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French utility Engie has delayed the restart of its Tihange-2 and 3 nuclear reactors (Belgium) by several months following the discovery of problems with their concrete structures. The restart of Tihange-2 has been postponed until 31 May 2019 from the end of October 2018, while the ongoing stoppage at Tihange-3 has been extended until 1 March 2019 from end of September 2018. Engie will carry out inspections and analysis of the structures and later repair them.

Engie operates seven nuclear reactors in Belgium, of which four in Doel and three in Tihange. In September 2018, Engie also delayed the restart of its 443 MWe Doel-1 and Doel-2 nuclear reactors (Belgium) by two months until December 2018. They were slated to restart in October 2018, following long maintenance stops which began in April-May 2018 but the company decided to extend the maintenance outage.

Spanish financial institution CaixaBank will sell its 9.36% interest in the Spanish oil and gas company Repsol through a disposal programme and two existing equity swaps for 1.91% and 2.7%. The market value of the stake is currently valued at more than €2.5bn. CaixaBank divested the stake because it is facing pressure from regulators and has to comply with harsher solvency requirement.

25 energy ministers of the European Union have signed a non-binding agreement to back up efforts to increase the use of hydrogen for transport and power generation purposes as an alternative to fossil fuels to cut the EU’s CO2 emissions by 40% by 2030. Existing gas grids could be used to distribute hydrogen produced with renewable energy sources.

The Moroccan Court of Cassation has confirmed the liquidation of the country’s only refinery, currently operated by the project company (Société Anonyme Marocaine et Italienne de Raffinage) (SAMIR), based in Mohammedia, in Morocco. SAMIR’s majority shareholder is Corral Petroleum Holdings, owned by the Saudi billionaire Mohammed Al-Amoudi.

The Finnish government has given the go-ahead for a 20-year extension to the operating licences of Teollisuuden Voima Oyj’s (TVO’s) Olkiluoto-1 and Olkiluoto-2 nuclear units.. Both units have a capacity of 890 MWe each and are now licensed to operate until the end of 2038. The new operating license will replace the current licenses that were issued in 1998. Besides,…

The current Nepalese government has reversed its predecessor’s decision and will restore a previous agreement with the state-owned Chinese company China Gezhouba Group Corp. (CGGC) to develop the 1,200 MW Budhi Gandaki hydropower project.

According to China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC), the Sanmen-1 AP1000 nuclear reactor project being built in the Zhejiang province of China has completed 168 hours of full power continuous operation and is now deemed to enter commercial operation. A second reactor at the Sanmen site achieved hot testing phase in February 2018 and should be commissioned by the end of the year.