2025-08-06 20:46
BERLIN, Aug 6 (Reuters) - Germany's cabinet approved a draft law on Wednesday aimed at fast-tracking the rollout of geothermal energy projects, as part of its goal to eliminate fossil fuel-based heating by 2045. Interest in geothermal energy has surged since Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine triggered a spike in energy prices, prompting both municipal utilities and energy companies to seek new, low-carbon heating solutions. Sign up here. Germany's push to slash emissions from the building sector, where heating is a major contributor, has further fuelled investment in this area. According to a 2023 study by the Fraunhofer Institute, Germany holds some of Europe's largest geothermal reserves, with the potential to supply over a quarter of its annual heating needs. However, development has long been slowed by local opposition and complex regulatory hurdles. The proposed legislation seeks to cut red tape by streamlining approval processes for geothermal plants, heat pumps, thermal storage, and district heating pipelines. It would classify these projects as being of "overriding public interest" — the same status granted to wind and solar energy — and introduce faster permitting through changes to mining, water, and environmental laws. The bill also sets strict deadlines for government authorities to approve projects and relaxes restrictions on geothermal exploration. The draft law will now go to the Bundestag lower house and Bundesrat upper house for final approval. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/germany-moves-fast-track-geothermal-energy-projects-2025-08-06/
2025-08-06 20:43
Total prioritises LNG projects with low liquefaction costs Tariffs raised Rio Grande construction costs Total pushing ahead with its own projects in Mozambique, PNG LONDON/PARIS, Aug 6 (Reuters) - TotalEnergies (TTEF.PA) , opens new tab has decided not to invest in U.S. developer NextDecade's (NEXT.O) , opens new tab fifth liquefied natural gas Rio Grande export facility in Texas or to buy LNG from its output, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. The French energy major is prioritising lower-cost projects elsewhere as it reassesses its global LNG strategy, the sources said. Sign up here. The decision marks a shift for TotalEnergies, one of the world’s top three LNG exporters and the largest buyer of U.S. LNG. The company is focusing on restarting construction of its $20 billion Mozambique LNG project and expanding its portfolio through deals in Canada, Qatar, and elsewhere. TotalEnergies declined to comment. NextDecade said it was targeting mid-September for a final investment decision on Train 5 and was working to contract an additional 2.5 million tons per annum under LNG supply deals to support the project. NextDecade is contending with rising construction costs due to U.S. steel tariffs, stiff competition from U.S. rival Venture Global, and a projected global LNG supply glut that could depress prices from 2027. TotalEnergies has a 17.5% stake in NextDecade and a 16.7% interest in Phase 1 of the Rio Grande project, which includes the first three trains. In April, it signed a 20-year deal to purchase 1.5 mtpa from Train 4. In an interview with Reuters in February, TotalEnergies CEO Patrick Pouyanné expressed interest in supporting a fifth train at Rio Grande. But on a July earnings call, he emphasised future investments in Mozambique, Qatar, Papua New Guinea, and Canada, citing low costs. He noted that Train 5's marketing was NextDecade’s responsibility. He also said that U.S. steel tariffs had raised Rio Grande LNG's project costs, though by less than 10%. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/totalenergies-wont-invest-nextdecades-train-5-lng-project-sources-say-2025-08-06/
2025-08-06 20:36
50% US tariff on Brazilian goods taking effect on Wednesday Lula tells Reuters no reciprocal tariffs pending from Brazil Calls with BRICS leaders may lead to joint action on US tariffs Bolsonaro should face new trial for courting tariffs, Lula says Lula opens door to Trump meeting at U.N. General Assembly BRASILIA, Aug 6 (Reuters) - As U.S. tariffs on Brazilian goods jumped to 50% on Wednesday, Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva told Reuters in an interview that he saw no room for direct talks now with U.S. President Donald Trump that would likely be a "humiliation." Brazil is not about to announce reciprocal tariffs, he said. Nor will his government give up on cabinet-level talks. But Lula himself is in no rush to ring the White House. Sign up here. "The day my intuition says Trump is ready to talk, I won't hesitate to call him," Lula said in an interview from his presidential residence in Brasilia. "But today my intuition says he doesn't want to talk. And I won't humiliate myself." Despite Brazil's exports facing one of the highest tariffs imposed by Trump, the new U.S. trade barriers look unlikely to derail Latin America's largest economy, giving Lula more room to stand his ground against Trump than most Western leaders. Lula described U.S.-Brazil relations at a 200-year nadir after Trump tied the new tariff to his demands for an end to the prosecution of right-wing former President Jair Bolsonaro, who is standing trial for plotting to overturn the 2022 election. The president said Brazil's Supreme Court, which is hearing the case against Bolsonaro, "does not care what Trump says and it should not," adding that Bolsonaro should face another trial for provoking Trump's intervention, calling the right-wing former president a "traitor to the homeland." "We had already pardoned the U.S. intervention in the 1964 coup," said Lula, who got his political start as a union leader protesting against the military government that followed a U.S.-backed ouster of a democratically elected president. "But this now is not a small intervention. It's the president of the United States thinking he can dictate rules for a sovereign country like Brazil. It's unacceptable." The Brazilian president said he had no personal issues with Trump, adding that they could meet at the United Nations next month or U.N. climate talks in November. But he noted Trump's track record of dressing down White House guests such as South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. "What Trump did with Zelenskiy was humiliation. That's not normal. What Trump did with Ramaphosa was humiliation," Lula said. "One president can't be humiliating another. I respect everyone and I demand respect." Lula said his ministers were struggling to open talks with U.S. peers, so his government was focused on domestic policies to cushion the economic blow of U.S. tariffs, while maintaining "fiscal responsibility." The president declined to elaborate on pending measures to support Brazilian companies, which are expected to include credit lines and other export assistance. He also said he was planning to call leaders from the BRICS group of developing nations, starting with India and China, to discuss the possibility of a joint response to U.S. tariffs. "There is no coordination among the BRICS yet, but there will be," Lula said, comparing multilateral action to the strength of collective bargaining in his union days. "What is the negotiating power of one little country with the United States? None." Separately, he said Brazil was looking at lodging a collective complaint with other countries at the World Trade Organization. "I was born negotiating," said Lula, who was raised in poverty and rose through union ranks to serve two terms as president from 2003 to 2010, then re-entered politics in the 2022 election to defeat the incumbent Bolsonaro. But he said he was in no rush to strike a deal or retaliate against U.S. tariffs: "We need to be very cautious," he said. Asked about countermeasures targeting U.S. companies, such as greater taxation of big technology companies, Lula said his government was studying ways to tax U.S. firms on equal standing with Brazilian companies. Lula also described plans to create a new national policy for Brazil's strategic mineral resources, treating them as a matter of "national sovereignty" to break with a history of mining exports that added little value in Brazil. https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/i-wont-humiliate-myself-brazils-president-sees-no-point-tariff-talks-with-trump-2025-08-06/
2025-08-06 20:27
Aug 6 (Reuters) - APA Corp (APA.O) , opens new tab beat Wall Street profit estimates on Wednesday, as higher natural gas output helped the U.S. producer cushion the hit from a decline in crude prices. Brent crude averaged about 20% lower in the second quarter compared to a year earlier, weighed down by U.S. import tariffs, concerns over global economic growth, rising OPEC+ supply and persistent geopolitical tensions. Sign up here. Prices briefly rose above $80 a barrel in June after Israel struck Iranian nuclear sites, but later retreated to around $67 by quarter-end. The company's total oil output declined in the quarter to 235,244 barrels of oil per day (bopd) from last year's 253,649 bopd, offset by a 7% rise in natural gas output. The Houston, Texas-based company posted adjusted profit of 87 cents per share for the three months ended June 30, compared with the average analysts' estimate of 48 cents per share, according to data compiled by LSEG. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/oil-producer-apas-quarterly-profit-beats-estimates-natgas-higher-output-2025-08-06/
2025-08-06 20:26
Aug 6 (Reuters) - Occidental Petroleum (OXY.N) , opens new tab beat Wall Street estimates for second-quarter profit on Wednesday, as higher production countered lower crude oil prices. The company's quarterly average global production was at 1.4 million barrels of oil equivalent per day (MMboepd), up about 11% from a year earlier. Sign up here. Last week, oil majors Exxon Mobil (XOM.N) , opens new tab and Chevron (CVX.N) , opens new tab reported a quarterly profit beat as higher production helped them offset lower crude prices. Occidental also disclosed $950 million of additional divestitures since the start of the second quarter, of which $370 million already closed. The company said it had agreed in July to sell an entity that owns certain gas gathering assets in the Midland Basin to a unit of Enterprise Products Partners (EPD.N) , opens new tab for $580 million, as a part of the overall divestments. The oil and gas firm said it had repaid $3 billion of debt year-to-date. The company's shares were up 1.1% in extended trading on Wednesday. Occidental's earnings were also helped by a rise in natural gas prices, which more than doubled to $1.33 per thousand cubic foot (Mcf) from a year earlier. However, the company said quarterly average realized price for oil was at $63.76 per barrel, down about 20% from a year earlier. Average Brent crude futures fell about 20% to about $70 per barrel in the second quarter from a year earlier, as U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs created global uncertainty and weighed on oil demand. The Houston, Texas-based company also reduced the mid-point of current year capex forecast by $100 million and international operating costs by $50 million. The company reported an adjusted profit of 39 cents per share for the quarter ended June 30, compared with analysts' average estimate of 29 cents, according to data compiled by LSEG. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/occidental-petroleum-beats-quarterly-profit-discloses-additional-divestments-2025-08-06/
2025-08-06 20:23
TSX ends up 1.3%, at 27,920.87 Exceeds Tuesday's record closing high Shopify shares jump 21.5% after results beat estimates Shares of Thomson Reuters end 10.1% lower TORONTO, Aug 6 (Reuters) - The Toronto stock market climbed on Wednesday to a new record high, as Shopify took over as Canada's most valuable publicly traded company after the e-commerce firm reported quarterly results that impressed investors, sending its shares soaring. The S&P/TSX composite index (.GSPTSE) , opens new tab ended up 350.79 points, or 1.3%, at 27,920.87, exceeding the record closing high it posted on Tuesday. Sign up here. "All the heavy lifting is being done by one stock today, and that's Shopify," said Mike Archibald, a portfolio manager at AGF Investments. "The numbers were astonishing - an absolute blowout quarter." Shopify Inc (SHOP.TO) , opens new tab reported second-quarter results that beat estimates and forecast upbeat revenue for the third quarter, saying there was no slowdown in consumer demand yet and sellers on its platform are holding up well under tariff pressures. Its shares ended 21.5% higher in a move that lifted the company's market capitalization to roughly C$277 billion ($201.63 billion), surpassing that of Royal Bank of Canada (RY.TO) , opens new tab. The technology sector climbed 5.1%, while financials added 0.4% and the materials group, which includes metal mining shares, ended 0.6% higher. Shares of SSR Mining (SSRM.TO) , opens new tab jumped 17.1% after the company beat second-quarter profit expectations. Industrials were a drag, losing 0.6%. Thomson ReutersTRI.TO , opens new tab reported higher revenue for the second quarter, during which it launched new AI features in its tax and accounting and legal divisions. The shares ended down 10.1%, however, with some analysts disappointed the company did not raise its financial guidance. Energy also lost ground, falling 0.5%, as the price of oil settled 1.2% lower at $64.35 a barrel. ($1 = 1.3738 Canadian dollars) https://www.reuters.com/markets/europe/tsx-hits-record-high-shopify-becomes-indexs-most-valuable-stock-2025-08-06/
