Container imports into the port of Los Angeles in July rose year on year, whilst imports to Long Beach fell over the same period, as they have done for the past three months, port data showed. Loaded imports to Los Angeles in July rose 8.7% on the year to 476,438 TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units), up from the 396,307 TEUs in June. Imports to Long Beach fell 9.9% year on year to 313,350 TEUs but remained slightly below the 331,617 TEUs recorded in June. The drop in Long Beach imports offset ...

Preliminary export programmes for Angolan oil for October began to emerge on Friday while price offers for Nigerian crude improved on increased Asian demand. ANGOLAN * Angola is set to export 38 cargoes in October, down from 44 initially planned for September but listings for several grades were not filled and are expected in the coming days. * Cargoes for September loading had almost cleared amid last-minute discounts, with Dalia marked down to around $2 above dated Brent. NIGERIA * Around 30 cargoes of Nigerian crude were still available for ...

US wheat net export sales for the 2019-20 crop (June-May) reached 462,224 mt in the week ended August 8, down 5.2% week on week, partly led by large reductions from unknown destinations, latest data from the US Department of Agriculture showed. However, the latest weekly sales came within market expectations, as analysts had estimated sales to be in the range of 195,000-494,900 mt for the 2019-20 marketing year. A total of 126,500 mt of net sales reductions from unknown destinations were recorded in the week to August 8. US wheat ...

Copper recently touched its lowest price level in more than two years, reflecting investors’ worries about muted economic growth and the temperamental trade dispute between the U.S. and China. As supplies of the red metal tighten, however, analysts think commodities traders could overcome concerns about the economy, prompting copper prices to move higher. “The current stagnant-to-declining copper price is accurately reflecting a slowing global economy,” says Brent Cook, an economic geologist and co-editor of the newsletter Exploration Insights. “The numerous central bank [interest] rate cuts support this conclusion as well.” ...

Euronext wheat inched higher on Friday as a weaker euro helped the market hold above contract lows struck this week after a surprisingly high U.S. corn crop forecast and rising expectations for the European wheat harvest. December milling wheat on Paris-based Euronext was up 0.50 euro, or 0.3%, at 173.25 euros ($192.2) a tonne by 1546 GMT. The Paris benchmark had hit a life-of-contract low of 170.75 euros on Tuesday, sapped by a slide in Chicago corn after Monday’s unexpected increase to the U.S Department of Agriculture’s harvest outlook, despite ...

U.S. corn, soybean and wheat futures rose on Friday on a technical rebound as traders evened up positions after the grains market posted sharp declines during the week. The heavy weekly losses – corn posted its biggest weekly drop in percentage terms since June 2016 – stemmed from a surprise boost to the corn harvest outlook from the U.S. Agriculture Department on Monday. “We took it pretty hard from this crop report on Monday and we had a rough week and I think we are just getting a little bounce ...

Wood Mackenzie’s annual Global Upstream Cost Survey results show, across the industry, cost increases are back. Most respondents expect the next 12 months to be a period of growing costs. This isn’t particularly surprising given the depth and duration of the oil price crash. However, there are indications that the scale of imminent cost increases is out of kilter with assertions from operators that “lessons have been learnt” and that low prices from suppliers have been “locked in”. What our survey asked We asked the industry about changes in spending ...

Global oil and gas major BP has published its master sales and purchase contract templates for its liquefied natural gas (LNG) trading business and says it is the first of its peers to do so. BP, which has a global LNG portfolio made up of volumes it has produced or bought, said on its website it expects that publishing its LNG master sales and purchase agreement (MSPA) templates will “contribute to the broader discussion around standardisation and liquidity for LNG transactions.” The LNG industry has been pushing to streamline and ...

Gazprom Neft subsidiary Gazpromneft-Badra has now produced 13.5 million tonnes — or 100 million barrels — of oil. Cumulative production at the Badra field in the five years since this asset went into commercial operation has reached 100 million barrels — the first shipment of liquid hydrocarbons having taken place in 2014. Oil production at the field stands at more than 1.8 million tonnes (13.5 million barrels) since the start of 2019. Twenty-two operating wells, each running to an average depth of 4,500 metres, have been drilled by Gazpromneft-Badra since ...

Reducing Mexico’s stubborn core inflation, running at 3.8 percent, is a challenge for the central bank, its governor told Reuters on Thursday, after it cut its key lending rate for the first time since June 2014. The Bank of Mexico (Banxico) cited slowing inflation and increasing slack in an economy hampered by global trade tensions, as reasons for making the cut, fueling expectations that further monetary policy easing could be on the way. “We will pay attention to new information and uncertainty over the coming weeks before evaluating monetary policy ...

UIPA, the South Korean Information and Communication Technology Promotion Agency has awarded Kongsberg Digital the contract to supply a fully-featured bridge simulator for a new, state-of-the-art autonomous ship research facility in Ulsan, South Korea. The Korean government has committed to invest 130 billion won (US$110 million) in the project over the next three years, with a goal of starting operations in 2023. The simulation contract is being delivered through maritime ICT convergence specialists eMARINE Global. The simulator will be used primarily for research and development of navigational equipment and display ...

Japan and South Korea are expected by their respective meteorological agencies to see higher-than-average temperatures for the last week of August and the first three weeks of September. The warmer weather at the tail-end of summer could offer some relief to LNG sellers that have struggled to offload cargoes — some of whom have even resorted to float their cargoes on the water without firm destinations. Spot LNG prices have continued to track at three-year lows as the region emerges from a mild-winter in a severely oversupplied market. As of ...

The World Ocean Council (WOC) and the World Association for Waterborne Transport Infrastructure (PIANC) have signed an MOU on long-term cooperation. The partnership agreement provides a commitment and framework for the two bodies to collaborate on ocean sustainable economic development through information exchange, communications, events, joint working groups, etc. on topics of shared interest. More specifically, PIANC and WOC will begin by working together to develop: 1) Tools and methods for port and coastal infrastructure adaptation that can be scaled up to address port resiliency needs, especially regarding extreme weather ...

While there seem to be only bad news from the macroeconomic side these days, the New Contex has nevertheless gained another 4 points

Where does the danger lie? When measuring dangerous gases prior to enclosed space entry, we need to take into account the relative weight of the gas when compared to air. For example, we need to be aware that methane is lighter than air, carbon monoxide is the same weight and hydrogen sulphide is heavier than air. This difference in molecular weight requires gas measurements to be taken at different heights of the enclosed space to ensure thorough gas measurement prior to man entry into enclosed space. You can learn more ...