Latest News
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Nigeria's Dangote refinery in talks with Libya to protect oil
Nigeria's Dangote refinery is in talks with Libya to protect crude for the 650,000 barrels per day (bpd) plant and will likewise look for Angolan oil, a senior executive stated, as it looks for to overcome issues with domestic supplies. The $20 billion refinery, constructed by Africa's wealthiest man Aliko Dangote on the borders of Lagos is Africa's biggest, and is designed to end Nigeria's dependence on imported fuels because of inadequate refining capacity. Given that Dangote began operations in January, it has been unable to get adequate unrefined supplies in Nigeria, which, although Africa's biggest oil producer, is battling with theft, pipeline vandalism and low investment. Dangote has resorted to importing crude from as far as Brazil and the United States. We are speaking to Libya about importing crude, Dangote refinery senior executive Devakumar Edwin told late on Saturday. We will talk with Angola also and some other nations in Africa. He decreased to provide information about the talks, but stated international traders and oil companies were amongst the biggest buyers of Dangote's gasoil, much of which was being exported. The biggest offtakers are the two big traders Trafigura and Vitol and BP and, to some level, even TotalEnergies. However all of them are saying they are taking it to offshore, Edwin stated. Traders and shipping information have actually shown that Dangote is increasing gasoil exports to West Africa, taking market share from European refiners. Edwin stated Dangote's oil trading arm was functional, with personnel in London and Lagos, to assist handle supplies and sell products. first reported the prepared trading arm in March. Nigeria's upstream regulator has clashed with Dangote, stating the sulphur content in its gasoil was above the needed limitations of 200 parts per million (ppm). Aliko Dangote has actually rejected that, saying the sulphur level was higher when production started, but had been up to 88 ppm and would sink to 10 ppm in early August as output increases.
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Portugal's mining technique might favour copper over lithium
Portugal's government is finalising a tactical strategy to check out for basic materials critical to the green transition, where copper might handle a. more important role than lithium, the environment and energy. minister said on Monday. Maria da Graca Carvalho stated Portugal fortunately has lots of. important basic materials for the green shift, such as copper,. which is needed for electrical cars. Portugal already has the biggest copper mine in the European. Union, operated by Toronto-based Lundin Mining. It also. produces lithium for the ceramics market and has large. deposits of battery-grade lithium that remain in advancement. We have terrific possible to explore for copper, we currently. have a terrific custom and we will continue to invest, she informed. reporters on the sidelines of a conference. When looking at important basic materials, we have to think about. lithium, but it is not the only one, nor possibly the most. crucial. She said the tactical plan ought to be presented on July 22. Based on this method, we will define the locations of. production for the different critical raw materials, she said,. adding that there may be new concessions. Europe is aiming to ensure greater security and lower. reliance on imports from nations such as China for materials. important to the green shift. Portugal's previous government planned to auction licenses. for lithium prospecting in 6 locations in the north and centre of. the country. However issues about the ecological and social effect. of lithium mining from nature preservation groups and local. communities have actually caused numerous hold-ups to the auction,. at first prepared for 2018. Asked if the brand-new government means to continue with the. lithium auction, Carvalho mentioned the need to see the last. tactical plan and base any choice on scientific and technical. information.
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African bank tension test flags systemic dangers positioned by nature loss
A stress test of five of Africa's banking systems has actually discovered some lenders in the area could deal with collapse if nature loss slashes the revenues of farming and forestry companies they have actually lent to. The analysis in Zambia, Ghana, Rwanda, Morocco and Mauritius showed that firms in certain sectors could see profits as much as cut in half over the next 20 years if effects like deforestation and the loss of pollinators like bees continue to be disregarded. Africa is reliant on nature ... if we do not collaborate in terms of how we are managing the threats that are originating from nature, from climate change, we might begin seeing some systemic risks and contagion results on the monetary sector in Africa, said Oswald Mungule, a senior analyst at Bank of Zambia who was associated with the research study. The caution comes ahead of the U.N.'s COP16 biodiversity conference in Colombia in October where world leaders are under growing pressure to prevent more damage of key environments. Broadening on an initial analysis done in 2022, the brand-new tension test - shared specifically with - is the first considering that an international offer struck at COP15 in Toronto that year to look at how financially destabilising biodiversity loss might be. The World Economic Forum estimates that almost two-thirds of Africa's financial output is either extremely or reasonably based on the natural surroundings. The stress tests, collaborated by the African Natural Capital Alliance (ANCA) along with British advancement agency FSD Africa and consulting firm McKinsey, showed the agriculture, mining and food sectors faced the most intense challenges. If little is done over the next 25 years, Ghana's. farming firms and Zambia's mining firms are expected to. suffer a 50% and 32% drop respectively in their earnings,. producing unfavorable feedback loops for banks. The cumulative anticipated credit losses (across the 5. nations) might increase by as much as 21% by 2050 if no nature. favorable actions are taken, Dorothy Maseke head of ANCA and FSD. Africa Nature Lead stated. It paints an extremely alarming picture. PROBLEMS AHEAD Zambian central bank authorities Mungule explained that another. huge issue was the danger of food shortages, which history shows. increase both inflation and interest rates. A severe dry spell in Zambia over the past year has actually caused a. rise in food prices, which represent over 50% of the nation's. CPI basket. Coming on top of a nationwide debt crisis only now being. solved, it suggests nearly 14% of the loans that Zambia's. industrial banks have actually provided to agriculture and forestry firms are. now non-performing, a number that is most likely to rise. Agriculture typically contributes less than 4% of. Zambia's GDP according to IMF data, however the mining sector, which. the research study warned could suffer a more than 30% drop in profits. over the next couple of decades, has a much larger 17.5% share. To attempt and restrict these problems, Zambia's reserve bank is. promoting fewer loans to be offered to mining companies and more to. those with greener, more nature-friendly activities. The reserve bank wants to likewise carry out regular. climate-stress tests on the banking system and is using to. join the Network of Central Banks and Supervisors for Greening. the Financial System (NGFS), Mungule added. Maseke said ANCA now has 'memorandums of comprehending' with. 4 African countries, consisting of Zambia, to aid with. policymaking, and aims to be supporting 8 in overall by the. end of the year. Stress test results for specific banks were not divulged. however they examined 3 primary scenarios: one assuming no. extra action to resolve nature and climate dangers; a 2nd. where governments toughen guidelines however business are slow to act;. and a 3rd where they take coordinated action together. If companies have the ability to minimize their effect on nature and. adjust prices in action to the costs they deal with, the hit to. earnings might be in between 78% and 27% lower, the research study showed.
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China's leading commodity exchanges cut hedging charges to increase participation
China's 2 essential commodity exchanges will halve their hedging charges for noted items to lower users' costs and increase participation in the world's. most significant consumer of products. The Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) stated it will cut in half. transaction charges for hedging activities on the items listed. on the exchange and its Shanghai International Energy Exchange. ( INE). There are in overall 23 futures and 9 alternatives items on. both exchanges, consisting of rare-earth elements, industrial metals and. energy. Current rates for hedging transactions on the INE vary from. 0.005% to 0.025% for copper, fuel oil, rubber. For petroleum. futures, the rate is 10 yuan ($ 1.38) per lot (1,000 barrels),. the exchange stated. The aim is to cut expenses and enhance effectiveness, so that the. futures market can better serve the real market, SHFE said in. a separate post on its WeChat account. The SHFE also used some discounts in September for. hedging fees. China's Dalian Product Exchange, where some secret. agricultural items are traded, likewise said it will cut in half. trading costs for all hedging deals from Aug. 1.
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Romania swelters in heatwave, energy ministry increases power production
Romanians were blistering under an extended heatwave on Monday, with temperatures expected to surpass 42 degrees Celsius (107.6 ° F) and the energy ministry increasing power production because of the rise in demand. Romania's weather condition company extended temperature level warnings until Tuesday throughout the majority of the nation, and stated torrential storms and hail might follow. The company said nights would be tropical, with temperature levels above 22 degrees Celsius. It said Sunday was the hottest July 14 on record in Romania, with 136 of 168 weather stations registering record heats. Hundreds of countless people in Romania have called emergency medical services to report heat stroke, headaches and faints, officials said. The heatwave has actually affected much of eastern and southern Europe and triggered North Macedonia and Bosnia's Serb Republic on Monday to ask Serbia for firefighting helicopters to combat forest fires. Romania's energy ministry stated power producers, mostly coal-fired, had actually increased production by 400 megawatts (MW), and that set up grid blackouts for upkeep work had been held off. The ministry was looking at methods to increase hydro power production, particularly during peak consumption times in the night. I have been guaranteed there are no threats of general blackouts across big locations, Energy Minister Sebastian Burduja said. Specific regional problems can appear due to high temperatures and I am convinced we can remedy them quickly. With power usage up 10% on the year, Romania was importing electrical power, with spot rates for delivery on Tuesday evening surpassing 700 euros per MW, among Europe's greatest. Romania's water management agency said over 500 towns and towns had various water limitations in location, generally in the east and south.
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India's four-week platinum imports go beyond 2023 overall as gold shown as platinum
India's fourweek platinum imports from mid June eclipsed 2023's total as bullion dealerships exploited a loophole by signing up alloys consisting of around 90%. gold as platinum to avoid higher tasks, government and industry. authorities told . In that time frame dealerships cleared 13 metric lots of these. metal consignments valued at around $1 billion from customizeds,. compared to total platinum imports of 9.97 metric tons in 2023,. stated a federal government official who decreased to be called as he wasn't. authorised to speak with media. This masking was possible because of a government rule on. classifying platinum which specifies that an alloy consisting of 2%. or more, by weight, of platinum is to be treated as an alloy of. platinum, the authorities said. Considering that April 1, dealers pay just 5% import duty on platinum. against 15% on gold under the Comprehensive Economic Partnership. Arrangement signed between India and major bullion trading hub the. UAE in 2022, said Nitin Kedia, nationwide basic secretary at the. All India Jewellers and Goldsmith Federation. Since bullion dealerships pay 10% less import duty on what. they claim is platinum, they can use discount rates of up to 2%. when offering fine-tuned gold. This puts those who import gold. legally, paying the full 15% task, at a competitive. downside, he stated. India is the world's 2nd biggest customer of gold and. depends on imports to fulfil the majority of its requirement. It is also. among the leading five global customers of platinum. The recent shipments have led to New Delhi losing tax. profits. In addition, importers are making the most of the. lower task to offer this imported metal at a discount rate, distorting. rates in the regional market. Gold discounts in India expanded on Monday to $34 an ounce. over official domestic costs, the highest in nearly 3-1/2. months and up greatly from a discount of $9 a fortnight back. The government established the present platinum import rule. when platinum costs considerably went beyond gold rates, said a. Mumbai-based bullion dealership with a personal bank. With platinum now trading at a discount rate and attracting a. lower import task under CEPA, a modification of the definition is. necessary. Value-added items were qualified for lower Indian import. task under CEPA. Nevertheless in Dubai, traders are simply blending small. quantities of platinum and copper into gold bars and providing it. as value addition while exporting them to India, the bullion. dealer stated.
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Europe requires way to rate critical minerals separately of China, group says
Europe requires a system to set rates for crucial minerals needed for the energy transition that is not depending on China, which controls much of the international sector, the head of an EUfunded group stated. Oversupply and weak prices of products such as lithium, cobalt and unusual earths are moistening cash flows of Western start-ups, making it tough to take on China, business have actually said. Europe must have an important products platform that has a. price-building system that shows the supply and need. scenario in Europe, Bernd Schaefer, CEO of EIT RawMaterials,. told . Sometimes an administrative decision in China can turn the. prices needle, eroding all presumptions that someone has made. for buying basic materials. This must change, he stated in an. interview on the sidelines of last week's World Materials Online forum. in Paris. Schaefer also required an exploration fund to boost mining. of crucial minerals in Europe. This need to not be simply a number of million (euros), it. need to be a billion, it must be a huge number. EIT RawMaterials leads an alliance of more than 300. companies, academics and others involved in the sector, assisting. to implement an EU strategy to supply raw materials required to satisfy. the bloc's target of net absolutely no greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. The EU Important Raw Products Act, which participated in force. in May, sets targets for the bloc to mine, recycle and process. minerals including lithium and copper by 2030. There was a danger that political unpredictability could delay. taking the next actions to fulfill those targets, Schaefer said. This discussion is in limbo. We are in a duration of. transition within the Commission and within Europe, he said,. describing current elections in France and for the European. Parliament plus political instability in Germany. We may be losing time, however we can not manage to lose. time. As a neutral, non-political company, EIT RawMaterials could. play a key role in helping to drive the changes that are needed,. Schaefer added.
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Franco-Nevada and Osisko to supply $750 million for SolGold's Ecuador project
Canadian firms FrancoNevada and Osisko Gold Royalties will invest $750. million in SolGold's underdevelopment. Cascabel gold and copper job in Ecuador in exchange for a. portion of the gold produced from the mine, the business stated. on Monday. The financing will be offered in two phases, with the first. $ 100 million allowing SolGold to perform expediency studies and. secure the necessary permits to make a last investment decision. on the project, which is anticipated to cost $1.55 billion to. develop. The staying $650 million will fund the building and construction of the. project, situated in the northern Ecuadorean province of. Imbabura, which is considered a significant deposit of gold, copper. and silver. Franco-Nevada and Osisko would offer 70% and 30% of. the overall financial investment, respectively. The companies will get a combined 20% of the. recuperated gold till SolGold has actually provided 750,000 ounces of. gold. Following this turning point, the percentage will reduce to 12%. for the life of the mine, SolGold said. In June, Ecuador signed a contract with SolGold for the. advancement of the job, which is anticipated to generate an. financial investment of over $4.2 billion during its 28 years of. operation, according to Ecuador's energy ministry. Australia's BHP Group, Gold miner Newmont. through Newcrest and China's Jiangxi Copper. own stakes in SolGold, according to LSEG data.
Taiwan's Formosa plans June run cuts owing to weak refining margins
Taiwan's Formosa Petrochemical Corp, one of Asia's biggest fine-tuned items exporters, plans to cut run rates at its crude distillation units by 40,000 barrels each day (bpd) to 440,000 bpd in June, the business's spokesperson said on Wednesday.
Due to weak margins, not only for gasoline however likewise for gasoil, we have to cut runs, stated spokesperson K.Y. Lin.
Formosa had originally planned to process 480,000 bpd of crude this month, he stated. Last month 440,000 bpd of petroleum was processed, compared to the initial plan of 470,000 bpd, he added.
The refiner has actually kept among its three naphtha crackers offline and the other 2 are running between 70% and 75% of capacity. The company is also substituting 10% -15% naphtha with less expensive alternative feedstock liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) this month.
Downstream demand for petrochemical is still poor, Lin stated.
Earnings margins for complicated refineries in Singapore, the bellwether for Asian refiners, have actually been trading below $4 this week after plunging to an one-year low of 90 cents on May 30. <