DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ These are Wall Street's favorite energy stocks as oil rallies
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-07 | by ( Pia Singh | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

For investors looking to play this trend, here are some energy stocks with the greatest long-term upside potential. The sector has added 0.5% this week as oil prices rallied from news of extended voluntary oil supply cuts from Saudi Arabia and Russia until year-end. Oil and natural gas company Diamondback Energy is another name on the list. Natural gas producer EQT , oil and gas giant EOG Resources , as well as petroleum refining and marketing company Valero Energy , are also Wall Street favorites. For investors looking for energy stocks but who do not want to bet on individual names, the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLE) and the iShares U.S. Energy ETF (IYE) track companies in the sector.

Persons: Russell, Halliburton, Nitin Kumar, EQT, — CNBC's Michael Bloom Organizations: Energy, CNBC, Oil, Resources, Diamondback Energy, Diamondback, Energy Partners, Warwick Capital Partners, Valero Energy, Mizuho Securities, Valero, Energy Investment, U.S . Energy Locations: Saudi Arabia, Russia, Oil and Texas, EQT, U.S, XLE

☆ German court throws out lower grid operator returns set by regulator
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Electrical power pylons with high-voltage power lines are seen next to wind turbines near Weselitz, Germany November 18, 2022. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsFRANKFURT, Aug 30 (Reuters) - A German court on Wednesday threw out the rates of return for power and gas network infrastructure operators set in 2021 by the grid regulator, saying companies were right to complain they were too low. The federal regulator, called the Bundesnetzagentur, had set permitted future returns for new power and gas infrastructure at 5.07%, versus 6.91% previously, leading 900 operators of local distribution networks to launch an appeal. The court in June heard test cases from 14 selected companies and upheld their arguments, it said in a statement. Leading power grid companies including E.ON (EONGn.DE) and EnBW (EBKG.DE) have said they need more money to remain competitive when billions of euros must be spent to accommodate more wind and solar power production plants on the grids.

Persons: Lisi Niesner, Kerstin Andreae, Vera Eckert, Tom Kaeckenhoff, Mark Potter, Mark Porter Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Wednesday, E.ON, Thomson Locations: Weselitz, Germany, Ukraine

☆ Wells Fargo upgrades gas and propane distributor UGI after underperformance
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-28 | by ( Pia Singh | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

UGI Corporation has room to grow despite near-term headwinds, according to Wells Fargo. Analyst Sarah Akers upgraded the natural gas and propane distributor to overweight from equal weight and lowered her price target by $1 to $27. Akers' new target suggests shares could still gain 19% in the next year from where shares closed Friday. The turnaround that Wells expects at UGI comes after the stock lost more than 19% in 2022. Wells also sees additional upside potential to its outlook and price target, should UGI successfully reboot volumes and margins at recently acquired AmeriGas.

Persons: Sarah Akers, Akers, UGI, Wells, — CNBC's Michael Bloom Organizations: UGI Corporation, UGI Locations: Wells Fargo, United States, U.S, UGI

A worker turns a valve at an underground gas storage facility near Striy May 21, 2014. Stocks in the European Union and the United Kingdom had climbed to 998 terawatt-hours (TWh) by Aug. 6, according to Gas Infrastructure Europe ("Aggregated gas storage inventory", GIE, Aug. 8). But because inventories finished the winter of 2022/23 at a record high even a smaller-than-average accumulation has left them at record levels. Chartbook: Europe gas inventories and pricesFutures prices for gas delivered in the summer of 2023 have already fallen sharply to encourage more consumption by industrial users and power generators. Related columns:- High prices keep lid on Europe's industrial gas use (July 11, 2023)- Europe’s gas storage is filling too fast (July 6, 2023)- Europe’s gas prices stabilise as storage additions slow (June 8, 2023)- Europe only has space for a small gas refill in 2023 (April 14, 2023)John Kemp is a Reuters market analyst.

Persons: Gleb Garanich, Stocks, John Kemp, David Evans Organizations: REUTERS, Gleb Garanich LONDON, European Union, Gas Infrastructure, Thomson, Reuters Locations: Striy, United Kingdom, Europe, Asia, Latin America

LONDON, July 6 (Reuters) - Europe’s gas storage is filling more slowly after prices fell sharply in the first half of the year, but a further slowdown will be needed to prevent space running out before the start of winter 2023/24. Gas inventories across the European Union and the United Kingdom amounted to 889 terawatt-hours (TWh) on July 4, according to data from Gas Infrastructure Europe (“Aggregated gas storage inventory”, GIE, July 6). Chartbook: Europe's gas inventories and pricesFront-month futures prices have already fallen by 85% in real terms since August 2022 to encourage more consumption by electricity generators and industrial users as well as re-route liquefied natural gas (LNG) cargoes to Asia. Prices and spreads will continue to come under pressure until storage accumulation slows much further to avoid space becoming full before October. Related columns:- Europe’s gas prices stabilise as storage additions slow (June 8, 2023)- Europe’s gas prices slide on swollen inventories (May 11, 2023)- Europe only has space for a small gas refill in 2023 (April 14, 2023)- Europe’s gas outlook transformed after mild winter (April 13, 2023)John Kemp is a Reuters market analyst.

Persons: Stocks, John Kemp, Emelia Sithole Organizations: European Union, Gas Infrastructure, Thomson, Reuters Locations: United Kingdom, GIE, Asia, Europe

☆ Putin’s Options for Dealing With the Wagner Group Aren’t Great - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-04 | by ( Colin P. Clarke | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

(Those who did participate could join Mr. Prigozhin in Belarusian exile.) Even if Wagner fighters do decide to join Russian military units en masse, it won’t be easy for Moscow to integrate them. Another option would be for Mr. Putin to leave Wagner’s overseas operations as is, and install a new leader to replace Mr. Prigozhin. Mr. Prigozhin was revered by Wagner fighters, many of whom may chafe at the prospect of new leadership or a drastic change in organizational culture. Corporation is another Russian private military company, founded by Russian nationalist Igor Mangushev, with some experience abroad, but is much less influential and experienced than Wagner.

Persons: Putin, Wagner, Prigozhin, Sergei Shoigu, —, Prigozhin’s, Sergei Lavrov, ”, Wagner’s, Igor Mangushev Organizations: Russian, Ministry of Defense, Russian Ministry of Defense, Central African, Corporation, Gazprom Locations: Russia, Russian, Moscow, Cameroon, Burkina Faso, Equatorial Guinea, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Kenya, Africa, Mali, Central African Republic . Russia, Syria, Burundi, Central African Republic, Gabon, Yemen

Spot gold was up 0.8% to $1,927.90 per ounce by 10:25 a.m. EDT (1425 GMT), after dropping to a more than three-month low earlier in the session. Benchmark 10-year Treasury yields slipped to a 10-day low, reducing the opportunity cost of owning non-yielding gold. Spot silver rose 0.9% to $22.44 per ounce, but was set for its biggest weekly drop since October 2022. Platinum was down 0.3% to $920.38, on course for its worst week since August 2022. Palladium could extend this year's near 30% price decline as the rapid rise of electric vehicles threatens to hammer demand for the autocatalyst metal.

Persons: Edward Moya, Jerome Powell, Phillip Streible, Mary Daly, Barbara Lewis Organizations: Treasury, Federal Reserve, Blue, San Francisco Fed, Reuters, Palladium, Thomson Locations: U.S, Chicago, Bengaluru

☆ European gas prices jump 50% in June
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-16 | by ( Anna Cooban | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Prices reversed course mainly because of longer-than-expected maintenance outages at key gas plants in Norway, analysts told CNN. “The recent price rally shows just how sensitive the European market is to disruption,” said Bill Weatherburn, a commodities economist at Capital Economics. European natural gas prices are still far below their levels last summer, when the continent found itself locked in an energy standoff with Russia following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. The field is one of the biggest in the world but now accounts for just a fraction of Europe’s gas supply. “The European gas market — and by extension the global gas market — [is] certainly not out of the woods in terms of adequately matching supply with demand,” Tom Marzec-Manser, head of gas analytics at ICIS, told CNN.

Persons: ”, Bill Weatherburn, Tom Marzec, ” Massimo Di Odoardo, Wood Mackenzie, ” Henning Gloystein, Di Odoardo Organizations: London CNN, Benchmark, Independent Commodity Intelligence Service, CNN, Capital Economics, European Union, Gas, Gas Infrastructure, Wood, Eurasia Group, Norway “ Locations: Norway, Russia, Ukraine, Moscow, Europe, Netherlands, Groningen, “, Gas Infrastructure Europe, Japan, South Korea, Asia, Russian

LONDON, June 8 (Reuters) - Europe’s gas storage is refilling much more slowly than usual as the drop in prices encourages more consumption by industrial users and power generators while diverting liquefied natural gas (LNG) cargoes to Asia. The surplus has narrowed from +282 TWh (+80% or +2.41 standard deviations) at the end of the traditional winter drawdown season on March 31 (“Aggregated gas storage inventory”, Gas Infrastructure Europe, June 8). Chartbook: Europe gas inventories and pricesInventories have responded to lower prices, with front-month futures prices down by more than 90% from its peak in August 2022. Lower prices in Europe are also diverting more LNG cargoes to price-sensitive customers in South and East Asia for power generation. Related columns:- Europe’s gas prices slide on swollen inventories (May 11, 2023)- Europe only has space for a small gas refill in 2023 (April 14, 2023)John Kemp is a Reuters market analyst.

Persons: John Kemp, Susan Fenton Organizations: European Union, Gas Infrastructure, Thomson, Reuters Locations: Asia, United Kingdom, Gas Infrastructure Europe, Chartbook, Europe, South, East Asia

☆ Norway faces backlash from campaigners for 'reckless' pursuit of Arctic oil and gas
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-22 | by ( Sam Meredith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Norway oil and gas giant Equinor and Vår Energi, one of the country's largest exploration and production companies, confirmed to CNBC that the minister recently issued this call. Frode Pleym Head of Greenpeace NorwayIt is estimated that roughly two-thirds of the country's undiscovered oil resources lies off the country's northern coast in the Arctic's Barents Sea. The alternative to oil and gas is not more oil and gas, it is more energy efficiency and renewable energy." A spokesperson for Equinor told CNBC that the company hoped to see "new attractive acreage in the Barents Sea." Separately, a mid-April study from gas infrastructure operator Gassco said building a pipeline to transport gas produced in the Arctic Barents Sea could be worth re-examining due to the country stepping up its gas exports to Europe.

In theory, the world’s largest industrialized democracies have agreed to stop using fossil fuels within a little over a quarter-century and to switch to new sources of power such as solar and wind as fast as they can. The final communiqué from the summit, released on Saturday afternoon, included language sought by Japan that blesses continued investment in certain types of coal-fired power plants that the Japanese government is helping to finance. But leaders only modestly modified language from last year’s meeting that supported some new investment in natural gas infrastructure. Germany, which pushed for the endorsement in 2022 as it scrambled to replace Russian gas imports in the wake of the invasion of Ukraine, had sought to broaden the wording this year. The behind-the-scenes battle underscored the political, economic and practical challenges that many Group of 7 nations have run into as they seek to accelerate a global energy transition with trillions of dollars in government incentives.

The April meeting of G7 climate ministers eventually agreed, despite tussles between Japan and European nations, that gas investments "can be appropriate to help address potential market shortfalls" following Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the disruption it has caused in global energy markets. Saturday's G7 leaders statement at their summit in Japan's Hiroshima changed the language - eventually formulated by Germany, sources say - to include gas investments again, with the G7 saying it was "necessary to accelerate the phase-out of our dependency on Russian energy". DEFENDING THE STANCEGerman government officials rejected that criticism, saying investments are needed to get away from Russian gas and find a replacement. The G7 pledged to achieve a net-zero emissions goal by 2050 and to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. Max Lawson, head of inequality policy at activist group Oxfam, said the G7 had maintained a loophole for new fossil gas investments using the Russian military conflict with Ukraine "as an excuse."

Japan's insistence on continuing to rely on gas may delay reaching global climate change goals, especially as its energy companies reap large profits from their investments in the sector, climate activists say. "But I think Japanese companies will generally hesitate to be involved in gas projects in the future, especially those with long lead times. Japan's support for gas clashes with findings that new investments in gas, which is mainly composed of the greenhouse gas methane and produces CO2 emissions when burned for energy, would undermine climate goals. But, gas investments have been lucrative for Japan's energy companies resulting in record profits. But, Japan's stated intention to lower its carbon emissions may mean these gas investments carry some risk.

☆ This renewables stock will make three kinds of investors happy, JPMorgan says
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( Michelle Fox | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

JPMorgan says three distinct investors types will find something to like in NextEra Energy Partners: energy industry investors, income hunters and those focused on environmental factors. "We believe the stock should appeal to a broad array of yield, energy and ESG investors," analyst Mark Strouse said in a note Friday. NEP provides investors access to downstream ownership of renewable projects, offering high-quality cash flows and industry-leading dividend growth, supported by the company's strong relationship with NextEra Energy ," Strouse wrote. NEP YTD mountain NextEra Energy Partners NextEra Energy Partners is a limited partnership formed by NextEra Energy. NEP's access to NextEra Energy subsidiary NextEra Energy Resources is also bullish because the latter is "best in class developer, owner, and operator of renewable assets," Strouse said.

BELFAST, April 19 (Reuters) - The UK government's cyber defence agency warned on Wednesday of an emerging threat to Western critical national infrastructure posed by hackers sympathetic to Russia and its war on Ukraine. Russia-aligned "hacktivists" have carried out largely harmless online campaigns that have defaced prominent public websites or knocked them offline. "Some have stated a desire to achieve a more disruptive and destructive impact against western critical national infrastructure, including in the UK," the NCSC said. Although such groups are ideologically-motivated and align themselves with Russian state interests, they are "not subject to formal state control," the alert said. A successful cyberattack on critical national infrastructure such as an energy grid or water supply could be highly destructive, and do serious real-world damage.

LONDON, April 14 (Reuters) - Europe needs to put a smaller-than-average volume of gas into storage this year after a mild winter left the region with record high inventories. Chartbook: Europe gas storageThe European Union and the United Kingdom have capacity to store around 1,129 terawatt-hours (TWh) of gas, according to data compiled by Gas Infrastructure Europe (GIE). On April 1, the start of the traditional refill season, storage was 56% full - a record high for the time of year - with inventories of 633 TWh (“Aggregated gas storage inventory”, GIE, April 14). DEEPENING CONTANGOPrices and spreads are now moving decisively to limit the amount of gas added to storage this summer. Related column:- Europe’s gas outlook transformed after mild winter (April 13, 2023)John Kemp is a Reuters market analyst.

Inventories in the European Union and the United Kingdom amounted to 632 terawatt-hours (TWh) on March 31, according to Gas Infrastructure Europe (“Aggregated gas storage inventories”, GIE, April 13). Chartbook: Europe gas inventories and pricesRECORD REFILL IN 2022Record end-of-winter inventories are a consequence of a record start-of-winter stock; a mild winter, especially in the first half; and significant cuts in industrial gas use. The European Union and United Kingdom added an unprecedented 788 TWh of gas to storage in 2022 to prepare for a possible interruption of pipeline supplies from Russia. REDUCED CONSUMPTIONEurope’s gas consumption was sharply reduced in winter 2022/23 compared with previous years. Europe emptied around a third of its gas storage space over the whole drawdown period compared with an average of 53% over the previous decade.

LONDON, March 31 (Reuters) - A member of a United Nations-backed coalition of insurance firms and pension funds seeking to tackle climate change told Reuters it was considering quitting after disagreements about curbing investment in the oil and gas sector split the group. The row is the latest in a string of policy splits among major climate coalitions of financial firms. AkademikerPension wanted the position paper to state that NZAOA members should only invest in public equities or corporate bonds when the companies involved are no longer investing in exploration for new oil and gas. German insurer Munich Re (MUVGn.DE) said earlier on Friday it was withdrawing from another alliance of insurers focused on reducing carbon emissions to avoid antitrust risks. "I think it's going to be extremely difficult for a plaintiff, even a government enforcer, to prevail on an antitrust theory of harm," said Mitnick.

☆ Europe’s rush to LNG could turn into ‘world’s most expensive and unnecessary insurance policy'
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( Sam Meredith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

The Golar Tundra project is a key part of Italy's plan to reduce its reliance on Russian gas following the invasion of Ukraine. Europe must carefully balance its gas and LNG systems, and avoid tipping the scale from reliability to redundancy. "This is the world's most expensive and unnecessary insurance policy," said Ana Maria Jaller-Makarewicz, energy analyst for IEEFA Europe and author of the analysis. "Europe must carefully balance its gas and LNG systems, and avoid tipping the scale from reliability to redundancy. Boosting Europe's LNG infrastructure will not necessarily increase reliability — there's a tangible risk that assets could become stranded," Jaller-Makarewicz said.

☆ This could be Big Oil's last surge
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-19 | by ( Catherine Boudreau | Jacob Zinkula | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

The era of Big Oil could end sooner than its massive profits suggest, analysts told Insider. But the worst-case scenario for the environment — that oil and gas companies reinvest all their extra money to keep growing — isn't happening, Logan said. The role of oil and gas companies in the energy transition is an ongoing debate, analysts told Insider. The UK company cited the need for an "orderly" energy transition. And while Big Oil's finances may begin to show some cracks over the next decade, he doesn't expect them to "suffer financially" for another 25 to 35 years.

☆ In show of unity, NATO and EU heads visit North Sea gas platform
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( Nora Buli | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/3] Norway Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg and Equinor CEO Anders Opedal visit the Troll A gas platform in the North Sea, Norway March 17, 2023. Ole Berg-Rusten /NTB/via REUTERSTROLL A PLATFORM, North Sea, March 17 (Reuters) - The heads of NATO and the European Commission flew on Friday to a North Sea platform to discuss the security of supplies and infrastructure, a visit underlining Norway's importance for gas shipments since Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The Troll A platform extracts gas from Norway's biggest gas field. After a drop in Russian flows, the Nordic country last year became the largest gas supplier to the EU. The field accounts for one third of daily Norwegian gas exports to Europe.

☆ Oil plunge is bad for energy stocks but actually good for other areas of our portfolio
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( Zev Fima | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

The extent of the decline in West Texas Intermediate crude — down 5.5% to under $67 per barrel — seems overdone in an energy market that remains structurally undersupplied. Bad for energy stocks For now, we're holding onto our three oil exploration and production (E & P) stocks — Coterra Energy (CTRA), Devon Energy (DVN) and Pioneer Natural Resources (PXD) — because their breakeven levels are around $40 per barrel. The big question is whether the federal government will make good on its signals to replenish the nation's Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) at WTI prices below $70 per barrel. In turn, higher energy costs eat into discretionary spending budgets. Now, with energy costs coming down, we would expect these input costs to subside a bit.

☆ German liquefied natural gas capacity may not be fully utilised-RWE CEO
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Companies Rwe Ag FollowFRANKFURT, March 8 (Reuters) - Germany's liquefied natural gas infrastructure may end up not being fully utilised, the chief executive of the country's top utility said in an interview, but added that simply having the import capacity was key to avoid a possible fuel supply squeeze. The comments by RWE (RWEG.DE) CEO Markus Krebber, made in a joint interview with German magazines Der Stern and Capital, came in response to the notion that Berlin may have overshot the mark with existing LNG capacity plans. "It may be that the LNG terminals are not fully utilised. Krebber said that Russia, which fully stopped gas supplies via the Nord Stream 1 pipeline at the end of August, was still fulfilling supply obligations via the alternative Ukraine pipeline. Germany said on Friday that the rollout of its LNG infrastructure would exceed the 9.8 billion euros ($10.40 billion) for the 2022-2038 period approved by the Bundestag lower house of parliament.

Stocks in the European Union and United Kingdom amounted to a seasonal record 685 terawatt hours (TWh) on March 1, and storage was almost 61% full, according to data from Gas Infrastructure Europe (GIE). Storage fill is at record levels and far above the 39% seasonal average for the last decade (“Aggregated gas storage inventory”, GIE, March 3). Chartbook: Europe gas stocks and pricesOn average, stocks fall to a post-winter minimum around March 30, with the low occurring at the earliest on March 16 (winter 2011/12) and at the latest on April 19 (winter 2020/21). Related columns:- Europe nears end of winter with bulging gas stocks (February 17, 2023)- Crisis over? Europe’s gas stocks at seasonal record high (January 17, 2023)- Europe's gas prices slump to moderate storage build (January 4, 2023)John Kemp is a Reuters market analyst.

☆ Watch CNBC's full interview with Contrast Capital's Ron Insana and Clearbridge's Michael Clarfeld
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailWatch CNBC's full interview with Contrast Capital's Ron Insana and Clearbridge's Michael ClarfeldRon Insana, co-CEO of Contrast Capital Partners, and Michael Clarfeld, portfolio manager with Clearbridge Investments, join 'Power Lunch' to discuss consumer spending, strains on natural gas infrastructure and energy market investment considerations.

Search resuls for: "Gas Infrastructure"

25 mentions found