Six offshore oil and gas fields were shut on Monday due to strike in Norway. The issue started in September when 43 members organized by the Lederne union went on strike after mediation talks failed between the union and the Norwegian Oil and Gas Association (NOG). Monday’s escalation added 126 workers to the strike. A total of 966,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day is expected to be cut due to the strike by middle of October, triple the level so far, unless a deal can be reached to end the strike.

AM Energie Rinnovabili has placed a 28MW order to Vestas for the Serra del Vento project, located in the Palermo province in Sicily. The order includes the supply and installation of eight V136- 3.45MW wind turbines as well as a 20-year active output management 5000 (AOM 5000) service agreement. The delivery of the turbine will start in the first quarter of next year with commissioning scheduled for the second quarter of the 2021.

The DEA (Danish Energy Agency) has granted a permit to Nord Stream 2 AG to operate a section of the Nord Stream 2 pipelines. Denmark has attached a number of conditions to the permit to ensure a safe operation of the pipelines. Nord Stream 2 AG applied for the permit in November 2019. The project includes the construction of two pipeline strings with a total annual capacity of 55 bln cubic meters from Russian coast through the Baltic Sea to Germany. To date, 93.5% of Nord Stream 2 has been finished.

Shell’s CEO Ben van Beurden has declared that the company needs a “simpler, more streamlined, more competitive organization that is more nimble and able to respond to customers,”. According to the company’s website, Shell currently employs about 80,000 people in over 70 countries. The company’s announced job cuts would represent between around 8.75 percent and around 11.25 percent of its overall employment number. In addition, he has added: “I know I, and many others in Shell, will be saying goodbye to people we know well and really like and who have great loyalty to the company. But we are doing this because we have to, because it is the right thing to do for the future of the company,”.

SNAM has completed the acquisition of 50% of the share capital with right of joint control of “Biometano Iniziative” through the controlled Snam4environment. The acquisition allows Snam to enter the field of biomethane of agricultural production, whose development is expected to make the most significant contribution to the emergence of biomethane, a strategic source for the energy transition and circular economy in Italy. Biometano Iniziative will be the platform with which Snam and Femogas will develop further projects on the national territory to give a decisive boost to the availability of biomethane in progressively more significant quantities in the national energy mix.

Snam and Saipem, who already work together in the field of water electrolysis technologies (process that helps reduce carbon dioxide emissions to zero in the production of green hydrogen), have strengthen their collaboration by signing a Memorandum of Understanding (Mou) to create a synergy on the development of nine technologies based on energy transition. The agreement focuses on the production and transportation of green hydrogen and on the reuse of carbon dioxide. Under the partnership, the companies will begin exploring new ways to transport hydrogen in liquid and gaseous form by using existing infrastructure.

France’s finance minister Le Maire has revealed that the country is seeking new collaboration with Germany to work in partnership on a clean hydrogen fuel capacity to eliminate carbon from heavy industry and transport. Le Maire has announced that France will spend almost a third of France’s €100 billion coronavirus recovery package on green energy policies, €7 billion of which are allocated to the development of carbon-free hydrogen for the industrial sector. As said by the International Energy Agency, carbon-free hydrogen is expected to play a big role in the global transition to net zero emissions.

Following a century of oil exploration, BP is now planning to move into offshore wind power with a strategic partnership with Equinor ASA. As part of the deal, BP has announced that it will purchase a 50 percent stake in Equinor’s Empire Wind and Beacon Wind assets for $1.1 billion, with Equinor remaining as the operator. According to BP CEO Bernard Looney, the project is considered to be an important early step in the delivery of a new strategy and pivot to truly becoming an integrated energy company. Tshe Empire Wind and Beacon Wind developments are located off New York City and the Massachusetts coast.

Turkish President Erdogan is currently having talks with European leaders to find allies who would support Turkey against the sanctions over the illegal drilling activities in the Eastern Mediterranean. During the last meeting held in Germany, European foreign ministers have agreed on a series of sanctions against Turkey if the country does not return to dialogue with Greece.
However, the sanctions need unanimity in order to be adopted and it seems that not all countries are willing to impose sanctions (Italy, Spain and Germany have expressed fears regarding migration flows from Turkey).

Amazon is about to become one of the largest single corporate buyers of renewable energy in the country. In fact, the internet giant is working on a new renewable energy project, a 115MW wind farm located in Ardderroo, Galway. The wind farm, which will be ready by 2022, will power the Amazon Web Services data centers in Ireland, 185,000 homes annually and offset 366,000t of carbon emissions. The company aims to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2040 and is planning to be powered 100% by renewable energy by 2025.