Energy

Bloomberg Vitol Group paid a record $2.2 billion to its executives and staff through share buybacks last year, an unusually large payout that comes as the oil trader undergoes a generational transition in leadership. The buyback — Vitol’s main way of rewarding about 350 top employees who own the privately-held company — means the trading house has distributed a total …

Bloomberg Marathon Petroleum Corp, the largest US independent oil refiner, said it won’t restart two refineries in California and New Mexico amid concerns that demand for fuels is unlikely to return to pre-pandemic levels this year. Marathon said in a statement it will convert its 166,000 barrel-a-day Martinez, California, refinery near San Francisco into a terminal facility and may add …

Bloomberg An explosion at an Arizona energy storage facility last year was started by a defective battery cell that overheated and caused a buildup of flammable gas, according to a report. Firefighters unintentionally ignited the gas on April 19 last year when they opened a door to the facility located near Phoenix, Arizona, according to the report released by Pinnacle …

Bloomberg NRG Energy Inc is making its boldest push yet into the retail electricity business, cementing a strategy overhaul that started three years ago. The power supplier said it’s buying Centrica Plc’s Direct Energy unit in a $3.6 billion deal that will nearly double the number of homes and businesses it serves across North America. It’s NRG’s biggest acquisition in …

Bloomberg The falling cost of wind power is shaping up to be a boon for another clean energy source: green hydrogen. Hydrogen — a fuel made by electrolysing water — requires a tremendous amount of power to produce. But siting hydrogen facilities at wind farms, which typically generate more electricity than they need at night, could give the fuel an …

Bloomberg FirstEnergy Corp’s chief executive officer pushed to distance the company from its former unit that owns nuclear plants benefiting from an Ohio state law at the crux of an alleged racketeering and bribery conspiracy. CEO Charles Jones said the company hasn’t had control of decisions made by its former FirstEnergy Solutions unit, now Energy Harbor, since November 2016. And …

Bloomberg Cenovus Energy Inc is taking advantage of a plunge in the price for credits that allow the oil-sands company to produce more than output limits imposed by Alberta. For August, those credits are trading at about $1.25 a barrel, compared with $7 or more before the global pandemic, according to people familiar with the market who asked not to …

Bloomberg Canada’s oil-sands producers are taking their time at restoring production, leaving the country’s normally congested pipelines with room to spare. Enbridge Inc said that nominations to ship heavy oil on its Mainline, the country’s biggest oil-export network, exceeded capacity by 7% in August versus 3% in July. For the sixth straight month, no rationing was imposed for light oil …

Bloomberg Canada’s Natural Resources Minister Seamus O’Regan said he’s in talks with the US Secretary of Energy Dan Brouillette about finding a path to move ahead with oil pipeline projects, the Globe & Mail reported. “He’s somebody who’s been in the energy business and with the energy department for quite some time. He does have that understanding so we do …

Bloomberg For the first time since the West’s five energy supermajors were created in the early 2000s, all of them are set to post a quarterly loss. Once a money-making machine, Big Oil is now relying on ever-increasing amounts of debt, raising the pressure on highly prized dividends. BP Plc may cut its payout for the first time since the …