Varo purchases Swedish refiner Preem as part of a bet on biofuels
Varo Energy, which is backed by Carlyle Group, the largest private equity firm in the world, and Vitol, one of the biggest trading houses in history, announced on Monday that it had bought Swedish refiner Preem. The company said this was a bet on a growing demand for biofuels. Varo has already acquired stakes in oil refining companies in Germany and Switzerland, and is now expanding its sustainable fuels and trading. It has plans to invest $3.5 billion in sustainable energy between 2022-2026. Varo stated that the combined company will supply around 10% to Europe's road fuels…
Prices for EUROPE GAS remain stable despite the latest Sudzha gas stations attack
The Dutch and British wholesale prices of gas were mostly unchanged on Friday, as the recent attacks on a Russian supply point were offset by an improved outlook for supply-demand as winter comes to an end. LSEG data shows that the Dutch front-month contract rose 0.17 euro to 41.17 euros per Megawatt Hour (MWh), which is $12.99/mmBtu by 1104 GMT. The Dutch day-ahead contracts was down by 0.10 euros at 40.90 Euro/MWh. The British day-ahead contracts rose 0.52 pence, to 98.50 pence/therm. Meanwhile, the weekend contract increased 0.65 pence and now stands at 97.45 pence/therm.
Minister: Hungarian gas company will supply Transdniestria
Peter Szijjarto, the Hungarian foreign minister, said that a Hungarian trading company would provide natural gas to Transdniestria in Moldova after a request by Russia's energy ministry. Transdniestria residents, a tiny sliver run by pro Russian separatists on the border of Moldova and Ukraine, faced an energy crisis after the expiration of a transit agreement that allowed Russian natural gas to be shipped via Ukraine. Szijjarto said that the Russian deputy premier responsible for energy had contacted him about gas supply and that he also discussed this issue with his Moldovan colleague.
We learned a lot from the World Economic Forum in Davos in 2025
After a week-long discussion dominated by Donald Trump's return to the U.S. presidency, world leaders and business executives have left Davos in Switzerland. Israel's ceasefires against Hamas, Hezbollah and other terrorist groups sparked real regional peace talk. Friends and enemies agreed that Trump is the only person who can get Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on board with a Palestinian State. Iran, one Trump's primary targets during his first tenure, chose Davos as the venue to announce that it was willing to renegotiate the nuclear deal and had no intention or ambition to build a bomb.
We learned a lot from the World Economic Forum in Davos in 2025
After a week-long discussion dominated by Donald Trump's return to the U.S. presidency, world leaders and business executives have left Davos in Switzerland. Israel's ceasefires against Hamas, Hezbollah and other terrorist groups sparked real regional peace talk. Friends and enemies agreed that Trump is the only person who can get Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on board with a Palestinian State. Iran, one Trump's primary targets during his first tenure, chose Davos as the venue to announce that it was willing to renegotiate the nuclear deal and had no intention or ambition to build a bomb.
Japan's JERA plans on expanding US LNG purchases in order to diversify the energy supply
JERA, Japan's largest LNG buyer, is planning to increase its purchases from the United States in order to diversify their supply and meet the demand growth spurred on by data centres and AI. U.S. president Donald Trump promised to unleash the U.S. industry of energy to boost production and threatened the EU if it did not purchase more gas. This could mean that JERA would have to compete against other buyers to get more U.S. natural gas. Japan's largest utility, which handles between 30-35 millions metric tons of LNG per year, sources almost half of it from Asia Pacific, including Australia and Malaysia.
Phillips 66 sells stake in Texas pipeline to $865 million
Phillips 66 announced on Monday that it will sell its 25% stake of the Gulf Coast Express pipeline, located in Texas, to an ArcLight Capital Partners affiliate for $865 millions. This puts the U.S. refiner in a position to surpass its asset sale goal. Phillips 66, despite a decline in refinery profits, has chosen to maintain stable payouts for investors by reducing costs and setting a target of $3 billion via non-core assets sales. Before Monday's announcement, the company had already sold fuel stations, pipelines and a share in a joint venture retailing in Switzerland to raise $2.7billion.
McKinsey says that Europe's power consumption for data centres is expected to triple between now and 2030.
A McKinsey study showed that Europe's data center power consumption will almost triple by 2030. This will require an increase in electricity, mostly from low carbon sources, as well as grid infrastructure upgrades. In the last couple of years, data centre investment has increased as digitalisation (AI) and digitalisation have gained momentum. The question is how the countries will be able to meet the anticipated rise in electricity demands that the increasing number of data centres create. The International Energy Agency states that the United States will see the most growth in data centers…
Best estimate of the new Swiss nuclear dawn is decades away
Energy experts and politicians warned that bringing new nuclear power plants online in Switzerland would take decades because of the many political and financial obstacles. This comes after the Swiss government announced its plans to lift an existing ban on new nuclear plants. The Federal Council reversed its decision from 2017 to abandon nuclear power in order to achieve climate goals, and to respond to geopolitical uncertainty, such as the Ukraine War, which has fueled fears of outages. Le Temps…
Switzerland supports EU gas savings drive during the upcoming winter
The Swiss government announced on Wednesday that it had reached an agreement on a voluntary target for gas savings of 15% during the winter period from October 2024 until March 2025, in order to help support European efforts to reduce gas demand after the war in Ukraine. In March, European Union member states extended their voluntary target of reducing gas consumption by at least 15 percent compared to the average consumption between April 2017 to March 2022. In response to Moscow's invasion in Ukraine…
Meet the CTO: Dr. Gunnar Stiesch, MAN Energy Solutions
As the shipowners stare down decarbonization mandates that grow increasingly strict through 2050, the engine makers are at the tip of the spear of this energy transition phenomena, working to design and build engines and components that are built to operate on a long and growing list of alternative fuels. We recently visited with Dr. Gunnar Stiesch, CTO, MAN Energy Solutions, to take a look inside the research and development process at this global power leader, for insights on ‘what’s next’ in ship propulsion.Dr.
MTR100: For USVs and AUVs, is it a Hydrogen Future?
Hydrogen has been making big headlines in the energy world. It’s one of the potential routes to deliver high density energy to transport and heavy industry – but also to marine applications, as well as a way to move and store renewable energy. Various uncrewed surface vessel (USV) developers, autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) builders and even subsea power delivery system providers are taking a serious look – and even trialing – hydrogen as an option.SEA-KITThe Maxlimer hydrogen configuration.
Swiss File First Charges in 'Car Wash' Probe
Switzerland has pressed charges against a person in a corruption probe of Brazilian state oil company Petrobras and construction firm Odebrecht, the attorney general's office said, adding it was seeking to conclude the case quickly.Prosecutors in Bern on Tuesday said they suspect the person, acting as a financial middleman, of helping bribe public officials and of money laundering in the sprawling "Operation Car Wash" case.It has become one of the biggest corruption affairs in Latin America and resulted in the prosecution and imprisonment of former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva…
Swiss Prosecutors Aid Italian Oil Corruption Probe
Switzerland's top court has allowed Geneva prosecutors to share with Italy material they seized more than three years ago that could shed light on a case involving oil majors Eni and Royal Dutch Shell and corrupt payments in Nigeria.In a ruling announced on Monday, the Federal Tribunal rejected Nigerian defendant Emeka Obi's appeal to prevent photocopies of items and computer files from his confiscated suitcase from being sent to Italian crimefighters.The Swiss court said the case did not fall within…
Shore Power Market to Reach $2.7Bln by 2024
The global shore power market is estimated to be valued at USD 1.4 billion in 2019 and is projected to reach USD 2.7 billion by 2024, at a CAGR of 13.3% during the forecast period.Reduction of low-frequency noise and emissions at ports, a growing number of cruise liners in the shipping industry, and installation of retrofit shore power systems have increased the demand for a shore power system, said a report by ResearchAndMarkets.However, huge installation & maintenance costs and high initial investment…
How to Determine Which Countries Have the Best Energy Policies
Which countries have the best energy policies? This is an interesting, and rather obvious, question, considering that every country’s energy practices impact the world in one way or another. But it’s one you don’t often hear asked.That is probably because it’s hard to compare countries in any sensible and fair way, given the differences in population, size, economy and resources.Still, the world needs to know who does it best. The challenge is to measure performance against a set of agreed indicators…
Swiss, Brazil Try to Unravel Petrobras Affair
Crimefighters in Switzerland and Brazil pledged to intensify cooperation to resolve the sprawling corruption case linked to state oil firm Petrobras in which around 700 million Swiss francs ($701 million) remain frozen in Switzerland.Switzerland has so far returned roughly 365 million Swiss francs ($365.6 million) to Brazil related to Petrobras and construction firm Odebrecht, the Swiss Office of the Attorney General (OAG) said on Tuesday, including 9 million francs in March.Around 70 related criminal proceedings are under way in Switzerland…
Execs of Big Oil Traders Knew of Petrobras Bribes
Brazilian investigators said on Wednesday that "top executives" of trading giants Vitol , Trafigura and Glencore had full knowledge that their employees paid millions in bribes to executives of state-controlled oil company Petroleo Brasileiro SA in return for business.Police and prosecutors said in a press conference that there are strong indications the scheme is ongoing, citing prison visits that company representatives made to Petrobras executives already convicted and serving time in Brazilian jails.
Ineos to Buy ConocoPhillips North Sea Assets
Britain's richest man Jim Ratcliffe's oil and gas company Ineos Group Holdings is in exclusive talks with ConocoPhillips to buy North Sea oil and gas fields worth $3 billion from the U.S. energy company.Various news paper reports say that British petrochemicals company has confirmed it is negotiating to buy several North Sea oil fields from U.S. energy giant.The Sunday Times, which first reported the story, said that the period is said to be set to three months after the entity registered in Switzerland agreed to pay a "substantial" deposit.Accoding to the Financial Times…
Rising U.S. Shale Exports Turn WTI into 24-hour Benchmark -CME
Rising U.S. crude oil exports to Europe and Asia have had a knock-on effect in the futures market, turning the U.S. West Texas Intermediate contract into a near-24 hour benchmark, exchange operator CME Group said. Owain Johnson, managing director for energy research and development at CME, said the shift has also led CME to introduce the first change to the quality of WTI crude since 1983, coming into force from January next year."Ten to 20 percent of our daily volumes are trading in European and Asian hours... names that we never came across are now regulars.
