2024-01-01 13:54

ABUJA, Jan 1 (Reuters) - Nigeria's upstream oil regulator on Monday announced an annual oil and condensates production target of 2.6 million barrels per day (bpd) by 2026, an ambitious jump from 2023 levels of around 1.6 million bpd. Africa's biggest oil exporter, Nigeria has suffered declining production due to crude theft and vandalism of pipelines in the Niger Delta as well as low investment in the sector, which has hit government revenue. But President Bola Tinubu's government says oil majors have committed to invest $13.5 billion in the short term following his meetings with senior executives from TotalEnergies (TTEF.PA) Shell (SHEL.L) and Exxon Mobil (XOM.N). The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) said in its 2024-2026 action plan that it would direct development of oil assets to areas less prone to theft and vandalism and provided regulatory support for alternative crude oil evacuation routes. Oil firms require the NUPRC approval for new pipeline routes. Oil production was expected to rise from 1.8 million bpd this year and progress to 2.6 million bpd in 2026, the NUPRC said. Two of three consultancies tasked by OPEC+ to verify Nigeria's output said in November that the country was unlikely to reach its own production target this year. NUPRC was also working to cut the cost of oil production to about $20 a barrel, down from between $25 and $40, by providing incentives to oil producers. "The Commission will set up a framework for crude oil and gas transportation and/or handling costs based on a standardised tariff (and) implement an open access regime for upstream oil and gas pipelines and ancillary facilities," the regulator said. High signature bonuses - one-off fees paid to secure exploration blocks - would be reduced to attract more investment and raise oil production, the NUPRC said. https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/nigeria-aims-raise-oil-condensates-output-26-mln-bpd-by-2026-2024-01-01/

2024-01-01 13:16

DUBAI, Jan 1 (Reuters) - Iran's Alborz warship has entered the Red Sea, the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported on Monday, at a time of soaring tensions on the key shipping route amid the Israel-Hamas war and attacks on vessels by forces allied to Tehran. Tasnim did not give details of the Alborz's mission but said Iranian warships had been operating in open waters to secure shipping routes, combat piracy and carry out other tasks since 2009. Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis have been targeting vessels in the Red Sea since November to show their support for the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas in its war with Israel. In response, many major shipping companies have switched to the longer and more costly route around the Africa's Cape of Good Hope rather than pass through the Suez Canal, which handles about 12% of global trade. The Alborz warship entered the Red Sea via the Bab al-Mandab Strait, Tasnim said, without saying when. There were unconfirmed reports on social media it arrived late on Saturday. The Alvand class destroyer had been a part of the Iranian navy's 34th fleet, alongside the Bushehr support vessel, and patrolled the Gulf of Aden, the north of the Indian Ocean and the Bab Al-Mandab Strait as far back as 2015, according to Iran's Press TV. The U.S. Fifth Fleet said it could not speak for the Iranian Navy or comment on the unconfirmed reports of the Iranian vessel's movements. Houthi militants attacked a Maersk (MAERSKb.CO) container vessel with missiles and small boats on Saturday and Sunday, prompting the company to pause all sailing through the Red Sea for 48 hours. The head of Iran's Navy, Shahram Irani, was quoted in Iranian media on Dec. 2 saying that the Alborz was carrying out missions in the Red Sea. Iran's Defence Minister, Mohammad Reza Ashtiani, said on Dec. 14 in reference to the Red Sea that "nobody can make a move in a region where we have predominance". https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/iranian-warship-alborz-enters-red-sea-tasnim-2024-01-01/

2024-01-01 12:01

LATEST DEVELOPMENTS: Displaced Palestinians camp out between cages holding starving animals in Gaza zoo Three Hezbollah fighters killed in Israeli strike on Lebanese border village US aircraft carrier headed home from region JERUSALEM/CAIRO/GAZA, Jan 1 (Reuters) - Israel pulled tanks out of some Gaza City districts on Monday, residents said, as it announced plans to shift tactics and cut back on troop numbers, but fighting raged elsewhere in the Palestinian enclave along with intense bombardment. Israel says the war in Gaza, which has reduced much of the territory to rubble, killing thousands and plunging its 2.3 million people into a humanitarian disaster, has many months to go. But it also signaled a new phase in its offensive, with an official saying on Monday the military would draw down forces inside Gaza this month and shift to a months-long phase of more localised "mopping up" operations. A U.S. official said the decision appeared to indicate the start of a shift to lower-intensity operations in the north of the Palestinian enclave. The hints at a lowered tempo in Gaza came as the U.S. Navy announced that the Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier was returning to its home port in Virginia after being to deployed to the Eastern Mediterranean following the outbreak of hostilities. The Israeli official said the troop reduction would allow some reservists to return to civilian life, shoring up Israel's war-battered economy, and free up units in case of a wider conflict in the north with Lebanon's Iran-backed Hezbollah. Artillery fire between Hezbollah and Israel has rattled the border since the start of the Gaza conflict, with Israel's military saying it carried out an air strike on Monday. Residents and security sources said Israeli raids targeted houses in the Lebanese village of Kafr Kila near the border, killing three people. They identified them as rescuers, but Lebanon's Hezbollah movement later said on its Telegram account on Monday that the three were fighters with the movement. The Israeli official said the situation on the Lebanese border "will not be allowed to continue. This coming six-month period is a critical moment." Any new escalation carries risks for a wider regional war. Tehran-backed fighters in Yemen have attacked Red Sea shipping, drawing a U.S. military response, and an Iranian warship has sailed into the waterway, Iranian media reported on Monday. The Gaza war was triggered by a surprise Hamas attack on Israeli towns on Oct. 7 that Israel says killed 1,200 people. Palestinian health authorities in Hamas-run Gaza say Israel's offensive there has killed more than 21,978 people. SHELTER IN ZOO The scale of suffering in Gaza, where the bombardment has driven almost all inhabitants from their homes, has led Israel's Western allies, including the U.S., to urge it to scale down its offensive. "My wish for 2024 is not to die ... Our childhood is gone. There is no bathroom, no food and no water. Only tents," 11-year-old Layan Harara said in Gaza's Rafah. In the city's zoo, people camped out between cages holding starving animals. Residents of Sheikh Radwan district in Gaza City, in the northern part of the enclave that Israel's offensive focused on first, said tanks had withdrawn after what they described as the most intense 10 days of warfare since the conflict began. "The tanks were very near. We could see them outside the houses. We couldn't get out to fill water," said Nasser, a father of seven living in Sheikh Radwan. Tanks also pulled out of Gaza City's al-Mina district and parts of Tel al-Hawa district, while retaining some positions in the suburb controlling the enclave's main coastal road, residents said. However, tanks remained in other parts of northern Gaza and health officials said some people trying to return to their homes in a southern district of Gaza City had been killed by Israeli fire on Sunday. On Monday, Hamas' armed wing claimed to have killed 15 Israeli soldiers after triggering an explosive minefield east of the Tuffah neighborhood in Gaza city. Fighting in central parts of the enclave continued unabated, residents there said, with tanks pushing into al-Bureij and air strikes targeting al-Nusseirat, al-Maghazi and the southern city of Khan Younis. Strikes killed at least 10 people in al-Maghazi, and seven in a house in Deir Al-Balah, health officials said. Hamas showed its continued ability to target Israel after more than 12 weeks of the war, launching a barrage of rocket fire at Tel Aviv overnight. GUERRILLA AMBUSHES Israel's move to a new stage in the conflict comes after its initial bombardment and a ground invasion that began on Oct. 27. Air and artillery strikes have continued to pound the entire enclave during that time, leaving much of it in ruins. With Israeli tanks and troops having overrun most of northern Gaza, while still pushing into the centre and parts of the south, Hamas is responding with guerrilla-style ambushes from tunnels and bunkers in the enclave's narrow streets. Hamas seized 240 hostages on Oct. 7 and Israel believes 129 are still held in Gaza after some were released during a brief truce and others killed during air strikes and rescue or escape attempts. Qatar and Egypt are seeking to negotiate a new truce and hostages deal. Avi Dichter, a member of Israel's security cabinet, said on Kan Radio that hostages could only be freed by putting "massive" pressure on Hamas and allied groups. "Without Hamas' terrorist infrastructure being destroyed and its governance capabilities toppled, the war will not end," he said. On Saturday Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the country must retake control of Gaza's border with Egypt, an area now crammed with civilians who have fled the carnage across the rest of the enclave. Retaking the border could also constitute a de facto reversal of Israel's 2005 withdrawal from Gaza, raising new questions over the future of the enclave and prospects for a Palestinian state. Washington said Israel should allow a Palestinian government to control Gaza when the conflict is over. In the Israeli-occupied West Bank, 2023 was the deadliest year on record for Palestinians with 307 killed since the war in Gaza began on Oct. 7, the U.N. said. https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/fighting-rages-gaza-israel-looks-new-phase-war-2024-01-01/

2024-01-01 10:51

Major tsunami warning issued, later reduced to advisory Scores of houses destroyed Tens of thousands of homes without power overnight One man reported dead after building collapses TOKYO, Jan 1 (Reuters) - A powerful earthquake struck central Japan on Monday, killing at least one person, destroying buildings, knocking out power to tens of thousands of homes and prompting residents in some coastal areas to flee to higher ground. The quake with a preliminary magnitude of 7.6 triggered waves of about 1 metre along Japan's west coast and neighbouring South Korea. The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) initially issued a major tsunami warning - its first since the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami that struck northeast Japan killing nearly 20,000 people - for Ishikawa prefecture. It later downgraded that and eventually cut it to an advisory. It was the strongest quake in the region in more than four decades, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. Houses were destroyed, fires broke out and army personnel were dispatched to help with rescue operations, government spokesperson Yoshimasa Hayashi told reporters. An elderly man was pronounced dead after a building fell down in Shika Town in Ishikawa, broadcaster NTV reported citing local police. Local media footage from the prefecture showed a building collapsing in a plume of dust in the city of Suzu and a huge crack in a road in Wajima where panicked-looking parents clutched their children. One witness on social media platform X posted footage of the Keta Grand Shrine near the coast in Hakui rocking in the quake as a crowd of visitors watched. "It's swaying," she exclaims. "This is scary!" Millions of Japanese traditionally visit shrines and temples on Jan. 1 to mark the start of the new year. In nearby Kanazawa, a popular tourist destination, images showed the remnants of a shattered stone gate strewn at the entrance of another shrine as anxious worshippers looked on. The tremor was also felt in the mountains of neighbouring Nagano prefecture. "The snow from the electric wire (came) down, and also from the roof it fell down and all the cars are shaking, and so everybody was panicked," Jonny Wu, a Taiwanese tourist visiting Nagano for a skiing holiday, told Reuters. More strong quakes in the region, where seismic activity has been simmering for more than three years, could occur over coming days, JMA official Toshihiro Shimoyama said. Russia and North Korea also issued tsunami warnings for some areas. The Japanese government said that as of Monday night it had ordered more than 97,000 people in nine prefectures on the western coast of Japan's main island Honshu to evacuate. They were set to spend the night in sports halls and school gymnasiums, commonly used as evacuation centres in emergencies. Kanazawa resident Ayako Daikai said she had evacuated to a nearby elementary school with her husband and two children soon after the earthquake hit. Classrooms, stairwells, hallways and the gymnasium were all packed with evacuees, she said. "We haven't decided when to return home yet," she told Reuters when contacted by telephone. NUCLEAR PLANTS Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told reporters late on Monday that he had instructed search and rescue teams to do everything possible to save lives, even though access to quake-hit areas was difficult due to blocked roads. The Imperial Household Agency said that following the disaster it would cancel Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako's slated New Year appearance on Tuesday. The quake comes at a sensitive time for Japan's nuclear industry, which has faced fierce opposition from some locals since the 2011 earthquake and tsunami that triggered nuclear meltdowns in Fukushima. Whole towns were devastated in the disaster. Japan last week lifted an operational ban imposed on the world's biggest nuclear plant, Kashiwazaki-Kariwa, which has been offline since the 2011 tsunami. The Nuclear Regulation Authority said no irregularities have been confirmed at nuclear plants along the Sea of Japan, including five active reactors at Kansai Electric Power’s (9503.T) Ohi and Takahama plants in Fukui Prefecture. Hokuriku's Shika plant in Ishikawa, the closest nuclear power station to the epicentre, had already halted its two reactors before the quake for regular inspections and saw no impact from the quake, the agency said. 'TSUNAMI! EVACUATE!' Following the quake, a bright yellow message reading "Tsunami! Evacuate!" flashed across television screens advising residents in specific areas of the coast to immediately evacuate. There were reports of at least 30 collapsed buildings in Wajima, a town of around 30,000 known for its lacquerware, and fire engulfed several buildings. The quake also jolted buildings in the capital Tokyo, some 500 km from Wajima on the opposite coast. Almost 32,000 households were still without power in Ishikawa prefecture late on Monday, according to utilities provider Hokuriku Electric Power (9505.T), with temperatures set to drop to near freezing overnight in some areas. Tohoku Electric Power (9506.T) said 700 households remained without power in neighbouring Niigata prefecture. West Japan Railway (9021.T) reported late on Monday that a combined 1,400 passengers remained stuck on four halted bullet train services between Kanazawa and Toyama cities. One of Ishikawa's airports was forced to shut due to cracks that had opened up in the runway, transport authorities said. Japanese airline ANA (9202.T) turned back planes headed to airports in Toyama and Ishikawa, while Japan Airlines (9201.T) cancelled most services to the Niigata and Ishikawa regions. https://www.reuters.com/world/japan/magnitude-74-earthquake-strikes-japan-tsunami-warning-issued-2024-01-01/

2024-01-01 10:20

MUMBAI, Jan 1 (Reuters) - The Indian rupee closed little changed following muted trading on Monday on a lack of fresh triggers at the start of the year. The rupee ended at 83.2375 against the U.S. dollar, slightly lower from its close at 83.2075 in the previous session. Most global markets were shut on Monday on account of the New Year's holiday. While the rupee notched some gains early in the session, dollar buying from state-run banks weighed on the unit, a foreign exchange trader at a private bank said. Trading volumes were relatively lighter, the trader added. The dollar index notched its second consecutive monthly loss in December and fell about 2% amid growing expectations the Federal Reserve may begin easing rates soon. For the year gone by, the dollar index fell 2% as well, marking its first annual loss since 2020. Market participants are currently pricing in a very high probability the Fed will cut rates at its March meeting. While this has sparked gains in most Asian currencies, the rupee has been a laggard amid strong local dollar demand and on likely absorption of inflows by the Reserve Bank of India, traders said. In the near-term, the rupee "appears to be stuck," in its prevailing range with strong hurdles at 83 and 83.50, said Dilip Parmar, a foreign exchange research analyst at HDFC Securities. Meanwhile, India's benchmark equity indexes Nifty 50 (.NSEI) and Sensex (.BSESN) hit record highs in the first session of 2024. Investors now await key U.S. economic data later this week including non-farm payroll and unemployment data due on Friday. The U.S. unemployment rate is expected to have risen to 3.8% in December, up from 3.7% in November, according to a Reuters poll. https://www.reuters.com/markets/currencies/rupee-ends-little-changed-traders-await-fresh-triggers-2024-01-01/

2024-01-01 07:27

KYIV, Jan 1 (Reuters) - Ukraine's military said on Monday that the overnight Russian drone attack on Odesa targeted port infrastructure, and that a fire had broken out in one of the port terminals as a result of a strike. "The enemy's clear priority remains the port infrastructure of Odesa, a large number of drones were directed from the sea to the coastal zone," Ukraine's Southern Military Command said on Telegram. It said the fire was promptly extinguished and that there were no casualties. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/russian-attack-targeted-odesa-port-infrastructure-ukraine-says-2024-01-01/