Author: omc_admin

The scale and speed of the power outage that brought much of Spain and Portugal to a standstill on Monday have raised significant concerns both regionally and internationally. That’s what Rystad Energy stated in a market update sent to Rigzone by the Rystad team on Tuesday, which was penned by the company’s senior analyst Pratheeksha Ramdas. “Spain’s national grid operator, Red Electrica (REE), and Portugal’s E-Redes are investigating the exact causes that led to abnormal oscillations in the high-voltage lines and synchronization failures across the interconnected power grid into France,” Rystad said in the update. “As power has now returned…

A powerful storm downed trees and power lines, leaving more than half a million customers in Pennsylvania, Ohio and neighboring states in the dark on Wednesday, with officials reporting at least three deaths.To the west, flash flood warnings were issued across much of southern Oklahoma and northern Texas on Wednesday as slow-moving thunderstorms dropped record rainfall, grounding flights and forcing some evacuations.More than 425,000 customers were without power in Pennsylvania and another 40,000 were in the dark in Ohio, according to PowerOutage.us, a website that tracks outages. Neighboring states, including Michigan, New York and West Virginia also reported thousands of…

  China has been drawing up a list of US-made products that will be exempt from its 125% tariffs – in a bid to ease the impact of its trade war with the United States. Officials have been notifying companies about the policy, according to sources who spoke to Reuters. China has granted tariff exemptions on select products including pharmaceuticals, microchips and aircraft engines and it has been asking firms to identify critical goods they need levy-free. But the existence of a so-called ‘white-list’ had not been previously reported.   ALSO SEE: China’s Factory Activity Falls as US Tariffs Kill Export…

A new report from Instawork shows that while warehouse hiring conditions have improved slightly in 2025, staffing remains one of the biggest challenges facing logistics operators, especially with the added pressure of tariffs, turnover, and pay constraints. What’s RelatedThe annual State of Warehouse Labor survey, based on responses from warehouse leaders across the United States, found that 50% said staffing was easier in 2025 compared to 2024, up from 38% the previous year. Still, operators continue to face major difficulties filling roles like Pick/Pack workers, Forklift Operators, and Shift Leads. “Warehouse operators are navigating a more complex terrain that demands…

This “open letter” might be fake. It could be real. I don’t know, but it reminded me of a column I’ve been wanting to write.The letter is purportedly from disgruntled Tesla employees who want Elon Musk to stop being CEO so the company can go back to selling lots of electric vehicles. His DOGE bender has damaged Tesla’s brand so much that he should step back, according to this alleged letter.Even if this is a made-up missive, it raises an interesting question: Why would the CEO of the world’s most valuable car company wander off for months to pursue political dalliances…

The energy storage platform jointly established by Stonepeak and CHC (the “Platform”) today announced that it has secured 20-year fixed revenue capacity market contracts for five battery energy storage system (“BESS”) projects totaling 348MW of gross capacity in the latest round of Japan’s Long-term Decarbonization Auction (the “Auction”).The contracts represent the Platform’s second consecutive win in the government tender, following the inaugural Auction in 2024, in which the Platform was awarded contracts for four BESS projects totaling 131MW. Pursuant to the terms of the Auction, the Platform will enter into capacity market contracts with the Organization…

US President Donald Trump has amended his administration’s 25% tariffs on imported automobiles and parts, introducing exemptions. Effective from 29 April 2025, the revised measures provide financial relief to automakers assembling vehicles within the United States. The revised measure, effective immediately, offers financial relief on the 25% tariff previously imposed on imported automobiles and parts. Under the amended policy, auto manufacturers assembling vehicles in the U.S.—including electric vehicles—will be eligible for offsets of up to 3.75% of the Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price (MSRP) in the first year, falling to 2.5% in the second. However, the relief is contingent upon the…

Mercedes-Benz has opened the configurator for its all-electric CLA in Germany. Prices start at €55,858.60 for the rear-wheel-drive CLA 250+ with EQ technology, while the only other available variant already exceeds €60,000. Mercedes-Benz has opened the online configuration for the electric CLA in Germany, with the entry-level CLA 250+ EQ priced from €55,858.60. A second, more powerful version—the all-wheel-drive CLA 350 4MATIC with EQ technology—is listed from €60,380.60. The UK configurator had not been opened at the time of writing. The above-mentioned variants are currently the only two drivetrain options available. Both use the 85 kWh NMC battery pack. Entry-level…

Norwegian ferry operator Norled has awarded Norwegian Electric Systems (NES) a contract to supply three 4MW onshore charging stations. The MCS solution will be installed at three different ports in Norway. The charging stations are DC chargers based on the Megawatt Charging System (MCS). They will thus offer the proprietary charging connector and will be installed “towards the end of 2026.” The chargers will support Norled’s growing fleet of battery-hybrid ferries on key coastal routes. The latter will use three battery-hybrid ferries (and one conventional one) on the Stokkvågen-Lovund and Stokkvågen-Træna ferry routes starting in 2027. The contract, valued at…

Oil prices were also undermined by fears of mounting supply from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and their allies, known as OPEC+. Oil prices extended declines on Wednesday and were set for their largest monthly drop in more than three years as the global trade war eroded the outlook for fuel demand, while fears of mounting supply also weighed. Brent crude futures fell by 75 cents, or 1.17 per cent , to $63.50 per barrel by 0641 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures dropped 79 cents, or 1.31 per cent , to $59.63 a barrel.Brent and WTI…