France

TotalEnergies announced on Tuesday that France's TotalEnergies, and Italy's Eni, have 'approved' the development of 'the Cronos gas field' in Cyprus, which will supply Europe with natural gas liquefied. Production is expected to begin in 2028. The two companies will share the 2.8 million tons of LNG expected to be produced by the field. After losing their access to Russian gas and oil in 2022, the European countries are now focusing on their own resources. Cronos is the name of a large?natural gas find in Block 6 in Cyprus' exclusive economic zones in the Mediterranean Sea. It was discovered by...

By America Hernandez PARIS, July 27 - French oil giant TotalEnergies has appealed a court ruling in Paris ordering it to align its business with climate change goals. This was the first of its kind French ruling that found Total responsible for planet-warming emission released by customers using their fuel products. The ruling was made under France's "corporate duty of vigilance" law. It was seen as a victory for climate campaigners. In recent years, climate litigation against oil majors has had mixed results. The Netherlands Supreme Court is currently reviewing a landmark Dutch ruling ordering Shell to reduce emissions. "The...

Investors took comfort in some corporate earnings and weighed the potential impact of higher oil prices on monetary policy. The STOXX 600 index, which measures the performance of all European markets, rose 0.6% to 644.67 for a second consecutive week. SAP, the software giant, gained 10% on Germany's DAX after it reported that second-quarter cloud backlog growth was ahead of analyst expectations. The technology index gained 1.7% after STMicroelectronics' and BE Semiconductor's quarterly reports failed to impress investors on Thursday. Investors are trying to balance AI growth with stretched valuations and returns on large investments in technology. This has led...

* Best quarter for nearly three years * Trading segment (which includes refining)?up 362% on an annual basis due to rising prices * Share Buybacks Maintain?at $1.5 Billion for Q3 By ?America Hernandez PARIS, 23 July - TotalEnergies, the French oil major, reported on Thursday a 67% increase in its second-quarter earnings, its best in almost three years. The company attributed this to higher oil prices, and high profit margins in fuel refining due to war in Iran. According to a poll of analysts by LSEG, adjusted net?income for the second quarter was $6 billion. This is in line with...

Investors are increasingly interested in whether this temporary boost can offset weak demand and the mounting competition of Asian producers. The Middle East conflict has tightened supply conditions, which have helped to support pricing. This has given breathing space to Europe's chemical sector. However, weak demand, overcapacity globally and increasing competition from Asia are still weighing on the long-term outlook of the industry. Investors are also interested in whether the companies have reported sustained volume gains or only temporary price increases, as well their outlooks for second half of the calendar year. Brenntag, BASF, and Evonik are among the chemical...

Clariant announced on Friday that it is rejecting the damages claim of 1.1 billion euros ($1.26 billion) filed by Dow 'Europe against four companies. The claim was made for an alleged violation of competition law in the ethylene buying market. In the past, Swiss specialty chemical manufacturers have received similar claims from OMV BASF and TotalEnergies. Dow announced in a letter to? that it filed a claim for "significant losses" sustained by its European operations, claiming the defendants' anticompetitive conduct lowered ethylene prices. The European Commission fined Clariant in 2020, Orbia of Mexico, and Celanese of the United States 260...

The Mediterranean Sea's high temperatures, which have limited the availability of cooling water for gas plants in southern France, could lead to a gas plant going offline on Thursday evening. This would add further pressure to an energy system that is already under stress due to reduced nuclear output. Early summer heatwaves have caused temperatures to rise to unheard of levels in Europe, leading water shortages, fires and even deaths. The French utility EDF has issued a?restriction? notice for its 930 megawatt Martigues power plant. This is the first time in this summer that an electricity plant powered by gas...

The operator of Kazakhstan's Kashagan Oilfield announced?on Thursday? that an international arbitral tribunal has issued a restraining order prohibiting Kazakhstan from enforcing an environmental fine. The Kazakh Justice Ministry announced on Tuesday that Kashagan's operator must pay a fine of $4.90 billion ($2.3 trillion tenge) by July 20, 2012. The country is involved in arbitration with oil companies that work on its oilfields. It accuses them of environmental violations and corrupt practices. The North Caspian Operating Company, Kashagan’s operator, stated in a statement: "The Arbitral Tribunal has issued a Restraining Order which prohibits the Republic to take any measures to...

China said on Friday that it would increase cooperation with Namibia, particularly in the energy, agriculture, infrastructure and minerals sectors. This was during talks between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Namibian president Netumbo Nandi Ndaitwah, which took place?in Beijing. Nandi-Ndaitwah is on a 7-day trip to China, since Sunday. He's seeking investment from China, the second-largest country in the world and the top lender. The goal of the trip is to implement the election promises to create jobs and diversify Namibia's economy. "In Namibia we affirm an unwavering commitment (to) this longstanding friendship" between Namibia and China, said Nandi Ndaitwah....

The International Energy Agency said that the recent escalation of hostilities between the U.S., and 'Iran, could change its 'forecast of an 'important oi l market surplus next year. The global oil market received some relief last'month, as a peace deal between the U.S.A. and the 'Iran opened the Strait. Its closure had effectively cut off 'as much as 14 million barrels of crude oil per day during the height of the biggest oil supply crisis ever. The agency reported that global oil production rose by 4.1 mbpd in June but was still 9.4 mbpd lower than pre-war levels. The...

DAMASCUS/PARIS 7 July - Patrick Pouyanne, the Chief Executive Officer of TotalEnergies, will meet with his syrian counterparts to discuss signing a contract for exploration on Tuesday, he said. Pouyanne, a member of a French delegation accompanying French president Emmanuel Macron to Syria on Tuesday was 'overshadowed' by bomb attacks that took place in Damascus. Total and the Syrian Petroleum Company signed a "memorandum" of understanding (MOU) in May to explore an offshore block off the Mediterranean. In the wake of U.S. and Israeli war against Iran, it has recently talked about the need for pipelines to be built through...

ADNOC Distribution is a subsidiary owned by Abu Dhabi’s state oil giant. It announced on Tuesday that it had signed a definitive agreement to purchase 100% of Shell’s downstream business in South Africa, as the company pursues its expansion abroad. The company stated that the implied enterprise value for 100% of the shares capital was about $1 billion, before adjustments for working capital and net debt at closing. ADNOC Distribution announced that the deal for Shell Downstream South Africa, which includes wholesale fuel, aviation, and lubricants operations as well as 580 company and dealer owned fuel stations, will close in...

Raphael Fohanno was shocked to see that his parents' house was reduced to a smouldering cinder. The 18-year old said: "Right here was the livingroom; the sofa was in the corner, the TV, a coffee-table, a vase and the printer. Everything was there." She was looking at the charred wood and mangled steel of the home that the family had lived in for the past seven years. It's brutal. The worst part is feeling helpless. "It's horrible for me to think that I can't help with anything, not even my pets." His parents, sister and other family members were evacuated...

The temperatures were expected to rise again in France and Spain on Wednesday, in the fourth heatwave of summer. This will increase the risk of wildfires, which have already forced people to evacuate in large numbers, burned through forests, and killed wildlife. Weather agency AEMET in Spain said temperatures 'were expected to hit 40 degrees Celsius on Wednesday, 104 degrees Fahrenheit, at least six regions were on orange alert. This is the second highest level. Meteo France predicts that temperatures in France's southwest, which has been devastated by fires, will rise from 33 C to 42 C. Dry winds in...

French firefighters brought under control a major fire west of Bordeaux, which had forced?massive evacuations overnight. This was ahead of the forecasted rising temperatures and wind that are expected to stoke fires on Wednesday. The Gironde prefect, Sophie Brocas, posted on X on Wednesday at 0400 GMT that "the night was quiet; the fire is still under control today morning." She said this after several small flare-ups were quickly put under control. After a prolonged dry spell brought on by a series heatwaves, the wildfire that raged in the Landes?area, west of Bordeaux - a popular tourist destination - has...

Wildfires burning outside Bordeaux highlight the climate challenges that France's biggest wine region is facing. Producers are struggling with severe drought, increasing temperatures, and a?falling in wine consumption. Although growers claim that the fires are not a threat to Bordeaux’s famous vineyards, the repeated heatwaves and nearly two months of dry weather have caused vines to be stressed and resulted in one of the earliest vintages ever. Thomas Duroux said that the vineyards in Margaux, one Bordeaux's most prestigious regions, are still intact, and the wine quality will not be affected by the fires. He said that warning signs were...

On Monday, firefighters battled wildfires that threatened the French city of Bordeaux and its wine region, while crews struggled to control forest fires in Spain, which have been raging for the past week. This is the result of an incredibly hot, dry summer in Western Europe. Authorities in France have evacuated 220,000 people including tourists and residents. In Spain, nearly 100,000 people have been asked to leave their homes. Authorities say that the French fires, which started last week near the Atlantic Coast, are only 15 kilometers (9.3 miles), from the entry points of the Bordeaux metropolitan area. Jerome Steffe...

Wildfires in the area around Bordeaux, southwest France, showed no sign of stopping. Sophie Brocas, the head of the local administration for La Nouvelle-Aquitaine et de la Gironde which includes the Bordeaux region, has said that the areas of Le Haillan and?Eysines are being cleared. Bordeaux is known for its vineyards, and the city of Bordeaux is a major 'transport hub' for tourists who are visiting the nearby resorts along the Atlantic coast. Sebastien Lecornu, Prime Minister of France, said that more than 141,000 people have been evacuated so far from the Gironde and Landes region near Bordeaux where wildfires...

Local authorities reported that a wildfire spread rapidly through several towns near Frejus, France, on Sunday. It threatened homes and forced the evacuation of several hamlets due to'strong winds' and drought conditions. BFM TV reported that local prefect Simon Babre said, "The fire spread very quickly in this heatwave and extreme dryness." Prefect's Office said that the fire had burned about 180 hectares (445 acres), by Sunday evening. Television images showed large flames behind hillside villas that are typical of the French Riviera. Thick black smoke billowed over pine and cypress trees. The fire forced the suspension of train services...

F irefighters, backed by 30 planes, struggled to contain a fire in northeastern Spain that has destroyed an area as large as San Francisco. The wildfire forced the evacuation of over 1,000 people. Recent heatwaves have left the vegetation tinder dry across most of Europe. The recent heatwaves in Europe have caused temperatures to reach unprecedented levels, which scientists attribute to climate change. They are also causing crop damage, wildfires and thousands of deaths. According to Climate Monitor, on Friday the average high temperature across Western Europe was predicted to be 28.5 degrees Celsius (81.5 degree Fahrenheit), a 4.2 C...

Authorities announced on Monday that six victims of one of Spain's most deadly wildfires in recorded history have been identified. Meanwhile, forensic teams continued to work on confirming the identities of six other people through DNA analysis. Authorities said that the victims included a married Spanish and British couple. Other victims identified include a British woman and man, a French woman, and a Belgian. All of the victims were adults. The death toll now stands at 13. A 93-year old British woman died from burn injuries in hospital Sunday. Seven people were also?injured by the fire, which scorched approximately 7,000...

Officials said that strong winds will exacerbate the fires. The European Union announced on Monday that it would be sending four waterbombing planes from Sweden and Cyprus to France, as well as more than 100 firefighters to assist emergency teams near Perpignan. Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, said on X that "Europe stands with France". In a post to?X, Pierre Regnault de la Mothe, the local prefect, said that the fire had injured 16 people including four firefighters and burned 4,600 hectares (11,367 acres) of land in the foothills near the French Pyrenees. The early summer...

The heatwave in June that sent temperatures soaring across Europe has'recorded 3700 deaths over the normal number. Authorities have warned that the figures are preliminary, and may rise. Experts say that the heatwave which lasted between June 20 and 28 was the worst ever recorded in Europe. It caused disruptions to the power generation system, damaged infrastructure, and overwhelmed the healthcare systems. Scientists said that climate change was most likely to blame for the extreme heat. Stephanie Rist, French Health Minister, told local TV on Friday that there were 2,025 excess death in France due to the heatwave. The increase...

Undertaker Zouhaier Hertelli has received frantic?calls? from families, retirement communities, and the police, all desperate to find space in a refrigerated morgue for those who have died due to the heatwave that is sweeping France. France's Public Health Agency said that there were at least 1,000 extra deaths between last Wednesday and Sunday. The numbers are not final, however, as they will likely increase. Hertelli’s funeral home, located in Orly near Paris, can store 32 bodies. All are currently occupied. Hertelli pointed to the compartments with labels indicating the name of deceased, date of arrival at the funeral home, and...