2024-08-18 21:16

OSLO, Aug 18 (Reuters) - Norway's Equinor (EQNR.OL) , opens new tab shut down production at its Gullfaks C platform in the North Sea on Sunday and evacuated some workers as a precaution following a well incident, a company spokesman said. "We have had a well control incident at Gullfaks C," said a company spokesperson, adding that the well was "stable". It was not immediately clear when output could restart at Gullfaks C, but the other Gullfaks platforms were running as normal, he added. Gullfaks C produces mostly oil. It also processes and exports oil and gas from the nearby Tordis field. Gas production capacity at the Gullfaks field will be cut overall by 6.6 million cubic metres per day on Monday, Norway's gas system operator said separately on its website. Equinor operates the field and has 51% stake, while its partners, Norway state-owned firm Petoro and Austria's OMV (OMVV.VI) , opens new tab, hold 30% and 19%, respectively. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/equinor-shuts-production-gullfaks-c-platform-evacuates-some-workers-2024-08-18/

2024-08-18 20:05

OTTAWA, Aug 18 (Reuters) - For the first time, Canada's two main railway companies - Canadian National Railway (CNR.TO) , opens new tab and Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CP.TO) , opens new tab - are on the verge of a simultaneous labor stoppage that could inflict billions of dollars' worth of economic damage. WHY ARE BOTH COMPANIES POISED TO STOP? Contract talks between the Teamsters union and the companies usually take place a year apart, but in 2022, after the federal government introduced new rules on fatigue, CN requested a year-long extension to its existing deal rather than negotiate a new one. This meant both companies' labor agreements expired at the end of 2023 and talks have been ongoing since. As a result, for the first time, the failure of negotiations would halt the vast majority of the Canadian freight rail system. The Teamsters represent around 10,000 members who work as locomotive engineers, conductors, train and yard workers and rail traffic controllers at the two companies in Canada. WHAT IS LIKELY TO HAPPEN NEXT? The companies say they will start locking out workers in the early hours of Thursday if they cannot reach a deal, while the union says it is ready to call a strike for that day. CPKC has already given formal notice of a lock-out. CPKC, created in 2023 through a merger of Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern, has a U.S. and Mexican network which it says will operate normally. CN also says trains on its U.S. network will run. That said, a strike will still lead to shipment disruptions south of the border. Both rail operators and some of their U.S. competitors have begun to refuse certain cross-border cargoes that would rely on the CN and CPKC networks. CPKC has said it would halt new rail shipments originating in Canada, and new U.S. shipments destined for Canada starting Aug. 20, if talks with the Teamsters union in Canada fail to progress. The railways move grain, autos, coal and potash, among other shipments. WHAT ARE THE SIDES ARGUING ABOUT? The union says CPKC wants "to gut the collective agreement of all safety-critical fatigue provisions", meaning crews will be forced to stay awake longer, boosting the risk of accidents. CPKC says its offer maintains the status quo for all work rules, "fully complies with new regulatory requirements for rest and does not in any way compromise safety." The Teamsters say CN wants to implement a forced relocation provision, which would see workers ordered to move across Canada for months at a time to fill labor shortages. CN says it has made four offers this year on wages, rest, and labor availability while remaining fully compliant with government-mandated rules overseeing duty and rest periods. WHAT CAN THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT DO? Under article 107 of the federal labor code, Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon has broad powers and can order the sides to enter binding arbitration. In 2023, his predecessor, Seamus O'Regan, issued such an order to end a dockworkers strike in British Columbia. In that case, unlike the current rail dispute, the sides had largely agreed on the outlines of a deal. MacKinnon rejected a request last week by CN for binding arbitration, urging the sides instead to put in more effort at the negotiating table. WHAT HAPPENS IF THE UNION STRIKES? If the Teamsters call a strike, the government can introduce back-to-work legislation forcing them to resume work. The previous federal Conservative government did that in 2012 to end a walkout by Canadian Pacific workers. The current Liberal government though, has shown little interest in such a move in past disputes, preferring the sides to focus on negotiations. A complicating factor is that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government is being kept in power by the left-leaning New Democrats, who have traditionally enjoyed strong union support. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/why-canada-is-verge-an-unprecedented-rail-labor-stoppage-2024-08-18/

2024-08-18 19:13

LISBON, Aug 18 (Reuters) - Hundreds of Portuguese firefighters on Sunday scrambled to put out a wildfire sweeping parts of the Atlantic island of Madeira's south coast, a popular tourist destination, with strong winds complicating efforts to tackle the blaze. The wildfire, which started on Wednesday in a remote rural area of Ribeira Brava has spread to the neighbouring municipality of Camara de Lobos, and now has three fronts, island authorities said. Nearly 200 firefighters, backed by 38 vehicles are tackling the fire but high temperatures, low humidity and strong winds are complicating efforts to combat the flames. A helicopter also battled the blaze but had to stop operating as the night set in. "This fire, which is very dangerous, I have no doubt it was caused by arson in an inaccessible area where air support could not operate," the President of the Regional Government of Madeira, Miguel Albuquerque, told reporters. No injuries or fatalities have been reported, but 160 people have been evacuated for precaution, he said. The entire coastline of Madeira - an autonomous region of Portugal home to around 250,000 people - has been placed on orange alert, the second highest level, until Monday, due to high temperatures. According to weather agency IPMA, the temperature in Madeira reached 30 degrees Celsius (86°F) in the last few days. Strong winds that were fanning the flames led to dozens of cancelled flights. Portugal sent a force of 76 firefighters from the mainland to Madeira on Saturday and the neighbouring Azores archipelago was to send 15 firefighters on Sunday evening. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/hundreds-firefighters-battle-madeira-wildfire-2024-08-18/

2024-08-18 17:32

SANTIAGO, Aug 18 (Reuters) - The union at BHP's (BHP.AX) , opens new tab giant Escondida copper mine in Chile said on Sunday in a memo to its members that it could relaunch a strike later in the day if the company does not "rectify its position" over contract talks as soon as possible. An internal bulletin from the company, seen by Reuters, said it is complying with an earlier agreement and asked employees to keep working. "Our main focus is to end this process satisfactorily, to benefit everyone, especially the workers." The mine's powerful union went on strike on Tuesday over payment disputes and came to a preliminary agreement on Friday to end the strike at the world's largest copper mine that had threatened to hit global supply of the red metal. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/union-bhps-escondida-copper-mine-warns-it-could-relaunch-strike-2024-08-18/

2024-08-18 17:03

WARSAW, Aug 18 (Reuters) - Poland has taken steps to contain the spread of toxic golden algae in the river Oder's tributary system to prevent a repeat of the pollution crisis that hit the waterway in 2022, the climate ministry said on Sunday. Hydrogen peroxide has been pumped in at the junction of the Gliwice Canal and the Klodnica river, helping to reduce the algae by over 90%, the ministry said in a statement. Between Aug. 3 and 16 some 77 tons of fish have died in the affected section of the canal and in nearby lake Dierzno Duze. The risk related to the algae remains critical in the canal, it said. "We emphasize that the use of hydrogen peroxide is a crisis measure, not a systemic one," the ministry said. The main cause of golden algae growth is saline water discharged by the mining industry into the rivers. Poland is working on a plan to build desalination installations. In the summer of 2022, hundreds of tons of dead fish were found in the Oder, which runs along part of Poland's border with Germany. Smaller amounts of dead fish have been found in the river and its tributaries on several occasions this year. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/poland-seeks-contain-toxic-algae-tons-fish-die-oder-basin-2024-08-18/

2024-08-18 14:32

CAIRO, Aug 18 (Reuters) - Algeria will immediately begin supplying Lebanon with fuel for its power plants, Algerian state radio said in a statement on Sunday, after Lebanon's electricity company said the day before its supplies were exhausted. Lebanon has not had round-the-clock power since the 1990s and cash transfers to Lebanon's state electricity company, Electricité du Liban (EDL) to cover chronic losses have contributed tens of billions of dollars to the country's huge public debt. EDL on Saturday announced a complete nationwide power outage, including at critical facilities such as the airport. It said then power supply would resume gradually once new fuel supplies were secured, either through a swap agreement with Iraq or other sources. The Algerian state radio statement did not give any detail. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/algeria-supply-lebanon-with-fuel-power-stations-2024-08-18/