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Belarusian opposition leader asks for US sanctions

  • Spanish Market: Crude oil, Fertilizers
  • 20/07/21

Belarusian opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya is renewing calls for the US to expand its sanctions targeting Belarus' oil and fertilizer industries.

Tikhanovskaya, who met yesterday with US secretary of state Tony Blinken and other State Department officials in Washington, today said she asked for additional sanctions and was given assurances that the US administration will unveil "strong actions" against Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko's government and state owned enterprises.

"We talked about sectoral sanctions because they are most powerful — they would hit the enterprises, they would hit Lukashenko's cronies," Tikhanovskaya said at a discussion hosted by Washington think tank the Atlantic Council. "They monopolized the potash, oil, steel and wood processing enterprises, and sectoral sanctions would hit the regime."

The US administration on 3 June resumed enforcing sanctions against nine Belarusian refining, petrochemical and fertilizer companies. That list affects the operator of the 240,000 b/d Novopolotsk refinery and Belarusian state-owned refining business Belneftekhim. Tikhanovskaya last month called on US lawmakers to also target the 323,000 b/d Mozyr refinery and state-owned potash producer Belaruskali, neither of which is affected by existing US sanctions.

US president Joe Biden on 25 May ordered new sanctions to be prepared against Belarus in coordination with the EU to protest the forced redirection of a Ryanair passenger flight to Minsk and the arrest of a Belarusian journalist aboard that aircraft. But the US has yet to act to match sanctions the EU unveiled last month against Belarusian entities and Russian businessman Mikhail Gutseriyev.

US officials normally do not comment on future sanctions targets, and the State Department did not address the prospect of additional sanctions in an official readout of meetings with Tikhanovskaya. "With partners like the EU, the UK and Canada, we continue to coordinate tools and economic pressure in support of the Belorussian people and to hold regime actors accountable for their abuses," US ambassador to Belarus Julie Fisher said today.

The Belarusian opposition leader is holding meetings with White House officials and members of Congress later today. "We want maximum pressure," Tikhanovskaya said, a term used frequently by former president Donald Trump's administration to describe its sanctions approach to Iran and Venezuela.

But the term — and the approach — has fallen out of favor in Washington since Biden took office.

The US administration is reviewing its existing sanctions programs to judge their efficacy after concluding that the maximum pressure campaigns against Iran and Venezuela have achieved little to no political results. Current and former US sanctions officials have criticized the recent practice of imposing sanctions as a purely punitive measure instead of using them to try to alter foreign governments' behavior.

Deputy treasury secretary Wally Adeyemo hosted former Democratic and Republican government officials to discuss possible sanctions tweaks. The group told Adeyemo that "US economic and financial sanctions are not an end to themselves but are most effective when employed in the context of a broader US government strategy to address a foreign policy or national security threat," the Treasury Department said. The meeting also "discussed the need to effectively calibrate sanctions to limit the unintended consequences on US businesses, foreign partners, and other third parties — including entities engaged in legitimate humanitarian activities."


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Kenya's NCPB receives offers in fertilizer tender


19/09/24
19/09/24

Kenya's NCPB receives offers in fertilizer tender

Istanbul, 19 September (Argus) — Kenya's NCPB has received offers against its 19 September buy tender for 245,000t of various fertilizers for the 2024-25 season under the country's fertilizer subsidy programme. There were 19 offers of 25-5-5, all within a range of 3,750-5,500 Kenyan shillings/50kg bag, equivalent to $581-852/t. There were also 19 offers of 17-17-17, ranging from KSh3,800-5,800/50kg bag. The NCPB received 23 offers of urea at KSh3,400-6,000/50kg bag, 12 offers of amsul ranging from KSh2,800-5,400/50kg bag, and 18 offers of CAN in a range of KSh2,875-4,250/50kg bag. The offers were on the basis of deliveries to NCPB depots. The tender requested the following products: 25,000t urea (500,000 x 50kg bags) 40,000t CAN 26 (800,000 x 50kg bags) 5,000t amsul (100,000 x 50kg bags) 15,000t 17-17-17 (300,000 x 50kg bags) 15,000t 25-5-5 (300,000 x 50kg bags) 35,000t 23-23-0 (700,000 x 50kg bags) 10,000t crop-specific NPK fertilizer for top dressing with a minimum nitrogen nutrient content of 26pc plus other micronutrients (200,000 x 50kg bags) 70,000t crop-specific NPK fertilizer for planting with a minimum nitrogen nutrient content of 17pc and above, a minimum phosphorus content of 29pc and above, plus other micronutrients (1,400,000 x 50kg bags) 30,000t crop-specific NPK fertilizer for planting with a minimum nitrogen nutrient content of 9-16.99pc, a minimum phosphorus content of 22-28.99pc and above, plus other micronutrients (600,000 x 50kg bags) The NCPB said agreed contracts are renewable each season for a period of two years under the subsidy programme. The tender document also states that a supplier will not be awarded for the supply of more than two fertilizer types. By Nykole King Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Small private Libyan firm exports oil through blockade


19/09/24
19/09/24

Small private Libyan firm exports oil through blockade

London, 19 September (Argus) — A small Libyan private firm appears to have been granted an exemption from an oil blockade, which has more than halved the country's exports. Arkenu Oil, which describes itself as a private oil and gas development and production firm, is scheduled to export 1mn bl of Sarir and Mesla crude from Marsa el-Hariga to Italy's Trieste on the Maran Poseidon, according to an official document seen by Argus . The tanker has been chartered by Turkish trader BGN and is currently loading its cargo. This is the first Arkenu shipment set to be exported since the country's eastern-based administration ordered a blockade on oil fields and terminals on 26 August in response to an attempt by its rival administration in the west to replace the central bank governor. It is also Arkenu's third known shipment since July. Arkenu exported a 1mn bl cargo on the Zeus on 10 July and another 1mn barrel cargo on the Yasa Polaris on 16 August, according to official documents and ship-tracking data. These were also Sarir and Mesla grade. Arkenu's exports are significant given that crude sales have historically been the preserve of NOC and a handful of international oil firms that hold stakes in the country's upstream such as Eni, TotalEnergies and OMV. Arkenu, which is based in the eastern city of Benghazi, is supposedly able to export its own crude based on an agreement with NOC which allocates it an unspecified share of production from its subsidiary Agoco's Sarir and Mesla fields in return for carrying out work to boost output at the sites. But there remain questions related to the legality of the deal, the nature of the work Arkenu is supposed to be carrying out and the company's technical capabilities. The three known Arkenu cargoes are worth around $240mn at prevailing market rates, Argus estimates. There has been no increase to Agoco's production capacity since the Arkenu deal was struck, one Libyan oil industry source said. Sarir and Mesla accounted for most of Agoco's roughly 280,000 b/d output in 2023. Arkenu and NOC have yet to reply to a request for comment. "The Haftar family is deliberately and selectively allowing crude exports that generate dollars outside the Libyan state, and they are doing so within the context of a blockade they imposed," said Jalel Harchaoui, a Libya specialist at the UK's Royal United Services Institute. "While the Libyan state struggles to figure out how to import food and medicine next month owing to the central bank crisis, the Haftars' strange oil blockade permits crude exports that profit a private Libyan entity," Harchaoui added. The leadership crisis at the central bank has degraded Libya's ability to carry out international financial transactions. "The only beneficiary from these Mesla and Sarir sales is an unknown private Libyan company with an account in Switzerland and the UAE, with zero dollars being deposited in the state," the oil industry source added. General Khalifa Haftar's Libyan National Army (LNA) controls the country's east and southwest and is the real force behind the blockade. Haftar is understood to be allowing some exports to continue as long as these revenues do not reach the central bank in Tripoli, which is controlled by the rival administration in the west. Libya's crude exports have averaged 410,000 b/d so far this month, according to Kpler. While this is well below pre-blockade levels of around 1mn b/d, it is well above levels seen in some past blockades. Rising exports in recent days suggests Libya's total crude production has picked up from an earlier Argus estimate of around 300,000 b/d to possibly around 500,000 b/d. Libya was producing 1mn b/d before the blockade. By Aydin Calik Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Pupuk Indonesia closes tender to buy amsul


19/09/24
19/09/24

Pupuk Indonesia closes tender to buy amsul

Singapore, 19 September (Argus) — State-owned Pupuk Indonesia has closed a tender to buy 30,000t of bulk standard caprolactam-grade ammonium sulphate (amsul) for shipment to two different ports by the end of October to early November. Pupuk requested that bids be submitted based on a formula price with an added premium. The range of premiums offered by participants was around $13/t, bringing delivered prices to a low-mid $150s/t cfr. Pupuk Indonesia requested for 20,000t of amsul in a single shipment to Gresik port for Petrokimia Gresik, to be delivered by the fourth week of October. It also requested for 10,000t of standard amsul in a single shipment to Cigading port for Pupuk Kujang, to be delivered by the first week of November. By Dinise Chng Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Gas returns to Egyptian urea plants


19/09/24
19/09/24

Gas returns to Egyptian urea plants

Amsterdam, 19 September (Argus) — Gas supplies have returned to three Egyptian urea producers that had halted output earlier this week. The three plants of Alexfert, Helwan and another unidentified producer have a combined capacity of around 1.85mn t/yr. The disruptions emerged on 16 September when state-owned Gasco sent a letter to the producers informing them that the gas supplies would be cut. Overall urea operating rates in Egypt are to remain under pressure, at likely 80pc or below, as producers grapple with the shifting feedstock situation. Algerian producer Sorfert is also set to cut production at its 1.19mn t/yr granular urea plant to minimum rates next month, with output to be lower during October because of a turnaround. By Dana Hjeij and Harry Minihan Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

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