2026-01-16 21:54
US seeks to exchange Venezuelan oil for refilling SPR, two sources say Energy Department says it is not currently considering using Venezuelan oil to refill SPR SPR currently holds about 414 million barrels, about 60% of total capacity HOUSTON/LONDON, Jan 16 (Reuters) - The U.S. government is not currently considering using Venezuelan oil in an exchange with U.S. oil companies to refill the country's Strategic Petroleum Reserve, the Department of Energy said on Friday. Earlier on Friday, Reuters reported that two sources said the Trump administration was exploring a plan that would deliver Venezuelan oil to U.S. refineries in exchange for U.S.-produced crude. The U.S. crude would be used to help fill the SPR, the world's largest emergency oil stockpile, which is held in a series of underground caverns on the Texas and Louisiana coasts. Sign up here. "This is false," a U.S. Energy Department spokesperson said. "We are not currently considering using Venezuelan oil to refill the SPR." There is also no exchange planned currently, the spokesperson said. Venezuelan crude oil is largely denser and higher in sulfur than the crude oil in the SPR, which has long been filled with crude produced in the United States. The two sources said the Trump administration is looking to move the Venezuelan crude into storage tanks at the Louisiana Offshore Oil Port from where it can be shipped to refineries. In exchange for getting Venezuelan crude, companies would supply U.S. medium sour crude directly into SPR storage, the two sources said. After capturing Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro earlier this month, the U.S. has said it would control the South American country's oil sales and revenue indefinitely. Trump pledged on the first day of his second term to fill up the emergency reserve as part of a policy to support oil and gas. The SPR currently holds about 414 million barrels in underground salt caverns, about 60% of its total capacity. A lack of funds and ongoing maintenance at the reserve have so far limited the administration's plan to refill crude. U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright has said the Trump administration was exploring alternative approaches to replenish the reserve without direct government spending, including potential deals with private companies to supply oil. A major tax and spending bill last year included about $171 million for SPR oil purchases and maintenance, much less than the $1.3 billion that had originally been in the legislation. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/us-explores-plan-swap-heavy-venezuelan-oil-us-medium-crude-fill-emergency-2026-01-16/
2026-01-16 21:47
WASHINGTON, Jan 16 (Reuters) - The United States signed an agreement with Slovakia on Friday to advance cooperation on the central European country's nuclear energy program, a plan they said would help reduce its reliance on Russian-designed reactors. The agreement includes the development of a state-owned 1,200-megawatt nuclear unit of U.S. design at the Jaslovske Bohunice Nuclear Power Plant that would be bigger than existing units. Sign up here. Slovakia, which currently has five nuclear power reactors at two plants, has been in talks with Washington since last year to build a large plant with nuclear developer Westinghouse. "Today’s civil nuclear agreement reflects our shared commitment to strengthening European energy security and sovereignty for decades to come," said Energy Secretary Chris Wright at an event at the agency's headquarters in Washington. Slovakia Prime Minister Robert Fico said the agreement was a "clear signal that Slovakia and the United States are united by a common strategic thinking about the future of energy – about its safety, sustainability, and technological maturity.” Westinghouse is owned by Canada-based Cameco (CCO.TO) , opens new tab and Brookfield Asset Management (BAM.N) , opens new tab. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/us-slovakia-sign-civil-nuclear-power-agreement-2026-01-16/
2026-01-16 20:40
Jan 16 (Reuters) - JERA Nex BP will buy its partner EnBW's (EBKG.DE) , opens new tab stake in the Mona offshore wind project and has signed a lease agreement for the British facility, it said on Friday. The move comes a day after German utility EnBW said it would take a 1.2 billion euro ($1.39 billion) impairment charge after pulling out of two wind projects it was developing jointly with JERA Nex BP — Mona and Morgan — a direct consequence of losing out in a landmark UK offshore tender. EnBW also cited a significant rise in supply chain costs, weaker electricity market prices and higher interest rates. Sign up here. JERA Nex BP, jointly owned by oil major BP (BP.L) , opens new tab and Japan's top power generator JERA, has also signed a lease agreement with Britain's Crown Estate for the Mona project, which could deliver up to 1.5 gigawatt once operational. But the offshore wind company said it will not proceed with the Morgan project lease in current market conditions. JERA Nex BP and EnBW said they will work with stakeholders to manage the implications of the decision and conclude remaining project activities. JERA Nex BP did not disclose financial details of the transactions. ($1 = 0.8624 euros) https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/jera-nex-bp-buy-enbws-stake-uks-mona-offshore-wind-project-2026-01-16/
2026-01-16 19:54
Talks to include post-war recovery package and security guarantees Zelenskiy seeks clarity on Russian stance towards US-backed peace efforts Ukraine needs $800 billion for post-war reconstruction, officials say KYIV, Jan 16 (Reuters) - A Ukrainian delegation is en route to the U.S. for talks on security guarantees and a post-war recovery package, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Friday, expressing hope the documents could be signed on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos next week. During the talks, Kyiv's team also hopes to get clarity from the U.S. on the Russian stance towards U.S.-backed diplomatic efforts to end the nearly four-year war, Zelenskiy told a news conference in Kyiv alongside Czech President Petr Pavel. Sign up here. "I think we have worked well with the American side, we are just not on the same side on some issues," Zelenskiy said of the negotiations with Washington. U.S. President Donald Trump told Reuters earlier this week that he may meet with Zelenskiy at the WEF, a meeting which the Ukrainian leader has publicly sought. Zelenskiy said that Ukraine had completed its part of the work on the documents outlining a "prosperity package" to unlock money for Ukraine's costly post-war recovery, as well as on U.S. security guarantees designed to stop a future Russian attack. Ukrainian officials have said the country will need $800 billion for its post-war reconstruction. Ukraine's ambassador to the U.S., Olga Stefanishyna, said senior Ukrainian officials would take part in bilateral talks on the two key agreements on Saturday in Miami. "The purpose of the visit is to refine these agreements with American partners," Stefanishyna said in a post on Facebook, adding they "may be signed ... in Davos." Ukraine's delegation will include the head of Zelenskiy's office, Kyrylo Budanov, secretary of Ukraine's national security and defence council, Rustem Umerov, and the head of Zelenskiy's parliamentary faction, Davyd Arakhamia, she added. Washington has pushed Ukraine to agree to a peace framework that it will then present to Moscow, while Kyiv and its European allies have sought to ensure that Ukraine will not be attacked again by Russia in future. "Ultimatums are not, in my view, a workable model for democratic relations between countries," Zelenskiy said, without specifying to what he was referring. Trump, who has often criticised Zelenskiy, said on Wednesday that Russia was ready for a peace deal and that he saw the Ukrainian leader as the obstacle to peace, an assessment that stands in stark contrast with that of European allies. On Friday, Zelenskiy said Russia was stalling peace efforts, and cited Moscow's recent strikes on Ukraine's energy system as proof of Moscow's real intentions. "Each of these strikes against our energy sector and our cities quite clearly shows Russia's real interests and intentions: they are not interested in agreements, but in the further destruction of Ukraine," he posted on social media after the news conference. At the news conference, Zelenskiy also pushed for more air defence ammunition to protect Ukraine's power grid. He said that until a new aid package had arrived on Friday morning, several air defence systems had been left without missiles. "We need to fight for these (aid) packages with blood, with people's lives," he told reporters. (This story has been corrected to make clear talks will take place in Miami on Saturday, not Friday, in paragraph 6) https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/ukrainian-team-heading-us-security-guarantees-talks-zelenskiy-says-2026-01-16/
2026-01-16 19:50
Venezuelan firms to use dollars to buy raw materials US says it has sold first $500 million of Venezuelan oil Bolivar weakened 83% last year, boosting local prices Jan 16 (Reuters) - Four Venezuelan banks were notified this week by the country's government that they will split $300 million of oil revenues deposited in an account in Qatar, enabling them to sell dollars to Venezuelan companies that need foreign exchange to pay for materials, two financial sources and an analyst said. The injection of foreign capital comes after weeks of tightening supplies of dollars, as the U.S. seized Venezuelan oil tankers and hit the country's top revenue flow. Sign up here. Venezuelan companies needing to import raw materials have long had to exchange their local bolivars for dollars held by the central bank, after being generated by oil sales and through transactions made with foreign credit cards within the country. Venezuela's interim president, Delcy Rodriguez, said on Friday that revenues coming from oil sales would be channeled through the central bank. "They will reach private banks through the foreign-exchange market mechanism," she said. The U.S. said this week it had completed the first $500 million in sales of Venezuelan oil, part of a $2 billion agreement reached this month following the ouster of President Nicolas Maduro and swearing in of interim leader Rodriguez. U.S. President Donald Trump's administration has said Venezuela will sell between 30 million and 50 million barrels. An industry source familiar with the plan said the main account for the transactions was located in Qatar. Part of the revenue will go to social projects and infrastructure, Rodriguez said on Thursday, as she submitted a proposed reform of the hydrocarbons law, aimed at boosting oil investment, to the country's legislature. Authorities on Thursday told the four local financial institutions, all with correspondent banks outside the country, that they will receive about $75 million each in the coming days from oil income, the two sources said. The dollars can then be sold to companies within Venezuela under central bank guidelines, the sources added. Neither the finance ministry nor the central bank responded to requests for comment. “Some $500 million has already been deposited in the Qatar trust. Of that amount, $300 million will be sold to four large private banks," economist Alejandro Grisanti, director of local analyst firm Ecoanalitica, wrote on X on Friday. The Venezuelan government began allowing use of dollar-linked cryptocurrencies like USDT, on the exchange market in the second half of 2025, after the U.S. issued Chevron a restricted license to export crude but barred payments to the government. But even crypto flows to the private sector had fallen, one of the sources said, adding that if more dollars enter from crude sales, allocations via crypto are likely to decline. The bolivar weakened 83% in 2025, accelerating price increases. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/venezuelan-banks-will-get-300-million-oil-money-sell-exchange-market-sources-say-2026-01-16/
2026-01-16 19:43
Governors, Trump administration sign two-year price cap deal for future PJM power auctio PJM grid covers 67 million people in 13 mid-Atlantic and inland states Rising power bills cause political backlash in PJM region WASHINGTON, Jan 16 (Reuters) - The White House on Friday urged the largest U.S. electric grid to conduct an emergency power auction to protect against rolling blackouts as energy demand from data centers grows faster than the country can build new generation plants. The Trump administration initiative calls on PJM Interconnection, which serves 67 million customers in 13 states and Washington, D.C., to conduct an emergency procurement auction to address escalating electricity prices and growing reliability risks across the mid-Atlantic region of the United States. Sign up here. PJM later on Friday unveiled its own plan, which called for big data centers to voluntarily bring their own new generation or face the potential of having their power supply curtailed during peak demand periods. The grid operator also called for the creation of an accelerated interconnection track for state-sponsored generation projects. At a White House event, U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright and Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum joined several state governors to discuss initiatives to speed the construction of more than $15 billion in new power generation on PJM, which has been criticized for being too slow to build a cushion against rotating blackouts as demand rises. Rapid expansion of data centers to fuel things like artificial intelligence has stretched the resources of PJM and other regional U.S. electric grids. President Donald Trump is seeking to combat consumer price inflation that risks undermining support for Republicans ahead of November's midterm elections. The White House is seeking caps on the amount existing power plants can charge in the PJM capacity market. A recent PJM capacity market auction set record-high prices for power generators that were more than 800% higher than the previous year, increasing electricity prices for homes and businesses. The agreement would also require data centers to pay for the new generation built on their behalf – whether they show up and use the power or not - rather than buying up existing power. The concept is called BYOG, or "bring your own generation." PJM said it is reviewing the principles set forth by the White House and governors. PJM was not invited to the event, a PJM spokesperson told Reuters. PJM has forecast that the grid's peak usage in the summer will climb by about 70 gigawatts to 220 gigawatts over the next 15 years. The record summer peak for PJM was 165 gigawatts in 2006. Since 2023, PJM says it has processed more than 170 gigawatts of new generation requests. Nearly 60 gigawatts of projects have completed PJM's study process and have either signed or been offered generation interconnection agreements. RISING POWER BILLS HAVE LED TO BACKLASH Rising power bills in PJM's region have led to a political backlash over the last year and threats by some governors to abandon the regional grid. Last summer, nine state governors wrote an open letter to the PJM board of managers criticizing the grid operator for not doing enough to address an escalating electricity affordability crisis. "Unfortunately, what we have seen in our region is that PJM has been too damn slow to let new generation onto the grid at a time where energy demand is going up," Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro said at the White House event on Friday. Burgum said PJM has been lucky so far in avoiding widespread blackouts. https://www.reuters.com/legal/litigation/white-house-seeks-emergency-power-auction-largest-us-electric-grid-2026-01-16/
