Day: December 25, 2021

Fire Injures Four At Exxon Refinery

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A fire broke out early today at the Baytown refinery operated by Exxon, injuring four people. Law enforcement has called the fire a major industrial incident, the Wall Street Journal reported. No fatalities were reported at the 561,000-bpd complex. “ExxonMobil’s emergency response teams continue to work to extinguish the fire that occurred in a hydrodesulfurization unit at our Baytown Refinery this morning around 1 a.m. Central Time,” the supermajor said in a statement emailed to the WSJ. “We are saddened to inform that four people were injured and are receiving medical treatment.…

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U.S. Looks To Ease Tensions With Russia

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The United States and Russia will likely hold bilateral talks to discuss Moscow’s security proposals next month as the Kremlin ramped up is rhetoric by again warning it was prepared to take military measures if the West launched “unfriendly” actions with regard to Ukraine. “We will decide on a date together with Russia, and we believe that that will take place in January,” Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Karen Donfried said in a call with media on December 21. Donfried said that NATO will be holding a…

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A renewable energy transition is on the horizon

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Around the world, momentum is growing behind the renewable energy movement. Nations are searching for solutions to power a cleaner, greener future, and bold plans are being set out to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. The race is on to transition to a net zero energy system by 2050, and thus avert the crisis of global warming by limiting the world’s temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius, as set out at the Paris Agreement. Yet while countries around the globe look to put a stop to rampant CO2 emissions, energy…

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Putin Says Europe Only Has Itself to Blame for Surging Gas Prices

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Putin

MOSCOW/KYIV (Reuters) -The European Union can only blame its own policies for record gas prices as some of its members resell cheap Russian gas at much higher prices within the bloc, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday. Putin also called on the EU to approve a new Russian gas route, the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, to ease the price crunch. Europe’s benchmark gas price climbed to a new record on Tuesday, up almost 800% since the start of the year. The price eased on Friday, but it was still…

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Coal Demand Rises In India, IEA Says Net Zero Should Have Stronger Implications

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The IEA’s Coal 2021 report shares worrying insights for India. The global power generation from coal is expected to take a leap by 9% in 2021, after consecutively falling in the previous two years. An all-time high of 10,350 terawatt-hours is the demand so far. India is the second-largest producer, consumer and importer has received a special attention in the IEA Coal report. The report says that the bounce back happened because of rapid economic growth and a push up in the electricity demand much faster than the low-carbon supplies…

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Gas shortage: Officials of CNG association protest outside SSGC office

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The officials and workers of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) association on Friday  carried out protest outside the head office of Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) in Karachi against the prolonged gas supply suspension. The protesters chanted slogans against the government and expressed their determination to continue sit-in till the restoration of gas supply to the pumps. They said that they are being provided gas on expensive rates in the name of so-called Re-Gasified Liquefied Natural Gas (RLNG). They further asked to remove managing director (MD) of SSGC. Meanwhile, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf…

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Domestic gas consumers: There will be no supply of LNG on ‘lower’ rates: Hammad

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Federal Energy Minister Hammad Azhar said on Friday that the government would not supply imported Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) to domestic gas consumers on lower rates. Addressing a news conference, the minister said that 10 to 11 cargos of LNG were tenders to meet the demand, but since the LNG prices had gone up on the international market the imported gas could not be affordable for the domestic consumers. The current government increased natural gas prices for commercial consumers and the CNG sector by several folds over three years. However,…

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Pakistan receives $300 mn from ADB for energy sector reforms

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Federal Minister for Economic Affairs Omar Ayub Khan acknowledged on Friday the receipt of $300 million from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) for energy sector reforms. The development comes after Pakistan and the ADB signed six financing loan agreements worth $1.544 billion. Apart from the energy sector, the funds received will also help strengthen foreign exchange reserves and stabilise the exchange rate, stated Economic Affairs Division in a statement. Foreign exchange reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) decreased $415 million on a weekly basis, clocking in at…

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Balancing Trade

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Pakistan’s economic woes are aggravating with shrinking foreign exchange reserves, rising inflation, historic currency devaluation, and escalating current account deficit – forcing the country once again to borrow from external sources such as the IMF and Saudi Arabia. Trade deficit has registered an alarming increase by more than 117.25 percent in the first five months of the current fiscal year. Merchandise trade deficit has bulged to $20.746 billion in July-November 2021, up from $9.549 billion in the same period last year. During July-November 2021, the country’s current-account deficit (the broadest…

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