Western Europe

Ship tracking data revealed that the first naphtha shipment for Venezuela, as part of an oil deal reached between Caracas & Washington in this'month', arrived Friday on Venezuelan waters aboard a tanker chartered a trading house Vitol. Caracas, Washington and Venezuela agreed on a $2 billion oil deal this month after the U.S. captured Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro. The agreement covers up to 50,000,000?barrels Venezuelan oil that is in storage. The agreement gives traders Vitol &?Trafigura first access to Venezuelan oil to resell to refineries worldwide. It also includes a?supply? of heavy naphtha, needed to dilute Venezuela's extra-heavy output. According...

In a report released on Friday, the rail accident investigation body CIAF stated that a fracture in rail appeared to have 'occurred' before a high speed train derailed last Sunday in southern Spain. In one of Europe's most deadly train accidents, a collision that occurred in Adamuz in the province of Cordoba on Sunday resulted in 45 deaths. First, a private train belonging to Iryo derailled and collided with a high-speed train coming from the?state owned rail company Renfe. The CIAF report posted on its website stated that "based on the information currently available, it is possible to hypothesize that...

Sources and experts have said that a large metal piece found near the crash site of a high speed train in Spain could be the missing undercarriage the investigators are searching for. At least 42 people were killed in the crash, which was one of Europe's largest, that occurred on Sunday near Adamuz, a small town located in the south of Turkey. Inaki Barron is the head of Spain’s railway accident investigation body CIAF. He said that on Monday, the investigation would be focused on a missing piece, called a bogie. This was because it was the main point of...

According to three industry sources, and LSEG data, Russia's Black Sea Port of Tuapse resumed exports of oil?products last week following a?two -week suspension due to a Ukrainian??drone??? attack. The strike on December 31 damaged equipment at Rosneft and one berth in the port. According to the Krasnodar regional operational headquarters, there is a nearby export-oriented Tuapse refining plant. Since the beginning of the conflict, drones from Ukraine have repeatedly attacked the port and refinery. According to "market sources", at least five tankers have loaded diesel and fuel at Tuapse Port since last week. Cargoes from Rosneft refineries were delivered...

Spain's largest train drivers union called for a strike on Wednesday to demand guarantees for the safety of their profession after one of Europe's worst train accidents left at least 42 people dead, and a second derailment killed a driver. A commuter train derailled on Tuesday, after a retaining-wall collapsed onto track during heavy rains in Barcelona. The driver was killed and four passengers were seriously injured. Rail network operator Adif? said that a third derailment on Barcelona's regional rail network was not caused by an accident, but a rock fell on the track during the storm. In a press...

Malaysia's sovereign fund Khazanah Nasional Bhd plans to channel additional capital into strengthening the?power?system and supporting local semiconductor companies as AI drives next investment cycle. Khazanah's Managing Director Amirul Feisal Wan Zahir stated in an interview during the World Economic Forum annual meeting in Davos that energy supply and grid reliability were central to competitiveness. "What is needed for it to work well, is computing power. And what does computing power mean? Energy. Amirul Feisal said at the Global Markets Forum that this is when we should think about how to capture some of this growth. Khazanah will instead concentrate...

The Sunday train derailment and collision in southern Spain left at least 122 people injured and 39 dead. Officials cited the "strangeness" of the accident, which occurred on a straight section of rail, and one theory suggested that the cause was a broken rail joint. What we know about the situation so far is: The accident occurred at 7:45 pm (1845 GMT), near the town Adamuz, in the province of Cordoba. This is about 360 km (225 miles) south of Madrid. Two high-speed trains were involved, one operated by the private consortium Iryo and the other by Alvia which is...

Witnesses and aid workers said that severe floods caused by heavy rains in Mozambique forced thousands of people to leave their homes and some were left stranded on roofs. The waters were swollen and swamping settlements. According to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, which is assisting in relief efforts, floods directly affected more than 620,000 individuals, with 72,000 homes flooded and extensive damage caused to bridges, roads and health centers. Rachel Fowler, IFRC's Program and Operations Manager, told reporters in Maputo that the situation was likely to worsen as the dams were already full. This...

According to a source briefed about the initial investigations, experts investigating the cause of the Sunday derailment in Spain of a high speed train, which killed at least 39 people found a cracked joint on the rails. According to a source briefed on the initial investigations into the disaster, experts investigating the cause of Sunday's derailment of a high-speed train in Spain found?a broken joint on the rails. The accident occurred near Adamuz, in the southern province Cordoba. It is about 360 km (230 miles) south of Madrid. The source said that technicians on site examining the rails found some...

The train derailment and collision that occurred in southern Spain on Sunday killed 39 people, and injured 122 others. Officials emphasized the "tremendously bizarre" nature of the accident which took place along a straight section of rail. What we know about the situation so far is: The accident occurred at 7:45 pm (1845 GMT) in the province Cordoba about 360 km (225 miles) south of Madrid. The two trains were operated by two different private companies, Iryo and Alvia. Both are run by Spain's national railway company, Renfe. The two last carriages from the eight-car trademark-red Iryo train travelling from...

According to RTVE, citing sources from the police, the death toll in Sunday's collision of a derailing high speed train with a second approaching train has risen?to?39, while 152 others were injured. The accident occurred at 7:45 pm local time (1845 GMT), on Sunday, near Adamuz. This is about 360 km south of Madrid. RTVE reports that over 200 trains between Madrid, southern Andalucia and major cities Cordoba and Seville were cancelled on Monday. In a Monday statement, his office announced that Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez had set out "his agenda" for the day. On Sunday, a video from the...

Libya will sign on Sunday a strategic partnership to develop and expand the Misurata Free Zone with international firms, attracting estimated $2.7 billion in investment. The project would generate an estimated $500 million in operating revenue annually if the agreements were signed with Qatari companies and Italian, Swiss, and Swiss firms. Dbeibah stated that "this project will not only boost Libya's ranking among the?largest port in terms of capacity and size, but also relies on direct foreign investments within a comprehensive partnership". Dbeibah stated that this partnership reflects "the government's commitment to attracting a productive external financing in order to...

Greenland’s capital, Greenland’s capital, restored power early on Sunday after a'storm' damaged a transmission line and left thousands of people without heat and electricity through the winter night. Witnesses reported that the electricity was suddenly cut off in Nuuk on Saturday night. Nukissiorfiit, which supplies power to?Nuuk through the Buksefjord Hydropower Plant southeast of the capital, said that the power was restored around?4 :30 am (0630 GMT). Greenlanders have become accustomed to power outages caused by severe weather. The cable that runs across two fjords and through rugged terrain is often damaged. The government released updated recommendations three days before...

The Caspian Pipeline Consortium, Kazakhstan's main oil export pipeline, returned to full capacity on Sunday at its terminalon the Russian Black Sea Coast after maintenance was completed at its three moorings points and a crude tanker was loaded, according to the pipeline. Kazakhstan, the 12th largest oil producer in the world, has been facing a number of challenges in recent months. These include an attack by a Ukrainian drone on the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) in late November, which caused the pipeline to pump at below capacity, and a shutdown in production earlier this month at the vast Tengiz field....

A large metal piece found near the crash site of a high speed train in Spain could?be the missing undercarriage the investigators are searching for, to determine the cause of the accident. At least 42 people were killed in the crash, which was one of Europe's largest, that occurred on Sunday near Adamuz, a small town located in the south of Turkey. Inaki Barron is the head of Spain’s railway accident investigation body CIAF. He said that on Monday, the investigation will focus on a missing piece, called a bogie. This part is important because it acts as a key...

Three executives present at the meeting claim that U.S. Energy Sec. Chris Wright informed oil company executives in Washington on Wednesday "that Venezuela's production can increase 30% from its current?900,000.?barrels a day within the short to medium term." U.S. president Donald Trump has asked U.S. oil executives for $100 billion in order to improve Venezuela's oil industry. This is a major goal of Washington following the capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro by U.S. forces earlier this month. Venezuela's oil production has plummeted due to years of underinvestment and sanctions. In the 1970s, Venezuela produced 3.5 million barrels per day...

The lawyer of the Chinese captain who is accused of damaging undersea cables on a?ship registered in Hong Kong in the Baltic Sea, said that 18 witnesses will be called in to testify. According to a Hong Kong charging document, Wan Wenguo is accused of causing "criminal damages" on the underwater natural gas pipeline between Finland and Estonia in October 2023. Since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in early 2022, the Baltic Sea region is on high alert for sabotage. This follows a series outages of gas pipelines, power cables and telecoms. Wan, 43 years old, appeared before the...

Hellenic Train, an Italian-owned railway company, is required to invest 420 millions euros ($487.41) in new trains and maintenance nearly three years after Greece's worst rail disaster. The amendments to the '2017' state contract with Hellenic Train, approved late Thursday by the parliament, contain these requirements. "For the very first time the contract contains a clause that allows for a termination. The statement stated that if the trains aren't delivered and in service by 2027 the state may terminate the contract. On February 28, 2023 a passenger train from Athens collided with a freight train from Thessaloniki, near the town...

The German budget committee approved the purchase of a minority share in the German division?of the Dutch high-voltage transmission grid 'TenneT', according to a German parliamentary report on Friday. This is part of a longstanding plan by the German government to consolidate its control over key infrastructure. The source said that conservatives, centre-left SPD, and the Greens were all in favor of the decision, but the far-right AfD was against it, and the Left Party abstained. In a November letter, the economy ministry'said that it intended to sign a 'agreement to buy a 25% stake in TenneT Germany in early...

A London court heard on Wednesday that the captain of a container vessel which smashed into a U.S. oil tanker last year off Britain's East Coast tried to alter course in order to avoid a fatal collision. Vladimir Motin's lawyer stated that the Russian captain of the Solong, who hit the Stena Immaculate tanker anchored in March 2025 and tried to turn off the autopilot but failed, shortly before the crash. Motin is facing trial at the Old Bailey, accused of gross negligence manslaughter. Mark Pernia is a 38-year-old crew member whose body was never found, but is presumed to...

Kazakhstan called on Europe and the U.S. to secure oil transport after drone attacks on tankers headed to a Black Sea Terminal on the Russian coast that handles 1% of the global supply. Unidentified drones attacked at least two oil tankers in Tuesday's Black Sea, including a tanker chartered by U.S. major Chevron. They were sailing toward a terminal along the Russian coast that would load oil from Kazakhstan. In a press release, Kazakhstan's foreign ministry said that three tankers had been hit on their way to the Black Sea marine terminal for the Caspian Pipeline Consortium. Drones attacked CPC’s...

The U.S. Justice Department asked on Tuesday a federal appeals?court to dismiss its appeal against a lower court order that blocked President Donald Trump from requiring 20?Democratic?states?to cooperate with immigration enforcement in order to receive billions of dollar's worth of grant funding for transportation. A U.S. Judge in Rhode Island decided that the U.S. Department of Transportation did not have the authority to force the states to work with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement for transportation funding and that the condition was against the U.S. Constitution. California Attorney General Rob Bonta led the legal challenge which included also the District...

Five industry sources reported that the cost of war insurance for ships sailing into the Black Sea almost doubled after two Greek-managed tankers were struck by unidentified drones on their way to load crude oil at a terminal on 'Russian coast. Black Sea is vital for shipping grain, oil and petroleum products. Bulgaria, Georgia and Romania, as well Russia and Ukraine, share its waters. Sources said that the latest incidents raised concerns about the safety of ships heading to Russian and Ukrainian terminals. The cost of war insurance for Black Sea terminals has risen from 0.6% to 0.8% in late...

British prosecutors have said that the captain of a container vessel that collided with a U.S. oil tanker last year off Britain's East Coast did "absolutely nothing" to avoid an avoidable, fatal collision. His trial for the death of a crewmember began on Tuesday. Vladimir Motin was the captain of the Portuguese flagged Solong, heading for Rotterdam, Netherlands, when the tanker Stena Immaculate, which was anchored was hit on 10 March 2025. Tom Little, prosecutor, said that the Solong was mostly carrying alcohol, and some dangerous goods. These included empty but unclean containers of sodium cyanide. The Stena Immaculate, on...