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The World Container Index assessed by Drewry, a composite of container freight rates on 8 major routes to/from the US, Europe and Asia is down by 0.2% to $1,453.94 per 40ft container (updated Thursday, 22 August 2019). Two-year spot freight rate trend for the World Container Index: Source: Drewry

Crew of tanker continues testing of unique replenishment system which is installed on the medium sea tanker «Academic Pashin» (project 23130). The tanker is equipped with the systems for underway transfer of liquid and dry cargoes to ships and vessels. The medium sea tanker «Akademik Pashin» successfully transferred liquid cargo to three vessels at the same time, dry cargo, as well as a dummy. The transfer tests of liquid cargo without mooring to other vessels was successful. The vessel is designed for receiving, storing, transporting and transferring of liquid cargo: ...

Leaked documents predict major disruption at British ports in the event of a no-deal Brexit. The ‘Yellowhammer’ government documents show that if the UK leave the EU without a deal there could be three months of delays at UK ports, while up to 85% of lorries travelling through the main Channel crossings “may not be ready” for French customs by the current Brexit deadline of 31 October, said the Sunday Times, which has gained access to the report. The worst disruption to the short Channel crossings might last three months, ...

Shipments of naphtha from the West, including Europe and the Mediterranean, to Asia in September are forecast to exceed Asian demand amid maintenance at naphtha crackers and as petrochemical producers use alternative feedstocks. Asia is expected to receive some 1.3 million tonnes of naphtha from the West next month, four industry sources said on Friday. That amount will exceed the demand from regional steam crackers. Naphtha is the primary feedstock used by petrochemical manufacturers to make the chemical precursors for plastics and polyester fabrics. “This is still too much supply ...

Brazil’s LNG import market is now the fastest liberalizing sector of the country’s so-called new gas market, with private imports of the super-cooled fuel already set to begin ramping up by early next year. On Wednesday, Brazil’s second privately developed LNG-to-power project met conditions required to finance its completion, moving the project toward commissioning by late first-quarter 2020. The joint-venture project will see developers Prumo, BP and Siemens draw on US$750 million in financing to complete construction of the 1,300 MW first phase of the Gas Natural Acu complex (GNA) ...

Vale has started dredging the tailings from Paraopeba river, which was affected by the breach of B1 dam. This process is essential for recovery of the river. Dredging activities are planned to continue until July 2020, beginning at the confluence of Ferro-Carvão stream and Paraopeba river, and along almost 2km downstream from this point. It is estimated between 300 and 350 million m³ of material leaked from B1 dam is deposited along this stretch. For the dredging, the company cleaned the area removing materials and tree branches, then activities began ...

Thyssenkrupp is in talks with Kloeckner & Co over future cooperation in materials trading, but is not exploring a near-term takeover of the metals firm, three people familiar with the matter said. By Christoph Steitz, Tom Käckenhoff and Edward Taylor The chief executives of both companies have been talking regularly for months, the people said, adding that discussions are open-ended and may not produce any concrete results. Shares in Kloeckner & Co rose 12.6% on Friday, boosted by a report in German business daily Handelsblatt that cash-strapped Thyssenkrupp is in ...

Commodity traders Glencore PLC and Trafigura have picked up a combined 70,479 tonnes of aluminium over the past week by winning online auctions of metal inventory dating back to China’s 2014 Qingdao warehousing scandal, according to the e-commerce platform that hosted the sales. The stock, being auctioned on a JD.com site by the Qingdao Intermediate People’s Court, was formerly held by Dezheng Resources, the company accused of duplicating warehouse certificates to pledge metal as collateral for multiple bank loans. The scandal rocked the metals industry and stung banks and trading ...

Gold eased on Friday and was set for its worst week in nearly five months, as lack of clarity from the U.S. Federal Reserve on the outlook for interest rate cuts triggered investors to cash in some gains ahead of Jerome Powell’s speech at Jackson Hole. Spot gold was down 0.2% to $1,495.80 per ounce, as of 0805 GMT. The metal has lost nearly 1.2% so far this week, on track for its biggest weekly percentage decline since March 29. U.S. gold futures also slipped 0.2% to $1,505.50 an ounce. ...

Oil prices clawed back the previous day’s losses on Friday, with Brent nudging above $60 a barrel, as tighter supplies from key producers offset slowing demand growth and investors await clues on the U.S. Federal Reserve’s monetary policy. Brent crude rose 29 cents, or 0.5%, to $60.21 a barrel by 0629 GMT, while U.S. crude futures were at $55.53 a barrel, up 18 cents, or 0.3%. Both contracts were on track for a second week of gains. “Oil is set to trade quietly today as it’s all about the Jackson ...

The marker price of Oman crude that will be sold in October 2019 has once again crossed $60 a barrel, according to the Dubai Mercantile Exchange. “The marker price on August 21 for October 2019 for the Oman crude oil futures contract is $60.86,” said the Dubai Mercantile Exchange. The sale price of oil increased by nearly a dollar per barrel and that increase of $0.93 pushed the cost of Omani crude above $60. Oman News Agency added, “The official price of Oman’s oil on the Dubai Mercantile Exchange reached ...

Weakening export demand for US-made products is skewing the impact of the change to cleaner ship fuel on US refined products as marine gasoil prices fall and cracks widen ahead of the IMO’s mandated January 1, 2020, deadline to reduce sulfur content to 0.5% from 3.5% . The imposition by the Trump Administration of tariffs on China is having an impact on port activity, and the slowing of global trade and US exports is keeping distillate prices below where US refiners thought they would be just under four months before ...

The price of liquefied natural gas spot sales has ticked up recently in Asia toward $5 per million Btu amid tentative signs of some peak summer demand, but the problem remains that for many buyers their cost of supply is still too high. While the market focuses on spot prices to gauge the extent of oversupply, or the strength of demand, it’s worth noting that the market for short-term sales is dwarfed by the far greater volumes procured under long-term, mainly crude oil-linked contracts. This means that for many LNG ...

The price of OPEC basket of fourteen crudes stood at $60.50 a barrel on Thursday, compared with $60.66 the previous day, according to OPEC Secretariat calculations. (View Archives). The OPEC Reference Basket of Crudes (ORB) is made up of the following: Saharan Blend (Algeria), Girassol (Angola), Djeno (Congo), Oriente (Ecuador), Zafiro (Equatorial Guinea), Rabi Light (Gabon), Iran Heavy (Islamic Republic of Iran), Basra Light (Iraq), Kuwait Export (Kuwait), Es Sider (Libya), Bonny Light (Nigeria), Arab Light (Saudi Arabia), Murban (UAE) and Merey (Venezuela). Source: OPEC

Tenaris announced that the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) has awarded it a long-term contract for the provision of tubulars and Rig Direct® services over the next five years, with a total value of 1.9 billion USD, and the possibility of a two-year extension. The award forms part of an initiative by ADNOC to secure smart procurement solutions that add value to its upstream oil and gas drilling business and promote in-country investment and service provision. It includes the supply of a full array of steel grades and connections, ...