The latest Market Talks covering Energy and Utilities. Published exclusively on Dow Jones Newswires at 4:20 ET, 12:20 ET and 16:50 ET.

0618 GMT - TotalEnergies' buyback cut signals tougher market conditions that should drive it to reduce near-term investment, RBC analysts write. The French energy group late Wednesday said it planned a fourth-quarter share buyback to $1.5 billion, down from its recent quarterly rate of $2 billion. The company is likely to announce a reduction in organic capital expenditure for 2026 to $16 billion-$17 billion from about $18 billion previously presented at its Sept. 29 annual strategy update, RBC says. The analysts expect TotalEnergies to announce an option of further trimming spending as a protective strategy during future downturns. Shares rose 2.1% Wednesday to close at 53.50 euros and little changed year-to-date. (william.gray@wsj.com)

0246 GMT - Pertamina Geothermal Energy is likely a prime proxy for bets on geothermal energy, Bahana Sekuritas' Jeremy Mikael says in a research report. The Indonesian renewable energy company offers baseload electricity generation, making it more reliable compared to other renewable sources, the analyst says. Also, the company's valuation is more reasonable than that of other listed geothermal peers in Indonesia, reinforcing a scarcity value. The Indonesian company is on track to add 1.1GW over next decade with planned capacity additions totaling 280MW for 2027-2028, while its total capital expenditure for 2025-2034 is expected to reach $4.3 billon. The brokerage initiates coverage of the stock with a buy rating and a target price of IDR1,700.00. Shares are 0.7% lower at IDR1,370.00. (ronnie.harui@wsj.com)

0118 GMT - Infratil's CDC data-centers business just took a big step toward derisking a target of doubling Ebitda across FY 2025-2027, Forsyth Barr says. CDC has signed an additional 100MW of contracts. This means it now has 95% of FY 2027 revenue contracted. "We increase our FY 2027 Ebitda estimate 7% due to this higher contracting, and are now in line with its A$660 million target," analyst Ben Crozier says. The contracts were signed just in time, according to Forsyth Barr. To achieve the Ebitda target, CDC needs most of its FY 2027 contracts to start generating revenue early in the year. Infratil's FY 2027 period starts in six months, and Forsyth Barr says the time from contract signing to revenue generating appears to sit at around 3-6 months. (david.winning@wsj.com; @dwinningWSJ)

2259 GMT [Dow Jones]--Amplitude Energy's A$150 million capital raising looks sensible to Bell Potter. That's because Amplitude's capex commitments will rise after management expanded a drilling program to support its East Coast Supply Project and signaled the potential restart of the Patricia Baleen field in southeastern Australia. Bell Potter says drilling a fourth well, specifically to target the Nestor deposit, could take ECSP capex to A$485 million-A$580 million. "We see the Nestor option further de-risking the ECSP through a portfolio effect," analyst Stuart Howe says. Bell Potter retains a buy call on Amplitude, and trims its price target by 3.4% to A$0.28/Share. Amplitude ended Wednesday at A$0.235. (david.winning@wsj.com)

1900 GMT - Crude futures post back-to-back gains amid rising tensions over Russia, with continuing Ukrainian attacks on Russian oil infrastructure raising concerns about supply. "The Russian bid continues to support crude oil prices," Mizuho's Robert Yawger says in a note. On the fundamental side, prices got additional support from the EIA's report of a 607,000 barrel decline in U.S. crude stocks, adding to the previous week's big drawdown even as imports rose and exports were lower. U.S. gasoline and diesel stocks also fell. WTI and Brent settle up 2.5% at$64.99 and $69.31 a barrel, respectively. (anthony.harrup@wsj.com)

1745 GMT - Energy companies will likely remain focused on returning capital to investors next year even as they seek to expand their assets, according to Wood Mackenzie. "Oil-and-gas companies are caught between competing pressures as they plan for 2026. Near-term price downside risks clash with the need to extend hydrocarbon portfolios," Tom Ellacott, senior vice president for corporate research at the energy-focused consulting firm, says in a report. "Meanwhile, shareholder return of capital and balance sheet discipline will constrain reinvestment rates." Ventures aimed at reducing carbon emissions are one area in which energy companies look to trim spending, Wood Mackenzie says. "Most large international oil companies and national oil companies will converge on allocating 10-20% of overall budgets to low-carbon initiatives," it says. "Capital allocation will swing back towards upstream investments." (luis.garcia@wsj.com; @lhvgarcia)

1348 GMT - Oil futures are higher on continued unease about Russian supplies, while the market looks to U.S. inventory data from the EIA. The API yesterday reported a 3.8 million decline in crude stocks, analysts note. Analysts in a WSJ survey predict a 300,000 barrel drop in crude inventories following the previous week's unexpectedly large 9.3 million barrel draw. EIA data are scheduled for release at 10:30 a.m. ET. WTI is up 1.5% at $64.37 a barrel, and Brent rises 1.4% to $68.59. (anthony.harrup@wsj.com)

0846 GMT - Seatrium's planned sale of its U.S. shipbuilding facility in Texas is likely a good move, given the labor shortage and cost challenges that it's faced in recent years, say its bulls at CGS International. The S$65 million sale is likely to result in gains of S$26 million, progressively recognized, say analysts Lim Siew Khee and Meghana Kande in a note. The offshore and marine company is planning to deliver two legacy projects by end-2025, which could allow it to trim provisions for onerous contracts and reduce operating expenses by S$20 million next year. CGS International maintains an add rating and S$2.80 target price, noting that Seatrium is on track for core-profit turnaround. Shares are 0.8% lower at S$2.41. (megan.cheah@wsj.com)

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

September 25, 2025 04:20 ET (08:20 GMT)

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