2024-06-14 12:00

Philippine minister says 21 sailors rescued Missing Filipino crew member believed to be in engine room Industry group demands end to targeted attacks on seafarers MANILA/LONDON, June 15 (Reuters) - The crew of a Greek-owned vessel damaged in an attack by Yemeni Houthi militants has been evacuated and the abandoned ship is drifting in the Red Sea, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations and a Philippine minister said. The search for one missing sailor will continue and there is a plan to start salvaging operations for the Tutor, the Liberia-flagged coal carrier, Hans Leo Cacdac, the Philippines' migrant workers minister said on Saturday. He said the vessel's 22 crew members were all Filipinos. "It just boils down to finding our seafarer who is still onboard," Cacdac told a press conference in Manila. The attack near the Yemeni port of Hodeidah on Wednesday caused severe flooding and damage to the engine room and left Tutor unable to manoeuvre. It was the third Houthi attack on a ship manned by Filipino seafarers since last year, with two Philippine sailors dying and 17 still held by militants, government data show. Iran-aligned Houthis claimed responsibility for the missile strike on Tutor and another vessel, Verbena, in the Gulf of Aden, over the past days. Their attacks also damaged two other ships in the last week, "marking a significant increase in effectiveness," British security firm Ambrey said. The Houthis have used drones and missiles to assault ships in the Red Sea, the Bab al-Mandab Strait and the Gulf of Aden since November, saying they are acting in solidarity with Palestinians in the Gaza war. They have sunk one ship, seized another vessel and killed three seafarers in separate attacks. "This situation cannot go on," International Maritime Organization Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez said in a statement. Philippine President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr said the country's authorities were coordinating with the UKMTO to take the crew members to Djibouti and bring them home. The missing crew member was believed to be trapped in the engine room, maritime sources and the Philippines' migrant workers ministry said. Tutor is not sinking and can be safely towed away, Cacdac said after a meeting with the ship's manning agency. He added that Filipino seafarers have the right to refuse boarding in ships passing through Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. The ship's Athens-based manager Evalend Shipping has not responded to Reuters' requests for comment. Tsavliris Salvage Group has been assigned to tow the ship, which is carrying 80,000 tonnes of coal, a source with knowledge of the matter told Reuters. The project will involve two vessels. The first is expected to reach Tutor on Monday morning and the second on Tuesday evening. The Houthis' air and sea campaign has disrupted global shipping, causing delays and costs to cascade through supply chains. At least 65 countries and major energy and shipping companies - including Shell (SHEL.L) New Tab, opens new tab, BP (BP.L) New Tab, opens new tab, Maersk (MAERSKb.CO) New Tab, opens new tab and Cosco - have been affected, according to a report by the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency. INTERCARGO, which represents dry cargo ship owners, urged states to enhance maritime security in the area. "We demand that all involved parties cease their deliberate and targeted attacks on innocent seafarers with immediate effect," it said. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/rescue-underway-crew-greek-owned-vessel-hit-by-houthis-philippines-says-2024-06-14/

2024-06-14 12:00

LITTLETON, Colorado, June 14 (Reuters) - Oklahoma may be better known as a top-five producer of oil and natural gas within the United States, but its energy sector is fast becoming a shining star in the renewables field as well. Between 2018 and 2023, Oklahoma boosted clean electricity generation by 35%, more than twice the national average and exceeding the growth pace of clean energy giant California over that period, data from energy think tank Ember shows. Oklahoma's power producers also cut total fossil fuel-powered generation by nearly 12% since 2018, which again was double the rate seen nationally and sharply exceeded fossil fuel use cuts in Texas and California during the same time frame. Higher clean power output along with cuts to fossil fuel use have helped Oklahoma's power sector cut emissions by 20% since 2018, vastly exceeding the 7% emissions cut posted by Texas over the same period and the 14% drop in national emissions. And thanks to continued growth in wind generation capacity so far in 2024, Oklahoma looks set to emerge as a key driving force behind national energy transition efforts alongside its better known clean power producers. WIND POWER Aggressive expansions to wind generation capacity have been the main driver of Oklahoma's clean energy growth, with wind's share of the state's electricity mix jumping from around 32% in 2018 to 42% in 2023. Oklahoma's electricity generation from wind farms jumped by 38% over that five-year span, and in 2022 the state produced more electricity from wind than from any other source. Natural gas has re-emerged as Oklahoma's primary power source from 2023, but sustained growth in wind capacity looks set to ensure clean power's share of the electricity mix continues to expand. From 2020 through 2023, Oklahoma's wind capacity grew by an annual average of 1,049 megawatts (MW), which sharply exceeded the growth rates of all other states except Texas during that window, according to energy data portal Cleanview New Tab, opens new tab. During the first quarter of 2024 Oklahoma added a further 403 MW of wind capacity, which was second only to Texas' 449 MW and indicates that Oklahoma could set a new state record for wind capacity additions in 2024. CARBON INTENSITY CUTS Oklahoma's clean power drive has been a relatively recent development. While Texas' power system has generated more than 10% of its electricity from clean sources since 2000, Oklahoma's clean power share only crossed the 10% threshold in 2012, Ember data shows. But since then, clean power output has accelerated rapidly, and has accounted for more than 40% of Oklahoma's annual electricity supply since 2021. This retooling of Oklahoma's power system from primarily fossil fuel based to heavily powered by clean sources has in turn led to a rapid reduction in the state's power sector carbon intensity. Since 2018, the carbon intensity of Oklahoma's electricity generation has fallen from around 384 grams of carbon dioxide (CO2) per kilowatt hour (KWh) to 297 grams of CO2 per KWh by 2023. That 23% fall in carbon intensity is again far greater than the 14% fall in national power intensity over the same period, and also exceeds the 10% fall in California and 18% drop in Texas over the same period. Oklahoma's carbon intensity has also dropped from registering consistently above the national average through 2016 to being consistently below the national average since then, which has further reinforced the state's reputation as an emerging clean energy leader. WIDENING TRANSITION Oklahoma's energy consumers have also made significant shifts to usage patterns and sources. Oklahoma's car drivers posted the largest yearly jump in electricity use for electric vehicle (EV) charging of all U.S. states in 2023, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). The 74% jump in Oklahoma's electricity demand for EV charging far exceeded the growth rate in surrounding states and the national average (45%) last year, and highlights how households can also help drive power sector decarbonization. But the state's power producers remain the most critical source of clean energy progress. If they can continue to roll out new clean generation capacity while curbing fossil fuel use, the state could soon eclipse its larger rivals and emerge as a new darling of national energy transition efforts. The opinions expressed here are those of the author, a columnist for Reuters. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/oklahoma-outshines-rival-states-energy-transition-progress-2024-06-14/

2024-06-14 11:36

MADRID, June 14 (Reuters) - Microsoft (MSFT.O) New Tab, opens new tab plans to invest 6.69 billion euros ($7.16 billion) to develop new data centres in Spain's northeastern region of Aragon, which is becoming a major cloud computing hub within Europe. Aragon's regional government said the U.S. tech giant had applied for a construction permit to build data centres at a site outside the city of Zaragoza, confirming a report by local newspaper El Heraldo. The company's investment will be spread out over 10 years, the regional government said. Microsoft, which recently announced a 2.1 billion euro investment in data centres in Madrid, declined to comment on the plans in Aragon. Microsoft follows its main competitor Amazon's cloud computing unit AWS in setting eyes on Aragon. Amazon announced last month it would invest 15.7 billion euros over the next 10 years to build data centres in Aragon. Amazon said it would power its data centres fully with renewable energy. The Aragon region has a large wind power capacity. Zaragoza, Spain's fifth-largest city, has become a logistics and transportation hub, It is located halfway between Madrid and Barcelona, Spain's biggest urban areas, and in the middle of the main trade corridor connecting the Iberian Peninsula to France and the rest of Europe. ($1 = 0.9340 euros) Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/technology/microsoft-invest-716-bln-new-data-centres-northeastern-spain-2024-06-14/

2024-06-14 11:33

Political uncertainty hits French markets Polls put far-right National Rally in first place Polls put left-wing 'Popular Front' coalition in second BORGO EGNAZIA, June 14, Italy (Reuters) - France is facing a "very serious" moment as parliamentary elections loom, said President Emmanuel Macron on Friday, with financial markets rattled by the country's far-right and far-left political blocs currently leading polls. Political uncertainty has already triggered a brutal sell-off of French bonds and stocks after Macron unexpectedly called the election, following a trouncing of his ruling centrist party by Marine Le Pen's eurosceptic National Rally (RN) in last Sunday's European Parliament elections. "We are at a very serious moment in the history of our country. There are major issues at stake, with wars, and with unprecedented economic challenges," said Macron, speaking at the end of a G7 summit in Italy. Macron's comments echoed an earlier warning on Friday by French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire, who said that France - which is the euro zone's second-biggest economy - faced the risk of a financial crisis if either the far right or left won the coming parliamentary election because of their heavy spending plans. Calling the two blocs "extremist", Macron said neither were serious politically or realistic economically. A first series of opinion polls have projected that the RN, which has promised to cut electricity prices and VAT on gas and increase public spending, could win the election and be in a position to run the government. A poll conducted for Le Point magazine, published on Friday evening, forecast National Rally as in the lead in the first round of the parliamentary election, narrowly ahead of a coalition of left-wing parties called the "Popular Front". The poll said RN would get 29.5% of votes, compared to 28.5% for Popular Front and 18% for Macron's camp. At least two polls have put the left not far behind the RN, and ahead of Macron's centrist camp. Those polls were carried out before left-wing parties agreed a deal to run on a joint platform to try to counter the far right and Macron's camp with pledges to link salaries to inflation and introduce a wealth tax for the rich. The RN calls for protectionist "France first" economic policies. It is expected to announce details of its economic programme in coming days and has so far given only broad brush comments on increasing household purchasing power and cutting energy prices. 'SLIPPERY SLOPE' Judging by proposals from the last parliamentary election in 2022, which it has said it will largely stick to, it would cut VAT on energy to 5.5% from 20% now and increase public spending, despite already significant levels of public debt. Visiting a farm in Chuelles, south of Paris, RN leader Jordan Bardella said that would be financed partly by acting against tax loopholes. Action on cost-of-living issues would be one of his priorities, he said, alongside cutting immigration and being tough on crime. "France is on a slippery slope, it is at risk of bankruptcy," he said, urging the French to "dare to choose change." Worries about stability have triggered the biggest weekly jump since 2011 in the premium investors demand to hold French government debt, and bank stocks tumbled this week. Senior bosses at leading French technology firms have warned that curbs to immigration proposed by the far-right National Rally party pose a threat to the country's ambition to become Europe's leading AI hub. Meanwhile, left-wing parties set aside differences to strike a deal late on Thursday that includes scrapping Macron's unpopular pension reform. "Emmanuel Macron won't have a majority," Greens leader Marine Tondelier said. "It's either the far right or us," she said, urging left-wing voters to back the new alliance, dubbed the "Popular Front," which gathers the Socialists, Greens, Communists, and hard-left Unbowed France in an alliance. Unions and rights groups have called on people to take part in rallies against the far right at the weekend. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/europe/french-finance-minister-warns-financial-crisis-yields-surge-snap-elections-2024-06-14/

2024-06-14 11:20

LONDON, June 14 (Reuters) - Ukraine has said it will not extend a five-year deal with Russia's Gazprom (GAZP.MM) New Tab, opens new tab on the transit of Russian gas to Europe when it expires at the end of the year, but alternatives are being explored. Since the Ukraine war, Norway has overtaken Russia to become Europe's top pipeline gas supplier and the EU has increased liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports from the U.S. and other countries. WHAT IS THE UKRAINE GAS TRANSIT ROUTE? The Ukraine gas transit route, agreed upon by Moscow and Kyiv in 2019, enables Russia to export gas to Europe via Ukraine. According to Ukraine’s gas pipelines operator, Russian gas transit via Ukraine to Europe fell by 28.5% to 14.65 billion cubic metres last year in from 20.5 bcm in 2022. Two entry points exist: Sokhranivka and Sudzha, but Ukraine declared force majeure New Tab, opens new tab and halted flows through Sokhranivka in 2022. The system connects Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, and Moldova. WHICH COUNTRIES RECEIVE GAS VIA THE ROUTE? Most EU nations have lessened their dependence on Russian gas due to the Ukraine invasion. Former main recipients of gas via Ukraine include Austria, Slovakia, Italy, Hungary, Croatia, Slovenia, and Moldova. Austria still receives most of its gas via Ukraine, while others have diversified their sources and taken steps to reduce demand. Moldova, one of Europe's poorest countries, last year sourced all its gas from European markets, leaving available gas from Gazprom for its breakaway eastern region, Transdniestria. Croatia's imports are now minimal and Slovenia's have dropped to near zero after its main gas supplier Geoplin's contract with Gazprom ended last year, a study by the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University said. HOW CAN GAS VIA UKRAINE BE REPLACED? EU energy commissioner Kadri Simson said an analysis has shown that alternative supply sources exist. Austria can import from Italy and Germany, and its utilities have said they have taken precautionary measures if Russian gas supply stops. Hungary has been relying on Russian gas from an alternative route: the TurkStream pipeline, and Slovenia gets its gas from Algeria and other sources. Italy receives most of its gas through a route which facilitates Azeri Gas imports and from Algeria. ARE THERE OTHER OPTIONS FOR UKRAINE TRANSIT? Slovak gas supplier SPP said a consortium of European gas buyers could take over the gas on the Russia-Ukraine border when the transit contract expires, but it is unclear how this might work. Another option is for Gazprom to supply some of the gas via another route, for example via TurkStream, Bulgaria, Serbia or Hungary. However, capacity via these routes is limited, SPP told Reuters. The EU and Ukraine have also asked Azerbaijan to facilitate discussions with Russia regarding the gas transit deal, an Azeri presidential advisor told Reuters, who declined to give further details. The EU has been trying to diversify its imports of gas and signed a deal to double imports of Azeri gas to at least 20 bcm a year by 2027 but the advisor said the infrastructure and financing were still not in place to facilitate this expansion. This week, Ukraine also signed its first deal with a U.S. LNG exporter to buy cargoes from later this year until the end of 2026. WHAT HAPPENS TO UKRAINE'S GAS TRANSIT NETWORK? Ukraine has not imported gas directly from Russia since 2015 but uses the transit system to supply homes and businesses. The system maintains pressure levels for both European and domestic supply. Ukraine has experience in managing transit shutdowns - such as those in 2006 and 2009 - and has tested the system to ensure it can function if supply from Russia ceases. Ukrainian energy officials and industry sources have repeatedly said there is no threat to Ukraine by stopping transit, saying Ukrainian compressors could pump gas from storage facilities in the west to the east. HOW MUCH REVENUE WILL GAZPROM LOSE? Russia could lose around $4.5 billion annually if exports halt, based on an expected average gas price to Europe of $320 per 1,000 cubic metres in 2025. Its daily exports via Ukraine to Europe currently stand at more than 40 million cubic metres, according to Gazprom's data. WHAT CAN GAZPROM DO WITH THE GAS? If Ukraine does not extend the deal, Russia plans to use alternative routes and increase LNG exports. Gazprom aims to boost gas sales to China. Gazprom started gas flows to China via the Power of Siberia pipeline in late 2019, aiming to export 38 billion cubic metres (bcm) from next year, and eventually to as much as 100 bcm per year, including 50 bcm through the proposed Power of Siberia 2 pipeline, but negotiations on price and other issues have stalled. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/what-will-happen-when-ukraine-gas-transit-deal-expires-2024-06-04/

2024-06-14 11:05

BORGO EGNAZIA, Italy June 14 (Reuters) - Leaders of the Group of Seven (G7) developed democracies will commit to accelerating their transition away from fossil fuels during this decade, according to a draft of a statement to be issued at the end of their ongoing summit in Italy. "We will transition away from fossil fuels in energy systems in a just, orderly, and equitable manner, accelerating actions in this critical decade, to achieve net-zero by 2050 in keeping with the best available science," said the draft seen by Reuters. Other commitments on climate policy in the draft include a pledge "to phase out existing unabated coal power generation in our energy systems during the first half of 2030s." With the COP29 United Nations climate conference due to start in November, the leaders of the United States, Canada, Japan, Germany, France, Britain and Italy said they would submit "more ambitious" national climate plans, according to the draft. The document commits to a collective effort to reduce methane emissions by 75% by 2030 but, in a section likely to upset environment activists, the leaders give a green light to public investments in natural gas, a polluting fossil fuel. "In the exceptional circumstance of accelerating the phase-out of our dependency on Russian energy, publicly supported investments in the gas sector can be appropriate as a temporary response, subject to clearly defined national circumstances," the draft said. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/g7-leaders-commit-faster-transition-fossil-fuels-draft-statement-2024-06-14/