapore trading community earlier this year, topping many earlier bankruptcies in the commodities space in terms of financial losses. As the dust settles, Eric Yep unpicks the company’s path to self-destruction and assesses the fallout. Hin Leong’s bankruptcy filing, on April 17, marked one of the world’s largest collapses of an oil trading firm. The story of the Singaporean company and its founder, Oon Kuin Lim, is inextricably linked with the history of the petroleum trade in Singapore and the Asia-Pacific region. |