2023-11-28 23:46

RIO DE JANEIRO, Nov 28 (Reuters) - Brazilian state-run firm Petrobras (PETR4.SA) has filed requests to Brazil's competition regulator Cade to renegotiate terms that stipulated the company must sell some of its oil refining and natural gas assets, the company said on Tuesday. The terms, signed by the company in mid-2019, were part of a broad initiative by the government of then-president Jair Bolsonaro to reduce Petrobras' share in Brazil's oil and gas sector, opening the market for new companies with prospects of more investment. Under the agreements with the regulator, the oil giant had committed to a time frame for selling off all its oil refineries outside the states of Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo, as well as its natural gas transportation and distribution assets. In requests sent to the antitrust watchdog last Friday, Petrobras argued that its new strategic plan, unveiled last week, provides for extensive investments in these assets. Petrobras told Cade its goal is to "act competitively and safely, maximize value capture by adapting and improving our industrial park and supply and logistics chain", as well as to seek self-sufficiency in the oil derivatives segment. The regulator said in a statement that it does not comment on ongoing cases. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/brazils-petrobras-asks-regulator-renegotiation-agreement-refinery-sales-2023-11-28/

2023-11-28 23:12

BRUSSELS, Nov 29 (Reuters) - More than 400 companies involved in Europe's solar power sector urged policymakers on Wednesday not to launch a trade investigation that could lead to EU tariffs on imported solar products. The call comes ahead of a meeting of solar industry chiefs, national ministers and the EU commissioner for the internal market, Thierry Breton, on Friday to assess measures to bring production back to Europe. "Ahead of the industry roundtable on Friday, we're getting worrying signals that a trade defence investigation is about to be announced," said Walburga Hemetsberger, CEO of industry association SolarPower Europe. "This flies in the face of the path we have set out for European solar re-industrialisation," she continued. SolarPower Europe, which coordinated the call, said signatories included 18 manufacturers and 28 national associations and research institutes. All agreed that tariffs should not apply to imported photovoltaic (PV) products. The European Union has a target to reach 600 gigawatts of EU solar installations by 2030, about triple the level of 2022, requiring a significant acceleration of deployment. Tariffs, the group said, would only slow this down. The signatories - comprising 425 companies, plus 28 national associations and research institutes - said they also supported efforts to reshore some solar manufacturing to reach an EU goal of 30 gigawatts of production capacity by 2025. The European Union set limits on imports of Chinese solar panels, cells and wafers from 2013 to 2018. Now, more than 90% of PV wafers and other components come from China. Brussels has launched an anti-subsidy investigation into Chinese electric vehicles and will scrutinise foreign subsidies in the wind sector to ensure clean tech manufacturing takes place in Europe and dependence on China declines. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/european-solar-power-firms-warn-against-curbing-imports-2023-11-28/

2023-11-28 22:59

SINGAPORE, Nov 28 (Reuters) - Jet fuel prices in Asia rose to their highest against gasoil in five years on Tuesday, buoyed by strong demand for the fuel used for winter heating and aviation, according to LSEG data and trade sources. The prompt-month re-grade spread , or the price differential between gasoil and jet fuel swaps, traded at a premium of 85 cents a barrel at the market's close, the highest level since early 2019, up from a premium of 50 cents a day earlier, LSEG data showed. A wider re-grade typically encourages refiners to produce more jet fuel instead of gasoil which could tighten the supply of the latter just as China is trimming exports as its refiners are running out of export quotas. The market is heading into peak heating oil demand during winter in the northern hemisphere and holiday travel season at the end of the year. Europe and the United States are also pulling more jet fuel supply from Asia to make up for lower imports from the Middle East due to refinery outages there and in the U.S., according to shiptracking data from Kpler and three Singapore-based trading sources. The "increased pull of kerosene into the diesel pool for producing European winter-grade diesel" is further contributing to the positive re-grade, FGE analysts said in a client note. Around 287,000 metric tons of jet fuel loading from Northeast Asia in November are headed to northwest Europe, Kpler data showed, despite a narrow arbitrage window. Jet fuel stocks held in independent storage in the Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp (ARA) refining and storage hub are also lower than a year ago, data from Dutch consultancy Insights Global showed. Middle East cargoes bound for northwest Europe for November-loading are set to hit the lowest level since April at 590,000 tons, Kpler data showed. The arbitrage for Asia jet fuel to head to U.S. West Coast is also open and traders are expected to start shipping jet fuel cargoes that are loading promptly or in the first-half December to the U.S., one northeast Asia refinery source said. Spot jet fuel cargoes from several South Korean refiners have already been sold at premiums between 70 cents and $1.50 per barrel for December loading since two weeks ago because of arbitrage opportunities, a second northeast Asia refinery source said. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/asia-jet-fuel-prices-hit-highest-5-years-versus-gasoil-strong-demand-2023-11-28/

2023-11-28 22:34

Virgin Atlantic jet lands in New York City on Tuesday afternoon Sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) accounts for less than 0.1% of total global jet fuel use First time a commercial airliner has flown long-haul with SAF LONDON, Nov 28 (Reuters) - A Virgin Atlantic (VA.UL) passenger jet powered by 100% sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) successfully completed a London-to-New York jaunt on Tuesday in an effort to showcase the potential of low-carbon options that currently make up a tiny fraction of the industry's fuel mix. The flight is not the first time the industry has staged demonstrations to highlight its aspiration to reduce emissions - and appeal for government support. Indeed, Tuesday's flight carried only Virgin's billionaire founder, Richard Branson, and a few others, and it is set to return to London using conventional jet fuel. Airlines are banking on fuel made from waste to reduce their emissions by up to 70%, but the high cost and tight supply of materials needed to make SAF make large-scale production difficult. SAF accounts for less than 0.1% of total global jet fuel in use today and costs about three to five times as much as regular jet fuel. The flight, operated by a Virgin Boeing (BA.N) 787 powered by Rolls-Royce (RR.L) Trent 1000 engines, is the first time a commercial airliner has flown long haul on 100% SAF. It had no paying passengers or cargo. "It's going to take a while before we can get enough fuel where everybody's going to be able to fly. But you've got to start somewhere," said Branson in London before the plane took off. Aviation is not an easy industry to decarbonize when compared with road travel, and it accounts for an estimated 2-3% of global carbon emissions. Engines in commercial use are not yet certified to fly on more than 50% SAF and the vast majority of flights blend in a much lower amount of SAF with traditional jet fuel. SAF is already used in jet engines as part of a blend with traditional kerosene, but after successful ground tests, Virgin and its partners Rolls-Royce, Boeing (BA.N), BP (BP.L) and others won permission to fly using only SAF from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration, Canadian and UK regulators. The flight took off at 1149 GMT from London's Heathrow Airport with Branson, Virgin Atlantic Chief Executive Shai Weiss and Britain's transport minister, Mark Harper, on board. It landed at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport at 1405 EST (1905 GMT), 35 minutes early, where it was met by U.S. Deputy Transportation Secretary Polly Trottenberg, among others. The fuel used to power Tuesday's flight is mostly made from used cooking oil and waste animal fat mixed with a small amount of synthetic aromatic kerosene made from waste corn, Virgin Atlantic said. The industry hopes that the Virgin flight will highlight to governments the need for them to provide financial support to make SAF more readily available. Environmental advocacy group Stay Grounded called the flight "a greenwashing distraction." "(Fuel substitutes) are nowhere close to being scalable in the necessary time frame to avoid climate collapse. What is urgently needed is to reduce the burning of fossil jet fuels, which means reducing flights wherever possible," said Magdalena Heuwieser, who represents the network. INDUSTRY CHALLENGES A UK military version of the Airbus (AIR.PA) A330 airliner flew on the fuel last December, fuel supplier Air bp said. Dubai's Emirates said last week it had flown an A380, the world's largest airliner, using SAF for one of four engines. Last week, a Gulfstream G600 business jet using the same fuel successfully crossed the Atlantic. Many European airlines - including Virgin, IAG (ICAG.L)-owned British Airways, and Air France (AIRF.PA) - have said they want to be using 10% SAF by 2030. The industry's goal of "net zero" emissions by 2050 relies on that share rising to 65%. Rolls-Royce CEO Tufan Erginbilgic said SAF was the only solution to decarbonise commercial flights in the medium term, but analysts say the 2030 target looks challenging given SAF's small volumes and its high cost. In October, the head of IAG warned that there was more than a 90% risk the industry would not meet the European Union mandate for SAF availability in 2025. Others have said governments have not provided enough industry support. "Europe's airlines are committed to a new era of flying – investing 169 billion euros ($185 billion) in lower carbon technology – but we need governments to step up now and ensure Europe takes its seat as a global leader in SAF," said Rania Georgoutsakou, who heads industry group Airlines for Europe. Virgin said the engines on the flight would be drained of SAF and tested before it returns to service using regular fuel. ($1 = 0.9127 euro) https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/virgin-atlantic-jet-lift-off-maiden-transatlantic-flight-low-carbon-fuel-2023-11-28/

2023-11-28 22:32

LIMA, Nov 28 (Reuters) - A workers union at Peru's large Las Bambas copper mine, owned by China's MMG Ltd (1208.HK), began a two-day strike on Tuesday to demand greater profit sharing and better transport conditions, said the union's secretary general Erick Ramos. The mine is one of Peru's largest copper producers, while the country itself is the No. 2 producer worldwide. The strike, originally organized for an indefinite period, will end on Thursday at 5:30 a.m. local time, Ramos said on Tuesday afternoon. "The labor authority declared the strike improper and, in order to avoid reprisals against the workers, it was decided to shorten the duration of the protest," Ramos said in an interview with Reuters. "The company does not want to consider our demands, and the relationship between the company and the union has broken down," Ramos added. Representatives for Las Bambas did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Earlier on Tuesday, Ramos said in an interview that the union is demanding additional compensation after being informed by the company that "profits will be halved this year" and therefore there would be fewer benefits for employees under the profit-sharing scheme. Slightly more than half of the 2,000 workers employed at the mine are part of the union, according to Ramos. Las Bambas put out 221,160 metric tons of the red metal from January to September this year, nearly 22% more than the same period a year ago, according to Peru's mining ministry. Production at the copper mine has been recovering after a stoppage earlier this year caused by anti-government protests blocking an access road. Las Bambas has a history of work stoppages due to protests by nearby Indigenous communities calling for more benefits from the mine. https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/peru-workers-go-indefinite-strike-mmgs-las-bambas-copper-mine-2023-11-28/

2023-11-28 22:31

HOUSTON, Nov 28 (Reuters) - Shell PLC (SHEL.L) has authorized contractor McDermott International Ltd (MCDIF.PK) to start engineering work on its Manatee gas field development project off Trinidad and Tobago's east coast, the contractor disclosed on Tuesday. Trinidad is Latin America's largest liquefied natural gas (LNG) exporter, but its flagship Atlantic LNG project and its petrochemical plants have been operating at reduced capacity due to a shortage of natural gas. McDermott said it got the green light to proceed on an engineering, procurement, construction and installation (EPCI) contract pending an investment decision. Trinidad and Tobago's Energy Minister Stuart Young said he expects Shell to soon approve the project. "I expect in a very short time frame I will hear about a FID (final investment decision) from Shell on Manatee," Young told the country's Parliament. A Shell spokesperson said the project is progressing and the company expects to reach FID next year. Manatee is expected as soon as 2028 to produce 700 million cubic feet per day to help ease the nation's gas shortfall. Manatee is part of the cross-border Loran-Manatee discovery, shared by Trinidad and Venezuela. The field holds some 10 trillion cubic feet (tcf) of natural gas, with 7.3 tcf on Venezuela's side and the remaining 2.7 tcf on Trinidad's side. The countries negotiated for years to jointly develop the reservoir and signed preliminary agreements, but the U.S. imposed sanctions in 2019 on Venezuela's energy industry, stalling the final deal. This year, Shell submitted, and the government of Trinidad and Tobago accepted, the field development plan that calls for peak production of 700 million cubic feet per day (mcfd) of gas. "This award follows our successful delivery of the front-end engineering design for the Manatee gas field," said Mahesh Swaminathan, senior vice president, subsea and floating facilities at McDermott. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/shell-authorizes-engineering-construction-work-manatee-gas-field-2023-11-28/