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BP to Help Boost Oil and Gas Output at India’s Largest Producing Field
India's top explorer Oil and Natural Gas Corp ONGC on Wednesday said energy major BP will act as technical service provider to help boost oil and gas output from the country's largest producing field, off India's west coast.BP has promised an increase of up to 60% in production of oil and gas output from the Mumbai High field, discovered in 1974, ONGC said in a stock exchange filing.The field reached a peak production level of 471,000 barrels per day of oil in March 1985, and its output had declined to about 134,000 bpd in April 2024, according to the tender document floated last year.India, the world's third-biggest oil importer and consumer, wants to quickly raise its oil and gas output, which has been stagnant for years.In June, the government said that ONGC was seeking a technical tie-up with a global oil major to boost production and BP's board had met India's Oil Minister Hardeep Singh Puri in September 2024.The country has been asking foreign companies to participate in India's exploration programmes, Puri had said last year.BP will act as a technical service provider for the field."We look forward to bringing our long experience of optimising performance and recovery from major mature fields around the world to help unlock and enhance production from Mumbai High," BP said in a statement.BP, in a tie-up with Reliance Industries, operates 1,900 fuel retail stations across India and produces oil and gas from a deepwater block in the Krishna-Godavari basin, off the country's east coast.The Reliance-BP tie-up has teamed up with ONGC to bid for exploration rights for an offshore block in India.(Reuters - Reporting by Sethuraman NR, Editing by Nidhi Verma an d Michael Perry)
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Van Oord Takes Delivery of Giant Offshore Installation Vessel Boreas
A brand-new offshore installation vessel Boreas has been handed over to Van Oord during a festive ceremony at the Yantai CIMC Raffles Offshore shipyard in China.The Boreas, named after the Greek god of the Northern winds, is purpose-built for the transport and installation of the next generation of foundations and turbines at offshore wind farms.The vessel will be the largest of its kind once operational, according to Van Oord.It measures 175 meters in length and has a 155-metre-high boom, which can lift more than 3,000 tonnes.Four giant legs, each measuring 126 meters, allow the vessel to be jacked up and work in waters up to 70 meters deep.The vessel will be able to install up to 20 MW offshore wind turbines at sea, and is the first of its kind with the ability to operate on the future fuel methanol, reducing the ship’s footprint by more than 78%.Van Oord’s Boreas Set for First Job at German Offshore Wind ProjectThe Boreas will now be prepared to sail to the Netherlands, where the final outfitting works will take place.This includes the installation of equipment for storing and handling the foundations of wind turbines.The vessel will also be christened there, and is expected to be commercially available in the third quarter of 2025.“The delivery of the Boreas marks a major milestone for Van Oord. I am pleased to celebrate this together with all those who contributed to the construction of the vessel in China. We are looking forward to welcoming this beautiful vessel to our fleet,” said Harold Linssen, Director Ship Management Department at Van Oord.
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Study documents termination hazards to world's freshwater types
Freshwater environments cover about 1% of Earth's surface area while representing more than 10% of recognized types. Like numerous marine and terrestrial ecosystems, however, they remain in distress. A brand-new research study looking at some of the citizens of freshwater environments offers a stark illustration of this biodiversity situation. Scientist assessed the status of 23,496 types of freshwater animals in groups consisting of fishes, crustaceans such as crabs, crayfish and shrimp and bugs such as dragonflies and damselflies, finding 24% of them at a high danger of extinction. Common dangers consist of pollution, dams and water extraction, farming and invasive types, with overharvesting likewise driving terminations, said conservationist Catherine Sayer, lead author of the research study published on Wednesday in the journal Nature. Sayer heads the freshwater biodiversity system at the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the company that tracks the status of species worldwide. Some of the freshwater types deemed at high threat bear exotic names such as the mini blue bee shrimp of Sulawesi, the Seychelles duskhawker dragonfly, the Atlantic helicopter damselfly of Brazil, the daisy burrowing crayfish of Arkansas and fishes such as the shortnose sucker of Oregon and California and the humpbacked mahseer of India. The research study filled a gap in data on freshwater biodiversity. Because their varied, the studied types were chosen positions within food webs present a holistic view of the health of freshwater environments globally. These species inhabit inland wetlands such as lakes, rivers, peatlands, marshes and swamps - areas that the researchers stated have been reduced by more than a 3rd given that 1970. Other research has recorded the status of mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians that share these freshwater environments and often face their own distinct dangers. Of the animal groups investigated in the brand-new study, the highest threat levels were recorded in the shellfishes (30%. threatened) followed by the fishes (26%) and the dragonflies and. damselflies (16%). Freshwater ecosystems are environmentally important due to the fact that of. the variety of types they support. Some of them might have. high varieties of types that are restricted just to those. systems - a single lake or pool or river, stated Northern Arizona. University freshwater conservationist Ian Harrison, a member of. the IUCN Types Survival Commission and a study co-author. They are also crucial in regards to the environment services. they provide: carbon sequestration in terms of peat bogs; food in. regards to fisheries; medicines from plants; as well as cultural. and aesthetic values. Freshwater reeds are used for building. homes in some areas. Freshwater ecosystems contribute $50. trillion in worth annually by their arrangement of natural. procedures supporting human well-being, Harrison said. The researchers determined 4 places internationally with the. largest number of threatened freshwater types: Lake Victoria. in Africa, Lake Titicaca in South America and regions in western. India and Sri Lanka. Lake Victoria, the world's second-largest freshwater lake by. area, is surrounded by Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. The key. risks identified to types were pollution, overfishing,. farming and invasive species, particularly the Nile perch. and water hyacinth. Lake Titicaca is located on the border. in between Peru and Bolivia in the Andes. It was found to face a. comparable cadre of risks as Lake Victoria. Both lakes boast a. rich variety of fishes. There is an urgent requirement to concentrate on freshwater preservation. to halt the decline in types, and this can be achieved through. a more integrated management of water resources that can consist of. the maintenance of environment functions within the procedure of. addressing the obviously crucial human needs for water,. Harrison stated. The particular value of this research study is that it shows us. which river basins, lakes, et cetera, are the ones where the. preservation obstacles are most severe and immediate, Harrison. included. And we can compare this to what we know about existing. defenses, and recognize where there are gaps and where there. are conservation requirements. And it serves as a baseline of information. from which we can track progress, to see if our actions are. reducing threats.
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Argentina privatizes state metal company in Milei era
Argentina's government has privatized metallurgical firm IMPSA, the economy ministry stated on Wednesday, marking its first privatization considering that libertarian President Javier Milei took power just over a year ago guaranteeing to diminish the state. The company's shares will be moved to the U.S.-based consortium Industrial Acquisition Fund (IAF), whose leading partner is Arc Energy, according to an official announcement on Wednesday. A government commission evaluated quotes for IMPSA's sale and recommended awarding shares held by provincial and national governments to the IAF consortium. Milei campaigned on pledges to downsize Argentina's government by cutting and privatizing state-owned companies state financing to private companies, as part of his goal of attaining a absolutely no deficit budget. IAF proposed a $27 million capital injection while asking for till January 31 to protect the refinancing of IMPSA's. $ 576 million in financial obligation owed to creditors, the economy ministry. said in a statement. The company must protect financial institution approval to renegotiate the. debt before the contract for the purchase and transfer of shares. is settled, the statement noted. Founded in 1907, IMPSA makes devices such as. turbines, cranes, and reactors for metallurgy, energy. generation, and technology sectors.
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Northvolt owners vote to remain running while seeking monetary rescue
The owners of Northvolt voted to continue operations on Wednesday, the business stated, while the Swedish electrical automobile battery maker scrambles to discover new backers and funding in coming weeks. Northvolt went from Europe's best shot at an EV battery champion to seeking bankruptcy protection in 2015 as production problems, diminishing financing and competition from China took their toll. Owners, consisting of Volkswagen and Goldman Sachs, met in Stockholm to vote on whether to liquidate the group or permit the Chapter 11 restructuring managed by a U.S. court to continue. This is a favorable result that shows the assistance of our investors as we seek to realise our aspiration and increase our value, the business said in a declaration. Northvolt continues to make progress in the restructuring process while ramping production and executing on its change, it added. Northvolt has actually gotten more than $10 billion in equity, debt and public funding given that its founding in 2016. At the time of its Chapter 11 filing in November the lithium-ion battery maker had 6,600 workers and debts of $5.8. billion, and just $30 million in money. It said it expects to. finish its restructuring by the first quarter. Co-founder and recently left CEO Peter Carlsson said the. business needs to raise in between $1 billion and $1.2 billion to. restore its company. Those funds are most likely to come from a mix. both monetary and tactical financiers, and a mix of. existing and brand-new stakeholders, an individual with knowledge of the. circumstance said. The individual was speaking on condition of. privacy because the matter is private. A Northvolt representative said the company would not comment. on possible structures however said its talks with possible. investors were continuous. Swedish firms are required by law to look for a mandate from. If their equity value is, shareholders to continue operations. estimated to have dropped below half that of their signed up. share capital. We chose to vote in line with the Northvolt board's. proposition as the company's operations continue, stated a. representative at insurance company Folksam, which has a 0.7% stake in the. startup. Folksam's focus is now on the outcome of the restructuring,. the representative added. A Northvolt representative had actually stated in advance that the. company expected owners to support the board's proposal to. continue operations. Northvolt went into the Chapter 11 proceedings with a. $ 100-million loan from investor and client Scania, and has. stated it expects to line up more financing by late January.
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Exxon slips after flagging weak fourth-quarter earnings on refining squeeze
Exxon Mobil shares fell almost 2% in early trading on Wednesday after the top U.S. oil manufacturer warned of a decrease in refining profits in the fourth quarter and weak returns throughout its operations. The earnings photo from the industry bellwether signified a difficult environment as business face pricing pressure in the middle of demand volatility. Exxon expects fourth-quarter profits to be lower by about $ 1.75 billion from the previous quarter. For much of last year, Exxon and other oil majors dealt with lowered profitability from refining petroleum and selling petroleum items as a post-pandemic boom in demand ended. The opening of big plants all over the world also weighed on refining margins development. In the 3rd quarter, Exxon's profits fell 5% than the year-ago quarter, while Chevron's tumbled 21%. Exxon's revenues upgrade is constant with revisions seen for independent refiners and other majors with heavy refining direct exposure, said Biraj Borkhataria, an oil analyst with RBC Capital Markets, in a note to financiers. The picture will likely be viewed as a unfavorable and weigh on the shares in the near term, he included. Exxon is among the world's largest refiners with an overall international refining capability of 4.5 million barrels of oil daily and is likewise one of the world's biggest manufacturers of product and specialty chemicals. The business is anticipated to provide a profit of $1.76 per share in the fourth quarter, according to data assembled by LSEG. The oil major published earnings of $2.48 per share a year earlier. Exxon has a price-to-earnings (PE) ratio of 13.56 compared to Chevron's 16.43. A lower PE several indicates a more attractive investment chance. Exxon's shares rose 7.6% in 2024, underperforming the S&P. 500's 23.3% gain.
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Israeli strikes kill lots in Gaza in the middle of stepped up ceasefire push
Israeli military strikes across Gaza eliminated at least 27 individuals on Wednesday, Palestinian medics stated, as global arbitrators stepped up efforts to seal a. ceasefire and captive exchange deal between Israel and the. Palestinian group Hamas. An airstrike eliminated at least 10 people in a multi-storey. home in the Sheikh Radwan community of Gaza City, while. another killed 5 in the neighboring Zeitoun residential area, medics stated. In Deir Al-Balah city in central Gaza, where numerous. thousands of displaced Palestinians are sheltering, and in. Jabalia, the largest of Gaza's 8 historic refugee camps, a. total of 7 people were eliminated, they stated. Israel's military said it struck Hamas militants operating. in a school in Jabalia, and that it took steps to reduce danger. to civilians. Later Wednesday, an Israeli airstrike eliminated 5. Palestinians inside the public garden in Gaza City, medics said. There was no Israeli military remark. Such mass casualties are a daily occurrence in Gaza, where. more than 46,000 Palestinians have now been killed in Israel's. 15-month-long assault against Hamas, according to health. authorities in the enclave. As Israel continued its bombardments, the United States,. Qatar and Egypt were making extensive efforts to reach a. ceasefire deal, with one source near the talks stating this. was the most serious effort to reach a deal so far. The outbound U.S. administration has actually called for a final push. for an offer before President Joe Biden leaves office, and lots of in. the region see president-elect Donald Trump's inauguration on. Jan. 20 as an unofficial due date. Things are better than ever in the past, however there is no offer. yet, the source told Reuters. Trump's Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff stated over night he. intend to have advantages to report about Israeli captives held. by the time Trump is sworn in as president. An offer would likewise. include the release of Palestinians kept in Israeli prisons. The Gaza Health Ministry meanwhile warned that Nasser. Health center and the Gaza European Healthcare facility may stop operations in. a few hours unless the Israelis stop restricting the flow of. fuel to the medical facilities. It later on stated it got a minimal quantity of fuel that. would delay a total stop of operations till Thursday unless. more fuel shows up. Israel denies impeding humanitarian relief to Gaza. The country introduced its attack on Gaza after Hamas. fighters stormed southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing 1,200. individuals and recording more than 250 hostages, according to. Israeli tallies. Its Gaza campaign has actually laid waste to much of the enclave. The majority of the territory's 2.1 million individuals have been displaced. multiple times and face severe lacks of food and medicine,. humanitarian firms say. On Wednesday, the International Federation of Red Cross and. Red Crescent Societies said heavy rains and flooding had actually left. households residing in damaged tents with approximately 30 cm of water in. them, clinging on to survival without even the most basic. requirements, such as blankets. Israel and Hamas both implicate the other of blocking a. ceasefire and captive exchange deal by adhering to conditions. that have torpedoed all previous peace efforts for more than a. year. On Tuesday, Hamas waited its need that it will only release. its staying hostages if Israel agrees to end the war and. withdraw all its soldiers from Gaza. Israel states it will not end. the war till Hamas is taken apart and all captives are free.
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Gold ETFs drew first net inflow in four years in 2024, WGC says
Physically backed gold exchangetraded funds (ETFs) registered a modest net inflow of $ 3.4 billion in 2024, their very first inflow in 4 years, even though their holdings fell by 6.8 metric loads, the World Gold Council (WGC) said on Wednesday. Gold ETFs save bullion for financiers and represent a. considerable amount of financial investment demand for the rare-earth element. , which struck a record high of $2,790.15 an ounce on Oct. 31. and saw the strongest yearly cost growth considering that 2010 in 2024. In a year in which the gold cost reached brand-new all-time. Highs 40 times, international financier hunger for gold ETFs. reversed, the WGC, industry body organizing international gold. miners, stated in a research study note. After three successive years of outflows against a background. of high rate of interest, the modest inflow in worth terms was led. by Asia-listed funds and enhanced cravings from North American. funds as major reserve banks started their rate easing cycles. Total possessions under management at gold ETFs increased by 26% to. $ 270.5 billion in 2024, while collective holdings fell by 0.2%. to 3,218.8 loads. The WGC estimates that gold trading volumes throughout global. markets rose by 39% to approximately $226.3 billion a day in. 2024, the highest on record, with trading in the.
Asia dollar bond volumes seen increasing 20% as China deals gather pace
Asian dollar bond issuance is expected to increase around 20% in 2025 over last year, driven by Chinese financial obligation offers and as U.S. rate of interest cuts make it more economical for business to issue dollar bonds rather than regional currency financial obligation.
In the first few days of 2025, at least $6 billion worth of dollar bonds were provided, LSEG data and term sheets reviewed by Reuters showed. Offers have been priced by the Export Import Bank of Korea and aluminium producer China Hongqiao Group.
We are expecting about a 20% increase in dollar bonds out of Asia, not taking into consideration Japan or Australia, to reach about $220-$ 225 billion in 2025, Rishi Jalan, Citigroup's. Asia Pacific financial obligation distribute head, stated. Around $175 billion. worth of dollar bonds were provided in 2024.
To reach that level, a great deal of guns will have to fire to. satisfy that volume, he said.
So, we will require to see a few of the huge China tech names. come back in size, a pick-up in issuance in India, there has. been a lot of volume lost in India to regional currencies and that. will require to come back into dollars.
Increased dollar issuance helps fund Asia-based business'. expansion aspirations and nudges charges higher for significant investment. banks working as bookrunners on the offers.
Higher U.S. rates of interest for most of the past 2 years. had made it more affordable for numerous business in Asia to issue bonds in. their own currencies or rely on domestic bank funding rather. than concern dollar bonds.
The Fed minimized the policy rate by a complete portion. point over its last 3 meetings of 2024, and is expected to. keep the rate in the existing range of 4.25% to 4.5% at the next. conference on Jan. 28-29.
China's technology behemoths are predicted to lead the surge. in dollar financial obligation issuance this year, Jalan said. As a precursor,. e-commerce firms Alibaba and Meituan raised a. combined $7.5 billion via dollar bonds late in 2015.
The 2 tech giants raised money in 2015 partially to pay. down debt and access capital to fund future growth. Bankers. anticipate that pattern to continue in 2025.
DRIVING REQUIRE
China, an engine of growth for the dollar debt market in. Asia, released $77.1 billion worth of dollar bonds in 2024,. according to Dealogic information, an 81% boost on the $42.5 billion. raised one year earlier.
In spite of the sharp increase, however, the volume remained well. off the 2019 peak when $210.5 billion was raised, the data. showed.
High grade Chinese companies have the ability to provide now and. those companies are more comfy with where the rates are. compared to 2023 and very first half of 2024, stated Avinash Thakur,. head of capital markets financing, Asia Pacific, at Barclays.
There will be issuance in tech, they have funding. requirements and in the industrials sector, he stated.
Bankers stated it was unlikely the country's troubled property. sector, a significant issuer of scrap bonds before a debt crisis hit. the sector in 2021, will return to the marketplaces anytime soon as. it remains in turmoil.
The sector is still under pressure, residential or commercial property prices. continue to be down and debt levels are high, Thakur stated.
Somewhere else in the area, South Korean dollar bond issuance. rose 14.5% in 2024 to nearly $50 billion however the present. political instability could trigger investors to avoid handle. that market, stated Jini Lee, a partner at law office Ashurst.
Investors looking to diversify far from U.S. investments. and had actually wished to invest in Asia might have looked towards India. and Korea, Lee stated, including that due to pessimism towards. China, other Asian markets have actually gotten popularity with financiers. from outside the area.
Some financiers may pick to wait on the political. situation to stabilise before buying South Korean. companies so the market may be a little muted prior to that.
(source: Reuters)