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Australia's gasoil, jet stocks rise, EV sales increase
Australia's gasoil, jet stocks rise, EV sales increase
Sydney, 6 July (Argus) — Australia's gasoline stocks have dipped on the week to 30 July but gasoil and jet fuel levels have increased, as electric vehicle (EV) sales rose for the month of June, according to Australia's federal government. Australia's fuel importers held stocks of 22.2mn bl of gasoil, 11.1mn bl of gasoline and 5.9mn bl of jet fuel of stocks in-country and within Australia's exclusive economic zone on 30 June, Australia's energy minister Chris Bowen said on 4 July, or about 38 days of gasoil supply, 41 days of gasoline and 34 days of jet fuel. This is one more day's supply of gasoil than a week earlier, three days fewer of gasoline and five more days' worth of jet fuel over the same period. EV sales have soared during June, with 23.4pc of purchases battery EVs, according to the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI). This compares FCAI data showing just 8.3pc of new vehicle sales comprising battery EVs last year . China is now the leading source of Australia's total new vehicle sales with 35.5pc of sales, followed by Japan with 20.7pc and Thailand with 17.8pc. Australia's temporary cut to fuel excise and the heavy vehicle road user charge was rolled back by half but extended by a month , effective 1 July. The temporary discount both taxes has been lowered to 16A¢/litre, (11¢/litre) raising the effective excise rate to 36.6A¢/litre until 2 August. By Tom Major Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Airlines could buy more Corsia credits, then SAF: Panel
Airlines could buy more Corsia credits, then SAF: Panel
Singapore, 3 July (Argus) — Airlines could buy more carbon credits to meet their near-term decarbonisation targets and increase their sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) purchases in later years when prices fall, said panelists at the MyAero Sustainable Aviation APAC Symposium in Putrajaya, Malaysia, over 30 June-2 July. "As sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) is so much more expensive today, we probably need a greater share of credits to address aviation emissions' impact, and a smaller share of SAF to lay the foundations for greater use in future," said Puar Si Liang, vice-president of Singapore-based investment platform GenZero. "But when we get to 2050, a huge chunk of aviation decarbonisation should be addressed by SAF, and carbon credits used for the residual emissions," he added. Some volume of carbon credits is still needed to address residual emissions even under International Civil Association Organization's (ICAO) most aggressive long-term aspirational goal (LTAG) Fuel Scenario 3 for aviation emissions reduction, given that SAF and low-carbon aviation fuels will not be able to reduce all of it, Puar said. Buyers are often purchasing carbon credits instead of SAF because they can fulfil obligations and are a fraction of what SAF costs, founder and managing director of commercial advisory firm Stratx, Izabela Santos, said. Stratx is involved in live SAF offtake negotiations, and works with project developers, investors, airlines and other stakeholders to help SAF projects reach final investment decisions (FID). Argus assessed the spot price for the ICAO's Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (Corsia) Phase 1 credits at $9.30/t CO2e on 2 July, the lowest levels since the assessment's launch last November — although demand is also likely dampened as end-users await more clarity from the EU's emissions trading system (ETS) review planned for mid-July, where the ETS' scope may be extended to international aviation emissions from departing flights. In comparison, the RED HEFA-SPK-jet/kerosene CO2 abatement Strait of Malacca price — which measures the cost of abating a tonne of CO2e greenhouse gas emissions by consuming SAF rather than jet fuel — stood at around $459/t CO2e on 2 July. Countries in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) have a pipeline of 100 new projects, which could bring an additional 133mn-302mn Corsia-eligible emissions units into Corsia's second phase running from 2027-35, possibly worth $1.3bn-7bn, according to a report jointly published by aircraft manufacturer Boeing, GenZero, and carbon services firm Abatable, and also announced at the conference. Global demand for Corsia Eligible Emissions Units (EEUs) is estimated at 1.2bn-1.8bn during Corsia's second phase. Not all airlines Credits also align better with airlines' procurement cycles compared with long-term SAF offtake agreements, Santos said. Airlines need to show demand signals, but it is difficult for us to into SAF contracts with fuel suppliers for more than around a year due to price uncertainty, said Japan Airlines' vice-president for promotion of Japan-made SAF Atsushi Kita. "It's also very tricky for us to strategise and decide on the duration of SAF offtakes, due to unstable feedstock prices and recently volatile SAF prices," said Malaysia Airlines' (MAG) head of sustainability Rahimah Ali. "It's a step for airlines — even the strongest of them — to change the well-trodden process of buying fuel 12-24 months out, and to think in the timeframe of a SAF facility, which usually require 15-20 years of guaranteed procurement. That's many years of procurement commitment that sits on your balance sheet as a risk," said chief of ICAO's Finvest hub Robert Boyd. Finvest aims to accelerate the financing of cleaner energy solutions for aviation by connecting various stakeholders, with a focus on SAF. European airlines like KLM and IAG have signed long-term offtake agreements, but this is not seen across the industry yet, Boyd said. Banks will require from SAF project developers a binding level of legal commitment towards SAF purchases, which is hard to achieve, he said, adding that a letter of intent or memorandum of understanding will not be enough. "And colloquially speaking, even if fuel suppliers buy SAF from producers, they will typically just pass on those costs to the airline. Fuel suppliers similarly do not want to lock themselves into 10-15-year agreements especially when the SAF price is expected to fall," Santos said. Competing for now, complementary in future? Carbon credits and SAF compete, Santos said. Not in every case, but to a significant enough degree to impact a SAF project's FID pipeline, she added. "Airlines and fuel suppliers' budgets are finite. If airlines can fulfil decarbonisation obligations at a significantly cheaper price, credits will win every single time — unless there's an external factor changing this calculus. The ability to use credits takes pressure off them to sign offtake agreements, without which no projects will be built — except in China, where it's a different ballgame," Santos said. Of roughly 600 SAF projects announced since 2016, only around 35 are currently operational, Boyd said. Corsia is a compliance cost for airlines, but SAF is still an important decarbonisation lever for them, with more jurisdictions imposing targets, Malaysia Airlines' Rahimah Ali said. Carbon credits and SAF are complementary strategies, with credits enabling airlines to reduce emissions as much as possible within the value chain and SAF for further reductions, GenZero's Puar said. Corsia's phases have an end-date of 2035 but the aviation industry's net-zero emissions goals are by 2050, so the strategy of reaching that should include SAF, which will be better understood by then, ICAO's Boyd said. "If there is the commitment for decarbonisation to be in-sector — meaning areas that airlines can control — SAF will play the leading role in that out to 2050, and perhaps beyond," he added. "And even if we achieve our net-zero by 2050 goals, we still need energy sources to maintain that [status]. Right out, I can see that both Corsia credits and SAF will play a role [in decarbonisation] out till 2100," Boyd said. By Sarah Giam Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Republicans urge Trump to restore Jones Act
Republicans urge Trump to restore Jones Act
New York, 1 July (Argus) — Republican US House members, including speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana), are urging President Donald Trump to not renew a waiver on domestic shipping requirements issued following the outbreak of the US-Iran war, according to a letter seen by Argus . "We write to respectfully request that the current Jones Act waiver be allowed to expire as scheduled on 16 August 2026 and encourage you to utilize alternative policy tools to address fuel and fertilizer costs while preserving the strength of the American maritime industry," 52 House Republicans said in the 30 June letter. The Merchant Marine Act of 1920, also known as the Jones Act, stipulates that shipments between US ports must be carried on vessels that are US-built, US-flagged and US-crewed. The current Jones Act waiver was first issued on 17 March on the basis of national security and was later extended by 90 days. It is unclear whether the Trump administration will decide to extend the waiver. "Foreign-flagged vessels have operated under the waiver even in circumstances where US-flagged vessels were available, creating an understandable concern about the effect on American jobs, manufacturing and investment," the Republican lawmakers said in the letter. "The Jones Act waiver has become a loophole exploited by adversarial countries to erode America's maritime dominance." The national security pretense of the waiver, and its potential negative effect on the US domestic shipping community at a time where the administration has made revitalizing shipbuilding a priority, has come under increased scrutiny from domestic maritime stakeholders. By Charlotte Bawol Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Trump seeks to rewrite USMCA terms by 2036
Trump seeks to rewrite USMCA terms by 2036
Washington, 1 July (Argus) — President Donald Trump's administration will attempt to substantially revise terms of the US-Mexico-Canada (USMCA) trade agreement in the next decade, triggering a protracted negotiation period that could end with the treaty expiring in 2036. The USMCA, negotiated during Trump's first term in 2018-20, set 1 July 2026 as a deadline for the three countries to agree on an extension, or to seek to revise its terms. The Trump administration has decided not to renew the deal in its current form, said Jamieson Greer, who heads the US trade representative's office (USTR), on Wednesday. That decision does not immediately terminate the USMCA. The three countries will now hold annual reviews to seek consensus on a long-term extension beyond 2036, but any country can withdraw from the pact with six months' notice. Greer's counterparts, Mexico's economy minister Marcelo Ebrard and Canada's trade minister Dominic LeBlanc, issued statements on Wednesday stressing that the agreement remains fully in force despite the US decision. Public comments submitted to the USTR and US congressional hearings earlier this year showed broad support from energy, agriculture and other sectors for renewing the trade deal without changes. But Trump has made it clear he was opposed to the renewal. "I'm not a big fan of" USMCA, he said last month. "We do better without an agreement." The USTR has cited rising US trade deficits with Mexico and Canadian countermeasures during last year's trade war the White House launched with its neighbors as reasons for the decision not to automatically renew the USMCA. Greer told US lawmakers previsously USTR will push to shore up US content requirements in products covered by the USMCA, especially in auto manufacturing. The agency will maintain its policy of exempting North American trade in energy, fertilizers and minerals from future tariffs. USTR officials also told lawmakers that the US administration may seeks separate agreements with Mexico and Canada instead of a three-way deal. Ottawa and Mexico City have shown little support for that approach. The USMCA provided a buffer against tariffs that Trump's administration leveled on Canadian and Mexican imports last year and is trying to recreate after the US Supreme Court in February struck down his ability to impose tariffs at will. Canada and Mexico still face higher steel and aluminum tariffs than before Trump returned to office, but the USMCA has exempted most trade between the three countries from tariffs. Trump's decision not to automatically renew the deal will weigh on investment and business decisions in the next decade, private sector executives have said. "Once we get past 1 July, the forecasts change and economic conditions will gradually worsen every month no resolution is reached," said Victor Herrera , chief economist at Mexico's finance executives' association IMEF. "Investment will not pick up until that renewal is final." The USTR will hold another round of trade talks with Mexico on 20 July to discuss possible changes, Greer said. Canada will focus USMCA review discussions with the US "on addressing sectoral tariffs on Canadian steel, aluminum, autos and lumber," LeBlanc said. By Haik Gugarats Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.