2025-09-08 20:51

ConocoPhillips to buy 1 mtpa of LNG for 20 years NextDecade completes commercialization of Train 5 Company expects positive FID on Train 5 in Q4 Sept 8 (Reuters) - U.S. oil and gas producer ConocoPhillips (COP.N) , opens new tab will purchase 1.0 million tonnes per annum of liquefied natural gas from NextDecade's (NEXT.O) , opens new tab Rio Grande export facility in Texas for 20 years, the companies said on Monday. NextDecade will supply the superchilled fuel from its fifth liquefaction facility, also known as a train, at Rio Grande. Sign up here. Shares of the LNG producer rose 2.3% in extended trading. The U.S. LNG sector has seen a surge in commercial activity since President Donald Trump lifted a pause on new export permits in January. The freeze, originally imposed by the previous administration in 2024 for a review of the public interest criteria, was reversed shortly after Trump took office. With new projects now under construction and others expected to receive financial approval this year, the U.S. - the world's largest LNG exporter - could triple its export capacity by 2030. NextDecade has been building its Rio Grande LNG facility with a capacity of 17.6 mtpa and is also developing its Train 4 and 5 with a combined additional capacity of 10.8 mtpa. Its agreement with ConocoPhillips will be on a free-on-board basis at a price indexed to Henry Hub, subject to a positive final investment decision on Train 5, which is expected in the fourth quarter. NextDecade said it has announced a total of 4.5 mtpa of LNG from Train 5 sold under 20-year agreements. That, according to the company, is sufficient to support a positive FID on Train 5. It has completed the commercialization of Train 5. LNG developers typically reach an FID on projects once they have secured enough supply deals to obtain the necessary financing for construction. NextDecade has signed similar deals with top oil producer Saudi Aramco (2222.SE) , opens new tab, TotalEnergies (TTEF.PA) , opens new tab, Japan's biggest power generator JERA, and EQT (EQT.N) , opens new tab. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/conocophillips-buy-lng-nextdecades-rio-grande-train-5-project-2025-09-08/

2025-09-08 20:31

TSX ends down 0.1% at 29,027.73 Industrials fall 1.1% Shares of MDA Space drop 25% Materials group adds 1.3% a gold rises TORONTO, Sept 8 (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index ended lower on Monday as the industrial and consumer staples sectors lost ground, but the move was modest ahead of potential U.S. and Canadian interest rate cuts this month. The S&P/TSX composite index (.GSPTSE) , opens new tab ended down 22.9 points, or 0.1%, at 29,027.73. It follows eight-straight days of gains that lifted the market to a record closing high on Friday. Sign up here. "September always tends to be a challenging month in terms of seasonal volatility and the biggest factor this month is very likely to be interest rate cuts," said Elvis Picardo, a portfolio manager at Luft Financial, iA Private Wealth. "The markets are anticipating rate cuts on both sides of the border." Expectations that the Federal Reserve and the Bank of Canada will resume their easing campaigns were given a boost on Friday by disappointing U.S. and Canadian jobs data. Investors see a roughly 90% chance the BoC will lower its benchmark rate from its current setting of 2.75% on September 17. Industrials (.GSPTTIN) , opens new tab fell 1.1%, weighed by declines for the shares of railroad companies and MDA Space Ltd (MDA.TO) , opens new tab. MDA was down 25% after the space technology firm said it received a termination notice from EchoStar for a satellite constellation contract. Consumer staples (.GSPTTCS) , opens new tab also lost 1.1% but the materials group (.GSPTTMT) , opens new tab, which includes metal mining shares, was up 1.3% as the price of gold extended its record-setting run. "For a while, there was a big disconnect between the price of gold, which kept climbing to record highs and the price of gold stocks, but lately we've seen that disconnect narrow a little bit," Picardo said. The bidding war for Canadian oil sands producer MEG Energy (MEG.TO) , opens new tab heated up as Strathcona Resources (SCR.TO) , opens new tab raised its offer, seeking to outbid larger rival Cenovus Energy (CVE.TO) , opens new tab. Shares of MEG rose 2.4%, Strathcona was down 0.3% and Cenovus ended nearly unchanged. https://www.reuters.com/markets/europe/tsxs-daily-winning-streak-ends-mda-space-tumbles-2025-09-08/

2025-09-08 20:18

Focus on enhancing LNG infrastructure in Italy and the US Move aims to replace Russian gas, boost US supplies to Europe ROME, Sept 8 (Reuters) - Italy and the United States on Monday vowed to deepen energy ties including through increased exports to Italy of liquefied natural gas (LNG), as Europe continues to seek alternatives to Russian energy supplies following Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. Italian Energy Minister Gilberto Pichetto Fratin and U.S. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, after talks in Rome, pledged to foster a "steady and secure" flow of American LNG to Europe, without committing to exact figures or timeframes. Sign up here. They said they would aim to "encourage investments in LNG import and regasification infrastructure in Italy, as well as export infrastructure in the United States, to ensure efficient and resilient supply chains." The European Union took steps to phase out imports of Russian gas and LNG, and the U.S. is set to boost its supplies as the bloc moves to end a decades-long energy relationship with Moscow which crumbled after the invasion of Ukraine in 2022. "U.S. LNG contributes to supply security thanks in part to the greater reliability of the route from the United States to Italy and Europe, compared with the geopolitical risks present on other routes," Pichetto Fratin said in a statement. A potential increase in Italian imports of American LNG was discussed in Washington in April during a meeting between Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and U.S. President Donald Trump. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/italy-us-agree-boost-lng-ties-infrastructure-investment-2025-09-08/

2025-09-08 20:14

Strathcona owns or controls 14.2% of MEG shares MEG board supports Cenovus offer Strathcona founder Waterous criticizes MEG's sale process Sept 8 (Reuters) - The bidding war for Canadian oil sands producer MEG Energy (MEG.TO) , opens new tab heated up on Monday as Strathcona Resources (SCR.TO) , opens new tab raised its offer, seeking to outbid larger rival Cenovus Energy (CVE.TO) , opens new tab. The battle for MEG, Canada's last large pure-play oil sands company, continues a years-long trend of domestic consolidation in the country's oil sands. The play is now mostly controlled by a handful of large Canadian companies after foreign players largely exited over the last decade. Sign up here. MEG's Christina Lake oil sands project has become a prized asset, with its long reserve life, low operating costs, and significant potential for production growth making it one of the few large-scale expansion opportunities. Strathcona said its revised offer values MEG at C$30.86 per share, above the C$27.79 valuation of Cenovus' August cash-and-stock agreement. Strathcona had proposed C$23.27 per share in its initial hostile bid in May. The new offer, which expires on October 20, gives MEG an equity value of about C$7.85 billion ($5.68 billion), according to Reuters calculations. Since 2020, Strathcona has become one of the fastest-growing oil companies in North America through a series of acquisitions. The company, backed by private equity firm Waterous Energy Fund, has been building its position in MEG, disclosing it owns or controls about 14.2% of the company's shares. It said the company will vote against the Cenovus transaction at an October 9 shareholder meeting, where two-thirds approval is required. "We're not playing just to defeat Cenovus, we're here to buy the business," Strathcona founder and Executive Chair Adam Waterous said in an interview on Monday. MEG's board has backed Cenovus' offer, which would combine its Christina Lake operations with Cenovus' adjacent assets, creating one of Canada's largest oil sands producers with output of more than 720,000 barrels per day. Cenovus shareholders had reaped nearly C$3.9 billion in market value gains after the deal was unveiled last month, while MEG investors were left with limited upside. Strathcona called the Cenovus deal "lopsided" and accused MEG's board of running a "broken sale process" that excluded its earlier overtures. "We put (MEG) in play, and now they've very transparently adopted an 'anyone but Strathcona' view,'" Waterous said. Strathcona's aggressive pursuit of MEG is unusual given how rare hostile takeover attempts are in the Canadian oil sector, said Cole Smead of Smead Capital Management, who holds all three stocks in his portfolio. But Canadian oil sands companies must get bigger to compete effectively on the international scene, he added. "This is a shock to the system for the Canadian markets," Smead said. "But scale is the name of the game." MEG said in a statement on Monday afternoon it would evaluate Strathcona's revised offer and respond on or before September 15. Cenovus did not respond to Reuters' request for comment. MEG's stock price closed at C$29.02, up 2.4%, while Strathcona closed down 0.3% at C$38.31. Cenovus shares gained one cent to close at C$22.12. ($1 = 1.3816 Canadian dollars) https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/canadas-strathcona-sweetens-meg-energy-bid-top-cenovus-offer-2025-09-08/

2025-09-08 20:04

Peso drops nearly 6% vs dollar before rebound; stocks slump 13% Opposition Peronists win Buenos Aires election by 13-point margin, market expected tighter gap Milei's party bruised by corruption allegations; faces uphill battle in October midterms NEW YORK/LONDON, Sept 8 (Reuters) - Argentina's markets tumbled on Monday, with the peso currency touching a historic low, after a heavy defeat for President Javier Milei's party at the hands of the Peronist opposition in local elections stoked worries about the government's ability to implement its economic reform agenda. The peso lost as much as 5.6% to the dollar and ended the session down 3.1% at 1,407 per greenback while the local stock index benchmark (.MERV) , opens new tab fell 13%, and an index of Argentine stocks traded on U.S. exchanges (.BKAR) , opens new tab lost 18%. Some of the country's international bonds saw their biggest daily price falls since they began trading in 2020 after a $65 billion restructuring deal. Sign up here. The 13-point victory for the Peronists signalled a tough battle for Milei in national midterm elections on October 26, where his party is aiming to secure enough seats to avoid overrides to his presidential vetoes. "The markets are now more pressured in the aftermath, and it certainly does have implications and some degree of read-through for the October vote," said Kathryn Exum, co-head of sovereign research at Gramercy, adding it was a reminder to investors that Peronism - with its heavy-handed state involvement in the economy - was not yet dead. "The bigger question is what happens post midterms and how committed they remain to policy, how much further they're able to go, (given) the political context that they have been afforded," she said, referring to the government. The government setback at the polls adds to recent headwinds for a market that had until recently outperformed its Latin American peers. The International Monetary Fund approved a $20 billion program in April, of which some $15 billion have already been disbursed. The IMF, which has eagerly backed the reform program of Milei's government, did not respond to questions on whether the vote result would change its relationship with the Milei administration or alter the program. The bond market selloff saw the country's 2030 issue fall 5.875 cents, on track for its largest daily drop since its post-restructuring issuance in 2020. Morgan Stanley had warned ahead of the vote that the international bonds could fall up to 10 points if a Milei drubbing dented his agenda for radical reform. On Monday, the bank pulled its 'like' stance on the bonds that was placed just days ago. The gap in the Buenos Aires Province (PBA) election in favor of the opposition Peronists was much wider than polls anticipated and what the market had priced in. Based on official counts, the Peronists won 47.3% of the vote across the province, while the candidate of Milei's party took 33.7%. "We had our reservations about the market being too complacent regarding the Buenos Aires election results. The foreign exchange market will undoubtedly be under the spotlight, as any instability there can have a ripple effect on Argentine assets," said Shamaila Khan, head of fixed income for emerging markets and Asia Pacific at UBS. "The midterm elections," she added, "carry more weight and their outcome will significantly influence how Argentine assets perform in the coming months." MARKET SELLOFF Argentina - one of the big reform stories across emerging markets since Milei became president in December 2023 - has seen its markets come under heavy pressure over the last month following a corruption scandal involving Milei's sister and political gatekeeper Karina Milei. Argentina's main equity index (.MERV) , opens new tab has dropped around 20%, its international government bonds have sold off and pressure on the recently unpegged peso forced authorities to start intervening in the FX market. The government now faces the difficult choice whether to allow the peso to depreciate ahead of next month's midterms or spend more of its foreign exchange reserves to intervene in the FX market, according to Pramol Dhawan, head of EM portfolio management at Pimco. "Opting for intervention would likely prove counterproductive, as it risks derailing the IMF program and diminishing the country’s prospects for future market access to refinance external debt," Dhawan said via email. "The more resources the government allocates to defending the currency, the fewer will be available to meet obligations to bondholders - thereby increasing the risk of default." Barclays analyst Ivan Stambulsky pointed to comments from Economy Minister Luis Caputo on Sunday that the country's FX regime will not change. "We’re likely to see strong pressure on the FX and declining reserves as the Ministry of Economy intervenes," Stambulsky said. "If FX sales persist, markets will likely start wondering what will happen if the economic team is forced to let the currency depreciate before the October mid-terms." Some analysts predicted other parts of the country were unlikely to vote as strongly against Milei as Buenos Aires province did, given it is a traditional Peronist stronghold. They also expected the Milei government to stick to its programme of fiscal discipline despite economic woes. "The policy mix adopted in the coming days and weeks to address elevated political risk will be pivotal in shaping medium-term inflation expectations - and, ultimately, the success of the stabilization program," said JPMorgan in a Sunday client note. https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/argentine-markets-plunge-after-mileis-party-loses-peronists-buenos-aires-vote-2025-09-08/

2025-09-08 20:03

ISTANBUL, Sept 8 (Reuters) - Access to major social media and messaging platforms in Turkey has been restored a day after widespread restrictions were imposed, Netblocks, a global internet monitor, said on Monday. Platforms including X, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and WhatsApp were restricted in Turkey on multiple networks from late Sunday. Sign up here. The blockage came as the main opposition Republican People's Party called for rallies after police set up barricades in areas around the party's headquarters in Istanbul. According to data from Turkey's Freedom of Expression Association, throttling of bandwidth for the platforms ended after 21 hours and services will be resumed in the next couple of hours. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/society-equity/access-social-media-restored-turkey-internet-monitor-says-2025-09-08/