Under pollution alert, Beijing orders 1,200 factories to shut
Beijing's city government has ordered 1,200 factories near the Chinese capital, including an oil refinery run by state oil major Sinopec and a Cofco food plant, to either shut or cut output following its highest possible air pollution warning. Environmental authorities issued a red alert that started on Friday night and will run until Wednesday after warning of a smog build-up across China's north.
Drilling Downturn Hits U.S. Oil Consumption: Kemp
Oil and gas production was one of the fastest-growing industries in the United States between 2009 and 2014 according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA). Oil production increased by more than 60 percent while natural gas production was up by more than 25 percent thanks to the shale revolution. What is less well-known is that oil and gas production is also very energy intensive and the drilling boom contributed significantly to fuel consumption…
Drilling Downturn Hits US Oil Consumption: Kemp
Oil and gas production was one of the fastest-growing industries in the United States between 2009 and 2014 according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA). Oil production increased by more than 60 percent while natural gas production was up by more than 25 percent thanks to the shale revolution. What is less well-known is that oil and gas production is also very energy intensive and the drilling boom contributed significantly to fuel consumption…
Jindal Hopes to Resolve Iron, Coal Shortages Soon
India's Jindal Steel and Power Ltd hopes to resolve raw material shortages that have hurt production at its steel plants in the "next couple of weeks", Chief Executive Ravi Uppal said on Wednesday. The steel major is facing iron ore shortages after a Supreme Court order in May forced the closure of nearly half the mines in top producing state Odisha, where the company mines and sources iron ore.
Russian Officials at Odds over Mechel Bailout
The head of Russia's state development bank has ruled out taking part in a rescue of ailing miner Mechel, possibly making a rival government-promoted debt-for-equity deal involving creditors a more likely option to save the company. Russia has been looking into ways to help Mechel, a coal-to-steel group with $8.6 billion in debt and 70,000 workers, for several months and has proposed two schemes, both involving a change in ownership.
Severstal Sells PBS Coals to Corsa Coal
Russia's Severstal has agreed to sell Pennsylvania-based metallurgical coal producer PBS Coals to Canada's Corsa Coal for an enterprise value of $140 million, the Russian company said on Tuesday. Corsa Coal operates U.S.-based coal mines. Its Wilson Creek metallurgical coal operations are also based in Pennsylvania, while the Kopper Glo thermal coal operations are based in Tennessee.
East Ukraine Referendum Raises Fears Of Dismemberment
Rebels pressed ahead with a referendum on self-rule in east Ukraine on Sunday and fighting flared anew in a conflict that has raised fears of civil war and pitched Russia and the West into their worst crisis since the Cold War. Clashes broke out around a television tower on the outskirts of the rebel stronghold of Slaviansk shortly before voters made their way to polling stations through streets blocked by barricades of felled trees, tyres and rusty machinery.
