Author: Graham Foster

Unlock the Editor’s Digest totally freeSenior water executives face being imprisoned for up to two years if they obstruct an Environment Agency or Drinking Water Inspectorate investigation below new laws being launched to parliament on Thursday.Regulator Ofwat can even be given further powers to set guidelines regarding performance-related pay after the water monopolies awarded their chief executives a complete of £41mn in bonuses, advantages and incentives since 2020, the federal government stated forward of the invoice being tabled. The water (particular measures) invoice is the federal government’s try to reply to the mounting disaster at water corporations, that are dealing with the…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest without costSenior Korean officers are historically reluctant to say something that could possibly be construed in Beijing as antagonistic or confrontational. So it got here as a shock to some when South Korean finance minister Choi San-mok instructed the Financial Times this yr that his nation’s financial relationship with China had reworked over the previous decade from certainly one of mutual profit right into a “rivalry”.Choi’s bluntness displays a rising sense of alarm in Seoul that South Korea’s main industrial teams are dropping or have already misplaced their technological edge over rising Chinese rivals, and that…

Oil costs edged up yesterday as Iran blamed Israel for a lethal assault on its Damascus consulate, ratcheting up tensions within the area. US benchmark West Texas Intermediate gained about 1 per cent to settle at $83.71 a barrel, its highest degree since October. Brent crude, the worldwide marker, rose by the same margin to settle at $87.42/b.For many years, Gulf states have constructed their wealth on plentiful oil and gas reserves, which have powered the worldwide financial system. But because the world targets an energy transition away from fossil fuels, nations within the area are diversifying their economies and…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest totally freeUK energy provider Ovo Group elevated its adjusted earnings 11-fold final 12 months, after the regulator intervened to permit firms to recoup rising prices in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Ovo Group, which owns UK family provider Ovo Energy in addition to energy software program firm Kaluza, reported adjusted earnings (ebitda) of £225mn in the 12 months to the top of December 2023 on revenues of £8.7bn.  That was up from £20mn on revenues of £6.7bn in 2022, in keeping with newly revealed accounts. The Bristol-based firm mentioned the development was primarily because of the UK…

The Financial Times has a scoop this morning on new allegations by Shell that US liquefied pure gas supplier Venture Global has “wrongfully earned” $3.5bn via cargo arbitrage, the most recent escalation in a bitter dispute between a few of the largest gamers within the LNG industry.The oil main accuses Venture Global of failing to ship shipments to European prospects beneath long-term provide contracts and as a substitute promoting them on high-priced spot markets when gas costs soared following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Venture Global has dismissed Shell’s claims, declaring pressure majeure on its contractual commitments.Thanks for studying,AmandaNew examine…

Russia has been pressured to begin storing gas from Vladimir Putin’s flagship Arctic project, in an indication that western sanctions are deterring consumers.According to ship-tracking knowledge and satellite tv for pc photographs, three vessels have shipped liquefied pure gas from Arctic LNG 2, which is beneath US sanctions, because it began loading operations final month.One of the ships, Everest Energy, seems to have unloaded at Saam FSU, a floating storage unit anchored in a bay within the Murmansk area of northern Russia. It has since headed again within the path of Arctic LNG 2.The switch “underscores the challenges that Russia…

The UK should consider a range of applied sciences for future large-scale nuclear power crops because it seeks to revive the sector, in keeping with the top official overseeing these efforts, casting doubt over the nation’s long-standing nuclear relationship with France.  Simon Bowen, chair of Great British Nuclear, the general public physique chargeable for the supply of new initiatives, stated the UK would wish “at least another couple” of massive nuclear power stations after the 2 presently in improvement by French state-owned power firm EDF.But he added {that a} “pause” was wanted earlier than the UK selected what know-how to…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeOpec+ members have agreed to delay deliberate increases to grease production for at the very least two months because the group continues its battle to prop up costs which have fallen to their lowest ranges this yr.Eight members of the producer group, together with Saudi Arabia, Russia and the United Arab Emirates, had been attributable to start unwinding voluntary output cuts from the beginning of October however the curbs will now stay in place till December 1, they mentioned in a joint assertion after a digital assembly on Thursday.The deliberate increases would have lifted the…

Stay knowledgeable with free updatesInvestors are demanding a better premium to tackle the debt of Britain’s most extremely rated water firms within the wake of the crisis at Thames Water.Companies with stronger credit score rankings, together with Welsh Water, United Utilities and Anglian Water, have marketed or issued new sterling debt this week within the first vital wave of issuance because the guardian firm of Thames defaulted on its debt earlier this yr.But buyers have demanded a less expensive value for water bonds, elevating company borrowing prices and renewing considerations that the business might want to divert a better proportion…

Stay knowledgeable with free updatesThe International Energy Agency chief has criticised Europe for falling behind China and the US after making “two historic monumental mistakes” in energy coverage, by counting on Russian gas and turning away from nuclear energy.Fatih Birol, the company’s government director, instructed the Financial Times that European business was now paying the worth for these errors and that the bloc would want “a new industrial master plan” with a purpose to recuperate.The Paris-based Birol’s intervention comes because the EU leaders put together to debate the bloc’s financial competitiveness this week.It trails China and the US in areas…