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Global oil and gas company Chevron has entered into a definitive agreement with Anadarko Petroleum Corporation to acquire all its outstanding shared in a major stock (75%) and cash (25%) transaction valued at US$33bn. The acquisition has been approved by the Boards of Directors of both companies and is expected to close in the second half of 2019. It is also subject to regulatory approvals (in particular from Anadarko shareholders) and other customary closing conditions.. Upon completion, it is set to significantly enhance Chevron’s upstream oil and gas portfolio and in particular regarding its shale, deepwater and natural gas resource bases in the Permian basin and in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico. Besides, Chevron is set to integrate Anadarko’s entire LNG operations.

Anadarko is involved in particular in the  Mozambique LNG (MLNG) export project on the Afungi peninsula, located close to the Offshore Area 1 of the deepwater Rovuma basin, which holds estimated reserves of 75 Tcf (2,120 bcm) of recoverable natural gas reserves, equivalent to around 12 Gboe. The project will include two liquefaction trains with a combined capacity of 12.88 Mt/year and the operation start is expected for 2022-2023. It is led by Anadarko (26.5%), Mitsui (20%), ONGC (16%), Mozambique’s oil company ENH (15%), Bharat PetroResources (10%), PTTEP (8.5%) and Oil India Limited (4%).

State-run Saudi Arabian oil and gas company Saudi Aramco has outlined plans to boost the processing capacity of its global refining network to 10 mb/d by 2030. By then, about half of the company’s refining capacity could be located outside of Saudi Arabia. As of 2019, more than a third of the company’s oil is fed into its fully-owned and joint venture refining facilities.

Brazilian state-run power utility Eletrobras has concluded the divestment of its power distribution subsidiary Amazonas Distribuidora de Energia to a consortium of Oliveira Energia and Atem. The transaction was approved by all the concerned regulatory authorities and took the form of an auction. The Oliveira Energia-Atem consortium was the sole bidder.

The national energy plan to 2050 that the Brazilian Ministry for Mines and Energy will release by the end of 2019 will confirm Brazil’s commitment to resume the 1,245 MWe (1,405 MWe gross) Angra-3 nuclear reactor project in Angra dos Reis, in the state of Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) and the role of nuclear power in the country’s future electricity system. …

Swedish power producer Vattenfal in partnership with SaltXtechnology has started operations of a new 10 MWh power storage in salt pilot plant. The pilot project is attached to Vattenfall’s 160 MW Reuter CHP coal-fired facility in Spandau, Berlin.

Chinese state-run nuclear corporation China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) has installed the second of three steam generators at the sixth unit at the Tianwan nuclear power plant in the Jiangsu province of China. The Tianwan facility already includes the two 990 MW (1,060 MW gross) units, which were commissioned in 2007.

The European Investment Bank (EIB) has approved loans for an undisclosed amount of funding for the Fécamp and St-Nazaire offshore wind park projects, which will be built offshore France. The EIB reckons that offshore wind energy will support EU and national targets for renewable electricity generation, and will contribute to the security of power supply and environmental objectives. …