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Kazakhstan's oil production dropped in July, according to a source, but remained above OPEC+ quota
A source familiar with these data said that the daily crude oil production of Kazakhstan, excluding gas-condensate (a type light oil), dropped from 1.88 to 1.84 millions barrels per day during July, down from 1.88 in June. According to calculations, the daily crude oil production in Kazakhstan fell by 2% compared to June. This was higher than Kazakhstan's quota for July of 1,514 million bpd, which was agreed to with the oil producing group OPEC+. Kazakhstan has been exceeding its quotas for several months, set by OPEC+. This grouping includes the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and other producers including Russia. The source spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the subject. The Energy Ministry of Kazakhstan did not respond to a request for comment. Mark Potter, Editor (Reporting)
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L3Harris and Joby Aviation to partner in the development of military aircraft
The companies announced on Friday that L3Harris Technologies, a defense firm, is collaborating with Joby Aviation, an air taxi manufacturer to create a vertical takeoff and landing aircraft (VTOL) for military applications. The new Joby VTOL aircraft will undergo flight testing in the fall of 2025. Operational demonstrations are expected to take place in 2026. Joby's hybrid gas turbine VTOL aircraft, designed for low altitude missions, offers both piloted flight and fully autonomous flight. The next generation of vertical lift technology allows for long-range crewed/uncrewed teams to be used in a variety of missions, said Jon Rambeau. He is the president of Integrated Mission Systems, L3Harris. JoeBen Bevirt, CEO of Joby, said that the company has worked with the Department of Defense for the last decade to develop dual-purpose aircraft technologies. This includes a gas turbine/hybrid powertrain for the current S4 aircraft. Joby S4 electric VTOL aircraft is designed for urban air mobility and can carry a pilot, four passengers.
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Asian spot prices rise on supply and geopolitical concerns
The Asian spot price of liquefied gas (LNG), after two weeks of declining prices, has risen slightly as geopolitical factors such as U.S. sanctions against energy producer Russia and supply concerns have lent support. Average LNG price for delivery to Northeast Asia in September Industry sources estimate that the price per million British Thermal Units (mmBtu) is now $12.10. This compares to $11.90/mmBtu from last week. Klaas Dzeman, a market analyst with Brainchild Commodity Intelligence said that geopolitics is back in the spotlight, and the threat of sanctions against offtakers for Russian oil and natural gas could tighten the market, if LNG was purchased elsewhere. However, it's still unclear what will happen. U.S. president Donald Trump has threatened sanctions against both Russia and its buyers if Moscow does not make progress in ending the conflict in Ukraine by August 8th. Dozeman said that the U.S.-EU trade agreement remained positive, since the EU committed to buying $250 billion worth of U.S. Energy Supplies per year. Analysts said that the earthquake this week in eastern Russia, which triggered tsunami alerts, and a slower ramp-up than expected at LNG Canada also added to concerns about supply. Go Katayama, analyst at Kpler, said: "Any upside is still capped by the weak cooling demand in South and Southeast Asia and the elevated LNG inventory as well as underground gas storages in China." S&P Global Commodity Insights, based in Europe, assessed the daily North West Europe Gas Marker benchmark price for cargoes to be delivered in September ex-ship at $11.347/mmBtu as of July 31. This represents a $0.45/mmBtu reduction from the September futures prices at the Dutch TTF Hub. Spark Commodities set the price at $11.374/mmBtu while Argus put it at $11.39/mmBtu. The bullish sentiment will be suppressed by the strong (gas) pipeline flows and high German wind power generation. "However, LNG supply constraints from Italy's Rovigo Maintenance and increased Egyptian procurement activity could introduce an upward risk," said Kpler Katayama. Martin Senior, Argus' head of LNG pricing, confirmed that one LNG cargo from the Netherlands was diverted to Egypt. He added that the high temperatures in Egypt may support demand for more cargoes. Qasim Afghanistan, Spark Commodities analyst, says that the U.S. Arbitrage to Northeast Asia via Cape of Good Hope was widened to continue to encourage U.S. cargo shipments to Europe. The arbitrage via Panama that had been pointing towards Asia for nearly two weeks is now closed, and pointing toward Europe. He added that in LNG freight, the Atlantic rates increased to $35,500/day last Friday while Pacific rates fell for a 5th consecutive week to $33,500/day.
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Data shows that Russian LNG exports dropped 4.5% on an annual basis between January and July.
LSEG's preliminary data on Friday showed that Russia's liquefied gas exports in January-July of this year fell by 4.5% compared to a year ago, reflecting the effect of international sanctions imposed over Ukraine. Because of the conflict in Ukraine the United States has placed sanctions on the companies and vessels that are linked to Russia's Arctic LNG 2 plant. This effectively freezes the project as Moscow is unable to find buyers. According to LSEG, Russia's LNG exported in July were down 5% year-on-year at 1.9 millions tons and 11.2% less than they were in June of this year. In July, Russian LNG supplies to Europe fell by 20.6% on an annual basis to 850,000 tonnes. Novatek's Yamal Gas plant reduced total exports by 10.4% on an annual basis in July to 1,29 million tonnes. The plant's deliveries in July were the lowest since December 2023. Exports of Yamal LNG decreased by 1.8% since the start of the year to 11 million tonnes. Two shipments from the Arctic LNG 2 Project were recorded in July. According to LSEG the tankers are still at sea, with a 0.14 million-ton load. Sakhalin-2 (controlled by Gazprom) increased its exports in July to 590,000. This is up from 280,000 tonnes a year earlier. The project has seen exports increase to 5.6 millions tons from 5.2 in January-2024. Barbara Lewis, Barbara Lewis (Reporting)
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Industry documents reveal that India's stranded solar projects have doubled to more than 50 GW.
India's stranded solar power capacity, which is the amount of renewable energy that has been awarded but not yet installed, has more than doubled in nine months due to delays with transmission lines and other legal and regulatory issues. The number of renewable projects in India that have won power generation tenders but still need to sign power purchase contracts with buyers has risen to more than 50 gigawatts, India's Sustainable Projects Developers Association said on June 27, in a note to the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy. Another letter sent on 4 October by the SPDA showed that stranded project of more than 20 GW was compared to another. Both letters were examined by. The SPDA reported that India's installed renewable energy capacity is 184.6 GW, which is a quarter of the stranded solar-and-wind capacity. In a letter sent to the Ministry of Renewable Energy on June 27, the SPDA stated that "India's transition towards energy independence is more than just building solar and wind power capacity. It is about making sure clean energy reaches the public at the lowest possible cost in the shortest time." The ministry didn't immediately respond to an inquiry for comment. India is accelerating its renewable energy as it strives to double the non-fossil power capacity of India to 500 GW in 2030. Government data revealed that a record 22 GW solar and wind power capacity was installed in the six-month period ending June. Two industry officials with knowledge of the situation said that projects worth billions to companies such as JSW, NTPC, Adani Green and ACME Solar are stranded. Requests for comment from the companies were not answered. As part of the SPDA's core committee, leaders from some of India's biggest renewable energy producers Renew Power Group, ACME Group, and Avaada Group are included. In a letter sent in June, SPDA stated that delays in transmission infrastructure, especially in states like Rajasthan and Gujarat, have caused many solar plants, to miss their commissioning deadlines. This has led to financial penalties as well as the potential loss of government incentives. In the same letter, the SPDA asked the government to recognize delays in transmission construction and approvals as events of force majeure to protect developers against financial penalties and to expedite the regulatory permissions. It said that renewable projects were also stalled due to long-running legal disputes about land and environmental permits. Several developers had halted their operations because of unresolved cases. (Reporting and editing by Frances Kerry. Sudarshan Varadan)
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What Moscow could do if Trump stopped Russian oil exports to India
The U.S. president Donald Trump's request to India to stop Russian oil imports may threaten billions of dollars in Russian revenue, and Moscow could retaliate with the shutdown of a major U.S. oil pipeline. This could lead to another global supply crisis. India, the third-largest oil importer in the world, is now the largest buyer of Russian crude oil. It purchases up to 2,000,000 barrels of oil per day, which represents 2% of the global supply. China and Turkey are also among the top buyers. Analysts at JP Morgan stated this week that the Indian route was so vital to the Kremlin, if it were disrupted, it would prompt the Kremlin to take retaliation by shutting the CPC pipeline in Kazakhstan, which is owned by U.S. oil giants Chevron & Exxon. The U.S. Bank said that Russia has leverage. Trump has threatened to impose tariffs up to 100 percent on countries who buy Russian oil, unless Moscow agrees to a peace agreement with Ukraine before August 7-9. On Friday, a 25% tariff will be applied to all U.S. imports of goods from India. Reports on Thursday indicated that Indian state refineries halted their purchases of Russian crude oil in the wake of Trump's threats. REALIGNMENT India has only been buying large amounts of oil from Russia since 2022, when it became the second largest oil exporter in the world. After Europe, Russia’s former largest client, banned Russian oil due to its military actions against Ukraine, India became the top importer. Rosneft, the Russian oil giant, has a large stake in India's largest oil refinery. According to data from the Indian government, India will be 35% dependent on Russian oil imports in 2024-25. These imports are expected to total $50.2 billion. Aldo Paribas' Aldo Spangjer said that cutting off the flow would require massive realignment in trade flows. He added that global supply is already stretched. According to LSEG, India purchases all types and grades of Russian crude oil, including Urals and Sokol from Western ports and ESPO and Sokol in the Pacific, as well as some grades from the Arctic. India would be the worst affected if it stopped buying Urals, as India purchases up to 70 percent of Russia's largest export grade. India's oil ministry said that the country could find an alternative supply. India would have to increase imports of Middle Eastern and U.S. crude oil or reduce refining operations, which could lead to an increase in diesel prices in Europe. Neil Crosby, from Sparta Commodities, said that Indian refiners may have to paring runs because they will struggle to replace heavy Russian crude. Falling Income Russia continues to sell oil despite international sanctions since 2022, even though it does so at a discount to global prices. The fall in global prices has already put pressure on Russia's income. The finance ministry reported that its oil and gas revenues fell 33.7% on an annual basis in June, to their lowest level since January 2023. Calculations show that revenues will drop 37% in July as a result of lower global oil prices, and a stronger rouble. The traders stated that if India ceases to buy oil, Russian companies will be forced to store it on tankers, pay extra for shipping costs, and offer large discounts to new customers. Traders said that a loss of 2,000,000 bpd in exports could also prompt Russia to gradually reduce its oil production, which is currently at 9,000,000 bpd. Russia's production is currently regulated by OPEC+ quotas. How can Russia respond? JP Morgan reported that Russia could divert up to 0.8 million barrels per day of oil towards Egypt, Malaysia Pakistan, Brunei South Africa, and Indonesia. Moscow could also interrupt the CPC pipeline in order to ensure that the West suffers the consequences of higher oil prices. ExxonMobil, ChevronShell, ENI, TotalEnergies and Chevron ship up to one million barrels per day via CPC. The pipeline has a total capacity of about 1.7 million barrels. Crosby said that if we have a noticeable and substantial problem clearing Russian crude, and Putin shuts down CPC, the oil price could rise to well over $80 a barrel. The CPC pipeline crosses Russian soil and the consortium clashed against Moscow which ordered that it suspend operations in 2022 or 2025 for several days citing environmental regulations and tanker regulations. If CPC and Russian oil flows were to be stopped together, it would disrupt global supply by 3.5 million barrels per day or 3.5%. JP Morgan stated that the Trump administration will find it impossible to sanction the second largest oil exporter in terms of causing oil prices to spike.
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Document reveals US plans to fund the deportation of Costa Ricans
According to a document obtained by, the U.S. State Department plans to spend $7.85m to help Costa Rican deport immigrants. This is similar to an earlier Biden program that was criticized by advocates for migrants. The document states that the State Department will transfer funds from its "economic assistance fund" (which is used to support economic development in countries with allies) to the Department of Homeland Security which oversees immigration enforcement. DHS will work with Costa Rican officials to facilitate the deportation of Central American citizens. Costa Rica accepted a request from the Trump administration earlier this year to accept 200 illegal immigrants who came from Africa, Asia, and Europe. Costa Rica was supposed to send these immigrants back to the countries where they originated, but dozens of them remain in the Central American nation. When asked for comment, State Department said that the funds would be used to deport immigrants who were deported by the United States, and not to repatriate them. A spokesperson stated that the program would help the Costa Rican Immigration Authorities to build their capacity in order to prevent illegal migration from crossing its borders. It will also provide training and resources for asylum screening. The document provided details on the money transfer but did not specify when or if the deportation would take place. The document states that the Costa Rica agreement is "in part", based on an arrangement signed in 2024 by the administration of the former U.S. president Joe Biden with Panama. Under this deal, the U.S. paid Panama to detain migrants traveling through the country while they were travelling from Colombia to U.S.A. At the time, some migrant advocates as well as elected Democrats claimed that the agreement could prevent vulnerable populations from accessing the U.S. Asylum system. The document was sent to certain congressional offices in the last few weeks. It stated that the Department intended to assist the Government of Costa Rica to conduct deportation operations of migrants who do not have international protection or any other legal basis to remain. The activities would provide Costa Ricans with technical and logistical advice, including air transport, for deportation processes. Costa Rica's public security and immigration ministries referred all questions to the President's office and foreign affairs ministry. Both entities did not respond to requests for comments. NEW ARRANGEMENTS FOR DEPORTATION Since Donald Trump became president of the United States in January, his administration relies on several novel arrangements to facilitate deportations. There have been deals made with other countries, including Costa Rica, to accept illegal immigrants into the U.S. regardless of their connection to the nation where they were sent. Some of the countries that accept deportees are weak or have poor human rights records. This raises safety concerns. The arrangement described in the document may be similar to that of the Biden administration with Panama in 2024, but there are some differences between the current situation in Costa Rica and the 2024 situation in Panama. The northward migration from Colombia through the Darien gap to Panama, then on to Costa Rica and to the U.S.A. has been dramatically slowed. Some Venezuelan migrants are also transiting through Costa Rica to continue their journey southward after they gave up trying to enter the U.S. because of Trump's crackdown against illegal migration and the elimination of Biden’s humanitarian parole program. The document didn't specify which countries Costa Rica will deport migrants to, so it is possible that some may be sent to third-party countries. It is not known if the Trump Administration plans to create similar programs for funding deportations of Latin American nationals. Kristi Noem, Homeland Security Secretary, has visited several Latin American countries to discuss immigration, including Costa Rica. El Salvador, and Chile. (Reporting and editing by Don Durfee and Alistair Bell in Washington, Additional reporting and Editing by Alvaro Murillo and Michael Perry in San Jose)
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German police discover more damages along the railway disrupted due to suspected sabotage
German police reported on Friday that they had found damage at a second site along a western German railway line where traffic was disrupted the day before due to an incident in a cable-tunnel that authorities suspected of being an act sabotage. The police in Duesseldorf, a city located in western Germany, said that investigations are still underway but declined to say what type of damage was found. The fire that broke out in the city of Duisburg and its surrounding areas caused significant delays on Thursday. Investigators ruled out any accidental causes. According to Bild, which cited the news agency DPA as a source, the damage discovered on Friday was caused a similar incendiary device found the previous day. There have been no reported injuries.
LSEG data shows that Freeport LNG flows are still restricted after the power outage.
According to data provided by financial firm LSEG, the Freeport LNG export facility in Texas operated at half its normal capacity on Thursday after a power outage that had taken the plant offline a few days earlier.
Freeport LNG, the third largest liquefied gas plant in the U.S., has historically influenced LNG price when there were technical issues.
According to LSEG data on Thursday, the facility produced 1.1 billion cubic foot of natural gas, which is about half of what it typically produces when operating normally, 2.2 bcf.
The company stated that all of its trains ran on Thursday but refused to comment on the LSEG statistics.
In a Wednesday filing to the state regulator, Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ), the company said that due to an interruption in power, all three of its train had been taken offline.
Freeport stated in its filing that the plant operators were able to quickly restore normal operation of Trains 1, 2 and 3 to reduce vent gas to flare. The event lasted approximately nine hours.
According to TCEQ, Freeport LNG experienced frequent outages. In July alone, the Texas facility reported seven trips. (Editing by David Holmes).
(source: Reuters)