Coast Guard aims to reopen Mississippi river today
The US Coast Guard is finalizing plans to reopen the Mississippi river to vessel traffic today, according to shipping agents, after the river and surrounding ports closed ahead of Hurricane Ida.
Ships on the river will still face restrictions. The Coast Guard yesterday established a safety zone just upriver from New Orleans, between mile-markers 105 and 108, while it works with local utility Entergy to recover downed transmission lines. All vessels are banned from entering the area without express permission until 30 September or until salvage operations are complete.
The port of Bienville, Mississippi, and the Louisiana ports of New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Plaquemines, South Louisiana, St. Bernard and the Venice port complex, remain closed to all vessel traffic. Those ports and the river have been closed since 28 August, the day prior to the storm's landfall in Louisiana.
The ports of Mobile, Alabama; Pensacola, Florida; and Pascagoula, Mississippi, have reopened with draft restrictions of 40ft, 30ft and 42ft, respectively. Gulfport, Mississippi, has reopened to inner-harbor movements.
Shipping delays in New Orleans are expected to persist through early September, according to barge carriers.
Clean tanker booking activity has been absent from the US Gulf coast all week, as charterers have remained out of the market while the region recovers from the storm.
Disruptions to US Gulf coast refiners have boosted demand for gasoline imports into the US Atlantic coast from Europe, helping lift rates on the route. Yesterday, the UKC-US Atlantic coast medium range (MR) clean tanker rate jumped by 17pc to $17.40/metric tonne, the highest in nearly a month.
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Japan’s Jera to handle 35mn t/yr LNG until FY2035-36
Japan’s Jera to handle 35mn t/yr LNG until FY2035-36
Osaka, 17 May (Argus) — Japan's largest LNG importer Jera plans to maintain its LNG handling volumes at no less than 35mn t/yr until the April 2035-March 2036 fiscal year. Rising renewable power supplies and the possible return of more nuclear reactors are likely to pressure LNG demand from Japan's power sector. Jera consumed 23mn t of LNG in 2023-24, down by 3pc on the year, although it handled 35mn t through its global operations during the same year. But Jera needs to secure sufficient LNG supplies to adjust for imbalances in electricity supplies and ensure power security, through more flexible operations. It is also looking to further promote LNG along with renewable electricity in Asian countries, while helping to reduce their dependence on coal- and oil-fired power generators. The 2035 target for LNG is part of Jera's three pillars of strategic focus, along with renewables as well as hydrogen and ammonia , which was announced on 16 May to spur decarbonisation towards its 2050 net zero emissions goal. The company plans to invest ¥5 trillion ($32bn) for these three areas over 2024-36. Jera also aims to retire all supercritical or less efficient coal-fired units by 2030-31 . This would help achieve the company's target of cutting CO2 emissions from its domestic business by at least 60pc against 2013-14 levels by 2035-36. By Motoko Hasegawa Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Trade curbs spur Chinese battery firms to look overseas
Trade curbs spur Chinese battery firms to look overseas
Beijing, 17 May (Argus) — An increasing number of Chinese battery firms have accelerated their expansions outside China, to meet buoyant overseas demand and to tackle escalating geopolitical curbs. These curbs include the US' newly announced tariff hikes on China's electric vehicles (EVs) and batteries from 2024 or 2026, and the EU's potential punitive duties on battery EVs originating from China. The US' Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and the EU's Critical Raw Material Act have also prompted many Chinese battery material producers to step up their overseas expansions. China's battery material manufacturer Hunan Zhongke Electric has unveiled a plan to invest no more than 5bn yuan ($692mn) to build a production plant for battery anode material in Morocco, in which some other Chinese firms have also invested in similar projects. The plant has a designed capacity of 100,000 t/yr and will be developed in two phases with 50,000 t/yr each. The firm aims to complete plant construction for each phase in 24 months. Zhongke is a major battery anode material producer in China with 210,000 t/yr of capacity as of the end of 2023. Its output of anode materials rose to 143,513t in 2023, up by 14pc from 125,460t a year earlier, driven by the country's rising EV sales. It aims to expand overseas sales in the coming years. Major Chinese copper producer Zhejiang Hailiang also outlined a plan to build a 25,000 t/yr production plant for copper foil used in lithium-ion batteries in Morocco. Construction will take 36 months. "The layout of the Morocco project can help us penetrate into the European and US markets as soon as possible as exports from Morocco are duty free to these markets," Hailiang said. "This will help us avoid any international trade barrier." Morocco is one of the main destinations for Chinese companies to invest in and build overseas battery component plants given its abundant resources for phosphate, a main chemical compound in a lithium iron phosphate battery, and its free trade agreement (FTA) with the US. It is also a major cobalt metal producing country outside China, with cobalt being a critical mineral used in the manufacturing of lithium-ion batteries. Major Chinese battery material producer EVE Energy is on track to develop a production project for energy storage batteries in Malaysia. It will establish a subsidiary EVE Energy Malaysia Energy Storage to develop this project to meet Malaysia's energy storage battery demand, although it has not disclosed the capacity, construction schedules and launch dates. The plant is the second phase of EVE's new energy products development in Malaysia. It in August 2023 started building a plant for cylindrical batteries mainly used in electric two-wheelers and electric tools in the southeast Asian country. The firm said the US' new tariff hikes will not affect its business because it had planned the Malaysia projects for consumer batteries and energy storage in advance, and these projects will support shipments to US consumers by 2026. New US tariff hikes US president Joe Biden's administration announced on 14 May that the tariff on lithium-ion EV batteries will immediately increase to 25pc, while the tariff on all other lithium-ion batteries is set to increase to 25pc in 2026, both from the current rate of 7.5pc. This is likely to trigger more Chinese battery companies to increase their overseas investments to avoid the tax, according to industry participants. The US' tariff hikes have drawn strong criticism from China. "Politicising and instrumenting economic and trade issues is typical political manipulation," said the country's ministry of commerce. "The Section 301 tariff hikes goes against President Biden's promise of 'not seeking to contain China's development' or 'not seeking to break the chain of decoupling from China'. The US should immediately correct its wrongful actions and cancel the tariffs. China will take 'resolute" measures to safeguard its own rights and interests'." Chinese battery firms' investments in Morocco Company Products Capacity Launch dates CNGR CAM precursors, LFP, black mass 120,000 t/yr, 60,000 t/yr, 30,000 t/yr 4Q, 2024 BTR CAM 50,000 t/yr N/A Hunan Zhongke Anode material 100,000 t/yr in 24 months Huayou Cobalt/LG LFP 50,000 t/yr in 2026 Huayou Cobalt/LG Lithium salts 52,000 t/yr N/A Sichuan Yahua/LG Lithium hydroxide N/A N/A Hailiang Li-ion battery copper foil 25,000 t/yr in 36 months Source: Company releases Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Texas barge collision shuts GIWW section: Correction
Texas barge collision shuts GIWW section: Correction
Corrects volume of oil carried by barge in fourth paragraph. Houston, 16 May (Argus) — Authorities closed a six-mile section of the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway (GIWW) near Galveston, Texas, because of an oil spill caused by a barge collision with the Pelican Island causeway bridge. The section between mile markers 351.5 and 357.5 along the waterway closed, according to the US Coast Guard. A barge broke away from the Philip George tugboat and hit the bridge between Pelican Island and Galveston around 11am ET today. Concrete from the bridge fell onto the barge and triggered an oil leak. The barge can hold up to 30,000 bl oil, but it was unknown how full the barge was before the crash, Galveston County county judge Mark Henry said. It was unclear when the waterway would reopen. An environmental cleanup crew was on the scene along with the US Coast Guard and Texas Department of Transportation to assess the damage. Multiple state agencies have debated the replacement of the 64-year-old bridge for several years, Henry said. The rail line alongside the bridge collapsed. Marine traffic does not pass under the bridge. By Meghan Yoyotte Intracoastal Waterway at Galveston Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
US RIN generation up in April as D4 climbs
US RIN generation up in April as D4 climbs
Houston, 16 May (Argus) — Generation of renewable identification number (RIN) credits in April rose by 12pc, as biomass-based D4 diesel credits posted their second highest monthly volumes ever. Total RIN generation rose to 2.06bn credits in April, up from 1.84bn a year earlier, the US Environmental Protection Agency reported on Thursday. D4 credits continued to lead gains in April, with generation increasing on the year by 29pc to 780mn credits. The only month with greater D4 RIN generation was December 2023. D4 accounted for 38pc of all RINs in April, up from 33pc in April 2023. Ethanol D6 RIN generation rose from a year earlier by 2.4pc to 1.2bn credits, accounting for 58pc of all RINs generated in the month. D6 credits were also up by 4pc from March, a month that was affected by seasonal ethanol plant maintenance. Cellulosic biofuel D3 credit generation rose by 7.6pc from a year earlier to 69mn credits. RINs are credits traded and produced by refiners and importers to show compliance with the EPA's Renewable Fuel Standard program. Obligated parties can produce credits when renewable fuels are blended into conventional transportation fuels or can purchase credits from other RIN producers. By Matthew Cope Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
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