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Sources say that the Kuibyshevsk refinery in Russia ceased operations following drone attacks.
Two industry sources claim that oil processing at the Kuibyshevsk Russian refinery, operated by Rosneft, has been stopped since August 28, following Ukrainian drone strikes. Sources claim that the attack on the refinery damaged the CDU-4 (crude distillation units) and CDU-5 (each with a capacity 70,000 barrels a day (bpd). Some secondary refinery units have also been damaged. Sources claim that the Kuibyshevsk oil refinery resumed refining operations on August 21 after completing a major overhaul, which had been ongoing since July 1. Rosneft didn't immediately respond to a question. The Kuibyshevsk Refinery is a part of the Samara Group of Rosneft refineries. This group also includes Novokuibyshevsk, Syzran and other refineries. The Syzran oil refining plant is currently also out of service, as it was shut down on 15 August due to drone damage. The Novokuibyshevsk oil refinery, which was attacked on August 2, also suffered drone damage. Kuibyshevsk's capacity is approximately 140,000 barrels of oil a day, or 7.0 million tonnes of oil a year. According to industry sources, the Kuibyshevsk Refinery will process 4.7 million metric tonnes of crude oil by 2024. It will produce 0.8 million tons motor gasoline, 1.4 millions tons diesel fuel and 1.3million tons fuel oil. (Reporting and Editing by Louise Heavens).
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Caspian Pipeline suspends second mooring after accident
The Caspian Pipeline Consortium announced on Friday that it had suspended operations at the second mooring after an accident occurred during a loading procedure and an oil spill was discovered at its Black Sea Terminal. CPC, which exports more than 1% global oil, mainly from Kazakhstan, via Russia and Black Sea terminal. It deploys normally three moorings points, one of which is used as a backup. CPC, which is owned by U.S. oil giants Chevron, Exxon Mobil and others, has confirmed that SPM-1 mooring point is still operational. CPC has been the center of attention since Russia's conflict with Ukraine. The consortium had to close all but one of their mooring points in 2022 because damage was affecting exports. This year, the company's operations were also disrupted by various factors. Drone strike Black Sea CPC blend oil exports to Russia from the CPC terminal were set at 1,66 million barrels a day for August (Reporting by Vladimir Soldatkin Editing by Ros Russell and Louise Heavens) (Reporting and Editing by Ros Russel and Louise Heavens.
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Israel targets Houthi Chief of Staff and Defence Minister in Sanaa; awaits outcome
An Israeli military official stated on Friday that Israel was still verifying whether the airstrikes in Sanaa, Yemen, on Thursday targeted the Houthi chief of staff, the defence minister, and other senior figures. According to Yemeni government officials, Asaad Al-Sharqabi was killed by the strike. He was the man in charge of the defence ministry for the group. The report added that an Israeli raid also targeted a military base frequented Muhammad Abd Al-Karim al-Ghamari, the chief of staff for the Houthis. The Houthi Group did not respond immediately to a comment request. The Israeli military said fighter jets struck a compound in the Sanaa area where senior Houthi figures had gathered, describing the attack as a "complex operation" made possible by intelligence-gathering and air superiority. In a press release, a military official stated that they had taken advantage of a window of intelligence opportunity to execute the strike. They acted quickly and with precision at the perfect moment. Israeli security sources reported that on Thursday forces targeted different locations where many senior Houthi officials gathered to view a recorded televised address by leader Abdul Malik al-Houthi. Houthis, who are aligned with Iran, have attacked ships in the Red Sea as part of what they call a show of solidarity for the Palestinians living in Gaza. They also fired missiles at Israel, but most were intercepted. Israel responded by striking Houthi controlled areas in Yemen, including Hodeidah Port. The news agency of the group reported that a source in the Houthi ministry of defence denied reports on Thursday of targets being set for leaders in Sanaa. Howard Goller reported from New York, Mohammed Ghobari reported from Aden and Jana Choukeir was in Beirut. Alex Richardson, Mark Potter and Alex Richardson edited the story.
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Kremlin: Russia's Gazprom will sign an 'important' deal with China for gas next week
Yuri Ushakov, Kremlin's foreign policy adviser, said that Russian state-owned Gazprom would sign an "important agreement" with Chinese company CNPC during President Vladimir Putin’s visit to China next week. He refused to provide details, but said that there would be at least three documents relating to Gazprom. After losing access to European markets due to Western sanctions imposed in response to Russia’s conflict with Ukraine, Russia wants to increase its oil and gas exports into Asia. According to two industry sources, China is looking to purchase more Russian gas via an existing pipeline because talks between the countries on a second link have not progressed. In 2019, Russia will begin delivering goods to China via the Power of Siberia 1 Pipeline. The pipeline will reach its annual capacity of approximately 38 billion cubic meters this year. (Reporting and editing by Mark Trevelyan; Vladimir Soldatkin)
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Global Postal Services suspends some U.S. shipments after de minimis exemption expires
The United States have permanently ended the "de minimalis" exemption which allowed imports of items under $800 duty-free. The change is effective as of Friday and follows the executive order by President Donald Trump citing this exemption as a loophole to facilitate drug trafficking and tariff evasion. This decision has an impact on global retailers and post services. To comply with new U.S. Customs requirements, they are taking various measures such as suspending or adjusting their services. A six-month period of transition allows postal shippers the option to pay a fixed duty per package. Here is a summary of the reactions of some postal companies: DHL Group says it has placed "probably temporary" restrictions for business shipments via Deutsche Post or DHL Parcel Germany to the U.S. due to uncertainty about customs duty collection and data requirements. DHL Express, the premium service, remains operational. The company hopes to resume regular postal shipments as soon as possible. Bring Post-It Notes Posten Bring, the state-owned parcel delivery company in Norway, announced on 20 August that it would suspend all parcel deliveries to the United States. It was not clear how the U.S. Customs authorities would implement these new rules, according to Posten Bring. The company said that postal companies across Europe are working together to get clarity. POSTNORD PostNord owned by the Swedish government and the Danish government temporarily stopped shipments to the U.S., citing the lack of time to adjust to the new requirements. LA POSTE On August 22, La Poste France suspended the standard parcel shipment to the U.S. by businesses. It continues to send gift parcels under $100 for individuals. AUSTRIAN POST Austrian Post announced August 21 that they would stop sending parcels to the U.S. as of August 26. This change, according to the company, will present significant challenges to postal services around the world when shipping goods into the United States. Austrian Post, however, will continue to send all gifts under $100 via its standard parcel service. Post Express International will not be affected by this suspension. JAPAN POST Japan Post announced that certain postal items would no longer be accepted by the company on August 25, 2018. It said that "the procedures that transport operators and post operators in each country have to follow to comply with the guidelines are not clearly defined," making implementation difficult. The Japanese Economy Minister Ryosei Acazawa stated that the move will have "a limited impact" as there are alternative shipping methods. AUSTRALIA POSTER Australia Post, a government-owned company, temporarily suspended the shipment of parcels to the U.S.A. on August 26, 2008. The company is working with U.S. authorities and Australian officials to restore services. Nicola Charwat, from Monash University, highlighted the impact of the 10% tariff on Australian small businesses exporting goods to the U.S.
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Turkey restricts airspace and ships to Israel
Hakan Fidan, the Turkish Foreign Minister, announced on Friday that Turkey had decided to ban Israeli vessels from entering its ports, prohibit Turkish ships from entering Israeli ports, and place restrictions on planes flying into Turkish airspace. In his comments to the parliament, he provided little detail that appeared to summarize steps taken by Turkey against Israel in Gaza war or those already in progress. Israel denies the charge. The Turkish government has strongly criticised Israel for its offensive in Gaza. Ankara has stopped all trade with Israel and called for international sanctions against it. It also urged the world powers to stop their support of Israel. Last week, sources told us that Turkish port officials had started requiring shipping agents informally to submit letters stating that the vessels were not connected to Israel or carrying hazardous or military cargo bound for that country. Sources also claimed that Turkish flagged ships will not be allowed to dock at Israeli ports. Fidan said at an extraordinary session of the parliament on Israel's attack on Gaza that "we have completely cut off our trade with Israel. We have closed our ports to Israeli vessels and we do not allow Turkish vessels to enter Israel's port." He added that "we do not allow container ships to enter our port carrying weapons and ammo to Israel, nor airplanes to fly in our airspace." The Israeli government didn't immediately respond to his remarks. (Reporting and editing by Timothy Heritage, Tuvan Gumrukcu)
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Delivery Hero is committed to Spanish company Glovo
Delivery Hero said on Friday that it was committed to continuing to operate its Spanish subsidiary Glovo, despite warnings about potential social security charges. In 2021, Spain passed a law granting workers rights in the gig economy. This required food delivery platforms to hire riders on formal contracts. Glovo was fined for non-compliance from 2022 to 2023. The company claimed it had won some cases after appealing. Delivery Hero converted its Spanish freelancers to full-time staff last year. This resulted in a loss of 100 million euros in earnings, and a fall in the company's share price. A spokesperson stated on Friday that there are costs associated with the old engagement model. However, we are working to resolve this. Our H1 results show that we are in a good financial position. We remain committed to running Glovo in Spain. A spokesperson for the Spanish company said that it was also making "great advances". Delivery Hero's Thursday earnings report stated that Glovo could be exposed to additional charges and penalties for social security, and rider reclassification risks ranging from 658 million euros up to 923 millions euros, mainly in Spain. In its earnings report, it stated that "If these risks were to materialise in full, such payments could not be met within (the unit's) operating business activities unless additional financial support from Delivery Hero." It said that there is "significant uncertainty" about the ability of Glovo Spain, as a company, to continue to function. $1 = 0.8542 Euros (Reporting and additional reporting by Linda Pasquini, Editing by Kirsty Donovan and Matt Scuffham).
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Asian spot prices fall on muted demand and ample supply
The Asian spot price of liquefied gas (LNG), despite a lackluster demand, fell this week due to an abundance of supply. A cargo of LNG from a sanctioned Russian facility was also delivered. This added to the supply concerns. Average LNG price for delivery in October to Northeast Asia Industry sources estimate that the price per million British Thermal Units (mmBtu) was $11.15, down from $11.40/mmBtu a week ago. "LNG market mood remained calm, with arbitrage still destined for Europe. Due to the high stock levels and the relatively loosening of Pacific balance, major Northeast Asian buyers are not interested in immediate cargoes. The risk that Russia's Arctic LNG 2, which is located in China, will ramp up LNG exports significantly has increased since the first cargo was unloaded from the facility. The full and sustained ramp-up at Arctic LNG 2 of the first two train is a significant risk for JKM prices," Sumeet said, referring the Japan-Korea Marker LNG benchmark price assessment. Martin Senior, head LNG pricing at Argus, stated that the Arctic LNG 2 cargo has impacted on Chinese demand expectations. This has freed up spot LNG supply in other areas. Siamak Adibi of consultancy FGE, who is director for gas and LNG supplies analytics, says that the additional supply from new projects also puts pressure on prices. He said that in addition to the ramp-ups at Plaquemines, in the U.S. new projects such as LNG Canada, Greater Tortue Ahmeyim off West Africa, and Congo LNG, could add 0.5 million tonnes per month during July and August. The return of Norway's Hammerfest LNG, after it was offline since May, represents a recovery around 400,000 tons each month. 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-ship level at $10.334/mmBtu. This was a $0.56/mmBtu reduction from the October futures prices at the Dutch TTF Hub. Spark Commodities estimated the September price to be $10.264/mmBtu. "In Europe, LNG consumption is low, but the demand for LNG is strong." "Pipeline flows from Azerbaijan, Norway and other countries have been high on average for August. This has allowed inventories to grow," said FGE’s Adibi. He added that Europe’s gas storage now stands at 77%. The ongoing maintenance of the Norwegian pipeline may support TTF prices for September. If there are no major or unexpected disruptions, prices will likely remain under pressure in October, as European storage continues to increase. Max Glen-Doepel, Spark Commodities analyst, stated that the U.S. Arbitrage to Northeast Asia via Cape of Good Hope has been widened by a third week in a row to encourage deliveries to Europe. This week, the arbitrage via Panama was also expanded to include Europe. He added that in LNG freight, Atlantic rates dropped to $34,250/day last Friday while Pacific rates decreased to $33,500/day. (Reporting and editing by Emily Chow)
Putin transfers Air Liquide Russian assets to local company
Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, signed a decree Friday placing Russian assets of the French group Air Liquide in the hands of a local firm.
The decree was issued in response to the "unfriendly" actions of the United States, Canada and other Western countries that seized Russia’s property during its war with Ukraine.
This move transfers assets to M-Logistika after a period in which relations between Moscow, France and Ukraine were strained.
Air Liquide has transferred its joint venture with Severstal - one of Russia's largest steelmakers - and all other Air Liquide operations in Russia.
French company provides gas, technology and home healthcare services. The company left Russia in 2022, after signing a contract to transfer its Russian assets to local managers.
The company said that it employed 720 people in Russia. This accounted for less then 1% of its turnover. (Reporting and editing by William Maclean, Vladimir Soldatkin)
(source: Reuters)