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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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Eight people killed in helicopter crash include Ghana Defence Minister
The government announced that Ghana's Minister of Defence Edward Omane Boamah, along with four officials and three members of the air force crew, died in a helicopter crash on Tuesday. Julius Debrah, the chief of staff to President John Mahama, said at a press briefing that the accident in which Boamah, Minister Ibrahim Murtala Muhammed, and other victims were killed, was a tragedy for Ghana. Debrah stated, "The President and Government extend our condolences to the families and servicemen of our comrades who have died while serving the country." The authorities did not immediately explain what could have caused the crash. The Ghanaian armed forces had earlier reported that radar contact with a Z9 helicopter of the airforce was lost. Boamah was appointed as the new defence minister after Mahama's return to power in January. His replacement will be responsible for a security dossier that is complex and includes threats both internal and external. Ghana, like other West African coastal countries, faces threats from Islamist group active in the Sahel who have tried to push down from landlocked Burkina Faso or Mali where they regularly stage deadly attacks. Mahama's spokesperson said that Ghana has deployed more troops to the northeastern region, where violence and attacks on schools have been fuelled by a long-running conflict about chieftaincy.
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Uber talks to banks and private equity firms about funding robotaxi expansion
Uber CEO Dara Khorowshahi revealed that the company is in discussions with banks and private equity firms to secure funding to develop its robotaxi business. The ride-hailing firm is betting on a massive roll-out of this nascent technology. In Austin and Atlanta, the company offers robotaxis powered by Alphabet-owned Waymo through its ride-hailing application. In July, it also signed a $300-million partnership that will enable it to deploy over 20,000 electric vehicles made by Lucid, powered by Nuro's self-driving technology, in six years. Khosrowshahi, on Wednesday, positioned the tie-ups in a larger plan that includes three robotaxi business model options: paying partners who own such vehicles at a fixed rate; sharing revenue with fleet operators; and owning vehicles but licensing software for autonomous technology. The CEO stated that "we are talking with private equity players and we have spoken to banks." Once we can prove that these cars generate a lot of revenue per day, and have a good revenue model, there will be countless financing opportunities. Uber has said that it will use a "modest portion" of its annual cash flow of around $7 billion to fund deployments. It may also sell minority shares in companies to help with the expansion. Analysts say that the mass deployment of robotaxis could reduce Uber's driver-reliant operating costs and increase profitability. Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla, and Waymo, U.S. leader in the market, have been racing to launch robotaxis despite strong regulatory scrutiny. Waymo has a presence in five U.S. Cities, including San Francisco. Tesla launched its robotaxi service in Austin last June and began ride-hailing services in the Bay Area this month. Uber has said that it hasn't seen any change in demand in Austin or San Francisco following the launch of Tesla's robotaxi services in these cities. Ken Mahoney of Mahoney Asset Management said, "To many of these companies it seems this will be an worthwhile endeavor... there are lofty projections about the robotaxi sector's total market addressable." (Reporting by Akash Sriram in Bengaluru; Editing by Aditya Soni and Shinjini Ganguli)
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Sources say that TotalEnergies will not invest in NextDecade Train 5 LNG project
Two sources with knowledge of the matter said that TotalEnergies decided not to invest or buy LNG produced by NextDecade, a U.S. developer's Rio Grande LNG export facility located in Texas. Sources said that the French energy giant is prioritising projects with lower costs as it reviews its global LNG strategy. TotalEnergies' decision to change course marks a major shift in its business strategy. TotalEnergies is one of the top three LNG exporters in the world and the biggest buyer of U.S.-produced LNG. The company will focus on restarting the construction of its $20 Billion Mozambique Gas Project and expanding its business portfolio by signing deals in Canada and Qatar. TotalEnergies has declined to comment. NextDecade stated that it would make a final decision by mid-September on Train 5; and, was working with LNG suppliers to secure an additional 2,5 million tons of LNG per year to support the project. NextDecade faces rising construction costs as a result of U.S. Steel Tariffs, fierce competition from Venture Global in the U.S., and a global LNG glut projected for 2027. TotalEnergies owns a 17.5% stake and 16.7% in the Phase 1 of the Rio Grande Project, which includes the three first trains. It signed a deal in April to buy 1.5 mtpa of Train 4's energy over a period of 20 years. Patrick Pouyanne, CEO of TotalEnergies in an interview in February expressed his interest in supporting the construction of a fifth train in Rio Grande. On a call for earnings in July, he cited low costs as a reason to invest in Mozambique. NextDecade was responsible for Train 5's Marketing. He said that U.S. tariffs on steel had also increased the project costs of Rio Grande LNG, but by less than 10%. Reporting by Marwa Rashed in London and America Hernandez, Paris. Curtis Williams contributed additional reporting from Houston. Nina Chestney, Mark Potter and Mark Potter edited the article.
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Executive says Turkish Airlines has prepared a binding offer to buy Spain's Air Europa
Turkish Airlines still has a strong interest in purchasing a stake in Spanish carrier Air Europa, and is preparing a legally binding offer. A company executive stated this during a earnings call held on Wednesday. "We will be presenting a binding proposal very soon." We are not yet at that stage. "We will make public the decision and approval of the board as soon as it is made," said the executive. Turkish Airlines' investor relations and financial executives answered questions during the earnings call. The executive stated that the primary reason for interest in the Spanish carrier was that it complements Turkish Airlines' flight network, which has a strong presence throughout Latin America and Iberia. Lufthansa renounced its bid to acquire a stake in Air Europa on Tuesday after Air France-KLM announced that it was pulling out of the deal last week. Earlier reports stated that the process was delayed due to disagreements among members of the Hidalgo Family, who own Air Europa, as well as concerns expressed by interested airlines about the structure of this deal. Air Europa, a Spanish airline that connects Madrid to large Spanish cities throughout Europe and Latin America and flies across Spain, is looking to raise money to pay back a government-issued loan. In June, the Turkish flag carrier announced that it had begun non-binding discussions over an Air Europa potential investment. (Reporting and editing by Ezgi Erkoyun, Ceyda Kaglayan)
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)
(source: Reuters)