United Kingdom

Hunting, a British energy services company, plans to buyback shares worth $40m and increase the annual dividend as it predicts a 16% rise in core profit for the first half. Shares of Hunting reached a five-month-high on Wednesday. Hunting, a company that manufactures high-tech systems, precision parts, and critical components for oil and gas, plans to increase its annual dividend from over 10%, by 13%. The company stated that the core profit for the first half 2025 will be between $68 and $70 millions. It also reaffirmed the forecast of $135 to $145 million in 2025. The British company expects...

Oil Majors BP & Shell have agreed to work with Libya's National Oil Corp. (NOC) on hydrocarbon exploration and production at three Libyan fields, NOC announced in a Monday statement. Libya, Africa's largest oil producer and a Member of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries(OPEC), has experienced disruptions to its oil production due to disagreements between armed factions about oil revenues. These disputes have led to the shutdown of oilfields. Foreign investors are wary about investing in Libya. The country has been in chaos since Muammar Gadaffi was overthrown in 2011. Oil giants such as Eni, OMV and BP...

Sky News reported Saturday that Britain's Octopus energy is nearing the hiring of bankers to oversee an $13.7 billion ($10 billion) separation from its technology arm Kraken Technologies and a stake sale. The report was based on sources who are familiar with this matter. The report stated that a minority stake of up to 20 percent in Kraken is expected to sold to external investors to validate the technology platform’s valuation. According to the report, Octopus Energy shareholders will receive shares in Kraken, the newly independent business, when the demerger is completed within the year. The report cited a source...

By America Hernandez PARIS, 2 July - TotalEnergies West Shetland Offshore assets, which it sold to Prax Group in the past year, remain under French oil major ownership. They will therefore not be affected by liquidation proceedings that affect the British company. TotalEnergies EP UK stated that the transaction to sell the West of Shetland Asset to Prax is not yet complete and we are still the operators of the Shetland Gas Plant as well as the related fields. TotalEnergies agreed to transfer employees from TotalEnergies to Prax in exchange for a portfolio mature offshore fields that produce about 7,500...

The Kazakhstani energy ministry announced on Wednesday that it had canceled plans to build a processing plant for gas at the Karachaganak Field with the project's major foreign investors. It stated, without going into detail, that they were looking to work with domestic companies. Central Asia has been in a dispute with oil companies for many years over cost. In 2023, the country will bring multi-billion dollar claims against these companies. Companies claim that the government simply wants to increase its share in major oil and gas projects, which amounts to "resource nationalism". Kazakhstan's authorities rejected this criticism and said...

The oil prices fell on Tuesday due to expectations that OPEC+ will increase their output in August, and fears of a slowdown in the economy caused by higher U.S. Tariffs. Brent crude dropped 30 cents or 0.5% to $66.44 per barrel at 0430 GMT. U.S. West Texas intermediate crude also fell 33 cents or 0.5% to $64.78 per barrel. Daniel Hynes, senior commodity strategist at ANZ, said in a recent note that "the market is concerned the OPEC+ will continue its accelerated pace of output increases". Four OPEC+ source told us last week that they plan to increase output by...

The oil prices fell on Tuesday due to expectations that OPEC+ will increase their output in August, and fears of a slowdown in the economy caused by higher U.S. Tariffs. Brent crude futures were down 16 cents or 0.24% to $66.58 per barrel at 0000 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude fell 20 cents or 0.31% to $64.91 per barrel. Daniel Hynes, senior commodity strategist at ANZ, said in a recent note that "the market is concerned the OPEC+ will continue to increase its output at an accelerated pace." Four OPEC+ source told us last week that they plan to...

Chevron, the U.S. oil company, announced on Monday that it will close its Aberdeen office in Scotland. This move is part of the ongoing restructuring. Chevron's spokesperson stated in a press release that the closure of Aberdeen will occur between December 2025-2026. Chevron announced last year that it would sell the remaining UK North Sea oil assets, and leave the basin after 55 years to focus on assets with higher profits. The company has announced plans to cut up to $3 billion of costs by the end next year. This includes the layoff of up to 20% employees. Chevron's presence...

A U.S. court judge ordered Argentina on Monday to give up 51% of its stake in the oil and gas company YPF to satisfy a $16.1-billion judgment against it. U.S. District Court Judge Loretta Preska, in Manhattan, said Argentina had to transfer its YPF share within 14 days into a BNY Mellon account and instruct this bank to transfer those shares to the plaintiffs within one business day. Argentina appealed Preska's decision of September 2023 to award $16.1 billion to Petersen Energia Inversora, Eton Park Capital Management and litigation funder Burford Capital. Preska's ruling came the same day Argentina requested...

The Argentinian Government has requested that the High Court of London halt the enforcement of a United States court judgement of more than $16 billion over the expropriation by the oil and gas firm YPF pending the outcome of an appeal filed in the U.S. In 2023, the South American nation was ordered to pay minorities shareholders $16 billion as a result of its seizure in 2012 of a 51 percent stake in YPF owned by Spain's Repsol. This occurred without any tendering by minority investors. Petersen Energia Inversora, Eton Park Capital Management and Burford Capital were able to win...

As part of an extensive review of the market rules, the Australian government announced on Monday that it would consider creating a reserve of gas on Australia's east coast. The Competition Regulator has warned about looming shortages on the east coast of the country. According to the most recent forecast, a gap will be created by 2028 if no new investments are made. The majority of reserves are in the remote north-west. The review will also aim to preserve Australia's reputation as an important reliable exporter of LNG. The market regulations are being reviewed. They include export controls, an east...

These are the most popular stories from the Wall Street Journal. These stories have not been verified and we cannot vouch their accuracy. Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos has spoken to U.S. president Donald Trump at least two times this month, as he attempts to take advantage of a rivalry between SpaceX founder Elon Mush and Trump to bag more government contracts. Shell denied that it had approached BP and was involved in negotiations for the largest oil deal of a generation. Conagra Brands is removing certified colors for food, drugs and cosmetics from its U.S. frozen products portfolio by...

The London Metal Exchange (LME) and Shanghai Futures Exchange (SFE) saw a decline in copper prices on Wednesday, as the potential U.S. tariff on copper signaled the end of a long-running arbitrage trade which had pulled the metal off global markets. The COMEX Copper Futures rose more than 12% on Tuesday to a new record high. The U.S. Secretary of Commerce, Howard Lutnick, said that tariffs would be likely in place before the end July or August. The LME's three-month contract for copper fell by 1.35% at $9,658 a metric ton as of 0700 GMT. On the SHFE, the most...

Viceroy Research, a U.S. firm, has taken a short-position against Vedanta Resource, the UK-based parent company of Indian miner Vedanta. Viceroy Research claims that Vedanta is "systematically draining its Indian unit". Vedanta is planning to split up into separate listed entities. Anil Agarwal, Group Chairman of Vedanta, launched the plan to revamp the business in 2023 after an unsuccessful attempt to take Vedanta Private in 2020. Vedanta Resources announced in June 2024 it would seek to reduce its debt by $3 billion over the next three years. Viceroy Research, a short seller, said that the entire group structure was financially...

The London Metal Exchange (LME) and Shanghai Futures Exchange (SFE) saw a drop in copper prices on Wednesday. Traders may have not had enough time to send much to the United States after Trump's announcement on Tuesday of a 50% tariff on imported copper. The LME's three-month copper fell by 0.57%, to $9,735 a metric ton, at 0109 GMT. On the SHFE, the most traded copper contract dropped by 0.49%, to 79.090 yuan per ton. U.S. President Donald Trump announced he would announce a 50% duty on copper on February 2, hoping to boost U.S. manufacturing of a critical metal...

Copper prices held steady on Tuesday. Supported by a lower US dollar, gains were limited by concerns about an economic slowdown, demand growth, and the tariffs imposed by U.S. president Donald Trump, as well as rising inventories. The benchmark copper price on the London Metal Exchange was up by 0.1% to $9,835 per metric ton, at 1030 GMT, towards the recent three-month high reached last week of $10,020.50 per ton. Dollar-priced materials have become cheaper due to the falling dollar. This could boost demand for industrial metals, such as copper. On Monday, the United States announced new tariffs of 25%...

Rio Tinto's next CEO, who may be named as early as this month by the company, should be open for mergers and acquisitions that are transformative, as well as for cost-cutting and productivity improvements. After announcing in May that Jakob Stausholm was stepping down after four and a half years, the world's largest iron ore mining company is now in the final stages of selecting a new CEO through an internal search and an external search. Two other sources familiarized with the search process said that the finalist for the top position will present their case to the board this...

Prices of copper and other base materials fell on Monday, as President Donald Trump announced that the United States is close to finalising a number of trade agreements in the next few days. Trump announced that the U.S. would notify other countries by July 9 of increased tariff rates, which will take effect August 1. Trump has also threatened to impose an additional 10% tariff against nations that align with the "anti American" policies of the BRICS Group of developing nations. By 0947 GMT, the LME's three-month contract for copper had slipped 0.7% to $9 798 per metric tonne. The...

The Shanghai Futures Exchange (SFE) and London Metal Exchange (LME) saw copper prices fall on Monday due to concerns about U.S.-China trade negotiations, and the uncertainty around potential tariffs before President Trump's deadline of July 9. The LME's three-month contract for copper fell by 0.31% at $9,834 a metric ton as of 0103 GMT, and the SHFE's most traded contract lost 0.91%, to 79440 yuan (about $11,088.00). Donald Trump, the President of the United States, said that the U.S. was close to finalising a number of trade agreements. He will inform about a dozen other countries on Monday that they...

Copper prices fell on Friday, as attention shifted to President Donald Trump’s July 9 deadline for imposing tariffs on countries who have not yet signed trade agreements. The benchmark copper price on the London Metal Exchange was $9,875 per metric ton as of 1017 GMT. It had earlier reached a three-month peak at $10,020.5 per ton. Traders said volumes are low and will likely remain that way due to the Independence Day holiday on July 4 in the United States. Trump announced that his administration would begin sending letters to 10-12 countries later on Friday informing them about the tariff...

The London Metal Exchange and Shanghai Futures Exchange saw copper prices fall from their multi-month highs, although SHFE copper posted a gain for the week, as traders waited to see if U.S. import tariffs would be imposed. The price of three-month copper at the London Metal Exchange fell by 1.06%, to $9,848.5 a metric ton, as of 0736 GMT. This was a decline of 0.31% for the entire week. The SHFE's most traded copper contract fell 1.28%, to 79.730 yuan (11,128.17), but posted a second consecutive weekly gain of 0.54%. The fundamentals of the market haven't changed much. China's copper...

Copper prices fell on Thursday, as traders and funds profited from long positions in anticipation of the U.S. jobs data which could influence the direction of interest rates and dollar. By 1032 GMT the benchmark copper price on London Metal Exchange had fallen by 0.2% to $9,994 per metric tonne, after reaching a high of $10 020.50 for three months on Wednesday. The volume of trading was low ahead of the U.S. monthly employment report for June. The data is due on Thursday and should show a slight increase in unemployment. Weak growth numbers could cause concern about U.S. economic...

The London Metal Exchange (LME) and Shanghai Futures Exchange (SFE) both held copper near its highest level since late March. This was due to concerns about a tight supply in the region and an increase in shipments to the U.S., as traders rush to avoid potential import tariffs. As of 0103 GMT the LME's three-month copper contract was unchanged at $10,05 per metric tonne, but it hovered close to its highest level since March 26. The SHFE's most traded copper contract gained 0.27%, to 80,840 Yuan ($11285.77). This is its highest level since March 27. The United States may decide...

Doctor Copper isn't the same as it was before Donald Trump, President of the United States, announced an investigation in February into U.S. imported products. Tariff trade has thrown the global supply chain into disarray, causing a feast in the U.S. but famine elsewhere. London Metal Exchange (LME), copper is expected to close the first half with a gain 12%. Only the wild tin markets will beat it. However, the rest of the LME is still reeling from Trump's "Liberation Day", broader tariffs. The precious metals have been boosted by geopolitical turmoil and trade, but the industrial metals are still...