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Energy Transfer: US ethane restrictions will make it harder to contract with China
Energy Transfer, a U.S. exporter, said that despite the fact that U.S. ethane restrictions have been lifted, it will be more difficult for Chinese companies to enter into contracts, even though these restrictions were already lifted. In late May and early in June, the U.S. imposed restrictions on exports to China including ethane. They did this after Beijing was accused of limiting shipments of rare Earths essential to automakers and many other industries. Last month, the restrictions were lifted. However, they caused disruptions in ethane flows and significant delays for shipments. Marshall McCrea said, "That's a bit of a black-eye on us, our industry and our country ...,", in a conference call following the earnings report. The company is a top exporter of ethane (a natural gas liquid) in the United States. McCrea said, "We think they will be more reluctant to sign contracts with Chinese crackers. Around half of the ethane extracted from shale gases in the United States is shipped to China, where it's run through crackers, producing ethylene, an important building block for plastics. Chinese petrochemical companies use ethane to feed their crackers because it's cheaper than naphtha. Meanwhile, U.S. producers of oil and gas rely on China to purchase their natural gas liquids since domestic demand exceeds supply. Last week, Enterprise Products Partners, a rival company in the oil and gas industry, warned that export restrictions compromised the US brand of reliable supply and energy safety. Enterprise Products CEO Jim Teague said that these actions often hurt their intended target, but also hurt our industry. Enterprise reported that at least one non Chinese company with whom it had been in talks about contracting naphtha decided to contract ethane instead. Energy Transfer reported an 11.5% drop in its net income, which was $1.16 billion or 32 cents per share, for the three-month period ended June 30. LSEG data shows that revenue of $19.24bn was well below the estimated $22bn. Reporting by Arathy S. Somasekhar, Houston; editing by Ni Williams
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Lyft misses quarterly revenue estimates on competition, weak US travel demand
Lyft missed its second-quarter revenue forecasts on Wednesday due to mounting competition from Uber, and a softening of travel demand in the United States. This sent its shares down by 7% after-hours. Uber Technologies, a larger rival that offers food and grocery deliveries, ride-hailing services, and other global business, beat revenue expectations and released an optimistic forecast for the third quarter earlier in the day. Travel to the U.S. is down this year. Analysts expect that trend to continue until 2025, as trade tensions, economic uncertainty and visa delays make the country less attractive to foreign visitors. According to data compiled and analyzed by LSEG, Lyft's revenue in the second quarter was $1.59 billion. This is below estimates of $1.61 million. Visible Alpha surveyed 27 analysts and found that rides on the platform increased by 14%, reaching a new record of 234.8 millions, which is slightly less than estimates of 235.9 millions. Lyft has recently acquired European mobility platform FreeNow for nearly $200 million. It also signed a contract with China's Baidu in order to introduce robotaxis from the search engine giant. Uber, which boasts 20 global partnerships in self-driving technologies, has said that it is in discussions with banks and private equity firms to finance the deployment robotaxis. Lyft announced Wednesday a partnership with United Airlines, which will launch later this summer. This partnership allows the airline's customers earn rewards for all Lyft trips. Lyft’s entry into Europe, which includes partnerships with DoorDash and Chase, positions the company for further collaborations in international markets. Lyft expects its gross bookings for the third quarter to be between $4.65 and $4.80 Billion, which is well above expectations of $4.59 Billion. Analysts had expected 4 cents. The company reported a profit of 10 cents for the quarter ending June, which is more than twice that. Ride-hailing services are turning their attention to smaller and medium-sized cities that are dependent on cars to expand and increase revenue. Lyft reported a core adjusted earnings of $129.4 millions in the second quarter. This was above the average expectation of $124.5. It predicted current-quarter core profits of $125 to $145 millions, which is largely in line Wall Street estimates. (Reporting from Akash Sriram, Bengaluru. Editing by Sriraj Kulluvila.)
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Lyft predicts positive bookings for European expansion and new partnerships
Lyft announced on Wednesday that its current quarter gross bookings were above the market's expectations, showing a steady demand for their ride-hailing service as it expands into Europe. The company has recently completed the nearly $200 million purchase of European mobility platform FreeNow. It also signed a contract with China's Baidu for the introduction of the robotaxis from the search engine giant in the region. Lyft announced Wednesday a partnership with United Airlines, which will launch later this summer. This partnership allows the airline's customers earn rewards for all Lyft trips. Lyft’s entry into Europe, which includes partnerships with DoorDash and Chase, positions the company for further collaborations in international markets. According to LSEG data, Lyft expects gross bookings for the third quarter to range between $4.65 and $4.80 Billion, which is well above the estimated $4.59 Billion. Uber Technologies, a larger rival that offers food, grocery and ride-hailing services globally, released an optimistic forecast for the third quarter earlier in the day. This was due to its efforts to increase engagement across its unified platforms. The company said that it is in discussions with private equity firms and bankers to finance the deployment and use of robotaxis, and it has 20 partnerships for self driving technology. Ride-hailing services are shifting their attention to smaller and medium-sized cities that are dependent on cars to reach new markets and increase revenue. Lyft reported a core adjusted earnings of $129.4 millions in the second quarter. This was above the average expectation of $124.5. It predicted current-quarter core profits of $125 to $145 millions, which is largely in line Wall Street estimates. (Reporting from Akash Sriram, Bengaluru. Editing by Sriraj Kulluvila.)
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Oil loadings in western Russian ports could increase in August, despite steady Urals oil diffs
The differential between Brent and Urals crudes remained unchanged on Wednesday. However, oil loadings in Russia's western port this month could increase after two refineries reduced their output following the Ukrainian drone attacks. In August, Russia will increase oil loadings at Primorsk and Novorossiisk by nearly 2 million barrels a day, which is about 200,000 more than the previous estimate. Four industry sources say that Indian refiners await government instructions on whether they should continue to buy Russian oil, after the United States imposed new 25% tariffs on Indian products over New Delhi’s energy ties to Russia. Four industry sources said that a restart of Iraqi Kurdish oil exports through Turkey's Ceyhan Pipeline is not imminent. This was despite the fact that Iraq's oil ministry had been quoted as saying he anticipated a resumed soon. PLATTS WINDOW On Wednesday, there were no bids or offers made on Urals, Azeri BTC Blend or CPC blend in the Platts Window. * EXPLAINER: Where can India turn to for oil in place of Russian oil? Mark Porter (Reporting and Editing)
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Lenders appoint receiver for major Nigerian power firms, notice shows
An announcement in the local media stated that lenders have appointed a Nigerian receiver to KEPCO Energy Resources, its subsidiary Egbin Power and other major players in the energy sector. This has added to the financial concerns of the industry. KEPCO is 70% owner of Egbin Power - Nigeria's largest electricity generator. The announcement comes at a time when the electricity sector is facing a cash crunch estimated at $2.01 billion. A trustee appointed Kunle Ogunba as receiver/manager of KEPCO on June 19th. The companies have denied the notice, and stated that the matter is in court. According to court documents seen by, the companies asked for a court order to stop the appointment. After the privatisation of the power sector in Nigeria more than 10 years ago, many firms have struggled. This has raised concerns over the future of the private sector, particularly for upgrading the power grid in the country and adding renewable energies. After the privatisation of 2013, many companies were purchased using loans. Banks are now focusing more on recovering debts than lending money. This has led to a new debate on the viability of Nigeria’s electricity market, government support and the ability of private companies to succeed. $1 = 1,523.75 Naira (Reporting and editing by Chijioke Ahuocha, Kirsten Doovan, Sandra Maler).
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Source: VP Vance's meeting with Epstein to discuss the fallout has been cancelled.
The Vice President JDVance's home hosted a dinner for senior officials to discuss the Trump administration. handling A source with knowledge of the case said that the trial of Jeffrey Epstein has been cancelled after the news about it was leaked. CNN first reported the dinner. A Vance spokesman said that it was not planned. William Martin, Vance's spokesman, said that there was no meeting at the residence of the vice president to discuss Epstein strategies. Since weeks, the Trump administration has been trying to minimize the political fallout of the Epstein probe amid public pressure to be more transparent about its handling files related to a convicted sex criminal's case. Donald Trump promised that if he were reelected, he would make public all files related to the case of the disgraced financier. The Justice Department announced in July that the Epstein client list, which was previously touted, did not exist. This angered Trump's supporters who demanded more information. (Reporting and editing by Franklin Paul, Margueritachoy, Diane Craft, and Nandita BOSE in Washington)
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Sudan: UAE bans Sudanese planes landing at airports
Sudan's Civil Aviation Authority, a state-run news agency, reported that the United Arab Emirates had banned Sudanese aircraft from landing on its airports. This is the latest tension between the two nations. Sudanese authorities said that the UAE had also prohibited a Sudanese aircraft from departing from Abu Dhabi Airport. Sudan's authority expressed surprise at the reported decisions and said that it would be contacting airlines to reprogramme the reservations of passengers departing and arriving from the Gulf Country. Abu Dhabi authorities didn't immediately comment on Sudanese statements. Sudan cut diplomatic ties with the UAE last May. The Gulf nation was supplying advanced weapons to the Rapid Support Forces, a paramilitary group that fought in the devastating civil war in Sudan which began in April 2023. The UAE has denied these charges repeatedly. Reporting by Jaidaa T. Taha, Nafisa. Eltahir, and Yomna. Ehab. Editing by Gareth Jones & Mark Heinrich.
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US grants exemption to self-driving Zoox cars, ends probe
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced Wednesday that it had certified Amazon.com’s self-driving Zoox units for demonstration use, and ended an investigation into whether the vehicles met federal requirements. In 2022, the U.S. Auto Safety Agency began an investigation to determine if the self-driving cars without traditional driving controls met federal safety standards when the company certified the vehicle. Zoox applied in June for an exemption to some requirements, and NHTSA granted that request. The agency said all purpose-built Zoox vehicles now on the road in the United States were operating under an exemption granted by the agency. The Trump Administration in June announced that it would move more quickly on requests for self-driving vehicle exemptions. This was after General Motors' and Ford's proposals to deploy vehicles with no steering wheel and brake pedals were lingering and eventually withdrawn. Zoox must remove any existing statements stating that the vehicle is compliant with federal motor vehicle standards. In May, Zoox announced that it would recall 270 driverless cars after an unoccupied roboticaxi was involved in a crash on April 8, with a car in Las Vegas. In certain driving scenarios, the Zoox Automated Driving Systems "may make an incorrect prediction when another vehicle approaches slowly perpendicularly" and stops. In these scenarios the Zoox vehicle might not be able avoid a collision. Zoox suspended operations for a few days while it conducted a safety assessment of the incident. A software update was developed to resolve the problem. In April, after Zoox had issued a recall for 258 Zoox cars over brake problems, the NHTSA concluded its investigation. Remind your software to be updated . The investigation was opened in May 2024 after two rear-end crashes that injured motorcyclists when the automated vehicles unexpectedly braked. (Reporting and editing by Franklin Paul, Margueritachoy and David Shepardson)
Mali's Barrick hardball talks are being driven by two former Barrick employees
According to sources familiar with the discussions, two former Barrick Gold executives who have inside information about the Canadian miner's operations in West Africa help drive Mali's demand for a payment from the Canadian company of approximately $200 million.
Mamou and Samba Toure were both employed by Randgold in Mali, now part of Barrick, which is a mining firm.
Mali's military government, which seized in December three metric tonnes of gold worth approximately $245 million from Barrick, has given miners until Saturday midnight to respond to their demands.
According to a source with knowledge of the situation, it wants Barrick pay back taxes totaling 125 billion CFA Francs ($199m) according to a source.
Source: If the deal is finalised Mali will return the gold seized and release the four Barrick executives who have been detained since November.
Barrick has publicly announced that he is a member of the Barrick
rejected
The charges brought against its employees are not specified. According to the court documents reviewed by, these include money laundering and funding of terrorism.
Barrick declined to answer any questions regarding the current status of the negotiations, and the Mali mines ministry also did not respond.
The dispute will have ramifications on global miners, foreign investors and others who have invested billions of dollars in West Africa. They are now being forced to follow a different set of rules because the military governments of Mali Niger and Burkina Faso want a larger share of mining revenue.
Beverly Ochieng is senior analyst at Control Risks for Francophone Africa. She said that the standoff with Barrick shows just how far governments led by military forces in the Sahel region are willing to go in order to force foreign operators to adhere to new regulations aligned with their pursuit of resource nationalism.
We spoke with more than 20 people, including mining executives and consultants, diplomats, and people who had direct knowledge of the discussions, to get a better picture of the negotiation. Sources requested anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the situation.
Nine people with knowledge of the situation say that the two Toures form part of a small group on the Malian front, including junta chief Assimi Goita and the Minister of Finance and Economy Alousseini Sanou.
They are not related, despite sharing a common surname. Samba Toure was older than the other two men by several decades and was West Africa Operations Director at Randgold. Mamou worked as underground manager at the Loulo Mine.
Sources said that Mamou is the most influential negotiator in Mali due to his close relationship with the powerful Finance Minister Sanou.
Mamou’s Iventus consultancy won the contract for auditing foreign mining companies in Mali. This led to the new mining code of 2023 and the renegotiation of the miner's contracts. Samba works now for him in the consultancy.
Mamou is the current boss, said a former co-worker. Samba's technical and managerial expertise was still crucial to decision making. "The decisions are made more by Samba than Mamou."
Mamou responded to detailed questions by saying that gold production has not benefited the Mali people as it should for many decades. Mali is Africa’s second largest gold producer.
He said, "It's only natural for the state to ask for a correction." "The state made great efforts to reach an accord, which is the reason all other companies reached an agreement with state."
Samba Toure has not responded to a comment request.
ACRIMONIOUS TALKS
Barrick's talks have been acrimonious, while other Western miners, including Canada's B2Gold, Allied Gold, and Australia's Resolute, have reached deals with Mali over the past few months.
Legal disputes, arrests, nationalisations, and threats are being used by the military governments of Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso to strengthen their ties with Russia and gain greater control over gold and uranium.
Ochieng of Control Risks, however, said that this did not mean Western operators would be unwelcome. She said that several western mining companies were allowed to expand their operations and acquire new assets, provided they met the latest taxation and regulatory demands.
The Mali junta, which will take power in 2020 has pledged to examine its mining industry so that the state can benefit from gold prices at record highs.
Some companies, such as B2Gold, were able to reach an agreement quickly. Some companies, such as Australia's Resolute whose CEO was arrested while in Mali to hold talks, took a little longer.
B2Gold said it would proceed with its planned investments at its Fekola complex this year after achieving the deal. Resolute said on Thursday that its deal with the Mali government would allow for better collaboration as the mine is developed.
The relationship with Barrick deteriorated in the last year. Barrick paid 80 million dollars to release four Malians who were arrested by the authorities in September. Mali demanded more payments, as it is owed a total amount of $350 million.
Barrick generated $949m in revenue in the first nine-month period of last year from its operations in Mali.
Bristow announced in early November that it had agreed to offer Mali 55% economic benefits from the Loulo-Gounkoto mining complex, similar to the agreement struck by the miner with Tanzania five years earlier.
Mali demanded that the remaining amount be paid in one go, rather than in installments. Mali began to block Barrick's imports in early November.
Mali claims that Barrick still has 125 billion CFA Francs to pay after discounting VAT credits.
Mali issued a warrant of arrest for Barrick CEO Mark Bristow in December 5 after four Barrick employees were again detained when no payment was received.
Contacts continued in the background. On Dec. 6, a source who spoke with Barrick senior management said that Barrick was on the verge of paying a second 50 billion CFA tranche. The payment never materialized and the conversation ceased. On Tuesday, formal talks resumed.
Freddie Brooks is a metals & Mining analyst at BMI. A FitchSolutions Company. He said that Barrick, under Bristow, had the highest level of tolerance for operational risks among major miners.
He said that if they failed to negotiate a deal with Mali's junta military, it wasn't for lack of effort.
CLASHES WITH BRISTOW
Samba Toure left Randgold nine years ago, after an argument with Bristow who was the CEO at that time.
Samba's rift grew after he resigned and was denied the right to sell his Randgold shares, based in London.
Mamou Toure left Randgold after a dispute in 2015 with Bristow regarding the use of foreign contractors.
Barrick declined to comment on the circumstances surrounding the Toures departure.
Mamou's company Iventus Mining won the consulting contract when the government announced that it would audit the mines. Two sources claim that Samba Toure was the one who led the audits.
Samba became chairman of the board in 2022 after Mali established a state-owned mine, SOREM. Mamou was appointed as a member.
However, the influence of Toures cannot be denied. Last summer, junta leader Goita grew frustrated with the negotiations and brought in the director of state security, Modibo Kone, one of the five colonels-turned-generals who lead the junta, one source said. Kone's participation in the talks was confirmed by a second source.
According to a source familiar with these talks, at least once, the Finance Minister has taken over the negotiations and told Mamou to step down when he had gone too far in his requests.
Five sources claimed that the Mines Minister, a technocrat without any military ties, had been marginalized. Mamou, however, denied this, pointing out that the ministry has two members on the commission. He said that the commission receives its orders both from the Finance Ministry and the Mines Ministry.
The Mali finance ministry and the presidency have not responded to any requests for comment. The state security service could not be reached.
Special Forces Raid
Stockpiles of gold were increasing in the "gold room" located at Loulo-Gounkoto's complex, despite exports being banned.
According to a court order dated Jan. 2, Barrick had just over 3 tons of gold in its vaults as of Dec. 27.
Unannounced, a helicopter arrived at the landing strip of the mine complex in mid-morning Jan. 11. One source said that four special forces soldiers and a customs officer, along with two officers from the state mining department and other plainclothes personnel, disembarked the helicopter and handed paperwork to Barrick employees authorizing them to seize gold.
The source added that the second shipment was made in the evening.
The gold that Barrick's mines seized is currently in the vaults at the Banque Malienne de Solidarite, a state-owned bank in Bamako. The bank declined comment.
Barrick, the company that confirmed the seizure, has announced it will suspend operations at Loulo-Gounkoto.
According to the Jan. 2, order, the seizure of Bristow's and other Barrick employee's property was taken as a precautionary measure in connection with the money laundering charges and other unspecified crimes against Bristow.
Two sources claim that Barrick has resisted the government's request to migrate to the 2023 mining code due to increased taxes.
Barrick's mining license will be renewed next year. The government has indicated that it may refuse the permit.
A source who had previously consulted with the Malian government said that the government wanted leverage in the negotiation while the company was looking to secure a long-term contract renewal at favorable terms.
The person stated, "I don't think they trust each other but no one is interested in a split-up."
Some investors are predicting a difficult road for Barrick Mali. They even think the company may lose its assets.
Martin Pradier is a materials analyst with Veritas, a Toronto-based investment research firm that covers Barrick. The exchange rate is $1 = 626.7500 CFA francs. (Additional reporting from Tiemoko and Fadimata in Bamako. Writing by David Lewis, Portia Crowe and Daniel Flynn. Editing by Silvia Aloisi, Veronica Brown, and Daniel Flynn.
(source: Reuters)