Natural Gas

Capital Calls: Ritchie Bros founder regret

13 Mar 2023

Concise views on global finance: The industrial equipment auction company’s $7 bln deal for scrap-yard operator IAA has drawn one last opponent: the company’s own co-founder.

Capital Calls: Adobe’s lose-lose Figma bind

24 Feb 2023

Concise views on global finance: Shareholders in the $160 bln design technology firm seem to have decided that the only thing worse than doing its blockbuster deal for rival Figma is losing it.

UAE gas IPO’s $50 bln valuation looks like a floor

22 Feb 2023

The Emirates’ energy giant ADNOC is selling at least 4% of its gas processing arm via an Abu Dhabi listing. As with Saudi Aramco, buyers will have to put up with minimal say on strategy. Unlike Aramco’s IPO, the mooted $50 bln valuation may be an underestimate.

UK bailout has energy bosses walking on eggshells

13 Feb 2023

Power suppliers like Centrica took billions of pounds of government cash to help customers pay high bills. That leaves them open to charges they pocketed gains and handed losses to taxpayers. For an industry intertwined with the state, pay restraint is vital to self-preservation.

Snam rethink reflects Europe’s new energy reality

19 Jan 2023

The $18 bln network operator is hiking spending to boost gas flows into Italy and the EU. Stable revenues from such investments can help new CEO Stefano Venier lift EBITDA. But a lighter push into hydrogen and green projects suggests a slower European shift from fossil fuels.

Global energy prices face a turbulent 2023

12 Jan 2023

The cost of natural gas has halved from a peak last year thanks to warmer weather and bulky European stores. In this Viewsroom podcast, Breakingviews columnists discuss why it’s too early for companies and households to rule out further supply shocks and price volatility.

Cheaper gas is temporary salve for Europe Inc

9 Jan 2023

Warm winter days and enough reserves to offset Russian imports have halved the fuel’s cost. Yet Europe’s energy security also hinges on abundant liquefied natural gas purchases. As China’s fuel-guzzling economy reopens post-Covid, industrial giants like BASF may still suffer.

Capital Calls: Rio Tinto, Grocery delivery M&A

9 Dec 2022

Concise views on global finance: After a shambolic process, the $118 bln miner has succeeded in buying out the 49% of Turquoise Hill Resources it doesn’t own; Turkish grocery delivery player Getir gobbles up German rival Gorillas for $1.2 bln.

Eni’s $6 bln Neptune swoop will be a haggle-fest

1 Dec 2022

Italy’s $52 bln oil major may bid for the private equity-backed gas producer. Windfall tax and recession risks make the $10 bln price tag from last year’s mooted IPO unlikely. But Eni’s scope for synergies and need to pivot to gas give owners like CVC scope to hold out for more.

Energy crises speed up the green transition

22 Nov 2022

In 2022, war and power shortages have led to more fossil fuel use. But they also act as a catalyst for the rollout of renewable energy. In this edition of The Exchange podcast, ex-Snam boss Marco Alverà tells George Hay how Europe’s leaders can capitalise on this dynamic.

Capital Calls: Uniper

3 Nov 2022

Concise views on global finance: The German utility’s 40 bln euro loss for the first nine months of 2022 has turned its equity negative and implies a much larger bailout.

Texas’s worthless gas plays to Russian power

1 Nov 2022

The Permian is pumping nearly half of America’s oil – and with that a gas byproduct. As a result, prices are cheap or even negative. Building new infrastructure takes time and investment. American drillers will accommodate when profit exist. By then, the crisis will be over.

Europe’s industrial mess has protectionist endgame

26 Oct 2022

Manufacturers like Germany’s $42 bln BASF face a toxic brew of high energy prices at home and rising risks in China. That implies a freeze on new investment, and a loss of market share to foreign players. To stop that, European states may ultimately intervene with tariffs.

Time for Europe to tame its energy cravings

19 Oct 2022

After paying through the nose to fill its gas storage reserves to 92%, the bloc is seeking to secure more affordable fuel. Measures like curbing price volatility, club purchases or flexible caps will be no panacea. While supply is tight, curbing demand is the key.

Europe’s energy crisis nears winter of discontent

18 Oct 2022

Germany, Italy and others have scrambled to replace Russian gas and pipeline attacks have become a concern. The Oxford Institute for Energy Studies’ Jack Sharples tells The Exchange podcast Europe must learn to live with less power. Next year may be even more challenging.

Total’s Russia foot-dragging is investor problem

18 Oct 2022

The French energy giant owns a stake in gas group Novatek, and is in theory entitled to a $430 mln dividend. CEO Patrick Pouyanné won’t say whether he’s selling. He may hope that long-held Kremlin ties can secure a clean exit, but the uncertainty is a shareholder concern.

Abu Dhabi would be a logical owner for Gunvor

4 Oct 2022

ADNOC, the emirate’s huge oil company, is interested in the privately held commodities trader. Gunvor’s valuation involves guesswork, and it used to be owned by a target of U.S. sanctions. But the UAE could use the group’s roster of gas client relationships, and it has the cash.

German energy bailout belatedly outclasses Europe

30 Sep 2022

Berlin will borrow 200 bln euros to help consumers cope with rocketing energy prices. It’s not the first state to go for a shock and awe approach, but Germany’s ample fiscal space gives it way more scope to go big. Unlike the UK, it can also do so without spooking investors.

Uniper’s new bailout mixes scars and consolations

21 Sep 2022

Germany’s 8 bln euro capital injection heavily dilutes the stricken energy group’s investors and hands main shareholder Fortum a big loss. The Finnish group does gain from exiting the mess, and Berlin might one day profit from the rescue. But neither side will be celebrating.

Europe can shrug off Putin’s Chinese gas Plan B

14 Sep 2022

With exports to its key European market shrinking fast, Moscow hopes to hike gas exports to the People’s Republic. But last year these were just 7% of EU sales, and logistics and sanctions complicate the shift. It need not deter Europe’s talk of a Russian gas price cap.