Energy

Next Chinese trade war could benefit the planet

8 Apr 2024

As Beijing floods the world with cheap green goods, the West will put up trade barriers. That will delay the energy transition in the United States and EU. But the glut of EVs, solar panels and the like will speed it up in China and much of the Global South.

Eni’s green shoots are taking time to blossom

28 Mar 2024

Italy’s $53 bln energy major trades at a discount to rivals. An overhang from Rome’s potential stake sale and falling gas prices are drags. But CEO Claudio Descalzi’s plan to raise cash by spinning off energy transition-focused business units is also yet to fully shape up.

LNG angst seeps from consumers to producers

27 Mar 2024

A few years ago, supplies of liquefied natural gas were scarce and prices sky-high. Extra capacity arriving this decade means there could soon be a price-sapping glut. Big suppliers like Qatar and Shell have long-term contracts that can ease the pain, but only up to a point.

Capital Calls: Shell and Russia

26 Mar 2024

Concise views on global finance: Russian state giant Gazprom will buy the British energy major’s 27.5% stake in a major Siberian liquefied gas field for the equivalent of $1 bln. Shell is however unlikely to be able to get hold of the cash any time soon.

Europe’s green giant is focusing on safer bets

21 Mar 2024

Iberdrola is upping investment on ageing power grids. The $79 bln Spanish utility is also buying out US unit Avangrid and allocating its biggest chunk of capex to the States. Both bets look likelier to pay off than renewable power and geographies with less generous subsidies.

Like Rome, oil demand won’t be destroyed in a day

18 Mar 2024

Oil producers attending the big industry confab in Houston this week recognize they are under pressure. US firms are merging; Saudi is reinventing itself. Like in any dwindling empire, many leaders will want to take over rivals. Rewarding investors with cash is a better strategy.

RWE has a way out of its valuation hole

14 Mar 2024

The $26 bln German power utility has lost 22% of its market value this year. Low gas prices, higher rates and a lingering presence in polluting lignite are reasons why. The first two ought not to persist as headaches, and the last is something RWE could do more about.

EIB backing would add spark to EU mini-nuclear bid

1 Mar 2024

Europe’s bid to develop smaller, cheaper nuclear reactors as part of its plan to cut carbon emissions needs cash and political support. European Investment Bank financing for next-generation projects would make a difference. Even so, green benefits may take years to materialise.

Post-crisis Adani is cranking up his IPO factory

29 Feb 2024

Indian tycoon Gautam Adani is on a comeback from a short-seller attack that stress-tested his $200 bln empire. In this Viewsroom podcast, Breakingviews columnists explain how the spotlight impacted his group and look at the next crop of listed companies it is set to produce.

Exxon juggles stick of dynamite near Hess deal

27 Feb 2024

The oil giant and Chinese partner CNOOC say Chevron’s $53 bln acquisition of Hess gives them the right to buy the latter’s crown jewel stake in a Guyana oil field. While that threatens to blow up Chevron’s plan, an Exxon purchase also could saddle it with a risky time-bomb.

Strategic clarity fuels US oil giants’ M&A spree

23 Feb 2024

Exxon Mobil and Chevron are buying up rival drillers on expectations that demand for crude will still be robust in 2050. European rivals like Shell are less bullish about oil, but reluctant to pile headlong into green energy. That helps explain the transatlantic valuation gap.

Capital Calls: Oil M&A

22 Feb 2024

Concise views on global finance: The $11 billion Williston Basin combination of Chord Energy and Enerplus lacks the wow factor of Exxon’s and Chevron’s mega-mergers, but there are sufficient savings to suggest more deals will be on the way.

Adani is a gift that will keep on giving

14 Feb 2024

Its flagship company is a top coal trader and is incubating new businesses from green power to airports. That will soon produce a wave of IPOs. Asia's richest man will keep testing and shaping India's $4 trln stock market for years to come.

The green agenda’s best shot at a revival

13 Feb 2024

Economic distress prompted by globalisation undermines support for the energy transition, climate change economist Valentina Bosetti tells The Exchange podcast. That matters as key US and EU elections approach. Using proceeds from carbon taxes to address inequality is paramount.

Oil investors are adrift in Red Sea rip currents

9 Feb 2024

Crude prices at around $80 a barrel are lower than in early October despite conflict in Gaza, attacks on shipping vessels off Yemen, and US-Iran tensions. That reflects expectations of weak demand and ample supply, underpinned by lax sanctions. All three could soon change.

BHP and Rio take competition out of going green

9 Feb 2024

The giant miners are teaming up to try and decarbonise steel production. Cutting the 8% of global emissions the current process belches out is key to saving the planet. The collaboration can help Australia keep up too. It makes this unusual setting aside of rivalry doubly smart.

Orsted revival requires more than belt-tightening

7 Feb 2024

The $23 bln Danish group cut its 2030 power capacity target and cancelled dividends after facing $4 bln of US impairments. For investors, it’s better than an equity raise. But an Orsted share-price recovery hinges on regaining their trust – and expected rate cuts materialising.

Woodside torches Santos’ quick activist fix

7 Feb 2024

The oil and gas driller ended talks with its smaller rival about a $52 bln merger Down Under. A deal always looked hard. But it could have got investors off Santos CEO Kevin Gallagher’s back. Now he’ll have to try the slower route of capital returns, cost cuts and asset sales.

Financial fallout is hardwired into new nuclear

26 Jan 2024

France’s EDF wants help with the costs of its Hinkley Point C plant, which now exceed 30 bln pounds. Britain can say no, but needs the power. Globally nuclear capacity is supposed to treble by 2050, but future investor, state and customer spats on overruns look inevitable.

Abu Dhabi’s Europe M&A hedges an opaque future

26 Jan 2024

The UAE’s key oil group is readying $40 bln of European petrochemicals deals. Some Western rivals are doubling down on the black stuff. ADNOC’s plan – buying up the value chain of an area where crude demand may persist – is a partial hedge against cratered oil usage in 2050.