2025-12-17 21:20

Dec 17 (Reuters) - UK company Awendio Solaris said on Wednesday that it plans to invest C$1 billion ($725.6 million) to develop a solar cell and module manufacturing facility and global R&D centre in Canada. The move comes amid growing global demand for renewable energy, as countries and companies race to cut carbon emissions and secure clean power sources. Sign up here. Indigenous groups, The Naskapi Nation, Wendat Nation, and Kanien'kehá:ka are joining as investor-partners in the project, the company said. Canada's First Nations are buying stakes in Canadian projects at an accelerating pace as they seek economic benefits from projects on their land and companies look to raise capital. Awendio Solaris said it is developing a facility in Québec with an initial annual production capacity of up to 2,500 MW, scalable to 5,000 MW. The startup said construction is expected to begin in the second-quarter of 2026. ($1 = 1.3780 Canadian dollars) https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/uk-firm-awendio-solaris-plans-725-million-solar-plant-with-indigenous-groups-2025-12-17/

2025-12-17 21:14

JERUSALEM, Dec 17 (Reuters) - Israel has approved a deal that will supply natural gas to Egypt, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday, describing it as the country's largest-ever gas deal. Israel signed the export agreement in August with Chevron and its partners, NewMed (NWMDp.TA) , opens new tab and Ratio, to supply up to $35 billion of gas to Egypt from the Leviathan natural gas field. Sign up here. "I have today approved the largest gas deal in Israel's history. The deal is for 112 billion shekels ($34.67 billion)," Netanyahu said in a televised statement. He added that the deal, which had been held up over some outstanding issues, would help secure stability in the region. It should ease an energy crisis in Egypt, which has spent billions of dollars importing liquefied natural gas since its own supplies fell short of demand. A Chevron spokesperson said the company welcomed Israel's decision to issue a permit for the export of natural gas from the Leviathan reservoir to Egypt. Chevron had said in November it was nearing a final investment decision for expanding the Leviathan gas field off Israel's Mediterranean coast, but was awaiting an Israeli permit to export the gas to Egypt. Under the deal, Leviathan, which has reserves of some 600 billion cubic metres, will sell about 130 bcm of gas to Egypt through 2040 or until all contract values are fulfilled, said NewMed in a statement. Egypt's production began declining in 2022, forcing it to abandon its ambitions to become a regional supply hub. It has increasingly turned to Israel to make up the shortfall. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/israel-approves-natural-gas-deal-with-egypt-netanyahu-says-2025-12-17/

2025-12-17 20:58

Supreme Court says lawmakers cannot take away Indigenous land rights Congress is likely to push back despite concessions Indigenous groups warn of increased violence amid legal challenges SAO PAULO, Dec 17 (Reuters) - A majority of Brazil's Supreme Court reaffirmed protections for Indigenous land rights on Wednesday, curbing attempts by Congress to limit the recognition of reservations in a ruling likely to stoke tensions between the top court and lawmakers. Six of the 10 Supreme Court justices have voted to establish Indigenous land rights as entrenched clauses of Brazil's constitution that cannot be stripped by lawmakers, said Deborah Duprat, a former federal prosecutor who worked on Indigenous rights issues for decades. Sign up here. "It's an important message to Congress," she added. Although four Supreme Court justices have not yet rendered their opinions on the issue, their votes are not enough to block the majority decision. Although Brazil's 1988 constitution recognized the rights of Indigenous peoples to their ancestral territory, the process of demarcating those lands has dragged on for decades. Indigenous advocates say hundreds of communities still await that formal recognition, with many entangled in violent land disputes. In recent years, resistance to Indigenous land claims has mounted from a powerful farm lobby backed by the conservative majority in Congress. Lawmakers passed a law in 2023 to limit protections for Indigenous lands that communities cannot prove they occupied when the constitution took effect. Proponents say that cutoff date protects landowners from claims they were unaware of when they purchased their property. As the Supreme Court prepared this month to rule on whether that law was constitutional, the Senate voted to amend the constitution in line with the 2023 law. The lower house of Brazil's Congress is also expected to pass that constitutional amendment. But some Supreme Court justices already have argued in their votes this week that this section of the constitution cannot be amended because it protects fundamental rights. "The legislative branch may not, under any pretext, suppress or reduce rights guaranteed to Indigenous peoples, under penalty of violating the foundational principles of the democratic rule of law," Justice Flavio Dino wrote. A STRUGGLE FOR LAND The standoff in Brasilia is the latest chapter in a long-running clash between the country's conservative Congress and defenders of the ample constitutional protections for traditional communities and ecosystems. Indigenous groups are fighting to correct what they see as a colonial injustice that erased and undercut Native cultures. The agricultural lobby says it is defending landowners' rights to buy, sell and develop lands for commercial farms that fuel Brazil's economy. While the Supreme Court looks set to uphold Indigenous land rights, it has also offered concessions to landowners by allowing them to keep using lands claimed by communities until the government compensates them for their losses. Those payments are likely to take years given constraints on the federal budget. The congressional agribusiness caucus hailed the high court for accepting some of the new rules introduced by lawmakers, but vowed to keep pushing for a 1988 cutoff limiting new Indigenous reservations to "bring legal certainty and predictability." Indigenous groups warn that offering more legal tools to challenge their land rights could increase violence against communities. Last year, 211 Indigenous people were murdered in Brazil, including several in land disputes, according to the Catholic Church's Missionary Council for Indigenous Peoples. Supreme Court Justice Gilmar Mendes, who oversaw the case, also established a new deadline of 10 years for the federal government to conclude territorial demarcations, a process that has dragged on for almost four decades. Auzerina Duarte Macuxi, a lawyer for the Coordination of Indigenous Organizations of the Brazilian Amazon, celebrated the court ruling overriding the 1988 cutoff for land claims, but warned that the new 10-year deadline could fuel future disputes. When time runs out, she said, "the weakest parties will be the ones to pay." https://www.reuters.com/world/brazil-supreme-court-affirms-indigenous-land-rights-defying-congress-2025-12-17/

2025-12-17 20:50

PDVSA restarts crude deliveries at ports after suspension due to cyberattack Most oil exports on hold as US threatens blockade of oil tankers under sanctions Chevron vessels continue to load and depart to the US Tankers carrying oil byproducts set sail on Wednesday Dec 17 (Reuters) - Venezuela's state-run oil company PDVSA resumed loading crude and fuel cargoes on Wednesday after suspending operations at terminals on Sunday due to a cyberattack, although most exports remain on hold as the U.S. threatens to enforce a blockade on tankers under sanctions, according to three company sources, traders and shipping data. Venezuela's crude exports have fallen sharply from the more than 900,000 barrels per day it shipped in November since the U.S. seized a sanctioned vessel a week ago. Operators have kept loaded ships in Venezuelan waters for fear they would be seized if they set sail for China, the destination for most of Venezuela's oil. Sign up here. Even as ships resume loading at PDVSA's terminals, it is unclear how many would sail into international waters. U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday ordered a blockade of all sanctioned oil tankers sailing into or out of Venezuelan waters. Oil prices rose by more than 1% on Wednesday on the potential for a deeper and longer-term reduction in Venezuela's oil exports. CHEVRON CONTINUES SHIPPING U.S. oil major Chevron (CVX.N) , opens new tab on Wednesday had two vessels loading cargoes bound for the United States, according to one of the sources and shipping data. Chevron has continued to ship Venezuelan crude since the seizure last week. The company is a joint-venture partner with PDVSA and has U.S. authorization to export oil from Venezuela despite sanctions on the OPEC member. Not all vessels loading Venezuelan oil are under sanctions. Of 75 oil tankers currently in Venezuela that are part of a "shadow fleet" of ships that typically navigate with transponders off to disguise their locations, around 38 have been sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury, according to data from TankerTrackers.com, updated on Wednesday. Of those, 15 are loaded with crude and fuel, it added. An unsanctioned supertanker set sail this week with its tracking signal off, carrying 1.8 million barrels of heavy crude, after waiting days to leave. Another Very Large Crude Carrier recently arrived in Venezuelan waters in "dark mode," according to a PDVSA internal document and monitoring data. About 15 million barrels of Venezuelan oil remain stuck on vessels in the country's waters. Customers and shippers have demanded price discounts and contract changes from PDVSA to compensate them for the increased risk of shipping the country's oil, traders and a company source said this week. PDVSA said in a statement on Wednesday that oil exports and imports were back to normal, and its tanker fleet was navigating without interruptions. OIL BYPRODUCTS MOVING Two ships without sanctions set sail on Wednesday carrying oil byproducts, but not crude, according to ship tracking data and PDVSA documents. The vessels are transporting methanol and petroleum coke, a residue of crude upgrading. Washington has not targeted oil byproducts or petrochemicals since it first imposed sanctions on Venezuela in 2019. At least half a dozen oil tankers have turned around since last week to avoid approaching the Caribbean Sea, which is heavily patrolled by U.S. vessels, the TankerTrackers.com data showed. The Trump administration has moved thousands of troops and nearly a dozen warships to the region. Venezuela called Trump's blockade a "grotesque threat" in a statement on Tuesday night, saying he was violating international law, free commerce and the right of free navigation. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has alleged that the U.S. military build-up is aimed at overthrowing him and gaining control of the OPEC nation's oil resources. Venezuela holds the world's largest crude reserves. It is unclear how the U.S. would enforce the blockade, and whether it would turn to the U.S. Coast Guard to interdict vessels. The Coast Guard was involved in the seizure last week of the supertanker Skipper near Venezuela, which was the first U.S. seizure of a Venezuelan oil cargo. PDVSA OPERATIONS ISOLATED DUE TO CYBERATTACK PDVSA had to isolate the operations of oilfields, refineries, ports and other facilities from its central system to resume work after the cyberattack, sources familiar with its operations said. The state firm detected a ransomware attack days ago, and the antivirus software it used to try to fix the problem affected its entire administrative system, according to a company source. In a ransomware attack, malicious software encrypts a victim's files or locks their computer, often causing severe disruptions. Workers at terminals are making manual records of deliveries to avoid a longer suspension of exports, the sources said. Also on Wednesday, Venezuela's largest refinery, the 645,000-barrel-per-day Amuay refinery, restarted after a brief power outage, sources told Reuters. The rising U.S.-Venezuela tensions have also affected the South American country's imports of heavy naphtha, which are needed to dilute its extra-heavy oil output. Russia's naphtha exports to Venezuela are at risk due to the blockade, market sources said on Wednesday. Some tankers carrying Russian naphtha to Venezuela have turned back, shipping data showed. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/venezuelas-pdvsa-resuming-oil-cargo-deliveries-after-cyberattack-sources-say-2025-12-17/

2025-12-17 20:21

ABUJA, Dec 17 (Reuters) - Nigerian President Bola Tinubu has asked the Senate to confirm two new heads for Nigeria's oil and gas regulators after their predecessors abruptly quit, amid a high stakes clash between one agency and Africa's richest man, Aliko Dangote. Tinubu's nominations follow the exit of Gbenga Komolafe, chief executive of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, and Farouk Ahmed, head of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority. Sign up here. Dangote has accused Ahmed of allowing the entry of cut-price fuel imports that threaten local refineries, including his 650,000-barrel-per-day Lagos plant, Africa's largest. Dangote on Wednesday submitted a petition against Ahmed with one of Nigeria's antigraft agencies - the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC). Komolafe, who recently launched an oil block auction, has clashed with Dangote over failure to enforce a law requiring producers to prioritize local refineries. The shake-up comes at a critical moment for Africa's top oil producer, where regulatory uncertainty and supply fears have dominated headlines since Dangote lodged a formal petition against Ahmed, citing governance concerns and claims of personal spending beyond declared income. Analysts say the resignations are unlikely to have a major impact on the sector. Komolafe’s proposed successor, Oritsemeyiwa Amanorisewo Eyesan, a former NNPC executive, spent more than three decades at the state oil company, including heading one of its subsidiaries. Farouk’s replacement, Saidu Aliyu Mohammed, was named today as an independent non-executive director at Seplat Energy. With over 37 years of experience, he previously led an NNPC division and helped draft Nigeria’s Gas Master Plan "I don't think in either case, these resignations would adversely affect investor confidence," said Ayodele Oni, an energy lawyer and partner at Lagos-based Bloomfield law firm. https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/nigerias-tinubu-nominates-new-oil-regulators-after-chiefs-resign-amid-dangote-2025-12-17/

2025-12-17 20:17

Trump orders blockade on tankers under sanctions entering and leaving Venezuela There is uncertainty around implementation of Trump's blockade US crude stocks fell last week, but fuel inventories rose more than expected: EIA NEW YORK, Dec 17 (Reuters) - Oil prices rallied by more than 1% on Wednesday after U.S. President Donald Trump ordered a blockade of all oil tankers under sanctions entering and leaving Venezuela, raising global political tensions and easing concerns about a swelling surplus of global crude. Brent crude futures settled at $59.68 a barrel, rising 76 cents, or 1.3%. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude settled at $55.94 a barrel, up 67 cents, or 1.2%. Sign up here. Growing U.S. fuel inventories tempered the rise in oil prices. Prices had settled near five-year lows in the previous session on signs of progress in Russia-Ukraine peace talks. A peace agreement could see Western sanctions on Moscow eased, freeing up supply as the market grapples with fragile global demand. On Tuesday, Trump ordered a blockade of all sanctioned oil tankers entering and leaving Venezuela, saying he regarded President Nicolas Maduro's administration as a foreign terrorist organization. The Venezuelan government said in a statement it rejected Trump's "grotesque threat." Trump made his blockade comments a week after the U.S. seized a sanctioned oil tanker off Venezuela's coast. QUESTIONS ABOUT HOW BLOCKADE WOULD WORK It is unclear how many tankers will be affected and how the U.S. will impose the blockade, and whether Trump will turn to the U.S. Coast Guard to interdict vessels, as he did last week. In recent months, the U.S. has moved warships into the region. Some energy experts are skeptical that Trump's latest actions would make a meaningful dent in global crude oil supplies. "While U.S. actions may inject short-term noise and modest risk premium, they are insufficient on their own to tighten global balances or drive a sustained rally in crude prices," Kpler energy analysts said in a note. While many vessels picking up oil in Venezuela are under sanctions, others transporting the country's oil and crude by way of Iran and Russia have not been sanctioned. Tankers chartered by Chevron (CVX.N) , opens new tab are carrying Venezuelan crude to the U.S. under an authorization previously granted by Washington. China is the biggest buyer of Venezuelan crude, which accounts for about 1% of global supplies. Adding further uncertainty to Venezuela's energy production, state-run oil company PDVSA on Wednesday said it was resuming at its terminals following a cyberattack that affected its centralized administrative systems. At least two tankers carrying oil byproducts, including methanol and petroleum coke, departed from Venezuela's largest port, Jose, according to ship-tracking data and internal documents from state company PDVSA. The U.S. has not targeted exports of oil byproducts or petrochemicals since it first imposed energy sanctions on Venezuela in 2019. RISING INVENTORIES Rising inventories of gasoline and distillate in the U.S. took some of the steam out of crude oil's rise. While crude inventories fell last week, those of gasoline and distillate grew more than analysts expected, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Crude inventories dropped by 1.3 million barrels to 424.4 million barrels in the week ended December 12, the EIA said, compared with analysts' expectations in a Reuters poll for a draw of 1.1 million barrels. U.S. gasoline stocks, meanwhile, added 4.8 million barrels in the week to 225.6 million barrels, the EIA said, compared with analysts' expectations in a Reuters poll for a build of 2.1 million barrels. Distillate stockpiles, which include diesel and heating oil, rose by 1.7 million barrels in the week to 118.5 million barrels, versus expectations for a rise of 1.2 million barrels, the EIA data showed. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/oil-up-15-trump-orders-blockade-sanctioned-oil-tankers-leaving-entering-2025-12-17/