2025-10-15 07:56
JAKARTA, Oct 15 (Reuters) - At least 10 people were killed and 18 injured after an oil tanker caught fire early on Wednesday as it was being repaired in Indonesia's Riau Islands province, according to local police. Fire broke out on the vessel, the MT Federal II, at around 4 a.m. on Wednesday (2100 GMT Tuesday) at a shipyard in the city of Batam, local police chief Zaenal Arifin said. Batam is around 20 kilometres (12.4 miles) away from Singapore by sea. Sign up here. MT Federal II was docked and undergoing repairs when it caught fire, Arifin said, adding that the cause was under investigation and the ship was not carrying oil. As of Wednesday afternoon, 10 people had died and 18 others were receiving treatment in the hospital, Arifin said, adding that all the victims were working to repair the vessel. "Some of them were heavily injured," Arifin said. He added that it was not clear who owns the vessel. In June, a vessel caught fire in Batam while being repaired, killing four people and injuring nine others. In that case, local police have named two people who are suspected of violating standard safety procedures. https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/indonesia-oil-tanker-catches-fire-killing-10-local-police-say-2025-10-15/
2025-10-15 07:41
OPEC head repeats call for investments in oil and gas Energy security key to climate action success - Saudi minister Saudi minister sees Europe struggling with transition challenge MOSCOW, Oct 15 (Reuters) - The head of OPEC and the producer group's most influential energy minister on Wednesday defended oil's role in providing secure energy supplies, pushing back against predictions of a faster transition to cleaner fuels. OPEC, which accounts for about a third of global oil supply, has consistently argued that oil demand will continue rising for decades, disagreeing with forecasts, such as from the International Energy Agency, that demand will peak soon. Sign up here. OPEC Secretary General Haitham Al Ghais said growing economies, rising populations and urbanisation led "to one clear signal that the world will need much more energy than it is consuming today". OPEC URGES MORE INVESTMENT IN OIL INDUSTRY Speaking at the Russian Energy Week conference in Moscow, he predicted oil would continue to account for about 30% of the global energy mix by 2050, and forecast 23% growth in primary energy demand by then. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries has been calling for more oil industry investment and said in a July report that the sector needed $18.2 trillion to be spent by 2050, compared with the $17.4 trillion it estimated last year. By contrast, the IEA said in 2021 there should be no investment in new oil and gas projects if the world was serious about meeting climate targets. In a September report, though, the IEA said investment was needed to offset supply losses. Speaking at the Moscow event, Saudi Arabia's Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman said that energy security and economic prosperity were prerequisites for successful climate action. Without energy security and economic prosperity, "I don't think you'll be able to attend to sustainability and climate change," he said. He singled out Europe, saying it was struggling with the challenge of moving away from its established energy infrastructure towards uncertain alternatives. The OPEC+ producer group, comprising OPEC and allies including Russia, is pumping more barrels to regain market share after years of cuts to support prices. The extra supply is adding to fears of a glut and weighing on oil prices this year. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/opec-secretary-general-says-oil-gas-industry-needs-more-investment-2025-10-15/
2025-10-15 07:40
At least four vessels divert to Zhoushan; one to Tianjin Zhoushan terminal connected to Sinopec refineries via pipeline SINGAPORE, Oct 15 (Reuters) - Trading firms have diverted at least five more crude oil tankers from a major port in eastern China after the U.S. imposed sanctions on an import terminal there on Friday, according to trading sources and shipping data. The U.S. sanctions have disrupted plans for the country's refiners to unload their cargoes at the port of Lanshan in the refining hub of Shandong province. Diverting the ships may also cause congestion at the alternative ports, particularly at Zhoushan, located further south off the coast of Zhejiang province, where several ships have been redirected, multiple traders who participate in the market said. Sign up here. The Rizhao Shihua Crude Oil Terminal in Lanshan, half-owned by Sinopec Kantons Holding (0934.HK) , opens new tab, a unit of Sinopec, also known as China Petroleum and Chemical (600028.SS) , opens new tab, was sanctioned on Thursday by the U.S. for receiving Iranian oil on board sanctioned vessels. One-fifth of Sinopec's crude oil imports pass through the Rizhao Shihua terminal, according to industry executives and analysts. In response, Chinese refiners began moving their ships away from the terminal. Unipec, the trading arm of Sinopec, Asia's largest refiner, over the weekend diverted the Very Large Crude Carrier New Vista, capable of carrying up to 2 million barrels of oil, to the ports of Ningbo and Zhoushan, where it is currently waiting to discharge its cargo. Unipec has also diverted the VLCC Xin Yue Yang, carrying 2 million barrels of Omani crude, to Zhoushan, for arrival on October 21, data from LSEG and Kpler showed. Zhoushan is an archipelago south of Shanghai and the terminal there is connected to Sinopec's eastern Chinese refineries via pipelines. Another two vessels, the VLCC Spherical and the Suezmax Fulger, which can carry up to 1 million barrels of oil, are also heading to Zhoushan, LSEG data showed. It's unclear if the Spherical, which is carrying 2 million barrels of Brazilian crude, will eventually discharge at Zhoushan as it is still waiting for instructions, a shipping source said. The Fulger, carrying about 1 million barrels of Egyptian Arco crude, is due to discharge at Zhoushan on October 19, the data showed. It was not immediately clear which companies chartered the Spherical and Fulger. The VLCC Habshan, chartered by CSSA, the shipping arm of French energy major TotalEnergies (TTEF.PA) , opens new tab, has switched its destination to the port of Tianjin, north of Rizhao, for arrival on October 26, LSEG data showed. The VLCC is carrying about 2 million barrels of Congolese Djeno crude, data from LSEG and Kpler showed. Tianjin is the site of Sinopec's major subsidiary refinery Tianjin Petrochemical as well as a base for an oil reserve Sinopec operates. TotalEnergies and Sinopec did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Sinopec Kantons said on Monday that it expects its business will be impacted by the sanctions. https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/tanker-diversions-sanctioned-chinese-terminal-may-cause-congestion-other-ports-2025-10-15/
2025-10-15 07:12
Oct 15 (Reuters) - Gold prices pierced the $4,200 mark for the first time to set a fresh record high on Wednesday, as renewed U.S.-China trade tensions exacerbated existing global uncertainties, alongside increased bets on further U.S. Federal Reserve rate cuts. Spot gold was up 1.4% at $4,199.99 per ounce by 0659 GMT, after hitting an all-time high of $4,200.11. U.S. gold futures for December delivery gained 1.3% to $4,218 per ounce. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/china/gold-tops-4200-first-time-us-china-trade-tensions-fed-cut-bets-2025-10-15/
2025-10-15 07:08
ABIDJAN, Oct 15 (Reuters) - Following are details of the main opposition challengers to Ivory Coast's President Alassane Ouattara, who is running for a fourth term in an election scheduled for October 25. The West African nation is the world's biggest cocoa producer. SIMONE GBAGBO Gbagbo, 76, was Ivory Coast's first lady during the tumultuous tenure of her then-husband Laurent Gbagbo, who led the country during a civil war between 2002 and 2007. After losing to Ouattara in the 2010 election, he refused to step down, triggering another conflict. Sign up here. Four months later, in early April 2011, Laurent and Simone Gbagbo were arrested together at their Abidjan residence, ending the post-election fighting that had killed around 3,000 people. Simone Gbagbo was charged at the International Criminal Court in The Hague for alleged crimes related to the conflict, but Ouattara's government refused to transfer her. Instead she went on trial at home and in 2015 received a 20-year sentence for crimes against the state. Ouattara granted her an amnesty in 2018. Simone and Laurent Gbagbo divorced in 2023, formally ending a political alliance that dated back to the era of Felix Houphouet-Boigny, Ivory Coast's founding president. Gbagbo is now head of the Movement of Skilled Generations party formed in 2022. At her first election rally on Saturday, she said infrastructure projects under Ouattara were positive but that Ivorians were clamouring for better health care and job opportunities. JEAN-LOUIS BILLON Billon, 60, is representing the Democratic Congress, a new grouping of 18 parties and political movements. A former trade minister, Billon had sought unsuccessfully to become the standard-bearer for the main opposition PDCI party this year after its leader, former Credit Suisse CEO Tidjane Thiam, was barred from running. Analysts say Thiam would have posed the biggest threat to Ouattara, but a court ruled in April that he should be removed from the electoral roll because he was a French national when he registered. Ivory Coast law states that candidates must be Ivorian citizens and cannot hold another nationality. In an interview with Reuters in June, Billon said that if elected he would endorse a law to lift restrictions on dual nationality. He also said he would trim the civil service, crack down on corruption, promote private sector investment and move more government offices to Yamoussoukro, the political capital. Billon has said it is time for Ouattara, 83, and other politicians of his generation to leave the scene. AHOUA DON MELLO A former protege of Laurent Gbagbo who served as his spokesperson during the 2010-11 election crisis, Don Mello is running this year as an independent. Gbagbo's political party, the African People's Party of Ivory Coast (PPA-CI), kicked Don Mello out after he decided to run for president. Laurent Gbagbo himself is barred from running because of a prior conviction, and his party does not have a candidate in the October 25 contest. Don Mello, 67, has argued that it is important to formally participate in the election to avoid a repeat of 2020, when the opposition boycotted the presidential poll and Ouattara won with 94% of the vote. He has called for abandoning the euro-pegged CFA franc and for revising Ivory Coast's defence agreements including with former colonial power France. Critics accuse him of pushing a pro-Russia agenda, but in an interview with France 24 this month he denied he was "Vladimir Putin's man". HENRIETTE LAGOU ADJOUA A former minister of social affairs and of women, families and children, Adjoua, 66, also ran against Ouattara in the 2015 election, earning less than 1% of the vote. She has pitched herself as a champion of "centrist" values emphasising peace and reconciliation, saying at a campaign event on Monday that "the wounds of the past have not disappeared". Adjoua represents the Group of Political Partners for Peace, a collection of centrist parties, and is a vocal campaigner for more women in politics including in a book published this year titled "Why Not a Woman?" https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/election-challengers-ivory-coast-ouattara-seeks-fourth-term-2025-10-15/
2025-10-15 06:43
KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 15 (Reuters) - The Asian Development Bank and the World Bank have launched the ASEAN Power Grid (APG) Financing Initiative to support the development and integration of national power grids across the region, Malaysian state news agency Bernama reported on Wednesday. The ADB is set to commit $10 billion to finance Southeast Asian grids connected to the APG, along with other clean energy projects, the report said, citing the bank's South Asia Development Director General Winfried F. Wicklein. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/adb-world-bank-launch-asean-power-grid-financing-programme-report-says-2025-10-15/
