2025-10-02 12:02
MILAN, Oct 2 (Reuters) - Italian power plant developer Ansaldo Energia is looking to expand into new markets such as Vietnam and Malaysia through acquisitions as its aims to double its turnover in the coming years, its chief executive said on Thursday. The group, which also makes nuclear reactors and is owned by Italian state lender Cassa Depositi e Prestiti, recovered from a slump caused by falling orders during the COVID pandemic and is now looking at increasing its footprint outside Europe. Sign up here. "We need to change scale, grow, find new partners and invest in capacity and technology," CEO Fabrizio Fabbri told reporters on the sidelines of the Energy Summit conference in Milan. "This means acquisitions... we need to produce more." Fabbri said the company aims to strengthen its position in the thermal power sector, which includes gas and steam turbines and generators. Ansaldo is already present in countries such as the United Arab Emirates and China, and is looking next to Vietnam and Malaysia. "We are analysing several opportunities. We are not in a hurry, but we know we need to grow and double our turnover in the coming years," Fabbri said. Separately, the group said on Thursday it completed the upgrade of an Italian power plant owned by Swiss group Alpiq, installing turbines that could replace up to 25% of natural gas with hydrogen. ($1 = 0.8511 euros) https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/boards-policy-regulation/ansaldo-energia-eyes-acquisitions-asia-push-boost-sales-ceo-says-2025-10-02/
2025-10-02 11:54
Oct 2 (Reuters) - Occidental Petroleum (OXY.N) , opens new tab will sell its chemicals arm OxyChem to Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway (BRKa.N) , opens new tab for $9.7 billion, the company said on Thursday, marking its biggest divestment yet to slash debt after years of costly acquisitions. If the deal closes, it would also be the biggest for Berkshire since its $11.6 billion purchase of insurance firm Alleghany Corporation in 2022, and expand its chemical portfolio beyond Lubrizol. Sign up here. Berkshire is Occidental's largest shareholder and it began acquiring stake in the U.S. oil and gas producer in February 2022, around when Russia invaded Ukraine. The divestment highlights the close ties between the two. In a 2019 meeting with Buffett, Occidental CEO Vicki Hollub secured a $10 billion investment that allowed her to make an offer for oil producer Anadarko Petroleum, outbidding rival Chevron to secure some of the richest shale oilfields in Texas. But the $55 billion purchase of Anadarko left Occidental saddled with debt. The burden exacerbated after the company closed its $12 billion acquisition of privately held U.S. shale oil producer CrownRock last year. To reduce its massive debt load, which stood at $23.34 billion by the end of June, Occidental been steadily divesting assets in recent years. The company had disclosed in August $950 million of additional divestitures since the start of the second quarter, of which $370 million already closed and it repaid $3 billion of debt year-to-date. Occidental said on Thursday it would use $6.5 billion of the proceeds to reduce debt, bringing the total principal debt below the $15 billion target set after the CrownRock deal. TPH analyst Matt Portillo said the debt repayment should open the door for increased shareholder returns in the form of share repurchases. Occidental shares were up 1% in premarket trading. CEO Hollub said the sale of OxyChem, which produces chemicals used for treating swimming pools and vinyl products used for water supply piping and medical supplies, would allow Occidental to "unlock 20-plus years of low-cost resource runway" in oil and gas. The unit had generated a combined revenue of $2.42 billion in the first two quarters of this year. The deal, expected to close in the fourth quarter, also indicates that Occidental is refocusing on its oil and gas business, which formed 75% of its total earnings last year. https://www.reuters.com/legal/transactional/occidental-sell-oxychem-unit-berkshire-97-billion-2025-10-02/
2025-10-02 11:45
Deal with Engie can cover 5% of Hungary's demand Follows deal with Shell over LNG supplies Hungary says no plans to drop Russian imports BUDAPEST, Oct 2 (Reuters) - Hungary on Thursday signed its biggest ever deal to buy liquefied natural gas from French firm Engie (ENGIE.PA) , opens new tab, a second agreement in as many months that will diversify its supply away from top energy provider Russia. U.S. President Donald Trump said last month he would urge Hungary to stop buying Russian oil, part of a push to pressure NATO allies to cut energy ties with Moscow over its war with Ukraine. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said dropping Russian energy would be a disaster for Hungary’s economy. Sign up here. On Thursday Hungarian natural gas wholesaler MVM CEEnergy agreed to buy 400 million cubic metres of gas a year from Engie between 2028 and 2038. Given Hungary consumes around 8 billion cubic metres of gas a year, that would cover 5% of its demand. The deal follows another Hungary signed last month with Shell to buy 200 mcm of natural gas a year from January 2026, equal to around 2.5% of its demand. Hungary's Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said at the signing ceremony for the Engie deal that it was the longest-term LNG contract in Hungary's history, and will serve as a pillar to the country's energy security. "Diversification for us does not mean that we replace an existing, well-functioning supply relationship with another," he added. Slovakia and Hungary have rejected European Commission plans to phase out Russian gas and other energy imports, deepening a rift with Brussels over relations with Moscow. "We do not accept any pressure or coercion in this issue and we will not pay a war premium," Szijjarto said. Engie did not specify the origin of the gas it will supply to Hungary. European LNG buyers and traders often source their gas from multiple producers including the U.S., the Middle East, Africa, Australia and sometimes Russia. Hungary signed a 15-year deal in 2021 with Russia to buy 4.5 billion cubic metres of gas annually, and increased purchases from Gazprom last year, importing some 7.5 billion cubic metres of Russian gas via the Turkstream pipeline. Szijjarto said last month that Hungary had imported 5 billion cubic metres of gas via Turkstream by the end of August, which meant this year's gas imports via Turkstream could hit a record high. Hungary, which ships gas to Slovakia via an interconnector, also buys gas from Romania, and smaller volumes via the HAG pipeline which runs from Austria into Hungary. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/hungary-buys-gas-frances-engie-diversifying-supply-russia-2025-10-02/
2025-10-02 11:35
Kretinsky, Thyssenkrupp give up steel joint venture Move clears way for talks with India's Jindal Steel Thyssenkrupp shares hovering around six-year high FRANKFURT/DUESSELDORF, Oct 2 (Reuters) - Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky has agreed to sell his 20% stake in Thyssenkrupp's (TKAG.DE) , opens new tab steel unit and scrap plans for a joint venture for the business, both parties said in a joint statement, paving the way for a possible deal with Jindal Steel. The sale ends protracted talks over what could have become a German-Czech steel and energy giant, discussions that have not made any measurable progress since Kretinsky bought a fifth of Thyssenkrupp Steel Europe (TKSE) last year. Sign up here. Kretinsky has already given up his seat on TKSE's supervisory board, along with another senior executive of his EP Group, a company spokesperson said. Shares in Thyssenkrupp rose as much as 3% to hit their highest level in nearly six years before trading 0.7% lower at 1208 GMT. CLEAR PATH FOR TALKS WITH JINDAL STEEL It now creates momentum for Thyssenkrupp to intensify talks with India's Jindal Steel International, which last month submitted an indicative bid for all of TKSE, a volatile business its parent has sought to divest. The statement said that Kretinsky's EP Group "respects Thyssenkrupp AG's preference to concentrate on discussions with Jindal Steel International" and that it would be reimbursed for the purchase price it paid to Thyssenkrupp for the TKSE stake. While both parties have never disclosed the purchase price, people familiar with the matter have put it at around 140 million euros ($164 million). The news comes amid growing uncertainty over the future of steelmaking in Europe, as the sector contends with cheap Chinese imports, high energy costs and delays to hydrogen-based decarbonisation in one of the most polluting industries. Kretinsky's EP Group and Thyssenkrupp had the aim of eventually forming a 50/50 joint venture for TKSE, but talks have been fraught with difficulties as powerful unions have accused the Czech businessman of refusing to engage. "The management board can and must concentrate fully on the talks with Jindal," said Juergen Kerner, Thyssenkrupp's deputy supervisory board chairman and a senior member at IG Metall, Germany's biggest trade union. "In particular, details on financing must now be clarified quickly, but above all thoroughly. The employee side expects to be involved at an early stage." ($1 = 0.8511 euros) https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/thyssenkrupp-daniel-kretinskys-ep-group-have-mutually-agreed-end-talks-about-50-2025-10-02/
2025-10-02 11:21
PARIS, Oct 2 (Reuters) - Favourable weather has improved the quality of champagne grapes this year, producers said on Thursday, providing some good news at a time of fading demand for the French sparkling wine. In July, the industry decided to cut this year's grape harvest by 10%, capping it at 9,000 kilograms per hectare, after a 12% cut the previous year. Sign up here. The reductions were aimed at addressing falling demand amid a global decline in alcohol consumption, economic uncertainty, and concerns over U.S. President Trump's import tariffs. Grape-picking is over in Champagne, as in other French wine regions, and this year's vintage looks set to be a good one. LOOKING FOR NEW MARKETS "We were lucky to have good weather in the right place at the right time," Maxime Toubart, chairman of champagne growers group SGV, told reporters. Sales volumes of champagne - typically a mix of several years harvests - fell 1.8% in the first eight months of 2025 to 145 million bottles, the SGV said. However, exports edged up by 0.2% over the same period, after dropping by more than 10% last year. "We sense a slowdown in the decline, though optimism remains limited," Toubart said. Exports had increased in the first months of the year as U.S. importers built up supplies ahead of tariffs on European Union wine. The U.S. tariffs highlight the need for champagne makers to find new markets, producers said. Trade deals between the EU and South American bloc Mercosur as well as India would help create new opportunities, they said. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/champagne-makers-hope-pick-up-quality-will-put-fizz-back-demand-2025-10-02/
2025-10-02 11:21
Netherlands calls on EU to sanction Houthis as terrorist group Houthis claimed responsibility for attack on Dutch-flagged ship Strike injured two sailors and forced helicopter evacuation ADEN, Oct 1 (Reuters) - (This Oct. 1 story has been refiled to clarify that the quote is from the Dutch Foreign Minister, not the ministry, in paragraph 3) The Netherlands called on the EU on Wednesday to sanction Yemen's Houthis as a terrorist group, after the organisation claimed responsibility for an attack on the Dutch-flagged general cargo ship Minervagracht in the Gulf of Aden. Sign up here. The Iran-aligned group has launched numerous assaults on vessels in the Red Sea since 2023, targeting ships they deem linked to Israel in what they describe as solidarity with Palestinians over Israel's war on Gaza. "The Houthis have long posed a serious threat to freedom of navigation," Dutch Foreign Minister David van Weel said in a statement , opens new tab on X. Countries including the United States, Israel, Canada , opens new tab and Australia , opens new tab have labelled the Houthis, formally known as Ansar Allah, as a terrorist organisation. EU DECISION WOULD IMPLY ECONOMIC SANCTIONS A potential EU decision to add the group to its terrorist list , opens new tab -- which currently includes 13 individuals and 22 groups or entities -- would imply economic sanctions and the freezing of funds and assets. Monday's strike on the Minervagracht injured two sailors and forced a helicopter evacuation of 19 crew members, according to the EU maritime mission Aspides and the vessel's operator. The Houthis' military spokesperson said the attack was carried out by a cruise missile. Amsterdam-based operator Spliethoff said Minervagracht was in international waters in the Gulf of Aden when it was hit, suffering substantial damage and a fire. The Houthis said they attacked Minervagracht because its owner violated "the entry ban to the ports of occupied Palestine". It was the first Houthi attack on a commercial ship since September 1, when they targeted Israeli-owned tanker Scarlet Ray near Saudi Arabia's Red Sea port city of Yanbu. In July, the Houthis attacked and sank the Magic Seas bulk carrier and Eternity C cargo ship in the Red Sea. The last significant Houthi attack in the Gulf of Aden was on the Singapore-flagged Lobivia container ship in July, 2024. https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/yemens-houthis-claim-responsibility-attack-dutch-flagged-ship-2025-09-30/
