Wednesday, 5 July 2023

Pakistan: PARCO issues fuel oil sales tender

Pakistan’s Pak-Arab Refinery (PARCO) has offered fuel oil for July loading in its latest tender, underlining an ongoing shift in market dynamics as the South Asian country turned to exporting instead of importing fuel oil this summer.

The refinery has offered 50,000 tons of high-sulphur fuel oil (HSFO) with maximum 3.5% sulphur content, for loading at Karachi port between July 15 and 17.

The tender closed on July 05, Parco had previously closed an HSFO sales tender in May this year.

Imports of fuel oil into Pakistan slumped in the second quarter this year as companies resorted to burning more coal for power generation due to its cheaper cost and easy availability.

Monthly imports had hit a four-year high in the second quarter last year.

The country’s fuel oil exports have trended higher in 2023 so far compared to 2022, a total of 340,000 tons in Q2CY2023. It did not export any fuel in the same quarter last year, data from shipping analytics firm Kpler showed.

The country typically imports fuel oil from the Middle East.

Exports have so far gone to Singapore and the United Arab Emirates this year.

The export trend could continue in the coming months as the peak summer demand season is already retreating, with refineries seeking to clear inventories, trade sources said.

 

US Navy says it prevented Iran from seizing tankers in Gulf of Oman

The US Navy said it had intervened to prevent Iran from seizing two commercial tankers in the Gulf of Oman on Wednesday, in the latest in a series of attacks on ships in the area since 2019.

In a statement, the US Navy said that at 2100 GMT, an Iranian naval vessel had approached the Marshall Islands-flagged oil tanker TRF Moss in international waters in the Gulf of Oman.

"The Iranian vessel departed the scene when US Navy guided-missile destroyer USS McFaul arrived on station," the statement said, adding that the Navy had deployed surveillance assets including maritime patrol aircraft.

The Navy said that around three hours later it received a distress call from Bahamas-flagged oil tanker Richmond Voyager while the ship was more than 20 miles (32 km) off the coast of Muscat, Oman, and transiting international waters.

"Another Iranian naval vessel had closed within one mile of Richmond Voyager while hailing the commercial tanker to stop," the Navy statement said, adding that the McFaul directed course towards the merchant ship at maximum speed.

"Prior to McFaul’s arrival on scene, Iranian personnel fired multiple, long bursts from both small arms and crew-served weapons," the Navy said.

"Richmond Voyager sustained no casualties or significant damage. However, several rounds hit the ship’s hull near crew living spaces. The Iranian navy vessel departed when McFaul arrived."

US oil major Chevron confirmed that it managed the Richmond Voyager, that crew onboard were safe and the vessel was operating normally.

The TRF Moss' manager is listed in public database Equasis as Singapore-based Navig8 Chemicals Asia, but Navig8 told Reuters it was not connected with the tanker. The vessel's manager could not be immediately located.

Iran's state news agency IRNA said on Wednesday that Iranian authorities have not commented yet on the matter.

"The United States will respond to Iranian aggression together with our global allies and our partners in the Middle East region to ensure the freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz and other vital waterways," a spokesperson for the White House National Security Council said.

Vice Admiral Brad Cooper, commander of US Naval Forces Central Command, cited the exceptional effort by the McFaul crew for immediately responding and preventing another seizure.

Since 2019, there has been a series of attacks on shipping in strategic Gulf waters at times of tension between the United States and Iran.

Iran seized two oil tankers in a week just over a month ago, the US Navy said.

"Since 2021, Iran has harassed, attacked or seized nearly 20 internationally flagged merchant vessels, presenting a clear threat to regional maritime security and the global economy," the Navy statement added.

About a fifth of the world's supply of seaborne crude oil and oil products passes through the Strait of Hormuz, a chokepoint between Iran and Oman, according to data from analytics firm Vortexa.

Refinitiv ship-tracking data shows the Richmond Voyager previously docked in Ras Tannoura in eastern Saudi Arabia before Wednesday's incident in the Gulf of Oman.

The Richmond Voyager was now leaving the Gulf with Singapore listed as its destination, Refinitiv ship tracking showed.

Top ship registries including the Marshall Islands and Greece have warned in recent weeks of the threat to commercial shipping in the Gulf including the Strait of Hormuz.

In another point of tension, the U.S. confiscated a cargo of Iranian oil aboard a tanker in April in a sanctions enforcement operation, sources told Reuters.

That vessel, the Marshall Islands-flagged Suez Rajan, is anchored outside the U.S. Gulf of Mexico terminal of Galveston waiting to discharge its cargo, according to Refinitiv ship tracking.

 

Iran natural gas export rises 9% in 2022

A report by the Energy Institute (EI) shows that Iran exported 18.9 billion cubic meters (bcm) of natural gas in 2022, registering 9%YoY growth.

As reported, in its 72nd edition of the Statistical Review of World Energy, the UK-based institute noted that Iranian gas export accounted for 2.5 percent of the world's total natural gas trade through the pipeline last year.

The Islamic Republic had exported 17.3 bcm of natural gas in 2021, according to the entity.

The total global trade of natural gas through pipelines in 2022 was 718 bcm, which indicates a growth of 2% as compared to the earlier year. In 2021, about 704 bcm of natural gas was exported through pipelines across the globe.

The increase in Iranian gas export during 2022 was more than four times the average growth of the global trade of the product, said the report.

Of Iran's total export of 18.9 bcm in the previous year, 9.4 bcm were exported to Iraq, 9.1 bcm to Turkey, and 0.4 bcm to the Republic of Azerbaijan.

The EI also noted that Iran’s natural gas production has increased 2.5 times more than the global average over the past 10 years.

According to the EI report, natural gas production in Iran has been on an upward trend since 2011, and the US sanctions have not been able to stop or reverse the growth of gas production in Iran.

Between 2012 and 2022, natural gas production in Iran has grown by an average of 5.2% annually, which is more than 2.5 times the global average growth. The world's natural gas production has grown by an average of two percent per year during this period.

Most of Iran’s natural gas comes from the country’s giant South Pars gas field which the Islamic Republic shares with Qatar in the Persian Gulf.

The huge offshore field covers an area of 9,700 square kilometers, 3,700 square kilometers of which are in Iran’s territorial waters in the Persian Gulf. The remaining 6,000 square kilometers, called North Dome, are situated in Qatar’s territorial waters.

South Pars is estimated to contain a significant amount of natural gas, accounting for about 8% of the world’s reserves, and approximately 18 billion barrels of condensate.

 

Iran, Russia and India to promote freight transit through INSTC

The founding member states of the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC), namely Iran, Russia, and India, gathered for the third time in Tehran on Tuesday, to discuss solutions for promoting freight transit through the newly developed international corridor.

The event, dubbed “Iran Rah” was attended by senior officials from the three countries including Iranian Transport and Urban Development Minister Mehrdad Bazrpash, Head of Iran's Ports and Maritime Organization (PMO) Ali-Akbar Safaei, Deputy National Security Advisor of India Vikram Misri, and Senior Aide to the president of the Russian Federation Igor Yevgenyevich Levitin.

Speaking at the meeting, Bazrpash underlined some of the Islamic Republic’s major principles regarding the promotion of INSTC including multilateralism, partnership, transit neighborhood, networking, facilitation of trade, and intelligent and technological development of transit, and called for maximum collaboration for the development of exchanges through the INSTC.

Further in the meeting, PMO Head Ali-Akbar Safaei mentioned some of the advantages of transit through Iran for the countries in the regions and said, “Iran's joining the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and the Eurasian Economic Union will provide unique opportunities to the country’s trade partners, and the Islamic Republic is determined to remove all its tariff and non-tariff barriers in the shortest possible time.”

The main rationale for these trilateral meetings is to promote freight transit between India and Russia and other Persian Gulf and the Caspian Sea countries, Safaei said.

Elsewhere in the gathering, Misri emphasized India’s determination to cooperate with Iran and Russia for completing the INSTC saying, “India has been a participant in various initiatives and projects regarding the north-south corridor and has always been committed to providing its resources in the best way to the implementers so that this corridor is developed in the best way possible.”

Lavitin for his part called the INSTC a humanitarian corridor and asked the countries of the region to join this corridor to achieve its goals.

He underlined the definition of a single policy for trade through this corridor as the most important requirement for the development of trade in this initiative and added, “The main issue discussed in this meeting is defining the same framework and reaching a common understanding for all the business operators that are willing to use this route.”

Established in 2000 by Iran, Russia, and India, this 7,200-km-long INSTC works as a multi-modal network of ship, rail, and road routes for moving freight between India, Iran, Azerbaijan, Russia, Central Asia, and Europe.

Geographically, Iran's territory, particularly the Chabahar port, is very strategic for the activation of the INSTC in linking India to Russia.

The INSTC is also an important transport agenda that is expected to considerably boost the transit and trade of Iran and Russia with the countries of the Caspian Sea and the Persian Gulf.

 

Number of countries willing to join BRICS Currency on the rise

The list of countries ready to join the BRICS alliance and accept the new currency is growing. From a set of 19 countries in April, the numbers have spiked to 41 by the end of June. A total of 22 new countries expressed interest to enter the bloc and ditch the US dollar in two months. 

The next BRICS summit will be held in August in South Africa where the bloc of five nations will collectively decide the formation of a new currency.

BRICS is an acronym for Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. The decision to expand the alliance will be jointly taken in the next BRICS summit and the bloc could soon become BRICS Plus.

The total number of countries that could challenge the US dollar on the global stage has reached 41. The developing nations that want to accept BRICS currency hail from Asia, Africa, and Eastern Europe.

The countries that have shown interest to join the BRICS alliance ahead of the summit are Afghanistan, Algeria, Argentina, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belarus, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Kazakhstan, Mexico, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Sudan, Syria, the United Arab Emirates, Thailand, Tunisia, Turkey, Uruguay, Venezuela, and Zimbabwe.

Belarus is the first country in Eastern Europe that expressed interest to accept the new BRICS currency. On the other hand, France has also shown its interest to attend the next BRICS summit in South Africa.

Additionally, many countries in Africa remain on the sidelines and could announce their support for the BRICS currency after its launch.

It is worth noting why Africa is interested in BRICS and not the US dollar for global trade. 

Kenya has urged African nations to stop using the US dollar and trade in native currencies within the continent.

 

Tuesday, 4 July 2023

Has France gathered gold by ripping off Mali?

France, with its fourth largest gold reserves of 2,436 tons, doesn't even have a single gold mine within its borders. As against this, Mali a country once French colony doesn't hold any gold reserves in its banks, despite having a staggering 860 gold mines and an annual production of 50 tons.

This stark contrast raises important questions about historical injustices and the economic disparities that even persist today. The colonial past of France and its exploitation of resources in its former colonies have left a lasting impact. While France benefits from its gold reserves, countries like Mali, with abundant natural resources, struggle to reap the rewards.

These disparities in wealth and resources contribute to social unrest and inequality, as we've witnessed in recent riots in France. The frustration and anger of marginalized communities, including immigrants and descendants of former colonies, are rooted in these historical injustices.

As the world grapples with the complexities of immigration and social justice, it is crucial to address the systemic issues that perpetuate these disparities. It's not enough to simply acknowledge the past; concrete actions are needed to rectify the imbalances and ensure a more equitable future.

By fostering dialogue, promoting fair trade practices, and supporting sustainable development in countries affected by historical injustices, we can strive towards a world where resources are shared more equitably and opportunities are accessible to all.

Let the countries work together to create a future where countries like Mali can benefit from their own resources and where the impact of historical injustices is acknowledged and redressed.

Monday, 3 July 2023

Israeli troops and drones hit West Bank

Israeli forces hit the city of Jenin with drone strikes on Monday in one of the biggest West Bank operations in 20 years, killing at least eight Palestinians and involving hundreds of troops in sporadic gun battles that continued into the evening, reports Reuters.

Gunfire and explosions were heard throughout the day as clashes continued between Israeli troops and fighters from the Jenin Brigades, a unit made up of militant groups based in the city's crowded refugee camp.

"What is going on in the refugee camp is real war," said Palestinian ambulance driver Khaled Alahmad. "There were strikes from the sky targeting the camp, every time we drive in, around five to seven ambulances and we come back full of injured."

At times during the morning, at least six drones could be seen circling over the city and the adjoining camp, a densely packed area housing around 14,000 refugees in less than half a square kilometre.

The camp has been at the heart of an escalation of violence across the West Bank that has triggered mounting alarm from Washington to the Arab world, without so far opening the way to a resumption of political negotiations that have been stalled for almost a decade.

For more than a year, army raids in cities such as Jenin have become routine, while there have been a series of deadly attacks by Palestinians against Israelis and rampages by Jewish settler mobs against Palestinian villages.

The Israeli military said its forces struck a building that served as a command centre for fighters from the Jenin Brigades with what it called precise drone strikes using small payloads. It described the operation as an extensive counter-terrorism effort aimed at destroying infrastructure and disrupting militants from using the refugee camp as a base.

As the operation proceeded, Israeli armoured bulldozers ploughed up roads in the camp to dig up concealed improvised explosive devices, cutting water and electricity supplies, the Jenin municipality said as residents described soldiers breaking through the walls to pass from house to house.

"Nothing is safe in the camp. They dug up the roads with bulldozers. Why? What did the camp do?" said Hussein Zeidan, 67, as he recovered from his wounds in hospital.

In Washington, the State Department said it was closely tracking the situation in Jenin. A State Department spokesperson said it was imperative that all possible precautions be taken to prevent the loss of civilian lives.

An Israeli military spokesman said the operation would last as long as needed and suggested forces could remain for an extended period. "It could take hours, but it could also take days. We are focused on our goals," he said.

Until June 21, when it carried out a strike near Jenin, the Israeli military had not used drone strikes in the West Bank since 2006. But the growing scale of the violence and the pressure on ground forces meant such tactics may continue, a military spokesman said.

"We're really stretched," a spokesman told journalists. "It's because of the scale. And again, from our perception, this will minimize friction," he said, adding that the strikes were based on "precise intelligence".

Monday's operation, involving a force described as brigade-size - suggesting around 1,000-2,000 troops - was intended to help break the safe haven mindset of the camp, which has become a hornets nest, the spokesman said.

Its apparent scale underlined the importance of the Jenin camp in violence that has further exposed the impotence of the Palestinian Authority to impose its writ over towns in the West Bank, where it holds nominal governance powers.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said he was suspending contacts with Israel and called for international protection for our people. UN Middle East envoy Tor Wennesland said he was talking with all parties to de-escalate and ensure humanitarian access.

Hundreds of fighters from militant groups including Hamas, Islamic Jihad and Fatah are based in the camp, which was set up 70 years ago to house refugees in the aftermath of the 1948 war that accompanied the creation of Israel. The fighters have an array of weapons and a growing arsenal of explosive devices.

The Israeli military, which regularly accuses militant groups of basing fighters in civilian areas, said troops seized an improvised rocket launcher and hit a weapons production and explosives storage facility with hundreds of devices ready to be used as well as radios and other equipment.

It said it had also found weapons in a mosque where fighters had barricaded themselves inside in an underground section.

It was unclear whether the incursion would trigger a wider response from Palestinian factions, drawing in militant groups in the Gaza Strip, the coastal enclave controlled by militant Islamist group Hamas.

Saleh Al-Arouri, accused by Israel of leading the Hamas military wing in the West Bank, told Aqsa TV that fighters in Jenin should try to capture Israeli soldiers.

"Our fighters will rise from everywhere, and you will never know where the new fighter will come from," he said.

Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said his forces were closely monitoring the conduct of our enemies, with the defence establishment ready for all scenarios.

Following the last major raid in Jenin in June, Palestinian gunmen killed four Israelis near a Jewish settlement in the West Bank. That led to a rampage by mobs of settlers in Palestinian villages and towns.

Israel captured the West Bank, which the Palestinians see as the core of a future independent state, in the 1967 Middle East war. Following decades of conflict, peace talks that had been brokered by the United States have been frozen since 2014.