Western Europe

Alberta landowners have filed a lawsuit to argue that the energy regulator of the province has knowingly and chronically underfunded a program designed to protect the public against the costs of cleaning abandoned oil and natural gas wells. The legal action is a culmination of years' simmering tensions between farmers, ranchers, and oil and natural gas producers in Canada’s largest energy-producing province. This province has struggled with thousands of "orphan" or "wild" wells which dot the rural landscape of Alberta. The Alberta Energy Regulator is being questioned about its willingness to enforce environmental rules at a moment when the Canadian...

Interfax reported that Kazakhstan's Ministry of Justice suspended enforcement proceedings against the North Caspian Operating Company, which operates the Kashagan Oil Field. NCOC is a joint-venture between Shell, TotalEnergies,?ExxonMobil, and China's CNPC. It runs Kazakhstan's 'offshore Kashagan' field. It did not respond immediately to a request for comment. NCOC is embroiled in a long-running?legal dispute with the Kazakh Government, who accuses NCOC of?environmental violation related to sulphur storing, and ordered NCOC pay a large penalty. NCOC and its contractors have rejected the fine, as well as the allegations that led to it. The case is now being heard by international...

TotalEnergies announced on Monday that it had cleared a number of?commercial and contractual hurdles in its Papua LNG Project, bringing the project closer to a decision. The French energy giant said that it had completed the tendering process for the engineering, procurement, and construction work of liquefied gas facilities. Contracts are now awaiting approval from its joint-venture partners. TotalEnergies reported that by rebidding?contracts and optimising project design, they have been able to save close to $4 billion in costs since 2024. This has brought down the capital spending?to?around $14 billion. ExxonMobil already operates the nearby PNG LNG plant. The company...

The deputy prime minister of Italy suggested that banks and energy companies be prepared to accelerate tax payments in order to boost the public finances, without an official tax increase. Antonio Tajani, a?also?Italy’s Foreign Minister, said that the additional support could help fund next year’s budget, as well as any other measures to shield consumers from high energy costs. Tajani told reporters at the annual TEHA business forum that any policy should be modeled after the agreement Italy reached with banks and insurance companies last year to advance taxes to the state. He said, "It's only fair to tax the...

Owner?Aliko?Dangote announced on Thursday that the initial public offering (IPO) of Nigeria's Dangote refinery, the largest in Africa, would open within the next 10 to 12 days. "Our dream is to double the capacity of our refinery, which would take us up to 1.4 millions barrels per day." Dangote, who was visiting Botswana in Southern Africa, told investors and analysts that the IPO would open within 10-12 days. The African richest man's refinery is expected to try to raise $5 billion, which could be the largest IPO on the continent. Dangote does not reveal refinery margins. However, the industry has...

Maria Corina Machado, Nobel Peace Prize winner and opposition leader, said in a video on Thursday that only a "serious democratic government" could provide investors with the stability they need. In a signing event overseen by Delcy Rodrguez, interim president of the United States and Chris Wright, U.S. Secretary of Energy, international energy firms committed to expanding their projects in the country on 'Wednesday. Eni, GE Vernova, and Chevron are among the companies that have signed agreements to revive Venezuela's oil industry. The country produces only about 1.25 million barrels of crude oil per day, a far cry from its...

British government bond yields reached new 18-year-highs on Wednesday, following a global sell-off in response to the latest escalation of Iran's war. This added to the challenge faced by finance minister John Healey as he prepares his first budget. The yield on the 10-year gilts reached its highest level since June 2008. It hit 5,268% shortly after 7am GMT, an increase of about 4 basis point on?the day. This is on top of a 15-bps rise on Tuesday. Investors are worried about the inflationary effect of the rising oil prices due to the return of the Gulf conflict. The increase...

People familiar with the plant's operations reported that Valero Energy Corporation's Port Arthur refinery, which produces 385,000 barrels per day (bpd), suffered a partial blackout on Tuesday night due to Tropical Storm Edouard. Sources said that the refinery's smaller AVU 147 crude distillation units were shut down due to the power outage at the south end of the plant. The larger AVU 146 CDUs were operating on minimum crude processing levels. CDUs start the fuel production process by breaking crude oil down into feedstocks that are used in the units which make gasoline, diesel, lubricating oil, and feedstocks to make...

The music publishing divisions of Sony Music 'and 'Warner Music sued Anthropic at the federal court in California for allegedly using their copyrighted compositions as a basis to train Claude AI models. Sony and Warner stated in their complaint filed on Friday that Anthropic had pirated hundreds song lyrics and sheet songs from The Beatles to Taylor Swift to Michael Jackson to train Claude to respond to human prompts. This lawsuit is part of a series of similar cases filed by copyright holders, including publishers, authors, music labels, and news outlets, against tech companies for using their work in AI...

Niger's military regained the control of an important military airbase after a day-long mutiny by soldiers. This is the latest challenge for military ruler Abdourahamane Tiani, as his government struggles to contain insurgent jihadists. The attack highlighted tensions in Niger's armed services, who have repeatedly suffered battlefield losses fighting West Africa's al Qaeda affiliates and Islamic State. Early Saturday morning, gunfire and explosions echoed throughout Niamey. This included the area around the military base and the presidential palace. On Sunday, three security sources said that the government forces had retaken Niamey's airbase following hours of fighting. Residents reported that the...

Niger has regained control over a major military airbase located in Niamey, following an attack on Saturday by mutinous troops. This is the latest challenge for military ruler Abdourahamane Tiani in his struggle to contain the jihadist insurgency. The attack revealed tensions in Niger's armed services, who have repeatedly suffered battlefield losses fighting West Africa's al Qaeda affiliates and Islamic State. Early Saturday morning, gunfire and explosions erupted in Niamey. This included the military airbase as well as the area around the presidential palace. The airbase, located in the same complex of Niamey’s civilian airport, is home to military aircraft,...

Canada's Alimentation "Couche-Tard" announced on Wednesday that it was launching a voluntary offer for all the shares of Polish convenience-store chain Zabka, at 32 zlotys per share. This is in line with their earlier plans. The offer is expected to run until September 25 and is 2.3% above Zabka's last closing price on the Warsaw stock exchange of 31.28 Zlotys. It values the company at approximately 32.6 billion Zlotys (approximately $8.8 bn). Couche-Tard announced in 'July' that it would buy Zabka, the Canadian convenience store operator’s largest deal to date. Last year, they had rejected a $46 Billion offer for...

Investors were cautious on Tuesday due to escalating tensions in the Middle East, and higher oil prices. Novartis also suffered its biggest one-day drop in history after reporting another setback in its drug development pipeline. The pan-European STOXX 600 fell 0.05% to 649.6. Novartis' 10.9% drop in the benchmark Swiss index weighed on the overall index, which fell by 1.6%. Novartis, the Swiss drugmaker, was the largest faller in the STOXX 600 index after it announced that its experimental treatment of a muscle-wasting condition had failed a late-stage study. News of the failure came just a day after Novartis revealed...

EU regulators are about to issue a warning to Hong Kong listed mining and metals company MMG regarding its plans to purchase 'Anglo American’s Brazilian nickel business due to 'competition concerns. This move reflects the growing concern of the European Union about its reliance on China to supply critical minerals for defence, technology, and renewable energy. Beijing also uses export control measures?on these critical mineral supplies. According to the people, the European Commission, acting as the EU's "competition enforcer", is planning to send this month a document known as a "statement of objections" or "charge sheet", which will outline the...

The 'price of copper' continued to rise on Tuesday. It reached a record high on speculative purchases on the backs of tight supply outside the U.S. and weak mine production. In open-outcry official trading, three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange rose 1.3% to $14,503 per metric ton, breaking the previous record. LME copper is up 18% in this year. This is largely because a large amount of metal has been moving to the U.S., anticipating?tariffs to be imposed on refined copper. Alice Fox, an analyst at Macquarie, stated that falling inventories outside of the U.S. - including in China...

Solvay, a Belgian chemicals company, is currently in discussions with One Investment Management regarding a possible strategic partnership for its rare earths division. Solvay announced this on Tuesday. OneIM, led by Rajeev Misra (former SoftBank executive), would gain exposure to rare-earths processing. This would complement its existing investments in this sector, which is dominated primarily by China. Sources with knowledge of the situation said that Solvay has been in talks with OneIM about Solvay’s rare earths operations since March. The West is looking to reduce its reliance on China as a supplier of rare earth minerals. These minerals are essential...

EU regulators will warn the?Hong Kong listed mining and metals?MMG about its plans to purchase Anglo American's Brazilian Nickel business? based on competition concerns?, according to three people familiar with this matter. This step is a reflection of the growing concern in Europe about China's export controls on vital minerals that are essential to renewable energy, defence and technology. According to the people, the European Commission, which is the EU's competition enforcer is about to issue a "statement of objections" or a "charge sheet",?outlining the concerns and issues that need to be addressed before the deal can be approved. The?people...

Solvay, a Belgian chemicals company, is currently in discussions with One Investment Management regarding a possible strategic partnership for its rare earths division. Solvay announced this on Tuesday. OneIM, led by former SoftBank executive Rajeev Mitra, would gain exposure to 'rare earths processing. This deal would complement its existing investments in this sector, which is dominated primarily by China. Sources with knowledge of the situation said that Solvay has been in talks with OneIM about Solvay’s rare earths operations since March. Rare earth minerals play a crucial role in the energy transition and electronics industries. The West is looking to...

A document seen by revealed that some?key developers of critical minerals projects selected by the EU had called for urgent financing. It said?liquidity restrictions may put others in danger and?limit its ability to reduce its dependency on China. After Beijing placed export controls on critical minerals for energy transition, electronic and defence, the?European?Union selected 47 projects in Europe last March and 13 others outside the bloc by June 2025. In an "Urgent Action Call", 23 of 60 projects stated that "the goal must be to unlock urgently projects, especially those working towards a final investment decision who face acute liquidity...

The dollar was weaker on Monday and the prospects of shortages outside the U.S. boosted the price of copper. The traders said that the U.S. holiday meant volumes would be muted and that they were focusing on copper and zinc. The benchmark copper price on the London Metal Exchange was 0.2% higher, at $14.443 per metric ton. It reached $14,467 earlier in trade, its highest level since January's all-time high of $14,527.50. Since President Donald Trump proposed import tariffs last February, traders and producers have shipped large amounts of copper to the U.S. Comex copper stock levels are at a...

Volkswagen announced on Monday a preliminary agreement that will see one of its German plants switch over to defense production. This is a major step in the automaker’s effort to restructure factories struggling to compete against lower-cost Chinese competitors. The deal could be a blueprint for other Volkswagen plants facing an uncertain future, as Europe's biggest carmaker embarks upon its largest ever restructuring in order to revive margins while combating chronic overcapacity on its stagnant European markets. Volkswagen, under the initial terms of this deal, will sell its Osnabrueck factory to Israel's Aurelius Capital, and Volkswagen's own state of Lower...

Volkswagen shares reached a?11-week peak after the supervisory board of Europe's biggest automaker late Thursday struck?an ambitious turn around agreement that focused on sweeping cuts in jobs and avoided a conflict between major stakeholders. The agreement on the largest restructuring in the group’s 89-year-old history includes another 50,000 job reductions, bringing the agreed total to 100,000. It also leaves the future of four German plants open. Volkswagen is also under pressure, along with most of its European counterparts, from the 'painful tariffs' in the United States and the falling sales in China, a former cash cow, as well as aggressive...

African Rainbow Minerals posted a %19% increase in its annual profit on Friday, as higher platinum group metals prices helped offset lower incomes from its coal and iron ore divisions. The South African mining company's earnings for the year ended 30 June were 3.201 billion rand, compared to 2.695 billion. ARM announced that it would pay a final share dividend of 7 Rand, compared to 6 Rand per share in the previous year. After metal prices increased by more than 50%, the company's PGM operation returned to a?profit. The headline earnings were 1.345 billion Rands, compared with last year's loss...

A record low smelter treatment term, a year of underperformance by mines and a scramble to get metal at the London Metal Exchange. If you think this is the description of the copper markets, then think again. Zinc is under pressure now, even though copper may face a structural shortage in the future. LME zinc for three months hit a four-year-high of $3,990 per ton on Monday. LME stocks have remained low throughout the year. The registered inventory is 100,525?tons but nearly a third are in the form?cancelled warrants? awaiting physical loading-out. The time-spreads will be emphasized in a similar...