Russia News

China Has Reportedly Banned Australian Coal Imports

Australia is investigating media reports that China has stopped taking its coal shipments, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Tuesday, adding that such import quotas to support China's market were "not uncommon".Trade industry reports late last week suggested that some Chinese ports had been told not to accept Australian thermal and metallurgical coal, and that Australian shipments were being sold along to other markets at the last minute.China's imports of coal had been expected to slow in the second half…

Sovcomflot IPO Expected to Price at Low End of Range

Russian shipping company Sovcomflot is guiding investors to expect its initial public offering (IPO) to price at the low end of the marketing range, two bookrunners organizing the transaction said on Tuesday.The first big stock market float by a Russian company in a couple of years comes as wider investor sentiment towards Moscow has turned negative after the poisoning of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, protests in Belarus and renewed clashes in Nagorno-Karabakh.Russian assets…

Rolling the Dice in Chaos: The Prospects of Investment in the Gas Industry

As stated in the Declaration of Malabo at the 5th Summit of Heads of State and Government of the GECF Member Countries, in order to sustain the security of demand and supply of natural gas, it is necessary to ensure sufficient investments through the entire gas value chain among all gas market stakeholders [1].Since the start of 2020, every aspect of the global economy, including investment projects in natural gas industry, have been strongly hit by the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Germany Offered to Build LNG Terminals to Avert US Pipeline Sanctions

Berlin offered to spend 1 billion euros ($1.2 billion) to build two liquid natural gas terminals in a bid to dissuade the United States from imposing sanctions over the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, due to bring gas directly from Russia to Germany, Die Zeit reported on Wednesday.The weekly paper said Finance Minister Olaf Scholz made the proposal in an Aug. 7 letter before Washington imposed sanctions on companies involved in building the Baltic Sea pipeline, effectively freezing its…

Second Wave of Floating Storage Triggered by Ailing Oil Market

A stalled global economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic is leading to a fresh build-up of global oil supplies, pushing traders including Trafigura to book tankers to store millions of barrels of crude oil and refined fuels at sea again.The use of so-called floating storage onboard tankers comes as traditional onshore storage remains close to capacity as supplies outpace demand.Trading house Trafigura has chartered at least five of the largest tankers each capable of storing 2 million barrels of oil…

Who Owned the Chemicals that Blew up Beirut? No One Will Say

In the murky story of how a cache of highly explosive ammonium nitrate ended up on the Beirut waterfront, one thing is clear—no one has ever publicly come forward to claim it.There are many unanswered questions surrounding last week's huge, deadly blast in the Lebanese capital, but ownership should be among the easiest to resolve.Clear identification of ownership, especially of a cargo as dangerous as that carried by the Moldovan-flagged Rhosus when it sailed into Beirut seven years ago…

Beirut Blast a Wake-up Call on Dangers of Ammonium Nitrate

The devastating explosion in Beirut should be a wake-up call for countries on the dangers of ammonium nitrate, which caused the blast, experts say.Lebanese authorities said 2,750 tonnes of the industrial chemical had been stored for six years at Beirut port without safety measures. That stockpile exploded on Tuesday, killing more than 150 people, injuring thousands and leaving about a quarter of a million people homeless.Commonly used in fertilizers and as an industrial explosive…

DP World Acquires Majority Stake in UNICO Logistics

Dubai-based DP World said it has agreed to acquire a 60% stake in South Korea's UNICO Logistics Co. Ltd. as the firm continues its expansion across the worldwide end-to-end logistics supply chain. The transaction, subject to regulatory clearances, is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2020.Established in 2002 by H.J. Park and headquartered in South Korea, UNICO is one of the largest independent NVOCC (Non-Vessel Operating Common Carrier) in South Korea, with a global footprint of 25 subsidiaries in 20 countries.

Bunkering at UAE's Fujairah Plummets in May

Ship fuelling activity in Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates, a bunkering and fuel storage hub in the Middle East, fell in May as declining demand was made worse by slowing global trade because of the coronavirus pandemic, four trade sources said.Fujairah's ship refueling, or bunkering, volumes shrank to about 200,000-300,000 tonnes in May, down from average volumes of about 700,000-800,000 tonnes, said the sources with knowledge of the regional trade who declined to be identified."It's all things COVID…

Bahri Puts LNG Tanker Plan on Hold

Saudi Aramco’s shipping division Bahri has put on hold plans to charter up to 12 liquefied natural gas (LNG) tankers after Sempra Energy delayed its decision on whether to proceed with an LNG export project in Texas, two sources said.Bahri issued an expression of interest (EOI) last year to charter the vessels from 2025 in Saudi Aramco’s first foray into LNG as part of the state oil giant’s plan to become a major global player in the gas market.In May last year, Aramco signed a 20-year agreement to buy LNG from Sempra Energy’s planned Port Arthur export terminal and also agreed to buy a 25% eq

Rosneft to Build Port for Its Vostok Oil Project

Russian state oil giant Rosneft plans to build a port with maximum annual capacity of 115 million tonnes of oil for its Vostok Oil project in the Russian Arctic, the RIA news agency quoted the company as saying on Tuesday.Rosneft said in a statement previously on Tuesday that the Vostok Oil project could be supplying 25 million tonnes of oil in 2024, 50 million tonnes in 2027 and up to 115 million tonnes in 2030.Vostok Oil unites Rosneft’s projects in northern Russia, including the Lodochnoye…

Rolf Stiefel Joins Bureau Veritas as Regional Chief Executive

Bureau Veritas (BV) appointed Rolf Stiefel as its new Regional Chief Executive based in Hamburg, responsible for Central Europe - Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Russia. He will be based in the BV regional office in Hamburg and his appointment is effective May 1, 2020. He succeeds Dr. Hans Gaetjens who is retiring in July following a two month hand-over period.For the past 17 years Stiefel has been leading engine sales for WinGD’s slow speed diesel and gas engines including developing the market for WinGD’s X-DF gas fueled engine…

Russian Grain Exports to Continue Despite Quota

Russia’s online grain export quota was running out fast on Saturday as big traders rushed to get customs documents for future shipments, analysts said, adding that supplies from the world’s biggest wheat exporter would continue nevertheless.Russia set a quota for grain exports of 7 million tonnes for April through June following the outbreak of the virus. Russia's online calculator showed here that as of Saturday only 873,179 tonnes remained available for export based on the quota.Analysts…

Oil Traders Chase Storage Space in World Awash with Fuel

Oil traders are struggling to find enough ships, railcars, caverns and pipelines to store fuel as more conventional storage facilities fill up amid abundant supply and plummeting demand due to the coronavirus crisis.Dozens of oil tanker vessels have been booked in recent days to store at least 30 million barrels of jet fuel, gasoline and diesel at sea, acting as floating storage, as on-land tanks are full or already booked, according to traders and shipping data.That adds to about 130 million barrels of crude already in floating storage…

US Crude Futures Plunge to Lowest on Record

U.S. crude oil futures collapsed below $0 on Monday for the first time in history, amid a coronavirus-induced supply glut, ending the day at a stunning minus $37.63 a barrel as desperate traders paid to get rid of oil.Brent crude, the international benchmark, also slumped, but that contract was nowhere near as weak because more storage is available worldwide.While U.S. oil prices are trading in negative territory for the first time ever, it is unclear whether that will trickle down to consumers…

Crude Oil Held in Sea Storage Hits New Record

Traders are storing an estimated record 160 million barrels of oil on ships - double the level from two weeks ago as they seek to tackle a glut of stocks created by a slide in global demand from the coronavirus, shipping sources say.Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and other producers including Russia have agreed a record cut in output from May of 9.7 million barrels per day, or almost 10% of global supply, to help support prices and curb oversupply.At…

Record Oil Output Cuts Fail to Make Waves in Coronavirus-hit Market

The minimal impact on oil prices from a global deal for record output cuts showed that oil producers have a mountain to climb if they are to restore market balance as the coronavirus shreds demand and sends stockpiles soaring, industry watchers said.After several days of discussions, oil producing and consuming countries aim to remove nearly 20 million barrels per day (bpd) or 20% of global supply from the market, Saudi Arabia's Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman said on Monday.The oil market has barely shrugged, however: Brent crude gained 1.5% on Monday, while U.S.

OPEC+ Outlines Record Oil Production Cut; Mexico Balks

OPEC, Russia and other allies outlined plans on Thursday to cut their oil output by more than a fifth and said they expected the United States and other producers to join in their effort to prop up prices hammered by the coronavirus crisis.But the group, known as OPEC+, said a final agreement was dependent on Mexico signing up to the pact after it balked at the production cuts it was asked to make. Discussions among top global energy ministers will resume on Friday.The planned output curbs by OPEC+ amount to 10 million barrels per day (bpd) or 10% of global supplies…

Saudi, Russia Closing in on Record Oil Cut Deal

OPEC and it allies held talks on Thursday on record oil output curbs of about 15 million barrels per day (bpd) or more, roughly 15% of global supplies, to support prices hammered by the coronavirus crisis, sources involved in the discussions said.They said the plan included cuts of about 5 million bpd from producers outside the group known as OPEC+ and could be made gradually, as the group seeks to overcome resistance from the United States whose involvement they see as vital to a deal.Talks have been complicated by friction between OPEC leader Saudi Arabia and non-OPEC Russia…

OPEC+ Considers Oil Cuts Above 12 Mln BPD

OPEC, Russia and other allied producers, a grouping known as OPEC+, are considering cutting their oil output by more than 12 million barrels per day (bpd) and want other producers to contribute cuts of 5 million bpd, an OPEC+ source said on Thursday.(Reporting by OPEC team; Editing by Edmund Blair)

Valmet to Supply Automation for Expedition Cruise Pair

Valmet will supply automation and information systems for two luxury expedition vessels being built by Helsinki Shipyard Oy in Finland for Russia’s largest river cruise company Vodohod Ltd.The 113-meter-long and 20.2-meter-wide vessels will have an ice class of PC5 and a passenger capacity of 157 persons. Their draught is 5.7 meters, and cruising speed is 14 knots. The newbuilds will operate both in the Arctic and Antarctic waters as well as in the tropical waters during the spring and autumn seasons.Valmet’s delivery includes a Valmet DNA automation system…

US Says No Requests Yet to Waive Jones Act to Help Oil Companies

The U.S. government said on Monday it has not yet received requests to waive a 100-year-old law on shipping goods between domestic ports, despite some interested parties who say temporarily lifting the regulation would help energy companies hurt by the oil price plunge.Kelly Cahalan, a spokesperson at the U.S Customs and Border Protection agency of the Department of Homeland Security, said no requests to waive the Merchant Marine Act, better known as the Jones Act, have been received.U.S.

While Oil Prices Plummets, Tanker Rates Fly High

If one ever needed proof that, no matter how dire the situation, there is always a silver lining, look no further than the crude tanker market, which has seen it day rates skyrocket in the face of a global pandemic that has effectively ground world commerce to a crawl.As is the case with other gravity defying business phenomena, geopolitics is a central factor, in this case a battle between Russia and Saudi Arabia to flood the world with oil in the face of declining demand and…

Oil Tanker Rates Double

Supertanker freight rates are on the rise for a second time this month as producers, refiners and traders scramble to secure ships to transport crude or store a fast-growing global glut of oil, industry sources said.Freight rates for very large crude-oil carriers (VLCC) along the Middle East Gulf to China route were assessed at about $180,000 a day on Monday, up from some $125,000 on Friday and a weekly low of about $90,000 a day on Wednesday, according to several ship broking sources.Its difficult to say whether or not the rates will be sustained…

Yamal LNG Resumes Loading Operations in Norway

Yamal LNG, controlled by Russia's largest liquefied natural gas (LNG) producer Novatek, is resuming ship-to-ship transfers in Norway, Novatek said on Monday, after plans to shift the operations to Russia fell through due to coronavirus.Novatek suspended transfers in Norway in June last year due to what it termed "pressure from the West".According to Refinitiv Eikon data, the Arc7 tanker Vladimir Vize is due to arrive at the Norwegian Arctic port of Honningsvag on April 1, carrying a cargo from Yamal LNG.The data also showed that an empty Arc4 tanker…

HHLA Estonia Names Riia Sillave New CEO

The container and multipurpose terminal HHLA TK Estonia, the subsidiary of Hamburger Hafen und Logistik AG (HHLA), said that Riia Sillave has taken over as the  new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) with effect from 15 March 2020.The 46-year-old Estonian, who studied business administration at Ludwig Maximilians University in Munich, has a wealth of experience in executive and management roles, including in the German automotive industry.Her most recent position was as CEO of Rail Baltic Estonia…