2025-10-20 11:13
MOSCOW, Oct 20 (Reuters) - A Ukrainian drone attack on Russia's Orenburg gas plant has forced neighbouring Kazakhstan to reduce production at its Karachaganak oil and gas condensate field by 25% to 30%, two industry sources told Reuters on Monday. One of the world's largest gas processing plants, Orenburg was forced to suspend its intake of gas from Kazakhstan after the attack, Kazakhstan's energy ministry said on Sunday. Sign up here. Ukraine confirmed it hit a gas plant in the Orenburg region, some 1,700 kilometres (1,060 miles) east of the Russian border with Ukraine, and an oil refinery in the Samara region. Kyiv has stepped up its attacks on Russian refineries and other energy facilities since August to try to disrupt fuel supplies and deprive Moscow of funding. Output at Karachaganak on Monday was down to between 25,000 and 28,000 metric tons from the usual level of 35,000-35,500, according to two sources who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the situation. They said Orenburg, which is controlled by gas producer Gazprom (GAZP.MM) , opens new tab, might resume some gas intake from Karachaganak on Monday, however they declined to say when normal levels of supply would be restored. Karachaganak produced around 263,000 barrels of oil per day in 2024. It is exported by the Caspian Pipeline Consortium via a Russian Black Sea terminal, as well as through Russia's Druzhba pipeline to Germany. The field is operated by a consortium which includes U.S. major Chevron (CVX.N) , opens new tab (18%) and European energy firms Shell (SHEL.L) , opens new tab (29.25%) and Eni (ENI.MI) , opens new tab (29.25%). Russia's Lukoil (LKOH.MM) , opens new tab (13.5%) and local firm KazMunayGaz (KMGZ.KZ) , opens new tab (10%) also hold stakes. The consortium, Gazprom, and Kazakhstan's energy ministry did not reply to requests for comment. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/ukraine-drone-attack-russian-gas-plant-hits-kazakh-output-sources-say-2025-10-20/
2025-10-20 11:11
BRUSSELS, Oct 20 (Reuters) - EU energy ministers on Monday backed a proposal to phase out Russian oil and gas imports to the bloc by January 2028, the Council of the European Union said. The ministers approved the plans, which would phase out new Russian gas import contracts from January 2026, existing short-term contracts from June 2026, and long-term contracts in January 2028, at a meeting in Luxembourg. Sign up here. The law is not yet final. EU countries must negotiate the final rules with the European Parliament, which is still debating its position. The EU wants to phase out Russian energy imports to deprive the Kremlin of revenues to fund its war in Ukraine. Russia currently accounts for 12% of EU gas imports, down from 45% before its 2022 invasion of Ukraine, with Hungary, France and Belgium among the countries still receiving Russian gas. The European Commission designed the proposals to be able to pass despite past opposition from Hungary and Slovakia, the two countries that still import Russian oil. It needed backing from a "qualified majority" of EU member states - meaning at least 55% - so one or two nations alone could not block it. The text approved on Monday allowed specific flexibilities for landlocked member states, which include Hungary and Slovakia. Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico defended his resistance to the gas and oil import phaseout and sanctions against Russia, which need EU unanimity. Slovakia held up the last sanctions package over demands connected to the planned phase-out of Russian energy imports. Separately, the EU is negotiating a new package of sanctions against Russia that would ban LNG imports one year earlier, from January 2027. The EU's Foreign Policy Chief Kaja Kallas said earlier on Monday the new sanctions package could be approved as early as this week. (This story has been corrected to clarify the reason for Slovakia blocking previous sanctions package in paragraph 10) https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/eu-agrees-gradually-end-russian-gas-imports-by-january-1-2028-2025-10-20/
2025-10-20 10:38
MOSCOW, Oct 20 (Reuters) - Russia is prepared to expand cooperation with Iran in all areas, the Kremlin said on Monday. Moscow has close relations with Tehran and condemned U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iranian nuclear sites earlier this year that were carried out with the stated aim of preventing Tehran from acquiring a nuclear bomb. Iran denies building a nuclear weapon. Sign up here. Asked by reporters how Russia saw the development of events around Iran's nuclear programme and if Moscow would deepen ties with Tehran, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: "Russia is definitely ready to expand cooperation with Iran in all areas. Iran is our partner, and our relations are developing very dynamically." Peskov said European countries were putting "excessive pressure" on Iran in regards to negotiations over its nuclear programme, adding that the situation was "very complicated". An envoy for Russian President Vladimir Putin is set to meet with Iran's Supreme National Security Council Secretary Ali Larijani later on Monday, less than a week after Larijani met with the Kremlin leader and handed him a message from Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Putin and his Iranian counterpart Masoud Pezeshkian signed a strategic partnership agreement in January, although the pact does not contain a mutual defence clause. Moscow says it legally supplies Tehran with military equipment, while Iran has provided Russia with drones to use in its war in Ukraine. Russian state nuclear energy giant Rosatom signed a $25-billion deal last month with Iran to build four nuclear power plants in the country, which suffers from electricity shortages and currently has only one operating nuclear power plant, built by Russia in the southern city of Bushehr. https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/russia-will-boost-ties-with-iran-kremlin-says-2025-10-20/
2025-10-20 10:35
WASHINGTON/ISTANBUL, Oct 20 (Reuters) - Turkish central bankers told foreign investors in meetings last week that they were increasingly concerned about inflation and suggested they were ready to slow down the pace of interest rate cuts, according to four participants in the discussions. The sources, all foreign investors holding Turkish bonds, attended some of a series of presentations by Central Bank Governor Fatih Karahan and his two deputies on the sidelines of the annual IMF and World Bank meetings in Washington. Sign up here. The investors told Reuters that the policymakers gave no specific guidance about how much they could downshift their easing cycle this week, after rate cuts of 250 and 300 basis points in September and July, respectively. But at the events, the central bankers said that they would closely watch market expectations ahead of their policy decision on Thursday, and that they aimed to address what one source called "sticky" inflation observed in recent months. The central bank did not immediately comment on the investors' impressions. Karahan, approached in Washington on the sidelines of the meetings, declined to comment. Earlier this month, he acknowledged that data suggested the disinflation process is slowing. POLL SHOWS UNCERTAINTY ON NEXT RATE CUT Turkey's inflation rate was 33.3% in September, more than expected and marking the first annual rise since a peak of 75.4% in May last year. Monthly and annual readings were also higher than expected in August. According to a Reuters poll, economists expect a 100 basis-point cut this week to 39.5%, based on the median response. But predictions were quite scattered, reflecting uncertainty over how the bank would respond to recently high price readings. Four of the 17 respondents expected the bank to pause its easing while five predicted a 150-point cut and two saw a 250-point reduction. The central bank's last two rate cuts were a bit more aggressive than expected, raising prospects of a course correction, said the four participants. Two said policymakers appeared ready to halt rate cuts if needed. At an Atlantic Council event in Washington that was broadcast online last week, Karahan said: "The downward trend has slowed down a little bit recently, which we are taking note of as important." Progress so far towards price stability is "very significant and encouraging", he added, and he again pledged to keep policy tight until it is achieved. PENDING DEPARTURE OF HAWKISH POLICYMAKER The central bank made a shift in mid-2023, leaving behind years of unorthodox low-rate policy that had sent inflation soaring and the currency plunging. Since then, tighter monetary policy has helped restore reserves and draw foreign investors back to Turkish assets. In Washington, investors said there was some concern over the mandatory age-based retirement in April of Deputy Governor Cevdet Akcay, an influential hawk on the central bank's policy committee. His successor has not yet been announced. https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/turkish-central-bankers-are-teeing-up-slower-rate-cuts-investors-say-after-2025-10-20/
2025-10-20 10:27
BEIJING, Oct 20 (Reuters) - China's imports of Mongolian coal reached a record monthly high in September, customs data showed on Monday, as Beijing's efforts to tackle overcapacity pushed up domestic prices and sent traders looking for cheaper supply. Mongolia shipped 9.29 million metric tons of coal to China in September, according to China's General Administration of Customs. That marked a 33% surge from a year earlier and the highest monthly level on record since customs started reporting the data in 2015. Sign up here. China has placed restrictions on coal production in recent months following an unexpected supply increase in the first half of the year that weighed on prices, widely perceived to be part of China's so-called "anti-involution" campaign aimed at curbing overcapacity and unsustainably low prices across many industries. The move has pushed domestic thermal coal prices to the highest level in roughly eight months. Futures prices for metallurgical coal used in steelmaking have jumped 30% since the beginning of July. That has been an opportunity for low-cost exporters across the border in Mongolia, according to Simon Wu, senior consultant for metallurgical coal markets at Wood Mackenzie. "Mongolia as a neighbouring country benefits from the short delivery distance, and expands its market share the most," Wu said. Firat Ergene, lead insight analyst for coal at maritime data analysis platform Kpler, said Mongolian coal also benefited from a "diversification incentive". China's coal imports from other suppliers such as Australia and the U.S. have been tumultuous because of trade tensions in recent years. "I think Mongolian coal fulfils the need for a steady long-term supplier." China's September coal imports from top supplier Indonesia also recovered to their highest level in nine months, after Indonesia cancelled a requirement to use a government benchmark unpopular with traders. On a year-on-year basis, Indonesian coal imports rose 1% to 21.48 million tons in September. Below are figures on China's imports from its top four suppliers, in metric tons: https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/china-imports-record-amount-mongolian-coal-september-2025-10-20/
2025-10-20 06:38
Trade tensions spur oil demand concerns Trump keeps pressure on India to stop buying Russian oil US crude futures, Brent futures 6-month spreads in contango US crude stocks expected to have risen last week, poll shows HOUSTON, Oct 20 (Reuters) - Oil prices settled at their lowest since early May on Monday as investors weighed a potential global glut, with U.S.-China trade tensions adding to concerns about an economic slowdown and weaker energy demand. Brent crude futures settled down 28 cents, or 0.46%, at $61.01 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures settled down 2 cents, or 0.03%, to $57.52. Sign up here. Both benchmarks fell more than $1 earlier in the session, and both closed at their weakest levels since early May. Oil traders' concerns have shifted from under-supply to over-supply, the futures contract structure of the global benchmark Brent showed. The six-month spreads for Brent and U.S. crude futures both show contracts for earlier loading are trading below those for later loading, a structure known as contango, which encourages traders to pay for storing oil so it can be sold at higher prices when supplies are expected to have shrunk in the future. The Brent contango, which emerged on Thursday for the first time since a brief appearance in May, was trading at its widest since December 2023. The U.S. crude futures contango emerged on Friday for the first time since January 2024. "These glut fears are now descending onto the market, particularly looking forward into 2026. We will start to see floating storage pick up and inland tanks get filled," said John Kilduff, partner with Again Capital. "This is a real bearish narrative that we have not seen in some time," Kilduff added. Both benchmarks declined more than 2% last week, marking their third consecutive weekly decline, partly due to the International Energy Agency's outlook for a growing supply glut in 2026. Both futures contracts spent much of the year in the opposite structure, called backwardation, where prompt prices trade at a premium to later supply. That reflects a perception of tight near-term supply and solid demand. US-CHINA TRADE WAR The two top oil consumers, the United States and China, have renewed their trade war, imposing additional port fees on ships carrying cargo between them - tit-for-tat moves that could disrupt global freight flows. Last week, the head of the World Trade Organization said she had urged the United States and China to de-escalate trade tensions, warning that a decoupling by the world's two largest economies could reduce global economic output by 7% over the longer term. Curbing some of oil's losses on Monday was news that a lobbying group whose board includes U.S. firms such as Oracle (ORCL.N) , opens new tab, Amazon.com (AMZN.O) , opens new tab and Exxon Mobil (XOM.N) , opens new tab is urging President Donald Trump's administration to immediately suspend a rule it says halted billions of dollars' worth of U.S. exports and will prompt China and other countries to drop U.S. firms from their supply chains. Uncertainty remains over what may happen with Russian oil supply, with Trump saying again on Sunday that the United States would maintain "massive" tariffs on India unless it stops buying Russian oil. On the supply side, U.S. energy firms last week added rigs for the first time in three weeks, energy services firm Baker Hughes (BKR.O) , opens new tab said. "Near term, the market is sitting in a classic shoulder-season mix of refinery maintenance, softer product cracks and a watchful eye on weekly U.S. inventory data," analysts at energy consulting firm Gelber and Associates said in a note. Adding further pressure, U.S. crude oil stockpiles were expected to have risen last week, a preliminary Reuters poll on Monday showed. Five analysts polled by Reuters ahead of weekly inventory data estimated on average that crude inventories rose by about 1.5 million barrels in the week to October 17. (This story has been refiled to say 'as,' not 'at,' in the headline) https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/oil-prices-slip-concerns-over-us-china-trade-tensions-2025-10-20/
