South America

The state government reported that a tornado, accompanied by high winds and heavy rainfall, struck Parana in the south of Brazil, killing six. Rio Bonito do Iguacu, the town that was hardest hit, suffered multiple structural failures and roof collapses. The state's civil defence agency reported that more than half of the city area had been affected. The power lines and roads were damaged. The authorities reported that 437 people received treatment for injuries, and approximately 1,000 were forced to relocate. Guarapuava, a nearby city, was also affected. According to the Parana Meteorology and Environmental Monitoring System the winds of...

The differentials between Russian Urals and other oil products remained stable on Friday despite low trading activity. Sellers and buyers were not rushing to begin December trading due to the uncertain political climate. The Suez Canal has seen two tankers with around 1.5 million barrels each of Russian Urals crude drop anchor in the sea. This is an indication of the difficulties Moscow faces selling oil following the tightening of Western sanctions last month. The supply problems are expected to worsen next week, as the deadline of November 21 for Rosneft's and Lukoil's transactions is fast approaching. The schedule shows...

The price differential between Urals and Brent for December arrived in India on Thursday, as the flagship blend of Russia was traded at its steepest discount in over a year. This is due to new U.S. sanctions against Russia's top oil producers. The price difference for Russia's flagship Urals oil in Indian ports has widened from $2 to $4 per barrel under Brent for December arrival. This is the largest discount in about a month. According to estimates and shipping and trading sources, Russia's oil imports to western ports will decrease in November due to higher refinery runs but remain...

Iraqi government awarded $764 million to Corporacion America Airports, a Luxembourg-based company, and Amwaj International of Iraq. The companies announced the award in a joint statement released on Wednesday. Amwaj CEO Namir El Akabi said the project will be a build, operate, and transfer model over a period of 25 years, starting with the expansion of the airport’s capacity up to 8.5 millions passengers in the initial phase through the construction of a brand new terminal. Phase 1 of the project is expected to be finished in three years. Baghdad’s international airport was constructed in the 1970s-80s. Since then, little...

Two sources familiar with the negotiations said that Mexico's Grupo aeroportuario del sureste (Asur), the largest bidder for Motiva's airports, was the Mexican group. Motiva Infraestrutura de Mobilidade (formerly CCR), a Brazilian company, announced in May that it had started the sale process to shift its focus back on its core business of highway concessions. Sources say that Mexico's Asur outbid Spanish operator Aena as well as Argentina's Corporacion America Airports for Motiva’s 17 Brazilian airports, international hubs, and the capital of Ecuador, Quito, Costa Rica’s San Jose, and Curacao. One source said that Asur valued the assets around 5...

In a low-volume trading environment, the differential between Brent and Urals crude remained stable on Wednesday. Meanwhile, Russia's oil exports to western countries in October were in line with their initial plan despite new Western sanctions. LSEG data indicate that despite weather-related restrictions and sanctions pressure, October's exports from the western ports of Primorsk and Ust-Luga, and Novorossiisk, are expected to be around 2.33 million barrels a day. This is in line with Russia’s revised monthly program. Last week, Britain, the U.S. and the European Union imposed sanctions on Russia, including the two largest oil producers, Lukoil, and Rosneft. The...

The differential between dated Brent and Urals crude remained unchanged on Monday as buyers of both grades awaited clarity about the impact of new Western sanctions on Russian oil imports. Last week, the European Union (EU), Britain and the U.S. imposed sanctions on Russia, including those affecting its two largest oil producers, Lukoil, and Rosneft. The U.S. gave companies until November 21, 2011 to end their transactions with Russian oil producers. Four sources familiar with the discussions said that OPEC+ is likely to increase output modestly in December as it continues with its monthly increases aimed at regaining market share....

The U.S. President threatened 100% tariffs on Chinese imports, sending the markets into a tailspin. Questions about whether Trump's threat to retaliate for China's dramatic expansion of export controls on rare Earths will lead to a full-blown war between the two world's largest economies are likely to dominate the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank. Washington and Beijing reached a delicate truce over the last five months, which brought down tariffs from triple-digits and led to an upgrade of the IMF's outlook for global growth. Trump's plans to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping in the...

Rui Costa said that the Brazilian president's chief of staff has no plans for the government to eliminate the public transport fares in Brazil this year or the next. This comes a day after Brazil's finance minister confirmed the results of studies assessing ways to fund the sector. Costa told a local radio station that there was no plan for this or next year. "I would like to be clear that the president has only asked for studies." A government source said that there were doubts about the logistical and the political feasibility of this proposal. Source: President Luiz inacio...

The maritime agency NABSA announced on Tuesday that U.S. grains trader Bunge will finish loading 30,000 metric tonnes of Argentine soymeal destined for China by Wednesday. This is the first time such a cargo has been loaded. Bunge sent a soybean meal shipment to China in July. Last month, the company diverted the sale from China to Vietnam due to "commercial reasons." According to NABSA’s daily port activity reports, the Sumatra ship will be loaded at T6 terminal which Bunge jointly operate with Argentina’s AGD, in the port city of San Lorenzo north of the agricultural hub city of Rosario....

Argentina has rich copper deposits along the border with Chile in the mountains of the north. But, unlike its mining giant neighbor, it hasn't built the power lines and road needed for new projects supported by BHP and Rio Tinto. The South American nation faces greater challenges to build infrastructure than other countries due to President Javier Milei’s austerity program to curb inflation and debt. The solution will probably include unconventional ideas such as paying royalties or sharing infrastructure among miners. The government has said that it will not provide funding but this does not mean it's not responsible for...

According to data from vessel tracking and company documents, Venezuelan oil exports fell by about 10% in July compared to the previous month. This was because key partners of the state-owned PDVSA were waiting for U.S. approvals to expand their operations in the nation. Washington granted a limited license to Chevron in late July, allowing it to export crude oil to the U.S. and operate in Venezuela under sanctions. The license does not permit any payments to Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s administration. Several other PDVSA partners still await similar authorizations. Mike Wirth, Chevron's CEO, said Friday that the company is...

In an opaque market, the differentials between urals crude and other grades remained stable on Monday as participants assessed the impact of sanctions placed on Lukoil last month and Rosneft the previous month on the supply of this grade to India and Turkey. Sources in the trade said that two Indian state refiners bought 5 million barrels from spot markets as they continued to search for alternatives to Russian oil supplies. Sources said that Lukoil declared force majore at its Iraqi field of oil, while Bulgaria was preparing to seize the Burgas refinery as its international operations buckled due to...

A document obtained by revealed that the Brazilian authorities were investigating a threat made against a substation of a city hosting the United Nations Climate Summit. The report may have links to a gang which was the target of a deadly raid by police last week. Brazil hosts world leaders for a summit in Belem ahead of the COP30 Climate talks. This comes a week after Rio Police targeted the Comando Vermelho gang, resulting in 121 deaths, causing concern among U.N. experts. Verene Energia - the company that manages the Belem - Marituba substation notified Brazil's Mines and Energy Ministry...

A document obtained by revealed that the Brazilian authorities were investigating a threat made against a substation of a city hosting the United Nations Climate Summit. The report may have links to a gang which was the target of a deadly raid by police last week. Brazil hosts world leaders for a summit in Belem ahead of COP30 climate talks. This comes a week after Rio Police targeted the Comando Vermelho gang, resulting in the deaths of 121 people. The U.N. experts are concerned. Verene Energia - the company that manages the Belem - Marituba substation notified Brazil's Mines and...

The Tocantins river is awash with catfish, peacock bass and other fish during the waxing of the moon. Welton de Franca, like his father and grandfather before him, has spent most of his adult life fishing among the rocks of one of the biggest tributaries of the Amazon Basin. Now, the Brazilian government wants to blow up these missiles. The Brazilian government has given approval to blast through 35 km (22 miles) of rapids and turn this sleepy section of Amazon rainforest into a tropical farm belt expressway. The opening of the Araguaia - Tocantins Riverway to barges all year...

The differentials between Brent and Urals crude were unchanged on Thursday, despite a relatively quiet trading session. Western sanctions also weighed heavily on the demand for Russian grades of crude oil. Traders said that buyers of Russian oil from China, India, and Turkey had studied the new restrictions imposed by US, EU, and UK. Traders said that some of them had already looked for alternatives to oil grades on the market. According to traders and a report reviewed on Thursday, Indian Oil, the state-run refiner, is looking to buy more crude oil from Americas. Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals has purchased...

Enagas, the Spanish gas grid operator, said Tuesday that it was on track to reach its 2025 goals after turning a profit in the first nine-months of the year. The swing was due to a combination of gains from disposals, the revision upwards of the amount awarded by an arbitrator in relation to an investment in Peru and operating costs that were in line with the previous year. The company reported a profit of 262.8 million euros ($306.5 millions) compared to a net loss of 130.2 million euros in the same period 2024. This was due to a capital loss...

An early morning fire at a substation of Brazilian company Eletrobras caused a power outage in several parts of Brazil. Officials said that the shutdown affected more than one million Brazilians and around 10,000 megawatts of load. OnS, Brazil's energy operator, said that the incident took place in a reactor of a substation located in the south. It shut down the facility, and caused the disconnection for the entire region. The region was exporting 5,000MW to the rest of Brazil. The fire in the South resulted to a loss of 1,600 MW. In other areas, an automatic protection system was...

Petrobras, Brazil's state controlled oil company, announced on Monday that it had imported its first non-conventional gas from Argentina's Vaca Muerta Reserve in the Neuquen Basin. The firm said in a press release that the gas, which was produced by POSA and Pluspetrol, its subsidiaries in Argentina, was transported via pipelines on Friday. This initiative is in line with the Brazilian President Luiz-Inacio Lula Da Silva's aspirations. He has been pressing Petrobras for years to increase domestic natural gas supply, to lower prices for consumers. This solution is a logistical and commercial one that opens up a new option for...

Data from market sources and LSEG show that Russia's seaborne gasoil and diesel exports fell 20% from August to 2.4 million metric tonnes in September, due to unplanned refinery shutdowns caused by Ukrainian drone attacks. Several major refineries were hit by drones in August and September, including Surgutneftegaz's Kirishinefteorgsintez refinery, Lukoil's Volgograd refinery and Rosneft's Samara group of refineries. In September, the Russian Baltic port Primorsk suspended all loadings following a drone strike. Market sources reported that these disruptions resulted in a drop in diesel exports. Due to fuel shortages on the domestic market, Russia has implemented a partial export...

Cenit Colombia, a subsidiary of Ecopetrol, has completed the first import of light crude oil through one of their pipelines. The company is repurposing infrastructure to offer new services. Cenit CEO Alexander Cadena said on Wednesday that the first shipment of 220,000 barges through a 16 inch pipeline, which was previously used for crude oil export, is on its way to Barrancabermeja, during a trip to Covenas maritime terminal, on Colombia's north Caribbean coast. Cadena stated that the shipment would serve as a test to help determine future volumes. He added, "We're open to ways we can use the existing...

Daniel Gonzalez, Argentina's energy minister, announced at a press conference that the construction of a pipeline that will transport oil from the Vaca-Muerta shale area to the coast was 35% completed. The holding company, led by YPF, will build the 437-kilometer Vaca Muerta South pipe to connect Argentina's main production area with a terminal at Rio Negro. This will increase export capacity and solve one of many bottlenecks for energy transport in the country. He told oil executives in Austin, Texas that "there's nothing I can think of to prevent the pipeline from being fully operational one year from now...

The country's Tourism Minister said that at least 900 tourists had been stranded in the vicinity of Peru's ancient Inca citadel, Machu Picchu, on Tuesday after a passenger rail service was suspended because of a protest. The train operator PeruRail announced that service was suspended Monday due to "rocks of different sizes" blocking the route through Peru's Cusco region, which is a mountainous region. Local residents and bus companies clashed over this issue. Protesters claim that there is a lack in transparency and fairness when it comes to replacing Consettur, the tourist bus operator, after their concession has expired. This...