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Brazil gov must boost EV demand: Li miners
Brazil gov must boost EV demand: Li miners
Sao Paulo, 11 July (Argus) — At least four suppliers in the Brazilian spodumene market voiced interest in federal policies to boost demand for electric vehicles (EVs) to create a consolidated end-to-end battery supply chain in Brazil, the companies said at a conference in Minas Gerais. In an initiative led by Companhia Brasileira de Litio (CBL), executives for AMG Lithium, Lithium Ionic and PLS all pleaded for the Brazilian federal government to implement policies to boost EV demand — which would support the Brazilian spodumene market — CBL's chief executive Vinicius Alvarenga said. CBL owns the only lithium carbonate refinery in Brazil and it believes the country has the potential to have an end-to-end battery supply chain. Currently, Chinese refineries receive 99pc of all lithium chemicals produced in Brazil. "The only thing stopping Brazilian companies to make battery cells is the lack of demand from the regional market," Alvarenga said. "We need to pressure the government to incentivize the installation of lithium-based energy storage systems and to give more benefits to EV buyers." Alvarenga mentioned WEG — a multidisciplinary technology company — and Moura, the largest battery manufacturer in Latin America, as firms well suited for the job. "Brazil can be one of the world's top players in the energy transition landscape," said Leandro Gobbo, vice-president for Brazilian operations at PLS. "We have world class ore, the expertise and the technology to do so — we only lack government incentives." At the bottom of the cost curve, Brazil has one of the cheapest hard-rock lithium operations in the world, rivaling China and beating Australia and many African producers. Although China holds its place as the home to the cheapest hard-rock lithium projects in the world, Brazilian miners are also operating at a profit despite the low price environment, mainly because of cheap labor. Around half of the world's hard-rock lithium miners are currently operating at a loss. All three commercially producing spodumene companies in Brazil — Sigma Lithium, CBL and AMG — are sticking to their investment guidance and expansion plans despite falling prices. "There is an opportunity here at this low-price environment," said Blake Hylands, chief executive of Lithium Ionic, owner one of the largest undeveloped spodumene sites in Brazil. "We need to move projects forward at this time so Brazil can progress in the global stage." The average labor costs in Brazil are significantly lower than in places like Australia, which is also dealing with a workforce shortage in mining, according to Gobbo, and where employee wages have pushed most spodumene operations to operate at a loss as prices bottom. "Brazil will never beat China in capital costs and internal demand," Alvarenga said. "But despite taking a hit at those two, Brazil is the best place in the world to produce spodumene." Brazil has a combination of benefits that are not seen elsewhere, such as low royalties, a specialized workforce, solid internal and external logistics, market transparency, legal stability, high ESG and human rights standards, and the cheapest electrical energy in the world, Alvarenga said, which is mostly renewable. "If we look at other countries with cheap [spodumene] production, we don't see that," said Ligia Pinto, vice-president of external affairs at Sigma Lithium, Brazil's top lithium concentrate producer. "Our low costs do not harm human rights." The so-called Lithium Valley — a spodumene rich region in Southeast Brazil — has a production capacity of 320,000 metric tonnes (t)/yr of lithium concentrate between CBL and Sigma Lithium, the country's top producer. AMG Lithium, which operates further south, bumps up Brazil's total current capacity to 410,000t/yr. "This is a country that we can trust," Hylands said. "We are taking longer than China, but that's okay, because everyone takes longer than China." By Pedro Consoli Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Congress resumes push to cut US shipping pollution
Congress resumes push to cut US shipping pollution
New York, 11 July (Argus) — US lawmakers reintroduced two bills Thursday to slash greenhouse gas emissions from the shipping industry. Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-Rhode Island) and Alex Padilla (D-California), along with US House of Representatives members Doris Matsui (D-California) and Kevin Mullin (D-California), reintroduced the International Maritime Pollution Accountability Act, which would impose pollution fees on large ships calling at US ports. The bill targets vessels over 5,000 gross tonnes with a $150/t fee on carbon, plus fees on nitrogen oxides at $6.30/lb, sulfur dioxide at $18/lb, and fine particulate matter at $38.90/lb. Ship operators would only pay the carbon fee if no equivalent global measure from the International Maritime Organization (IMO) is in place. Revenue would go toward modernizing the Jones Act fleet with low-emission ships, electrifying shipbuilding, and addressing pollution at US ports. The group also reintroduced the Clean Shipping Act of 2025, led in the House by Representatives Robert Garcia (D-California). It directs the Environmental Protection Agency to impose carbon intensity standards for marine fuels, targeting 30pc lifecycle CO2-equivalent emissions reduction from 2030, 58pc from 2034, 83pc from 2040, and 100pc from 2050. It also requires all ships at berth or anchor in US ports to emit zero emissions by 2035. The lawmakers say the proposed bills also close a major loophole. Marine shipping is largely exempt from fuel taxes unlike other transport sectors. They say the plan will also support US manufacturing and help reduce the US trade deficit. The International Maritime Pollution Accountability Act is endorsed by environmental and advocacy groups including Friends of the Earth, Sierra Club and Ocean Conservancy, among others. The original bills were introduced in 2023 and expired without being enacted. The bills follow the IMO's decision in April to adopt a net-zero framework and a global carbon price proposal for shipping. The US delegation was absent from IMO's April meeting, issuing a statement that "President Trump has made it clear that the US will not accept any international environmental agreement that unduly or unfairly burdens the US or the interests of the American people ." By Stefka Wechsler Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Brazil advances oil, gas decarbonization strategy
Brazil advances oil, gas decarbonization strategy
Sao Paulo, 11 July (Argus) — Brazil is implementing a roadmap to increase crude output without boosting net emissions from the sector, a key argument for its claim to leadership on climate issues ahead of the Cop 30 UN summit. Although Brazil does not plan to phase out fossil fuel use, it is working to reach net zero emissions by 2050, and slashing greenhouse gases from its hydrocarbons production is part of this strategy. Brazil's oil industry already has a carbon footprint at 14.88kg CO2 equivalent (C02e)/bl of oil equivalent (boe), which is well below the global average of 20kg CO2e/boe, according to the hydrocarbons regulator ANP. But with oil and gas production slated to increase steadily over the next decade, Brazil's government and producers are eyeing a range of options to further slash emissions. "Brazil can double oil output without increasing net emissions by employing existing technologies," Heloisa Borges, the director of oil, gas and biofuels at the government energy planning and research agency (Epe) said. As part of these efforts, the government called on Epe, ANP and state-owned company Pre-Sal Petroleo to present a roadmap to decarbonize the sector. The plan presented in late June outlines options including adopting new technologies and expanding existing emissions reductions techniques, such as leak detection and reducing flaring. "Expanding methane capture not only reduces emissions, but it allows companies to use this gas to substitute other fuels, such as diesel in their operations," Borges said. Other fuel substitution operations include using natural gas as fuel for drilling rigs and electrification of production operations, the study said. State-controlled Petrobras is already advancing its decarbonization strategy. The company's most recent five-year plan earmarks R5.3bn ($950mn) for emissions reductions in its operations as well as $1bn for research and development of new technologies. Carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) is a key element, according to Lilian Melo, executive director of the Petrobras' research, development and innovation center Cenpes. The company uses high-pressure separation technology to remove CO2 from oil at the mouth of a reservoir and inject it back into the reservoir after the fluids are separated. This technology significantly reduces emissions, especially because crude produced from pre-salt blocks has high CO2 content, Melo said. The CCUS is used on 23 of Petrobras' offshore platforms in the pre-salt. Petrobras is also working to expand electrification of its on and offshore platforms. Power generation is responsible for 65pc of Petrobras' production-related emissions, according to Melo. The company announced this week a contract with Hitachi Energy to assess electrification of its offshore oil operations. Catch and keep Other oil producers are working to reduce the carbon footprint of their operations, including Eneva, which is also weighing investments in carbon capture and storage. The company is conducting a preliminary study to assess the technical viability of injecting CO2 into fields in the Parnaiba basin in Maranhao state. The Gaviao Real field has been operating for more than 10 years and is expected to become depleted in coming years, when it could potentially be converted to store CO2. Eneva is also weighing investments in carbon storage in the Parana basin, where the company has four exploratory blocks. Preliminary seismic data indicates that these blocks also have salt caverns and the company believes that there is significant potential to offer carbon storage to ethanol mills in areas adjacent to the blocks. Despite Brazil's ambitious emissions reduction plan, it has no intention of pulling back on exploration and production. With few exceptions, the Brazilian government is aligned on developing oil and gas reserves to boost economic growth and energy security and holds that the aim does not hurt its role in climate leadership. Brazil's energy sector GHG emissions mn t CO2e Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
US to loan 1mn bls crude to Louisiana refinery: Update
US to loan 1mn bls crude to Louisiana refinery: Update
Adds details on crude quality issues from Mars pipeline. Washington, 11 July (Argus) — ExxonMobil will borrow up to 1mn bl of crude from the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) for its 522,500 b/d refinery in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, in response to a disruption to offshore supply of crude for the facility. ExxonMobil warned suppliers this week of "serious quality issues" related to elevated levels of zinc in crude supplied by the Mars pipeline, which brings crude from a series of deepwater fields in the Gulf of Mexico to shore, according to market sources. In letters to suppliers ExxonMobil said the crude quality issues were "... significantly affecting the operations at our Baton Rouge Refinery," and that it would stop accepting Mars crude "... in an effort to avoid further damages." The US Department of Energy said today it had approved the loan to ExxonMobil, called an exchange, to ensure a stable supply of transportation fuels in Louisiana and the US Gulf coast. The agency said the crude loan will support ExxonMobil's "restoration of refinery operations that were reduced due to an offshore supply disruption." Chevron, one of the producers that contributes crude to the Mars pipeline, said it has "identified a potential contributing source to the Mars crude composition changes, which is associated with the start-up of a new well." Chevron said it was working to resolve the matter and does not expect it to affect current production guidance. In April Chevron started production from a new deepwater field , Ballymore, which ties into the Mars system. Shell, which owns a majority stake in the Mars pipeline, did not respond to a request for comment. Mars premium to WTI falls The August Mars premium to Nymex-quality WTI has dropped nearly $1/bl in the last week. The August Argus Mars volume-weighted average assessment on Thursday was a 9¢/bl premium to the Nymex-quality WTI Cushing benchmark, nearly $1/bl lower than a week earlier. Mars averaged a 63¢/bl premium for the August trade month through Thursday, but was at a $1.40-$1.50/bl premium at the start of the trade month. The August trade month started 26 June and ends 25 July. The SPR, which consists of four underground storage sites in Texas and Louisiana, held 403mn bl of crude as of 4 July. Under the exchange announced today ExxonMobil will eventually return the borrowed crude — along with additional crude as payment for the loan — to the SPR. The SPR's Bayou Choctaw site connects to refineries in Baton Rouge through the Capline pipeline. In 2021, the Department of Energy authorized a loan of up to 3mn bl from the SPR to ExxonMobil's refinery in Baton Rouge to address disruptions related to Hurricane Ida. ExxonMobil was initially scheduled to return the crude in 2022, but that deadline has been repeatedly pushed back, most recently to require a return of the crude by March 2026. By Chris Knight, Eunice Bridges and Amanda Smith Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
DCPC - Argus Petrochemical Online Forum: The road ahead for Indian petrochemicals
DCPC - Argus Petrochemical Online Forum: The road ahead for Indian petrochemicals
Fueling the future: SAF pricing market insights, and outlook
Fueling the future: SAF pricing market insights, and outlook
Global Hydrogen Outlook 2025
Global Hydrogen Outlook 2025
Middle East Conflict – Energy Market Risks and Commodity Impacts
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