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Data shows that Russian pipeline gas exports into Europe fell by 5.2% year-on-year in July.
Calculations showed that the average daily natural gas supply to Europe by Russian energy giant Gazprom via TurkStream's undersea pipe fell 5.2% compared to a year earlier, falling from 48.8 million cubic meters in July. The only remaining transit route for Russian gas into Europe is through Turkey after Ukraine did not extend the five-year transit agreement with Moscow that expired in January of 2025. According to calculations based on data from the European Gas Transmission Group Entsog, total Russian gas supplies via TurkStream were?at 1,51 billion cubic metres in July last year. This is down from 1,59 bcm. The first seven months of this year saw a 3.5% increase in supplies to approximately 10.25 bcm?year-onyear. Gazprom has not responded to a request for comment. It hasn't published its own statistics every month since?2023. According to calculations, the company's exports of gas to Europe dropped by 44% in the past year,?to only 18 bcm. This is the lowest since the mid-1970s, following the closing of the Ukrainian transit route. calculations. In 2018-2019, Russian pipeline gas exports to Europe reached a peak of around 180 billion cubic meters per year. (Reporting and editing by Andrew Osborn.)
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Data shows that two tankers carrying Saudi oil left the Red Sea at the weekend.
Shipping data revealed on Monday that two tankers?laden with Saudi oil? crossed the Bab el-Mandeb strait at the weekend. Traffic in the Strait of Hormuz slowed after reports of vessel attack. Kpler data shows that the number of cargo vessels passing through the Bab el-Mandeb strait dropped to 18 on Sunday from 27 on Friday and 28 on Saturday. On July 20, the Iran-aligned Houthis announced a?maritime embargo against Saudi Arabia, opening a new battlefront against the U.S. The data shows that the Suezmax tanker Lesvos, and the Very Large Crude Carrier Desh Vaibhav left the Red Sea without their Automatic Identification Systems transponders (AIS). It was not immediately known where the Lesvos, flying under the Malta flag, was heading. It was carrying approximately 1 million barrels of Saudi crude. The Desh Vaibhav is carrying 2 million barrels and heading to India's Sikka Port where Reliance Industries receives its crude oil. Dynacom, manager of the Lesvos and Shipping Corp of India, did not respond to requests for comments. Separately a tanker flying the Panama flag and carrying Russian naphtha changed its course to go around Africa rather than through the Red Sea. STRAIT of HORMUZ Kpler data shows that one tanker loaded with liquefied gas from Iran crossed the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday. AIS may be disabled on some vessels and they cannot be immediately accounted for. Since Saturday, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Agency has reported three additional tanker attacks. The Greek shipping company Gaslog reported an incident on their LNG tanker Gaslog Shanghai, on July 31, Data showed that the number of vessels carrying commodities through Hormuz dropped to 10 on Sunday, after Friday's high of 19. This was the highest total since mid-July. Two more VLCCs,?Spain B and Noble?, left the Hormuz Strait on Friday while another entered. The VLCC Kiku is carrying 1.4 million barrels from Qatar and the VLCC Rotterdam Energy has 2,000,000 barrels of Das crude from the United Arab Emirates. ADNOC Logistics & Services (the owner of Rotterdam Energy) declined to comment. Apex Shipping, the manager of Kiku, has not responded to a comment request. (Reporting and editing by Clarence Fernandez, Sonali Paul and Emily Chow; Additional reporting by Emily Chow, Mohi Nrayan)
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Wall Street Journal, August 3,
These are the most popular?stories from the Wall Street Journal. The Wall Street Journal has not'verified' these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy. The U.S. Treasury Department and Japan's Ministry of Finance conducted a joint intervention in foreign exchange to purchase the yen. German startup Agile Robots is expecting its revenue to double this year, from 300 million Euros. This will help it become profitable within two to three years. Acting Attorney-General Todd Blanche announced that he had formally rescinded the $1.8 billion "anti weaponization fund"?that was causing an impasse with two Republican senators who refused to confirm him for a permanent position. Flight attendants from WestJet, Canada’s second largest airline, quit their jobs on Sunday, after they failed to reach an agreement. Sandoz Group has agreed to pay a total of $478.5 Million in order to settle an antitrust lawsuit over generic drug pricing?in the U.S. EasyJet has announced that it has extended the deadline to submit a bid for Castlelake until August 7, at which time both parties will be asked to confirm their intentions. (Compiled by Bengaluru Newsroom)
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Russia develops alternate routes and increases protection for Black Sea cargo ships
Russia announced on Monday that it was increasing the protection of ships in the Azov/Black Sea basin, while also developing alternate 'cargo routes. This follows the'sharp' escalation in attacks by both sides at sea in the conflict in Ukraine. In response to the "tense situation" in the Sea of Azov caused by hostile drone attacks against maritime vessels, the Russian Transport Ministry said it had created a taskforce to find new routes and to switch cargo flows to alternative modes of transportation. In a press release, it stated that "a number of stevedoring firms have already expressed their willingness to handle additional cargo volume and increase shipment rates at their terminals within their operational capability." In cooperation with the defence ministry, "additional steps are being taken to ensure navigational security and protect maritime vessels within the Azov/Black Sea basin". In recent weeks, Russia, which is the largest exporter of wheat in the world, and Ukraine have attacked each other's export facilities and commercial vessels on the Black Sea. This has pushed the price of wheat higher globally. The'main grain lobby in Russia' warned on Friday about the threat of a Ukrainian drone attack on Russian ships and ports that could cause a shutdown in grain exports through the Black Sea. This would increase prices and lead to hunger in Africa and the Middle East. UAC, Ukraine's largest agricultural union, warned that Russian strikes near Odesa, a southern port, were limiting Ukrainian exports during the crucial harvest season and could have an impact on global food supplies.
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Search for missing 28 after fire on ferry in Madura Island, Indonesia
Officials in Indonesia continue to search for the 28 people who are still missing after a ferry caught on fire near?Indonesia?s Madura Island, according to an official. Authorities had reported that the KM Mutiara Sentosa, which was carrying 271 'passengers', was traveling from Indonesia's second-largest?city of Surabaya in East Java province, to Makassar in South Sulawesi when it caught fire. Madura Island is located just off the northeastern coast Java. Arman Asmara, Director of Marine and Air Affairs at East Java Police, said that 28 of the 271 people on board remain missing. Five confirmed deaths and 238 were rescued. Arman stated that the Navy and seven boats, as well as a helicopter, were deployed to search for the missing persons. He added that the'seven boats' deployed included a naval corvette as well as speed boats and a patrol vessel capable of carrying up to 100 passengers. Rescuers have focused their search in an area that extends 10 miles to the east and 10 miles to the west from the incident. Arman stated that the search operation could last up to 14 days. He added that the cause of the accident is still unclear. On?Monday, all the victims were evacuated from the Port of Gapura Surya Nusantara to Surabaya. Since Sunday evening, the families of the victims have been waiting in the port. Ria was one of the families who were waiting for news about her uncle. She said: "I tried contacting continuously after I received the information, but his 'cellphone was not working. Then I called his wife to ensure that my uncle was aboard the ship and it was true." She added, "I've never been able contact him and find out his condition until now." Indonesia, a country of 17,000 islands, is heavily reliant on ferries for transportation. Sea routes are more accessible and affordable than air travel. Safety standards aren't always enforced and accidents happen quite often. Reporting by Ananda Teresia and Prasto Waroyo from Jakarta, Surabaya respectively; editing by David Stanway
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The war between Iran and ROI ushers a golden age of oil refining. Bousso: It won't be long.
The Iran war has triggered record oil refining earnings that are reviving the Big Oil business. Many investors had written it off. The sector is expected to deliver strong returns over the next few years. However, structural changes in oil demand will cause refining to lose its shine quickly. Refining is the least glamorous part of the oil industry, despite its critical role in the global supply chain. Western oil majors have been steadily retreating from the sector in the past 20 years, due to high operating costs, volatile margins, rising carbon costs, and increasing competition from state-backed refining companies from the Middle East and Africa. This retreat accelerated in the late 2010s in Europe as companies and governments bet more on the rapid adoption of electric vehicles to curb fuel demand in the 2030s. Refining capacity of Western oil giants shrank drastically as a result. According to calculations by Open Interest, the combined refining volume for BP and Chevron, Exxon Mobil Shell, TotalEnergies, and Exxon Mobil fell from 16,4 million barrels a day in 2005 (representing around 22%) to 10,4 million bpd in last year. This represents roughly 13% worldwide crude processing. Shell led the retreat by reducing its refinery interests from 40 to seven in the last five years. The refining climate has improved in the last year due to the increase in conflict in oil-rich areas. First, there's Iran. Refinery margins have reached record levels due to the combination of the effective closure of Strait of Hormuz for months, which limited refiners access to crude oil and Tehran's attacks against refineries in the Middle East. Refineries in Asia were forced to reduce their operating rates due to the loss of Middle Eastern crude. China, despite its huge crude stocks, chose to reduce refining and fuel exports aggressively to compensate for the sharp drop in crude imports. These disruptions combined to remove around 5 million barrels a day or 6% of global refining production from pre-war levels in the second quarter. According to the International Energy Agency, global refinery runs have averaged 78 million barrels per day, the lowest since the COVID-19 Pandemic of 2020. In the meantime, Russian refinery output has been severely reduced by months of unrelenting drone attacks from Ukraine on Russian energy infrastructure, which forced Moscow to ban exports of diesel. That announcement sent diesel prices soaring. Pricing Superpower The combined impact of both conflicts on the profitability of?refining has been dramatic. Big Oil has enormous pricing power due to the shortage of refined products. This has encouraged operators and refineries to operate at full capacity. U.S. refineries that emerged as the largest fuel suppliers in the world during the conflict operated at 97% of capacity for the week ending July 24. This is well above the long-term average of 90%. BP's refining indicator margin, a measure of global refining profit, climbed from $17 per barrel to $30 in the second quarter, up from $12 a quarter earlier and $17 during the first. Indicator has averaged 42 dollars per barrel in the third quarter. Exxon reported downstream profits of $5.5billion in the second quarter. This was its highest result since 2022. The record diesel production drove this. Chevron’s downstream earnings rose to $4.9billion, their highest level for this decade. Shell's products division reported an adjusted profit of $2.5 billion, its highest in a decade. Its refining network was operating at 102% utilisation during the second quarter. Patrick Pouyanne, the Chief Executive Officer of TotalEnergies, summed up it well when he told investors late last month that their refining division had performed "exceptionally." BP will report its earnings on Tuesday. CAN IT LAST? The question is when. Fuel markets would be impacted by a sustainable solution to the U.S./Iran conflict, which involves a full reopening of Strait of Hormuz. It is clear that the problems of the industry cannot be fixed immediately. Repairing the damage to dozens refineries in Russia and the Middle East will take many months and even years. Global spare refining capacity is extremely thin. Demand is also a positive factor. Concerns about energy security have been rekindled by the Iran war. To protect themselves against future supply shocks, many governments have expanded strategic storage facilities to store both crude oil and refined fuels. The first step for governments is to replenish the stocks that were depleted by the conflict. According to estimates by the U.S. Energy Information Administration, global oil stocks dropped by 5.1 millions barrels per day during the second quarter. They are expected to drop by another 2.2 million bpd by the third quarter. The rebuilding of diesel, gasoline, and jet fuel inventories will take years, resulting in persistent demand. Alan Gelder is the senior vice president of Wood Mackenzie's refining division. He expects that refining margins will remain high and utilisation rates will be high through the end decade. This is due to the continued growth of oil demand, and the limited pipeline of refining projects. The party won't last The boom is a symptom of underlying fragility. War, damaged infrastructure, and scarcity are the main reasons for today's windfall profits, not a structural improvement of industry fundamentals. The world's capacity has been reduced faster than the demand. But this might not last for very long. Many countries that have limited domestic'refining capacity are now reevaluating whether they need to increase their local processing capability. Australia, for instance, has already begun to consider such plans. Over time, these investments could lead to a new wave in capacity and ultimately an oversupply. Oil majors are aware of this fact. Exceptional margins for a few years may be enough to slow down the decline of refining. They are unlikely to reverse the decline. You like this column? Open Interest (ROI) is your new essential source of global financial commentary. Follow ROI on LinkedIn and X. Listen to the Morning Bid podcast daily on Apple, Spotify or the app. Subscribe to the Morning Bid podcast and hear journalists discussing the latest news in finance and markets seven days a weeks.
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China's WeRide expands its European footprint with a new entry in Denmark
WeRide, a Chinese company that specializes in autonomous driving technologies, announced on Monday it will enter Denmark via a partnership with GreenMobility. This would extend its European footprint to a sixth country as Chinese firms specializing in'self-driving' technology accelerate their overseas expansion. China's auto-driving companies are now looking to Europe as a major growth market, after a previous push into the Gulf Region. They want to expand their market beyond their own home market, amid increasing competition and regulatory scrutiny. According to a statement from the company, under the partnership, which is subject to regulatory approval, WeRide,?GreenMobility, and other partners plan to launch public robotaxi services in the first half 2027. WeRide has already deployed autonomous driving in France, Belgium, and Switzerland. The company's European activities currently focus on testing and pilot programs, but it operates commercial autonomous driving services already in China and United Arab Emirates. In recent months, Chinese auto-driving firms have been increasingly turning to Europe to build an international presence. Rival Pony.ai announced in March that it would partner up with Uber Technologies and Croatian autonomous vehicle startup?Verne, to launch what they described as Europe's?commercial robotaxi? service. Baidu's Apollo Go and Lyft's taxi application Freenow started road tests in London late July. Momenta recently received permits to conduct autonomous driving on German roads. The activity reflects the 'growing competition between Chinese autonomous driving developers to establish a 'early foothold in Europe where regulators are gradually opening up to testing and deployment self-driving cars.
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After a U-turn in the Red Sea, a Russian product tanker reroutes its route around Africa.
Trade sources and shipping data showed that a 'Panama-flagged' tanker carrying Russian naphtha attempted to pass through the Bab-el-Mandeb strait during 'the last week of July. The ship then changed course to sail instead around Africa, according to LSEG. Data shows that the Suezmax vessel Sea 'Icon' loaded 100,000 tons of naphtha from Ust-Luga, Russia, on July 1 for shipment to Asia. The Arab Maritime Petroleum Transport Company, based in Kuwait, controls the tanker. The company did not respond immediately to an email asking for comment. The 'tanker' made a U-turn as it approached the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait, which is a choke point linking the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. This area has been the scene of repeated attacks against shipping in the past week. LSEG's ship tracking data indicated that as of 0400 GMT Monday, the ship had signaled Cape Town, South Africa, to be its?destination. The traffic through the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait has dwindled since the Iran-aligned Houthis declared a maritime blockade on Saudi Arabia on 20 July.
Gazpromneft Moscow refinery suspended operations at Euro+ unit after Sept. 1 fire, sources say
Gazpromneft Moscow refinery suspended operations at combined refining system Euro+, that includes crude distillation unit CDU6, after a fire on Sunday, three sources told Reuters on Monday.
The plant may resume oil processing at Euro+ system after repair work in some 5 to 6 days, the sources included.
The Moscow refinery in the southeast of the Russian capital was struck in a current drone attack on Sept. 1, when Ukraine was also targeting Russia's power plants.
The Moscow plant is owned by Gazpromneft, the oil arm of Russian gas giant Gazprom. Gazpromneft did not reply to a Reuters ask for remark.
The Euro+ system accounts for some 50% of the plant's overall prime refining capability, as its crude distillation system has a. capacity of 6 million metric tons of oil annually.
Euro+ also includes a reforming system with a capability of 1. million tons each year and a diesel fuel hydrotreatment system with. a capability of 2 million tons each year.
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin stated a number of drones targeted. the Moscow refinery and caused a fire at a different technical. room at the plant. State news firm TASS later quoted. emergency services as stating the blaze had actually been contained.
In 2023 Moscow plant processed 11.6 million lots of crude. oil, producing 2.6 million lots of fuel, 3,3 million tons of. gasoil, 2,3 million tonnes of fuel oil and 0.9 million tonnes of. jet fuel.
(source: Reuters)