Spain

The Venezuelan government owes Repsol 4,55 billion euros ($5,37 billion), the Spanish energy group said in its report for the first-time on Thursday. Repsol is active in Venezuela since over 30 years, employs staff and is a major partner of the state energy company PDVSA. It is one of a few companies that have been granted a license to run oil and natural gas operations in Venezuela by the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control. Repsol received a permit in March of last year from the U.S. authorities allowing it to receive PDVSA oil as "payment for debt"....

Robert Harvey and Pietro Lombardi MADRID/LONDON - Spanish energy major Repsol appointed Juan 'Romero' as its global head for trading on Friday, according to a company spokesperson. The company announced that Juan Romero would replace Jose Antonio Correa who retired. The news was not previously reported. Repsol wants to expand its trading division in order to achieve its broader strategy, which is to transition from an oil and gas company into a multi-energy provider. This shift comes at the same time as it considers a reverse merge for its upstream business. Romero, who has a LinkedIn profile, worked for Repsol...

By America Hernandez PARIS, February 5, 2019 - French oil giant?TotalEnergies signed two agreements to supply Airbus with 3.3 terawatt hours of electricity. The companies stated that this amount would cover half the sites’ power needs in the next decade. Germany and Britain are key growth markets for Total. Total is focusing on markets that have deregulated electricity markets, where it can own and build renewable assets and sell directly to clients. The company has a'strategy' that includes owning gas-fired plants and signing supply deals to provide continuous power sourced both from renewables and gas assets. These contracts, which are...

Trafigura, a trading house, has sold its first shipment of Venezuelan crude oil, as part of an agreement between Caracas, Venezuela, and Washington for the supply of 50 million barrels of oil. The Spanish refiner Repsol is expected to receive a shipment of this quantity. Two sources stated that the cargo should be delivered to Repsol by mid-February. Trafigura and Repsol have declined to comment. The agreement would be one of the first to sell Venezuelan oil in Europe since the United States captured Venezuela's leader at the beginning of this month, and struck an agreement with Caracas for the...

Sources in the industry said that Trafigura sold its first cargo of Venezuelan crude oil as part of a 50 million barrel supply agreement between Caracas, Washington and Spain. The shipment was taken by Spanish refiner Repsol. Two sources confirmed that the cargo will be delivered in Spain to Repsol in February. Trafigura did not respond immediately to a comment request. Repsol refused to comment. This deal marks the first time that Venezuelan oil has been sold to Europe since the United States seized?the South American nation's leader earlier this month, and struck agreements with Caracas for the export of...

BBVA is the only major bank in the world with a significant 'presence' in Venezuela. Its chairperson said that BBVA was well positioned to 'take advantage of the new business opportunities created by the U.S. intervening in the country which has the largest oil reserves in the world. Venezuela has an interim government since the United States captured Nicolas Maduro in early?this?month. The situation presents potential business opportunities for international banks. However, analysts have warned that there will still be many challenges. Carlos Torres, BBVA's Carlos Torres, told Expansion that if greater stability is achieved in the future, they will...

Portuguese energy company Galp is in talks with private equity-backed Moeve to merge their refining and?chemicals businesses as well as fuel retail businesses. They announced the deal on Thursday. According to their non-binding contract,?Galp, Spain's Moeve and the United Arab Emirates state-owned investment firm Mubadala, as well as U.S. investment firm Carlyle Group plan to form two new companies. One would run 3,500 retail fuel stations, primarily in Spain and Portugal. It would sell more than 6 million metric tonnes of refined products per year. The other would run Moeve’s Huelva, Algeciras and Galp’s Sines oil refineries. Three facilities with...

TotalEnergies announced on Monday that it would merge its British North Sea oil assets with NEO NEXT Energy. This is a partnership between Spain’s Repsol, and HitecVision. Total said that it would take a 47.5% share in the renamed NEO NEXT+ as a trade for its assets. The company made the announcement in a Monday statement. Repsol will have a 23.625% stake in the venture while HitecVision holds the remaining 28.875%. The statement stated that NEO NEXT+ will have a production capacity of over 250,000 barrels oil equivalent per day by 2026. This deal is part of a recent trend...

The U.S. Court of Appeals granted Argentina's request on Friday to temporarily suspend a judge’s order that the country turn over its 51 percent stake in oil company YPF as partial satisfaction for a $16.1 billion verdict won by two investors. The 2nd U.S. The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Manhattan, stayed U.S. district judge Loretta Preska’s June 30, 2010 turnover order until Argentina appeals. Argentina warned it could suffer irreparable damage and destabilize its economy if it sold its stake in YPF - the country's biggest energy company. The court of appeal did not give any reasons for...

Moeve, the second largest oil refiner in Spain, which was formerly called Cepsa said Monday that its net profit had fallen 19% during the first half of this year, mostly due to an impact from a massive blackout of power in April in Spain, Portugal and other countries. The company's net profit dropped to 324 millions euros ($378.92 million), and earnings before interest taxes, amortization, and depreciation (EBITDA) fell by 33% compared to a year earlier to 733.92 million euros. The company said that the decline in core profit was primarily due to the costs of stopping and restarting their...

The U.S. Government sided with Argentina in its effort to temporarily suspend a court order requiring it to turn over its 51 percent stake in the oil and gas company YPF as part of a $16.1-billion judgment won by two investors. In a late-night filing, the U.S. government informed the 2nd U.S. The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals stated that it is in the public's interest to resolve the dispute on its merits "free of the rushed compulsion of a non-stayed turnover order, and any negative impact on U.S. Foreign Relations with Argentina." Petersen Energia Inversora, Eton Park Capital...

Brazil's stock exchange fell on Thursday. However, the real recovered the next day, after U.S. president Donald Trump shocked the world by imposing 50% tariffs instead of the 10% originally indicated. Trump cited political disagreements as the reason for his shock decision. The currency volatility gauges reached their highest level since April's tariff announcements. After the real fell as much as 2,8% on Wednesday, in response to what Deutsche Bank called an escalation in tensions. The currency fell 2.3% on Wednesday, but rebounded on Thursday to be up 0.5% against the dollar. U.S. listed shares of Brazilian companies dropped, with...

Officials said that a 46-year old woman died on Friday in Barcelona after being?hit? by a piece blown off a warehouse roof during the eighth storm which swept across the Iberian Peninsula earlier this year. Spain and Portugal have been repeatedly hit by heavy rain, 'thunder,' snow, and strong gales, which damaged infrastructure and crops, and forced authorities to evacuate tens of thousands. Spanish Agriculture Minister Luis Planas said to TVE that the eight storms in succession were "truly extraordinary". "We must consider if this is a rare phenomenon or if, looking ahead, it might happen more frequently." Planas stated...

Maria Lucia Amaral, the Portuguese Interior Minister, resigned amid criticism by opposition parties and communities over what they call a slow and ineffective response from authorities to the devastating 'Storm Kristin' two weeks ago. The office of President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa announced late on Tuesday that it had accepted the resignation of the Minister at the request from Prime Minister Luis Montenegro. Amaral claimed she no longer met the "personal and political requirements" to fulfill the role. The President's Office said Montenegro would temporarily take over interior until a successor was appointed. Storm Kristin hit central Portugal on the...

Farmers in 'Spain warned that torrential rainfall and high winds caused damage to crops worth millions of euros, and had submerged fields. Spain and Portugal are bracing for more extreme weather. Storm Marta arrived on Saturday after a series of storms that brought heavy rain, hail, snow, and strong winds to the?Iberian Peninsula? in recent weeks. Emergency services reported that a snowplow driver was killed on Saturday after his vehicle fell 20 meters (65 feet) down a steep slope at the El Pico Mountain Pass in Avila, northern Spain. It had been heavily snowing, they said. Emergency services reported that...

Farmers in Spain warned that torrential rainfall and high winds have flooded fields and caused damage worth millions of Euros to crops. Spain and Portugal are bracing for even more extreme weather. In recent weeks the Iberian Peninsula experienced storms that brought heavy rain, hail, snow, and strong winds, all of which will be present when Storm Marta arrives on Saturday. Nearly 170 roads in Spain have been closed, and the rail service in Portugal has been disrupted. Spanish state 'weather agency AEMET warned Saturday that Storm Marta will bring snow, hazardous coastal conditions and more rain. The orange warning...

Environmental groups have filed a lawsuit against the European Commission for its decision to grant preferential "strategic status" to Portugal's Barroso Lithium Mine Project, developed by London-listed Savannah Resources. The local residents' association United in?Defence of?Covas do Barroso, and ClientEarth Group said that they had filed the case with the EU Court of Justice because Brussels refused to reconsider the 2025 decision made under the Critical Raw Materials Act. In a statement, they said that "despite detailed evidence showing the project poses severe environmental, social and security risks", Environmental groups often oppose projects like Savannah's, which are viewed as key...

Portugal will face direct reconstruction costs of more than 4 billion euros ($4.7 billion) following the devastating storm Kristin last week, Economy Minister Manuel Castro Almeida said. He cited preliminary government estimates. The direct costs of reconstruction after last week's storm Kristin are estimated to be more than 4?billion euros ($4.7? He told RTP that the indirect costs, such as the disruption of supply chains in the industry, would be more than 4 billion Euros. He said that "several business owners are planning to build completely new factories, as their existing?factories are unusable. Recovery could take several months." Social Security...

Storm Kristin last week left hundreds of homes in Portugal without roofs and tens thousands without electricity. Residents gathered to buy emergency building materials as authorities warned that damage could reach billions of Euros. The storm hit the region on Wednesday morning, with wind gusts exceeding 200 kph and heavy rain uprooting and ripping roofs. At least six people were killed and hundreds of thousands lost power. Paula Franco, a woman in a queue for donated tiles, said: "The roof has blown off, the windows are all broken. Everything is chaos and misery." Portugal's Government approved on Sunday a package...

Pedro Sanchez, the Prime Minister of Spain, announced on Thursday that Spain would create a sovereign wealth fund owned by the state to boost various sectors such as housing and national security. The "Spain grows" fund aims to extend a?economic stimulus provided by the NextGenerationEU Funds of the European Union, which played an important role in helping the country recover from the COVID-19 Pandemic, beyond 2026. Sanchez added that more details will be revealed next week. The initial drawdown from EU funds is 10.5 billion euro ($12.2 billion). Sanchez stated that the fund would prioritise investment in housing, renewable energies,...

The two companies announced on Thursday that the United Arab Emirates climate fund ALTERRA plans to launch a $1.2 billion coinvestment vehicle to finance climate-aligned investments globally?across infrastructure?, private equity? and private credit. In a joint press release, BBVA announced that it had committed $250 million to the ALTERRA Opportunity Fund. They said that the?fund would invest in climate investments, including energy transition, industrial decarbonization and climate tech, with a focus on North America, Latin America and Europe, as well as "other growth markets." ALTERRA was established in 2023 with $30 billion by the UAE. It aims to mobilize $25...

Savannah Resources, listed on the London Stock Exchange, announced that it was awarded a 110 million-euro grant ($128 millions) by?the Portuguese Government for its lithium mine in northern Portugal. This is a sign of official support for a hotly contested project. Around 82 million euro of the non-reimbursable grants will fund the initial capital expenses of the project, in Portugal's Barroso Region. The remainder of the grant is linked to performance milestones. The company stated that the estimated reserves of the Barroso deposit spodumene, a lithium-bearing mineral, are more than 39 million metric tonnes, making it Europe's largest deposit. The...

European companies who make copper products have warned that they will face critical shortages, unless the EU curbs exports of scrap metal as it did for aluminium. Investors attracted to higher prices in the U.S. based on expectations of tariffs have shipped large amounts of refined Copper there. According to a paper released by companies that account for over 90% of European scrap copper usage, the exports of scrap copper from the EU have risen by 31% in the last three years, with half of it going to China. Uwe Schmidt is a manager at Wieland, a German metal products...

Carlos Mazon said on Monday that the authorities didn't know people were drowning, when he was interrogated for hours about the handling of the floods of last year that killed 229. Mazon announced on 3 November that he was resigning under pressure from all sides of the political spectrum. However, he remains under close scrutiny. Mazon was accused by the leader of the hard-left Podemos party of being personally liable for the deaths. The spokesperson of the leftist Catalan ERC party said that he should go to jail. Mazon's testimony at the commission of inquiry was followed by victims' families...