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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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