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Sources say that Harvest Midstream, Jeff Hildebrand’s company, has agreed to purchase some MPLX assets for $1 billion.
People familiar with the situation said that Harvest Midstream, which is owned by the founders of Hilcorp Energy and privately held, has reached an agreement to purchase natural gas gathering assets worth around $1 billion from MPLX. Houston-based Harvest has midstream assets across multiple oil and natural gas plays. This includes the Bakken Shale in North Dakota and Alaska. The company was founded by Jeff Hildebrand who is also the owner of Hilcorp, the largest private oil & gas company in the United States. According to the sources, Harvest will be able to expand into the Uinta shale basin, as well as the Green River shale, which are located in Utah, Colorado, and Wyoming. The people spoke anonymously to discuss confidential information. Sources confirm that Harvest will buy pipelines of more than 1,500 km (2,414 miles) in length that transport natural gases from the wellhead and connect them to consumers as well as processing capacity. MPLX and Harvest were not available for comment after normal business hours. The deal for MPLX comes as the company invests more in the Permian basin of Texas and New Mexico. According to a 5th of August analyst call, MPLX acquired around $3.5 billion in 2025. MPLX's activity has been focused on the Permian. The most recent announcement was at the end July that it had reached an agreement to purchase Northwind Midstream, valued at nearly $2.4 billion. WhiteWater, along with other partners, announced on Monday the final investment decision for the Eiger Express Pipeline. This new natural gas pipeline will connect the Permian to export facilities located on the U.S. Gulf Coast.
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Ryanair welcomes Boeing fast-track plane deliveries
Michael O'Leary, CEO of Ryanair, said that Boeing has accelerated its delivery schedule for the budget airline. Instead of spring next year, 25 new aircraft are expected to arrive by October. After a panel blowout mid-air on a new 737 MAX, in January 2024, the U.S. firm is working to stabilize production. This was after widespread safety and production problems were exposed. O'Leary said in Brussels that "the quality of the work they do is excellent, so we're very impressed." He said that he expected the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration to certify Boeing's newer 737 MAX aircraft soon. Boeing has indicated that the MAX 7 could be certified as early as next year, and the MAX 10 by the end 2025. STRONG SUMMER O'Leary's remarks come at a time when the airline is struggling with air traffic strikes this summer. However, he confirmed that bookings are strong and there has been no change in the airline's forecast. Budget carrier was forced to cancel 700 flights due to strikes in France, mostly in July. Although air traffic control strike numbers dropped in August, the European Union must still do more to ensure staffing and allow planes to fly above certain countries during strikes. He said: "You cannot allow the French to shut down the skies above Europe because they are on strike."
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Kazakhstan is in talks with BTC to resume oil transport via BTC pipeline.
The Russian state-run news agency TASS, citing Kazakhstan's energy minister, reported that the Central Asian nation is in talks with the Russian government to resume oil transport via the Baku - Tbilisi - Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline. This was the first confirmation by Kazakhstan of any disruptions to its exports through the BTC. The BTC has been impacted by issues with contaminated Azerbaijani crude oil. According to industry sources, Kazakh supplies through the route were stopped in early August. Last month, organic chloride was found in Azerbaijani BTC cargoes. This pushed the price differentials down to their lowest level in four years and delayed loading. According to Kpler's data, the Azerbaijani BTC loads from Ceyhan in July totaled 423,000 barrels per daily (bpd), below the 561,000 scheduled for the month. The use of organic chlorides to increase oil extraction is a good thing, but they must be removed from pipelines before oil can enter them as they may damage the refinery equipment. There was a report (about the suspension of deliveries via BTC). KazMunaiGas, I believe, is now negotiating a return to this route as soon as possible," Kazakh Energy minister Yerlan Akkenzhenov told TASS. The 1,768 km (1,100 mile) BTC pipeline managed by BP brings oil from Azerbaijan's and Kazakhstan's Caspian oilfields to the Turkish port Ceyhan. The route is used as part of Kazakhstan’s effort to bypass Russia when exporting energy. The Caspian Pipeline Consortium ships more than 80% Kazakhstan's oil via a Russian Black Sea Port. Statisticians state that Kazakhstan has increased its oil exports through the BTC by 12% in the first half 2025 compared to last year's same period to 785,000 tonnes (34,000 barrels a day). TASS also reported that the Kazakh Minister Akkenzhenov said that despite recent Ukrainian attacks against the Druzhba Pipeline, supplies of Kazakh crude oil to Europe continue without delay.
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Mota-Engil's Mota-Engil profits rise 20% to a record, driven by African projects
Mota-Engil, Portugal's biggest construction company, said Wednesday that strong sales in Africa contributed to a 20% increase in net profit for the first half of this year. This is a record high. The builder that operates in over 20 countries across Africa, Europe, and Latin America posted a net loss of 59 millions euros ($69.07million) for the period. This is up from 49million euros last year. Mota-Engil stated that overall sales increased 0.5%, to 2.75 billion euro. Africa grew 59%, to 1.05 billion euro, and was "standing out" as the region of the highest growth and profitability, due to projects in Nigeria, and Angola. Latin America's sales fell by 27%, to 1,09 billion euros. This is due to a "transitional period" following two years of growth. In Europe, the sales fell 18% to 242 millions euros after the sale of the Polish operations by the company in September. Earnings prior to interest, taxes and depreciation increased by 13%, to 448 millions euros. The EBITDA margin, a measure for profitability, rose from 15% to 16% during the same time period last year. Mota-Engil is owned by 40% by the Mota Family and 32,41% by China Communications Construction Company. Its order backlog in June was 14.7 billion Euros, 1 billion Euros more than it was a year earlier. It stated that it had "a strong revenue forecast for 2026 and beyond". The order backlog is still below the December record of 15.6 billion euro, but it does not include the 1.4 billion euro projects that have been awarded since June 30, in Portugal, Mexico, and Rwanda. ($1 = 0.8542 euro) (Reporting and editing by Inti landauro, Helen Popper and Sergio Goncalves)
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Sources say that JD.com, a unit of China's largest tech company, JD.com, and two other companies plan to invest $1 billion in Singapore REIT.
Two sources familiar with the matter said that JD.Com's property investment arm and two other firms are planning to launch a Singapore based real estate trust (REIT), with assets valued at potentially more than $1 billion. Sources said that JD Property (the unlisted infrastructure investment platform and asset management platform for JD.Com) is creating the REIT in partnership with Partners Group, a Swiss investment firm, and EZA Hill Property which is backed up by Asian investment firm Hillhouse. Sources who refused to name themselves because the matter was private said that the REIT plan could be listed at the Singapore Exchange by next year. The REIT plan was not previously reported. If the JD Property-backed Reit succeeds, it will be one of the biggest new entrants into Singapore's REIT market in more than a decade, signaling growing confidence in the industry and underscoring Chinese capital's increasing role in Southeast Asia. Sources said that the REIT was set up after JD Property Partners Group and EZA Hill purchased four logistic assets from CapitaLand Ascendas REIT this month for S$306 Million ($238.56 Million). They added that the three investors are finalising the REIT asset composition. This is expected to include industrial property in Singapore, which the consortium purchased from CapitaLand. JD.com JD Property Partners Group EZA Hill have not responded to our requests for comment. CapitaLand refused to reveal the identity of the buyer of the logistics assets. JD Property Partners Group and EZA Hills plan to expand the Singaporean REIT throughout Southeast Asia. They are targeting additional acquisitions of industrial assets and logistics assets. First two sources stated that the companies were working to complete the REIT by October. The final valuation could change depending on its asset mix. The latest REIT plans in Singapore come amid a tentative recovery in the city's REIT markets, which have seen a lull since 2021 because of rising interest rates and macroeconomic uncertainties. Singapore's efforts to boost the equities markets have been rewarded with renewed investor interest. The recent IPO of NTT DC REIT - the largest listing in Singapore since 2021 - and the record highs reached by the benchmark index since late July demonstrate this. Listing Plan Rava Partners is the real assets arm of Hillhouse Capital. EZA Hill is one of JD Property’s partners in the REIT. The firm has actively acquired logistics and industrial properties across Southeast Asia. JD Property, which is majority owned by JD.Com has expanded globally in the last three years. According to its website, it operates 50+ projects in nine countries including Japan, Indonesia, and the United Arab Emirates. The company counts Warburg Pincus, Hillhouse and other investors as minorities. It has also partnered with sovereign funds like Singapore's GIC or Abu Dhabi's Mubadala in order to raise billions for logistics development. Sources said that JD Property was still pursuing a Hong Kong IPO to list itself on a separate market. The timeline for IPO is unknown. JD Property has applied for a Hong Kong IPO for March 30, 2023. However, it still needs to receive regulatory approval. JD.com or JD Property have not responded to requests for comments on the Hong Kong IPO plans. According to JD.Com financial statements, JD Property is a part of the "new business" segment which also includes JD Food Delivery and Jingxi, as well as overseas ventures. (Reporting from Yantoultra ngi in Singapore and Kane Wu, in Hong Kong. Additional reporting by Brenda Goh, in Shanghai. Editing by Sumeet chatterjee and Jamie Freed).
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Australian school bus crashes kills girl and injures 11 others
A school bus in Australia veered from the road on Wednesday and crashed, killing one girl and injuring eleven others, according to Victorian emergency services. Police said the bus, which was carrying 28 students of Christian College Geelong, rolled when it couldn't negotiate a left turn on a country road near Geelong. Paul Lineham said at a press conference that the crash scene was "incredibly confronting". He is a senior Victoria Police officer. As a parent, I can understand the pain of parents who find out that their children are involved. David Shearer from Victoria's ambulance services said that one child with serious injuries was transported to hospital via air ambulance, and ten other people, including the driver, were taken by road to hospital. Lineham reported that the 76-year old driver was discharged from the hospital and currently assists police in their investigation of the accident. He said, "The exact circumstances of the accident are unknown. We will consider everything at the time from the bus and the weather conditions."
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Bousso: Trump tariffs cause much-needed petrochemicals reduction
The trade wars of U.S. president Donald Trump are pushing the global plastics sector toward a painful, but necessary restructuring in order to deal with the acute overcapacity which has caused the industry's profit to be in a long-term slump. In the next few decades, demand for plastics will increase dramatically as middle class populations grow in major economies. This is especially true in Asia. This will increase oil demand. The consumption of petrochemical products - such as naphtha and propane - was responsible for 95% percent of the total growth in oil demand between 2019 and 2024. According to the International Energy Agency, it is expected that between 2024 and 30 these plastic building blocks will increase by 2.1 millions barrels per day, or 18.4 million bpd. This growth will offset the decline in demand for transportation oil. Exxon Mobil and Saudi Aramco, as well as Adnoc in the UAE, have all invested heavily in the petrochemical industry, betting on the rising demand for feedstocks to counterbalance the effect of electric vehicles. China has also increased its domestic production in order to increase petrochemical independence. The shale gas boom in the U.S. has led to a rise in ethane and petrochemical production. GROWING PAINS Since 2022, the rapid growth of petrochemicals has led to a serious imbalance between supply-demand. This puts heavy pressure on margins. The benchmark Chinese PDH margins (also known as cracks) have been negative for the majority of the last two years. In recent months, benchmark naphtha margins in Asia and Europe have also fallen. Chemical producers have seen their earnings plummet. In 2024, the South Korean petrochemical companies LG Chem and Lotte Chemical reported losses. Dow Inc., a U.S. petrochemical company, cut its dividend in the last month following a loss for the second quarter. Dow and BASF, its German competitor, both lowered their full-year forecasts citing increased pressure from global trade conflicts. Petrochemical overcapacity will likely worsen, which is bad news for the industry. According to the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis, new plants are expected to increase supply by 20-25% in 2030. Shortly, the industry needs to be tightened. Not a Crisis to Waste Trump's tariff could do that. Trump's announcement of 25% tariffs against imports of South Korean petrochemicals, one of the country's top five export industries and the foundation of its electronics and car industries on April 2 was a major blow to the industry. ING stated in a report that even though the tariffs were delayed, and then reduced to 15%, first-half revenues from South Korean petrochemicals exports to America still dropped by more than a 5th year on year. The South Korean Government, which has been urging the sector to restructure for a long time, responded by forcing 10 companies to reduce their annual naphtha cracking capacity by 2.7-3.7 million metric tonnes, or roughly a quarter the country's capacity of 14.7 millions tons. The petrochemicals industry in Europe has suffered from high energy prices since the energy crisis of 2022, which led to the closure of plants in France, Germany, and Britain. Dow announced in July that it would close three sites in Germany, the UK and France. Trade wars have weakened demand, which puts more pressure on plants. China, as part of a "anti-involution campaign" - a catchphrase for curbing destructive, profit-eroding competition - is said to be considering reorganizing its chemical sector. This includes closing down ageing plants that are losing money. Cleaning up China's petrochemical sector will likely face opposition from local officials, and new capacity additions will dwarf it. But any reduction in the industry would be a welcome relief to the global markets. Long Path Rapid expansion of petrochemical capacities, particularly in China, have far outpaced the growth of demand, creating one the worst crises of the sector's recent history. It will take a while to shrink this over-inflated sector and boost profits. Shell CEO Wael Sawan stated last month that the "incredibly deep" trough could continue for some time in the chemicals industry. While Trump's trade policy may seem like another blow to the industry, it could be the wake-up cry the petrochemicals sector needs. You like this column? Open Interest (ROI) is your new essential source of global financial commentary. ROI provides data-driven, thought-provoking analysis. The markets are changing faster than ever. ROI can help you keep up. Follow ROI on LinkedIn, X.
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Maguire: US fossil fuel electricity production and emissions will peak in 2025.
Climate trackers who follow the trends in U.S. electricity generation and emissions have good and bad news. Good news: electricity production from fossil-fuels peaked in July, when the annual demand for air conditioners was at its peak. It has now started to decline as cooler temperatures reduce power demand. The bad news: July's fossil-fuel generation peak was the largest monthly total for the power sector in the United States since August 2021. The uneven progress in U.S. efforts to transition from coal and gas power plants is highlighted by the mixed bag of milestones for generation and emissions. It also highlights the important role they continue to play within the U.S. electricity generation system. The jagged monthly generation trends mask the progress that is being made in the U.S., where clean energy has generated a record-breaking share of the total electricity this year. Here are some more data points that show the relative performance of fossil fuels versus clean energy in the U.S. electricity generation system. SUMMER TOPS The peak in fossil-fuel-fired electricity production in the U.S. occurs between July and August, due to higher electricity demand from air conditioners during these months. In the period between 2015 and 2024 the U.S. fossil fuel production peaked in July eight times while August was the highest monthly point two times. The number of heatwaves in July 2025 will likely be higher than ever before, due to the average temperatures being slightly lower since then. Ember data shows that the total fossil-fired electricity generated in July was approximately 290 Terawatt Hours (TWh), which is the highest total since August 2016, when 294 TWh were produced. Ember data show that the July total generated 191 million tons of CO2 (as well as the peak annual fossil production last year). This was the highest monthly total of power emissions since July 2021. It appears to have reversed an overall trend that has been declining for years in U.S. electric production. CONCEALED CLEAN GREEN PROGRESS The increase in fossil-fired electricity generation and emissions has led to fears among U.S. producers of electricity that they will regress on their clean energy production momentum. The share of fossil fuels in the U.S. overall electricity mix has fallen to record lows by 2025, despite the fact that fossil electricity supplies reached multi-year highs last July. In the period between January and July, fossil-fuel electricity accounted for 56% on average of all U.S. utilities' total electricity. This generation share is a far cry from the nearly 67% fossil share of the January-July period in 2015. In contrast, clean energy has generated a record share of U.S. electricty so far in 2025. This compares with only a share of 33% during the same month a decade earlier. As solar power drops, the share of clean energy in U.S. electric generation dips. However, it then shows a strong recovery through the winter when wind speeds increase at wind farm level. In the same way, fossil fuels are used less in the generation of electricity during milder weather periods, like the spring and fall, which allows utilities to maximize the clean energy sources they have at their disposal. As a result of President Donald Trump's abrupt decision to scrap clean energy incentives, the speed of growth of clean power is expected to slow. As existing projects are completed, the footprint of clean energy sources will continue to grow. This momentum will be sufficient to raise clean power's share in the U.S. mix of electricity generation to new heights by 2025. These are the opinions of the columnist, an author for. You like this article? Check it out Open Interest The new global financial commentary source (ROI) is your go-to for all the latest news and analysis. ROI provides data-driven, thought-provoking analysis on everything from soybeans to swap rates. The markets are changing faster than ever. ROI can help you keep up. Follow ROI on You can find us on LinkedIn.
Andy Home: LME storage capacity drops as politics disrupt metal flows
London Metal Exchange (LME)'s global warehousing capability shrank by 4.25 percent in the first half 2025, despite opening new delivery locations at Hong Kong and Jeddah in Saudi Arabia.
The total registered storage space is at its lowest since the Exchange began publishing quarterly updates in 2016: 3.2 million sq. m.
The shrinkage can be attributed to a sliding exchange inventory. The total stocks, including the off-warranty stocks, dropped by 541,000 tons in the first half 2025. They closed June at 1.62 million tonnes, a 20-month-low.
Geopolitical turmoil has distorted the signal of low stocks, which should be a positive sign for base metals prices.
DIFFERENT METAL
The LME has been a major player in the warehousing industry for many decades. The 65 million tons of global production is much larger than the other LME Metals. Smelters are also slow to react to changes in demand due to the high costs associated with idle capacity.
In the past, surplus metal was sold on the last-resort market. As recently as 2021, there were more than three million tons in LME storage. The combined on- and non-warrant stock totals just 717,000 tonnes.
Is this an indication of a market with a supply deficit? The market is left without one of its largest physical liquidity providers because of the April 2024 ban of new deliveries of Russian Metal.
In response to U.S. sanctions, UK and European ones are increasing the flow of Russian metal to China. China's aluminium imports from Russia increased by 80% on an annual basis to 1.1 millions tons between January and June.
The increase in U.S. tariffs on imports this year has further disrupted the global flow of light metals, leaving very little space for LME warehouses despite lucrative deals.
The fact that ISTIM UK Ltd., the LME Warehouse operator in Port Klang at the heart of many big aluminium stocks plays, has reduced its presence from 22 to just 13 units in the city over the past year is telling.
Port Klang's total storage capacity has declined 15% in the first half of the year despite other operators filling the gap.
COPPER CLEAR OUT
The LME stock raids in the second quarter were a big deal for copper bulls. However, the nearly depleted exchange inventory has nothing to do about demand but everything to do the U.S. president Donald Trump.
Trump's announcement in February that he would launch an investigation on copper imports for national security reasons opened the door to an unprecedented arbitrage. The U.S. duty paid price traded on CME was different from the international price in London.
LME warehouses have been stripped of inventory as it is shipped to the United States. U.S. copper imports surged from March to June to 724,000 tonnes, which is 80% of last year's demand.
CME copper stock is at its highest level in 21 years, with 247,210 tonnes, while LME inventories of 155,000 tons are still 43% lower than the beginning of 2025, despite some replenishment by Chinese smelters.
The threat of tariffs was unfounded, but it caused a massive redistribution in inventory without much impact on the global stock exchange picture.
SINGAPORE CHURN
The LME zinc stock has also been cleared over the past couple of months. The registered tonnage is down 72% from the beginning of the year, and now stands at 65 525 tons. This is the lowest since May 2023.
The time spreads are still surprisingly relaxed. The benchmark cash to three-month period is still trading at a small contango.
Singapore's recent history of shifting zinc stocks is reflected in the market's apparent lack concern. It is the city that has been the main hub for LME deliveries for both zinc and for lead, and it currently represents 99% and 97% respectively of all inventories.
No surprise then that LME warehouse operators opened more units in Singapore over the past 12 months than anywhere else. The number of warehouses listed in Singapore has risen from eight to 38. This is more than the eight listings in Hong Kong or the four listings in Jeddah, after the ports were opened for LME trade in January and respectively in July. According to the recent cancellations of last week, the lead is still present, but the zinc is missing. As of now, the increasing number of LME storage facilities in Singapore indicates that warehouse operators believe there is still plenty of zinc available for possible LME deliveries.
WAITING FOR METAL
The combination of tariffs and sanctions has led to a reduction in metal flows at the LME, with a trickle-down effect on the physical storage function.
Good news for LME storage companies: disruptions can create new opportunities. Hong Kong warehouses began receiving copper almost immediately after they opened, thanks to Chinese smelters who delivered metal into a tight market following the CME Arbitrage Trade.
It is less than good news that Russia, as a major producer of aluminium, zinc, and copper, is increasingly looking to the Chinese market.
Even if sanctions were lifted, it is unlikely that the growing trade between these two countries would be reversed.
LME storage capacity is down by more than a quarter compared to the beginning of the decade when four million tons were stored.
Stocks and storage are unlikely to return to their former levels anytime soon, as politics could further fragment what was once an extremely globalised metals market.
These are the opinions of a columnist who writes for.
(source: Reuters)