2026-02-02 12:31
LISBON, Feb 2 (Reuters) - The European Union's decision last week to ban Russian gas imports was "100% legally sound", the bloc's Energy Commissioner Dan Jorgensen told reporters in Lisbon on Monday, adding it would prevent Russia from weaponising energy. "We've said we will no longer help indirectly finance (Russian President Vladimir) Putin's war in Ukraine by buying gas there," Jorgensen said after meeting with Portugal’s Energy Minister Maria da Graca Carvalho. Sign up here. "That also means it's no longer possible for Russia to blackmail EU member states to weaponise energy against us," he added. European Union countries last week approved a law banning Russian gas imports by late 2027, turning a political pledge to cut energy ties with Moscow into binding legislation nearly four years after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. EU ministers approved the measure despite opposition from Hungary and Slovakia. Bulgaria abstained and Hungary plans to challenge it at the EU court. Jorgensen said Hungary was free to challenge the law in court, but he added Budapest would need to comply even if it disagreed. https://www.reuters.com/business/eus-ban-russian-gas-imports-was-100-legally-sound-energy-commissioner-says-2026-02-02/
2026-02-02 12:24
Feb 2 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump is set to launch a strategic critical-minerals stockpile with $12 billion in seed money, Bloomberg News reported on Monday, citing people familiar with the matter. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/china/trump-launches-12-billion-minerals-stockpile-counter-china-bloomberg-news-2026-02-02/
2026-02-02 12:19
OSLO, Feb 2 (Reuters) - Norway's Equinor (EQNR.OL) , opens new tab said on Monday it has agreed to sell its onshore business in Argentina's Vaca Muerta basin to Vista Energy for $1.1 billion, half paid in cash and the other in the form of Vista shares. "The consideration includes contingent payments linked to production and oil prices over a five-year period," Equinor said in a statement. Sign up here. The transaction included Equinor's 30% stake in the Bandurria Sur production asset and its 50% holding in Bajo del Toro, while Equinor's offshore acreage in Argentina was not affected, the company said. Equinor's share of the Bandurria Sur production averaged 24,400 barrels of oil equivalent (boe) per day in the third quarter of 2025 while Bajo del Toro, which is still in an early development phase, contributed 2,100 net boe per day, it added. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/equinor-divests-parts-its-argentina-assets-11-billion-deal-2026-02-02/
2026-02-02 12:17
KYIV, Feb 2 (Reuters) - Russia has not carried out any targeted missile or drone strikes on Ukrainian energy infrastructure in the last 24 hours although energy facilities in frontline areas have come under fire, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Monday. Zelenskiy's statement highlighted the limitations of a short-term energy truce that Russia agreed to last week at the request of U.S. President Donald Trump. Sign up here. Zelenskiy said energy repair crews had managed to restore energy facilities damaged when high-voltage power lines malfunctioned over the weekend, on top of the damage caused by frequent Russian attacks. "The (energy) system is operating stably. However, given the extremely cold weather and the impact of Russian strikes, all challenges remain serious," Zelenskiy said on the Telegram app. Zelenskiy said Russian forces were focused on attacking transport logistics, especially railway infrastructure. Russia and Ukraine said last week they halted strikes on each other's energy infrastructure, but disagreed on the timeframe for the truce. The Kremlin said Trump had made a personal request to Russian President Vladimir Putin to refrain from striking Kyiv until February 1. Zelenskiy said the truce was supposed to last for a week, starting January 30. A Russian drone strike on Sunday killed 12 miners at a coal mine in the Ukrainian Dnipropetrovsk region, officials said. DTEK said on Monday one of its coal mining enterprises in the Dnipropetrovsk region had been attacked for the second time in 24 hours. Regional officials said that a Russian strike had killed a father and a son, and wounded two children and their mother in the frontline Donetsk region. Kyiv and Moscow are preparing for talks in Abu Dhabi this week on how to end the war. The talks are expected to be on Wednesday and Thursday. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/no-new-targeted-russian-strikes-ukrainian-energy-infrastructure-zelenskiy-says-2026-02-02/
2026-02-02 12:11
WARSAW, Feb 2 (Reuters) - Germany and Poland must take joint responsibility for an economic revival in Europe, the finance ministers of both countries said in Warsaw on Monday, as the continent's growth remains sluggish compared to rivals such as the U.S. and China. A relatively weak economy has compounded Europe's challenges on multiple other fronts, with perceived security threats from Russia, trade and geopolitical disputes with the Trump administration and uncertainty over relations with Beijing. Sign up here. "We need to make Europe more competitive," Polish Finance Minister Andrzej Domanski said during a joint press conference with German Vice Chancellor and Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil. "Both Poland and Germany are ready to create this impetus and to develop economic policies that will return Europe to an economic, rather than regulatory, power," he said. Klingbeil spoke about the transatlantic relationship and the marked changes it is undergoing. "And we agree: precisely in this phase we must strengthen Europe and move Europe forward," he said, in his first visit to Poland since he took office. SIX EU ECONOMIES WANT FASTER DECISIONS Klingbeil said the EU must become "faster, smarter, and more capable of dealing with complexity." Ministers from six leading European economies including Germany and Poland vowed on Wednesday to be the drivers of European progress, as they tackled how to advance projects stalled by the EU's complex decision-making process. "We have set ourselves the goal of deepening European cooperation, picking up speed, and also demanding this from the Commission," Klingbeil said about last week's video conference. He said this was a first meeting and another will follow soon in Brussels. "It's less about adopting decisions now in a new format; it's about finding common positions so that we can then push our decisions forward in the Eurogroup," Klingbeil said, referring to the forum of euro zone finance ministers. The idea of forging ad hoc coalitions allowing some EU countries to pursue projects without the need for agreement from all 27 member states has long tempted some and has already been applied to key projects including the euro currency. "We must unwind the regulatory corset, simplify the law, reform our markets, and fully harness the power of the common European market and its nearly 500 million consumers," said Domanski. The Polish minister said Europe is in a race. "A race for competitiveness, for building true economic strength, and to achieve this, we need to accelerate," Domanski said. https://www.reuters.com/business/poland-germany-must-take-responsibility-europes-economic-revival-finance-2026-02-02/
2026-02-02 12:09
Feb 2 (Reuters) - U.S. shale producers Devon Energy (DVN.N) , opens new tab and Coterra Energy (CTRA.N) , opens new tab said on Monday they will merge in a $58 billion all-stock deal, creating a large-cap producer with a dominant position in the Delaware Basin as the industry consolidates to cut costs and boost scale. Under the deal shareholders will receive 0.70 Devon shares for each share held. Devon will own roughly 54% of the combined company. Sign up here. Devon shares fell 3% and Coterra dropped 2.7% in premarket trading on Monday, tracking a 5% decline in the broader oil market. A merger between Devon and Coterra brings complementary acreage together at a time when securing high-quality inventory is a priority and crude prices remain under pressure. Devon said overlapping assets and operations will boost free cash flow and cut costs, supporting dividends and buybacks through price cycles. The deal has an equity value of $21.4 billion, according to a Reuters calculation. This deal is the largest tie-up in the U.S. shale industry since Diamondback acquired Endeavor Energy Resources for about $26 billion in 2024. The companies expect the merger to close in the second quarter of 2026. The combined company will keep the Devon name and base itself in Houston while maintaining a major presence in Oklahoma City. Devon CEO Clay Gaspar will lead the combined company, while Coterra CEO Tom Jorden will serve as non-executive chairman of the board. https://www.reuters.com/legal/transactional/us-shale-producers-devon-coterra-merge-58-billion-deal-2026-02-02/
