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Bulgaria drafts a law to allow the seizure and selling of Lukoil refinery
Local media reported that Bulgaria was drafting changes to its laws to allow it to take control of the Russian oil company Lukoil’s Burgas Refinery, which has been sanctioned by the U.S. Burgas, Bulgaria's sole oil refinery, was an important part of Lukoil’s international business empire. This began to crumble in recent days, after the U.S. and Britain imposed sanctions last month on Russia’s two largest oil firms over Moscow’s war in Ukraine. Mediapool, a Bulgarian outlet, reported the draft legislation on Wednesday. It would allow a special manager to supervise the sale of Burgas Oil Refinery. The owner, Lukoil, would not be able to vote or appeal, according to the reports. Boyko Borissov - former Bulgarian prime minister and leader the GERB coalition government – said: "There's a lot to this. That's why we are submitting a law draft today on the special governor." According to Martin Vladimirov of the Bulgarian Center for the Study of Democracy, appointing a special director to temporarily take operational control of Lukoil Bulgaria would "ensure security of energy, prevent a crisis of supply, and actively mitigate the risk of secondary sanctions in the future." Question of Ownership On October 30, Lukoil revealed that global commodity trading company Gunvor would purchase its foreign assets. Gunvor has yet to reveal how it will handle the massive deals and whether or not it will acquire each of Lukoil’s foreign assets. Gunvor's chief executive Torbjorn Tornqvist told Bloomberg Television Tuesday that "we may feel there are assets which we think would be better preserved by other hands", without going into further detail. Gunvor has not responded to the request for comment sent after European business hours. Lukoil was under pressure from the West to sell its Burgas refinery. In January, RIA reported that the price was $2 billion. Bulgaria has introduced a provision in 2023 for the appointment of a Burgas-based special manager to oversee critical infrastructure.
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EDP's 9 month profit drops 12% due to lower capital gains and beats expectations
EDP, Portugal's biggest power utility, posted a 12% drop in its nine-month profits, due to lower capital gains. However, the company still exceeded market expectations. The company said that the consolidated net profit was 952 million euro ($1.11 billion), which is higher than the LSEG consensus of 920 millions euros. Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization (EBITDA), which is the earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization, fell by 3% on an annual basis to 3.8 billion euro, beating out the average survey figure of 3.7 billion euro. EDP Renovaveis, EDP's subsidiary for wind energy, has only booked 35 million euros of capital gains on the sale of solar and wind assets. This is part of an overall strategy to sell stakes in older plants in order to fund newer ones. Profits for the unit fell by 49%, to 107 millions euros. EDP reported that, after excluding the lower gains from asset sale, the recurring net profit increased 5% on an annual basis, reflecting a total increase of 14% in electricity production from new capacity. The operations in the United States and Portugal, as well as Spain, contributed significantly to this growth. EDP operates in 29 countries throughout Europe, North America, and Asia. Its gross margin, or revenue from sales of energy minus direct costs to produce or acquire it, was flat at 5,2 billion euros.
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Georgia voters remove GOP utility commissioners due to rising electricity prices
Georgia voters ousted two Republican utility commissions on Tuesday night over rising electricity rates. This could be a sign of consumer anger against data centers, and Republican President Donald Trump’s aggressive push for nuclear power. Utility regulators across the country are forced to consider the costs of billions of dollars in infrastructure projects, including new transmission lines and new generation. Some consumers are paying higher rates because demand exceeds supply. One Wall Street firm has reacted quickly to the results of the special elections, downgrading Southern Co's stock from "Buy" to "Hold". Analysts at Jefferies referred to the election result as a "resounding Republican defeat" and stated that it would increase the risk profile for Georgia Power, an unit of Southern Co. and make it more difficult to raise electricity rates. According to a Georgia Public Service Commission survey, summer electric bills for Georgia Power users of 1,000 kilowatts increased by 41% and reached nearly $190 per monthly. Alicia Johnson, a Democrat, and Peter Hubbard, a Republican incumbent commissioner each won more than 60% votes. The two Democrats will now sit on the Georgia Public Service Commission which regulates utilities and sets rates for electricity. Johnson and Hubbard both ran campaigns to promote fair electricity rates and a greater emphasis on renewable energies. Their online campaigns stated that electricity rates had increased six-fold in the last two years. Georgia's electric bills reflect the massive cost overruns of the construction of two Vogtle reactors. The reactors were built seven years late and cost $35 billion. According to Georgia regulators, this was more than twice the initial estimate of $14 billion. Patty Durand of Georgians for Affordable Energy called the election as a referendum against nuclear power. Last week, Trump announced an $80 Billion deal to purchase nuclear reactors from Westinghouse. This is the same company which went bankrupt in 2017 due to cost overruns on the Georgia nuclear project. Analysts estimated that electric customers will pay between $36 and $43 billion more over the 60 year lifecycle of two Vogtle nuclear reactors compared to a gas-fired alternative fuel source. Durand stated that Georgia electric customers receive bills that look similar to monthly car payments. (Reporting by Tim McLaughlin, Editing by Aurora Ellis).
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Dollar extends recent gains as stocks climb on tech share rebound
The stock indexes rose on Wednesday, as the dollar continued to rise and U.S. payrolls data came in stronger than expected. According to a survey of economists, the U.S. private sector payrolls increased by 42,000 in October. This was more than double what most expected. Some industries, such as professional services, have lost jobs for the third consecutive month. Private payroll data is closely scrutinized in light of the U.S. shutdown and the ongoing concerns about the weakness of the labor market. U.S. president Donald Trump has again asked Republican senators in an effort to end the longest government shut down in history to stop the filibuster. After a sharp drop on Tuesday, the semiconductor index rose 2.5%. Advanced Micro Devices shares rose 0.5% following a positive revenue forecast given by the company on Tuesday. Peter Cardillo is the chief market economist of Spartan Capital Securities, based in New York. He said that the ADP numbers suggested that if they aligned with the official figures - when finally released - that the fears over the job market might have been overstated. He said that the possibility that the U.S. government shutdown will end adds to the optimism. The Dow Jones Industrial Average grew 59.92, or 0.12% to 47,139.89. The S&P 500 climbed 28.01, or 0.41% to 6,799.59. And the Nasdaq Composite grew 149.16, or 0.64% to 23,498.37. The MSCI index of global stocks rose by 1.48 points or 0.15 percent to 998.31. The pan-European STOXX 600 rose by 0.38%. Asia stocks took a heavy hit overnight. The Nikkei 225 index in Japan fell nearly 7% at one point from its record highs on Tuesday. Shares in South Korea dropped as much as 6,2%, before recovering some of their losses to fall by 2.9%. The global stock market has been swept by a wave of enthusiasm for generative artificial Intelligence this year. It's been compared to the dotcom boom. Since last week, when the Federal Reserve lowered interest rates by 25 basis point and Fed Chair Jerome Powell stated that a December rate cut was not predetermined, the dollar has strengthened against the euro. The euro fell 0.04% to $1.1477. The dollar gained 0.38% against the Japanese yen to reach 154.26. After recovering from its earlier losses, the leading cryptocurrency Bitcoin gained 3.25% and reached $103,565.86. It fell 6.1% to $99,000 on Tuesday, the lowest level since June 22. The yields on U.S. Treasury bonds rose after economic data showed that the economy is still resilient. The yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. notes increased 5.4 basis points from late Tuesday to 4.145%. Gold prices increased. Gold spot rose 1.26%, to $3981.49 per ounce. U.S. crude dropped 0.38% to 60.33 per barrel. Brent was down to $64.27 a barrel, a 0.26% drop on the day.
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S.African mine will close after ArcelorMittal stops purchasing iron ore
African Rainbow Minerals, a South African company, announced on Wednesday that the mine, which is jointly owned by ARM and ArcelorMittal South Africa (the ailing steelmaker), will be put on "care-and-maintenance" following the cessation of purchases from its only customer. Beeshoek Mine is temporarily closed for maintenance and care as owners assess other options in case the market conditions change. The mine's mining operations ceased at the beginning of October. About 622 permanent employees will be laid off on November 30. Beeshoek - operated by Assmang – a joint venture of ARM and the international miner Assore – stopped deliveries to ArcelorMittal at the end of July after a long-term agreement expired in June. This ended a decades-long relationship. ArcelorMittal South Africa continued to buy iron ore month after month, but stopped all purchases on July 27. ARM stated that an extensive review was conducted of the operational, financial and commercial alternatives for the mine. The mine is old, has legacy infrastructure, and its cost base is heavily dependent on ArcelorMittal’s offtake. The group stated that "Beeshoek Mine's operation is no longer feasible due to the lack of a sustainable offtake agreement." The statement said that the consultations with the unions in South Africa under the Labour Relations Act had been completed and that the Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources was notified of this shutdown. The decision confirms an August warning, when Assmang informed unions that it was considering closing after ArcelorMittal refused to sign a three-year contract. ArcelorMittal South Africa struggles with a weak domestic demand, high electric costs, poor logistics, and competition from Chinese imports. The company has also delayed the closure of the long steel plants at Newcastle and Vereeniging while it continues to hold talks with the South African Government and labor representatives. Reporting by Sfundo Parakozov, Nelson Banya and Emelia Sithole Matarise; editing by Emelia S. Matarise.
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TSX rebounds with resource-focused shares lifting
Canada's benchmark stock index rose on Wednesday. It recovered from the previous days' sell-off, thanks to the strength of commodity-linked stocks, and investors also digested an unexpectedly positive U.S. payrolls report. At 10:07 am. The S&P/TSX Composite Index in Toronto was up 0.84% at 30,027.94. Gold sub-index was the sector's leader with a 2.6% increase, following gold prices as investors shifted away from risky investments to metals that are considered safe havens. Gold has played a major role in the TSX's movements. When gold moves higher, the market tends to move up with it, said Allan Small. Senior investment advisor with Allan Small Financial Group at iA Private Wealth. The regional materials index rose by 1.6%. The gains on TSX are also influenced by Wall Street. Wall Street's benchmark S&P500 gained 0.24% after ADP reported that private payrolls in the U.S. rebounded dramatically in October. Investors looked for clues about the Federal Reserve’s monetary policies amid a U.S. Government shutdown and a lack of important jobs data. The S&P/TSX Composite index had a fantastic 2025. It was up 21.3% largely due to lower borrowing costs and a rise in gold prices. Trade tensions between the U.S. and Canada, which affected trading activity at the start of the year, have increasingly had little effect on the market sentiment. The TSX rebounded with most sectors in the green after a 1.6% drop in the previous session, when major U.S. Bank CEOs raised concerns about stretched valuations and warned of a possible equity downturn. Small said, "It is just one of those things that you wake up to and everyone's questioning the valuation on tech stock, whether it be semiconductors or chips generally." Suncor Energy, which beat third-quarter profit expectations, saw a 5% jump after beating the index. SSR Mining shares fell 10.6%, among other moves. This was after the company missed revenue forecasts for the third quarter. First Majestic Silver fell 11% when its third-quarter earnings failed to impress investors. (Reporting and editing by Avinash Sharma and Nikhil Sharma)
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Orsted has said it does not plan to merge with Equinor Renewables.
Orsted, the Danish offshore wind company, said that it has no plans to acquire the renewables division of Equinor. Equinor is its second largest shareholder and had proposed closer ties with Orsted. Equinor is a Norwegian oil and gas group that also produces renewable energy. It took a 10% share in Orsted in October last year, and invested close to $1 billion into the company. Last week, it said that offshore wind needed consolidation. Orsted shares are down 85% since their peak in 2021, due to rising costs, disruptions of the supply chain, and challenges in the United States, where President Donald Trump tried to stop ongoing developments and suspend new licensing. The ORSTED POURS cold water on the TIE-UP idea Analysts have suggested that Equinor could benefit from spinning off and merging its renewables unit with Orsted. The Norwegian group's Chairman told its board in September to be open-minded about the possibilities of its ownership. Orsted's top executives threw cold water on Wednesday on the idea. Trond Westlie, Chief Financial Officer of the company, told analysts on a conference call that "we have no such plans". Orsted CEO Rasmuserrboe stated that the company was grateful for the continued support of its second largest shareholder but focused on its own business. He said: "I have also noted the comments that you made (from Equinor).... My focus is to achieve our plans and our strategy quarter by quarter." Errboe continued, "I am confident that Orsted has a business model which is very suitable for offshore wind." Equinor reiterated in September that it will remain a long term investor in Orsted, and announced its intention to nominate someone to Orsted's board. Orsted is owned by the Danish government, which owns 50% of the company. (Reporting and editing by Terje Solsvik, Conor Humphries and Nerijus Adomiaitis)
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Raw sugar prices fall to a five-year low, while cocoa prices also decline
Raw sugar futures fell to their lowest level in five years on Wednesday. The potential for a large global surplus during the 2025/26 crop season is weighing on the prices. Dealers say that the expected increase in sugar production in India, which is the second largest producer in the world, has added to the concern about excess supplies, as the forecasts of the size of the anticipated global surplus in 2025/26 begin to grow. Raw sugar futures fell 0.1% to 14.21 cents a lb at 1445 GMT, after hitting a low of 14.05cents. It appears that the cane used to make ethanol is less than expected. This may be due to favourable rains during monsoon season this year. In a recent note, broker Czarnikow stated that "we now think India will produce more than sugar in 2025/26 with 32.8 million tonnes due to less sucrose going to ethanol." India produced approximately 26.1 million metric tonnes in 2024/25. Czarnikow increased its forecast of the global sugar surplus in 2025/26 by 1.2 millions tons to 8.7million tons. White sugar increased 0.1%, to $413.90 per ton. Futures cocoa prices eased as a result of the continued concern about weak demand following last year's price surge. Barry Callebaut announced on Wednesday that they expect sales of their cocoa products will decline by a percentage between mid-single figures in the coming financial year due to high cocoa prices. Market attention is also focused on the weather conditions in West Africa where crops are being harvested. In a report published on Wednesday, LSEG Research and Insights stated that "Wet weather could delay cocoa harvesting in southern Ghana and the western Ivory Coast and dry weather might favor Nigeria and Cameroon’s key crop areas." London cocoa fell 1.1% to 4,797 pounds per ton, while New York cocoa dropped 0.45% to $6570. The price of arabica coffee rose 1.6% to $4.1190 per lb, while the price of Robusta coffee increased 0.3%. Reporting by Nigel Hunt Editing Shailesh Kumar and David Goodman
Chevron prepares for North Sea exit after more than 55 years
Chevron is set to launch the sale of its remaining UK North Sea oil and gas possessions, in a relocation that would mark the U.S. energy giant's exit from the ageing basin after more than 55 years.
The procedure comes as Chevron gets ready for the $53 billion acquisition of rival Hess which it said will include as much as $20. billion in possessions sales around the world.
The planned exit is the current action in a steady retreat of. leading oil and gas business from the declining British basin which. originated deepwater production in the 1970s, as they concentrate on. more recent assets worldwide.
The sale procedure consists of Chevron's 19.4% stake in the. BP-operated Clair oilfield in the West of Shetland. region, the largest in the British North Sea with production of. 120,000 barrels daily, Chevron validated to in a. statement.
Chevron is also seeking to sell its minimal interests in. the Sullom Voe oil terminal, in addition to the Ninian pipeline. SIRGE pipeline systems which are both linked to Sullom Voe, it. said.
The sale could raise approximately $1 billion excluding tax. advantages, one industry source said. The procedure is expected to. be formally released in June, industry sources informed .
The exit follows a review of Chevron's international portfolio as. CEO Mike Wirth seeks to focus on the firm's most profitable. possessions, Chevron said.
The advancement follows Chevron's sale of much of its North. Sea properties in 2019 to Ithaca Energy. Other significant oil. business, including Exxon Mobil and Shell, have actually sold. assets in the basin given that the 2010s.
Chevron has stated it would sell between $15 billion to $20. billion in properties as part of its scheduled acquisition of Hess,. which has struck a stumbling block due to a legal dispute with. rival Exxon over assets in Guyana.
Chevron stated the North Sea sale procedure is not connected to a. 35% windfall tax the British federal government imposed on North Sea. producers following the surge in energy prices in 2022.
As part of Chevron's focus on keeping capital. discipline in both standard and new energies, we regularly. evaluate our worldwide portfolio to examine whether properties are. strategic and competitive for future capital, it said.
The procedure is anticipated to take months, it included.
(source: Reuters)