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Trans Mountain pipeline and Canada oil shippers are in discussions to resolve the shipping cost dispute
Oil shippers and the operator of Canada’s Trans Mountain Pipeline are currently in negotiations to resolve a dispute over shipping costs that has hampered the use of Canada’s only east-west pipe and slowed down government plans to sell it. Trans Mountain Corp. and a group including Cenovus Energy and Canadian Natural Resources and ConocoPhillips Canada filed documents with the Canada Energy Regulator Tuesday stating that the parties were in "active commercial discussion." The talks could settle how much the companies pay to ship oil on the expanded 890,000-barrel-per-day pipeline, which offers direct access to China and other Asian markets at a time Canada is trying to diversify oil exports away from the United States. Trans Mountain confirmed via email that discussions are ongoing and requested the regulatory proceedings to be stopped in order to reach an agreement. The Canadian Energy Regulator confirmed that it is reviewing this request. Shippers did not respond to an immediate request for comments. The dispute over tolls, which has lasted for more than two years, has made the Canadian government's plans of selling the Trans Mountain Pipeline uncertain. Ottawa, which purchased the pipeline in 2018 for C$4.5billion ($3.21billion) to save the expansion project from years of regulatory delays, cost increases and cost increases, started informal talks with Indigenous groups in 2023 to explore their interest to a possible equity stake. Analysts believe it will be difficult for a private or Indigenous group to purchase the pipeline until the dispute over tolling is resolved and Trans Mountain's revenue potential in the long term is known. Uncertainty about the final toll The C$34-billion expansion completed in 2024 tripled pipeline capacity but the price was almost quintuple of a 2017 estimate. Trans Mountain Corp will cover approximately 70% of the cost overruns, but the remaining $9 billion is to be covered by tolls in accordance with 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 almost twice as much in 2017. Spot shippers are charged even more. Shippers are pushing back on the higher tolls. They claim they're not responsible for construction cost overruns. Canada Energy Regulator was scheduled to hold an hearing on tolls in the next month. Trans Mountain has had less traffic than expected since the start of the expansion in May 2024. This is partly due to the higher tolls. Analysts say that if the toll structure is lower than what Trans Mountain wants, it could affect the price of the pipeline and make it more difficult to recover its construction costs. Mark Maki, CEO of Trans Mountain, said in June that he believed the Canadian government could recover its investment in pipelines but should delay the sale until the uncertainties surrounding tolling and usage are resolved.
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Sources confirm that the merger of Europe satellites is still intact, despite the announcement being withdrawn.
People familiar with the discussions said that European aerospace giants held investors back for an extra day on Wednesday, as lawyers and advisors sifted through the fine print, but the merger plans were still intact. This week, it was reported that Airbus Thales and Leonardo have reached an agreement to pool their satellite-making activities in order to challenge Elon Musk's Starlink. The initial plans for an announcement on Wednesday were slipped, but no new obstacles appeared. A deal seemed to have been delayed by no more that 24 or 48 hours unless there was a more substantial problem. The announcement is ready, but that doesn't necessarily mean you haven't worked out the last details. One person said, "It is technically, industrially and financially complex." Thales, Airbus, and Leonardo have all declined to comment. The talks are the latest attempt at bringing together Europe's fragmented satellite industry. SpaceX, led by Musk, has dwarfed Europe's leading players: Airbus as well as Leonardo in Italy and Thales in France. Sources say that they plan to combine satellite assets with a new holding firm, each receiving about a third after a series balancing payments. However, the new structure could take two years to implement, pending regulatory approvals. The EU has imposed antitrust restrictions on previous attempts to merge. SHIFT TO LOW EARTH ORBIT According to insiders, the trio has realised that they can't prosper on their own in a market undergoing a dramatic transformation. According to global data for 2010-25 from the specialist advisory firm Quilty Space, the merger will make Maxar, Northrop Grumman, and Lockheed Martin the third largest manufacturers of commercial geostationary space satellites. The space market has declined due to the proliferation of low-Earth orbit satellites, like Starlink. Caleb Henry is Quilty's director of research. "Europe had a commanding advantage in many geostationary satellites manufacturing and it was arguably never lost," he said. It's just this market has shrunk significantly in front of these new titans: the low Earth-orbit bandwidth constellations. The companies will outline the general structure and goals of the merger plan code-named Projet Bromo without dwelling on the details of corporate governance, which would be decided later, after a time of separate operations. In past European aerospace mergers including Airbus, the balance of power, and who appointed the chairperson, CEO, and CFO, caused friction. Sources said that the parties were committed to working together on satellites. This was partly due to losses and a declining market share. (Reporting and editing by Alexander Smith, Aidan Lewis; Reporting by Tim Hepher)
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Hilton is the latest company to highlight the impact of the US Government shutdown on business.
Hilton Worldwide's chief financial officer warned Wednesday that the U.S. Government shutdown is affecting travel demand. This echoes concerns expressed by other corporate leaders, as they prepare for wider fallout if this impasse does not end soon. The shutdown has now entered its fourth week, amid a deadlock over funding in Washington, and it has caused concern across the corporate world regarding disruptions of consumer spending, travel for business, and financial developments, such as stock listings. Kevin Jacobs, CFO of Hilton Hotels Corporation said that the closure "is having a slight impact on the numbers." Hilton has lowered its forecast for room revenue growth in 2025, citing the fact that the closing is now reflected. Jacobs' warning is in line with similar comments made by other industry leaders and corporate leaders who claim that prolonged uncertainty can dampen bookings, forcing companies and government employees to delay their trips. Marc Casper said that Thermo Fisher's CEO, Marc Casper, expects the U.S. federal government to delay some of its expenditures due to the shutdown. Unilever, a consumer goods giant, has postponed the spin-off of its Magnum icecream unit because the U.S. SEC is unable to approve registration for the shares to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange. United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby warned last week that a prolonged government shutdown could have a negative impact on bookings and flight operations. Shaun Kelly, analyst at BofA Securities, said that revenue per available room in hotels around Washington is "underperforming". This is due to a combination of difficult comparisons with the election cycle of last year and the effect of the shutdown. He said that the D.C. area hotels performed worse than the rest of the United States during the two most recent shutdowns, by approximately 8 percentage points. The industry has warned that staffing shortages in federal agencies such as the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and the Federal Aviation Administration could result in longer airport waiting times and flight delays. This could discourage travel. U.S. Travel Association estimates that the disruptions could cost the travel industry about $1 billion per week.
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Sources confirm that the merger of Europe satellites is still intact, despite the announcement being withdrawn.
People familiar with the talks say that European aerospace giants held investors back for an extra day on Wednesday, as lawyers and advisors poured over the fine print, but the merger plans were still intact. This week, it was reported that Airbus Thales and Leonardo have reached an agreement to pool their satellite-making activities in order to challenge Elon Musk's Starlink. The initial plans for an announcement on Wednesday were shifted, but no new obstacles appeared. A deal seemed to have been delayed by no more that 24 or 48 hour, unless there was a more substantial problem. The announcement is ready, but that doesn't necessarily mean you haven't worked out the last details. One person said, "It is technically, industrially and financially complex." Thales, Airbus, and Leonardo have all declined to comment. The talks are the latest attempt at bringing together Europe's fragmented satellite industry. SpaceX, led by Musk, has dwarfed Europe's leading players: Airbus as well as Leonardo in Italy and Thales in France. Sources say that they plan to combine satellite assets with a new holding firm, each receiving about a third after a series balancing payments. However, the new structure could take two years to implement, pending regulatory approvals. The EU has imposed antitrust restrictions on previous attempts to combine. The companies will outline the general structure and goals of the merger, codenamed Projet Bromo. They won't go into details about corporate governance, which will be determined later, after a period in separate operations. In the past, European aerospace mergers have been fraught with tensions over power balances and who appointed CEO, CFO, and chairperson. This was even true at Airbus. Sources said that the parties were committed to working together on satellites in part due to losses and declining market share. (Reporting and editing by Alexander Smith; Tim Hepher)
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Greece bans protests outside Parliament near memorial
The Greek parliament on Wednesday banned public demonstrations outside a prominent memorial to the war in Athens, despite opposition parties' criticism that these new restrictions violated citizens' rights to gather in public. The large area of paved ground around the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier (a century-old relief depicting an fallen warrior wearing a shield, and a helmet from ancient Greece) was the focal point of the anti-austerity demonstrations that took place during Greece's debt crisis between 2009-2018. The conservative government introduced the amendment this month after a father who lost his child in a train crash that occurred in 2023 held a 23 day sit-in, hunger strike near the accident site to demand more accountability for what was the country's worst rail disaster. This year, there were mass rallies over the train accident. It has become a symbol of state ills. People have spray painted in red the names of the victims on the ground nearby the crash site. The new law prohibits all rallies in the vicinity of the cenotaph (facing Syntagma Square) and any other alteration or use except for paying tribute or viewing the relief. The law stipulates that offenders could face a maximum year in prison. It also mandates the Defence Ministry to keep the cenotaph under 24-hour presidential guards. "It is a sacred space that does not belong to any party, government or individual," said Prime Minister Kyriakos Mistiakos during Tuesday's debate. Leftist parties and critics have vowed to protest the ban on the street. "We will eliminate it." Zoe Constantopoulou is the leader of the Plefsi Eleftherias small party. She told Parliament that "action, life itself will undo this". Reporting by Renee Maltezou and Louisa Gouliamaki; editing by Philippe Fletcher
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60,000 Air Safety Workers are on a fixed income as the US Shutdown drags on
The 60,000 men, women and children who are responsible for the safety of American skies have not been paid during the shutdown. Many federal employees warned that without a funding deal soon, they will have to dig into their savings, take on credit card debt or work part-time to survive. It's been three weeks since the shutdown began, and the day is rapidly approaching when the tens and thousands of federal employees who work to keep air traffic and security moving will not receive a full pay check. These workers received their last paychecks around mid-October. They were short up to two full days of pay. "People say, 'Well when I get off of work, I'm gonna do Uber, DoorDash, or Lyft, or something like that, because I need food on the dinner table and I have a child at home,'" said Neal Gosman. He is the treasurer of American Federation of Government employees Local 899, which represents Transportation Security Administration (TSA) workers in Minnesota. Gosman said that, in addition to his union duties and part-time work as a Transportation Security Officer, he had received 60% of the normal TSA salary in his last paycheck, but a colleague received only $6.34. Nick Daniels, President of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association said that on Monday controllers will receive a pay stub that does not show any pay for next weeks. Many will be forced to make very difficult choices. How do I tell my employer that I cannot afford to pay for child care? My two children are with me. "What do you want me do?" Daniels spoke of controllers who struggle to pay their bills without paychecks. According to John Welbes, spokesperson for the authority that operates Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, the authority plans to create a shelf where nonperishable foods will be provided to federal workers as it did during 2018-19 shutdown of the government. The authority may offer boxed meals if the shutdown continues into November. But that won't be enough. The TSA officer, identified as M. at Dallas-Fort Worth Airport said that he would take out a $3,000 personal loan to cover his expenses. The loan would be used to pay car payments and for a new apartment, as I could no longer afford my current one due to everything else. M. did not wish to have his full name published for fear of being fired. The number of air traffic controllers and TSA agents who missed their paychecks during the 35-day government shutdown in 2019 increased, increasing passenger wait times. New York authorities were forced to slow down air traffic, which pushed lawmakers to end the standoff quickly. On the 31st day of the shutdown, 10% TSA workers reported sick - three times more than usual. The U.S. Transportation Department published information last week on how to donate food, clothing, or other items to more than 50,000 TSA agents across the nation, who earn, on average, $40,000 a year. The guidelines stated that cash donations are not acceptable and that donuts and pizza were fine. People should also never donate money at a checkpoint. The Republican colleagues of U.S. president Donald Trump hold majorities in Congress's two chambers, but they need seven Democratic votes in order to pass a Senate funding bill. Democrats want to continue and expand healthcare subsidies for those who purchase insurance under the Affordable Care Act. On Thursday, another vote on a spending bill for the government is expected. Another TSA officer from Dayton, Ohio said, "I am more disappointed that there are no real negotiations taking place." He added that he did not understand why Congress was playing "political Chess" with his pay.
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Sources say that Chevron's Tengiz will resume Ceyhan oil exports to Kazakhstan in November.
Three industry sources confirmed on Wednesday that a Chevron-led group developing Kazakhstan's biggest oilfield Tengiz, will resume oil exports through the Baku-Tbilisi - Ceyhan pipeline by November. The pipeline connects Georgia with Turkey, and is primarily used to export oil produced by the Azeri Chirag and Guneshli fields, operated by BP. In July, organic chloride contamination was found in Azeri BTC crude shipments. This caused several days of delays in loadings at BTC Ceyhan in Turkey. The TCO consortium halted exports along the route in the month following. Tengiz did not return to the pipeline when Kazakhstan recommenced oil supply last month. According to one source, the consortium will ship more than 1,000,000 barrels of oil or 130,000 metric tonnes next month. Requests for comments from the TCO consortium or Azerbaijan’s state energy company SOCAR were not answered. Kazakhstan also uses the pipeline to reduce its dependency on Russia as its main export route. The Caspian Pipeline Consortium ships more than 80% Kazakhstan's oil via the Black Sea terminal Yuzhnaya Ozereevka in Russia. BTC receives oil from Kazakhstan by tankers, mainly Tengiz but also the Kashagan field. Azerbaijani official data shows that oil exports through the BTC pipeline have declined from 21.681 millions tons to just 20.569 in the first nine month of this year. Reporting by Kirsten Doovan; Editing by Kirsten D.
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According to LSEG, traders and oil traders, Russia will deliver oil and condensate to Syria.
LSEG and traders' data show that Russia will deliver 750,000 barrels (or 100,000 metric tonnes) of a mixture of Arctic heavy ARCO and gas condensate - a type light oil - to Syria's Banias Port. Russia has considered Syria a major gateway for its military and trade operations in the Middle East. Western sanctions are affecting the sale of both Russian gas and oil condensate on international markets. In October, Russian and Syrian officials met in Moscow to discuss potential energy co-operation. LSEG data show that the tanker Antarktika is an Aframax vessel capable of carrying 700,000-800,000 barrels. It has been visiting ports in Russia, Murmansk, and UstLuga to load oil and gas condensate. Two traders confirmed that the vessel was loaded with ARCO oil, produced by Gazprom Neft in Russia, and condensate from Novatek. It was unclear who bought and sold the cargo. Gazprom and Novatek didn't immediately respond to comments. According to a communiqué from its Information Ministry, the oil ministry of Syria declined to make any comments. In the first half of this year, Russia delivered several cargoes containing Arctic oil grades to Syria. ARCO is a heavier oil produced at the Prirazlomnaya platform. One trader said ARCO could not be processed at most refineries without being mixed with light grade oil or condensate. A drone attack in September forced the shutdown of two condensate-processing units at Novatek's Ust-Luga plant. Novatek had surplus condensate to export after the disruption. In this year, Russia has also shipped diesel cargoes to Syria. Reporting by in Moscow. Maya Gebeily, Beirut, also contributed to the story. Mark Potter (editing)
Kyiv reports that Russian drone and missile strikes on Ukraine killed six people, including energy grid targets.
Officials said that Russian drone and missile attacks on Ukraine resulted in the deaths of six people including two children and caused nationwide power outages. Moscow was implementing a targeted campaign against Ukraine's energy system.
Timur Tkachenko of the Kyiv military administration said that debris from weapons dropped caused fires to spread in several districts.
Svitlana Svitlana said that "most regions of Ukraine" were targeted. This is the second attack of this kind in the last month. It indicates a systematic campaign by the enemy, to destroy Ukraine's power sector before winter.
Hrynchuk stated that Russia is now targeting also repair teams at energy facilities.
The Ukrainian Air Force reported that Russia launched 405 drones as well as 28 missiles in the attack. Air defence units destroyed 333 drones as well as 16 missiles.
Ukraine's emergency services said that two people died in the attack on Kyiv, and four others, including two children were killed after Russian airstrikes in a nearby area.
Vitali Klitschko said that ten people were saved from an inferno in a highrise building in the Dniprovskyi district of Kyiv. A child was among those admitted to hospital.
Fires have broken out in the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra, which is the last place to be found. It was a symbol of Ukrainian culture and spirituality.
Officials in Ukraine said that the attack began at night, and continued through Wednesday morning. The first attacks were ballistic missiles followed by drone strikes.
"At 7 a.m., there was a loud explosion. Within a few seconds, I felt pain in my face. I started screaming immediately. "I thought I had tears on my hands when I wiped my face. But I was bleeding," Nadiia Ziinchuk, 24, a shop employee in Kyiv, said.
The Russian Defence Ministry announced that it had attacked Ukrainian energy infrastructure as a reaction to Ukrainian attacks against civilian targets in Russia.
NATIONWIDE POWER ERRORS
As a result, there were power outages in many regions of Ukraine.
The regional governor stated that oil and gas installations in the district of Myrhorod, located in central Poltava region, were damaged.
Ivan Fedorov, the regional governor, said that overnight attacks in the frontline Southeastern Zaporizhzhia region, which is being subjected by Russian forces to continuous strikes and shelling, have resulted in 13 injuries.
The city and regional officials are again deploying "points invincibility" where residents who experience power, heating, and water outages can charge their phones, get hot drinks and food, and warm themselves up.
Since the 2022 invasion, Russia has repeatedly attacked Ukrainian energy installations. They maintain that they are legitimate targets in the war.
(source: Reuters)