2025-05-01 19:52

HOUSTON, May 1 (Reuters) - A vessel chartered by Chevron (CVX.N) , opens new tab carrying some 300,000 barrels of Venezuelan oil was set to start discharging at a Venezuelan port on Thursday, according to shipping data and a source. It would be the last tanker to return its cargo following state company PDVSA's order to return the crude amid payment uncertainty related to U.S. sanctions. Sign up here. The Marshall Islands-flagged vessel, Dubai Attraction, on Thursday entered a berth in Amuay terminal, Venezuela, to start discharging the cargo it originally intended to export, LSEG shipping data showed. Chevron and PDVSA did not immediately reply to requests for comment. Venezuela's Vice President Delcy Rodriguez, who is also the OPEC country's oil minister, has blamed the U.S. measures for the issue, saying they prevented Chevron from paying for the oil. Venezuela's oil exports fell almost 20% in April to 700,000 barrels per day, the lowest in nine months, due to the cargo cancellations. Chevron's exports of Venezuelan crude to the U.S. plummeted 69% to some 66,000 bpd due to PDVSA's measures. Some tankers Chevron had chartered to move crude from Venezuela to the U.S. were marketed for spot contracts elsewhere, sources said last week. This signaled that Chevron does not expect to load all the cargoes it typically ships from Venezuela even if it eventually finds a way to resolve the disagreement with PDVSA. In March, President Donald Trump's administration revoked a license issued in 2022 by the U.S. Treasury Department for Chevron to operate in Venezuela. The May deadline was granted to wind down operations and oil exports. The same deadline was granted to other partners of PDVSA, including Eni (ENI.MI) , opens new tab, Repsol (REP.MC) , opens new tab, Maurel & Prom (MAUP.PA) , opens new tab and Reliance Industries (RELI.NS) , opens new tab, to wind down oil cargoes bound for Europe and Asia. Tankers chartered by trading house Vitol (VITOLV.UL) were loading and discharging normally at Venezuelan ports, according to the data and documents, while vessels chartered by Reliance Industries for India delivery and Maurel & Prom for Europe departed on schedule last week, ahead of the May 27 deadline to wind down cargoes and operations. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/last-chevron-chartered-vessel-starts-return-oil-cargo-venezuela-data-source-say-2025-05-01/

2025-05-01 19:32

U.S. pushes Congo, Rwanda for peace accord, mineral deals Rwanda-backed M23 rebels advance in Congo amid conflict U.S. demands Rwanda withdraw troops, end M23 support DOHA, May 1 (Reuters) - The U.S. is pushing Congo and Rwanda to sign a peace accord at the White House in about two months, accompanied by bilateral mineral deals that would bring billions of dollars of Western investment to the region, President Donald Trump's senior advisor for Africa told Reuters on Thursday. "When we sign the peace agreement ... the minerals deal with the DRC (Democratic Republic of Congo) will be signed on that day, and then a similar package, but of a different size, will be signed on that day with Rwanda," Massad Boulos said in an interview in the Qatari capital, Doha. Sign up here. A U.S.-backed peace accord would come amid an unprecedented advance by Rwandan-backed M23 rebels in Congo, the latest cycle of violence in a decades-long conflict, in a region rich in minerals including tantalum and gold. Rwanda denies backing the group. Rwanda and Congo are expected to submit separate drafts of a peace agreement on Friday, according to a peace process agreed in Washington last week as part of diplomatic efforts to end violence in eastern Congo. The Congolese government did not immediately respond to Reuters' request for comment. In mid-May U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio will meet in Washington with the Rwandan and Congolese foreign ministers in an effort to agree on a final draft peace accord, Boulos said. But before that accord can be signed, Boulos said, Rwanda and Congo must finalise bilateral economic agreements with Washington that will see U.S. and Western companies invest billions of dollars in Congolese mines and infrastructure projects to support mining in both countries including the processing of minerals in Rwanda. "The (agreement) with the D.R.C. is at a much bigger scale, because it's a much bigger country and it has much more resources, but Rwanda also has a lot of resources and capacities and potential in the area of mining as well ... not just the upstream, but also midstream and downstream to processing and refining and trading," Boulos said. Boulos said U.S. and Western companies have told Washington they would make multi-billon dollar investments in the region once the bilateral minerals deals are signed. Boulos also said before the White House signing ceremony can go ahead, Washington expects both countries to address a number of security concerns. For example, Rwanda must pull its troops out of Congo and end its support for M23 rebels. Congo must address Rwanda's security concerns with militias such as the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR). Boulos said that on Wednesday a follow-up committee was appointed to monitor both countries' progress towards the peace deal, which includes the U.S., Qatar, France and Togo, which is representing the African Union. https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/us-pushing-congo-rwanda-peace-accord-accompanied-by-bilateral-minerals-deals-2025-05-01/

2025-05-01 16:08

Kuwait's crypto crackdown aims to prevent power blackouts Crypto mining blamed for strain on Kuwait's electrical grid Energy consumption in Al-Wafrah dropped 55% after crackdown KUWAIT, May 1 (Reuters) - Kuwait has launched a crackdown on cryptocurrency miners it accuses of being a "major" cause of a power crisis that has led to blackouts, as authorities seek to ease pressure on the grid before the start of a sweltering summer. Authorities started a "wide-ranging" security operation last week, the interior ministry said in a statement, targeting homes used for cryptocurrency mining, an activity it said was illegal. Sign up here. Crypto mining activities "constitute an unlawful exploitation of electrical power … and may cause outages affecting residential, commercial and service areas, posing a direct threat to public safety", the ministry said. Kuwait has banned cryptocurrency trading but has no laws specifically addressing mining. OPEC member Kuwait is grappling with a severe power crisis driven by population growth, urban expansion, rising temperatures and delayed maintenance at some plants. Electricity in the country is extremely cheap and the government has urged residents not to waste it as the need to keep cool amid sweltering summer temperatures heaps pressure on a strained electrical grid. Cryptocurrency mining, although a major cause of the power crisis, is not the only factor, a source at the electricity ministry told Reuters. Mining for crypto uses vast amounts of computing power and has prompted authorities from Kosovo to Russia to curb its use to prevent electricity shortages. The miners tend to base themselves where power is cheap, and often in colder climes where it is easier to cool their servers. Researchers at the University of Cambridge estimated that in 2022, Kuwait was responsible for just 0.05% of the world's bitcoin mining at the time. While there is no good data on how much power crypto miners use in Kuwait, "it only takes a very small share of the total bitcoin mining network to have significant impact on the relatively small total electricity consumption of Kuwait," said Alex de Vries-Gao, founder of Digiconomist, a research project tracking crypto's energy use. Kuwait's crackdown has targeted homes in Al-Wafrah, Kuwait's southernmost area, where the electricity ministry has previously said around 100 homes were used for mining, some of them consuming up to 20 times normal electricity levels. Energy consumption in Al-Wafrah fell by 55% following last week's operation, the electricity ministry said in a statement on Saturday. "They saw government subsidies, saw the absence of oversight, and saw no laws in place, so they exploited the situation to their benefit," said Saud Al-Zaid, who formerly served as executive board member of the Communications and Information Technology Regulatory Authority in Kuwait. Kuwait's central bank has warned against investing in crypto. The country's approach to the sector differs to that of some of its neighbours which have embraced the industry. Dubai this week is playing host to a large crypto event, with Eric Trump, U.S. President Donald Trump's son, among those in attendance. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/kuwait-cracks-down-cryptocurrency-mining-amid-power-crisis-2025-05-01/

2025-05-01 15:41

LONDON, May 1 (Reuters) - Man Group's multi-strategy fund returned a positive result in April, a month that saw markets whipsawed by U.S. tariff announcements. The Man Strategies 1783 fund finished April up 0.52% and has posted a positive 4.10% return so far in 2025, the company said on its website. Sign up here. A spokesperson for the hedge fund declined to comment. https://www.reuters.com/markets/europe/man-group-multi-strategy-fund-up-just-over-4-year-says-website-2025-05-01/

2025-05-01 12:40

May 1 (Reuters) - Pipeline operator Targa Resources (TRGP.N) , opens new tab on Thursday reported a rise in adjusted core profit in the first quarter, helped by its Badlands operations in North Dakota and as higher NGL prices and service fees the offset impact of lower volumes. Targa supplies natural gas and natural gas liquids (NGLs) to key markets through its network of gathering and processing assets, which are spread across the U.S. These assets are located in the Permian Basin, Bakken Shale, Barnett Shale, Eagle Ford Shale, among others. Sign up here. The Badlands operations include about 500 miles of crude oil and 300 miles of natural gas gathering pipelines. Targa repurchased its interest in Targa Badlands LLC for $1.8 billion during the quarter. Quarterly crude oil sales from its Badlands operations were up 13% from the previous year at 107.1 thousand barrels per day (MBbl/d). NGL sales in its Gathering and Processing Segment were 570.2 thousand barrels per day (MBbl/d) in the reported quarter, compared with 498.8 MBbl/d a year earlier, along with higher prices. Targa's adjusted core profit rose 5% from last year to $1.18 billion. Analysts, on average, were expecting $1.16 billion, according to data compiled by LSEG. However, overall revenue was flat and missed analysts' expectations, hurt by winter weather events reducing system volumes. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/targa-resources-reports-higher-q1-core-profit-strength-north-dakota-assets-2025-05-01/

2025-05-01 12:30

KYIV, May 1 (Reuters) - Ukraine, whose power system has been under constant Russian missile and drone attacks, reduced electricity imports by 31% in April after an 11% increase in March thanks to warm weather, Ukrainian ExPro consultancy said on Thursday. The consultancy said Ukraine imported 187 gigawatt hours in April against 272 GWh in March. Sign up here. ExPro said most of the electricity - 44% - was supplied from Hungary. Ukraine also imported electricity from Slovakia and Poland. Ukrainian officials have said the Russian attacks deprived Ukraine of half of its generating capacity, some of which Kyiv has managed to restore. Ukrainian energy minister German Galushchenko said the European Union increased the maximum volume of power that Ukraine can export to the EU to 650 Megawatt hours from the current 550 Megawatt hours. "Ukraine currently trades electricity with all its neighbouring European countries - Slovakia, Romania, Hungary, Poland and Moldova. Every spring, exports increase, while imports decrease," Galushchenko said on Facebook. Ukraine started large power exports to EU before the Russian invasion in 2022 but then switched it off after Russia damaged Ukrainian power generating facilities. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/ukraine-cuts-power-imports-by-31-april-vs-march-consultancy-says-2025-05-01/