2025-04-16 23:38

April 17 (Reuters) - Australian oil and gas producer Santos (STO.AX) , opens new tab posted a 7% fall in first-quarter sales revenue on Thursday, hurt by lower crude sales volumes and weak realised prices for domestic gas and oil-linked LNG sales contracts. Global LNG prices have tumbled since China's first 15% retaliatory levy shut off U.S. imports in February, triggering a cascade of cargo re-routing while mounting trade tensions spark fears of demand erosion across major gas markets facing potential economic contraction. Sign up here. The average realised price for Santos' liquefied natural gas plunged to $11.57 per million British thermal units (mmBtu), down from last year's $12.68 per mmBtu and below a Visible Alpha consensus estimate of $11.46 per mmBtu, according to Jarden's data compilation. Sales volumes of crude oil for the quarter came in at 1.3 million barrels, down from 1.5 million barrels a year ago. The company attributed the dip in sales volumes to no crude oil being lifted in the quarter from its Pyrenees project off Western Australia, which is operated by co-owner Woodside Energy (WDS.AX) , opens new tab, along with lower third-party purchases. The country's second-largest independent gas producer said sales revenue for the three months ended March 31 came in at $1.29 billion, missing a Visible Alpha consensus estimate of $1.32 billion. It reported , opens new tab $1.40 billion in sales revenue a year ago. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/australias-santos-posts-7-fall-first-quarter-sales-revenue-2025-04-16/

2025-04-16 23:26

April 17 (Reuters) - Australian diversified miner South32 (S32.AX) , opens new tab on Thursday posted quarterly manganese ore production 29.9% below estimates, hit by planned maintenance and a temporary shutdown of two mines in South Africa and no output from its key Australia division. The company's South Africa Manganese operations produced 476,000 wet metric tons of manganese ore, down from 530,000 wmt a year before. Sign up here. Its Australia Manganese division reported no production in the third quarter as the primary concentrator at the operation was paused having established stockpiles ahead of the wet season. The world's biggest producer of manganese ore produced 476,000 wet metric tons (wmt) of the steel-making ingredient for the three months ended March 31, down from 1.2 million wmt a year earlier. That compared with a Visible Alpha consensus estimate of about 678,900 wmt. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/australias-south32-posts-lower-third-quarter-manganese-output-2025-04-16/

2025-04-16 23:12

April 17 (Reuters) - Australia's top gas producer Woodside Energy (WDS.AX) , opens new tab said on Thursday it had signed LNG sale and purchase agreements with German utility firm Uniper (UN0k.DE) , opens new tab. As part of the agreements, the oil and gas producer would supply 1 million tonnes per annum (Mtpa) of liquefied natural gas from its Louisiana project and up to 1 Mtpa of LNG from its global portfolio. Sign up here. "This deal will support ... the potential development of additional gas-fired power plants in Germany to complement the renewable build-up," Uniper CEO Michael Lewis said. Under the deal, Louisiana LNG will supply LNG for up to 13 years, starting when the Louisiana LNG facility begins operations, the company said. This isn't Woodside's first deal with the German utility firm. In 2022 , opens new tab, the two companies signed an agreement for Woodside to supply LNG from its global portfolio into Europe, including Germany, until 2039. Earlier this month, Woodside agreed to sell a 40% stake in its Louisiana LNG plant to U.S. infrastructure investor Stonepeak for $5.7 billion. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/australias-woodside-energy-inks-lng-supply-deal-with-german-firm-uniper-2025-04-16/

2025-04-16 23:04

Shortage has seen wholesale domestic prices hit record highs Restaurants and supermarkets keen to expand use of imported rice Trump has called out Japan's high rice tariffs TOKYO, April 17 (Reuters) - When a severe rice shortage sent prices skyrocketing in Japan last year, Tokyo restaurant owner Arata Hirano did what had once seemed unthinkable: he switched to an American variety. The price of the Californian Calrose rice he buys has doubled since his first purchase last summer, but even so it's far cheaper than home-grown grains. Sign up here. "Unless domestic prices fall below Calrose prices, I don't plan to switch back," said Hirano, whose restaurant offers meal sets of fish, rice, soup and sides. His willingness to embrace foreign rice may presage a seismic change in mindset for Japanese businesses and consumers - one that could allow Tokyo leeway to relax some restrictions if rice becomes a thorny topic in tariff talks with U.S. President Donald Trump, who has called out Japan's high levies on its staple grain. Wholesale prices for domestic rice have surged about 70% over the past year to hit their highest levels since current records began in 2006. Crops were hit by extreme heat while a tourism boom has added to demand. Worries abound that not much will change this year. With inflation also raising the cost of living, businesses are now betting that a nation of people known for their discerning palates and pride in their staple grain is open to change. Supermarket giant Aeon (8267.T) , opens new tab last week began selling an 80-20 American-Japanese blend that's about 10% cheaper than domestic rice after a test sales-run proved a hit. Fast-food chain Matsuya (9887.T) , opens new tab and restaurant operator Colowide (7616.T) , opens new tab began serving pure American rice this year. At supermarket chain Seiyu, Taiwanese rice has been flying off the shelves since last year. It's a sharp contrast to 1993, when the Thai rice the Japanese government imported during an acute shortage was largely shunned, leaving supermarkets with piles of unsold bags. Rare shortages aside, for most of the past six decades, nearly all of Japan's so-called staple rice - which is consumed at meals as opposed to rice used for feed or ingredients in other products - has been home-grown. There hasn't been much need for imports while high tariffs, put in place to ensure Japanese self-sufficiency for its most basic food, have protected local farmers from competition. Japan limits tariff-free "minimum access" imports of staple rice to 100,000 metric tons a year, or around 1% of total consumption. The U.S. accounted for roughly 60% of that amount last fiscal year, trailed by Australia, Thailand and Taiwan. Anything above that is subject to a levy of 341 yen per kilogramme. When Trump announced sweeping tariffs on much of the world this month, he lambasted Japan for what he said was a 700% tariff on rice, a reference to that levy. Japanese policymakers called his remarks on the sensitive topic "regrettable". They also dispute the 700% figure, saying it's based on outdated international rice prices. It's unclear, however, just how much - if at all - rice will be discussed in bilateral tariff negotiations that began this week. Some analysts think Trump's Republican administration might not be focused on rice as exports to Japan come from California, a Democratic-leaning state. Nor is it clear how much Japan might be willing to yield in opening up its rice market. In one sign that there might be room for some change, a panel advising the finance ministry on Tuesday proposed expanding imports of staple rice, saying that lifting the 100,000-ton tariff-free cap could help stabilise supply. That said, Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's Liberal Democratic Party is unlikely to risk angering farmers, traditionally a strong support base, ahead of upper house elections in July. "It's not possible to make big concessions on rice just before the elections," said Junichi Sugawara, senior fellow at Tokyo-based Owls Consulting Group. MORE IMPORTS TO COME What is clear is that supply remains an issue. In the financial year that ended in March, tariff-free imports of staple rice hit Japan's 100,000-ton cap for the first time in seven years. The amount of tariffed imports, while still tiny, also jumped, quadrupling in the first 11 months of fiscal 2024 to just under 1,500 tons. And this year, rice importer Kanematsu (8020.T) , opens new tab is shipping in its first large-scale purchase of American staple rice, 10,000 tons worth. "We're receiving many enquiries from the restaurant industry, convenience stores, supermarkets and rice wholesalers," a Kanematsu spokesperson said. In the week to April 6, Japanese supermarket rice prices hit an average of 4,214 yen ($29.65) per 5 kg, marking their 14th straight week of increase and more than double the same period a year earlier. That's despite a rare release of rice from the government's emergency stockpiles that started last month and is set to continue every month through July. As for the quality and taste of imported rice, Miki Nihei, a customer at Hirano's restaurant, Shokudou Arata, said she had no complaints and was surprised to learn it wasn't Japanese. "I had no idea," she said. "I have no qualms about eating imported rice. Prices have gone up, so I'm always looking for cheaper options." ($1 = 142.1300 yen) https://www.reuters.com/world/japan/more-japanese-embracing-foreign-rice-even-before-it-became-tariff-topic-2025-04-16/

2025-04-16 22:59

April 17 (Reuters) - BHP Group (BHP.AX) , opens new tab reported a slightly lower third-quarter iron ore output on Thursday due to cyclones, while a ramp-up at Escondida mine prompted it to forecast 2025 Chilean copper production in the upper half of its guidance range. The world's largest listed miner was forced to temporarily halt operations at Port Hedland, the world's largest iron ore export hub, after Cyclone Zelia struck Western Australia's Pilbara region in February, following earlier disruptions from Cyclone Sean in January. Sign up here. Despite inclement weather, BHP hit record nine-month output from its Pilbara operations, where the South Flank and Mining Area C sites benefited from the completed ramp-up of South Flank last year and a 13% boost in mining activity. Shares of the company rose 0.6% to A$36.2, as of 0027 GMT, largely in-line with a 1% jump in the broader mining sub-index (.AXMM) , opens new tab. Copper production rose 10% to 513,200 metric tons in the quarter, bolstered by a 20% jump in volumes at the Escondida mine in Chile due to improved operational performance. The company said it expects to meet its fiscal 2025 unit cost targets across all operations except at its BMA coal joint venture, where costs are projected to rise due to adverse weather and geological issues at the Broadmeadow mine. BHP has been leveraging revenue from its iron ore business, which still generates over half its earnings, to expand copper and potash projects, as it positions for growth from the energy transition. Iron ore production from the global miner's Western Australia operations eased to 67.8 million tons in the quarter ended March 31, from 68.1 million tons a year earlier, in line with Visible Alpha consensus view of 68.03 million tons. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/bhps-third-quarter-iron-ore-output-falls-marginally-2025-04-16/

2025-04-16 22:55

HOUSTON, April 16 (Reuters) - Motiva Enterprises (MOTIV.UL) restarted the gasoline-producing fluidic catalytic cracker (FCC) at its 626,000 barrel-per-day (bpd) Port Arthur, Texas refinery, people familiar with plant operations said on Wednesday. The FCC was operating at 69,300 bpd on Wednesday, or 86% of its 81,000 bpd capacity, the sources said. The unfinished gasoline being produced met test standards. Sign up here. A Motiva spokesperson did not reply to a request for comment. The 81,000-bpd FCC was shut on January 21 for a planned overhaul that was expected to keep the unit shut for two months. This is the third attempt to restart the FCC since March 22 following completion of the overhaul, according to the sources. Following the first restart attempt, Motiva had to replace blown mechanical seals on the unit and after the second, a compressor had to be replaced before the third restart attempt could begin, the sources said. The 18,000-bpd alkylation unit, which was shut along with the FCC, partially restarted during the last weekend in March. It will return to full production once the FCC restarts. The alkylation unit converts refining by-products into octane-boosting components added to unfinished gasoline. FCCs convert gas oil into unfinished gasoline. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/motiva-restarts-fcc-port-arthur-texas-refinery-sources-say-2025-04-16/