Low Carbon, a UK investment company, sells 6 GW of Dutch battery storage.
Low Carbon, a UK-based renewables energy investor, has announced that it sold a portfolio of 6 gigawatts of battery storage project in the Netherlands to S4 Energy. S4 Energy is owned by global commodities trader Castleton Commodities International. According to Low Carbon, the battery storage portfolio in the Netherlands is among the largest in development. It should help balance the supply and demand of energy on the grid, as the Netherlands aims to reach 39% renewables by 2030. The battery storage project was…
Data shows that the battery capacity of Germany's power grid will increase by almost a third between 2024 and 2028.
Official data released on Thursday showed that the capacity of Germany's grid batteries used to stabilize electricity networks had increased by almost a third this year. This is a result of efforts to accommodate more renewable energy. Berlin's government is aiming for wind and solar energy to make up 80% of all electricity by 2030. In the first half 2024, renewables accounted for 60% of power production. Storage is needed to balance the supply and demand of the system and to reduce the volatility in wholesale power prices. The government does not have a set of targets for the amount of storage that needs to be built.
VPI, backed by Vitol, invests up to 450 million euros in German batteries
VPI chief executive said that the company, which is backed by Vitol, the largest energy trader in the world, would invest up to 450 millions euros in Germany's battery projects over the next 3 to 5 years. Germany is planning to expand its renewable energy capacity rapidly to 80% by 2030, from 40% currently. This will require an increase in storage of energy to help balance the supply and demand within the system. VPI, which already has power assets in Britain and Ireland, said that the joint venture between Quantitas Energy and VPI would be their first investment in the country.
APPEC-Gunvor expanding Asia operations and into power, according to chairman
Gunvor Group, a global energy trader, is expanding its Asia operations in order to expand into existing markets, such as liquefied petrol gas (LPG), gasoline, naphtha and aromatics, as well as new areas, including power. Power is one of the areas that Torbjorn Tornqvist - who is also a founder - said had potential in Asia. He was speaking on the sidelines the Asia Pacific Petroleum Conference Conference (APPEC), which took place on Monday. Gunvor, a Geneva-based company, has its main Asian trading hub in Singapore. It employs 160 people there and will concentrate on regional ambitions both for conventional and renewable energy.
Gunvor Returns to Profit in 2019
Energy trader Gunvor Group returned to profit in 2019 after its first net loss a year earlier, helped by record earnings in its U.S. division, and said business so far in 2020 remained strong.The Geneva-based firm, which reported a 2019 net profit of $381 million after a loss of $330 million in 2018, said on Tuesday it was also helped last year by earnings from gas trading and its European refining business.But the group, one of the world's top five oil traders, said revenue dipped to $75 billion in 2019 from $87 billion in 2018.Gunvor, which launched its U.S.
Is an Oil Market Recovery Underway? Energy Trader Mercuria Sees Positive Signs
Global oil markets are showing early signs of re-balancing after production cuts by OPEC and the United States, with the market's pricing structure indicating that storing oil on idle tankers may soon no longer be profitable, Mercuria Energy Group said.Oil futures are cheaper for nearby delivery than for a few months ahead, a pricing structure known as contango, which is usually a sign of oversupply. Traders use this structure to store oil to sell it later at a profit.The contango for Brent oil futures has shrunk from more than $3 a barrel during most of April to around $1.50 a barrel on Friday.
Pieridae Mulls Extensions with Uniper
Canadian energy company has negotiated extensions of the key deadlines under its 20-year agreement with German energy trader Uniper.These include expected commercial deliveries of LNG gas to Uniper to start between November 30, 2024 and May 31, 2025, and the extension of the deadline to make a positive financial investment decision (FID) for the company’s proposed Goldboro LNG facility to September 30, 2020.The 20-year agreement with Uniper is for half the liquefied natural gas produced at Goldboro or 5 mmtpa (million…
Swiss Utility in Talks to Buy LNG from Canada's Goldboro Project
Axpo, a Swiss utility and energy trader, said on Thursday it was in talks for a 10-year supply deal with a Canadian company planning to build a liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal.A sales and purchase agreement would boost the chances that Pieridae Energy would decide to build the C$10 billion ($7.6 billion) Goldboro project, which would be the first LNG export terminal on Canada's East Coast.Canada is rich in oil and gas but has yet to export major shipments of LNG to Asia from its West Coast or across the Atlantic from its East Coast."Under the term sheet with Pieridae Energy…
Gunvor Opening London Trading Office, Closes Bahamas
Global energy trader Gunvor Group is opening its first London office while also closing its trading desk in the Bahamas to increase efficiency in North America, sources familiar with the matter said.Gunvor had recently recruited a natural gas trading team for London, the sources told Reuters, adding that the Switzerland-based firm briefly had one trader in London a few years ago but this latest push was on a larger scale.Natural gas accounted for 23 percent of Gunvor's traded volumes last year while crude oil accounted for 30 percent.
Vitol Invests in Coal-to-oil Venture as Shipping Fuel Rules Loom
Energy trader Vitol and coal miner Peabody Energy are partnering with start-up Arq to turn coal waste into a low-sulphur oil product that could be an alternative fuel for shippers as new U.N. pollution rules loom, the companies said in a statement.Global oil and shipping companies are looking at any and all options to avoid becoming a casualty of the major market dislocations that the new standards will create when they come into effect in 2020.The U.N. International Maritime Organization (IMO) will ban ships using fuel with a sulphur content higher than 0.5 percent…
Equinor Acquires Energy Trader Danske Commodities
Norwegian oil and gas major Equinor, formerly Statoil, is acquiring the Danish energy trading company, Danske Commodities for EUR 400 million (USD 470 mln). "Equinor has reached agreement to buy 100% of the shares in Danish energy trading company Danske Commodities (DC) for EUR 400 million, with smaller contingent payments depending on DC’s performance over the next couple of years," said a press release from the company. This acquisition – of one of Europe’s largest short-term electricity traders – supports Equinor’s development towards becoming a broad energy company.
LNG Market to Suffer From Oversupply Until 2021 - Vitol
Global prices of liquefied natural gas (LNG) will face pressure from oversupply over the next two to three years, particularly in warmer months, top energy trader Vitol said on Wednesday. New LNG production in countries such as the United States and Cameroon that is set to start up in the coming months means pressure on the rapidly expanding market will be particularly felt in 2019, Pablo Galante Escobar, who heads Vitol's LNG trading, told the IP Week conference. "We still see over the next two to three years a market that is structurally oversupplied, particularly in summer, Escobar said. Reporting by Ron Bousso
Lukoil Mulls Sale of Litasco Trader, CEO Confirms
Vagit Alekperov, the Chief Executive Officer of Russia's No.2 oil producer Lukoil , confirmed on Wednesday that the company was considering the sale of Swiss unit Litasco. He also told reporters the board of Lukoil would take a decision on the Litasco sale in November. Earlier on Wednesday, industry sources told Reuters that Lukoil was considering selling Litasco because new U.S. sanctions on Russia would make it harder for the Geneva-based energy trader to raise new funds. (Reporting by Olesya Astakhova; writing by Vladimir Soldatkin; editing by Dmitry Solovyov)
At Noble Group, Staff Exits and Debt Increase Risks
Noble shares fall as much as 49 pct after overhaul plan. Noble Group is slimming down drastically to its core Asian coal-trading business, but that may not be enough to revive its fortunes due to a staff exodus, shrunken balance sheet and debts of more than $3 billion, analysts and industry sources say. Once Asia's largest commodities trading house, Singapore-listed Noble is a shadow of what it was during the boom years, when it snapped up assets from sugar mills to coal mines and expanded globally to rival Glencore and Trafigura. In a dramatic overhaul announced on Wednesday, it sold its U.S.
Sinochem No Longer Pursuing Stake in Noble Group
China's state-owned Sinochem is no longer pursuing an investment in Noble Group Ltd due to concerns over the finances and business outlook of the loss-making commodity trader, three sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. When it held talks with Noble earlier this year to buy a stake, Sinochem's thinking, sources have told Reuters, was that a deal could help the oil, gas and petrochemicals producer to become a globally active energy trader. But Sinochem has become cautious about linking up with Noble after the trader posted a shock quarterly loss this month and warned that it would not be profitable for the next two years.
Vitol's 2016 Profit Soars 25 pct
World's largest independent energy trader Vitol's profit rose 25 percent last year, the Financial Times reported on Monday, citing people familiar with the matter. The Swiss-based company had a net income of $2 billion in 2016, up from just over $1.6 billion in 2015, according to the FT. The 2016 net income included $500 million of gains from asset sales and a $100 million tax bill, the newspaper reported. The results are unaudited and subject to revision, according to the FT. Vitol said last month that annual traded volumes rose 16 percent in 2016 to a new record as it sold more gasoline and diesel in markets such as the U.S.
Gunvor Signs $1.67bn Loan Refinancing
Swiss oil and energy trader Gunvor Group has signed a $1.67 billion revolving credit facility to refinance a US$1.15bn facility from November 2015 and a US$85m facility from November 2014, the company announced on Thursday. The financing, which represents a 30 percent increase in total available facilities, will be used for general corporate purposes and working capital requirements. The loan, which is available for Gunvor International BV and Gunvor SA, comprises a $1.415 billion, 364-day revolving credit facility with a 364-day extension option; and a $255 million, three-year revolving credit facility with a 364-day extension option.
Gunvor Group Closes $725m Borrowing Base Facility
Swiss oil and energy trader Gunvor Group has closed a $725m borrowing base facility to support its Dutch operations, the company said in a statement. The facility, launched by subsidiary Gunvor SA and Gunvor Belgium NV, will provide working capital for the company's refining activities in the Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp region. The 364-day facility launched at US$700m and was oversubscribed at US$805m, before being scaled back to US$725m. Thirteen banks participated in the deal. ING acted as coordinator, bookrunning mandated lead arranger (MLA) and was the facility and security agent. Rabobank was senior MLA and co-arranger.
LPC-Vitol Signs $8bn Loan Refinancing
Geneva-headquartered energy trader Vitol has signed an US$8bn loan refinancing of credit facilities agreed in October 2015, the company announced on Wednesday. The transaction includes a 12-month maturity extension to the company's existing US$7.076bn three-year revolver. The company's existing US$924.2bn 364-day revolving credit facility has also been refinanced for the same amount after the facility was increased from the launch amount of US$750m. The loan was launched into syndication on August 22 and supported by a total of 55 banks.
Vitol Chief who Opposed Brexit says Weak Pound Helps Costs
The head of energy trader Vitol who helped fund the unsuccessful campaign to keep Britain in the European Union said on Monday the pound's demise since the Brexit vote has helped to lower costs for his London offices. Ian Taylor, who is also a donor to the ruling Conservative Party, told a Reuters Global Commodities Summit it was too early to say whether London can retain its global financial status because the rules that will dictate Britain's divorce from the EU have yet to be agreed. Swiss-based Vitol, the world's largest independent energy trader with a turnover of $168 billion last year…
