East Asia

Calculations based on data from the industry showed that Russia's rail-exports of liquefied petrol gas (LPG), which were a result of European sanctions, fell by 24% in January and February compared to last year, reaching 451,000 metric tonnes. The European Union imposed sanctions on Russian LPG due to the conflict in Ukraine on December 20, 2018. Poland, one Russia's biggest LPG importers, proposed the restrictions last year. LPG (or propane and butane) is used primarily as a fuel for cars and heating, and also to make other petrochemicals. The majority of Russia's LPG exports are shipped by rail, with the...

Bloomberg News reported that China had instructed state-owned companies to stop new deals with businesses connected to Hong Kong billionaire Li Kashing and his family following his plan to sell Panama's two ports to a BlackRock led consortium. CK Hutchison is the U.S.-based telecom-to-retail company owned by Li. The highly-politicised deal between the two companies has caught China in its crosshairs. This month, the Hong Kong-based firm agreed to sell the majority of its global port business, which includes assets located near the strategically significant Panama Canal. The deal would net the company more than $19 Billion in cash. Bloomberg,...

Representatives of the fossil fuel and agricultural industries are expected to criticize Trump's administration's plans to impose large fees on China-linked vessels entering U.S. port during a Washington hearing on Wednesday. They argue that the move will impede their ability to export anything from coal to soy beans. Proposed fees for China-built ships could reach $3 million per port call in the U.S. The Trump administration claims that the fees would reduce China's military and commercial dominance in the high seas, and encourage a revival of U.S. shipbuilding. However, many other U.S. businesses, including miners and farmers, are concerned the...

Industry executives testified at the U.S. trade representative hearings that President Donald Trump's plans to revive the U.S. Shipbuilding Industry are likely to fail because they rely on proposed fees for China-linked ships, which will harm domestic ship operators, ports, exporters, and jobs. The proposed fees could reach $3 million for each port visit in the United States. The Trump administration claims that the fees will curb China's increasing commercial and military dominance in the high seas, and promote vessels built domestically. U.S. Steelworker Unions and U.S. Steel Producers support the effort. They say it will boost their industry. The...

Three sources familiar with the matter confirmed that Marex Group had acquired the warehousing company Edgemere Terminals. The company did not have enough money to comply with the new capital adequacy regulations of the London Metal Exchange. Last week, the LME sent an email to its members to inform them that Edgemere Terminals has moved to 155 Bishopsgate in London where Marex, a commodities broker and financial service firm, is located. Edgemere declined to comment. Edgemere has been approved by the LME. Last year, the LME raised its capital adequacy requirement to five million pounds ($6.46million) from the previous one...

Industry executives will tell U.S. trade representatives at hearings held this week that President Donald Trump's plans to revive the U.S. Shipbuilding Industry are likely to fail because they rely on proposed fees for China-linked vessels, which will harm domestic ship operators and port facilities. They will argue that the plan will hurt U.S. shipping operators because it would restrict the number of vessels they can use to avoid fees and would concentrate ship traffic in America's largest ports, while neglecting the smaller ones. Edward Gonzalez, CEO Seaboard Marine in Florida, wrote that any proposal to support U.S. Shipbuilding should...

Richard Mansell won the Singapore Classic Sunday with a birdie on the final hole. This was his first DP World Tour win on his 104th try. He beat Keita Nagajima by just one stroke. The Englishman Mansell shot a six-under-66 in the final round of the tournament to finish 16 under in a tight competition. Adrien Saddier from France and England's Tom McKibbin finished two strokes back to share third place. When asked about the long wait for his title, Mansell responded with emotion: "God I wish it came earlier." It's a great feeling. It makes all those near misses,...

The shares of CK Hutchison dropped on Friday, after the conglomerate that combines retail and telecoms reported a weaker earnings performance and lower dividends. It also warned about a volatile operating environment. Last year, the group's underlying profit, which has to deal with Beijing's displeasure over the sale its ports business, fell 11% from HK$20,8 billion ($2.7 billion), falling short of expectations. The final dividend for 2023 was reduced to HK$1.514 from HK$1.775 per share. Early Hong Kong trading saw shares of the company drop by 1.9%. The company agreed to sell assets in the vicinity of the strategically significant...

China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation will invest $1.4billion via a 30 year concession to upgrade Tanzania-Zambia Railway, said the line's operator on Thursday. The competition for Africa's vital minerals is heating up. TAZARA is the initials of the railway that is used to identify it as a major route for exporting copper from central Africa. It offers a way around South Africa's logistical bottlenecks which have caused a slowdown in copper and cobalt. In a press release, Bruno Ching'andu said that the decision to grant the concession was based on an evaluation of TAZARA’s challenges throughout the years. This required...

CK Hutchison (a Hong Kong-based conglomerate) agreed to sell a large part of its $22.8 billion global ports business, which includes assets located near the strategically significant Panama Canal, to a BlackRock-led group this month. Media reports said that Beijing was not happy with the deal, and was reviewing its security and antitrust aspects. CK Hutchison, owned by billionaire Li Kashing and founded in Hong Kong and listed there, has a global presence with businesses ranging from ports to telecommunication. Take a look at the company's origins and its current global standing: ORIGINS Li Ka-shing founded Cheung Kong Industries at...

Donald Trump's plan for a revival of U.S. shipbuilding by charging massive fees to China-linked ships visiting American ports has caused U.S. inventories to soar and is fueling uncertainty in an already troubled agricultural market as exporters struggle to locate ships to ship goods overseas. Trump is working on an executive order which would use funding from the U.S. trade representative proposal to levy up to $1.5million in fines on ships from China or vessels that are part of fleets with ships from China. These potential port fees have restricted the availability of ships required to move agricultural, energy, mining...

Industry sources report that sales of marine fuel are slowing down at major refuelling stations around the world at the beginning of the year, as the shipping industry struggles with geopolitical uncertainty and the impact of rising tariffs on the global trade. Official data revealed that marine fuel sales in the first two month of 2025 at the world's No.1 and 3 refuelling hubs - Singapore and Fujairah, both in the United Arab Emirates - totaled 9.78 million metric tonnes (62.09 millions barrels), down 9% compared to the same period last year. Singapore's marine fuel sales in February hit a...

Calculations based on three sources show that Russia's daily oil output from its western ports is set to increase by 100,000 barrels a day in April compared to March, as seasonal refinery maintenance will outweigh the production cuts under an OPEC+ deal. Exports and transits of Urals, Kazakh KEBCO, and Siberian Light Oil from Primorsk and Novorossiisk, as well as Ust-Luga, will rise by 5% this April in comparison to March. Sources said that the improved weather conditions and increased availability of tankers will both contribute to the increase in shipments. The United States placed sanctions in January on 183...

Oil Minister Sahabi Omarou announced that the Niger had expelled three Chinese oil executives over a dispute regarding disparities in salaries between expatriate employees and local workers who were paid less. Last week, it was reported that the Niger junta ordered three Chinese oil officials to leave within 48-hours. The officials included directors from the West African Oil Pipeline Company, the China National Petroleum Corporation and the joint venture SORAZ. Oumarou, a journalist on Wednesday, said: "We're not satisfied with how wealth is divided between the Niger state and its partner." He said that the average salary for a Chinese...

Two sources familiar with this decision said on Friday that the Niger junta had ordered three Chinese oil officials to leave the country. This is the latest step taken by regional military governments in an effort to gain greater control over their resources. Sources said that the request for the departure from Niger of the directors of China National Petroleum Corporation, West African Oil Pipeline Company and joint venture SORAZ oil refinery was made Wednesday. One source close to government confirmed that the Chinese officials had left the country on Friday. Another source close to the companies involved said that...

According to data provided by pipeline company KazTransOil, the number of metric tons exported in February, up from January, was 97,300 (roughly 28,000 barrels a day). Kazakhstan relies heavily on Caspian Pipeline Consortium, one of the largest pipelines in the world that crosses Russia and reaches the Black Sea port Novorossiisk. The BTC pipeline is the main alternative route for the CPC. It originates from Azerbaijan, on the other side of the Caspian Sea to Kazakhstan. To get Kazakh oil into Baku, either tanker shipments must be made across the Caspian Sea or a transcaspian pipeline needs to be built....

Multiple trade sources reported that Chinese state oil companies have shied away from Russian crude oil in the past month. Two importers stopped purchases, while two others reduced volumes to assess compliance after recent U.S. Sanctions on Moscow. The former Biden administration's January 10 sanctions against Russian oil producers Gazprom and Surgutneft, as well as insurance companies and over 100 vessels in an effort to reduce Moscow's oil revenues led to a sharp drop in Russian oil sales to India and China. Sources with knowledge of the situation said that while Russian shipments have recovered after more non-sanctioned tanks joined...

The proposed lithium mine could provide batteries for thousands of electric cars Critics say that the job opportunities promised by mining companies are too limited. My proposal is moving through the approval process By Natalie Donback He hauled them to his farm near Caceres, where they were divided into baskets and then pressed into oil. While Palomo was working, his six-year-old son Olmo chased their two sheep dogs. Palomo stated, "I would like my son to have the opportunity to continue to enjoy our land as he grows older." The valley is located on top of Europe's second-largest hard rock...

Some shipping companies move their operations discreetly out of Hong Kong, and remove vessels from its registry. Some shipping companies are making contingency planning to do this. Six shipping executives have said that these low-profile actions are motivated by a fear that their vessels could be seized by Chinese authorities, or face U.S. sanction in the event of a clash between Beijing and Washington. The people said that the growing U.S. scrutiny over the importance of China’s commercial fleet to a potential military conflict, such as one over Taiwan, and Beijing's emphasis of Hong Kong's role in serving Chinese interests...

After reopening domestic refineries after maintenance, oil loadings in Russia's west ports are expected to drop compared to February. However, other plants that were hit by drones may spoil this expectation. Two market sources stated that the exports and transits of Urals, KEBCO, and Siberian Light grades from Primorsk and Novorossiisk in March would be around 1.8-1.85 millions barrels per day. Calculations show that this is a drop of 8% per day compared with the revised lifting plans for Feburary. Calculations based on data provided by LSEG and other sources indicated that Russia's total offline primary crude oil refining capability...

A government spokesperson announced on Tuesday that Uganda would not start oil production in this year. This is a failure to meet a longstanding goal of beginning crude extraction from the western fields. Patricia Litho said, "Due unforeseen challenges we are not able to meet the target above," a spokesperson from the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development. She didn't give any reason why the country failed to reach the 2025 goal and stated that a new start date for production has yet to be announced. Uganda discovered commercial petroleum reserves in the Albertine Rift basin near its border to...

Thailand's government announced on Tuesday that it would suspend electricity to certain border areas with Myanmar to combat scam centres. This comes amid increasing pressure against illegal compounds which have captured a large number of people from different nationalities. The United Nations claims that hundreds of thousands have been forced into scam centres, illegal online operations, and other criminal activities across Southeast Asia by criminal gangs. This includes along the Thai-Myanmar Border. According to a U.N. 2023 report, the operations are generating billions of dollars each year. Phumtham Wechayachai, Deputy prime minister of Thailand, told reporters that the authorities would...

Some U.S. officials and lawmakers are citing a nearly 50-year-old treaty signed between the United States of America and Panama as a way to justify Trump's threat to take back the Panama Canal, provided they can prove that the waterway's operations are threatened. Some, however, believe that obstacles would arise if the U.S. tried to use the 1997 Panama Canal Neutrality Treaty - which went into effect in 1999 - to claim the canal. The treaty guarantees the canal will remain neutral and available to ships from any country. Since 1999, the Panama Canal Authority has controlled the 82-km waterway....

Three officials with knowledge of the situation say that Japan may offer support for a $44billion gas pipeline in Alaska to appease U.S. president Donald Trump and avoid potential trade friction. Sources said that officials in Tokyo believe Trump will bring up the project, which is a key part of the U.S. security and prosperity, at his first meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru ishiba in Washington, as early as next week. The overall cost of gas is causing Japan to doubt the viability the 800-mile pipeline that would link fields in Alaska to a southern port where the gas...