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Germany’s Wintershall Interested in Occidental’s Libyan Oil Assets

ENLARGE Illustration: Reuters Germany’s Wintershall Holding GmbH has expressed an interest in buying stakes in Libyan oil-and-gas assets from Occidental Petroleum Corp. OXY 0.18 % , Libyan officials said, a rare move by a western company to increase its foothold in the war-torn country. Houston-based Occidental has sought and obtained permission from Libya’s state-run National Oil Co. to allow Wintershall access to confidential data of fields it partly owns, Libyan officials said. “Occidental has been asking approval of NOC for disclosing information to Wintershall,” an official said. Occidental has been trying to sell up to a 40% stake in its Middle Eastern and North African interests since October 2013, as it tries to focus on its prolific North American assets. Its Libyan fields have been producing insignificant amounts, the company said in its 2014 report to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, as the country remains divided by a […]

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Germany builds wind energy reputation

One of the largest offshore wind farms of its kind, Nordsee Ost, inaugurated off the German coast. Photo courtesy of RWE. HAMBURG, Germany, May 11 (UPI) — Wind energy is a vital part of a German move to a low-carbon economy, the German economic minister said during the inauguration of RWE’s Nordsee Ost wind farm. German Economics Minister Sigmar Gabriel hosted ministers from the Group of seven industrialized economies, along with representatives from RWE, for the inauguration of the 48-turbine wind farm off the northern German coast. "Offshore wind energy is a strategically important element of Germany’s energy and climate policy and is key to the success of the energy transition," Gabriel said in a statement. In April, German company E.ON started producing electricity from its Amrumbank West wind power project in the German waters of the North Sea . Germany is one of the world leaders in renewable […]

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Iranian-German Meeting Suggests New Engagement

BERLIN—Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh will meet German Energy Minister Sigmar Gabriel in Berlin on Thursday, a rare encounter with a government official in Europe amid hopes a nuclear agreement between Tehran and world powers could be completed. Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh. A spokeswoman for Germany’s Economics and Energy Ministry declined to provide further details on the meeting, which will be closed to the press. Mr. Gabriel is also Germany’s vice chancellor and minister for economics in Chancellor Angela Merkel ’s government. Iran has been courting European Union countries to invest in its vast energy potential, offering to export its natural gas to Europe as it seeks it diversify away from Russia. German Energy Minister Sigmar Gabriel. The contact would be among the highest levels of bilateral engagement so far with a European government, suggesting western nations are now willing to engage directly with Iran outside the framework […]

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German Cabinet Approves Anti-Fracking Draft Law

Members of environmental activist groups perform during a protest against fracking technology in in Berlin…. ENLARGE Photo: Reuters BERLIN—Germany’s cabinet approved draft legislation on Wednesday effectively banning shale gas fracking for at least five years despite growing concern along business and western allies that the country is too reliant on gas imports from Russia. “As long as risks are unaccountable or currently can’t be conclusively assessed, fracking will remain forbidden,” Environment Minister Barbara Hendricks said, alluding to concerns that the exploration technique could pollute groundwater. Germany’s draft law bans the use of hydraulic fracturing technology for drilling operations shallower than 3,000 meters, and all types of fracking in nature reserves and national parks. Test drilling for fracking, which involves using a high-pressure mixture of water, sand and chemicals to break apart rocks to release shale gas, will be allowed in certain cases for scientific research however, according to the […]

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Germany’s Nuclear Costs Trigger Fears

Germany is trying to find a site suitable to store radioactive waste. ENLARGE Photo: Bloomberg News FRANKFURT—A new German government report is stoking fears that the country’s energy companies can’t shoulder the cost of a government plan to close the country’s nuclear-power plants. Germany aims to phase out its nine remaining reactors by 2022, faster than almost any country. But nobody knows exactly how much it costs to shut and clean up atomic-power plants and all the facilities used over decades to store radioactive waste. Building a depository for the waste deep underground and delivering the waste add additional unknown costs. Berlin promises utilities will foot the bill, but the new report, released Friday, raises the prospect of German taxpayers ending up on the hook. The issue is particularly acute because German power companies are already struggling financially. Chancellor Angela Merkel ’s campaign to wean Germany off nuclear and […]

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Germany’s 2014 coal imports hit all-time high of 56.2 mil mt: VDKi

German hard coal imports reached an all-time record high of 56.2 million mt in 2014, up 6.2% on the year, according to statistics released by the German Coal Importers Association (VDKi) Thursday. Thermal coal imports into Germany increased by about 5% on the year to 41.9 million mt, while coking coal imports jumped 15% year on year to 11.7 million mt. Imports of coke declined by about 6% to 2.4 million mt. Russia was the largest shipper of thermal coal to Germany last year, delivering 13.7 million mt, up from 13.1 million mt the previous year. Article continues below… Platts Global Coal Alert brings real-time coal industry information to those who can’t afford to wait until tomorrow to get market coverage and pricing information. With it, you get up-to-the-minute news, overheard transaction information, and market commentaries, along with thermal coal markets pricing for regional and global markets. Thermal coal […]

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Deep-water wind energy coming to Germany

German wind farm readies for mid-2015 service after installation of turbines at deep-water site. Photo courtesy: E.ON With 80 wind turbines in place, German utility company E.ON said Wednesday it was one step closer to activating a deep-water wind farm off the German coast. The company said turbines were installed during the weekend at the site of the Amrumbank West wind project, situated about 20 miles northwest of the German island of Helgoland. Infrastructure construction began in January 2014. "We are confident that we will soon be able to feed electricity generated by the first turbines into the public grid as planned," Dominik Schwegmann, lead project manager of Amrumbank West, said in a statement. The project is slated for mid-2015 completion . At its peak, Amrumbank West will supply 288 megawatts of wind energy to the German grid, enough to meet the annual electricity demands of 300,000 average households. […]

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Germany’s green goals have profound consequences for Eon and RWE

Thousands of ordinary Germans are using renewables, which entitle them to an above-market rate for power they put into the grid Johannes Teyssen, Eon chief, hopes Eon’s successor company will be able to compete more effectively in new energy technology The solar panels Konrad Kuisle installed on the roof of his barn and milking shed have been a steady source of income for the Bavarian dairy farmer. “I installed the panels because, on the one side, I support renewable energy. But I also get something out of it,” says Mr Kuisle, who calculates the power he feeds into Germany’s electricity grid generates up to 15 per cent of his annual turnover. Mr Kuisle is just one of thousands of ordinary Germans who have scrambled to invest in renewable power as Germany pursues one of the most radical sets of energy policies in the world — which are having enormous […]

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German Government Denies Pressuring BASF to Cancel Gazprom Asset Swap

FRANKFURT—German chemicals maker BASF SE’s decision to call off a long-planned asset-swap deal with Russia’s OAO Gazprom wasn’t the result of political pressure from the German government, the German Economics Ministry said Friday. BASF, the world’s largest chemical company by revenue, announced Thursday it had canceled the deal with Russian state gas group Gazprom amid mounting political tensions between Russia and the West. BASF, through its wholly-owned oil and gas unit, Wintershall AG, had planned to divest itself of its gas trading and storage operations through an asset exchange with Gazprom. The trade, announced in November 2012, would have given Wintershall access to natural-gas fields in Siberia. “This is a corporate process. From the German side, there was no political influence over the deal,” said Julia Modes, a spokesperson for the ministry. “For us, it is only important that the gas supply or the security of supply is not […]

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BASF, Gazprom Call Off Asset Swap Amid Political Tensions

FRANKFURT—Germany’s BASF SE , the world’s largest chemical company by revenue, and Russia’s OAO Gazprom have called off an asset-swap deal amid mounting political tensions between Russia and the West, BASF said Thursday. The collapse of the deal means BASF now expects an only “slightly higher” increase in earnings before interest and taxes for 2014, rather than the “considerable rise” the company previously forecast, as it won’t collect expected income from the transaction. BASF had planned to divest itself of the gas trading and storage business of its wholly owned oil and gas subsidiary Wintershall AG as part of an asset exchange with Russian state gas group Gazprom that was scheduled to be completed by the end of this year. The trade, announced in November 2012, would have given Wintershall access to natural-gas fields in Siberia. “Due to the current difficult political environment, BASF and Gazprom have decided not […]

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German businesses suffer fallout as Ukraine sanctions take hold

Vladimir Putin and Angela Merkel Alexander Schuke Potsdam Orgelbau has supplied pipe organs to cathedrals and concert halls for almost 200 years, surviving a wave of upheavals including war and nationalisation under the communist regime of the former East Germany. But the economic fallout from the conflict in eastern Ukraine has forced the family-owned company to seek insolvency protection. More On this topic IN EU Economy Its problems arose after Ukrainian and Russian customers failed to pay for two instruments that took months to build, leaving the company some €400,000 out of pocket. “A small company like ours cannot withstand that kind of shortfall,” says Matthias Schuke, chief executive. “We’ve never known something like this. We know Russia as a very reliable partner.” Germany’s close business links with Russia , in part a legacy of its cold war Ostpolitik , were once a source of growth and profits. But […]

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EconomyGerman industry production slumps as fears mount

German industrial production contracted 4 per cent month-on-month in August, the biggest decline in over five years and much worse than expected – fuelling fears that even the eurozone’s economic powerhouse is now flirting with a recession. Germany’s economy unexpectedly shrank 0.2 per cent in the second quarter, and subsequent economic data have been muddled at best, sparking concerns that the common currency area’s biggest and most influential member could slip into a technical recession. Economists had only expected industrial production to fall 1.5 per cent in August, and last month’s 1.9 per cent gain was today revised down to 1.6 per cent. On an annualised basis, industrial production dived 2.8 per cent in August, compared to expectations of only a 0.5 per cent decline from the same month last year. The data was "another shocker" for the German economy, wrote Carsten Brzeski, an economist at ING. Such a […]

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Merkel’s Taste for Coal to Upset $130 Billion Green Drive

When Germany kicked off its journey toward a system harnessing energy from wind and sun back in 2000, the goal was to protect the environment and build out climate-friendly power generation. More than a decade later, Europe ’s biggest economy is on course to miss its 2020 climate targets and greenhouse-gas emissions from power plants are virtually unchanged. Germany used coal, the dirtiest fuel, to generate 45 percent of its power last year, the highest level since 2007, as Chancellor Angela Merkel is phasing out nuclear in the wake of the Fukushima atomic accident in Japan three years ago. The transition, dubbed the Energiewende, has so far added more than 100 billion euros ($134 billion) to the power bills of households, shop owners and small factories as renewable energy met a record 25 percent of demand last year. RWE AG, the nation’s biggest power producer, last year reported its […]

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BASF Buys Oil, Gas Assets From Statoil to Secure European Supply

BASF SE (BAS) ’s oil and gas arm agreed to buy assets from Norway’s Statoil ASA (STL) for $1.25 billion, diversifying energy supplies for Germany’s biggest chemical maker as relations between Europe and Russia worsen. BASF’s Wintershall is acquiring a share in two producing fields, two development projects, the Polarled pipeline project and a share in four exploration licenses, the Ludwigshafen, Germany-based company said today in an e-mailed statement. Wintershall’s daily production in Norway will increase 50 percent to about 60,000 barrels of oil equivalent. The Norwegian deal will make BASF, Germany’s largest industrial user of gas, less reliant on supplies from Russia as the U.S. and European Union ratchet up sanctions in response to the conflict in Ukraine. An asset swap with OAO Gazprom (OGZD) , agreed to in 2012 and expected to close this autumn, was set to boost Russia’s share of BASF’s supply to more than […]

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Germany Steps Up Its Response to Global Security Crises

BERLIN — In an indication of Germany’s growing role on the world stage, the country’s top politicians on Sunday approved the delivery of thousands of machine guns and hand grenades, as well as hundreds of antitank missiles, to Kurdish forces battling Islamic militants in Iraq. Scarred by its militarism and two resounding defeats in the 20th century, Germany once shied away from conflict zones and limited its involvement to deliveries of humanitarian aid. But, although Chancellor Angela Merkel has yet to articulate a clear policy on intervention, she and her top ministers have dominated efforts to ease the Ukraine crisis. And on Sunday, they moved to approve the weapons for the fight against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. A solid majority in Parliament backs sending weapons, while opinion polls indicate that up to two-thirds of Germans — weaned on decades of pacifism — oppose the move. Ms. […]

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Germany Approves RWE’s Sale of DEA to Russian Entrepreneur

BERLIN—The German Economics Ministry said Friday it has approved the sale of RWE AG ‘s oil and natural gas exploration subsidiary RWE Dea AG to an investment holding vehicle of Russian entrepreneur Mikhail Fridman , despite growing Russo-German tensions over the Ukraine crisis. Fridman’s LetterOne Group and RWE agreed the deal in March which valued Dea at €5.1 billion ($6.8 billion), including €600 million in liabilities. The ministry said it has no objections to the sale to Luxembourg-based LetterOne. "The decisive factor for our decision was that LetterOne is an EU-based investor and that we see no indication for any kind of improper bypassing," said Economics Ministry spokeswoman Tanja Alemany Sanchez de León. "In addition, we don’t expect that this planned acquisition will have any negative impact on Germany’s security of [oil and gas] supply." An RWE spokeswoman said: "With this decision, we have cleared another hurdle." The company […]

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Germany Approves RWE's Sale of DEA to Russian Entrepreneur

BERLIN—The German Economics Ministry said Friday it has approved the sale of RWE AG ‘s oil and natural gas exploration subsidiary RWE Dea AG to an investment holding vehicle of Russian entrepreneur Mikhail Fridman , despite growing Russo-German tensions over the Ukraine crisis. Fridman’s LetterOne Group and RWE agreed the deal in March which valued Dea at €5.1 billion ($6.8 billion), including €600 million in liabilities. The ministry said it has no objections to the sale to Luxembourg-based LetterOne. "The decisive factor for our decision was that LetterOne is an EU-based investor and that we see no indication for any kind of improper bypassing," said Economics Ministry spokeswoman Tanja Alemany Sanchez de León. "In addition, we don’t expect that this planned acquisition will have any negative impact on Germany’s security of [oil and gas] supply." An RWE spokeswoman said: "With this decision, we have cleared another hurdle." The company […]

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Germany Puts Curbing Russia Ahead of Commerce

BERLIN — Over recent months, something significant has happened in Europe: In the crisis over Ukraine, Germany has assumed leadership not just in its familiar fashion of trying to coax Russia away from belligerence and bluster, but in standing firm and imposing sanctions on Moscow even if they hurt German business. Perhaps even more remarkable is that Germans, long anxious to preserve commercial, energy and cultural ties with their vast eastern neighbor, have gone along. Seventy percent of 1,003 adults polled last week by Infratest dimap for the public broadcaster ARD approved of stricter sanctions; just 15 percent viewed Russia as a reliable partner in a poll with a three-percentage-point margin of sampling error. In marked contrast to France’s leadership, Chancellor Angela Merkel and her government — a united “grand coalition” of center-right and center-left — have kept German businesses apprised of any shift in thinking and made it […]

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Ukraine Crisis Takes Toll on Germany’s Economy, Powerhouse of the Eurozone

PARIS — An important reading on the health of the eurozone economy is expected to show this week that growth stagnated in the most recent quarter as German output faltered, confirming the assessment of many analysts that a lasting recovery remains out of reach for the region. Economists are expecting that in the 18-nation currency bloc, gross domestic product expanded 0.1 percent in the second quarter compared with the first quarter, equivalent to an annual rate of growth of 0.4 percent. The eurozone eked out quarterly growth of 0.2 percent in the first three months of the year. The eurozone G.D.P. report, to be released Thursday by the European Union statistical agency, Eurostat, is based on data from before the latest tensions over Ukraine, and before the sanctions against Russia for its involvement in the crisis began to be felt. That means there are plenty of questions hanging over […]

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German Business Looks to Renew Iran Contacts

German businesses are cooling on Russian investments amid anger over Russia’s role in the Ukrainian conflict while simultaneously warming on another big country hit by Western sanctions: Iran. Companies across Germany have quietly rekindled once-strong commercial ties with Iran, industry officials said. The shift, also occurring in other European countries, is possible because Western governments—working to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons—in November granted it some relief from sanctions. Talks on a broader deal continue, sparking hope among some businesses that Iran’s market of 77 million potential consumers could soon open to them. "The market will explode when the embargo gets lifted," predicted Stephanie Spinner-König, managing director of high-tech component maker Spinner GmbH and a participant in one of two German business delegations that visited Iran this year. While German companies see opportunities in Iran, few want to discuss it publicly. Many fear talking up the pariah country could […]

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Germany’s Backing of Russia Sanctions Marks Breach in Pivotal European Relationship

Russian President Vladimir Putin led a cabinet meeting at his residence outside Moscow on Wednesday. Alexei Nikolsky/Press Pool Three days after the crash of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17, German Chancellor Angela Merkel spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin for at least the 30th time since the Ukraine crisis erupted. She had a blunt message, according to people briefed on the phone conversation: Call me if you have progress to report in defusing the conflict. That was July 20. The two leaders haven’t spoken since. The silence marks a breach in perhaps the most important relationship in European geopolitics, illustrating the daunting challenges facing the West in trying to calm the crisis in Ukraine. More broadly, the frayed relationship between Ms. Merkel and Mr. Putin shows the disintegration of a decadeslong effort by both Germany and Russia to bind the World War II adversaries to each other. Mr. Putin, in […]

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Germany's Backing of Russia Sanctions Marks Breach in Pivotal European Relationship

Russian President Vladimir Putin led a cabinet meeting at his residence outside Moscow on Wednesday. Alexei Nikolsky/Press Pool Three days after the crash of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17, German Chancellor Angela Merkel spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin for at least the 30th time since the Ukraine crisis erupted. She had a blunt message, according to people briefed on the phone conversation: Call me if you have progress to report in defusing the conflict. That was July 20. The two leaders haven’t spoken since. The silence marks a breach in perhaps the most important relationship in European geopolitics, illustrating the daunting challenges facing the West in trying to calm the crisis in Ukraine. More broadly, the frayed relationship between Ms. Merkel and Mr. Putin shows the disintegration of a decadeslong effort by both Germany and Russia to bind the World War II adversaries to each other. Mr. Putin, in […]

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German Utilities Bail Out Electric Grid at Wind’s Mercy

Germany ’s push toward renewable energy is causing so many drops and surges from wind and solar power that the government is paying more utilities than ever to help stabilize the country’s electricity grid. Twenty power companies including Germany’s biggest utilities, EON SE and RWE AG, now get fees for pledging to add or cut electricity within seconds to keep the power system stable, double the number in September, according to data from the nation’s four grid operators. Utilities that sign up to the 800 million-euro ($1.1 billion) balancing market can be paid as much as 400 times wholesale electricity prices, the data show. Germany’s drive to almost double power output from renewables by 2035 has seen one operator reporting five times as many potential disruptions as four years ago, raising the risk of blackouts in Europe ’s biggest electricity market while pushing wholesale prices to […]

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EU Confirms Approval of Germany’s New Renewable Energy Law

Wind turbines in Altentreptow, Germany. Bloomberg News BRUSSELS—European Union antitrust authorities confirmed Wednesday their approval of Germany’s new renewable energy law, which aims to help the country shift away from nuclear- and fossil fuel-generated power. Earlier this month, the European Commission said it had given backing to the plans after Berlin agreed to make some amendments to the law. The new law "paves the way for more market integration of renewables," Joaquín Almunia, the European Union’s antitrust commissioner, said in a news release. "In the medium term, this should lead to lower costs for consumers. Also the progressive opening up of tenders to operators located in other member states is a very positive development for the internal energy market." The EU had concerns that some German firms producing renewable energy may have benefited unfairly from subsidies in the past. It also said a surcharge imposed on imported electricity equated […]

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EU Confirms Approval of Germany's New Renewable Energy Law

Wind turbines in Altentreptow, Germany. Bloomberg News BRUSSELS—European Union antitrust authorities confirmed Wednesday their approval of Germany’s new renewable energy law, which aims to help the country shift away from nuclear- and fossil fuel-generated power. Earlier this month, the European Commission said it had given backing to the plans after Berlin agreed to make some amendments to the law. The new law "paves the way for more market integration of renewables," Joaquín Almunia, the European Union’s antitrust commissioner, said in a news release. "In the medium term, this should lead to lower costs for consumers. Also the progressive opening up of tenders to operators located in other member states is a very positive development for the internal energy market." The EU had concerns that some German firms producing renewable energy may have benefited unfairly from subsidies in the past. It also said a surcharge imposed on imported electricity equated […]

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RWE to Supply Natural Gas to Ukraine

German utility AG said Tuesday it has formally agreed to supply Ukraine with natural gas this year, the first such deal by a European energy company after Ukraine’s continuing political crisis put the country’s traditional supplies from Russia in doubt. RWE said that it would begin gas deliveries to Ukraine’s state-owned energy company Naftogaz via Poland immediately. RWE said it would ship gas from its "pan-European portfolio" to Ukraine, but didn’t provide an estimate of the expected volumes. The deliveries are part of an existing five-year framework deal that allows RWE to ship up 10 billion cubic meters of natural gas a year to Ukraine, but the gas supplies must be agreed on annually. Last year, RWE supplied around 1 BCM of gas to Ukraine, it said. The gas will be delivered at wholesale price levels, including delivery costs, RWE said. Russian gas-export monopoly Gazprom OAO earlier this month […]

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Germany Amends Green-Energy Regime to Curb Rise in Prices

The German government has amended renewable-energy laws meant to help make the country nuclear-free but that have sent power prices rocketing—squeezing consumers and the country’s formidable export machine. The cabinet approved amendments on Tuesday that it said would contain soaring electricity costs while seeking to protect German jobs in the industrial sector. The changes include less ambitious targets for wind power and a cut in subsidies for certain forms of green energy. Chancellor Angela Merkel’s "energy transformation," a bold and initially popular experiment to make Germany the first major industrial economy to run largely on green energy, has met strong resistance from companies and households faced with steep rises in power costs. The project revolves around subsidies that are financed by end users via a levy and meant to encourage a buildup in renewable energy capacity. Overall, the government expects such subsidies to reach €24 billion ($33 billion) this […]

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German Minister Sees ‘No Sensible Alternative’ to Russian Gas

German Economy Minister Sigmar Gabriel said there was "no sensible alternative" to Russian natural gas imports and it was unlikely Russia would stop deliveries because of the crisis over Ukraine, a German daily reported Friday. "Even in the darkest hours of the Cold War, Russia respected its contracts," the Neue Osnabruecker Zeitung reported Gabriel, who is also energy minister and vice chancellor, as telling an energy forum. Europe’s biggest economy is heavily reliant on Russian gas, which accounted for about a third of its gas imports last year, BDEW figures show. Germany’s top utilities E.ON and RWE receive most of their gas from Russia’s state-controlled gas producer Gazprom. Russia’s seizure of the Crimea region and its threat to cut off gas to Ukraine, a transit route to the rest of Europe, has prompted European leaders to consider strategies to curb the bloc’s energy reliance on Russia. Gabriel also said that two current business deals with Russia by German companies BASF and RWE were "company decisions" and "essentially unproblematic," according to the newspaper. The newspaper said Gabriel also told the forum that Europe’s […]

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German Minister Sees 'No Sensible Alternative' to Russian Gas

German Economy Minister Sigmar Gabriel said there was "no sensible alternative" to Russian natural gas imports and it was unlikely Russia would stop deliveries because of the crisis over Ukraine, a German daily reported Friday. "Even in the darkest hours of the Cold War, Russia respected its contracts," the Neue Osnabruecker Zeitung reported Gabriel, who is also energy minister and vice chancellor, as telling an energy forum. Europe’s biggest economy is heavily reliant on Russian gas, which accounted for about a third of its gas imports last year, BDEW figures show. Germany’s top utilities E.ON and RWE receive most of their gas from Russia’s state-controlled gas producer Gazprom. Russia’s seizure of the Crimea region and its threat to cut off gas to Ukraine, a transit route to the rest of Europe, has prompted European leaders to consider strategies to curb the bloc’s energy reliance on Russia. Gabriel also said that two current business deals with Russia by German companies BASF and RWE were "company decisions" and "essentially unproblematic," according to the newspaper. The newspaper said Gabriel also told the forum that Europe’s […]

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Merkel Says Russian Trade Impact Limited as Industry Backs Curbs

Chancellor Angela Merkel won industry support as she stepped up her threat of sanctions against Russia , saying that Germany could withstand the economic impact of any measures taken. Merkel, speaking in Munich today, compared the 76 billion euros ($106 billion) in bilateral trade with Russia with the more than 60 billion euros in trade Germany has with its neighbor, the Czech Republic, a nation of 10 million people. Russia has a population of about 142 million. “That shows that there is a dimension there, but not to such an extent that it would have an impact on Germany’s entire economic engagement,” Merkel said. Ulrich Grillo, president of Germany’s BDI industry federation, told the same event that he “fully” supports the chancellor during the crisis in Ukraine . A day after she warned Russia that it risked “massive economic and political harm” if it didn’t change course, Merkel maintained […]

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Coal surge sullies Germany's clean energy image

The share of electricity generated from coal rose in Germany last year as the country seeks to achieve its ambitious aim of switching off all nuclear power plants by 2022. Industry figures published Tuesday show that bituminous coal and lignite together contributed 45.5 percent of Germany’s gross energy output in 2013, up from 44 percent the previous year. Environmentalists criticize the increasing use of coal, saying it is a "dirty" source because of the large amount of carbon dioxide released when it is burned. Heavily subsidized renewable sources such as wind, solar, biomass and hydropower also increased their contribution to 23.4 percent, up from 22.8 percent in 2012. The share of nuclear power dropped to 15.4 percent from 15.8 percent. © 2014 The Associated Press . All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Learn more about our Privacy […]

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Coal surge sullies Germany’s clean energy image

The share of electricity generated from coal rose in Germany last year as the country seeks to achieve its ambitious aim of switching off all nuclear power plants by 2022. Industry figures published Tuesday show that bituminous coal and lignite together contributed 45.5 percent of Germany’s gross energy output in 2013, up from 44 percent the previous year. Environmentalists criticize the increasing use of coal, saying it is a "dirty" source because of the large amount of carbon dioxide released when it is burned. Heavily subsidized renewable sources such as wind, solar, biomass and hydropower also increased their contribution to 23.4 percent, up from 22.8 percent in 2012. The share of nuclear power dropped to 15.4 percent from 15.8 percent. © 2014 The Associated Press . All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Learn more about our Privacy […]

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German Power Costs Seen Dropping for Fourth Year: Energy

Power prices in Germany , Europe’s biggest electricity market, probably will weaken for a record fourth consecutive year as utilities add the most coal-fired capacity in more than a decade. The benchmark year-ahead electricity contract will average about 6 percent less in 2014 than in 2013, according to the median of nine analyst and trader estimates compiled by Bloomberg News. Expanding generating capacity will provide 17 percent more supply than peak demand, says Bryan Garnier & Co., an investment bank in Paris. Wholesale power prices in Europe’s biggest economy plunged 32 percent since 2010 amid record wind and solar output and the weakest demand in four years. The cheapest coal since 2009 is spurring utilities to keep building plants burning the fuel. EON SE (EOAN) and RWE AG (RWE) , the largest generators, will report lower profit this year, according to analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg. “It’s a pretty […]

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