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First Gas from Greater Tortue Ahmeyim
The Greater Tortue Ahmeyim (GTA) gas project developed by BP and partners has produced its first gas from an offshore field in Senegal and Mauritania, the two countries' energy ministries said.GTA, a floating facility straddling the maritime border between Senegal and Mauritania, will produce 2.3 million tonnes of liquefied natural gas per year in its first phase."The opening of the first well ... paves the way for the start of gas commercialization, which is set to begin very soon," the ministries said in a statement on Tuesday.BP and U.S.-listed Kosmo Energy are leading the development of GTA, which is Senegal's first LNG project.(Reuters - Reporting by Bate Felix; Writing by Alessandra Prentice; Editing by Andrew Heavens)
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Oil increases as investors return from vacations, eye China recovery
Oil costs pushed higher on Thursday, the first day of trade for 2025, as investors returning from holidays meticulously considered a healing in China's. economy and fuel demand following a promise by President Xi. Jinping to promote development. Brent unrefined futures increased 46 cents, or 0.6%, to. $ 75.10 a barrel by 0128 GMT after settling up 65 cents on. Tuesday, the last trading day for 2024. U.S. West Texas. Intermediate crude futures gained 49 cents, or 0.7%, to. $ 72.21 a barrel after closing 73 cents higher in the previous. session. China's Xi stated on Tuesday in his New Year's address that. the nation would carry out more proactive policies to promote. development in 2025. In an official study released on Tuesday, China's. manufacturing activity hardly grew in December though services. and building recovered. The data recommended policy stimulus. is dripping into some sectors as China braces for brand-new trade. risks from tariffs proposed by U.S. President-elect Donald. Trump. Traders are going back to their desks and most likely. weighing higher geopolitical risks and also the effect of Trump. running the U.S. economy red hot versus the impact of tariffs,. IG market expert Tony Sycamore said. Today's China Caixin PMI release and tomorrow's US ISM. manufacturing release will be crucial to petroleum's next move, he. added. Sycamore stated WTI's weekly chart is winding itself into a. tighter variety, which suggests a huge move is coming. Rather than trying to anticipate in which way the break will. take place, we would be inclined to wait for the break and after that go. with it, he added. Financiers are also waiting for weekly U.S. oil stocks data from. the Energy Info Administration which has been postponed. until Thursday due to the New Year vacation. U.S. petroleum and distillate stockpiles are expected to. have actually fallen last week while gasoline inventories most likely increased, an. extended Reuters survey showed on Tuesday. U.S. oil need surged to the highest levels because the. pandemic in October at 21.01 million barrels each day (bpd), up. about 700,000 bpd from September, EIA data showed on Tuesday. Unrefined output from the world's leading manufacturer rose to a record. 13.46 million bpd in October, up 260,000 bpd from September, the. report showed. In 2025, oil rates are most likely to be constrained near $70 a. barrel, down for a 3rd year after a 3% decline in 2024, as. weak Chinese demand and rising international materials balance out efforts by. OPEC+ to fortify the marketplace, a Reuters monthly survey showed. In Europe, Russia halted gas exports through Soviet-era. pipelines going through Ukraine on New Year's Day. The commonly. expected interruption will not affect rates for customers in the. European Union as some buyers have set up alternative supply,. while Hungary will keep getting Russian gas through the TurkStream. pipeline under the Black Sea.
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Tesla Cybertruck fire in Las Vegas leaves one dead, others injured
A Tesla Cybertruck ignited outside of the Trump Hotel Las Vegas on Wednesday, eliminating one person and injuring a number of others, and news reports stated it was being examined as a possible terrorist act. Las Vegas Metropolitan Authorities Department Constable Kevin McMahill said at a press conference that a person was discovered dead inside the 2024 model-year Cybertruck and seven individuals sustained minor injuries from the explosion. Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, stated the electric cars and truck maker was investigating the fire. The entire Tesla senior team is investigating this matter today, he said in a post on X, including, We have actually never ever seen anything like this. McMahill said the Cybertruck pulled up to the Trump structure at 8:40 a.m. local time. He stated authorities were mindful of the New Orleans attack that had occurred in the early hours of Wednesday. The FBI said a prospective explosive gadget was discovered in the car utilized in that attack. As you can imagine with an explosion here on iconic Las Vegas Boulevard, we are taking all the safety measures that we need to require to keep our community safe. We're looking for secondary devices, McMahill stated, including that there did not appear to be any additional threat to the community. Eric Trump, executive vice president of the Trump Company and a child of president-elect Donald Trump, posted about the occurrence on X. Previously today, a reported electric vehicle fire happened in the porte cochère of Trump Las Vegas, he composed. The U.S. National Transport Security Board in 2024 opened an investigation into a crash and fire including a Tesla electric semi-truck on a California highway. Car professionals state electrical automobile fires burn differently than those in cars and trucks with internal combustion engines, often lasting longer and being harder to snuff out.
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Numerous dead in shooting incident in Montenegro-local media mentioning authorities
A number of people were eliminated in a shooting at a restaurant near Montenegro's historic capital of Cetinje, local media cited the nation's authorities as stating in a statement on Wednesday. Montenegrin Vijesti TV said a brawl in the afternoon preceded the shooting, and said five individuals were eliminated. The suspect stays at big. Authorities did not define the number of casualties. Montenegro's authorities sent unique units to the location, and prompted people to stay inside their homes. All available police systems are on the ground, undertaking activities within their jurisdiction, to capture the suspect, Montenegro's Authorities Directorate stated in a declaration. Mass shootings are comparatively unusual in Montenegro which has a deeply-rooted weapon culture. In 2022, 11 people, including 2 kids and a gunman, were killed in a mass shooting in Montenegro, and six others were hurt. Despite rigorous gun laws, the Western Balkans remain awash with prohibited weapons going back to World War One.
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In 2024, China saw warmest year in decades, breaking records yet again
Chinese meteorological data shows 2024 was the hottest year for the nation since similar records started more than six years back, the 2nd straight year in which turning points were broken. The national average temperature stood at 10.92 degrees Celsius (51.66 Fahrenheit) last year, more than 1 degree higher than 2023, according to weather.com.cn, a service portal run by the China Meteorological Administration. The 10 warmest years because records began in 1961 were all in the 21st century, the service portal said. For largely inhabited Shanghai, China's financial center, 2024 was the warmest given that the Qing dynasty, data from the Shanghai meteorological bureau showed on Wednesday. The city's typical temperature stood at 18.8 Celsius, the most popular given that Shanghai's meteorological records started in 1873. Last year's warmer weather, accompanied by more powerful storms and greater rainfall, caused spikes in power consumption in the world's second-largest economy. Sweltering heat also impacted farming in regions including the rice-growing south. To safeguard its food security in the face of rising temperatures, China has started research into adapting staple crops to heat. Crop yields are anticipated to fall if alternatives are not discovered. Scientists at a Beijing research study center discovered potatoes, of which China is the world's top producer, weighed less than 50%. of normal varieties if they grew in a chamber set at 3 degrees. Celsius above the standard. Under current climate policies, the world faces warming of. as much as 3.1 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels by. 2100, according to a United Nations report launched in October.
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At least 10 dead after truck crashes into New Orleans crowd, city authorities state
At least 10 people were killed and 30 injured when a truck drove into a large crowd on Bourbon Street in New Orleans' French Quarter early on Wednesday, a city federal government company said. It said no more information was right away readily available. Earlier CBS News, citing witnesses, reported that a. truck had crashed into the crowd at high speed, and after that the. chauffeur got out and started firing a weapon, with police. returning fire. Initial reports show a car may have plowed into a group. of people. Injuries are unknown but there are reported. casualties, New Orleans Police Department representative told CBS. News. The police department did not instantly react to a. Reuters' request for remark.
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Israeli strikes eliminate a minimum of 17 Palestinians in Gaza, WAFA reports
Israeli air strikes on alBureij refugee camp and Jabalia town in central and northern Gaza killed at least 17 Palestinians on Wednesday, the authorities Palestinian news firm WAFA reported. The Israeli armed force had no immediate remark although in a. post on X, its Arabic spokesperson cautioned locals of al-Bureij. earlier to evacuate ahead of an imminent strike versus. militants firing rockets from the area. It also said over night that it eliminated Abd al-Hadi Sabah, a. Hamas militant who assisted lead the seepage into Kibbutz Nir. Oz during the Oct. 7, 2023 attack by the Islamist group on. southern Israel. The instruction to clear the al-Bureij camp has actually triggered a new. wave of displacement, although it was not instantly clear how. many individuals were affected. Israel says its practically three-month-old campaign in northern. Gaza is aimed at preventing Hamas militants from regrouping. Its. directions to civilians to leave are indicated to keep them out. of damage's way, the military states. Palestinian and United Nations authorities state no place is. safe in Gaza and that evacuations intensify the humanitarian. conditions of the population. According to the Palestinian civil defence, more than 1,500. camping tents safeguarding displaced individuals across Gaza were flooded by. heavy rains over the previous 2 days, leaving individuals exposed to. the cold, their personal belongings harmed. Hundreds more tents experienced less extreme flooding that. still left displaced individuals not able to use them. Much of the location around the northern towns of Beit Hanoun,. Jabalia and Beit Lahiya has been cleared of people and taken down,. sustaining speculation Israel means to keep the area as a closed. buffer zone after the combating in Gaza ends. WAFA said the military blew up domestic blocks in Beit. Lahiya and around Jabalia, while tanks shelled parts of. Gaza City and the al-Bureij camp. Israel's Gaza project has killed more than 45,500. Palestinians, according to health officials in the Hamas-run. enclave. The majority of Gaza's 2.3 million people have been displaced. and much of the tiny seaside strip is in ruins. The Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel killed 1,200. individuals, with another 251 taken hostage to Gaza, according to. Israeli tallies.
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Noble’s Semi-Sub Rig Gets Multi-Well Drilling Job off Suriname
Offshore drilling contractor Noble Corporation has signed a contract with Petronas Suriname E&P for the high-specification semi-submersible rig Noble Developer to drill three wells offshore Suriname.The contract is expected to start around June 2025, with an estimated duration of 200 days.The firm contract value is approximately $84 million including additional services provided, mobilization and demobilization fees.Noble and Petronas have further agreed to add a one-well option to the contract.“We are excited to extend our partnership with Petronas in Suriname through this agreement for the Noble Developer. The Developer has previously operated for Petronas in Suriname, and we look forward to getting the rig back to work in mid-2025,” said Blake Denton, SVP of Marketing and Contracts.The Noble Developer is currently available and located offshore Trinidad and Tobago. Preparations for the upcoming Petronas work scope are set to start immediately.The rig is of DSS21-DPS2 design, built in 2008. It is capable of operating at 10,000 ft water depth, with a maximum drilling depth of 40,000 ft.
The Russian billionaires whose chemical factories fuel Russia's war machine
Chemicals factories founded or owned by a few of Russia's wealthiest men are supplying components to plants that manufacture explosives utilized by Moscow's military throughout the war in Ukraine, an analysis of train and financial data shows.
Reuters determined five chemical companies, in which 5 Western-sanctioned billionaires hold stakes, that offered more than 75% of the key chemicals delivered by rail to some of Russia's biggest explosives factories from the start of the war up until September this year, according to the railway information.
The news agency's analysis shows for the very first time how heavily factories forming part of Russia's war device rely on these men and their business. The billionaires consist of Roman Abramovich, former owner of Chelsea Football Club, and Vagit Alekperov, who was ranked by Forbes in April as Russia's richest male with a fortune estimated at $28.6 billion.
Abramovich and Alekperov did not react to requests for remark sent via their business or attorneys. London-listed Evraz, in which Ambramovich holds a 28% stake, stated it provided the chemicals for civilian use only. Lukoil, a refiner in which Alekperov retains a shareholding, stated it does not manufacture dynamites or any related elements.
Anna Nagurney, a University of Massachusetts professor who carefully studies supply chain networks related to the Ukraine-Russia war and examined Reuters' findings, stated the five companies were aiding Moscow not only by offering essential chemical ingredients for munitions however also by earning much-needed hard cash from exports of civilian products, including fertilizers.
These chemical business might be running as civilian ones, but they are sustaining the war effort, Nagurney said.
To determine from where Russia's main munitions factories got their supplies, Reuters analysed the motion of more than 600,000 rail deliveries that brought the chemicals needed to make explosives from the intrusion of Ukraine in February 2022 through September 2024.
The railway information from two industrial databases in Russia was supplied to Reuters by the Open Source Centre, a British-based NGO devoted to collecting publicly-available intelligence and keeping track of possible sanctions infractions. It detailed the type of freight in every train wagon, the weight, origin and location, and the names of the company that sent the goods and the business that got them.
Reuters cross-checked the data from the two databases to confirm its accuracy. Nevertheless, the news company was unable to validate whether the information included every rail shipment to the dynamites factories, or the extent to which the plants got deliveries by road.
The information showed that the billionaires' companies provided essential active ingredients to 5 explosive and gunpowder factories in Russia that are subject to Western sanctions. The plants are subsidiaries of the giant Russian state arms manufacturer and car manufacturer Rostec.
Utilizing leaked tax billings covering parts of 2023, Reuters was likewise able to confirm that four of the chemicals firms were suppliers to 4 of the explosives producers.
Neither the Kremlin, the defence ministry, nor Rostec responded to Reuters' questions about civilian companies' role in providing Russia's munitions industry.
Before the war, all the explosives plants, as part of efforts to diversify, likewise utilized to make dynamites or gunpowder for civilian use. Reuters could not determine whether such civilian sales continue and whether the chemicals supplied might be earmarked for civilian usage.
Thomas Klapotke, a teacher of energetics at the University of Munich, who helped Reuters analyse the data, said that, while all the raw materials had numerous possible usages, the combination of wagon-loads of particular chemicals needed for explosives making reaching particular plants provided red. flags.
The analysis provides fresh proof that the West's. strategy of imposing sanctions on Russia as punishment for its. invasion of Ukraine has failed to suppress its military production,. according to numerous professionals talked to .
While the billionaires themselves are all under Western. sanctions, the chemical companies included have mainly escaped. major financial penalties or restrictions on their import of critical. products from the USA or the European Union.
The majority of the output of these chemical plants are civilian. items like fertilizer that are crucial to farming. Long-standing Western policies exempt food from sanctions to. prevent starvation and diplomatic blowback from developing countries.
Peter Harrell, a previous senior White Home authorities who. worked on Russia sanctions during the war's very first year and is. now a scholar at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace,. said possibly it's time to review those 2022 choices now that. nations that when relied on Ukraine and Russia for wheat and. fertilizer have had time to find alternative sources.
Potentially, the calculus would weigh towards imposing. sanctions on these companies today, Harrell said, discussing. Reuters' findings.
Nevertheless, Manish N. Raizada, an agriculture professor at the. University of Guelph in Canada, warned that imposing sanctions. on Russian chemical business might put numerous millions of. small-scale farmers at risk, in return for a minor economic. effect on Russia.
Spokespersons for the U.S. Treasury Department, which. coordinates Washington's sanctions, and the United Nations. Advancement Program declined to talk about Reuters findings.
A European Commission representative, in response to concerns. about the chemicals companies, said: We are actively exploring. the possibilities for extra procedures to step up pressure. and close loopholes in a way that would prevent unfavorable. implications for food security.
The spokesperson worried that any action would only come. after cautious analysis of the efficiency of any procedures and. their impact on European business. Nevertheless, he noted that EU. sanctions would currently use to the business, even if they. were not particularly designated, if they were controlled or. owned by a sanctioned person.
ARTILLERY WAR. The war in Ukraine has become an artillery duel where a scarcity. of high explosives offered to NATO and Ukraine has enabled. Russian forces to get swathes of territory this year, according. to numerous Ukraine commanders interviewed .
Moscow is investing heavily in military production and. looking for to replenish its munitions stockpiles. In 2024, Russia. produced about 2.4 million weapons rounds and imported 3. million from North Korea, according to a Ukraine security. official. The North Korean embassy in London didn't return calls. from Reuters looking for remark.
The 5 munitions plants supplied by the billionaires'. companies include the huge Sverdlov center in Dzerzhinsk. The plant is the only considerable maker in Russia of the plastic. explosives HMX and RDX used in weapons and rockets, according. to a Ukrainian intelligence authorities.
Two factories run by Eurochem - established by Russian. billionaire Andrey Melnichenko - supply chemicals to Sverdlov,. according to the train information.
Eurochem is one of the world's biggest producers of. mineral fertilizers. Its Nevinnomysskiy Nitrogen plant in. southwest Russia has actually sent out at least 38,000 metric lots of acetic. acid to Sverdlov during the Ukraine war, according to a Reuters. analysis of the train data.
A second Eurochem facility, Novomoskovskiy Nitrogen sent. almost 5,000 metric lots of nitric acid to Sverdlov in the same. duration, the train data revealed.
Both acetic acid and nitric acid are used to make HMX and. RDX.
According to Reuters estimations, based on clinical. literature and evaluated by an explosives professional, 5,000 tons of. nitric acid could be used to make 3,000 lots of RDX, enough to. fill 500,000 large-calibre artillery shells.
The tax invoices reviewed verified that Eurochem. was a provider to Sverdlov last year.
In action to comprehensive questions, Eurochem stated Reuters'. reporting consisted of numerous product accurate errors. Specifically, EuroChem is not part of the defence sector of the. Russian economy and none of our items are developed for. military purposes, checked out a declaration from the business, which is. headquartered in Switzerland. Eurochem stated that any suggestion. Melnichenko controlled the business was false.
Melnichenko did not react to concerns. The billionaire,. stated by Forbes to be worth $17.5 billion, positioned his controlling. stake in Eurochem into a trust that benefits his spouse, as. Reuters has reported, after the imposition of sanctions on him. by the EU and Nato following the intrusion of Ukraine.
The declaration said that while 97% of its output is. fertiliser, Eurochem supplies other industrial items,. including these chemicals, to a wide variety of clients in Russia. and abroad. The business didn't answer Reuters' questions about. the chemical deliveries to Sverdlov. Questions sent out to the e-mail. address on Sverdlov's website went unanswered.
TAX DATA
Another fertilizer giant, Uralchem, founded by approved. billionaire Dmitry Mazepin, supplied Sverdlov more than 27,000. metric tons of ammonium nitrate, the train information revealed. Ammonium nitrate is utilized to make HMX and RDX, and is likewise blended. with TNT to produce an explosive called Amatol. Uralchem likewise. supplied 6,000 metric lots of nitric acid from its nitrogen. fertiliser plant in Berezniki to Sverdlov, the information revealed.
Two other state-owned munitions plants, the Tambov Gunpowder. Plant and Kazan Gunpowder Plant, got shipments of acids. from Uralchem, the rail information revealed.
The dripped Russian tax billings, evaluated , likewise. revealed that Uralchem supplied the Sverdlov, Tambov and Kazan. factories along with the state-owned Perm Powder plant last. year.
Asked in information about the shipments, Uralchem said the. info was inaccurate. It did not provide more information. or description.
Mazepin, who reduced his ownership of the company from 100%. to 48% simply after the invasion of Ukraine, couldn't be reached. for comment. The Tambov, Perm and Kazan plants didn't reply to. concerns sent out to email addresses noted on their sites or on. corporate filings.
A steel plant in Siberia owned by London-listed Evraz. provided 5,000 metric tons of toluene-- an ingredient for TNT -. to the Biysk Oleum Plant, according to the rail information. Evraz was. sanctioned in 2022 by the British government which stated it. provided steel to the Russian armed force.
In a statement, Evraz said it just provided toluene for. civilian usage only. The Biysk Oleum plant, a system of Sverdlov,. didn't react to requests for remark.
In April 2024, the federal government of Altai region, which. includes the city of Biysk, noted the plant amongst manufacturers. that substantially increased their 2023 production in. fulfilment of state defence procurement agreements.
Reuters determined 2 other billionaire-linked companies. providing chemicals to munitions factories. The Sredneuralsk. Copper Smelting Plant (SUMZ) in the Ural mountains, founded by. metals mogul Iskander Makhmudov, provides oleum - likewise known. as fuming sulphuric acid - utilized in the Tambov, Kazan, and Perm. powder plants.
The Lukoil refinery in Perm provided 6,500 metric lots of. toluene to the Perm powder plant, Kazan, and Biysk. Lukoil is. part-owned by billionaire Alekperov, the business's previous. president. Like others, he divested many shares in 2022 however. kept an 8.55% stake.
The tax invoices examined revealed that the Lukoil. plant was a supplier to the Perm powder plant in 2015. They. also file shipments from SUMZ to the Kazan and Perm plants.
In a declaration, Lukoil stated its Perm refinery does not. manufacture explosives or any associated elements which. questions from Reuters about deliveries from there included. absurd speculations.
SUMZ did not react to in-depth questions. Its parent. company, UMMC, which is under sanctions by the United States and Britain,. did not react to an ask for comment. Makhmudov, who. divested his managing stake in 2022, according to Forbes,. likewise could not be grabbed comment.
(source: Reuters)