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US launches pilot program for air taxi deployment
On Friday, the Trump administration announced that it would be launching a pilot program to accelerate the deployment of flying taxis. This is to help companies meet the regulatory hurdles in order to provide advanced air mobility. The Federal Aviation Administration announced that the program would include at least five public-private partnerships between state and local governments, private sector companies and the Federal Aviation Administration to ensure safe operation of electric vertical takeoff (eVTOL), aircraft. Joby Aviation has praised the program. "Aircraft in the program are able to begin operations in selected markets before full FAA certification. This is a crucial step in preparing scaled commercial services." The first to report the rise in air taxi stocks was. Archer Aviation shares rose 3%, while Joby shares grew 5%. Air taxi companies are racing to get approvals and to commercialize air taxi aircraft in order to meet the demand for more efficient and sustainable urban transportation. They promote eVTOLs, which can land and take off vertically. This allows them to get around traffic to transport passengers to airports or short city trips. In June, President Donald Trump issued an executive order to create the program. Other countries such as India, China and the United Arab Emirates are also working to accelerate deployment of eVTOLs. These aircraft could start carrying paying passengers by next year. FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford stated that the agency would use the lessons learned in the pilot projects for safe and scalable operations across the country. Projects include the development of short-range air taxis and longer-range fixed-wing flights. They also include cargo and logistical services, as well as supply for emergency management, medical transport or offshore energy facilities. Participants will use advanced air mobility, which will be generally over 1,320 lbs (599kg) and capable of carrying passengers. They will also use technologies that enable safe integration of the aircraft into the national system of airspace. In October 2024, the FAA will finalize comprehensive training and certification rules for air taxi pilots.
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Azerbaijani oil exports through BTC pipeline fell 5.3% year-on-year between January and August amid contamination
Azerbaijani figures showed that the country's oil exports through the Baku, Tbilisi, and Ceyhan pipelines fell by 5.3% between January-August, down from the previous year. The route had been contaminated with contaminated oil. In July, organic chloride contamination was found in Azeri BTC crude shipments. This caused several days of delays in loadings at Turkey's BTC Ceyhan Terminal. BP operates the Azeri Chirag and Guneshli Oilfields. The BTC pipeline runs through Georgia into Turkey. Azerbaijan shipped 24.6 million tonnes of oil in the first eight month of this year, with 74.7% of that going through the BTC. This is according to the statistics committee of the country. Data showed that the volume of transit oil imported from other countries such as Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan via the BTC dropped to 2.887 millions tons from 3.584million tons during the same period in 2024. (Reporting and editing by Louise Heavens; Nailia Bagirova)
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JTC Financial Services in talks to be taken over by rival bidders Warburg & Permira
After rejecting the previous buyout offers from both rival bidders, JTC Plc, a London-listed financial service firm, said it was in separate discussions with private equity firms Warburg & Permira on Friday. After Bloomberg News reported Warburg's involvement earlier in the day, JTC's shares jumped up to 11.3% and reached a new record high of 1,306 pence. The company's valuation now stands at over 2 billion pounds (US$2.71 billion). JTC is the latest London listed takeover target, in the midst of a potential bidding war. Private equity firms continue eying British companies because of their low valuations. JTC announced that it had rejected Warburg's two proposals on September 5, and 11 respectively. Warburg is currently in discussions with JTC about a third revised offer. JTC said that it has also rejected three Permira proposals and is in the early stages of discussions about a possible fourth revised offer. JTC, a Jersey-based company, did not reveal the prices at which its proposals were made. JTC stated that Permira has to announce a firm bid for JTC before September 26, or it will walk away. Warburg, on the other hand, has until October 10, as a deadline. Other private equity-led deals include Blackstone's nearing a deal with Warehouse REIT, while KKR agreed to purchase Spectris as the largest UK deal so far.
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Koreans describe their anxiety following the US immigration raid as 'like a military operation.
South Korean workers returned home to their families on Friday, after spending a week in detention by U.S. Immigration authorities. They described their horror at the raid of their Georgia workplace and their relief that they were reunited with them. One of the workers who participated in the raid on the 4th of September at the Hyundai Motor and LG Energy Solution car battery factory said, "It felt like a military operation." The authorities were deployed to the entire site within 10 minutes. He declined to reveal his name, as did many other people who spoke with him after their charter plane had landed at Incheon Airport. This was due to the sensitive nature of the situation. Another worker confirmed that U.S. agents arrived in armoured vehicles, helicopters, and separated workers based on visa types. They arrested those with a B-1 visa or the ESTA Visa-Waiver Programme. Some workers' phones were taken away, and they were unable inform their family members until their release. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security's largest single-site operation in history, the DHS detained 475 workers, including over 300 South Koreans, at the plant. Officials in the United States said that the workers had engaged in activities outside the scope of the visa authorisations or overstayed their visas. RELIEF AND ANGER Hwang Insong, brother of an engineer detained said: "I feel relieved." "I couldn't sleep for a whole week because I was so worried." Detainees' and their families' anxiety increased when the delay in their departure was caused by diplomatic disputes over their release terms. "I didn't even know when I could leave." One of the workers said that was the most difficult part. When asked about the conditions at the detention centre in Folkston, Georgia where they were kept, he replied: "It wasn't good." Some complained about the food, while others said that the water smelled of bleach. US Immigration and Customs Enforcement has not responded to questions regarding the alleged poor conditions of the facility. The wife of a subcontractor engineer who only gave her surname Kim said that her husband was arrested on the first day of his work at the construction site. She added that she thought his B-1 visa allowed him to be a supervisor. She expressed concern that he would have difficulty getting a visa to the United States and making business trips. "I'm worried about his career being ruined." South Korean officials claimed on Thursday that U.S. president Donald Trump encouraged the South Koreans who were released to remain in the United States, and train Americans. "I don’t think anyone wants to stay... after going through this, we are not sure whether I would go back," Jang Young-seon said, who had a B-1 Visa. South Korea, an important ally of the United States in Asia, was shocked by the video and pictures of workers chained at the wrists and ankles. Jang Young-eun, Jang's younger brother, said at the airport: "I was furious that an ally treated my brother like a thief." (Reporting and editing by Gareth Jones, Joyce Lee, and Hyunjoo Ji)
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Nigeria reduces crude oil losses to a 16-year low
Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission said that Nigeria has reduced its crude oil loss to 9,600 barrels a day, which is the lowest since 2009. This is a dramatic drop from 102,900 barrels per day (bpd) lost in 2021. That was the highest loss in over two decades. The NUPRC credited the progress to collaboration between security agencies, contractors, and host communities as well as regulatory reforms, such as metering auditors. Nigeria, Africa's biggest oil producer, has had to deal with oil theft, vandalism of pipelines and aging infrastructure for years. These issues have reduced government revenues and discouraged foreign investments in the sector. The commission stated that the oil legislation passed in 2021, which aims to improve the regulatory framework and attract capital for upstream and middle operations, as well as increase transparency, has improved enforcement and protected infrastructure. In July, the daily production was 1.71 million barrels, consisting of 1.507 million crude oil barrels and 204.864 barrels condensates. The government announced on the social media platform X that in a separate development the Nigerian midstream and downstream infrastructure fund had signed a preliminary deal with Afreximbank for $500 million funding over the next 4 years to invest in gas infrastructure. Nigeria is turning to gas for an alternative fuel since it eliminated a popular, but expensive subsidy on gasoline. This move caused petrol prices to rise, resulting in criticism from both motorists and businesses who use petrol as a source of power.
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Kyodo reports that two people were injured when a United Airlines flight made an emergency landing in Japan.
Kyodo reported that two people were injured in a minor way after United Airlines Flight 32, which was headed to Cebu (Philippines), made an emergency landing in Osaka, a city in western Japan. NHK reported that a Boeing 737 from Narita Airport, near Tokyo, made an emergency landing after 7 p.m. (1000 GMT), after a cargo-fire indicator had activated over the Pacific Ocean. Kyodo reported that 142 passengers and crew members evacuated the aircraft by using emergency slides. The Kansai Airport, local police, fire departments, United Airlines and the Transport Ministry could not be reached by phone after normal business hours. (Reporting and editing by Philippa Fletcher; Mariko Katsumura, Satoshi Sugiyama)
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Document shows that Italy is planning two LNG units for Sardinia to help it phase out coal
A government order seen by revealed that Italy intends to send two new units to Sardinia for the regasification and liquefaction of natural gas. Sardinia relies on coal-fired plants to meet its electricity requirements and is gradually developing renewable energy capacities. According to the government's decree, Snam, Italy's gas grid company, has been mandated to build a floating storage and regasification (FSRU) unit in Oristano on the west coast of Sardinia. In the document that was approved by the Government on Friday, it also mentions the possibility of building a second LNG Terminal in Porto Torres (a coastal town in the north west) in case of one of the coal-fired power stations being converted to a gas-fired station. The government also announced that two existing LNG Terminals in Italy's mainland - one in Liguria, and another offshore Tuscany will be upgraded so they can send small vessels with LNG to Sardinia’s new terminals. In an official statement issued on Friday, the energy ministry stated that Italy will add LNG infrastructure to Sardinia without providing any details. The ministry also added that the island will add battery storage and strengthen the electricity connections with mainland Italy and Sicily to phase out coal which is the most harmful fossil fuel when it comes to CO2 emissions. Francesca Landini, Kirby Donovan and Francesca Landini contributed to this report.
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Nigeria reduces crude oil losses to a 16-year low
Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission said that Nigeria has reduced its crude oil loss to 9,600 barrels a day, which is the lowest since 2009. This is a dramatic drop from the 102.900 bpd that was lost in 2021. That was the highest loss in over two decades. The NUPRC credited the progress to collaboration between security agencies, contractors, and host communities as well as regulatory reforms, such as metering auditors. Nigeria, Africa's biggest oil producer, has had to deal with oil theft, vandalism of pipelines and aging infrastructure for years. These issues have reduced government revenues and discouraged foreign investments in the sector. The commission stated that the oil legislation passed in 2021, which aims to improve the regulatory framework and attract capital for upstream and middle operations, as well as increase transparency, has improved enforcement and protected infrastructure. In July, the daily production was 1.71 million barrels, consisting of 1.507 million crude oil barrels and 204.864 barrels condensates. Reporting by Camillus EBOH Editing by Chijioke OHuocha and David Goodman
Asian spot prices increase on geopolitical tensions but slow demand cap gains
The price of Asian LNG spot rose this week due to geopolitical developments surrounding Russian sanctions and tensions around the Middle East. However, muted demand in the region and high inventories capped the gains.
Average LNG price for delivery in October to Northeast Asia
Estimated price for November delivery is $11.60/mmBtu.
Go Katayama of Kpler said that Asian LNG prices largely tracked the geopolitical premium in European gas prices, rather than Asian fundamentals. He added that the European Union's and United States' negotiations over new sanctions against Russia and Israel’s escalation in targeting Hamas leaders within Qatar have pushed up risk premiums. "Northeast Asian Demand remains muted. The November temperatures are mild and stocks are high in Japan and Korea. "Pacific LNG supply is robust," Katayama said.
He said that high inventories, low heating demand, and a steady Pacific supply would likely limit the upside potential.
Shiptracking data shows that a fourth LNG tanker from the sanctioned Arctic LNG 2 Project in Russia is berthed in Guangxi in southern China at the Beihai LNG Terminal. China has so far received three cargoes via the same import facility from the sanctioned Arctic LNG 2 project.
S&P Global Commodity Insights, a subsidiary of S&P Global, assessed the daily North West Europe Gas Marker benchmark price for October cargoes on an ex-ships basis at $10.556/mmBtu. This was a $0.59/mmBtu reduction from the October futures prices at the Dutch TTF Hub.
Spark Commodities set the price at $10.545/mmBtu while Argus put it at $10.49/mmBtu.
"Northwest European Delivered Prices rose slightly this Week, tracking small increases in the TTF Prices," said Xiaoyi Deng Argus' deputy head of LNG Pricing. He added that traders held prices at current levels due to geopolitical risk.
The market is cautious due to small revisions, maintenance and maintenance additions at the Norwegian Upstream System. However, the changes are minimal and the flows from Norway into continental Europe remain low as a result of the ongoing maintenance.
According to Spark Commodities analyst Qasim Afghanistan, the U.S. front-month arbitrage to Northeast Asia via Cape of Good Hope still only marginally encourages U.S. cargoes destined for Europe while the arbitrage via Panama is closed.
He said that the rates for LNG were unchanged at $29,000/day in the Atlantic on Friday while rates in Pacific fell to $31,500/day.
(source: Reuters)