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Thailand's PTTEP claims that every $3 increase in LNG price could raise Thai power prices by up to 5%
The Gastech conference heard from the new chief executive of Thai energy firm PTTEP that every $3 increase in liquefied?gas price could increase Thai electricity rates by 5%. Kanita Sartwattayu said that if the price of gas is not reduced, it would be hard for Thailand to supply and maintain the gas. Thailand depends on LNG for 30 percent of its electricity generation. "In 10 years time, we will probably be relying on LNG 70% of the time if nothing changes. We are trying to "maintain domestic gas production as much as we can." Gas consumption is met by a combination of?gas from pipelines, gas produced domestically and LNG imported. She added that Thailand still has a number of marginal gasfields to develop. Government data from the six-month period ending June shows that gas accounts for more than 60% of Thailand's electricity generation. According to the energy think tank IEEFA, more than a quarter (25%) of gas used in electricity production is imported. Kpler data show that Thailand buys about half of its LNG on spot markets, which makes it vulnerable to shocks like the recent surge in LNG price after Israel and the U.S. began their war against Iran six months back. Tanya George, BMI analyst, says that Thailand is expected to become more dependent on LNG imports, as the domestic gas production declines, and pipeline gas imports are becoming less certain. She said that major fields like Erawan and Bongkot, as well as the Malaysia-Thailand Joint Development Area were maturing. George said that while there was some upside potential in the new exploration of PTTEP and Chevron's part, "no major discoveries have yet been confirmed." The broader trend, therefore, still indicates a declining domestic supply.
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Officials say that Russian drones killed five people when they hit a Ukrainian bus and train.
Five people were killed by Russian drones that struck a passenger train and bus in southern Ukraine on Wednesday. A regional governor posted a photo on Telegram showing a white car with blown out windows and what looked like blood flowing down its side. The image has not been verified. Volodymyr Zelenskiy, the Ukrainian President, said on social media that there was no military logic behind this act, but rather it was a brutal act. He urged the U.S., Europe, and other countries to continue with their toughening of sanctions against Russia. Strikes on Economic Targets Increasing in Intensity In recent months, Moscow and Ukraine have exchanged escalating strikes on?logistics targets and other economic ones. The aim was to hamper each other's military effort and damage morale. Since the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine in?2022, Ukraine's airspace has been closed. Buses and trains are now a vital link for Ukrainians. Police said that the drone attack near Nikopol, a frontline city in eastern Ukraine, killed four men and one woman on early Wednesday morning. Oleksandr Hansha, the Governor of the Dnipropetrovsk Region, posted the picture. He said that seven more people were injured. Russia did not immediately comment on the attack. Both Ukraine and Russia have denied that they deliberately targeted civilians during the war, which was sparked by Moscow's invasion of its neighbor. ATTACK ON PASSENGER TRAINS The acting regional governor confirmed that a Russian drone had also targeted a passenger train located in the southern region of Ukraine, Mykolaiv. Heorhii Rezhetilov, a Telegram user, said that all 168 passengers as well as the crew had been evacuated. No one was injured. He said that the train was attacked two more times after the initial strike. Zelenskiy stated that in addition to the Mykolaiv attack, a train in Kovel, near the border of Poland, was also hit. These incidents are similar to others that have occurred recently. On Sunday, a train was attacked near the border of Ukraine with NATO-member Poland, just a few hours after European diplomats and politicians had used essentially the same line. The state railway operator said that Russia has increased its attacks against Ukrainian rails. It has hit 120 passenger wagons, and 304 locomotives as well as 43?railway stations so far this year. The company stated that Russia has attacked 1,700 rail facilities since the beginning of the year. This is up from 1,206 in 2025 and 8,42 in 2024. Andrii Sybiha, Ukraine's foreign minister, said that Russian forces "strike passenger train, locomotives and railway routes, knowing how important they are to civilians, evacuations and the economy of Ukraine." This is not collateral damages. He said that it was a systematic search for civilians and an attempt at paralysing the civilian life.
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Farm groups in Ukraine say that Ukraine is considering ship insurance as a way to boost food exports.
A 'farm lobby group' and a'major farmers union" said that Ukraine was examining the possibility of adding additional insurance coverage to ships transporting food exports in order to help revive seaborne trade, which has been disrupted due to Russian attacks against vessels and port infrastructure. Since the summer of 2016, Russia has intensified its attacks on Ukrainian ports and commercial vessels. This has effectively stopped the seaborne exports from the country. Ukraine used to ship 90% of its cargo via Black Sea ports. The disruption has already reduced agricultural exports by 60 percent, putting the planting campaign in 2027 and the subsequent harvest at risk. Ukraine produces approximately three times more grains than it consumes at home. Without unrestricted access to exports, Ukraine could be faced with a shortage in grain storage capacity, a sharp drop in domestic prices, and ultimately, bankruptcies of farmers. Kyiv may not have formally "suspended Black Sea Shipping", but shipowners refuse to dock at the Odesa hub, for fear of being attacked by Russians. The main challenge is to ensure the safety of the maritime transport as well as the stability of the export corridors. In a report released after a meeting between Ukraine's President and Prime Minister, the UCAB group stated that "the introduction of ship insurance?mechanisms" was discussed. In 2023, Ukraine implemented a compensation scheme to cover damages caused by attacks on vessels. The Unity Facility was also established, an insurance mechanism for war risks, with the participation of Marsh McLennan and Lloyd's of London underwriters. UAC, the Farmers' Union, said that one way to improve farmer's financial situation could be lending secured against stored grains. The arrangement allowed farmers to use grain stored in warehouses certified by the USDA as collateral for loans that would cover working capital. This prevented them from selling their harvest at low domestic prices.
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US court accepts airBaltic's Chapter 11 filing - Latvian Prime Minister
On Wednesday, Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs announced that a U.S. judge had 'accepted' the request of Latvian carrier airBaltic to restructure its debt and enter Chapter 11 under U.S. bankruptcy law. This means that airBaltic can: immediately access funding; begin the restructuring; and review its obligations to creditors. "Work continues,"?Kulbergs stated in a social media X post. The?airline didn't immediately respond to a?request for comment. AirBaltic, which is majority owned by the Latvian Government, filed for Chapter '11 protection on Monday in order to 'cut its debt pile after the Iran War increased financial pressure. The company said that it had secured an agreement for a financing commitment of EUR350 million (USD404.1 million), subject to court approval. AirBaltic will be expected to negotiate in the coming months with bondholders, lessors of aircraft and other 'creditors' as it works towards a formal restructuring?plan. This plan must receive separate court approval for the company to exit Chapter 11. As part of its long-term business strategy, the airline said it aims to finish this process by June 2027 with a'reduced fleet and lower operating costs.
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Documents show that To Lam will sign an agreement with US firms while he is in New York.
According to two documents and officials, a number of agreements are expected to be announced by U.S. and Vietnamese corporations next week, involving energy, technology, aviation, and financial firms, as?Vietnam leader To Lam visits New York. Vietnam has been negotiating commercial agreements for months, most of which will be non-binding. This is part of its strategy to appease Washington, as the Trump administration threatens new tariffs against the Southeast Asian nation that relies heavily on exports. A note of internal planning lists 29 agreements which could be announced in New York on 23 September at a conference attended by To Lam. Murphy Oil, Chevron and ExxonMobil are expected to announce deals with the state-owned Petrovietnam. ExxonMobil will announce a deal with Vietnam Refinery & Petrochemical Corporation (the country's 2nd largest refinery). The refinery in February signed a nonbinding oil supply contract with Chevron. However, no further purchase has been announced. ExxonMobil is the largest gas producer in Vietnam. Murphy Oil has been active in oil exploration in Vietnam. The agreements will be announced during To?Lam’s last day in New York, before he departs for Canada on a state trip. Three officials confirmed that he will be speaking at the U.N. General Assembly and meeting with several U.S. companies on September 22. The official announcement of his schedule is yet to be made. Two officials stated that his trip was also intended to make progress in trade negotiations with the United States and possibly agree on a deal that has been negotiated over a year. Sources said that a meeting with U.S. president Donald Trump was not guaranteed. A White House official told reporters on Tuesday that Trump's schedule had not been confirmed. The foreign ministry of Vietnam?nor the companies mentioned in this article responded immediately to requests for comments, some of which were made outside of normal business hours. TECHNOLOGY, AVIATION The document lists a number of deals that Vietjet has made with SpaceX, aviation partners, and even SpaceX itself. According to a separate Vietjet document, the company 'is expected to announce a?leasing announcement of up to 22 planes, including 17 Boeing 737s and five Airbus A321neos, from four aviation leasing firms. According to the document from?Vietjet, the contract planned with?SpaceX will provide satellite internet services to 120 Vietjet planes via Starlink. According to documents, the airline plans to sign Memoranda of Understanding with U.S. jet engines maintenance firms. A separate agreement between U.S. chip maker Qualcomm and Vietnamese telecom firm VNPT is also included in the provisional list. ?Qualcomm has already been active in the deployment of Vietnam's new 5G network. Meta's Facebook, on the other hand, is the most popular social networking site in the Communist-ruled country. According to the document, Visa, Mastercard, and Citibank will also announce agreements with financial partners and hospitality partners in Vietnam.
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Ukrainian forecasters claim drought will affect winter wheat sowing
Ukrainian state forecasters said that the weather conditions for sowing winter wheat in September are still unfavourable, but some farmers have nonetheless begun planting despite the drought. About 95% of Ukraine’s total wheat production is winter wheat. The wheat is sown during the autumn, and harvested the summer following. Forecasters reported late Tuesday that "continued shortages of effective rainfall in the majority of the country have prevented replenishment" (of soil moisture reserves) in the most populated areas. "Soil drought intensified creating unfavourable conditions to prepare land for sowing?winter crop for?the?2027 harvest." Ukraine has experienced droughts in August and September. Farmers continue to plant winter crops, hoping that an autumn rainy and warm will compensate for the moisture deficit, allowing plants to grow sufficiently before winter. The Agriculture Ministry has not yet announced its forecast of winter wheat sown for the 2027 harvest. However, it has warned the area planted may 'decline' due to the inability to export the 2026 wheat harvest and the lack -of- funds for the planting campaign. The Russian attacks have effectively blocked Ukraine's Black Sea port, which handled 90% of its exports.
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Maguire: Super El Nino could throw Europe's gas forecasts out of course
The record-breaking El Nino weather pattern in Europe this winter could limit the amount of gas required by utilities during Europe's peak heating season. El Nino, which is measured in sea temperatures of the central Pacific Ocean can have a broader impact on the globe. It can cause stronger winds in Europe and temperatures above normal in winter. The European utilities' natural gas requirements may be constrained by the combination of warmer than usual weather and more sustained winds through early 2027. This may make moot concerns about Europe's low gas stocks, and dash hopes for a surge in LNG imports from European traders by the end of the year. SUPERSIZED EL NINO UNDERWAY El Nino, or a periodic increase in sea surface temperature in the Eastern Pacific due to weaker trade winds, occurs every two to seven years. El Nino occurs every 2-7 years, can last for up to 12 month and has a significant impact on rainfall patterns and temperatures in all regions. El Nino this year "may be stronger" than any since we began monitoring. "It's literally off the charts," said World Meteorological Organization Secretary-General Celeste Saulo at a press conference in Geneva earlier this month. El Nino is already responsible for recent record heatwaves and droughts across Europe, but it may still have a significant impact on the region's climate patterns. According to the meteorological data service Nebbo, El Nino's peak is expected to appear between November and January. This means that Europe’s winter weather patterns will be affected. El Nino winters are known to cause a negative pressure over the North Atlantic. Gerard Castro wrote in a report that this steers the jetstream, channeling westerlies into the UK, North Sea, Ireland and Scandinavia. WINDS FAVORABLE If the weather pattern is as predicted, wind farms in Germany, France, and the United Kingdom -- which account for the majority of Europe's wind power -- will see an increase in production in 2026. It would be a welcome departure from the recent sub-par wind production trends caused by extended periods of below-normal winds at turbine level. This forced Europe's utilities, to increase generation from other sources. The term Dunkelflaute, which describes periods of darkness and low solar or wind energy, was coined in Germany. Due to the lack of sustained winds in wind farm corridors, Germany's peak wind energy production in 2024 and 2025 was far below that in previous calendar years. Ember reports that these shortfalls in wind power generation occurred despite the fact that Germany's total capacity of wind farms has increased steadily to an all-time high of 82 gigawatts by mid-2026. According to LSEG's generation data, there are some signs that Germany is beginning to see a turnaround in wind power generation. In August, the output was 30% higher than the average of the previous two years. Germany's wind farm generated approximately 390,189 Megawatt Hours of Electricity per Hour (MWh/h), compared to 298,000 MWh/h in August last year, and 277,075MWh/h in August 2024. GAS SQUEEZE If the wind speeds increase as predicted as autumn approaches, then Germany's wind farm generation levels should continue to rise, with system-wide implications for utilities. According to Ember, wind farms account for 28% of the total electricity supplied by utilities in Germany. The next-largest electricity source is coal (around 20%), while natural gas ranks third with an annual production share of roughly 16 percent. In Germany and Northern Europe, higher wind energy generation tends towards a reduction in coal and gas fired production. It is possible that during periods of high wind output, utilities will reduce their gas consumption more than they do coal. Reduced gas consumption in Germany or elsewhere could limit the drawdown of regional gas stocks, as well as reduce interest in buying new gas supplies via liquefied gas imports. GETTING WARMER Strong El Ninos are known to cause milder temperatures in the winter, as well as causing a breezier climate across Europe's biggest wind belts. Strong El Ninos tend to favor what is called a positive North Atlantic Oscillation. This is when high pressure brings mild, moist air?over continental Europe. LSEG's forecasters predict that these conditions will continue into 2027. LSEG's weather analysts published a recent outlook for winter 2026-27. They noted that temperatures are expected to be warmer in continental Europe, the Black Sea Region and Scandinavia. Cold risks will only affect north/central Russia and Scandinavia. The forecasts are subject to change and the current projections of a strengthening El Nino could be a false alarm and lead to a colder and drier winter than expected. Most major forecasters predict a mild, breezy winter for Europe. This could boost wind farm production far beyond recent stunted levels. It may also trigger sustained reductions in gas consumption throughout the region. These are the opinions of the columnist, an author for. You like this column? Check out Open Interest, your new essential source for global financial commentary. Follow ROI on LinkedIn, X and X. Listen to the Morning Bid podcast daily on Apple, Spotify or the app. Subscribe to the Morning Bid podcast and hear journalists discussing the latest news in finance and markets 7 days a weeks.
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Middle East disruptions and oil slips reduce losses
The oil price?fell Wednesday after a 'two-day rally, following an unexpectedly high build up in the?U.S. Crude inventories remained high, and supply disruptions in Middle East persisted. Brent crude futures dropped 73 cents or 0.67% to $108.02 a bar at 0450 GMT. U.S. West Texas intermediate futures were down by $1.1, or 1.04% at $104.73 a bar. The Yanbu loading suspension raised supply concerns and Saudi Arabia reduced oil shipments to Europe. Both benchmarks closed more than $3 higher on Tuesday and were at their highest level since May 19. Market sources said on Tuesday that the American Petroleum Institute's data showed that U.S. crude, gasoline, and distillate inventories rose all last week. API data cited by sources revealed that crude inventories increased by 7.1m barrels during the week ending September 11. This was compared to analysts' expectations of a draw down of around 1.6 million barrels according to a survey. API data showed unexpected increases in gasoline and diesel stocks have weighed down on prices. However, regional stock increase do not change the tightness of?the global oil market. Haitong Futures stated in a report. Priyanka Sackdeva, Phillip Nova's head of market insight, stated in a Wednesday report that despite the inventory pressure, traders remained resilient, focusing on disruptions to supply. She said that the attacks on Saudi energy installations and disruption of Saudi Arabia's East West pipeline and Yanbu export facilities were the biggest concern. The European Diesel Futures hit a new record high on Tuesday. This highlights the tightness of fuel markets due to Middle East disruptions that have impacted crude and product flow. On Tuesday, sources said that oil loadings had been suspended at Saudi Arabia's Yanbu Port after the world's largest crude exporter closed its East-West pipe following an attack on Yemen's Houthis by Iran-aligned Houthis last Friday. Saudi Arabia offers more crude oil loadings to Asian refiners through ship-to-ship transfers at Oman's Sohar Port after drone attacks damaged the key?oil pipe to the Red Sea. Preliminary shipping data showed that the number of visible?vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday was four, down from seven the day before. This is well below the 10-day average of 18 After intensifying attacks, the drop in traffic through the waterway has been attributed to the war between Israel and the United States against Iran.
Brazil's Azul near new debt handle lessors, sources say
Brazilian airline Azul has moved more detailed to clinching a new offer with lessors, 3 people knowledgeable about the talks said, as the company uses them equity to pay off some $600 million in financial obligation.
Shares in the carrier have actually slipped more than 40% since August on media reports that Azul was thinking about declaring Chapter 11 personal bankruptcy defense as it struggles with its financial obligation load. The company has said it is focused on direct talks with lenders.
There is momentum structure towards an effective conclusion of the out-of-court restructuring, one of the sources stated, including that Azul and lessors satisfied in New York in recent weeks.
Azul decreased to talk about the settlements.
The carrier informed Reuters last month that Azul was not considering Chapter 11 and would offer lessors an equity stake to settle obligations that had actually been arranged for payment over three years.
The Brazilian airline company has actually managed to avoid Chapter 11 even as a variety of Latin American carriers filed for personal bankruptcy after the COVID-19 pandemic, including Aeromexico, Avianca, LATAM and, most recently, regional rival Gol.
The sources, who requested anonymity to go over private talks, stated a bulk of Azul's lessors have already signified they would agree to the plan on the table. 2 of individuals said a deal could be signed within weeks.
Under the existing framework, one of the sources stated, lessors would get an equity stake of around 20% of Azul.
It is not 100% what Azul would like nor 100% what the lessors would like, however can be a good way to ease this problem, one of individuals said.
Azul struck a deal with lessors and equipment makers in 2023 to give them as much as $570 million in favored shares valued at 36 reais ($ 6.46) each, part of a broader restructuring that also postponed debt maturities and raised additional capital.
Azul's shares have actually dropped more than 70% up until now this year and now trade at around 4 reais, as the company has had problem with a weaker currency exchange rate and devastating flooding in the essential market of Porto Alegre, activating the need for another restructuring.
The new deal with lessors would likewise open the door to raising fresh funds from shareholders, the sources stated.
The business had formerly stated it might use its freight system Azul Freight as security for up to $800 million. Azul would most likely goal to raise $300 million to $400 million in a brand-new transaction, among the sources stated.
Azul has actually also remained in talks with Gol's parent Abra Group to explore chances, amidst speculation about a potential tie-up. The 2 providers announced a codeshare deal in May. ($1 = 5.5702 reais)
(source: Reuters)