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The US refinery capacity will grow to 18,4 million bpd by 2024
The U.S. Energy Information Administration reported on Friday that the capacity of U.S. refineries to process crude oil will increase by almost 40,000 barrels a day in 2024, reaching 18.4 million bpd. According to a report, the Port Arthur plant of Motiva Enterprises in Texas became the world's largest refinery based on capacity, with 640,500 barrels per day. It passed Marathon Petroleum's Galveston Bay Refinery, located in Texas City. Motiva increased its capacity by 14,500 bpd over the past year due to improved operating efficiency. The report for next year may show a drop of up to 402,476 bpd due to refinery closures. Lyondell Basell Industries closed its 263,776 bpd Houston refining plant permanently in February. Phillips 66 will close its 138 700 bpd Los Angeles facility by the end this year. If refineries do not improve their efficiency, also known as de-bottlenecking in the industry, then the U.S. production capacity will fall below that of 2023, which was 18.06 million barrels per day, according to the EIA. According to the EIA annual report, Marathon, located in Findlay, Ohio continues to be the United States' largest refiner. It has 13 refineries with a combined capacity of 2,96 million bpd, or 16% of total national production. According to the EIA, Valero Energy Corp., based in San Antonio is the second-largest refinery, with 13 facilities operating 2.2 millions bpd. This represents 12% of the U.S. production capacity. The EIA reported that Exxon Mobil Corp. is the third largest refiner, with four facilities with a crude oil throughput of 1.96 million barrels per day, or 10.6% the national capacity. The EIA Report reflects refinery capacities as of January 1, 2020 and is based upon reports submitted by refiners for individual capacities per refinery before January 1. It provides an overview of the growth that occurred in the prior year. In the long term, U.S. refineries have seen a trend of increasing capacity in remaining refineries while decreasing the number of refineries. The number of refineries in America remained the same at 132 in 2024. However, the EIA report states that the CPI Operations refinery, which produces 32,000 bpd, in Paulsboro in New Jersey, is idle. (Reporting and editing by Mark Porter, Louise Heavens, and Erwin Seba)
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Moscow promises to closely supervise foreign businesses returning to Russia
Igor Krasnov is the Russian Prosecutor-General, who led the government's effort to seize property valued at 2.4 trillion rubles ($31 billion). He said that foreign companies returning to Russia would be closely monitored to ensure Russia benefits. In the three years since Russia began its war in Ukraine, Moscow has taken over a dozen assets owned by foreigners under its management. This year, prosecutors have increased the seizure and confiscation of assets in Ukraine. As the economy slows down after two years of high growth, fueled by military spending, Russian officials try to strike a balance between protecting the economy from Western nations they consider unfriendly, and the need to grow to continue funding the conflict in Ukraine. Krasnov stated, "We will closely monitor the actions of the government." "That's who will come... and on what terms they'll come." Krasnov stated that "we will look to make sure the conditions in which our business (Russian business) operates are better when Western business returns." He said that it must be profitable for the Russian firms themselves. Russia gives priority to its domestic firms. Some of these companies have taken over market share from Western firms such as McDonald's, Unilever and others that left the country since Russia started the conflict in Ukraine. Vladimir Putin, President of Russia on Friday, said that the Russian economy cannot develop without foreign investment and that Moscow will create conditions for making foreign partners feel comfortable. He said that Russian companies should fulfill legally binding buybacks of foreign companies but that Russia would support any measures that are in its own interest. Putin stated that if someone leaves for political reasons or under pressure by their own political elites and their country, they are not reliable partners. WESTERN FIRMS ARE ABSENT Kirill Dmitriev is the head of Russia's sovereign fund. He has stated that U.S. firms are in discussions to return to Russia. However, lawyers and investors insist that sanctions need to be lifted first before any significant influx takes place. The Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said to the Izvestia newspaper on Friday that there had been no requests for foreign companies to return. Siluanov stated that "there are no applications yet for entry, but I sense that the situation is evolving and interest is growing in investing in Russia." Some analysts have also raised concerns over property rights. According to two sources in Russia's banking and energy sectors, some companies could be interested in returning if they can make money but not at the moment. Since 2022, the state has taken over foreign assets owned by Danone, a French yoghurt manufacturer and Carlsberg, a Danish brewery. These assets have been sold to Kremlin friendly buyers. $1 = 78.4955 Russian Roubles (Reporting and writing by Anastasia Lyrchikova. Editing by Toby Chopra).
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Sources say that Congo is considering extending the cobalt export prohibition as it considers quotas.
Sources familiar with the discussion say that the Democratic Republic of Congo may extend its ban on cobalt exports as it looks at how to implement quotas in shipments of electric vehicle battery materials. The Congo will likely continue to ban exports of cobalt because it wants to give the government more time to figure out how to distribute the export quotas to mining companies who produce the metal for battery vehicles, according to sources. In February, the world's largest cobalt supplier imposed a ban on exports of cobalt for four months. The ban expires Sunday. It was intended to reduce oversupply in order to revive prices that had fallen by nine years. Glencore, the second largest cobalt producer in the world, has backed a proposal to implement quotas. Glencore, however, has a different position from CMOC Group, which is lobbying for the lifting of the ban. Eurasian Resources Group is another major Congo producer that wants to lift the ban and hears more from the government about how the cobalt export quotas will be implemented. Zack Hartwanger is the head of Commercial, Africa for Swiss commodity trader Open Mineral. Hartwanger stated that "some (in the government) expressed concerns about revenue, employment and informal supply chains." There is tension between industrial policies and economic realities. CMOC and Congo's Ministry of Mines, the top cobalt producing company in the world, did not reply to emailed inquiries. ARECOMS (the Authority for the Regulation and Control of Strategic Mineral Substances' Markets), which is responsible for implementing the export restrictions on cobalt, has not responded to emailed inquiries. CMOC has increased cobalt production at its two mines located in Congo where the battery material can be produced as a copper by-product. This is despite the fact that demand for electric vehicle manufacturers is declining as the growth of the sector slows. In February, the market glut pushed prices down to as little as $10 per pound or $22,000 per ton. Reporting by Felix Njini, Kinshasa; Sonia Rolley and Maxwell Akalaare Adombila. Editing by Rod Nickel.
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Rosatom will explore the construction of a high-capacity reactor in Uzbekistan
Rosatom, the state-owned nuclear corporation of Russia, signed a deal with Uzbekistan’s Atomic Energy Agency on Friday to examine the feasibility and cost of building a nuclear power plant capable enough to generate large amounts in this Central Asian nation. Rosatom has already planned to build smaller nuclear units in Uzbekistan. The agreement was signed with the Uzbek Government at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. Over the weekend, the Kazakh government also asked the Russian energy company to lead a group to build the country's first nuclear power station. The five former Soviet Central Asian republics do not have any nuclear power plants, despite the fact that Uzbekistan, and its neighbor Kazakhstan, who are both uranium-producing countries, have said for years that their economies, which are growing, need them. The Uzbekistan facility will use two VVER-1000 Russian reactors with the option to expand to four. In May of last year, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a deal with Uzbek president Shavkat Miziyoyev to build smaller plants in Uzbekistan. Each plant will have a 55 megawatt capacity. Alexei Likhachev, the head of Rosatom, said on Friday that Rosatom is discussing building two nuclear reactors with low power and two with high power in Uzbekistan. Likhachev, a reporter in St. Petersburg, told reporters that the small modular nuclear plant in Uzbekistan was the first export of modern small power plants in the world. Likhachev said that the plants will help Uzbekistan meet its increasing electricity needs. He told journalists that the company had also approved a preliminary roadmap for two units in Kazakhstan using Russian VVER-1200 nuclear reactors.
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Brazil will push for climate targets from local governments and corporations at the COP30
Brazil, the COP30 President, proposed on Friday that pledges of emissions reductions be expanded to include companies, states and cities. This was to bolster climate efforts after the U.S. withdrew from the Paris Agreement. Brazilian diplomats working on the climate summit are working closely with U.N. officials to encourage countries to submit revised targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions before September. Many missed the deadline of February. In the Paris Accord, where almost all countries agreed to limit global warming to 2 degrees Celsius or less from pre-industrial levels by 2050, it is required that these targets be submitted and updated every few years. In a Friday letter, COP30 president Ambassador Andre Correa do Lago suggested widening the pathway for reducing carbon emissions by creating a global NDC that would include targets from different actors, and not just countries. This would transform the Global Stocktake – the process of reviewing the Paris Agreement progress. Lago proposed the term GDC, or "globally-determined contribution," to describe the expanded initiative. Lago didn't explicitly frame the initiative in response to U.S. policies changes. However, he did acknowledge that it would allow U.S. businesses and local governments to participate who have maintained their commitment to curbing climate change despite Trump administration’s formal withdrawal from the Paris Agreement. Lago added that the proposal will also encourage countries to adopt more ambitious emission targets. The Brazilian diplomat stated that private sector actors are often more aggressive in their climate actions than governments. Governments, he said, are more vulnerable to factors such as oil companies' role in boosting economic growth and the cost of transforming the electricity grids. Dan Ioschpe is a Brazilian businessman who was appointed "climate champion" for COP30. He said that the initiative will provide clarity to non-state actors so they can align themselves with Paris Agreement goals. Ioschpe stated that "not only in the United States but also in other countries where national governments are not as involved, we see governors, mayors and the private sectors extremely involved." The Paris accord will be celebrated in November in the Amazonian town of Belem. (Reporting, writing and editing by Lisandra paraguassu; Editing by Manuela Andreonim; Editing by William Maclean).
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Senate rejects Republican attempt to reverse Biden Vehicle Rules
The Senate Parliamentarian ruled that Senate Republicans could not use a fast track procedure to overturn historic rules aimed at reducing vehicle tailpipe emissions drastically and boosting EV sales in a tax bill and budget bill. Republicans and Donald Trump have targeted EVs in a variety of ways, a reversal from the former president Joe Biden's policies that encouraged EVs as well as renewable energy sources to combat climate change and reduce emission. Biden, as the Environmental Protection Agency in 2024, set strict vehicle emission rules that aim at reducing fleetwide tailpipe emissions of cars and light trucks nearly 50% from 2026 levels by 2032 while dramatically increasing new electric vehicles. According to the EPA's forecast, between 35 and 56 percent of all new vehicles sold from 2030-2032 will be electric in order to comply with strict vehicle pollution regulations. Senate Republicans want to repeal the EPA's new emission limits for heavy-duty vehicles, such as delivery trucks, garbage trucks, public utility trucks and school buses. The Senate parliamentarian ruled that to roll back the EPA regulations, 60 votes would be needed in the 100-seat Senate chamber. This is instead of the simple majority required for other tax and spending packages under a complicated budget process Republicans use to bypass Democratic opposition. This was one of the most important environmental regulations implemented by Biden. He made climate change a central pillar in his presidency. Senate Republicans proposed on Monday ending the $7.500 tax credit for new EV purchases six months after a tax and budget measure was signed into law, and phasing in the use of EV credits. Republicans also propose eliminating fines for failure to meet Corporate average fuel economy rules. This would effectively end a fifty-year-old programme that requires automakers build more efficient cars. Trump signed last week a resolution passed by Congress that bars California's historic plan to stop selling gasoline-only cars by 2035. This plan has been adopted and endorsed by 11 states, representing one third of the U.S. automobile market. Trump signed resolutions that reversed the new limits on heavy-duty vehicle emissions. General Motors and Toyota, among other automakers, have asked Congress to reverse the new emissions regulations. (Reporting and editing by Alexandra Hudson.)
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Soy farmers destroy Amazon despite a deforestation agreement with global traders
Brazilian soy farmers have been pushing deeper into the Amazon rainforest in order to plant more crops. This puts pressure on an historic deal signed 20 years ago that was meant to slow down deforestation. A loophole exists in the Amazon Soy Moratorium. This voluntary agreement was signed in 2006 by the top grain traders of the world that they would no longer buy soy produced on deforested land after 2008. Moratorium The law protects the old-growth forest that has not been previously cleared. However, it excludes other types of vegetation or forests that have grown back on land that was cleared in the past, also known as secondary forests. Farmers can plant soy on this land without violating the Moratorium's terms. They could even sell it as deforestation free. The latest official annual report, which covers crop year 2022-2023 showed that the soy planted in virgin forests has nearly tripled from 2018 to 2023. This amounts to 250,000 hectares or 3.4% of the total soy grown in the Amazon. The study is only limited to those municipalities which grow more than 5,000 hectares soy. Xiaopeng Song is a professor in the Department of Geographical Sciences at the University of Maryland. He has been tracking the expansion of soybeans over the last two decades and found that the forest loss was more than four-times as high. Satellite data that he exclusively analyzed for shows that 16% or 1.04 million hectares of Brazilian Amazon land is under production for soybeans. This includes areas where trees were cleared since 2008, which was the date set in the Moratorium. Song said, "I'd like to see secondary forests and recovered forests included in the Moratorium." It creates loopholes, if we limit it only to primary forests. Abiove overseeing the Moratorium on deforestation said in a press release that the agreement is intended to curb the destruction of old growth forests, while other methods have broader criteria which could lead to inflated interpretations. Abiove refused to provide granular information, so it was impossible to compare the two. The data in the Moratorium Report comes from Brazil's National Institute of Space Research. Its assessments are internationally recognized and independently monitored. Abiove confirmed that it knew some soy had been planted in areas that were replanted after forests were cut. The difference in how a forest is defined has huge implications on conservation. Climate change-driven deforestation, heat and drought are bringing the rainforest to a tippingpoint beyond which its irreversible transformation begins. Scientists are calling for an end to deforestation and increased efforts in reforestation. Viola Heinrich is a postdoctoral researcher with the GFZ Helmholtz Centre for Geosciences who has studied extensively secondary forests in Amazon. She said that these are "crucial" to limiting global climate change, even if they were initially less biodiverse. We cannot achieve our goals Paris Agreement "We cannot increase the carbon sink without increasing ecosystems' regeneration." She said. Carbon storage and absorption Secondary forests store less carbon than old-growth trees, but they absorb it faster. 'STOLEN AGAIN' Farmers were clearing land on a hot afternoon in late 2012, near Santarem. Santarem is a port town by the Amazon River. The stacked felled trees, which were ready to be burned, were neatly arranged in rows. Satellite images revealed that some of the trees were over 30 years old and part of an abandoned secondary forest, which was once cleared to make room for cattle. Gilson Rego of the Pastoral Land Commission (a church-affiliated organization that works with locals who are affected by deforestation) pointed out areas in which soy was planted. Rego has seen the area dedicated to crops grow in the last five year. More than a dozen farmers, both subsistence and soy producers, who were interviewed said that the Cargill terminal nearby was the most attractive because it reduced logistics costs. Cargill has not responded to requests for comments. Brazil is set to surpass the United States as the largest soy exporter in the world by 2020. Around two thirds is shipped to China. Cofco, the largest buyer in China, has committed to the Moratorium. It is almost exclusively used to fatten livestock for meat production. Song estimates that if the Moratorium had not been implemented and conservation efforts were not undertaken, an additional 6,000,000 hectares would have been lost in the Brazilian rainforest to soy, based on the rate of expansion. He said that Bolivia was a hotspot for deforestation. Brazilian farmers have been against the Moratorium for years. They complain that even small amounts of deforestation will cause traders to refuse purchases from whole farms. Abiove has considered changing this policy. At the moment, thousands of properties covering 10% of the footprint of soy in this region are blocked. Adelino Avelino noimann, vice president of Para state's soy farmers' association, located in Santarem, said that the soy boom created opportunities for a country in poverty. Noimann said, "It is unfair that other countries could deforest or grow while we are now held back by laws not even ours." LEGAL ATTACKS Farming organizations allied with right-wing political parties, which were once a fringe group, launched lawsuits against the Moratorium and legislation in Brasilia and half a dozen agricultural states to weaken the provisions. A justice of Brazil's Supreme Court announced at the end of April that it would allow Mato Grosso to remove tax incentives for signatories of Moratorium. The full court must still confirm the ruling. Andre Nassar has hinted at the possibility of a weakening of the rules in order to appease the farmers. Nassar, in April, told Senators that the solution was not to end the Moratorium. "Something must be done." ADM, Bunge Cargill Cofco, Louis Dreyfus Company, and other global traders signed the agreement in 2006. Abiove, the grain traders that it represents, have refused to discuss details publicly. However, Greenpeace which has been involved in some discussions and is part of Abiove's group, stated last year that traders were pushing to weaken this agreement behind closed doors. Even with its flaws, environmentalists such as Andre Guimaraes - an executive director of IPAM, a nonprofit organization that monitors the accord - said it was still important. He said, "We continue to see the expansion in soy in Amazon." But it could have been worse." Environmentalists say that loopholes should be closed to strengthen the law. Para is a place where farmers have been moving from all over the country. This includes the heartland of soy, Mato Grosso. Edno Cortezia is the president of a local farmers' union. He said that the farmers can harvest soy, wheat, and corn on the same plot. In the municipality of Belterra, near Santarem only a cemetery and a school were spared from soy expansion. Raimundo Edilberto Sousa Freitas (the principal) showed court documents and supporting evidence in two cases where 80 children and teachers displayed symptoms of pesticide poisoning last year. The records show that a farmer was fined later, but the crop continues claiming more area each year. The last remnants of the once lush biome are a few large trees, protected by law, that remain in the soy fields. (Reporting and editing by Manuela Andréoni, Brad Haynes, and Claudia Parsons; Additional reporting by Ana Mano, Sao Paulo)
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ArcelorMittal signs agreement to sell its iron ore and steel mill in Bosnia
ArcelorMittal is the second largest steelmaker in the world. It announced on Friday that it had signed a contract to sell its operations, which include a steel plant and an iron-ore mine, in Bosnia and Herzegovina to the Bosnian Pavgord Group. The Luxembourg-based firm owns both the iron ore and steel mills in the towns of Zenica in the centre of the country, as well as the steel mill in Zenica in the center of the country. Together they employ around 2,700 people. ArcelorMittal announced that the new owner would take over all of the employees. The deal is expected to close in the third quarter 2025 after all the conditions have been met. According to a statement, it is estimated that the company will record a loss in accounting of $0.2 billion, excluding revenue from sale. In a statement, the company said that it had invested "significant funds and efforts" to keep ArcelorMittal Zenica within the group. The company added that "after a thorough strategic analysis it was determined that the sale would be the best option for the future development of both the business and its employees." ArcelorMittal has been operating in Bosnia for over 21 years. In 2023 and 2024, the company reported losses of 162.6 million Bosnian marks (276.3 million Bosnian Marka) due to a decline in demand for steel in Europe. Pavgord Group is the majority shareholder in Bosnian mining company Boksit and owns the local aluminium producer Alumina. Alumina was Bosnia's biggest exporter last fiscal year. (Reporting and editing by Daria SitoSucic, Susan Fenton and Jan Harvey)
Fuel producers can challenge California emission standards in US Supreme Court
The U.S. Supreme Court agreed on Friday that the legal challenge against California's vehicle emission standards and electric cars, under a federal law on air pollution, should not have been dismissed.
In a 7-2 decision, the justices overturned a lower-court's dismissal of a lawsuit filed by a Valero Energy affiliate and groups from the fuel industry. The lower court concluded that plaintiffs did not have the legal standing required to challenge the 2022 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's decision to allow California to set its own regulation.
The majority wrote: "The government cannot target an industry or business through a stringent, allegedly illegal regulation and then avoid the lawsuits that result by claiming the targeted businesses and industries should be excluded from court as bystanders who are not affected by the regulation."
Liberal Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Ketanji Jackson and Ketanji brown Jackson were dissidents from the ruling.
The dispute revolved around an exception given to California under former Democratic President Joe Biden’s administration in relation to the national vehicle emissions standards set by the agency pursuant to the landmark Clean Air Act.
California can set regulations that are more stringent than federal standards, even though states and municipalities generally are preempted by the preemption rule.
The EPA action in 2022 reinstated a California waiver to set its tailpipe emission limits and mandate zero-emission vehicles through 2025. This reversed a decision taken during Republican President Donald Trump’s first administration rescinding this waiver.
Valero Diamond Alternative Energy, along with other groups, challenged the reinstatement California's waiver. They argued that the decision exceeded EPA's authority under the Clean Air Act. It also hurt their bottom line because it lowered demand for liquid fuels.
The U.S. Court of Appeals, District of Columbia Circuit, dismissed the lawsuit in 2024. They found that the challengers lacked standing to make their claims as there was no proof that a decision in their favor would affect auto manufacturer decisions in a manner that could result in fewer combustion and more electric vehicles being sold.
California, the largest state in the United States, has been granted more than 100 Clean Air Act waivers.
In recent years, the Supreme Court has, with its conservative majority of 6-3, taken a sceptical view towards the broad authority granted to federal regulatory agencies. It has also restricted the power of the EPA through some significant rulings.
The court blocked in 2024 the EPA "Good Neighbor Rule" aimed at reducing ozone emission that could worsen air pollution for neighboring states. The court weakened the EPA’s ability to protect wetlands, and combat water pollution in 2023. In 2022 it limited the agency's ability to reduce carbon emissions from coal and gas-fired plants under the Clean Air Act.
(source: Reuters)