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Texas nuclear power plants are included in the South Korean investment package.
South Korea and the United States have finalised the implementation of Seoul’s $350 billion investment pledge under a deal that was struck last year, which lowered US tariffs to 15% on South Korean products. The remaining $200 billion will be used for strategic investments. Details are still being worked on for the $150 billion earmarked to shipbuilding. According to media reports, and a South Korean legislator, the details of these projects are listed below, although the industry ministry in the country has stated that no details have been established. TEXAS GAS FIRED POWER PLANT The first project involves a combined cycle gas power plant at Encinal in Texas. The project, which aims to provide electricity to AI data centers and semiconductor plants in Texas, is 6.3 gigawatts. According to South Korean media outlets including JoongAng Ilbo, to reduce the risk of the project, it is expected to be developed gradually, beginning with 1.4 GW gas turbines, and later adding 4.9GW combined-cycle facilities. Reports said that the two sides had agreed to invest around $22.3 billion and use a bilateral special purpose investment vehicle in the future. WESTINGHOUSE STAKE: EIGHT NUCLEAR Reactors Seoul and Washington are negotiating the construction of eight large nuclear reactors within the United States. According to the Korea Economic Daily and other outlets, nuclear energy could represent a significant portion of the total investment package. Both countries are in negotiations for the purchase of six reactors using technology from US-based Westinghouse, and two using South Korean designs. The South Korean units, if built, would be the first Korean nuclear reactors in the United States. Seoul is also negotiating to acquire a share in the US nuclear company Westinghouse. South Korea wanted around 15% to get a board position, but media reports claimed that the US only offered 5%-10%. According to Korea Economic Daily, the value of an investment could range from $15 billion to $20 million, meaning a 15% stake would be worth between $2.25 and $3 billion. Westinghouse stock is held by Canadian asset managers Brookfield and their partners, with 51% of the shares. Canadian uranium miners Camco hold 49%. ALASKA LIGNA PROJECT A second project that is currently being discussed involves South Korea's participation in the Alaska Liquefied Natural Gas Project, an export and pipeline scheme long-stalled by US President Donald Trump. Alaska LNG, estimated at $44 billion, would export gas from northern Alaska to Asian countries via a pipeline of 1,300 km (807 miles). South Korea approached the plan with caution. Industry Minister?Kim Jungkwan said to parliament?last year that Alaska LNG is a "high risk business". South Korean media reported that Seoul had sought to include Alaska LNG in the US Investment Memorandum, but without any binding commitment. NUCLEAR FUEL RESOURCING According to Yoon Hu-duk, a South Korean lawmaker from the ruling party, a fourth?potential?investment concerns Washington's desire for South Korean assistance in reprocessing spent fuel. Yonhap News Agency reported that the US has linked this proposal with South Korea's efforts to build nuclear submarines and secure fuel. The United States have proposed a project that involves processing 4,000 tons of spent nuclear fuel. In November last year, at a summit of leaders between the US and South Korea, they agreed to a "joint factsheet" in which Washington approved South Korean's plans to build an nuclear submarine. They also agreed to work closely together on fuel procurement. CARBON CAPTURE According to South Korean legislator Yoon, carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) is a fifth possible project. Major US energy companies have already made large-scale investments in this area.
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Aramco will boost Gulf exports by 60 million barrels between September and October, traders claim
Multiple trade sources reported on Friday that Saudi Arabia sold approximately?60,000,000 barrels of crude oil from its Gulf Port of Ras Tanura?inside of the Strait of?Hormuz to be loaded via ship-to -ship transfer in?the?Omani ports of Sohar during this month and next. Saudi Aramco, the state-owned oil company, is resuming its exports to the Gulf, which are now between 1 million and 1.5 million barrels of oil per day, on average. This figure is similar or slightly higher to August's level. It has helped to cool global?oil? prices, as it compensates for the volume lost in Yanbu at the Red Sea, where exports were slowed following the attack on the East-West Pipeline. Sources who spoke anonymously said that Chinese and South Korean refiners were among the top buyers for spot supplies. Some volumes would be heading to India and Japan. Saudi Aramco didn't immediately respond to an outside office hours request for comment. Global oil futures dropped more than $1 per barrel on Friday, following reports that Saudi Arabia wanted to return half of the capacity of its East-West pipeline in a matter days. The nation also offered more crude cargoes for Asian refiners via ship-to-ship transfer off Sohar. Although supertanker rates also reached a record high this week, increased Gulf crude exports have been a boon to buyers in Asia. According to a shipbroking company, the freight rate for chartering a very large "crude carrier" to load 2,000,000 barrels of crude oil from Fujairah in early October to Asia was 800 Worldscale. The Petroleum Association of Japan announced on Friday that the country's oil refining companies have "secured enough crude supplies" through November. They cited the ship-to -ship transfers taking place "outside of the Strait of Hormuz." In some cases, oil is transported through the Strait of Hormuz by Saudi Arabia at their risk and then?transferred outside the Gulf. Shunichi Kito, PAJ President in Tokyo said: 'Supplies from Saudi Arabia haven't stopped completely because of this.
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Indonesia recovers three bodies from a capsized ship in Java Sea
A Navy official said on Friday that Indonesian rescuers had'recovered three bodies' from the passenger ship which capsized and sank in the Java Sea at the weekend. The search continues for the more than 100 passengers who are still missing. Edy Setyawan, a Navy official, said that divers managed to enter the vessel as part of their search and found two males and a female body. Virgo transport 8 capsized early Sunday morning in bad weather while carrying?243 passengers on a voyage of 20 hours from Surabaya, East Java, to Banjarmasin, South Kalimantan. The authorities decided to turn the ship on Friday in order to facilitate the rescue operation. Authorities said that the ship was partially afloat but then completely sank to the seabed. ?Nine?people are now confirmed dead, while 108 people survived. Another 126 passengers are still unaccounted for. The salvage operation has already begun. Yesterday, an observation was made and today it is likely that the team will move towards the location of the ship," said Banjarmasin Naval Commander Galih Nuruda Putra. Galih explained that the plan was to move the ship onto a deeper seabed, and then turn it around. I Putu Sudayana is the head of Banjarmasin Rescue Agency. The rescue agency will work with the Navy and the maritime police to support the operation. Putu said that rescue and evacuation efforts will start as soon as the ship is turned upright. He said that the diving team would only stay outside of the ship as long as it was still at the seabed. Putu, the Indonesian government's spokesperson, said that eight ships and two helicoptors were also used on Friday by Indonesian authorities to carry out a?search of sea and air surface, he added. Two representatives of the victims' families were also invited to join the search for the missing on Friday, so that they could "understand the adverse weather conditions and technicalities of the search", he added. Galih stated that the Navy diving team was able to approach a ship on Thursday, capture footage, and locate evidence, including wallets, identification cards, hundreds of parcels with water damage and plastic-wrapped packaging, as well as hundreds of other items.
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Aramco will boost exports to Strait of Hormuz from 60 million bbl between September and October, say traders
Trade sources reported on Friday that Saudi Arabia sold 60 million barrels from its Ras 'Tanura port in the Strait of Hormuz to be loaded via ship-to -ship transfer into Omani ports of Sohar and Sohar next month. Saudi oil exports within the Gulf have helped to cool global 'oil prices. They could compensate for the volume lost in Yanbu on the Red Sea, where 'exports slowed down after the East-West Pipeline was attacked by the Yemeni Houthis. Sources said that Chinese and South Korean refiners were among the top buyers, and some volume would be shipped to India and Japan. Saudi Aramco did not respond immediately to a comment request outside office hours. Global 'oil futures' fell by more than $1 per barrel on Friday, following reports that Saudi Arabia wanted to return half of its East-West oil pipeline capacity within days. The nation also offered more crude cargoes via ship-to-ship transfers off the port of Sohar in Oman.
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Wall Street Journal, September 18,
These are the most popular?stories from the Wall Street Journal. The Wall Street Journal has not verified these stories and cannot vouch for their accuracy. - An independent security research team that specializes in bug hunting used Anthropic’s Claude software to access the ChatGPT account of an OpenAI employee. Lockheed Martin has received the first shipment of critical components from General Motors. This is less than a month after they signed a manufacturing agreement. The Pentagon wants to speed up the production of weapons. Jana Partners, an activist hedge fund, wants Cooper contact lenses to replace their chief executive. They also want them to consider selling off its core business. US Federal Aviation officials are preparing to launch a AI-powered air traffic tool in Washington, DC as soon as Monday. Caesars Entertainment and Fertitta Entertainment received a US Federal Trade Commission request for more information regarding the regulator's evaluation of the proposed acquisition. Mark 'Walter' and Todd Boehly have agreed to sell their combined 25% share in Chelsea to Clearlake Capital, the majority owner of Chelsea for approximately $1.27 billion.
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Indonesia launches operation to right a capsized ship in Java Sea, as 129 people are still missing
Officials said on Friday that Indonesia had begun an operation to right the ship which capsized and sank last weekend in the Java Sea. Authorities continued their air and surface search for the 129 people who are still missing. The Virgo Transport '8 was carrying 243 passengers?on a?20-hour journey from Surabaya, East Java, to Banjarmasin, South Kalimantan. It capsized early Sunday morning in bad weather. The search for survivors and bodies was not successful until the fifth day due to the strong currents. Authorities then decided to turn the ship around to facilitate rescue operations. Authorities said that the ship, which had been partially submerged for several days, has now completely settled to the seabed. Six people have been confirmed dead, and?108 survivors. The numbers have not changed from Sunday. The salvage operation has already begun. Yesterday, an observation was made. Today the team is likely to move towards the location of the ship," said Galih Nurna putra, the Banjarmasin Naval Commander. Galih explained that the plan is to move the ship onto a softer seabed, and then turn it around. I Putu Sudayana is the head of Banjarmasin Rescue Agency. The rescue agency will work with the Navy and the maritime police to support the operation. Putu said that rescue and evacuation efforts will start as soon as the ship is turned upright. He said that the diving team was only allowed to remain outside of the ship as long as it was still on the seabed. Putu, the Indonesian government spokesperson, said that eight'ships and helicopters were also deployed on Friday by Indonesian authorities to conduct air and surface searches. However, operations are still hindered by strong winds, waves, and 'currents. He said that rescuers allowed two family members of victims to join in the search Friday, so that they could better understand the weather conditions and the technicalities of the search. Galih stated that the Navy dive team was able to approach the vessel on?Thursday?, capture footage, and find evidence, such as wallets, identification cards, and hundreds water-damaged packages and plastic-wrapped packaging.
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Prices of oil fall on third day amid hopes for limited Saudi supply disruptions
The oil prices dropped for a third consecutive day on Friday, as easing concerns about Saudi supply disruptions overrode 'anxiety' regarding a possible escalation of the Middle East conflict in light of new fighting between Saudi Arabian forces and Yemeni Houthis. Brent crude futures dropped 79 cents or 0.75% to $104 per barrel by 0319 GMT. US West Texas intermediate futures also fell 70 cents or 0.69% to $101.20 per barrel. Both benchmarks fell about 1% Thursday. Brent prices are set to suffer their first weekly loss in three weeks, falling 0.5%. WTI, on the other hand, is expected to rise 1.2%. The markets largely ignored concerns about the new threats to supply, even though Saudi Arabia and Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis traded fresh strikes across their borders on Thursday, expanding Middle East 'war front. Prices rose to near four-month-highs earlier this week as sources reported that crude loadings had been suspended at Saudi Arabia's Red Sea Export Hub of Yanbu and Riyadh had cancelled some deliveries to Europe following an attack on its East-West Pipeline last week. Prices have fallen since reports that Saudi Arabia is aiming to return half of the capacity of the East-West pipeline in a matter of days, and it's offering to ship more crude oil to Asian refineries through the port of Sohar in Oman. Phillip Nova's head of market insight, Priyanka Sahdeva, said that recent efforts to restore Saudi export capability have helped reduce some of the immediate anxiety about supply. The sources that have spoken have given different estimates on how long it will be before the pipeline is reopened and crude flow returns to normal. Analysts said that oil prices are still over $100 per barrel as markets wait for clear evidence of an improvement in supply. The key question is whether physical flows can be normalised and what timeline could it take. Sachdeva stated that if we see sustained improvements in Hormuz trade, the geopolitical advantage can be reduced further. Transporting oil across the region is still risky. Iranian state media reported early Friday that the Revolutionary Guards Navy of Iran?said an oil tanker flying Togo's flag was hit while trying to make an?illegal passage? through the Strait of Hormuz. Since the June interim agreement that was reached between the US and Iran collapsed in a matter of weeks, there have been no talks. According to the US State Department, the war will be discussed at the United Nations General Assembly in the coming week. An Iranian delegation is expected to attend.
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AirAsia's Fernandes: Current crisis is 'far less' severe than COVID
AirAsia's co-founder, Tony Fernandes, said that the challenges the low-cost airline faced due to soaring jet fuel costs were "far" less severe than the ones it faced during COVID-19. At a press briefing, he said that the strong demand for air travel continued to support his business. Two days earlier, sources reported that Malaysia Airlines and Batik Air had been asked by the government to absorb AirAsia’s domestic market share. Sources said that it was part of what authorities described as scenario planning, while they monitor the financial health and performance of Southeast Asia's biggest low-cost airline. Fernandes said to reporters that 'the second quarter was the most difficult period for AirAsia and he forecast improving conditions, as the airline adjusts its fares to reflect higher fuel costs. Jet fuel prices have risen 66% from the previous quarter to an average of $183 per barrel in the second quarter.
3 South Korean groups buy 180,000 T soymeal, traders say
3 South Korean groups purchased an overall 180,000 metric tons of soymeal in to be sourced from optional origins in a deal on Thursday, European traders said.
Three 60,000 ton consignments were purchased $355.95 and $ 355.85 a heap expense and freight (c&& f) included and also consisting of a surcharge for extra port dumping, they stated.
Buyers were the Major Feedmill Group (MFG), the Feed Leaders' Committee (FLC) and Korea Feed Association (KFA).
The MFG purchased one consignment from trading home Bunge for July 6 arrival, the FLC one consignment from Cofco for June 29 arrival and the KFA's Busan area one likewise from Cofco for July 5 arrival.
The soymeal is expected to be sourced from either the United States, South America or China. Reports show assessments from traders and further price quotes of rates and volumes are still possible later.
(source: Reuters)