2025-12-01 12:49
UK ends $1.15 billion support due to increased risks Dutch minister says Total cancelled request for $1.1 billion insurance UK, Dutch had commissioned human rights probes into project LONDON, Dec 1 (Reuters) - Britain and the Netherlands are withdrawing a combined $2.2 billion in support for the TotalEnergies-led Mozambique LNG project, they said separately on Monday, after both hired firms to probe human rights concerns surrounding the development. Britain's government said it was rescinding its $1.15 billion backing for project after promising in 2020 a $300 million loan and insurance worth about $700 million for the $20 billion project via UK Export Finance. Sign up here. The Dutch government also said on Monday Total had withdrawn a $1.1 billion export insurance request for the project. Atradius Dutch State Business authorised $1.3 billion in export insurance via two policies, the larger of which has been rescinded at the company's request, the Dutch finance ministry said on Monday. TotalEnergies declined to comment. Mozambique's government did not respond to a request for comment. CONSTRUCTION HALTED IN 2021, BUT DUE TO RESTART Mozambique LNG's construction was halted in 2021 due to an Islamist insurgency. Total lifted force majeure on its development in November, but made restarting conditional on the Mozambican government's approval of a new budget, which the president said he may dispute. "In preparation to restart the project, UKEF was presented with a proposal to amend the financing terms it had agreed originally," British business minister Peter Kyle said in a statement. "My officials have evaluated the risks around the project, and it is the view of His Majesty’s Government that these risks have increased since 2020." The interests of UK taxpayers "are best served by ending our participation in the project at this time," he added. Jihadist attacks have been back on the rise in Mozambique, with Total bringing in workers and equipment this year by air and sea for security reasons. PROJECT CAN PROCEED WITHOUT UK, DUTCH FINANCING, TOTAL HAS SAID In April TotalEnergies CEO Patrick Pouyanne told investors that project partners could move forward without UK and Dutch financing, using equity. More than 70% of the project's financing is secured, and about 90% of the future gas production is commercialized via contracts with buyers. Kyle said UKEF would pay back the project for any premium paid. A UKEF spokesperson declined to name the amount. The Dutch finance minister on Monday said TotalEnergies had asked to cancel part of its insurance via a letter dated November 24, just as an independent human rights review ordered by the ministry was being finalised. "This means that the Netherlands will no longer be involved in financing the project," the statement reads. A $213 million policy insuring Dutch contractor Van Oord remains in place, a ministry spokesperson said. TotalEnergies holds a 26.5% operating stake in Mozambique LNG. Japan's Mitsui (8031.T) , opens new tab owns 20% in the project and Mozambique state firm ENH 15%, alongside smaller stakeholders including India's ONGS and Oil India. In March, the U.S. Export-Import Bank approved a nearly $5 billion loan for the project. CRITICISM FROM ENVIRONMENTAL, HUMAN RIGHTS GROUPS Human rights nonprofit ECCHR last month filed a criminal complaint against TotalEnergies, alleging it was complicit in torture and enforced disappearances allegedly carried out by government soldiers in Mozambique. In April, UKEF hired law firm Beyond Human Rights Compliance LLP to investigate risks around Mozambique LNG following initial media reports of the alleged torture, three people interviewed by the firm told Reuters. TotalEnergies has said those claims lack evidence. The Dutch government said on Monday the two firms it hired to investigate — Clingendael and Pangea Risk — found the torture allegations credible, though they could not ascertain Total's knowledge or role, if any. A London court in 2023 dismissed a court challenge by environmental group Friends of the Earth against the British government's funding for the project. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/britain-withdraws-115-billion-backing-totalenergies-led-mozambique-lng-2025-12-01/
2025-12-01 12:49
Dec 1 (Reuters) - Barrick Mining (ABX.TO) , opens new tab said on Monday it was exploring an initial public offering of a subsidiary that would hold its North American gold assets amid a record rally in bullion prices. U.S.-listed shares of the Canadian miner rose nearly 4% in premarket trading. Sign up here. A split would reverse Barrick's 2019 merger with Randgold Resources, and comes as investors pressure the miner to use a historic rally in gold prices to boost returns, while shedding riskier assets in Africa, Papa New Guinea and Pakistan's Reko Diq. Gold prices have hit record highs this year on expectations of lower interest rates and its rising appeal as a safe-haven asset. Reuters had reported in November Barrick was considering splitting into Africa- and North America-focused entities, citing sources. The new entity, which is headed for the IPO, would comprise of Barrick's joint venture interests in Nevada Gold Mines, and Pueblo Viejo in Dominican Republic, as well as the Fourmile gold discovery. Barrick jointly owns Nevada Gold Mines, the world's largest gold-producing complex, with rival Newmont (NEM.N) , opens new tab and is also looking to develop the Fourmile gold mine in the U.S. state. Fourmile mine test production is not due to start until 2029. The Canadian miner plans to offer a small minority interest, while retaining a significant controlling majority interest, it said. The miner said it would provide an update on the IPO evaluation process in February. "We are singularly focused on driving improved performance and shareholder value with the right teams now in place to deliver on our commitments," said interim CEO Mark Hill. Barrick has had a volatile year, marked by a long-drawn dispute over its gold mine in Mali, which led to a $1 billion write-off of the asset, and the sudden exit of Mark Bristow as its CEO. Besides Nevada and Mali, Barrick's working facilities include copper mines in the Democratic Republic of Congo, gold in Tanzania, the Dominican Republic, and Papua New Guinea. https://www.reuters.com/business/barrick-mining-evaluating-ipo-north-american-assets-2025-12-01/
2025-12-01 12:47
Two wild boar found dead tested positive for African swine fever Spain to resume pork exports to China from unaffected regions Military personnel join police in containment effort Outbreak threatens Spain's multi-billion-euro pork industry BELLATERRA, Spain, Dec 1 (Reuters) - Spain, which is mobilising to contain an outbreak of African swine fever in Barcelona, received confirmation from major pork importer China on Monday that it can resume pork exports to the country from all other regions, its agriculture minister said. Spain halted all pork shipments to China on Friday as a precaution until Beijing confirmed it had implemented a protocol signed earlier this year which meant it would only ban imports from regions affected by the virus. Sign up here. China accounts for 42% of Spain's pork exports outside the European Union. Spain is the EU's leading pork producer, accounting for roughly a quarter of the bloc's output, ahead of Germany, with annual pork exports of about 3.5 billion euros ($4.05 billion). Authorities confirmed on Friday that two wild boar found dead had tested positive for African swine fever, last recorded in Spain in 1994. A 6-km exclusion zone was set up around the affected area in Bellaterra, on the far side of the Collserola mountain range from the coastal city. Four hundred Catalan police and rural wardens were deployed to the area in northeastern Spain at the weekend, followed by 117 members of Spain's military emergency unit on Monday, who will use drones to locate and remove potential infected animals. "Our objective is to limit the zone and avoid contagion to other regions," Agriculture Minister Luis Planas told reporters late on Monday after a meeting with sector representatives. RISK TO SPAIN'S PORK INDUSTRY African swine fever, while harmless to humans, spreads rapidly among pigs and wild boar, posing a significant economic risk to Spain, one of the world's largest pork exporters. Officials suspect the virus may have spread after a wild boar ate contaminated food, possibly a sandwich brought from outside Spain. "The most likely option ... is that cold cuts, a sandwich, contaminated food, could end up in a bin ... and then that a wild boar would have eaten it and become infected," Catalonia's agriculture minister Oscar Ordeig told local radio on Monday. The infected area is close to the AP-7 highway, a major transport route linking Spain and France. Eight more suspected cases were being investigated and more cases expected, regional authorities said. As officials await final test results, Ordeig later told a briefing it was likely that human activity brought the virus to Spain from other parts of Europe, since no infected boars had been found elsewhere in Catalonia or neighbouring France. A European Commission spokesperson said it would not comment on the source of the outbreak until results of sequencing tests were known. A team of EU veterinarians will visit the area this week to survey, provide advice and prepare a report with recommendations, the spokesperson said. Spain's agriculture minister Luis Planas said Saturday that about one-third of the country's pork export certificates have been blocked as a result of the outbreak, though no farms have tested positive so far. Pork farms within a 20-km radius of the initial infection site are facing operating and sales restrictions. https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/spain-mobilises-military-against-swine-fever-says-contaminated-sandwich-could-be-2025-12-01/
2025-12-01 12:34
MILAN, Dec 1 (Reuters) - Stellantis (STLAM.MI) , opens new tab Chief Executive Antonio Filosa on Monday welcomed Berlin's call to soften European Union car emissions rules, saying Germany's proposals aligned with industry demands to revive growth in the struggling sector. The European Commission is due to unveil proposals for a package to support the auto sector on December 10, including for a review of carbon-emission targets amid mounting pressure from governments and manufacturers to be more flexible and allow plug-in hybrids and new fuel-powered cars beyond 2035. Sign up here. "We welcome the German government's support for revisions to the European regulations," Filosa said in a statement, adding it built on auto lobby ACEA's package of proposals, "all of which are urgently needed to return the European auto industry to growth". German Chancellor Friedrich Merz last week urged Brussels to allow exemptions for plug-in hybrids and highly efficient combustion engines, arguing that automakers need more flexibility as they battle slow electric-vehicle uptake and fierce competition from China. Since it ousted its former CEO Carlos Tavares a year ago, Stellantis - which was formed from the merger of Fiat Chrysler and PSA in 2021 - has become a vocal advocate for changes to the EU's auto regulation. The automaker's Chairman John Elkann last week warned that the European car industry risked "irreversible decline" without softer rules, while Filosa said the sector needed "urgent and definitive action" to restore growth. While such fears are widely shared by unions, industry proposals also include new goals for light commercial vehicle emissions, changes to regulation aimed at supporting production of small cars and measures to accelerate fleet renewal – all aimed at reconciling decarbonisation with jobs and affordability. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/stellantis-ceo-backs-german-push-ease-eu-car-emissions-rules-ahead-key-review-2025-12-01/
2025-12-01 12:28
ISTANBUL, Dec 1 (Reuters) - A Turkish-owned oil tanker that was damaged near Senegal's coast last week was hit by four external explosions but there were no injuries or pollution, its manager said on Monday. The vessel, Mersin, was at anchor near Dakar when the four explosions occurred at 2345 GMT on November 27, resulting in seawater entering the engine room, Istanbul-based Besiktas Shipping said in a written statement. Sign up here. The cause of the explosions was not clear. "The situation was immediately brought under control, and we confirm that all crew members are safe; there are no injuries, no loss of life, and no pollution," the Besiktas Shipping statement said of the Mersin's situation. "The vessel remains safe and stable, and it poses no navigational or safety risks to its surroundings," it added. On November 28, the day after the blasts aboard the Mersin in the Atlantic, Ukrainian naval drones hit two sanctioned tankers in the Black Sea, near Turkey's coast, as they headed to a Russian port to load oil, an official said on Saturday. Kyiv is trying to pile pressure on Russia's vast oil industry. Though the Panamanian-flagged Mersin has also been involved in shipping Russian oil, according to shipping data firm Kpler, there was no indication of any Ukrainian connection. Besiktas Group is the registered owner of the tanker, according to shipping database Equasis. The incident, which had led to the vessel issuing a distress signal, prompted the deployment of tugboats and specialized teams from Senegal's navy and maritime authority as they sought to prevent a potential oil spill. Besiktas Shipping said it was working in full cooperation with the insurers and Senegalese authorities, managing the consequences of the incident and supporting the technical and forensic investigations. https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/damaged-turkish-tanker-off-senegal-was-hit-by-explosions-manager-says-2025-12-01/
2025-12-01 12:23
MOSCOW, Dec 1 (Reuters) - The Kremlin said on Monday that a Ukrainian weekend attack on Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) infrastructure was outrageous given its international significance and international participation. The CPC project, which includes Russian, Kazakh and U.S. shareholders, said on Saturday that one of the three mooring points at its Novorossiysk terminal in Russia had been damaged by a Ukrainian drone attack and that operations had been halted. Sign up here. In a call with reporters, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov called the Ukrainian attack "outrageous" and also criticised Ukrainian sea drone attacks on oil tankers in the Black Sea, something he said was an assault on the interests of Turkey and the ships' owners. U.S. oil major Chevron (CVX.N) , opens new tab, a shareholder in CPC, said late on Sunday that loadings of its Tengizchevroil venture's crude oil were continuing at the Russian port of Novorossiysk. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/kremlin-says-ukrainian-strike-cpc-terminal-was-outrageous-given-its-2025-12-01/
