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Sources say that Mali authorities have reopened Barrick Mining's office in the capital.
Two people familiar with the matter said that Malian tax officials reopened Barrick Mining’s office in the capital, under the supervision of a court appointed administrator. The office had been closed in April due to alleged nonpayment of taxes. This is the first major development since the Malian court, on 16 June, placed the Canadian miner’s Loulo-Gounkoto complex under state control. It was a major escalation in the long-running dispute over taxes. Barrick said that it would appeal the decision. It appointed former Malian Health Minister, Soumana Maadji as its provisional administrator. Makadji will likely restart the complex's operations soon. Three people with knowledge of the situation say that he will visit the site this week. On Monday afternoon, he will be meeting with Barrick employees and subcontractors in the Bamako offices. Barrick's and Mali's Mines Ministry spokespeople did not immediately reply to requests for comments. Barrick and government have been negotiating since 2023 about the implementation of the new mining code, which raises taxes and grants the government a larger share in gold mines. The Loulo-Gounkoto mine complex has been operating for several years. Since mid-January, the suspension of all flights has been in effect Barrick has been forced to close its Bamako office after the Malian military government seized three tons of gold stocks. Barrick's Bamako main office has been closed for several months. (Reporting and editing by Portia Crowe; Joe Bavier).
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Limitations of the UN's nuclear watchdog in Iran
Since Israel's military strike on Iran's nuclear facilities on 13 June, the U.N. nuclear watchdog that polices the global Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty has been unable to conduct inspections in Iran. The International Atomic Energy Agency has a number of inspection powers. IS THE IAEA UNIVERSAL IN JURISDICTION? No. The IAEA has separate agreements with other countries and is only responsible for the 191 signatories of the NPT. Iran is a signatory to the NPT, and is therefore subject to IAEA supervision. This includes inspections to ensure that nuclear material like uranium does not get "diverted", for example to be used in atomic weapons. Israel is the only Middle Eastern country widely believed to possess nuclear weapons, despite not being a signatory to the NPT. Israel doesn't confirm or deny possessing them. The IAEA has signed a limited agreement that allows it to supervise some materials and facilities. This is a fraction of the material and facilities Israel has, and does not include any of the nuclear weapons programme widely believed to exist in Israel. Iran, by contrast, has a Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement (CSA) with the IAEA under which it must account for all its proliferation-sensitive nuclear material, including every gram of enriched uranium. Can the IAEA go anywhere, anytime in Iran? No. No. The IAEA had access to these facilities regularly until the attack. The IAEA said that since then the facilities have been "closed", and that inspectors are not allowed to enter. HAS THE IAEA HAD PRIOR POWERS? Yes. Yes. The IAEA's oversight of Iran was the most extensive ever. As part of the 2015 pact with the IAEA, Iran agreed to add the Additional Protocol to the CSAs of countries. The IAEA created this protocol to increase its ability to prevent nuclear proliferation. Iran has signed the Additional Protocol but not ratified it. The Additional Protocol grants the IAEA the ability to conduct snap inspections, which are short notice visits to places that Iran may not have declared as nuclear related. Why does it no longer have such sweeping powers? In 2018, President Donald Trump, during his first term in office, pulled the U.S. from the 2015 nuclear agreement, reimposing U.S. sanction on Iran, which had been lifted under the agreement. As a result, Iran started pushing beyond the limits of the nuclear deal the following year. It also reduced the additional IAEA supervision introduced by the agreement. In February 2021, Iran announced that it would not be fulfilling its additional commitments made under the 2015 agreement. This included the implementation of the Additional Protocol. The IAEA agreed to continue monitoring equipment, such as surveillance cameras, added under the 2015 deal. However, Iran ordered their removal in June 2022. What was lost with the extra Oversight? Snap inspections, an important tool for IAEA oversight, were removed. The IAEA's reduced oversight left blind spots where extra oversight was applied. IAEA says that because it has been losing "continuity" of knowledge for many years, it won't be able fully to piece together what has happened. This includes the production of centrifuges, their inventory and some key parts of centrifuges as well as Iran’s stock of “yellowcake” – uranium which hasn’t been enriched. It is not impossible that many centrifuges, which are still unaccounted for, will be used in secret to enrich uranium at an undeclared site. A small warehouse would make it easy to conceal such a facility. IAEA cannot guarantee that Iran's nuclear activities are entirely peaceful, but there is no evidence of a coordinated nuclear weapon programme. What if Iran pulls out of the Non-Proliferation Treaty? Iran has threatened withdrawal from the NPT while also saying that it will not develop nuclear weapons in the event of such a development. Tehran complained that the non-proliferation treaty failed to protect them from an attack by the United States and Israel, two countries widely believed to possess nuclear weapons. The NPT allows a withdrawal by a country with three months notice, "if they decide that extraordinary events relating to the subject of this Treaty have compromised the supreme interest of their country". North Korea, the only country that has announced its withdrawal from NPT in 2003 is North Korea. It was this country who expelled IAEA inspections before testing nuclear weaponry. (Reporting and editing by Mark Heinrich; Francois Murphy)
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Sources say that maintenance at Russia's Sakhalin-1 will stop crude production in August.
Three industry sources have confirmed that Rosneft, Russia's largest oil company, will stop producing its export-oriented Sokol crude at the Sakhalin-1 project on its far eastern Sakhalin coast in August due to maintenance. One of them said that the maintenance would last 20 to 25 days. According to another source, the maintenance will begin in late July. It is expected to be completed at the end of August. One source said that maintenance on one of the compressors will cause the oil production to drop slightly in July to 135,000 barrels a day, from the usual 150,000-160,000 barrels a day, due to the normal decline of 150,000-160,000 barrels bpd. No sources were named as they weren't authorised to publicly speak on the subject. Rosneft has not responded to the request for comment. The Sakhalin oilfields are subject to routine maintenance. Due to Western sanctions on Russia's energy sector, which have been in place since 2022 due to the conflict in Ukraine, the export of Sokol from the Sakhalin-1 Project has been a challenge. ExxonMobil's withdrawal from the project in that year led to a suspension of production and shipments for several months. Due to the sanctions against several tankers in 2024 and the difficulties of making international payments, Sokol oil was left in floating storage looking for buyers for several weeks. ExxonMobil owned a 30% stake as operator in Sakhalin-1. This project is to develop oil and natural gas off the coasts of Sakhalin Island. The U.S. firm, India's ONGC Videsh, and Japan's SODECO were partners. Exxon will write off $4.6 billion in 2022 for leaving the Sakhalin-1 project, leaving Rosneft to control it. (Reporting from Nidhi in New Delhi, and reporters in Moscow. Editing by Barbara Lewis.)
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Egypt wants more fuel oil in August to power its electricity generation
Five trading sources said that Egypt wants to buy more fuel oil in order to meet its electricity generation needs. Fuel oil has been purchased in greater quantities by the country this year to ease a gas shortage that resulted from the loss of gas pipelines connecting Israel and Egypt. According to trading sources, the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation is looking for about 900,000.0 metric tons (tonnage) of fuel oil in its latest tender. One source said that the tender will be closed on July 2, and valid until July 10. The Egyptian Petroleum Ministry didn't immediately respond to an inquiry for comment. An Egyptian source stated that Egypt consumes approximately 40,000 metric tonnes of fuel oil each day for electricity production. Egypt increased its LNG imports in this year, aside from fuel oil to meet the country's power generation needs. In the last two years, Egypt has experienced blackouts due to a fluctuating gas supply. Israel's Energy Ministry said that the country has resumed exporting natural gas from its surplus. This comes nearly a week since Israel and Iran engaged in an aerial battle. (Reporting from Jeslyn Leh in Singapore, Enes Tunagur in London and Mohamed Ezz at Cairo; editing by Vijay Kishore & Kevin Liffey).
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Saudi Arabian crude exports rose to 6,166 mln Bpd in April
Official data released on Monday showed that Saudi Arabian crude oil exports rose in April to 6,166 million barrels a day (bpd), up from 5.754 millions bpd. The crude oil output of the world's biggest oil exporter for April increased from 8,957 million to 9.005 millions bpd. The data revealed that the crude oil throughput of Saudi refineries was 2.704 million barrels per day (bpd) in April. This is down by 0.24 million barrels per day from March's figure of 2.944. In April, the direct crude burn decreased by 6,000 barrels per day to 377,000 barrels per day. JODI publishes monthly export data from Saudi Arabia and other OPEC members. OPEC+ - the largest oil producing group in the world - continued to increase production with a big increase of 411,000 barrels a day for July. Since April, OPEC+ 8 countries have announced or made increases totaling 1,37 million bpd. This is 62% of their 2.2 million bpd that they intend to return to the market. OPEC + Eight is a grouping of eight OPEC+ nations (Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iraq, UAE, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Algeria, and Oman). Igor Sechin said that the group's output increases could be brought forward by a year compared to its initial plan. After the U.S. bombed an Iranian nuclear facility, tensions in the Middle East have risen sharply. The fear is growing that Iran's retaliation could include the closure of the Strait of Hormuz through which a fifth of world crude oil flows. (Reporting by Anushree Mukherjee in Bengaluru; editing by David Evans)
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Israel says it has launched its biggest ever strike on Tehran after hitting Iran's Evin Prison
Israel bombed the Evin prison, one of Iran's most powerful symbols, on Monday in the Iranian capital. This was the "most intense" attack Israel has ever made, and it came a day after US nuclear sites were also destroyed. Iran reiterated earlier threats of retaliation against the United States. It had not done so in any meaningful way after more than 24 hour since U.S. Bombers dropped 30,000-pound bunker busters on its underground nucleus sites. Meanwhile, U.S. president Donald Trump publicly mused about toppling the Iranian government. Oil prices barely moved on the first day of trading after the U.S. entered the war. This suggests traders do not believe Iran will follow through with its threats to disrupt Gulf oil supplies. The Mizan news outlet, which is part of the Iranian judiciary, confirmed that the prison was hit. The news outlet said that part of the prison was damaged, but the situation had been under control. Video posted by Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar to X shows an explosion at a structure with a sign identifying the building as an entrance into Evin prison, located in northern Tehran. The accompanying words are: "Viva La Libertad!" Spanish for "Long live freedom." Could not verify the video immediately. Evin is the main prison in Iran for political prisoners and security detainees, especially since the 1979 Revolution. It has also been the site of many executions, which remain powerful symbols for the Iranian opposition. It is also where several high profile foreign prisoners are held. Israel Katz, the Israeli Minister of Defence, made it clear that Israel would no longer limit its attacks on Iran to their initial targets like its nuclear program and missiles. Instead, Israel would target Tehran's ability maintain power. In a press release, he stated that "the IDF is striking with unprecedented force regime targets and government repression organs in the heart Tehran". Iranian media reported conflicting information about the extent of the strikes in Tehran, a 10 million-person city where a large part of the population fled after 10 days bombing. Tasnim reported that a strike had occurred at a feeder station for electricity in the neighbourhood of Evin. Tavanir, the power company in Tehran, reported that some parts of the capital experienced electricity outages. Iran's Student News Network reported that Shahid Beheshti University was also affected. The university's Public Relations office denied the report. Limited Options Since Trump joined Israel’s campaign and dropped massive bunker-buster weapons on Iranian nuclear sites, Has repeatedly threatened to retaliate. While it continues to fire missiles against Israel, the United States has not taken action, either by shooting at U.S. base or by targeting 20% of global oil shipping that passes near its coast, at the mouth the Gulf. In a video recorded on Monday, Ebrahim Zalfaqari, a spokesperson for Iran's Khatam al-Anbiya Central Military Headquarters, stated in English that "Mr Trump the gambler may have started this war but we will end it." Trump's administration repeatedly stated that it is only interested in destroying Iran's nuclear program, and not to start a larger war. In a Sunday social media post, Trump talked about toppling hardline clerical leaders who have been Washington’s main enemies in the Middle East ever since Iran’s 1979 revolution. It's not politically correct for the phrase "Regime Change" to be used, but if Iran's current Regime is incapable of making IRAN GREAT AGAIN why wouldn't a Regime Change occur? MIGA!!!" He wrote. Experts examining commercial satellite images said that it appeared the U.S. strike had caused severe damage to the site of Iran’s Fordow nuclear power plant, which is built into a mountain. Trump called the strike "Bullseye !!!" He wrote that "monumental damage was done to all Nuclear Sites in Iran." ISRAELI STRIKES AGAIN Israel's airstrikes against Iran have been met with little resistance by Iranian defences, since Israel launched their surprise attack on Iran on June 13th, killing many of Iran’s top commanders. Iran has been releasing few pictures of the damage in an apparent attempt to reduce panic since the first days of the attack. Since the bombing, there has been a major disruption in internet access. This makes it difficult to spread information both within Iran and internationally. Israeli defenses intercepted a missile fired by Iran on Monday morning. Overnight, air raid sirens were heard in Tel Aviv as well as other areas of central Israel. Iran's ability for retaliation is much more limited now than it was a few month ago. Israel has defeated Iran's most fearsome regional proxy force in Lebanon, Hezbollah. Iran's most powerful client, Syria's Bashar Al-Assad, was overthrown shortly after. Oil prices are not at crisis levels, but that is the most effective way for Iran to harm the West. Brent crude futures, which briefly jumped above $80 per barrel at the opening, were only up 0.5% at $77.38 on Monday morning, after even being down at one point. Prices are still higher than before Israel launched its attacks in this month. Even that premium, traders said, could diminish. Ole Hansen is the head of commodity strategy at Saxo Bank. He said: "It is worth noting that a geopolitical premium now exceeding $10 per barley cannot be sustained without a tangible disruption in supply." Although no final decision has been made, Iranian lawmakers have discussed closing the Strait of Hormuz which leads into the Gulf. Marco Rubio, the U.S. Secretary for State, played down this threat. It's economic murder for them to do so. "We have options to deal that", he said.
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Britain's Industrial Strategy cuts green levy for lower energy bills
The British industrial strategy, which was made public on Sunday, will lower green levies and energy bills to thousands of companies in an effort to increase the competitiveness of steel companies and other manufacturers. Under the strategy for the decade 2025-2035, the government plans to cut the bills of electricity-intensive industry by up to 25% from 2027, which it said could benefit more than 7,000 businesses. The government's priority is to boost Britain's anaemic economic growth. The high energy costs faced by many businesses were cited as a major obstacle by lawmakers and business leaders. The United States under Donald Trump has been leading the way in promoting the domestic industry by using protectionist tariffs, and removing potentially costly environmental regulations and charges. Britain and the European Union are also being pressed to support their own manufacturers. The industry body Make UK said that the government should abolish climate levies placed on businesses. The government has responded by exempting the energy-intensive firms. Clean energy is still included in the Industrial Strategy as one of eight sectors that Britain has previously identified as being strong. Other sectors include advanced manufacturing, defense and creative industries. The government has heard the businesses' biggest request: to reduce energy costs and improve skills. The government stated that the energy measures will be funded by reforms in the energy system without increasing household bills or taxes. After a consultation, the scope and eligibility of the scheme will be finalised. Business and Workers The Industrial Strategy is Britain's First in Eight Years, after the Centre-Left Labour Party stated that it would provide a better approach to assist industry with everything from skills, to power and water to investment. Keir starmer, the British Prime Minister and other ministers have said that Britain has both stood aside and interfered far too much. Workers were not given much support during the deindustrialisation process, but they also had to deal with what they call overregulation. The focus of the strategy on energy costs, skills and the engineering industry is welcomed by business and engineering groups. However, the pro-growth campaign group Britain Remade has called for greater efforts to improve grid connectivity and reform the planning system. The strategy will see the government increase the capacity of the British Business Bank, a state-owned institution, to channel investments into smaller businesses, allocate an additional 1.2 billion pounds ($1.61billion) per year for skills by 2028-2029, and reduce regulatory burdens placed on business. Less than 9% is devoted to manufacturing. The industrial strategy includes financial and professional services as well as the creative sector of Britain, but some business groups in sectors like hospitality have criticized it for its narrow focus.
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Budapest: Hungary and Slovakia reject Russian sanctions package
Hungary and Slovakia decided to not support the EU plan for an 18th package of sanctions against Russia. Hungarian foreign minister Peter Szijjarto announced this on Monday during a live press conference broadcast on Facebook. The minister stated that Hungary and Slovakia have decided to block the package of sanctions in response to European Union plans for phasing out Russian energy imports. Szijjarto stated, "We did it because the European Union... wants to prevent member states including Hungary and Slovakia from buying cheap Russian natural gas or cheap Russian oil, as they had done in the past." Hungary and Slovakia still rely on Russian oil and gas supplies, and maintain warm relations with Moscow. On June 10, the Commission proposed new sanctions against Russia, targeting its energy revenues, banks, and military industry, for its invasion of Ukraine over three years ago. Robert Fico, the Slovak prime minister, responded by saying that Slovakia would not support the sanctions package unless the European Commission provided a solution for the situation Slovakia might face if the EU phased out Russian energy imports. For sanctions to be approved, the bloc must vote unanimously. On Sunday evening, Viktor Orban, the Hungarian prime minister urged EU to take action. Proposed ban on Russian energy The expected increase in energy prices after the U.S. attack on Iran has taken this off the agenda.
Gulf stock markets continue to grow despite regional conflict
Investors were anxiously waiting to see if Iran would respond to U.S. strikes on its nuclear sites.
The price of oil has risen to its highest level since January, as supply fears were stoked by the United States joining Israel to attack Iran's nuclear sites.
The market participants are expecting further price increases amid growing fears that a retaliatory move by Iran could include the closing of the Strait of Hormuz through which approximately a fifth of world crude oil supply passes.
Saudi Arabia's benchmark stock index rose 0.7%. Al Rajhi Bank gained 0.6%, and Saudi Arabian Mining Company added 2%.
Hani Abuagla is a senior analyst at XTB MENA and said that regional stock markets had recovered to a certain degree as investors saw the U.S. intervening in Iran's affairs, which could force Iran into peace negotiations.
Dubai's main stock index rose 1%. This was led by blue-chip developer Emaar Properties, which saw a 2.4% increase and the sharia compliant lender Dubai Islamic Bank, which saw a 1.7% rise.
Gulf States, which are home to several U.S. bases, were on alert Sunday. Their leaders called on all parties involved to exercise maximum restraint after U.S. attacks on Iran raised the possibility of an even wider conflict.
Saudi Arabian and UAE nuclear authorities said that they did not detect any signs of contamination after the Iranian strikes.
Abu Dhabi's index increased by 0.2%.
Abuagla says that most markets have experienced a significant drop in value, and some investors may have even priced in the worst possible outcome. If the current conditions do not change too drastically, then we could see a market normalization.
The index rose 1.3% in Qatar. The largest lender of the Gulf, Qatar National Bank, grew by 0.8%, while Qatar International Islamic Bank jumped 3.6%. (Reporting and editing by Alex Richardson in Bengaluru, Ateeq Sharriff in Bengaluru)
(source: Reuters)