Latest News
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Minister: Ukraine talks about US LNG imports following Russian attacks on gas sector
Oleksii Sbolev, Ukraine's Economy Minister, said that the United States and Ukraine are in talks to import liquefied gas following Russian attacks on Ukraine's gas infrastructure. Sobolev, after a meeting in Washington, said that "we are looking at financing mechanisms to purchase American LNG and compressors" due to Russian attacks. He gave no more details. In recent weeks, Russia has increased its attacks on Ukraine's energy system. It is targeting both gas and power plants. Svitlana Svitlana Hrynchuk, Ukrainian Energy Minister, said last week Ukraine wants to increase its gas purchases by 30% after airstrikes against its gas infrastructure. In a statement made earlier this month, Naftogaz, Ukraine's national oil and gas company, said that his firm had purchased around 0.5 billion cubic metres of U.S. Liquefied Natural Gas, of which the majority had been delivered.
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Storms, drone strikes and record oil exports put pressure on Russian port Novorossiisk
Three market sources reported that the Black Sea port in Russia, Novorossiisk, has reached its export capacity limit. This leaves traders scrambling to find a new route for crude oil, which it is unable to refine at home and can only produce because of increased OPEC+ quotas. Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies have been easing up on output restrictions. In addition, Russia's refining facilities carried out record amounts of maintenance in August, and September. This was partly due to damage caused by Ukrainian drones. As a result, its ability to process crude oil domestically has been reduced, and it now exports more. RECORD EXPORTS & REFINERY OUTAGES Refinery failures pushed Russia's monthly exports to a new record of 2.5 million barrels. Sources and estimates claim that the exports of Urals, KEBCO, and Siberian Light crude through Transneft’s pipeline system reached 0.8m bpd, the highest in at least five-years. According to market sources, the preliminary plan for October indicates that crude shipments will be at least 0,73 million bpd through Novorossiisk. The Transneft System has virtually no spare capacity, according to a source from a Russian oil firm who spoke under condition of anonymity as he wasn't authorized to speak in public. Transneft, the Russian pipeline monopoly, declined to comment. Export plans may be revised upwards if drone attacks cause damage. In 2025, drones and unmanned boats have repeatedly disrupted Russia's oil infrastructure. Transneft, the trunk pipeline system of Transneft, as well as several refineries, have all been targeted. In the months to come, there is a greater risk of disruption as storms frequently occur in Novorossiisk, which can cause delays and impede loading, while the Turkish Straits can also be a problem. Since the beginning of the conflict in Ukraine in February 2022 Russia has lost several buyers for pipeline-delivered oil, including Germany and Poland. This has increased its dependence on seaborne products. Other options for Russia to export crude oil by sea are Primorsk, Ust-Luga, and Kozmino in the Pacific, but diverting away from the Black Sea oil hub, Novorossiisk can be technically difficult. Barbara Lewis (Reporting and editing)
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Air India is expanding its talks with up to 300 new aircraft, according to sources
Air India has been in discussions with Airbus and Boeing about adding more wide-body aircraft to its planned purchase of up to 300 aircraft. This is a sign that the turnaround for the Tata Group's Air India has accelerated. Sources say that the negotiations include 80 to 100 wide body jets in addition to 200 narrow body jets and 25-30 large-body aircraft previously reported. Airbus stated that it "does not comment on confidential conversations, which may or might not happen with customers." Air India and Boeing didn't immediately respond to requests for comments. Air India had been reported to be in negotiations with Airbus or Boeing in June for a massive new aircraft order, including 200 additional narrow-body planes. This deal will top up the mammoth 2023 deal. This was on top of the earlier discussion involving 25-30 wide body jets that reported in March. According to people familiar with this matter, under the latest plans, the airline is looking at adding up to 300 planes. There was no immediate indication of how many of the orders were options and not firm orders. One source said that the split of such a deal is not finalised. Air India is currently in talks to get over a Boeing 787 crash that occurred in June in Ahmedabad, India. The crash killed 260 people. Air India could replace its aging planes and improve its international reach by adding more wide-body aircraft to its fleet. (Aditi Sha Abhijith Gaapavaram Tim Hepher; Editing by Adityakalra and Kirsten Doovan)
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Archer Aviation buys Lilium's 300 patent portfolio for $21 Million, shares soar
Archer Aviation, a provider of air taxi services, announced on Wednesday that it had won the bid to purchase Lilium's patent portfolio of approximately 300 patents related to advanced air mobility for a total price tag 18 million euros (20.91 million dollars). This will expand its portfolio to more than 1,000 patents. In morning trading, shares of the San Jose-based California company rose by approximately 8.5%. The Lilium portfolio includes high-voltage system, battery management and advanced aircraft design. It also covers flight controls, electric motors, propellers and ducted fan technologies. In 2015, German air taxi maker Lilium invested over $1.5 billion into electric vertical takeoff-and-landing aircraft (eVTOL). However, the company filed for bankruptcy last year due to unresolved issues with its finances. Despite the fact that commercial launch is still many years off, the eVTOL sector continues to burn through money as companies seek new investments to maintain operations. Experts in the industry say that further consolidation is inevitable, as firms rush to gain regulatory approvals, strengthen supplier networks, and bring aircraft to market. This is driven by the demand for cleaner, faster urban transportation. Air taxi companies in the United States are expected to gain from Washington's efforts to accelerate deployment via executive orders and pilot program announced last week. ($1 = 0.8607 euros)
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CMA CGM, France's largest shipping company, places the first vessel order in India
CMA CGM, a French shipbuilder, announced on Tuesday the first ever order for Indian-built ships. The group said that India's emphasis on the development of its shipping infrastructure provided an opportunity to diversify their supply. CMA CGM said it signed a letter committing to build six LNG-powered vessels by Cochin Shipyard Limited. CMA CGM announced that the order will be carried out by South Korean shipbuilder HD Hyundai Heavy Industries, who will play a technical role. The vessels are smaller in size and have a container capacity of 1,700 each. They are expected to arrive between 2029-2031. India wants to increase its shipbuilding capacity and port capacity in order to reduce its dependence on foreign shipping companies. Mitsui O.S.K., Japan's second largest shipping company. Lines announced last month that it plans to build tankers for India by partnering with local companies. In an interview with India’s Economic Times, CMA CGM's CEO and Chairman Rodolphe Saade stated that the goal was to be able to rely on shipbuilding countries. India has proved to be a good example. China and South Korea are the two countries that dominate the commercial shipbuilding industry. China's dominant role is one of the tensions in the wider trade war between the United States and China. Washington and Beijing both imposed fees on vessels that had links to each other's country this week. CMA CGM also studies the possibility of vessels being built in the United States, as part of the investment commitments announced at the White House on March.
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Ryanair reduces winter German traffic due to taxes
Ryanair announced on Wednesday that it would further reduce its traffic to Germany in the winter. It blamed Berlin for failing to lower location fees, which are some of the highest in Europe. Ryanair's CMO Dana Brady stated that the Irish low-cost carrier's move would result in a reduction of 800,000 seat and 24 routes at nine airports including Berlin, Hamburg, and Memmingen. This will cause Ryanair's capacity to drop below what it was last winter. Ryanair announced in a press release that the airports of Dortmund, Dresden, and Leipzig would remain closed. Brady stated that the cuts "were entirely avoidable" and urged Transport Minister Patrick Schnieder "to take urgent action to reform Germany's ailing aviation system". Ryanair warned the German Government that it would shift capacity to other EU nations if Berlin failed to meet its demands for a reduction in air traffic control fees and reversing an increase in aviation taxes from May 2024. (Reporting and Writing by Klaus Lauer; Editing by Alexander Smith).
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EU invites Serbia join a collective gas buying plan to reduce dependence on Russia
Ursula von der Leyen, EU Commission chief, said that the European Union invited Serbia to participate in the group's collective gas buying initiative. The aim is to reduce Serbia's dependence on Russian fossil fuels. In 2023, the EU created a platform for joint gas purchases to allow participants to negotiate better deals. This was after Russia cut its gas supplies to Europe in 2022 and pushed European energy prices up to record levels. The bloc wants to completely phase out Russian gas and oil by January 2028, to deny the Kremlin revenues it could use to fund its war against Ukraine. The EU wants Serbia, a candidate to join the EU but with strong cultural and political ties with Russia, to align itself with Europe's energy policy. Around 80% of Serbia's natural gas is currently imported from Russia. "We're connecting Serbia to the EU energy markets and that's a real assurance that Serbian families are safe...throughout the winter," von der Leyen stated after meeting Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic at Belgrade. Von der Leyen said that Serbia should also harmonise their foreign policy with EU standards, including by imposing Russian sanctions, and begin immediate reforms required for membership. It is unclear if Serbia has yet taken part in the EU's initiative. The energy ministry announced in June that it would work to integrate the gas and electricity markets of Serbia with those of EU by 2027. Von der Leyen made his comments just days after U.S. sanctions were imposed on Serbia's Russian owned NIS oil company. This prompted Croatia to reduce crude supplies, and raised concerns that the only refinery in the country could cease operations within weeks. Vucic stated that Serbia is looking to diversify their energy supply and build pipelines to neighboring North Macedonia, Romania and North Macedonia. He claimed that the country had enough oil and natural gas to last for the moment. However, there are still longer-term supply risks. "The winter won't be easy for us," said he. (Reporting and editing by Aleksandar Vasovic)
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Rhone pipeline failure to restrict French LNG imports in winter
The outage of the Rhone pipeline will limit France's LNG capacity this winter, NaTran announced on Wednesday. This will reduce the flexibility of France's energy supply as Europe prepares to receive more super-chilled LNG. The outage may reduce the total supply by 43.5 terawatt-hours over the winter. This is equivalent to about 11 days' worth of France's winter gas demand. NaTran's spokesperson confirmed that the Rhone artery will be closed until the end of winter at the very least, following a network incident on September 26. The company refused to give any details about the incident. STRIKES ARE ALSO DETERMINING LNG FLOWS The pipeline, which has a daily capacity of 160 gigawatt-hours, allows the gas produced at Fos-sur-mer’s two LNG terminals to be transported around France via the transmission network. This incident is on top of ongoing strike action at the Fos-sur-mer LNG terminals and Montoir-de-Bretagne over pay. Over the past six weeks, the strikes have caused cargoes to be diverted to terminals operated by Elengy. On September 28, flows from Fos Cavaou resumed after Elengy was requested by NaTran in order to avoid supply risks. She said that while the combined flows of Fos Tonkin and Fos Cavaou terminals decreased month-on-month compared to last year, this was more than offset with higher flows at terminals in Dunkirk or Montoir. Montoir has continued to deliver during the disruption. The strike at Fos will end on Wednesday with the return of flows expected Thursday. Montoir's shutdown is also scheduled to end Thursday. "The end to strike actions at Montoir & Fos will bring more predictability, as the market moves further into winter," said LSEG Analyst YuriyOnyshkiv. A union representative from the Elengy terminals said that a meeting would be held Thursday to determine whether or not the strike will continue. Onyshkiv stated that even if the disputes were resolved, the Rhone Pipeline outage would restrict Fos' flow for several months and limit France's regasification capacity. According to a market message sent by EU gas network operator ENTSOG, on October 6, flows through the entry point impacted would be capped around 239 GWh - or roughly half Fos's capacity. Reporting by Alban Kachr and Forrest Crellin. Nora Buli contributed additional reporting. Mark Potter (Editor)
Azerbaijani oil exports through BTC pipeline fell 5.1% year-on-year between January and September amid contamination
Azerbaijani figures released on Wednesday showed that the country's oil exports through the Baku-Tbilisi - Ceyhan pipeline dropped to 20.6 millions metric tons during the period January-September, a 5.1% drop from the previous year.
In July, organic chloride contamination was found in Azeri BTC crude shipments. This caused several days of delays in loading from Turkey's BTC Ceyhan Terminal.
The BTC pipeline is used by BP to export oil from its Azeri, Chirag, and Guneshli fields.
Azerbaijan shipped 27.6 millions tons of oil in the first nine month of this year, with 74.5% of that going through the BTC. This is according to the statistics committee of the country.
Data showed that the volume of transit oil imported from other countries such as Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan via the BTC dropped to 3,164 million tons, from 4.005 millions tons during the same period in 2024. Reporting by Nailia bagirova, Editing by Andrew Osborn
(source: Reuters)