2023-12-26 23:31

Dec 26 (Reuters) - The United States has finalized contracts to purchase three million barrels of oil to help replenish the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) after the largest sale in history last year, the U.S. Department of Energy said on Tuesday. The department said it bought the oil, for delivery to a site in Big Spring, Texas, for an average of $77.31 a barrel, below the average of $95 a barrel that oil sold for in 2022. The administration of President Joe Biden had conducted sales last year, including a record one of 180 million barrels, to help control oil prices after Russia, a large crude exporter, invaded Ukraine. The U.S has now purchased about 14 million barrels for replenishment after last year's sales. About 4 million barrels are also coming back to the SPR by February as oil companies return oil that had been loaned to them through a swap. On the latest transaction, Sunoco Partners Marketing & Terminals LP sold 1.2 million barrels to the SPR, while Macquarie Commodities Trading US LLC and Phillips 66 (PSX.N) each sold about 900,000 barrels, the Energy Department said on its website. The Energy Department had already secured the cancellation of 140 million barrels in congressionally mandated sales from the SPR scheduled from late this year through late 2026. The cancellation "has led to significant progress toward replenishment," the department has said. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/us-buys-3-million-barrels-oil-strategic-reserve-2023-12-26/

2023-12-26 23:22

SYDNEY, Dec 27 (Reuters) - Nine people were killed in Australia after severe thunderstorms battered the country's east over the Christmas holidays, authorities said on Wednesday, with tens of thousands of properties still without power. Wild weather lashed the states of Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland on Dec. 25 and 26 bringing large hailstones and torrential rains. Strong winds blew off roofs and brought down trees in some of the worst-affected areas. More than 90,000 households are still without power. Three men were killed after a yacht with 11 on board capsized near Green Island in Moreton Bay during the storm, Queensland Police Commissioner Katarina Carrol told reporters. Two women were found dead near the town of Gympie, about 180 kms (112 miles) north of the state capital of Brisbane, after they were swept away in flooded stormwater drains, police said. A nine-year-old girl was found dead after going missing in a stormwater drain in Brisbane's south. Authorities warned fast-rising rivers and streams could burst banks inundating campgrounds, which usually become crowded during the Christmas and New Year weeks. A woman was found dead in a campground in Victoria after flood waters receded, police said. Two were killed by falling trees. The storm took down a concrete power line, which was "pretty significant and unprecedented", Queensland Premier Steven Miles said during a media briefing. Miles said the damage from Cyclone Jasper, which hit the state earlier this month, and the latest thunderstorms could be in "the billions." Australia's Bureau of Meteorology has forecast further rain though the wild weather was expected to ease later on Wednesday. "Thankfully today, we are not expecting to see quite as widespread thunderstorm activity but there is still a risk of severe thunderstorms right across the east coast," forecaster Jonathan How told ABC television. The storms follow intense heatwaves in the spring that resulted in several bushfires and after Cyclone Jasper caused widespread damage. "When you start to piece together the experiences of this summer so far it is clear that we are living through an era of escalating climate consequences," said Simon Bradshaw, research director at the independent nonprofit Climate Council. As Australia battles rain in the east, several regions in the west, in contrast, are fighting fires. A volunteer firefighter was killed while responding to a bushfire, media reported. Australia's December-February summer is under the influence of the El Nino phenomenon, which can cause weather extremes ranging from wildfires to cyclones and prolonged droughts. https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/six-dead-three-missing-after-storms-hit-australia-2023-12-26/

2023-12-26 21:39

BENI, Democratic Republic of Congo, Dec 26 (Reuters) - At least 22 people died on Tuesday in Congo's Kasai-Central province, where torrential rains destroyed infrastructure and caused flooding, authorities of the town of Kananga said. A landslide engulfed houses, churches and roads, killing entire families and leaving people homeless. "The commune of Kananga was hardest hit," Governor John Kabeya told Reuters, adding that the rain had started at 1 a.m. local time (12 a.m. GMT) and continued until 4 p.m. (3 p.m. GMT). The provincial government in a statement said it would conduct an investigation to determine the reasons for the material damages. "Most of these deaths were caused by the collapse of the walls of houses built on unsuitable land," Kananga Mayor Rose Muadi Musube said. "I am asking the prime minister to come to our aid and for the government to provide us with substantial assistance so that we can bury our dead with dignity," Muadi Musube added. At least 14 people died in eastern Congo in early December after torrential rains battered the city of Bukavu. https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/torrential-rains-kill-least-22-congos-kasai-region-2023-12-26/

2023-12-26 19:26

FRANKFURT/PARIS, Dec 26 (Reuters) - France's CMA CGM is increasing the number of vessels travelling through the Suez Canal, it said on Tuesday, joining Maersk (MAERSKb.CO) in returning to the area after U.S.-led efforts to prevent attacks. The world's top shipping companies, including Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd, stopped using Red Sea routes after Yemen's Houthi militant group began targeting vessels this month, disrupting global trade through the Suez Canal. Instead they have rerouted via southern Africa, a longer and more expensive journey. The canal is the quickest sea route between Asia and Europe. Shipping firms are now reviewing whether it is safe to return after the United States announced a multinational maritime security initiative in the Red Sea in response to attacks on vessels by Yemen's Houthis. CMA CGM has undertaken "an in-depth evaluation of the security landscape", it said in a statement. "We are currently devising plans for the gradual increase in the number of vessels transiting through the Suez Canal. We are monitoring the situation constantly and we stand ready to promptly reassess and adjust our plans as needed." German container shipping group Hapag-Lloyd (HLAG.DE) will decide on Wednesday whether to resume journeys through the Red Sea, a spokesperson said. "We will decide tomorrow how we will proceed," a Hapag-Lloyd spokesperson said on Tuesday, declining to comment further. The company had said last week it would redirect 25 ships by the end of the year to avoid the area. Danish-based Maersk had said on Sunday that it was preparing to resume shipping operations in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, citing deployment of the U.S.-led military operation designed to ensure the safety of commerce in the area. Maersk did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Tuesday about when it would return vessels to the Suez Canal and what assistance it had received from the U.S.-led maritime force. In a notice posted on its website on Tuesday, CMA CGM listed 28 of its vessels as being re-routed around the Cape of Good Hope, compared with 22 in a previous list published last Thursday. CMA CGM is among container lines to have introduced surcharges due to the re-routing of vessels, adding to rising costs for sea transport since the Houthis started targeting vessels. Mediterranean Shipping Co. said container ship United VIII was attacked while transiting the Red Sea on Tuesday. The Houthis also on Tuesday claimed to have fired missiles at the vessel, without saying it was struck. Two explosions in the Red Sea were reported by a vessel sailing off the coast of Yemen on Tuesday, shortly after two unmanned aircraft were sighted, a British maritime authority said. The British maritime authority said the vessel was in contact with coalition forces and that reports said the crew was safe and the vessel was continuing its voyage. https://www.reuters.com/business/hapag-lloyd-decide-wednesday-about-its-red-sea-routes-2023-12-26/

2023-12-26 18:42

BOGOTA, Dec 26 (Reuters) - Colombia will allow Indigenous, rural and other minority communities to form renewable energy generator and commercialization projects and develop joint ventures with private companies or the public sector, the energy ministry said. Leftist President Gustavo Petro has pledged to turn Colombia away from production of oil and coal, and toward renewables like solar and wind, but environmental licensing delays and determined opposition by some Indigenous Wayuu communities in coastal La Guajira province, where many of the projects are planned, have hampered development. Some 70% of Colombia's energy comes from hydro-electric projects, with less than 1% coming from other renewables. Oil and coal are its top exports. Groups participating in the projects can generate energy using renewables or renewable fuels, according to a decree signed on Friday but shared by the ministry on Tuesday. "The energy communities or associations of energy communities can associate with third parties from the public, private or community sector," the decree said. Eligible groups include rural farmers and Indigenous and Afro-Colombian communities, it added, and communities should first seek to provide for their own energy needs with the projects. If they generate more than they need for themselves, the groups can supply the national grid or export the power. More than 50 possible wind and solar projects have been announced in Colombia since 2019, with planned generation of some 2.43 gigawatts in wind energy and 0.1 gigawatts in solar. None are yet operating. Some companies - including Italy's Enel (ENEI.MI) - have indefinitely delayed projects, blaming local protests for hampering billions in investments. The country this month launched its first bidding round for offshore wind concessions. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/colombia-allows-indigenous-minority-groups-partner-with-companies-renewables-2023-12-26/

2023-12-26 18:21

PARIS, Dec 26 (Reuters) - France's CMA CGM [RIC:RIC:CMACG.UL] is planning a gradual increase in the number of vessels transiting through the Suez Canal, the shipping company said on Tuesday. "Some vessels have made the transit through the Red Sea. This decision is based on an in-depth evaluation of the security landscape and our commitment to the security and safety of our seafarers," CMA CGM said in a statement. "We are currently devising plans for the gradual increase in the number of vessels transiting through the Suez Canal. We are monitoring the situation constantly and we stand ready to promptly reassess and adjust our plans as needed." (This story has been refiled to change the day of the week in paragraph 1) https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/shipping-giant-cma-cgm-plans-increase-vessels-transiting-through-suez-canal-2023-12-26/