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Oil-Tanker Data Show China Shift

Crude-oil tankers anchored offshore the port of Esmeraldas, Ecuador. Reuters Steady energy demand in the world’s second-largest oil-consuming country has been a saving grace for the oil-tanker market, with much of the credit going to one Chinese oil trader: China International United Petroleum & Chemicals Co., better known as Unipec. Unipec was the No. 1 charterer of oil tankers for the second year in a row in 2013, beating global oil giant Royal Dutch Shell PLC in both years, according to consulting firm Poten & Partners. Unipec accounted for 791 fixtures—or agreements to hire tankers for specific routes—last year and also accounted for the largest volume of cargo transported, at 171 million metric tons, or 11% of the total, the data show. Shell trailed with 752 fixtures and less than half of Unipec’s volume, at 83 million tons. A decade ago, Unipec didn’t even figure among […]

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China's most-polluted province faces enormous challenge

Hebei, a northern region with the worst air in China, faces an enormous challenge in cleaning up its dirty air as data showed that little more than one third of all days last year met quality standards. The air quality index (AQI) in 129 days, 35.3 percent of days in 2013, was below 100, Chen Guoying, director of the Hebei provincial bureau of environmental protection, told a local legislature on Wednesday. The province, which surrounds the national capital Beijing, had 80 days, or 21.9 percent, of severe air pollution (AQI readings higher than 200), Chen said. According to statistics published monthly by the Ministry of Environmental Protection, Hebei is home to up to seven of the country’s top 10 polluted cities. "Heavy smog hit at the time of the "two sessions" in 2013 and again this year," said Liu Ronghua, a local political advisor, […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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China’s most-polluted province faces enormous challenge

Hebei, a northern region with the worst air in China, faces an enormous challenge in cleaning up its dirty air as data showed that little more than one third of all days last year met quality standards. The air quality index (AQI) in 129 days, 35.3 percent of days in 2013, was below 100, Chen Guoying, director of the Hebei provincial bureau of environmental protection, told a local legislature on Wednesday. The province, which surrounds the national capital Beijing, had 80 days, or 21.9 percent, of severe air pollution (AQI readings higher than 200), Chen said. According to statistics published monthly by the Ministry of Environmental Protection, Hebei is home to up to seven of the country’s top 10 polluted cities. "Heavy smog hit at the time of the "two sessions" in 2013 and again this year," said Liu Ronghua, a local political advisor, […]

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Gangsters and ‘slaves’: The people cleaning up Fukushima

In the depths of Japan’s nuclear crisis in March 2011, a small band of workers at the Fukushima power plant stayed behind, stomaching daily doses of deadly radiation to bring the plant under control after a massive earthquake and tsunami triggered multiple meltdowns. They became known as the Fukushima 50. “We felt we had a responsibility to put things right,” nuclear engineer Atsufumi Yoshizawa told America Tonight. “And we felt that we were probably the only ones that could deal with the situation.” The courage of employees like Yoshizawa made them heroes in Japan, and the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), the operator of the stricken power plant, showcases them as symbols for what the company represents. But there is another group of workers that TEPCO rarely mentions, workers who […]

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India's Dec coal imports fall 4% on month to 12.2 mil mt: Interocean

India’s coal imports via major ports across the country dropped 4% month on month in December, to around 12.2 million mt, data released late Tuesday by Indian ship broker Interocean showed. In November, imports totaled 12.7 million mt. Of the total imports in December, 2.6 million mt was coking coal, up 53% from 1.7 million mt in the previous month, while steam coal comprised 9.6 million mt, down 13% from 11 million mt in November, the data showed. Mundra port on India’s west coast received the largest quantity of coal shipments in December, at 2 million mt, down 17% from 2.4 million mt in November. Article continues below… Request a free trial of: Coal Trader International International Coal Report Platts Coal Trader International is the only daily publication where you can access Platts proprietary price assessments for coal trading in the Atlantic and […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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India’s Dec coal imports fall 4% on month to 12.2 mil mt: Interocean

India’s coal imports via major ports across the country dropped 4% month on month in December, to around 12.2 million mt, data released late Tuesday by Indian ship broker Interocean showed. In November, imports totaled 12.7 million mt. Of the total imports in December, 2.6 million mt was coking coal, up 53% from 1.7 million mt in the previous month, while steam coal comprised 9.6 million mt, down 13% from 11 million mt in November, the data showed. Mundra port on India’s west coast received the largest quantity of coal shipments in December, at 2 million mt, down 17% from 2.4 million mt in November. Article continues below… Request a free trial of: Coal Trader International International Coal Report Platts Coal Trader International is the only daily publication where you can access Platts proprietary price assessments for coal trading in the Atlantic and […]

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Slowly, Asia’s Factories Begin to Turn Green

When Intel went about setting up its chip factory in Vietnam, it found an oddity: Local laws did not govern every aspect of the building. The government had no comprehensive standards, for instance, on refrigerant chemicals, which in the United States are typically regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency. In fact, officials asked Intel whether the company had any ideas on the subject that might be useful to other manufacturers operating in the country. Yet today, Intel’s $1 billion plant, about 10 miles from downtown Ho Chi Minh City, embraces environmental and sustainability measures far beyond those required by Vietnam’s laws. Opened in 2010, the complex has the country’s largest operating solar array. Company officers say a new water-reclamation system could soon help it reduce water consumption as much as 68 percent. It is also vying for certification by the U.S. Green Building […]

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Pakistan has sanctions jitters over Iranian gas pipeline

A planned natural gas pipeline from Iran isn’t protected from Western economic sanctions, the Pakistani Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources said. A Pakistani Senate committee was told by the ministry that relaxed sanctions that came as a result of last year’s interim nuclear deal with Iran didn’t extend to a planned natural gas pipeline from Iran, Pakistani newspaper Dawn reported Tuesday. Pakistan says its aging infrastructure has left it with a crumbling energy sector and a subsequent need for an external source of natural gas. Petroleum Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said companies normally slated for pipeline construction on the Pakistani side of the border would likely face sanctions once the work began. Iran says it has the pipeline completed on its side of the border. The Pakistani government said it wants to meet with its Iranian counterparts to discuss the issue later this […]

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Republican Murkowski Urges End to U.S. Crude Export Ban

The top Republican on the Senate Energy Committee urged President Barack Obama to end a 39-year ban on exports of U.S. crude oil, joining what is shaping up as a major election-year debate over energy policy. “We need to act before the crude oil export ban causes problems in the U.S. oil production, which will raise prices and therefore hurt American jobs,” Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska , top Republican on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, said today in remarks at the Brookings Institution in Washington . Most exports of U.S. crude oil are prohibited under a 1975 law meant to counter surging gasoline prices after an Arab oil embargo. Advances in drilling techniques have led to increased production, and the Paris-based International Energy Agency projects that the U.S. will surpass Russia and Saudi Arabia as the world’s largest oil producer by 2015. Related: […]

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Ethanol Advances as Frigid Midwest Weather Curtails Supply

Ethanol advanced as icy, snowy conditions sweeping across the Midwest caused rail delays and terminal closures that may force companies to reduce operations. Futures rose 1 percent as Kinder Morgan Inc. said it’s working under force majeure at its Argo, Illinois, ethanol terminal. Union Pacific Corp., BNSF Railway Co. and Norfolk Southern Corp. have also said their operations are affected. Rail is a virtual pipeline for ethanol in the U.S. “They’re having to dial back because they can’t move production quick enough,” said Mike Blackford, a consultant at INTL FCStone in Des Moines , Iowa . “We’ve had rail issues. With this cold snap all of a sudden you’re shutting down truck, too.” Denatured ethanol for February delivery climbed 2 cents to $1.944 a gallon on the Chicago Board of Trade. Gasoline for February delivery gained 3.26 cents, or 1.2 percent, to $2.6786 a gallon on the New York […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple