Latest news with #oiltransport
The Independent
23-06-2025
- Business
- The Independent
The Strait of Hormuz is a vital route for oil. Closing it could backfire on Iran
The war between Israel and Iran has raised concerns that Iran could retaliate by trying to close the Strait of Hormuz, the world's most important oil chokepoint due to the large volumes of crude that pass through it every day. The U.S. military's strike on three sites in Iran over the weekend has raised questions about how its military might respond. The Strait of Hormuz is between Oman and Iran, which boasts a fleet of fast-attack boats and thousands of naval mines as well as missiles that it could use to make the strait impassable, at least for a time. Iran's main naval base at Bandar Abbas is on the north coast of the strait. It could also fire missiles from its long Persian Gulf shore, as its allies, Yemen's Houthi rebels, have done in the Red Sea. About 20 million barrels of oil per day, or around 20% of the world's oil consumption, passed through the strait in 2024. Most of that oil goes to Asia. Here is a look at the waterway and its impact on the global economy: An energy highway in a volatile region The strait connects the Persian Gulf with the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea. It's only 33 kilometers (21 miles) wide at its narrowest point, but deep enough and wide enough to handle the world's largest crude oil tankers. Oil that passes through the strait comes from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Iraq, Iran, Kuwait, and Bahrain, while major supplies of liquefied natural gas come from Qatar. At its narrowest point, the sea lanes for tankers lie in Omani waters, and before and after that cross into Iranian territory. While some global oil chokepoints can be circumvented by taking longer routes that simply add costs, that's not an option for most of the oil moving through the strait. That's because the pipelines that could be used to carry the oil on land, such as Saudi Arabia's East-West pipeline, they don't have nearly enough capacity. 'Most volumes that transit the strait have no alternative means of exiting the region,' according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Closing the Strait of Hormuz would send oil prices massively higher — at least at first If Iran blocked the strait, oil prices could shoot as high as $120-$130 per, at least temporarily, said Homayoun Falakshahi, head of crude oil analyst at Kpler, in an online webinar Sunday. That would deal an inflationary shock to the global economy — if it lasted. Analysts think it wouldn't. Asia would be directly impacted because 84% of the oil moving through the strait is headed for Asia; top destinations are China, India, Japan and South Korea. China gets 47% of its seaborne oil from the Gulf. China, however, has an oil inventory of 1.1 billion barrels, or 2 1/2 months of supply. U.S. oil customers would feel the impact of the higher prices but would not lose much supply. The U.S. imported only about 7% of its oil from Persian Gulf countries through the strait in 2024, according to the USEIA. That was the lowest level in nearly 40 years. Iran has good reasons not to block the strait Closing the strait would cut off Iran's own oil exports. While Iran does have a new terminal under construction at Jask, just outside the strait, the new facility has loaded oil only once and isn't in a position to replace the strait, according to Kpler analysts. Closure would hit China, Iran's largest trading partner and only remaining oil customer, and harm its oil-exporting Arab neighbors, who are at least officially supporting it in its war with Israel. And it would mean blocking Oman's territorial waters, offending a country that has served as a mediator between the U.S. and Iran. The US would likely intervene to reopen the strait Any price spike would probably not last. One big reason: Analysts expect that the U.S. Navy would intervene to keep the strait open. In the 1980s, U.S. warships escorted Kuwaiti oil tankers through the strait to protect them against Iranian attacks during the Iran-Iraq war. A price spike 'wouldn't last very long' and the strait would likely be reopened 'very fast,' said Kpler's Falakshahi. U.S. use of force to reopen the strait would likely be supported by Europe and 'even unofficially by China,' he said. 'Iran's navy would probably get destroyed in a matter of hours or days.'
National Post
13-06-2025
- Business
- National Post
Prince Rupert mayor sides with Eby over Smith on Northern Gateway pipeline reboot
OTTAWA — The mayor of northern British Columbia's busiest port city says he's following Premier David Eby's lead in taking a wait-and-see approach to rebooting the cancelled Northern Gateway Pipeline project. Article content Prince Rupert Mayor Herb Pond told the National Post on Friday that he's reserving judgment until he sees a new proposal on the table. Article content 'I'm a little bit (more) with Premier Eby… Until there's a project and a proponent, we're not going to spend much time on it,' said Pond. Article content Article content 'It's so hard to have a discussion about an imaginary project.' Article content Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has pushed heavily for a revival of the shelved pipeline, which would have shipped up to 525,000 barrels of Alberta oil per day through nearby Kitimat, B.C., and ultimately to markets in the Asia-Pacific region via tanker. Article content Smith has said that the revamped North Coast pipeline should end at the Port of Prince Rupert, citing its close proximity to potential buyers in markets like Japan and South Korea. Article content She's also said that shipping Alberta oil through northern B.C. is one of the best things Canada can do to reduce its economic dependency on top trading partner the United States. Article content But Eby says that Smith is getting ahead of herself with no entity, public or private, coming forward to lead the project. Article content 'There's no proponent, there's no money, there's no project right now,' Eby said this week during a trade visit Seoul, South Korea. Article content Pond says he agrees with Smith that Prince Rupert is the most logical destination for a new pipeline carrying Alberta oil to the Pacific Ocean. Article content 'If (technical dimensions) were the only thing you were scoring it on… Rupert would score the highest,' said Pond. Article content 'Prince Rupert is a very deep natural harbour, doesn't need to be dredged (and) we're not moving through a congested traffic area (like) Vancouver.' Article content But he added that a new oil pipeline wouldn't make or break Prince Rupert economically, and may not be worth the risk of an oil spill in the sensitive marine ecosystem. Article content Pond said that, like Eby, he supports the federal moratorium on oil tanker traffic along B.C.'s northern coast.
CTV News
08-06-2025
- Politics
- CTV News
Alberta Premier Smith ‘going to convince' B.C.'s Eby to build pipeline through their provinces
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith says she's ready to convince her counterpart in British Columbia to support building a pipeline to transport oil from her province, through his, to tidewater. B.C. Premier David Eby said last week he won't support a new pipeline, arguing the Trans Mountain Expansion Project is already in place. Smith's comments come after Prime Minister Mark Carney kicked off the week with a much-anticipated first ministers' meeting on Monday, focusing largely on identifying so-called nation-building projects. Among them: a potential oil pipeline to tidewater. Then, on Friday, Carney introduced legislation aimed at spurring interprovincial free trade, easing labour mobility, and speeding up the approval of a select but unspecified number of big projects in the national interest. Speaking to reporters on Parliament Hill after the bill was tabled, however, Carney said his government would not impose any project on a province that isn't in favour of it, and that all projects will require consensus to go ahead. Smith, in an interview with CTV's Question Period, was asked by host Vassy Kapelos where that emphasis on consensus leaves her pitch for a new pipeline, considering Eby has expressed opposition. 'I think everybody is focusing on one particular project,' Smith said, pointing to other potential projects in different provinces. 'I'm rooting for all of my provincial neighbours. I want to do everything I can to support them, and I think that's the spirit that will prevail.' 'There's some things that we need to do to address some of the objections, but I think the Team Canada spirit is going to prevail at the end,' she added. When asked by Kapelos whether it can be inferred from her comments that 'a pipeline that carries oil from Alberta through to B.C. is not the be-all, end all,' Smith said: 'No.' 'I'm saying that I'm going to convince David Eby of it, because I know that this is good for the country,' Smith said. 'I know that he's on Team Canada, and I can't imagine, in the end, that if we meet the issues that have been raised by British Columbia, that he would go off team Canada. That doesn't seem to me to be the type of person that David Eby is.' The Alberta premier said while there are concerns that would likely need to be addressed — such as the pipeline's route and buy-in from Indigenous communities — she's confident those issues can be overcome. 'I recognize that there's a quid pro quo here, that there has to be a way for everyone to benefit and to address legitimate concerns being raised,' Smith said. 'That's what we're prepared to do.' Transport and Internal Trade Minister Chrystia Freeland, in an interview on CTV's Question Period, was asked by Kapelos who will ultimately make a decision about such a pipeline. In response, Freeland said the legislation is about identifying potential nation-building projects, adding she's 'excited about the possibilities,' and pointing to other pitches. When pressed on the pipeline specifically, considering the opposition to it, Freeland said the communiqué coming out of Monday's first ministers' meeting specifically mentioned pipelines. 'It talked about lots of projects. It included pipelines,' she said. 'It talked about pipelines to export natural gas and decarbonized oil, so that is very much an option on the table.' 'The prime minister was also really clear that projects are going to need the consent of the provinces involved,' she also said, adding the bill tabled in the House is not a specific list of projects.
CTV News
08-06-2025
- Politics
- CTV News
Alberta Premier Smith ‘going to convince' B.C.'s Eby to build pipeline through their provinces
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith says she's ready to convince her counterpart in British Columbia to support building a pipeline to transport oil from her province, through his, to tidewater. B.C. Premier David Eby said last week he won't support a new pipeline, arguing the Trans Mountain Expansion Project is already in place. Smith's comments come after Prime Minister Mark Carney kicked off the week with a much-anticipated first ministers' meeting on Monday, focusing largely on identifying so-called nation-building projects. Among them: a potential oil pipeline to tidewater. Then, on Friday, Carney introduced legislation aimed at spurring interprovincial free trade, easing labour mobility, and speeding up the approval of a select but unspecified number of big projects in the national interest. Speaking to reporters on Parliament Hill after the bill was tabled, however, Carney said his government would not impose any project on a province that isn't in favour of it, and that all projects will require consensus to go ahead. Smith, in an interview with CTV's Question Period, was asked by host Vassy Kapelos where that emphasis on consensus leaves her pitch for a new pipeline, considering Eby has expressed opposition. 'I think everybody is focusing on one particular project,' Smith said, pointing to other potential projects in different provinces. 'I'm rooting for all of my provincial neighbours. I want to do everything I can to support them, and I think that's the spirit that will prevail.' 'There's some things that we need to do to address some of the objections, but I think the Team Canada spirit is going to prevail at the end,' she added. When asked by Kapelos whether it can be inferred from her comments that 'a pipeline that carries oil from Alberta through to B.C. is not the be-all, end all,' Smith said: 'No.' 'I'm saying that I'm going to convince David Eby of it, because I know that this is good for the country,' Smith said. 'I know that he's on Team Canada, and I can't imagine, in the end, that if we meet the issues that have been raised by British Columbia, that he would go off team Canada. That doesn't seem to me to be the type of person that David Eby is.' The Alberta premier said while there are concerns that would likely need to be addressed — such as the pipeline's route and buy-in from Indigenous communities — she's confident those issues can be overcome. 'I recognize that there's a quid pro quo here, that there has to be a way for everyone to benefit and to address legitimate concerns being raised,' Smith said. 'That's what we're prepared to do.' Transport and Internal Trade Minister Chrystia Freeland, in an interview on CTV's Question Period, was asked by Kapelos who will ultimately make a decision about such a pipeline. In response, Freeland said the legislation is about identifying potential nation-building projects, adding she's 'excited about the possibilities,' and pointing to other pitches. When pressed on the pipeline specifically, considering the opposition to it, Freeland said the communiqué coming out of Monday's first ministers' meeting specifically mentioned pipelines. 'It talked about lots of projects. It included pipelines,' she said. 'It talked about pipelines to export natural gas and decarbonized oil, so that is very much an option on the table.' 'The prime minister was also really clear that projects are going to need the consent of the provinces involved,' she also said, adding the bill tabled in the House is not a specific list of projects.
Associated Press
22-05-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
HAFNIA LIMITED: Ex Dividend USD 0.1015 on the Oslo Stock Exchange Today
SINGAPORE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 22, 2025-- Reference is made to the stock exchange announcements made by Hafnia Limited ('Hafnia' or the 'Company', OSE ticker code: 'HAFNI', NYSE ticker code: 'HAFN') on May 15, 2025 regarding key information relating to the dividend for the first quarter 2025. The shares of the Company will be traded ex-dividend on the Oslo Stock Exchange from today, May 22, 2025, and on the New York Stock Exchange from May 23, 2025. About Hafnia Limited: Hafnia is one of the world's leading tanker owners, transporting oil, oil products and chemicals for major national and international oil companies, chemical companies, as well as trading and utility companies. As owners and operators of around 200 vessels, we offer a fully integrated shipping platform, including technical management, commercial and chartering services, pool management, and a large-scale bunker procurement desk. Hafnia has offices in Singapore, Copenhagen, Houston, and Dubai and currently employs over 4000 employees onshore and at sea. Hafnia is part of the BW Group, an international shipping group involved in oil and gas transportation, floating gas infrastructure, environmental technologies, and deep-water production for over 80 years. This information is subject to disclosure requirements pursuant to Section 5-12 of the Norwegian Securities Trading Act. View source version on CONTACT: For further information, please contact: Mikael Skov CEO Hafnia Limited +65 8533 8900 KEYWORD: ASIA PACIFIC EUROPE NORWAY SINGAPORE SOUTHEAST ASIA INDUSTRY KEYWORD: UTILITIES OIL/GAS ENERGY CHEMICALS/PLASTICS MARITIME LOGISTICS/SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT TRANSPORT MANUFACTURING SOURCE: Hafnia Limited Copyright Business Wire 2025. PUB: 05/22/2025 01:10 AM/DISC: 05/22/2025 01:09 AM
