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SSE's UK renewables production jumps, but profits are soft
The British utility SSE announced on Wednesday that it had increased its renewables production in the nine-month period ending December 31, aided by capacity growth. However, the power generator/network operator gave a cautious outlook for profit. SSE's adjusted earnings are expected to be between 154-163 pence for the fiscal year ending March 31 or 158.5 pence at the midpoint. This compares with the analysts' estimates of 163.1 pence. Analysts at Jefferies said that the forecast was in accordance with their consensus. SSE's renewables division, which focuses primarily on the UK and Ireland and is a key part of its business, has still seen a 26% increase in output for the nine-month period ending Dec. 31, despite the cold snap and low wind speed. SSE said that the record-breaking wind speed from Storm Eowyn, which left many homes and businesses in Ireland without power, also presented challenges to its grids in the current quarter, but they were overcome. Last month, Britain was also hit by heavy rain, snow and flooding. Our teams were able provide a rapid and effective response to Storm Eowyn. At 1025 GMT, its shares were up by 0.6%. The FTSE-100 component didn't provide an update on the search for a replacement chief executive before Alistair Phillips-Davies retires this year. SSE has maintained its profit forecast of 175-200 pence for the year ending on March 31, 2027 as it increases investments to meet UK electricity and decarbonisation goals. SSE's last fiscal year saw a profit per share of 158.5 pence. SSE's power network arm SSEN Transmission announced in December that it will invest at minimum 22 billion pounds ($27.50billion) over a period of five years beginning April 2026 in grid infrastructure.
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Iran declares U.S. sanctions on oil and energy markets will cause instability
The SHANA news outlet of the Ministry reported that Iran's Oil Minister said unilateral sanctions against crude producers would destabilise the energy markets. This was after U.S. president Donald Trump stated he would try to drive Tehran's exports of oil to zero. "Depoliticising of the oil market is vital for energy security." Mohsen Paknejad, OPEC's Secretary General Haitham Al Ghais said that unilateral sanctions and pressure against major oil producers will destabilise the oil and energy market and harm consumers worldwide. Paknejad made his comments after Trump restored the Iranian president's rights. "maximum pressure" Campaign against Iran, which includes efforts to reduce its oil exports to zero to prevent Tehran from obtaining nuclear weapons. The campaign began during Trump's second term in 2018. It led to a dramatic drop in Iranian oil imports, which fell to as low as 200,000 barrels a day in certain months of 2020. The Iranian oil exports have risen to around 1.5 million barrels a day under the administration of U.S. president Joe Biden, with most of them going to China. Paknejad told the state television on Wednesday, that Tehran has prepared strategies in case of U.S. sanctions. Paknejad stated that the upstream investment issue was the biggest challenge facing the global oil markets in the medium- to long-term. He said that if today, some major oil users are worried about the oil supply, it is because they have put pressure on OPEC+ by pushing for regulations on new upstream investment and by putting political pressure on OPEC+. Paknejad, who was elected as the president of OPEC for 2025 in December, is a member of the OPEC. Reporting by Dubai Newsroom Editing Bernadettebaum and Gareth Jones
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Reduced German renewable supply boosts spot prices
The price of European prompt electricity rose on Wednesday, as lower wind and sun output was forecast for Germany's main market. Demand increased in the region due to the cold temperatures. At 0945 GMT, the German power day-ahead was up 7.4% at 152 Euros ($158.20 per megawatt-hour). The French baseload rate for the day ahead rose 1.7% to 146 euros/MWh. According to LSEG, Germany's wind power production fell by 5.1 gigawatts to 11.6 GW. Solar generation also dropped to 2.7 GW compared to 4.8 GW. The French nuclear availability was unchanged at 81%, after losing two percentage points the day before. On Thursday, Germany's power consumption is expected to rise by 0.3 GW. In France, the demand should increase by the same amount. The average temperature in both countries is in the positive low degrees Celsius range. The German baseload for the year ahead was almost unchanged at 96.7 Euros/MWh. However, the French position was not traded after it settled at 69.0 Euros/MWh. The benchmark contract for 2025 on the European carbon market fell 1.1% to 80.05 euros per metric tonne. The VDMA said that the orders of German equipment and plant manufacturers grew a little in the last month of the year due to large contracts from overseas, but the year 2024 overall marked the second consecutive year of decline. LSEG data shows that the gas-fired generation in January was the highest since 2022. This is a jump of more than 10% compared to January 2024. The price of gas in the region has risen to its highest level since early 2023. This could lead some people to switch from gas to coal. ($1 = 0.9608 euro) (Reporting and editing by Vijay Kishore, Vera Eckert)
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Officials say that the South Korean industry ministry has temporarily banned access to DeepSeek due to security concerns.
A ministry official revealed on Wednesday that the South Korean industry ministry temporarily blocked employee access to DeepSeek, a Chinese artificial intelligence startup, due to security reasons. The government is urging caution with generative AI services. Officials said that the government published a notice Tuesday urging ministries and agencies to be cautious when using AI services, such as DeepSeek or ChatGPT, at work. The state-run Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power announced that it has blocked the use of AI services, including DeepSeek, earlier this month. A spokesperson for Kakao Corp said that the tech giant has asked its employees not to use DeepSeek because of security concerns. With the temporary ban, South Korea is now the latest government to issue a warning about DeepSeek. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security is also examining DeepSeek and its national security implications. DeepSeek, South Korea's privacy watchdog, plans to question the company about the management of personal information. The launch of DeepSeek’s latest AI models by the Chinese startup sent shockwaves throughout the tech industry. The company claims that its models are as good or better than those developed in the United States, and at a fraction the price. Reporting by Hyunjoo Ji, Joyce Lee, Hyonhee Shi, writing by Ju Min Park, editing by Bernadette B. Baum and Kate Mayberry
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In 2025/26, the global sugar market is expected to shift from deficit to surplus.
Analyst Green Pool stated on Wednesday that the global sugar balance will shift to a modest surplus during the 2025/26 crop year, with the production expected to increase. The Australia-based analyst for sugar and biofuels said that the surplus was expected to be 2.7 million tons in 2025/26 compared with the deficit of 3.7 millions in the previous season. Analyst: "Global stock levels remain tight but will receive some relief from projected surplus," he said. The global production is expected to grow 4.5% in 2025/26 to 202.0 millions tons, which will be the second highest total ever recorded. Brazil, India, and Thailand are all forecast to see an increase in output. The sugar production in Brazil's key Centre-South region is expected to increase to 41.6 millions tons from 39.95 in the previous season. This is due to a higher proportion of cane being used in sweetener production, which has risen to 50.9%, from 48%. Cane can be used for biofuel production. The global consumption is expected to rise by 1.2% in 2025/26 to 198,3 million tons. This growth rate is the same as that of the previous season. Green Pool forecasts are based upon crop-year cycles. The balance between consumption and production is adjusted to account for unaccounted disappearances. (Reporting and editing by Christina Fincher.)
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Source: Ukraine MPs are expected to vote on the law required for two new nuclear units next week
An industry source said on Wednesday that the Ukrainian parliament will vote on a bill next week to allow for the construction and startup of two new nuclear power plants. This would help support Ukraine as it is constantly under attack by Russian missiles. Ukrainian energy officials said that the new reactors would be built at Khmelnytskyi Nuclear Power Plant in western Ukraine, and will be equipped with Russian designed equipment which Kyiv is looking to import from Bulgaria. The Ukraine planned to sign an agreement last June with Bulgaria to purchase two nuclear reactor bodies to compensate for the loss the six-reactor nuclear power station in Zaporizhzhia, which was under Russian occupation. However, the law that would have allowed such a move to be made did not exist. A number of legislators have opposed the new law, arguing that the calculations of construction costs within the context of war with Russia are not transparent. The President Volodymyr Zelenskiy urged the parliament on Tuesday to support the bill, describing the project to finish the power units as "the key for Ukraine's independence in energy and energy stability in the region". Since Zaporizhzhia's loss, Ukraine has relied on nuclear energy from three power plants operating in the country. These power plants total nine reactors and include two that are currently in operation at Khmelnytskyi. About 60% of Ukraine's electricity needs are met by nuclear power plants. The construction of the third reactor and the fourth reactor at Khmelnytskyi started in the 1980s, but the project was frozen. German Galushchenko, the Energy Minister of Ukraine, said last year that it would take two and a half years for unit three to be operational if Ukraine received reactor vessels. (Reporting and editing by Hugh Lawson; Reporting by Pavel Polityuk)
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Officials say that if the renewable energy sector is slow, Japan's LNG demand may increase. Canada will be there to supply it.
A senior official from the industry ministry said that Japan's demand may increase by more than 10 percent to 74 million tons of liquefied gas by 2040, under a scenario in which renewable energy is not implemented as quickly as expected. Japan's domestic LNG consumption continued to decline last year. It fell by 0.4%, to 66,000,000 tons, due to the weaker economy, an increasing share of renewable energies, and restarted nuclear power plants. Yuya Hasegawa, division director of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry in Japan (METI), said at a conference held in Tokyo that the growing number of data centres is expected to increase the demand for power. He said that if we don't have a massive expansion of renewable energies, or if the cost of ammonia, hydrogen, and CCUS (carbon storage, utilization, and capture) cannot be reduced, our gas demand would increase. Hasegawa said that under a METI scenario for an alternative energy strategy, Japan's demand for LNG will increase to 74 millions tons by 2040 or almost 10% if the METI scenarios do not include a significant expansion of renewable energy. Australia, Malaysia, and the United States provide the most LNG to Japan. However, Canada, where Mitsubishi is an investor, is planning to begin exports later this year. Canada has turned its attention towards other markets. Japan is the second largest LNG buyer in the world after China. Trump has promised to increase the oil and gas production of the U.S. which is already the largest in the world, increasing the competition between sellers for the top buyers including Japan. Rebecca Schulz of the Alberta Government's Ministry of Environment and Protected Areas, who spoke at the same conference, said that Alberta wants to double its production to supply other countries, such as Asia and Japan. "Just because of the shipping time - half the time comes from the U.S. Gulf Coast - it makes us the perfect partner for Japan," she said. (Reporting and editing by PhilippaFletcher; KatyaGolubkova)
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TotalEnergies Namibia's project is smaller and later than expected
FID is expected to end in 2026, not by the end of 2025 Production capacity has dropped to 150,000 barrels a day from 160,000 The country has been discovered by fellow majors PARIS, February 5 - CEO Patrick Pouyanne stated on Wednesday that the French oil major TotalEnergies will make a final decision on investment in its Namibian oil discovery by 2026. The project would produce 150,000 barrels a day. This is down from the initial 160,000 barrels a day that was discussed during its Investor Day in October. Pouyanne's previous target for the decision date on FID was 2025. This was announced at a results conference last April. The French oil giant has stated that it struggles to break even at less than $20 per barrel - an internal requirement of FID. The high gas content in Namibia has complicated the development of promising offshore discoveries. Chevron and BP both declared their initial Namibian discoveries commercially unviable last month.
Report finds that Chinese companies control 75% of Indonesian Nickel capacity
C4ADS, a Washington-based nonprofit global security organization, said that Chinese firms controlled about 75% (or more) of Indonesia's capacity for nickel refining, causing concern regarding supply chain control as well as environmental risks.
The report states that Indonesia's 8,000,000 metric tons of refining capacity is distributed among 33 companies. However, ownership trace showed overlap and Chinese companies ultimately controlled approximately three quarters of the smelting capability as of 2023.
The report released on Tuesday stated that "as Indonesia seeks to use the nickel sector for economic growth," this significant foreign influence may limit its ability control and shape the market to its advantage.
A report stated that the U.S., and European automakers are also at a disadvantage on the global EV markets due to the reliance on nickel produced by China. This is because of the increasingly restrictive trade policies with China. Nickel is an important battery component.
The Indonesian mining ministry has not yet commented.
Last year, an Indonesian official revealed that Chinese firms were reaching out to Indonesian and South Korean companies for possible partnerships in order to reduce their stakes and make their products more accessible to U.S. consumers.
Last month, Mining Minister Bahlil Lahadalia stated that President Prabowo had formed a taskforce to develop the downstream mining industry using domestic financing. This was to "gradually decrease perceptions that foreigners benefited the most".
C4ADS found that by 2023, two Chinese companies, Tsingshan Group and Jiangsu Delong Nickel Industry Co Ltd accounted for 70% of Indonesian refining capacity.
They were two of the first investors to invest in Indonesia's push for the domestic processing and production of nickel ore, a move which has helped it become the world's leading producer.
A court in Central Sulawesi last year sentenced two Indonesia Tsingshan Stainless Steel workers to seven months in jail for negligence which led to a fire in December 2023 and the deaths of several employees at a Tsingshan plant. Two workers were killed during clashes in early 2023 at the PT Gunbuster Nickel Industry smelter, owned by Jiangsu Delong Nickel Industry.
Obsidian Stainless Steel, a joint venture between Jiangsu Delong and Tsingshan Eternal Tsingshan, did not respond immediately to comments. Jiangsu Delong was not immediately available for comment.
Tsingshan is selling stakes in its smelters. One such deal was with Indonesian state-owned miner Aneka Tambang to buy 30% of PT Jiu Long Metal Industry.
(source: Reuters)