Transportation

MOL, the oil group of Hungary, announced 'on Wednesday' that the Ukrainian operator of the Druzhba Pipeline has officially informed MOL that he is prepared to resume crude oil transports from Ukraine to Hungary and Slovakia. Hungary and Slovakia are no longer receiving Russian oil via Druzhba after a Russian drone attack damaged the pipeline west Ukraine. The Slovak and incoming?Hungarian prime ministers, Viktor Orban (who was ousted from office in elections on April 12) have accused Ukraine of delaying repairs. Kyiv denies this. Ukraine will resume pumping through the Druzhba Pipeline?on Tuesday?, according to an industry source. President Volodymyr...

Investors weighed the outlook for U.S. peace talks with Iran after?the U.S. Extension of the ceasefire. Brent crude futures fell 21 cents or 0.2% to $98.27 per barrel at 0039 GMT after reaching $99.38 in the previous session. West Texas Intermediate futures dropped 28 cents or 0.3% to $89.39 after reaching as high as $90.71. On Tuesday, both benchmark contracts increased by about 3%. U.S. president Donald Trump announced that he would extend the ceasefire indefinitely with Iran, just hours before it expires, so as to allow for talks to continue and end a conflict that has claimed thousands of...

U.S. airports may face long security lines as early as next month after the homeland security chief announced 'on Tuesday' that he would run out of money in order to pay for 50,000 workers because of a partial shutdown of the government. Donald Trump directed DHS in late March to use emergency funding to pay Transportation Security Administration employees who had been without paychecks for six weeks. This caused disruptions at U.S. Airports. Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said on "Fox and Friends," Tuesday, that the funds would run out in early May. Mullin stated that "that money will be...

The oil prices dropped on Tuesday amid expectations that a peace deal between the U.S. Iran could help reopen the?Strait of Hormuz despite Donald Trump's claim that he doesn't want to extend an existing ceasefire. Brent crude futures fell by 40 cents or 0.4% to $95.08 per barrel at 1329 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate for May dropped 41 cents to $88.20. WTI's May contract expires on Tuesday, and the June contract is more active. Both contracts traded at $87.00 down by 0.5%. Brent and WTI benchmarks soared on Monday, up 5.6% and 6.9% respectively after Iran closed the...

Phillips 66 & Kinder Morgan said on Monday that they had secured 'enough long-term shipper committments to move forward with a proposed project to'supply fuel to Arizona & California. Western Gateway Pipeline is a project that comes at a time when companies are racing to build a new major fuel pipeline on the U.S. West Coast in anticipation of refinery closures planned?in California. California has a relatively small fuel market, with few pipeline links to major refining centers, making it susceptible to price spikes and supply disruptions. Phillips 66 & Kinder Morgan started seeking initial shipper committments in 'October for...

Sable Offshore, an oil and gas producer in California, announced on Monday that it was ramping up production as more 'wells' come online. A third platform will be operating later this year. The shares of the company rose 3.7% during pre-market trading. Last month, the?company restarted oil flow into the 'pipeline system connecting the Santa Ynez off-shore platforms?to California refining facilities. Sable's attempts to restart the system are now the subject of an ongoing?dispute between California regulators and environmental groups who have filed lawsuits against the reopening. On Monday, the company announced that 40 wells are currently online on Platform...

FIFA has warned that New Jersey's decision to charge $150 round-trip for transit?to World Cup games?will have a 'chilling effect' on fans. The fare is a tenfold increase over the $15 usual for the route. The price increase can add thousands of dollars to World Cup tickets, especially if they are sold on the secondary market. The MetLife Stadium will host eight matches including the final on July 19. Kris Kolluri, the CEO of New Jersey Transit, had defended his pricing by citing increased passenger numbers due to the closure of public parking near the stadium and the World Cup...

The Iran war caused turmoil on the global aluminum market, but the impact is now spreading to the copper and nickel supply chain. The conduit is sulfur - a byproduct of the Gulf oil and gas industry that has been trapped since the Strait of Hormuz shut on February 28. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, this region is responsible for a quarter or more of global oil and gas production. Sulfuric acid is a key input for ?copper miners using solvent-extraction technology on oxide ores and for nickel production from high-pressure-acid-leach (HPAL) ?plants. Unfortunately, sulfur is used in fertilizers....

The?U.S. The Federal Aviation Administration is limiting the number of flights that can be flown at Chicago 'O'Hare International Airport this summer. This will force airlines to reduce their schedules as a result. According to a Thursday order, the FAA will limit O'Hare operations between May 17th and October 24th to 2,708 arrivals per day and 2,708 departures per day. The agency stated that this would prevent delays from increasing beyond last summer's already stretched performance. This move comes after weeks of heated negotiations with airlines. Airlines had scheduled over 3,000 flights per day for summer peak days, a?nearly 15...

Insurers told a London 'court' on Thursday that the Nord Stream pipelines in Ukraine were targeted by Russia as a 'direct result' of its invasion. They are trying to avoid paying nearly 580 millions euros ($684million) for blasts which hit the pipelines. Nord Stream has filed a lawsuit against Lloyd's and Arch Insurance for explosions that occurred in September 2022, which ruptured the pipelines transporting Russian gas from under the Baltic Sea into Germany. The explosions, for which no one has claimed responsibility, have largely cut off Russian gas supplies in Europe. This marks a significant escalation of the conflict....

S&P 500 reached an intraday high on Wednesday. It was its first since the U.S. - Iran conflict began. Investors were drawn back into risky assets by expectations of a de-escalation and a robust outlook for earnings. The market's willingness to accept less severe risks of escalation, at least for the short term, was evident when traders reached a "new record" during an active "geopolitical crisis". After weekend talks in Islamabad failed, U.S. president Donald Trump said that talks with Iran could resume soon and lead to a 'deal. When hostilities broke out last month, equity markets fell sharply. This...

Peter Magyar, Hungary's acclaimed election winner, said that he will need to speak with the leaders of oil company MOL in order to ensure fuel security. The centre-right TISZA party (Respect and Freedom), led by Magyars, won a landslide victory at Sunday's elections. This ended the 16-year reign of nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orban. Orban set a price cap for fuel in early March as the global prices of diesel and petrol rose due to a rise in oil prices fueled by the conflict with Iran. The government of Hungary also prohibited the export of crude, diesel and 95-octane gasoline...

The 'energy minister' of Kazakhstan said that no Kazakh oil would be flowing via the 'Russian Druzhba Pipeline' to Germany in 'May'. He said this disruption was likely caused by Ukrainian drone attacks. Erlan Akkenzhenov, Minister of Erlan's Erlan, said that Russia has informally informed Kazakhstan that they do not have the technical capability to ship Kazakh oil into Germany and that exports will resume "once the capacity is restored." He didn't provide any more specific details. He said that the transit of Kazakh oil would resume as soon as the technical feasibility issue was resolved. Most likely, it is...

Robert Fico, the Prime Minister, said that Slovakia would file a lawsuit against the European Union in "the coming days" to challenge its decision to ban Russian Gas Imports. The EU's decision was adopted by a?"qualified?majority". Fico, who criticized the way in which the regulation was adopted, said that the suit would be filed at the EU Court of Justice. A majority of countries voted to ban Russian 'gas imports by the end of 2027. This allowed the EU to override the opposition from Slovakia and Hungary earlier this year when they voted to approve the measure. Fico stated that...

The International Energy Agency reported that Russia's revenue from crude oil and re-fined?products increased in March. They had fallen to their lowest level since the start of the Ukraine conflict in 2022 in February, when prices spiked because of the Iran war. The commodity revenues of Russia are vital to the state budget. They also help support increasing military expenditures. The Paris-based International Energy Agency (IEA)?said that Russia's crude exports increased by 270,000 barrels a day last month, from February, to 4.6 millions bpd. This was mainly due to higher seaborne shipments because the Druzhba Pipeline remained offline. Following the...

Alparslan bayraktar, the Energy Minister of Turkey, said that TPAO, Turkey's upstream oil and 'gas company will'start acquiring shares' in foreign companies as part 'of Ankara’s 'plans 'to develop international partnerships 'to boost its energy exploration. TotalEnergies, a French oil company, announced earlier that it had signed a preliminary agreement to explore 'Turkey’s Black Sea waters in search of hydrocarbons. This is the 'fifth such accord signed by Turkish firms with oil majors this year. "We will soon turn a new page, too." Bayraktar did not elaborate on the fact that TPAO will be entering a new field by purchasing...

According to calculations and data from sources, the freight rates for shipping Russia’s flagship Urals crude to India in April weakened, giving exporters an additional $8 per barrel. The Iran War has caused a'surge' in energy prices that has kept benchmark oil prices above $100 per barrel. Urals, the company’s key Indian market, is now trading at a higher price than the North Sea benchmark. The spike in freight prices last month increased exporters' costs, and reduced the benefits of higher crude oil prices. The rates eased in April as the ice conditions at Russia's Baltic port improved and the...

Officials from Ukraine said that Russian drones destroyed a substation in the southern Odesa region of Ukraine on Wednesday. Meanwhile, Moscow's forces repeatedly attacked areas further east, killing one person. Oleh Kiper, regional governor of Odesa region, said that emergency services were on the scene and there had been no reported injuries. DTEK is a large energy company. It said that?one of their substations was damaged. Crews were waiting for word to start repairs. DTEK stated that the area had been under Russian attack "almost around the clock". Ukraine's energy infrastructure has been attacked for months. In the four-year conflict,...

Three sources familiar with this matter have confirmed that the Ust-Luga Port has resumed oil exports, despite ongoing drone strikes. LSEG data?showed. According to LSEG and sources, the vessel 'Jewel' left Ust-Luga with 700,000 barrels on board. Loadings had been halted for almost two weeks. The Baltic port is capable of loading up to 700,000 barrels a day. Ust-Luga oil loadings were halted on 25 March after a heavy?drone attack from Ukraine?damaged the port. The attacks have continued during the suspension. Sources said that the Jewel began loading oil at the weekend, but it did not depart immediately due to...

Ukraine's regional development ministry reported on Telegram that a 'Russian drone attack' overnight on Ukraine's largest Danube River port, Izmail, had damaged a port facility. The ministry stated that "the enemy continues to target port infrastructure and logistics." The 'Telegram Post' reported that fires had broken out in warehouses, but were put out by emergency services. No one was injured. Izmail is located on the Danube, at the southernmost?tip? of Ukraine. It faces the territory of Romania on the other river bank. It is a key and often-hit logistical node in wartime Ukraine. In 2022, after Russia blocked Ukraine's Black...

Data from market sources and LSEG revealed that Russia's seaborne gasoil and diesel exports dropped 3% between February and?March to 3.06 million metric tons, as drone attacks disrupted fuel loads at key ports. Sources said that the ultra-low-sulphur Diesel shipments from Primorsk in the Baltic, Russia's largest outlet for diesel exports fell to 1.713 millions tons, down 2.6% since February. Last week, Ukrainian drones repeatedly attacked the Russian Baltic ports Primorsk & Ust-Luga. Following drone attacks, the two ports halted oil and fuel loadings on March 22. The next day, a drone attack caused a fire to break out at...

Moldovan opposition parties demanded on Sunday an explanation from the pro-European Moldovan government regarding its imposition of a "sweeping energy state of emergency" over a damaged electricity line that took four days to repair. Last Tuesday, the Eastern European country’s?parliament?approved a 60-day energy state of an emergency to streamline decision-making. The government had blamed Russian attacks on neighbouring Ukraine after knocking out the Isaccea - Vulcanesti electricity line. Moldova's Energy Ministry announced that the line, which runs from Romania to Moldova, and crosses 40 km of Ukrainian territory, was restored Saturday. This line is responsible for 70% of the country's...

The European Commission and the natural gas grid operators of Bulgaria, Greece, Romania, Moldova and Ukraine agreed on Friday to tariffs for the corridor that carries gas from Greece to Ukraine, in an effort to increase competition and diversify supply. The Greek gas grid operator DESFA announced in a press release that operators and EU executive have agreed on 'tariffs which will be implemented from October and are in line with EU rules. Greece, Bulgaria Romania and Hungary have agreed to develop the necessary infrastructure in order to realise the so-called Vertical gas Corridor, which would allow bidirectional gas transmission...

Kazakhstan's Energy Ministry said on Friday that the attack on Russia’s major port in the Baltic, Ust-Luga, did not affect?Kazakhstan’s oil exports. It added?that flows were operating normally. The Ministry said that it continues to monitor the situation. Three processing units at the Ust-Luga Complex, each with a capacity of three million metric tonnes per year, refine stable condensate to light and heavy naphthas, jet fuel, ship fuel oils and gasoil. Kazakhstan exports part of its crude oil through Russian ports along the Baltic Sea. This includes Ust-Luga which was 'hit by a Ukrainian drone on March 25. Both Ust-Luga...