2024-12-19 00:04

LONDON, Dec 19 (Reuters) - Britain set out plans on Thursday to strengthen its energy regulator Ofgem to help facilitate the country's shift towards a decarbonised energy system by 2030 and better protect consumers against bad treatment by suppliers. The Labour government, elected in July, has set out plans to radically overhaul how electricity is generated in Britain, shifting almost entirely away from fossil fuels in favour of green energy sources. Meeting that goal is seen as a huge challenge that will require massive private and public investment as well as big changes to the energy grid, which Ofgem has a role in approving. Launching a consultation on new powers for the regulator, the energy department said the review would look at how to improve Ofgem's current involvement in regulating energy infrastructure to better support private investment. It did not set out those proposed reforms in detail in a statement announcing the consultation. Ofgem has faced heavy criticism in recent years, most notably after dozens of energy suppliers failed due to spiking wholesale gas costs in 2022, forcing some customers to pay extra charges. The government said it wanted to give the regulator better powers to force suppliers to treat customers more fairly and stamp out bad practices which have damaged public trust in the industry. The consultation launch is the first step in the reform process. It called for input from energy users, consumer groups and industry and will close at the end of February. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/britain-seeks-beef-up-ofgem-energy-regulators-powers-2024-12-19/

2024-12-18 23:35

Paladin gets clearance from Investment Canada Canada conditions include no China funding Buyout opens way to North American markets MELBOURNE, Dec 19 (Reuters) - Australia's Paladin Energy (PDN.AX) , opens new tab has received the final green light it needed from Canadian authorities to buy Fission Uranium (FCU.TO) , opens new tab in a C$1.14 billion ($789.1 million) deal that cements is position as a major global producer, it said on Thursday. Paladin got the clearance under the Investment Canada Act on Wednesday and said the deal under which it would acquire Fission's advanced PLS project in Saskatchewan was expected to be completed by early January 2025. The clearance comes as prices for the nuclear fuel surge on expectations of a demand spike as the energy transition unfolds. Shares fell 1.8% amid weakness in the mining sector. The Canadian government in October stepped in to review the proposed tieup on national security grounds, raising concerns it may be derailed by the county that has become increasingly sensitive towards strategic resource firms being taken over by overseas buyers. Paladin has agreed to several conditions Canada has attached to the merger including not to use any China-sourced finance for funding PLS, or to sell PLS's uranium directly or indirectly to any China customers beyond China General Nuclear Power Group, which has an existing offtake agreement, it said. Canada in July cracked down on big mining takeovers, saying it would only approve foreign buyouts of large Canadian firms involved in critical minerals production "in the most exceptional of circumstances." ($1 = 1.4447 Canadian dollars) Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/deals/canada-clears-paladins-789-million-fission-uranium-takeover-2024-12-18/

2024-12-18 23:21

Nippon Steel and Sojitz to pay $152 million for Kami project stakes Nippon Steel to take 30% stake, Sojitz 19% Champion Iron to retain operational control of Kami Feasibility study expected to be completed by mid-2026 Dec 19 (Reuters) - Australia's Champion Iron (CIA.AX) , opens new tab said on Thursday Japanese steelmaker Nippon Steel (5401.T) , opens new tab and trading house Sojitz (2768.T) , opens new tab will buy a 49% stake in the company's Kami project in Canada for C$245 million ($170.41 million). Nippon and Sojitz will hold a 30% and 19% stake respectively in the iron ore project in Canada's northeast, and share development and construction costs based on their share in the mine, Champion said in a statement. Kami, which Champion acquired in 2021, is also expected to receive as much as C$490 million ($340.82 million) through future contributions from Nippon and Sojitz, it added. Champion's CEO David Cataford said the deal underlined Kami's potential. "The financial support and collaboration provided by the Partners mark an important milestone," Cataford said in the statement. Nippon, Japan's largest and the world's No. 4 steelmaker, is looking to optimise its supply chain from Kami, the company's Managing Executive Officer Ryuichi Nagai said. Nippon Steel, which currently has a global production capacity of 65 million tons a year, is looking to raise that to 100 million tons a year in the long term. It is currently trying to secure U.S. approval for its acquisition of U.S. Steel, a key part of that strategy, and has also been looking to buy stakes in coking coal and iron ore mines to ensure a stable supply of essential raw materials. Nippon will invest C$150 million ($104 million) for its stake in Kami, while incurring about C$1.16 billion in development costs by the project's completion, the company said in a statement. The costs will be subject to investor approval of the project's development and the results of a future feasibility study, it added. Kami is an advanced-stage open-pit iron ore mining project and offers an opportunity to secure the supply of direct reduction iron ore, Nippon Steel said. Direct reduced iron, along with high-quality scrap, are necessary for the production of high-grade steel from large electric arc furnaces, which Nippon Steel aims to build to reduce carbon emissions. "Iron ore to be produced at Kami will be used for hot briquetted iron (HBI), not as conventional iron ore for blast furnaces... so this is an investment for future production," Shingo Nakamura, a senior executive at Nippon Steel, told reporters in Tokyo. The project feasibility study is expected be completed in mid-2026, and construction would take about four years once the final investment decision is agreed, the statement said. Nippon Steel estimated costs for all partners in the Kami project at nearly C$4 billion. Kami is in Newfoundland and Labrador, a few kilometres from Champion's operating Bloom Lake mine in Quebec. Champion filed a pre-feasibility study for Kami in March 2024. (This story has been corrected to change the currency from Australian dollars to Canadian dollars in paragraphs 1 and 3) ($1 = 1.4377 Canadian dollars) Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/nippon-steel-sojitz-take-49-stake-champion-irons-canada-project-2024-12-18/

2024-12-18 22:56

Dec 19 (Reuters) - Australia's Novonix Ltd (NVX.AX) , opens new tab said on Thursday it had joined a petition urging U.S. authorities to investigate China's alleged dumping of battery-grade graphite at unfair prices, potentially harming domestic producers. The battery metals and technology company has joined the American Active Anode Material Producers (AAAMP) in filing the petition. "The filing asserts China is harming the nascent domestic graphite industry by exporting artificially cheap battery-grade graphite into the U.S., denying North American producers a fair opportunity to enter the market," Novonix said in a statement. North American graphite miners asked the U.S. government on Wednesday to impose a tariff as high as 920% on Chinese suppliers of the battery metal to counter what they describe as Beijing's "malicious trade practices." In a separate statement, Australia's Syrah Resources (SYR.AX) , opens new tab said its unit, Syrah Technologies LLC, filed an anti-dumping and countervailing duty petition with the U.S. Department of Commerce and the International Trade Commission. Syrah's petition, submitted in collaboration with the North American Graphite Alliance, seeks an investigation into Chinese exports of natural and synthetic graphite active anode material used in lithium-ion batteries. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/australian-graphite-firms-petition-us-alleged-china-dumping-2024-12-18/

2024-12-18 22:37

Dec 19 (Reuters) - Australian miner South32 (S32.AX) , opens new tab said on Thursday it expects to rebuild alumina stocks in the coming days if trucking conditions remain favourable at the Mozal Aluminium smelter in Mozambique after operational disruptions at the site due to post-election civil unrest. Earlier this month, the company retracted its output prediction for its Mozal Aluminium smelter in Mozambique, following protests by opposition supporters after a disputed election result in October, which led to increasing violence in the country. According to South32, which owns 63.7% of the Mozal Aluminium smelter, the disturbances caused road closures that have made it more difficult to get raw materials to the smelter. "Over the past few days, road blockages have largely cleared and we have been able to safely transport alumina from port to Mozal Aluminium," South32 said. The company adds that while the situation in Mozambique has improved, any escalation in civil unrest, which is likely after the election results by the Mozambique Constitutional Council on Dec. 23, can potentially impact trucking activity and operations at Mozal. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/south32-expects-start-rebuilding-mozambique-project-after-post-election-hit-2024-12-18/

2024-12-18 22:28

Dec 18 (Reuters) - Martin Midstream Partners (MMLP.O) , opens new tab said on Wednesday that proxy advisory firm Glass Lewis has recommended the energy infrastructure firm's unitholders vote for the company's proposed buyout deal with Martin Resource Management Corp. The announcement of the Glass Lewis report comes days after Martin Midstream had said another proxy advisory firm, Institutional Shareholder Services, had also recommended a positive vote for the deal. Martin Midstream agreed to a $157-million deal with Martin Resource Management Corp in October that would result in MRMC acquiring the units it does not already own for $4.02 per common unit. The agreed transaction came at a higher offer than MRMC originally proposed in May. The proposed MRMC deal was unsuccessfully challenged by two hedge funds that offered a competing bid to buy Martin Midstream. Since then, Nut Tree Capital Management and Caspian Capital, which have said they have combined economic interest equivalent to 13.6% of Martin Midstream, have urged unitholders to vote against the deal. The unitholder meeting on whether to sanction the MRMC buyout is scheduled for Dec. 30. Martin Midstream, which focuses on storing and transporting fuels, said Glass Lewis has reported the merger represents an "attractive exit valuation and premium for the company's unaffiliated unitholders". Nut Tree, Caspian, Glass Lewis and ISS did not immediately respond to requests for comment. MRMC is headed by Ruben S. Martin III, whose father in 1951 set up the business to which MRMC and Martin Midstream trace their roots. It currently holds 15.7% of the common units of Martin Midstream and controls the general partner. Martin Midstream is structured as a tax-efficient master limited partnership. In an MLP, the ownership is split into publicly traded common units, and also general partner units that have outsized influence because the owner of these units controls the governance of the partnership. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/deals/martin-midstream-says-glass-lewis-backs-buyout-deal-with-martin-resource-2024-12-18/