2024-12-05 23:31

Dec 5 (Reuters) - The number of inactive oil and gas wells in Alberta, Canada's main fossil fuel-producing province, fell 5% in 2023 from a year earlier, showing progress in decommissioning and reclamation work, a regulatory report said on Thursday. Alberta now has 79,000 wells classed as inactive versus 83,000 in 2022. Inactive wells no longer produce oil or gas and need to be permanently plugged and the land around them restored. Canada is the world's fourth-largest oil producer and sixth-largest gas producer, and its western provinces are dotted with hundreds of thousands of active and inactive wells. Some of those wells are orphans, meaning the companies that owned them have gone bankrupt or ceased to exist. Companies spent C$769 million ($548.23 million) directly on well closures. The Alberta government's Site Rehabilitation Program spent another C$174 million, and the industry-funded Orphan Well Association spent C$149 million. "This year's data indicates the industry is making notable progress on cleaning up oil and gas wells, pipelines, and facilities," said Laurie Pushor, CEO of the Alberta Energy Regulator said in a statement. "The report also shows ongoing attention and effort will be essential to keep the count of inactive wells moving downward." Alberta's inactive well count grew 5% a year between 2000 and 2020 as the province's energy sector expanded rapidly. Environmental campaigners warned taxpayers could end up having to pay billions of dollars in well clean-up costs unless energy companies were held to account. The AER introduced a mandatory closure spending quota in 2022, requiring industry to spend collectively on closure and cleanup work. This year the quota was C$700 million, meaning companies' spending exceeded that by about 10%. The regulator said 91% of companies holding well licenses in Alberta complied with their spending quota, leaving 54 companies collectively owing about C$5 million. This included Sunshine Oilsands (2012.HK) , opens new tab, which last month was ordered to suspend operations by the AER due to non-compliance with environmental and public safety rules. ($1 = 1.4027 Canadian dollars) Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/canadian-oil-province-alberta-cleans-up-5-inactive-wells-2023-2024-12-05/

2024-12-05 22:39

Dec 6 (Reuters) - Australia's agency for monitoring financial crimes said on Friday it had established an internal cryptocurrency task force to identify and take action against crypto ATM providers that do not comply with the country's anti-money laundering laws. The Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC) said its findings showed cryptocurrency was increasingly being exploited for money laundering, scams and money mule activities. AUSTRAC's taskforce will ensure digital currency exchanges that provide crypto ATM services have robust practices in place to minimise the risk of their machines being used to move money associated with scams or fraud, the government agency said. A crypto ATM allows users to buy and sell cryptocurrencies, like bitcoin and dogecoin, for cash. Currently, Australia has 1,200 operating crypto ATMs, while about 400 digital currency exchange providers are registered with AUSTRAC. The total value of the cryptocurrency market has almost doubled over the year so far. Bitcoin also hit a record high above $100,000 as the election of Donald Trump as U.S. president fuelled expectations his administration will usher in a friendly regulatory environment for cryptocurrencies. AUSTRAC CEO Brendan Thomas said the agency was seeing "too many" Australians falling victim to scams carried out through cryptocurrency. "Cryptocurrency and crypto ATMs are attractive avenues for criminals looking to launder money, as they are widely accessible and make near-instant and irreversible transfers," he said, adding that crypto ATMS who were found flouting the anti-money laundering laws would be subject to financial penalties. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/technology/australian-regulator-moves-curtail-criminal-use-cryptocurrency-2024-12-05/

2024-12-05 22:14

Iluka shares down 15%, sink to over 4-year low Project development expected for A$1.7-A$1.8 bln Iluka will contribute additional A$214 mln cash equity Dec 6 (Reuters) - Australia will grant an additional A$400 million ($257.20 million) loan to Iluka Resources (ILU.AX) , opens new tab to develop its rare earths refinery in Western Australia, which will also see the critical minerals miner shell out more money than committed. Iluka on Friday said the federal government is granting the additional loan on top of the A$1.25 billion loan offered in 2022. The miner will have to cough up an extra A$214 million in cash equity on top of the A$200 million cash equity and stockpile already earmarked for the project. Eneabba, set to be Australia's first fully integrated rare earths refinery, is estimated to cost between A$1.7 billion ($1.09 billion) and A$1.8 billion, a sharp jump from the previous estimate of A$1.2 billion. Analysts at Sandstone Insights raised concerns over Iluka's high upfront funding and its net debt which they forecast will peak at just over A$1 billion in fiscal year 2027. As of June 30, Iluka had net cash of A$154.2 million , opens new tab, less than half of what it had a year ago. "The revised deal with the Australian government for the Eneabba rare earth refinery is less favourable than ILU would have desired," Sandstone Insights analysts said. After the announcement, shares of the miner plunged as much as 15% to A$4.660 - their lowest level since early October 2020 - making them the top loser in the ASX200 benchmark index (.AXJO) , opens new tab. The refinery is part of a push by the government to develop new sources of critical minerals, including rare earths, to diversify the supply chain away from top producer China. The new funding is subject to the company securing offtake deals for the refinery and can only be used after the original A$1.45 billion funding is fully drawn, Iluka said. ($1 = 1.5552 Australian dollars) Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/australia-grants-further-258-million-funding-ilukas-rare-earths-refinery-2024-12-05/

2024-12-05 21:51

Gazprombank says it will receive payments only in roubles Decree forces Russian gas importers to scramble for roubles Move follows US sanctions imposed last month MOSCOW, Dec 5 (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin cancelled the option for buyers of Russian gas to convert currency into roubles at Gazprombank, a presidential decree showed on Thursday, complicating the payments process as buyers must now convert their currency elsewhere. U.S. sanctions on Gazprombank imposed last month mean Gazprombank cannot handle any new energy-related transactions that touch the U.S. financial system. The sanctions ban Americans from doing business with the bank and freeze its U.S. assets. Gazprombank, one of Russia's largest banks, is partially owned by Kremlin-owned gas company Gazprom (GAZP.MM) , opens new tab. The lender said separately in a statement it remained the only bank authorised to process payments for Russian gas by foreign buyers, but it will receive payments only in roubles. "Gazprombank no longer assists foreign buyers in converting foreign currency into rubles for the purpose of payments for natural gas," it said. Putin issued an initial decree in March 2022 forcing buyers of Russian gas to pay for deliveries via Gazprombank through a scheme involving payments in roubles. The mechanics of payments and currency conversion after the amendments to the decree were published on Thursday were not fully clear. Russian authorities have said they have been working on ways to resolve the issue. The updated decree says payments for Russian gas via the K-type rouble and foreign currency accounts will not be conducted until the sanctions against Gazprombank are lifted and could be resumed by a decision of the Russian president. Russia shipped about 15 billion cubic metres (bcm) of gas via Ukraine in 2023 - only 8% of the peak Russian gas flows to Europe through various routes in 2018-2019. However, some countries such as Turkey and Hungary still buy gas in large volumes from Russia. Hungary has asked the United States to exempt Gazprombank from sanctions when it comes to payments for natural gas, saying those sanctions could negatively affect some U.S. allies. According to the sanctions, the companies should unwind their transactions with the bank by Dec. 20. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/europe/putin-removes-gazprombank-payments-russian-gas-exports-2024-12-05/

2024-12-05 21:48

Dec 6 (Reuters) - A look at the day ahead in Asian markets. India's central bank interest rate decision grabs the spotlight in Asia on Friday, as investors digest yet another record high for the Nasdaq and adjust positions ahead of the weekend. The U.S. employment report for November later in the day is released after Asia closes, so investors across the continent may be inclined to square positions as best they can in preparation for Monday. The main event in Asia on Friday is in India. The Reserve Bank of India is overwhelmingly expected to hold its key repo rate at 6.50%, after a sharp rise in inflation past the RBI's 6% tolerance ceiling in October prompted many economists to push back their forecasts for the first cut to early next year. With the rupee at record lows against the dollar, standing pat makes sense. But economists at Nomura, one of the five out of 67 houses in the Reuters poll predicting a rate cut, argue that weakening growth dynamics must be taken into account now. Although the rupee has never been weaker, benchmark bond yields are at their lowest in almost four years, Indian stocks are lagging many of their regional peers, and the economy is growing at its slowest pace in nearly two years. Maybe the RBI should start the easing cycle sooner rather than later? Investors go into the final trading session of the week against a relatively calm global backdrop, all things considered. Any market impact from the political ructions in South Korea and France appears to be fading and contained, and the dollar's dip on Thursday will be welcomed too. The dollar fell 0.5% on Thursday. It's probably too early to read anything too deeply into it, but that was its third down day in a row, a losing streak not seen since September. It will take more than that - perhaps a return to the September lows, around 5% below current levels - to really call into question the dollar's resilience, but could fatigue be setting in? Fatigue is something the U.S. economy doesn't seem to be showing any signs of yet. The Atlanta Fed on Thursday raised its GDPNow model estimate for Q4 growth to a remarkable 3.3%. As investors fret about growth in Europe, China and many other key economies around the world, America appears to be the exception that continues to prove the rule. This is a double-edged sword for Asia. On the one hand it's clearly good news as booming U.S. markets should lift all others. But if it lifts the dollar and Treasury yields, then global financial conditions tighten and capital is sucked towards the US. Indeed, net selling of Asian equities by foreigners in November was the highest since June 2022. Here are key developments that could provide more direction to markets on Friday: - India rate decision - Japan household spending (October) - South Korea current account (October) Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/asia/global-markets-view-asia-graphic-2024-12-05/

2024-12-05 21:25

TSX ends up 0.2% at 25,680.04 Eclipses last Friday's record closing high CIBC and BMO gain after reporting earnings TD tumbles 7.1% as it suspends forecasts Dec 5 (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index rose to a record high on Thursday as investors assessed a mixed set of quarterly earnings from top domestic banks and pinned hopes on the Bank of Canada continuing its easing cycle at a policy decision next week. The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index (.GSPTSE) , opens new tab ended up 38.86 points, or 0.2%, at 25,680.04, moving past the record closing high it posted last Friday. "Overall, several of the Canadian banks have done fairly well considering the circumstances," said Shiraz Ahmed, senior portfolio manager and founder of Sartorial Wealth at Raymond James. Banks tend to be sensitive to the economy. Canada's unemployment rate has climbed 1.5 percentage points since January 2023 to 6.5% in October, while the government has adopted a more constrained immigration policy and is dealing with the threat of U.S. trade tariffs. The heavily weighted financials sector rose 0.3%, helped by a gain of 4.4% for the shares of Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CM.TO) , opens new tab and of 4.2% for Bank of Montreal's (BMO.TO) , opens new tab shares after both lenders reported quarterly results. In contrast, Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD.TO) , opens new tab shares tumbled 7.1% after the bank warned of a challenging 2025 and suspended its medium-term earnings forecast. Canada's second-biggest lender is working through an anti-money laundering remediation program following a U.S. regulatory probe. The energy sector was up 0.8%, recouping some of Wednesday's decline, as OPEC+ delayed its planned output increase until April 2025. Oil settled 0.35% lower at $68.30 a barrel. Consumer staples was another bright spot, adding 0.7%. Canada's employment report for November, due on Friday, could help guide expectations for additional easing by the Bank of Canada. "There'll be a rate decision here coming up soon, and it's likely going to be a cut," Ahmed said. "So given that, I think that there is a renewed exuberance in the equity market." Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/tsx-futures-flat-with-attention-big-bank-earnings-2024-12-05/