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Minister: Ukraine talks about US LNG imports following Russian attacks on gas sector
Oleksii Sbolev, Ukraine's Economy Minister, said that the United States and Ukraine are in talks to import liquefied gas following Russian attacks on Ukraine's gas infrastructure. Sobolev, after a meeting in Washington, said that "we are looking at financing mechanisms to purchase American LNG and compressors" due to Russian attacks. He gave no more details. In recent weeks, Russia has increased its attacks on Ukraine's energy system. It is targeting both gas and power plants. Svitlana Svitlana Hrynchuk, Ukrainian Energy Minister, said last week Ukraine wants to increase its gas purchases by 30% after airstrikes against its gas infrastructure. In a statement made earlier this month, Naftogaz, Ukraine's national oil and gas company, said that his firm had purchased around 0.5 billion cubic metres of U.S. Liquefied Natural Gas, of which the majority had been delivered.
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Storms, drone strikes and record oil exports put pressure on Russian port Novorossiisk
Three market sources reported that the Black Sea port in Russia, Novorossiisk, has reached its export capacity limit. This leaves traders scrambling to find a new route for crude oil, which it is unable to refine at home and can only produce because of increased OPEC+ quotas. Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies have been easing up on output restrictions. In addition, Russia's refining facilities carried out record amounts of maintenance in August, and September. This was partly due to damage caused by Ukrainian drones. As a result, its ability to process crude oil domestically has been reduced, and it now exports more. RECORD EXPORTS & REFINERY OUTAGES Refinery failures pushed Russia's monthly exports to a new record of 2.5 million barrels. Sources and estimates claim that the exports of Urals, KEBCO, and Siberian Light crude through Transneft’s pipeline system reached 0.8m bpd, the highest in at least five-years. According to market sources, the preliminary plan for October indicates that crude shipments will be at least 0,73 million bpd through Novorossiisk. The Transneft System has virtually no spare capacity, according to a source from a Russian oil firm who spoke under condition of anonymity as he wasn't authorized to speak in public. Transneft, the Russian pipeline monopoly, declined to comment. Export plans may be revised upwards if drone attacks cause damage. In 2025, drones and unmanned boats have repeatedly disrupted Russia's oil infrastructure. Transneft, the trunk pipeline system of Transneft, as well as several refineries, have all been targeted. In the months to come, there is a greater risk of disruption as storms frequently occur in Novorossiisk, which can cause delays and impede loading, while the Turkish Straits can also be a problem. Since the beginning of the conflict in Ukraine in February 2022 Russia has lost several buyers for pipeline-delivered oil, including Germany and Poland. This has increased its dependence on seaborne products. Other options for Russia to export crude oil by sea are Primorsk, Ust-Luga, and Kozmino in the Pacific, but diverting away from the Black Sea oil hub, Novorossiisk can be technically difficult. Barbara Lewis (Reporting and editing)
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Air India is expanding its talks with up to 300 new aircraft, according to sources
Air India has been in discussions with Airbus and Boeing about adding more wide-body aircraft to its planned purchase of up to 300 aircraft. This is a sign that the turnaround for the Tata Group's Air India has accelerated. Sources say that the negotiations include 80 to 100 wide body jets in addition to 200 narrow body jets and 25-30 large-body aircraft previously reported. Airbus stated that it "does not comment on confidential conversations, which may or might not happen with customers." Air India and Boeing didn't immediately respond to requests for comments. Air India had been reported to be in negotiations with Airbus or Boeing in June for a massive new aircraft order, including 200 additional narrow-body planes. This deal will top up the mammoth 2023 deal. This was on top of the earlier discussion involving 25-30 wide body jets that reported in March. According to people familiar with this matter, under the latest plans, the airline is looking at adding up to 300 planes. There was no immediate indication of how many of the orders were options and not firm orders. One source said that the split of such a deal is not finalised. Air India is currently in talks to get over a Boeing 787 crash that occurred in June in Ahmedabad, India. The crash killed 260 people. Air India could replace its aging planes and improve its international reach by adding more wide-body aircraft to its fleet. (Aditi Sha Abhijith Gaapavaram Tim Hepher; Editing by Adityakalra and Kirsten Doovan)
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Archer Aviation buys Lilium's 300 patent portfolio for $21 Million, shares soar
Archer Aviation, a provider of air taxi services, announced on Wednesday that it had won the bid to purchase Lilium's patent portfolio of approximately 300 patents related to advanced air mobility for a total price tag 18 million euros (20.91 million dollars). This will expand its portfolio to more than 1,000 patents. In morning trading, shares of the San Jose-based California company rose by approximately 8.5%. The Lilium portfolio includes high-voltage system, battery management and advanced aircraft design. It also covers flight controls, electric motors, propellers and ducted fan technologies. In 2015, German air taxi maker Lilium invested over $1.5 billion into electric vertical takeoff-and-landing aircraft (eVTOL). However, the company filed for bankruptcy last year due to unresolved issues with its finances. Despite the fact that commercial launch is still many years off, the eVTOL sector continues to burn through money as companies seek new investments to maintain operations. Experts in the industry say that further consolidation is inevitable, as firms rush to gain regulatory approvals, strengthen supplier networks, and bring aircraft to market. This is driven by the demand for cleaner, faster urban transportation. Air taxi companies in the United States are expected to gain from Washington's efforts to accelerate deployment via executive orders and pilot program announced last week. ($1 = 0.8607 euros)
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Azerbaijani oil exports through BTC pipeline fell 5.1% year-on-year between January and September amid contamination
Azerbaijani figures released on Wednesday showed that the country's oil exports through the Baku-Tbilisi - Ceyhan pipeline dropped to 20.6 millions metric tons during the period January-September, a 5.1% drop from the previous year. In July, organic chloride contamination was found in Azeri BTC crude shipments. This caused several days of delays in loading from Turkey's BTC Ceyhan Terminal. The BTC pipeline is used by BP to export oil from its Azeri, Chirag, and Guneshli fields. Azerbaijan shipped 27.6 millions tons of oil in the first nine month of this year, with 74.5% 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 3,164 million tons, from 4.005 millions tons during the same period in 2024. Reporting by Nailia bagirova, Editing by Andrew Osborn
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CMA CGM, France's largest shipping company, places the first vessel order in India
CMA CGM, a French shipbuilder, announced on Tuesday the first ever order for Indian-built ships. The group said that India's emphasis on the development of its shipping infrastructure provided an opportunity to diversify their supply. CMA CGM said it signed a letter committing to build six LNG-powered vessels by Cochin Shipyard Limited. CMA CGM announced that the order will be carried out by South Korean shipbuilder HD Hyundai Heavy Industries, who will play a technical role. The vessels are smaller in size and have a container capacity of 1,700 each. They are expected to arrive between 2029-2031. India wants to increase its shipbuilding capacity and port capacity in order to reduce its dependence on foreign shipping companies. Mitsui O.S.K., Japan's second largest shipping company. Lines announced last month that it plans to build tankers for India by partnering with local companies. In an interview with India’s Economic Times, CMA CGM's CEO and Chairman Rodolphe Saade stated that the goal was to be able to rely on shipbuilding countries. India has proved to be a good example. China and South Korea are the two countries that dominate the commercial shipbuilding industry. China's dominant role is one of the tensions in the wider trade war between the United States and China. Washington and Beijing both imposed fees on vessels that had links to each other's country this week. CMA CGM also studies the possibility of vessels being built in the United States, as part of the investment commitments announced at the White House on March.
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Ryanair reduces winter German traffic due to taxes
Ryanair announced on Wednesday that it would further reduce its traffic to Germany in the winter. It blamed Berlin for failing to lower location fees, which are some of the highest in Europe. Ryanair's CMO Dana Brady stated that the Irish low-cost carrier's move would result in a reduction of 800,000 seat and 24 routes at nine airports including Berlin, Hamburg, and Memmingen. This will cause Ryanair's capacity to drop below what it was last winter. Ryanair announced in a press release that the airports of Dortmund, Dresden, and Leipzig would remain closed. Brady stated that the cuts "were entirely avoidable" and urged Transport Minister Patrick Schnieder "to take urgent action to reform Germany's ailing aviation system". Ryanair warned the German Government that it would shift capacity to other EU nations if Berlin failed to meet its demands for a reduction in air traffic control fees and reversing an increase in aviation taxes from May 2024. (Reporting and Writing by Klaus Lauer; Editing by Alexander Smith).
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EU invites Serbia join a collective gas buying plan to reduce dependence on Russia
Ursula von der Leyen, EU Commission chief, said that the European Union invited Serbia to participate in the group's collective gas buying initiative. The aim is to reduce Serbia's dependence on Russian fossil fuels. In 2023, the EU created a platform for joint gas purchases to allow participants to negotiate better deals. This was after Russia cut its gas supplies to Europe in 2022 and pushed European energy prices up to record levels. The bloc wants to completely phase out Russian gas and oil by January 2028, to deny the Kremlin revenues it could use to fund its war against Ukraine. The EU wants Serbia, a candidate to join the EU but with strong cultural and political ties with Russia, to align itself with Europe's energy policy. Around 80% of Serbia's natural gas is currently imported from Russia. "We're connecting Serbia to the EU energy markets and that's a real assurance that Serbian families are safe...throughout the winter," von der Leyen stated after meeting Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic at Belgrade. Von der Leyen said that Serbia should also harmonise their foreign policy with EU standards, including by imposing Russian sanctions, and begin immediate reforms required for membership. It is unclear if Serbia has yet taken part in the EU's initiative. The energy ministry announced in June that it would work to integrate the gas and electricity markets of Serbia with those of EU by 2027. Von der Leyen made his comments just days after U.S. sanctions were imposed on Serbia's Russian owned NIS oil company. This prompted Croatia to reduce crude supplies, and raised concerns that the only refinery in the country could cease operations within weeks. Vucic stated that Serbia is looking to diversify their energy supply and build pipelines to neighboring North Macedonia, Romania and North Macedonia. He claimed that the country had enough oil and natural gas to last for the moment. However, there are still longer-term supply risks. "The winter won't be easy for us," said he. (Reporting and editing by Aleksandar Vasovic)
Energy transition has become a matter of national security. Ask India: Maguire
India's public humiliation over its imports from Russia of oil that has been sanctioned is a painful reminder of the fact that energy policy involves national security and increases the attractiveness of local energy sources.
Nearly 90% of the crude oil used to fuel the world's largest economy is imported.
India is more independent in terms of electricity.
Around 90% of India's coal is mined locally, and the rest comes from a surge in clean, domestic power.
The power industry, as a result of this, is better protected from geopolitical and supply shocks than refiners. The power industry is also more easily influenced by policy changes and is a reliable source of long-term tax revenue and employment.
This makes India's energy sector, rather than the oil refining industry, a more attractive base for its future national strategy.
FLATTERING TO DECEIVE?
India's oil dependency is unlikely to be reduced anytime soon with approximately 50 million cars, and almost 300 million motorbikes and scooters.
India's apparent addiction to oil may not be as bad as it appears.
Data from the Energy Institute show that India's oil consumption will grow at an average annual rate of 4.4% per year between 2021 and 2024.
This was the fastest rate of growth in the top 10 oil-consuming countries during this time period, and it was well above the average global annual growth rate of 3.0%.
Due to two factors, India's ability to increase global oil demand may seem greater than it actually is. These are China's slowdown in the economy and Russia's cheap exports of oil.
In recent years, China's debt crisis in the property sector and a slowdown of international trade has reduced oil demand growth. This has upset expectations on energy markets.
China's oil consumption increased by 6% per year between 2000 and 2019. Beijing is now the largest driver of oil demand worldwide.
Since 2021, this rate has dropped to just 3% per year.
India has emerged as the frontrunner to pick up the baton, thanks to its robust demand metrics.
India's rapid growth in consumption has been artificially inflated, it is argued, by its massive increases in imports of Russian oil at discounted prices.
Too Good to Refuse
The actual price that India paid for Russian oil from 2022 is not known, but given the rapid change in India's import mix it seems that Russian oil was sold at a price that could not be refused.
Up until 2021, Russia's share of India's annual imports of oil was only around 3%. The majority of India’s oil requirements were met by suppliers such as Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.
Since 2023 however, Russian oil accounts for nearly 40% India's imports of oil, making Russia the country's largest oil supplier.
According to Kpler, India's oil imports from Russia increased 16-fold in the period 2021-2024, going from 100,000 barrels per a day to 1.8 millions barrels. It has led to the perception that India's demand for oil is increasing at an incredible rate.
India's total oil imports increased by a modest 14% between 2021-2024. This is likely to be a better indication of India’s real oil consumption potential.
This jump is still impressive, as it represents record imports to India for each of the last two years.
This growth, however, was probably only possible because a large portion of imported oil was bought at prices that were well below the benchmarks for global oil. This discount allowed Indian refiners and their consumers to buy fuel at a lower price, which in turn boosted demand. India would likely have purchased less oil if it had been forced to buy the oil at full price. Fuels and refined products would have been much more expensive.
POWERING UP
It seems unlikely that the Indian government will base its future energy strategy on increased import dependency and aggressive oil consumption, given the international hostility towards India over its dependence on Russian oil.
The Indian government, on the other hand, has supported the rapid electrification and automation of industrial processes, transport fleets, and appliances. They are likely to continue to support the expansion of electricity supply to drive future economic growth.
Gleichzeitig, the country also expands the use of renewables within its energy basket.
India has taken aggressive steps to boost the local manufacturing of energy-related products and is on course to double its manufacturing capacity by 2030. This was revealed in a report published by SolarPower Europe.
Local and federal authorities will likely continue to support the energy transition effort of the country and the businesses that are behind it if these efforts create jobs and boost the national economy.
The Indian refining industry will be weakened by further criticism of Russian oil purchases, and any price increases triggered by switching suppliers.
If energy independence is necessary to ensure national security, geopolitical tensions could be an important catalyst in speeding up energy transition.
These are the opinions of a columnist who writes for.
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(source: Reuters)