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Danish energy group Ørsted has agreed to sell its distribution and retail businesses to the Danish group SEAS-NVE. The transaction will involve DKK21.3bn (€2.85bn) and is expected to be completed before mid-2020. The trade includes Ørsted’s Radius, which supplies electricity to 1 million homes and businesses in the Copenhagen area, North Zealand and parts of Central Zealand via an electricity network of approximately 19,000 km. It also includes Ørsted’s private customers business (717,000 electricity customers and 105,000 gas customers) and outdoor lighting operation and maintenance business.

The sale is part of Ørsted’s plan to raise funding for its capital expenditure plan for 2025 worth DKK200bn (€27bn). The transaction is subject to the approval of the competition authorities and the Danish Energy Agency, which is expected before the end of the first half of 2020.

SEAS-NV holds a 9.54% stake in Ørsted and plans to reduce its ownership interest to approximately 5% over the next 12 months.

Cyprus has signed an exploration deal with Total and Eni concerning block 7 of  its exclusive economic zone (EEZ). Additionally, Total will obtain from ENI 20% of blocks 2 and 9.30% of block 3, and 40% of block 8, while Korea’s Koga retains 20% in each. The two companies are expected to drill six wells in their blocks over the next two years. …

The New South Wales (NSW) Independent Planning Commission has rejected the Bylong coal mining project by Korea Electric Power Corp in (KEPCO) in the Bylong Valley, 55 km northeast of Mudgee (Australia). The project proposed the establishment of an open cut and underground coal mine with a 6.5 Mt/year estimated output for 25-years (124 Mt in total). …

Vietnam has decided to scrap its 5% import tax on crude oil prior to 1 November 2019, due to a shortage of domestic crude. The country becomes reliant on imported crude for its refineries as China’s increasingly assertive stance in the region hampers offshore exploration. …

The government of South Africa is working on a law proposed by the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) that will ensure it a 10% ownership free stake on oil and gas exploration projects and 10% of production. The draft law also determines that a 10% stake on projects should be given to black investors and that the government saves the right on some explo…

Fotowatio Renewable Ventures (FRV) has secured financing for the 296 MW Potrero Solar solar PV power plant in Lagos de Moreno, in the state of Jalisco, Mexico. In March 2019, FRV reached financial close on the project with the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and Banco Nacional de Comercio Exterior (Bancomext). …

Brooge Petroleum & Gas Investment (BPGIC) and Sahara Energy Resources DMCC have selected SENER group (Spain) and Audex (Singapore) to build the 250,000 bbl/d Fujairah refinery in the UAE. The first phase of the project will be compleated before mid-2020.

Equinor,  AkerBP and Wellesley Petroleum have discovered gas reserves at the Ørn exploration well 12 km south-west of the Marulk field in the Norwegian Sea. Recoverable resources are at 43-76 mcm (50–88 Mboe) of natural gas. The gas is placed at the Exploration well 6507/2-5 S in production licence (PL) 942. …