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PdV pays 2020 bond debt tied to Citgo

  • : Crude oil
  • 18/10/29

Venezuelan state-owned PdV paid $949mn in principal and interest on a 2020 bond, the only one of its debt issuances that is not in default, financial sector executives told Argus.

The payments, which had been expected despite the company´s severe financial distress, saves PdV from potential bondholder claims on its US refining subsidiary Citgo. The payments were due on 27 October.

The bond payments include $842mn in principal and $107mn in interest.

The 2020 bond is secured by 50.1pc of the shares of Citgo´s indirect parent company PdV Holding. The other 49.9pc is pledged to Russian state-controlled Rosneft for an oil-backed loan of $1.5bn.

Citgo´s fate remains cloudy because of a separate court action by former Canadian mining company Crystallex, which is seeking to enforce an arbitration claim for the takeover of its gold mining assets in Venezuela.

PdV will owe another $71mn in interest in April 2019 and $842mn in principal in October 2019 on the 2020 bond.


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US formalizes auto imports quota for UK


25/06/16
25/06/16

US formalizes auto imports quota for UK

Washington, 16 June (Argus) — A US-UK trade deal formalized today establishes a quota for UK-made cars to be imported into the US and lifts tariffs on aircraft parts but glosses over an earlier promise to carve out quotas for UK-sourced steel and aluminum. US president Donald Trump and UK prime minister Keir Starmer unveiled the finalized agreement today, on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Alberta, Canada. Both leaders offered praise for the deal — Trump called the countries' relationship "fantastic" and Starmer said it was a "really important day". While details are few, the agreement limits the number of UK-built cars that can be imported into the US at 100,000 and imposes a 10pc tariff on those vehicles. The US since 3 April has been charging a 25pc tariff on all imported cars. The deal also calls for lifting US tariffs on UK-made aircraft equipment. The Trump administration pledged in early May to carve out a quota system for UK-sourced steel and aluminum. Trump on 4 June raised tariffs on foreign sourced steel and aluminum to 50pc but kept the tariff rate for the UK at 25pc. The agreement signed today merely promises that the US administration would do so "at a future time". If a quota system is established for the UK, it would allow importing steel and aluminum without the 25pc tariff, the White House said. The trade agreement keeps in place a broad 10pc tax on all imports from the UK, which Trump imposed on 2 April as part of his "Liberation Day" tariff announcement that cited an "economic emergency" created by US trade deficits. A US federal appeals court on 31 July will hear arguments from the administration and from a group of plaintiffs, including many US states, who are challenging Trump's authority to impose tariffs by citing economic emergencies. Trump imposed tariffs on imports of steel, aluminum, cars and auto parts by using a different authority, which has so far not been challenged in courts. The trade deal with the UK is one out of two, in addition to a preliminary deal with China, that the administration has negotiated since Trump began to impose tariffs on nearly every US trading partner — after promising in early April to conclude "90 deals in 90 days". Trump said today, "We have our trade agreement with the EU, and we have other many, many other ones coming that you will see." The Trump administration has not presented any other trade agreement yet. By Haik Gugarats Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

VLCC rates jump on Mideast Gulf disruptions


25/06/16
25/06/16

VLCC rates jump on Mideast Gulf disruptions

London, 16 June (Argus) — Freight rates for very large crude carriers (VLCC)in the Mideast Gulf soared today to the highest since the start of May, as the escalating conflict between Israel and Iran creates significant turbulence in the shipping market. Rates were near a 2025-low as recently as 12 June, the day before the conflict began. Violence continued over the weekend, including a strike on Israel's 197,000 b/d Haifa refinery and against gas treatment facilities in southern Iran. Shipowners have become increasingly reluctant to operate in the Mideast Gulf and there are indications that marine insurers are considering implementing an additional war risk premium (AWRP) in the coming days. This would lead to significantly higher freight costs. The shortage of willing shipowners has driven the Mideast Gulf to east Asia rate, the bellwether VLCC route, up by nearly 60pc, to WS67.5 or $15.78/t today from WS44 or $10.28/t on Thursday, 12 June. In addition to rising rates, vessel speeds throughout the Mideast Gulf region appear to be slowing as shipowners hesitate before committing to a booking. Fixing activity has been minimal, with shipowners reluctant to commit to any deal within the Mideast Gulf evem at higher rates. Charterers have made at least eight VLCC cargoes available and all are struggling to find a tanker. But rising rates could make shipowners increasingly likely to commit to bookings, and so fixing activity could resume shortly. VLCC markets in other regions are surging as well, as charterers hike their bids to pull shipowners away from the Mideast Gulf market. A charterer in Brazil wrapped up a fixture at WS62, considerably higher than previous market conditions. The market has been certainly been inflated by concerns around the Israel-Iran conflict and a ceasefire would probably drop the cost of freight back to previous levels. During previous flare ups of tension, the VLCC market has usually firmed rapidly in the early stages but then quickly declined once a ceasefire is declared. By John Ollett and Rhys van Dinther Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Trump repeats call for Russia to rejoin G7


25/06/16
25/06/16

Trump repeats call for Russia to rejoin G7

Washington, 16 June (Argus) — US president Donald Trump kicked off his first meeting at the G7 leaders summit in Alberta, Canada, by suggesting that Russia should be invited to rejoin the group from which it was expelled following the invasion of Crimea in 2014. The European members of the group have prepared a wide portfolio of subjects to address at the summit, including proposals to toughen G7 sanctions on Russia. European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen has proposed lowering the G7 price cap on Russian crude to $45/bl and banning imports of refined products made from Russian oil. But Trump, at the beginning of his meeting with Canadian prime minister Mark Carney today, said that "you spend so much time talking about Russia, and [Russian president Vladimir Putin] is no longer at the table, so it makes life more complicated." Expelling Russia was a mistake, Trump said, blaming the decision on former US president Barack Obama and former Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau. The broader political background is in some ways similar to the G7 summit in 2018, also hosted by Canada, when Trump first told his fellow western leaders they should not have expelled Russia from the group. Now as then, sanctions against Russia are on the G7 agenda and the US Congress is advancing legislation to target Russia's energy exports. The key difference is that Trump in 2025 has sufficient control over the Republican majority in both chambers of Congress to block any legislation he does not like. "They'll be guided by me" on the Russia sanctions legislation, he said earlier this month, calling it a "harsh bill". "At the right time, I'll do what I want to do. But they're waiting for me to decide on what to do," Trump said. Trump has argued that imposing new economic penalties against Russia would derail the ongoing Russia-Ukrainian peace talks, even though he has acknowledged the negotiations have made no progress. Trump is scheduled to meet with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy on the sidelines of the G7 summit, the White House said. Not seeing eye-to-eye on trade, either Trump's fellow leaders were hoping to push him to roll back the unilateral tariffs he imposed on nearly all US trading partners, but Trump's public comments at the start of his meeting with Carney indicated no willingness to compromise on this issue as well. "I think we have different concepts," Trump said. "I have a tariff concept. Mark has a different concept, which is something that some people like, but we're going to see if we can get to the bottom of it today. I am a tariff person." Canada's strong response to Trump's tariffs made him roll back the broad tariffs he imposed on the US' North American neighbors at the beginning of his second term. The bulk of US imports from Canada and Mexico remains duty-free, but Trump's tariffs on steel, aluminum, cars and auto parts do not make an exemption for Canada and Mexico. The effective US tariff rate on imports from Canada and Mexico — the amount of duties collected from all imported goods divided by their value — rose in April to 2.3pc and 4.1pc respectively, up from nearly zero in January, according to US Department of Commerce data. Trump is separately meeting with Mexico president Claudia Sheinbaum later today. Despite a busy pace of meetings with fellow leaders, Trump extended the customary press gaggle at the beginning of his meeting with Carney to take questions on US domestic politics, including his directive Sunday night to the US immigration authorities to carry out massive raids in the largest US cities. Carney in the end had to cut Trump off, asking him to carry on with their meeting. "We have a few more minutes with the president and his team, and then we actually have to start the [G7] meeting to address some of these big issues," Carney said. By Haik Gugarats Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Climate plans so far fall short on fossil fuels: E3G


25/06/16
25/06/16

Climate plans so far fall short on fossil fuels: E3G

Edinburgh, 16 June (Argus) — Only 10 of the 22 new nationally determined contributions (NDCs) — climate plans — submitted so far have reaffirmed commitments relating to phasing down coal power or transitioning away from fossil fuels, think-tank E3G said today. These mostly fall short of the goal of the Paris Agreement, it said, and it called on UN Cop 30 climate summit host Brazil to turn "signal into substance". NDCs from Japan, Singapore and Moldova mention the priorities of phasing down coal and transitioning away from fossil fuels, two key outcomes under the UN climate body UNFCCC's first global stocktake (GST) agreed at Cop 28 in Dubai. The GST, an assessment of climate action progress under the Paris Agreement, included an historic call to transition away from fossil fuels. But very little progress has been made on its implementation so far. The UAE in its new NDC stipulates that it "integrates the outcomes of the GST", while the Maldives and Moldova, which are heavily reliant on energy imports, have goals to reduce dependency on fossil fuel imports, citing energy security reasons, according to E3G. The think tank noted that 11 countries that have submitted plans are part of coalitions aiming at phasing out fossil fuels. But none "have introduced country-wide moratoriums on fossil fuel exploration and drilling," E3G said. Canada and Mexico have partial bans, while the UK has announced bans on new drilling licenses in the North Sea, it said, but most countries do not explicitly pledge to divest from fossil fuel assets in their new NDC. Except for the UK, major emitters' NDCs and implementation fall short of what is needed to keep global warming within "safe limits". "With the September NDC deadline fast approaching, Brazil has a critical chance to turn that signal into substance," and rally countries to submit climate plans with credible strategies to move beyond fossil fuels, E3G said. Looking at Brazil, which is hosting Cop 30 in Belem in November, E3G said the country has pledged that "in the medium and long term, it will seek to gradually replace the use of fossil fuels with electrification solutions and advanced biofuels." But Brasilia is looking to develop its oil and gas, including in the environmentally sensitive equatorial margin. It will offer 332 oil and gas blocks in an auction this week — the first since December 2023 — including 47 in the equatorial margin's Foz do Amazonas basin. A separate report today from civil society organisation Oil Change International noted that Brazil "is among the 10 largest expanders of oil and gas to 2035." The country's plans to ramp up oil and gas output "sets a detrimental example", Oil Change said. But Brazil "exemplifies the difficulties that emerging economies with oil and gas reserves face when trying to balance poverty eradication, industrialisation and climate goals", it added. The US is set to account for 58pc of carbon emissions from new oil and gas fields over 2025-35 — around 16pc of the remaining carbon budget — while Brazil's projected share of carbon emissions is 1.4pc, Oil Change found. Oil Change put the global cumulative CO2 emissions from projected new oil and gas extraction at just under 46bn t. The carbon budget refers to a limit on CO2 emissions, in order to keep the global rise in temperature to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels, as sought by the Paris agreement. The reports were released to coincide with the beginning of the "halfway point" climate talks, hosted by the UNFCCC in Bonn, Germany. These technical negotiations are scheduled for 16-26 June. By Caroline Varin and Georgia Gratton Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

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