2024-03-03 12:37

NEW DELHI, March 3 (Reuters) - Indian farmers plan to march to the capital New Delhi on Wednesday as they push their demands for higher crop prices, a protest leader said, after several rounds of failed talks. Farm union leaders are seeking guarantees of state support or a minimum purchase price for farmers' produce. "On March 6, farmers will come to Delhi from all over the country by train, bus and air," protest leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal told reporters. He said farmers would also block railway lines across the country on March 10. The protests began in early February with hundreds of farmers in Punjab aiming to take their campaign to Delhi. They were blocked by police and paramilitary troops at Shambhu, at the border with neighbouring Haryana state, about 200 km (125 miles) from the capital. The government announces support prices for more than 20 crops each year, but state agencies buy only rice and wheat at the support level, which benefits only about 6% of farmers who raise those two crops. In 2021, when the administration of Prime Minister Narendra Modi repealed farm laws, the government said it would set up a panel of growers and government officials to find ways to ensure support prices for all farm produce. https://www.reuters.com/world/india/indian-farmers-plan-march-delhi-call-higher-crop-prices-2024-03-03/

2024-03-03 11:45

DUBAI, March 3 (Reuters) - Iran's gas output will reach 1.3 billion cubic metres (bcm) per day in five years, Iran's Oil Minister Javad Owji said on Sunday according to the semi-official Student News Network, up from 1.07 billion cubic metres per day currently. To "ensure Iran's central role in global energy", $80 billion will be invested in the development of its gas fields, Owji said while at the seventh summit of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF) held in Algeria. Since the reimposition of sanctions by then U.S. President Donald Trump in 2018, Tehran has been cut off from foreign investors and has mainly relied on cash-strapped domestic companies to develop its energy sector. Most of Iran's gas production is consumed domestically or lost to gas flaring, with experts telling state media that the country may face gas imbalance of 300 million cubic metres per day in the coming years. Domestic gas consumption by the residential sector is now approaching a record 700 million cubic metres per day during the winter months. The oil minister recently called upon Iranians to limit their consumption. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/iran-reach-13-bcm-gas-output-day-five-years-minister-says-2024-03-03/

2024-03-03 11:23

CAIRO, March 3 (Reuters) - Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis vowed on Sunday to continue targeting British ships in the Gulf of Aden following the sinking of UK-owned vessel Rubymar. The U.S. military confirmed on Saturday that the UK-owned vessel Rubymar had sunk after being struck by an anti-ship ballistic missile fired by Yemeni Houthi militants on Feb. 18. "Yemen will continue to sink more British ships, and any repercussions or other damages will be added to Britain's bill," Hussein al-Ezzi, deputy foreign minister in the Houthi-led government, said in a post on X. "It is a rogue state that attacks Yemen and partners with America in sponsoring ongoing crimes against civilians in Gaza." Houthi militants have repeatedly launched drones and missiles against international commercial shipping since mid-November, saying they are acting in solidarity with Palestinians against Israel's military actions in Gaza. Their Red Sea attacks have disrupted global shipping, forcing firms to re-route to longer and more expensive journeys around southern Africa, and stoked fears that the Israel-Hamas war could spread to destabilise the wider Middle East. The U.S. and Britain began striking Houthi targets in Yemen in January in retaliation for the attacks on Red Sea shipping. https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/yemens-houthis-say-they-will-continue-sinking-british-ships-2024-03-03/

2024-03-03 09:46

KYIV, March 3 (Reuters) - Ukraine has no plans to import electricity on Sunday but expects high exports, taking advantage of lower domestic consumption during mild weather, the energy ministry said. The country's electricity exports, which began shortly before it was invaded by Russian troops in 2022, were halted after numerous Russian attacks on power infrastructure and the seizure of the largest nuclear power plant at Zaporizhzhia. However, Ukraine has exported significant volumes of power to Eastern Europe in February and March, helping to boost revenue for its beleaguered economy, but also imported some power during peak consumption hours. "No electricity imports to Ukraine are planned for the current day. It is planned to export up to 12,200 megawatt hours to neighbouring countries," a ministry statement said. That figure is three to four times as high as in the previous week. Energy Minister German Galushchenko last month told Reuters that Ukraine could resume substantial energy exports as early as this spring because of lower domestic consumption, without giving details on figures. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/ukraine-will-not-import-electricity-sunday-expects-higher-exports-ministry-says-2024-03-03/

2024-03-03 04:34

MANILA, March 3 (Reuters) - Three top Philippine energy firms have partnered for the first time to form a large-scale integrated liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility, the companies said on Sunday, in a deal two of them valued at $3.3 billion. Aboitiz Power (AP.PS) , opens new tab and a subsidiary of Manila Electric (MER.PS) , opens new tab (Meralco) agreed to invest in the gas-fired power plants of a unit of San Miguel Corp. (SMC.PS) , opens new tab: the 1,278 megawatt (MW) Ilijan power plant and a new 1,320 MW facility set to start operating by the end of the year. The three companies also aim to acquire the import and regasification terminal owned by Linseed Field Corp. to store and process LNG fuel for the two power plants. "For the first time, three leading power companies are working together to secure our country's energy needs while transitioning towards cleaner power sources," SMC President Ramon Ang said in a statement. Meralco Chairman Manuel Pangilinan described the deal as a "pathbreaking venture" as the companies hope the facility would bring down power costs and boost the country's energy security. UBS AG [RIC:RIC:UBSAG.UL] acted as financial adviser to Meralco and Aboitiz Power for the transaction. The Philippines last year began importing LNG as its only gas field is set to run dry by 2027. The Malampaya field supplies power plants that meet one-fifth of the power requirements of the country's main Luzon island, or more than one-10th of total installed capacity nationwide. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/philippines-top-energy-firms-partner-33-bln-lng-facility-2024-03-03/

2024-03-02 23:26

March 2 (Reuters) - A Norfolk Southern (NSC.N) , opens new tab train derailed on Saturday, spilling diesel fuel and polypropylene plastic pellets into the Lehigh River in eastern Pennsylvania, police said. There were no reports of injuries to the crew on the train or evacuations or a hazardous material threat to the community, the Lower Saucon Township Police Department said in a statement. Emergency personnel were dispatched and containment booms were deployed to control the oil spill, it added. Norfolk Southern, in a post on social media platform X, said it would investigate the accident, adding that their crew and contractors would remain on the scene over the coming days to clean up. Ancora Holdings, which holds a large equity stake in the company, called for the immediate termination of Norfolk Southern Chief Executive Officer Alan Shaw and urged an orderly reconstitution of the board, that company said in a statement following the derailment. Early last year, a Norfolk Southern Railroad-operated train derailed, causing a fire that sent a cloud of smoke over the town of East Palestine, Ohio, and forcing thousands of residents to evacuate. President Joe Biden visited the area last month and called the train derailment "an act of greed." He urged Congress to pass a bipartisan bill to toughen rail safety laws. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/norfolk-southern-train-derails-pennsylvania-2024-03-02/