Latest News
-
Iraq tries to increase exports through Turkey by transporting crude oil from the south of Iraq north.
The trial began on September 13 and lasted two days In 209 trucks, 38,000 barrels of oil were transported. Iran War disrupts Iraqi exports to the south By Aref Mohamed and Ahmed Rasheed BASRA (Iraq), Sept. 16: Iraq has launched a pilot project to transport crude oil from its southern oilfields by road to a Kirkuk oil storage facility. The goal is to increase supplies for the northern export system, and possibly to increase shipments via Turkey's Ceyhan Port. The initiative is part of Iraqi efforts to increase exports through the northern route, after the U.S. and Israeli war against Iran disrupted Iraqi shipments via the Strait of Hormuz. A spokesperson for the oil ministry confirmed that Iraq's Oil Ministry has contracted local company,?KAR Group, to transport crude oil using its fleet tanker trucks. A statement from the state-run Basra Oil Company confirmed that the arrangement had been made. BOC reported that the trial operation began on September 13 and lasted for two days. During this time, a little over 6 million litres crude oil, which is equivalent to 38,000 barrels was transported by 209 tanker truck each with a capacity of 30,000-litres. Saleem al-Rikabi said that the contract with KAR Group was based on the total volume delivered by tanker truck. He added that daily volumes transported depended on a number of factors, including road conditions, security clearances, and loading capacity. KAR Group didn't?respond instantly?to an inquiry for comment. Oil ministry figures indicate that current flows from northern Iraq into Turkey's Ceyhan Port are estimated to be around 200,000 barrels per day (bpd). This is down from 250,000 bpd prior to the Iran War. BOC sources say that the project faces logistical difficulties, including limited truck supply and limited loading infrastructure at southern oilfields. Initial volumes are too small to materially increase exports from the north without an expansion in transport and loading capacities.
-
US Farm Agency prepares to reopen New Mexico Port to Livestock Trade next week
U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins announced on Wednesday that the Department of Agriculture is preparing to reopen an New Mexico port for livestock trade after it had been closed due to New World screwworm. Rollins stated during her remarks at the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture conference in Portland, Maine that she intends to travel to New Mexico Wednesday night. Rollins stated, "We are getting ready to reopen that New Mexico port in the next week." After months of port closures because of concerns about the screwworm parasite, the USDA resumed the cross-border trade of livestock with Mexico in late August. According to the agency there are currently two active screwworm infections, both in Texas, one in a horse, and another in a canine. Rollins stated, "What you have all 'proven for the past?20 days in Douglas, is that this situation is manageable and doable. And if we think there is another threat we will shut it down."
-
Sources say that two pumping stations on the Saudi East-West Pipeline were damaged by a recent attack.
According to three oil and security sources, two pumping stations that serve the vital 'East-West Pipeline' in Saudi Arabia have been damaged by an attack last week. Saudi Aramco did not reply to a comment request. The company operates the 1,200 km (745 mile) pipeline that runs across the Arabian Peninsula. Saudi Arabia's media office did not respond immediately to a comment request. Saudi officials said that the?pipeline which had helped to relieve the blockage in the Strait of Hormuz was temporarily shut down after an?attack by a drone coming from Iraq. Sources claim that the strike has damaged pumping stations 8 and 9. According to industry estimates, the pipeline is serviced with 11 pumping and two pressure relief stations. Since?six months, the facility has been the main way to export Middle East oil globally. The Strait of Hormuz is largely closed due to war. Saudi Arabia has been able to avoid the disruptions that have crippled the other Gulf oil and natural gas exporters.
-
Muto scores as Kobe win the Asian Champions League with a win
Vissel Kobe won 2-1 over Port FC on Wednesday thanks to a deftly executed goal by?Yoshinori muto. The Japanese team?made a perfect start in the league phase of?Asian Champion League Elite?in Thailand. Ren Komatsu, a former 'Japan - international', had given Michael Skibbe and his team the lead at the 10th minute. Issei Tahashi flicked Diego's throw-in into the Port penalty area and Komatsu pounced. In the fourth minute of stoppage time in the first half, he was able to redirect Issam al-Sabhi’s header past his own goal-line. Muto scored the winning goal after being played?on-goal by fellow substitute Yuya Osako. He then lifted a calm finish above Port goalkeeper Michael Falksgaard, as last season's semifinalists picked up all three of their points. Former champions Jeonbuk Motors came back from a goal behind to beat Kashiwa 2-1 in Jeonju. Kenshin Yuba scored an individual goal in the 30th-minute to put Japan ahead. However, Tiago Orobo equalized the score three minutes into second half by scoring a header. Italo scored the winning goal for Jeonbuk at the 69th-minute mark. The Brazilian slid his shot in the bottom right corner of Ryosuke's Kojima. The eight top teams in east and west Asia, who finished first or second respectively in the league phase of the competition (which has increased from 24 to 32 teams) will move on to the knockout round. The 'last 16 matches' will be played on a 'home-and-away basis' in March, while the quarter-finals (quarter-finals), semi-finals (semi-finals) and final in Saudi Arabia will be held centrally in April and may.
-
Meloni, the Italian leader in the election campaign, has scrapped road tax on most cars.
Giorgia meloni, the Italian Prime Minister, announced on Wednesday that Italy will 'abolish road tax' for 14,5 million cars and motorbikes. This move is estimated to cost more than EUR2billion ($2.31billion) in state funds. The government is looking for ways to increase support in advance of the national elections next year. Meloni’s?conservative alliance is trailing in the polls the centre-left and is under pressure from National Future - a new far-right political party led by Roberto Vannacci that is steadily gaining supporters. Meloni stated in a press release released by her office that "today the government eliminates one of the taxes most disliked by Italians". The benefit is available for 'all motorbikes' and'more than 70% of small and medium-sized vehicles, according to the Cabinet Office. However, each citizen will only be able to use it once. The draft decree that was seen by us before the cabinet meeting indicated that the exemption would only be for one year, between January 1, 2027 and December 31, 2027. It will cost EUR 2,36 billion. Meloni did not reveal where the money would come from to fund the initiative. Italy's public debt is expected to reach 139% of its gross domestic product (GDP) in this year under its latest budget plan. This will replace Greece as the most indebted nation in the Eurozone. The coalition parties welcomed this measure as part the government's agenda to cut taxes, while critics dismissed it for a ploy to divert the attention away from the soaring fuel prices. Rossano Sasso is a senior assistant to Vannacci. Fuel prices have risen in Italy for several months due to the U.S. War against Iran, which has disrupted supplies around the globe. The government had to spend EUR2.8 to date to reduce excise duties.
-
Italy eliminates road tax on most cars in the run-up to elections
Giorgia meloni, the Italian prime minister, announced on Wednesday that the government would abolish road tax for 14.5 million cars and motorbikes. The government is looking for ways to increase support in advance of the national elections next year. Meloni stated in a press release issued by her office that "today the government will eliminate one of 'the taxes most disliked by Italians. The benefit will apply to all motorbikes, and to more than 70% small-sized cars. However, citizens are only allowed to use it on one vehicle. The election next year is shaping up to be a close race between Meloni’s rightist coalition and centre-left opposition. The government has not said how much the abolition?of road tax will cost?public finances. Italy's public debt is expected to reach 139% of its gross domestic product this year under its latest budget plan. This will replace Greece as the most indebted nation in the Eurozone.
-
Flydubai CEO: We expect to return to full capacity before the end of this year.
Flydubai, the airline of Dubai, expects to return to full capacity before the end of the year. This is as airlines 'across the region' recover from the impact of the Iran War. Ghaith al Ghaith, CEO of Arabian Travel Market, said to the media that by the end of the year, "we will go back to 100 percent, and maybe even more, because we'll be getting more planes." Ghaith said that Flydubai, Emirates sister airline, operates at 85% of its current network capacity. Its load factor (which measures how well a?airline fills available seats) is "good". Flights in the Middle East, and even beyond, were disrupted for weeks by the Iran War, which began at the end February. However, Gulf carriers - some of the largest in the world - have slowly resumed their activities. The EU Aviation Safety Agency issued an advisory this year to avoid the Gulf Airspace due to potential 'risks associated with the war. He added, "Our biggest problem, particularly in Europe, are all the (travel) advisory messages that continue to be issued." The CEO's comments come after the airline announced on Tuesday that it would take a further 11 aircraft this year. This includes seven?Boeing 737-9 MAXs and four Boeing 737-8 MAXs, bringing its fleet to over 100 aircraft.
-
Equinor plans LNG growth in early 2030s for European and Asian demands
Senior executives at Equinor said that they hoped to increase their liquefied gas supply portfolio between 10 and 15 million metric tons (tpy) per year in the early part of the next decade to meet demand from Europe and Asia. Ingvar Egeland is Equinor's Vice President for LNG. He said that the Norwegian producer will announce a second LNG deal with an Asian client this week. In May, Equinor signed a 15-year LNG deal with India’s Deepak Fertilizers &?Petrochemicals Corp. Egeland stated that Equinor has been in contact with many counterparts, particularly in India and other places in Southeast Asia. They are interested in finding new sources. The U.S. and Israeli war against Iran has?prevented Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, from exporting the majority of their LNG via the Strait of?Hormuz. A fifth of global LNG supplies used to pass through this Strait, forcing Asian buyers into seeking other sources. Equinor expects to double its portfolio of supplies to 7 million tonnes per year in 2030, when U.S. supplies reach full capacity. The Norwegian LNG plant Hammerfest is responsible for half of the total supply. Egeland stated that Equinor intends to increase its supply to between 10 and 15 million tonnes per year (tpy) by the early 2030s. This will include cargoes with a Brent price to diversify their exposure to prices. He added that the volume does not include Tanzania where Equinor has a project in progress which is being 'delayed' by government negotiations. Tanzania's deputy minister of energy said this week that a new law on LNG investments could be passed by the end the year. Egeland said that the East Coast of the U.S.A., West Coast of Canada, South America and other African countries, besides Tanzania, could be potential new sources of supply.
Why is Trump threatening to take over the Panama Canal?
Freshly inaugurated U.S. President Donald Trump is pressing to take back the Panama Canal, the world's second busiest interoceanic waterway, spurring concerns that the United States could attack the Main American country.
Trump argues that Panama has actually broken a promise of neutrality made when the United States moved the canal to Panama in 1999, falsely declaring that China is operating it.
The canal is operated by the Panama Canal Authority, an autonomous firm overseen by the Panamanian federal government.
WHY IS THE CANAL SECRET FOR THE U.S?
The Panama Canal is an 82-km (51-mile) synthetic waterway that connects the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, and crucial to international trade circulations. It saves ships thousands of miles and weeks of travel. Before it was built, ships had to make the long journey around the stormy tip of South America in order to take a trip by sea between the 2 oceans.
Over two-thirds of all freight passing through the canal today stems from or is destined for the United States.
The U.S. completed building of the canal in the early 20th century, a job begun by France that declared the lives of over 25,000 employees.
Following pressure from anti-colonial movements, the U.S. signed treaties in 1977 approving Panama control and sovereignty over the canal zone and ensuring its permanent neutrality. These worked in 1999.
A modification to among the treaties shows that the right interpretation of the treaty commitments mandates that Panama and the United States should protect the canal versus any threat to the program of neutrality.
Permitted action under the treaty consists of taking unilateral actions to safeguard the canal versus any threat as defined by either nation, according to the 48-year-old accord.
However the treaty's language likewise forbids some U.S. actions.
This does not mean, nor shall it be translated as, a. right of intervention of the United States in the internal. affairs of Panama, according to the text, adding that any U.S. action must ensure that the waterway remains open, protected and. available.
Over the past couple years, an extreme dry spell exacerbated by. climate change reduced water levels at lakes feeding the canal,. forcing constraints on transits and vessel drafts, raising. expenses and waiting times.
The passage limitations were raised late last year, but the. waterway has not yet seen typical traffic return as many. shippers, particularly bulk carriers and melted natural gas. tankers, have continued taking alternative paths.
WHAT IS CHINA'S PARTICIPATION?
In his inaugural address, Trump duplicated claims that Panama. has actually ceded control of the canal to China. He has likewise stated. Chinese troops are stationed at the canal, without providing. proof.
Both Panama's federal government and the Chinese government turn down. those assertions.
CK Hutchison Holdings, a Hong Kong-based business,. has for more than 20 years operated the ports of Balboa and. Cristobal at the canal's Pacific and Atlantic entrances. The. publicly listed business is not economically connected to the Chinese. federal government, though Hong Kong firms undergo state. oversight.
Other ports are run by companies from the U.S., Taiwan and. Singapore.
China's economic influence has actually been growing in Latin. America, fueling concerns in Washington that the resource-rich. area will tilt to Chinese interests rather than those of the. United States.
Panamanian President Jose Raul Mulino has asserted that the. canal is and will continue to be Panamanian.
Panama's authorities just recently announced an audit on CK. Hutchison's operated ports, stating they are investigating the. firm's compliance with concession arrangements.
CK Hutchison's regional arm did not respond to a Reuters. request for comment, but said in a declaration it has actually paid the. state hundreds of countless dollars throughout its concession and. that its manpower is 99.9% Panamanian.
CONFLICT OVER TOLLS
Trump has actually consistently complained that the costs credited. ships to use the canal are too high, and has accused Panama of. imposing unjust tariffs on U.S. goods.
American ships are being severely overcharged and not. dealt with relatively in any way which includes the United States. Navy, Trump said in the address.
Between the fiscal years ended in 2020 and 2023, the canal's. toll earnings increased almost 26% to $3.35 billion. In the. fiscal year ended last September, the canal balanced out less vessel. traffic with a water additional charge, which it combined with slot. auctions that increased to as much as $4 million per vessel.
The canal's charges are not separated by a ship's flag,. country of origin, or destination. The United States does not. have a relevant commercial fleet under its flag, and U.S. military ships enjoy concern passage.
Mulino stated the tariffs are thoroughly and transparently. examined according to demand.
Delivering professionals and freight movers state tolling cost increases. have been applied over the last few years by other crucial waterways amid. need spikes and geopolitical conflicts.
WHAT'S NEXT
Trump's hazard is currently impacting Panama's financial obligation ranking. U.S. investment bank JPMorgan reduced its suggestion on. the nation's bonds over hazards to the canal, a crucial source of. nationwide earnings.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is set up to visit. Panama in the coming days in his very first foreign journey since taking. the post. Immigration will be a focus of the journey.
Mulino, who took workplace last year, has taken a harder line. on migration than his predecessor, accepting U.S.-funded. deportation flights from Panama and installing barbed wire at. the Darien Gap, an unsafe jungle route lots of migrants pass through. from South America on their method to the U.S. border.
(source: Reuters)