2024-07-15 11:45

July 15 (Reuters) - Canadian firms Franco-Nevada (FNV.TO) New Tab, opens new tab and Osisko Gold Royalties (OR.TO) New Tab, opens new tab will invest $750 million in SolGold's (SOLG.L) New Tab, opens new tab, under-development Cascabel gold and copper project in Ecuador in exchange for a portion of the gold produced from the mine, the companies said on Monday. The funding will be provided in two phases, with the first $100 million allowing SolGold to conduct feasibility studies and secure the necessary permits to make a final investment decision on the project, which is expected to cost $1.55 billion to build. The remaining $650 million will fund the construction of the project, located in the northern Ecuadorean province of Imbabura, which is considered a major deposit of gold, copper and silver. Franco-Nevada and Osisko would provide 70% and 30% of the total investment, respectively. The companies will receive a combined 20% of the recovered gold until SolGold has provided 750,000 ounces of gold. Following this milestone, the percentage will reduce to 12% for the life of the mine, SolGold said. In June, Ecuador signed a contract with SolGold for the development of the project, which is expected to generate an investment of over $4.2 billion during its 28 years of operation, according to Ecuador's energy ministry. Australia's BHP Group (BHP.AX) New Tab, opens new tab, Gold miner Newmont (NEM.N) New Tab, opens new tab through Newcrest and China's Jiangxi Copper (600362.SS) New Tab, opens new tab own stakes in SolGold, according to LSEG data. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/franco-nevada-osisko-provide-750-million-solgolds-ecuador-project-2024-07-15/

2024-07-15 11:38

JAKARTA, July 15 (Reuters) - The U.S. has approached Indonesia about joining a multinational partnership to boost the Southeast Asian nation's environmental standards as the two countries discuss a critical minerals deal, a senior U.S. official said on Monday. U.S. Under Secretary of State for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment Jose Fernandez spoke to the Indonesian government about the Mineral Security Partnership, a collaboration of 14 countries and the European Union, during his visit to Jakarta this week. The MSP, whose objective is to accelerate development of sustainable critical minerals supply chains and facilitate financial and diplomatic support, would be an opportunity to improve environmental standards and governance in Indonesia's mineral sector, he told a press conference in Jakarta. Indonesia, which has rich reserves of minerals such as nickel, copper and bauxite, is keen to promote itself as a production hub for batteries and electric vehicles. The nation has massively expanded its nickel processing industry since it banned exports of unprocessed ore in 2020, but environmentalists have blamed the industry for deforestation, water and air pollution caused by smelters. "I believe this will lead to more investment in Indonesia, and not just any investment, but also investment that benefits communities, that upholds labour laws, that upholds environmental laws," Fernandez said. Indonesia is one of seven countries the U.S. would support to become a semiconductor hub, he added. Jakarta has asked Washington for a critical mineral trade deal similar to the U.S. deal with Japan. Fernandez said the discussion is progressing positively, but declined to give a timeline on when a deal may be reached. "We are very satisfied with the way that our discussions are ongoing. We will continue to expand on those discussions going forward," he said. Indonesia's coordinating minister for economic affairs, Airlangga Hartarto, said in a statement late Monday that he and Fernandez discussed ways to develop critical minerals and the plan to create a mineral forum, which could be developed as a supply chain platform. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/us-approaches-indonesia-multinational-critical-mineral-partnership-2024-07-15/

2024-07-15 11:07

GROZNY, Russia, July 15 (Reuters) - Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said on Monday the global oil market will be balanced in the second half of the year and thereafter, thanks to the OPEC+ deal on production supply. OPEC+, which groups the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting countries and allies such as Russia, has implemented a series of output cuts since late 2022 to support the market. The group agreed on June 2 to extend the latest cut of 2.2 million bpd until the end of September and gradually phase it out from October. The U.S. Energy Information Administration said last week that world oil demand will exceed output by around 750,000 barrels per day in the second half of 2024 due to lower OPEC+ output. OPEC's last-week report also pointed to an oil supply deficit in the coming months and in 2025. Responding to a question about oil market conditions in the second half of the year from autumn, when OPEC+ will begin unravelling some of its production cuts, Novak said: "The market will always be balanced thanks to our actions." Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/russian-deputy-pm-says-global-oil-market-will-be-balanced-second-half-2024-2024-07-15/

2024-07-15 10:58

GROZNY, Russia, July 15 (Reuters) - Russia might decide to reinstate a gasoline export ban from August should there be supply shortages on the domestic fuel market, Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak told reporters on Monday. He said the domestic fuel market had been stable so far, but there had been some difficulties with a popular gasoline, the Ai-95 grade, which were being dealt with. "If the situation gets tense, we will not extend the waiver for gasoline exports," Novak said. Russia's Federal Antimonopoly Agency said on Friday it wanted to reinstate the gasoline export ban from Aug. 1 to help meet fuel demand during harvesting season and to safeguard price stability. Russia initially partially banned gasoline exports for six months from March 1 but exempted a Moscow-led economic union and some countries with which it has direct inter-governmental agreements on fuel supplies, such as Mongolia. The ban was introduced to pre-empt fuel shortages and stem a rise in prices after a spate of Ukrainian drone attacks on refineries and technical outages. The restrictions were suspended in May until June 30 and that suspension was then extended until the end of July. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/russia-may-reinstate-gasoline-export-ban-august-if-shortages-worsen-deputy-pm-2024-07-15/

2024-07-15 10:57

Houthis respond to Khan Younis airstrike by ramping up attacks on vessels UKMTO reported attacks on vessels near Hodeidah; ships and crews safe Houthis' attacks since November have disrupted global trade and led to retaliatory strikes July 15 (Reuters) - Yemen's Houthis targeted three vessels, including an oil tanker, in the Red and Mediterranean seas with ballistic missiles, drones and booby-trapped boats, they said on Monday. Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree said the latest Houthi military operations were a response to the Israeli airstrike on the southern Gaza Strip city of Khan Younis on Saturday, an attack that killed at least 90 Palestinians and wounded 300 others, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. In dozens of attacks since November, the Houthis have sunk two vessels and seized another, killed at least three sailors and upended global trade by forcing ship owners to avoid the popular Suez Canal trade shortcut. It recently has become more effective at damaging ships New Tab, opens new tab - largely through using unmanned, armed watercraft that damage a vessel's vulnerable waterline. In a televised speech, Saree said the Houthis have targeted the Bentley I refined products carrier and the Chios Lion oil tanker in the Red Sea. U.S. Central Command late on Monday confirmed those attacks and said no damage or injuries had been reported. The Houthis said it also joined the Iraqi Islamic Resistance in targeting the Olvia in the Mediterranean Sea. Reuters could not independently verify that attack. Managers of the Panama-flagged Bentley I, Liberia-flagged Chios Lion and Cyprus-flagged Olvia could not be immediately reached for comment. Earlier on Monday, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said that two vessels came under attack in the Red Sea off Yemen's port city of Hodeidah, with one ship reporting it had sustained some damage. A vessel 97 nautical miles northwest of Hodeidah was attacked by an uncrewed drone boat that hit its port side, causing some damage and light smoke. Another merchant vessel, 70 nautical miles southwest of Hodeidah, came under attack by three small watercraft, UKMTO and security firm Ambrey said separately. The Master of that ship reported being attacked by three small craft. One of those watercraft was unmanned and twice collided with the ship as passengers on the other two boats fired on the ship. The vessel conducted "self-protection measures" and after 15 minutes the small craft aborted the attack, UKMTO said. Later in what appeared to be two separate attacks, the Master reported four projectiles exploding near the vessel. Both the vessel and crew were reported as safe and proceeding to the next port of call, Ambrey said. Since November, Houthi militants in Yemen have launched drone and missile strikes in shipping lanes in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. The group says these actions are in solidarity with Palestinians affected by Israel's war in Gaza. U.S. and British have conducted retaliatory strikes since February - shooting down drones and bombing attack sites in Yemen. At least 65 countries and major energy and shipping companies have been affected by Houthi attacks, according to a report by the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/vessel-reported-being-attacked-off-yemens-hodeidah-uk-maritime-agency-says-2024-07-15/

2024-07-15 10:39

BEIJING, July 15 (Reuters) - The Shanghai International Energy Exchange (INE) will halve trading fees for all hedging transactions on its listed products from July 22, it said in a notice on Monday. Current rates for hedging transactions on the INE vary from 0.005% to 0.025% for copper, fuel oil, rubber and on its container index. For crude oil futures, the rate is 10 yuan ($1.38) per lot (1,000 barrels), the exchange says. China's Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE) also announced that it will halve trading fees for all hedging transactions from Aug. 1. ($1 = 7.2618 Chinese yuan renminbi) Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/shanghai-ine-dalian-exchange-halve-hedging-fees-2024-07-15/