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☆ Big Oil doubles profits in blockbuster 2022
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( Ron Bousso | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The profit surge gave the oil companies scope to increase spending on oil and gas projects, and a chance for some to rethink energy transition strategies to meet new demands for security of supply. The combined $219 billion in profits allowed BP (BP.L), Chevron (CVX.N), Equinor (EQNR.OL), Exxon Mobil (XOM.N), Shell (SHEL.L) and TotalEnergies (TTEF.PA) to shower shareholders with cash. Oil companies last year also pulled out of Russia, a major energy producer, leading to huge writedowns, including BP's $24 billion exit from its 19.75% stake in Kremlin-controlled oil giant Rosneft (ROSN.MM). Benchmark oil prices are currently near $85 a barrel. BP will lean more into oil & gas for the remainder of this decade," Clint said in a note.

☆ TotalEnergies net profits double to record $36.2 bln in 2022
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

PARIS, Feb 8 (Reuters) - French oil major TotalEnergies (TTEF.PA) posted a record net profit of $36.2 billion in 2022, double the previous year, joining in the sector's bumper earnings thanks to higher oil and gas prices since Russia invaded Ukraine. TotalEnergies' fourth-quarter adjusted net income was $7.6 billion, including a $4.1 billion impairment related to the deconsolidation of its stake in Russian gas firm Novatek (NVTK.MM). The net income for the last three months of the year was in line with analyst estimates in a consensus by Refinitiv and compared with $6.8 billion a year earlier, and $9.9 billion in the third quarter of 2022. The company said it expected net investments of $16-18 billion in 2023, including $5 billion for low-carbon energy. Reporting by America Hernandez and Benjamin Mallet, editing by Silvia Aloisi and Richard LoughOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

France, which relies on its aging nuclear fleet to generate electricity, is leading a campaign to count hydrogen made using nuclear power -- known as "red" hydrogen -- in the EU's new renewable energy targets, which currently focus on green hydrogen made using electricity from renewable sources. After much foot-dragging, French President Emmanuel Macron agreed to the hydrogen pipeline between Barcelona and Marseille in October, a deal formalised at a summit with Spanish counterpart Pedro Sanchez in Barcelona in January. In Madrid, officials say the row is a "misunderstanding" and they are willing to be flexible on red hydrogen in other legislation such as the gas market directive, but not in the renewables bill. "Red hydrogen cannot be renewable because nuclear is not an energy that can be considered as such. France wants this to include its red hydrogen but it must first be designated as renewable.

As a result, BP reduced its ambitions to cut emissions from fuels sold to customers to 20-30% by 2030, from 35-40%. BP's $4.8 billion fourth-quarter underlying replacement cost profit, its definition of net income, narrowly missed a $5 billion company-provided analyst forecast. The results were impacted by weaker gas trading activity after an "exceptional" third quarter, higher refinery maintenance and lower oil and gas prices. But for the year, BP's $27.6 billion profit exceeded its 2008 record of $26 billion despite a $25 billion writedown of its Russian assets. BP, whose trading operations further boost renewables returns, maintained plans to have 50 gigawatts (GW) of renewable projects under development and 10 GW operating by 2030.

The bumper earnings have prompted new calls to further tax the sector as households struggle to pay their energy bills. In a strategy update, BP said it will increase annual spending by $1 billion for both renewables and oil and gas with a sharper focus on developing low-carbon biofuels and hydrogen. That compared with $4 billion a year earlier and $8.2 billion in the third quarter of 2022. The results were impacted by weaker gas trading activity after an "exceptional" third quarter, higher refinery maintenance and lower oil and gas prices. But for the year, BP's $27.6 billion profit exceeded its previous record of $26 billion in 2008.

☆ BP Slows Transition to Renewable Energy as Oil Bonanza Continues
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( Jenny Strasburg | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

LONDON— BP PLC said it would slow its transition to lower-carbon energy, as oil-and-gas production helped push the company to a record profit last year. BP’s results showed it joining its peers on both sides of the Atlantic in capitalizing on soaring energy prices. And its strategic shift highlighted how fossil fuels continue to be the profit drivers for the industry’s biggest players.

The wind, solar and EV manufacturing sectors are creating the new positions, which include electricians, mechanics, construction workers and technicians. Since President Joe Biden signed the historic Inflation Reduction Act into law last August, companies have announced more than 100,000 clean energy jobs across the country, according to a report by the nonprofit Climate Power. The IRA is the biggest climate bill ever passed by Congress and provides $369 billion in funding for initiatives like cutting emissions, manufacturing clean energy products and advancing environmental justice initiatives. So far, 22 companies have unveiled plans for new or expanded EV manufacturing in Alabama, Oklahoma and Michigan. And an additional 24 companies have released plans to expand wind and solar manufacturing in Colorado, Ohio and Texas.

☆ Greenpeace activists scale Shell oil platform in the Atlantic Ocean as company announces record profits
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( Laura Paddison | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Activists from the campaign group Greenpeace have boarded a ship in the Atlantic Ocean and scaled a Shell oil platform that is currently being transported to the North Sea. The company has benefited from very high oil and gas prices following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Shell is moving the platform to the Penguins oil and gas field, northeast of the Shetland Islands in Scotland to help unlock new wells. The field is expected to produce 45,000 barrels of oil or gas equivalent a day. Greenpeace climate activists: Carlos Marcelo Bariggi Amara, from Argentina, Imogen Michel from the UK, Usnea Granger from the US, and Yakup Çetinkaya, from Turkey.

☆ Goldman predicts clean hydrogen will be a $1 trillion market. Here's how to play it.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( Pia Singh | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

In the race to reduce global carbon emissions to zero, clean hydrogen is increasingly expected to be a winner. As the costs of renewable power falls, green hydrogen is becoming a better solution to decarbonization, Goldman said. How to play it Goldman said buy-rated First Solar is among the key players in the generation of green hydrogen. Experts say the tax credit makes nuclear hydrogen highly competitive with fossil fuel produced hydrogen, as companies can look to make clean hydrogen without losing any money. Goldman identified both Air Products & Chemicals and Linde as integrated clean hydrogen supply chain players.

☆ Big Oil poised to smash annual profit records — sparking outcry from campaigners and activists
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( Sam Meredith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

U.S. President Joe Biden has previously singled out Exxon Mobil for making "more money than God" last year. Flush with cash, the energy giants are expected to use their windfall profits to reward shareholders with higher dividends and share buybacks. In June last year, Biden singled out Exxon Mobil for making "more money than God." "They are profiting from the current increase in oil and gas prices, and they are betting on it. And what you see is actually increased investment in oil and gas," Agathe Bounfour, oil campaign lead at the NGO Transport & Environment, told CNBC via telephone.

☆ Spain's Iberdrola sounds out sale of $700 million wind, gas portfolio -sources
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( Andres Gonzalez | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] The logo of Spanish utility company Iberdrola is seen on its headquarters in Bilbao, Spain, October 25, 2022. REUTERS/Vincent West/File PhotoLONDON, Jan 26 (Reuters) - Iberdrola (IBE.MC) is looking to sell a portfolio of gas, wind and solar assets in Spain which could raise more than $700 million, three sources with knowledge of the plans told Reuters. Iberdrola is working with Deutsche Bank on the sale of the 2.4-gigawatt (GW) portfolio, the sources said. The final price for the Iberdrola portfolio will depend on the valuation of the gas assets, which were underused in Spain until last year when production increased, the sources said. The sale is still at an early stage and Iberdrola could decide to delay or abandon the disposals, the people said.

☆ Oilfield firm SLB beats Wall St. estimates for fourth-quarter profit
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Companies Schlumberger NV FollowJan 20 (Reuters) - SLB (SLB.N) beat Wall Street estimates for fourth-quarter profit on Friday, driven by strong demand for drilling services and equipment from operators as oil and gas prices remained elevated amid tight supplies. SLB had benefited from increased oil drilling and production activity in North America last year. The top oilfield services firm said revenue from North America rose 27% to $1.63 billion in the reported quarter. Average North America rig count, an early indicator of future output, for Oct-Dec 2022 quarter, rose to 965 from 720 a year earlier, according to data from Baker Hughes. Average international rig count for the quarter stood at 1,872, nearly 22% higher from the previous year.

☆ Protesters target BNP in Paris over loan to oil company
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Sarah MeyssonnierPARIS, Jan 20 (Reuters) - Protesters from ecological movement Extinction Rebellion rallied outside a BNP Paribas (BNPP.PA) building in Paris on Friday to oppose the French bank's loan to an oil major leading in an East African oil pipeline project. EACOP is the acronym for the $3.5 billion East African Crude Oil Pipeline, a project run by France's TotalEnergies (TTEF.PA) whose construction licence was approved by Ugandan authorities on Thursday. BNP Paribas decided not to finance the EACOP project in 2021, but last year participated in a one-year liquidity loan of $8 billion to TotalEnergies as one of a dozen banks. One protester, referring to the loan, said "this blank check allows TotalEnergies to finance absolutely anything it wants, so yes BNP Paribas may not directly underwrite the project but it still remains the second-largest financial partner." The bank has a goal to finance 30 billion euros ($32.5 billion) of renewable energy projects by 2025.

☆ How to speed up the transition to green energy, according to leaders at Davos
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( Freya Graham | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Leaders at Davos say government policy to incentivize the transition can push things forward. There's no 'silver bullet' solutionThe energy transition involves a huge variety of solutions coming together — renewable energy, electric vehicles, hydrogen technology, and nuclear power, to name a few, will all play a role. Andrés Gluski, CEO of energy company AES, said there isn't "one silver bullet" for the energy transition. Daniels said that while the US is using incentives to drive the energy transition, the EU is using rules and regulations. Ciorra also called China a champion of the electric transition, because "they are making this as a business."

[1/2] Logo of British Petrol BP is seen e at petrol station in Pienkow, Poland, June 8, 2022. Reuters GraphicsWINDFALL WOESBut the bumper profits could revive calls on governments around the world to further hike windfall taxes on the sector as economies struggle with high energy prices. They benefited the most from high energy prices, rewarded by a fossil-focused cash generation strategy that contrasted with European majors' bet on renewables. Banks including HSBC and J.P. Morgan predict more upside potential for European stocks this year after U.S. oil majors led in share performance and profits in 2022. "The European majors appear much more attractively valued than the U.S. majors on our estimates," HSBC said in a note.

☆ Biden names Phillips acting head of energy regulator
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Companies Federal Energy Regulatory Commission FollowWASHINGTON, Jan 3 (Reuters) - President Joe Biden has named Willie Phillips, a Democrat, acting chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, FERC said on Tuesday. Phillips joined the commission in December, 2021 after being appointed by Biden and approved by Congress. After Phillips joined FERC, that began to change as Democrats had a 3-2 majority and the Biden administration pursued policies to transition to low-carbon energy. But now Phillips is acting chairman, FERC will be locked at a 2-2 because the former head, Richard Glick, left FERC after Senator Joe Manchin, a conservative Democrat, did not hold a confirmation hearing to consider Biden's re-nomination of Glick. Phillips will serve as temporary chief of the commission as the Biden administration considers nominating a permanent chair.

☆ The world's in a 'polycrisis' — and these countries want to quash it by looking beyond GDP
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-26 | by ( Sam Meredith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +11 min

Mostly led by women, Finland, Iceland, Scotland, Wales and New Zealand are all members of the Wellbeing Economy Governments partnership. "Which I think is why we're seeing such growing interest in the well-being economy approach, both here in Scotland and around the world." A post-growth society is one that resists the demand for constant economic growth. Mostly led by women, Finland, Iceland, Scotland, Wales and New Zealand are all members of the Wellbeing Economy Governments partnership. 'GDP is not a way to measure richness'The push to look beyond economic growth comes at a time of growing calls to end fossil fuel production worldwide.

☆ Air Products, AES to invest $4 bln in building largest U.S. green hydrogen plant
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-08 | by ( Expert Analysis | Reuters Professional | Calls Grow For Companies To Disclose Impacts On Nature In Bid To Plug Finance Gap | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Dec 8 (Reuters) - Industrial gas supplier Air Products (APD.N) and renewable energy firm AES Corp (AES.N) said on Thursday they would invest about $4 billion to build the largest U.S. green hydrogen facility, amid rising demand for the clean fuel. The companies aim to start commercial operations by 2027 at the Texas facility, which will be capable of producing over 200 metric tons of green hydrogen per day. Air Products, which had sales of $12.7 billion in fiscal 2022, will serve as the exclusive acquirer and marketer of the green hydrogen from the plant under a 30-year deal. AES and Air Products will have equal ownership of the plant's renewable energy and electrolyzer assets, which help break water into hydrogen and oxygen, they added. There has been an uptick in demand for green hydrogen, produced using renewable energy, which could include offshore wind and solar, to power electrolysis plants.

NEW YORK, Dec 7 (Reuters) - Sonnedix and Cubico, two renewable energy developers, are competing to buy Chilean solar power assets that Italy's Enel (ENEI.MI) has put on the block to help trim debt, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. Consisting of around 500 megawatts (MW) of operating and newly built sites, the portfolio is expected to fetch up to 1 billion euros ($1 billion). Enel and Cubico declined to comment. Pension and infrastructure funds have been buying stakes in low-carbon energy generation for many years, attracted by their predictable returns. Additional reporting by Valentina Za and Francesca Landini in Milan; editing by Cynthia OstermanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Fund managers who have beaten 98% of their peers in 2022 share 9 'keeper stocks' they're betting on for 2023 — and the 3 market sectors they're overweight on
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( William Edwards | Lisa Kailai Han | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

On Wednesday, fund managers said they see value stocks continuing to outperform into 2023. Judging by their MSCI All-Country World Indexes, value stocks outperformed growth by the widest margin since 2001 in the year through September 30, according to GMO. Stocks that are cheaper relative to their fundamentals will remain strong performers in 2023, according to Ryan Kelley and Josh Wein. Even though energy stocks have experienced a sustained rally in the past few months, Kelley said that the sector still has more upside to offer investors. Over the next 12 months, the firm expects a "very strong" outperformance for energy stocks, especially from traditional names, said Ben Cook, portfolio manager for the Hennessy energy funds.

☆ Welders wanted: France steps up recruitment drive as nuclear crisis deepens
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-29 | by ( Benjamin Mallet | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

EDF estimates that France's nuclear industry needs to recruit between 10,000 and 15,000 workers a year over the next seven years. Despite relatively high unemployment, France's manufacturing, construction, engineering and IT industries complain they can't get the workers they need. These people work with molten metal at 1,500 degrees Celsius, and sometimes have to stand upside down," said one welder in the nuclear industry, who asked not to be identified. Before the war in Ukraine, successive administrations sought to reduce France's reliance on nuclear energy, not build new reactors, they say. For a long time, France was Europe's nuclear energy champion - and its biggest electricity exporter.

☆ China's CO2 emissions fall but policies still not aligned with long-term goals
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-21 | by ( David Stanway | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

SHANGHAI, Nov 21 (Reuters) - China's greenhouse gas emissions have been in decline since last year but could still be some way from their peak, with the country's policies still not fully aligned with long-term goals to limit temperature increases, a survey of Chinese experts said on Monday. Energy consumption, driven by heavy industrial economic growth, was still growing too fast to meet climate goals. Global climate talks ended on Sunday with a commitment to establish a fund to help the most vulnerable nations, but countries failed to reach a consensus on bringing global emissions to a peak by 2025. This month, an annual report by the Global Carbon Project (GBP) estimated that China's emissions would fall by 0.9% in 2022, raising hopes that they have already peaked. "Over the coming years we will see growth (in emissions) coming from China before we see stabilisation and eventually decline."

The windfall tax will be expanded to electricity generators with a levy of 45% being applied from Jan. 1 to revenues the government deems "extraordinary", from low carbon power generators such as wind and nuclear. The two measures are expected to raise around 14 billion pounds for 2023/24 fiscal year, a treasury document showed. Treasury documents show the 45% tax on low-carbon power generators would apply to revenue made on power generation at an average price over 75 pounds per megawatt hour (MWh). OIL AND GAS WINDFALLThe higher windfall tax on oil and gas producers will take effect on Jan. 1. Rival BP (BP.L) plans to spend 18 billion pounds by 2030 in Britain.

☆ United States at risk of tight electric supplies this winter -NERC
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Those reliability concerns stem from higher peak demand projections, generator retirements, generator vulnerability to extreme weather and fuel supply and natural gas infrastructure limitations, the North American Electric Reliability Corp (NERC) said on a webcast of its 2022-2023 Winter Reliability Assessment. NERC said that the lack of interconnections with other regions limited Texas' ability to import power from other regions if problems arise. "Energy emergencies are likely in extreme conditions," NERC said about MISO, noting wind generator performance would be a key factory this winter. In New England, NERC warned that the amount of oil stored at power generators was just about 40% of capacity. "We encourage generators to fill up those tanks," Mark Olson, manager for reliability assessments at NERC, said on the webcast.

SHARM EL-SHEIK, Nov 10 (Reuters) - African nations must be allowed to develop their fossil fuel resources to help lift their pepole out of poverty, governments said at the COP27 talks in Egypt, which welcomed leaders of oil and gas companies sidelined at previous talks. African nations said wealthy countries had failed to deliver promised funding that would help them to expand clean energy instead of exploiting their fossil fuel resources. Some 636 fossil fuel lobbyists were registered to attend COP27, another report from a group of organisations that analysed the U.N.'s provisional list of attendees found. That's 100 lobbyists more than attended the Glasgow COP26 summit last year, the group said, lamenting what it described as "rise in the influence of the fossil fuel industry". The analysis also counted delegation members acting on behalf of their country's fossil fuel industry.

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