2024-04-05 00:12

SYDNEY, April 5 (Reuters) - Torrential rains pummelled Australia's southeast on Friday, dumping almost a month's worth of rainfall on Sydney and triggering flood warnings, with authorities urging people to avoid non-essential travel and stay indoors. Sydney, home to more than 5 million people, received 111mm (4.4 inches) of rainfall over the 24 hours to Friday morning, data at Australia's Bureau of Meteorology showed, just shy of mean rainfall of 121.5mm for the month of April. Rains could intensify through Friday with up to 200mm expected in some regions before a coastal trough drifts east towards the Tasman Sea on Saturday, the weather bureau said. "This is a significant weather event ... it is most important that you don't take unnecessary risks at the moment," New South Wales State Premier Chris Minns said during a televised media conference. The heavy rains damaged rail equipment at a major train station in Sydney, delaying morning commuters. Emergency crews in New South Wales received more than 500 calls, and seven people were rescued from flood waters as warnings were issued for several rivers in the east. Warragamba Dam, which supplies 80% of Sydney's water supply and is currently at around 96% of capacity, could spill over on Monday after the storm eases, officials said. The Reuters Daily Briefing newsletter provides all the news you need to start your day. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/torrential-rains-drench-sydney-triggering-flood-warnings-2024-04-05/

2024-04-04 22:30

April 4 (Reuters) - (This April 4 story has been corrected to specify that ARC Resources will supply natural gas to Pembina's Cedar LNG project for liquefication, not that it will supply LNG to Pembina, in the headline) Pembina Pipeline (PPL.TO) , opens new tab said on Thursday it has entered into an agreement with Canadian firm ARC Resources (ARX.TO) , opens new tab, which will deliver about 200 million cubic feet (mmcf) per day of natural gas for liquefication to the Cedar LNG project. Under the agreement, ARC Resources will supply natural gas through the Coastal GasLink from its production base in Montney, British Columbia, for a term of 20 years commencing in 2028. Pembina, which runs the project jointly with Haisla Nation, said the total estimated cost of Cedar LNG, including interest and transaction costs, is about $4 billion. The partners are yet to make a final investment decision (FID), which is expected by mid-2024. Cedar LNG is pursuing asset-level debt financing for about 60% of the total project cost, the company said. Subject to a positive FID, the project is expected to generate annual run-rate adjusted core profit of $200 million to $260 million. Canada-based Pembina also entered a bridging agreement with Cedar LNG for 1.5 million tonnes per annum of LNG capacity. The Reuters Power Up newsletter provides everything you need to know about the global energy industry. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/pembina-pipeline-enters-lng-offtake-agreement-with-arc-resources-2024-04-04/

2024-04-04 21:58

MEXICO CITY, April 4 (Reuters) - Mexico's presidential front-runner Claudia Sheinbaum plans to invest in state-owned Pemex' oil refineries to reduce the huge volumes of low-value fuels produced and instead boost the output of motor fuels, one of her advisors said. Pemex has been producing record levels of heavy fuels, such as the particularly polluting fuel oil, as its local refineries struggle to process the heavy Maya crude it pumps. Last year, Pemex produced 260,285 barrels per day (bpd) of fuel oil - exceeding the production of gasoline at 252,203 bpd. Considered a waste product, in Mexico fuel oil is mainly burnt for electricity generation. "Refineries are very expensive and important assets to reach energy self-sufficiency," said Jorge Islas, the energy coordinator for Sheinbaum, in an interview on Wednesday. Islas, a physicist and doctor in economics, pointed to the possibility of building a new coking unit at the Salamanca refinery to increase gasoline and diesel production. Currently, the refinery is operating at just over half of its capacity. Coking units are able to process the heavier hydrocarbons coming out of distillation towers into higher-value products, including motor fuels. Under President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, Pemex has invested billions of dollars to rehabilitate its six obsolete domestic refineries. Refining has been a loss-making business for Pemex for years. In order to wean the country off expensive imports, Pemex also formally inaugurated the new Dos Bocas refinery in July 2022, despite running late and over budget by several billions of dollars. While the 340,000-bpd refinery is operational, it does not yet produce finished fuels. Pemex already has two new coking plants in Salamanca and Tula which are expected to come into operation between this year and next. Lopez Obrador had promised that Mexico would achieve "energy sovereignty" during his six-year term. However, a few months before he leaves office on Oct. 1, the goals seem complex to achieve even as refineries have improved their performance. The six local refineries together have the capacity to process 1.6 million bpd. However, in the first two months of this year, they processed an average of 945,000 bpd - above the 612,000 bpd in 2018 they processed before Lopez Obrador took office but still well below capacity. With the Dos Bocas refinery set to fully operate this year, and Pemex also wanting more crude for its other refineries, it has asked its commercial unit TRI to cut crude exports this month by 436,000 bpd. The government plans to continue reducing its exports, which amounted to 945,000 bpd in the first two months of this year. Islas reiterated that according to Sheinbaum's plan, production would be at around 1.8 million bpd of crude oil and condensate even after there have been few large discoveries of reserves. read more "Smaller reserves are being discovered each time, at greater depth, with higher costs," said Islas. "What is being thought about is the energy transition from fossils to renewables," he said. "Maintain a fixed hydrocarbon production platform, make better use of the energy and cover the new demand with renewable energy." Asked about the finances of the highly indebted Pemex, Islas said that a Sheinbaum government would look for "aid schemes" and "better options". "But support can't be eternal and the company must improve, show it can be accountable," he said. Get a look at the day ahead in U.S. and global markets with the Morning Bid U.S. newsletter. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/mexicos-presidential-front-runner-aims-cut-oil-refinery-waste-advisor-says-2024-04-04/

2024-04-04 21:52

April 5 (Reuters) - A look at the day ahead in Asian markets. A late and steep reversal on Wall Street on Thursday, sparked by comments from a U.S. Fed official that interest rates may not be cut this year, appears to be souring the mood across Asia on Friday, despite a decline in the dollar and U.S. bond yields. The S&P 500 had been well in the green for most of Thursday but ended up clocking its biggest loss in nearly two months after Minneapolis Fed president Neel Kashkari's remarks. Asian stocks, however, have been pretty resilient lately. They may have lagged benchmark U.S., Japanese and world indices on the upside this year, but it's been two months since the MSCI Asia ex-Japan index last fell three days in a row. Geopolitics may also be weighing on stocks and supporting bonds. President Joe Biden on Thursday threatened to change Washington's policy towards Israel if it fails to protect aid workers and civilians in Gaza. There are several potentially market-moving events in Friday's regional calendar, including inflation data from the Philippines and Thailand, Australian trade, Japanese household consumption, and the Reserve Bank of India's policy meeting. U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is also in China for a series of meetings with top Chinese economic officials over the coming days, with trade tensions at the heart of them. Yellen is expected to say that the flood of Chinese goods onto global markets is too much for the world to absorb, and stress that this is unhealthy for China too. It remains to be seen how receptive Beijing is to her concerns. China's exchange rate continues to attract attention. Offshore dollar/yuan has traded above the upper limit of the central bank's daily band for 10 days, while onshore dollar/yuan is creeping up towards it. The gap that widened sharply 10 days ago is narrowing, but is still noticeable. An eerie calm has descended on the yen, with traders still on Japanese intervention alert. Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda signaled that the central bank could raise rates again if exchange-rate moves push up inflation, the Asahi newspaper reported. The main calendar event in Asia on Friday is the Reserve Bank of India's policy decision. All 56 economists in a Reuters poll expect the repo rate to be kept unchanged at 6.50%. There is less consensus on when the first cut will come, with nine of 52 saying next quarter, 24 picking the third quarter, 17 saying the fourth quarter and the rest expecting it at a later time. . Meanwhile Indian prime minister Narendra Modi, confident of winning a national election starting this month, has set an ambitious target of roughly doubling the economy and exports this decade, according to a government document seen by Reuters. Here are key developments that could provide more direction to markets on Friday: - India central bank policy meeting - Thailand inflation (March) - The Philippines inflation (March) Get a look at the day ahead in Asian and global markets with the Morning Bid Asia newsletter. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/asia/global-markets-view-asia-graphic-pix-2024-04-04/

2024-04-04 21:48

April 4 (Reuters) - Canadian energy company Enbridge's (ENB.TO) , opens new tab Texas Eastern Transmission subsidiary received approval on Thursday from U.S. energy regulators to commence service of a natural gas pipeline associated with its Venice extension project in Louisiana. The Venice extension was designed to supply gas to Venture Global LNG's Plaquemines liquefied natural gas (LNG) export plant in Louisiana, which is under construction and expected to enter service between 2024 and 2026. The U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) said it granted Texas Eastern's March 26 request to commence service of the 3-mile (4.8-kilometer), 36-inch (91.4-centimer) Venice extension pipeline. The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) has said the Venice extension would have a capacity of around 1.3 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) and cost about $500 million. Plaquemines is designed to turn about 2.6 bcfd of gas into LNG. Other pipes under construction that will also provide gas to Plaquemines include Texas Eastern's Gator Express and U.S. energy company Kinder Morgan's (KMI.N) , opens new tab Tennessee Gas Evangeline projects. One billion cubic feet of gas is enough to supply about 5 million U.S. homes for a day. The Reuters Power Up newsletter provides everything you need to know about the global energy industry. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/enbridge-wins-approval-commence-service-louisiana-venice-natgas-pipe-project-2024-04-04/

2024-04-04 21:47

April 4 (Reuters) - Con Edison Transmission and National Grid Ventures submitted a plan to carry offshore wind power to New Jersey's electric grid as the state aims to meet renewable energy goals, according to a press release on Thursday. If awarded, the 'Garden State Energy Path' proposal involves building transmission infrastructure that would be operational by early 2029 and deliver about six gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind power, Con Edison (ED.N) , opens new tab said. "This project is foundational to helping New Jersey reach its goal of 11 GW of offshore wind by 2040," it said. Earlier this week, California’s grid operator recommended billions of dollars of new transmission projects to channel more electricity from offshore wind turbines as policymakers and regulators around the nation and the world boost green energy. The New Jersey proposal's point of landfall would be at the Sea Girt National Guard Training Center, delivering power to the Howell Township-based Larrabee Tri-Collector Station. Since the project will be underground, the wires will be shielded from severe weather events like storms that could cause interruptions for customers, according to Con Edison. Pre-build infrastructure, used to lower the need to separately build for each project, will house the cables carrying the power created by four wind projects to the grid under the plan. The Reuters Power Up newsletter provides everything you need to know about the global energy industry. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/con-edison-ngv-propose-offshore-wind-project-new-jersey-2024-04-04/