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Taiwan Proposes Funding Package for CPC to Secure LNG Supplies

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Taiwan has proposed NT$233.8 billion ($7.37 billion) in funding for state-owned oil and gas supplier CPC Corp as part of a supplementary budget to support the company's operations and secure energy supplies, according to state-run newswire Focus Taiwan.

The allocation represents the largest share of the proposed package, as CPC has accumulated losses since 2020, partly because of government policies that have capped or smoothed domestic petroleum and natural gas prices.

The funding would strengthen CPC's finances as Taiwan seeks to maintain reliable supplies of liquefied natural gas, a key component of the island's power generation mix.

Taiwan reportedly imported about 34% of its LNG from Qatar last year, making the disruption of Qatari supplies due to the Middle East conflict a significant challenge to the island's energy security.

Replacing the long-term contracted volumes with spot cargoes is costing Taipei about $900 million a month at current prices, according to Bloomberg calculations.

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US Weighs Opening Utah's Ouray Wildlife Refuge to Oil, Gas Leasing

The US Department of the Interior's Bureau of Land Management is weighing a proposal to allow oil and gas leasing on about 5,200 acres of federal mineral estate beneath Utah's Ouray National Wildlife Refuge near Vernal, the agency said in a statement Wednesday.The BLM intends to prepare a Resource Management Plan Amendment and associated environmental assessment to the Vernal Resource Management Plan, and has opened a 30-day public scoping period to gather comments on the proposal, according to a Federal Register notice set to publish Thursday.The planning area lies in Uintah County, where the US Fish and Wildlife Service manages the surface acreage as part of the refuge.The agency is weighing two preliminary alternatives, a "No Action Alternative" to keep the refuge closed to leasing and a "Proposed Action" that would open the underlying minerals to leasing subject to a no-surface-occupancy stipulation.Under that restriction, any lease development would have to be carried out through directional or horizontal drilling from well pads outside the refuge boundary, according to the notice.The BLM said it identified seven preliminary issues for analysis in the planning process and is inviting public comment on the planning criteria.The process will also address potential effects on threatened and endangered species and cultural resources under the Endangered Species Act and the National Historic Preservation Act, the notice said.The agency cited the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 and the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976, along with the Mineral Leasing Act, as part of its planning framework.The BLM said the effort aligns with Secretary's Order 3418, which supports President Donald Trump's executive order "Unleashing American Energy," aimed at expanding energy exploration and production on federal lands.Comments on the proposal and planning criteria will be accepted until Oct. 5, 2026, according to the BLM.The BLM will also hold a public meeting scheduled for 5-7 p.m. on Sep. 22 at the Vernal Field Office, according to BLM's statement.The BLM said oil and gas development on its managed lands in Utah provides the state a $3 billion economic boost, with BLM oil and gas activity nationwide contributing an additional $177 billion to the US economy.Bloomberg reported Wednesday that the existing Vernal Resource Management Plan, completed in 2008, currently bars all oil and gas access beneath the refuge, reversing restrictions last affirmed under the George W. Bush administration.The Trump administration has also opened Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to drilling, exempted offshore oil development in the Gulf of Mexico from the Endangered Species Act, and reduced royalty rates, air quality controls and other environmental safeguards, according to Bloomberg.

Commodities

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Commodities

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