Energy, Utilities & Environment

Wenzhou – November 09, 2026 -- The 2026 China-Europe-Africa Green Energy Development Forum in Zhejiang, China, placed coordination on technical standards, certification, carbon markets and innovative financing at the center of renewable energy cooperation across the three regions.

CPAFFC and China-EU Association organize forum with CHINT foundation and StarTimes as co-organizers

The event ran under the theme "Deepen Green Partnerships, Build a Shared Zero-Carbon Future." The Commonweal Foundation of CHINT and StarTimes Group co-organized it with the China-EU Association and CPAFFC.

Discussions covered cross-regional industrial cooperation under the new global climate governance landscape, green finance for developing countries, technological innovation and digital transformation, and global green value chain development.

HOUSTON – November 09, 2026 -- Vaalco Energy has won government approval to move into the Second Exploration Phase at Block CI-705 offshore Côte d'Ivoire, committing to drill an exploration well by the end of 2028.

Vaalco completes First Exploration Phase work commitments at CI-705

The company finished the evaluation and interpretation of existing seismic and well data, which made up the First Exploration Phase. Vaalco, listed on the NYSE and the London Stock Exchange under the symbol EGY, said the results encouraged it to progress to the next phase.

Vaalco farmed into CI-705 in March 2025 and became operator with a 70% working interest.

Second phase requires seismic reprocessing, 25% relinquishment and a well by 2028

The Second Exploration Phase commitment has three elements:

ANTALYA – November 09, 2026 -- Sixteen standards bodies, international organizations, UN agencies and private sector coalitions opened the third Standards Pavilion at COP31 in Antalya, Türkiye, pushing International Standards as the delivery infrastructure for climate commitments.

The IEC, ISO and ULSE lead the group, joined by 13 other international partners. The Pavilion sits in the Blue Zone at stand D620.

COP31 shifts focus to implementation and the clean energy transition

The organizers frame the summit as a pivotal point in global climate negotiations, with emphasis on implementation rather than new pledges. They argue that standards make climate action accountable, measurable and verified.

CALGARY – – November 08, 2026 -- Strathcona Resources Ltd. agreed to acquire all outstanding shares of Greenfire Resources Ltd. in a transaction valued at approximately $2.7 billion to $2.9 billion, including Greenfire's roughly $550 million of net debt as of September 30, 2026. The combined company would hold over 3.0 billion barrels of proved plus probable reserves.

Greenfire shareholders choose between shares and a 39% cash premium

Greenfire holders can elect 0.25 Strathcona shares per Greenfire share, equal to $9.09 and a 15% premium to the November 6, 2026 close. The alternative is $11.00 in cash, a 39% premium to that close and 26% above the trailing 30-day volume-weighted average price. Neither option is subject to proration.

Depending on elections by non-WEF holders, Strathcona expects to issue 43 million to 60 million shares, or 17% to 22% of the pro forma business. Cash consideration could reach about $740 million.

Calgary – November 08, 2026 -- Strathcona Resources Ltd. (TSX: SCR) generated $286 million of free cash flow in the third quarter of 2026, used most of it to cut debt to about $1.7 billion, and raised its quarterly dividend 7% to $0.32 per share.

Production rises 6% to 123,486 boe/d while earnings hold flat

Third-quarter output was 123,486 boe/d, 99.7% liquids, up 6% from the second quarter. Operating earnings were $371 million ($1.73 per share), roughly flat quarter-over-quarter, as higher volumes offset lower oil prices. Free cash flow of $286 million ($1.34 per share) was also approximately flat.

Halle – November 07, 2026 -- Saxony-Anhalt needs about €160.3 million through 2037 to secure, make safe and decommission the former Teutschenthal salt mine, which now serves as an underground waste repository, according to a letter from the state's economy and finance ministries to the parliamentary finance committee, as reported by the Mitteldeutsche Zeitung.

Insolvency and failed investor search force the state to step in

The cost increase follows the insolvency of the operator, GTS Grube Teutschenthal Sicherungs GmbH. An investor search failed, so the state must take over responsibility for the mine through a substitute performance order (Ersatzvornahme). The state-owned Mitteldeutsche Sanierungs- und Entsorgungsgesellschaft (MDSE) is expected to become the new operator.

Cologne – November 07, 2026 -- North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) won 2.1 gigawatts of capacity, or 41 percent of the total awarded, in Germany's first tender for new gas-fired power plants. Even so, two leading energy economists question whether the state can end lignite-fired power in the Rhenish mining area in 2030 without risking supply security and higher prices.

Bundesnetzagentur awards NRW 2.1 GW, but plants arrive a year after the coal exit

The federal network regulator announced the results this week. The plants are due on the grid by 2031 at the latest, one year after the agreed lignite phase-out. Awards from a second bidding round are expected in the new year.

Vancouver – November 07, 2026 -- Century Lithium Corp. (TSXV: LCE) corrected the time reference for its Annual General Meeting on Wednesday, November 25, 2026, which will start at 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time, not the "Pacific Standard Time" stated in the meeting notice.

British Columbia's end of seasonal clock changes drives the correction

The Notice of Meeting and Management Information Circular, dated October 26, 2026, lists the start as 10:00 a.m. Pacific Standard Time. Century Lithium said British Columbia no longer follows seasonal time changes, so the meeting runs on Pacific Time.

The company gave conversions for investors in other cities: 12:00 p.m. (noon) Eastern Standard Time in Toronto and New York, and 9:00 a.m. PST in Seattle, San Francisco and Los Angeles.

Greenville, S.C. – November 06, 2026 -- Duke Energy and the Duke Energy Foundation are committing more than $500,000 to nearly 70 South Carolina organizations during the monthlong "Powering Plates. Nourishing Neighbors." campaign, which targets food insecurity affecting more than 865,000 residents, including 1 in 5 children.

Demand at community feeding programs often rises in colder months and over the holidays, according to the company. The foundation has provided more than $3.1 million to hunger-fighting organizations since 2021.

Campaign opens with events in Florence, Greenville and Sumter

On Nov. 4, volunteers in Florence packed and distributed 200 fresh-food boxes as My Brother's Keeper Shelter and FoodShare South Carolina announced a permanent FoodShare hub in the city.

LONDON – November 06, 2026 -- Current policies leave the world on course for 2.6°C of warming by 2100, according to new Energy Transitions Commission (ETC) analysis. More than 30 ETC members have used it to urge COP31 President Murat Kurum and President of Negotiations Chris Bowen to put clean electrification and hard-to-electrify sectors at the centre of the summit outcome.

The letter was published with the ETC briefing "Still vital, still possible" days before negotiators gather in Türkiye. Signatories include ETC Commissioners from Arup, Envision, Grantham Research Institute (LSE), Octopus Energy, Rothschild, Schneider Electric, Tata Steel and Vattenfall, alongside leaders from utilities, heavy industry, transport and finance.