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Dutch government sells TenneT Germany 46% to investors for $11.3 Billion
The Dutch government announced on Wednesday that it would sell a 46% share in the German division of power grid operator TenneT to a group of investors, for up to 11.3 billion euros. This is a departure from an enterprise it had been trying to get rid off for years. The sale of the assets to a consortium consisting of APG, Norges Bank, and Singapore's sovereign fund GIC is taking place as funding needs for power lines on the continent are increasing, forcing owners to look elsewhere for new capital. Last year, TenneT Germany was unsuccessfully sold to Berlin. The consortium will acquire a 46% stake in TenneT Germany through a private placement of shares issued by Dutch government. TenneT Germany, with more than 14,000 km (8,699 mi) of high-voltage power lines, is the largest operator in Germany of transmission grids. Upgrades to these grids have been crucial for strengthening grids when there are more renewable inputs. After such plans failed last year, the deal will likely spur Berlin's efforts to acquire a stake in TenneT Germany through state-owned lender KfW. The Dutch government said on Wednesday that Berlin expressed its interest in acquiring a minor stake in TenneT Germany and would begin talks soon on a potential investment.
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After cyberattack, Berlin airport continues to be affected by disruptions
Berlin Airport is working to restore its baggage and check-in systems following a cyberattack that occurred at the weekend. Further delays and cancellations are possible on Wednesday. Berlin is among several airports in Europe that have been affected by disruptions. These are attributed to the ransomware attack against software provider Collins Aerospace. The disruptions have affected thousands of flights and passengers since Friday. The BER operator stated that it may be several days before the airport in Berlin has a functional and secure software system again. Staff are working hard to manually process passengers in the interim. It added that the software provider had "called in other experts to work urgently on finding a solution." The airport warned passengers to expect long delays and encouraged them to confirm with their airline in advance if their flight is still scheduled. Collins Aerospace announced on Monday that they were working with affected airports. These include the busiest airports in Europe, including Heathrow London and Heathrow Brussels. Berlin Airport was especially busy following a marathon that took place over the weekend in the city. Many runners were struggling to get home. (Reporting and editing by Thomas Seythal, Rachel More)
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BOTAS and Mercuria, Turkey's LNG suppliers, sign a 20-year supply contract
Alparslan Bayraktar, the Energy Minister of Turkey, announced on Wednesday that BOTAS had signed a deal for a 20-year supply of LNG (liquefied natural gases) with Mercuria. The contract will begin in 2026. The agreement, which was signed in New York, during the visit of President Tayyip Erdoan to the United Nations General Assembly will be worth approximately 70 billion cubic meters over its entire duration. The supplies will come from loading terminals located in the United States, as well as regasification plants in Turkey, Europe and North Africa. Bayraktar stated that "this agreement will contribute significantly to the $100 billion target trade volume with the U.S." The deal is also intended to increase supply security and diversify Turkey’s energy sources. Turkey is improving its ties with Washington as it moves towards energy deals. Ankara announced on Monday that it had Lifting of retaliatory Tariffs In 2018, a number of U.S. products, such as passenger cars and fruits, were subject to a tax. This was seen as an act of goodwill before Erdogan's meeting with U.S. president Donald Trump on Thursday at the White House. BOTAS is in charge of Turkey's gas and oil infrastructure, and Mercuria is the largest energy and commodities group worldwide. In a statement from the Turkish Energy Ministry, BOTAS was also reported to have signed a preliminary long-term LNG contract with Woodside Energy Australia's largest gas producer. This agreement calls for Woodside to supply BOTAS with approximately 5.8 billion cubic meters of LNG over a period of nine years starting in 2030. The majority of this LNG will come from Woodside’s Louisiana LNG Project. Reporting by Can Sezer, Writing by Daren Butler, Editing by Ece toksabay & Louise Heavens
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Sources say that Novatek has restarted the second unit of processing at its Ust-Luga complex following a fire.
Three market sources have confirmed that the Russian energy company Novatek resumed processing gas condensate at its second unit in Ust-Luga, which had been damaged by an August 24 drone attack. The fire caused a complete shutdown, including fuel loading, and is one of many disruptions in Russia's energy sector as Ukraine intensifies drone attacks during the ongoing conflict between neighbours. The company had to cut back on naphtha and restart shipments of stable condensate for international markets after two of the three units were damaged in varying degrees. Sources claim that Novatek re-started processing in the second unit, which was less damaged, last weekend. Traders said that repairs on the most severely damaged third unit may take until December at least. Novatek didn't immediately respond to a comment request. According to LSEG data, Novatek’s Ust-Luga Complex has loaded so far around 180,000 metric tonnes of naphtha, and at least 190,000. tons of gas condensate in September. About 70,000 tonnes of gas condensate were also delivered to the Black Sea Port of Novorossiisk by the company. Three processing units of the Ust-Luga Complex, each with 3 million tons per year capacity, refine stable condensate to light and heavy naphthas, jet fuels, ship fuel oils and gasoil. Data from the company show that between January and June 2025, 4.2 million tonnes of gas condensate were processed at the complex. (Reporting from Moscow. Mark Potter is the editor.
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Woodside LNG signs LNG deal with BOTAS
Woodside Energy, a subsidiary of Australia's Woodside Energy, announced on Wednesday that it had signed an agreement with the Turkish state-owned oil company BOTAS to supply approximately 5.8 billion cubic meters of liquefied gas. According to a statement from the company, Australia's largest natural gas producer, Louisiana LNG, has agreed to supply natural gas for nine years, starting in 2030. This will be primarily from this project. Woodside is optimistic about demand for LNG, predicting a 50% increase in growth over the next decade. Alparslan Bayraktar is the Minister of Energy and Natural Resources of the Republic of Turkiye. He said that the companies had already stated their intention to extend the relationship beyond the proposed LNG sales agreement and develop a strategic partnership in the region. Woodside's Louisiana LNG Complex, the largest foreign investment ever made in the history of the state, was the very first U.S. LNG Project to receive financial approval after President Donald Trump took office again in January, and vowed to unleash U.S. power on the world. The project was approved in its final form in late April, and the first gas is expected to be delivered in 2029. Woodside announced in early May that it would be looking to sell an additional 20%-30% of the project, which has been approved for $17.5 billion.
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Thailand tackles massive sinkholes in the capital
Officials said that Thai authorities were rushing to stop a sinkhole in central Bangkok, which was disrupting traffic and utilities. The sinkhole was about 900 square meters in size and extended 50 metres deep (164 feet). It stopped traffic. Social media footage showed the road sinking slowly as water poured from a drain pipe and dragged down electrical poles. The hospital said it would not accept any patients during this incident. Anutin Charnvirakul, Prime Minister of Thailand, told reporters that dirt from an underground construction project was slipping in. "Fortunately, there have been no fatalities or injuries." Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittipunt stated that a pipe burst, so both water and electricity lines were cut. He said, "The hospital is fine. But we're worried about the police station. It's still dangerous there and the public was evacuated." By noon, the authorities had stopped further ground movements and were closely monitoring the site. (Reporting and editing by David Stanway, Panarat Thepgumpanat and Chayut setboonsarng)
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Hong Kong Airlines evacuates planes while they wait for Typhoon Ragasa
While Typhoon Ragasa - the strongest tropical cyclone in the world this year - approached Hong Kong, airlines at one of the busiest airports in the world were faced with massive flight cancellations, as well as revenue losses. Flightradar24 data revealed that, ahead of Wednesday's arrival of hurricane force winds and torrential rainfall, 80% of aircraft from the four major airlines in the city were relocated or grounded in airports located in Japan, China and Cambodia, Europe and Australia, among other places. From Tuesday evening, all landings and departing flights at Hong Kong - the busiest airport in the world for cargo and ninth busiest international passenger traffic - were cancelled. Cathay Pacific Airways, Hong Kong's biggest airline, announced on Monday that the typhoon would have "a significant effect" on their operations, and they would cancel over 500 long-haul flights and regional flights. The airline said that it was moving some aircraft away from Hong Kong. It expects a gradual and staggered return to its schedule on Thursday and Friday. Hong Kong issued its highest warning of typhoon 10, early Wednesday morning, urging businesses and transport services shut down. In order to avoid damage or conflict, airlines often move their aircraft to other countries during severe weather conditions or when the risk of war increases. According to tracking data at Techo Airport, Cathay Pacific sent 14 jets from Hong Kong on Tuesday to Cambodia's Phnom Penh Techo Airport to wait out storm. The airlines can also send their aircraft out of the main base to be ready for a return flight when a storm has passed. Airlines can add fuel to their aircraft or store them in hangars during high winds. Smaller aircraft may be tied down. Hong Kong's Greater Bay Airlines, which has seven aircraft, announced that it had moved all of its planes out of Hong Kong for safety reasons. Tracking data shows that Boeing 737s landed in Japan and China Tuesday. Hong Kong Airlines also appeared to have kept 28 of its aircraft away from Hong Kong, except for one. Tracking data shows that Cathay and its low cost subsidiary HK Express have kept more planes in Hong Kong. Cathay and HK Express didn't respond to inquiries about the storage of their planes. Cathay stated in a 2017 publication that it stored some planes at the Hong Kong airport for cyclones past, and others were sent to other locations. (Reporting and editing by Jamie Freed in Seoul, Lisa Barrington)
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Oil little changed; lower US crude stockpiles provide floor
The oil prices remained stable on Wednesday, as an industry report revealed that U.S. crude stocks declined in the past week. This added to the feeling of a tightening supply. Brent futures were up 3 cents at $67.66 per barrel as of 0630 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate Crude Futures rose 5 cents to $63.46. The benchmarks rose by more than $1 per barrel as the deal to resume oil exports from Iraqi Kurdistan fell through. This halted pipeline shipments from the region into Turkey, despite the hopes that a deal would be reached to end the deadlock. Two key producers demanded debt repayment guarantees. An agreement reached between the Kurdish region and federal government of Iraq and oil companies will allow for the export of approximately 230,000 barrels of oil per day. Since March 2023, pipeline flows have been halted. Emril Jamil is a senior oil analyst at the LSEG. He said that prices are expected to be supported, but range-bound. Jamil said that while the price gains have been capped by the uncertainty surrounding interest rate decisions from the U.S. Federal Reserve, they are still expected to continue. According to sources citing API data, American Petroleum Institute figures show that U.S. crude, gasoline, and distillate stock levels fell last week while they rose for distillates. Sources said that crude stock levels fell by 3.82 millions barrels during the week ending September 19. Gasoline inventories dropped by 1.05million barrels, and distillate stocks rose by 518,000. On Wednesday, the official U.S. energy data will be released. It is expected that crude oil and gasoline stocks have increased and distillates are likely to decline. Other signs of tightening of supply include reports that U.S. giant Chevron, which produces crude with Venezuelan partners, will only be able export half of its 240,000 barrels of crude per day. The company was granted permission to operate in Venezuela in July. However, due to the new rules, less heavy, high-sulfur crude will be exported from Venezuela.
Pakistan's national airline to resume flights to Britain after 5 years
Pakistan International Airlines announced on Wednesday that it will resume direct flights on its most lucrative route to Britain next month, ending a five-year suspension before the planned privatisation this year of the national airline.
PIA announced in a press release that Britain had cleared the airline to fly passenger and cargo services. The company added that operations would begin from Manchester before being extended to Birmingham and London.
Privatisation of the airline was a condition for the $7 billion bailout of Pakistan by the International Monetary Fund.
In 2020, Britain and the European Union suspended PIA’s operations in the region over safety concerns. This was after Pakistan’s then aviation ministry said that some of the airline’s pilots held fake licences.
In November, the EU lifted its ban after Pakistan met benchmarks set out by international aviation regulators.
This month PIA announced its first profit before tax in 20 years.
Five domestic business groups have expressed interest in Islamabad's national carrier, including Airblue and Lucky Cement, Arif Habib, an investment firm (AHL.PSX), as well as the military-backed Fauji Fertilizer.
The final bids will be announced later this year. (Reporting and editing by Clarence Fernandez; Asif Shahzad)
(source: Reuters)