Brazil's key sugar production between the center and south is forecast to reach 40.5 million metric tons in 2026/27
Hedgepoint Global Markets reported on Tuesday that sugar production in Brazil's center-south region is expected to reach 40.5 million metric tons in the new season 2026/27, the same as the previous one, despite a lower?amount being destined to?making sweetener. Hedgepoint stated that the sugarcane crop will grow from 610 to 630 millions tons. This means a stable sugar production. Sugar prices are nearing five-year lows in New York, which has led mills to divert sugarcane to ethanol production and less sugar. Hedgepoint expects global sugar surpluses to reach 3.4 million tonne in the next season (October-September), compared to the 2.8 million tonne in the previous cycle.
Kazakh Kashagan oil field operators file arbitration for $4.6 billion fine
Shell, TotalEnergies, Eni and other shareholders in Kazakhstan's Kashagan oilfield, have begun arbitration proceedings to challenge a $4.6 billion environmental fine for 2023, according to a Shell spokesperson. This is the latest in an ever-growing web of legal disputes involving the hydrocarbon industry in Kazakhstan. Kazakhstan's government fined NCOC, a consortium of gas processing companies in Kashagan, 2.3 trillion Tenge ($5.4 billion) for environmental violations. This was a result of an inspection conducted the previous year. The authorities had claimed to have found excessive amounts of poisonous sulphur.
Cubans use solar power to fight blackouts as US tightens its grip on oil
Cubans scramble to install solar panels in their homes, businesses and vehicles as Washington prevents oil from reaching the Caribbean’s largest island. This contributes to electricity generation shortfalls. U.S. sanctions, a deep recession and the economic crisis in Venezuela have made it difficult for the government to buy enough fuel. A recent 'drought' of shipments due to U.S. sanctions has also caused a?drought? in Mexico and Venezuela. Tariff threats have worsened the existing shortages. Cuban government has installed solar power of up to 1,000 megawatts in the last year with the help of Chinese funding and equipment donated.
Zeo Energy signs agreement to develop 280MW of power for Creekstone Data Center in Utah
Zeo Energy announced on Wednesday that it had'signed a Memorandum of Understanding' with privately-held Creekstone Energy for the development of 280 megawatts worth of power generation to be used in a data center currently under construction in Millard County. U.S. utilities, as well as independent power developers, are racing to meet the surging demand for electricity from data centres. These centers are growing rapidly to support workloads related artificial intelligence. The increasing data-center load has also pushed utilities to speed up grid upgrades. Tighter regional supply has increased wholesale power prices, and intensified the competition for generation projects.
EDF's costs are higher due to oversupply of electricity
EDF, the French nuclear operator, said that it would have to increase its maintenance costs by around 1.5 million euros to 3.75 millions euros per year because it has to reduce power in 'its nuclear reactors' to a'respond to an increased electricity supply and a slow demand. Around 70% of French power comes from nuclear energy, which accounts for about half of the state-owned EDF revenue. However, the recent addition of solar power has changed the way nuclear reactors are operated. EDF stated that the increase in renewable energy led to a "fundamental" change in the way it modulates its production.
Andy Home, Andy Home: The US and Canada are now working together to secure critical minerals.
The U.S. president Donald Trump just announced "Project Vault", an $12 billion stockpile of critical minerals intended to protect U.S. manufacturing companies from disruptions in supply. The U.S. will need help to fill the Vault with 60 minerals that are currently classified as "critical". The U.S. is reviving friend-shoring as it seeks to form a metal alliance with China to break its stranglehold on the metals at the heart of modern technology. The U.S. is more popular than ever. At the ministerial gathering on "critical minerals" in Washington, DC, held on February 4, 54 countries were present.
Andy Home, Andy Home: The US and Canada are now working together to secure critical minerals.
The U.S. president Donald Trump just announced "Project Vault", an $12 billion stockpile of critical minerals intended to protect U.S. manufacturing companies from disruptions in supply. The U.S. will need help to fill up the Vault's 60 critical minerals. The friend-shoring game is back and with a vengeance. As the U.S. tries to build a metal alliance to loosen China’s grip on the metals at the core of modern technology. The U.S. has more friends now than ever. At the February 4th ministerial conference on critical minerals, 54 countries were present. 11 new bilateral agreements?and? a trilateral agreement between the European Union and Japan have been signed.
Salzgitter takes over HKM Steel joint venture to end conflict with Thyssenkrupp
Germany's Salzgitter announced on Friday that it would buy out all the shareholders of the steel joint venture HKM, becoming the sole owner of the company by mid-2026. This could end a dispute between Thyssenkrupp and Salzgitter over the future of this ailing business. It could be the solution to end years of uncertainty for the struggling company, which employs 3,000'staff. This could also be a way to remove a barrier in Thyssenkrupp’s ongoing discussions to sell TKSE India’s Jindal Steel International. The agreement is an important milestone...it puts Thyssenkrupp on a level keel for the future, said TKSE CEO Marie Jaroni.
Germany's Uniper stresses diversification and downplays the increasing reliance on US Liquefied Natural Gas
DOHA, February 4 - The top executive of a German utility Uniper played down European concerns about the growing dependence on liquefied gas from?the United States while he emphasized the need for diversification in supply sources. The pursuit by President Donald Trump of "energy dominance", has increased European concerns over the heavy reliance on U.S. LNG. This has replaced volumes previously provided by Russia. Data from analytics firm Kpler revealed that U.S. imports of LNG by the European Union increased more than fourfold between 2021 and 2025 to reach nearly 60 million tonnes.
Germany's Uniper stresses diversification and downplays the increasing reliance on US Liquefied Natural Gas
DOHA, February 4 - A top executive of German utility Uniper played down European concerns about increasing reliance on liquefied gas (LNG), which is imported from the United States. He said that companies sign contracts with 'firms, not governments', and stressed the importance of diversification. The transactional diplomacy of U.S. president Donald Trump and his pursuit to "energy dominate" have heightened European concerns over their heavy dependence on U.S. LNG. This has replaced the majority of volumes previously supplied by Russia. According to Kpler, the European Union's LNG exports from the U.S. will reach almost 60 million tonnes in 2025.
Australia and Timor call for progress on Greater Sunrise Gas Field
On Wednesday, East Timor's Xanana Gushmao and Australia's Anthony Albanese said that the Greater Sunrise -gas project should begin "as quickly as possible" with Australia pledging a third of state revenues to its neighbour. Albanese signed a partnership agreement on Wednesday with Gusmao, during his first visit to Australia's northern neighbor. The agreement covers deeper defence ties, border security, and economic development. The visit coincides with the tiny Catholic nation's?push to build a Liquefied Natural Gas plant on its southern coast, instead of?piping gas to an Australian plant in Darwin.
Lithuanian president: Joint security agreement could end Greenland dispute
Gitanas Nuseda, the Lithuanian president, said that an agreement on the sharing of responsibility for security in the 'Arctic and North Atlantic' could be a solution to the standoff between Europe and the United States over Greenland. Nauseda said in an interview at the World Economic Forum annual meeting, that the Greenland dispute was overshadowing and playing into Russia’s hands the war in Ukraine. She urged Washington de-escalate the tensions. The best outcome for the Arctic and North Atlantic regions would be to just agree on a common responsibility. Is it achievable? U.S.
FEATURE-AI data explosion in Mexico fuels rise of dirty energy
The country's power infrastructure is overloaded and pollution has increased due to the shortfall in green power, despite promises by government and industry to increase capacity. The data centers are huge warehouses that are the size of Olympic stadiums. They sprawl over industrial parks and house hundreds of servers, which consume a lot of energy. These servers power the most powerful technology companies, like Microsoft, Google, and Amazon. The report stated that while Microsoft waits for the connection to Mexico's struggling power grid, it uses seven natural gas generators to provide 10.5 megawatts per year.
Venture Global responds to Shell's fraudulent claims in LNG arbitration
Venture Global responded late Tuesday night to Shell's legal challenge over the oil major losing an arbitration case involving liquefied gas cargoes. They rejected Shell's allegations of fraud and accused Shell of violating arbitration confidentiality. The legal documents filed in New York Supreme Court are the latest in a long saga about Venture Global's alleged failure to deliver LNG in accordance with long-term contracts, while selling LNG on the spot market at a time when prices were soaring after Russia's invasion in Ukraine. Shell, BP and Edison are among the companies that have filed arbitration cases against Venture Global. These claims will begin in 2023.
AI data explosion in Mexico fuels growth in dirty energy
The lack of green power, despite promises by government and industry to increase capacity, has overloaded and increased local pollution. Masheika Allgood is the founder of AllAI Consulting. She provides information on data center environmental impacts. The data centers are huge warehouses that are the size of Olympic stadiums. They sprawl over industrial parks and house hundreds of servers, which consume a lot of energy. These servers power the most powerful technology companies, including Microsoft, Google, and Amazon. The report stated that while Microsoft waits for the connection to Mexico's struggling power grid…
Australia announces rescue bid for Rio Tinto Tomago Aluminium Smelter
The Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, announced on Friday that a "rescue" effort would be launched to keep Australia's biggest aluminium smelter open, the struggling Tomago plant majority owned by Rio Tinto after its current energy contract expires 2028. The announcement comes after the company had warned in October of a possible closure for Tomago Aluminium. It employs more than 1,000 employees and 200 contractors. Albanese stated that aluminium was becoming a "vital product", making it vital to keep Tomago operating. He said that if Australia does not produce aluminium, the knock-on effects in other industries are significant.
After merger probe, UK watchdog orders Aramark divest Entier
The British Competition Watchdog ordered Aramark, a U.S. food services provider, to sell the offshore catering company Entier on Thursday. It ruled that this acquisition would harm competition in North Sea oil and natural gas platforms. After a?in-depth examination, the Competition and Markets Authority stated that the deal combined two of the only three major offshore caterers and facilities managers in the UK Continental Shelf. The company said that the merger completed by January 2025 could limit customer choice, increase prices and lower service quality.
China may require asset sales in the Rio Tinto-Glencore merge to win them over
The proposed tie-up of Rio?Tinto with Glencore may require asset sales in order to gain regulatory approval from China, the world's largest commodity buyer. China has long-standing concerns over resource security and market consolidation. Last week, the 'two mining giants' revealed that they are in early merger talks for the second year in a row. This could create the world’s largest mining company worth more than $200 billion. Analysts and lawyers say that the size of their sales in China will require approval from Beijing as has been done with past mining mega-deals, such as Glencore’s purchase of Xstrata for $35 billion back in 2013.
China may require asset sales in the Rio Tinto-Glencore merge to win them over
Rio Tinto and Glencore's proposed merger could require asset sales in order to gain regulatory approval from China, the world's largest commodity buyer. China has long-standing concerns over market concentration and resource security. Last week, the two mining giants announced that they are in early merger discussions for the second time within the last 'two' years. This could create the world’s largest mining company worth more than $200 billion. Analysts and lawyers say that the size of their sales in China will require approval from Beijing as has been done with past mining mega-deals, such as Glencore’s purchase of Xstrata for $35 billion back in 2013.
Equinor, a Norwegian company, awards ten-billion-dollar five-year contracts to suppliers
Equinor announced on Thursday that it had signed framework agreements with a group of suppliers worth 100 billion Norwegian crowns (9.93 billion dollars) for the maintenance and modification of its offshore?and onshore?installations. Aibel Group, Wood Group and IKM Group as well as Head Energy, Rosenberg Worley and Aker Solutions signed new five-year deals with the option to extend them by another three and two years. These deals replace those signed in 2016 with Aibel and Apply, Wood Group, Aker Solution, and Reinertsen, which expire in the month of March. Aker Solutions bought Reinertsen’s offshore business in 2017. Suppliers can benefit from the core business.