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Energy Markets

Oil & Gas

Oil & Gas

CEE ECONOMY - Czech inflation rises in March, but remains below the central bank's target

The 'Iran War' sent fuel prices soaring in March, but the headline figure was still below?predictions and the 2% central bank target. According to preliminary data released by the statistics office on Tuesday, the?headline?figure increased 1.9% from a previous year in March, which is faster than February's 1.4%. According to a poll, analysts had predicted 2.0%. The data revealed that consumer prices increased 0.6% month-over-month, with a rise of 5.3% in energy prices, including motor fuels. After?the government took steps to reduce energy bills, the global oil price shock came at a time of low inflation in the Czech Republic....

Oil & Gas

Ukraine's March diesel imports jumped 27% m/m despite war in Iran, consultancy says

Analysts at A95 Consulting Group reported late Monday that Ukraine's imports of diesel jumped 27% in March over February to a five-year-high of 577,000 tons, despite the difficulties associated with the war? in the Persian Gulf. After Russian missile attacks virtually destroyed Ukraine's refining capability, the country became?entirely reliant on imported fuel. It sourced supplies elsewhere in Europe. The consultancy stated in a report that "Importers operations in March were hindered by the effects of the war in the Middle East which made it extremely difficult to secure supplies." The report also stated that ORLEN, Poland's largest supplier, had suspended...

Oil & Gas

Poland's Orlen signss preliminary agreement on the acquisition of GA Polyolefins

Orlen, the Polish state-owned refiner, announced on Wednesday that it had signed a preliminary agreement with Grupa Azoty (the Polish state-controlled chemical group) under which it would acquire 'all remaining shares in Grupa azoty polyolefins. The transaction involves the purchase of GAP shares and the provision of financing by Orlen to complete GAP’s restructuring. It has a value of $1.35 billion ($364.23 millions). The transaction was in line with expectations. Orlen had been viewed as the "natural candidate" to take over the Polyolefins Project and stabilize it. Erste Group analyst Cezary Bernatek wrote in a client note. He added, "We'd...

Oil & Gas

The Iran-related energy spike reduces the room for rate reductions in emerging markets

Oil prices spiked due to the war in Iran, and for now this has halted any monetary easing efforts by emerging market central bankers from Poland to Turkey. This is because policymakers are coping with an increase in inflation expectations as well as a rise in risk aversion. After a series of shocks, from the COVID outbreak to Russia's invasion in?Ukraine, that have shook markets, slowed growth, and fueled inflation, central banks are finally becoming more optimistic about global economic resilience?and easing price pressures. The dollar gained ground, and U.S. Treasury Yields rose as a proxy of borrowing costs in...

Oil & Gas

Middle East conflict sticks 2026 consensus trades into reverse

Investors are rethinking popular themes and trades of 2026 due to the escalating conflict in the Middle East. Global equities have plummeted, the dollar has risen and traders have reduced their bets on rate cuts by the Federal Reserve. Investors have been preparing for growth this year. "A stagflationary surprise was not part of the plan", said ING's head of global markets Chris Turner. Investors are cautious and still have more to unwind. Here are five popular topics that have been "upended" by the conflict in Middle East. 1/ DOLLAR SHORTS SQUEEZED According to data released by the U.S. regulator...

Oil & Gas

Sources: MOL Hungary is interested in Lukoil assets

Three sources with knowledge of the matter have confirmed that MOL, a Hungarian oil company, has informed U.S. officials of its interest in purchasing international assets from sanctioned Russian oil giant Lukoil. This adds to a growing number of potential buyers. In October, the United States imposed sanctions against Russia's largest private oil producer as part of its efforts to press Moscow to end their war in Ukraine. This forced Lukoil into announcing the sale of foreign assets. Sources have confirmed that Lukoil has been in talks with oil majors Exxon Mobil, Chevron, and Middle Eastern investors before the December...

Electric Utilities

Polish financial regulator examines Orlen’s offer for Energa

The Polish Financial Regulator KNF announced on Thursday that it is investigating the plan of state-controlled refiner Orlen to buy out minority investors in its utility unit Energa. Orlen announced the buyout plan on Wednesday. The regulator stated that it would examine all aspects of this and publish its findings as quickly as possible. The regulator stated on its website that "the KNF is undertaking explanatory activities which cover all aspects of this issue." KNF's spokesperson said that the statement it released contained all of the information they could provide at this time and declined to comment further. Orlen announced...

Oil & Gas

Orlen, a Polish company, offers to buy Energa minority shares to gain full control

Orlen, a Polish state-controlled refiner, announced on Wednesday that it intends to purchase the remaining shares of its utility unit Energa in order to become a full owner. The price is estimated at 709 million Zlotys (about 189 million dollars). Orlen will integrate the utility deeper into its strategy for energy transition. The refiner offers 18.87 zlotys for each share it does not own. In a filing with the regulatory authorities, the company stated that shareholders can submit offers to sell between December 1 and 17. It also said it would start purchasing Energa's shares from the market on November...

Oil & Gas

Orlen offers $278 million to purchase all shares of Grupa Azolty Polyolefins

Orlen, a Polish oil refiner, has offered to purchase all the shares in Grupa Azoty Polyolefins. GAP is a petrochemical division of Grupa Azoty - a state-controlled chemical company. Orlen owns 17.3% GAP and said that its offer valued at $1.02 billion (about $278.20m) includes financing for GAP to continue restructuring debts and claims, as well as purchasing shares from other shareholders. Orlen and Azoty have been discussing the future of polymers, which Azoty's core business is losing money in, since 2024. The country's largest oil refiner announced earlier this year that it would not purchase more shares of Azoty’s...

Oil & Gas

Polish stocks fall after NATO member shoots down Russian aircraft in its airspace

Polish stocks fell on Wednesday, after Poland shot down Russian Drones that had entered its airspace as part of a Russian offensive in western Ukraine. At 0829 GMT the Warsaw blue-chip index slid to 2.6%, making it one of only a few European indices that were trading lower. Konrad Ryczko is an analyst with DM BOS. He said that the future of the situation was uncertain. Robert Maj, an Ipopema Securities analyst, said that the drop was a reaction to overnight events, and gave investors a reason to take advantage of recent gains. Maj added: "It is also a form...

Oil & Gas

Poland will continue to pursue former Orlen executive after UAE rejects extradition

Donald Tusk, the Polish prime minister, said that Poland would continue to try and have a former oil industry executive, who was a senior executive, returned from the United Arab Emirates after it rejected Warsaw’s first request for extradition. According to Polish privacy laws the former chief executive officer of Orlen's Swiss unit, known only as Samer, was charged with entering into contracts which resulted in losses of $378 million for the company. It's hard to convince people in countries such as UAE, and you have to be patient. Tusk said to reporters during a press briefing that "we will...

Renewable Fuels

HitecVision acquires a 50% stake in TotalEnergies' Polish biogas company

TotalEnergies announced on Wednesday that it has signed an agreement with Norwegian investment company HitecVision to sell 50% of Polish producer Polska Grupa Biogazowa. The French energy company stated that the agreement represents a value of 213.6 million euros (190 million Euros). Stephane Michel, TotalEnergies' President of Gas, Renewables & Power, said that the deal would help Polska Grupa Biogazowa continue its growth in Poland, where biogas development is booming. Erlend Elliottsen, CEO of HitecVision and Managing Director, said that the companies have complementary skills which they will use to "scale" PGB in the coming years, through greenfield projects, as...

Fossil Fuels

Fossil Fuels

Slovak PM: EU should lift sanctions on Russian oil, gas and other energy sources to improve energy security

Robert Fico, the Slovakian Prime Minister, said that the European Union must end sanctions on Russian oil and gas imports and take steps to restore Druzhba pipeline flows, as well as end the conflict in Ukraine, in order to tackle the energy crisis stemming from the war with Iran. Fico stated in a press release after a phone call with Hungarian Premier Viktor Orban, that the EU should re-establish dialogue with Russia to ensure member states get gas and oil from all sources including Russia. Hungary and Slovakia are the only two EU countries that maintain relations with Moscow. Oil...

Fossil Fuels

Rubio will testify in the Venezuelan foreign agent case of an ex-congressman

Former U.S. Senator Marco Rubio will?testify Tuesday?in the criminal trial of David Rivera. David Rivera is facing criminal charges relating to his alleged role as a non-registered agent for the government of Nicolas Maduro, who was ousted from Venezuela. Rubio's testimonies will take him briefly out of Washington where he was engaged in high level diplomacy surrounding U.S. president Donald Trump's Iran war, and into a federal courthouse downtown Miami where his political career started. U.S. prosecutors claim that Rivera, a former member of the U.S. House of Representatives who represented southern Florida?from 2011 to 2013 lobbied U.S. lawmakers in...

Fossil Fuels

Europe's debt-burdened Europe is less prepared to absorb energy shocks

Energy prices are rising due to the U.S./Israeli war against Iran. This is putting pressure on European governments to provide assistance for households and businesses. However, their financial resources in some major economies have been stretched. It is unlikely that they will provide the same level of support as was provided three years ago after Russia invaded Ukraine, when subsidies and other aid amounted to hundreds of billions of euros. In response to the 2022 energy shortage that will exacerbate cost of living concerns and angered voters, governments have begun to release record amounts of oil. France, Greece, and Poland...

Oil & Gas Refining

Mining

Coal

In a prisoner exchange, Belarus releases a Polish journalist and Warsaw releases a Russian archaeologist

As part of an exchange of prisoners at the border with Poland, Belarus released Andrzej Pczobut a Polish-Belarusian activist and journalist, said Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk on Tuesday. In return, Poland freed a Russian archaeologist named?Alexander?Butyagin whom it was preparing to extradite back to Ukraine. Tusk stated that five prisoners, including Polish priest Grzegorz Gawel as well as an unnamed Belarusian cooperating with Polish special services were released in exchange for five Belarusian and Russian citizens. The names of all the individuals released were not immediately announced. Not all names of the released individuals were immediately announced. Poczobut, a...

Mining

ERG anticipates limited recovery of Congo cobalt hydrxide production after 2025 deliberate cutback

Eurasian Resources Group announced on Monday that it would 'cut cobalt hydroxide production in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2025 because of an export ban and quota system. It plans to only a partial recovery this year. DRC, which is the largest producer of cobalt - a key component in electric vehicle batteries - imposed an export ban for several months at the beginning of 2025, before switching to a quota system. The country was facing a glut of the metal and a slump in prices. It also established a cobalt strategic reserve. ERG intentionally reduced cobalt-hydroxide output by...

Mining

KGHM, a Polish copper miner, is looking to locate its copper mines nearer to home in order to reduce logistic costs

The CEO of KGHM said that the company is 'looking to invest in mining in Europe and Morocco in order to secure ore supplies closer to its smelting base and reduce logistics costs. KGHM operates the Robinson Mine in the U.S. and has 55% of Sierra Gorda, Chile, on top of their Polish assets. Last month, they signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Morocco's National Office of Hydrocarbons and Mines and Moroccan Mining Firm Managem Group?on the cooperation in raw materials. In an interview with the Chilean branch of KGHM in 'Santiago,' CEO Remigiusz Pazkiewicz said: "We are seeking opportunities...

Mining

JSW employees vote in favor of the agreement regarding benefits suspension

JSW announced?on Friday? that employees of the Polish state-controlled coal mining company JSW had backed an agreement between trade unions &?the firm to suspend certain worker benefits as a part 'of a restructuring plan. The agreement would suspend some annual bonuses in 2025 and 2026 as part of JSW’s efforts to secure up to $815.75 million in funding by the end of March. JSW stated in a?statement that more than 97% voted in favor of the agreement in a referendum. It called the decision "fundamental", for the future of the company and to protect jobs. The management of the company...

Mineral Resources

Europol busts Europe's largest drug network in Poland, which runs 20 illegal laboratories

Polish prosecutors announced on Wednesday that European investigators had uncovered a synthetic drugs international network operated from Poland. They have seized over 9.3 tonnes of narcotics as well as arrested more than 100 suspects. Operation 'Synthetic Drugs in More Than 20 Illegal Laboratories' targeted a criminal gang accused of importing chemical pre-cursors from China and India, and manufacturing them in over 20 illegal laboratories for distribution throughout the European Union. The prosecutors said that the 'group' operated a complex supply chain. They imported large quantities of chemicals legally, which were then repackaged to be sent illegally to drug labs in...

Mineral Resources

Tusk: Poland is worried about tensions within NATO over Greenland

Poland's Prime Minister is concerned about the strain that the United States' threats to 'take over Greenland' is putting on NATO. He said this on Friday. Warsaw, as a loyal ally, should be honest about its concerns with Washington. Poland sees the United States and NATO in a 'critical role in its security, in light of a 'increasingly assertive Russia. Policymakers in Warsaw are concerned that divisions in the alliance might embolden Moscow. The NATO alliance would be shocked if the U.S. took Greenland away from Denmark, a long-time ally. It would also deepen the divide that exists between Trump...

Mineral Resources

Allegro sells businesses in Slovenia and Croatia Mutares

Allegro, a Polish ecommerce company, announced on Wednesday that it has agreed to sell its operations in Slovenia and Croatia?to Mutares of Germany. Allegro is aiming to simplify?its global footprint. Allegro claimed that the sale was the last step to turning around Mall Group. The group bought the company in 2022 as a first move beyond its home market Poland. Allegro expanded its presence in Central Europe with the deal, but so far international operations have weighed on its profitability. Allegro announced in March that it would pause the rollout of its third-party market in other countries until it increased...

Coal

Two dead in underground explosion in Polish coal mine

JSW, the owner of Pniowek Coal Mine in southern Poland, announced on Monday that two workers had been killed by an explosion of'methane and rocks masses' at the mine. A large amount of methane has been released from the Pniowek Mine, which was operating with 10 underground workers and a high-performance?roadheader. JSW said that eight people were able to escape on their own while two others lost contact. The company reported that after a seven-hour search, teams located the missing miners, who were declared dead by a doctor on the spot. The Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk expressed his condolences...

Mining

ERG signs long-term supply agreement with Mitsubishi

The Eurasian Resources Group, a mining group, announced on Saturday that it had signed a long-term agreement to supply gallium for Mitsubishi Corporation?RtM Japan Ltd., a subsidiary company of Japanese trading house Mitsubishi?Corp. Kazakhstan, which currently produces no gallium, will become the second largest producer in the world after China when ERG begins production in the third-quarter of 2026. Gallium is a critical mineral for the United States and European Union. It is used to manufacture semiconductors and radar systems for aerospace and defence. In a recent statement, Shukhrat?Ibragimov (CEO and board chairman of ERG) said that gallium was a...

Mining

JSW's voluntary job reduction plan attracts high interest among workers, CEO claims

Boguslaw Olesky, the acting CEO of Polish coal miner JSW, said that an internal survey showed that more than 6,000 workers were interested in the planned reduction in workforce. This is almost twice the number eligible to participate. Oleksy stated that the plan is contingent on a newly enacted mining law and aims to reduce jobs in two ways: "mining leaves", which are state-funded furloughs leading to retirement for more than 3,100 workers; and voluntary severance package for 700 others. JSW is facing a cash crunch. Oleksy said that the stabilization fund of the company was "on its way to...

Coal

JSW, a Polish company, has posted a larger third-quarter loss due to the continued tough market conditions

The Polish coal miner JSW, controlled by the Polish government, reported a net profit of 218.0 million dollars for the third quarter of this year. This is compared to 315.3 million dollars in the same time period last year. The miner has suffered a series of losses in the past quarters as it battles a market with falling coal prices, and a weak demand. This has outpaced the efforts of the company to return to profitability. Why it's important JSW is Europe's leading producer of hard coking coal. JSW is the largest producer of high-quality hard coking coal in the...

Mining

KGHM profits rise on strength of Sierra Gorda and higher prices

The Polish state-run copper company KGHM reported a 80% increase in its third-quarter profit compared to the previous year, mainly due to the performance of its Chilean Sierra Gorda Mine and higher precious metals prices. KGHM is a major copper and silver producer in the world. Its earnings are highly correlated with global commodity prices and therefore a barometer of global industrial demand. CONTEXT The Sierra Gorda Mine in Chile is a joint-venture with Australian miner South32 and has become a major engine of profit growth for KGHM. The company reported that the mine's core adjusted profit for the first...