2024-12-30 20:50

Ukraine transit deal to expire on Jan. 1 Russian gas still flowing through Ukraine Russia has lost market share to Norway, US, Qatar Russia blames Ukraine for transit deal expiry Slovakia and Ukraine trade barbs over transit deal Dec 30 (Reuters) - Russia pumped gas on Monday to European customers via Ukraine for one of the last days before a key transit deal expires at the end of the year, marking the almost complete loss of Russia's once mighty hold over the European gas market. Supplies of Russian gas via Ukraine are due to stop from the early hours of Jan. 1 after the current five-year deal expires. Kyiv has refused to negotiate a new transit deal as its war against Russia approaches the end of a third year. Russia and the Soviet Union spent half a century building up a major share of the European gas market, which at its peak stood at 35%, but the war in Ukraine has all but destroyed that business for Gazprom, Russia's state-controlled gas giant. Moscow has lost its share to rivals such as Norway, the United States and Qatar since the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, which prompted the EU to cut its dependence on Russian gas. The slump in Russian gas supplies to Europe pushed gas prices to an all-time high, stoking inflation and raising the cost of living across the continent. The end of the transit deal is unlikely to cause a repeat of the 2022 EU gas price rally as the remaining volumes are relatively small. Russia shipped about 15 billion cubic metres (bcm) of gas via Ukraine in 2023 - only 8% of peak Russian gas flows to Europe via various routes in 2018-2019. President Vladimir Putin said last week that there was no time left this year to sign a new Ukrainian gas transit deal, laying the blame on Kyiv for refusing to extend the agreement. The Soviet-era Urengoy-Pomary-Uzhgorod pipeline brings gas from Siberia via the town of Sudzha - now under the control of Ukrainian soldiers - in Russia's Kursk region. It then flows through Ukraine to Slovakia. In Slovakia, the gas pipeline splits into branches going to the Czech Republic and Austria. Most other Russian gas routes to Europe are shut, including Yamal-Europe via Belarus and Nord Stream under the Baltic that was blown up in 2022. The only other operational Russian gas pipeline routes to Europe are the Blue Stream and TurkStream to Turkey under the Black Sea. Turkey sends some Russian gas volumes onward to Europe including to Hungary. DISPUTES Gazprom plunged to a net loss of $7 billion in 2023, its first annual loss since 1999, because of the loss of the EU's gas markets. Disruptions to gas supplies have also sparked numerous contractual and political disputes. On Monday, Moldovan Prime Minister Dorin Recean ordered his government to start preparing for the possible nationalisation of gas company Moldovagaz, which is 50%-owned by Gazprom. Gazprom had said it plans to suspend gas exports to Moldova from 0500 GMT on Jan. 1 due to unpaid debts. Moldova disputes it is in arrears for previous gas shipments and accuses Russia of destabilising the country, which Moscow denies. Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico said on Friday that Slovakia would consider reciprocal measures against Ukraine such as halting back-up electricity supplies if Kyiv stops the gas transit from Jan. 1. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy accused Fico on Saturday of opening a "second energy front" against Ukraine on the orders of Russia. Slovakia denied the accusation. Gazprom said that it will send 42.4 million cubic metres of gas to Europe via Ukraine on Monday, a volume in line with recent days. Reuters reported last month that Gazprom is making the assumption that no more gas will flow to Europe via Ukraine after Dec. 31 in its internal planning for 2025. Ukraine could consider continued transit of Russian gas on the condition that Moscow does not receive money for the fuel until after the war, Zelenskiy said earlier this month. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/russian-gas-flows-via-ukraine-last-days-transit-deal-crumbles-2024-12-30/

2024-12-30 20:39

Dec 30 (Reuters) - The Biden administration on Monday took steps to protect the Ruby Mountains in northeast Nevada from oil, gas and geothermal development for 20 years. The Interior Department said it had approved an application by the U.S. Forest Service to withdraw 264,442 acres of federal lands in the Ruby Mountains from mineral and geothermal leasing. The application's approval removes the lands from development for up to two years and kicks off a 90-day period for the public to comment on the proposed 20-year withdrawal. The proposal comes three weeks before President-elect Donald Trump, who has vowed to step up domestic oil and gas production, succeeds President Joe Biden, a Democrat who has sought to conserve large amounts of public land. The lands would remain open to mining claims, the Interior Department said. "The Ruby Mountains are cherished by local communities for their scenic value, cultural heritage, numerous wildlife and benefit to the local economy through a thriving outdoor recreation industry," Interior Secretary Deb Haaland said in a statement. "Today, we are taking an important and sensible step to pause new oil and gas leasing to ensure that we have the science and public input necessary to inform proposed protections of the Ruby Mountains area for future generations." Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-agency-takes-steps-protect-nevada-mountains-energy-development-2024-12-30/

2024-12-30 20:17

CAIRO, Dec 30 (Reuters) - The Iraqi cabinet has given approval for a Basrah-Haditha oil pipeline project, a statement from the Prime Minister's office said on Monday. The pipeline will cost about 5.97 trillion Iraqi dinars ($4.56 billion), the statement said. Iraq's oil ministry said in August that the proposed pipeline would transport crude oil to the country's central and southern regions. Iraq's current oil output stands at about 4 million barrels per day, oil ministry officials say. ($1 = 1,309.0000 Iraqi dinars) Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/iraqi-cabinet-approves-46-billion-basrah-haditha-oil-pipeline-project-2024-12-30/

2024-12-30 18:33

Finland suspects ship of breaking power, telecoms lines Customs believe ship is part of Russian oil 'shadow fleet' Lawyer for UAE-based owner says tanker was 'hijacked' HELSINKI, Dec 30 (Reuters) - The owner of an oil tanker seized by Finland on suspicion of breaking an undersea power line and four telecoms cables in the Baltic Sea last week is seeking the release of the ship, a lawyer representing the company said on Monday. Finnish police and coast guard officials boarded the Cook Islands-registered Eagle S on Thursday and brought it to a location near a Finnish port where crew members are being questioned. Baltic Sea nations have been on high alert after a string of outages of power cables, telecom links and gas pipelines since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022. NATO said on Friday it would boost its presence in the region. Investigators said they believed the Eagle S on Dec. 25 broke the Estlink 2 undersea power cable linking Finland and Estonia, and severed or damaged four fibre optic lines by dragging its anchor across the seabed for dozens of kilometres. Finland's president last week said he believed further damage would have occurred on the seabed had the ship not been stopped. Finland's customs service has said it believes the Eagle S is part of a shadow fleet of ageing tankers being used to evade sanctions on the sale of Russian oil, and has formally impounded its cargo although it is still on board the ship. The owner of the Eagle S, United Arab Emirates-based Caravella LLC FZ, filed a request with the Helsinki District Court on Monday to cancel the seizure of the ship. Finnish lawyer Herman Ljungberg, who filed the documents on behalf of the company, said authorities had not provided any explanation of the legal basis for taking the vessel into custody and boarding it. "The Finns have hijacked a vessel," Ljungberg told Reuters. He said the crew had been interrogated by investigators without any legal assistance and that they had been deprived of sleep. A police spokesperson said the seizure of the vessel had taken place according to Finnish law and that crew members had been informed of their rights, including that of legal assistance. They had not been deprived of sleep, the spokesperson added. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/owner-seeks-release-oil-tanker-seized-finland-cable-probe-2024-12-30/

2024-12-30 17:31

LONDON, Dec 30 (Reuters) - Edinburgh's New Year "Hogmanay" celebrations, where tens of thousands of revellers gather in the Scottish capital for street parties and fireworks, have been cancelled due to bad weather, organisers said on Monday. The move comes as much of the UK is subject to severe weather warnings for the coming week, with heavy rain and strong winds due to affect parts of Scotland, Northern Ireland and northern England, according to the Met Office. Edinburgh's Hogmanay Festival, a draw for tourists and locals alike, usually includes a torchlight procession, massive street parties, live concerts and a fireworks display over the castle. Indoor events will still go ahead. "Due to ongoing high winds and inclement weather in Edinburgh city centre, we regret to announce that outdoor events scheduled for tonight and the 31st December are unable to go ahead on the grounds of public safety," Edinburgh Hogmanay organisers said in a statement. The Scottish Sun newspaper said it was only the fifth time the celebrations had been called off, including for two years during the coronavirus pandemic. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/edinburghs-new-year-hogmanay-festivities-cancelled-due-bad-weather-2024-12-30/

2024-12-30 17:08

Bayrou announces emergency measures for Mayotte recovery Special bill to ban shantytowns to be presented Jan. 3 Water supplies to return to pre-storm levels by end of next week PARIS, Dec 30 (Reuters) - New French Prime Minister Francois Bayrou said on Monday that power will be restored to all households on the storm-ravaged Mayotte archipelago by the end of January, while the rebuilding of its shantytowns will not be permitted. The slow pace of aid and delays in the arrival of clean water and electricity have angered residents of France's poorest overseas territory, located between Madagascar and Mozambique about 8,000 km (4,971 miles) from mainland France. Bayrou, whose first days in office were rocked by Cyclone Chido, the worst storm to hit Mayotte's two main islands in 90 years, travelled to the archipelago on Monday to announce a raft of new emergency measures to rebuild, dubbed "Mayotte Standing." A special emergency bill, which will include measures to ban the kind of makeshift housing that was ubiquitous before the storm, will be presented in a cabinet meeting on Jan. 3 and be sent to parliament in the next fortnight, Bayrou said. "We can't let Mayotte become the capital of shantytowns," he told reporters. "It can't be about rebuilding Mayotte as it was. We must draw a different future for Mayotte," he said earlier. Bayrou did not say how he would re-house the thousands, many of them undocumented immigrants from nearby Comoros, who lived in hillside shantytowns comprised of flimsy huts before the storm and who have already started rebuilding them. He was criticised for not visiting the islands earlier. President Emmanuel Macron was also heckled when he travelled to Mayotte earlier this month. Bayrou said water supplies, a flashpoint even before the disaster, will be back at pre-storm levels before the end of next week. Some 200 Starlink antennas will be deployed to help restore communications. Bayrou also said that early estimates given by the local prefect, who mentioned a death toll of possibly several thousands in the days following the cyclone, may have been overstated. "We must be very cautious when we discuss this, but what's striking with those we meet is that the rumours of thousands of deaths are not founded," he said, mentioning a possible death toll in the hundreds. The official death toll still stands at 39. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/new-french-pm-vows-restore-power-ban-shantytowns-storm-hit-mayotte-2024-12-30/