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The Federal government of Germany has approved the key points of the structural funding programme for coal mining regions. The government will make available a €40bn financial support for the regions affected by the coal exit by 2038, to ensure the further development of the former lignite mining areas in the Lausitz region (accross Brandenburg and Saxony), west of Cologne in North Rhine-Westphalia and around Leipzig (Saxony), Halle and Helmstedt (Saxony-Anhalt).

Of these €40bn, German states (Länder) will receive up to €14bn for significant regional investments and the remaining €26bn will be invested by the Federal government to increase the attractiveness of the coal mining regions (including by developing national transport infrastructure or by establishing national research institutions or authorities in the affected regions).

In 2007, Germany decided to phase out aid to black coal mines by 2018 and Germany decommissioned the Bottrop mine, its last bituminous coal mine at the end of December 2018. The country has decided to stop coal-fired power generation by 2038 at the latest and approved €40bn in aid to coal-mining regions affected by the phase out.

Brazil’s state-run oil and gas company Petrobras has approved the sale of an additional stake in its fuel distribution subsidiary BR Distribuidora, that will be carried out through a secondary public offering (follow-on). The group, which currently owns 71.25% in the company, plans to reduce its interest to less than 50%. …

Mexican state-owned oil company Pemex has unveiled its 2019-2024 strategy. The group aims to increase oil and gas exploration and to accelerate the development of new discoveries, in order to reverse its declining crude oil production (from 2,788 kb/d in 2014 to 2,071 kb/d in 2018) and reach 2,480 kb/d on average in 2024 and 2,654 kb/d at the end of 2024. …

The newly-elected government of Alberta, one of the main crude oil producing provinces of Canada, has introduced a bill to repeal the provincial carbon tax that was approved by the previous Alberta government, a measure that should provide a CAD1.4bn (US$1bn) tax relief.

The government of Bulgaria has officially launched a call for expressions of interest for a strategic investor and/or acquisition of a minority shareholding and/or purchase of electricity for the 2,000 MW Belene nuclear power project in northern Bulgaria.

The African Development Bank (AfDB) has approved a US$129m financial support to the 130 MW Kandadji hydropower project in the Tillabery region of Niger. The dam project is led by the High Commission for the Development of the Niger Valley. It is expected to be developed over a 6-year period until 2025 and to generate around 630 GWh/year.

The World Bank, through the International Development Association (IDA), has approved a US$350m loan to fund Nigeria’s Rural Electrification Project, which aims to expand electricity access to rural communites and educational institutions (universities and teaching hospitals).

Bulgaria has officially started the construction of the 3 bcm/year Interconnection Greece-Bulgaria (IGB) gas pipeline project, that will stretch between Stara Zagora (Bulgaria) and Komotini (Greece) and will help diversify gas supplies in southeastern Europe. …