Japan Steelmakers Scramble for Coking Coal
Japanese steelmakers have bought coking coal from the United States, Canada and China to replace supply lost after a cyclone closed rail links in Australia, their biggest supplier, industry and trader sources said. Still, the Japanese buyers are paying nearly double the $150 a tonnes price that they were discussing with sellers for second-quarter supply before the supply disruption. The supply talks are now on hold and prices will likely stay high until full volumes start flowing again. In 2016, Japan bought about 71 percent of the 59.9 million tonnes of coking coal it consumed from Australia.
Mountain Size Trouble for Australian Coal
Global coking coal supplies have been drastically interrupted by a small stretch of rail that wraps around a modest-sized Australian mountain range – and repair crews are unable to find a quick fix. Australian rail operator Aurizon Holdings Ltd said on Friday it would take another four weeks to repair the Goonyella line, which transported 118 million tonnes of mainly coking coal in 2016 and has been hit by landslides. The company said that its cyclone-damaged Blackwater coal haulage line - the second major rail corridor after Goonyella - would reopen on Monday at reduced capacity.
Rosneft Purchase Leads $82 bln Spree by Sovereign Investors in 2016
Qatar's purchase of a stake in Russian oil company Rosneft last month crowned a year of mega-acquisitions by sovereign investors in 2016, with total deal value rising 22 percent to $82 billion whilst the number of transactions held steady. Other high-profile 2016 deals involving sovereign investors - a category consisting of wealth funds, central banks and state-run pension funds - included Melbourne Port and a stake in ride-hailing app Uber. The plunge in the pound in the wake of Brexit attracted some foreign buyers to UK real estate, whilst 2017 is likely to see a rise in activity in e-commerce and financial technology.
No Retrofit Bonanza for Tank Car Makers
When U.S. regulators adopted new rules last May to make hauling crude by rail safer, shippers anticipated relatively moderate costs and adjustments while rail tank car makers geared up for a retrofitting bonanza. It has not worked out that way. Months later, oil companies are learning that meeting the new standards is more expensive and complicated than they thought while tank car producers have yet to see the windfall from the fleet's overhaul. Blame the reality of dealing with railway operators' own technical requirements and an oil price rout that has radically changed the economics of the once-booming business. In the U.S.
ABB substations For Swiss Railways
Zurich, Switzerland, April 20, 2015 – ABB, the leading power and automation technology group, has won orders worth around $30 million from the Swiss Federal Railways (SBB), the national Swiss rail operator, and from the private Matterhorn Gotthard Railway to help boost power and increase capacity on one of the world’s most comprehensive and reliable rail networks. The order was booked in the first quarter of 2015. Three new traction substations being supplied by ABB will enable SBB and the Matterhorn Gotthard Railway to increase their capacity to meet rising traffic volume in southwestern and central Switzerland.
Berkshire's Railroad Revamps Service with Billions, Fewer Cars
Stung by customer backlash over last winter's patchy service, Berkshire Hathaway's BNSF Railways invested billions in shoring up its operations. But in addition to hiring more than 7,000 new workers and spending $5.5 billion on improvements to its 32,500-mile (52,300 kilometer) network, the railway also has done something unexpected: it pulled thousands of rail cars off its lines. The strategy appears to have paid big dividends this winter, helping ease congestion on tracks and speed up traffic, according to a Reuters analysis of weekly data the industry supplies to the U.S. Department of Transportation.
Mozambique: $30b Invested for 2018 LNG Export
More than $30 billion will be invested initially in Mozambique's natural gas sector to build capacity to produce 20 million tonnes per year of liquefied natural gas (LNG), with the first exports due to start in 2018, the national oil company said. The investments will be made to develop the northern ports of Pemba and Palma, where a giant logistics base and LNG production plants are planned that will use gas produced from offshore fields in the Rovuma Basin being developed by U.S. oil major Anadarko Petroleum Corp and Italy's Eni.
Mozambique Offers New Oil & Gas Terms
Amended law opens way for fresh bidding rounds; legislation requires partnership with state oil firm ENH. LNG processing projects to operate under special regime and Mozambique chasing 2018 target for first LNG export. Mozambique's parliament has passed an amended petroleum law that will allow the government to issue new gas and oil exploration licences but it also requires investors to partner with the state oil firm, the mineral resources minister said on Friday. The revised law will come into effect by the end of the year and bidding rounds for concessions would be held in the coming months, oil sector officials said. U.S.
Adani Taps POSCO to Build Rail Line for Australia Coal Project
India's Adani Mining Pty Ltd on Thursday said South Korea's POSCO Engineering & Construction Co Ltd will build the rail line for a long-delayed A$16.5 billion ($15 billion) coal and rail project in Australia. The cost and other details of the contract to build a 388 kilometre rail line for the Carmichael coal mine in the eastern state of Queensland will be set by the end of 2014 under a binding agreement signed on Thursday, Adani said. POSCO E&C will help fund the rail line by buying an equity stake, Adani said.
Train Believed to be Carrying Propane Derails in Eastern Canada
A train believed to be carrying propane has derailed in the eastern Canadian province of Nova Scotia, but the containers are not leaking, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said on Monday. Two people were aboard the train and no injuries have been reported, said Corporal Scott MacRae. It was unclear which company was operating the train or how many cars were involved in the accident. "Some containers are on their side and are believed to contain propane. They are not leaking at this time," police said in a statement.
Brazil's Cosan Ends Judicial Battle With ALL
Brazilian sugar and ethanol company Cosan SA Industria e Comercio in a securities filing Tuesday said it has resolved a pending judicial battle with America Latina Logística SA, a Brazilian railway operator. Cosan, whose Rumo Logistica unit recently agreed to a $4.7 billion merger with ALL, said all outstanding disagreements with the rail operator before the merger have now been settled. The two companies are now focused on completing the necessary steps required for the merger to get regulatory approval, Cosan said in the filing. (Reporting by Alberto Alerigi; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)
Siemens And France Weigh In As GE Eyes Alstom Deal - Update
Siemens and the French government intervened in General Electric's plan to buy the power arm of Alstom on Sunday with an alternative European "champions" tie-up proposal and a pledge to act inFrance's national interest. Though French trains-to-turbines maker Alstom is privately owned, firebrand Economy Minister Arnaud Montebourg issued a stark reminder of the influence the government holds over a company that relies heavily on orders from state rail operator SNCF and partly state-owned utility EDF. "GE and Alstom have their calendar…
Siemens Weighs In As GE Prepares Alstom Power Deal
Alstom's arch rival Siemens wants talks with the struggling French engineering group, the German company said on Sunday, the day General Electric boss Jeff Immelt is due in Paris to thrash out a deal to buy Alstom's global power arm. Siemens said in a statement that it had written a letter to "signal its willingness to discuss future strategic opportunities" with the French group. France's government has said it wants to find alternatives to the GE offer, which sources say puts a value of $13 billion on the turbines and power grid equipment business and could be announced in days.
GE In Talks To Buy Alstom's Power Arm
U.S. industrial conglomerate General Electric Co is in advanced talks to buy the global power division of struggling French engineering group Alstom SA for about $13 billion, sources familiar with the matter said on Friday. Sources said a deal was backed by Alstom's main shareholder, French conglomerate Bouygues with 29 percent, and could be announced in the coming days after an Alstom board meeting on Friday afternoon. The board was due to meet again on Sunday to discuss the transaction, French daily Le Figaro said. "Talks are going ahead swiftly, the deal's structure is defined and everything is almost ready," one of the sources said.
Oil Traffic may Delay US Fertilizer Shipments
Increasing use of railroads to ship crude oil could disrupt fertilizer cargo this spring as Midwest farmers prepare for planting, U.S. agriculture leaders warn, even as one railroad said on Monday it will take steps to ensure timely deliveries. The planting season is nearly at hand in states such as the Dakotas and Minnesota, where soybean, wheat and corn growers will lay millions of tonnes of fertilizers like nitrogen and potash that mostly arrive by train. Those supplies are not stockpiled near the fields and the farmers rely instead on steady deliveries by rail.
