Bloomberg Copper skidded to the lowest since mid-2017 as investors faced fresh evidence of a global slowdown and fading prospects for a deescalation in the US-China trade war. Long known as a canary in coal mine for the economy, copper has slumped 16% since mid-April on the back of a sharp downturn in factory output and warnings that major economies ...
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Nigeria to keep oil-for-fuel swap for at least three more years
Bloomberg Nigeria will continue swapping crude for fuel for at least three more years because its refineries are still not fully operational. Africa’s biggest oil producer, which previously had a goal of revamping the plants by this year, will persist with an annual swap program until the refineries are fixed by 2023, Mele Kyari, the state oil company’s new managing ...
Read More »Australia backs plan to convert biogas from waste into hydrogen
Bloomberg The world’s first project to turn biogas from sewage into hydrogen and graphite has received backing from the Australian government as part of the nation’s efforts to develop hydrogen as a clean alternative fuel source. The Australian Renewable Energy Agency granted conditional approval for up to $6.3mn in funding for the 100 ton per annum project, which uses technology ...
Read More »Solar real estate hiding in plain site on rooftops across Europe
Bloomberg Europeans can massively expand low-cost solar generation just by tapping the space over their heads. That’s the conclusion of researchers who used satellite imagery, electricity prices and lending data to assess untapped energy potential of Europe’s buildings. Rooftop area three times the size Luxembourg is available and could economically supply almost a quarter of the bloc’s power, according to ...
Read More »Tesla batteries powering Zimbabwe’s economy
Bloomberg Zimbabweans are relying on Tesla Inc. to help them pay their bills. Amid power outages of as long as 18 hours a day, Econet Wireless Ltd., Zimbabwe’s biggest mobile-phone operator, is turning to Palo Alto, California-based automaker and storable-energy company for batteries that can keep its base stations running. The country faces chronic shortages of physical cash, so almost ...
Read More »BP exiting Alaska with $5.6bn sale to Hilcorp
Bloomberg BP Plc agreed to sell its entire business in Alaska to closely held Hilcorp Energy Co. for $5.6 billion, ending a six-decade presence in the state as oil production there declines. The deal includes BP’s operating stake in Prudhoe Bay, the largest-producing oil field in US history, as well as all its Alaskan pipelines. It makes Hilcorp, the oil ...
Read More »Eskom Holdings may sell some coal-fired plants to raise $29bn
Bloomberg South Africa’s government could decide that Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd. must sell some of its coal-fired power stations as part of the restructuring of the power utility, National Treasury said. This could be done through a series of auctions where Eskom would sell the power stations itself, along with all its power station-specific obligations, such as staff contracts, coal-supply ...
Read More »India extends deadline for solar projects again
Bloomberg India has extended a deadline to submit bids for building solar power equipment factories in the South Asian nation, in another delay to its efforts to boost its nascent domestic manufacturing capacity. The new deadline to submit bids for the tender is September 11 , Solar Energy Corp. of India said on its website Monday. The tender seeks to ...
Read More »Shell appeals tax decision over Australian gas stake
Bloomberg Royal Dutch Shell Plc is appealing a decision by the Australian Taxation Office that has left the company with a bill estimated at A$755 million ($510 million), the Guardian reported. The ATO has been battling with Shell’s local subsidiary for six years regarding tax treatment of its stake in the Browse gas project off the country’s northwest coast, the ...
Read More »Shell sued over ‘tax avoidance’
Bloomberg Royal Dutch Shell Plc has been sued by Australia’s tax authority as the agency pursues multinational companies over tax avoidance, the Guardian reported. The Australian Taxation Office has been battling with Shell’s local subsidiary for six years regarding tax treatment of its stake in Browse gas project off the country’s northwest coast, the newspaper reported. The bill, estimated at ...
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