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US DOE begins issuing orders on LNG export permits that are pending
After releasing its final report on the effects of future exports, the U.S. Department of Energy said it would begin to approve or reject pending permits for liquefied gas exports. In 2024, the administration of U.S. president Joe Biden halted any approvals of LNG exports pending the results of a study that would determine whether increasing LNG exports might harm the environment or increase gas prices due to a higher demand for gas from LNG plants. The U.S. is the largest LNG exporter in the world. Triple your export capacity The 2024 study confirms the knowledge that our nation has always held -- LNG is good for our economy, our allies and our national security," Tala Goudarzi, U.S. principal assistant secretary of DOE's Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management said on Monday. Energy Transfer's Lake Charles plant, which is expected to produce 16.5 million tons of metric tonnes per year in Louisiana and Cheniere Energy’s midscale 8- and 9-unit facility in Texas are two projects that have been proposed and await DOE approval. Reporting by Curtis Williams, Houston; Editing and production by Chris Reese & Richard Chang
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Sources say that energy investor Five Point is targeting $2 billion in revenue from the sale of Northwind pipelines.
People familiar with the situation said that the private equity owner of Northwind Midstream has been exploring the possibility of selling the Permian Gas Infrastructure Operator. Any deal is expected to value the Permian gas infrastructure operator at approximately $2 billion, including debt. Five Point Infrastructure has been working with Piper Sandler's investment bankers on the sale, which is still in its infancy and could attract interest from other midstream companies and buyout funds as well as infrastructure and buyout funds. They warned that no deal was guaranteed and any agreement might be at a different price. The people spoke under condition of anonymity in order to discuss private discussions. Five Point declined comment. Northwind and Piper Sandler declined to comment. Northwind Midstream, a company formed by Five Point, was founded in 2022. Since then, it has built a network of pipelines, compression stations, and a treatment plant in the northern part Delaware Basin in New Mexico. The company is primarily focused on treating and moving so-called "acid gas", a natural gas that contains sulfide of hydrogen and high levels of carbon dioxide. Before the natural gas is used commercially, it must be cleaned of chemical compounds. Northwind's sale is just the latest effort by private equity investors to sell the energy infrastructure networks that they have built in recent years to support the growing U.S. production of shale gas. Publicly listed pipeline operators are promoting dealmaking because they want to increase their capacity after having spent the last few years paying off debt and improving stock prices. Investment firms have also been a major player in the asset market. They have raised billions to purchase energy infrastructure that offers a steady return from fees for moving oil and natural gas.
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Petronet: India's LNG imports will rise due to higher demand by power companies
A. K. Singh is the chief executive officer of Petronet LNG, the top gas importer in India. He said that the imports of liquefied gas will increase in the next few months in order to meet the growing demand for electricity in the country. A notice on the website of the Ministry of Power shows that India invoked emergency measures last week, asking companies to run underutilised gas-based plants at higher capacities from May 26 to June 30 in order to meet the electricity demand. India's electricity demand has been low so far this year as rains have tempered temperatures. We expect LNG demand will rise at a similar rate to the previous year. "The demand for electricity has been increasing in recent days, so we expect the demand for LNG will increase in the third or forth week of May and June," said he. Gas-fired power plants are more expensive than coal-fired, solar-powered, and wind-powered power plants. This has led to the idling by about 35% of gas-fired stations across the country. He said that the narrowing gap in price between long-term and spot LNG prices has also prompted some companies to increase their purchases. Indian customers, he added, prefer LNG at prices below $10 per million British Thermal Units. He said that Petronet hoped to expand its Dahaj terminal from 17.5 million tons to 22.5 millions in three to four months. His firm would also maximize the use of the terminal in order to meet the demand during the summer season. (Reporting and editing by Toby Chopra; Nidhi verma)
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US natgas at Waha hub, Texas, falls into negative territory
The U.S. Natural Gas Prices for Monday in West Texas' Permian Shale Basin turned negative due to spring pipeline maintenance. The financial firm LSEG reported that the average gas production in the Lower 48 U.S. States has fallen to 103.9 billion cubic feet per day so far in May. This is down from a record monthly output of 105.8 bcfd set in April. Spring maintenance was a part of the reason that some gas pipelines were reduced in output, including the 2.7-bcfd Permian Highway pipe from West Texas' Permian basin to Texas Gulf Coast. Kinder Morgan announced that it will be performing a turbine swap at the Big Lake Compressor Station from May 13 to 26. This will reduce mainline capability to approximately 2.2 Bcfd. The Permian Highway's reduction has trapped some gas within the Permian Basin, which is helping to boost spot gas prices in Waha Hub The price of British thermal units (mmBtu), which was 94 cents on Friday, fell by more than 260% to a low of minus 1.52 dollars for Monday. This was the fourth time that Waha prices were below zero on average in 2025. The previous averages for the five years prior (2019-2023) were $1.96, 77 cents and $2.91. In 2019, the Waha price average was first below zero. This happened 17 times between 2019 and 2020, six times each in 2023, and 49 times total in 2024. Analysts said that low prices are a sign that the Permian needs more gas pipelines. Some pipes are under construction including Kinder Morgan's Gulf Coast Express, Blackcomb, and Energy Transfer's Hugh Brinson. However, they will not be in service before 2026. The Permian Basin in West Texas, and Eastern New Mexico, is the largest and fastest growing oil producing shale region of the United States. With the oil, a lot of gas is also released. Energy firms are willing to accept some gas losses, even though U.S. oil futures have fallen by about 13% in 2025. They can make up the losses in oil sales. Some energy companies said that they would reduce their capital expenditures on new oil drilling in 2019 because oil prices are on course to fall for the third consecutive year in 2025. (Reporting and editing by Andrea Ricci; Scott DiSavino)
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Indian boycott of Turkish chocolate, coffee and fashion increases
Indian small grocery stores and online fashion retailers have boycotted Turkish products, including chocolates, coffees, jams, cosmetics and clothing, amid growing anger over Turkey's support of Pakistan in the confrontation with India. After India launched military strikes against islamist attackers in Indian Kashmir, Turkish President Tayyip Erdoan expressed his public solidarity with Pakistan. The fighting across the border continued for four full days before a truce was declared. The All India Consumer Products Distributors Federation, which supplies 13,000,000 mom-and-pop stores with groceries, announced on Monday that it would launch an "indefinite, total boycott" against all Turkish products. This includes chocolates, wafers (wafers), jams, biscuits, and skincare. According to three sources, and an examination of their websites, the Indian fashion websites owned and operated by Flipkart (backed by Walmart) and Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance (owned and operated billionaire Mukesh’s Reliance), have removed a number of Turkish clothing brands. One source said that Flipkart's fashion site Myntra has removed listings for Turkish brands, including Trendyol (known for women's clothes), street and casual clothing brand LC Waikiki, and jeans manufacturer Mavi. A second source who has direct knowledge of the matter said that Myntra had removed the brands in the "national interest" and without Walmart's involvement. Reliance’s fashion app AJIO removed Turkish brands such as Trendyol and Koton from its app. Many of these listings showed up on Monday as being out of stock. Sources cited "national feelings" as the reason. Flipkart, Reliance Retail, and the Turkish brands Trendyol LC Waikiki Koton and Mavi have not responded to our requests for comment. India has not issued a boycott order to companies. India imports $2.7 billion worth of goods from Turkey each year, dominated by precious metals and mineral fuels. A consumer boycott would still have a significant impact. AICPDF stated that its ban would impact around 20 billion rupees (234 million dollars) worth of food products. According to Trading Economics, apparel imports accounted for $81 million in value last year. Sukhvinder Sukhu said that he will ask for a prohibition on the import of apples from Turkey. These were worth $60 million in last year. Flipkart announced last week that it would suspend all flight, hotel, and holiday package reservations to Turkey, "in solidarity with India’s national interest and sovereignty". Indians are cancelling their holidays to Turkey, and New Delhi has revoked the security clearance for Celebi, a Turkish aviation ground handling company. Reports on Friday claimed that Air India had lobbied Indian officials to prevent IndiGo from leasing Turkish Airlines' aircraft, citing both business and security concerns. This was prompted by Ankara’s support of Pakistan. (Reporting and editing by Aditya Liffey, Aditi Shah; Additional reporting by Dhwani Paandya)
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South Korean mills purchase 50,000 T of wheat from US traders, traders claim
In a Monday tender, a group of South Korean mills purchased an estimated 50,000 tons of wheat from the United States. All purchases were FOB (free-on-board) and involved different types of wheat for shipment between 15 July and 15 August. It was thought that the seller would be Bunge, a trading house. Traders said that the purchase included soft white winter wheat, which had a protein content of 9.5-11%, bought at a price of $220 per ton FOB. Soft white wheat, with a maximum protein level (9%), was purchased at $230 per ton, while hard red winter wheat, with an 11.5% protein, was bought between $230 and 260. Northern spring wheat, with 12% protein, was bought around 240. The reports reflect the assessments of traders. Further estimates on prices and volume are possible in the future. Reporting by Michael Hogan, Editing by David Goodman
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Poor bean quality is a problem for weekly cocoa deliveries in Ivory Coast
Exporters estimate that cocoa arrivals in ports of Ivory Coast, the top producer, had reached 1,582 million metric tonnes by May 18 compared to 1.437 millions tons a year ago. The weekly arrivals in the two major ports of the country between May 12 and 18 were down sharply compared to the same period the previous season. This drop was attributed by buyers to the fact that they rejected more beans due poor quality. Between May 12 and 18, approximately 7,000 tons of bean were delivered to Abidjan and 15,000 to San Pedro, for a total 22,000 tons. This is down from the 31,000 tons that were delivered in the same period of the previous year. This is the second week in a row that volume has decreased. The cause of this can be attributed to a number of factors. The quality of the beans are poor, and the production is weakening," said the director of an export company for cocoa in San Pedro. The director, who asked to remain anonymous, said that the bean count of most deliveries ranged between 130 and150 beans per 100g. The cocoa regulator has set the standard for 106 beans per one hundred grams, and will tolerate up to 120. Separately the head of an cocoa grinding firm based in San Pedro said on Monday that they reject between 40 and 50 percent of the beans they receive. The director, who requested anonymity, added: "The bean count cannot be exploited in our factories resulting in a slowed down in our operations." A second director at a grinder in Abidjan said that the company operated at 60% capacity due to the low bean volumes and poor bean quality associated with high acidity. The prolonged dry spell from November until now is the cause of these problems. "Even if it rains it will be too late to change the trend," he said. (Reporting and editing by Ayen deng Bior, David Goodman, and Ange Aboa)
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Investcorp invests $500 million in the expansion of Oman’s Port of Duqm
Investcorp, the Middle East’s largest alternative investment company, announced on Monday that it had entered into an agreement to invest $550 million in the expansion of the Port of Duqm, Oman. This is part of its ongoing investments in regional infrastructure assets. Investcorp's infrastructure platform Investcorp Aberdeen will be a partner in the project along with a consortium made up of the Port of Duqm Company and the DEME Group, as well as the Port of Antwerp Bruges. Duqm Port, located in Oman on the southwest coast, is close to major oil and gas developments. It serves as a hub for container shipments as well as dry and liquid bulks and cargo. The project includes marine infrastructure, dredging, and construction of a quay wall to support a low-carbon industrial plan that is aimed at green steel production. Oman, a non-OPEC small producer, follows other Gulf countries with its efforts to diversify the economy and reduce dependence on oil revenue. According to a 2023 report by the IEA, as part of its efforts, the country is investing in order to achieve its decarbonisation goals. The goal is to produce at least 1,000,000 metric tons renewable hydrogen per year by 2030. Investcorp announced on Monday that AIIP was awarded the investment mandate in the Port of Duqm Project after a "competitive" process. The Bahrain-based company was founded in 1982 and manages assets totaling $55 billion. The company is known for its luxury brands like Gucci and Tiffany & Co., but has also expanded into private credit as well as assets such infrastructure.
Fincantieri, an Italian company, expands its submarine business
Fincantieri, a shipbuilder in Italy, said that it expects its underwater business revenues to double in size by 2027 as the company continues its expansion.
It said the state-controlled group wants to benefit from a global market valued at 56 billion dollars ($50 billion) annually, with a "component accessible" of 22 billion euros.
Shipbuilder's revenue in this part of the business is expected to increase to 820 millions euros or 8% of revenues. This compares to 4% in 2024.
The company expects the earnings before interest taxes depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA), from the submarine industry to reach 152 millions euros by 2027 with a margin of profit close to 19%.
The company stated that "the underwater business represents an important domain for security and energy, environmental monitoring, and submarine communication."
Fincantieri acquired Leonardo's Underwater Armament Systems, formerly known by the name Whitehead Alenia Sistemi Subacquei. The deal valued the company at 415 million euro.
In 2023, it acquired Italian engineering group Remazel that specializes in underwater vessel solutions.
It added on Monday that its unit IDS had signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Italian underwater mechatronics company Graal Tech for the development and marketing of small and medium-sized autonomous underwater vehicles.
Pierroberto Fogiero, Chief Executive Officer of the company, said that the consolidation of a cross-sectoral demand for underwater applications in the defence and dual-use sectors as well as civil applications makes it a priority sector for government and industry. He made this statement at an investor and analyst event in Milan. $1 = 0.8887 Euros (Reporting and writing by Elvira pollina; Editing by Keith Weir).
(source: Reuters)