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Shipping Deputy Minister Natasa Pilides said there is increased interest by shipping companies to establish a base in Cyprus after Brexit, in order to maintain their EU status for easier trading ties with Europe. Speaking at the 9th Nicosia Economic Congress, Pilides said that Cyprus could provide these companies with stability and security and expressed optimism that the country would hopefully increase the ships registered under the Cyprus flag. She said her deputy ministry aims to strengthen international relations, enhance maritime safety and environmental protection and develop a blue growth ...

A few weeks ago, troops from the Join t Task Force, Operation Delta Safe, stormed the Brass River terminal of the Nigerian Agip Oil Company (NAOC) on an investigative mission. Operation Delta Safe was set up with the mandate to protect oil and gas infrastructure, deter and prevent sea robbery, crude oil theft and other criminalities within the joint area of operation that could impact negatively on economic activities in the Niger Delta. According to an eyewitness at the location, the inspection was most likely based on reports that the ...

Fifty years ago today, on 23rd April 1969, delegates representing Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Great Britain, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and (as it was then) West Germany, met at the offices of Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers in the Baltic Exchange in the heart of the City of London, to form the Federation of National Associations of Ship Brokers and Agents. Fast forward half a century and whilst in some respects FONASBA has changed out of all recognition, some things remain essentially unchanged, including that it is still based ...

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Yuri Borisov met with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and discussed Moscow’s efforts to help the Middle Eastern country’s economic revival, as well as trade and economic cooperation “particularly in the fields of energy, industry and increasing trade,” according to Russian sources. Assad and the Russian envoy also discussed mechanisms to overcome obstacles including those from the sanctions which “countries against the Syrian people imposed on Syria.” “We have made considerable progress on that matter and hope that a contract will be signed within a week and ...

Albania’s largest sea port of Durres has handled 3.6 million tonnes of cargo in 2018, down from 3.7 million tonnes in the previous year, the port authority said. Cargo ships carried 2.74 million tonnes of goods from/to Durres last year, slightly below the volume of 2.8 million tonnes processed in 2017, while ferries transported around 875,000 tonnes of cargo, up from 825,500 tonnes, according to data published by the port authority. A total of 551 commercial vessels were handled at the cargo terminals, while 1,010 ferries visited the ferry terminal, ...

Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA has asked at least two of its clients to make payments for Venezuelan oil via Russian state energy giant Rosneft, as it comes under pressure from U.S. sanctions, according to a PDVSA source and documents reviewed by Reuters. The proposed payment mechanism is the latest sign of the growing proximity of Venezuela’s cash-strapped government to Russia as the United States tightens a financial noose around Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, who it describes as a dictator. Russia has publicly said the U.S. sanctions are illegal and ...

State-owned Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand has narrowed its list of potential liquefied natural gas sources to 12 companies, for importing up to 1.5 million metric tonnes per annum for the first time as the government liberalizes the energy sector to boost competition. Thailand’s largest power producer, EGAT, expects to finalise purchasing agreements by June and begin liquefied natural gas (LNG) shipments by September this year, EGAT Director Viboon Rerksirathai said. EGAT buys gas from a state-owned unit of PTT Pcl, which is the nation’s sole gas supplier and LNG ...

As the world’s second largest oil producer (behind the U.S.), Russia’s oil production hit a post-Soviet record in 2018, at 11.3 million b/d, or 11-12% of the global market. Joining an OPEC-led bloc to keep oil off the global market to push prices up, Russia to start the year had agreed to cut 228,000 b/d from October levels. Yet in March, the nation’s production was just 190,000 b/d less. The U.S.-Russia story over the past five years or so has brought up many important questions and discussions. As a sanctioned ...

China’s green light to build more coal-fired power plants probably won’t usher in a flurry of new construction as most policies and investments in the top energy user will tilt toward renewable sources. More than 10 regions will be freed of their overcapacity tag in 2022, clearing a hurdle for them to resume building coal-fired plants. But many of the nation’s largest power companies are under a state drive to develop more clean energy projects, according to Morningstar Inc., which expects growth in coal-fired capacity to lag other sources. “The ...

Argentine President Mauricio Macri rode to power in 2015 promising to bolster the farming sector and cut back taxes that had stymied exports. The country’s backbone industry welcomed him with open arms after years of export controls aimed at keeping domestic prices low. The powerful sector is now cooling on the centre-right president, frustrated by revived export tariffs and sky-high borrowing rates that have bruised smaller farmers, a concern for Macri ahead of national elections later in the year. Argentina’s farming sector, which brings in more than half of the ...

China’s response to a slowing economy is fuelling hopes that it’s the turn of steel stocks to benefit, as investment in infrastructure and real estate bolsters the industry’s most crucial drivers of demand. The turnaround in economic data of recent weeks suggests that stimulus rippling through the economy will soon fix on the relatively unloved steel sector, which has so far lagged the stellar gains seen elsewhere in mainland stock indexes. A spurt of local bond issuance to fund roads, homes and other infrastructure is augmenting tax cuts and other ...

Chicago wheat futures slid for a second session on Tuesday to a six-week low as improved conditions for the U.S. winter wheat crop and friendly weather in key exporting countries boosted the outlook for global supplies. Soybeans were little changed with the market trading close to last session’s four-month low as a bumper South American harvest kept a lid on prices. The most-active wheat contract on the Chicago Board of Trade was down 0.5 percent at $4.39-3/4 a bushel by 0258 GMT, after dropping to its weakest since March 12 ...

For India, which imports some 80 per cent of its requirement of crude oil, the price of a barrel matters for its GDP growth, and hence, for its stock market. India, the third-largest importer of crude oil, imports some 1.8 billion barrels a year, so every $1 increase means a $1.8 billion larger bill. Several factors influence the demand and supply of oil, making it difficult to predict how the various moving parts would play out and influence prices either up or down. Brent crude fell from $85 in mid-Oct ...

Schlumberger CEO Paal Kibsgaard told analysts and investors last week that his company is seeing a slowing-down of activity in the U.S. shale plays over the first four months of 2019. “North America land activity is set for lower investments with a likely downward adjustment to the current production growth outlook,” Kibsgaard said, “the higher cost of capital, lower borrowing capacity and investors looking for increased returns suggest that future E&P investments will likely be at levels dictated by free cash flow. We, therefore, see land E&P investment in North ...

An alliance of countries that includes Russia is cutting oil production to end a global glut. One of the big winners: the nation’s own crude exporters. The supply cuts from the so-called Opec+ nations, coupled with US sanctions on Venezuela and Iran, have reduced the amount of medium- and heavy-grade sour crude on the market. While Russia is part of the output cuts effort, exports of its medium-sour Urals crude — the country’s biggest export grade — are set to soar this month to an almost two-year high. “The apparent ...