Fuels

Greece and the European Union have reached a "preliminary deal" on the coal-fired plants the country will sell to comply with an EU court ruling, Greek Energy Minister George Stathakis said on Monday.

Greece and the European Union are expected to wrap up talks on which coal-fired plants the country will put up for sale in line with an EU court ruling this month, Greek Energy Minister Giorgos Stathakis has said.

Twenty countries and two U.S. states have joined an international alliance to phase out coal from power generation before 2030, environment ministers said on Nov. 16.

The total reported economic losses caused by weather- and climate-related extremes in the 33 EEA member countries between 1980 and 2016 amounted to more than €450bn, according to a recent study released by the European Environment Agency.

Biofuels in the EU are deeply intertwined with global food and feed markets. As the EU discusses its future biofuels policy, their contribution to the bloc’s animal feed supply and impact on food prices have emerged as major battlegrounds between supporters and critics.

The United States is set to start shipping coal to Ukraine for the first time under a "historic" deal announced on July 31 that should help the crisis-hit nation end reliance on Russia.

The agreement inked earlier this month by U.S. firm Xcoal Energy & Resources and Ukraine's state-owned energy firm Centrenergo will see some 700,000 tons of coal delivered by the end of the year.

Massive German energy firm EON on May 9 reported a tough first quarter but confirmed forecasts for the full year, hoping to rebuild in 2017 after grave losses last year.

The Essen-based group reported adjusted net profits of 525 million euros ($573 million) between January and March, 20 percent lower than the first quarter of 2016.

Unofficial market figures show that demand for gasoline in the first couple of months this year fell 4 percent on an annual basis, pointing to a market contraction for the first quarter of the year that may even exceed the forecast 1.7 percent.

Illegal trade in gas is soaring in Greece due to the increase in taxation and the absence of inspections, leading to total annual state losses in excess of 20 million euros.

Attica is not the only Greek region where drivers frequently get less gasoline at the pump than the amounts they pay for.

A December survey by the National Technical University of Athens conducted in Thessaloniki, Patra and Volos showed that one in nine gas stations (11 percent) pumped up to 10 percent less fuel into their customers' vehicles than what they paid for.