Australia shares are up as lithium miners shine but tech stocks hold gains.
The benchmark index of Australian shares rose a little bit on Wednesday, as lithium stocks led the rally in commodities stocks. A slump in technology stocks dampened the gains. By 2352 GMT, the S&P/ASX 200 Index rose by 0.2% to 8,836.90. The benchmark index ended Tuesday 0.2% lower. Copper prices have pushed domestic miners to their highest levels since October 22. Mineral Resources, a lithium miner, also gave the sub-index a boost. Its stock rose 10.8% and reached its highest level since 10 October 2024.
TotalEnergies and Petronas get the green light for exploration in Guyana
TotalEnergies and Petronas are oil producers who have signed an agreement for five years with the Guyana government to explore shallow-water blocks, officials and executives of both companies said on Tuesday. Guyana is struggling to diversify its industry. Its energy sector is currently dominated by an Exxon Mobil-led consortium, which controls all oil and gas production since Guyana became a producer of crude oil in 2019. Block S4, which is located between 50 and 100 km (between 30 and 60 miles) off the coast of Guyana…
Gulf Interconnection Authority invests $3.5 billion to become regional hub for electricity export
The GCC Power Grid, which connects six Gulf States, will invest over $3.5 billion in the next 10 year to strengthen the grid and integrate renewable resources, as well as to open up new export opportunities for neighbouring countries. This was revealed by the head of GCCIA, the grid operator, on Tuesday. Ahmed Al-Ebrahim CEO of the Gulf Cooperation Council Interconnection Authority said that the GCC grid will connect to Iraq in April next year, which is its first external connection outside the region.
Spot price expected to be affected by strong German wind output
The European spot electricity prices are expected to drop on Tuesday as the wind power supply is expected to increase and demand in France will fall during Armistice Day, November 11. The French and German contracts remained untraded as of 0846 GMT. According to LSEG, the French contract had a range of bids and offers between 15 euros ($15.16), and 24 euros, per megawatt hour. The data revealed that the closing prices for Monday in France were 49.10 euro/MWh and in Germany 109.90 euro/MWh.
ExxonMobil to join gas exploration project in the Greek Sea
ExxonMobil, a U.S. oil company, has signed an agreement with Energean Energy and Helleniq Energy for the exploration of natural gas off Greece's coast. The companies announced this on Thursday. ExxonMobil's global exploration head, John Ardill, said that if everything goes according to plan, it expects the first gas to be produced from Block 2 in western Greece by the early 2030s. He said that the Exxon project would require between $50 and $100 million in investment. Exxon will own 60% of the project, and become operator in case test drilling is successful.
Targa Resources beats profit estimates on record Permian volumes, boosts dividend
Targa Resources, the pipeline operator, beat expectations for its third-quarter core profit adjusted on Wednesday. This was boosted by record volumes of natural gas and liquids from the Permian Basin. The company announced that it would increase its dividends by 25%, to $5 per share, in 2026. Midstream companies in the United States, such as Targa, and Kinder Morgan, are benefiting by a boom in oil and natural gas production, as well a rising demand for natgas from LNG export facilities…
Chevron is nearing a final greenlight on the expansion of Israel's Leviathan Gas Field
Chevron said that it is close to making a final decision on a possible capacity expansion for the Leviathan field, located off Israel's Mediterranean Coast. NewMed, Chevron’s partner in this field, said that in August partners in the Leviathan gas field signed a $35 billion deal, the largest in Israel’s history for gas exports to Egypt. This was mainly done via new pipelines. The deal will ease Egypt's energy crisis. Egypt has spent billions on imported liquefied gas because its own supply fell short of the demand.
How BP won a $1 billion plus case against Venture Global
Five sources familiar with the case said that BP's $1 billion arbitration win against liquefied gas producer Venture Global was won by arguing unfair behavior by the U.S. firm. This strategy could be used in similar cases by other claimants. BP won in October. Two months earlier, Shell had lost a similar lawsuit when it was unable to prove Venture Global's breach of long-term LNG agreements. Shell didn't push the argument that Venture Global acted unfairly in its arbitration.
DESFA Secures €169.3m for Carbon Storage, Pipeline Project
Greek gas operator DESFA, 66%-owned by a consortium led by Italy's Snam, said on Monday it had secured 169.3 million euros from the European Union's Innovation Fund for its carbon storage and pipeline project."The project includes a CO2 liquefaction, temporary storage and export facility at Revithoussa, transforming the existing LNG terminal into a dual-purpose hub for LNG regasification and CO₂ liquefaction," DESFA said in a statement."Recognised as a Project of Common Interest, it will connect CO2 capture facilities with domestic and regional storage sites, incl
French and Benelux stocks: Factors to watch
Here are some company news and stories that could impact the markets and individual stocks in France and Benelux. EURAZEO: French Private Equity firm Eurazeo completed the sale of CPK Group, which generated around 240 millions euros in gross proceeds. GTT: French specialist in LNG containment systems GTT reported a nine-month revenue totaling 599.6 millions euros. The company raised its revenue guidance for 2025 to 790-820million euros, and EBITDA to 530-550million euros.
BP Indonesia imports fuel from Pertamina to replenish after a shortage, the company reports.
BP's Indonesian fuel station operator said that it imported base fuel through a unit of Indonesian state energy company Pertamina. This was to replenish supplies following a shortage which has been plaguing private retailers in Southeast Asia’s largest economy. BP Indonesia, BP-AKR and Shell have both reported that they are experiencing inventory shortages of certain gasoline products. This has been happening since late August. BP-AKR stated that it imported base fuels for some of its gasoline via Pertamina Patra Niaga, the retail unit of Pertamina.
Ecopetrol and Petrobras announce joint-venture to market natural gas from Colombia’s Sirius Project
Ecopetrol, Colombia's energy company run by the state and Petrobras, Brazil's oil firm owned by the state, announced a partnership on Thursday for a joint marketing of natural gases from Colombia's Sirius Project. Ecopetrol owns 55.6% of the Sirius block, Petrobras holds the remaining 44.4%, and is the operator for the project. The project is estimated to have 6 billion cubic feet and an investment of $5 billion. It will begin operating between 2029 and 3030.
Malaysia shifts from coal to a mix of solar, gas and electricity
Malaysia will shift away from coal and focus on solar power, said the CEO of the state utility Tenaga Nasional on Wednesday. He added that using renewable sources would keep costs low. Southeast Asia's 35 million-strong nation has increased its coal-fired fleet in order to lower electricity costs. However, it plans to increase the use of solar and natural gas - with the latter being cheaper but the former more flexible. Solar is cheaper per unit than coal and gas.
French and Benelux stocks: Factors to watch
Here are some company news and stories that could impact the markets in France and Benelux or even individual stocks. Aedifica: The healthcare real estate company Aedifica announced that its nine-month rental revenue rose by 8%, to 271.8 millions euros. It also raised the EPRA estimate for earnings per share in full-year to 5.10 euros. ASM INTERNATIONAL Semiconductor Equipment Maker ASM International reported Q3 revenues of 800 million euro with a net income of 384.1 millions euros. Orders totaled 636.8million euros.
ONEOK reports higher third-quarter profits as acquisitions payoff
ONEOK, the U.S. oil and gas pipeline operator, reported a higher profit in the third quarter on Tuesday. This was due to the robust volumes in Rocky Mountain Region as well as the effect of a number of acquisitions. ONEOK has diversified its portfolio over the last two years through acquisitions, including a Gulf Coast NGL pipe system from Easton Energy as well as Medallion Midstream, EnLink Midstream, and Medallion Midstream. ONEOK acquired the remaining 49.9% of NGP XI Midstream Holdings' stake in the Delaware Basin Joint Venture in June for $940 million.
Cygnet Energy acquires Kiwetinohk for $1 billion
The companies announced on Tuesday that Cygnet Energy, a privately held company, will purchase Kiwetinohk Energy for C$1.4 billion, including debt. This deal creates a larger Montney-Duvernay operator. Montney and Duvernay in Alberta are Canada's most prolific oil and gas shale plays. They have driven much of the recent growth in production and investment in western Canada. Cenovus Energy, Strathcona Resources and MEG Energy engaged in a battle to take over MEG Energy earlier this year.
DET assigns Brunsbuettel regasification slot for LNG in 2026
Deutsche Energy Terminal announced on Tuesday that it had auctioned all of the regasification slots offered for the Brunsbuettel LNG terminal for the period January 2, 2019 to May 26, 2019. Since 2022, Europe's imports of Russian pipeline gas have dropped sharply. The European Union has also decided to stop relying on Russian fossil fuels in 2027. For seaborne LNG, where the gas is fed to onshore pipeline networks after regasification. At various coastal locations, floating storage and regasification (FSRU) units were constructed.
German Spot Falls as High Wind Output Continues
The German spot price of power for Tuesday dropped as the already high wind output was expected rise again and outweigh demand. In contrast, France's spot price rose as wind supply was falling and demand was increasing. LSEG data shows that the German day-ahead contract at 0836 GMT was 65.50 Euros ($76.39 per megawatt hour), down 4.2% on Monday's price. Data showed that the French equivalent is 54.75 euros/MWh - a 14.8% increase on the price paid Monday. According to LSEG analyst Naser Hachemi, the German demand will pick up during the first six-hours of Tuesday.
Petrofac files for bankruptcy after losing major Dutch wind-contract
Petrofac, a provider of oilfield services in the Netherlands, said it had applied to the High Court of England and Wales for the appointment of administrators following the termination of TenneT’s involvement in an offshore wind project. The Dutch-German electricity grid operator TenneT awarded Petrofac & Hitachi Energy a contract worth 13 billion euros ($15.16billion) in 2023 to deliver six 2 gigawatts offshore grid connection projects. TenneT announced…
TotalEnergies, in partnership with partners, lifts force majeure on the $20 billion Mozambique Liquefied Natural Gas project
TotalEnergies, a French oil company, announced that it had lifted the force majeure for its $20 billion Mozambique Gas project with project partners. This comes four years after a militant Islamist attack halted construction. TotalEnergies' press officer confirmed that a letter was sent on Friday to the Mozambican Government. However, the company stated that the project will only be relaunched after the government has approved a revised budget and schedule.