2024-11-12 11:52
Deal gives state 100% stake in Gassled pipeline network Norway had signalled plan to take over pipelines by 2028 Seven investors agreed to sell Two companies retain stakes in non-Gassled assets OSLO, Nov 12 (Reuters) - Norway has reached a deal with seven private owners for a government takeover of much of the country's extensive gas pipeline network, the Norwegian energy ministry said on Tuesday. Norway in 2023 announced plans to nationalise most of its vast gas pipeline network, a major processing plant and other infrastructure when many existing concessions expire in 2028, and had invited current owners to negotiate a transition. The government agreed to pay the seven owners 18.1 billion crowns ($1.64 billion) for their assets. Norway is Europe's largest gas supplier following a sharp fall in Russian deliveries triggered by Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The Nordic country's centre-left government regards the pipeline network stretching some 9,000 km (5,600 miles) along the seabed as an asset of national interest over which it wants complete state ownership. While seven companies came to an agreement with the government, two groups rejected the offer. Much of Norway's gas transportation pipeline network is owned by Gassled, a partnership set up in 2003 by oil companies that were producing gas offshore Norway at the time. The agreement lifts the Norwegian state's stake in Gassled to 100% from 46.7% previously. A government takeover will support the main objectives of Norway's petroleum policy, including low tariffs for the users of the pipeline network, the ministry said in a statement. The energy ministry agreed terms with Shell (SHEL.L) , opens new tab, CapeOmega, ConocoPhilipps (COP.N) , opens new tab, Equinor (EQNR.OL) , opens new tab, Hav Energy, Orlen (PKN.WA) , opens new tab and Silex to take over their shares in the joint ventures, it said. The agreement is backdated to Jan 1, 2024. Equinor will retain a small remaining stake in the Nyhamna processing plant and Polarled. North Sea Infrastructure and M Vest Energy, who hold ownership shares in Nyhamna and the Polarled pipeline, did not agree to a sale and maintain their stakes in both assets. However, the government still aims to take over these stakes either when the current concession period ends or if a deal is agreed before then, it said. ($1 = 11.0660 Norwegian crowns) Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/deals/norway-agrees-16-bln-takeover-gas-export-network-2024-11-12/
2024-11-12 11:48
BASRA, Iraq, Nov 12 (Reuters) - Iraq has shortlisted 11 shipping companies to compete for the Grand Faw port operation contract, with a decision on the winners expected in January 2025, Iraq's director general of the General Company for Ports told Reuters on Tuesday. The shortlisted companies include China Merchants Port Group Co., Taiwanese container shipping line Evergreen, French shipping group CMA CGM, Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC), India’s Adani, Philippines-headquartered International Container Terminal Services (ICTSI), China's Cosco, and United Arab Emirates-based ABM Global Shipping LLC. Iraq plans to select a winning company in January 2025, with operations set to begin in 2026, said Farhan al-Fartousi. South Korea's Daewoo Engineering & Construction (047040.KS) , opens new tab completed the construction of five docks, which were handed over to Iraqi port authorities on Thursday during an inauguration attended by Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani. Faw port is expected to operate in maximum capacity to receive 3.5 million containers in 2028, he added. The Grand Faw port is part of several projects aimed at creating a shorter transportation corridor between the Middle East and Europe, bypassing the Suez Canal. Iraq launched a $17 billion project in 2023 to link the major commodities port on its southern coast by rail and roads to the border with Turkey, aiming to transform the country's economy after decades of war and crisis. "The Grand Faw port will be a pivotal hub for transforming global transport trade towards Europe via Turkey," said Fartousi. The Development Road seeks to connect the Grand Faw Port in Iraq's oil-rich south to Turkey, turning the country into a transit hub by shortening travel time between Asia and Europe, in a bid to rival the Suez Canal. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/iraq-shortlists-11-firms-grand-faw-port-operation-decision-january-2025-2024-11-12/
2024-11-12 11:46
LONDON, Dec 11 (Reuters) - OPEC lowered its forecasts for 2024 and 2025 global oil demand growth on Wednesday in the fifth consecutive cut to the producers group's monthly report. The weaker outlook highlights the challenge facing OPEC+, which comprises the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies such as Russia. OPEC+ earlier this month delayed its plan to start raising output until April 2025 against a backdrop of falling prices. OPEC said it now expects 2024 global oil demand to rise by 1.61 million barrels per day (bpd), down from its forecast of 1.82 million bpd last month. OPEC had kept the 2024 outlook unchanged until August, a view it had first taken in July 2023. OPEC cut its 2025 global oil demand growth estimate to 1.45 million bpd from 1.54 million bpd. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/opec-again-cuts-2024-2025-oil-demand-growth-forecasts-2024-12-11/
2024-11-12 11:45
NEW DELHI, Nov 12 (Reuters) - India's industrial output (INIP=ECI) , opens new tab rose 3.1% year-on-year in September, backed by manufacturing activity, government data showed on Tuesday. Economists polled by Reuters had expected a growth of 2.5%. In August, industrial output had contracted for the first time in nearly two years. Manufacturing output climbed 3.9% year-on-year in September, electricity generation grew 0.5% and mining activity rose 0.2%, the data showed. The sectors had grown by 5.1%, 9.9% and 11.5%, respectively, a year ago. India's manufacturing sector in September recovered from a 22-month low hit in the previous month, as stockpiling ahead of India's festive season lifted industrial production, said Paras Jasrai, an economist at India Ratings and Research. India's annual festival season typically runs from late September to early November. In the April-September period, industrial output increased by 4%, compared to revised 6.2% a year earlier. With the early onset of the festive season helping balance an unfavourable base, industrial output is expected to grow between nearly 3% and 4% in October, said Aditi Nayar, an economist at ratings agency ICRA. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/india/indias-industrial-output-up-31-yy-september-2024-11-12/
2024-11-12 11:42
MOSCOW, Nov 12 (Reuters) - Russia's crude oil output edged up in October by 9,000 barrels per day (bpd) to about 9.01 million bpd, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) said on Tuesday, citing data from secondary sources such as consultancies. This was slightly above the quota agreed by the OPEC+ group of leading oil producers, which includes OPEC and allies such as Russia. Under OPEC+ deals and voluntary cuts, Russia's monthly quota stands at 8.98 million bpd. Russia has pledged to compensate for its overproduction since April with reductions in October and November this year and between March and September next year. Countries' compliance with agreed output curbs by OPEC+ has been in focus, particularly that of Iraq and Kazakhstan, which have been pumping above targets and have promised additional cuts to compensate for the excess. Last week, Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said Russia will stick to its commitments to the OPEC+ group and had reached its promised oil output level of 9 million bpd. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/opec-says-russian-oil-output-broadly-stable-october-2024-11-12/
2024-11-12 11:19
CATARROJA, Spain, Nov 12 (Reuters) - Thousands of students in Spain's eastern Valencia region returned to classes on Monday, two weeks after floods killed over 200 people and devastated towns in the area. Controversy over the regional government's handling of the floods still rages, and a teachers' union accused it of exaggerating the number returning and leaving the clean-up to teachers and pupils. Twenty-three people remain missing in the Valencia region after heavy rains caused rivers to overflow, sending tides of muddy water through densely populated city suburbs, drowning people in cars and underground car parks, and collapsing homes. A total of 47 schools in 14 affected municipalities reopened to more than 22,000 children on Monday, the region's education department said. Last week, it said it expected around 70% of students in the worst-affected areas to return this week. "The schools that have opened their doors today have followed cleaning and disinfection protocols to ensure maximum safety for students, teachers and staff," it added. But the regional teachers' union STEPV said it believed that the numbers returning on Monday were lower, without providing an alternative figure. Spokesperson Marc Candela said many schools were not ready to resume lessons, adding: "Teachers and parents are cleaning the schools with their own materials such as brooms." Educators wanted professional cleaning crews to sanitise facilities, as was done during the COVID-19 pandemic, he said. Parents are also worried about their children's emotional states, said Ruben Pacheco, head of the regional federation of parents' associations, FAMPA: "Families are exhausted, suffering psychologically, and nothing should be decided without consulting them so as not to generate more discomfort than they've already suffered." Candela said the department had held an online course for teachers last week with recommendations for psychological care, but had not dispatched additional counsellors. Carolina Marti, head teacher at a school in Castellar-Oliveral, said it had received 60 children from neighbouring towns, while five teachers were on medical leave. She said children and teachers were struggling to reach the school as many roads remained impassable. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/spains-valencia-struggles-get-children-back-school-after-deadly-floods-2024-11-12/
