2025-05-07 00:40
May 6 (Reuters) - Infrastructure investment firm I Squared, midstream company MPLX LP (MPLX.N) , opens new tab, and pipeline operator Enbridge Inc (ENB.TO) , opens new tab have entered an agreement to acquire up to 85% interest in the Matterhorn Express gas pipeline, the companies said on Tuesday. Infrastructure company WhiteWater, which counts I Squared as one of its partners, will own up to 65% interest in the pipeline, the companies said in a statement, adding that Canada-based Enbridge and MPLX will own another 10% each in the Matterhorn pipeline following a closing of the transaction. Sign up here. The companies would acquire these equity interests from private equity firm Ridgemont Equity Partners and Devon Energy Corp (DVN.N) , opens new tab, the statement said. Reuters reported earlier this week that Miami-based I Squared Capital was in talks to acquire a majority stake in the natural gas pipeline from WhiteWater Midstream. A deal could value Matterhorn Express pipeline at more than $5 billion including debt, a Bloomberg report had said. WhiteWater's equity interest in the Matterhorn Express Pipeline will be jointly backed by infrastructure investment firm FIC and I Squared, according to the statement. WhiteWater will continue to operate the Matterhorn Express Pipeline. Earlier on Tuesday, MPLX said it is acquiring an additional 5% interest in the joint venture that owns the Matterhorn Express pipeline for $151 million. The Matterhorn pipeline carries natural gas from the Permian Basin of West Texas and New Mexico to the outskirts of Houston. The 580-mile pipeline was designed to carry up to 2.5 billion cubic feet per day of gas, according to its website. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/i-squared-enbridge-mplx-acquire-majority-stake-matterhorn-natgas-pipeline-2025-05-07/
2025-05-07 00:08
SYDNEY, May 7 (Reuters) - Lynas Rare Earths (LYC.AX) , opens new tab is eyeing potential purchases of rare earths deposits in Malaysia and Brazil and plans to work with early-stage developers to help bring their mines online, its CEO Amanda Lacaze said on Wednesday. The world's largest rare earths producer outside of China is considering fresh growth options given macroeconomic uncertainties, she said at the Macquarie Australia Conference in Sydney. Sign up here. Malaysia, where Lynas has processing operations, has a lot of the same geology that is present through much of Southeast Asia, such as Myanmar, she said. Myanmar is a significant supplier to China's rare earths industry. "Yes there are deposits there, yes there are deposits in Brazil. Yes we are looking at them," Lacaze said. On Malaysian sites, Lacaze said that any development would have to come with high environmental and sustainability standards and that Lynas was open to working alongside the companies to "put our script to work". "Would we like to see them developed? Yes. Will we facilitate that development? Yes," she said. In Australia, where Lynas' Mt Weld deposit is located, an election at the weekend has returned to power the Labor government which had put out a policy to stockpile critical minerals such as rare earths. That is an "uneconomic" policy, Lacaze said. "You need to focus on developing a strong and successful business, and one which relies upon government funding to construct and then government funding to produce is probably by definition uneconomic," she added. U.S. President Donald Trump's administration has put a focus on developing rare earths deposits, having last week signed a deal with Ukraine for supply. Rare earths are used in industrial magnets and in some defence applications. But new supplies are difficult to develop and can take many years, Lacaze said. "I sometimes want to take an ad out in the Washington Post saying, 'Want Rare Earths? Call 1800 Lynas," she said. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/lynas-ceo-says-company-is-eyeing-rare-earths-buys-malaysia-brazil-2025-05-07/
2025-05-07 00:07
May 7 (Reuters) - Australia's Lake Resources (LKE.AX) , opens new tab said on Wednesday it has launched a strategic review of its flagship Kachi lithium project in Argentina, adding that the asset is significantly undervalued despite surging long-term demand for battery metals. The review aims at exploring options, including the sale of a stake in the project as well as a potential sale or merger of the lithium developer. Sign up here. The Kachi Lithium Brine project is the largest independent project across South America's "lithium triangle", with total resources exceeding 10.6 million metric tons of lithium carbonate equivalent, according to the miner. The decision to explore strategic alternatives is also bolstered by recent instances of companies with Argentine lithium projects receiving proposals significantly exceeding their current market capitalizations, Lake Resources said. The review comes more than five months after it agreed to sell three of its non-core lithium brine assets in Argentina for $9 million. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/australias-lake-resources-launches-review-argentina-lithium-project-2025-05-07/
2025-05-06 23:50
MEXICO CITY, May 6 (Reuters) - Mexican Agriculture Minister Julio Berdegue said on Tuesday he reached agreements with U.S. counterpart Brooke Rollins in a "friendly" meeting in Washington and met with tomato industry executives. Berdegue did not elaborate in his post on X, but said the deals would benefit both countries. Sign up here. He later posted again on X saying he met with more than two dozen representatives and companies involved in distributing Mexican tomatoes in the U.S. Washington has said it intends to withdraw from a bilateral agreement on Mexican tomato exports, citing its failure to protect domestic growers. A U.S. pullout would result in duties of nearly 20.91% on most Mexican tomato exports as of July 14. "They highlighted the adverse effects of the measure adopted by the U.S. government, which will make tomatoes more expensive for consumers," Berdegue said about his meeting with executives. Mexico's government said in April it hoped to begin talks to renew the agreement, and has been working to smooth out other recent tensions including the handling of a damaging pest called New World screwworm after the U.S. threatened to limit cattle imports from Mexico. Screwworm can infest livestock, wildlife and in rare cases, people. Maggots from screwworm flies burrow into the skin of living animals, causing serious and often fatal damage. Frictions have also surfaced between the trading partners over a decades-old water sharing treaty under which Mexico has struggled to deliver on its obligations. Last week, both governments announced an agreement that Mexico would increase its water shipments, which the U.S. has said are vital for Texas farmers. https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/mexico-agriculture-minister-says-reached-beneficial-agreements-with-us-2025-05-06/
2025-05-06 23:36
CHICAGO/WASHINGTON, May 7 (Reuters) - Democrats in the U.S. Senate have asked the Department of Agriculture to explain why billionaire Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency must approve certain government farm loans and loan guarantees before they are issued, according to a copy of a letter seen by Reuters. The lawmakers also told USDA they wanted details about how such reviews are being conducted and whether DOGE will be vetting other USDA farm assistance programs, according to the letter. Sign up here. Farmers rely heavily on loans to pay for operational expenses including seeds, fertilizers and pesticides, or to buy land. The USDA's Farm Service Agency (FSA) typically offers loans to farmers who have trouble accessing credit through traditional lending institutions. The letter, led by U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, was sent late Tuesday to Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, according to an aide. It was signed by 16 senators, including Ron Wyden, Adam Schiff and others. The letter comes after Reuters reported on an April 29 memo outlining policy changes related to USDA FSA farm loan programs. According to the memo, the new policy requires that farm loans and loan guarantees over $500,000 must be reviewed and cleared by the agency's chief financial officer and DOGE employees. The same applies for loans and guarantees of any size issued to so-called "formal entities", such as a farm business limited liability corporation. The policy change is in compliance with an executive order on government cost efficiency, according to the memo. "Because most farming operations are structured as some type of entity, this requirement could impact a large number of loans and loan guarantees," according to the letter sent to Rollins on Tuesday. The lawmakers said that in addition to raising privacy concerns, the change could cause financial uncertainty and delays for qualified borrowers. USDA officials could not immediately be reached for comment late Tuesday. The agency previously told Reuters such reviews do not cause undue delay and that most direct aid to individuals is exempt from the process. Klobuchar is the top Democrat on the Senate Agriculture Committee, and Schiff is also a committee member. Wyden is the top Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-senators-urge-usda-explain-doge-review-farm-loans-2025-05-06/
2025-05-06 23:13
BOGOTA, May 6 (Reuters) - Colombia's majority state-owned oil producer Ecopetrol (ECO.CN) , opens new tab reported on Tuesday a 22% net profit slump in the first quarter, pointing to geopolitical tensions weighing down global oil prices. "We are facing an environment affected by external variables, geopolitical tensions and principally a strong impact of the fall in Brent crude prices," CEO Ricardo Roa said in a statement. Sign up here. The company said an economic slowdown in China as well as the United States' widespread tariff threats had hit crude prices, while uncertainty on production licenses in Venezuela and sanctions on certain oil imports added to the sector's challenges. Net profits for the firm hit 3.13 trillion pesos ($730.5 million) in the first three months of 2025, compared to the 4.01 trillion it reported a year earlier, while total sales came in at 31.37 trillion pesos, a hairbreadth above the same quarter of 2024. In a press conference, Roa said the company had taken a 1.2 trillion peso hit to its bottom line due to a higher tax burden resulting from a decree by President Gustavo Petro that aims to address violence in the north-eastern region of Catatumbo. The company's earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) meanwhile fell 6.9% in the first three months of 2025 versus the same period last year to 13.26 trillion pesos, while its EBITDA margin contracted 3.2%. Ecopetrol, whose shares are 88.5% held by the Colombian government, said total production in the period edged up 0.6% year-on-year to 745,400 barrels of oil equivalent per day. It closed the first quarter with 17 billion pesos in cash and invested close to $1.22 billion, while advancing with the drilling of four of 10 wells planned for this year. One well was successful, it said, while two are under evaluation and one was found to by dry. Roa added that Ecopetrol would continue to develop offshore gas projects off the country's Caribbean coast after partner Shell (SHEL.L) , opens new tab withdrew, saying he considered the fields "economically and technically viable." Ecopetrol is also advancing with talks over other non-conventional energy projects, he said. ($1 = 4.283,62 Colombian pesos) https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/colombias-ecopetrol-posts-22-profit-drop-q1-2025-05-06/
