2024-11-19 21:36
Nov 19 (Reuters) - Pipeline operator DT Midstream (DTM.N) , opens new tab said on Tuesday it would acquire three natural gas transmission pipelines from ONEOK (OKE.N) , opens new tab for $1.2 billion in cash, boosting its presence in the Midwest market amid rapid consolidation in the U.S. industry. Increased consolidation among oil and gas producers and hurdles in getting new energy infrastructure approved and built have made the U.S. pipeline and storage sector attractive for deals. Shares of DT Midstream were down nearly 3% at $100 in extended trading. The company said it would finance the transaction, which is expected to close in late 2024 or early 2025, with about $900 million in debt and $300 million in common equity. The target portfolio comprises Guardian Pipeline, Midwestern Gas Transmission and Viking Gas Transmission. The pipelines have a total capacity of more than 3.7 billion cubic feet per day and are spread across seven states in the Midwest market region, which is expected to see continued growth in power demand, according to the company. DT Midstream said the "acquisition directly aligns with its strategy of owning natural gas assets connecting premier supply basins with key demand centers and market regions". The transaction will immediately boost DT Midstream's distributable cash flow and is expected to increase its pipeline segment to about 70% of adjusted core profit in 2025, it said. ONEOK said the net proceeds from the sale are expected to enhance its financial flexibility and deleveraging. In August, ONEOK said it would buy midstream assets in deals worth $5.9 billion from Global Infrastructure Partner, bolstering its position in the Permian and Mid-Continent basins. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/dt-midstream-buy-three-natgas-pipelines-oneok-12-bln-2024-11-19/
2024-11-19 21:03
Effort would be similar to Trump policy during first administration Move aims to satisfy campaign promise to end EV mandate Automakers find Biden regulations too onerous, source says WASHINGTON, Nov 19 (Reuters) - President-elect Donald Trump's incoming administration plans to target federal regulations championed by President Joe Biden that aim to make automobiles more fuel-efficient and incentivize a shift toward electric vehicles, according to two sources in contact with Trump's transition team. The move appears aimed at satisfying a Trump campaign promise to "end the EV mandate," and would mirror a similar move during the first Trump administration to dismantle Obama-era vehicle-efficiency rules. Although no such "EV mandate" exists, the Biden administration regulations would effectively require automakers to shift at least 35% of production to EVs in order to meet 2032 requirements, and encourage a gradual phase-out of the production of vehicles that run on fossil fuels. The incoming administration plans to weaken standards on fuel-efficiency requirements and tailpipe emissions finalized earlier this year by the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Environmental Protection Agency, according to the sources. One of the sources said Trump is expected to formally direct those agencies to reconsider the Biden regulations. The effort would run counter to the interests of EV maker Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) , opens new tab, run by Trump backer Elon Musk, which profits from selling regulatory credits to traditional automakers who cannot comply with stricter vehicle emissions regulations. The Trump transition team did not respond to a request for comment. The move to undo Biden's vehicle-efficiency rules was first reported by Bloomberg. Last week, Reuters exclusively reported that Trump's transition team is planning to kill the $7,500 consumer tax credit for electric-vehicle purchases - another move that would likely slow an already stalling U.S. EV transition. During the first Trump administration, it took nearly three years to overturn similar Obama-era regulations. After Trump called for a review of the rules in early 2017, NHTSA and the EPA began the formal process of rewriting the rules in 2018. It took until March 2020 for both agencies to finalize less-stringent rules. One of the sources said the move is designed to appease automakers who have complained the Biden regulations are too onerous. The fuel economy and vehicle emissions standards finalized by the Biden administration this year were significantly less stringent than originally proposed, after automakers lobbied for revisions. General Motors (GM.N) , opens new tab, Ford (F.N) , opens new tab, Stellantis (STLAM.MI) , opens new tab, Tesla (TSLA.O) , opens new tab and the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, a trade group representing most major automakers except Tesla, did not respond to requests for comment. After Trump's first election victory in 2016, automakers pushed to ease the Obama-era rules, arguing they were too expensive and would hamper American job growth. The calculus is different now, said Seth Goldstein, a Morningstar Research Services analyst, as Detroit automakers "have been investing heavily" in EVs. "They're a lot more advanced in their strategy," he said. The move to target vehicle-efficiency standards could be a blow to Tesla, which has earned billions of dollars in recent years by selling credits to other automakers who cannot comply with federal vehicle standards and other emissions regulations in U.S. states and other markets around the world. Because Tesla sells only electric vehicles, it overcomplies with the regulations and generates credits it can sell to others. By loosening the standards, those credits become less valuable. Tesla CEO Musk was one of Trump's biggest backers and has become an influential adviser since the election. During the Biden administration, Tesla pushed for far stricter vehicle emissions regulations than what the EPA ultimately passed. Goldstein, the Morningstar analyst, said he expects Tesla will still be able to profit from selling credits to automakers who need to comply with stricter emissions rules in states like California, and in the European Union. He said selling credits was "far more important" to Tesla's business model before the company was profitable. Now, he said, the credits are "nice to have," but no longer essential for the company to "generate profits and generate positive free cash flow." Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-administration-plans-roll-back-bidens-stricter-fuel-efficiency-standards-2024-11-19/
2024-11-19 20:40
Nov 19 (Reuters) - BP (BP.L) , opens new tab has delayed the restart of a crude distillation unit and a coker at its 435,000 barrel-per-day Whiting, Indiana, refinery from maintenance, boosting fuel prices in the Chicago market, industry sources said on Tuesday. BP, which started the planned turnaround at the largest refinery in the U.S. Midwest in late September, began restarting units involved in the turnaround in early November. The restart had been scheduled for mid-November. A source said at least two of the units - the 250,000-bpd sour crude distillation unit and the 102,000-bpd coker unit - experienced issues during the restart process. The units are expected to be back online this week, the source added. Traders told Reuters that they had to find other sources of gasoline and diesel in the past few days. Chicago-market CBOB gasoline traded half a cent per gallon below futures benchmark on the New York Mercantile Exchange on Tuesday, traders said, compared with a 14-cent discount in the previous session. Chicago ultra-low sulfur diesel traded at a four-cent discount to futures , compared with a 15-cent discount previously. BP did not immediately respond to inquiries about the units experiencing issues during startup. It had issued an alert on Monday about flaring at the Whiting refinery. "Flares are an essential safety device that helps the refinery safely manage excess gases during periods of maintenance or operational disruptions," the company said in a statement. The flaring concluded on Monday, a BP spokesperson said. In February, BP shut the refinery for roughly a month due to a plantwide power outage. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/bps-whiting-refinery-indiana-delays-return-service-sources-say-2024-11-19/
2024-11-19 19:55
Nov 19 (Reuters) - Trinidad and Tobago on Tuesday signed a production sharing agreement with a unit of British oil and gas producer BP (BP.L) , opens new tab for exploring and producing natural gas at a shallow water block, the energy ministry said. The agreement follows an offshore bidding round launched by the Caribbean country last year, expected to encourage an increase in gas output to feed liquefied natural gas (LNG) facilities. "The Ministry of Energy and Energy Industries continues to aggressively market and execute concessions to promote exploration and investment in the upstream," it said in a release. The contract with BP for block NCMA 2, located in Trinidad's North Coast Marine Area in water depths of approximately 200 meters (660 ft), is the second signed after a similar agreement with Shell(SHEL.L) , opens new tab in September for Modified U(c) block, the round's most contested area. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/trinidad-signs-production-sharing-agreement-with-bp-offshore-gas-block-2024-11-19/
2024-11-19 19:42
Both countries have had bids in since 2022 Australian climate minister rebuffed in Turkey Host has key role in summit outcomes BAKU, Nov 19 (Reuters) - Australia and Turkey are in a standoff over which country is better suited to host United Nations climate change talks in 2026, with neither willing to give up on their bid. Both countries have been in the running since 2022, but matters have come to a head at this year's COP29 summit being held this week in Baku, Azerbaijan. Australia's climate minister made a last-minute stop in Turkey on Friday, his office confirmed, hoping to reach a deal on the Australian bid. However, Turkish officials declined to drop their bid and the two remain in talks. The host has a central role in brokering compromises at the annual summit and steering the final phase of negotiations. This can deliver both diplomatic prestige and a global platform to promote the country's green industries. The COP summit is the centrepiece of global climate diplomacy, where nearly 200 countries gather to negotiate joint plans and funding to avert the worst impacts of rising temperatures. Every country has a shot at hosting, if they want to, as a member of one of five regional groups to take it in turns. That system has drawn criticism as fossil fuel producers including the United Arab Emirates have played host - raising concerns among campaigners over whether countries which are deeply invested in polluting industries can be honest brokers of climate talks. Fatma Varank, Turkey's deputy environment minister, told Reuters that the country's Mediterranean location would help reduce emissions from flights bringing delegates to the conference, and highlighted its smaller oil and gas industry compared with Australia. Australia is among the world's largest exporters of fossil fuels. "We don't deny the fact that we have traditionally been a fossil fuel exporter, but we're in the middle of a transition to changing to export renewable energy," Australia's climate minister Chris Bowen told Reuters at COP29. "We have a story to tell," he said, explaining that Australia was pitching a 'Pacific COP' to elevate issues affecting the region's vulnerable island states. Turkey, which has a small oil and gas industry , opens new tab, gets around 80% , opens new tab of its energy from fossil fuels and was Europe's second-largest producer of coal-fired electricity in 2023. It offered to host the COP26 talks in 2021 but withdrew its bid, allowing Britain to preside over the summit. Varank said Turkey was reluctant to step aside again. Whoever wins would need unanimous backing from the 28 countries in the U.N.'s Western Europe and Others regional group. There is no firm deadline, although hosts are often confirmed years in advance to give them time to prepare. Members including Germany, Canada and Britain have publicly backed Australia. Pacific leaders have backed Australia on the condition that it elevates the climate issues they suffer such as coastal erosion and rising seas. Fiji's climate secretary Sivendra Michael told Reuters the country backed Australia's bid. "But we are also cautiously reminding them of the national efforts that they need to make to transition away from fossil fuels," Michael said. Turkey declined to say which members of the regional group had offered it support. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/australia-turkey-2026-un-climate-summit-hosting-standoff-2024-11-19/
2024-11-19 18:43
Nov 19 (Reuters) - California's public health department reported a possible case of bird flu in a child with mild respiratory symptoms on Tuesday, but said there was no evidence of human-to-human transmission of the virus and that the child's family members tested negative. California officials said they have sent test specimens from the child to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for confirmation. A CDC spokesperson said the agency is aware of the presumptive positive case of H5 avian influenza, is collaborating with the state's investigation, and will provide further updates promptly. The agency has said the risk to the general public remains low. Although human infections in the United States have been rare, bird flu has infected 53 people since April, according to the CDC, most recently a person in Oregon last week tied to a bird flu outbreak in a commercial poultry operation in the state. In Canada, officials earlier this month reported that a teen infected with bird flu in British Columbia was in critical condition. The child in California was in daycare with mild symptoms before the illness was reported, the state said. Local health officials have contacted potentially exposed caregivers and families to check for symptoms and offer preventive treatment and testing if they become symptomatic. The child and all close family members have been treated with preventive medication, the state said. The child had no known contact with an infected animal, but public health experts are investigating a possible exposure to wild birds. "It’s natural for people to be concerned, and we want to reinforce for parents, caregivers and families that based on the information and data we have, we don’t think the child was infectious," said California health department director Dr. Tomas Aragon, adding, "and no human-to-human spread of bird flu has been documented in any country for more than 15 years." Most U.S. bird flu cases, including 26 in California, have occurred among farm workers working with poultry or dairy cows that were infected with the virus. Because bird flu viruses can mutate and gain the ability to spread more easily between people, California public health officials said they are monitoring animal and human infections carefully. The state urged residents to avoid contact with sick or dead wild birds, and renewed the warning against consuming raw milk or raw milk products, which have not undergone pasteurization to inactivate the bird flu virus and other harmful pathogens. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/california-health-department-reports-possible-bird-flu-case-child-2024-11-19/
