2024-11-28 19:34

Nov 28 (Reuters) - The former chief minister of India's Andhra Pradesh state refuted on Thursday bribery allegations and any involvement by the Adani Group in the state government's purchase of solar power while he was in power. In his first comments after facing allegations of corruption, Jagan Mohan Reddy dismissed any state involvement with Adani in the deal. He said the agreement was between the government and the Solar Energy Corporation of India, which awards power-supply contracts to companies, and no third party. "Adani meeting me is nothing out of ordinary. He would have met me several times during my tenure. He has got ongoing projects in Andhra Pradesh," Reddy said in a press briefing. Reuters earlier reported that the southern state is likely to suspend a power-purchase deal linked to the Adani Group due to Gautam Adani's indictment in the U.S., and will ask the SECI and the federal government to investigate the charges. U.S. authorities have accused Gautam Adani, his nephew and executive director Sagar Adani and managing director of Adani Green, Vneet S. Jaain, of being part of a scheme to pay bribes of $265 million to secure Indian power-supply contracts, and misleading U.S. investors during fund raises there. Most of the alleged bribes - $228 million - were paid to a government official to entice Andhra Pradesh's state electricity-distribution companies to agree to purchase power, the U.S. indictment said. Adani Group has denied all allegations made by the U.S. Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission as "baseless" and said it was fully compliant with all laws. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/india/ex-chief-minister-indias-andhra-pradesh-denies-bribery-allegations-adani-link-2024-11-28/

2024-11-28 19:24

BUENOS AIRES, Nov 28 (Reuters) - Canada's McEwen Copper is scouting for investors to raise $2.5 billion to move forward with construction of Los Azules copper mine in Argentina, company Vice President Michael Meding said in an interview. McEwen Copper, part of McEwen Mining, is among several international companies looking to extract copper in the mountains of northern Argentina, a region largely untapped for the commodity due to the country's tough capital controls and volatile economy. An incentive program under President Javier Milei is now spurring activity, including from major players such as miner BHP, after the country's only copper mine closed in 2018. Los Azules is due to receive a key environmental permit in four to six weeks, Meding said. From there, the company hopes around the end of 2025 to start planning for construction. "We have invested more than $400 million to date. And now we are looking for $2.5 billion for capex," Meding told Reuters on Thursday. The project, expected to produce about 175,000 metric tons of copper a year, aims to qualify for Milei's Incentive Regime for Large Investments, or RIGI, in about three months. The scheme offers 30 years of tax credits, lighter customs duties and a progressive easing of capital controls. Carmaker Stellantis (STLAM.MI) , opens new tab and Nuton, a unit of global miner Rio Tinto (RIO.L) , opens new tab, both hold minority shares of Los Azules, located in San Juan province. Nuton increased its stake with an investment of $35 million in October. Argentine state-owned company YPF Luz has agreed to provide the mine with 100% renewable energy, mainly solar, Meding said. European Union officials recently visited the site, and Meding said he discussed with them the project's social and environmental standards. "We ticked many of the boxes that make it interesting for a possible European investment," Meding said. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/mcewen-copper-seeks-25-bln-argentina-copper-mine-los-azules-2024-11-28/

2024-11-28 18:40

HAVANA, Nov 28 (Reuters) - Cuba this week asked state and private businesses to generate more of their own electricity from renewable resources and to limit their use of air conditioning, among other conservation measures, as the communist-run government navigates its worst energy crisis in decades. The new regulations, summarized in a 16-page decree published on Tuesday, give top energy consumers in both the public and private sector three years to install renewable energy sources capable of producing at least 50% of the electricity they consume during daylight hours. If an office building or factory can't accommodate solar panels, businesses will instead be required to contract with the government for a portion of its installed renewable energy capacity. The decree also establishes an array of new conservation measures, including a rule prohibiting state and private businesses on the Caribbean island from using "climate control units in non-technological offices, at temperatures below 24C (75.2F)." The increasingly restrictive measures come as Cuba's electrical grid teeters on the edge of collapse. Multiple, island-wide blackouts in October and November left millions of people in the dark for days. Rolling blackouts continue nationwide as Cuba struggles to source the fuel and spare parts it needs to generate enough electricity to meet demand. The government blames U.S. sanctions and a festering economic crisis for the increasingly tense situation. The decree also establishes protocols for a contingency plan in emergency situations in which it is "necessary to affect electrical service in a planned and sustained manner for more than 72 hours." In such cases, businesses would be required to disconnect refrigerators, industrial ovens and irrigation pumps during peak demand hours. The decree dedicates several pages to describing enforcement of the new rules, including shutting off electricity to the businesses that fail to meet the new standards, as well as fines of up to 15,000 pesos ($45.00) or more, depending on the infraction. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/cuba-decrees-contingency-plan-new-restrictions-energy-crisis-deepens-2024-11-28/

2024-11-28 18:31

OPEC+ shifts oil policy meeting to Dec. 5 from Dec. 1 More talks to be held in coming days, sources say UAE’s output hike among issues to address Nov 28 (Reuters) - OPEC+ is discussing postponing its oil output hike due to start in January for the first quarter of 2025, OPEC+ sources told Reuters on Thursday, and will hold further talks on this and other options ahead of its delayed policy meeting on Dec. 5. Issues that need to be addressed include an output hike for the United Arab Emirates agreed in June this year that's scheduled to start in January 2025, two of the sources said, declining to be identified. OPEC+, which pumps about half the world's oil, is gradually aiming to unwind output cuts through 2025. However, a slowdown in global demand and rising output outside the group pose hurdles to that plan and have weighed on prices. Despite the group's supply cuts, global oil benchmark Brent crude has mostly stayed in a $70-$80 per barrel range this year and on Thursday was trading around $73 a barrel, having hit a 2024 low below $69 in September. Earlier on Thursday, OPEC+, which groups the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and allies such as Russia, postponed its next meeting on output policy to Dec. 5 from Dec. 1. OPEC said moving the date would avoid a clash with another event. A summit of Gulf Arab countries is due to be held in Kuwait City on Dec. 1 which several OPEC+ ministers plan to attend, OPEC said in a statement. "Sunday does not suit everyone," a source told Reuters before the official announcement. Top OPEC+ ministers have held talks ahead of the meeting. Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, de facto head of OPEC, on Wednesday had a phone call with Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak and Kazakh Energy Minister Almasadam Satkaliyev while in Kazakhstan on an official visit. Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Russia held talks in Baghdad on Tuesday. OPEC+ on Nov. 3 again postponed its first output hike, which had been set for December, by one month. OPEC+ members are holding back 5.86 million barrels per day (bpd) of output, or about 5.7% of global demand. Their planned first increase of about 180,000 bpd - a fraction of the total - is due to be made by the eight members involved in the group's most recent cuts of 2.2 million bpd. The UAE, which has been expanding its oil production capacity, also negotiated an oil output hike of 300,000 bpd during 2025 that's scheduled to start in January. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/opec-postpones-output-policy-meeting-dec-5-sources-say-2024-11-28/

2024-11-28 18:09

LUANDA, Nov 28 (Reuters) - A subsidiary of the sovereign wealth fund of Oman is replacing Russian sanctions-hit Alrosa (ALRS.MM) , opens new tab in Angola's state-controlled diamond miner Catoca, an Angolan official said on Thursday. Angola has been under pressure to cease its long-standing partnership with Russian state-controlled Alrosa, the world's largest producer of rough diamonds by volume, since 2022 when the West imposed sanctions on Alrosa for Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. "From now on, we have a new partner and this partner is the one that will exercise the rights that until now belonged to Alrosa," Diamantino Azevedo, Angola's minister of mineral resources, oil and gas, told a national radio station. "Alrosa, a partner of Endiama in the Catoca mining company, will cease to be a partner of this company and, consequently, also a partner of the Luele mining company," he added. Alrosa, which owned 41% in Catoca, declined to comment. Azevedo did not provide any further details about the deal with the Omani firm. Having sanctions-hit Alrosa as a shareholder in the Angolan diamond miner was affecting "Angola's credibility in the international diamond market," the minister said. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/omani-firm-replaces-sanctions-hit-alrosa-angolan-diamond-miner-2024-11-28/

2024-11-28 17:41

Nov 28 (Reuters) - South African renewable energy company Pele Green Energy said on Thursday it reached a financial close for a Solar Plant with Glencore's (GLEN.L) , opens new tab South African ferroalloys unit and its joint venture partner Merafe Resources (MRFJ.J) , opens new tab. The deal, valued at 2.1 billion rand ($116 million) according to Bloomberg News, will see the development of the Sonvanger Solar PV Power Plant in the Free State province of South Africa. The Sonvanger Solar PV Power Plant, a 100 MW facility will contribute to South Africa’s clean energy transition, Pele Energy said. Glencore, Merafi and Pele did not immediately respond to a request for a comment. Nedbank Group and Absa Group will provide debt financing, with Pele Green Energy contributing equity, according to Pele’s Managing Director Gqi Raoleka, as reported by Bloomberg. ($1 = 18.1042 rand) Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/glencore-agrees-solar-plant-deal-with-pele-green-energy-2024-11-28/