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Freeport LNG Export Plant in Texas to receive more natgas Thursday following unit outage
Freeport LNG, a U.S. liquefied gas company, had planned to receive more natural gas at its Texas export plant on Thursday. This was a sign that a liquefaction track that was shut down on Wednesday would likely be back in operation, according to data provided by financial firm LSEG, and a filing made with the state's environmental regulators. Freeport LNG is closely monitored by the global market because its operation can cause large price fluctuations. Gas prices in the United States typically fall when flows to Freeport decrease due to a lower demand for fuels from the export facility. Prices in Europe usually rise due to the drop in LNG supply available on global markets. The Freeport plant outage was a factor in the 1% decline in futures prices on Wednesday in the U.S. In Europe, prices were unchanged for reasons that are not necessarily connected to the plant. Freeport informed Texas environmental regulators on Thursday that Train 2 of its three liquefaction train was shut down due to an issue with the compressor system. Freeport officials had no comment to make on the latest power outage. LSEG reported that the amount of natural gas flowing into Freeport on Thursday was expected to reach 1.9 billion cubic feet per day. This is up from 1.2 bcfd Wednesday, and an average of 1.8 bcfd for the previous seven days. Three liquefaction plants at Freeport can convert about 2.4 billion cubic feet per day of gas to LNG. A billion cubic feet of natural gas can supply five million U.S. households for one day. Reporting by Scott DiSavino, Editing by Susan Fenton & Chizu Nomiyama
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Sources say that China's state oil companies have suspended their Russian oil purchases due to sanctions.
Multiple sources confirmed on Thursday that Chinese state oil giants had suspended their purchases of Russian oil shipped by sea after the United States imposed new sanctions against Rosneft, one of Moscow's largest oil companies, and Lukoil. Refiners in India, which is the biggest buyer of Russian crude oil by sea, will be reducing their imports of the oil from Moscow to comply with U.S. sanction imposed on the Kremlin for its invasion of Ukraine. The sharp decline in demand for oil from Russia's largest two customers will strain Moscow's oil revenue and force top importers around the world to look for alternative supplies, pushing up global prices. Sources say that PetroChina, Sinopec CNOOC, Zhenhua Oil and Sinopec are not interested in buying Russian oil on the sea, at least for the near future, due to concerns about sanctions. Four companies have not responded to comments immediately. China imports about 1.4 million barrels per day of Russian oil by sea. Most of this is purchased by independent refiners including small operators, known as teapots. Estimates for purchases by state refiners are also widely varied. Vortexa Analytics estimated that Chinese state-owned firms would buy less than 250,000 barrels per day of Russian oil in the first nine months 2025. Consultancy Energy Aspects placed it at 500,000 barrels per day. Unipec (the trading arm of Sinopec) stopped buying Russian oil last week, after Britain blacklisted Rosneft, Lukoil and shadow fleet vessels, along with Chinese entities, including a major Chinese refining company, according to two sources. Traders said that Rosneft, Lukoil and other oil companies sell their products to China via intermediaries rather than directly dealing with the buyers. Some traders stated that independent refiners would likely pause their purchases to evaluate the impact of the sanctions, but they would continue to purchase Russian oil. Before Wednesday's announcement of sanctions, the price for November-loading ESPO Crude had fallen to a premium per barrel of $1 compared to ICE Brent. This was a significant drop from previous trades made in early October, which were at a $1.70 markup. China imports about 900,000 barrels per day of Russian oil via pipeline. All of this oil is sent to PetroChina. Traders said that India and China will likely turn to alternative sources of oil, which is expected to drive up the price for non-sanctioned Middle East, African and Latin American oil.
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Union Pacific beats quarterly profit estimates on strong coal volumes
Union Pacific beat Wall Street expectations for the third quarter profit on Thursday, thanks to strong volumes of food grains and coal as well as improved pricing. After U.S. president Donald Trump signed executive order aimed at boosting coal production, there is optimism about demand for coal transportation, which benefits railroad operators like Union Pacific. Union Pacific reported that the results included merger costs of 41 million dollars, or $0.07 per diluted share. The company's shares were marginally lower in premarket trading. Union Pacific announced in July that it would acquire Norfolk Southern, a rival freight railroad company. The $85 billion acquisition will create the first coast to coast freight rail operator. Tariffs imposed by Donald Trump have led to a slowdown of the freight market and consumer markets in the United States, which has affected railroads like Union Pacific. Donald Trump, the U.S. president, responded positively to the deal. It is still subjected to regulatory approval by the Surface Transportation Board. The companies plan to submit a merger application to STB by January 31, 2019. North American railroads have struggled to meet the demands of shippers and their increasing pressure on service reliability. The third-quarter revenue from the bulk segment of its business, which includes coal and food grain shipments, increased by 7%, to $1.93billion. Intermodal shipments, or the transport of goods using two or more modes of transportation, brought in $1.5 billion of revenue, down 3%. According to LSEG data, the West Coast Railroad operator reported a quarterly profit of $3.08 per share compared to analysts' expectations of $2.99. The company reported a total operating income of $6.24 Billion, which was higher than the estimated $6.25 Billion.
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Grab invests May Mobility in the robotaxi startup as it expands into Southeast Asia
May Mobility announced on Thursday that it had secured a substantial equity investment from Singapore's ride-hailing company Grab as part of its plans to expand into Southeast Asia in the coming year. Grab will integrate the startup's autonomous driving technology into its fleet management, vehicle matching and routing systems. This deal represents a major step towards the global deployment of robotaxis, and creates a blueprint on how self-driving cabs will be managed by existing ride-hailing platforms. May Mobility has declined to reveal any further information about Grab's stake in the startup. May Mobility has now partnered with Uber for its third ride-hailing partnership. Its previous tie-ups with Lyft, to launch self driving cars in Atlanta, as well as a upcoming roll-out with Uber, in the United States, are all part of the industry. May Mobility will use GrabMaps, Grab's mapping software, to study Southeast Asian road conditions to ensure a safe deployment. GrabMaps processes data from Southeast Asian city to produce accurate hyperlocal maps which are updated in real-time. May Mobility will receive a 10 billion-yen investment in November 2023 from Japan's NTT, as part of an effort to promote autonomous driving. NTT announced that it will test self-driving taxis and buses with Toyota Motor in 2019. Grab has been selected by a Singaporean District to operate autonomous shuttle services in the area. The company is partnering with Chinese robotaxi company WeRide, and expects deployment to begin early next year. May Mobility uses Toyota Siennas modified for smaller rides, and high-capacity Italian autonomous electric minibuses Tecnobus for routes with higher density.
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Google invests in a US gas-powered plant that captures carbon dioxide for Midwest data centres
Google announced on Thursday that it had entered into the nation's first corporate agreement for the purchase of electricity from a U.S. plant that uses carbon capture and storage. The deal is to fuel the company's data centers located in the Midwest region. Big Tech's plans for expanding technologies such as generative artificial Intelligence, which require enormous amounts of electricity to operate, have clashed with the reality of a U.S. grid that is running out of supplies. In recent months, companies such as Google have made a number of announcements to fund the construction of new and expanded energy plants in the United States. Google has recently made deals to purchase electricity from advanced nuclear power plants, geothermal energy and hydropower. Google is working with PJM Interconnection - the largest U.S. grid that covers the world's biggest concentration of data centres - to accelerate the connection of power sources. Google's latest agreement to purchase power involves a 400 megawatt power plant being built in Decatur, Illinois by Low Carbon Infrastructure, a privately owned company. The plant is expected to start producing power in early 2030s using carbon capture. This involves trapping 90% of CO2 and injecting it underground. Google has not disclosed the financial terms of this deal. Michael Terrell, Google's head of Advanced Energy, explained that the concept of natural gas-fired electricity, which captures and stores carbon dioxide, had been absent from the equation. Terrell stated, "We have been focusing on developing all these new clean technologies that are available 24/7. This is a very important piece of the puzzle." It's an important technology the world needs. Broadwing will be constructed at a site currently operated by Archer Daniels Midland (agribusiness), which has been injecting underground carbon dioxide from ethanol production for the past 2017. ADM can also purchase electricity from the project, which initially will deliver electricity to grid. Google and Low Carbon Infrastructure have said that they intend to pursue CCS facilities elsewhere in the United States. However, they did not reveal specific locations or dates. The International Energy Agency (IEA) and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change have promoted carbon capture and storage as a way to reduce emissions in heavy industry and power plants that use fossil fuels. Critics have however questioned the cost, scalability, and long-term efficacy of carbon capture and storage. (Reporting and editing by Marguerita Chy)
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Cessna jet maker Textron tops quarterly profit estimates on higher aircraft deliveries
Textron beat the third-quarter profit estimate on Thursday thanks to higher deliveries in its aviation segment, and continued strength at Bell Helicopter. The Bell MV-75 Valor Tiltrotor Aircraft Program with the U.S. Army continues to be a success for the company. The Bell segment's quarterly backlog increased by $1.3 billion due to the award of the prototype testing phase. Textron’s Bell unit that makes tiltrotors and military helicopters has seen a 10% increase in revenue over the last year. Lisa Atherton, the segment's head, was named to succeed Textron CEO Scott Donnelly earlier in the week. A 10% increase in revenue was also seen by the company's Aviation segment, which produces Cessna, Beechcraft, and Citation turboprops. Profits in this segment were also boosted by the robust demand for parts and services aftermarket. Textron has, however, reported a decline in revenue for its industrial segment as a result of the divestiture. According to LSEG data, the company's adjusted quarterly profit was $1.55 per share. This compares with an average analyst estimate of $1.45. The total revenue of the company rose by 5% in the third quarter to $3.60 Billion, as compared to an estimate of $3.70 Billion. Textron, based in Providence, Rhode Island, reiterated that it expects its adjusted annual profit to range from $6.20 to $6.20.20 per share. Reporting by Aatreyee dasgupta from Bengaluru, editing by Leroy Leo
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Maguire: Solar and batteries can help Central Europe reduce its dependence on fossil fuels
Central Europe, a region not known for its sunshine, is proving to be a leader in the global energy transition through clever use of local battery energy storage systems and solar parks. As part of their efforts to increase the domestic energy supply, several major Central European economies, including Austria, Hungary and Romania, have increased dramatically since 2022 the share of electricity produced by solar farms. This rapid growth in solar power has enabled steep reductions in the amount of fossil fuels used to generate electricity, with the percentage falling to new lows in the entire region in 2025. The use of grid-scale batteries, which are largely manufactured locally and are a result of policies to support local jobs, is also boosting the surge in solar power. Combining solar power and battery technology, Central Europe is able to defy the expectations that it would be a region reliant on fossil fuels and become a regional leader in energy transition. STAR POWER Austria and Hungary are the two nations in Central Europe that have been most influential in the region's solar boom and reduced reliance on fossil fuels. Both economies are expected to be heavily dependent on Russian exports of energy after the Russian invasion of Ukraine 2022 due to a lack of other options for imports. Austria, which used to rely on Russia for 90% of its gas supply, has been able to reduce its direct Russian imports dramatically since 2022 and has met most of its needs in 2025 by sourcing gas from Slovakia. While Hungary has continued to buy Russian oil and natural gas, even though the European Union has reduced Russian imports, Hungary’s electricity system has reduced its gas dependence from more than 25% before 2022 to less than 20% while increasing solar production. In fact, Austria and Hungary generate more electricity from solar farms now than fossil fuels. This is a dramatic change from only two years ago, when fossil fuels accounted for the majority of electricity. According to Ember, Austria's energy think-tank, data shows that by 2025, solar farms will generate around 17% and fossil fuel plants 10% of the electricity. This compares with a solar share of 6% and a fossil fuel share of roughly 19% in 2022. Around 33% of Hungary's electricity will be supplied by solar farms in 2025, while around 22% will come from fossil fuel plants. This compares with a solar share of 14% and a fossil fuel share of 35% in 2022. WIDER TREND In recent years, Romania, Poland and Slovakia have all increased their solar energy production while simultaneously reducing the use of fossil fuels. Solar energy is growing much faster than fossil fuels and will likely overtake fossil fuels in the next few years. Solar capacity has risen dramatically in the region since 2019. Ember data show that the cumulative solar generation capacity of Austria, Hungary and Romania, as well as Poland, has increased by 460% from 2019 to 2024. This is a jump from 8 gigawatts in 2019. This growth rate compares with a 145% increase in Europe's overall solar generation capacity during the same time period. It indicates that Central Europe has grown roughly three times faster than the European average. Charge up The rapid growth of the production and usage of battery energy systems (BESS) has been a key factor in Central Europe's solar adoption. According to local utility filings, the battery energy storage capacity in Austria, Hungary, and Romania has increased by 472% between 2022 and 2025. After large investments across Europe in upgrading the electricity grid, the BESS capacity is expected to increase over the next decade. Project filings across Central Europe suggest that energy capacity for BESS installations could increase by more than tenfold in 2030, as each major power grid increases both its solar and storage capacities. These increases in clean energy supply are likely to allow Central Europe to maintain its momentum as an important global energy transition engine. These are the opinions of a columnist who writes for. You like this article? Check it out Open Interest The new global financial commentary source (ROI) is your go-to for all the latest news and analysis. ROI provides data-driven, thought-provoking analysis on everything from soybeans to swap rates. The markets are changing faster than ever. ROI can help you keep up. Follow ROI on You can find us on LinkedIn.
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Data shows that Ukraine is beginning to tap its gas reserves in response to a surge in Russian attacks
Data from EU gas storage sites showed that Ukraine began to withdraw gas from underground storage amid an increase in Russian attacks against its energy system. In recent weeks, Russia increased its attacks on Ukraine's power and gas systems. This forced Kyiv into finding ways to increase gas imports. Last week, the head of Ukraine's Central Bank said that recent attacks had caused the country to lose 55% of its gas production. Meanwhile, its energy minister demanded a 30% increase of gas imports. AGSI data (aggregated storage inventory) showed that Ukraine continued to pump gas into its stores despite the large-scale Russian attacks on eastern Ukraine's gas fields early in October. However, it began to withdraw gas on October 22. The largest gas storage facility in Europe, with a total capacity of more than 30 billion cubic meters, was only 28% filled by October 22. In early 2010, the government announced that Naftogaz, the state-owned energy company, was expected to have 13,2 bcm in storage by October 15, 2010. The government has not revealed the amount of storage gas at that time. The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, said in a statement this week that Ukraine could import gas worth about $2 billion this winter from Europe and the U.S. Kyiv was expecting to import 4.6 billion cubic meters of gas before the latest Russian attacks. Reporting by Pavel Polityuk Editing Mark Potter
American Airlines increases its profit forecast for 2025 on the strength of premium demand and pricing gains
American Airlines increased its profit forecast for 2025 on Thursday. This was due to a robust demand for premium high-margin services, and an increase in pricing power domestically.
In premarket trading, shares of the airline were up by nearly 4%.
Airlines were forced to lower fares in order to fill their seats due to a slowdown in domestic travel in the first half of this year. This was largely caused by economic uncertainty resulting from President Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Since then, major airlines have reduced their capacity in order to regain pricing power and protect margins.
American expects a full-year adjusted per-share profit in the 65-95 cent range, as opposed to its July projection of a range between a 20 cent loss and an 80 cent profit.
Premium services with high margins have also remained popular, as wealthy travelers continue to pay more for a comfortable trip. Airlines have shifted their focus to premium services after the pandemic.
The U.S. airline reported a loss of $114,000,000, or 17 cents a share, for the quarter ending September. This compares to a loss of $149,000,000, or 23 cents a share, from a year earlier.
Southwest, a domestic competitor, reported a surprising profit on Wednesday. This was aided by an increase in bookings.
The total operating revenues of the company increased marginally to $13,69 billion.
(source: Reuters)