2025-03-26 13:00

BERLIN, March 26 (Reuters) - Germany's conservative CDU/CSU and Social Democrats (SPD) have agreed to abolish a gas storage levy for all consumers in a bid to lower energy prices, according to a preliminary document seen by Reuters on Wednesday. Berlin introduced the measure in 2022 to cover the high costs of replacing Russian gas after Moscow cut deliveries. However, due to pressure from Germany's neighbours, the government decided to apply the levy exclusively to German consumers. Sign up here. Last week, Germany's industry body BDI called for adjusting the levy to lower natural gas prices in Germany and bridge the cost gap for industry compared to foreign competitors. "We are abolishing the gas storage surcharge for everyone. We will introduce appropriate instruments to ensure secure and more cost-effective gas storage refills," the document of the two parties' working group said, without pinning an exact date for the plans. Abolishing the levy would cost the government approximately 4.1 billion euros ($4.4 billion) if implemented in the second half of the year. However, this financial decision still requires approval from the top party leaders. Energy companies have been also demanding lower national storage targets and introducing more flexible EU-level requirements, saying the rigid legal mandates were distorting the market and creating counterproductive incentives. ($1 = 0.9273 euros) https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/germanys-conservatives-spd-set-scrap-gas-storage-levy-2025-03-26/

2025-03-26 12:58

LONDON, March 26 (Reuters) - British finance minister Rachel Reeves announced her budget update to parliament on Wednesday. Below are the quotes on the key issues: Sign up here. REEVES ON GLOBAL UNCERTAINTY "The global economy has become more uncertain." "The increased global uncertainty has had two consequences. First, on our public finances. And second, on the economy." REEVES ON FISCAL RULES "These fiscal rules are non-negotiable. They are the embodiment of this government’s unwavering commitment to bring stability to our economy." REEVES ON NO FURTHER TAX INCREASES "As I promised in the autumn, this statement does not contain any further tax increases." REEVES ON TAX EVASION "To cut down on tax evasion...I go further continuing our investment in cutting-edge technology, investing in HMRC’s capacity to crack down on tax avoidance and setting out plans to increase the number of tax fraudsters charged each year by 20%. These changes raise a further 1 billion pounds ($1.29 billion)taking total revenue raised from reducing tax evasion under this government to 7.5 billion pounds." REEVES ON WELFARE BUDGET "The OBR have said that they estimate the package will save 4.8 billion pounds in the welfare budget reflecting their judgements on behavioural effects and wider factors." "We are investing 1 billion pounds to provide guaranteed, personalised employment support to help people back into work and 400 million pounds to support the Department for Work and Pensions to deliver these reforms effectively and fairly taking total savings from the package to 3.4 billion pounds." REEVES ON REFORMING PUBLIC SERVICES "I build on that work by bringing forward 3.25 billion pounds of investment to deliver the reforms that our public services need through a new Transformation Fund. That is money brought forward now to bring down the costs of running government by the end of the forecast period by making public services more efficient and more productive." REEVES ON DEFENCE SPENDING "We will spend a minimum of 10% of the Ministry of Defence’s equipment budget on novel technologies including drones and AI enabled technology." "The Defence Secretary and I will establish a new Defence Growth Board to maximise the benefits from every pound of taxpayers’ money that we spend. And we will put Defence at the heart of our modern industrial strategy to drive innovation that can deliver huge benefits back into the British economy." ($1 = 0.7753 pounds) https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/uks-reeves-announces-budget-update-parliament-2025-03-26/

2025-03-26 12:47

LONDON, March 26 (Reuters) - BP (BP.L) , opens new tab has received final government approval for the redevelopment of Iraq's giant Kirkuk oil fields, with an initial plan to produce 3 billion barrels of oil equivalent, the company said on Wednesday. The project is a breakthrough for Iraq, where output has been constrained by years of war, corruption and sectarian tensions, and a cornerstone of BP's drive to refocus , opens new tab on its oil and gas business and away from renewables. Sign up here. Tuesday's signing of a final agreement on the project between BP CEO Murray Auchincloss and Iraq's Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani follows an initial deal signed last month and a memorandum of understanding last year. BP said its remuneration will be linked to incremental production volumes, price and costs, and that the company will be able to book a share of output and reserves "proportionate to the fees it earns for helping to increase production". The first phase of the redevelopment of the Kirkuk fields, which BP first helped to discover in the 1920s, will cover their Baba and Avanah domes and three adjacent fields Bai Hassan, Jambur and Khabbaz, BP said. A new operator will be set up, including staff from Iraq's North Oil Company (NOC) and North Gas Company (NGC) as well as people seconded from BP. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/bp-receives-final-green-light-iraq-government-kirkuk-project-2025-03-26/

2025-03-26 12:24

ENN Natural offering $7.7 billion for remaining ENN Energy stake Offer reflects 47.6% premium ENN Energy trading at a discount to peers - analyst March 26 (Reuters) - Chinese billionaire Wang Yusuo's ENN Group is aiming to buy the rest of clean energy company ENN Energy (2688.HK) , opens new tab, valuing the firm at HK$90.50 billion ($11.64 billion), with the aim of streamlining operations in its natural gas business ENN Natural Gas (600803.SS) , opens new tab, which currently holds a 34.28% stake in ENN Energy, is proposing to buy out the rest of the clean energy distributor for HK$59.48 billion ($7.65 billion), the companies said on Wednesday. Sign up here. The offer, made on March 18, values each ENN Energy share at HK$80, representing a 47.6% premium over the company's closing price on March 17. "All in all, our initial valuation view is that in the case of privatisation, the price will need to be at least HK$67.02-HK$74.26 to make it attractive," said Osbert Tang, equity analyst at Smartkarma on March 24. The offer was made on March 18 and is at a 47.6% premium to ENN Energy's close on March 17, the companies said. The move comes amid Beijing's push for energy security, urging major domestic oil and gas firms to sustain production levels and boost natural gas output to reduce reliance on foreign supplies. China, the world's largest importer of oil and gas, has also been cutting back on its seaborne gas imports in recent years. ENN Natural Gas, listed in 1994, operates in gas sales, infrastructure management, engineering construction, and installation. Wang Yusuo is the chairman of ENN Group and has a net worth of $7.3 billion according to Forbes , opens new tab. ENN Energy and China Petroleum and China Corporation (600028.SS) , opens new tab had in December 2011 offered to buyout China Gas (0384.HK) , opens new tab, which failed due to regulatory approvals. Market analysts note that ENN Energy has been trading at a discount compared to its peers. "Aside from price-to-book numbers, ENN Energy is trading at a discount to a peer basket – and this has widened in recent years," said David Blennerhassett, an analyst at Smartkarma who added that the HK$80 per share offer was "optically fair". ($1 = 7.7758 Hong Kong dollars) https://www.reuters.com/markets/deals/chinas-enn-natural-gas-seeks-privatise-enn-energy-values-it-116-billion-2025-03-26/

2025-03-26 12:15

NEW DELHI, March 26 (Reuters) - India's Reliance Industries (RELI.NS) , opens new tab, operator of the world's biggest refining complex, will halt Venezuelan oil imports after the United States announced a 25% tariff on nations buying crude from the South American nation, three sources said on Wednesday. The Indian conglomerate, which last year obtained approval from U.S. authorities to purchase oil from the sanctioned producer, imports an average of 2 million barrels of Venezuelan crude every month, according to LSEG data. Sign up here. It is scheduled to receive a Venezuelan cargo in early April, LSEG trade flows data showed. U.S. President Donald Trump's executive order says that higher tariffs may be imposed on or after April 2 on all goods imported from any country that buys Venezuelan oil. The three industry sources with knowledge of Reliance's purchasing plans said the company would stop buying Venezuelan crude due to the tariff threat. It was not immediately clear, however, if it would still take delivery of the April cargo, added one of the sources, all of whom declined to be identified as they were not authorised to speak to media. Reliance did not respond to a Reuters request for comment. Loading of Venezuelan heavy crude at the country's main oil ports has already slowed this week following the tariff announcement. Reliance's two refineries in western Gujarat state can process about 1.4 million barrels per day of crude oil. The complexity of those plants allows it to process cheaper and heavier crudes such as Merey from Venezuela. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/indias-reliance-stop-buying-venezuelan-oil-over-us-tariffs-sources-say-2025-03-26/

2025-03-26 12:01

March 26 (Reuters) - U.S. videogame retailer GameStop (GME.N) , opens new tab said on Tuesday it would include bitcoin as a treasury reserve asset to diversify its corporate holdings, betting on the world's biggest cryptocurrency to help turnaround its struggling primary business. U.S. President Donald Trump had signed an executive order earlier this month to establish a strategic bitcoin reserve using tokens already owned by the government. Sign up here. Strategy (MSTR.O) , opens new tab, the biggest corporate holder of bitcoin, had also emphasized its commitment to the cryptocurrency space with a rebrand in February. Here is a list of companies in the United States that have bitcoin and other digital currencies on their balance sheet as of December 31, 2024. https://www.reuters.com/technology/cryptocurrency-holdings-us-companies-2025-03-26/