Latest News
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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.
India's BPCL purchases Middle East grades to change Russian shortage
Staterun Indian refiner Bharat Petroleum Corp is purchasing Middle Eastern crude to offset less supply of cheaper Russian oil, its head of finance Vetsa Ramakrishna Gupta stated in a recent interview.
Indian state refiners, which generally buy Russian oil in the spot market instead of under long-lasting contract, are unable to acquire about 8 million to 10 million barrels of crude for January loading that they have actually formerly seen offered in the market, sources stated previously this month.
India became a leading purchaser of Russian seaborne oil after the European Union shunned purchases and enforced sanctions on Moscow following its invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Russian oil accounts for more than one-third of India's energy imports as the country has looked for to take advantage of discounts on the crude.
BPCL is not getting its complete Russian oil supply from the area market, Gupta informed Reuters in an interview on Dec. 26.
There may be a lack of 2 to 3 freights each month ... whatever is the shortage of Russian crude, we are buying that from Middle East only, he said, adding that its current purchases included Omani oil.
Russian oil makes up about 35% to 37% of the crude BPCL procedures at its three refineries, which have actually a combined capacity of 706,000 barrels per day (bpd), he stated.
Next year if there is any significant impact on Russian products, we will check out more sources consisting of WTI (West Texas Intermediate) crude or Middle Eastern crudes, whichever is cheaper, Gupta said.
Russian oil exports have fallen as domestic need is rising and as Moscow needs to satisfy output quotas under its pact with the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). The country's output is likewise set to decline in 2024 from last year, the Interfax news firm reported on Dec. 5.
Additionally, Russian state oil firm Rosneft has signed a handle Indian private refiner Dependence to provide 500,000 bpd of crude for ten years starting in 2025. That agreement will represent about half of the company's exports, reducing the supply readily available for other traders.
BPCL is continuously diversifying its oil sources and buys about 53% of its supply through term deals. It just recently bought Argentinian crude for the very first time, he stated.
For the 2025/26, BPCL plans to raise 10,000 bpd of crude oil from Qatar under a yearly deal while keeping contracts with other term suppliers undamaged, Gupta stated.
INVESTMENT PREPARES
BPCL plans to invest 1.7 trillion rupees ($ 19.94 billion) in the five years to 2028/29, with half of that fulfilled through debt, Gupta said.
The company has actually already bound about 320 billion rupees of loans with Indian banks for the expansion of its Bina refinery in main India, he added.
BPCL will refinance 40 billion to 50 billion rupees in loans next year and would opt for external borrowings in 2026/27, when it prepares major investments, Gupta stated.
He included that more rate of interest cuts are needed by the U.S. to make overseas borrowing attractive.
BPCL has foreign financial obligation of $2 billion at the group level that include investment in overseas exploration projects.
It will invest 250 billion rupees for the advancement of its oil and gas projects in Mozambique and Brazil in the next five years, Gupta said.
(source: Reuters)