Noboa's tight lead triggers runoff in Ecuador

: Crude oil, Metals, Natural gas, Oil products
25/02/10

Ecuador will hold a second-round presidential election on 13 April after incumbent President Daniel Noboa had a closer-than-expected lead over his main challenger in Sunday's election, the electoral authority said.

Noboa had 44.5pc of votes as of 11:30pm ET on Sunday, closely followed by Luisa Gonzalez, the candidate for the Citizens' Revolution party with 44.1pc, with 80pc of votes counted, the national electoral council (CNE) said.

Ecuador's presidential election goes to a second round if the winning candidate does not have more than 50pc of votes or 40pc of votes with a 10-percentage point lead over the runner-up.

Gonzalez' party was founded by exiled former president Rafael Correa, a close friend and supporter of Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro. Correa guided taking on crude-backed loans from China during his term and oversaw a rewrite of the constitution, allowing him to serve for 10 years.

Gonzalez in brief comments said she was optimistic about winning the second round, while Noboa did not speak publicly.

This is the first time since 2006 that the candidate with Correa's party did not win at least the initial round of a presidential race.

Pachacutik candidate Leonidas Iza was in third place with 4.8pc of votes. His party is the political arm of the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities (Conaie) that led an 18-day national strike in June 2022, cutting Ecuador's crude production by 17pc that month. The remaining 13 candidates obtained about 6.6pc of the valid votes.

About 13.7mn Ecuadorians were required to appear at the polls. Voting is mandatory in the South American country, but only around 85pc actually voted.

Ecuadorians also voted for 151 members of the national assembly. Gonazalez' party and Noboa's National Democratic Action party are forecast to win the biggest shares, but officials results will not be known for several days.

By Alberto Araujo

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25/03/27

Repsol to begin Nantes bitumen terminal flows in April

London, 27 March (Argus) — Spanish integrated Repsol plans to supply next week its first bitumen cargo to the Nantes import terminal on the French Atlantic coast. It will move a second cargo to the terminal during April. The start of these flows will coincide with the scheduled restart of the 50/50 Repsol/Moeve joint venture 1.2mn t/yr Asesa bitumen refinery. The refinery has been down since early March for planned maintenance work. The Nantes oil products terminal, including the bitumen storage facility there, has been operated by Dutch liquid bulk storage firm Chane since summer 2024, after a rebrand from its previous name Alkion Terminals. Shell ceased its bitumen cargo throughput deal into and truck supply operation from Nantes and Bayonne at the end of 2024. Repsol and Abu Dhabi-controlled Spanish energy company Moeve then struck exclusive deals to supply bitumen cargoes to Nantes and Bayonne respectively. Cepsa began exclusively using the Bayonne bitumen terminal from 1 February. Repsol has been increasingly active in bitumen export markets over the past year or so, underlined by rising cargo flows from its 135,000 b/d La Coruna and 220,000 b/d Bilbao refineries on the Spanish Atlantic coast. The Nantes terminal has three 4,000t storage tanks. One of the tanks is undergoing work and will be available for use from June. By Fenella Rhodes Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

UK GHG emissions fell by 4pc in 2024

25/03/27

UK GHG emissions fell by 4pc in 2024

London, 27 March (Argus) — The UK's greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions fell by 4pc year-on-year in 2024, provisional data released by the government today show, driven principally by lower gas and coal use in the power and industry sectors. GHG emissions in the UK totalled 371mn t of CO2 equivalent (CO2e) last year, the data show, representing a fall of 54pc compared with 1990 levels. The UK has legally-binding targets to cut its GHG emissions by 68pc by 2030 and 81pc by 2035 against 1990 levels, and to reach net zero emissions by 2050. The electricity sector posted the largest proportional year-on-year fall of 15pc, standing 82pc below 1990 levels at 37.5mn t CO2e. The decline was largely a result of record-high net imports and a 7pc increase in renewable output reducing the call on coal and gas-fired generation, as well as the closure of the country's last coal power plant in September , which together outweighed a marginal rise in overall electricity demand, the government said. Industry posted the next largest emissions decline of 9pc, falling to 48.3mn t CO2e, or 69pc below 1990 levels, as a result of lower coal use across sectors and the closure of iron and steel blast furnaces. Fuel supply emissions fell by 6pc to 28.4mn t CO2e, 63pc below where they stood in 1990. And emissions in the UK's highest-emitting sector, domestic transport, fell by 2pc to 110.1mn t CO2e, 15pc below 1990 levels, as road vehicle diesel use declined. Emissions in the remaining sectors, including agriculture, waste and land use, land use change and forestry (LULUCF), edged down collectively by 1pc to 67.2mn t CO2e, some 50pc below 1990 levels. Only emissions from buildings and product uses increased on the year, rising by 2pc as gas use increased, but still standing 27pc below 1990 levels at 79.8mn t CO2e. UK-based international aviation emissions, which are not included in the overall UK GHG figures, rose by 9pc last year to reach pre-Covid 19 pandemic levels of 26.1mn t CO2e, the data show. But UK-based international shipping emissions edged down by 1pc to 6.2mn t CO2e. By Victoria Hatherick Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

British Steel to close furnaces and steelmaking

25/03/27

British Steel to close furnaces and steelmaking

London, 27 March (Argus) — Scunthorpe-based British Steel has started consultations with its workforce on the closure of its blast furnaces and steelmaking operations, with widespread redundancies. The company has proposed three options: the closure of the furnaces, steelmaking and Scunthorpe rod mill by early June this year; the closure of blast furnaces and steelmaking by September 2025; or the closure of the blast furnaces and steelmaking operations after September 2025. All of the options would essentially mean the company importing semi-finished steel and re-rolling it into longs, similar to Tata's decision to import slab, hot-rolled coil, cold-rolled coil and in some instances hot-dip galvanised. The government has offered British Steel £500mn towards its decarbonisation, in line with the amount Tata Steel received, but no agreement has been reached. UK energy minister Sarah Jones told the House of Commons business committee yesterday British Steel's owner Jingye had refused the £500mn offer. Market sources believe the company is holding out for greater state-support, and using the consultation as a negotiating tactic. It said in the event of its first option — closing the furnaces, steelmaking and Scunthorpe Rod Mill, by early June — it would not be able to commit to electric arc furnace-based technology. Market sources have questioned how long the company would run the furnaces. It has been exploring options for bringing in external gas supply to power its reheat furnaces and rolling lines for some time. Some have also questioned the company's commitment to electric arc furnace (EAF)-based production. British Steel said the ageing furnaces and steelmaking operations are "no longer financially sustainable due to highly challenging market conditions, the imposition of tariffs and higher environmental costs relating to the production of high-carbon steel". Changes need to be made to put the business on a sustainable footing, it said. Unions have asked the government to provide an additional £200mn to British Steel to keep the furnaces — which have been beset by issues in recent years — running until EAFs are in place. "We urge Jingye and the UK Government to get back around the table to resume negotiations before it is too late", Roy Rickhuss, general secretary of the Community Union, said. By Colin Richardson Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Virgin, Qatar airlines partner on Australia SAF project

25/03/27

Virgin, Qatar airlines partner on Australia SAF project

Singapore, 27 March (Argus) — Privately-held airline Virgin Australia and state-owned carrier Qatar Airways will partner with bioenergy firm Renewable Developments Australia (RDA) on a sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) project near the city of Charters Towers in northern Queensland state. The project seeks to build an alcohol-to-jet (AtJ) facility with a nameplate capacity of 96mn litres/yr of SAF to be supplied to nearby airports, most likely to terminals at Townsville and Cairns city. The refinery is in the pre-final investment decision stage and is aiming to reach first output in early 2029, according to RDA. "Our SAF facility will be a fully integrated production site, generating sustainable fuel from bioethanol derived from locally grown sugarcane," RDA managing director Tony D'Alessandro said on 27 March. SAF by-products will be used to generate renewable power on-site and increase sustainability credentials, RDA said. Qatar last year agreed to buy a 25pc stake in Virgin , Australia's second-largest airline, with plans to increase international flights to Australia using Qatar planes wet leased by Virgin approved last month. The development comes after Virgin last week agreed to a deal with Australian refiner Viva Energy to operate services from the town of Proserpine in north Queensland using a SAF blend for several months this year . North Queensland's sugar industry has attracted interest from other developers of AtJ plants, including Australian bioenergy developer Jet Zero's 113mn l/yr Project Ulysses at Townsville, which has attracted funding from investors including Australian carrier Qantas, Airbus and Japanese energy conglomerate Idemitsu Kosan. By Tom Major Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Trump unveils new tariffs on auto imports: Update

25/03/26

Trump unveils new tariffs on auto imports: Update

Adds details throughout Washington, 26 March (Argus) — President Donald Trump said today he would impose a 25pc tariff on foreign-made cars and trucks imported into the US, but said there will be no tariffs on automobiles assembled in the US. Trump said the new tariffs on imported automobiles marked the "beginning of Liberation Day", the term Trump has used to reference his plan to unveil sweeping tariffs on major foreign trade partners on 2 April. The White House estimates the tariff on imported cars and trucks will generate $100bn/yr in new tariff revenue. Trump said the auto tariff will go into effect on 2 April, providing a financial incentive for automakers to relocate manufacturing to the US. "We'll effectively be charging a 25pc tariff, but if you build your car in the United States, there's no tariff," Trump said in remarks at the White House. "And what that means is a lot of foreign car companies, a lot of companies, are going to be in great shape." The auto tariffs will likely add thousands of dollars to the price of many imported cars and trucks. But the tariffs — the details of which have yet to be released — appears more targeted than Trump's initial plan to impose a 25pc tariff on nearly all imports from Canada and Mexico, because the tariffs would not apply to cars and trucks parts, so long as the vehicles are assembled in the US. "Anybody that has plants in the United States it's going to be good for, in my opinion," Trump said. Ontario premier Doug Ford previously warned that Trump's plan to impose a nearly across-the-board import tariff could have caused auto manufacturing in the US and Canada to grind to a halt within as few as 10 days. Trump eventually delayed those tariffs until 2 April. Earlier this week, Trump said that South Korean automaker Hyundai's decision to invest $5.8bn to build a steel mill in Louisiana offered a blueprint for how companies could avoid tariffs. Trump has already imposed a 25pc tariff on steel and aluminum, and earlier this week said he would announce tariffs on imported lumber, semiconductor chips and pharmaceuticals. Even as a lack of details about the upcoming tariffs has fueled uncertainty for businesses and sharp declines on US stock markets, Trump has continued to announce additional tariffs. On Tuesday, Trump said any country taking delivery of Venezuelan oil or gas would be "forced" to pay an incremental 25pc tariff on any goods imported in the US. US oil executives appear to be growing tired of Trump's chaotic trade policy, particularly his imposition of a 25pc tariff on imported steel that is used in drill pipes, executives said in a survey the US Federal Reserve of Dallas released Wednesday. The uncertainty over tariffs and trade policy is causing "chaos", they said in the survey, and increasing their cost of capital. "Tariff policy is impossible for us to predict and doesn't have a clear goal," an unnamed oil executive said in the survey. "We want more stability." By Chris Knight Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

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