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Yemen's Houthis claim to have attacked a ship in the northern Red Sea
Houthis, who are Iran-aligned in Yemen, said Tuesday they attacked a ship with two drones as well as a missile on the northern Red Sea because it was connected to Israel. The group has not stated when the attack took place. The attack was not confirmed immediately by maritime sources. The spokesperson for the group said that "the Yemeni armed force carried out a combined military operation against the ship... because it violated the (Houthi's) decision to prohibit entry into the ports of occupied Palestine." In a rare attack, the Houthis attacked the Israeli tanker Scarlet Ray on Sunday near the Saudi Arabian port city of Yanbu at the Red Sea. Israel last Thursday The Prime Minister was killed In a raid on Sanaa's capital, Yemen's Houthi government and other ministers were killed. This was the first time that senior officials had been killed in such an attack. Since 2023, the Houthis have repeatedly attacked vessels in Red Sea that they believe are linked to Israel. They claim this is in solidarity with Palestinians during Israel's Gaza war. Reporting by Jaidaa Taka, Menna Alaya El-Din, and Jonathan Saul. Editing by Kevin Liffey.
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Poland signs a $1.6 billion deal for 46 radars with PGZ Narew
The Polish Minister of Defence announced on Tuesday that Poland had signed a contract with the PGZ/Narew consortium worth 5,8 billion zlotys (about $1,6 billion) for 46 passive location radars used in short-range antiaircraft and antimissile systems. Poland is spending a lot on defense due to the threat that it perceives from Russia. It plans to spend 4,8% of its gross domestic product on defence by 2026. The radar contract is an important investment not only in the security of Poland, but in our economy as well. These radars will increase the security of our aerospace. "This is a top priority for us", said Polish Defence Minister Wladyslaw KOSINIAK-KAMYSZ. According to the Ministry of Defence, radars will allow for continuous space surveillance and effective anti-aircraft missile defense. PGZ-Narew, a consortium of Polish defense companies led by state-controlled Polish Armaments Group(PGZ), is implementing a joint programme to build the Polish air and missile defence system Narew. The contract was signed during the International Defence Industry Exhibition held in Kielce, a city located in central Poland.
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Fico, the Prime Minister, says that Slovakia wants to normalise its relations with Russia by increasing gas imports.
Robert Fico, the Slovak prime minister, told Vladimir Putin that Russia wants to normalise relations with Slovakia and will increase imports of Russian natural gas via TurkStream. These comments were in direct conflict with the European Union's position, which seeks to reduce its dependence on Russian energy to punish Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine 2022. They also come at a crucial time in the efforts to end this conflict. Both Slovakia and Hungary, both EU member states, are led by populists who have maintained political ties with Russia which supplies most of their oil requirements. Fico told Putin during their meeting in Beijing, on the sidelines China's World War Two Anniversary celebrations. He added, "Let us get back to the old ways of countries in terms of economic cooperation." The EU has pledged to end decades-old relations with Moscow, its former largest gas supplier. It aims to eliminate all Russian energy imports before the end of 2027. Hungary and Slovakia oppose this plan. They claim that switching to alternative energy sources would raise the price of energy. Fico thanked Putin for the regular and safe gas supply that the two of them receive via TurkStream. TurkStream is the only pipeline that carries Russian gas into Europe, after blasts stopped the Nord Stream 1 pipelines from exporting in September 2022. Transit via Ukraine has also been halted since January 1, 2019. According to data provided by the Slovak transit firm EUstream, Slovakia imported approximately 1.7 billion cubic meters of gas this year through Hungary. This is its closest link to TurkStream. The project is underway to increase the capacity of the gas flow between Hungary and Slovakia, which includes gas from the Turkstream pipe, from 3.5 to 4.4 billion cubic meters per year. Fico said Slovakia has resumed the issuing of visas to Russians, a service which was suspended after Russia's invasion in Ukraine. He also said that Slovakia is interested in Russian firms potentially participating in the new nuclear power plants, which the government hopes to award to U.S. company Westinghouse. Fico is scheduled to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in Uzhhorod on Friday, according to the official. This meeting was originally scheduled to be held in eastern Slovakia. The Prime Minister said that he would raise the recent Ukrainian attacks which temporarily stopped Russian Oil flowing through the Druzhba Pipeline to Slovakia and Hungary during the past two weeks.
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Source: Kazakhstan's oil production rose by 2% in August
A source familiar with these data said on Tuesday that the daily crude oil production of Kazakhstan, excluding gas-condensate (a type light oil), rose from 1.84 to 1.88 millions barrels per day in August. According to calculations, the daily crude oil production in Kazakhstan increased by 2% compared to July. The level exceeded Kazakhstan's quota for August of 1,53 million bpd under an agreement with oil producer group OPEC+. Kazakhstan has been exceeding its quotas for several months, set by OPEC+. This grouping includes the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and other producers including Russia. The source spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the subject. The Kazakhstan Energy Ministry has not responded to a request for comment. (Reporting and Editing by William Maclean).
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Plains buys stake in EPIC Crude for $1.6 billion in oil pipeline deal
Plains All American Pipeline, Plains GP Holdings and Diamondback Energy announced on Tuesday that they had agreed to purchase a 55% share in the pipeline operator EPIC Crude Holdings. The deal is valued at $1.57 billion including debt. Sources familiar with the situation said that the owners were seeking a buyer for the pipeline in August. EPIC Crude, one of the largest pipelines in the United States, transports oil from the Permian shale and Eagle Ford basins of Texas. The facility has a daily capacity of 600,000. It can be expanded to 1,000,000 bpd. There are also around 7 million barrels in operational storage. The transaction should be completed in early 2026. (Reporting and editing by Vijay Kishore in Bengaluru, Katha Kalia and Sumit Saha from Bengaluru)
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Air Lease accepts Sumitomo's $7.4 billion offer to buy out the group, backed by SMBC
A group of investors led Sumitomo Corp. and SMBC Aviation Capital announced on Tuesday they would purchase Air Lease Corp. for $7.4 billion in cash, in an attempt to create the largest aircraft leasing company worldwide. The combined company will be able to compete with AerCap as the leading lessor of aircraft in the industry. The combined company's headquarters will be in Dublin. This is the real global hub of the aircraft leasing industry. It finances over half of new passenger aircraft deliveries. Air Lease will pay $65 for every Class A Common Share it holds. This is a 7.9% increase over the last closing price of the company. Air Lease shares were up 6% or so in premarket trading. The aircraft lessor will be valued at approximately $28,2 billion including debt. The deal will combine Air Lease's global network with SMBC Aviation’s financial power, and expand Sumitomo’s aircraft leasing business by scale and profitability. SMBC Aviation Capital was the second largest aircraft lessor in the world. It traded under RBS Aviation Capital until it was purchased by a Japanese consortium consisting of SMFG and Sumitomo Corp. Steven Udvar Hazy, unofficial godfather of the industry, founded Air Lease Corp in 2010 after he had left ILFC. At the time, ILFC was the largest aircraft lessor in the world. Hazy sold ILFC in 1990 to AIG, but continued running it until the global economic crisis, which impacted ILFC's borrowing and purchasing of aircraft. Hazy stepped aside from Air Lease after an unsuccessful attempt to buy ILFC. Citigroup, Goldman Sachs and J.P. Morgan Securities are advising SMBC Aviation Capital. (Reporting and editing by Shreya Biwas, Shinjini Gauli, Shreya Parmar and Anshuman Tripathy. Additional reporting and editing by Nathan Gomes and Padraic Humphries.
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Russian seaborne diesel exports fell in August, data shows
Data from LSEG and market sources showed that Russia's seaborne gasoil and diesel exports dropped 6% in August compared to the previous month, as drone strikes from Ukraine affected production. Ukraine intensified its drone attacks against Russian oil facilities last month, targeting major refineries in the south and central Russia on a daily basis. This was done ahead of a scheduled meeting between U.S. president Donald Trump and Russian president Vladimir Putin. According to calculations, this led to the shutdown of at least 17%, or 1.1m barrels per day in Russia's oil-processing capacity. Shipping data revealed that the amount of diesel and gasoil loaded from Novorossiisk, a Black Sea port, fell by about 12% in July from 0.83 million tonnage. As planned maintenance was completed by the main fuel suppliers, diesel exports via Primorsk in the Russian Baltic Port, the country's largest outlet for ultra-low-sulphur Diesel (ULSD), increased by 5.4% on a monthly basis to 1.33 millions tons. According to LSEG, data shows that Morocco, Tunisia, and Senegal were among the top importers of Russian gasoil and diesel last month.
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Commonwealth LNG obtains the final non-FTA Export Permit for Louisiana Facility
The U.S. Department of Energy has granted the final export authorization for Commonwealth LNG's export facility in Louisiana. The United States is making an effort to consolidate its position as the largest exporter of LNG after replacing Qatar and Australia, who were previously LNG export leaders. Soon after taking office, Donald Trump lifted the pause placed by the previous administration on the new LNG export permits in 2024. This was to allow for an assessment of the criteria of public interest. The United States could triple their export capacity by 2030, with new projects currently under construction or awaiting financial approval and others that are expected this year. Commonwealth is the first company that has obtained a LNG export license since the suspension during the Biden era. The facility of the company in Cameron Parish (Louisiana) is designed to produce 9 million tonnes LNG per year. With Both DOE approval and Federal Energy Regulatory Commission now in hand Commonwealth intends to make its final investment decision by the fourth quarter 2025 and target first production in 2029. LNG developers usually make a final decision on their investment once they have secured enough long-term contracts to finance construction. Commonwealth has already signed long-term and binding agreements for the offtake of LNG with global energy companies Glencore, JERA, and PETRONAS, totaling 4 Mtpa. (Reporting and editing by Shinjini Ganguli, Tasim Zahid, and Vallari Srivastava from Bengaluru)
Witnesses claim to have seen the train used by Kim Jong Un in Beijing.
Witnesses reported that a train with a North Korean Flag and other design elements similar to those used by Kim Jong Un, the leader of North Korea, was seen on a Beijing railway track.
A witness reported that a motorcade carrying a North Korean Flag left the Beijing Railway Station shortly after the train had been spotted.
Kim will attend a military display in Beijing, China, on Wednesday. He'll be joining Chinese President Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin, and Iranian President Masoud Pesehkian.
Kim, who became North Korea's leader in late 2011 has traveled by train to China, Vietnam, and Russia. The slow but specialised mode of transport is one that the country's reclusive leaders have been using for decades. Reporting by Alessandro Diviggiano; Go Nakamura; Florence Lo; Writing and Editing by Bernadettebaum
(source: Reuters)