Asian Development Bank to end coal, oil financing
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is planning to end financing of coal-fired power projects and oil, gas and coal mining, making it the latest financial institution to pull back from the fossil fuel sector.
The pledge is part of a new draft energy policy that focuses on supporting the low-carbon transition in Asia. The government-backed bank said it will continue to finance natural gas projects, including pipelines, LNG terminals, storage projects and gas-fired power plants, but only if no other technologies can provide the same energy service at an equivalent cost, including the social cost of carbon.
Japan and the US are the largest shareholders in the Philippines-based ADB, which lends to social and economic projects in the region. It said it will help its 68 member countries finance emissions-control technologies at existing power plants but will not invest in modernising or upgrading such plants unless they are re-engineered to use cleaner fuels, such as gas or renewables.
The bank will support its members to reduce their dependence on coal and eventually phase out coal-fired generation completely — something it acknowledged would be a tough task, given coal generated almost 60pc of electricity in Asia in 2018.
The ADB financed around $42.5bn of energy projects of all types from 2009-19, largely in the power sector, with Pakistan, India, China and Indonesia among the top recipients. The new draft policy will be considered by its board in September-October this year.
Private-sector banks in Asia have also been cutting their exposure to thermal fuels, especially coal. Singapore's largest bank DBS last month pledged to phase out its thermal coal exposure by 2039. Japan's Sumitomo Mitsui Banking and Mizuho Bank withdrew from domestic and overseas coal-fired power development projects as of May and June 2019, respectively, while Malaysia's CIMB became the first southeast Asian bank to commit to a coal-exit strategy with a deadline in December.
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Barge delays at Algiers lock near New Orleans
Barge delays at Algiers lock near New Orleans
Houston, 24 April (Argus) — Barges are facing lengthy delays at the Algiers lock near New Orleans as vessels reroute around closures at the Port Allen lock and the Algiers Canal. Delays at the Algiers Lock —at the interconnection of the Mississippi River and the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway— have reached around 37 hours in the past day, according to the US Army Corps of Engineers' lock report. Around 50 vessels are waiting to cross the Algiers lock. Another 70 vessels were waiting at the nearby Harvey lock with a six-hour wait in the past day. The closure at Port Allen lock has spurred the delays, causing vessels to reroute through the Algiers lock. The Port Allen lock is expected to reopen on 28 April, which should relieve pressure on the Algiers lock. Some traffic has been rerouted through the nearby Harvey lock since the Algiers Canal was closed by a collapsed powerline, the US Coast Guard said. The powerline fell on two barges, but no injuries or damages were reported. The wire is being removed by energy company Entergy. The canal is anticipated to reopen at midnight on 25 April. By Meghan Yoyotte Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Baltimore to temporarily open 4th shipping channel
Baltimore to temporarily open 4th shipping channel
Cheyenne, 24 April (Argus) — The Port of Baltimore is preparing to open another, deeper temporary shipping channel this week so at least some of the vessels that have been stranded at the port can depart. The new 35-ft deep Fort McHenry Limited Access Channel is scheduled to be open to commercially essential vessels from 25 April until 6am ET on 29 April or 30 April "if weather adversely impacts vessel transits," according to a US Coast Guard Marine Safety Information Bulletin. The channel will then be closed again until 10 May. The channel also will have a 300-ft horizontal clearance and 214-ft vertical clearance. This will be the fourth and largest channel opened since the 26 March collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge. The Unified Command has said that the new limited access channel should allow passage of about 75pc of the types of vessels that typically move through the waterway. Vessels that have greater than 60,000 long tons (60,963 metric tonnes) of displacement will likely not be able to move through the channel and those between 50,000-60,000 long tons of displacement "will be closely evaluated" for transit. There were seven vessels blocked from exiting the port as of 27 March, including three dry bulk carriers, one vehicle carrier and one tanker, according to the US Department of Transportation. Two of the bulk carriers at berth in Baltimore are Kamsarmax-sized coal vessels, data from analytics firm Kpler show. The US Army Corps of Engineers still expects to reopen the Port of Baltimore's permanent 700-foot wide, 50-foot deep channel by the end of May. The Key Bridge collapsed into the water late last month when the 116,851dwt container ship Dali lost power and crashed into a bridge support column. Salvage teams have been working to remove debris from the water and containers from the ship in order to clear the main channel. By Courtney Schlisserman Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Iraq to keep 3.3mn b/d crude export cap until year end
Iraq to keep 3.3mn b/d crude export cap until year end
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