COP29: Climate agenda clashes with trade demands
At the COP29 Climate Summit, trade tensions are escalating. According to U.N. documents, and negotiators, China, Brazil, and a number of other developing countries have complained that perceived barriers, like the European Union’s carbon border levy will undermine climate efforts. Nearly 200 nations are fighting over the climate talks…
Palm extends its losses amid China trade fears and weak demand
Malaysian palm futures fell for the second session in a row on Thursday as concerns about U.S. Tariffs on China, and a weakened demand for palm, sparked a sale on the vegetable oil market. At the close, the benchmark palm oil contract on Bursa Malaysia's Derivatives exchange for February delivery fell 46 ringgit or 0.96% to 4,769 Ringgit ($1,069.28). The contract fell by 2.21% during the previous session.
Fourth oil production vessel to leave Guyana in Q1 of 2025
The CEO of U.S. oil producer Hess John Hess stated on Wednesday that Guyana's fourth floating production, storage and offloading facility (FPSO) is expected to depart the South American nation in the first quarter of next year. Yellowtail, the fourth project of the firm that is responsible for the oil and gas production throughout South America, will add an additional 250,000 barrels a day (bpd).
Tereos warns that more problems are ahead following the low sugar price which has affected H1 results
Tereos is one of the largest sugar producers in the world. On Wednesday, it reported a 18% decline in its net profit for the first half of its fiscal year, due to a drop in the price of sugar and sweeteners. It also warned that the fall could continue in the second half of its fiscal. Tereos released a statement saying that the group's…
Petrobras of Brazil presents a five-year business plan worth $111 billion, with $10 billion in additional dividends
According to a Securities filing, the Brazilian state-run company Petrobras announced Monday that it had proposed a $111 billion plan to its board for 2025-2029. The filing stated that the business plan allows ordinary dividends starting at $45 Billion for the period and up to $10 Billion in extraordinary dividends. The proposed plan is about $9 billion more than the previous plan, which was for 2024-2028.
French farmers take to the streets in protest at Mercosur trade negotiations
Farmers protested across France Monday against the prospect of an agreement between the European Union (EU) and South America’s Mercosur bloc that will intensify the competition in the French agricultural sector. The EU, along with four Mercosur countries - Argentina Brazil Paraguay Uruguay - is pushing for the conclusion of long-running commercial negotiations before the end the year.
Azerbaijan, summit host, warns that COP29 will not succeed without G20 support
Azerbaijan, the host of the COP29 Climate Summit, said that leaders from the world's largest economies should send a strong message about the urgency to combat global warming. The appeal came at a meeting of the Group of 20 leaders (G20) in Brazil, where climate was just one of many topics on their agenda. Others included war in Ukraine and Donald Trump's victory in the election.
Petrobras and Yara Sign Agreement for Diesel Exhaust Fluid Sales in Brazil
Petrobras, Brazil's state oil company, has signed agreements with ANSA and fertilizer firm Yara. Yara could sell AUS 32 diesel-exhaust fluid in Brazil. Brazil imports AUS32, or 32% solution of aqueous Urea, to reduce the emissions from diesel cars. ANSA will produce AUS 32 in its plant in Parana in the south of Brazil, which should be operational again in May.
Solar power in favelas of Brazil hopes to shine under G20 spotlight
Residents of Morro de Babilonia in Rio de Janeiro, one of the underdeveloped "favela" neighborhoods, rarely discuss geopolitics. But as the city prepares to host the leaders of the Group of 20 on Monday, they hope that a project of the locals' will find its way into the spotlight. Babilonia, a small community in Rio de Janeiro, has slowly expanded its use of solar energy since 2015.
The pledge of financing by the Development Bank gives COP29 an early boost
COP29 negotiators have welcomed a commitment by major development bank to increase funding for poor and middle-income nations struggling to combat global warming. This is a positive start to the two week summit. The World Bank and a group of lenders announced on Tuesday that they would increase the finance amount to $120 billion in 2030. This is a 60% increase over the amount of 2023. It's very helpful.
Exporters group says Brazil is likely to export record volumes of soybean meal by 2024.
According to the local grain traders' lobby Anec, Brazil's soybean meals exports will likely set a record in 2024, surpassing the previous best mark recorded in history in 2023. According to the US Department of Agriculture, Brazil will once again be the world's second largest soybean meal exporter in 2023/24. It had previously been the leader in 2022/23…
Enel reports 6.5% increase in core profit for the 9-mth period on renewable energy growth
Enel, Italy's largest utility, announced on Wednesday that its core profit for the nine months ended September rose by 6.5% on an annual basis, largely due to a strong production of renewable energy, which compensated more than enough for a drop in retail electricity prices in Italy. EBITDA, excluding extraordinary items, came in at 18.72 billion dollars…
Brazil millers claim current sugar prices are limiting production growth
Brazilian millers said that the current reference price for raw sugar is not high enough to justify investments in new plants and that marginal gains from production adjustments in existing plants are nearing their limit. The sugar demand is growing at a rate of 2% annually, but production has been affected by factors like climate change and policies that blend biofuels with gasoline in India.
Climate Investment Funds Board backs $1 billion Turkey grid upgrade project
Climate Investment Funds, a multilateral lender, has announced that it will provide an initial investment of $1 billion to support a plan to upgrade Turkey’s electricity grid to handle more renewable energy. The CIF board approved a $70million investment from its Renewable Energy Integration Investment Platform (REI), with the goal of…
Colombian court reverses order to suspend gas well off Caribbean coast
On Wednesday, a Colombian court overturned a previous court order that was issued last month, which had suspended operations at Sirius-2 (formerly known as Uchuva-2), a major offshore gas well. The ruling was issued on October 29, following a complaint from Indigenous communities that their way of living would be negatively affected by the development of the well.
Australia should be leading the energy transition. But is it missing out? Russell
Australia's abundance of minerals and renewable energy, stability of government, and proximity to Asia's growing markets makes it a country that is well-positioned to benefit from the energy transition. The mood was a bit downbeat this week at the International Mining and Resources Conference in Sydney, which brought together the entire mining and resource sector.
Australia should be leading the energy transition. But is it missing out? Russell
Australia's abundance of minerals and renewable energy, stability of government, and proximity to Asia's growing markets makes it a country that is well-positioned to benefit from the energy transition. The mood was a bit downbeat this week at the International Mining and Resources Conference in Sydney, which brought together the entire mining and resource sector.
Ibama, Brazil's Ibama, seeks information on Petrobras Amazon project and rejects suggestions to kill it
Documents seen by on Tuesday showed that the head of Brazil's environment agency Ibama decided not to reject a Petrobras request to drill near Amazon River, even though experts at the agency recommended the request be rejected. According to regulatory documents, Ibama's Rodrigo Agostinho asked Petrobras instead for more details regarding…
Wilmar, a trader, claims that ethanol production will prevent Indian sugar from being exported.
Wilmar, a Singapore-based commodities broker, said that the increase in ethanol produced in India will result in lower local sugar availability. This will prevent the country exporting sugar during the 2024/25 period. India, the second largest sugar producer in the world after Brazil has not been able to export its sugar to ensure local…
Baker Hughes will supply pipe systems for Brazil's Petrobras
Baker Hughes, a provider of oilfield services, announced on Monday that it had signed an agreement with Petrobras to provide 77 kilometers (47.85miles) of flexible pipe system for Brazil's Santos Basin pre-salt field. Santos Basin, an offshore oil and gas-rich region off Brazil's southeast Atlantic coast. The basin is the largest in the…
