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.
Treasury: US grants license for oil and gas exploration in Venezuela
The?U.S. The?U.S. Washington has eased sanctions against Venezuela's oil industry that were first imposed by the United States in 2019. Since U.S. troops captured President Nicolas Maduro at the beginning of January, Washington has relaxed its sanctions. The government of interim president Delcy Rodriguez then agreed on a $2 billion oil deal with Washington. Oil drillers need U.S. approval to use specialized equipment and import rigs needed to?expand Venezuela's oil production…
In January, US LNG imports accounted for almost half of Spain’s gas supply.
Data released on Tuesday showed that liquefied natural gases from the United States accounted for 44.4% of Spain's total imports of gas in January. This is a significant increase from last year. As Europe tries to reduce its energy imports from Russia following the invasion of Ukraine, the U.S. is now the dominant LNG supplier. Tariffs and the President Donald Trump's move to take over Greenland have raised concern among some officials regarding the?growing dependence on U.S. Energy.
BP suspends share buybacks to reduce debt, sending shares down 7%
On Tuesday, BP suspended its share buybacks. It also took charges of about $4 billion on its renewables assets and biogas assets. This sent its shares down by 7% during afternoon trading. The oil major said that it will shift money from its buybacks into shrinking debt and refocusing investment in oil and natural gas projects, where it expects higher returns. Analysts at Berenberg were not surprised that buybacks have been removed…
Equinor, a Norwegian oil and gas company, plans to increase its international production by 2030.
Equinor’s international oil-and-gas portfolio will grow?in the coming years, as the Norwegian energy company targets a?sharply?increased?output abroad in 2030. Equinor produces oil and natural gas in seven other countries than Norway after recent divestment in Argentina. This is down from 12 in 2019. Equinor's goal is to increase overseas oil production from 730,000 barrels per day in 2025 to more than 900,000. This would be a 23% increase.
Sources say that Venezuela's Orinoco Belt is loosening, which helps to boost oil production to 1 million barrels per day.
Sources close to the operations reported that Venezuela's state-owned?oil firm PDVSA reversed the majority of output cuts in its own oilfields and joint ventures located along the Orinoco Belt. Total production has increased to close to one million barrels a day. OPEC member Venezuela was forced to reduce its crude production after Washington imposed an oil blockade in December in order to put pressure on Nicolas Maduro. Maduro's capture at the beginning of January resulted in the U.S.
Sources say that increased Orinoco Belt production boosts Venezuela's crude oil production to one million barrels per day.
Sources close to the operations of Venezuela's PDVSA state oil company said that the company reversed the majority?of its output cuts at its own oilfields and joint-ventures in the country's main?crude region – the Orinoco Belt – bringing the nation's production to close to one million barrels per a day (bpd). The OPEC nation had to reduce crude production, its main revenue source, after an oil blockade imposed by Washington in December to pressure President Nicolas Maduro.
Rosneft Oil Refinery Warns of US Sanctions
Management at a Russian-owned oil refinery in Germany have privately warned Berlin that U.S. sanctions are hurting its business and threatening fuel supply for the country's capital and the region, according to correspondence seen by Reuters.In a January letter, management of the PCK Schwedt refinery, controlled by Rosneft, made an "urgent appeal" to economy and energy minister Katherina Reiche to resolve a standoff with the United States over the refinery's future.The letter outlines escalating problems at the refinery…
TotalEnergies will provide solar energy to Google's Texas Data Centres
TotalEnergies, a French oil major, signed two long-term deals on Monday to supply solar energy to Google's Texas data centres. The company is looking to meet the rising demand for electricity driven by artificial intelligence. Two Texas sites owned by the group are expected to start construction in the second quarter. Total will be able to deliver 1 gigawatt - or?28 terawatt hours of renewable energy over 15 years. The company…
US takes on Chinese dominance in the race for African minerals
Diplomats, executives and analysts have said that the U.S. uses offtake agreements and state-backed financing to compete with China?in a short time frame? in order to secure supplies of African cobalt, copper and other essential minerals. Washington is focusing on Zambia, Guinea and the Democratic Republic of Congo. The Democratic Republic of the Congo is expected to produce 3.3 million tons of copper by 2024 and account for 70% of global cobalt supply. The U.S., instead of placing U.S.
Trump criticizes Olympic Skier for Comments about Representing US
U.S. president Donald Trump criticised American Olympic skier Hunter Hess, on Sunday. Days earlier, the athlete had expressed "mixed feelings" about representing the U.S. in the 'Winter Olympics' held in northern Italy. The presence of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement personnel at the Milano Cortina Olympics has sparked political tensions. After two agents in Minneapolis were shot and killed last month, the agency has faced protests all over the U.S.
Trump lashes out at Olympic skier for comments made about representing the US
Donald Trump, the President of the United States, criticised American Olympic skier Hunter Hess Sunday. This comes days after Hess expressed his mixed feelings about representing?the United States. The Winter Olympics are taking place in northern Italy. The presence of U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) personnel at the?Olympics in Milano Cortina has sparked political tensions. After agents killed two people in Minneapolis, the agency faced protests all over the U.S.
Tesla executives announce that the company is expanding its solar strategy to include more employees.
According to senior executives, Tesla is currently hiring to help support Elon Musk’s plan to become the largest U.S. manufacturer for solar energy components. The posts indicate that 'the company is implementing Musk's vision to set up 100 gigawatts domestic solar production. Musk announced this goal?last?month. Seth Winger wrote, "This is a bold, ambitious project," in one of many posts made by Tesla executives on LinkedIn. We need ambitious, audacious engineers and scientists who can help us scale up to a massive scale.
Tesla executives are hiring to support Musk’s solar expansion strategy
According to senior executives, Tesla is currently hiring to support Elon Musk’s recent announcement to become the largest U.S. producer of solar energy components. The posts indicate that 'the company is implementing Musk's vision to set up 100 gigawatts domestic solar production. Musk announced this goal?last? month. Seth Winger is Tesla's senior manager of solar product engineering. He wrote this in a LinkedIn post. We need ambitious, audacious engineers and scientists who can help us scale up massively.
US rooftop solar installers restructure, cut jobs as homeowner subsidies expire
Residential solar companies in the U.S. are preparing to see a sharp drop in their business after the expiration?of a federal tax credit which helped fuel more than a decade's rapid growth. This has led to layoffs, reorganizations and even some company failures. Under President Donald Trump's new tax reform, the 30% federal income tax credits for homeowners who buy rooftop systems will expire at the end 2025. This has led to the most labor intensive segment of the solar sector contracting sharply…
US offers Serra Verde $565 million in financing and a stake option
The U.S. Government has signed a $565 million financing agreement with Brazilian miner Serra Verde. This includes an option to acquire a minority stake in the company. The deal forms part of the?a?wide-ranging package announced by U.S. vice president JD Vance on Wednesday to create a preferential trading bloc for essential minerals and to set price floor as Washington intensifies efforts to loosen China’s grip on critical materials vital to advanced manufacturing. Serra Verde, a privately-held company, will use the U.S.
Greek joint venture seeking 20-year US Liquefied Natural Gas deal to boost Southern Europe's gas supplies
Atlantic Sea LNG Trade is a joint venture of Greece's gas supplier DEPA and the construction group Aktor. It is currently in negotiations to secure 15 billion cubic metres (bcm), or LNG, from the United States every year for 20 years, to supply southern Europe. Greece is seeking to strengthen its role as a gas transit route into Europe, and the continent is preparing to stop Russian gas imports in late 2027. This will intensify…
RWE looks to buy LNG from ADNOC in Germany as it moves to diversify its supply
RWE signed a preliminary agreement with Abu Dhabi National Oil Company on Friday. The German utility stated that it could purchase LNG for European markets as Berlin strives to diversify their energy partners. The German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has been visiting the Gulf region to look for new energy sources, and to reduce the country's dependency on the United States, its dominant supplier. RWE is not only a power producer but also a trader of gas and LNG and an energy 'importer.
Trinidad's Atlantic LNG will shut down Train 4 to perform major maintenance
Three people familiar with the plan said that Trinidad and Tobago’s flagship 'Atlantic LNG' plans to close its 6 million metric ton per annum Train 4 in May and/or June for maintenance and repairs. Atlantic LNG is owned by Shell, BP and Trinidad's National Gas Company. Each company holds a 45% share. According to documents from the company, this facility will account for?roughly 15% of BP’s global LNG production in 2025 and 10% of Shell’s LNG output.
The EU's new sanctions plan is designed to target Russian crude exports more severely
The European Commission proposed on Friday a ban on all services that "support" Russia's crude oil exports by sea. This is a far more comprehensive measure than previous EU sanctions, and goes beyond the piecemeal approach in an effort to "stunt" Moscow's main source of revenue for its war against Ukraine. With the assistance of Western shipping, Russia exports more than a third its oil on Western tankers. These are mainly from Greece. Cyprus and Malta.