Susan Thomas News

About 150 people are missing after a boat sunk on a lake in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, President Felix Tshisekedi said on Tuesday."I am very saddened by the shipwreck of a pirogue on (Monday) April 15 on Lake Kivu.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation is not taking appropriate steps to review and assess potential maritime terrorism risks facing U.S. sea ports, the Justice Department's internal watchdog has found.The audit, released on Thursday by Inspector General Michael Horowitz, found that while top FBI officials believe the country faces a low maritime terrorism threat, that view is actually based on "incomplete and potentially inaccurate information."Moreover, the audit found that the FBI had not conducted its own formal assessment of the matter.In a letter to Horowitz dated Aug.

There is a 65 percent chance of an El Niño weather pattern emerging during the northern hemisphere spring this year, a U.S. government weather forecaster said on Thursday."However, given the timing and that a weak event is favored, significant global impacts are not anticipated during the remainder of winter, even if conditions were to form," the National Weather Service's Climate Prediction Center (CPC) added in its monthly forecast.Last month, the weather forecaster pegged the chances of the El Niño emerging at 60 percent during spring 2019.The last El Niño, a warming of ocean surface temperatures in the eastern and central Pacific that typically occurs every few years…

China set a 10 percent tariff on U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports, extending a trade dispute into energy and casting a shadow over U.S. export terminals that would propel the United States into the world's second-largest LNG seller.Beijing on Tuesday said it would tax U.S. products worth $60 billion effective Sept. 24 in retaliation for tariffs imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump in an escalating trade war.The rate was smaller than the 25 percent tariff China had touted earlier, which offered some relief and helped shares in listed U.S.

Tropical Storm Gordon forced a cut of 9.36 percent of crude oil production in U.S.-regulated areas of the Gulf of Mexico, slightly more than Tuesday, the U.S.

U.S. energy companies this week cut oil rigs for a second straight week, and notched the first monthly fall since March.Drillers cut four oil rigs in the week to June 29, bringing the total count down to 858, General Electric Co's Baker Hughes energy services firm said in its closely followed report on Friday. <RIG-OL-USA-BHI>That was the first time drillers cut rigs for two weeks in a row since October 2017. For the month, the rig count decreased by one, its first decline since March.For the quarter…

The United States on Thursday said it will impose tariffs on aluminum and steel imports from Canada, Mexico and the European Union, reigniting investor fears of a global trade war as Washington's allies took steps to retaliate against U.S. goods.The move, announced by U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross in a telephone briefing on Thursday, ended months of uncertainty about potential tariff exemptions and suggested a hardening of the Trump administration's approach to trade negotiations.It also sent a chill through financial markets…

Colombia, the world's fifth-largest exporter of coal, produced 19.6 million tonnes in the first quarter, down 11.7 percent from output the year before, the Energy and Mining Ministry said in a statement on Wednesday. In the same period last year, Colombia produced 22.2 million tonnes. In full-year 2017, the Latin American nation produced 89.4 million tonnes, slightly below 2016 when output was 90.5 million tonnes. The biggest players in Colombia's coal industry are Drummond Co, Glencore Plc, Murray Energy Corp's Colombia Natural Resources, and Cerrejon, which is owned by BHP Billiton, Anglo American PLC and Glencore. (Reporting by Helen Murphy Editing by Susan Thomas)

Exxon Mobil Corp will exit some joint ventures with Russia's Rosneft, citing Western sanctions first imposed in 2014, while the Russian company said the pullout will result in serious losses for its U.S. partner. The move is an about-face for Exxon, which had opposed the sanctions over Russia's invasion of Crimea and argued they unfairly penalized U.S. companies while allowing foreign energy rivals to operate in the country, the world's largest oil producer. Yet the sanctions…

Venezuela's state-run oil company PDVSA has launched tenders to sell on the open market up to four cargoes of heavy crude for March delivery at its Jose and Puerto Miranda terminals, according to document seen by Reuters on Monday. * Payment must be made in euros three days before the loading window, according to the tender's terms. The TJP crude must be exported to the U.S. West, East or Gulf Coasts, Northwest Europe or the Mediterranean. * Bids will be accepted through Feb. * PDVSA earlier this month offered to sell 2 million barrels of diluted crude oil (DCO), also for March delivery.

Methane Spirit, a liquefied natural gas tanker, said on Thursday it would arrive at Dominion Energy Inc's Cove Point LNG export facility in Maryland around March 31, according to Reuters shipping data. If correct, that could be the first vessel to pick up a cargo from the LNG facility, which Virginia-based Dominion said it expects to enter service in March. Dominion said it planned to spend $4 billion to add export facilities at Cove Point, long an LNG import terminal on the Chesapeake Bay. The Methane Spirit is currently off the coast of Japan where it was expected to drop off a cargo from Australia, according to the shipping data. Once it enters service, Cove Point will be the second big LNG export terminal in the lower 48 U.S.

Weather and climate-related disasters cost the United States a record $306 billion in 2017, the third-warmest year on record, the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said on Monday. The report from the federal agency underscores the economic risks of climate change, even as President Donald Trump's administration casts doubts on the causes of it and has started withdrawing the U.S. from a global pact to combat it. NOAA said western wildfires and hurricanes Harvey, Maria, and Irma contributed to making 2017 the costliest year on record.

The Hebron oil project off the coast of eastern Canada has produced its first oil, operator Exxon Mobil said on Tuesday, in a boost to Atlantic Canada's output after years of weak crude prices. At its peak Hebron will produce up to 150,000 barrels per day (bpd), Exxon said. It will help Atlantic Canada offshore production climb 44 percent to 307,000 bpd by 2024, according to estimates from the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers. The platform is located 200 miles (350 kilometres) off the coast of Newfoundland and Labrador in depths of 300 feet (92 metres) and the oil field…

Two crashes in the Asia Pacific region involving U.S. Navy warships and commercial vessels this year were caused by preventable errors by the sailors on board the ships, according to the results of Navy investigations released on Wednesday. The accidents, in which 17 sailors were killed, raised questions about Navy training and the pace of operations, prompted a Congressional hearing and the removal of a number of officers. “Both of these accidents were preventable and the respective investigations found multiple failures by watch standers that contributed to the incidents…

The U.S. Coast Guard has suspended the search for a worker missing from an oil production platform in Louisiana's Lake Pontchartrain that exploded and caught fire late on Sunday. Missing is Timothy Morrison, 44, of Katy, Texas, the Coast Guard said in a statement. Seven other workers were sent to hospital with injuries in the incident. "The decision to suspend a search is never an easy one," Commander Zac Ford said in the statement. Coast Guard rescue crews battled 4 foot to 5 foot (1.2 meter to 1.5 meter) waves during the search, and a helicopter joined them at daybreak after overnight efforts failed to locate Morrison, officials said at a briefing on Monday.

Russian gas giant Gazprom has signed a 12-year deal to supply Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) with liquefied natural gas, a subsidiary of Gazprom Marketing & Trading Group said on Monday.   Gazprom Global LNG Limited (GGLNG) said LNG supplies were due to start in 2019.   The agreement is the first stage in a planned series of partnerships between GGLNG and GNPC, with both companies working to develop the infrastructure and services required to manage and market the projected gas flows from the region, Gazprom said.   It did not disclose further details. (Reporting by Vladimir Soldatkin; editing by Susan Thomas)

Qatar Navigation (Milaha), the Doha-based maritime and logistics group, has launched a direct shipping service between Qatar and Turkey amid a regional diplomatic crisis that has cut Doha cut off from three of its closest neighbours. Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain, along with Egypt, cut diplomatic and trade ties with Qatar in June over its alleged support for terrorism and Iran - charges Doha denies. The four countries have banned Qatari vessels from docking at their ports, as well as flights to and from Doha.

Shares of the world's leading provider of geoscience data to oil companies TGS fell by more than 6 percent on Thursday, after disappointing sales in the second quarter. TGS reported $108 million in quarterly revenues, 6 percent below consensus, and compared with $114 million in the second-quarter a year ago. "Part of the problem was that TGS failed to sell more in Brazil, where PGS and CGG did well, or in Mexico, where it had data in the wrong place or it was simply too expensive," Iver Baatvik at ABN-AMRO bank said. The so-called late sales of seismic data were down to $79 million from $84 million a year ago. Peers including Schlumberger, PGS and CGG all reported year-on-year growth in the second quarter.

Abu Dhabi Ports has no plans to launch a public sale of shares in the short term, the chief executive of the state-owned company told Reuters on Tuesday. "There are no immediate plans to go public," Mohamed Juma al Shamisi said when asked if the company planned to sell shares and a subsequent listing. His comments came after Bloomberg News reported that Abu Dhabi Ports is considering an initial public offering, joining a growing list of state entities in the United Arab Emirates seeking to sell shares, citing people familiar with the matter.

Russian gas exports to Europe and Turkey rose 17.7 percent year-on-year between Jan. 1 and March 15 to 42.9 billion cubic metres, gas giant Gazprom said on Thursday. (Reporting by Jack Stubbs; Editing by Susan Thomas)

Moody's downgraded A.P. Moller-Maersk's credit rating on Tuesday, piling pressure on the world's biggest container shipper as it juggles a major restructuring with a multi-billion dollar acquisition of a German rival. Moody's said the downgrade from Baa1 to Baa2 with a negative outlook "reflects Maersk's deteriorating credit profile". The credit rating firm put the Danish shipping company under review in September, when it announced a split-up to focus on the shipping business and spin off its energy assets.

Dubai's Gulf Navigation Holding has signed a deal with China's Wuchang Group to expand its company's fleet, it said on Wednesday. Dubai's only listed crude shipper said in a statement the agreement would help meet "increasing demand for transferring chemicals from the UAE and other GCC countries to global markets". The statement said Wuchang Group would begin building six chemicals tankers. Gulf Navigation Holding said in September it had reduced its debt from $36 million to $21 million and hopes to end a long-running dispute with creditors by consolidating all of its borrowing before the end of the year. The crude shipper expanded ambitiously at the end of the last decade just as oversupply hit the chemical tanker business and transportation rates plummeted.

Indian Oil Corporation has launched a tender seeking to buy two liquefied natural gas (LNG) cargoes for December delivery which is due to close on Oct. 25, trade sources said.   IOC is to take receipt of the volumes on Dec. 6 and Dec. 21. (Reporting by Oleg Vukmanovic; editing by Susan Thomas)