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Sources say that Elliott is poised to win at least two board positions at Phillips 66.
Two people familiar with Wednesday's preliminary vote reported that Elliott Investment Management, an activist hedge fund, had won enough support from Phillips 66's shareholders to win two board seats in the U.S. refiner's U.S. board of directors. This is one of the biggest corporate battles of this year. Elliott wants Phillips 66, a major refiner in the United States, to sell certain assets and become a pure play refiner. It also wants to improve Phillips 66's performance within its refining division and corporate governance. This year, it sought to bring four new members to its board. The preliminary voting results show that Phillips 66 was able to hold off Elliott, but each side won two of the four seats up for election. Two sources confirm that Elliott did not receive any support from the large index funds, which often have a say in corporate voting. One source said that it received 40% of its support from Phillips employee pension fund. It is the first ever time that Elliott, the most active activist investor in the world, has had a campaign put to a vote. (Reporting and editing by Louise Heavens, Tomasz Janovowski and Svea Herbst Bayliss)
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Moody's upgrades CEZ's outlook after the government takes a stake in the nuclear project
Moody's Ratings Agency has upgraded the outlook of Czech utility CEZ to "positive" after the Government announced last month that it would take a 80% stake in the multi-billion dollar nuclear power project run by the Group. In a statement released on Wednesday, Moody's confirmed CEZ's Baa1 rating. In April, the government announced that it had agreed to acquire a majority stake in CEZ subsidiary Elektrarna Dukovany II (EDU) which will manage the project of at least 18 billion dollars for new nuclear units supplied by South Korea’s KHNP. Moody's stated that "the positive outlook for CEZ reflects...the removal of virtually all construction and commissioning risk." CEZ, which has 70% of its shares owned by the Czech government, plans to invest around 400 billion crowns (18.23 billion dollars) in renewable energy, transmission and distribution by 2030. This is almost twice the amount invested over the last five years. Martin Novak said that CEZ would have to consolidate its debt if they remained the majority owners of the nuclear project. This would have limited their ability to invest in other projects.
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Indonesian gas firms sign gas swap deal to meet domestic demand
Gas producers from western Indonesia signed a swap agreement with Singaporean buyers Sembcorp Gas and Gas Supply Pte and state-owned distributor Perusahaan Gas Negara to boost domestic gas supplies, according to PT Pertamina. Pertamina stated in a press release that the gas swap scheme is designed to meet demand for natural gas in Indonesia, especially in the power and industrial sectors. MedcoEnergi, an Indonesian gas producer whose units are part of the West Natuna Supply Group (WNSG) and Corridor Block (also parties to the agreement), will replace the flows from the Corridor Block to Singapore with those coming from WNSG. This was announced in a separate press release. The flow of gas from the Corridor Block is being redirected to meet Indonesian domestic needs. Perusahaan Gas Negara will be the domestic buyer. Medco has also signed an independent gas sales agreement. Ronald Gunawan is the director and chief operational officer of MedcoEnergi. He said that this collaboration will provide adequate gas supplies on both domestic and international market. SKK Migas, Indonesia's oil-and-gas regulator, had said previously that it aimed for a gas exchange to start in June. (Reporting and writing by Bernadette Cristina; Editing and proofreading by Jan Harvey).
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Thames Water stops bosses' bonus after ministers object
Thames Water, the company at the center of the public outcry against Britain's privatised industry for water, has stopped a bonus program for its executives, after ministers raised objections to the payments. Debts in the billions have plagued the company, Britain's largest water provider with 16 million customers. The company secured a loan of 3 billion pounds in February to prevent a financial collapse. Some of the money went to senior managers for bonuses up to 1 million pounds ($1.34million) or 50% of their salary, as part of a retention program. Steve Reed, the Environment Minister told LBC Radio in London on Wednesday that bonuses are "outrageous". He said he told Thames Water to take "all actions" necessary to stop them. Thames Water said that it had suspended the program and would await the guidance of the water regulator Ofwat. Ofwat prevented Thames Water from paying bonuses to executives from customer money last year. A spokesperson for Thames Water stated that the board never intended to oppose the government's desire to reform the water sector. The board decided to suspend the retention program after recent discussions. The British government is looking to reform the water industry, which has been criticized by environmental groups and customers for causing damage to Britain's rivers and increasing customer bills while failing to invest. A government-commissioned review will be published in June. Reed stated that waterways will become cleaner due to a large increase in inspections of sewage pollution over the past nine months, which led to the launch of criminal investigations against water companies. The new legislation, which was passed in September of last year, aims to strengthen the supervision of water companies. Penalties include imprisonment for managers who obstruct investigations on the contamination of rivers and lakes.
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Sources say that the US will appoint Thomas Barrack to be a special envoy for Syria
Thomas Barrack, the long-time friend of President Donald Trump and current U.S. Ambassador to Turkey, will be appointed as a Special Envoy for Syria by the United States, according to a person in Turkey with direct knowledge and a diplomat. This decision comes after Trump's historic announcement last week of the lifting of U.S. sanctions against Syria. This decision also shows that the U.S. is acknowledging that Turkey has become a key regional player in Damascus after Bashar al-Assad was ousted by rebels last December, ending 14 long years of civil conflict. A spokesperson for the U.S. State Department said, "There are no announcements at this time." In a Tuesday speech to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, U.S. State Secretary Rubio stated that he had allowed Turkish embassy personnel, including Barrack to work with local officials to understand what type of aid they needed. Rubio stated that "we want to help this government succeed because the alternative would be full-scale civil conflict and chaos which, of course, would destabilise the whole region." According to the Turkish Foreign Ministry, Barrack attended a U.S. and Turkish meeting on Syria in Washington, where sanctions relief efforts and counter-terrorism were discussed. The U.S. sought to ease sanctions on Syria in a gradual manner, until Trump announced that he would order "the cessation" of sanctions. He said this was to allow Syria to recover from a devastating war. He claimed that he reached the decision following discussions with Saudi Crown Princess Mohammed bin Salman, and Turkish President Tayyip Erdoan. Trump met with Syria's Interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa on May 14, in Saudi Arabia, and encouraged him to normalise relations with Israel after his surprise announcement of sanctions. The removal of U.S. financial sanctions on Syria would allow for more engagement from humanitarian organizations working in the country, as well as ease foreign trade and investment. This is important to help the country rebuild. (Reporting from Timour Azhari and Jonathan Spicer, both in Damascus; editing by Mark Heinrich).
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Rosneft has taken control of Russia's biggest rare earth deposit.
Rosneft, Russia's biggest oil producer, has purchased Tomtor, which is the largest rare earth deposit in the country, according to a company registry published on Wednesday. This acquisition follows President Vladimir Putin’s request last year that the development of this field be accelerated. Tomtor is located in the northern part of Siberian Yakutia region. It's a major project for Russia to increase production of metals used in the defense industry, mobile phones, and electric cars. According to the official Russian state registry, Rosneft under Igor Sechin - a Putin ally for many years - gained complete control of Vostok engineering, the project operator, on 20 May. Rosneft didn't immediately respond to a comment request. Putin accused Tomtor's operator in November of stalling the development of the deposit, and suggested that it either increase investment or seek assistance from third parties including the government. Prior to the Ukraine conflict, Russia had planned to invest $1.5 Billion in rare earth minerals to become the second largest producer of rare earth minerals after China by 2030. Other countries such as the United States are also attempting to reduce their dependence on China which controls 95% global production and supply. According to U.S. Geological Survey, Russia is the fifth largest producer of rare earths in the world, behind China, Brazil and India. USGS estimates that Russia's reserves are 3.8 million tons. According to its sector strategy, the country wants to be one of the five top producers of rare earth metals with a share of up to 12% of the global market. Through his IST group, Alexander Nesis was a former shareholder of Polymetal, a large producer of gold, silver and other metals. He owned a 75% share in ThreeArc Mining. Polymetal owned a 9.1% stake of ThreeArc Mining. After the Russian military intervention in Ukraine and the subsequent Western sanctions against Russian companies, the operator of this project was under the control of IST’s former manager Vladislav Rezin before Rosneft took it over. (Reporting and editing by Guy Faulconbridge and Kirsty Donovan; Anastasia Lyrchikova, Vladimir Soldatkin)
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Polish power company Enea signs $2.4 Billion loan agreement for grid improvements
Enea, a Polish energy utility, announced on Wednesday that it had signed a loan agreement worth 9.13 billion zlotys ($2.44 billion), with the state-owned Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego. The funds will be spent to upgrade Enea’s power distribution network in northwest Poland. This is to improve quality and security and to enhance grid capacity for renewable energy sources. Jakub Jaworowski said at a Polish Minister of State Assets' press conference that "developing the network is crucial to keeping energy prices at a level acceptable for businesses and consumers." The company announced that the funds would be distributed in 2025-2036 in tranches, and repayments will take place in semi-annual payments at a fixed rate of 0.5% annually until 2050. Enea is Poland's largest power utility. Its coal-fired units are losing profitability as renewables take a greater share of the market. According to the Forum Energii, coal will account for 57% of Poland’s electricity production in 2024. ($1 = 3.7420 zlotys) (Reporting by Marek Strzelecki; Writing by Rafal W. Nowak; Editing by David Goodman)
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A former Ukrainian politician is shot dead in front of an elite American school, Madrid
Sources close to the investigation have confirmed that an unidentified gunman, or gunmen, shot and killed Andriy portnov outside a school on a wealthy Madrid suburb's campus early Wednesday morning. Madrid police confirmed that they received a report of an incident involving a shooting outside the American School of Madrid in Pozuelo de Alarcon at 9:15 am local time (07:15 GMT). The victim was not identified. Portnov served as a top aide to former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich, who was overthrown in the Euromaidan Revolution of 2014. In the years since Russia invaded Ukraine in February of 2022, several high-profile crimes have involved Russians and Ukrainians living in Spain. Both countries have large expatriate communities in Spain. Six letter bombs, sent in November and December of 2022, were sent to prominent targets throughout Spain. These included the Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez's office, the Ukrainian Embassy, the government offices, an EU satellite company, and the U.S. embassy. A retired Spanish civil servant, aged 76, whose searches on social media suggested a sympathy for Russia has been jailed. A Russian businessman who was linked to the Russian gas company Novatek, along with his daughter and wife, were found dead by an apparent suicide in April 2022. A Russian pilot, who had defected with his helicopter to Ukraine in February 2024 was found dead of multiple gunshots in the garage of an apartment building near Alicante. (Reporting and editing by Andrei Khalip, Aislinn laing, and Emma Pinedo. Additional reporting by Joan Faus.
Battery shifts to nickel and cobalt as a result of the energy storage boom
Fidra Energy's plan to convert a 55-acre patch of countryside in northern England into Europe's biggest energy storage facility, a 1,45 gigawatt one once complete, was far from finalized when it acquired the land in 2023.
Chris Elder, CEO of the Edinburgh-based firm, said, "We struggled to make economics work."
The cost of the batteries used in this project has been roughly halved over the last 18 months.
Fidra plans to begin installing battery units in its Thorpe Marsh 600-million-pound ($800 million) project next year.
LFP batteries have fueled a boom in energy-storage projects, which - in terms of percentage - has now surpassed the growth in electric vehicle sales. UBS estimates that total storage capacity will have to grow eight-fold before the end of the decade, and 34-fold until 2050 in order to keep pace with the growth of renewable energy.
According to an energy transition consultancy, Rho Motion, while EVs will still dominate the battery market, energy storage is expected to make up a fifth of it by 2030.
Analysts say that tariff uncertainty will cause growth in the U.S. to slow down in the coming years. The U.S. is the second largest energy storage market in the world, and it's still dependent on Chinese imports. But the long-term growth remains intact.
This is good news for renewables and should help national power grids maintain a balanced supply of electricity as they transition to cleaner sources of energy, avoiding the type massive blackouts that briefly crippled Spain in the last month.
LFPs are a much more affordable alternative to traditional batteries, and they do not contain cobalt or nickel. This rapid adoption is sending shockwaves throughout the markets that already have a depressed state.
Martin Jackson, a commodities consultant at CRU, said: "You have seen a truly massive shift in the intensity of use for nickel and cobalt as compared to battery demand."
NICKEL AND COBALT DECLINE
Analysts predicted for years that the battery industry would require huge amounts of cobalt and nickel to make high-powered batteries that allow EVs travel long distances without charging. This forecast sent EV prices soaring for a while.
Production increased in anticipation of a surge in demand, especially for the top nickel exporter Indonesia and cobalt-exporting Democratic Republic of Congo.
The lack of affordable EVs and the slow deployment of charging infrastructure has slowed EV adoption among consumers outside China. This has led some automakers to scale back on their electrification plan.
Oversupply has caused nickel prices to fall by half over the last three years, while cobalt prices have fallen by 60%.
Global EV sales grew by 23% in 2018. According to Rho Motion the demand for storage battery has risen by 51% and is expected to grow by 40% in 2019.
LFP batteries are the most common type of energy storage. They're essential for greener power grids, which will help governments achieve their net-zero goals.
These batteries are increasingly used by Chinese EV manufacturers, including BYD - which last year surpassed Tesla to become the largest seller of EVs in the world.
According to CRU data, as a result of this, the use of nickel in batteries for EVs, consumer electronics and storage batteries has decreased by nearly a third during the next four years, and by about two-thirds with cobalt.
Prices for both metals are likely to be further impacted by the increasing pace of LFP adoption.
Lithium could, however, see a rise.
Iola Hughes, from Rho Motion, said: "The share that stationary storage plays in the battery demand picture has grown very significantly. It is becoming increasingly important to lithium players as EV demand is slower than expected."
This has not yet translated into a stronger market, as the oversupply is pushing down already low lithium carbonate prices by another 20% this year.
Beyond Price
LFP batteries are not just about price.
Fidra's Elder stated that recent technological advancements in LFP batteries have resulted in Thorpe Marsh LFP batteries having a life expectancy of 20 years. This is up from the previous 10-15 years.
Lars Christian Bacher CEO of Norway's Morrow Batteries said that the change is also driven by concerns about the carbon intensity and rights issues relating to the cobalt mined in Congo.
He said that there are high expectations for battery suppliers to be able to trace the origins of their products. "Some of these mineral have been historically associated with... countries which have some questions related to human right issues, child labor."
Lithium also faces increasing scrutiny due to indigenous rights and environmental concerns, although this hasn't garnered as much attention from the public as nickel and cobalt.
Morrow plans to produce 3 million cells, or 1 gigawatt-hour of capacity, per year. According to the British energy regulator, fully charged, this is roughly enough to run 1 million homes an hour.
Batteries are being produced by existing manufacturers.
LG Energy Solution, a South Korean company, is expanding its business in energy storage to offset the slowdown of EV demand across North America.
An industry source in Asia said that the company plans to stop producing EV batteries containing Nickel at one U.S. facility and repurpose them for LFP battery manufacturing.
Analysts expect that the shift to LFPs will only strengthen China's grip on the sector.
90 percent of the energy storage batteries in the United States are imported from China.
Analysts say that Washington's tariffs against Chinese batteries - which are currently 41% during this 90-day truce in the trade war - will likely affect short-term demand.
Fidra's Elder said that while Europe also wants to reduce its dependency on China, governments must be pragmatic. His Thorpe Marsh project, which uses batteries manufactured by China's Sungrow Power Supply company, relies on Sungrow Power Supply's Sungrow Power Supply batteries.
He said that if the British government is serious about achieving its net-zero target for the UK – and I believe it is – it will have to work pragmatically with China.
(source: Reuters)