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US Senator presses oil tanker giants on cartel fuel smuggling in the sea
U.S. U.S. Senator Ron Wyden contacted seven maritime companies in an investigation into cartel fuel smuggling from the United States to Mexico. He asked the firms to explain how they ensure their tankers don't get used to transport illicit hydrocarbons. The letters were dated on Friday. Wyden is the senior Democratic member in the Senate Finance Committee. The letters were sent on Friday, when Wyden was the most senior Democratic member of the Senate Finance Committee. Narcos has achieved this by embedding itself in the vast energy sector of North America and mastering logistics for moving petroleum products via truck, rail and more recently tankers. Sources in law enforcement say that Mexico's cartels have displayed a remarkable amount of innovation by enlisting a number of legitimate oil companies to assist them with the procurement and transportation of products. Some of these players are participating unknowingly, while others are actively involved. Wyden, Oregon's senior senator, wrote in an email: "I want to make sure that both shipping companies, and the U.S. Government, are doing all they can to stop this revenue stream." These letters are my first step to learning more about the criminal networks and how they operate. Wyden's letter referred to an investigation that uncovered how the alleged scheme worked and exploited loopholes within the vast, complex U.S. Energy sector. This investigation touched a number of entities, including oil companies, shipping companies, and government agencies. Seven of the largest players in the oil tanker industry were sent the letters: Torm International Seaways, Norden CMB.Tech Frontline Teekay Scorpio Scorpio Scorpio Scorpio Wyden requested that detailed information be provided by January. The letter stated that by January 10, 2026 each company must provide detailed information about its due diligence to "ensure their oil tankers do not transport illicit fuel." No one has been accused of wrongdoing by any of these?firms. According to an investigation conducted on October 22, which cited security sources and documents, Torm was the manager of two vessels allegedly used in oil smuggling this year. CMB.Tech stated that it follows due diligence standards, adheres to know-your customer standards and complies all applicable regulations. The Belgian-based company announced that it would respond to Wyden's inquiries. Norden has confirmed that it received Wyden's email and stated that its sea transports are in accordance with the applicable laws. Other companies have not responded to Wyden's request for comment. The news agency found that Mexican cartels are increasingly involved in the multi-billion-dollar trade of smuggling gasoline from the United States into Mexico. The scheme is essentially a tax avoidance scam. Mexico levies an IEPS tax on many goods including gasoline and diesel imported from abroad. The tax is charged per liter, and can cost up to 50% of the cargo value. Crooks avoid the tax by declaring that the fuel imported from abroad is a different type of petroleum product, which has no duty. Calculations based on tax rates and the volume of fuel carried by tankers showed that a single load could save millions in taxes. According to Mexican and U.S. sources, the Jalisco New Generation Cartel is Mexico's undisputed leader in crude oil and fuel smuggling. It also uses tankers. Five current and former Mexican Government sources said earlier this year that fuel smuggling had grown so quickly that it now accounts for as much as a third of Mexico's gasoline and diesel market. This is stealing profits from some the largest names in the oil sector. According to one of those who assisted Mexico's Treasury in calculating the size of illicit trade, the illegal fuel entering the country now is valued at over $20 billion per year. Wyden wrote that the scope of illicit fuel smuggling is astounding in his letters. The international shipping industry has a role to play in ending this illegal practice.
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Asia spot prices drop to a 20-month low due to weak demand
The price of Asian spot liquefied gas fell to a new 20-month low last week due to weak demand and abundant supplies in the region. The average LNG price for February deliveries into Northeast Asia Industry sources estimate that the price per million British thermal units was $9.50, down from $10 last week and its lowest level since April 2024. The decline was driven by the continued weakness in Northeast Asian gas consumption, said Nelson Xiong of data and analytics company Kpler. He added that strong Japanese renewable energy generation and firm Chinese pipeline gas supply contributed to LNG demand weakening. "We expect JKM to remain slightly lower. Heating demand is likely to be affected by warmer-than-seasonal temperatures in Northeast Asia, "while Pacific LNG supplies remain ample", he said. He was referring to the Japan-Korea Marker price assessment of spot physical cargoes across Asia. Last week, the?drop in prices had prompted some importers who were price-sensitive to buy LNG. The demand for LNG from China is not significant, and many are aiming to import LNG at a price of $8/mmBtu or lower, according to Martin Senior, Argus' head of LNG pricing. S&P Global Energy's daily Northwest Europe LNG Marker price benchmark (NWM) for cargoes to be delivered in February, on a de-ship basis (DES), was $8.881/mmBtu?on 18 December. This is a $0.54/mmBtu reduction from the price at TTF hub. Spark Commodities rated the January price as $9.009/mmBtu. The market is fundamentally well-supplied, thanks to robust pipeline gas flows, and an influx of U.S. spot LNG into Europe. The market has been cautious despite forecasts of colder weather in the first few months of 2019. Aly Blakeway is manager for Atlantic LNG at S&P. Blakeway said that as Europe's storage levels are lower than they were in the past, buyers could be forced to increase their LNG purchases in January and Febraury. The surge in offers has affected the pricing of gas, but there has been a strong increase in interest from buyers, especially for delivery early 2026, mainly due to lower renewable production and rapidly depleting gas stocks. Seb Kennedy, an independent gas analyst, says that hedge funds increased their net short positions in TTF futures last week but lowered the rate at which they bought short as cooler temperatures and supply disruptions curbed the bearish sentiment. He added that commercial operators have continued to buy the dip and their net long position has reached a new record high. Qasim Afghanistan, Spark Commodities analyst, stated that in LNG freight, Atlantic rates dropped for the third consecutive week to $92,000/day while Pacific rates decreased to $75,750/day. Both the U.S. front month arbitrage to Northeast Asia via Cape of Good Hope, and the arbitrage via Panama point towards Europe, he said.
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Black Sea CPC Blend oil exported at 1.65M bpd in January, according to sources
Two industry sources have confirmed that the Caspian Pipeline Consortium plans to reduce CPC Blend crude oil exports to 1.65 million barrels per day (bpd), from 1.7 millions bpd planned for?December. Calculations showed that the January plan represented a 3% decrease from this month's goal. The sources stated that the actual shipments are uncertain due to repairs being done on single-point docking (SPM). CPC currently loads oil from only one of three moorings, SPM-1. SPM-2 has been out of service due to a drone attack by Ukraine and SPM-3 needs maintenance. The two people said that CPC was working at about a half capacity. In December, exports may fall below initial expectations, but January volumes might increase if SPM-3 is brought back into service and allows roll-over cargoes. The traders say that supplies from Russia's Caspian oil fields could decline in January due to recent drone attacks by Ukraine. CPC refused to comment on operational shipment numbers. Exporters have been forced to find alternative routes due to the drop in CPC output, such as China and Germany. However, these options are limited. CPC is responsible for more than 80% of Kazakhstan’s oil exports. It links the Tengiz and other deposits to a marine terminal in Yuzhnaya Ozereevka, near Novorossiysk. The company's shareholders include Russia with a stake of 31%, Kazakhstan with 20,75%, Chevron at 15% and other companies. (Reporting and Editing by Tomaszjanowski)
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Maersk has completed its first Red Sea voyage for nearly two years
Maersk, a Danish shipping company, announced on Friday that one of its vessels successfully navigated the Red Sea Strait and Bab El-Mandeb for the first time since nearly two years. However, the company currently does not have plans to fully reopen this route. Maersk began diverting vessels from the Gulf of Aden and Red Sea in January 2024, after Yemeni Houthi militants attacked ships in the area to show solidarity with Palestinians living in Gaza. Maersk announced in a Friday statement that Maersk Sebarok had completed the transit between Thursday and Friday. It said: "While this is a significant'step?forward', it doesn't mean we are at a?point where we are evaluating a wider East West?network?change back to the trans-Suez?corridor." However, it said that?it was considering a "stepwise" approach to resuming the passage. It added that there are no further sailings planned at this time. Stine Jacobsen reported, Jacob GronholtPedersen edited.
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Israel accuses Russian of allegedly spying on Iran
Israel has accused a Russian national of spying for Iran. This included photographing Israeli ports and infrastructure at the direction of Iranian intelligence agencies. In a joint press release, both the police and the agency confirmed that they had paid out digital currency to the Russian. In June, a decades-long war of shadow between Israel and Iran escalated to a direct conflict when Israel struck various targets in Iran. This included operations that relied heavily on the?Mossad Commandos deployed deep within the country. Israel arrested dozens citizens who allegedly spied on behalf of Iran. This is the biggest attempt in decades by Tehran to infiltrate their arch enemy. Iranian intelligence agents have repeatedly attempted to recruit Israelis in the past to collect intelligence and to carry out attacks for money. In a 2024 statement to the media, following a wave arrests of Jewish citizens suspected to be spying for Iran by Israel, Iran's U.N. Mission did not confirm nor deny that it was seeking to recruit Israelis. It said "from a logic standpoint" such efforts would focus on non Iranian and non Muslim individuals to lessen suspicion. Iran has executed a number of individuals whom it believes had links to Israel's Mossad and were facilitating Mossad operations in the country. (Reporting and editing by William Maclean, Emily Rose)
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Ukraine accepts 90 billion euro EU loan despite the lack of agreement on Russian assets
The European Union was thanked by Ukraine on Friday, even though the bloc did not agree to an ambitious plan that would use frozen Russian assets as a means of financing. The stakes were high for 'Kyiv' to find money because, without EU financial support, Ukraine will run out of cash in the second quarter next year, and may lose the war. This would increase the risk of Russian aggression towards the EU. The 90 billion euro loan was approved by EU leaders at a summit in Brussels. Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Ukraine's president, wrote the following on Telegram: "This is a significant support which strengthens our resilience." In the early morning hours of Friday, the EU leaders decided to borrow money?to finance Ukraine's defense against Russia instead of using the frozen Russian assets. After hours of discussion, the leaders decided to forgo a loan that would have been unprecedented if it was based on frozen Russian assets. However, this decision proved to be too difficult to make at this point due to its political implications. 'PERFECT IS AN ENEMY TO GOOD' The biggest challenge was to provide Belgium, where 185 Billion Euros of the total Russian assets in Europe is held, with enough guarantees against potential financial and legal risk from Russian retaliation if the money released to Ukraine. "There are times when it is important to remember that perfection is the enemy of goodness." The European leaders had a long and difficult night, but they managed to reach a 'workable result,' said Ukrainian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergiy Kyslytsya. Giorgia Mello, the Italian Prime Minister, said that she was also "glad to see that common sense won out and that we were able to secure resources for a solution with a sound legal and financial foundation." RUSSIA APPRECIATES LACK OF DEAL OVER ASSETS Russia has welcomed the EU's inability to agree on how to use its frozen sovereign wealth. Kirill Dmitriev is the special envoy of Russian President Vladimir Putin for economic and investment cooperation. He said that "lawfulness and sanity won." Dmitriev said on X that "voices of reason" in the EU had blocked the ILLEGAL usage of Russian reserves for funding Ukraine. He was referring to European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen. GERMANY FAILED CONVINCE The German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said that despite the fact that he had failed to secure a loan for reparations backed by frozen Russian assets, this was still a great deal. "This is good for Ukraine and bad for Russia, and this was our intent," he said. Merz and von der Leyen, who were addressing the?other main topic of the summit, expressed their confidence that the EU will be able sign a controversial free trade agreement in January with South American bloc Mercosur, despite the lack of support at the summit. The yields on German government bonds increased slightly on Friday. In early Friday trading, German 10-year yields - which are used as a benchmark in the eurozone - were up 1.5 basis points at 2.864%. The biggest risk is that using Russian assets for Ukraine's war effort will lead to a cheaper European government paper, and higher rates on sovereign bonds. "I would imagine that this increases the fiscal burden of Europe marginally," Kyle Rodda said, senior market analyst for Capital.com. "But I believe that this is a relatively low cost compared with what could be incurred by governments in certain countries around the world - China being the biggest one - deciding that it would not be worth buying European bonds, as it could expose them similar risks," he continued. (Reporting from Brussels, Kyiv, and Rome bureaus; Writing by Ingrid Melander ; Editing by Sharon Singleton).
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Adani, India's largest airport operator, wants to expand its operations as part of an $11 billion expansion plan.
Adani Enterprises, a company based in India, plans to bid aggressively for 11 airports the federal government intends to lease to private companies as part of its $11 billion expansion plan for 'airport infrastructure'. The billionaire Gautam Adani's conglomerate, which is led by him, has been on a massive expansion spree over the past few years. Its airport subsidiary became India's largest airport operator based on number of airports. GMR Group is India's second largest aviation company by number of passengers handled. Incentives are being offered to encourage the construction of new airports, while leasing government-owned ones for long terms. The Indian government plans to increase the number of airports to 350-400 by 2047, from the current 163. New Delhi announced plans earlier this year to lease 11 airports including those in Amritsar, Varanasi and Varanasi. In an interview with Adani Airports Holdings Limited in Mumbai, Jeet Adani said, "We will bid for all (11) of them." Adani Airports is responsible for seven airports in India. It will be operationalising the first airport that it built from scratch, a new airport located near Mumbai, this month. Adani and GMR rush to tap into the booming air travel industry in India. Data from the International Air Transport Association shows that in 2024, 174 million passengers flew from or within India by air, a 10% increase over the previous year. Indian airlines have ordered over 1,300 aircrafts since 2023. Jeet Adani stated that the company has no plans to get into the airline industry, citing the thin margins. You need a certain mentality to run a airline. I don't believe we have that mindset. He said that his comfort zone and core competency was in creating assets on the ground. "We are good at running long gestation assets. Reporting by Dhwani Pandya from Mumbai and Abhijith Gaapavaram from New Delhi, with editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala
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DOJ: Wanxiang will pay $53M to settle US probe of imported Chinese auto parts
The Justice Department announced on Thursday that it had reached an agreement with the U.S. branch of Chinese auto parts supplier Wanxiang regarding import tariffs on wheel hub assemblies, and other parts imported over a period of five years. The U.S. Government said that the settlement ended nearly 10 years litigation. It collected all the revenue lost it had sought, and more than $30 million in civil penalties. Wanxiang America has not admitted any wrongdoing. Wanxiang America did not admit wrongdoing. According to the government, some parts in question were subjected to tariffs of upto 93% as a result of the anti-dumping order. Wanxiang, as well as two U.S.-based Wanxiang lawyers, did not immediately respond to comments. Wanxiang Group Automotive Parts Unit was previously described as?China's largest automotive component company by revenue. Wanxiang America was approved in 2013 to buy A123 Systems, an American maker of electric vehicle batteries. After launching an audit, the U.S. Government demanded payment of almost $100 million in 'back tariffs and penalties in 2019. The U.S. government filed a lawsuit in 2022 for Wanxiang imports from 2007 to 2012. Justice Department stated that Wanxiang misclassified "multiple categories of automotive parts, accessories, and components under incorrect tariff provisions." Reporting by David Shepardson, Washington; editing by Lisa Shumaker and Jacqueline Wong
US business delegation visiting China, SCMP reports
The South China Morning Post reported Sunday that a high-level delegation of the U.S. China Business Council would visit China this coming week. They are expected to meet with senior Chinese officials.
Reports indicate that the delegation will include Boeing executives, USCBC President Sean Stein and FedEx Chief Executive Rajesh Subramaniam.
Could not verify immediately the report.
A source told SCMP that "they are expected to meet Chinese officials, possibly to revive business talks".
The SCMP reported that both sides were working on securing a visit by the U.S. President to China this year.
The council didn't respond to the request for a comment immediately.
The visit coincides the latest round U.S. - China trade negotiations, which are taking place in Sweden from July 27-30. Vice Premier He Lifeng of China will be meeting with U.S. officials for a fresh round of economic and trading talks.
China has until August 12 to come up with a lasting deal with the White House, or face higher U.S. Tariffs.
(source: Reuters)