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Energy Imports News

05 Mar 2024

Singapore's Temasek Shortlists Saudi Aramco, Shell in Sale of Pavilion Energy Assets

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Singapore's Temasek Holdings has shortlisted energy giants Shell and Saudi Aramco among a handful of companies to purchase most of the assets of liquefied natural gas (LNG) trading firm Pavilion Energy, sources with knowledge of the matter said.The sale process comes a decade after the state investment firm set up Pavilion Energy to focus on LNG-related investments, and takes place as spot Asian LNG prices LNG-AS have fallen more than 40% since mid-August, potentially weighing on the deal's valuation.Temasek is evaluating bids for the sale of Pavilion Energy's assets…

08 Dec 2023

OpEd: Shipping Seeks Safe Waters in Era of Deadly Geopolitics

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As tankers, car-carriers and other merchant vessels pass through the Malacca Strait, unlit fishing boats criss-cross the shipping lanes at night, making it one of the most challenging sea areas of the world to transit, even during peacetime.Should a major war ever come to Asia, those challenges could be magnified spectacularly, with hundreds of vessels abruptly leaving the international waters in the middle of the Strait for what they hope might be the relative safety of the national territorial waters of nearby neutral nations.The Strait – between Thailand…

30 Nov 2023

Japan Urged to Scale up Offshore Wind Auctions

© Fokke Baarssen / Adobe Stock

International energy companies, from Germany's RWE to Spain's Iberdrola, are urging Japan to beef up offshore wind power auctions and make investments more attractive, amid soaring installation costs as competition for suppliers grows worldwide.Although desperate to ease its heavy dependence on energy imports from the Middle East and Russia, Japan is coming late to offshore wind, but some industry players say it is taking a more cautious approach that puts it at a disadvantage."It's a global race and we can't look at it in isolation…

15 Nov 2023

EU Targets Upstream Methane Emissions from Imports

Teresa Ribera Rodríguez courtesy of the EU Council

The European Council and Parliament have reached a provisional political agreement on a regulation for tracking and reducing methane emissions in the energy sector.The regulation introduces new requirements for the oil, gas and coal sectors to measure, report and verify methane emissions, as well as put in place mitigation measures to avoid such emissions, including detecting and repairing methane leaks and limiting venting and flaring. It also puts forward global monitoring tools to ensure transparency on methane emissions from imports of oil…

08 Nov 2023

Japan Says to Ensure U.S. Sanctions on Russia LNG Project Won't Harm Supplies

Arctic LNG 2 Illustration - Credit: Saipem (File image)

Japan will make sure its energy supplies are not affected by sanctions the United States recently imposed on the Arctic LNG 2 project in Russia in which it has a stake, Industry Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura said on Tuesday.Japan, the world's second-largest liquefied natural gas (LNG) buyer, relies on LNG as a transition fuel before it reaches carbon neutrality in 2050, and has supply contracts and stakes in projects globally to guarantee imports.The Arctic LNG 2 project is to be launched next month…

07 Mar 2023

New Intelligence Points to Pro-Ukraine Group in Nord Stream Attack

(Photo: Danish Defense)

New intelligence reviewed by U.S. officials suggests that a pro-Ukraine group - likely comprised of Ukrainians or Russians - attacked the Nord Stream gas pipelines in September, but there are no firm conclusions, the New York Times reported on Tuesday.There was no evidence that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy or other Ukrainian government officials were behind the attacks which spewed natural gas into the Baltic Sea, the newspaper reported, citing U.S. officials.Reuters could not independently verify the report.The Sept.

30 Nov 2022

Germany to Get New Qatari LNG flows Through QatarEnergy, ConocoPhillips Deal

Credit: QatarEnergy

Germany is set to receive new flows of Qatari liquefied natural gas (LNG) from 2026 after QatarEnergy and ConocoPhillips COP.N on Tuesday signed two sales and purchase agreements for its export covering at least a 15-year period. Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February, competition for LNG has become intense, with Europe in particular needing vast amounts to help replace Russian pipeline gas that used to make up almost 40% of the continent's imports.The deal, the first of its kind to Europe from Qatar's North Field expansion project…

12 Aug 2022

Russian Oil Tanker Bound for Fire-ravaged Cuban Terminal Diverts to Smaller Port

Credit: John Verhulst

A cargo of Russian oil bound for Cuba's Matanzas terminal has been diverted to a smaller port, following a spectacular fire that destroyed a large portion of the island's main oil terminal, vessel monitoring data showed on Thursday.Lengthy power blackouts have followed the fatal blaze, which killed one firefighter and left 14 others missing. The outages are a sign of how the accident is aggravating a long-standing energy crisis due to an obsolete power grid and lack of fuel.The Liberia-flagged tanker NS Laguna carrying 700…

15 Jul 2022

Russian Fuel Oil Cargo Arrives in Cuba as the Island Ramps Up Imports

A tanker carrying Russian fuel oil arrived in Cuba on Thursday, bringing supplies for the Caribbean nation's sputtering power plants and giving Russia an outlet for products shunned by the West.The United States and Canada have imposed sanctions on Russian oil and fuel over its invasion of Ukraine, while Europe and the United Kingdom are moving toward an end-of-year embargo on Russian crude imports.The Liberia-flagged Aframax tanker Suvorovsky Prospect arrived in Cuba's Matanzas port carrying about 700,000 barrels of fuel oil, loaded at Russia's Ust-Luga port. The cargo is worth some $70 million at market prices.The vessel is owned by a unit of top Russian shipping conglomerate Sovcomflot, according to maritime database Equasis. Sovcomflot is under British, Canadian and U.S.

21 Jun 2022

Germany's Scholz Hopes for Baltic Sea LNG Terminal within Months

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German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said he was confident liquefied natural gas (LNG) could start flowing into the country via the Baltic Sea port of Lubmin within a matter of months, as Germany rushes to phase out Russian energy imports."Our goal is to get as much as possible there by the turn of the year, or a little bit later, so we can get gas quickly from wherever," Scholz said on Tuesday in Berlin after a meeting with the regional government of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.State premier Manuela Schwesig said the federal economy ministry and local energy ministry were conducting joint audits.

30 May 2022

India's Imports of Cheap Russian Crude Surge Since Ukraine Invasion

Credit: Oleksii

India has received 34 million barrels of discounted Russian oil since Moscow invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, according to Refinitiv Eikon data, more than trebling the value of total imports from Russia, including other products, compared with the same period of 2021.The volumes of India's seaborne oil imports from Russia exclude CPC Blend oil, which is also exported via Russia's Black Sea port, but mostly supplied by Kazakhstan's subsidiaries of western countries as transit volumes.India's oil imports from Russia have been rising since February…

06 May 2022

Germany to Help Eastern EU States Without Ports Access LNG - Scholz

©karel/AdobeStock

Germany will show solidarity with European Union countries seeking alternatives to Russian gas and oil, for example helping eastern states without ports in the North or Baltic Seas access liquefied natural gas (LNG), Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Thursday.Speaking after meeting with Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala, Scholz said many countries faced an even bigger challenge than Germany in reducing reliance on Russian energy imports.Russian gas imports that arrive via pipeline account for more than 90% of gas consumption in the Czech Republic…

18 Apr 2022

Russian Oligarch Deripaska's Yacht Arrives in Turkish Waters

A yacht linked to Russian aluminum tycoon Oleg Deripaska arrived in a bay near the southwestern Turkish resort of Gocek on Saturday, as more Russian billionaires head for Turkey to flee Western sanctions over Russia's invasion of Ukraine.Deripaska, founder of Russian aluminum giant Rusal, has been sanctioned by the United States, European Union and Britain. He has previously called for peace.A Reuters witness saw the 73-metre (239.5 foot) yacht Clio arrive off the coast of Gocek in the Aegean coastal province of Mugla on Saturday. The Cayman Islands-flagged vessel remains in a bay off Gocek.The arrival of Clio in Turkish waters comes after two superyachts linked to Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich…

11 Apr 2022

Interview: Shane Guidry, Harvey Gulf

Shane Guidry, Chairman of the Board and CEO, Harvey Gulf (Photo: Harvey Gulf)

Shane Guidry transformed Harvey Gulf from an inland and offshore towing vessel operator to a provider of offshore vessel services in the Gulf of Mexico and international oil and gas markets. Innovation initiatives he has spearheaded include, among others, leading the company to become the United States’ first owner and operator of liquefied natural gas (LNG)-powered offshore support vessels, as well positioning the firm as the first LNG bunkering facility operator in the U.S.

06 Apr 2022

How Much Oil Does the European Union Import from Russia?

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The European Commission has proposed new sanctions against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, including a ban on buying Russian coal and on Russian ships entering EU ports. Yet the EU faces an uphill slog to wean itself of energy imports from its Eastern neighbor.Following is a summary of key facts about the EU's use of Russian oil:How much Russian oil does the EU import?Europe is the destination for nearly half of Russia's crude and petroleum product exports, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA)…

23 Mar 2022

Shipowners Wary of Moving Russian Oil

© James Steidl / Adobe Stock

Foreign ship owners are becoming increasingly wary of moving cargoes of Russian oil due to the conflict in Ukraine and the impact of Western sanctions on Moscow, the head of leading private Greek shipping group Angelicoussis said on Wednesday.U.S. President Joe Biden has imposed a ban on Russian oil and other energy imports following Moscow's invasion of Ukraine and there is growing uncertainty over potentially tougher restrictions across Europe.Maria Angelicoussis, CEO of Angelicoussis Group…

14 Mar 2022

U.S.-bound Tanker Loaded with Russian Cargo Docks Off Gibraltar Awaiting Instructions

Marshall Islands-flagged tanker Elli which made a Russian port call and is bound for the United States has anchored off Gibraltar awaiting further instructions from its charterer, the vessel's manager said.Last Tuesday, U.S. President Joe Biden imposed an immediate ban on Russian oil and other energy imports following Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.Greece-based Halkidon Shipping Corporation, which manages the Elli, said on Friday the vessel "was instructed by her charterers to remain and await orders off Gibraltar, while en-route from Novorossiisk, Russia to the U.S. Gulf Coast"."The vessel is in laden condition," Halkidon said in a statement."Halkidon…

10 Mar 2022

All at Sea: Russian-linked Oil Tanker Seeks a Port

A Russian-operated oil tanker that Britain turned away over a week ago has yet to find a port to discharge its cargo, and many other vessels are likely to be in the same position as buyers shun trade deals following Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.On Tuesday, U.S. President Joe Biden imposed an immediate ban on Russian oil and other energy imports and Britain announced soon after that it would phase out the import of Russian oil and oil products by the end of 2022.The European Union has yet to provide clarity on the prospect of a similar ban by the bloc. The European Commission, the EU executive, has only said it would continue to work on further sanctions.Britain on March 1 banned from its ports all ships that are Russian-owned…

09 Mar 2022

US Sanctions on Russian Oil to Leave More Cargoes at Sea with No Buyers

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The U.S. ban on Russian oil and gas imports is likely to leave more cargoes at sea with no buyers, and the European Union's decision to continue imports was unlikely to make much difference to disarray in Russian oil trade, analysts said on Tuesday.U.S. President Joe Biden on Tuesday imposed an immediate ban on Russian oil and other energy imports in retaliation for the invasion of Ukraine and Britain said it would phase out imports through the end of 2022.The European Union did not join the ban because it is more dependent on Russian oil and gas supplies.

17 Mar 2022

Barring Russian Ships from Rotterdam Port 'Not on Table' for now, Dutch PM Says

Illustration: A Russian ship in the Port of Rotterdam ©Gudellaphoto/AdobeStock

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said that barring Russian ships from the port of Rotterdam was "not on the table" for now, since any such move would have to be decided at a European level.Rutte made the comments to reporters, while on a visit to Paris, where he will meet French President Emmanuel Macron.Oil prices rose towards $130 a barrel on Wednesday, supported by concern of a potential supply shock as the United States banned Russian oil imports and amid signs that some buyers are already steering clear.On Tuesday, U.S.

08 Mar 2022

Biden Bans Russia Oil Imports to the US

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U.S. President Joe Biden announced a ban on Russian oil and other energy imports on Tuesday in retaliation for the invasion of Ukraine, underscoring strong bipartisan support for a move that he acknowledged would drive up U.S. energy prices."We're banning all imports of Russian oil and gas energy," Biden told reporters at the White House. "That means Russian oil will no longer be acceptable in U.S. ports and the American people will deal another powerful blow to (Russian President Vladimir) Putin's war machine."Oil prices jumped on the news…

07 Sep 2021

Final Section of Nord Stream 2 Pipeline Welded into Place

Last Nord Stream 2 pipe lowered into the Baltic Sea - Credit; Nord Stream 2

The last section of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline has been welded into place, its operator said on Monday, meaning the two long stretches of the pipe can now be joined to complete the Baltic subsea link.The $11 billion pipeline, which will double Russian gas exporter Gazprom's (GAZP.MM) capacity via the Baltic Sea, has drawn opposition from the United States, Ukraine and others opposed to Europe increasing its reliance on Russian energy imports.The project is also seen allowing Russia to forego piping gas to Europe via Ukraine…

12 Mar 2020

BIMCO: US-China “Phase One” Fails to Boost Trade Volumes

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Even before the effects of the coronavirus, the ‘Phase One’ agreement between China and the US failed to boost volumes of the implicated goods in January. In fact, exports of the manufactured, agricultural and energy goods included in the deal were down 26% from January 2017, which serves as the base year for the agreement.The ‘Phase One’ agreement which was signed on 15 January 2020 to lowered some US tariffs on imports from China, which in return has committed to increase its imports from the US.