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.
Nexans Wins Cable Contract for Northwester 2 Wind Farm
Nexans said it will supply a subsea power cable and associated accessories for the 219 MW Northwester 2 wind farm 46 km offshore from Zeebrugge, Belgium.The French based company has been awarded a contract from Northwester 2 developer Parkwind to design, manufacture and test the submarine power export cable for the offshore wind farm.The Northwester 2 wind farm comprises 23 turbines. It will be the seventh wind farm to be constructed off the Belgian coast and the first worldwide to feature the record-setting 9.5 MW V164 turbine manufactured by MHI Vestas.
Cheniere Inks 15-year LNG Sales Pact with Vitol
Cheniere Energy Inc said on Monday that it signed a 15-year agreement to supply liquefied natural gas (LNG) to the world's largest oil trader, Vitol Inc.Cheniere said it will sell 700,000 tonnes of LNG every year to Vitol, starting 2018 and the purchase price will be pegged to the Henry Hub monthly average, plus a fee.The United States has become a major LNG exporter in the last two years, mostly due to the ramp up of Cheniere's Sabine Pass terminal in Louisiana. Houston-based Cheniere is also building the Corpus Christi terminal in Texas.
Transocean to Buy Ocean Rig in $2.7 Bln Deal
Offshore oil driller Transocean Ltd said on Tuesday it would buy peer Ocean Rig UDW Inc in a $2.7 billion cash-and-stock deal, its second major acquisition this year as the company bets on a recovery in the offshore sector.The acquisition signals new optimism for offshore drillers, which were hit hard by the steep plunge in oil prices from 2014. Offshore projects, which are more costly than onshore work and take years to develop, became less attractive after oil prices fell to below $30 a barrel in 2016.Global crude prices have since recovered to above $70…
Transocean to Buy Ocean Rig in $2.7 bln Deal
Drilling rig contractor Transocean Ltd said on Tuesday it would acquire peer Ocean Rig UDW Inc in a cash-and-stock deal valued at about $2.7 billion, including debt.The deal will help Switzerland-based Transocean enhance its fleet of ultra-deepwater and harsh environment floating rigs."The combination of constructive and stable oil prices over the last several quarters, streamlined offshore project costs, and undeniable reserve replacement challenges has driven a material increase in offshore contracting activity," said Transocean Chief Executive Officer Jeremy Thigpen.Transocean will pay 1.6128 newly issued shares an
Hellenic Petroleum Workers Battling Selloff Block Suitors from Refineries
Workers at Hellenic Petroleum on Monday physically prevented suitors eyeing a majority stake in Greece's biggest oil refiner from entering two of its sites in protest at plans to privatise the utility, a union spokesman said.While privatisations have been a key part of successive bailout agreements Greece has struck since 2010, they have been met with strong political resistance.Greece still has a series of deals to complete under the terms of its latest bailout which ended last week, including the…
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.
