Benjamin Mallet News

As Europe turns to renewable sources to diversify energy supplies away from Russian oil and gas, a peaceful marine scene conceals a billion-dollar security headache.Rising above the Baltic Sea less than 10 km (6 miles) off the coast of Denmark, 161 wind turbines spin slowly. They supply around 4% of the country's power, sent to shore through two cable connections.The turbines have no barriers or surveillance."Our technicians are only here until five o'clock in the afternoon, then they go home…

A new LNG floating storage regasification unit (FSRU) arrived in western France on Monday morning, a TotalEnergies' spokesperson said, as activist group Greenpeace tried to prevent it from entering port.Demand for liquefied natural gas (LNG) in Europe has grown in the wake of the war in Ukraine, with France relying on its four LNG terminals to replace Russian gas imports and help supply neighbors like Germany.The Cape Ann FSRU arrived at Le Havre port on Monday morning, LSEG ship tracking data showed.However, environmental group Greenpeace blocked the tanker's course in protest at what they sa

Rhine river traffic came to a standstill in some places on Wednesday due to strikes against French government plans to raise the pension age, with sections of the river in France, Germany and Switzerland affected, a CGT union representative and Germany's Waterways and Shipping Administration (WSA) said.Around 1.28 million people in France had participated in a sixth day of protests on Tuesday against a draft law that would see the pension age delayed by two years to 64.A blockade at Strasbourg lock on the Rhine was cleared by police and an evacuation of the blockades at the Marckolsheim lock…

The possible exit of Norway's sovereign wealth fund from the capital of French oil and gas major Total will take place over time and is thus unlikely to hurt Total's stock price, Chief Executive Officer Patrick Pouyanne said on Friday. "I can tell you that, obviously, the managers of the fund who we know very well...are not going to sell in a manner that would lead to a stock-price collapse," Pouyanne told shareholders during an annual gathering in Paris. Acccording to Thomson Reuters data, Norges Bank Investment Management - owns around 1.6 perent of Total's capital.

Germany's Siemens and Japan's Mitsubishi Heavy Industries presented a joint offer to France's Alstom on Monday that included 7 billion euros ($9.5 billion) in cash, challenging a bid by General Electric. Under the deal, Siemens offered to buy Alstom's gas turbines business for 3.9 billion euros in cash, and MHI to buy stakes in Alstom power assets including hydroelectric power equipment and grid, to be held in separate joint ventures. MHI would inject 3.1 billion euros in cash into Alstom and offer to take a stake of up to 10 percent in the French firm from shareholder Bouygues. "Alstom would remain an independent energy and transport player with a strong brand," Siemens Chief Executive Joe Kaeser said. Alstom said it would review the proposal in the coming days.

France hopes to boost its nuclear industry with a biennial exhibition modeled on the Paris Air Show, although it does not expect reactor orders to pile up as fast as airplane contracts. To be held in the same Le Bourget venue as the airshow, the October 14-16 World Nuclear Exhibition (WNE) expects some 7,000 visitors will visit stands representing nearly 500 French and foreign nuclear industry companies, the organisers said on Thursday. "Obviously, it would be an illusion to expect to sign as many nuclear reactor contracts there as the airline industry does at the airshow," WNE chief Gerard Kottmann told reporters. At the 2013 Paris Air Show…

Germany's Siemens wrote to Alstom on Tuesday asking for more information ahead of a likely offer for the French company's power business, French Economy Minister Arnaud Montebourg said. Alstom is already in talks with U.S. conglomerate General Electric over a 12.35 billion euro ($16.9 billion) bid for its power arm, which it is due to review by June 2. Under pressure from the French government, however, it has opened its books to Siemens as well. Sources have told Reuters that Siemens is working on a formal offer to swap part of its rail business plus cash in exchange for Alstom's power business, which could come as early as this week.

The board of Alstom accepted General Electric's 10 billion euro ($13.82 billion) bid for its energy unit on Tuesday, several sources familiar with the situation told Reuters. Sources said GE is not in exclusive talks with Alstom. The French transport-to-turbines group is also set to receive an offer from its much larger German competitor Siemens AG , which said it had sent a letter to Alstom after its managing and supervisory boards had decided to make an offer. Alstom is expected to make a statement about the two offers early on Wednesday, before its shares, suspended since late last week, resume trading. The rival bids have triggered a fierce national debate about the fate of power turbine and train manufacturing in France - both integral to the country's engineering pedigree.

General Electric is in talks with Alstom to take over its global power business and a deal could be announced in the coming days, two sources familiar with the matter said on Friday. No price tag was given for the deal, which could be announced in the coming days, according to the sources. The power business accounts for nearly three quarters of Alstom's 20.3 billion euro revenue. One of the sources said the approach was initiated by Alstom and that its top shareholder Bouygues - which has a 29 percent stake - backed the proposed deal. Alstom declined to comment. Bouygues could not immediately be reached for comment. Reporting by Matthieu Protard, Benjamin Mallet; and Natalie Huet