Freeport LNG has resumed shipments of liquified natural gas (LNG) two weeks after Beryl hit the Texas coast, with processing on track to reach about half its capacity on Monday.  According to LSEG data cited by Reuters, the amount of gas flowing to the 2.1-billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) facility was on track to hit ~1.0 bcfd on Monday after averaging 0.8 bcfd on Sunday. Freeport has had a slow operational restart ever since it shut its three liquefaction trains on July 7.  Last week, unnamed trading sources told Bloomberg…

For the some 150 people in the tiny Tajik village of Khumgaron, the pollution and waste from the Chinese gold-mining operation nearby is not what they bargained for. "How will we live if the air and water are polluted?" asked one villager. "What meaning does life have when a person loses their health?" Fed up with the severe pollution in their village caused by the Zarafshon mining company, a group of angry women traveled to the nearby city of Panjakent last year to file an official complaint on behalf of the village. But instead of the local officials…

Trans Mountain Corp., Canada's newly expanded Trans Mountain pipeline, is arranging a bond sale to refinance part of its debt ahead of the Canadian government’s eventual sale of the oil pipeline operator.  The company had C$25.3 billion ($18.4 billion) debt as of March 31, including credit agreements with a syndicate of lenders containing two facilities totaling C$19 billion.  The Canadian government bought and nationalized the existing pipeline from a unit of Kinder Morgan Inc. (NYSE:KMI) in 2018 to ensure that…

Trans Mountain Corp., Canada's newly expanded Trans Mountain pipeline, is arranging a bond sale to refinance part of its debt ahead of the Canadian government’s eventual sale of the oil pipeline operator.  The company had C$25.3 billion ($18.4 billion) debt as of March 31, including credit agreements with a syndicate of lenders containing two facilities totaling C$19 billion.  The Canadian government bought and nationalized the existing pipeline from a unit of Kinder Morgan Inc. (NYSE:KMI) in 2018 to ensure that…

Trans Mountain Corp., Canada's newly expanded Trans Mountain pipeline, is arranging a bond sale to refinance part of its debt ahead of the Canadian government’s eventual sale of the oil pipeline operator.  The company had C$25.3 billion ($18.4 billion) debt as of March 31, including credit agreements with a syndicate of lenders containing two facilities totaling C$19 billion.  The Canadian government bought and nationalized the existing pipeline from a unit of Kinder Morgan Inc. (NYSE:KMI) in 2018 to ensure that…

An ongoing joint military exercise involving a comparatively small number of American and Armenian troops at a base in the Yerevan suburbs has caused a paroxysm of rage in the Kremlin. The 11-day joint exercise, dubbed Eagle Partner, will run through July 24 and is intended to boost the “interoperability between the US and Armenia during peacekeeping and stability operations,” according to a report distributed by the US European Command. It isn’t the number of troops involved that have Russian officials in a tizzy, its more about…

Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) economies will grow at a considerably slower clip in the current year due to the ongoing oil production cuts, with Saudi Arabia’s economy among the hardest hit, a Reuters poll of economists has predicted.  A poll of 24 economists taken July 8-22 has predicted that Saudi Arabia's economy will expand 1.3% in the current year, down from 1.9% forecast in an April survey and 3.0% predicted in January.  However, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), is expected to post a better growth rate at 3.7%  as…

From the mid-1990s to onset of Covid at the end of 2019, China almost singlehandedly drove the commodities supercycle, consisting of ever-increasing prices for the key materials it required to drive its extraordinary economic growth. As the virus took hold across the country, accompanied by its Draconian ‘zero-Covid’ policy that saw entire cities closed at the merest hint of the illness, its economic growth rate plummeted. Last year, it managed to hit its official economic growth target of ‘around 5 percent’, finally posting…

India plans to apply for obtaining licenses for deep-sea mining of minerals key for the energy transition in the Pacific, a senior government scientist told Reuters on Monday.   India has been exploring ways to own and develop critical minerals assets abroad as its renewable energy rollout is soaring and as it seeks to have its own stream of supply of key metals such as lithium, nickel, and copper. Now the country is getting ready to apply in 2025 with the UN-backed International Seabed Authority (ISA) for exploration licenses in…

By Grant Smith, Bloomberg markets live reporter and strategist Oil prices may have been confined to a tight range this month, but an array of signals from the physical market suggest the next move could be a break to the upside. First of all, there are the time-spreads between monthly futures contracts, which have shown a strengthening premium on prompt deliveries over the past six weeks as US driving demand climbs toward its summertime peak. The so-called flat price of crude has lagged behind, pressured by concerns over the global economy, but…

Russia and Cuba have discussed the idea of building an oil refinery in Cuba with the help of Russian companies, the deputy speaker of the Russian parliament was quoted as saying. During a visit of Russian lawmakers to Cuba in recent days, the idea of a refinery construction has been discussed, Russia’s TASS news agency quoted deputy speaker Alexander Babakov as saying. “The biggest Russian state companies could be working here,” the lawmaker said.   “Cuba has crude oil: it is logical not to import oil products…

Europe’s benchmark natural gas prices slumped on Monday to the lowest level in one week after the U.S. export facility Freeport LNG resumed some operations following a shutdown due to Hurricane Beryl earlier this month. The Dutch TTF Natural Gas Futures, the benchmark for Europe’s gas trading, were down by 2.7% at $34.09 (31.31 euros) per megawatt-hour (MWh) at 10:54 a.m. in Amsterdam on Monday. Last week, the supply disruptions from Freeport LNG and heat waves across a large part of Europe pushed up European natural gas prices. …

Solar companies recorded the highest amount in debt financing in a decade during the first half of 2024, Mercom Capital Group has reported.  Solar companies raised $12.2 billion across 50 debt financing deals in the period, marking a 53% increase from the $8 billion raised in 33 deals during the first six months of 2023. According to Raj Prabhu, CEO of Mercom, solar companies are increasingly being forced to borrow to finance growth while investors sit out due to several industry headwinds including high interest rates, a renewed…

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is set to attend a UK Cabinet meeting to discuss strategies aimed at further disrupting Russian oil sales as the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict continues to reverberate through global oil markets. While critics of Western sanctions against Russia have argued against their effectiveness, Zelensky's presence at such a high-level meeting speaks to Ukraine’s push to weaken Russia’s economic foundation, which is heavily reliant on its oil exports. The timing of this initiative is curious. Russia, in…

Copper futures in New York are 15% below their May all-time high and have hit a two-week low. Goldman analyst Adam Gillard suggests that a "surplus market" could pressure prices of the base metal lower in the "short term."  In recent weeks, copper has been stuck in a narrow range and is down about 15% from the record in May. The surge in prices was driven by global supply fears, a squeeze in the market, and energy transition demand.  In May, Jeff Currie, who led commodities research at Goldman Sachs for nearly…

Via Metal Miner The Global Precious Metals MMI (Monthly Metals Index) held its four-month long sideways trend month-over-month. All in all, the index narrowly missed trading flat, only budging down 0.18%. However, numerous factors continue to pull at precious metals prices in general. Gold, for one, appeared to finally be settling down after reaching record highs earlier in the year. However, by mid July, gold prices began climbing again, meaning Gold prices have yet to peak. With wars in other parts of the globe, inflation still somewhat elevated,…

Kazakhstan is pressing ahead with Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan to develop electricity export capacity, even as Astana faces challenges in securing the power needed to fuel domestic economic growth. The Kazakh Ministry of Energy has published for public comment a draft agreement on its strategic green-energy partnership with Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan. The agreement would put some flesh on the bones of a memorandum of intent the three countries signed in May. “Emphasizing the importance of green and clean energy in global action to combat climate…

For the first time since the Israel–Hamas war erupted last October, the Israeli military has deployed fighter jets to strike Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen. This action follows an incident where the rebels penetrated Tel Aviv airspace with a kamikaze drone (also for the first time) on Friday, resulting in the death of one civilian.  Houthi official Mohammed Abdulsalam posted on social media that a "brutal Israel aggression against Yemen" had just occurred. He noted that the airstrikes hit "fuel storage facilities…

For the first time since the Israel–Hamas war erupted last October, the Israeli military has deployed fighter jets to strike Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen. This action follows an incident where the rebels penetrated Tel Aviv airspace with a kamikaze drone (also for the first time) on Friday, resulting in the death of one civilian.  Houthi official Mohammed Abdulsalam posted on social media that a "brutal Israel aggression against Yemen" had just occurred. He noted that the airstrikes hit "fuel storage facilities…

So far this year, China has imported growing volumes of most of the key commodities, with the notable exception of crude oil. Chinese purchases of LNG, coal, copper, and iron ore jumped in the first half of the year compared to year-ago levels, despite a continued property crisis and a faltering economy, which disappointed market bulls with growth coming in below expectations in the second quarter.   If the Chinese economy is weaker than thought, then why is China importing more of the commodities that are typically viewed as a gauge for the…