2025-11-10 11:51

OSLO, Nov 10 (Reuters) - German utility Uniper (UN0k.DE) , opens new tab is mothballing its 335-megawatt Karlshamnverket 2 oil-fired power plant in southern Sweden after a deal to supply back-up power during winter expired, the company said on Monday. The step takes effect from November 16 and is a direct consequence of the cancelled procurement of Sweden's strategic power reserve announced in October by transmission grid operator Svenska kraftnaet (Svk), the company said. Sign up here. The cancellation left the unit without any long-term contracts, and there are also no commercial conditions to continue operations, it added. "This is of course not the direction we want to see for Karlshamnsverket," Henrik Svensson, the power plant's manager said, adding Uniper believes the closure will have a negative effect on power system adequacy. Demand in southern Sweden is often greater than supply, leaving the region more exposed to shortages. To mothball the unit meant that block 2 is preserved and adapted for a longer downtime and Uniper maintains a close dialogue with both the government and relevant authorities about the situation and possible ways forward, it said. Block 3 of Karlshamnverket, also with a capacity of 335 MW of, is not affected at the moment, but here too, a long-term solution must be put in place for the continued operation, Uniper said. Block 1 of Karlshamnverket was permanently closed in 2015. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/uniper-mothballs-swedish-oil-fired-power-unit-reserve-deal-runs-out-2025-11-10/

2025-11-10 11:51

MOSCOW, Nov 10 (Reuters) - The Kremlin said on Monday it was "actively preparing" for President Vladimir Putin to visit India before the end of the year and hoped it would be a substantive trip. Putin is due to visit India in December according to the Kremlin. He last went there in December 2021, just a few months before ordering troops into Ukraine in February 2022. Sign up here. "We are currently actively preparing for Putin's visit to India," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters in Moscow. Peskov declined to give any details about agreements that might be reached during the trip. U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi for India to stop buying oil from Russia. India is one of the biggest purchasers of Russian oil. https://www.reuters.com/world/india/kremlin-says-active-preparations-underway-putin-visit-india-2025-11-10/

2025-11-10 11:49

Iraq halts all cash and crude payments to Lukoil, sources say US, UK sanctions disrupt Lukoil's international operations Lukoil may exit West Qurna-2 if conditions persist, source says Bulgaria is poised to seize Lukoil's oil refinery BAGHDAD, Nov 10 (Reuters) - Lukoil (LKOH.MM) , opens new tab declared force majeure at its Iraqi oil field, sources told Reuters on Monday, and Bulgaria was poised to seize its Burgas refinery, as the Russian company's international operations buckled under the strain of U.S. sanctions. The force majeure at the West Qurna-2 field in Iraq marks the biggest fallout yet from the sanctions imposed on Russian oil majors Lukoil and Rosneft (ROSN.MM) , opens new tab last month as part of U.S. President Donald Trump's push to end the war in Ukraine. Sign up here. Four sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters that Lukoil sent a letter to Iraq's oil ministry last Tuesday saying force majeure conditions prevented it from continuing normal operations at West Qurna-2. Lukoil did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment on Monday. Lukoil is the Russian company with the most exposure to international markets. Its attept to sell its foreign assets to Swiss commodity trader Gunvor failed last week after the U.S. Treasury signalled Washington opposed the deal. LUKOIL RISKS EXITING ITS MOST PRIZED FOREIGN ASSET Located 65 kilometres (40 miles) northwest of the port of Basra, West Qurna-2 is one of the world's largest oilfields and Lukoil's most prized foreign asset. It accounts for around 9% of Iraq's total oil output and is currently producing around 480,000 barrels per day, two oilfield officials said. If the reasons behind the force majeure are not resolved within six months, Lukoil will shut production and exit the project entirely, a senior Iraqi oil industry official said. Reuters had reported last week that Iraq's state oil firm SOMO cancelled loadings of three crude oil cargoes from Lukoil's equity production at the oilfield over the sanctions. And three of the sources on Monday said Iraq had halted all cash and crude payments to the company due to the sanctions. Payments to Lukoil will remain frozen until there is a contractual adjustment securing a mechanism for developing the oilfield and a way of making payments to non-sanctioned entities, said one of the sources, an oil ministry official. About 4 million barrels of crude oil allocated for in-kind payments to Lukoil for November have, meanwhile, been cancelled, the official said. SOMO will not be able to continue its crude oil supply contract with Lukoil until the issues behind these sanctions are resolved, the source added. BULGARIA PREPARES TO SEIZE BURGAS REFINERY By declaring force majeure as permitted under its contract, Lukoil is seeking legal protection against penalties for failing to meet contractual obligations with the oil ministry, another Iraqi official said. Lukoil in an email sent on Friday terminated the services of all non-Russian foreign staff, a manager at West Qurna-2 said, meaning only Russian and Iraqi Lukoil staff remain. Separately on Monday, Bulgaria's Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov said authorities were conducting inspections and implementing security measures at Lukoil's Burgas oil refinery. The government is looking to sustain its operation while preparing to seize control of the site. Last week, Bulgaria adopted legal changes allowing it to take over the refinery and sell it to a new owner. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/lukoil-declares-force-majeure-iraqi-oilfield-after-western-sanctions-2025-11-10/

2025-11-10 11:47

SMR firm Newcleo considering moving investment to US from Britain Reduced permitting times appeal to nuclear companies Urenco, Orano and Newcleo looking to build nuclear fuel capacity PARIS, Nov 10 (Reuters) - Italian small modular reactor startup Newcleo is considering ditching plans to construct 20 reactors in Britain worth an estimated 16 billion euros ($19 billion) and building them in the U.S. instead as European nuclear firms rush to benefit from measures to support the industry. U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order in May to boost domestic nuclear production by cutting down regulations and fast-tracking new licenses. Sign up here. Hyperscalers, or large data center developers, like Microsoft (MSFT.O) , opens new tab are meanwhile investing in nuclear power to provide stable supply to the energy-intensive centers. That contrasts with slow development in Europe, where approvals can sometimes take two to three times longer than in the U.S. "There are a lot of tools that are encouraging investment into the U.S. now," Newcleo CEO Stefano Buono told Reuters on the sidelines of the World Nuclear Exhibition (WNE) in Paris last week. The company, which recently moved its headquarters to France from Britain, is considering shifting its deployment programme of 20 reactors from Britain to the U.S. and estimates that each reactor will have an investment cost of around 800 million euros, Buono said. However, no final investment decision has been made and there are numerous steps left before one is taken, a spokesperson for the company said. Newcleo is also competing in a tender to develop fuel production in the U.S. Franco-Dutch start-up and small modular reactor (SMR) maker Thorizon is also looking at setting up in the U.S. where it could get reactors operating faster than in Europe, Chief Technology Officer Sander de Groot told Reuters at WNE. European SMR companies are falling behind global competitors like China, which has already produced an SMR and is working towards mass production, or Canada which is developing its first prototypes at the Pickering nuclear power plant. Europe's two nuclear fuel producers, France's Orano and multinational Urenco, both plan to build new enrichment capacity in the U.S. to meet rising demand from a growing industry. "A lot of customers, especially U.S. customers, are once again supporting us with very long-term contracts for our own capacity programme," said Urenco CEO Boris Schucht. The company has a plant in New Mexico making about 4.3 million tons of uranium a year, with 700,000 tons of capacity being added incrementally to 2027. The company can add up to 2 million tons in additional capacity if needed, said Schucht. Rival Orano plans its first overseas enrichment plant in Tennessee, provided it is granted subsidies towards an expected investment of between $4 billion and $5 billion. The company would commission the plant in 2031, CEO Nicholas Maes told Reuters at WNE, adding that the U.S. could become the company's largest market, eclipsing France. ($1 = 0.8575 euros) https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/italian-smr-firm-newcleo-looking-build-20-reactors-us-2025-11-10/

2025-11-10 11:43

Novaria Group has expanded since KKR took control of firm Aerospace industry forecasts growth, helped by defense spending Private equity firms have struggled to exit investments NEW YORK, Nov 10 (Reuters) - KKR (KKR.N) , opens new tab has struck a deal to sell aerospace and defense hardware maker Novaria Group to industrials-focused private equity firm Arcline Investment Management for $2.2 billion, the company and the seller told Reuters on Monday. KKR took control of Fort Worth, Texas-based Novaria in early 2020, and since then the group has added 13 new companies, KKR partner Joshua Weisenbeck told Reuters. Sign up here. The firm is selling Novaria against a supportive backdrop for deals in aerospace and defense, buoyed by forecasts for growth in aircraft production as the sector recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic, the removal of a production cap on planemaker Boeing (BA.N) , opens new tab, and increased spending on national security, Weisenbeck said. Novaria's companies provide parts and processes for aircraft as well as drones and submersibles. "You've seen reinvestment in the defense supply chain globally and in certain cases the percentage of GDP spent on defense growing," Weisenbeck said. The war in Ukraine and doubts about the U.S. commitment to NATO have pushed up military spending around the world. Arcline declined to comment. Novaria Group CEO Bryan Perkins said the transaction represented "the success of our long-standing partnership with KKR and the dedication of the Novaria team." Many private equity firms have been struggling to profitably sell companies they bought during a long period of lower interest rates, slowing returns of capital to investors. The number of exit deals - where private equity and venture capital firms cash out on their investments through a public listing, selling to another investor, or rolling an asset into a new vehicle - rose in the third quarter from the second, according to data provider S&P Global Market Intelligence, but the total value of those deals was much lower than in the previous three months. KKR executives played down concerns about private markets' fundraising and deals last week as they reported quarterly earnings that showed rising performance income from the private equity business. The Novaria deal is an example of a revival of transactions between private equity firms, Weisenbeck said. "We're seeing a reopening of the sponsor-to-sponsor M&A trade." KKR offers equity to rank-and-file employees in its portfolio companies, meaning Novaria's employees will get cash when the deal closes. The company says the program has led to higher revenue, improved productivity and lower turnover at its portfolio companies. https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/kkr-sells-aerospace-parts-firm-novaria-group-arcline-22-billion-2025-11-10/

2025-11-10 11:40

Agency alleges $100 million scheme at state nuclear firm Current and former officials accused of corruption Power grid significantly damaged in Russian strikes Fighting corruption is a key EU accession requirement for Kyiv KYIV, Nov 10 (Reuters) - Ukraine's anti-corruption bureau said it was investigating the country's energy sector on Monday, alleging a $100 million kickback scheme involving the state nuclear power company. The state agency, which operates independently of the Ukrainian government, announced the investigation as Ukraine braces for winter with its power sector under frequent fire from Russia and facing regular outages. Sign up here. It alleged in a statement published on social media that a "high-level criminal organisation" was behind the scheme which it said was led by a businessman and included a former adviser to the energy minister, nuclear power operator Energoatom's head of security and four "back office" workers. "In total, approximately 100 million USD passed through this so-called laundromat," the agency said in the statement, which did not name any of the individuals. Energoatom currently operates three nuclear plants that supply Ukraine with more than half of its electricity. Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in his evening address that officials needed to work with the anti-corruption bureau to root out graft. Four months ago, Zelenskiy sought unsuccessfully to restrict the bureau's independence, before being forced into a U-turn by protests. "Everyone who has been involved in corruption schemes must receive a clear legal response. There must be criminal verdicts," Zelenskiy said on Monday. Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said her government was waiting for the outcome of the investigation and offered any help anti-corruption bodies might need. "Acting against corruption is one of the government's key priorities," she said. "There must be sentences and the inevitability of punishment for unlawful activity." The opposition European Solidarity party, led by ex-President Petro Poroshenko, said on Monday evening it was initiating a parliamentary procedure to oust the entire cabinet of ministers in response to the allegations. A lawmaker from another opposition party tabled a separate motion to dismiss the energy and justice ministers. For now, the moves are unlikely to succeed in a chamber where Zelenskiy's allies command a de facto majority, but are a sign of growing political challenges to the president's once-unrivalled wartime authority. ENERGOATOM SAYS OFFICIALS SEARCHING ITS OFFICES Energoatom said in a statement on social media that anti-corruption officials were conducting searches in its offices on Monday, and it was cooperating with the investigation. Ukraine's energy minister Svitlana Hrynchuk said at a press conference on Monday evening that although she was unfamiliar with the details of the case, she was committed to ensuring a transparent investigation and that those found responsible should be held accountable. "I hope that the transparency of the investigation will reassure our international partners," she said. Ukraine's power system has been significantly damaged by a campaign of Russian bombardment this autumn, causing power cuts across the country as Moscow presses on with its war against its smaller neighbour. Russia has not hit nuclear plants, but has hit substations connected to them, Ukrainian authorities say. The NABU anti-corruption bureau published photographs of thick bundles of Ukraine's hryvnia currency, U.S. dollars and euros stuffed into bags and stacked on a table. It did not specify who they belonged to. "The minister's adviser and the director of security at Energoatom took control of all the company's purchases and created conditions under which all Energoatom's contractors had to pay illegal benefits," said NABU's chief detective, Oleksandr Abakumov. He alleged that those involved in the scheme had discussed raising the kickback rate to 15% in October during the construction of protective structures at the Khmelnytskyi nuclear power plant. KICKBACK PAYMENTS According to investigators, Energoatom's counterparties were forced to pay kickbacks of 10%-15% to avoid having payments for services or goods blocked, or losing their supplier status. "A strategic enterprise with an annual income of over 200 billion hryvnias ($4.79 billion) was managed not by the proper officials, but by third parties who had no formal authority," the statement said. The anti-corruption bureau said it had conducted 70 searches and all its detectives had been involved in an investigation that has lasted 15 months and gathered 1,000 hours of audio recordings. In July 2025, large protests and international criticism forced the president to reverse course and restore the independence of Ukraine's two main anti-corruption agencies. Eradicating graft and shoring up the rule of law are key requirements for Kyiv to join the European Union, which Ukrainians see as critical to their future as they fend off a Russian invasion. ($1 = 41.7754 hryvnias) https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/ukraines-anti-corruption-bureau-says-large-scale-operation-underway-energy-2025-11-10/