2024-08-18 04:22

Aug 18 (Reuters) - Debris from a destroyed Ukrainian drone sparked a diesel fuel fire at an industrial warehouse in Russia's Rostov region, the governor of the southwest Russian region said on Sunday. "Firefighting units were called in to put out the fire," Governor Vasily Golubev said on the Telegram messaging app. Russia's defence ministry said on Telegram that its air defence units destroyed two Ukraine-launched drones over Rostov overnight. In a separate post on Telegram, Golubev said that no one was injured in result of the attack that took place in the Proletarsk district of the region. Baza, a Telegram channel close to Russian law enforcement, said an oil depot was damaged in Rostov. Russia's SHOT Telegram channel posted a video showing dark smoke rising from what it said was an oil depot. Reuters could not independently verify the reports. There was no immediate comment from Ukraine. Kyiv has often said its air attacks on Russia's military, energy and transport infrastructure are in response to Moscow's continued strikes on Ukrainian territory. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/ukraine-drone-debris-sparks-diesel-fire-russias-rostov-regional-governor-says-2024-08-18/

2024-08-18 03:59

BEIJING, Aug 18 (Reuters) - China's gasoline exports fell 35.7% in July from a year earlier, customs data showed on Sunday, as refiners lowered crude runs and held back from shipments due to weakening profit margins. Gasoline exports stood at 790,000 metric tons last month, or 5.77 million barrels per day, data from the General Administration of Customs showed. China exported 1.22 million tons of gasoline in July last year and 930,000 tons in June. "Motor fuel exports remain capped because of weak margins and production, due to refinery run cuts," said Emma Li, senior China oil analyst for Vortexa. Export margins for gasoline were mostly negative between the second half of June and early July, roughly a loss of $3 to $4 a barrel for export sales, said a trader who declined to be identified as they were not authorised to speak to the media. China's January-July crude oil throughput was down 1.2% at 419.15 metric tons, the statistics bureau reported on Thursday. "China will likely issue more product export quotas to boost refinery runs," Vortexa's Li said. Beijing manages exports of gasoline, diesel and jet fuel under a quota system, issuing several batches of allocations during the year, mostly to state-run producers, and viewing product shipments to global markets as a tool to manage domestic supply and demand balances. Jet fuel shipments led the fuel exports, rising 20.2% to 1.76 million tons up from 1.47 million tons in July last year. In June, Jet fuel shipments totalled 1.65 million tons. Jet fuel production rose 23.9% year-on-year during the January to July period, statistics bureau data showed on Friday. Key oil majors are prioritising jet fuel production because of its more robust demand, given strong air travel performance domestically and international flight recovery, another trader said. International flights rose 60% year-on-year in July to an average 2,111 daily, data from flight information provider Variflight showed. That represented 75% of the daily average for July 2019, before COVID-19. Fuel provided to international flights is considered an export in customs statistics. Diesel exports fell 41.2% on the year to 540,000 tons, a sharp drop from July 2023 when exports totalled 910,000 tons. In June, exports totalled 820,000. Profit margins for diesel have improved in the last two months, but overall production has still fallen as refiners maximise jet fuel production. Diesel output fell 4.7% to 119.39 million tons in January-July. China's domestic diesel consumption has also slumped because of weakness in property and manufacturing, coupled with a shift to liquefied natural gas in the trucking sector, and the weakness is expected to persist in the second half of the year. The data on Sunday also showed China imported 5.90 million tons of LNG in July, up 1.1% from a year earlier. China's total exports of refined oil products, which also include marine fuel, were at 4.98 million tons for July, down 6% from 5.31 million tons in the same period a year earlier. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/chinas-gasoline-exports-fall-357-july-profit-margins-weaken-2024-08-18/

2024-08-17 23:34

CARACAS, Aug 17 (Reuters) - An oil spill, which appeared to originate from Venezuela's El Palito refinery several days ago, has contaminated a bay off the country's north-central coast in the Caribbean Sea, five sources told Reuters on Saturday. Biologist Eduardo Klein posted satellite images on X that he said showed an oil slick of about 225 square kilometers (87 square miles) in the Golfe Triste and completely covering Morrocoy National Park, known for beaches lined with palm trees and mangroves. There was no immediate comment from the state-owned company Petroleos de Venezuela PDVSA or the oil ministry. The El Palito refinery, with a capacity to process 146,000 barrels of crude oil per day, is Venezuela's smallest oil refining complex and located in the Puerto Cabello municipality on the coast of the central state of Carabobo. "The spill came from El Palito. This morning some beaches in Boca de Aroa woke up with a lot of hydrocarbons on the shore and it affected some boats, some artisanal fishing boats," one of the sources told Reuters. Another source said he saw three large oil slicks that washed ashore. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/oil-spill-reported-off-venezuelas-caribbean-coast-2024-08-17/

2024-08-17 18:15

Aug 17 (Reuters) - Safety at Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant is deteriorating following a drone strike that hit the road around the perimeter on Saturday, according to International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) director general Rafael Grossi. The Russian management of the plant said a Ukrainian drone dropped an explosive charge on a road outside, endangering its staff who use the highway, the TASS state news agency reported. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/iaea-says-safety-ukraines-zaporizhzhia-nuclear-plant-deteriorates-2024-08-17/

2024-08-17 17:36

KARACHI, Aug 17 (Reuters) - Chinese electric vehicle giant BYD (002594.SZ) on Saturday announced plans to open a car production plant in Pakistan, where it will also start selling three models through a partnership with Mega Motors. BYD is the first major new electric vehicle (NEV) entrant in the Pakistani market, where there is a lack of charging infrastructure. "Our entry into the Pakistani market is not just about bringing advanced vehicles to consumers," said Liu Xueliang, BYD's general manager for Asia Pacific. "It's about driving a broader vision of environmental responsibility and technological innovation." BYD also plans to open three "flagship stores and experience centres" in Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad, the company said at a launch event in Lahore, adding it plans to start selling two SUV models and a sedan from the fourth quarter of 2024. Mega Motors is a unit of Pakistan's largest private utility Hub Power Co Ltd (HPWR.PSX), known as Hubco. "We will establish Pakistan's first NEV assembly plant... dedicated to producing BYD's cutting-edge new energy vehicles," said Hubco Chief Executive Kamran Kamal, who described the deal as a "landmark investment". The new plant will begin operations in 2026, Kamal told Reuters. Hubco will setup fast-charging stations across major cities, motorways and highways to enhance Pakistan's charging infrastructure. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/chinas-byd-plans-car-plant-karachi-part-pakistan-entry-2024-08-17/

2024-08-17 15:55

OTTAWA, Aug 17 (Reuters) - Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CP.TO) , opens new tab said on Saturday it would halt any new rail shipments originating in Canada, and all new U.S. shipments destined for Canada starting on Tuesday if talks with its Canadian labour union fail to progress. North American industry groups and shippers are bracing for an unprecedented simultaneous stoppage at both of Canada's main railway companies that could disrupt the movement of commodities such as coal, potash, crude oil and grains, and manufactured goods ranging from cars to chemicals. The Teamsters union's talks with Canadian National Railway (CNR.TO) , opens new tab and CPKC have deadlocked, and the rail companies say they will start locking out workers on Aug. 22 if they cannot reach a labour deal. The union says it is ready to call a strike for that date. In an update on Saturday, CPKC said it was taking "prudent steps to prepare for a potential rail service interruption next week." It said bargaining talks are scheduled to continue on Sunday. Earlier this week, CPKC had already begun to halt any new shipments of hazardous chemicals or dangerous goods. Separately, CN Rail said on Friday "there has been no meaningful progress at the bargaining table," and added that it had also begun a phased and progressive shutdown of its network. CN Rail said this will culminate in a lockout, unless a deal is reached, or binding arbitration is imposed. Earlier this week, Canada's Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon rejected an appeal from CN Rail to initiate binding arbitration between the two sides, and called on the company and the unions to negotiate in good faith. Industry groups warn that a simultaneous work stoppages at both rail companies could inflict billions of dollars' worth of economic damage. It could also impact trade with both the U.S. and Mexico. The CN and CPKC networks connect key U.S. rail and shipping hubs such as Chicago, New Orleans, Minneapolis and Memphis. CPKC's network also extends further south to ports on Mexico's east and west coasts. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/canadas-cpkc-expands-freight-embargoes-ahead-looming-work-stoppage-2024-08-17/