2025-12-12 19:56

Dec 12 (Reuters) - Harbour Energy (HBR.L) , opens new tab said on Friday it had agreed to acquire all the subsidiaries of Waldorf Energy Partners and Waldorf Production in the UK North Sea fields, currently in administration, for $170 million, sending its shares up nearly 6%. The deal will increase Harbour's interest in its operated Catcher field to 90% and add a 29.5% non-operated interest in the Kraken oil field, with the acquisition expected to be completed in the second quarter of 2026. Sign up here. British oil and gas producer Capricorn Energy (CNE.L) , opens new tab separately said it signed a lock-up agreement backing the deal and that it will settle its unsecured claims against Waldorf for about $4 million to $5 million. Shares of Harbour climbed 5.8% and Capricorn rose 1.6% in the morning trade. Capricorn has been pursuing unpaid consideration from Waldorf after a 2023 settlement of contingent payments tied to the sale of its UK North Sea assets. Waldorf fell into financial difficulty in 2024, leaving the London-listed firm as an unsecured creditor with a total claim of $29.5 million. Capricorn will keep the right to share in any additional recoveries if further claims arise, it said on Friday. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/harbour-energy-acquire-north-sea-assets-170-million-shares-rise-6-2025-12-12/

2025-12-12 19:40

EPA still reviewing comments; no end-of-year decision expected Delay folds quotas into broader oil-agriculture policy talks Uncertainty complicates contracts, hedging, and investment decisions Dec 12 (Reuters) - The Trump administration is not expected to finalize 2026 biofuel-blending quotas before the end of this year, according to three sources familiar with the situation, extending uncertainty over a policy closely watched by the rival oil and agricultural sectors. The slowdown would throw one of the administration's most consequential energy policy choices into next year and folds the highly anticipated quotas into a growing cluster of interlocking decisions the White House is weighing on biofuels policy. Sign up here. Together, the moves have raised expectations the administration may look to strike a broader - albeit elusive - agreement between rival oil and agricultural interests. The Environmental Protection Agency, which administers biofuels policy, has scheduled meetings with stakeholders on the quota rule early next, two sources told Reuters, a sign that the issue will be pushed into next year. A third source also said the EPA's decision was unlikely by the end of this year. The sources spoke about the matter on condition of anonymity. The EPA told Reuters it was still reviewing public comments on the volume requirements and declined to offer any guidance on timing. The volume mandates are administered under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), the federal program that mandates the blending of biofuels such as ethanol and biodiesel into the U.S. fuel supply. A delay in finalizing the mandates is important because fuel makers, farmers and commodity traders use them to lock in supply contracts, hedge volatile crop and energy markets, and justify investments in new production capacity. Without clarity on next year's quotas, companies say they are forced to hold back on deals and delay spending decisions that shape biofuel output and margins. WHITE HOUSE LOOKS FOR COMMON GROUND Earlier this year, the EPA proposed raising total renewable fuel requirements for 2026 and 2027, significantly increasing targets for advanced biofuels and biomass-based diesel targets while tightening rules on the use of imported biofuels. The EPA had initially been expected to finalize the proposal by the end of October. The quotas have increasingly been swept into a broader set of critical energy and agricultural policy decisions the administration is weighing in the coming weeks - issues that appear separate on their own but could be linked as part of a wider bargain between rival oil and agricultural interests, the sources said. Those issues include legislative efforts to allow year-round sales of gasoline containing higher blends of ethanol, a proposal to penalize imported biofuels and feedstocks, and unresolved questions over whether and how larger refiners could be required to make up for gallons exempted from the RFS. The White House has held several meetings in recent weeks with oil and agricultural groups in hopes of finding common ground. Asked whether these issues are becoming increasingly connected, the EPA said it is "committed to strengthening American energy security and supporting American farmers." https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/trump-administration-unlikely-finalize-2026-biofuel-quotas-this-year-sources-say-2025-12-12/

2025-12-12 18:33

Dec 12 (Reuters) - Crypto giants including Ripple and Circle on Friday received preliminary approval from a top U.S. banking regulator to establish national trust banks, in a major move that could further integrate digital assets into the banking system. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency conditionally approved two new national trust bank charters from Circle and Ripple, and conditionally approved applications from BitGo, Paxos and Fidelity Digital Assets to convert state trust bank charters to national charters, allowing them to operate across the country. Sign up here. The regulator still has to sign off with a final stamp of approval before each of the trust banks can begin to operate. If finalized, the national trust bank charters would allow the companies to manage and hold assets on behalf of customers and settle payments faster. The license does not, however, allow the companies to take cash deposits or make loans. Crypto platform Anchorage Digital is currently the only digital asset company with a national trust bank charter. The OCC supervises a total of 60 national trust banks. “New entrants into the federal banking sector are good for consumers, the banking industry and the economy,” said Comptroller of the Currency Jonathan Gould. The banking industry had urged the OCC to reject several of the applications, arguing the charters would allow crypto companies to opt for a lighter regulatory touch and heighten systemic risk. In a statement, the Bank Policy Institute said the decision to grant conditional approvals "leaves substantial unanswered questions", including whether requirements for the companies will be tailored to their risks. U.S. President Donald Trump has sought to broadly overhaul U.S. cryptocurrency policies after courting cash from the industry on the campaign trail. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/boards-policy-regulation/us-regulator-grants-crypto-firms-initial-approval-launch-trust-banks-2025-12-12/

2025-12-12 12:52

HEIDELBERG, Germany, Dec 12 (Reuters) - The European Commission on Tuesday will propose rule changes that reverse previous plans for an effective ban on selling new cars with combustion engines in the 27-nation bloc from 2035, a senior EU lawmaker said on Friday. The comments, which still need to be confirmed by Brussels in an announcement slated for December 16, mark a key victory for Germany, the bloc's top economy, in its efforts to protect its most important industry, which has come under intense pressure due to growing competition and trade barriers. Sign up here. "Next Tuesday, the European Commission will be putting forward a clear proposal to abolish the ban on combustion engines," Manfred Weber, president of the largest party in the European Parliament, EPP, said at a press conference in Heidelberg, Germany. He added it should be left to markets and consumers how climate targets are achieved. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who also attended the press conference, said that electric mobility remained the main path but that there would be other technologies, such as synthetic fuels, towards carbon neutrality. "And that is precisely what we mean by technological openness. This now gives the industry real planning security," Merz said. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/eu-commission-reverse-effective-2035-combustion-engine-ban-epps-weber-says-2025-12-12/

2025-12-12 12:50

Opposition leader defied travel ban to go to Oslo Machado won Nobel Peace Prize in October Trump has campaigned for Maduro's ouster Large-scale US military build-up in Southern Caribbean OSLO, Dec 12 (Reuters) - Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Corina Machado said on Friday that Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro would leave power, whether there was a negotiated changeover or not, adding that she was focused on achieving a peaceful transition. The Venezuelan opposition leader arrived in Oslo early on Thursday, defying a decade-long travel ban imposed by authorities in her home country, after spending more than a year in hiding. Sign up here. "Maduro will leave power, whether it is negotiated or not negotiated," Machado, speaking in Spanish, told a press conference in the Norwegian capital. "I am focused on an orderly and peaceful transition." Venezuela's Ministry of Information did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Machado's remarks. U.S. MILITARY BUILD-UP Her appearance in Norway comes as the U.S. executes a large-scale military build-up in the southern Caribbean and as U.S. President Donald Trump campaigns for Maduro's ouster. On Wednesday, Trump said the U.S. had seized a sanctioned oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela. Machado was barred from running in the presidential election last year, despite having won the opposition's primary by a landslide. She went into hiding that year after authorities expanded arrests of opposition figures following the disputed vote. The electoral authority and top court declared President Nicolas Maduro the winner, but international observers and the opposition say its candidate handily won and the opposition has published ballot box-level tallies as evidence of its victory. "I have confidence that the immense majority of the Venezuelan armed forces and the police are going, in the instant that the transition begins, to obey orders, guidelines, instructions from the superiors who will be designated by the civil authority duly elected by Venezuelans," she said. ALIGNED WITH TRUMP When Machado won the Nobel Peace Prize in October, she dedicated it in part to Trump, who has said he himself deserved the honour. She has aligned herself with hawks close to Trump who argue that Maduro has links to criminal gangs that pose a direct threat to U.S. national security, despite doubts raised by the U.S. intelligence community. Trump has repeatedly raised the possibility of military intervention in Venezuela, accusing it of sending narcotics to the United States. The U.S. has already carried out more than 20 strikes against suspected drug vessels, which have raised concerns among lawmakers and legal experts. "I believe that it has become very clear that... the Venezuelan conflict is absolutely a priority in matters of national security of the United States and in matters of hemispheric security," Machado said on Friday. Maduro and his government have always denied any involvement in crime and have accused the U.S. of seeking regime change out of a desire to control Venezuela's natural resources, especially its vast oil reserves. https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/venezuelas-machado-aims-peaceful-transition-after-maduro-2025-12-12/

2025-12-12 12:48

Rain floods tents sheltering displaced Gazans Materials for shelters not being allowed in, says UN At least 13 buildings collapse, Gaza authorities say Disease risk rises with inadequate waste drainage, says UN GENEVA, Dec 12 (Reuters) - Hundreds of thousands of displaced Gazans face flooding of their tents and shelters by heavy rains, and materials for shelters and sandbags are not being allowed to enter the enclave, the U.N. International Organization for Migration said on Friday. Torrential rain swept across the Gaza Strip on Thursday, flooding tents sheltering families displaced by two years of war, and leading to the death of a baby girl due to exposure, local health officials said. Sign up here. A total of 12 people are dead or missing as a result of the storm, with at least 13 buildings having collapsed and 27,000 tents flooded, the media office of the Hamas-run Gaza government said. Nearly 795,000 displaced people are at heightened risk of potentially dangerous flooding in low-lying, rubble-filled areas where families are living in unsafe shelters, the IOM said. Insufficient drainage and waste management also heightened the risk of disease outbreak, the U.N. agency added. 'OUR FOOD IS RUINED,' SAYS FLOOD-HIT FATHER Materials to help reinforce shelters such as timber and plywood, as well as sandbags and water pumps to help with flooding have been delayed from entering Gaza due to access restrictions, the IOM said. Israel says it is meeting its obligations and accuses agencies of inefficiency and failing to prevent theft by Hamas, which the group denies. COGAT, the Israeli military arm that oversees humanitarian matters, said Israel had approved 100,000 pallet requests submitted by organizations of winter-related items, shelter equipment, and sanitation supplies over the past three months. "‏Over the last few months, COGAT coordinated with the international community and facilitated the transfer of close to 270,000 tents and tarpaulins directly to the residents of the Gaza Strip," COGAT said in a statement. In a displaced camp in Nuseirat, central Gaza, ankle-deep water had pooled around the tents, soaking mattresses, shoes and clothes. Working with a bucket, 50-year-old Youssef Tawtah was trying to bail the water out, but it had nowhere to go and he appeared to make little progress. "All night long the children and I were on our feet," he said. "How can the children handle it?" As his family gathered around a small open fire on a sandy bank near the tent, he hauled a sopping mattress through the floodwaters. Even cooking a meal will be difficult. "Our food is ruined," he said. SUPPLIES CANNOT WITHSTAND FLOODING, SAYS IOM Supplies already dispatched to Gaza, including waterproof tents, thermal blankets and tarpaulins, were not able to withstand the flooding, the IOM added. "After this storm made landfall yesterday, families are trying to protect their children with whatever they have," IOM Director General Amy Pope said. A ceasefire has broadly held since October, but the war destroyed much of Gaza’s infrastructure, and living conditions are dire. U.N. and Palestinian officials said at least 300,000 new tents are urgently needed for the roughly 1.5 million people still displaced. The World Health Organization said more than 4,000 people were living in what it described as high-risk areas on the coast, with 1,000 people directly affected by high waves from the sea. It warned of health risks from pollution. "Thousands of families are sheltering in these low-lying and debris-filled coastal areas with no drainage or protective barriers, with heaps of garbage everywhere along the roads," said WHO representative Rik Peeperkorn. https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/un-agency-warns-displaced-gazans-face-floods-emergency-supplies-blocked-2025-12-12/