2024-04-26 21:38

HOUSTON/MEXICO CITY, April 26 (Reuters) - Mexican state oil company Pemex is reversing crude exports cuts of at least 330,000 barrels per day (bpd) planned for May amid a smaller-than-expected oil demand by the company's domestic refineries, two sources close to the decision said on Friday. Pemex's international trading unit in April began enforcing exports cuts over supply crude contracts to customers in the U.S., Asia and Europe to increase its availability of crude for domestic refining. The reductions have prompted many clients to seek alternative crude grades. Even before the first round of cuts, Pemex oil exports to all destinations in March fell 29% year-on-year to 687,000 bpd from an overall crude output of 1.53 million bpd, the company reported on Friday. Planned maintenance at some refineries and a slower-than-expected startup at the new 340,000-bpd Olmeca plant, however, will reduce the need for domestic crude in May, the two sources and an additional person with knowledge of the company's operations said. Pemex's Olmeca refinery in the port of Dos Bocas in southeastern Tabasco state, has been running behind schedule and over budget. Earlier on Friday, Pemex executives said that the refinery would start producing diesel next month. Pemex did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Recent fires at two Pemex refineries did not impact crude processing at those plants because they happened at unrelated infrastructure, but the company's overall demand for domestic oil is expected to fall next month, the sources added. Traders expect Pemex and its trading unit to continue using contract provisions in supply contracts this year allowing them to allocate the exports volumes on a monthly basis. That will give them room to adjust volumes available for exports according to domestic refining needs. As of Friday, Pemex' refineries were processing about 868,000 bpd of crude, one of the sources said, adding that all facilities were in service. In March, oil processing averaged 1.06 million bpd according to official figures. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/mexicos-pemex-reverses-proposed-crude-export-cuts-may-sources-say-2024-04-26/

2024-04-26 21:26

LOS ANGELES, April 26 (Reuters) - Four cargo ships, stuck for about a month at the Port of Baltimore by the ruins of the collapsed Francis Scott Key bridge, have exited this week via a temporary channel, according to shipping data. Large ship traffic to and from the port, the busiest in the U.S. for auto shipments, has been severely restricted since the hulking Dali container ship lost power and smashed into the bridge on March 26, bringing it down and blocking the channel. The FBI has launched a criminal probe into the incident, which killed six bridge workers. The Balsa 94, a general cargo carrier, on Thursday was the first to exit Baltimore Harbor via a new channel that is 300 feet (91 meters) wide and at least 35 feet (11 meters) deep. That Panama-flagged vessel, which had been at the Baltimore port since March 23, is now en route to Saint John, Canada, according to LSEG data. Other exiting ships were the Saimaagracht, a Netherlands-flagged general cargo ship, the Carmen car carrier owned by Norwegian/Swedish shipping firm Wallenius Wilhelmsen (WAWI.OL) New Tab, opens new tab and the Thailand-flagged bulk carrier Phatra Naree. The Dutch-flagged Frisian Ocean, a general cargo ship, was among the vessels that used the new channel to enter the port before it temporarily closes on Monday so workers can remove the Dali. "We're working to strike a balance between enabling temporary access to support commercial activity and undertaking necessary measures to fully reopen the Fort McHenry Channel," said U.S. Coast Guard Captain David O'Connell, the federal on-scene coordinator for the Key Bridge response team. The reopening of the port's main channel remains on track for the end of May, officials said. During the first nine months of 2023, the Port of Baltimore was the second-biggest port for U.S. coal exports, behind Norfolk, Virginia. Coal piled up at terminals before new shipments were diverted, kicking up dust, residents told Reuters. Two coal carriers, the JY River and Klara Oldendorff, remain stranded at the port. Some barges carrying agricultural goods, coal and metals will continue to have access to the port via a more shallow channel that opened during the weekend. Domino Sugar Baltimore said on the X social media site that the barge the Jonathan is again delivering raw sugar for its refinery. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/stranded-ships-exit-baltimore-port-via-temporary-channel-2024-04-26/

2024-04-26 21:18

April 26 (Reuters) - A Canadian regulator said on Friday a Cenovus Energy (CVE.TO) New Tab, opens new tab subsidiary has been fined C$2.5 million ($1.83 million) for its role in the 2018 oil spill off the country's Atlantic Coast. The Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board (C-NLOPB) had laid three charges against Husky Oil Operations Ltd for the spill — the largest in the province's history — in October 2021. Husky was acquired by Cenovus Energy for $2.9 billion in the same year. A leaking flow line from the White Rose Field to the SeaRose storage vessel spilled 250 cubic metres (1,572 barrels) of oil in November 2018, temporarily shutting down all crude production in the waters of Newfoundland and Labrador. The company was fined after pleading guilty to a charge related to the spill, according to the regulator's statement. C-NLOPB said the company was ordered to pay C$2 million for offences under the Federal Fisheries Act and Migratory Birds Convention Act. It was also ordered to pay C$400,000 into the Environmental Damages Fund and C$100,000 under the Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Atlantic Accord Implementation Act. Cenovus Energy did not immediately respond to Reuters request for comment. ($1 = 1.3662 Canadian dollars) Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/cenovus-subsidiary-fined-183-mln-2018-canada-oil-spill-2024-04-26/

2024-04-26 21:05

FREETOWN, April 26 (Reuters) - Sierra Leone's Energy Minister Kanja Sesay resigned on Friday over a weeks-long electricity crisis, the same day the government announced it had paid some of the tens of millions of dollars it owed to energy providers. In his resignation letter on Friday, Sesay said he took full responsibility for the crisis. The office of the President Julius Maada Bio later announced that the energy ministry would fall under the direct supervision of the president. Shortly after Sesay's resignation, the government said in a statement that it had paid $17 million of the $48 million owed to Turkey's Karpowership, which provides electricity to the capital Freetown. A spokesman for the company confirmed the payment to Reuters and said full electricity supplies had been restored to the capital. "We are pleased to confirm that the power supply at full capacity to Sierra Leone has been restored," the company said in a statement. Since mid-April, Freetown and the cities of Bo, Kenema and Koidu have experienced multi-day stretches without electricity. In an email to Reuters on April 19, Karpowership said it was owed $48 million and had scaled down supplies to six megawatts from 60 megawatts. At that time, it said it had not received payment from the government of Sierra Leone for "a protracted period" and was therefore unable pay fuel suppliers on behalf of the West African country. In September, Karpowership switched off the electricity supply to Freetown over an unpaid debt of around $40 million, authorities said at the time. Hospitals have struggled to cope, with at least one infant at the main children's hospital having died due to the blackout, according to doctor Jeredine George. Medics had been using their mobile phone torches to carry out procedures, she said, while many had taken to social media to express their frustration. The government statement also said it had paid $1.5 million to TRANSCO-CLSG, another electricity provider, which supplies the south and east of the country. Reuters could not confirm the total sum that provider was owed. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/sierra-leone-energy-minister-resigns-over-electricity-crisis-power-returns-2024-04-26/

2024-04-26 20:40

RABAT, April 26 (Reuters) - French energy firm Engie (ENGIE.PA) New Tab, opens new tab plans to sell its stake in Morocco's largest coal plant in Safi (SAFIEC), to focus on renewables and energy infrastructure, the company's North Africa director said on Friday. "By January 2027, we plan to have already divested from all our coal assets," Loic Jaegert-Huber told Reuters on the sidelines of a Moroccan-French business forum in Rabat. "We are committed to divest from SAFIEC," where Engie has a 33% stake, he said. The company has received expressions of interests from potential buyers, he said, without elaborating. Engie's partners are considering green ammonia as an option to decarbonise the 1,386 MW plant, he said. Engie also operates a 300MW wind park in Tarfaya, Morocco's largest, and is building a desalination plant and a wind farm to power it in Western Sahara's Dakhla, in partnership Moroccan private energy company Nareva. "The wind park will be ready next year and few months afterwards the desalination plant will be operational," Jaegert-Huber said. The desalination plant would direct 90% of its water to irrigation and the remaining 10% would be used to meet the drinking water needs of Dakhla. Engie is also interested in Morocco's energy infrastructure projects, he said, citing the 3-gigawatt cable link that would connect Dakhla in Western Sahra to Casablanca. French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire told the business forum his country was ready to finance the cable, which experts say would cost up to $3 billion. Western Sahara has been disputed between Morocco - which calls it its southern provinces - and the Algeria-backed Polisario Front, which demands a separate state there. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/engie-divest-moroccos-safi-coal-plant-before-2027-2024-04-26/

2024-04-26 20:29

March PCE data in line with estimates Alphabet jumps on first-ever dividend, $70 bln buyback plan Microsoft gains after earnings beat estimates Indexes up: Dow 0.40%, S&P 1.02%, Nasdaq 2.03% NEW YORK, April 26 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks closed higher on Friday, buoyed by a rally in megacap growth stocks following robust quarterly results from technology heavyweights Alphabet (GOOGL.O) New Tab, opens new tab and Microsoft (MSFT.O) New Tab, opens new tab in addition to moderate inflation data. Investors cheered Alphabet's first-ever dividend, its $70 billion stock buyback program, and better-than-expected first-quarter results. Its shares jumped 10% and reached a record high, lifting the Google-parent's market value above $2 trillion. Microsoft (MSFT.O) New Tab, opens new tab shares rose 1.8% after its third-quarter revenue and profit exceeded Wall Street estimates, driven by gains from artificial intelligence (AI) adoption across its cloud services. Other megacap growth stocks also closed higher: Amazon.com (AMZN.O) New Tab, opens new tab rose 3.4%, Nvidia (NVDA.O) New Tab, opens new tab gained 5.8%, and Meta Platforms (META.O) New Tab, opens new tab added 0.4%. However, Apple (AAPL.O) New Tab, opens new tab fell 0.3% and Tesla (TSLA.O) New Tab, opens new tab closed down 1.1%. On Wednesday, Meta results had disappointed investors even as the company ratcheted up spending on AI. Six out of the 11 major S&P 500 sectors finished higher, led by gains in communication services (.SPLRCL) New Tab, opens new tab, technology (.SPLRCT) New Tab, opens new tab, consumer discretionary (.SPLRCT) New Tab, opens new tab and materials (.SPLRCM) New Tab, opens new tab. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq registered their biggest weekly percentage gains since early November 2023. Benchmark S&P 500 (.SPX) New Tab, opens new tab snapped three weeks of losses, while the Nasdaq (.IXIC) New Tab, opens new tab ended four straight weeks of declines. "The earnings reports of Microsoft and Google allayed a lot of the concerns about the fact that the spending on data centers and AI, which Meta had raised a day before, was going to compress margins," said Tom Plumb, president and lead portfolio manager at Plumb Funds in Madison, Wisconsin. "Both Google and Microsoft had indicated that with their current capital plans, they still expected their margins to expand. That allayed a lot of the fears that people had about the growth of data computing," Plumb added. U.S. Commerce Department data showed monthly inflation rose moderately in March on an annual basis while coming in line with estimates on a monthly basis. The report offered some relief to financial markets spooked by worries of stagflation a day after data showed inflation surging and economic growth slowing in the first quarter. After the data, money markets priced in a firmer chance of a Federal Reserve rate cut in September. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note fell after the data, last standing at 4.6630%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI) New Tab, opens new tab rose 153.86 points, or 0.40%, to 38,239.66, the S&P 500 (.SPX) New Tab, opens new tab gained 51.54 points, or 1.02%, to 5,099.96 and the Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC) New Tab, opens new tab gained 316.14 points, or 2.03%, to 15,927.90. Shares of Snap (SNAP.N) New Tab, opens new tab surged nearly 28% after the social media firm beat first-quarter estimates for revenue and user growth. Pinterest (PINS.N) New Tab, opens new tab shares also finished up 4%. Exxon Mobil (XOM.N) New Tab, opens new tab lost ground by nearly 3% after America's largest oil company missed analysts' estimates with first-quarter profit falling 28% from a year ago. Intel (INTC.O) New Tab, opens new tab dropped 9.1% after the chipmaker's forecast for second-quarter revenue and profit did not meet estimates. Intel faces weak demand for its traditional data center and PC chips. Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 2.25-to-1 ratio on the NYSE. On the Nasdaq, 2,685 stocks rose and 1,460 fell as advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.84-to-1 ratio. The S&P 500 posted 21 new 52-week highs and eight new lows while the Nasdaq recorded 59 new highs and 88 new lows. Volume on U.S. exchanges was 9.88 billion shares, compared with the 11.01 billion average for the last 20 days. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/us/futures-climb-alphabet-microsoft-results-lift-megacaps-2024-04-26/