2025-10-08 11:51

Iraq and Exxon sign non-binding deal Includes development, export upgrades, profit-sharing -sources SOMO to secure Asian storage capacity with Exxon BAGHDAD, Oct 8 (Reuters) - Exxon Mobil (XOM.N) , opens new tab signed an agreement with Iraq on Wednesday to help it develop its large Majnoon oilfield and expand its oil export infrastructure, marking a return to the country two years after leaving. OPEC's second largest producer is looking to draw back Western oil majors and increase output constrained by years of war, corruption and sectarian tensions. Sign up here. Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani announced that a deal was signed with Exxon but included few details. It will involve a profit-sharing agreement covering crude oil and refined products and plans to upgrade Iraqi oil export infrastructure in the south, according to four sources with knowledge of the matter. Iraq's state oil company SOMO will also sign an agreement with Exxon to secure storage capacity in the Asian market, the sources said. SOMO and Exxon did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment. Iraqi state news agency INA reported in September that SOMO was in advanced talks with Exxon over a possible agreement to secure storage capacity in Singapore using tanks owned by the U.S. oil major. In the past two years, Iraq has signed agreements with oil majors that had previously left, including Chevron (CVX.N) , opens new tab, France's TotalEnergies (TTEF.PA) , opens new tab and the UK's BP (BP.L) , opens new tab. Exxon was one of the first Western oil firms to enter Iraq to develop oil fields after the U.S. invasion in 2003. But it left the West Qurna project due to what sources described as poor returns. It also tried to develop fields in Iraq's semi-autonomous region of Kurdistan despite Baghdad's ire but also left those projects due to what sources said were poor exploration results. After exiting Iraq's giant West Qurna 1 oilfield, Exxon transferred its remaining stake and operatorship to PetroChina (601857.SS) , opens new tab, which became the lead contractor. In September, Iraq’s federal government reached an agreement with the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and international oil companies to resume crude exports through Turkey that were suspended in 2023. That is expected to eventually return up to 230,000 barrels per day to international markets at a time when OPEC+ oil-producing countries are boosting output to gain market share. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/iraq-exxon-sign-majnoon-oil-field-agreement-wednesday-sources-say-2025-10-08/

2025-10-08 11:32

EU considering phase-out of Russian oil and gas by January 2028 Ambassadors agree to forward proposal to ministers - diplomats Ministers' meeting planned for October 20 BRUSSELS, Oct 8 (Reuters) - European Union countries' ambassadors on Wednesday agreed to move ahead with the bloc's plan to end Russian oil and gas imports by 2028, EU diplomats said, clearing the law's first political hurdle before governments vote on it later this month. The EU is negotiating legal proposals to phase out Russian oil and gas by January 2028, attempting to deprive the Kremlin of revenues to fund its war in Ukraine. Sign up here. In a closed-door meeting on Wednesday, EU ambassadors agreed to forward the proposed law to their ministers for approval at a meeting on October 20, three diplomats told Reuters. NEARLY ALL EU COUNTRIES SIGNAL SUPPORT The diplomats said nearly all EU countries had signalled support for the plans, suggesting it will easily pass - despite criticism from Hungary and Slovakia, whose governments want to maintain close ties with Russia. Negotiations are ongoing on technical changes ahead of the October 20 vote. One outstanding issue is whether liquefied natural gas exports to Europe must be both pre-authorised before delivery and have their origin checked by customs authorities when they arrive at EU ports, to ensure they are not Russian. France and Italy have said they support the overall plan, but want shipments to either be pre-authorised - if authorities can enforce this fast enough - or instead checked by authorities upon arrival in the EU, to enforce the ban, EU diplomats said. Italy's EU representation and France's energy ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment. If approved, the law would end Europe's decades-old reliance on Russian oil and gas - phasing out Russian gas imports under new contracts from January 2026, then existing short-term contracts from June 2026, and long-term contracts in January 2028. Countries including Hungary, France and Belgium still import Russian gas - which accounts for 12% of EU gas imports, down from 45% before Russia's 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The law would oblige Hungary and Slovakia - the two countries still importing Russian oil - to set national plans to halt these imports by 2028. A "qualified majority" of EU member states - meaning at least 55% of them - must approve the plans. Once that happens, EU countries and lawmakers will negotiate the final law. Separately, the EU is also negotiating a new package of sanctions against Russia to ban LNG one year earlier, in January 2027. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/eus-plan-phase-out-russian-energy-clears-first-political-hurdle-2025-10-08/

2025-10-08 11:21

MUMBAI, Oct 8 (Reuters) - Three new Bollywood films will be made in Britain from next year, Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced during a trip to India on Wednesday. Yash Raj, India's leading film production and distribution company, will bring major productions to Britain from early 2026 after an eight-year break from filming in the country, the government said, expecting 3,000 jobs to be created as a result. Sign up here. "Bollywood is back in Britain, and it's bringing jobs, investment and opportunity, all while showcasing the UK as a world-class destination for global filmmaking," Starmer said in a statement. "This is exactly the kind of partnership our trade deal with India is destined to unlock." https://www.reuters.com/world/india/three-bollywood-films-be-made-uk-2026-pm-says-2025-10-08/

2025-10-08 11:19

BRUSSELS, Oct 8 (Reuters) - Europe's plastics industry faces plant closures at an accelerated rate and falling further behind global rivals in recycling without urgent action, sector lobby group Plastics Europe said on Wednesday. The group said the European Union should recognise plastics was a strategically vital industry given its importance to sectors such as defence, car-making and agriculture. Sign up here. It needs to act now to address crippling energy costs, climate-related taxes and high feedstock prices, as well as the impact of U.S. tariffs, Plastics Europe said. Rob Ingram, CEO of INEOS Olefins and Polymers Europe and a Plastics Europe steering board member, said the EU's plastics industry was at a "cliff edge" and struggling to be competitive. "There's a lot of debate to be had as to what is the right direction," he said. "The first ask has to be: don't let it get worse while you're thinking about it," he said, calling for the EU to pause planned reductions of free carbon emission allocations. European production volumes inched up 0.4% in 2024 after a record 7.6% contraction in 2023, but turnover fell 13% last year and Europe's global market share dropped to 12%, it said. By contrast, global plastics production increased 4.1% in 2024, with Asia making well over half and China just over a third of the world's plastics. Europe's past leadership in recycled plastics was also being eclipsed, with EU production flat in 2024 and Chinese production now nearly double Europe's. Europe's plastics industry needs to cover the release of global-warming gases created in production by buying emission allowances. U.S. producers, already with a clear advantage in energy and input costs, would be able under the U.S.-EU deal to export to the EU market at zero duties, while shipments the other way would be hit by 15% import tariffs. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/eu-plastics-sector-says-closures-will-accelerate-without-swift-action-2025-10-08/

2025-10-08 11:18

JAKARTA, Oct 8 (Reuters) - Indonesia's special task force on radioactive contamination has found traces of Caesium 137 at 22 production facilities in an industrial zone near Jakarta, officials said on Wednesday. The contamination was first detected in a batch of shrimp shipped to the United States in August by a local company, PT Bahari Makmur Sejahtera (BMS). Sign up here. Indonesia then conducted sweeping radiation scans of the Modern Cikande Industrial Estate, where BMS was based. "The shrimp production facility (BMS), has conducted independent decontamination and has been declared safe by the nuclear agency," task force spokesperson Bara Hasibuan told journalists. The task force did not give the names of the 21 other production facilities, but said they will immediately undergo decontamination procedures conducted by Indonesia's nuclear agency. The Modern Cikande estate, 68 km from Jakarta, covers 3,175 hectares and contains more than 270 local and foreign companies in sectors ranging from food processing to automotive components, according to its website. Caesium 137 is a hazardous radioactive isotope that usually enters the environment as a result of nuclear testing or after accidents like Chernobyl and Fukushima, according to the website of the United States' Food and Drug Administration. Indonesia has no nuclear weapons or nuclear power plants, suggesting that the caesium 137 entered Indonesia from overseas. "The government has decided to tighten restrictions on scrap metal imports, meaning that the Ministry of Environment will not issue recommendations for scrap metal imports," Hasibuan said. The task force has also designated the site of a scrap metal factory, PT PMT (Peter Metal Technology), as an isolation facility to store goods found to have been contaminated with Caesium 137. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/boards-policy-regulation/indonesia-says-22-plants-industrial-zone-near-jakarta-contaminated-by-caesium-2025-10-08/

2025-10-08 11:12

Oct 8 (Reuters) - HSBC on Wednesday raised its average silver price forecasts for 2025 to $38.56 per ounce from $35.14 citing expectations for high gold prices, renewed investor demand, and anticipated volatile trading. The bank also raised its forecast for 2026 to $44.50 from $33.96 earlier and $40 from $31.79 for 2027. Sign up here. "We look for a wide $45.00-53.00/oz range for the remainder of 2025 and a wide $40.00-55.00/oz range next year with the highs likely coming in 1H’26 followed by moderating and falling prices in 2H'26 as London inventories build, gold prices are expected to moderate and greater physical supply is mobilized," HSBC added. https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/hsbc-raises-2025-average-silver-price-forecast-3856-per-ounce-2025-10-08/