2025-05-01 21:01
May 1(Reuters) - EOG Resources (EOG.N) , opens new tab beat estimates for first-quarter profit on Thursday, as the company benefited from higher natural gas prices and production, but reduced its capital expenditure plan for the year on tariff uncertainty. Benchmark price for natural gas during the quarter jumped 63.4% year-over-year at $3.66 per thousand cubic feet(Mcf), while total quarterly production rose 4.8% to 98.1 million barrels of oil equivalent (MMBoe) the company said. Sign up here. Average natural gas prices have been on an upward trajectory over the past few quarters and touched a two-year high on March 10, supported by record flows to liquefied natural gas (LNG) export facilities and concerns over supply in the lead-up to the summer season. The Houston, Texas-based EOG said it was reducing 2025 capital expenditure plan by $200 million to between $5.8 billion to $6.2 billion, "on potential near-term impacts on global demand due to ongoing discussions regarding tariffs." U.S. President Donald Trump's expansive tariffs has heightened uncertainty in the oil and gas industry as it stoked worries over global economic growth and its impact on demand for energy. EOG said as a result of the reduction it expects to maintain oil production at first quarter levels for the balance of the year and deliver a total production growth of 5%. The company reported an adjusted profit of $2.87 per share for the quarter ended March 31, compared with analysts' average estimate of $2.79, according to data compiled by LSEG. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/eog-resources-beats-first-quarter-profit-estimates-higher-natural-gas-prices-2025-05-01/
2025-05-01 21:00
OTTAWA, May 1 (Reuters) - The Canadian government said on Thursday it laid 200 charges against steelmaker ArcelorMittal's (MT.LU) , opens new tab Canada unit for violating the country's Fisheries Act. The charges stem from several investigations launched by the Canadian environment ministry's enforcement officers. Sign up here. The concerned subsection of the law prohibits depositing or permitting "the deposit of a deleterious substance in water frequented by fish or in any place where the deleterious substance may enter any such water," the government said. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/canada-lays-200-charges-against-arcelormittal-alleged-violation-fisheries-act-2025-05-01/
2025-05-01 20:47
Lithium price too low to build U.S. lithium refinery CEO says governments will need to support industry Albemarle doesn't have 'war chest' for M&A Auctions for lithium paused, may soon resume May 1 (Reuters) - Albemarle's (ALB.N) , opens new tab stalled plans to build the largest U.S. lithium refinery remain on hold due to the ongoing global glut of the battery metal that has dragged down market prices, the company's CEO told Reuters on Thursday. That market malaise leaves the U.S. without a major site to process lithium - the cornerstone metal of the energy transition - and essentially dampens efforts by U.S. President Donald Trump and other Washington officials to bolster the country's minerals supply chain and curb its reliance on China. Sign up here. The U.S. refines only small amounts of the ultralight metal and has only one lithium mine, in Nevada, controlled by Albemarle. Last year, the company paused plans to build a $1.3 billion processing plant in South Carolina due in part to overproduction from Chinese rivals. While lithium prices can vary by region and type, an index of prices tracked by Benchmark Mineral Intelligence has dropped by 74% in the past two years. "We've been wanting to build this Western supply chain. The economics just aren't there to build that plant out in South Carolina," Albemarle CEO Kent Masters told Reuters. "The math doesn't work today." The company, which posted better-than-expected quarterly results on Wednesday, has a lithium price at which it would resume the project's development, but Masters declined to name it. "We don't have the confidence to say where (the lithium price) is or where it's going, which is why we've kind of gone to the strategy we have of making sure that we can compete at the bottom of the cycle," said Masters. Western minerals supply chains may need some kind of government support in order to develop projects and offset global competition, he added. "I don't think private companies are going to be able to do it on their own," Masters said. M&A While Rio Tinto (RIO.L) , opens new tab and other rivals have been buying lithium assets during the downturn, Masters said that Albemarle has yet to find an interesting target. "We don't have that war chest to go out and look at M&A activity the way we might have if prices were at a different level," he said. "If we saw some super quality resources we could go after, that might be a little different." In Chile, Albemarle is "pretty focused" on its work in the Salar de Atacama and while it considered bidding to access other salars, the company "didn't find them interesting," Masters said. Albemarle also is investing in direct lithium extraction projects in Chile and the United States, but Masters declined to say when either might progress. Amid the market turmoil, Albemarle held auctions for the battery metal as part of a bid to generate higher returns. Those auctions were paused while the company prepared for its quarterly earnings and may soon resume, Masters said. "We kind of like the idea of understanding pricing better and getting more transparency in the market," he said. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/albemarle-ceo-says-math-doesnt-work-us-lithium-refinery-project-2025-05-01/
2025-05-01 20:47
Justice Department calls planned laws, lawsuits an overreach Lawsuits challenge New York and Vermont climate "superfund" laws Hawaii sued fossil fuel industry after Justice Department case May 1 (Reuters) - President Donald Trump's administration said on Thursday it is suing four Democratic-led states to prevent them from enforcing "burdensome and ideologically motivated" laws and pursuing lawsuits against the fossil fuel industry over the harms caused by climate change. The U.S. Department of Justice in a pair of lawsuits argued that recent laws New York , opens new tab and Vermont , opens new tab adopted requiring oil companies to contribute billions of dollars into funds to pay for damage caused by climate change were unconstitutional. Sign up here. New York alone hopes to raise $75 billion through its "superfund" law, which the Justice Department called a "transparent monetary-extraction scheme" designed to fund the state's infrastructure projects with money from out-of-state businesses. The Justice Department filed those cases on Thursday, a day after it launched two preemptive cases seeking to stop Hawaii and Michigan from filing planned lawsuits against major oil companies over climate change, cases the administration said would imperil domestic energy production. The Justice Department in its lawsuits against Hawaii , opens new tab and Michigan , opens new tab said such lawsuits constitute an "extraordinary extraterritorial reach" that unlawfully undermine federal regulation of greenhouse gas emissions and the administration's foreign policy objectives. Despite the Justice Department's announcement, Hawaii plowed ahead with filing a lawsuit , opens new tab on Thursday in state court against companies including BP (BP.L) , opens new tab, Chevron (CVX.N) , opens new tab, Exxon Mobil (XOM.N) , opens new tab and Shell (SHEL.L) , opens new tab, accusing them of failing to warn about their fossil fuel products’ climate change danger. Numerous other Democratic-led states have in recent years filed similar lawsuits accusing the companies of deceiving the public about the role fossil fuels have played in causing climate change. The companies have denied wrongdoing. Michigan has not filed a lawsuit to date, but Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel last year retained law firms to represent it in climate change-related litigation. In a statement, she called the Trump administration's preemptive lawsuit "at best frivolous and arguably sanctionable." "I remain undeterred in my intention to file this lawsuit the President and his Big Oil donors so fear," Nessel, a Democrat, said. The Justice Department's four lawsuits follow a pledge by Trump's campaign during the 2024 election to "stop the wave of frivolous litigation from environmental extremists." The Justice Department in the lawsuits cited an executive order that the Republican president signed on his first day back in office on January 20, declaring a national energy emergency to speed permitting of energy projects, rolling back environmental protections and withdrawing the United States from an international pact to fight climate change. “These burdensome and ideologically motivated laws and lawsuits threaten American energy independence and our country’s economic and national security," Attorney General Pamela Bondi said in a statement. The Justice Department's lawsuits said all four states are standing in the way of the administration's efforts to boost domestic energy supply. "This nation's Constitution and laws do not tolerate this interference," the lawsuits said. New York Attorney General Letitia James, a Democrat, in a statement defended the state's superfund law, saying it "ensures that those who contributed to the climate crisis help pay for the damage they caused." The laws New York and Vermont adopted to create an industry-financed "superfunds" are already the subject of ongoing legal challenges by Republican-led states and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which have sued to block the novel laws. The climate-related litigation against oil companies by states remains in its early stages after years of litigation by oil companies over whether the states could sue in state courts rather than federal court. The U.S. Supreme Court in March rejected a bid by 19 Republican-led states, led by Alabama, to block five Democratic-led states from pursuing such lawsuits. The Republican-led states raised similar claims as the Justice Department's case. https://www.reuters.com/legal/trump-administration-sues-michigan-block-planned-climate-change-lawsuit-2025-05-01/
2025-05-01 20:38
US and Ukraine signed minerals deal on Wednesday Washington and Kyiv hail the deal, Kremlin silent on it Trump is seeking a peace deal in the war in Ukraine Ukraine expects parliamentary ratification within weeks KYIV/WASHINGTON, May 1 (Reuters) - Kyiv and Washington on Thursday hailed a deal giving the United States preferential access to new Ukrainian minerals as a milestone that a top U.S. official said would strengthen President Donald Trump's negotiating position with Russia. The Kremlin was silent on Wednesday's agreement, but former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said it meant Trump had "broken the Kyiv regime" because Ukraine would have to pay for U.S. military aid with mineral resources. Sign up here. The accord, which was signed in Washington and heavily promoted by Trump, establishes a joint investment fund for Ukraine's reconstruction as the U.S. president tries to secure a peace settlement in Russia's three-year-old war in Ukraine. The agreement grants the U.S. preferential access to new Ukrainian minerals projects. It is central to Ukraine's efforts to mend ties with the White House, which frayed after Trump took office in January. The deal will show the "Russian leadership that there is no daylight between the Ukrainian people and the American people, between our goals," U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Fox Business Network in an interview. "And again, I think this is a strong signal to the Russian leadership, and it gives President Trump the ability to now negotiate with Russia on even a stronger basis," he said. His remarks appeared to send a signal to Russia that Washington remains aligned with Kyiv despite question marks over its commitment to its ally since Trump's return to power upended U.S. diplomacy. The Ukrainian parliament must still approve the pact. Ukraine's First Deputy Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko, who signed the accord, told reporters in an online briefing that would happen in the next few weeks. "We want to ratify it as soon as possible. So we plan to do it within the coming weeks," Svyrydenko said, adding that some technical details had to be completed before a joint U.S.-Ukraine investment fund could become operational. "We really need to be more sustainable and more self-sufficient, and this is a real tool that can help us achieve this goal," she said. Ukraine's Economy Ministry said the two sides did not expect the agreement to begin generating revenue this year. VATICAN TALKS WERE KEY Senior Trump administration officials said three agreements had been signed - a framework deal and two technical accords - and that they expected Ukraine's parliament to approve them within a week. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said he hoped there would be no delays in securing parliament's approval, although some lawmakers said they expected it to take longer than a week. Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal met parliamentary factions at a closed meeting on Thursday. Some members complained they had not seen the text of the agreement or been properly consulted. "The agreement has changed significantly in the preparation process," Zelenskiy said in a video posted on Telegram, hailing what he called a "truly equal agreement" that created opportunities for investment in Ukraine and the modernisation of industry and legal practices in his country. He and Bessent both underlined that talks between Zelenskiy and Trump in Rome during Pope Francis' funeral on April 26 played an important role in securing a deal. "In fact, now we have the first result of the Vatican meeting, which makes it truly historic," Zelenskiy said. Kyiv has been highly dependent on U.S. military supplies since Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022 and says Moscow has intensified attacks on Ukraine since the U.S. stepped up efforts to secure a peace settlement. Washington has signalled its frustration with the failure of Moscow and Kyiv to agree on terms, and Trump has shown signs of disappointment with Russian President Vladimir Putin for not moving faster towards peace. Medvedev, who is now a senior security official in Russia, suggested Ukraine had been forced into the agreement. "Trump has broken the Kyiv regime to the point where they will have to pay for U.S. aid with mineral resources," he wrote on Telegram. "Now they (Ukrainians) will have to pay for military supplies with the national wealth of a disappearing country." Ukraine's international debt rallied after the signing of the deal, which financial analysts said had come with better terms for Ukraine than they had originally thought likely. Ukraine is rich in natural resources including rare earth metals used in consumer electronics, electric vehicles and military applications, among others. Global rare-earth mining is dominated by China, which is locked in a trade war with the U.S. after Trump's sharp tariff increases. Ukraine also has reserves of iron, uranium and natural gas. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/us-says-minerals-deal-will-strengthen-trump-talks-with-russia-2025-05-01/
2025-05-01 19:56
WASHINGTON, May 1 (Reuters) - The U.S. Treasury Department on Thursday imposed sanctions on two entities and three Mexican nationals it said are involved in a drug trafficking and oil smuggling network linked to the Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generacion gang. U.S. authorities say CJNG is one of the two major Mexican drug gangs, along with the Sinaloa Cartel, responsible for pushing fentanyl onto U.S. streets over the past few years. Sign up here. The Treasury imposed sanctions on hazardous materials transportation companies Servicios Logisticos Ambientales and Grupo Jala Logistica, saying they have transported fuel and crude oil between Mexico and the United States on behalf of individuals linked to Mexican cartels. The network generates hundreds of millions of dollars annually benefiting CJNG, through fentanyl trafficking, fuel theft, and smuggling stolen crude from Mexico across the southwest border, Treasury said. “Fuel theft and crude oil smuggling are cash cows for CJNG’s narco-terrorist enterprise, providing a lucrative revenue stream for the group and enabling it to wreak havoc in Mexico and the United States," said Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. He said the U.S. would use all available tools to target the cartels. The administration of President Donald Trump in February designated CJNG as a foreign terrorist organization and specially designated global terrorist. Attempts by Reuters to reach the companies were not successful. The sanctions block all U.S. property and interests of the persons and entities and prohibit Americans from any transactions with them. https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/us-imposes-sanctions-mexican-fuel-theft-network-it-links-cjng-cartel-2025-05-01/
