US Senate approves waterways infrastructure bill
The US Senate today unanimously approved a waterways infrastructure bill authorizing river navigation improvements, setting the stage for negotiations later in the year with the US House of Representatives, which has passed its own legislation.
This is "crucial bipartisan legislation to invest in our nation's water infrastructure, protect our communities and support good-paying jobs," said senator Tom Carper (D-Delaware), chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. Carper introduced the biennial bill earlier this year.
The bill would authorize US Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) projects focused on navigation, flood control and ecosystem restoration. In all, the Senate bill measure would authorize 83 feasibility studies and 13 new and modified projects.
The bill regularly draws bipartisan support because its projects and programs impact all 50 states. "By passing this legislation, the Senate took a significant step toward strengthening our water infrastructure, supporting our national economy, better protecting communities from flood risks, and helping the Corps carry out its mission now and in the future," senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-West Virginia).
The House approved a companion but somewhat different bill on 22 July. Lawmakers now will have to hammer out difference between the two versions in a conference committee, unless one chamber opts to pass the other house's language.
But no action is expected before September at the earlier.
The Senate adjourned today for its August recess and is not expected to reconvene until 9 September. The House left town last week.
Passage of a final bill could be further complicated by election year politics.
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Francine moves inland as tropical depression
Francine moves inland as tropical depression
New York, 12 September (Argus) — Hurricane Francine weakened to a tropical depression on Thursday after slamming into southern Louisiana as a Category 2 hurricane the previous evening and spurring offshore operators to shut in around 39pc of oil output in the Gulf of Mexico. Francine was last about 30 miles south of Jackson, Mississippi, according to an 8am ET advisory from the National Hurricane Center, with maximum sustained winds of 35mph. The storm will move over central and northern portions of Mississippi through early Friday bringing heavy rains. Offshore oil and gas operators including Shell, ExxonMobil and Chevron evacuated workers and shut in production from some of their offshore operations in advance of Francine, while a number of ports, including New Orleans, Louisiana, shut down. About 674,833 b/d of offshore oil output was off line as of 12:30pm ET Wednesday, according to the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE), while 907mn cf/d of natural gas production, or 49pc of the region's output, was also off line. Operators evacuated workers from 171 platforms. Shell said Wednesday evening that production at its Perdido, Auger, and Enchilada/Salsa facilities in the Gulf of Mexico remained shut in, but it would reassess its position as offshore conditions improve. BP said it temporarily shut down and evacuated personnel from its Castrol lubricants facility in Port Allen, Louisiana. By Stephen Cunningham Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
FeCr quarterly benchmark not fit for Asia: Jindal
FeCr quarterly benchmark not fit for Asia: Jindal
Mumbai, 12 September (Argus) — The ferrochrome industry has entered a new era after the quarterly benchmark system ended in June 2024 and the industry is seeking a new pricing mechanism to replace the benchmark system that had been criticised for many years . Argus spoke with Indian producer Jindal Stainless' managing director Abhyuday Jindal about what the future pricing mechanism should look like and the challenges Indian stainless steelmakers face from lower-priced Chinese imports and increased volatility in raw material costs. How are you pricing ferrochrome without a quarterly benchmark, and what future pricing mechanisms do you foresee? Even during the regime of quarterly benchmark prices, countries such as India and China were not influenced by this benchmark. Instead, they set ferro chrome prices based on realistic demand and supply. They negotiated prices close to the actual consumption. Even European consumers had been buying chrome at discounted levels than the benchmark levels because it was unrealistic. In the future, we expect the Asian model based on realistic demand and supply will continue to succeed. How has cheaper Chinese stainless steel imports impacted the margins of domestic steelmakers? Imports from China have posed a long-standing challenge to the industry. While other major stainless steel producing nations have imposed duties on Chinese imports, India has yet to take similar actions. As one of the largest and fastest-growing markets for stainless steel, India becomes a key target for dumped and subsidised imports. Continuous dumping from China puts immense pressure on MSMEs and disrupts the local manufacturing ecosystem. Additionally, it creates an uneven playing field for domestic manufacturers, often forcing many to shift from manufacturing to trading. What is the outlook for ferrochrome prices and how will this affect production costs and demand? Recently, raw material prices for stainless steel had been volatile owing to availability concerns of raw material ore. Nickel, one of the major input materials, has displayed unpredictability on the London Metals Exchange (LME) in the range of $15,000-21,000/t and now currently is around $16,000/t. Some of this volatility was driven by Ni ore prices in Indonesia. Similarly, chrome ore shortages are impacting ferrochrome availability and prices. In India, the majority of chrome ore resources are available from only two companies, of which only one has been consistent with supplies. This is the reason why we have had to resort to imports for meeting chrome requirements. By Deepika Singh Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Tanker freight rates expected to rise from 4Q: Appec
Tanker freight rates expected to rise from 4Q: Appec
Singapore, 12 September (Argus) — Tanker freight rates are expected to pick up in October-December and into next year's first quarter on recovering demand for dirty tankers, delegates said at the S&P Global Commodity Insights Appec conference in Singapore. Clean tanker freight rates for Long Range (LR) 2 and LR1 vessels fell in the third quarter because of competition from dirty tankers, Rohit Radhakrishnan, general manager, tanker and gas, Pacific Carriers, said at the conference on 11 September. Rates were dampened on higher competition from increased vessel supply, largely because several dirty tankers such as very large crude carriers (VLCCs) switched to ship clean products. A fully laden VLCC equates to slightly more than three LR2 cargoes, which are the vessels normally used to ship diesel and gasoil from the Middle East to Europe. This was in line with a trend since July when several dirty tankers such as VLCCs were booked to carry clean petroleum products from the Mideast Gulf and Asia to Europe, given weak seasonal demand for VLCCs in the northern hemisphere and higher time-charter equivalent (TCE) rates for clean LR vessels. But the dirty tanker freight market has risen since late last week. With the recent increase in demand for dirty tankers, its $/t discount with clean tankers has decreased, said Peter Kolding, vice president of commercial and pool management at Hafnia, a tanker company. As the winter season is also coming up, demand should increase, lending a general recovery in the fourth-quarter rates, Kolding added. VLCC freight rates have steadily moved higher from about 11 months-low because of active chartering activity late last week, with several freight participants also noting that they have already touched a bottom and should continue rebounding. The Argus -assessed rate for a VLCC carrying a dirty cargo from the Mideast Gulf to southeast Asia rose to $7.52/t on 11 September, from the 11 months-low of $6.49/t on 4 September. Tanker freight rates in 2025 will still be strong compared with past years, Radhakrishnan said, but might be slightly weaker than in 2024. With freight rates in the first quarter being seasonally strong, the market should be off to a good start, Kolding added, but noted that "we still got to keep an eye on geopolitical effects." The Red Sea conflict has played a huge part in freight rates this year because of increased tonne-mile demand and costs as vessels reroute through the Cape of Good Hope, said Kolding, adding that it would take a while for the conflict to be resolved. Rates could also find further support if crude prices continue to fall, attracting charterers to book tankers such as VLCCs as offshore storage for oil, the conference moderator said. By Sean Zhuang Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Production cuts lift Asian seaborne bitumen values
Production cuts lift Asian seaborne bitumen values
Singapore, 12 September (Argus) — Tighter export supplies from production cuts and firmer import demand from southeast Asia has lifted seaborne Asian bitumen prices to their highest level since last year's final quarter. Argus assessed the weekly fob Singapore ABX 1 at $452.50/t on 6 September, the highest since early December 2023 and up by $7/t from the previous week. Argus assessed the weekly fob South Korea ABX 2 at $446/t on 6 September, the highest since the end of October 2023 and up by $3.50/t from a week earlier. Argus assessed weekly fob Thailand and fob Taiwan prices at $450/t on 6 September, up by $7.50/t from the previous week. This was their highest since mid-November and early December respectively. Export supplies have been curbed from Singapore, South Korea, Thailand and Taiwan since this year's second quarter because of strong high-sulphur fuel oil (HSFO) prices and weaker export margins . The daily fob Singapore ABX 1 was trading at a discount of about $75-80/t to 3.5pc 380cst HSFO fob Singapore values in March. The discount widened to $107.75/t to HSFO on 5 July, the widest this year. Enquiries were weak especially from monsoon-hit Vietnam , with higher availability of relatively cheaper Middle East-origin cargoes also depressing domestic values and reducing buying capacity. Import demand from south China continues to be weak from higher inventories and limited consumption. This is despite its existing production cuts. Only Indonesia was seeking some volumes to restock. Some Indonesian importers have been seeking October-December laycan cargoes in advance before Singapore's export supplies dry up, ahead of the year-end peak demand season. At least two importers have issued import tenders to secure October cargoes. But drier weather and the return of some national highway and maintenance projects in central and north Vietnam, along with unusually higher domestic demand in Thailand , increased enquiries for Singapore and Taiwan cargoes this quarter that supported prices. Importers from southeast Asia are also seeking other Asia-origin cargoes. This strengthened enquiries for South Korea-origin cargoes , for which southeast Asia is not a major market. Prolonged weak demand from traditional importer east China because of competitive domestic offers made South Korean cargoes available for southeast Asian buyers but demand continued to outpace supplies. Limited output At least two of three refineries in Singapore were under partial turnaround this quarter. The Singapore Refining Company's 290,000 b/d refinery is expected to return towards the end of September, while Shell's 237,000 b/d Pulau Bukom refinery is estimated to resume around mid-October. A Yeosu-based refiner in South Korea issued a tender to sell about 5-6 cargoes each month for loading across the fourth quarter from its 800,000 b/d refinery. But an Onsan-based 669,000 b/d refiner did not issue an export tender for September-laycan cargoes for unspecified reasons. Market participants are unsure if an export tender for October cargoes will be issued. Export supplies from Taiwan were also limited with refiners mostly catering to their term commitments. Thailand's 275,000 b/d Sriracha refinery and 215,000 b/d Rayong refinery limited production, while the 175,000 b/d Map Ta Phut refinery has opted to produce more fuel oil. A refinery in Malaysia had halted bitumen sales since mid-June because of limited production and is likely to return next month. This increased demand for Singapore-origin tank truck cargoes and some Singapore refiners allocated more volumes for tank truck sales, further limiting export supplies. Export supplies in Asia are expected to be tight in the short term despite seaborne prices currently trading at a premium to HSFO values, market participants close to refiners told Argus , indicating that bitumen production might not increase soon. Bitumen has been at a premium to HSFO values since the end of August. Argus assessed the daily fob Singapore ABX 1 at $460/t on 11 September, at a $48.25/t premium to 3.5pc 380cst HSFO fob Singapore that was assessed at $411.75/t. By Sathya Narayanan, Claire Ng and Chloe Choo Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
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