Latest News
-
US Senate Committee confirms Trump's nominee for FAA head
Senate Commerce Committee voted on Wednesday 15 to 13 in favor of the nomination of Bryan Bedford, CEO at Republic Airways to lead the Federal Aviation Administration. However, the committee did not increase proposed funding for overhauling air traffic control. All Republicans voted for the nomination, but Democrats voted against it after citing Bedford's refusal of to adhere to the 1,500 hour training rule for copilots. Bedford has promised to maintain strict oversight of Boeing. The National Transportation Safety Board criticized Boeing Tuesday for an emergency mid-air involving a 737 MAX 9, which was missing four bolts. Senate Commerce Committee Chair Ted Cruz proposed $12.5 billion in funding for air traffic management on June 5, but Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has since urged lawmakers to fund the program. He added billions to the total and stated that he was in support At least $20 billion. After a midair collision between an American Airlines jet and a U.S. Army chopper on January 29, near Washington Reagan National Airport, the Trump administration is looking to overhaul the FAA air traffic control system. The 67 passengers on the plane died. Cruz published revised text on Wednesday regarding the massive tax bill and budget that keeps the $12.5 billion in air traffic control the same. Duffy is seeking funding for the purchase of new radios and networks, to replace 618 radars, to install anti-collision technology on 200 airports, and to build six new air-traffic control centers. He also wants to fund airport equipment for preventing near-misses and introduce new incentives to increase air traffic controller retention and hiring. Major aerospace companies have asked for funding of at least $11 billion to repair the FAA's crumbling radar and air traffic control systems, construct new towers, and improve runway safety. It has taken years for the FAA to develop a network that is able to control air traffic. But a series of high-profile incidents, near misses, and the January crash have sparked public concern and led to new calls for actions. David Shepardson is the reporter.
-
Stellantis CEO says that the company has begun reviewing its long-term strategic plan.
In his first public speech since taking office as CEO of the world's number 4 automaker, Antonio Filosa, told Stellantis' employees on Wednesday that they had begun to review their long-term strategy plan. 4 automaker. Filosa, in a video from Turin, Italy, said, "We've already begun looking at our long term strategic plan. We will share it when we are ready." The company shared the video with journalists. The "Dare Forward 2030" long-term Plan, which was presented in March 2022 former CEO Carlos Tavares The goal was to double the net sales by the year 2020 and maintain operating margins of double digits. Stellantis faces major challenges Commercial and operational difficulties In the United States and Europe, it was forced to abandon its annual target, and ultimately led to Tavares' departure In addition, the current plan aims to have 100% of sales in Europe and in the United States come from electric cars. Sales in new markets outside these regions will also increase to over 25% of total group sales.
-
Energy Transfer extends its Lake Charles LNG supply agreement with Chevron
Energy Transfer, a pipeline operator, announced on Wednesday that it would supply U.S. oil giant Chevron an additional 1,000,000 tonnes of liquefied gas per year (mtpa), from its Lake Charles LNG Export Facility. After the 2 mtpa contract signed last year, the 20-year deal brings the total volume contracted for LNG by Chevron up to 3 mtpa. After President Donald Trump, commercial activity in the LNG sector has increased in the U.S. Lifting a moratorium After taking office in January, the new administration will begin issuing LNG export permits. The Lake Charles project is one of the first to be affected by the Biden administration's refusal to extend Energy Transfer's license for export to countries that do not have free trade agreements with the U.S. The company is now Close to getting the go ahead Lake Charles Facility Energy Transfer has said that it will provide the super-chilled natural gas to Chevron free-onboard. The purchase price will be made up of a fixed charge for liquefaction and a component for gas supply indexed to Henry Hub benchmark. Energy Transfer must reach a final positive decision on the Lake Charles Project before signing this agreement. When approaching banks to obtain loans for the development of production facilities, LNG developers often use sales and purchase contracts. The Chevron deal builds on Energy Transfer’s efforts to secure long-term contracts at the Lake Charles facility. In May, the pipeline operator signed a contract with Japan's Kyushu Electric Power to supply 1 mtpa LNG. It entered into a non-binding agreement in April with MidOcean Energy to supply 5 mtpa. The shares of Energy Transfer and Chevron both rose slightly in premarket trading. Reporting by Vallari Shrivastava, Bengaluru. Editing by Shreya biswas
-
Grid monitor: Japan could face a power shortage in 2050
In a long-term projection, Japan's power transmission operators warned that the country could be facing a major power shortage in 2050 due to a surge in demand and if aging thermal plants and older nuclear power plants were not replaced. Japan has been predicting a decline in electricity demand for years due to the shrinking population. However, it recently updated this forecast to include new demand from chip factories and data centres. According to the Organization for Cross-regional Coordination of Transmission Operators' scenarios, Japan's electric demand will rise by 8-42% in 2050 compared to 2019 before the COVID outbreak. The scenario that highlights the 89-gigawatt shortage if the demand reaches 1,25 terawatt hours, the upper limit of its demand forecast in 2050, is one of the scenarios. This is the first longer-term forecast that has been produced by this group. Shinpei Konishi, the general manager of Its, told reporters that the forecast was released to "improve predictability for power companies and other stakeholders planning investment." These scenarios include input from experts from three organisations, as well as comments from groups and companies in the energy industry. They also include a kilowatt hour gap analysis to estimate how much thermal power is needed to meet reserve margins. Konishi stated that the outlook is based on expected growth due to expanding data centres, network, semiconductor production and vehicle electrification. The current predictions of the power industry experts vary widely, and they are divided over how much the AI boom is expected to increase electricity demand. The largest projected shortfall, 89 GW, is found in a scenario that assumes no replacement for aging thermal plants and the decommissioning nuclear plants older than 60 years. Under the same conditions of demand, even with a full replacement thermal and nuclear capacity there is still a shortfall of 23 GW. A low-demand scenario involving plant replacements results in a surplus 12 GW. Each model is based on a nighttime summer scenario when solar output drops, and cooling demand peaks. This represents the worst conditions. The group predicts that renewable energy capacity will increase between 170 GW to 260 GW by 2050. The latest Japanese energy plan predicts that power generation will grow from levels in 2023 to 1,100-1200 TWh by 2040. Grid group forecasts that demand will reach 900-1100 TWh in 2040. The report noted that the scenarios were not in line with the energy plan of government, since they served different purposes.
-
The exports of Russian ESPO Blend oil from Kozmino are expected to increase by 7.5% in the month of July
Two traders have said that Russia will increase the ESPO Blend oil loadouts at its Far East Kozmino Port in July from 3.6 millions metric tons to 4 million metric tonnes (about 970,000 barrels per daily) from 3.6million tons in June. The traders reported that oil exports from Kozmino were reduced in June due to planned maintenance. Exports of ESPO Blend reached 4.2 millions tons in May. Calculations showed that ESPO loadings at Kozmino would increase by 7.5% on a daily average in July compared with June. Calculations showed that July is one day more than June. ESPO Blend Oil loadings will remain at around 4 million tonnes over the next few months, as the capacity of this route has been recently increased. Kozmino, the largest Russian oil terminal in the Far East, is located close to the Chinese terminals - the biggest importer of ESPO blend oil. Russia is looking to increase its oil supply to Asia, despite the European energy ban that has been in effect since late 2022 with only a few exceptions. China and India are the two largest buyers of Russian crude oil. Reporting by
-
Taiwan's China Airlines will boost its fleet with Airbus Jets worth over $2 billion
China Airlines, a Taiwanese airline, said that it would spend over $2 billion on Airbus aircraft, including five A350-900 jets for long-haul routes and eight A321neos for medium- and short-haul flights. In the middle of a fleet upgrade, China Airlines split an order worth nearly $12 billion in list prices for new long-haul planes between Boeing and European rival Airbus last year. China Airlines announced to the Taiwan Stock Exchange that Air Leasing Corporation would provide five A321 aircraft at a cost $240 million. Negotiations are ongoing for the remaining three aircraft. The A350s are expected to cost less than $1.965billion, or $1.148billion if they were leased, according to the airline, without giving any further details. China Airlines chairman said this week the company would delay retirement of older aircraft due to delays in delivery of previously ordered Boeing 787-9 jets. The airline has already received 15 A350-900s and is expecting to receive its 18th A321 soon. (Reporting and editing by David Goodman.)
-
Middle East flights suspended by airlines
Israel's attacks against Iran have caused international airlines to stop flights to certain Middle East destinations because of airspace closures and safety issues. The conflict has entered a new phase after the U.S. invasion on Iranian nuclear sites Some airlines have cancelled flights to hubs such as Dubai is Qatar's Doha. Here are some airlines that have canceled flights from and to the region. AIRBALTIC AirBaltic, a Latvian airline, announced that it had cancelled all flights from and to Tel Aviv up until September 30. AIR EUROPA Spanish airline cancels flights from and to Tel Aviv through July 31. AIR FRANCE-KLM The French flag carrier has suspended flights to Tel Aviv up until July 14. The airline plans to resume its flight between Paris-Charles de Gaulle airport and Beirut on June 26. It will also resume flights from and to Dubai and Riyadh starting June 25. KLM has cancelled all flights from and to Tel Aviv, until at least the 31st of July. AIR INDIA It said that the Indian airline would "gradually" resume flights from and to the Middle East beginning June 24, and it will also resume flights between the East Coast of the U.S.A. and Canada at the "earliest possible opportunity." The Indian airline will resume flights to and from Europe from June 24. DELTA AIR LINES Travel to, from or through Tel Aviv could be affected between June 12 and July 31. EL AL ISRAEL AIRLINES The airline announced that its normal flight schedules for EL AL, Sundor and other destinations had been cancelled through June 27, 2018. Flights scheduled to depart until July 22 are also closed for bookings. ETIHAD AERWAYS Etihad has cancelled flights between Abu Dhabi, Tel Aviv and Tel Aviv up until July 15, and is expecting disruptions and delays on a number flights in the next few days. EMIRATES Emirates has temporarily suspended its flights to and out of Iran and Iraq, until June 30. FINNAIR Finnair has cancelled all flights from and to Doha until June 30th, as well as flight AY1982 for July 1. Finnair added that it would not be flying over the airspaces of Iraq, Iran or Syria. FLYDUBAI Flydubai has temporarily suspended its flights to and from Iran and Syria, Iraq and Syria. This suspension will last until June 30. British Airways, a subsidiary of IAG, has announced that flights to Tel Aviv will be suspended until July 31, and flights to Amman or Bahrain will be suspended until June 30, inclusive. British Airways also suspended flights from and to Doha until June 25. Iberia Express, IAG's low cost airline, announced previously that it would cancel its flights to Tel Aviv up until June 30. Iberia has announced that it will not resume its flights to Doha as planned on the 25th of June after Qatar temporarily closed down its airspace. ITA AIRWAYS Italian Airlines announced that it will extend the suspension of Tel Aviv flight until July 31. This includes two flights scheduled for August 1. JAPAN AIRLINES The Japanese airline has cancelled all flights to Doha from July 2 until July 2. LUFTHANSA GROUP Lufthansa has suspended flights from and to Tel Aviv, Tehran and Beirut until July 31. Amman and Erbil flights are cancelled through July 11. German Airlines added that they would not use the airspace of these countries until further notice. PEGASUS Turkish Airlines has announced that they have cancelled all flights to Iran and Iraq until July 30, and flights to Lebanon, Jordan and Lebanon until June 30. QATAR AIRWAYS Qatar Airways has temporarily cancelled all flights from and to Iraq, Iran and Syria. RYANAIR Ryanair has announced that it will cancel flights from and to Tel Aviv up until September 30. SINGAPORE Airlines The Asian carrier has cancelled flights from Singapore to Dubai up until the 25th of June. The Romanian flag carrier has announced that all flights between Tel Aviv, Beirut, and Amman have been suspended until 30 June. TUS AIRWAYS The Cypriot Airlines cancelled all flights scheduled to depart and arrive in Israel until June 30, inclusive. The airline said that flights scheduled to depart between July 1-7 are currently sold out, pending any further developments. UNITED AIRLINES According to the U.S. airline, travel from and to Tel Aviv could be affected between June 13, and August 1, 2013. There may be problems with flights to and from Dubai between June 18th and July 3rd. WIZZ AIR Wizz Air announced that it would suspend its flights from and to Tel Aviv, Amman and the United Arab Emirates from June 30 to September 15, and cancel all flights from and to those cities. Hungarian Airlines will not overfly Israeli, Iraqi or Iranian airspaces until further notice. (Reporting and compilation by bureaus, compiled by Agnieszka Olesnka, Elviira Loma, and Tiago Brancao; Editing by Matt Scuffham, Alison Williams and Matt Scuffham)
-
FedEx shares slide as trade turbulence hits demand, profit forecast
FedEx shares dropped on Wednesday, after the logistics giant predicted a current-quarter loss below expectations. This was due to U.S. Tariffs and President Donald Trump’s decision to remove duty-free status for certain consumer shipments coming from China. In premarket trading, shares of FedEx fell 6% while UPS dropped 1%. DHL, a German competitor, also fell by nearly 2%. The global demand environment is volatile, said CEO Raj Subramaniam, during an earnings webcast. However, the company did not provide revenue and earnings forecasts for the full year, citing uncertainties regarding U.S. Trade Policies. FedEx and UPS are seen as economic bellwethers due to their broad customer base, which allows them to have an early understanding of changes in demand. Russ Mould of AJ Bell's Investment Director noted that FedEx's failure to provide an outlook for this year was "quite telling". This could cause some concern in the market beyond FedEx's own fortunes. In April, the Trump administration imposed a 145% tariff on China which intensified a trade war around the world. It then reduced it to 30% by May. FedEx executives expect that tariff policies will continue to weigh on U.S. to China air traffic transit, as FedEx has more exposure to China than UPS. FedEx Chief Customer officer Brie Carere stated that the biggest impact is due to the Trump administration's decision to end duty-free status on direct-to consumer shipments valued less than $800 from bargain sellers with a China connection, like Temu or Shein. "FedEx like the Fitbit of the economy." Express tracks business demand, ground tracks ecommerce, and freight reflects industrial strength. "Right now, all three look sluggish," Michael Ashley Schulman said, partner at Running Point Capital Advisors. The company's gloomy outlook was overshadowed by a profit that was higher than expected for the fourth quarter ending May 31. Cost cuts and increased export volumes pushed operating margins up. Susannah Streeter is the head of money markets and financial services at Hargreaves Lansdown. She said that FedEx "cost-cutting drive" will continue, but there are more challenges to come as trade continues unpredictably. (Reporting and editing by Shailesh Kuber in Bengaluru, Rashika Singa and Utkarsh shetti from Bengaluru)
Exclusive: Canada's Trans Mountain Pipeline lowers its forecasts of the amount of oil that it will ship
Documents filed by Trans Mountain Oil Pipeline's operator reveal that the company has revised its forecasts of how much oil will flow through the system in the next three-year period, due to the fact that the pipeline is being used less than anticipated.
Trans Mountain's lower forecasts filed with Canada Energy Regulator by Trans Mountain last month were not previously reported. Analysts said that the lower forecasts show oil companies' unwillingness to pay the higher tolls Trans Mountain, owned by the government, has charged customers to transport oil via the newly expanded pipeline.
The pipeline is not using 20% of its capacity, reserved for spot shipments, because the shipping costs are much higher than those on the Enbridge Mainline, North America's largest crude pipeline, which transports oil from Western Canada to Eastern Canada and U.S. Midwest markets.
These lower estimates raise doubts about the Trans Mountain Pipeline's ability generate revenue and attract private sector buyers. Ottawa has stated that it will eventually sell the pipeline.
The lower expected usage is also a sign of the difficulty in diversifying Canadian oil imports from the U.S. which purchases 90% of Canadian crude. Trans Mountain is Canada’s only east-west operating pipeline, and its only outlet for Asia and markets outside the U.S. Analysts and Trans Mountain themselves have stated that business could quickly improve if U.S. president Donald Trump slaps a tariff on Canadian oil.
In May 2024, the expanded pipeline of 890,000 barrels per day (bpd), which runs from Alberta up to Canada's Pacific Coast coast, will begin service. Trans Mountain predicted that the pipeline would be used 96% of the time in 2025, which is its first year of operation, and this was as recent as November.
The latest documents don't show the pickup the pipeline operator anticipated. Trans Mountain shipped only 18,500 barrels per day (bpd) of spot cargoes in its first eight-month period, as opposed to the forecast 30,600. Total utilization for 2024 was 77%, far below the forecasted 83%.
According to the new forecasts, pipelines will be 84% full by this year, 88% in 2026, and 92% in 2027. It is now expected that the pipeline will not reach 96% utilization before 2028.
Trans Mountain's spokesperson told an email sent to Tuesday that spot shipments are dependent on factors such as Canadian crude production, differentials in crude oil prices at global hub markets, and rates for marine freight.
Analysts pointed to massive budget overruns in construction and the fact that Trans Mountain raised its tolls for customers last spring. The total construction cost was C$34 billion. This is nearly five times the 2017 estimate.
Trans Mountain will bear approximately 70% of the cost overruns, but the remaining third - more than $9 billion - is considered to be "uncapped costs", which increases tolls according to a formula that was agreed upon by shippers and approved more than 10 years ago by the Canada Energy Regulator.
Trans Mountain estimated that contracted shippers would pay more than twice as much in 2017. Spot shippers are charged even higher toll rates.
Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. and Cenovus Energy, two of the largest contracted shippers, have resisted. This year, a regulatory hearing will be held to determine if the toll increases are fair.
'PROBLEM with Pipelines'
Trans Mountain's main competitor, Enbridge Mainline, which transports crude oil to the U.S. Midwest, and eastern Canada offers 100% spot-capacity. The tolls on this line are about half of Trans Mountain's.
In an email sent on Tuesday, Enbridge's spokesperson stated that the demand for space along the Mainline from shippers has been greater than the supply "for the majority of months" since Trans Mountain opened.
Rory Johnston is an energy analyst who founded the Commodity Context Newsletter. He said that Trans Mountain's revised estimates show that shipping via the pipeline has become "too costly" for certain oil producers.
Johnston stated that "this is the fundamental issue with pipelines and why it is so hard to get private actors into this space any more."
Richard Masson is a former CEO of Alberta Petroleum Marketing Commission and executive fellow at University of Calgary School of Public Policy.
Uncertainty remained about whether oil would be included as part of President Donald Trump’s announcements on tariffs, expected to take place Wednesday.
Masson stated that Trans Mountain volumes could change at a moment's notice if conditions in the U.S. change.
Trans Mountain has also reduced its revenue forecasts for the next three year as a result. Trans Mountain's revenue forecasts for 2025 have been reduced from an earlier estimate of $3.0 Billion to $2.7 Billion, $2.9 Billion from an estimate of $3.1Billion for 2026 and $3.0Billion for 2027. (Reporting and editing by Caroline Stauffer, David Gregorio, and Amanda Stephenson)
(source: Reuters)