Shell is gearing up to transform its largest German oil refinery, Rheinland, turning the crude-centric Wesseling site into a base-oil powerhouse. The overhaul, set to kick off next quarter, signals a major shift as Shell pivots from conventional oil refining toward high-grade lubricants. Goodbye crude processing at Wesseling—by 2025, that …
Read More »Germany Approves $20.5 Billion Hydrogen Push
Germany’s government has approved plans for the development of a hydrogen network that would cost 19 billion euros, equivalent to $20.5 billion. The plan would include converting natural gas pipelines into infrastructure for the transportation of hydrogen, building new pipelines as well, and connecting them all with big industrial energy …
Read More »BMW Says EU Ban on Gasoline Cars from 2035 is “no Longer Realistic”
Germany’s car manufacturing giant BMW is warning that an EU ban on the sale of gasoline and diesel cars from 2035 is “no longer realistic” amid slow EV sales as the European auto industry will see a “massive shrinking” with such a ban. European carmakers are already struggling with their …
Read More »Germany Undecided on Whether to Support EU Tariffs on Chinese EVs
Germany hasn’t decided yet if it would support the EU’s plans to officially introduce tariffs on electric vehicles imported from China, the chief economic adviser of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz told Bloomberg TV on Tuesday. The EU earlier this year imposed provisional tariffs of up to 36% on EVs imported …
Read More »Germany Wants more Kazakh Oil
Germany, the European Union’s biggest economy, is also the most vocal advocate of a transition away from oil and gas. Despite this policy, Germany is one of the biggest importers of liquefied natural gas. Now, it also wants to significantly boost its crude oil imports—from Kazakhstan. Media reported this week …
Read More »Germany Calls on EU to Extend Transition Period for Green Hydrogen Rules
Germany is seeking an EU delay to some of the rules on green hydrogen production to allow the industry to take off and produce clean hydrogen at lower costs, Germany’s Economy Minister Robert Habeck wrote this week in a letter to EU Energy Commissioner Kadri Simson seen by Bloomberg. The …
Read More »Germany Says China’s Emission Reductions are Crucial for Global Goals
The pace at which China will reduce its greenhouse gas emissions will be critical to reaching the global targets to fight climate change, Germany’s climate envoy has said. “What China decides to do in its NDC is probably the most important thing to keeping that 1.5-degree target in sight,” Jennifer …
Read More »Germany Set to Extend Trusteeship of Local Rosneft Assets
Germany expects to extend for another six months its trusteeship over the German assets of Rosneft while Qatar and the Russian oil giant are reportedly in talks over a sale to the gas-rich Gulf nation, sources with knowledge of the situation told Reuters on Monday. Schwedt is the fourth-largest refinery …
Read More »German Politician Looks to Revive Russian Oil Imports
Sara Wagenknecht, founder of Germany’s ultra-left party BSW, has announced plans to lift the embargo on Russian oil if her party participates in the Brandenburg state government. Wagenknecht argues that resuming the supply of Russian oil to the Schwedt refinery would be more efficient and economical than the current situation, …
Read More »Germany’s EV Sales Sink 37% as Subsidies End
The biggest European car market, Germany, saw the sales of electric vehicles plummet by 36.8% in July from a year earlier, as EV sales are softening worldwide and as Berlin ended subsidies at the end of 2023. New car registrations of battery vehicle vehicles (BEVs) in Germany slumped to 30,762 …
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