2024-12-10 20:13

WASHINGTON, Dec 10 (Reuters) - The U.S. Energy Department said on Tuesday it is offering initial contracts to six companies to produce domestic uranium fuel for conventional nuclear plants to generate electricity. WHY IT'S IMPORTANT The department is trying to kick-start a domestic uranium fuel supply chain to reduce dependence on Russia, from which U.S. reactors get about 25% of their enriched uranium in recent years. The United States put a ban on the imports from Russia as part of a package of sanctions on Moscow over its full scale invasion of Ukraine. The ban allows waivers until 2028. The U.S. is investigating uranium imports to see if China is helping Russia circumvent the ban. KEY QUOTE "These contracts generated from this action will help spur the safe and responsible build-out of uranium enrichment capacity in the United States,” said Michael Goff, principal deputy assistant secretary for nuclear energy. THE COMPANIES The following companies won contracts: Centrus's (LEU.A) , opens new tab American Centrifuge Operating; General Matter; Global Laser Enrichment; Urenco's Louisiana Energy Services; Laser Isotope Separation Technologies and Orano Federal Services. Four of those companies got initial U.S. contracts in October to produce a more enriched fuel called high assay low enriched uranium, or HALEU, to be used in smaller reactors that are not yet commercial. Conventional uranium fuel is up to 5% enriched while HALEU is up to 20% enriched. BY THE NUMBERS The contracts at the start are for a minimum of $2 million. They will last for up to 10 years with $2.7 billion available for the program. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/us-offers-six-companies-contracts-make-uranium-fuel-nuclear-plants-2024-12-10/

2024-12-10 20:07

NEW YORK, Dec 10 (Reuters) - Warburg Pincus, a private equity firm with about $86 billion in assets under management, is not planning to explore an initial public offering anytime soon, Chief Executive Jeffrey Perlman said in an interview at the Reuters NEXT conference in New York on Tuesday. While a number of asset managers and buyout firms, including TPG (TPG.O) , opens new tab and CVC Capital Partners (CVC.AS) , opens new tab have pursued IPOs in recent years, Warburg is not in any rush to tap the public markets. "If we were ever in a situation where I feel like we'd be at a competitive disadvantage by not being public, then you have to revisit that. I think the opposite is true right now," Perlman said. Warburg expects a material uptick in deals activity in the private equity industry in 2025 and 2026, as large buyout firms face increased pressure to return capital to their investors, Perlman said. After couple of years with a low volume of deals, Perlman said sellers of companies will be more willing to reduce their prices in order to get a deal concluded, while buyers may also increase the amount they are willing to pay. “The industry bought a lot in 2021. It was a very tough vintage ... A little bit more time for growth allows them to grow into probably some of the marks on those assets, which would then allow them to probably transact and feel a little bit better about it than would have been the case 12, 18, 24, months ago.” said Perlman, who joined Warburg in 2006 and has since helped oversee the buyout firm's expansion in Asia. Leading private equity executives are optimistic about a rebound in leveraged buyout volumes in 2025, fueled by lower interest rates, billions of dollars of unspent capital, and a surge in opportunities tied to the booming artificial intelligence sector. Lower rates bode well for private equity firms, after a spike in financing costs in the last two years made financing leveraged buyouts more expensive and big deals hard to clinch. Yet some large transactions are breaking through, as the financing outlook improves. In November, Blackstone struck an $8 billion deal to acquire sandwich chain Jersey Mike's Subs, in what was one of the biggest buyouts of the year. U.S. private-equity and venture capital deal volumes have reached $423 billion so far this year, compared to $440 billion for the entire year in 2023, according to data from Preqin. Perlman took over as CEO of Warburg in July, succeeding Chip Kaye who became co-chairman of the New York-based firm. Former U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner serves as chairman alongside Kaye, who had served as CEO of Warburg since 2001. Perlman's elevation to the role marked only the third generation of leadership for the firm in its history. Warburg Pincus currently has active investments in more than 230 companies across several industries in its portfolio. The firm traces its roots to an investment banking firm called E.M. Warburg, which was founded in New York in 1939 by German-American businessman Eric Warburg. To view the live broadcast of the World Stage go to the Reuters NEXT news page: https://www.reuters.com/world/reuters-next/ Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/warburg-pincus-sees-uptick-private-equity-deals-2025-2024-12-10/

2024-12-10 19:51

BERLIN, Dec 10 (Reuters) - A drone hit and severely damaged an official vehicle of the International Atomic Energy Agency on the road to Ukraine's Russian-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant on Tuesday, the agency's head said. There were no casualties and the teams are safe, Rafael Grossi, director general of the U.N. nuclear watchdog, said in a video posted on X. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said the strike was a deliberate Russian attack that showed Moscow had total disregard for international law and institutions. In a statement, Russia's Defence Ministry made no mention of the incident, which occurred as contingents of IAEA monitors were being rotated in and out of the station. But the statement strongly suggested Moscow's forces would not have been responsible for any such attack. "I condemn in the most firm terms this attack on the IAEA staff," Grossi said. "We call, once again, as we have done it before, for the utmost restraint." Grossi said attacking a nuclear power plant is a no-go and attacking those working to prevent a nuclear accident during the military conflict is "even more unacceptable." He made no suggestion of who might have been responsible. A picture posted alongside his statement showed a vehicle with clear IAEA markings, its rear portion badly damaged. Zelenskiy, also writing on X, said: "This attack clearly demonstrated how Russia treats anything related to international law, global institutions, and safety. The Russians could not have been unaware of their target; they knew exactly what they were doing and acted deliberately." He called for "a clear and decisive response" from the IAEA and other international bodies. Russia seized the Zaporizhzhia plant, Europe's biggest nuclear power station, soon after Moscow's 2022 invasion of its neighbour. Each side in the 33-month-old war has since accused the other of shelling the plant and endangering nuclear safety. The Russian Defence Ministry, writing on Telegram, said Russian forces had overseen the staff rotation and had "strictly observed" a 12-hour ceasefire declared along the route taken by the IAEA personnel escorted in and out of the plant. Forensic specialists, it said, had checked the site for unexploded ordnance it said might have been left over from Ukrainian shelling. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/drone-hits-iaea-vehicle-road-russian-held-zaporizhzhia-nuclear-plant-agency-says-2024-12-10/

2024-12-10 19:29

Dec 10 (Reuters) - Phillips 66 (PSX.N) , opens new tab will help power its refinery in Rodeo, California, with a new solar facility owned and operated by electrical utility NextEra Energy (NEE.N) , opens new tab, the refiner said on Tuesday. The solar plant, with an estimated output of 30.2 megawatts, will begin operation in January 2025 and gradually ramp up power throughout the first quarter, a company spokesperson said in an email. The facility will be built on 88 acres (36 hectares) of land owned by Phillips 66, adjacent to its renewable fuels facility in the San Francisco Bay Area, the company said in a press release. It will consist of more than 70,000 solar modules and will generate around 60,000 megawatt hours per year of electricity. A spokesperson at Phillips 66 declined to say which units would be powered by the solar plant. The solar facility is expected to help reduce the refinery's grid power demand by half and lower its carbon dioxide emissions by approximately 33,000 metric tons a year starting in the first quarter of 2025, the refiner said. Phillips 66 converted the refinery earlier this year to producing renewable diesel from fats, vegetable oils and greases, after previously making gasoline and diesel from crude oil. The refinery achieved full capacity in June, producing approximately 50,000 barrels per day of renewable diesel, sustainable aviation fuel and other products. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/phillips-66-teams-with-nextera-power-california-refinery-with-solar-energy-2024-12-10/

2024-12-10 19:25

Net US crude imports to drop to 1.9 million barrels per day Refinery demand set to fall in 2025 as plants go offline Trump's planned 25% tariffs on Canada, Mexico will further crimp oil imports EIA cuts 2025 global crude oil demand, output figures HOUSTON, Dec 10 (Reuters) - U.S. net crude oil imports are forecast to fall by 20% next year to 1.9 million barrels per day, their lowest since 1971, the Energy Information Administration said on Tuesday, pointing to higher U.S. production and lower refinery demand. The EIA expects the United States to produce 13.52 million bpd of oil in 2025, up from 13.24 million bpd in 2024, it said in its December Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO). Meanwhile U.S. refiners are set to process 16 million bpd of crude oil in 2025, down by 200,000 bpd compared with 2024, the EIA said. The decrease in refinery runs is partially due to a reduction in U.S. refinery capacity that will also contribute to the lower crude oil net imports in 2025, the EIA said. "With refinery retirements already announced and rising production, fewer imported barrels will be needed while exports are likely to tick higher with greater crude availability," said Matt Smith, Kpler lead Americas oil analyst. Phillips 66 (PSX.N) , opens new tab said in October that it will shut its large Los Angeles-area oil refinery late next year, and chemical maker LyondellBasell Industries (LYB.N) , opens new tab detailed its long-announced plan last month to permanently shutter , opens new tab its Houston refinery in 2025. And a proposal by President-elect Donald Trump to impose 25% import tariffs on all products from Canada and Mexico, including crude, could further crimp imports into the United States, Smith added. Global oil demand is expected to average around 104.3 million bpd next year, the EIA said, down from its previous forecast of 104.4 million bpd. Global oil output is forecast to average 104.2 million bpd in 2025, down from the prior forecast of 104.7 million bpd, according to the report. The EIA now expects spot Brent crude prices to average $73.58 a barrel in 2025, down from its previous forecast of $76.06 per barrel. U.S. WTI spot prices will average $69.12 per barrel in 2025, down from its last estimate of $71.60. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/us-net-crude-oil-imports-fall-by-20-2025-lowest-since-1971-eia-says-2024-12-10/

2024-12-10 17:56

Canadian dollar gains 0.1% against the greenback Touches its weakest intraday level since April 2020 Price of U.S. oil increases 0.7% Canada-U.S. 2-year spread hits its widest in 27 years TORONTO, Dec 10 (Reuters) - The Canadian dollar edged higher against its U.S. counterpart on Tuesday as oil prices rose, but the currency held near an earlier 4-1/2-year low as investors bet on another supersized interest rate cut this week from the Bank of Canada. The loonie was trading 0.1% higher at 1.4163 to the U.S. dollar, or 70.61 U.S. cents, after touching its weakest intraday level since April 2020 at 1.4194. Investors see an 88% chance the BoC will cut interest rates by half a percentage point to 3.25% on Wednesday, after easing by that magnitude in October for the first time in 15 years outside of the pandemic era. "A 50 bp (basis point) cut would provide a drag to CAD," strategists at TD Securities, including Jayati Bharadwaj, said in a note. "USD positioning and short-term valuations remain quite stretched which can provide some offset to USD strength. However, we remain strong USD bulls through early 2025, and believe USD dips will be brief and shallow." Speculators have raised their bearish bets on the Canadian dollar to historically large levels. As of Dec. 3, net short had increased to 159,346 contracts from 154,002 in the prior week, the latest data from the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission showed. The price of oil, one of Canada's major exports, found support from Chinese stimulus that could boost demand from the world's biggest crude buyer. U.S. crude oil futures were up 0.7% at $68.82 a barrel. Canadian government bond yields edged lower across the curve. The 2-year yield was down 1.3 basis point at 2.903%, while it traded 5.6 basis points further below its U.S. equivalent to a gap of roughly 127 basis points in favor of the U.S. note, the largest spread since November 1997. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/currencies/canadian-dollar-holds-near-4-12-year-low-ahead-boc-rate-decision-2024-12-10/