Traders have rebranded more than $1 billion of Venezuelan oil shipments to China as Brazilian crude over the past year, according to two tanker tracking firms, company documents and four traders, helping buyers to cut logistics costs and circumvent U.S. sanctions.Independent refiners in China are the main buyers of seaborne oil shipments from countries sanctioned by the United States
On World Donkey Day (May 8), international animal welfare charity, The Donkey Sanctuary, acknowledges Swire Shipping as the first global shipping line to commit publicly to a ‘No Donkey Skins Carriage policy’.In February last year, African Heads of State and Governments endorsed a continent-wide moratorium on the slaughter of donkeys for their skins at the 37th African Union Summit.
Oil and gas traders are likely to seek waivers from Beijing over tariffs that the Chinese government plans to impose on U.S. crude and liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports from February 10, trade sources said on Thursday.Shortly after tariffs on China imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump took effect on Tuesday, China's Finance Ministry said it would impose levies of 15% on imports of U.S.
Shandong Port Group has banned U.S.-sanctioned tankers from calling into its ports in the eastern Chinese province, home to many independent refiners that are the biggest importers of oil from countries under U.S. embargo, three traders said.The province imported about 1.74 million barrels per day (bpd) of oil from Iran, Russia and Venezuela last year, accounting for about 17% of China's imports
The river Mosel in western Germany, an important route for grains and rapeseed shipments, has been closed to inland waterways shipping after an accident that damaged a lock, navigation authorities said.A lock at Mueden south of Koblenz has been damaged after a vessel collision and repairs are likely to last until spring 2025, possibly around late March, the WSA agency said.
Brazilian port terminal group Amport said on Thursday that grains transport through the Tapajos waterway has come to a halt as a severe drought hit northern Brazil and lowered the river's water levels.Tapajos, which links Brazil's central and north regions, is a key corridor to transport grains from agricultural heartlands in states, including Mato Grosso, Brazil's top soy producer
Big energy merchants trading oil cargoes that form the basis of the Brent benchmark have used an obscure clause to reroute U.S. shipments from Europe, in a practice that raises doubts over whether reforms to the crude price marker have succeeded.Brent, the most significant benchmark across commodity markets, is used to price more than 60% of globally traded crude and underpins oil futures.
At least four people have been reported dead following the sinking of an oil barge operated by a contractor of Venezuela's state-run energy company PDVSA at the country's Lake Maracaibo, according to a report of the accident on Thursday and sources.Another 19 people had been successfully rescued by Thursday morning at the accident site, the report added.
At least two people died and four were declared missing following the sinking of an oil barge operated by a contractor of Venezuelan state-run energy company PDVSA at Lake Maracaibo, PDVSA said on Thursday.Sources and an internal report from the company had indicated four fatalities from the accident earlier on Thursday. But PDVSA said rescue work to find the four missing people has not finished.
U.S. Gulf of Mexico energy firms on Friday were lumbering back from hurricane disruptions as offshore oil and gas producers ramped up operations after halving the key energy region's output, ports reopened, and onshore terminals accepted oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) tankers.Hurricane Francine shut in up to 42% of the region's offshore oil and 53% of its natural gas production.
A 72-year-old Great Lakes freighter has anchored safely in Thunder Bay, Ontario following a flooding incident in Lake Superior.At around 7 a.m. on Saturday morning, the Canadian-registered Michipicoten reportedly struck an underwater object and began taking on water in U.S. waters about 35 miles south of Isle Royale, the U.S. Coast Guard said.
Trader Gunvor and French major TotalEnergies have stored North Sea crude in at least four tankers in the past month as on-water stockpiling of the grades hits a 2-1/2 year high, a fresh sign of weak appetite for oil from refiners.At least 2.6 million barrels of North Sea crude grades Forties and Gullfaks have been put in floating storage in Europe, the highest volume since January 2022