2024-10-30 13:00

SYDNEY, Oct 30 (Reuters) - It is no secret that Australia is one of the countries best placed to take advantage of the energy transition, given its abundance of minerals, renewable energy potential, stable government and proximity to the growing markets of Asia. But Sentiment was somewhat downbeat at this week's massive gathering of the mining and related sectors at the International Mining and Resources Conference (IMARC) in Sydney. While speaker after speaker outlined available opportunities, there were always the caveats that Australia is risking missing the boat and losing out to competitor nations when it comes to leading the energy transition and the minerals needed to make the switch from fossil fuels to cleaner power. Australia is the world's largest exporter of lithium and iron ore and is a major producer of copper, nickel, manganese and aluminium. It is also the world's second-largest shipper of coal and liquefied natural gas, which underscores that it is still largely dependent on fossil fuels for much of its export revenues, which are at risk as the energy transition gathers accelerates. It is for this reason that the mining industry sees the imperative to embrace a clean energy future, and the ambition is that Australia maintains its leading role as a supplier of the key minerals. But there is also the increasing risk that Australia is being left behind, with other countries with access to cheaper capital and energy, as well as easier government regulations and processes, starting to pull ahead. The iron ore sector is one example. Australia supplies about two-thirds of China's imports of the key raw material, and in turn China uses the iron ore to produce about half the world's steel. Steel making is carbon intensive and contributes about 8% of global emissions, given its reliance on coal as the main energy source. Decarbonising steel is thus a key plank of the energy transition and Australia should be the global leader. The idea is to take iron ore and use hydrogen produced from green energies such as solar and wind to beneficiate it into a product such as hot briquetted iron, which in turn can be made into steel using electric furnaces. But in order for this to happen, the iron ore sector is going to need cheap electricity, and in vast quantities. Dino Otranto, the chief executive of Fortescue Group, Australia's third-biggest iron ore miner, told IMARC on Tuesday that nothing would happen without cheap electricity. With globally competitive energy costs Australia can "fully take our commodities and turn them into products the world wants," Otranto said. ELECTRICITY DILEMMA The problem comes in delivering the cheap electricity. While miners talk of building partnerships with companies and increasing collaboration, the issue always comes back to cost. Why would a solar energy company invest billions of dollars to build plants, only to sell the electricity produced at such a low cost to the mining sector, so it can make profits selling cleaner products to China and other buyers in Asia? No company would, meaning that it will be difficult to get the price of renewable energy cheap enough in Australia to make it competitive with countries such as those in the Middle East, which already are providing low-cost power to miners such as Brazil's Vale for iron ore beneficiation. In past decades Australia's state and federal governments took the lead in providing cheap electricity to fuel industrial development, an example being the use of state-built hydropower in Tasmania to power aluminium, manganese and zinc smelters. But governments are more cash-strapped currently and wary of imposing costs on taxpayers complaining of the cost of living, meaning that the capital to turn Australia into a green superpower will likely have to be largely private. One role governments could play more effectively is cutting down on the time needed and the complexity of approvals, and while the politicians at IMARC were unanimous in saying they were doing just that, the mining sector is privately considerably more sceptical. For now, the main challenge for the mining sector is working out how to turn vision into reality, and at a scale that keeps Australia at the forefront of the energy transition. The opinions expressed here are those of the author, a columnist for Reuters. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/australia-should-lead-energy-transition-is-it-missing-boat-russell-2024-10-30/

2024-10-30 12:51

LONDON, Oct 30 (Reuters) - British finance minister Rachel Reeves on Wednesday said the previous Conservative government had hid vital information on public spending plans from the Office for Responsibility, citing a new report from the independent forecasting body. Reeves quoted the OBR's report as saying its forecasts in the March 2024 budget published by the previous government would have been "materially different" if it had been given a fuller picture of the government's spending. "Let me be clear: that means any comparison between today's forecast and the OBR's March forecast is false," Reeves said in her budget speech. Conservative Party finance spokesman Jeremy Hunt, who was finance minister in the last government, has said Reeves had politicised the OBR by commissioning the report and would harm the body's impartial image. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/uks-reeves-says-previous-government-hid-spending-data-obr-2024-10-30/

2024-10-30 12:49

Oct 28 (Reuters) - Enterprise Products Partners (EPD.N) , opens new tab agreed to develop a CO2 transportation network to support carbon capture firm 1PointFive's hub in southeast Texas to carry emissions captured by third parties for sequestration, the companies said on Monday. The network, part of Occidental's (OXY.N) , opens new tab 1PointFive initiative, will transport emissions from facilities near the Houston Ship Channel to Bluebonnet Sequestration Hub. Earlier this month, the Bluebonnet and Magnolia Sequestration Hubs were awarded $36 million in funding from the U.S. Department of Energy. Earlier this year, 1PointFive entered into agreements with tech giant Microsoft (MSFT.O) , opens new tab and telecom company AT&T (T.N) , opens new tab to sell carbon dioxide removal (CDR) credits. Carbon credits are tradable permits that allow the owner to emit certain amounts of greenhouse gases. Each credit permits the emission of one metric ton of carbon dioxide or the equivalent of other greenhouse gases. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/enterprise-products-develop-pipeline-network-occidentals-1pointfive-2024-10-28/

2024-10-30 12:44

Oct 30 (Reuters) - Martin Marietta (MLM.N) , opens new tab cut its annual sales forecast and reported lower quarterly results on Wednesday, after the building material supplier's operations were hit by storms and extreme weather conditions. The company said its operations in the quarter were hit by rains in July, Tropical Storm Debby in North Carolina and hurricanes Beryl and Helene in Texas. "Although these events are short-term and temporary, they nonetheless adversely impacted our third-quarter product shipments, geographic mix and financial results," Martin Marietta CEO Ward Nye said. However, the company said it expects to benefit from federal and state investments in highways, streets and bridges and AI-related infrastructure spending in 2025. "Although higher interest rates continue to affect residential construction activity, we are encouraged by recent Federal Reserve policy actions and the likelihood of more interest rate cuts later this year," Nye added. For the full year, it expects its annual revenue to be between $6.45 billion and $6.7 billion, down from its prior range of $6.5 billion to $6.94 billion. Its third-quarter net earnings fell to $363 million, or $5.91 per share, compared with $430 million, or $6.94 per share a year ago. Overall revenue in the quarter ended Sept. 30 fell 5% to $1.89 billion. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/martin-marietta-cuts-annual-sales-forecast-storms-hit-operations-2024-10-30/

2024-10-30 12:42

PRAGUE, Oct 30 (Reuters) - The Czech anti-monopoly office UOHS put a temporary block on the conclusion of a contract with South Korea's KHNP for the construction of a new nuclear power unit following challenges by Westinghouse and EDF. UOHS said that the preliminary measure to prohibit the conclusion of the contract was not indicative of how the case will be decided and was standard procedure in such a case. The measure comes after the office started official proceedings work in September on appeals from U.S. group Westinghouse and France's EDF against the country's choice in July of Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Company (KHNP) as preferred bidder to build new nuclear reactors. The Czech government and majority state-owned utility CEZ (CEZP.PR) , opens new tab aim to conclude negotiations with KHNP and sign contracts by next March, and complete the first reactor by 2036. CEZ said it believed the preliminary measure would not impact the tender's schedule. "(The company) is convinced it acted in accordance with the applicable laws from the first moment in the selection of the preferred bidder," it said. Legal disputes are a potential sticking point in the country's largest-ever energy procurement deal, expected to be worth up to $18 billion at current prices. The Czechs plan to use the new nuclear power units, together with small modular reactors and renewable sources, to replace a fleet of coal-fired plants as well as some older nuclear reactors that are nearing the end of their lifespan. ($1 = 23.4270 Czech crowns) Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/czech-watchdog-prohibits-nuclear-power-contract-signing-amid-appeals-2024-10-30/

2024-10-30 12:38

LONDON/MOSCOW, Oct 30 (Reuters) - OPEC+ could delay a planned hike in oil production scheduled to take effect in December by a month or more, three sources told Reuters on Wednesday, citing concern about soft oil demand and rising supply. The planned 180,000 barrels per day hike in December, which is scheduled to come from the eight OPEC+ members who have been making the group's most recent layer of output cuts, was already delayed from October amid falling prices. Two of the sources, who are people familiar with OPEC+ talks, said the December increase could be delayed for a month at least, while the third, an OPEC+ delegate, did not specify a time frame. All declined to be identified by name. A decision to postpone the hike could come as early as next week, two of the sources said. OPEC+ is scheduled to meet on Dec. 1 to decide its next policy steps. OPEC and the Saudi government communications office did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/opec-could-delay-planned-december-oil-output-hike-sources-say-2024-10-30/