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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.
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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."
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
Fuel theft, violence siphoning $215 million from Ecuador oil industry
O rganized criminal offense groups in Ecuador are significantly stealing fuel from staterun oil business Petroecuador to support drug trafficking operations, leading to numerous millions in lost earnings for the nation's leading market, the business and authorities said.
Crooks take fuel, diesel and other fuel by tapping state-owned fuel pipelines for usage in making cocaine and transporting drugs. They are mounting more violent attacks on oil fields, swiping copper cabling and extorting and beating up workers, the company and its union state. Petroecuador informed Reuters that fuel theft caused $215.1. million in cumulative losses throughout 2022, 2023 and through. October 2024 and that prohibited taps have actually grown from 32 in 2022 to. 773 through October.
While the theft represents a portion of the $7.5 billion in. national earnings supplied by Petroecuador, equivalent to almost a. quarter of the budget, officials are concerned by the boost to. drug trafficking offered by the fuel and the influence on. beleaguered public coffers.
Ecuadorean authorities have not given an overall price quote. for drug trafficking incomes for crime groups in the country.
The nation has 1,655 kilometers (1,030 miles) of. state-controlled fuel pipelines, which snake along its Pacific. coast and through remote Amazon areas, where communities have. protested the market.
Reuters witnesses saw a minimum of 9 illegal taps within a. 25-meter area of the Esmeraldas-Santo Domingo fuel pipeline,. among eleven such pipelines which move fuel in the Andean. nation, throughout a late November visit.
At least 136 taps - homemade valves fashioned by lawbreakers -. have been discovered on the pipeline this year through October,. totaling losses of some $17 million from this 166-kilometer. ( 103-mile) area of pipeline alone.
Finding and getting rid of the valves is a time-consuming and. costly process, and the valves likewise risk fuel spills.
PATROLS, DRONES DEPLOYED
Murders, drug trafficking, gun smuggling and other criminal activities. blamed by the government on local gangs connected to Mexican. cartels, the Albanian mafia and others, have actually skyrocketed over the. past five years in previously-peaceful Ecuador.
The violence has been shown most dramatically by the. assassination of a governmental prospect and the on-air. invasion of a television studio by an armed gang.
The attacks on the energy sector underline the challenges. facing President Daniel Noboa, who promised security. improvements during his 2023 election project and is up for. re-election in February 2025.
His administration, which did not react to Reuters. concerns about fuel theft, has said it has actually increased military. security of oil installations, including night patrols, and. authorized making use of drones to monitor fuel pipelines, which. are different from the nation's two crude pipelines.
Petroecuador validated the federal government's implementation of the. patrols and the drones to Reuters. It is trying to find brand-new. innovation to spot taps more quickly, and at the possibility. of a joint command center with authorities and other entities to. speed action.
ANATOMY OF A FUEL BREAK-IN
Police, mentioning their intelligence work, allege a few of the. taken fuel is used by regional lawbreakers to make precursor. chemicals they sell to gangs producing cocaine in surrounding. Colombia. The gasoline is also utilized in high-speed boats which. relocation drugs north to Mexico and Central America through the Pacific,. they stated.
For the increase in patrols and other procedures to be. effective, there should be judicial changes, said Lieutenant. Colonel Hugo Amores, the head of the police hydrocarbon criminal activities. system.
Legal reforms are required because if we don't have. powerful laws, the work of the cops and the armed forces is a. joke, Amores stated. It's like a revolving door where we take in. detainees and they head out the opposite.
Fuel crimes can lead to sentences of in between 2 months and. five years, while arranged criminal offense charges can gather ten years. and murder sentences of approximately 26 years.
More than 90% of fuel pipelines are underground, so. wrongdoers dig around a meter to buried tubing, tapping and. linking it to press hoses, which bring fuel to illegal. tanker trucks or storage swimming pools concealed on personal property.
Petroecuador specialists typically need to improvise when it. pertains to repairs, the business told Reuters during its see. Eliminating the homemade taps can cause spills or need pumping. to be halted, so rather service technicians encase the taps in a metal. cylinder, preventing the valves from being reconnected to tubes,. a process that uses up to five hours.
If taps have triggered a spill, pumping is halted and clean-up. and repair efforts can take up to 12 hours, specialists stated.
Sometimes approximately five taps are reported daily across. various pipelines. Pumping on the Santo Domingo-Pascuales jet. fuel pipeline is presently stopped due to the fact that it was overrun with. taps.
The authorities have taken 18 storage pools utilized for saving. taken fuel and diesel this year up until now, mostly in the. Amazon.
Fuel theft has a systemic worth ... it's fundamental to the. profitability of criminal companies in Ecuador, Ecuadorean. Organized Crime Observatory Director Renato Rivera stated.
Fuel pipelines in the provinces of Guayas, Santa Elena,. Manabi and Esmeraldas, likewise major hubs for drug transport to the. U.S., suffer the most from taps, according to Amores'. hydrocarbons criminal offenses unit.
About 30,000 gallons of taken fuel - equivalent to 3. tanker trucks - are moved clandestinely around the nation each. day, he stated.
BURGLARY ROUTES
The volume of taken fuel seized by authorities increased. more than 77% over the past year and in November the army. reported it had actually seized an illegal refinery in Amazonian province. Sucumbios which had capacity to produce 10,000 gallons of. fuel weekly for use in drug production.
There are more controls, Amores said, describing the. boost in military presence at oil installations, but there. is likewise more crime.
The entire (judicial) system in relation to hydrocarbons. trafficking is concentrated on immediacy, on people captured in. the act and not on the networks of criminal groups that are. behind the crime, stated security expert Rivera. That's why the. outcomes are so minimal.
The hydrocarbons crimes unit has actually determined at least four. fuel smuggling paths along the border with Colombia and Peru.
Theft of copper wiring from oil facilities is not linked. to drug production, but has triggered $4 million in losses this. year and a dip of 1% in output over nine months, Petroecuador. stated.
Petroecuador workers and professionals in some provinces are. being extorted - getting demands for money and risks if they. refuse to pay - stated union head Jipson Martinez. In Esmeraldas province, home to Ecuador's biggest refinery,. an estimated 25% to 30% of 700 workers have been extorted, said. Martinez, who himself was required to leave the province after. declining to pay extortion, leading bad guys to try to bomb his. house in late 2022.
We are helpless, Martinez stated.
(source: Reuters)