2023-11-09 11:43
OSLO, Nov 9 (Reuters) - International oil companies operating in Iraq's semi-autonomous region of Kurdistan will not produce oil for pipeline exports until the issue of overdue payments estimated at nearly $1 billion is resolved, Norway's DNO (DNO.OL) said on Thursday. Turkey's closure of the Iraq-Turkey pipeline in March has collectively cost Iraq, Kurdistan's Regional Government (KRG) and oil producers a total of $7 billion in lost export revenues, the Association of the Petroleum Industry of Kurdistan (APIKUR), has previously said. Members of APIKUR would not restart pipeline exports until "it is clear how they will be paid for their contractual entitlements of oil already sold and delivered for exports and for future sales of such oil for exports", DNO, one of APIKUR's six members, said. The accumulated KRG debt to DNO for previous oil sales in 2022 and 2023 stood in excess of $300 million, the company said. Other APIKUR members are Genel Energy (GENL.L), Gulf Keystone Petroleum (GKP.L), Shamaran Petroleum (SNM.V), HKN Energy Ltd, and Hunt Oil. Collectively they produce about 50% of the oil in Iraq's Kurdistan. Turkey halted flows through Iraq's northern oil export route after an arbitration ruling in March by the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) ordered Ankara to pay Baghdad damages for unauthorised exports between 2014 and 2018. Negotiations on the restart of flows are ongoing. Iraqi government oil officials for the first time met with APIKUR representatives on Wednesday to discuss the resumption of flows to Turkey. Following the pipeline closure, DNO has partly restored production from its Tawke and Peshkabir fields, selling its share of oil to the local market at prices "that vary narrowly in the mid $30s per barrel", the company said. Its gross production in Kurdistan continued to rise in the fourth quarter from a daily average of 25,984 barrels of oil in the third quarter, it added. Iraq, OPEC's second-largest oil producer, exports about 85% of its crude via ports in the south. The northern route via Turkey accounts for about 0.5% of global oil supply. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/no-oil-exports-kurdistan-before-overdue-payments-solved-dno-2023-11-09/
2023-11-09 11:38
This content was produced in Russia where the law restricts coverage of Russian military operations in Ukraine MOSCOW, Nov 9 (Reuters) - Russian gold miner Uzhuralzoloto (UGC) will offer up to 5% of capital in new shares in an initial public offering (IPO) on the Moscow Exchange, the company said on Thursday, a day after Britain added its owner Konstantin Strukov to a sanctions list. Russian share listings have been few and far between since Russia sent its troops into Ukraine in February 2022, and are generally characterised by small volumes and dependent on Russian investors after an exodus of Western capital. UGC, which is Russia's fourth largest gold miner, said it was considering completing the IPO by the end of November and was preparing a new dividend policy that may see it pay up to 50% of profits to shareholders. Alfa Bank analysts valued UGC's share capital at 140.5-170.8 billion roubles ($1.53-1.86 billion). Based on that estimate, UGC could raise 7-8.5 billion roubles. Three financial market sources told Reuters last month that UGC was planning the IPO and gave it a preliminary valuation of 120 billion roubles. Britain imposed sanctions on 29 individuals and entities in Russia's gold and oil sectors on Wednesday, including Strukov and two of Russia's largest gold producers, Nord Gold and Highland Gold Mining, but not UGC itself. Britain's National Crime Agency (NCA) also issued an alert to financial institutions, warning them about Russian attempts to use gold to evade sanctions. UGC said individual sanctions would not affect its work, operations or exports. The company said its operations were not exposed to geopolitical fallout as it does not rely on Western-made equipment. Strukov said the IPO would allow UGC to reach more investors, diversify the shareholder structure and lower its debt burden. A string of small offerings has breathed some life into Russia's equity capital markets in recent months. Men's clothing chain Henderson (HNFG.MM) raised 3.8 billion roubles last week following a similar capital raising by tech firm Astra (ASTR.MM) in October. ($1 = 92.0100 roubles) https://www.reuters.com/markets/deals/russian-gold-miner-uzhuralzoloto-announces-ipo-despite-uk-sanctions-owner-2023-11-09/
2023-11-09 11:37
BERLIN, Nov 9 (Reuters) - The German government on Thursday said it had reached an agreement on a package of measures to support the country's industry in the face of high electricity prices over the next five years. The relief will amount to up to 12 billion euros ($12.83 billion) next year alone, said German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in a statement welcoming the package as "very good news". The agreement, first reported by the Handlesblatt newspaper, comes after months of wrangling within the coalition over how to ensure German industry remains competitive after Russia curbed gas supplies in retaliation for Western sanctions over the war in Ukraine, sending energy prices sharply higher. Although the government introduced electricity and gas price caps last year to shield industry and households, companies in Germany say electricity prices are still too high by international standards. Measures in the new package include cutting the electricity tax to the minimum level permitted by European Union law and extending compensation for firms that compete internationally. The electricity tax will be reduced from 15.37 euros per megawatt-hour (MWh) to 0.50 euros per MWh, benefiting not only those companies that previously received compensation for peak load, but all companies in the manufacturing sector, the statement said. Already-existing compensation for 350 firms that are particularly exposed to international competition will be higher and extended for five years, according to the statement. Finance Minister Christian Lindner said in the statement that all the measures would be financed within the framework of Germany's debt brake, which had been a major sticking point. Shares in German chemicals companies rose on the announcement, with BASF (BASFn.DE) up 3.1% and Wacker Chemie (WCHG.DE) 5% higher by 1133 GMT. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/german-govt-reaches-deal-electricity-price-support-industry-2023-11-09/
2023-11-09 11:31
KYIV, Nov 9 (Reuters) - Ukraine's alternative Black Sea export corridor is working despite a recent Russian attack on a civilian vessel, Deputy Prime Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov said on Thursday. Ukrainian officials said on Wednesday a Russian missile damaged a Liberia-flagged civilian ship entering a Black Sea port in the Odesa region, killing one person and injuring four others. The vessel was supposed to transport iron ore to China. "#Ukrainian_Corridor: vessel traffic continues both to and from the ports of Big Odesa (region)," Kubrakov said on the X social media platform. He said that six vessels with 231,000 tons of agricultural products on board had left ports within the Odesa region and were heading towards the Bosphorus Strait in Turkey. "Five vessels are waiting to enter ports for loading. Traffic along the #Ukrainian_Corridor continued despite Russia's systematic attacks on port infrastructure," Kubrakov added. After pulling out of a U.N.-brokered deal that guaranteed safe shipments of Ukrainian grain via the Black Sea, Russia has been repeatedly attacking Ukrainian port infrastructure. In August, Ukraine launched a "humanitarian corridor" for ships bound for African and Asian markets to try to circumvent a de facto Russian blockade in the Black Sea of Kyiv's seaborne exports, imposed after Russian forces invaded Ukraine in 2022. Later, a senior agricultural official said the route - which runs along Ukraine's southwest Black Sea coast, into Romanian territorial waters and onwards to Turkey - would also be used for grain shipments. Kubrakov said 91 vessels had exported 3.3 million metric tons of agricultural and metal products since the corridor started operating in August. The UCAB agricultural business association said this month that Ukrainian grain agricultural exports rose by 15% to 4.8 million metric tons in October thanks to the new corridor. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/ukraine-alternative-black-sea-export-corridor-is-working-despite-attack-2023-11-09/
2023-11-09 11:22
MOSCOW, Nov 9 (Reuters) - Russia will not abandon its plans to increase liquefied natural gas (LNG) production to 100 million tonnes a year because of U.S. sanctions, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Thursday. In a new package of sanctions announced this month, the United States targeted a major Russian entity involved in the development, operation and ownership of a massive project in Siberia known as Arctic LNG-2. Russia is seeking to boost production of sea-borne super-cooled gas as its pipeline gas exports to Europe, once a key source of revenue for Moscow, have plummeted amid sweeping Western sanctions imposed over the conflict in Ukraine. "No one in our country is going to abandon large-scale plans for this project or for similar projects. The development of LNG infrastructure is our priority in the energy sector," Zakharova told a weekly briefing. Russian companies have already learned to overcome such obstacles, she added. Arctic LNG-2 would be Russia's third large-scale LNG project and is designed to help Russia achieve its stated goal of accounting for 20% of the global LNG market by 2035, up from around 8% currently. A U.S. State Department spokesperson said on Wednesday that the Biden administration was working closely with partner countries over sanctions on the Arctic LNG-2 project as a January deadline looms on a wind-down of transactions with the plant. Novatek (NVTK.MM), Russia's largest LNG producer, has a 60% stake in the project, and plans to start production by the end of this year. The sanctions and wind-down have drawn the attention of France's TotalEnergies(TTEF.PA) and Japan Arctic LNG - a consortium of Mitsui & Co (8031.T) and JOGMEC. They each hold a 10% stake in the project and are wary about the impact of the measures. China's CNPC and CNOOC Ltd (0883.HK) also each have a 10% stake. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/russia-says-it-wont-ditch-plans-boost-lng-output-due-us-sanctions-2023-11-09/
2023-11-09 11:20
S.Africa had pledged to cut emissions to 350-420 mt by 2030 Plans to delay closing 8 coal power plants amid power crisis Discussions for new 2035 emissions target JOHANNESBURG, Nov 9 (Reuters) - South Africa will miss its binding 2030 carbon emissions targets under the Paris climate agreement, three senior government officials confirmed, as the country plans to run eight coal-fired power plants for longer than planned. South Africa is the world's 11th biggest greenhouse gas emitter and has one of the world's highest per capita emissions. It had committed under the Paris Climate Accords - a legally binding treaty on climate change - to cut emissions to between 350 and 420 million tonnes by 2030, from 442 million tonnes in 2020. To achieve this, it planned to decommission eight coal-fired power plants, six by 2030 and the remaining by 2034, as power makes up half of its emissions, but switching to a renewable energy policy has been hampered by bureaucratic delays. Now a power supply crisis makes this target unrealistic, said the officials, all of whom declined to be named because the information was not yet public. "Our models suggest we will miss the 2030 target," an official in the president's office said, although he added that a new decommissioning target for 2035 was being discussed. South Africa has committed to net zero emissions by 2050. An official from power utility Eskom also confirmed the target would be missed. The environment ministry, which endorses climate targets, said the country remained committed to achieving its Paris agreement commitments and that it was too early to reach the conclusion that 2030 targets would be missed. The ministry will be submitting its latest greenhouse gas inventory report to the United Nations before the COP28 summit which starts later this month, it said in an emailed response. PARIS GOALS IN PERIL South Africa's decision comes as several rich countries and companies are backtracking on climate pledges, and on Wednesday the United Nations said fossil fuel output by 2030 will be more than double levels consistent with the 2015 Paris climate goals. Canada's auditor general on Tuesday said Canada would also miss its 2030 Paris targets. British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in September delayed a 2030 ban on new petrol car sales by five years. Global oil and gas behemoths BP BP.L, Shell SHEL.L and Exxon Mobil XOM.N have meanwhile either delayed or abandoned shifting to renewables. Several European countries reopened mothballed coal-fired power plants last year. "It is very hard in the middle of a power crisis to be taking working coal-fired plants off the grid," Crispian Olver, executive director of the Presidential Climate Commission (PCC), told Reuters in an interview, urging South Africa to shelve the idea until the crisis is solved. Electricity Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa told journalists in August that decommissioning plants must be delayed "given the crisis ... confronting us of existential proportions." South Africa has been suffering blackouts of sometimes up to 10 hours a day for the past 18 months. In an emailed response to Reuters questions, a spokesperson for the PCC admitted there were risks attached to extending the life of coal plants, including "reduced trade competitiveness, reduced access to capital, reduced geo-political influence... and the potential loss of existing international support." Climate Action Tracker (CAT), an independent body tracking progress towards the Paris Agreement will publish an assessment of countries' climate goals at COP28, said Catrina Godinho, Climate Specialist at World Bank and a CAT member. Missing emission targets "not only contribute to global climate change... they also negatively affects South Africans who live in areas with high pollution from coal plants," she said. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/south-africa-miss-2030-emissions-goal-it-keeps-coal-plants-burning-2023-11-09/
