Tanker truck train crash sets off explosion in Mexico
A tanker truck carrying 35,000 l (9,200 USG) of diesel was hit late Thursday by a moving train in the central Mexican state of Aguascalientes, triggering an explosion that prompted the evacuation of hundreds of people from the area.
The tanker truck tried to cross the railway ahead of the approaching train but failed to clear the crossing. The tanker truck belonged to freight company Transportes Torres, which apologized for the incident and said it was cooperating with authorities. The train was operated by Mexico's largest rail company FerroMex.
Around 1,500 people were evacuated from the area from 100-150 homes, while close to 50 vehicles were damaged, according to the Aguascalientes government. The state reported damage to natural gas pipelines near the area, and three people were hospitalized. No deaths were reported.
State and federal public safety officials, together with civil protection staff, the army and the national guard remained in the area as of midday 20 October, state governor Teresa Jimenez said.
Related news posts
Venezuelan vote ends in opposition leader's exile
Venezuelan vote ends in opposition leader's exile
Caracas, 9 September (Argus) — Venezuelan opposition leader Edmundo Gonzalez landed in Spain on Sunday after an arrest warrant accused him of terrorism as President Nicolas Maduro continues to crack down on dissent despite international condemnation. Gonzalez fled to Spain after several days of shuttling between foreign embassies in Caracas "to save his liberty, integrity and life," Maria Corina Machado, Gonzalez's ally and the key opposition figure blocked by Maduro from running in the election, said on social media. "My departure from Caracas was surrounded by episodes of pressure, coercion and threats in order to not allow me to leave," Gonzalez said in an audio post to his followers. "I am confident that in the near future we will continue the struggle to achieve freedom and recover democracy in Venezuela." The US and other countries have not recognized official election results from 28 July and backed the opposition coalition's claim that Gonzalez likely was the winner. But Washington has refrained from taking any action, including enforcing an even stricter regime of oil and other sanctions, to force Maduro to cede power. "The United States strongly condemns Maduro's decision to use repression and intimidation to cling to power by brute force rather than acknowledge his defeat at the polls," secretary of state Antony Blinken said. Gonzalez's departure highlighted pessimism over the possibility of a negotiated departure for Maduro, who claims that he won a third term. "Today is a sad day for democracy," EU foreign affairs representative Josep Borrell said, saying that removing Gonzalez from Venezuela was the only solution for now. Oil minister and vice-president Delcy Rodriguez confirmed Gonzalez's departure late on 7 September, labeling Gonzalez an "opposition citizen" who was granted safe passage after requesting political asylum. In the days after the election, 23 demonstrators and one national guard member were killed, according to figures from the Organization of American States. Maduro boasted of arresting 2,500 "terrorists", but human rights non-governmental organizations say the detainees are demonstrators, election workers, politicians and journalists. According to the human-rights group Foro Penal, more than 1,700 are still in jail. By Carlos Camacho Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Plaza Marine alleges Ankora used company secrets
Plaza Marine alleges Ankora used company secrets
New York, 6 September (Argus) — New Jersey-based marine fuel supplier Plaza Marine is suing another supplier, Ankora Fuels, alleging that two former Plaza Marine employees used company trade secrets to benefit a rival company and to compete in the same market. Plaza Marine alleges that the two ex-employees, John and Zachary Barbarise, used its trade secrets, confidential information, customer, and supplier relationships to conduct business that is virtually identical to Plaza Marine, according to the suit filed last month in US District Court for the District of New Jersey. John Barbarise was vice president of sales and trading at Plaza Marine until May 2023 and Zachary Barbarise was an operations manager until July 2024. Both individuals are listed as defendants in the suit in addition to Ankora Fuels. According to the lawsuit, John and Zachary's positions at Plaza Marine gave them access to proprietary information about Plaza Marine's business including contracts with its customers, supplier lists and long-term planning like price strategies for its customers. Plaza Marine alleges that John and Zachary used this information to attempt to "clone" Plaza Marine including chartering a vessel that is a long-term vendor of the company and creating a pricing methodology that is like Plaza Marine. This has created confusion in the marine fuel market, according to Plaza Marine. "By creating a competing company engaged in virtually the same activities as Plaza Marine, it is inevitable that John and Zachary will necessarily use and disclose Plaza Marine's trade secrets for their own personal gain and to create an unfair competitive advantage for Ankora," the company said in the suit. According to the lawsuit, prior to resigning from Plaza Marine, Zachary allegedly contacted John on multiple occasions and accessed files related to Plaza Marine's customers, including once after an internal meeting that discussed confidential information related to its customers and suppliers. Zachary also allegedly created Google document files on a personal device and copied and pasted Plaza Marine's trade secrets into that file prior to departing from the company. Plaza Marine alleges that Zachary was passing along this confidential information to John for use at Ankora. Ankora said the allegations are "completely baseless" and that John and Zachary have never taken any information from Plaza Marine. The company said that Zachary has never worked for Ankora and the Google sheets Plaza Marine allegedly found in Zachary's computer were files "for a fantasy football draft and an ultimate fighting championship contest." "The simple truth is Plaza Marine does not want to face competition from a new player in its space. Plaza Marine wants to continue to mistreat customers and other business partners by blocking Ankora Fuels' entry into the market. That's why Plaza Marine has filed this baseless lawsuit. Plain and simple. We are confident that our customers will see the same, and that they will realize – if they haven't already – that Plaza Marine is not a good partner for their businesses," Ankora said. By Luis Gronda Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
East-west marine biodiesel spread near six-month low
East-west marine biodiesel spread near six-month low
London, 6 September (Argus) — The east-west marine biodiesel spread narrowed amid firm demand for the B24 blend in Singapore and lacklustre spot marine biodiesel demand in northwest Europe in recent sessions. The east-west marine biodiesel spread — the premium held by B30 used cooking oil methyl ester (Ucome) dob ARA to B24 Ucome dob Singapore — was marked at $47.50/t on 5 September, its narrowest since 19 March. The spread narrowed amid a noted increase in demand from Asian-based shipowners who embark on voyages to Europe ahead of the implementation of FuelEU Maritime regulations in Europe next year — according to market participants. The latter had also reported an increase in B24 demand in Singapore from containerships seeking scope 3 emissions rights that can then be passed on to cargo owners. Scope 3 emissions rights can be obtained on a mass-balance system, allowing shipowners flexibility with regards to the port at which a blend can be bunkered. Argus assessed B24 dob Singapore prices at an average of $720.70/t on 1 July–5 September this year, compared with $757.70/t on 8 February–28 June following the launch of the B30 Ucome dob ARA price on 8 February. Consequently, the east-west marine biodiesel spread was marked at an average of $95.34/t on 1 July–5 September, compared with $74.57/t on 8 February–28 June. A wider east-west spread would incentivise shipowners to opt for the B24 blend in Singapore rather than ARA, when operationally viable, to meet the voluntary scope 3 demand from their customers. Rising demand in the Singapore bunkering hub was further supplemented by higher sales of marine biodiesel blends at the port. According to official data released by the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore, sales of marine biodiesel blends in the second quarter of the year were marked at about 161,400t — higher by 34,500t from the previous quarter. This was also higher by 52,600t from the second quarter of last year. By Hussein Al-Khalisy Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Pemex unbilled debts to suppliers climb
Pemex unbilled debts to suppliers climb
Mexico City, 5 September (Argus) — Service providers for Mexico's Pemex are unable to submit new invoices for services performed nearly a year ago even as the state-owned company also struggles to pay down past bills, sources say. These unsubmitted invoices do not appear in Pemex's financial records or in its monthly supplier debt reports, three Pemex suppliers who work mostly in the northern region of the Gulf of Mexico told Argus . Pemex provides vendors a system to submit bills for review and processing, leading to an invoice codifying payments and discounts (Copades). At this stage, Pemex certifies the pending invoice, making it part of the company's monthly supplier report —a transparency measure implemented in 2021. Pemex reduced its overdue debts to service providers by 6pc from May-July, with Ps126.4bn ($6.78bn) in unpaid invoices as of 31 July, down from Ps133.9bn in May. But a significant amount of unbilled work remains because Pemex has not issued the necessary Copades for vendors to begin the payment process, and some of the bills date back to work performed in September, according to two of the vendors. Without the Copades, companies must classify these debts as uncollectible, one vendor said. The issue is concentrated in Mexico's northeast maritime region, where Pemex produces about half of its crude and gas output, according to the vendors. This region includes the Cantarell and Ku-Maloob-Zap fields. Pemex has requested vendors to perform tasks in the area, but the company then claims there is no budget allocated for those bills, the vendors said. This unbilled work adds to Pemex's recognized debt to suppliers, but the size of this unrecognized debt is impossible to estimate, the vendors added. Pemex's unpaid invoices and short-term vendor debts stand at record-high levels, despite receiving over $70bn in government support since 2019. By Edgar Sigler Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Business intelligence reports
Get concise, trustworthy and unbiased analysis of the latest trends and developments in oil and energy markets. These reports are specially created for decision makers who don’t have time to track markets day-by-day, minute-by-minute.
Learn more