Latest News
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BP Olympic Pipeline restarts after completing repairs
BP announced on Friday that it has begun restarting its 400-mile Olympic Pipeline following repairs to a leak located east of Everett in Washington. Olympic Pipeline transports refined petroleum products, including gasoline and diesel from northern Washington into Oregon. It consists of two pipelines with a diameter of 16 inches and 20 inches. Olympic initiated restart procedures for the 20-inch pipe early on November 28, following a successful test to detect leaks," the company stated in an email statement. Its crews repaired the 16-inch section of the pipeline system earlier this week after finding no signs of a leak. On November 11, the first report of a refined product discharge along the Olympic Pipeline came to light. BP closed the entire pipeline system a few days later, stopping product deliveries. Washington declared a Fuel Emergency last week, and Oregon followed suit Monday. This was in response to a system shutdown that has caused jet fuel to be unavailable at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. The pipeline outage forced major airlines, including Alaska Airlines and Delta Air Lines, to develop plans to reduce the impact on flights leaving Sea-Tac over the Thanksgiving holiday travel week. They did this by adding extra fuel to inbound flights via tanker trucks as well as fuel stops for outbound flights. Reporting by Nicole Jao, New York; editing by Chris Reese
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Airbus recalls major A320 after flight control incident
Airbus, Europe's largest jet manufacturer, announced on Friday that it would be ordering an immediate software upgrade on a large number of its most popular A320 jets. Industry sources estimate this will affect 6,000 jets or more than half of the fleet. Airbus stated in a press release that a recent incident with an A320 family aircraft revealed that intense solar radiation can corrupt data crucial to the flight control system. Airbus acknowledged that these recommendations would cause operational disruptions for passengers and customers, the company said. Airbus has announced that the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) will issue a directive on emergency airworthiness. Industry sources say that for about two thirds of affected jets the recall will only result in a brief shutdown as airlines switch back to an older software version. The size of the operation will cause significant disruptions, as it is scheduled to occur just before the busiest travel weekends of the year for the United States. It is possible that hundreds of jets will also need to be re-equipped, resulting in weeks of downtime. The event that led to the massive repair work involved JetBlue Sources in the industry said that on October 30, a flight was made from Cancun, Mexico to Newark, New Jersey. After a sudden, uncommanded altitude drop and a flight-control problem, Flight 1230 made a forced landing in Tampa, Florida. Several people were hospitalized. Airbus data shows that there are approximately 11,300 A320 family aircraft in service, including 6,440 A320 core models.
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A tanker sanctioned by the Turkish government is hit and a rescue operation is underway.
A tanker belonging to Russia's shadow navy exploded in the Black Sea, near the Bosphorus Strait in Turkey, on Friday. The explosion caused a fire in its engine room. 25 people were rescued. The Turkish Maritime Affairs Directorate reported that the tanker Kairos was en route from Turkey to Russia's Novorossiysk when it reported an "external impact" causing a 28 nautical mile fire. According to a person who has direct knowledge, a second oil tanker named Virat also suffered an explosion further east, in the Black Sea. According to LSEG, both Kairos and Virat appear on a list containing ships that are subject to sanctions imposed by Russia after its full-scale invasion in Ukraine 2022. Tribeca shipping agency reported that the Kairos was under Gambian flag, and in ballast at the time of the incident. The report said that reports indicated the ship could have hit a mine, and was in danger of sinking. Rescue tugboats and Coast Guards were sent to help. The Turkish Maritime Affairs Directorate issued a press release on X saying that the condition of 25 crew members on board was good. Rescue units were dispatched in the area to evacuate the crew. A shipping source reported that a ship nearby evacuated some of the crew. The agency reported that shipping traffic continued through the strait. Reporting by Can Sezer and Ezgi Erkoyun; Editing by Aidan Lewis
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Henry Bath opens LME warehouse in Hong Kong
A notice published by the London Metal Exchange on Friday revealed that Henry Bath & Son, a warehouse operator in Hong Kong has been the latest company to register a facility at the London Metal Exchange. According to the LME's notice, the warehouse is located in Hong Kong’s New Territories in the Kwai-Chung district. It can store nickel, lead and zinc, as well as copper, aluminum and aluminium alloy. The LME approved the first Hong Kong warehouses in January of this year. Its aim is to provide a gateway into mainland China, which is the largest metals consumer in the world. The LME has approved Henry Bath's warehouse for storage and will make metals available to be delivered against the metals contracts from December 5, according to the notice. Henry Bath, a Liverpool-based company, is owned in majority by Chinese logistics and warehousing firm CMST Development Co. CMST bought 51% of Mercuria's shares from the commodity trader Mercuria at the beginning of 2016. Tom Daly is the reporter.
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US LNG plants produce record amounts of gas, LSEG figures show
According to preliminary data by financial firm LSEG, the U.S. demand of natural gas that will be converted into LNG surpassed 19.3 billion cubic feet Friday. This is a record high for the third consecutive day. The U.S. exports the most liquefied gas in the world. LSEG data shows that the record usage was led by two of the largest U.S. oil exporters: Cheniere's Sabine Pass facility in Texas pulled 5.1 bcf and Venture Global Plaquemines in Louisiana continued its ramp-up pulling 4.2 bcf, respectively. The U.S. natural gas demand for LNG was less than 12 bcf/day in 2024. This year's growth has been primarily driven by Plaquemines which began production in the final week of 2024. It is now processing more than 4 bcfd. Most shutdowns of U.S. LNG plants are scheduled during the summer, when plants can operate more efficiently. Reporting by Curtis Williams, Houston. Editing by Rod Nickel
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Gupta denies knowing about duplicate cargoes as testimony in Trafigura fraud case closes
Indian businessman Prateek gupta was accused of orchestrating a $600m metals fraud by commodity group Trafigura. He told a court in India on Friday that he didn't know who within his companies had allegedly made fake documents for selling the same cargo to multiple customers. The long-running trial concluded on Friday with the testimony. It will resume again on December 10, for closing arguments. Trafigura, a Geneva-based company, sued Gupta in more than two years. It claimed that he had orchestrated a ruse where he and his firms agreed to deliver pure nickel instead of steel or scrap. Trafigura's lawyers accuse Gupta on Thursday of stealing funds from an alleged fraud in order to support his business empire as his companies ran out of money early in 2021. Gupta said Trafigura employees designed the scheme at the heart of the case. This allegation has been repeatedly denied by the trader. Nathan Pillow, a Trafigura lawyer, showed Gupta two copies of shipping documents with the same number from 2022. One of them, he claimed, was a copy sold to Trafigura and stamped by TMT Metals AG - one of Gupta’s companies. "You...were driven by your financial problems to resort to this type of scam", Pillow told Gupta at a London High Court. This created millions of dollars in revenue for your companies that were on the verge of bankruptcy. Pillow asked Gupta on his third day to testify who had signed and stamped the document. He replied that he was unaware of any duplicates or who might have signed them. Gupta announced in 2015 that he was planning a major expansion of his UD Group. He aimed to expand the group into Europe, Russia, and Africa, and increase the headcount to 400 people within the next two years. (Reporting and editing by Eric Onstad)
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Serbia wants sanctions lifted after saying that the U.S. sanctioned NIS refinery will be idle until December 2.
Energy Minister Dubravka Handanovic announced on Friday that Serbia's U.S. sanctioned NIS oil refinery, which is owned by Russia and operated under U.S. sanctions, will continue operating in a so-called "idle mode" until December 2, as it expects to be exempted from the U.S. sanctions. After a series of waivers, the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the U.S. Treasury Department imposed sanctions on NIS as part of broader sanctions against Russia's oil and gas industry in October. NIS announced on Tuesday that, due to a shortage of crude oil coming from the Janaf pipeline in Croatia, its only refinery will be switched to the "hot standby" mode, which would allow a faster restart when imports become available. Djedovic handanovic stated that the refinery with a capacity of 4.8 millions tons per year would be restarted as soon as NIS received a waiver from the United States. It requested one on 19 November for the duration negotiations for the sale the Russian stake in NIS. She said that if the U.S. response is positive, the refinery will be able produce the first quantities of Diesel... on December 15, after meeting with representatives of fuel retailers in Belgrade. A complete shutdown of the refinery could hurt the economy. Experts in oil refining said that hot standby mode shouldn't be extended beyond a few days. The majority of Serbia's gasoline is imported by neighboring Hungary, via the Danube river as well as train and truck. The U.S. granted Budapest an exemption to sanctions so that it can continue importing fuel. Peter Szijjarto, the Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs, said that Hungarian oil company MOL doubled its deliveries to Serbia during November and will deliver 2.5 times more fuel and crude oil in December. Aleksandar Vucic, the Serbian president, said on Tuesday that Russian NIS owners, who collectively hold more than 50 percent, had 50 days to sell or else the government would buy out their shares and take over. A top Hungarian official told reporters on Thursday that Hungary might buy a stake. (Reporting and editing by PhilippaFletcher; AleksandarVasovic)
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Strikes against PM Meloni disrupt transport in Italy
The protests and strikes in Italy against Giorgia's Meloni government on Friday caused dozens of flight cancellations and disruptions to train services throughout the country. The USB hardline union and smaller worker organizations called for the one-day strike against the government’s plans to increase military spending and support for Israel. In recent years, the USB has emerged as a grass-roots movement that is challenging the dominance of three major confederations: the CGIL (left-wing), the CISL (centrist) and UIL (right-wing). Bologna has cancelled 17 flights while Malpensa in Milan has cancelled 27. Milan Linate Airport, Naples and Venice are also affected. ITA Airways, Italy's largest airline, said that it has cancelled 26 domestic flights because of the strikes. Protests stopped trains at the smaller Milan station Lambrate after train cancellations in Rome, Turin and Milan. In Rome and other cities, public transport was disrupted. In Turin, hundreds of protesters marched, some waving Palestinian flags. Yanis Varoufakis, former Greek Finance Minister, and Francesca Albanese, Special Reporter on Palestinian Rights for the U.N., also attended a pro-Gaza demonstration in Genoa. Police used water cannons to disperse activists who had blocked the entrance of Leonardo, an Italian defence group. USB organised a national protest day on Saturday to protest what they call Meloni's 'war budget. They claim that the financial bill for 2026 favors military expenditures over needed investments in health, education, and welfare. The budget of Prime Minister Meloni (in power since 2022) has been described as "serious and balanced" by the PM. She cited income tax reductions for middle-income earners, which she said could help Italy's slowing economy. The CGIL, Italy’s largest union and the more mainstream one, announced a nationwide walkout of its members on December 12 over budget issues. (Reporting and writing by Anna Uras; Editing by Keith Weir).
Bankrupt Yellow accepts pensions worth billions
Yellow Corp. has settled with 14 pension funds that sought more than $7,4 billion in compensation from the trucking company.
According to settlement documents filed in Delaware bankruptcy court on Wednesday, the pension plans have agreed to accept a reduced payment. This will put an end to years of litigation regarding Yellow's claims that it cannot pay. It will also allow Yellow's junior creditor to receive up to $7.4million from proceeds from its bankruptcy sales.
Yellow closed in 2023 after a dispute between its employees and the union that represented them. It sold its assets, which included its truck fleet, its shipping terminals and other real estate, in bankruptcy. These sales were more than enough for Yellow to pay off its top creditors and the government-backed COVID-19 Pandemic Relief Loan, but left other creditors like pension plans fighting to recover a fraction.
The company lost its appeal in September over pension claims, but it still does not have the money to pay for more than a small fraction of those claims. The company anticipates having between $600 and $700 millions to pay off all creditors including pension plans.
Court documents indicate that the $7.4million set aside for junior creditor may be reduced, if Yellow Corp has less than $550M in cash when it declares bankruptcy.
Yellow challenged in its legal battle against the pension plans two regulations of the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation that limited how employers and pension funds could use pandemic aid funds to calculate employers' pension liabilities.
The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia upheld the PBGC rules on appeal. The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia upheld the PBGC's rules. They said that they supported the 2021 American Rescue Plan Act, which aims to give billions of dollars for underfunded multiemployer plans. Dietrich Knauth (Reporting, Alexia Garamfalvi and Diane Craft; Editing)
(source: Reuters)