Inkhabar webdesk

By Chen Aizhu, Trixie Yap and Siyi Liu SINGAPORE (Reuters) -The latest U.S. sanctions on Iranian petroleum exports deal a blow to Chinese refining giant Sinopec by targeting a terminal through which the state major handles one-fifth of its crude oil imports, industry executives and analysts said. The sanctions announced on Thursday further complicate U.S.-China relations, coming ahead of planned talks between Presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping later this month. The move follows China's decision to tighten controls on rare earth exports and reflects Washington's continued efforts to restrict Iran’s oil trade with its largest customer. Rizhao Shihua Crude Oil Terminal Co. Ltd, half-owned by a Sinopec logistics unit, was among the entities listed by the U.S. Treasury in a round of sanctions that also includes ships transporting Iranian crude oil and liquefied petroleum gas, as well as an independent Chinese refinery. Rizhao Shihua terminal, in the Shandong province city of Lanshan, was designated for receiving Iranian oil on board sanctioned vessels, the U.S. said. KEY CRUDE HUB UNDER SCRUTINY The terminal, which runs three berths that can service VLCCs, very large crude carriers, is 50%-owned by Sinopec Kantons Holding, a Sinopec-controlled logistics operator, while the remainder is held by local-government-backed Shandong Port Group's Rizhao Port, according to Chinese business portal Qichacha. The majority of crude oil passing through the terminal is handled by Sinopec, according to tanker tracker Vortexa and two industry executives familiar with the port. Sinopec has steered clear of buying Iranian oil, traders and analysts have said. A Sinopec spokesperson did not immediately comment. Calls to Shandong Port Group and Rizhao Port went unanswered and Sinopec Kantons did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The latest measures bring to five the number of sanctioned oil import terminals in the refining hub of Shandong, accounting for half of the province's capacity to handle VLCCs that carry 2 million barrels of oil each. VESSELS MAY SEEK ALTERNATIVE PORTS Shandong, where independent Chinese refiners are clustered, is the largest destination for oil shipments from sanctions-hit Iran, Venezuela and Russia. "Compared to the previous round of sanctions on Chinese terminals, the impact could be larger," said Samuel Kong, senior analyst at FGE, which estimates that only 10-20% of the oil imported at Rizhao is from sanctioned sources. "In the near term, we could see disruptions to discharges around Rizhao, and vessels carrying non-sanctioned barrels might seek alternative ports in Shandong to unload their cargoes." Spot VLCC freight rates for the Mideast-China route gained 3% on Friday, several shipping sources said, buoyed by concerns of congestion or discharge delays resulting from sanctions. Last year, Sinopec imported about 804,000 barrels per day via the Rizhao Shihua terminal, 20% of its total imports, according to Vortexa and one of the industry executives. To avoid using the terminal, Sinopec would be forced to re-direct shipments to other facilities to supply at least two major subsidiary refineries, Sinopec Luoyang Petrochemical in Henan province and Sinopec Yangzi Petrochemical in Jiangsu province. Both plants are connected to the Rizhao terminal via pipelines, the two executives said. These two plants have a combined crude processing capacity of 420,000 bpd. Rizhao terminal indirectly serves several smaller Sinopec refineries along the Yangtze River via pipelines, said a third industry official familiar with Sinopec's refining system. As a workaround, Sinopec may ramp up imports at Ningbo or Qingdao port, or raise throughput at other nearby plants to compensate for possible production cuts at Luoyang and Yangzi, said a second executive, who is close to Sinopec. (Reporting by Chen Aizhu, Trixie Yap and Siyi Liu; Additional reporting by Sam Li in Beijing; Editing by Tony Munroe and Louise Heavens)

(The article has been published through a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has been published verbatim. Liability lies with original publisher.)

By Divya Rajagopal and Portia Crowe TORONTO/DAKAR (Reuters) -Blasting is scheduled to begin at Barrick Mining's Loulo underground gold mine in Mali on October 15, four months after a court-appointed provisional administration took control of the site, two sources told Reuters. Under the provisional administration, operations at the Loulo-Gounkoto gold complex have so far been limited to transporting existing ore stocks to its plant and processing them there. The provisional administrators had planned to resume active mining in September, one of the sources said, but pushed back the start date as they negotiated with subcontractors, some of whom had not been paid since Barrick suspended operations in January. UNPAID BILLS SETTLED, PIT MINE ACTIVITIES STILL SUSPENDED Blasting, which entails breaking down gold deposits using explosives, will resume after the administrators resolved unpaid bills with subcontractors Sandvik and Maxam, the sources said. Activities are, however, not expected to resume next week at the complex's open pit mine, as the main subcontractor operating that site has still not been paid, the first source said. Barrick suspended operations at Loulo-Gounkoto amid fraught negotiations with Mali's military-led government over how to implement a new mining code that increased taxes and gives the state a greater ownership stake in assets. That led a Bamako court in June to appoint provisional administrators, led by former Malian health minister Soumana Makadji, to restart operations at the complex. Loulo mine has since produced some 1.07 metric tons of gold from ore stocks that had been mined before the suspension, the second source said. A spokesperson for Mali's mines ministry declined to comment. Makadji and spokespeople for Barrick, Sandvik and Maxam did not immediately respond to requests for comment. BARRICK, MALI TALKS CONTINUE, ARBITRATION DECISION EXPECTED Negotiations between Barrick and the Malian government have continued intermittently throughout the year, with a round taking place in August. Weeks later, Barrick announced the sudden departure of CEO Mark Bristow. The parties are also in international arbitration at the World Bank's arbitration court, which is expected to rule on the legitimacy of the provisional administration this month, according to a source aware of the development.  The World Bank's arbitration body did not respond to requests for comment. Mali's industrial gold production fell 32% year-on-year to 26.2 tons at the end of August, weighed down by the Barrick suspension, according to a mines ministry document seen by Reuters last week. (Reporting by Divya Rajagopal and Portia Crowe; Editing by Veronica Brown and Joe Bavier)

(The article has been published through a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has been published verbatim. Liability lies with original publisher.)

By Chen Aizhu, Trixie Yap and Siyi Liu SINGAPORE (Reuters) -The latest U.S. sanctions on Iranian petroleum exports deal a blow to Chinese refining giant Sinopec by targeting a terminal through which the state major handles one-fifth of its crude oil imports, industry executives and analysts said. The sanctions announced on Thursday further complicate U.S.-China relations, coming ahead of planned talks between Presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping later this month. The move follows China's decision to tighten controls on rare earth exports and reflects Washington's continued efforts to restrict Iran’s oil trade with its largest customer. Rizhao Shihua Crude Oil Terminal Co. Ltd, half-owned by a Sinopec logistics unit, was among the entities listed by the U.S. Treasury in a round of sanctions that also includes ships transporting Iranian crude oil and liquefied petroleum gas, as well as an independent Chinese refinery. Rizhao Shihua terminal, in the Shandong province city of Lanshan, was designated for receiving Iranian oil on board sanctioned vessels, the U.S. said. KEY CRUDE HUB UNDER SCRUTINY The terminal, which runs three berths that can service VLCCs, very large crude carriers, is 50%-owned by Sinopec Kantons Holding, a Sinopec-controlled logistics operator, while the remainder is held by local-government-backed Shandong Port Group's Rizhao Port, according to Chinese business portal Qichacha. The majority of crude oil passing through the terminal is handled by Sinopec, according to tanker tracker Vortexa and two industry executives familiar with the port. Sinopec has steered clear of buying Iranian oil, traders and analysts have said. A Sinopec spokesperson did not immediately comment. Calls to Shandong Port Group and Rizhao Port went unanswered and Sinopec Kantons did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The latest measures bring to five the number of sanctioned oil import terminals in the refining hub of Shandong, accounting for half of the province's capacity to handle VLCCs that carry 2 million barrels of oil each. VESSELS MAY SEEK ALTERNATIVE PORTS Shandong, where independent Chinese refiners are clustered, is the largest destination for oil shipments from sanctions-hit Iran, Venezuela and Russia. "Compared to the previous round of sanctions on Chinese terminals, the impact could be larger," said Samuel Kong, senior analyst at FGE, which estimates that only 10-20% of the oil imported at Rizhao is from sanctioned sources. "In the near term, we could see disruptions to discharges around Rizhao, and vessels carrying non-sanctioned barrels might seek alternative ports in Shandong to unload their cargoes." Spot VLCC freight rates for the Mideast-China route gained 3% on Friday, several shipping sources said, buoyed by concerns of congestion or discharge delays resulting from sanctions. Last year, Sinopec imported about 804,000 barrels per day via the Rizhao Shihua terminal, 20% of its total imports, according to Vortexa and one of the industry executives. To avoid using the terminal, Sinopec would be forced to re-direct shipments to other facilities to supply at least two major subsidiary refineries, Sinopec Luoyang Petrochemical in Henan province and Sinopec Yangzi Petrochemical in Jiangsu province. Both plants are connected to the Rizhao terminal via pipelines, the two executives said. These two plants have a combined crude processing capacity of 420,000 bpd. Rizhao terminal indirectly serves several smaller Sinopec refineries along the Yangtze River via pipelines, said a third industry official familiar with Sinopec's refining system. As a workaround, Sinopec may ramp up imports at Ningbo or Qingdao port, or raise throughput at other nearby plants to compensate for possible production cuts at Luoyang and Yangzi, said a second executive, who is close to Sinopec. (Reporting by Chen Aizhu, Trixie Yap and Siyi Liu; Additional reporting by Sam Li in Beijing; Editing by Tony Munroe and Louise Heavens)

(The article has been published through a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has been published verbatim. Liability lies with original publisher.)