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Pirates Suspected of Hijacking Oil Tanker

An oil tanker that has disappeared off the coast of West Africa may have been hijacked by pirates, potentially marking the most southerly such attack to date in increasingly dangerous waters off African oil hubs Nigeria and Angola. The MT Kerala, a Liberian-flagged tanker carrying fuel oil, is owned by Dynacom Tankers. A person working for Dynacom in Athens said that the company hasn’t had any contact with the vessel since Friday afternoon. "We don’t know if the vessel has been hijacked—it is a suspected hijack," said the person, who didn’t want to give his name. Dryad Maritime Intelligence, a U.K.-based shipping intelligence firm, said that it had warned of a "suspect vessel operating off the Angolan coast" in the days leading up to the MT Kerala’s disappearance. If confirmed, this would mark the most southerly hijacking in the waters off West Africa for the purposes of refined product […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Study: Pollution from Chinese factories is harming air quality on U.S. West Coast

Bad air from China is blowing across the Pacific Ocean and contributing to smog in the United States, according to new scientific research. And much of that air pollution is being caused by the manufacture of goods in China for export to the United States and Europe. “We’ve outsourced our manufacturing and much of our pollution, but some of it is blowing back across the Pacific to haunt us,” said Steve Davis, a University of California at Irvine scientist and a co-author of the study. “Given the complaints about how Chinese pollution is corrupting other countries’ air, this paper shows that there may be plenty of blame to go around.” The paper was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences on Monday and, according to its researchers, is the first to quantify how much of the pollution reaching the West Coast of the United […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Before the cold snap, Japan's demand for direct-burning crude was seen as largely tepid for January and February loading cargoes following strong interest seen for December-loading cargoes.

SJapan’s direct-burning crude oil demand for power generation has picked up since late December as a cold spell across the country has increased appetite for loadings into March in the absence of nuclear output, industry and trading sources said Thursday. "Indeed, oil demand picked up [for power generation] this month," an industry source said. The source said Japanese incremental oil demand for power generation typically goes to fuel oil first, but it has fallen to crude in recent weeks amid further run cuts at Japanese refineries. In late December, a cargo of prompt January-loading Minas — which was heard to have gone into overhang from November to December — and a cargo of February-loading Minas were placed, but details of the trades were not clear, according to trading sources. The cargoes were heard to be headed to Japan. The Asia Pacific sweet crude market […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Before the cold snap, Japan’s demand for direct-burning crude was seen as largely tepid for January and February loading cargoes following strong interest seen for December-loading cargoes.

SJapan’s direct-burning crude oil demand for power generation has picked up since late December as a cold spell across the country has increased appetite for loadings into March in the absence of nuclear output, industry and trading sources said Thursday. "Indeed, oil demand picked up [for power generation] this month," an industry source said. The source said Japanese incremental oil demand for power generation typically goes to fuel oil first, but it has fallen to crude in recent weeks amid further run cuts at Japanese refineries. In late December, a cargo of prompt January-loading Minas — which was heard to have gone into overhang from November to December — and a cargo of February-loading Minas were placed, but details of the trades were not clear, according to trading sources. The cargoes were heard to be headed to Japan. The Asia Pacific sweet crude market […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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China stocks dip over poor factory activity prediction

Chinese shares dipped over HSBC flash PMI figures released on Thursday indicating sluggish manufacturing activity in January. ( The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.47 percent, or 9.57 points, to finish at 2,042.18. The Shenzhen Component Index dropped 0.41 percent, or 31.98 points, to close at 7,788.47. Combined turnover on the two bourses fell to 212 billion yuan (34.7 billion U.S. dollars) from 216 billion yuan on the previous trading day. The flash reading for the China manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) fell to 49.6 in January, hitting a 6-month low, said HSBC on Thursday. A PMI reading above 50 percent indicates expansion, while a reading below 50 percent indicates contraction. The financial sector led the losing trend, with China Pingan, an insurance giant, dropping 1.94 percent and China Merchants Bank falling 1.68 percent. The furniture and media sectors made significant gains. Guangdong Guangzhou […]

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China piping in more natural gas

Chinese government data show Wednesday the country piped in 20 percent more natural gas in December than it did the same time last year. China’s General Administration of Customs reported approximately 90 billion cubic feet of natural gas was imported in December. The Platts news service reports the pipeline imports for December were 20.1 percent more year-on-year. About 80 percent of the natural gas piped into China comes through the Central Asia-China pipeline, which links China to Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. In August, China announced it started securing some natural gas volumes through a pipeline from neighboring Myanmar. China’s economy is expected to grow 7.8 percent in 2014, unchanged from 2013, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries said in its January market report. China’s economy is outperforming its rivals, meaning it is taking on more energy supplies to keep up with demand. For oil, OPEC […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Shanghai considers arming residents with anti-pollution masks

P It was not immediately clear if the proposals would see authorities give masks to all of the city’s more than 23 million residents. Mr Zhu said children, traffic police and those who worked outdoors should be given priority. The masks would be distributed through the city’s health care system, the Xinmin Evening News reported. The report came as Yang Xiong, Shanghai’s mayor, told an annual summit of Communist Party leaders and advisers that his city needed to “break away from the conventional path of development.” “Environmental capacity is strained and air pollution such as haze has become a pronounced problem,” Mr Yang told Shanghai’s People’s Congress on Sunday. Mr Yang vowed to “pay more attention to the atmospheric environment” although on Tuesday the Shanghai Daily newspaper said the city’s investment in environmental protection […]

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Australia's drinking water at risk from extreme weather events

Australia’s drinking water is at risk from extreme weather, a new study says. The study, commissioned by the United States-based Water Research Foundation, says flooding, prolonged rainfall, drought, cyclones and bush fires impact surface water quality. Such weather events, it says, are predicted to become more frequent and intense in many parts of Australia due to climate change. “We need to focus on building resilience into our future supplies,” said Stuart Khan, an associate professor of the school of civil and environmental engineering at the University of New South Wales, and lead author of the report, in a news release. “This means designing systems that are more protected from the impacts of climate change and that have greater flexibility to respond to extreme weather events. This could be partially brought about through a diversification of water sources.” The report comes as Australia broke another […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Australia’s drinking water at risk from extreme weather events

Australia’s drinking water is at risk from extreme weather, a new study says. The study, commissioned by the United States-based Water Research Foundation, says flooding, prolonged rainfall, drought, cyclones and bush fires impact surface water quality. Such weather events, it says, are predicted to become more frequent and intense in many parts of Australia due to climate change. “We need to focus on building resilience into our future supplies,” said Stuart Khan, an associate professor of the school of civil and environmental engineering at the University of New South Wales, and lead author of the report, in a news release. “This means designing systems that are more protected from the impacts of climate change and that have greater flexibility to respond to extreme weather events. This could be partially brought about through a diversification of water sources.” The report comes as Australia broke another […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Australia Divided on Fracking

Debate over hydraulic fracturing is growing in Australia, where environmentalists are concerned about new efforts to tap the country’s substantial reserves of oil and natural gas . So far, experts say, hydraulic fracturing has made few inroads in Australia. But the practice, also known as fracking, is expected to grow as Australia seeks more natural gas for export. Fracking involves extracting oil or gas from shale rock with a high-pressure mix of water, sand and chemicals. Australia is poised at the “forefront of shale development,” because of its infrastructure, low population density and other factors, according to a report last week from the firm Lux Research. That is not what the country’s environmentalists want to hear. They have watched the rise of fracking in the United States, where the practice has proliferated in recent years, and fear the possibility of water contamination or overuse, as well as earthquakes from […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple