Latest News
-
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 and forbid Turkish ships using Israeli ports. It also imposed restrictions on certain planes in 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 halted its trade with Israel and called for international sanctions against it. It also urged the world's 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 declaring their 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." Later, a Turkish diplomatic source clarified that Fidan referred to Israeli government flights as well as flights carrying weapons into Israel. The comments of the minister refer to official Israeli flight and flights that carry weapons or ammunition into Israel. The source clarified that this does not apply commercial transit flights. Fidan said that the Turkish president had also approved of airdropping aid to Gaza. He told the lawmakers that "our planes are prepared, and once Jordan approves, we'll be ready to go." The Israeli government didn't immediately respond to his remarks. Tuvan Gumrukcu, Timothy Heritage and Ros Russell edited the article.
-
A Canadian energy executive is tasked with accelerating project approvals
Canada appointed Dawn Farrell, a senior executive in the energy industry on Friday as head of a new office that will expedite the approval and review of natural resource projects like mines and pipelines. This process can take up to a decade. The office was announced by the Prime Minister Mark Carney earlier this year. He said that streamlining would boost the gross domestic product, and offset the impact of U.S. Tariffs. Farrell and her team, which includes Farrell who served as CEO of Trans Mountain Pipeline between 2022 and 2024, will identify projects that are in the national interest, and they will help accelerate their development. Carney's Office said that this should allow major projects to be approved in two years or less. The construction of major infrastructure projects has been held up by inefficient and lengthy approval processes for far too long. This has left huge investments on the table. Farrell's office is located in Calgary, Canada's oil capital. Ottawa has not yet designated any projects of national importance. The Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers stated that Farrell's nomination and the creation of this office were "concrete measures towards making Canada an Energy Superpower and sending a positive message to industry and investors." Farrell was CEO of Trans Mountain from 2012 to 2021. She oversaw the completion of a multi-billion dollar expansion in capacity of the pipeline. She served as CEO of TransAlta, a utility company, from 2012 until 2021. (Reporting and editing by Richard Chang; David Ljunggren)
-
Amaggi and Inpasa to partner in building new corn ethanol factories in Brazil
The firms announced on Friday that ethanol producer Inpasa, and Brazilian grain exporter and processor Amaggi, have formed a joint venture for the construction of at least three corn based ethanol factories in Mato Grosso. This is Brazil's largest grain-producing state. Why it's important The corn ethanol industry's growth is key to Brazil's growing demand for renewable fuel. Inpasa, the largest corn ethanol manufacturer in Brazil, is privately owned Amaggi. By the Numbers The companies stated in a press release that each plant should initially have the capacity to process around 2 million metric tonnes of corn annually. They said that Rondonopolis will receive the first investment, but they are also looking at investments in Campo Novo do Parecis, Querencia and Campo Novo do Parecis, without disclosing financial details. KEY QUOTE The companies stated that "this partnership will combine Amaggi’s solid footprint in grain sourcing and logistics with Inpasa’s leading expertise in corn based biofuel production". What's Next? The statement said that the joint venture will be formalized once the Brazilian antitrust authorities have approved its formation. (Reporting and writing by Ana Mano, Gabriel Araujo, Kirby Donovan).
-
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).
-
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.
-
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.
-
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)
-
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)
Officials say that Iraq has detained an oil tanker in a crackdown on smuggling.
Iraqi navy detained an oil tanker with Liberian flag in its territorial water as part of crackdown against fuel smuggling on sea, according to sources from the oil and transport ministry and navy.
The sale of fuel on the black-market by some countries, heavily subventioned, to buyers in the Gulf region is a common practice. However, it was relatively rare for Iraqi authorities until recently to seize vessels.
The tanker, which was identified as Liliana by the authorities and shipping companies, was carrying 93,000 tons of fuel oil at the time it was intercepted this week. It was located 26 nautical miles off the coast of Iraq near Basra’s oil terminal.
The footage shows an armed Iraqi team searching and questioning the crew on the vessel. Passports were also checked. The footage also showed that another ship was stopped and searched.
Farhan Al-Fartousi said that the General Company for Iraqi Ports had conducted a thorough inspection after receiving information on illegal oil and smuggling operations in the region.
"Any vessel... engaging suspicious activities within Iraqi territory waters will be detained. Anyone proven guilty, and anyone involved, will be arrested," said he during an inspection of a tanker.
Sources from the ministry and the navy said that the oil aboard was likely to be smuggled outside of Iraq.
The vessel will remain at the site where it was impounded until the papers are referred to the court. The vessel would be towed into a port where a judge could rule on the case.
The ship manager of Liliana, listed as Babylon Navigation based in Dubai, did not respond immediately to a comment request.
LSEG's ship tracking data on Friday showed that the vessel was at anchor just off the Iraqi coastline, and its previous destination was listed as the Iraqi Port of Khor Al Zubair.
Iraqi forces captured an unidentified vessel in March in Iraqi waters of the Gulf, which was suspected to be smuggling gasoline. Reporting by Mohammed Ati in Basra and Aref Mohammed in Baghdad; Writing by Jonathan Saul, Editing by Joe Bavier
(source: Reuters)