Latest News
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Titanic contractor Harland & Wolff to exit non-core businesses amidst financial obligation woes
Harland & & Wolff said on Monday it will either wind down or dispose of its noncore companies and lay off some employees as the British shipbuilder struggles to remain in service in the middle of a financial obligation crisis. The company, known for building the Titanic, did not define the number of jobs it was planning to cut, however stated it will minimize headcount in the non-core and particular main support locations. The firm's non-care operations consist of the Marine Providers company, the Scilly Ferries company, and the U.S. and Australian systems. The Belfast-based shipyard, which has actually struggled to maintain with competitors and is past due on its credit line, was turned down a 200 million pound ($ 263.94 million) credit center by the UK federal government in July. The firm sent its CEO on immediate leave in July. Its financing chief likewise stepped down recently. Trading of the business's shares has actually been suspended given that July, pending finalisation of its 2023 accounts on a going issue basis. The shipbuilder will keep its core operations running at its 4 shipyards and maintain its interest in the Islandmagee Gas Storage project.
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Taiwan's CPC Corp looks for Oct jet fuel, sources say
Taiwan's stateowned energy company CPC Corp is seeking to buy one area October jet fuel cargo, multiple trade sources said on Monday, marking its very first procurement tender for the fuel this year. The company is wishing to obtain 300,000 barrels of the air travel fuel for Oct. 1-20 shipment to either a couple of berths in Taiwan, they included. The tender closes on Sept. 18 and is valid till Sept. 20. CPC Corp obtained jet fuel in December 2023, for delivery in January this year, Reuters data revealed, adding that the refiner purchased two freights of 300,000 barrels last year. The buying is because of lower refinery production of the fuel due to an overhaul at one of its jet fuel and kerosene processing units in between now and October, one of the sources stated. Taiwan's other main refiner, Formosa Petrochemical Corp, is likewise shutting among its unrefined systems and other refining units for maintenance today.
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Low gas prices, LNG need in spotlight at Gastech conference
Top energy executives and ministers will meet in Houston this week for the yearly Gastech conference, with U.S. markets in focus as growing melted gas (LNG) exports help wean Europe off Russian gas and as Asia moves away from coal. The U.S., when an importer of LNG, has actually gone beyond Qatar as the world's top exporter, with brand-new innovation allowing America's. shale manufacturers to tap huge reserves. Both countries have. significant LNG expansion jobs underway, playing higher. value in international markets from Europe to Asia. The conference comes to the U.S. for the first time considering that. 2019 as the country has also become the world's greatest natural. gas producer. U.S. gas production grew 4% in 2015 to. 125 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d). Exports of the. super-cooled gas leapt 12% to 11.9 Bcf/d. Gastech expects to host some 50,000 guests from 125. countries, with sessions on everything from gas markets and. decarbonization to Expert system (AI) and energy. security. Surging supply has actually pressed U.S. gas prices to multi-decade lows this year, hampering producers but benefiting consumers and. LNG companies using record quantities of gas. By 2026, U.S. LNG exports should be double their 2024. levels, with annual feed gas requirements averaging 19.7 Bcf/d. in 2 years' time, stated Matthew Palmer, executive director at. S&P Global Product Insights. Gas prices will be significantly higher in. 2025 as new LNG export jobs boost demand, stated Jim Simpson,. CEO of energy research study company, East Daley Analytics. In the U.S., brand-new export capability development will support. Europe's dedication to divest away from Russian gas following. its intrusion of Ukraine, while using Asian buyers a greener. option for power generation. Venture Global, whose CEO, Mike Sabel will talk to. attendees about the function of LNG in Europe's energy supply mix,. is amongst those companies. The business's Plaquemines LNG export. center in Louisiana will have an export capability of as much as 20. million metric tonnes per year, and is expected to start. operations this year. The U.S. exported some 7.48 million metric lots of LNG in August , approximately 43% of which went to Asia, according to LSEG data. GAS MANUFACTURERS BID THEIR TIME U.S. shale gas companies are banking on brand-new LNG terminals to. boost their market and rates. Poor returns have actually forced some to. cut production this year. The next 9 months have more opportunity of being. over-supplied than under-supplied since the LNG projects do. not arrive in force up until late next year, stated the president of. Aegis Hedging, Matt Marshall. U.S. producers typically need Henry Hub natural gas. prices above $3 per million British thermals units (mmBtu) to. produce cash flow for more drilling, stated S&P Global's Palmer. Gas rates are currently around $2.33 per mmBtu and have only. traded above $3 a few times this year. Henry Center gas prices are expected to average $2.19 per. mmBtu this year, the U.S. Energy Info Administration. ( EIA) stated today in a regular monthly report, lowering its estimate. by 11 cents from the prior forecast. The general story here is that a manufacturer of natural. gas needs to not expect this market to turn outrageously bullish. with the turn of the year. It is going to require time and this. market is susceptible to lower costs actually until next summer season,. stated Aegis' Marshall. Significant U.S. manufacturers, consisting of Chesapeake and EQT. were preparing to reduce production and defer well. conclusions in the 2nd half of 2024 in August, after prices. sank nearly 40% over the two months prior. As those brand-new LNG projects come online and take in more shale. gas, costs are anticipated to enhance. The U.S. EIA is. forecasting an average Henry Hub cost of $3.14 next year. Our expectation is that as LNG exports increase, the. market will return to stability, moving Henry Hub into the. $ 3-4/ MMBtu variety that will support a boost in production,. said Marshall.
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Apollo signs $1 billion deal with BP for Trans Adriatic Gas Pipeline
The companies announced on Monday that Apollo Global Management had signed a deal worth $1 billion with British energy giant BP in order to finance its stakes in the Trans Adriatic Natural Gas Pipeline. The U.S. asset management company will become a noncontrolling shareholder of BP's unit, which holds a 20% stake Trans Adriatic Pipeline AG. The other shareholders with 20% each are Azerbaijani state energy company SOCAR and Italian Snam. Fluxys, based in Belgium, is also a shareholder. The Trans Adriatic Pipeline operates a natural-gas transportation infrastructure between the Greek border and Turkey, as well as Southern Italy. Trans Adriatic Pipeline AG, the last 880 kilometres of the Southern Gas Corridor Pipeline System, stretches 3,500 kilometres from the Caspian to Europe. The pipeline transports natural gases from the BP operated Shah Deniz field in Azerbaijan's Caspian Sea sector to European markets such as Greece and Italy. As part of BP's financial discipline, the proceeds of this deal will contribute to the $2-3 billion target for BP in 2024 of divestment proceeds and other proceeds. Leslie Mapondera said, "We're pleased to partner up with BP in an agreement that provides our investors with long term exposure to an industry leading infrastructure asset, with a stable and predictable cash flow profile. This will allow BP to achieve its objectives to retain control and execute on its capital-efficiency strategy." BP's share price rose 0.5%, to 406.10p at 0830 GMT. The transaction is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter, and BP will continue to control the unit after the deal has been closed. BP and Apollo also plan to explore additional investment opportunities. These include potential collaboration in gas and low carbon energy assets as well as infrastructure. The companies announced this in a joint statement. (Reporting and editing by Disha Mishra in Bengaluru, and Arunima Kumar in New York; Nivedita Bhattacharjee and Rashmi Aich at Eileen Soreng's office)
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Wall Street Journal - Sept 16
The following are the top stories in the Wall Street Journal. Reuters has actually not confirmed these stories and does not vouch for their precision. - Donald Trump was the target of a 2nd evident assassination effort Sunday when Trick Service agents opened fire on a gunman at his golf club in West Palm Beach, Florida, where the former U.S. president was playing golf just a couple of holes away. Trump was safe, and the suspect fled however was detained shortly later. - Air Canada and the union representing over 5,000 pilots reached a tentative four-year labor contract early Sunday, avoiding a strike at the country's greatest airline that threatened to disrupt domestic and cross-border travel. - Auckland International Airport stated it would seek to raise approximately 1.4 billion New Zealand dollars ($ 865.1 million). as it presses ahead with strategies to upgrade facilities developed some. 60 years back. - Emergency calls to 911 during Georgia's Apalachee High. School shooting rose so rapidly that some individuals needed to wait on. hold to speak with a dispatcher, newly launched records reveal.
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Brazil's Amazon drought interrupts homeowners' lives
Extreme droughts across Brazil's Amazon rain forest area are dramatically changing locals' lives as movement is hampered by recordlow levels on upper stretches of the Amazon River. In the town of Manacapuru, near state capital Manaus, the dry spell has affected navigation on the Solimoes River, which become the Amazon River just downstream and is a crucial lifeline for transporting all type of goods in and out of the town. Boats stranded on sandbanks have actually become a common sight, preventing the transportation of regional products such as fish, bananas, and cassava, along with interfering with the logistics for bringing in basic products like food and water from outdoors. We anchored the boat here, and it was stuck on dry land the next day. We had no chance to move it, said fisherman Josue Oliveira. Calling the situation important, fisherman Francisco da Silva noted that the water has currently begun to turn green, a sign it may quickly end up being risky to consume. We'll need to drink it anyhow, he said, including that getting products from other areas will no longer be possible with the river drying up. Absolutely nothing will make it through. According to the National Center for Tracking and Early Warning of Natural Disasters (Cemaden), the existing drought is the most intense and prevalent Brazil has actually experienced considering that records began in 1950. A weak rainy season in the north-central area has made the situation worse with rising atmospheric temperatures, and land-use changes that have changed forest areas with pastures. On Sunday, Brazil's Supreme Court licensed lifting spending limitations on wildfires and drought in the Amazon and Pantanal areas, as the nation faces the economic impacts of the climate events.
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NZ's Auckland Intl Airport to raise $861.8 million
New Zealand's Auckland International Airport stated on Monday it will carry out an equity raise of NZ$ 1.4 billion($ 861.8 million) for an organized capital investment program. The equity raise makes up an underwritten placement of NZ$ 1.2 billion and a non-underwritten retail offer to raise up to NZ$ 200 million, the business said. The positioning is at an issue of NZ$ 6.95 per share, representing a 7.8% discount to Auckland International Airport's. last closing rate of NZ$ 7.54 on Friday. The airline operator likewise signed an NZ$ 800 million. contract on Monday with Downer EDI's system, Hawkins. Limited, to manage the building and delivery of a new. domestic jet terminal structure. The terminal will bring domestic and international. services under one roofing. The agreement, which becomes part of a NZ$ 2.2 billion new. domestic terminal build, will develop around 2,500 tasks for the. country at peak, the company stated.
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Germany to increase Kazakh petroleum imports, sources say
Germany will indication two agreements to increase oil imports from Kazakhstan for Berlin's primary Schwedt oil refinery, sources informed Reuters on Sunday. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz will be in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan on Monday and Tuesday, on his first see to Central Asia as Berlin looks for new markets and sources of energy and minerals in the wake of the Ukraine war. Under the contract, a regular monthly supply of 100,000 metric loads of petroleum will be secured up until completion of 2025, with a. 2nd agreement for the supply of as much as 50,000 heaps per month. The PCK Schwedt refinery has actually currently been buying. these extra quantities for 3 months, however they will now. be contractually fixed. Kazakh oil imports have actually kept the Schwedt refinery running. after a sharp drop in Russian oil materials following European. Union sanctions on Moscow for its February 2022 invasion of. Ukraine. Agents of the German subsidiary of Russia's Rosneft. , Rosneft Deutschland, which Berlin put under a. trusteeship last year, will sign the contract in the Kazakh. capital Astana. In 2023, Kazakhstan exported 8.5 million tons of oil to. Germany, accounting for 11.7% of Germany's total oil imports,. and up from around 6.5 million tons before the Ukraine war. That dive made Kazakhstan Germany's third-largest provider. after Norway and the United States, information from Germany's Federal. Stats Workplace showed.
Amazon sues the US Labor Board for its structure over a union election
Amazon.com filed a lawsuit against a U.S. Labor Board on Thursday. It accused the board of interfering illegally in a union vote at a New York City Warehouse and claimed that the agency's structural design violated the U.S. Constitution.
The lawsuit filed at the federal court in San Antonio, Texas seeks to prevent the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) from ruling on a case which could force Amazon into bargaining with the union that won an election in 2022 in the Staten Island warehouse.
Last week, the labor board upheld the election results. It rejected Amazon's claim that the vote was tainted because of demonstrations by union organizers and workers. They also denied that the board officials who oversaw voting were biased towards the union.
Amazon claims that the board's internal enforcement procedures violated the separation of powers in the constitution and the right of the company to a trial by jury.
Nearly 20 companies, including SpaceX rocket maker, Starbucks and Trader Joe's made similar claims in pending administrative and legal cases.
Amazon did not respond immediately to a comment request. A NLRB spokesperson declined to comment.
The first and only successful union campaign to date in Amazon's history was at JFK8, the Amazon warehouse.
Since then, workers at two more Amazon warehouses located in New York State and one in Alabama voted to not join the Amazon Labor Union.
Recently affiliated
The International Brotherhood of Teamsters
The NLRB filed scores of complaints against Amazon.
Illegal union-busting tactics
During those campaigns, Amazon did a number of things, such as firing union supporters, threatening them, holding anti-union meetings that were mandatory, and refusing bargaining with the Staten Island Union. Amazon has denied any wrongdoing.
The board also filed a rare lawsuit in New York Federal Court on the eve before the Staten Island elections accusing Amazon
Illegally terminating a union worker
. Amazon claimed in its lawsuit filed on Thursday that the Labor Board "interfered" with the employees' right to make a free and fair decision by suing them.
Amazon's lawsuit alleges, as well, that the NLRB members appointed by the President are improperly shielded against being removed at any time, and that its unique structure, wherein it acts as a prosecutor and judge in certain cases, violates the U.S. Constitution.
NLRB General counsel Jennifer Abruzzo is an appointee by Democratic President Joe Biden. She has stated that the claims made about the structure of the board are unfounded and that the companies who have challenged the agency lack credibility.
They are trying to distract
They violate the rights of workers.
Two federal judges in Texas made separate rulings in July
Temporary blocking of NLRB cases
SpaceX and Energy Transfer, the pipeline operator. The judges said that the companies would likely prevail in their claims that board and administrative judges were improperly shielded from removal. Reporting by Daniel Wiessner, Albany, New York. Editing by Richard Chang and Alexia Garamfalvi.
(source: Reuters)