Anglo-Dutch energy giant Royal Dutch Shell will take a vast second-quarter charge of up to $22 billion due to coronavirus and collapsing oil prices, it announced today quoted by AFP.

British energy group BP, hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic slashing demand for oil, announced Monday the sale of its petrochemical business to rival Ineos for $5.0 billion (€4.4 billion).

France's oldest nuclear power plant will shut down on Tuesday after four decades in operation, to the delight of environmental activists who have long warned of contamination risks, but stoking worry for the local economy. Yet, France remains the world's biggest consumer of nuclear energy.

The world could reach “peak oil” sooner than expected and that may be a problem for Europe. The moment global oil production reaches its highest point was expected to be around 2030, but Norwegian researchers from the Rystad Energy consultancy say it could occur in 2027 or 2028. As a result, the EU could suffer an oil shortage within a decade, with supply drying up faster than the demand for fossil fuels, according to climate think tank The Shift Project.

Energy ministers from EU members Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and from Switzerland on Monday urged the European Commission to set targets for renewable hydrogen to 2030 and increase financial support for the technology. The ministers took part in a video conference of the Pentalateral energy forum.

Oil tankers that were sailing toward Venezuela have turned around and others have left the country’s waters as the United States considers blacklisting dozens of ships for transporting Venezuelan oil, according to shipping data and industry sources.

OPEC and its partners concluded their meeting on Saturday afternoon, announcing that it would extend its current production cut deal.

OPEC and its allies led by Russia meet on Saturday to discuss extending record oil production cuts and to approve a new approach that aims to force laggards such as Iraq and Nigeria to comply better with the existing curbs.

OPEC leader Saudi Arabia and non-OPEC Russia have agreed a preliminary deal to extend existing record oil output cuts by one month while raising pressure on countries with poor compliance to deepen their cuts, OPEC+ sources told Reuters.

Gazprom Export, the exporting arm of Russian gas giant Gazprom on Monday said it had signed a long-term gas supply contract with Greek company Mytilineos.