African energy exploration company Rhino Resources discovers light oil offshore Namibia
Namibia got a boost Thursday after Rhino Resources found "high-quality" light oil at its latest well. U.S. oil company Chevron also announced that it is considering a drilling campaign for 2026 or 2027. The southern African nation, a global hotspot for exploration, aims to produce its oil by the end of the decade, following a series of recent discoveries by Shell, TotalEnergies, and Galp Energia. The African energy explorer Rhino Resource found light oil in Capricornus 1X…
Trump's order to stop NY wind project shocks offshore industry and threatens other projects
The Trump administration’s decision late Wednesday to halt the construction of Equinor’s Empire Wind 1 off the coasts of New York sent shockwaves throughout the offshore wind industry. It raised concerns that fully permitted developments worth billions of dollars are not secure. Donald Trump, the U.S. president, had promised during his campaign to put an end to offshore wind energy. He argued that it was too expensive and harmful for whales and birds.
Trump's order to stop NY wind project shocks offshore industry and threatens other projects
The Trump administration's late Wednesday decision to stop construction of Equinor’s Empire Wind 1 off the coasts of New York sent shockwaves throughout the offshore wind industry. It raised concerns that developments with full permits, representing billions of dollars in investment, aren't secure. Donald Trump, the U.S. president, had promised during his campaign to put an end to offshore wind energy. He argued that it was too expensive and harmful for whales and birds.
BP's leadership is facing shareholder votes amid Elliott campaign and climate ire
BP's Board is up for reelection on Thursday at its annual meeting. The group will be facing activist shareholder Elliott Management, as well as climate-focused investors that have asked for a vote to remove Chairman Helge Lind. BP's stock, which has underperformed rivals Shell and Exxon in recent months, is under pressure to increase its share price. This comes after U.S. hedge funds Elliott Management have built up a stake of nearly 5%.
Elliott builds $1.5-billion stake in Hewlett Packard Enterprise
A person with knowledge of the matter confirmed on Tuesday that hedge fund Elliott Investment Management had built up a stake in Hewlett Packard Enterprise worth more than $1.5 Billion. Elliott, one the world's largest activist investors, is now among the biggest investors in the company and plans to engage the management, according to the person who wasn't allowed to discuss the campaign publically. It was not immediately clear what Elliott might be trying to convince HPE, a company valued at 20 billion dollars, to do.
Follow This, a group of climate activist shareholders, pauses the big oil campaign
Follow This, a climate activist shareholder group, said that a lack in investor interest has forced them to suspend their campaign to get major oil and gas companies to commit to reducing emissions. The campaign had been going on for nearly ten years. In 2016, the Dutch group began submitting climate resolutions to shareholder meetings. By 2017, it had achieved shareholder support of 80% for Phillips 66 and 60% for Chevron. The surge in oil prices caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine…
British stocks plunge in worst day for 2020 as US-China Trade War intensifies
Investors avoided risky assets on Friday after China's retaliatory duties against the United States raised fears of a global economic recession. The blue-chip FTSE 100 reached a three-month-low, down almost 5% – its biggest daily drop since March 2021, when the world markets plummeted due to COVID-19. The midcap index fell 4.4% and closed at a record low of 16 months. Investors rushed to government bonds and sold stocks, causing the blue chip index and midcap index to see their largest weekly declines in 5 years.
Helge Lound, BP chairman, to resign amid Elliott campaign
BP Chairman Helge Lund plans to step down in "likely 2026", and the process of selecting his successor has begun, BP announced on Friday. This comes amid a campaign from activist hedge fund Elliott to bring about more change within the company. Lund had backed BP’s 2020 strategy, which included an ambition to reduce its hydrocarbon production by 40% in this decade. This plan saw BP’s shares perform below their peers, such as Shell and Exxon.
Finland's final active coal-fired heat and power plant closes
The last coal-fired heat and power plant in Finland will be permanently shut down on Tuesday. This will allow the Helsinki energy group Helen, which is based in Helsinki, to reduce its emissions, and end rising energy prices for its customers. The capacity of Finland to produce renewable energy and heat, including wind and solar power, has grown rapidly over the last few years. This has led to a dramatic decline in coal use after the previous government passed a coal ban law in 2019.
Shell warns that Australia's gas reservations plan could worsen shortages
Shell warned Tuesday that Australia's proposal to force more gas from export onto the domestic market would end up discouraging investment and worsening shortages. Energy has become a major issue in the campaign ahead of Australia's general election on May 3. The conservative Liberal-National Coalition pledged to lower power bills and avoid a shortage on the East Coast through a reservation scheme. Shell Australia Chair Cecile wake said that export controls are not the best solution.
Sources say that EU is targeting energy laws to reduce red tape.
Sources familiar with the matter said that the European Commission is examining changes to EU energy law as part of its next set of proposals to reduce the regulatory burden on struggling industries. Brussels has started a campaign to eliminate layers of bureaucracy, which European businesses claim puts them at a competitive disadvantage with China and the United States where the Trump Administration is aggressively rollingback regulation.
Sources say that EU is targeting energy laws to reduce red tape.
Sources familiar with the matter said that the European Commission is considering changes in EU energy laws to reduce the regulatory burden on struggling industries as part of its next set of proposals. Brussels has started a campaign to eliminate layers of bureaucracy, which European businesses claim puts them at a competitive disadvantage with China and the United States where the Trump Administration is aggressively rollingback regulation.
OPEC holds view that demand is not a concern, despite claims by Kazakhstan to lead the jump in OPEC+ production
OPEC announced on Wednesday that Kazakhstan was the country responsible for a significant increase in crude production in February by the wider OPEC+ group. This highlights a challenge facing the producer group to enforce adherence of agreed output targets. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) reported that OPEC+ - which includes OPEC, Russia, and other allies - increased its output in February by 363,000 barrels a day, to 41,01 million bpd. Kazakhstan was the leading producer.
CERAWEEK - IEA chief sees investment needed in existing oil and gas fields
Fatih Birol said that the International Energy Agency in Paris, which is headed by Fatih Birol himself, has a responsibility to invest in oil and natural gas fields for the sake of global energy security. After years of pressure from fossil-fuel advocates, the pro-drilling campaign was relaunched. He said, "I would like to be clear... that there will be a requirement for investment. This is especially true to combat the decline of the existing fields." At the CERAWeek conference on energy in Houston.
Baghdad seeks to replace Iranian gas after US action on Iraq-Iran energy trade
Baghdad, which has been unable to import electricity from Iran due to U.S. sanctions, is now looking at Qatar and Oman, should Washington also impose the same restrictions on their gas trade, according to the head of Iraq's South Gas Company. A spokesperson for the State Department said that President Donald Trump’s administration revoked on Saturday an exemption from sanctions which allowed Iraq since 2018 to pay Iran electricity. The move was part of its campaign of "maximum pressuring" against Tehran.
US Supreme Court dismisses state climate lawsuits against oil companies
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday rejected a bid from 19 Republican-led state led by Alabama, to stop five Democratic-led state from pursuing lawsuits against major oil companies for deceiving public about the role that fossil fuels played in climate change. The justices refused to hear a case filed directly at the Supreme Court by Republican attorneys general. This case targeted cases filed against Exxon Mobil and other companies such as Chevron, ConocoPhillips Shell, BP, Shell, ConocoPhillips.
US oil licenses and authorizations for Venezuela
Since the United States first imposed sanctions against Venezuela's energy industry in 2019, it has granted licenses to certain oil companies, allowing them to export Venezuela's oil into specific destinations. Washington imposed sanctions after international observers reported irregularities at elections which have kept Nicolas Maduro on the throne repeatedly. Donald Trump, the U.S. president, announced on Wednesday that he would revoke a license for a U.S. oil producer Chevron Corp.
Indonesia will maintain the monopoly of electricity by state utilities, says the president's assistant
A close advisor to Indonesian President Prabowo said that he has decided to not change the monopoly of the state-owned power utility on the electricity markets despite calls to liberalise the market to encourage investment in renewable energy. Hashim Djojohadikusumo is the brother of the president and his adviser. He said that despite some conglomerates' requests, Prabowo had decided to keep PLN as a monopoly. During the election campaign last year…
As the price cap increases by 6.4%, millions of Britons will be paying more for their energy.
After Ofgem announced that its domestic price cap will rise by 6.4% in April due to the soaring wholesale prices of energy, millions of Britons are expected to pay more for their energy. This is the third consecutive quarter that the price has risen. It's a major blow to the government which has set reducing energy costs as one of its goals. This comes on the heels of higher than expected inflation numbers for January. Ofgem has increased its cap for electricity and gas usage to 1…
Taiwan sends officials to the US to discuss possible Trump Tariffs
Kuo Jyh Huei, the Economy Minister, said that Taiwan sent officials to Washington, D.C., to discuss potential U.S. Tariffs by President Donald Trump. The government has also made preparations in case they are imposed. The possibility exists that Trump, who accused Taiwan of stealing American semiconductor business during his campaign last year, will actually follow through with his threats to impose tariffs on imported chip imports.
