2025-09-05 06:44
Sept 5 (Reuters) - West Africa-focused Tullow Oil (TLW.L) , opens new tab named oil and gas industry veteran Ian Perks as its new CEO on Friday, succeeding Richard Miller, who will return to his previous role as the group's chief financial officer. The change comes as the company, which has been streamlining its operations, recently agreed to sell its assets in Gabon and Kenya to reduce debt. Sign up here. Perks brings more than three decades of experience in the oil and gas sector, with a strong focus on Africa and international markets, having held senior positions at BG Group, Anadarko, and Total. He has overseen major projects such as the $20 billion Mozambique LNG project and the delivery and subsequent operations of the $10 billion Queensland Gas Company LNG project, Tullow said in a statement. In August, Tullow swung to an interim loss and cut its annual production forecast, citing continued underperformance at its flagship Jubilee oilfiled. Miller was appointed as Tullow's interim chief in February after Rahul Dhir announced his exit as CEO last December. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/boards-policy-regulation/tullow-oil-names-industry-veteran-ian-perks-new-chief-2025-09-05/
2025-09-05 06:29
VLADIVOSTOK, Russia, Sept 5 (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday that the planned Power of Siberia 2 gas pipeline to China was a "mutually beneficial project" and the price of the gas would be based on a market formula similar to the one used for supplies to Europe. Russia proposed the route years ago, but the plan has gained urgency as it looks to Beijing as a customer to replace Europe, which is seeking to wean itself off Russian energy supplies over Moscow's 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Sign up here. Russia and China signed a binding memorandum to build the pipeline during Putin's visit to China this week, but Russian energy company Gazprom (GAZP.MM) , opens new tab, which aims to start delivering gas via the pipeline by 2030, said pricing was yet to be agreed. "This is one of the largest energy projects in the world," said Putin, speaking at an economic forum in Vladivostok. He said the price would "be calculated using essentially the same formula as for deliveries to Europe ... It is absolutely market-based." Russia has lost most of its gas market in Europe since the start of the war in Ukraine. Mongolian Prime Minister Zandanshatar Gombojav, through whose country the new pipeline will pass, told the same event that Ulaanbaatar was ready to proceed but there were details to be worked out. Mongolia may buy some of the Russian gas, he said. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/boards-policy-regulation/putin-says-planned-gas-pipeline-china-will-be-mutually-beneficial-use-market-2025-09-05/
2025-09-05 06:17
LONDON, Sept 5 (Reuters) - Tin continues to outperform the rest of the London Metal Exchange (LME) base metals pack as the market awaits the return of the Man Maw mine in Myanmar. It's been two years since the mine, one of the world's largest, was closed for a resource audit. It's been six months since the authorities in the semi-autonomous Wa State invited applications for new mining permits. Sign up here. Yet to date there is no evidence of any ramp-up in activity. Indeed, the flow of tin concentrates from Myanmar to neighbouring China has almost dried up completely. The lingering uncertainty over Man Maw has rekindled fund buying interest and lifted the LME three-month tin price from below $30,000 per metric ton in April to more than $35,000 at the end of August. Speculators are once again betting on the obscurest part of the tin supply picture. WAITING FOR MAN MAW The continued absence of Man Maw supply is manifest in China's reduced imports of tin concentrates from Myanmar. The flow of raw material to Chinese smelters dropped to just 933 tons in July, which suggests that not only has activity at Man Maw not resumed, but that the country's other smaller mines are experiencing some sort of disruption, possibly due to the earthquake which rocked the country in March. Year-to-date imports from Myanmar have fallen by 77% year-on-year to just 14,200 tons. By way of comparison, monthly imports averaged 15,000 tons in both 2022 and 2023, when Man Maw was still pumping out tin. The latest concrete news from the Wa State came in July, when the International Tin Association reported , opens new tab that the first new permits had been granted for mining to resume at Man Maw. The Association warned that it would take time for actual tin production to resume and export flows to recover. So it has proved. NO SCARCITY China's tin smelters have had some success in compensating for the loss of what was their main supply source until Man Maw was suspended in August 2023. The Democratic Republic of Congo has emerged as the largest single supplier of tin concentrates this year, while imports from both Australia and Nigeria have also risen sharply. But total concentrate imports of 73,000 tons through July are still down by 32% year-on-year. Chinese smelter margins have been squeezed and capacity utilisation was below 70% in many parts of the country last month, according to local data supplier Shanghai Metal Market. Many operators are carrying less than 30 days of concentrate stocks and taking maintenance downtime in the hope that raw materials availability will improve by the time they return. Yunnan Tin (000960.SZ) , opens new tab, the world's largest producer of refined tin, has just powered down , opens new tab its Gejiu smelter for 45 days for its annual overhaul. Yet to date the loss of Man Maw hasn't caused any tangible tightness in the refined metal segment of the supply chain. Global exchange inventory has been stable above the 11,000-ton level for the last three months, a far cry from the days of genuine scarcity in 2021 when stocks dwindled to just 1,000 tons. It helps that exports from Indonesia have recovered from last year's permitting disruption. Outbound shipments of 30,000 tonnes through July were up by 64% on the same period of 2024. It probably also helps that demand from the electronics sector, where tin is used to solder circuit-boards, has been impacted by the escalation in trade tensions between the United States and China. BULLS RETURN Tin bulls are undeterred. Funds have lifted their bets on higher prices to 4,515 LME contracts (22,575 tons), while short positions have been slashed to just 610 contracts. Net positioning is now as long as it's been since March, when the price spiked to a three-year high of $38,395 per ton on news the M23 insurgent group had briefly seized control of the Bisie tin mine in the Congo. Bisie swiftly returned to normal operations after the withdrawal of M23 as part of a U.S.-brokered peace deal between the Congo and Rwanda. Man Maw, however, remains conspicuous by its absence. Funds seem to be betting that a return to pre-closure production levels is not going to happen any time soon. Whether that's a correct assumption is unknowable, given the almost complete lack of information flow out of the Wa State. The answer will become apparent if and when the flow of raw materials over the border to China shows signs of returning to something close to historical norms. The opinions expressed here are those of the author, a columnist for Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/tin-market-still-beholden-fortunes-myanmar-mine-2025-09-05/
2025-09-05 06:17
Monsoon season has killed 880 in Pakistan, 150 died in India over August Punjab on both sides hit hardest, crops destroyed Delhi's Yamuna river at dangerous levels, thousands evacuated Jhelum river breaches embankment in Kashmir, 9,000 relocated NEW DELHI/LAHORE, Sept 4 (Reuters) - Heavy rain in the Himalayas continued to lash northern India and neighbouring Pakistan on Thursday with flooding of homes and highways worsening as major rivers overflowed. Although weather officials in India forecast some respite from downpours later in the day, Pakistan has warned that rain is expected to continue until September 9. Sign up here. A fierce monsoon season has brought immense destruction in the region this year, killing 880 in Pakistan over the season while in India, nearly 150 people have lost their lives in August alone. Torrential rain has swollen many rivers, spurring authorities in India to release water from dams and further flooding areas on both sides of the border. The countries share rivers, which flow from India into Pakistan. New Delhi has issued seven warnings to Islamabad about opening dam gates, three in the last 24 hours, officials in Pakistan said. Irfan Ali Kathia, director-general of the Provincial Disaster Management Authority, told Reuters on Thursday that three rivers in Pakistan have been affected by the release of more water from Indian dams. India's foreign and water resources ministries did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for a comment. The two countries share a border along their breadbasket states, called Punjab on both sides, which has borne the brunt of the worst flooding in years. In Indian Punjab, 37 people have died since the start of August and the rain has destroyed crops across tens of thousands of hectares. The state government said it would provide 710 million rupees ($8 million) in flood relief and that nearly all of its 23 districts have been impacted. In Pakistan's Punjab, 1.8 million people have been evacuated in recent weeks after floodwaters submerged nearly 3,900 villages. Authorities in Pakistan said on Thursday that to save the historic city of Multan from being flooded, they are considering breaching the Chenab riverbank. That will allow water to be released into the city's outskirts so the river's levels can come down. FLOODING IN DELHI India's Yamuna river rose to dangerous levels in the capital Delhi - a flow the Central Water Commission described as a 'severe' situation. On Thursday, muddy water poured into homes in low-lying areas, from which thousands had already been evacuated to safer places as a precaution. Authorities shut the historic Loha Pul, or Iron Bridge, spanning the Yamuna in the older part of the city. People waded through floodwaters in areas surrounding the historic Red Fort, many carrying an idol of Lord Ganesha, that is often immersed in river waters in a Hindu ritual at this time of year. Residential areas were flooded in Srinagar, the summer capital of India's Jammu and Kashmir federal territory, after a breach of the Jhelum river embankment, while 9,000 people were evacuated in Budgam, the local commissioner said. "The Jhelum is climbing, but at a much slower rate than was feared," Omar Abdullah, Jammu and Kashmir's chief minister, said on X. "The administration is not going to lower its guard. We continue to monitor the situation very closely." Rescuers searched for people trapped under debris after the rain triggered a landslide at the Ratle hydroelectric power project on the Chenab river in Drabshalla, officials said. Indian weather officials have forecast showers will ease on Thursday, with moderate rain expected in Jammu and Kashmir and the state of Uttarakhand. ($1 = 87.5060 Indian rupees) https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/heavy-rain-overflowing-rivers-cause-fresh-flooding-northern-india-pakistan-2025-09-04/
2025-09-05 06:14
MUMBAI, Sept 5 (Reuters) - The Indian rupee slipped to a record low on Friday as traders remained jittery over news related to U.S. tariffs on India, while likely dollar-selling intervention by the Reserve Bank of India curbed sharper losses, traders said. The rupee fell to 88.36 against the U.S. dollar, eclipsing its previous all-time low of 88.33 hit on September 1. Sign up here. The currency was last at 88.2750, down 0.1% on the day. Traders cited strong buying from foreign banks amid speculation about ongoing tariff pressures on India from the U.S. The "spike on USD/INR was caused by worries of higher tariffs on India but state-run banks stepped in over 88.30 to cap losses, most likely on behalf of the Reserve Bank of India," a senior trader at a bank said. Merchant flows are relatively muted today so activity is skewed towards the dollar buying side, the trader added. MUFG said the rupee could weaken to 89 by the first quarter of calendar year 2026 under the assumption that the steep tariffs remain for now but are eventually lowered to 25% sometime next year. Foreign portfolio investors have continued to withdraw from Indian equities with net sales of $1.4 billion so far in September, taking the total outflow so far this year to over $16 billion. https://www.reuters.com/world/india/indian-rupee-slips-record-low-likely-central-bank-intervention-caps-losses-2025-09-05/
2025-09-05 06:09
TOKYO, Sept 5 (Reuters) - Australia and Japan on Friday said they would deepen cooperation to address increasing security challenges in the Indo-Pacific region, including assisting each other in evacuating citizens at risk overseas. "We agreed to further strengthen our collective deterrence capabilities and to activate discussions on potential contingencies that could affect the security of both countries and the region," Japan's Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya said. Sign up here. His comments came after a meeting in Tokyo that also included Japanese Defence Minister Gen Nakatani and their Australian counterparts, Penny Wong and Richard Marles. Japan and Australia, both close allies of the United States, are forging closer ties as China's regional influence expands. Their cooperation includes joint military training and a reciprocal access agreement signed in 2023 that allows their forces to operate on each other’s territory. Japan and Australia are also members of the Quad grouping alongside the United States and India. Last month, Japan clinched a landmark A$10 billion ($6.5 billion) deal to build warships for Australia, marking Tokyo's most consequential defence sale since it ended a ban on military exports in 2014. Japan is seeking more defence industry collaboration in areas such as advanced unmanned systems, Nakatani said. Australia's Wong said Canberra aimed to expand economic cooperation with Tokyo beyond its role as a major supplier of energy, including liquefied natural gas. "We want the next stage of this to be economic security in the area of critical minerals. And we see that as of great importance," she said. (This story has been refiled to fix the day of the week to Friday in paragraph 1) https://www.reuters.com/world/china/japan-australia-pledge-closer-security-ties-counter-indo-pacific-risks-2025-09-05/
