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Us Treasury News

20 Mar 2024

Petrobras Exec Says Gas Export Possible from Colombia Project

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A promising area off Colombia's coast where Brazil state-run Petrobras is drilling this year could justify a large project to supply natural gas to the Andean country and for exports, Petrobras' head of exploration and production said on Wednesday.As oil production in Brazil's prolific presalt region is set to plateau in coming years, Petrobras is expanding its horizons to new frontiers including the Equatorial Margin, Colombia and Africa.At Colombia's Tayrona block, Petrobras…

13 Mar 2024

Second Russian Tanker, Hit by Sanctions, Docks in China

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Russian tanker Krymsk, hit by sanctions, docked on Wednesday at the Chinese port of Dongying in eastern Shandong province, home of independent refiners, to discharge 700,000 barrels of Russian Sokol crude, LSEG and Kpler shipping data showed.This is the second Russian oil tanker, hit by sanctions, to dock at Chinese ports this month. Last week, tanker Liteyny Prospect discharged its 700,000-barrel Sokol crude cargo at the Chinese port of Huanghua near Cangzhou city in Hebei province.The Dongying port authority declined comment when contacted by Reuters.

07 Mar 2024

Tanker Liteyny Prospect, Hit by Sanctions, Docks in China to Offload Russian Oil

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The Russian tanker Liteyny Prospect, hit by sanctions, has docked at the Chinese port of Huanghua to discharge its 700,000-barrel Russian Sokol crude cargo, two sources familiar with the matter said, clearing part of a backlog of cargoes disrupted by sanctions on Moscow's oil trade.The tanker is one of six ships carrying Sokol crude, which India has not been able to import due to payment issues. The six ships had been sailing to China but five of them are floating at sea early this week, shipping data showed, following fresh U.S.

06 Mar 2024

Russia Oil Fleet Shifts Away from Liberia, Marshall Island Flags Amid US Sanctions Crackdown

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Dozens of oil tankers used by Russia have stopped sailing under the Liberian and Marshall Islands flags in recent weeks after the United States ramped up sanctions enforcement on ships linked to those registries, according to shipping data and interviews with industry and government officials.The shift reflects the close relationship between the U.S. and the flag administration companies of Liberia and the Marshall Islands, which are headquartered not in their home countries, but in Virginia, just miles from Washington D.C. and within the jurisdiction of U.S.

28 Feb 2024

Tanker Backlog Grows in Venezuela as PDVSA Struggles to Deliver Oil

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A bottleneck of vessels waiting to load crude and fuel in Venezuela has increased in recent weeks as state-run oil firm PDVSA struggles to deliver cargoes on time, according to people familiar with the matter, documents and shipping data.PDVSA has sought to ramp up shipments this month, the documents and data showed, following setbacks in January as outages at Venezuela's main port hit its exports. But the increase has been insufficient to ease the congestion.As of Monday, at least 19 supertankers were waiting to load near Venezuela's Jose and Amuay ports…

23 Feb 2024

US Imposes Sanctions on Russia's Leading Tanker Group Sovcomflot

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The U.S. Treasury said on Fridayit has imposed sanctions on Russia's leading tanker group Sovcomflot FLOT.MM, as Washington seeks to reduce Russia's revenues from oil sales that it can use to support its invasion of Ukraine.The Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Asset Control also designated 14 crude oil tankers vessels as property in which Sovcomflot has an interest. It issued a general license allowing the offloading of crude oil, or other cargoes, from the vessels for 45 days."Sovcomflot as a whole…

12 Feb 2024

US Spending $7 Million a Year to Maintain Yacht Seized from Russian Oligarch

Amadea (File photo: Sukkoria / CC BY-SA 4.0 DEED)

The U.S. government said it is spending more than $7 million a year to maintain a superyacht it seized from a sanctioned Russian oligarch, and urged a judge to let it auction the vessel before a dispute over its ownership is resolved.Authorities in Fiji seized the 348-foot (106-meter), $300 million Amadea in May 2022, pursuant to a U.S. warrant alleging it was owned by Suleiman Kerimov, a multibillionaire sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department in 2014 and 2018 in response to Russia's activities in Syria and Ukraine.Efforts to auction the yacht are being challenged by Eduard Khudainatov…

25 Jan 2024

UK and US Sanction Senior Houthis Over Ship Attacks

Bulk carrier Genco Picardi was hit by a Houthi drone attack on January 17. (Photo: Indian Navy)

Britain and the United States on Thursday said they had imposed coordinated sanctions on four key Houthi figures for their roles in supporting or directing attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea.Attacks by the Iranian-backed Houthis have disrupted global shipping and stoked fears of global inflation. They have also deepened concern that fallout from the Israel-Hamas war could destabilize the Middle East.Those sanctioned were Houthi Defence Minister Mohamed Nasser al-Atifi…

09 Jan 2024

US Trade Deficit Shrinks on Falling Imports

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The U.S. trade deficit unexpectedly narrowed in November as imports of consumer goods fell to a one-year low amid slowing domestic demand, a trend that, if it persists in December, could result in trade having no impact on economic growth in the fourth quarter.The report from the Commerce Department on Tuesday also showed exports declined in November amid cooling demand overseas. Demand is slowing both in the United States and abroad following hefty interest rate increases by global central banks since 2022 to tackle rampant inflation.The Federal Reserve's rate hiking cycle has likely ended…

12 Dec 2023

US Issues Sweeping Sanctions Targeting Russia Over Ukraine War

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The United States on Tuesday imposed sanctions on hundreds of people and entities, including in China, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates, as it targets Russia's sanctions evasion, future energy capabilities, banks and its metals and mining sector.The U.S. Treasury and State departments targeted more than 250 individuals and entities in Washington's latest action attempting to crack down on Russia and its evasion of sanctions imposed by the U.S. and its allies over the war in…

08 Dec 2023

US Says Iran Helping to Plan, Execute Attacks on Ships in the Red Sea

The Galaxy Leader escorted by Houthi boats in the Red Sea in this photo released November 20, 2023. (Photo: Houthi Military Media/Handout)

The United States believes that Iran is involved in the planning and execution of drone and missile attacks by Yemen's Houthi group on Israel and ships in the Red Sea, a senior aide to U.S. President Joe Biden said on Thursday.The comments by deputy White House national security adviser Jon Finer are among the most explicit to date by a U.S. official alleging Iranian involvement in the Houthi attacks.Finer spoke hours after the United States imposed new sanctions aimed at throttling what U.S.

20 Nov 2023

Supertanker Chartered by Polish Firm to Load Venezuelan Oil for China

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Polish oil and gas firm Orlen has provisionally chartered a supertanker to load Venezuelan oil for China, according to a shipbroker and tracking data, following a temporary easing of U.S. sanctions on the South American country.The Very Large Crude Carrier (VLCC) Olympic Trophy, chartered for $13 million, is scheduled to load in early December, according to a source and ship tracking data on Kpler.Vitol, the world's largest independent oil trader, chartered a supertanker earlier this month to load Venezuelan crude for China.

16 Nov 2023

US Sanctions Maritime Companies, Vessels for Shipping Oil Above Russian Price Cap

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The U.S. on Thursday imposed sanctions on maritime companies and vessels for shipping Russian oil sold above the G7's price cap, as Washington seeks to close loopholes in the mechanism designed to punish Moscow for its war in Ukraine.The U.S. Treasury Department in a statement said it slapped sanctions on three United Arab Emirates-based companies and three vessels owned by them in the action, accusing the vessels of engaging in the export of Russian crude oil priced above the $60 a barrel cap.

14 Nov 2023

Kremlin, on US Probe into Oil Sanctions, Says Russia Acting in Own Interests

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The Kremlin said on Tuesday that Russia was acting in its own interests when asked about a probe by the United States into alleged violations of Western oil sanctions on Moscow.Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov also told a daily conference call with reporters that President Vladimir Putin would hold a meeting on the fuel and energy complex later on Tuesday.The U.S.

26 Oct 2023

World's Ghost Fleet in Focus Over US Russian Price Cap Crackdown

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U.S. penalties on shippers transporting Russian oil in breach of the G7's price cap could push more Russian cargoes onto vessels referred to as the ghost fleet and away from mainstream tankers, shipping sources and analysts told Reuters.The cap bans Western companies from providing maritime services for Russian seaborne oil exports sold above $60 a barrel.It was designed to keep oil flowing to markets while reducing Russia's energy earnings that it can use to finance its war on Ukraine…

18 Oct 2023

Oil Tanker Hit by US Sanctions Heads to Texas for Unloading - Exxon

An oil tanker that the U.S. government imposed sanctions on for recently carrying Russian oil above the Western price cap is proceeding to the Baytown refinery in Texas for unloading, Exxon Mobil said on Tuesday.Exxon, the current charterer of the Yasa Golden Bosphorus, was not targeted by the sanctions last week since the oil producer chartered the tanker months after it had carried and offloaded Russian oil, a price cap coalition official after the U.S. imposed the sanctions on the tanker.The unloading by Exxon has been authorized by the U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control, the company said in a statement. The deliveries are certified products of Canadian origin, according to Exxon.The U.S.

13 Oct 2023

Growing Tanker Fleet, Cheaper Freight Challenge Russian Oil Price Cap

Russian crude oil producers are enjoying the cheapest costs to ship to refiners in China and India in almost a year thanks to a growing number of vessels plying the routes, according to trading and shipping sources.The arrival of new shippers working outside the purview of Western governments allows Russian firms to earn more than the $60 per barrel cap that the U.S. and its allies had aimed to impose on Russia through sanctions. It also means that enforcing the price cap will have a limited impact on Russian revenues.On Thursday, the U.S. imposed the first sanctions on owners of tankers carrying Russian oil above the cap, one based in Turkey and one in the United Arab Emirates…

12 Oct 2023

US Sanctions Two Tanker Owners for Carrying Russian Oil Above Price Cap

The U.S. on Thursday imposed the first sanctions on owners of tankers carrying Russian oil above the G7 price cap of $60 a barrel, one based in Turkey and one in the United Arab Emirates, in an effort to close loopholes on the mechanism designed to punish Moscow for the war in Ukraine.The U.S., other G7 countries and Australia imposed the cap last year, seeking to reduce Russia's revenues from seaborne oil exports as part of sanctions for its invasion of Ukraine.The cap bans Western companies from providing maritime services, including insurance, finance and shipping, for Russian seaborne oil exports sold above $60 a barrel, while seeking to keep oil flowing to markets. Caps also were imposed on Russian fuel exports.U.S.

09 Oct 2023

The Headwinds of US Offshore Wind Development

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On March 29, 2021, President Biden announced his ambitious plan to deploy 30 gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind power – enough energy to power 10 million U.S. homes – by 2030. The plan would leverage authorities under the Department of Interior, Energy, and Commerce to guide “more than $12 billion per year in capital investment in projects on both U.S. coasts, create tens of thousands of good-paying, union jobs, with more than 44,000 workers employed in offshore wind by 2030 and nearly 33,000 additional jobs in communities supported by offshore wind activity.” The U.S.

06 Sep 2023

US Offshore Wind Projects Seek Looser Subsidy Rules in Fight for Survival

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A fleet of U.S. offshore wind projects central to President Joe Biden's climate change agenda may not move forward unless his administration eases requirements for subsidies in the year-old Inflation Reduction Act, according to project developers.Norway's Equinor, France's Engie, Portugal's EDP Renewables, and trade groups representing other developers pursuing U.S. offshore wind projects told Reuters they are pressing officials to rewrite the requirements, and warning of lost jobs and investments otherwise."The components needed for our projects to progress simply do not exist in the U.S.

10 Aug 2023

Cuban Oil Tankers Becoming Regular Visitors to Mexican Ports

Cuba has begun using its own tankers to ramp up crude imports from Mexico, which in the second quarter surpassed Russia as a key oil provider to the fuel-thirsty island, according to vessel monitoring data.Following days-long lines to fill drivers' tanks and power blackouts, the communist-run nation saddled with harsh U.S. economic sanctions has broadened its sources of oil imports in a move to ease fuel scarcity, replenish stocks and reduce dependence on its traditional and largest supplier, Venezuela. Washington has also sanctioned Venezuela's oil industry since 2019 over election-fraud claims.Mexico has emerged as a top provider, sending oil on a vessel owned by state oil company Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex) and ships managed by Cuba.

27 Jul 2023

Obscure Traders Ship Half Russia's Oil Exports to India, China After Sanctions

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A Liberian-flagged oil tanker set sail in May from Russia's Ust-Luga port carrying crude on behalf of a little-known trading company based in Hong Kong. Before the ship had even reached its destination in India, the cargo changed hands.The new owner of the 100,000 tonnes of Urals crude carried on the Leopard I was a similarly low-profile outfit, Guron Trading, also based in Hong Kong, according to two trading sources.The number of little-known trading firms relied on by Moscow to export large volumes of crude exports to Asia has mushroomed in recent months…

11 May 2023

US Envoy Says Russian Ship Picked Up Arms in South Africa

The United States envoy to South Africa said on Thursday he was confident that a Russian ship had picked up weapons in South Africa last year, in a possible breach of Pretoria's declared neutrality in the Ukraine conflict.The rand and South Africa's 2030 government bond extended losses after the U.S. assertion as currency traders said they were worried that South Africa could now face Western sanctions.The government is launching an independent inquiry led by a retired judge into the alleged arms shipment, the office of President Cyril Ramaphosa said in a statement.Earlier, Ramaphosa did not confirm or deny the shipment took place when an opposition leader asked him about it in parliament.The U.S.