Europe

Alberta landowners have filed a lawsuit to argue that the energy regulator of the province has knowingly and chronically underfunded a program designed to protect the public against the costs of cleaning abandoned oil and natural gas wells. The legal action is a culmination of years' simmering tensions between farmers, ranchers, and oil and natural gas producers in Canada’s largest energy-producing province. This province has struggled with thousands of "orphan" or "wild" wells which dot the rural landscape of Alberta. The Alberta Energy Regulator is being questioned about its willingness to enforce environmental rules at a moment when the Canadian...

Interfax reported that Kazakhstan's Ministry of Justice suspended enforcement proceedings against the North Caspian Operating Company, which operates the Kashagan Oil Field. NCOC is a joint-venture between Shell, TotalEnergies,?ExxonMobil, and China's CNPC. It runs Kazakhstan's 'offshore Kashagan' field. It did not respond immediately to a request for comment. NCOC is embroiled in a long-running?legal dispute with the Kazakh Government, who accuses NCOC of?environmental violation related to sulphur storing, and ordered NCOC pay a large penalty. NCOC and its contractors have rejected the fine, as well as the allegations that led to it. The case is now being heard by international...

Vitali Klitschko, the mayor of Kyiv, said that Russia resumed its airstrikes early Tuesday morning, shortly after the departure from the United States peace negotiators. The city was attacked with ballistic missiles, and six people were injured. Klitschko, who is a Russian-born boxer, said that after a series of what he called "ballistic missile"?strikes, people were trapped in a residential area and fires were raging across Kyiv. Separately, the Kyiv Military Administration announced on Telegram that a five-storey building and a residential block of three stories were damaged by falling debris. They asked people to seek shelter. According to its...

Data from the analytical agency Autostat revealed that new electric vehicle sales in Russia have more than doubled during the summer months as shortages caused a result of Ukrainian attacks on refineries, boosted demand for alternatives to cars powered by combustion engines. The data provided showed that sales of new plug-in or electric hybrid passenger cars were mainly manufactured in China. They reached 26,543 units from June to August of this year. This is up from 12,187 units during the same period in 2025. Kyiv's attacks on major Russian refineries intensified in early June. They forced some to stop operations...

TotalEnergies announced on Monday that it had cleared a number of?commercial and contractual hurdles in its Papua LNG Project, bringing the project closer to a decision. The French energy giant said that it had completed the tendering process for the engineering, procurement, and construction work of liquefied gas facilities. Contracts are now awaiting approval from its joint-venture partners. TotalEnergies reported that by rebidding?contracts and optimising project design, they have been able to save close to $4 billion in costs since 2024. This has brought down the capital spending?to?around $14 billion. ExxonMobil already operates the nearby PNG LNG plant. The company...

The deputy prime minister of Italy suggested that banks and energy companies be prepared to accelerate tax payments in order to boost the public finances, without an official tax increase. Antonio Tajani, a?also?Italy’s Foreign Minister, said that the additional support could help fund next year’s budget, as well as any other measures to shield consumers from high energy costs. Tajani told reporters at the annual TEHA business forum that any policy should be modeled after the agreement Italy reached with banks and insurance companies last year to advance taxes to the state. He said, "It's only fair to tax the...

Owner?Aliko?Dangote announced on Thursday that the initial public offering (IPO) of Nigeria's Dangote refinery, the largest in Africa, would open within the next 10 to 12 days. "Our dream is to double the capacity of our refinery, which would take us up to 1.4 millions barrels per day." Dangote, who was visiting Botswana in Southern Africa, told investors and analysts that the IPO would open within 10-12 days. The African richest man's refinery is expected to try to raise $5 billion, which could be the largest IPO on the continent. Dangote does not reveal refinery margins. However, the industry has...

Maria Corina Machado, Nobel Peace Prize winner and opposition leader, said in a video on Thursday that only a "serious democratic government" could provide investors with the stability they need. In a signing event overseen by Delcy Rodrguez, interim president of the United States and Chris Wright, U.S. Secretary of Energy, international energy firms committed to expanding their projects in the country on 'Wednesday. Eni, GE Vernova, and Chevron are among the companies that have signed agreements to revive Venezuela's oil industry. The country produces only about 1.25 million barrels of crude oil per day, a far cry from its...

A senior Russian banker revealed on Wednesday that India, the world's second largest importer of Russian oil, has built a functional payments infrastructure using roubles. India increased its imports of Russian oil at a discount due to Western sanctions, resulting in a record-breaking $70 billion trade between Russia and India in 2024. The bilateral trade dropped in 2025 when the sanctions were tightened, but recovered in the first half 2026. "There are no problems in the settlements between Russia & India." Ivan Nosov is the head of Sberbank India. He said, "I am prepared to say that this is a...

Three sources 'close to the issue' told us that OPEC+ will likely keep its oil production?policy for October unchanged at a meeting this Sunday. The producer group has completed the unwinding one layer of cuts in production and is now focusing on 2027 quota negotiation. The Iran War continues to disrupt oil exports via the Strait of Hormuz. This reduces OPEC+’s influence on prices and market share. The group's decisions on supply now have less impact on the market than in the past. The meeting on Sunday will include seven core OPEC+ countries: Saudi Arabia (and Russia), Kuwait, Algeria and...

British government bond yields reached new 18-year-highs on Wednesday, following a global sell-off in response to the latest escalation of Iran's war. This added to the challenge faced by finance minister John Healey as he prepares his first budget. The yield on the 10-year gilts reached its highest level since June 2008. It hit 5,268% shortly after 7am GMT, an increase of about 4 basis point on?the day. This is on top of a 15-bps rise on Tuesday. Investors are worried about the inflationary effect of the rising oil prices due to the return of the Gulf conflict. The increase...

People familiar with the plant's operations reported that Valero Energy Corporation's Port Arthur refinery, which produces 385,000 barrels per day (bpd), suffered a partial blackout on Tuesday night due to Tropical Storm Edouard. Sources said that the refinery's smaller AVU 147 crude distillation units were shut down due to the power outage at the south end of the plant. The larger AVU 146 CDUs were operating on minimum crude processing levels. CDUs start the fuel production process by breaking crude oil down into feedstocks that are used in the units which make gasoline, diesel, lubricating oil, and feedstocks to make...

Volkswagen is exploring a partnership with the Indian conglomerate JSW Group in order to increase 'competitiveness' and profitability?in -the?third largest?car market?in the world. A company spokesperson stated on Wednesday that the partnership aims to expand Volkswagen's India portfolio, strengthen local sourcing, and increase manufacturing. The Economic Times newspaper was the first to report on this move. The proposed deal is timely as 'Volkswagen' has been struggling to expand its presence in India. India is a critical?market for the German automaker to?expand outside Europe. It also highlights the challenges that global automakers have to overcome in order to remain competitive on...

Investors were cautious on Tuesday due to escalating tensions in the Middle East, and higher oil prices. Novartis also suffered its biggest one-day drop in history after reporting another setback in its drug development pipeline. The pan-European STOXX 600 fell 0.05% to 649.6. Novartis' 10.9% drop in the benchmark Swiss index weighed on the overall index, which fell by 1.6%. Novartis, the Swiss drugmaker, was the largest faller in the STOXX 600 index after it announced that its experimental treatment of a muscle-wasting condition had failed a late-stage study. News of the failure came just a day after Novartis revealed...

Kazakh gold miner, Solidcore Resources Plc (formerly Polymetal International), which announced plans to buy back shares worth up to $1.2billion, has said that it does not intend to return any more capital to shareholders until they achieve the goals set forth in their strategy for 2029. Chief Executive Vitaly Nesse confirmed this. Tuesday, the company launched a tender to buy up to 23.2% (or $11.66) of its current capital at $11.66 a share. The offer will run between September 9 and October 12, 2009. Nesis stated that the company chose to buy back shares 'because of better liquidity and recognition...

Kazakh gold miner, Solidcore Resources Plc (formerly Polymetal International), has announced plans to repurchase shares worth up to $1.2 billion. However, the company does not intend to return any more capital to its shareholders until they achieve their objectives as set forth in their strategy for 2029. The company launched on Tuesday a tender offer to buy up to 23.2% (or $11.66 each) of its current share capital between September 9 and December 12. Nesis said the company chose to 'buy back' shares because of a?improved liquidity and recognition that not everyone is willing to support its aggressive growth strategy....

On 'Tuesday', the bonds of Ukraine's biggest steelmaker, 'Metinvest', experienced some of their largest falls since Russia invaded in early '2022. This was after one of 'the firm's main plants' was severely damaged by a Russian missile strike. Metinvest announced at the weekend the five deaths caused by the strike at its Kamet Steel Plant in the eastern Dnipro Region. The plant was forced to halt all production. Metinvest only controls two steel mills in Ukraine. Tradeweb data revealed that the firm's bonds on the international market were down as much as 4.44 cents per dollar, as U.S. Investors got...

EU regulators are about to issue a warning to Hong Kong listed mining and metals company MMG regarding its plans to purchase 'Anglo American’s Brazilian nickel business due to 'competition concerns. This move reflects the growing concern of the European Union about its reliance on China to supply critical minerals for defence, technology, and renewable energy. Beijing also uses export control measures?on these critical mineral supplies. According to the people, the European Commission, acting as the EU's "competition enforcer", is planning to send this month a document known as a "statement of objections" or "charge sheet", which will outline the...

The 'price of copper' continued to rise on Tuesday. It reached a record high on speculative purchases on the backs of tight supply outside the U.S. and weak mine production. In open-outcry official trading, three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange rose 1.3% to $14,503 per metric ton, breaking the previous record. LME copper is up 18% in this year. This is largely because a large amount of metal has been moving to the U.S., anticipating?tariffs to be imposed on refined copper. Alice Fox, an analyst at Macquarie, stated that falling inventories outside of the U.S. - including in China...

Solvay, a Belgian chemicals company, is currently in discussions with One Investment Management regarding a possible strategic partnership for its rare earths division. Solvay announced this on Tuesday. OneIM, led by Rajeev Misra (former SoftBank executive), would gain exposure to rare-earths processing. This would complement its existing investments in this sector, which is dominated primarily by China. Sources with knowledge of the situation said that Solvay has been in talks with OneIM about Solvay’s rare earths operations since March. The West is looking to reduce its reliance on China as a supplier of rare earth minerals. These minerals are essential...

EU regulators will warn the?Hong Kong listed mining and metals?MMG about its plans to purchase Anglo American's Brazilian Nickel business? based on competition concerns?, according to three people familiar with this matter. This step is a reflection of the growing concern in Europe about China's export controls on vital minerals that are essential to renewable energy, defence and technology. According to the people, the European Commission, which is the EU's competition enforcer is about to issue a "statement of objections" or a "charge sheet",?outlining the concerns and issues that need to be addressed before the deal can be approved. The?people...

Solvay, a Belgian chemicals company, is currently in discussions with One Investment Management regarding a possible strategic partnership for its rare earths division. Solvay announced this on Tuesday. OneIM, led by former SoftBank executive Rajeev Mitra, would gain exposure to 'rare earths processing. This deal would complement its existing investments in this sector, which is dominated primarily by China. Sources with knowledge of the situation said that Solvay has been in talks with OneIM about Solvay’s rare earths operations since March. Rare earth minerals play a crucial role in the energy transition and electronics industries. The West is looking to...

A document seen by revealed that some?key developers of critical minerals projects selected by the EU had called for urgent financing. It said?liquidity restrictions may put others in danger and?limit its ability to reduce its dependency on China. After Beijing placed export controls on critical minerals for energy transition, electronic and defence, the?European?Union selected 47 projects in Europe last March and 13 others outside the bloc by June 2025. In an "Urgent Action Call", 23 of 60 projects stated that "the goal must be to unlock urgently projects, especially those working towards a final investment decision who face acute liquidity...

The dollar was weaker on Monday and the prospects of shortages outside the U.S. boosted the price of copper. The traders said that the U.S. holiday meant volumes would be muted and that they were focusing on copper and zinc. The benchmark copper price on the London Metal Exchange was 0.2% higher, at $14.443 per metric ton. It reached $14,467 earlier in trade, its highest level since January's all-time high of $14,527.50. Since President Donald Trump proposed import tariffs last February, traders and producers have shipped large amounts of copper to the U.S. Comex copper stock levels are at a...