Energy

  Bloomberg Norway boosted an aid program to offset soaring electricity costs for a second time in less than a month, citing the “socially unjust” effect of high prices on households. The state will cover 80% of power costs when the market price for electricity is above 70 Norwegian ore ($0.08) per kilowatt hour in the January to March period, …

  Bloomberg Royal Dutch Shell Plc said its natural gas trading business overcame supply disruptions to post “significantly higher” earnings for the fourth quarter, but the unit that buys and sells oil fared much worse. It’s the latest in a series of mixed performances from an energy giant that’s under pressure on all sides from activist investors, to pension funds …

  Bloomberg Greece is extending measures designed to help households and businesses pay their power and gas bills in January as the surge in energy prices shows no sign of let up. “The government will support households, farmers and also businesses against the global turmoil in energy prices for another month,” Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on Friday. While the …

  Bloomberg Uranium prices jumped as Kazakhstan, the world’s largest producer of the radioactive metal, struggles to cope with deadly protests that pose the biggest challenge to the country’s leadership in decades. The Central Asian nation, a part of the former Soviet Union that produces more than 40% of the world’s uranium, has disrupted communications networks and restricted some travel …

  Bloomberg German energy giant Uniper SE was forced to borrow billions to pay down margin calls — the collateral that exchanges require to back up trades — as European gas and electricity prices rallied. Uniper got additional loans totaling 10 billion euros ($11.3 billion) from its Finnish parent Fortum Oyj and KfW IPEX-Bank, the company said in a statement …

  Bloomberg The US was the world’s biggest exporter of liquefied natural gas last month for the first time ever, as projects ramped up production and deliveries surged to energy-starved Europe. Output from American facilities edged above Qatar in December due largely to a jump in exports from the Sabine Pass and Freeport facilities, according to ship-tracking data compiled by …

  Bloomberg Germany and Austria came out strongly against the European Union proposal to classify some natural-gas and nuclear projects as sustainable investments, with both countries accusing the bloc of “greenwashing.” In Berlin, the Greens — who joined Germany’s new ruling coalition following September’s election — criticised the regulatory plan as damaging the credibility of the EU green rulebook, known …

  Bloomberg Russian gas giant Gazprom PJSC missed its own “conservative” target for 2021 exports to Europe, and those capped flows contributed to the continent’s worst energy supply crunch in decades. Gazprom delivered 185.1 billion cubic meters to its main clients abroad, including China and Europe, excluding the former Soviet Union nations, Chief Executive Officer Alexey Miller said in a …

  Bloomberg Pakistan’s natural gas shortage is hurting its crucial textile exports, according to an industry trade organisation, putting even more stress on nation’s struggling economy. About $250 million of textiles exports were lost last month after mills in Punjab were forced to shut for 15 days, said Shahid Sattar, executive director of All Pakistan Textile Mills Association. Factories in …

  Bloomberg The European Union (EU) is planning to allow some natural-gas and nuclear energy projects to be classified as sustainable investments in a proposal that sparked immediate criticism from the Greens. The European Commission wants to give a temporary green label to gas projects that replace coal and emit no more than 270 grams of carbon dioxide equivalent per kilowatt-hour, …