2026-01-10 00:15

WASHINGTON, Jan 9 (Reuters) - U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright said on Friday that Chevron saw a pathway to grow its Venezuela production by 50%, with his comments coming after a meeting that President Donald Trump had with oil companies on the South American nation. Chevron "said with the actions that were taken and some additional things we can do for them, .. which is just permissions, approvals," Wright said. He added that the company sees "a pathway to grow their production by 50% in the next 18-24 months." Sign up here. Wright also said that Washington's interactions with Venezuela have been "fantastic" after ousted leader Nicolas Maduro was seized by the U.S. military in a raid in the South American country last weekend. Trump met with executives from some of the world's largest oil companies at the White House on Friday to discuss Venezuela. "Tremendous interest," Wright said when asked if the White House received any firm commitments from oil companies on Friday. Trump ordered the U.S. military to seize Maduro, who was brought to New York. The U.N. human rights office has said the U.S. actions in Venezuela were a violation of international law that made the world less safe. Trump said this week the U.S. will maintain oversight of Venezuela for "much longer" than a year. Administration officials have expressed a desire to control Venezuela's oil sales and revenues indefinitely, saying it will ensure the country acts in America's interests. Some U.S. rivals and Latin American nations have cast the U.S. actions as "unilateral, illegal and bullying acts." https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/chevron-sees-pathway-grow-venezuela-production-by-50-us-energy-secretary-says-2026-01-10/

2026-01-09 23:49

Fires burn over 300,000 hectares in Victoria amid heatwave 130 structures destroyed, 38,000 without power in Victoria PM Albanese warns of extreme fire weather, disaster zones declared SYDNEY, Jan 10 (Reuters) - Thousands of firefighters battled bushfires in Australia's southeast on Saturday that have razed homes, cut power to thousands of homes and burned swathes of bushland. The blazes have torn through more than 300,000 hectares (741,316 acres) of bushland amid a heatwave in Victoria state since the middle of the week, authorities said on Saturday, and 10 major fires were still burning statewide. Sign up here. In neighbouring New South Wales state, several fires close to the Victorian border were burning at emergency level, the highest danger rating, the Rural Fire Service said, as temperatures hit the mid-40s Celsius (111 degrees Fahrenheit). More than 130 structures, including homes, have been destroyed and around 38,000 homes and businesses were without power due to the fires in Victoria, authorities said. The fires were the worst to hit the state since the Black Summer blazes of 2019-2020 that destroyed an area the size of Turkey and killed 33 people. "Where we can fires will be being brought under control," Victoria Premier Jacinta Allan told reporters, adding thousands of firefighters were in the field. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the nation faced a day of "extreme and dangerous" fire weather, especially in Victoria, where much of the state has been declared a disaster zone. "My thoughts are with Australians in these regional communities at this very difficult time," Albanese said in televised remarks from Canberra. One of the largest fires, near the town of Longwood, about 112 km (70 miles) north of Melbourne, has burned 130,000 hectares (320,000 acres) of bushland, destroying 30 structures, vineyards and agricultural land, authorities said. Dozens of communities near the fires have been evacuated and many of the state's parks and campgrounds were closed. A heatwave warning on Saturday was in place for large parts of Victoria, while a fire weather warning was active for large areas of the country including New South Wales, the nation's weather forecaster said. In New South Wales capital Sydney, the temperature climbed to 42.2 C, more than 17 degrees above the average maximum for January, according to data from the nation's weather forecaster. It predicted conditions to ease over the weekend as a southerly change brought milder temperatures to the state. https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/australia-pm-warns-extreme-dangerous-weather-bushfires-rage-victoria-2026-01-09/

2026-01-09 23:38

Shipping firms want to expand operations for Venezuelan oil transfers Challenges include old vessels, maintenance issues and loading slot competition Maersk plans to replicate logistics used in Amuay Bay for oil transfers AET approached by clients for Venezuelan crude transfers to smaller vessels HOUSTON, Jan 9 (Reuters) - (This Jan 9 story has been refiled to remove the Reuters Identification Code of A.P. Moller-Maersk in paragraph 6) Oil companies aiming to participate in new exports of Venezuelan crude to the U.S. following the ouster of President Nicolas Maduro are in hasty discussions to find tankers and put together operations to transfer the crude safely from vessels and dilapidated Venezuelan ports, four sources familiar with the operations said. Sign up here. Trading houses and oil companies, including Chevron (CVX.N) , opens new tab, Vitol and Trafigura, are competing for U.S. government deals to export crude from Venezuela, sources said, after President Donald Trump said that Venezuela is set to turn over as much as 50 million barrels of sanctioned oil to the United States. Trafigura said in a meeting with the White House on Friday that its first vessel should load in the next week. Faced with a U.S. blockade in recent months, Venezuela has been storing oil in tankers and has nearly completely filled storage tanks onshore. The vessels holding the oil are old, poorly maintained, and under sanctions. Other vessels cannot make direct contact with sanctioned ships due to liability and insurance requirements, even if the U.S. grants licenses, the sources said. Onshore tanks have also not been maintained for years, posing risks for parties trying to load the oil. Shipping companies Maersk Tankers and American Eagle Tankers are among the firms looking to expand their ship-to-ship transfer operations in Venezuela, three of the sources said. Maersk Tankers could replicate the ship-to-shore-to-ship logistics it has used before in Amuay Bay in Venezuela, one source said. Maersk already has operations in nearby Aruba and Curacao, islands whose waters are often used to transfer Venezuelan oil. However, while the transfers are possible in Aruba and U.S. ports, they are more expensive. "With 17 employees in the country, Maersk's presence in Venezuela is limited. All employees are safe and accounted for, and there are currently no changes to our ocean services. Operations continue, with only minor delays at this stage, and we continue to monitor the situation closely," the company said in a statement. Transfer operations will also be complicated by a shortage of smaller ships to move oil from the storage vessels to piers from where the oil can be transferred to another ship, as well as inadequate maintenance of machinery and equipment, another shipping source said. AET, which already helps transfer Chevron's shipments of Venezuelan crude to the U.S., is being approached by potential clients to expand its capacity in that area, two of the sources said. AET and Chevron did not immediately respond to requests for comment. While supply could reach the 500,000 barrels per day Venezuela previously exported to the U.S. before sanctions and would drain accumulated inventories in 90-120 days, it will be difficult to meet that goal if oil must be taken from both tankers and onshore storage, the sources said. Companies are also competing fiercely for loading slots at Venezuela's main Jose oil terminal, where there are capacity and speed limitations. Chevron, a key joint venture partner in the country, is also aggressively vying to keep its privileged position at Venezuela's terminals, while lining up its vessel fleet, one source said. Oil companies, including Chevron, Vitol, Trafigura, are already sourcing supplies of much-needed naphtha, an industry source in Venezuela said. The naphtha is typically blended into the heavy Venezuelan crude to lower its density, and make it easier to transport and process at refineries. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/companies-scramble-secure-ships-assemble-operations-transfer-venezuelan-oil-2026-01-09/

2026-01-09 23:23

WASHINGTON, Jan 9 (Reuters) - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Friday rejected Colorado's plan to comply with regional haze regulations by shutting its coal plants, saying the state needs the plants to remain running to maintain reliable power. The agency said Colorado's state implementation plan to reduce sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide pollution that causes haze in national parks and wilderness areas violates the Clean Air Act because the state did not get consent from one of the coal plants targeted for early retirement. Sign up here. WHY IT'S IMPORTANT The move is the latest effort by the Trump administration to extend the life of aging coal-fired power plants to continue to provide baseload power to meet the growing demand for electricity from the buildout of data centers to power artificial intelligence. KEY QUOTE "Reliable baseload energy sources are essential to Powering the Great American Comeback and ensuring families have cost-effective energy," EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said in a statement. CONTEXT The administration last year issued five emergency orders to keep retiring coal plants running, most recently on December 30 when Energy Secretary Chris Wright issued an order to keep a coal plant in Craig, Colorado, operating even though it was set to retire at the end of 2025. BACKGROUND Colorado had ordered three older coal plants that were set to retire in 2030 to shut down two years earlier to comply with its regional haze plan. The EPA said it would help Colorado rewrite its plan, or else impose one on the state. Colorado also has a state goal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to net-zero by 2050. https://www.reuters.com/legal/litigation/us-epa-rejects-colorado-haze-plan-retire-coal-plants-early-2026-01-09/

2026-01-09 23:18

Exxon requires security guarantees before sending team to Venezuela Venezuela's hydrocarbons law needs reform for investment, Woods says Chevron is preparing for an immediate bump in production Jan 9 (Reuters) - Exxon Mobil (XOM.N) , opens new tab CEO Darren Woods said on Friday the U.S. oil major is ready to evaluate a potential return to Venezuela in what would be a stunning development after its assets in the South American country were nationalized nearly 20 years ago. Woods, however, said Venezuela was currently "uninvestable" and significant legal changes are needed. The comments came during a White House meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump that was hastily arranged less than a week after U.S. forces captured and removed Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro from power in a brazen overnight raid. Sign up here. "It's absolutely critical in the short term that we get a technical team in place to assess the current state of the industry and the assets, understand what will be involved to help the people of Venezuela get production back on the market," Woods said, adding that the visit could happen once appropriate security guarantees were in place. He told Trump that Exxon needed durable investment protections introduced and the country's hydrocarbons law also needed to be reformed. "We've had our assets seized there twice. And so, you can imagine to re-enter a third time would require some pretty significant changes from what we've historically seen here and what is currently the state," the CEO said. Chevron (CVX.N) , opens new tab Vice Chairman Mark Nelson, who was seated next to Trump adviser Stephen Miller, highlighted the company's 100-year history in Venezuela and its current status as the only American oil major currently operating there. He said the company is ready to increase liftings at its joint ventures with state oil company PDVSA by 100% immediately. "We are also able to increase our production within our own disciplined investment schemes by about 50% just in the next 18 to 24 months," Nelson said. CONOCOPHILLIPS CALLS FOR BANK INVOLVEMENT Exxon, ConocoPhillips (COP.N) , opens new tab and Chevron were for decades the most prominent partners of state company PDVSA, contributing to developing output at the vast Orinoco Belt, which is now the country's main oil region. The government of late President Hugo Chavez nationalized the industry between 2004 and 2007, and while Chevron negotiated deals to partner with PDVSA, ConocoPhillips and Exxon left the country and filed for prominent arbitration cases shortly after. Venezuela now owes over $13 billion collectively to Conoco and Exxon for the expropriations. Conoco has tried to seize PDVSA's foreign assets and is participating in the Delaware auction of Venezuela-owned Citgo Petroleum's parent to recover part of the money. ConocoPhillips CEO Ryan Lance, who also attended the meeting, said that PDVSA may need to be restructured if he were to consider a possible return to the country. He said banks - including Exim Bank - need to be involved in any discussions to deliver the financing and the billions of dollars needed to repair the energy infrastructure. Lance told Trump that ConocoPhillips is one of the largest non-sovereign creditors of Venezuela. "You'll get a lot of your money back," Trump told Lance, adding that he envisioned starting with an "even plate" and not look at what people lost in the past. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/exxon-ceo-says-prepared-evaluate-reentering-venezuela-2026-01-09/

2026-01-09 23:16

Nonfarm payrolls rise less-than-expected in December Vistra surges after nuclear power deal with Meta Intel rallies after Trump says he met with CEO S&P 500 +0.65%, Nasdaq +0.82%, Dow +0.48% Jan 9 (Reuters) - The S&P 500 rallied to a record high close on Friday, lifted by Broadcom and other chipmakers, while a weaker-than-expected jobs report did little to alter expectations of interest rate cuts from the Federal Reserve this year. Wall Street's three main indexes all gained sharply in 2026's first full week of trading, fueled by increases in materials, industrials and other sectors that have lagged technology stocks in recent years. Sign up here. A Labor Department report showed U.S. employment growth slowed more than expected in December, but a decline in the unemployment rate to 4.4% suggested the labor market was not rapidly deteriorating. Chip stocks rallied, with the PHLX semiconductor index (.SOX) , opens new tab jumping 2.7% to a record high. Lam Research (LRCX.O) , opens new tab rallied 8.7% to $218.36 after Mizuho raised its price target on the chip manufacturing tool maker to $220 from $200. Broadcom (AVGO.O) , opens new tab rose 3.8%, Alphabet (GOOGL.O) , opens new tab added 1% and Tesla (TSLA.O) , opens new tab climbed 2.1%, all lifting the S&P 500 and Nasdaq. Vistra (VST.N) , opens new tab jumped 10.5% after Meta Platforms (META.O) , opens new tab agreed to buy power from the company's nuclear plants. "On the overall AI theme, investors are getting granular and picking the winners and losers in terms of sub-themes and individual names," said Zachary Hill, head of portfolio management at Horizon Investments in Charlotte, North Carolina. "We view that as a more positive development. It means that we're getting closer to the monetization phase, where people can actually see and touch the revenue enhancements that are going to come from this revolutionary technology." Intel (INTC.O) , opens new tab rallied almost 11% after Trump said he had a "great meeting" with the chipmaker's chief executive officer, Lip-Bu Tan. The S&P 500 climbed 0.65% to end the session at 6,966.28 points. The Nasdaq gained 0.82% to 23,671.35 points, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.48% to 49,504.07 points. Nine of the 11 S&P 500 sector indexes rose, led by materials (.SPLRCM) , opens new tab, up 1.8%, followed by a 1.24% gain in utilities (.SPLRCU) , opens new tab. For the week, the S&P 500 climbed 1.6%, the Nasdaq rose 1.9% and the Dow added 2.3%. Valuations on Wall Street were relatively high ahead of fourth-quarter earnings season. The S&P 500 is trading at about 22 times expected earnings, down from 23 in November, but above its five-year average of 19, according to LSEG data. Underscoring a recent shift toward stocks that have underperformed in recent years, the S&P 500 value index (.IVX) , opens new tab has climbed about 2% so far in 2026, beating a 1% gain in the S&P 500 growth index (.IGX) , opens new tab. The U.S. Supreme Court said it would not issue a ruling on Friday on the legality of U.S. President Donald Trump's sweeping tariffs. This left investors, many of whom expected a decision, awaiting clarity. Traders anticipate heightened volatility across financial markets if the court strikes down the tariffs. Mortgage lenders rose a day after Trump said he is ordering his representatives to buy $200 billion in mortgage bonds to bring down housing costs. LoanDepot (LDI.N) , opens new tab surged 19.3%, Rocket Companies (RKT.N) , opens new tab gained 9.6% and Opendoor Technologies (OPEN.O) , opens new tab rallied 13.1%. The Philadelphia Housing index (.HGX) , opens new tab gained 5.7% to its highest since October. General Motors shares (GM.N) , opens new tab fell more than 2% after the automaker said on Thursday it would take a $6 billion charge to unwind some electric-vehicle investments. Advancing issues outnumbered falling ones within the S&P 500 (.AD.SPX) , opens new tab by a 1.3-to-one ratio. The S&P 500 posted 48 new highs and 6 new lows; the Nasdaq recorded 140 new highs and 62 new lows. Volume on U.S. exchanges was relatively heavy, with 17.0 billion shares traded, compared to an average of 16.4 billion shares over the previous 20 sessions. https://www.reuters.com/business/us-stock-futures-subdued-ahead-crucial-jobs-report-tariff-ruling-2026-01-09/