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SummarySummary Companies Shell, Equinor shares outperform sector indexRivals BP, Chevron, Exxon also beat expectationsOil and gas prices slumped in first quarterShell shares up 2.1%, Equinor up 2.7%LONDON/OSLO, May 4 (Reuters) - Energy giants Shell (SHEL.L) and Equinor (EQNR.OL) reported higher-than-expected first-quarter profits on Thursday, using the heft of their trading desks to offset lower oil and gas prices. The stronger-than-expected profits from the two companies follow forecast beating results from rivals Exxon Mobil (XOM.N), Chevron and BP over the past week. Shell's shares were up around 2.1% in early trading and Equinor shares rose around 2.7%, outperforming a European index of oil and gas companies (.SXEP) which was up around 1%. Benchmark Brent crude oil prices averaged $81 per barrel in the first three months of the year, down 16% from a year earlier and 7% from the fourth-quarter. Lower natural gas prices also weighed on Shell's giant integrated gas business, with profits slumping 18% on the quarter.

First-quarter underlying replacement cost profit, the company's definition of net income, reached $4.96 billion, up from $4.8 billion in the fourth quarter of 2022 and above expectations of $4.3 billion in a company-provided survey of analysts. The profit reflects "an exceptional gas marketing and trading result, a lower level of refinery turnaround activity and a very strong oil trading result", BP said, noting the partial offset from lower oil and gas prices and refining margins. BP had reported a $6.25 billion profit in the first quarter of 2022. Benchmark Brent crude oil prices averaged $81 per barrel in the first three months of the year, down 16% from a year earlier and 7% from the fourth-quarter. BP's profit hit a record $28 billion in 2022 on soaring energy prices and market volatility which benefited its large trading business.

SummarySummary Companies Profit lifted by strong tradingBP to purchase $1.75 bln of sharesLONDON, May 2 (Reuters) - BP (BP.L) made a $5 billion profit in the first quarter of 2023, up from the previous three months on the back of strong oil and gas trading as the company pared back a share buyback programme. The profit reflects "an exceptional gas marketing and trading result, a lower level of refinery turnaround activity and a very strong oil trading result", BP said, noting the partial offset from lower oil and gas prices and refining margins. Benchmark Brent crude oil prices averaged $81 per barrel in the first three months of the year, down 16% from a year earlier and 7% from the fourth-quarter. BP's profit hit a record $28 billion in 2022 on soaring energy prices and market volatility which benefited its large trading business. The company had said in February it would repurchase $2.75 billion worth of shares over the next three months after buying $11.7 billion in 2022.

☆ TotalEnergies sheds Canadian oil sands, promises to reward shareholders
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( America Hernandez | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

TotalEnergies said its first-quarter adjusted net income fell 27% to $6.5 billion - in line with analyst expectations - due to lower energy prices. It also confirmed it expected net investments of $16-18 billion this year, including $5 billion for low-carbon energies. After European refining capacity was hampered by French strikes in the first quarter, TotalEnergies anticipates its facilities will ramp back up above 80%. TotalEnergies' share price was down around 1% in early trade, in line with falls across the sector and relatively weak oil prices . Analysts said its results were positive, as was the sale of carbon intensive oil sands given investors' focus on lower carbon energy.

[1/2] Hywind Tampen floating wind farm structures are being assembled at the Wergeland Base in Gulen, Norway, June 7, 2022. But by 2035, the LCOE for floating wind is expected to fall to about 60 euros/MWh. It plans to set a specific target for floating wind this year. Britain aims to have 5 GW of floating wind installed by 2030 but a report by the UK Floating Wind Offshore Wind Taskforce, said 34 GW could be installed by 2040 if ports were upgraded. "South Korea will be commercial the quickest," said Cole at Corio Generation, which has 1.5 GW of floating wind under development there.

Below are key extracts from the G7 climate, energy and environment ministers' communique, including the annex. RUSSIA"We condemn Russia's illegal, unjustifiable, and unprovoked war of aggression against Ukraine;"We stand ready to support the sustainable and resilient recovery and green reconstruction of Ukraine." "Currently $13 billion fiscal support that can be used for domestic and foreign projects is prepared across the G7 countries." PLASTIC POLLUTION"We are committed to end plastic pollution, with the ambition to reduce additional plastic pollution to zero by 2040." Reporting by Katya Golubkova; Editing by David Dolan and William MallardOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Summary IEA warns supply cuts could stunt economic recoveryGlobal oil supply to fall by 400,000 bpd by year end -IEAWorld demand to climb by 2 mln bpd in 2023, IEA saysBEIJING, April 14 (Reuters) - Oil prices edged lower on Friday after the West's energy watchdog warned that output cuts announced by OPEC+ producers could exacerbate an oil supply deficit and hurt consumers. OPEC on Thursday flagged downside risks to summer oil demand as part of the backdrop for the 1.16 million barrels per day (bpd) cut. In its benchmark monthly report on Friday, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said the OPEC+ decision could hurt consumers and global economic recovery. "Consumers confronted by inflated prices for basic necessities will now have to spread their budgets even more thinly," the IEA said in its monthly oil report. At the same time, world oil demand is set to grow by 2 million bpd in 2023 to a record 101.9 million bpd, driven in most part by stronger Chinese consumption, it said.

[1/2] A general view shows a special ship, "Neptune", the floating liquefied natural gas terminal, during the inauguration of the Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) terminal 'Deutsche Ostsee' in the port of Lubmin, Germany January 14, 2023. Northweat Europe LNG imports Northwest Europe LNG importsAnalysts estimate that Europe accounted for more than a third of global spot market trades in 2022, from around 13% in 2021. Such exposure could reach more than 50% this year if no long-term contracts were signed. Morten Frisch, senior partner at Morten Frisch Consulting, said Europe ideally needs about 70-75% of its LNG supply under firm long-term sale and purchase agreements (SPAs). LNG spot market prices LNG spot market pricesBut they are expected to rise again, with a hot summer that could cut hydro levels, a cold 2023-2024 winter and a rebound in Chinese LNG demand all seen as among the risk factors for price.

☆ Indian G20 presidency opposes watering down green hydrogen standards
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-03 | by ( Sarita Chaganti Singh | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

If the energy used to power the plants is renewable, it is called green hydrogen. Singh said the Indian G20 presidency had put forward a draft definition that he considered reasonable and held discussions with various countries. "If the world wants to decarbonise, the world must agree on a definition of green hydrogen. Across the world, countries are turning to green hydrogen as a solution to climate-related energy problems. India in January said it had approved an incentive plan of 174.9 billion rupees ($2.11 billion) to promote green hydrogen to cut emissions and try to become a major exporter in the field.

The EU's current 2030 target is for a 32% renewable energy share. The EU got 22% of its energy from renewable sources in 2021, but the level varied significantly between countries. Sweden leads the 27 EU countries with its 63% renewable energy share, while in Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands and Ireland, renewable sources make up less than 13% of total energy use. EU countries will have to raise to 29% the share of renewables in energy used by the transport sector. The deal must be approved by the EU Parliament and EU countries to become law, normally a formality.

SummarySummary Companies Shell eliminates role of global renewables generationWind and solar placed under regional headsBiofuels and CCS placed under Anna MascoloLONDON, March 30 (Reuters) - Shell (SHEL.L) is splitting up its renewables and low-carbon division as part of CEO Wael Sawan's shake-up to boost the energy giant's returns. Shell is eliminating the global role of executive vice president for renewable generation held by Thomas Brostrom, who joined the company in 2021 from Danish renewables giant Orsted, a company spokesperson said. Wind and solar power businesses will now fall under the regional heads of Shell Energy, reporting to Executive Vice President Steve Hill. At the same time, Shell named Anna Mascolo as executive vice president for low carbon products and sectors, including biofuels, carbon capture and nature-based solutions. Brostrom will remain at the company as senior vice president for Shell Energy in Europe and Asia, overseeing all offshore wind globally, he said.

☆ EU agrees to double renewables by 2030 and UK unveils its long-awaited climate plan
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( Reuters Emily Blumenthal | Emily Blumenthal | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Two big announcements in European climate policy came Thursday. In 2021, the bloc got 22% of its energy from renewable sources, though the level varied significantly between countries. Sweden leads with a 63% renewable energy share, while in Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands and Ireland, renewable sources make up less than 13% of total energy use. UK climate strategyThe United Kingdom also announced its own climate strategy Thursday. It includes support for offshore wind energy, electric vehicles, green hydrogen, nuclear technology, home insulation and home heat pumps.

LONDON, March 28 (Reuters) - BP (BP.L) and Abu Dhabi's state oil giant on Tuesday offered to acquire 50% of Israeli offshore natural gas producer NewMed Energy (NWMDp.TA) for around $2 billion, making their entry into Israel's growing energy sector. The offer would involve acquiring NewMed's free floating shares and taking the company private. BP shares gained 2% by 0810 GMT while NewMed shares were up around 30%. For BP, the deal highlights the British company's focus on growing natural gas production after Chief Executive Bernard Looney last month slowed down its shift away from fossil fuels. After the deal closes NewMed will become a private corporation equally held by the BP-ADNOC JV and Delek Group (DLEKG.TA), which holds the remaining 50%.

☆ Exclusive: Canada budget sees contracts for differences for large clean-tech projects -source
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-27 | by ( Steve Scherer | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

So-called contracts for differences set a price on tradable carbon credits, which heavy emitters can get if they reduce pollution. They are also concerned that costly projects could be a waste of money if carbon pricing is scrapped in future. Contracts for differences could be used by companies investing in carbon capture or hydrogen projects, the source said. Under Canada's carbon pricing rules, large industrial polluters pay per tonne of carbon emitted above a certain sector-specific threshold. It will benefit 11 million households, the source told CBC, who called the measure a "grocery rebate".

☆ Exclusive: Canada budget to have tax credit for equipment used to produce EVs -sources
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( Steve Scherer | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The credit will be available for future investments in equipment used to extract and process critical minerals used in EVs, a second source said, and to purchase equipment used in manufacturing along the entire EV supply chain, including for batteries. Last year, Canada budgeted C$3.8 billion ($2.8 billion) to scale up exploration and infrastructure for critical minerals. Canada has an abundance of the critical minerals used to produce EVs. Last autumn, Canada announced investment tax credits for companies that purchase finished clean energy systems, like solar panels. Instead, the new tax credit will apply to manufacturers buying equipment to build things like solar panels.

The outages have in recent days led to growing concern that French and regional supplies of fuels, in particular diesel, could tighten in the coming weeks. Reuters GraphicsThe profit margin for refining crude oil into diesel has jumped by nearly 40% over the past month. The Ekofisk North Sea crude grade, produced at a field in Norway where TotalEnergies has equity, relies on France for two-thirds of its export stream, Rauball said. Meanwhile, prices for crude grades from Nigeria, one of France's top suppliers, have dropped by around $1/bbl in the past two weeks, traders said. "It's a buyer's market, with WTI and Azeri crude offered way down to sell," a trader of West African crude 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.

☆ Canada doesn't want 'tit-for-tat' with US on green transition -gov't source
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( Steve Scherer | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Countries across the globe are trying to take advantage of a rapid shift to low-carbon energy, and the passage in the United States of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) last year provides massive incentives for those who invest there. In the 2023-2024 budget, Canadian Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland has promised to try to level the playing field, at least in some areas, with the United States after the IRA. "It's about growing the pie, not just dividing it up," said the source familiar with the file, who was not authorized to speak on the record. "We don't want to get into a game of tit-for-tat," the source said. Reporting by Steve Scherer; editing by Denny Thomas and Jason NeelyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ CERAWEEK - U.S. permit reforms needed to achieve Inflation Reduction Act goals -Conoco CEO
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The goals of the administration's Inflation Reduction Act will be "procedurally impossible" without streamlined permitting for lower carbon energy infrastructure, Conoco CEO Ryan Lance said in remarks at the CERAWeek energy conference. A major Conoco oil project in northern Alaska, called Willow, has been stalled by court and environmental reviews. Willow holds about 600 million barrels of oil and gas and has the support of Alaskan politicians and native groups. "If we don't get (the oil) from Alaska, it's going to come from someplace. As examples of long-term investments, he cited Conoco's liquefied natural gas projects in the US, Qatar and Australia.

☆ Fed's Daly: tighter policy, for a longer time, 'likely' needed
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The acceleration of inflation in January "suggests that the disinflation momentum we need is far from certain," Daly said in remarks prepared for delivery to the Princeton Economic Policy Symposium. "In order to put this episode of high inflation behind us, further policy tightening, maintained for a longer time, will likely be necessary." Coming from Daly, whose views are typically in line with Fed leadership, the remarks may add to expectations that Fed policymakers will lift rates higher in coming months than the 5.1% that most of them had penciled in December. Fed policymakers will publish fresh projections for policy and the economy at the close of their upcoming March 21-22 meeting. Daly did not use her prepared remarks to offer a view on how big March's rate hike ought to be, or exactly how high rates should go.

☆ Shell reviewing oil output reduction targets, CEO tells the Times
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, March 3 (Reuters) - Shell (SHEL.L) is reviewing its current plan to reduce oil output by 1% to 2% per year by 2030, Chief Executive Officer Wael Sawan told the Times, against the backdrop of rival BP recently rowing back from hydrocarbon output reduction aims. The CEO nevertheless indicated that Shell could revise its current goal of reducing its oil output by 2030. "We're reflecting on what is the right guidance to the market," Sawan told the Times in an article published on Friday. Shell expects its oil and gas output to reach between around 1.8 million and 2 million barrels of oil equivalent per day this quarter. In contrast to BP, Shell never set a target for the reduction of its gas output.

☆ India bans oil tankers, bulk carriers older than 25 years
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Sudarshan Varadhan | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The order also bans acquisition of such vessels that are more than two decades old. Under current guidelines, vessels that are less than 25 years old can be acquired without any technical clearance. The regulation requires oil tankers older than 15 years to improve their working condition and subjects bulk carriers to additional checks to ensure adherence to high international standards. Non-compliance would lead to cancellation of the vessels' trading license, according to the order. The moves include subsidies encouraging construction of new vessels, and incentives to build small vessels and promote battery-driven small vessels to cut carbon emissions.

Several climate scenarios suggest that to limit global temperature rises to 1.5 degrees Celsius above the pre-industrial average, the world needs to be investing $4 in renewable energy for every $1 invested in fossil fuels by 2030. In 2021, bank financing for energy supply totalled $1.9 trillion, just over $1 trillion of which went to fossil fuels and $842 billion to low carbon energy projects and companies, according to the report. The bank financing ratio, of 81 cents to $1, was below the global energy supply investment ratio of 90 cents to $1. Individual banks' financing ratios varied. The report's findings differ from another study published by environmental groups last month which said the share of bank financing going to renewables had stagnated.

☆ Explainer: Europe gets ready to revamp its electricity market
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( Kate Abnett | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

STOCKHOLM, Feb 27 (Reuters) - European Union energy ministers meet on Monday to debate upcoming power market reforms. Currently, power prices in Europe are set by the running cost of the plant that supplies the final chunk of power needed to meet overall demand. Often, that is a gas plant, so gas price spikes can send electricity prices soaring. They say Europe's existing power market is functioning well, and has fostered years of lower power prices, supported renewable energy and helped avoid energy shortages. The Commission initially pitched the reform as a chance to "decouple" gas and power prices in Europe, suggesting a redesign of the current system of setting power prices.

☆ Shell CEO creates chief of staff role in management overhaul
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( Ron Bousso | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

SummarySummary Companies Chief of staff to oversee performance improvementAppointment to be announced in MarchShell profits hit record, but costs set to riseLONDON, Feb 23 (Reuters) - Shell (SHEL.L) Chief Executive Officer Wael Sawan has created a senior role of chief of staff as part of a management overhaul to improve performance after technical problems and other disruption, three company sources said. The chief of staff, the first in Shell's 115-year-old history, is the biggest change Sawan has made to top management since he took office on Jan. 1 with a promise to boost the company's performance. Sawan announced the role of chief of staff and corporate relations in an internal memo last week, the sources said. A Shell spokesperson confirmed the role has been created, without adding details. Sawan has said he will improve Shell's performance and efficiency as it attempts to shift towards low-carbon energy and cut greenhouse emissions in the coming decades.

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