US Oil Pipeline Companies, Producers Seek Relief from Steel Tariffs
Major U.S. energy companies including Plains All American Pipeline, Hess Corp and Kinder Morgan Inc are among many seeking exemptions from steel-import tariffs as the United States ratchets up trade tensions with exporters including China, Canada and Mexico.There have been nearly 21,000 requests overall for exclusions submitted to the U.S. Commerce Department since the Trump administration imposed levies this year. Of those, more than 500 petitions involve pipes and related materials.Initial decisions are expected this month…
Opinion (John Kemp): Trump Can't Require Pipelines to use U.S. Steel
President Donald Trump on Tuesday invited the promoter of the Keystone XL pipeline to re-submit its application for a permit and promised an expeditious review. But Trump's memorandum on Keystone was twinned with another ordering the secretary of commerce to develop a plan to ensure all pipelines built, repaired or upgraded in the United States use domestically made steel. The secretary was ordered to submit a plan within 180 days "under which all new pipelines…
Siemens, Voest and Verbund to Build Largest Green Hydrogen Site
Siemens, steel maker Voestalpine and hydropower firm Verbund are planning to build a cutting-edge plant to make green hydrogen more suitable for industrial use, the companies said on Tuesday. Utilities and industrial firms are under increasing pressure to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and they hope to use excess power generated by renewable sources such as wind or solar to create hydrogen from water with electrolysis. The hydrogen can then be stored for reconversion into power or for direct industrial use.
White House: Keystone XL Can Be Made from Non-US Steel
The Keystone XL oil pipeline does not need to be made from U.S. steel, despite an executive order by President Donald Trump days after he took office requiring domestic steel in new pipelines, the White House said on Friday. "It's specific to new pipelines or those that are being repaired," White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders told reporters on Air Force One, when asked about a report by Politico that Keystone would not need to use U.S. steel, despite Trump's executive order issued on Jan. 24.
New Dawn for Mexican Steel Puts Brazil in the Shade
Mexico is emerging as the preferred choice for investors in Latin American steel making as a landmark energy reform and exposure to a U.S. recovery help outshine regional rival Brazil, where the gloom of recession has taken hold. While steel executives in Brazil, Latin America's biggest economy, call ever more forcefully for market reforms, Mexico has pushed through a major energy overhaul and other reforms which are expected to lure billions of dollars in new investment.
Nippon Steel, Sumitomo renew contract to supply line pipes to BP
Japan's biggest steelmaker Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corp and trading firm Sumitomo Corp have renewed their contract with Britain's BP to supply line pipes. The new contract is effective for five years from July 1, with an option to extend the contract for another five years, Nippon Steel and Sumitomo Corp said on Friday. A plunge in global oil prices since mid-2014 has forced a number of oil and gas companies to scale back capital spending plans…
S.Korea Scores Partial Win in WTO Ruling on US Steel Pipe Duties
South Korea won a partial victory on Tuesday when a World Trade Organization panel ruled on its legal challenge to U.S. anti-dumping duties on steel pipe used in the oil industry, but Seoul lost most of the arguments it had made. In a ruling that can be appealed by either side, the WTO panel faulted the U.S. Department of Commerce for the way it calculated the tariffs applied to the South Korean pipes, known as oil country tubular goods (OCTG). Reporting by Tom Miles
TMK Sees Steel Pipe Sales Rising in 2018
TMK, Russia's largest maker of steel pipes for the oil and gas industry, sees its steel pipe sales rising to 4.3 million tonnes in 2018 from 3.8 million tonnes this year due to stronger demand, TMK Deputy Chief Executive Vyacheslav Popkov told reporters on Tuesday. Last year, TMK, controlled by businessman Dmitry Pumpyansky, sold 3.4 million tonnes of its steel pipes. TMK also said it plans to increase its share in the Russian market of large-diameter pipes slightly from the current 15 percent.
Sanjeev Gupta to Buy US-based Steel Assets in 2018
British industrialist Sanjeev Gupta is in talks to purchase and build more U.S.-based steel and industrial assets next year, after buying ArcelorMittal's Georgetown Steelworks at the weekend. Gupta, executive chairman of GFG Alliance which is a $10 billion metals, industrials and energy group, has been snapping up distressed industrial assets in Britain, Australia and the United States in the past few years. Last week, GFG Alliance struck a deal with…
Ocean Endeavor Repair Completed
Harris Pye Engineering Group completed repair works during the two-stage multi-million dollar Diamond Offshore demobilization project for its semi-sub rig Ocean Endeavor from the Black Sea, which completed its contract in January 2016. The initial phase of the repair work, which started in December 2015, while the rig was offshore Constanta, Romania involved cleaning of mud, brine, base oil and skimmer tanks. Steel repairs were carried out on a main column blister.
Swedish Steel Plant to Run on Hydrogen
Steelmaker SSAB plans to build the world's first fossil fuel-free steel plant powered by hydrogen, backed by utility Vattenfall and miner Luossavaara Kiirunavaara, the Swedish firms said on Thursday. The pilot venture will aim to develop technology to later make SSAB's entire production fossil-free, SSAB spokeswoman Viktoria Karsberg said. SSAB's global output reached 8.8 million tonnes in 2017, she said. The idea behind the project, called HYBRIT, is to use hydrogen, produced with electricity from fossil-free Swedish sources. The emissions would be water.
EU Mergers and Acquisitions
The following are mergers under review by the European Commission that could be of interest to the global maritime and energy communities. -- Austrian company Borealis, Canada's Nova Chemicals and French oil and gas major Total to set up a joint venture (notified Feb. -- British turnaround specialist Melrose Industries to acquire British engineering company GKN (notified Feb. -- German steel company ELG Haniel and and Spanish peer Iberinox 88 SA to set up a joint venture (notified Feb.
Trump's Steel Import Tariffs May Hurt US LNG Exports
U.S. natural gas trade groups said on Thursday they are concerned that new U.S. steel import tariffs could delay or reduce new pipeline projects as well as dent exports of liquefied natural gas. U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday the United States will impose tariffs of 25 percent on steel imports and 10 percent on imported aluminum next week. The type of pipe and the steel used to make large diameter, thick-walled pipe used for interstate…
U.S. Steel Tariff Could Impact Shell GoM Decisions
A potential tariff on U.S. steel imports could affect Royal Dutch Shell's plans to go ahead with a major oil field development in the Gulf of Mexico, a company executive said on Wednesday. Wael Sawan, who heads Shell's deepwater operations, said President Donald Trump's intention to slap up to 25 percent tariffs on imported steel and aluminium could materially impact the value of the Vito development off the Louisiana coast, one of a handful of projects Shell is planning to greenlight this year. U.S.
China's Commodity Imports Remain Robust: Russell
It's safe to dismiss any impression that China's imports of major commodities such as crude oil and iron ore were weak in February, despite the numbers suggesting as much. The timing of the Lunar New Year holiday usually affects when imports are counted as having arrived in the world's largest buyer of commodities. This year the week-long holiday fell entirely in February, likely resulting in a pull-forward of the counting of imports into January, meaning February's arrivals appear weaker than they should.
U.S. Energy Pipeline Developers to Seek Exemptions to Steel Tariff
U.S. energy pipeline developers say they intend to pursue exemptions to the Trump Administration's proposed steel tariffs, as concerns grow for those companies and from key exporters to the United States like South Korea. "We have a number of pipeline projects that would be impacted significantly by this cost increase," said Adam Bedard, chief executive of Arb Midstream, an energy transportation and marketing company. He was referring to the U.S. Commerce…
Odffjell to Build Record Size Stainless Steel Chem Tankers
Odfjell has ordered four chemical tankers (with options for an additional four) with stainless steel cargo tanks from China Shipbuilding Trading CO., Ltd. and Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding (Group) CO., Ltd. The ships cost $60m each. The 49,000 dwt ships, with a cargo capacity at 54,600 cbm, reportedly makes them the world's largest stainless steel chemical tankers, according to the Norwegian owner. The first ship is expected to be delivered in June 2019 and the following vessels with three months intervals.
US LNG Firms Lament Bad Timing of Tariffs, China Trade Spat
The Trump administration's planned steel tariffs and a potential trade battle with China could hurt U.S. liquefied natural gas companies just as a new wave of developments in the fast-growing market is gaining steam, company executives say. China is the fastest growing major buyer of LNG, making it an important customer for U.S. producers. It is also a significant exporter of the steel components used in LNG plant construction. With an LNG shortage looming as early as 2022…
Two Risks Threaten Commodities: Russell
It's not quite time to run up the red flags, but some recent developments in commodity markets suggest it may be time to start looking for them in the locker. The are two main factors that appear to be emerging that may threaten an end to the current quite rosy picture surrounding demand for commodities such as iron ore, steel and the metals most exposed to the battery boom, cobalt, lithium and nickel. On the supply side, there is a renewed rush of…
Can Trump Make Coal Great Again?
Most of the U.S. coal industry doubts Donald Trump can fulfill his promise to make the ailing industry great again in a country awash in dirt-cheap natural gas, a competing fuel. But a small sub-section of the coal sector that mines metallurgical coal - a variety used by steel makers instead of power plants - is gearing up for a Trump-inspired boom. That's because the Republican president-elect has promised a spending surge for roads, bridges and tunnels after he takes office on Jan.
