2025-03-12 22:20
March 13 (Reuters) - JPMorgan Chase (JPM.N) , opens new tab has taken a 5.36% stake in Australia's mining conglomerate Rio Tinto (RIO.AX) , opens new tab, an exchange filing to the local bourse showed on Thursday. This would make the investment bank Rio's second-largest shareholder after global investment manager Vanguard Group's 6.02% stake, according to data compiled by LSEG. Sign up here. Last week, the Anglo-Australian mining giant completed its $6.7 billion acquisition of the U.S.-based Arcadium Lithium , as it looks to diversify away from iron ore towards critical minerals and battery metals such as lithium. Rio on Wednesday said it will raise $9 billion in U.S. investment-grade bonds as it seeks to fund the Arcadium buyout. https://www.reuters.com/markets/deals/jpmorgan-scoops-over-5-stake-mining-major-rio-tinto-2025-03-12/
2025-03-12 22:10
HOUSTON, March 12 (Reuters) - Turkish national oil company TPAO has signed a joint venture agreement with U.S. oil producer Continental Resources to develop shale fields in the country’s Diyarbakir Basin, Turkish Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar said on social media platform X on Wednesday. “This cooperation will greatly contribute to our goal of bringing Turkiye’s oil and gas resources to our economy. I hope this agreement, which opens a new era in exploration in Turkiye, will be beneficial for all parties," he said in the post. Sign up here. Turkey is not a major oil and gas producer. "With 57 years of exploration experience, we recognize significant opportunities for further development both in the U.S. and internationally," Continental Resources CEO Doug Lawler said in an emailed statement. "We see immense potential in Turkey's untapped resources and are excited to collaborate with TransAtlantic and Turkey Petroleum to explore and develop unconventional solutions that can unlock their full energy potential.” TransAtlantic Petroleum, which holds oil and gas interests in Turkey and Bulgaria, is executing a horizontal drilling program in eastern Turkey and redeveloping the country's Selmo Field. Speaking at the CERAWeek conference in Houston, Texas, on Wednesday, Continental Resources founder Harold Hamm warned that U.S. oil production is beginning to plateau. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/turkey-develop-its-shale-fields-with-us-producer-continental-resources-2025-03-12/
2025-03-12 21:33
Opposition sweetens previous energy reform proposal Plan includes shrinking PDVSA, offering assets to foreign firms Proposal aims to boost oil output above 3 million bpd HOUSTON, March 12 (Reuters) - Venezuela's opposition has drafted a broad proposal for energy sector reform that would allow participation of international companies, a bid to attract support from Big Oil and from U.S. President Donald Trump's administration, according to sources and a summary of the proposal seen by Reuters. Trump's administration this month canceled a key license for U.S. oil major Chevron (CVX.N) , opens new tab to operate in Venezuela, citing President Nicolas Maduro's lack of electoral reforms. Opposition leaders seized the opportunity to ratchet up pressure on Maduro. Sign up here. The proposed reform to Venezuela's hydrocarbon law sweetens previous plans presented by the opposition in recent years, and may be attractive to international oil companies, including those in the U.S. It includes shrinking the size of state oil company PDVSA while offering Venezuelan oil and gas fields, refineries and midstream assets to foreign companies. PDVSA's stakes would be open for private bidding. "Venezuela is opening its energy sector to the world, offering unprecedented investment opportunities and a clear, rules-based framework for private sector leadership," the proposal says. The U.S. and other Western countries disputed the official results in which Maduro won Venezuela's election last year, his second re-election. The opposition published voting tallies showing Edmundo Gonzalez won. A delegation representing opposition leaders was at the CERAWeek conference in Houston. The reform proposal sets out plans to increase oil output above 3 million barrels per day (bpd), a level not seen in 15 years, according to a summary of the document seen by Reuters. Venezuelan crude output averaged 920,000 bpd last year. The new proposal would also allow existing partners of PDVSA to shift to more attractive contract terms, which would include a lower take for the government. International standards for investment protection would be embedded into Venezuela's legal system, the proposal also says. The government rejected the opposition proposal, with Foreign Minister Yvan Gil calling it a "desperate attempt to gift our sovereignty to foreign interests" in a post on Telegram, adding the opposition was promoting policies to benefit "their foreign allies". On Tuesday evening, Maduro said on state television that Venezuela is open to international investment in oil, gas and petrochemicals. Nationalization of the industry, begun two decades ago under former President Hugo Chavez, and debt defaults have led to dozens of lawsuits and arbitrations, some of which are still ongoing. Many creditors are going after Venezuela's crown jewel asset, U.S.-based refiner Citgo Petroleum. Venezuela sits on the world's largest reserves of crude and Latin America's biggest reserves of natural gas but has seen little investment in recent decades due to political turmoil, nationalist policies and U.S. sanctions. The opposition has long complained of electoral fraud. There is no sign of progress internally toward a quick resolution of Venezuela's long-standing political crisis. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/ceraweek-venezuelas-opposition-drafts-energy-reform-raise-foreign-pressure-2025-03-12/
2025-03-12 21:24
HOUSTON, March 12 (Reuters) - Top U.S. liquefied natural gas producer Cheniere (LNG.N) , opens new tab plans on using electricity from the Texas grid at some of its LNG facilities, Robert Fee, the company's vice president of international affairs and climate, said on Wednesday, a move that he said could reduce emissions. Fee, speaking at the CERAWeek energy conference in Houston, added that the company was aware that doing so risks reducing reliability of its operations by placing facilities at the mercy of the grid. Sign up here. Combined cycle gas turbines tend to be used in LNG plants to ensure there is sufficient reliable power. But using them can lead to higher facility emissions of greenhouse gases and other pollutants. Reducing emissions from the LNG supply chain is important to the industry in part because big markets like the European Union are implementing emissions standards for their imports. "Our Stage 3 facility is going to be electric-driven," said Fee, referring to its expansion project at the Corpus Christi terminal in Texas. Cheniere produced the first LNG at the 10 million metric tonnes per annum (MTPA) Stage 3 plant in December, but the facility remains under construction. Cheniere has struggled to meet federal emissions limits for hazardous emissions from its existing gas-driven turbines at some of its operations in the past, according to Reuters reporting. In 2022, for example, the company asked the Environmental Protection Agency to exempt it from limits on emissions of some cancer-causing pollutants, arguing the rules could potentially impose significant costs and operational disruption. Cheniere rival Freeport LNG, in contrast, operates a terminal in Texas that is totally electric-driven, but the second-largest U.S. LNG facility has been offline more any other plant in the country, according to LSEG data. Cheniere's Fee expressed confidence the company it could rely on the Texas grid to run the Stage 3 project, calling the power system robust. He, however, added that the use of electric grids will not necessarily reduce the overall carbon footprint of LNG unless the electricity was generated from low-carbon sources. The U.S. is the world's largest exporter of LNG and production of superchilled gas from Cheniere's Stage 3 and Venture Global's Plaquemines plants is expected to keep the U.S. as the top exporter of LNG in 2025. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/ceraweek-cheniere-considering-electrification-cut-emissions-lng-2025-03-12/
2025-03-12 21:23
Trade war could impact coffee operations across North America Industry fears potential tariffs on South American coffee imports Companies have roasting, packaging, trading bases in U.S. and Canada NEW YORK, March 12 (Reuters) - North American coffee market participants are seeking clarity on how the trade war started by the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump impacts their businesses across the region, where operations are highly interconnected. Companies have roasting, packaging and trading bases in both the United States and Canada in order to better supply clients. Potential U.S. tariffs and any retaliatory ones will now have to be considered when deciding what to make, and where, industry participants said. Sign up here. Mexico, meanwhile, is a regular supplier of high-quality green coffee to both the U.S. and Canada, as well as an exporter of instant coffee. "There are operations across the (U.S.-Canada) border for roasting and supplying retail channels, on both sides," said the CEO of one of the largest coffee companies in the region, who asked not to be named due to the sensitivity of the issue. Starbucks (SBUX.O) , opens new tab, for example, roasts the coffee used in its hundreds of Canadian stores in the United States. "As the political environment moves or the tariff markets move, we will figure out how to navigate that effectively given those conditions in the regulatory environments," said Starbucks Chief Executive Brian Niccol in a meeting with shareholders on Wednesday. The postponement of U.S. tariffs of 25% on the majority of goods from Canada and Mexico does not seem to have included most of the forms of coffee traded, according to documentation seen by Reuters, because the product is mostly absent from the USMCA, the free trade agreement between the U.S., Mexico and Canada. "We have added a clause in our contracts saying the buyer would pay the additional 25% tariff if it is considered due. Most traders are doing that," said Jeff Bernstein, managing director of coffee trader RGC, based in Quebec, Canada. "We are exporting some coffee from Mexico to a client in Oakland (California), and he agreed with the clause," he said. Switzerland's Nestle (NESN.S) , opens new tab has invested heavily in instant coffee operations in Mexico in recent years, including a program with thousands of farmers to boost production of robusta coffee, the main raw material. Nestle did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Bill Murray, president of the U.S. National Coffee Association, said coffee should be exempt from additional tariffs. "Tariffs on coffee would impact three in four Americans. Many think exports, not imports, are good for America, but unfortunately we cannot grow coffee in the U.S." There is also fear in the industry about possible U.S. tariffs on South American countries, where most imported coffee comes from. "Trump, in one of his speeches about tariffs, mentioned Brazil, although superficially. Brazil is on the radar," said Andre Acosta, director of Commodity Solutions Latam for broker Marex. Brazil is the world's largest coffee producer and exporter. Brazilian Vice President Geraldo Alckmin and U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick met last week and officials have started consultations on trade policy. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/north-america-coffee-industry-seeks-answers-amid-trade-war-2025-03-12/
2025-03-12 21:06
HAMBURG, March 12 (Reuters) - Germany has regained its status as free of foot-and-mouth disease in most areas of the country, opening the way for the lifting of export restrictions on meat and dairy products, Germany’s agriculture ministry said on Wednesday. Germany announced the country's first outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in nearly 40 years on January 10 in a herd of water buffalo near Berlin in the Brandenburg region. The outbreak remains limited to one case, with no others reported since. The source of the case is still unknown but most domestic restrictions following the case are already lifted. Sign up here. The World Organisation for Animal Health has accepted an application to have most of Germany declared free of foot-and-mouth disease, the ministry said. With effect from March 12, all of Germany apart from a small containment zone around the site of the original case has been declared foot-and-mouth-free, the ministry said. The move should enable export restrictions on German meat and dairy products to be lifted, said German Agriculture Minister Cem Oezdemir. “The official confirmation of the WOAH is a decisive basis for our discussions with third countries and will benefit exports,” Oezdemir said. “I am confident that our trade relations for the affected agricultural products around the world will quickly normalise and that our companies will soon be able to supply their usual markets again.” Measures to contain the disease, which poses no danger to humans, often involve bans on imports of meat and dairy products from affected countries, with Britain, South Korea and Mexico among states imposing import bans on Germany. Some Chinese restrictions have been ended. Foot-and-mouth disease causes fever and mouth blisters in cloven-hoofed ruminants such as cattle, pigs, sheep and goats. In past decades, farmers and officials have waged major slaughtering campaigns to eradicate the disease. https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/germany-regains-status-free-foot-and-mouth-disease-ministry-says-2025-03-12/
