Sunday, August 28, 2022

CRIMINAL CAPITALI$M
Reports detail how Haiti’s public administration is a cesspool of corruption
2022/08/27
Jose A. Iglesias/El Nuevo Herald/TNS

Fictitious government jobs and contracts, political patronage, embezzlement, and university employees and civil servants who use government bank accounts as their personal checkbooks.

Those are just some of the scandalous findings released late this week by Haiti’s Anti-Corruption Unit following the investigations of 10 different state-run institutions and agencies that include the municipalities of Petit Goave, Fort-Liberte, Saint-Raphael and Anse Rouge; the national lottery; Haiti National Police and the School of Law and Economics in Gonaives.

In all, the conclusion was the same: Haiti’s public administration is a cesspool of corruption in which the actions of civil servants and elected officials go unchecked and they do as they like without concerns about the consequences. The cost has been the loss of millions of dollars from state coffers in a poverty-stricken country lagging behind in development and unable to address deepening inequality in the face of multiple crises.

“There is vast disorder, and waste,” Hans Jacques Ludwig Joseph, the unit’s anti-corruption chief, told the Miami Herald after the release of the 25-page report. “It’s a public administration that has been totally weakened because of this phenomenon we call corruption that is multidimensional and has among its actors prominent personalities.”

The report singles out a number of well-known figures — town mayors, the head of the national lottery, a current member of the board of director of the Central Bank, the government’s regulatory agency, and the former head of the Haiti National Police. The findings range from abuse of office and mismanagement leading to the loss of government revenue to the more serious acts of embezzlement of state funds and property.

The allegations in the reports date back to the government of late Haitian President Jovenel Moise, who took office in 2017 and was killed on July 7, 2021. The reports were released this week, Joseph said, because the investigations were just completed. His investigators have dozens of other allegations they are pursuing on corruption in public administration across the country that they hope to soon publish, he added.

“The system that has been established to verify, control, to anticipate these kinds of actions that public employees and representatives of the state are doing, they are not sufficiently effective,” said Joseph, adding that the next step is for the country’s justice system to do its job. ”I always say that corruption has a name. It’s called impunity. If you do not have an effective justice system that has the political will to pursue individuals, to judge and sanction those that need to be, then it’s difficult to achieve the results that you want.... Now the justice system needs to take the wheel; if it doesn’t than we will be producing reports without getting any results.”

In some cases, Joseph is asking for criminal prosecution on charges of influence peddling, embezzlement of government funds and other acts of corruption. In others, like the one involving the former head of the Haiti National Police, Leon Charles, who was replaced late last year, Joseph is asking for an investigation by government auditors, the Superior Court of Accounts and Administrative Disputes.

Charles, who currently serving at the Organization of American States, is accused of “mismanagement” after failing to inform human resource officials and others within the Haitian national police about officers and civilian employees who had retired, or had been fired or laid off, who were no longer eligible for a stipend increase on their debit cards.

“This slowness caused, for the period from December 2020 to February 2021, a shortfall of around eighteen million two hundred and forty thousand” gourdes the report said, about $144,080 in current exchange rates.

The findings on Charles are among the least egregious. More serious accusations involved loans by the Industrial Development Fund that were given based on political patronage and failed to be reimbursed. Joseph is recommending criminal action against Edgar Jeudy, a current member of the board of directors of the Central Bank, for abuse of office and preventing the function of the justice system in an investigation involving the fund.

Among other allegations in the findings:

—The mayor of Petit Goave, Limongy Samson, housed the town’s city hall in the home of his mother. He is accused of using government funds to make improvements, and his mother is accused of not paying property taxes.

—In Fort-Liberte in northeast Haiti, authorities found “various acts of corruption,” including embezzlement, were carried out “from start to finish” in a project to electrify the town of Dumas. Funds were misappropriated, investigators found, and the laws on public contracts were not respected by either town officials or representatives of the contracting firm.

—In Saint-Raphael, investigators found that funds were granted for a soccer stadium that was never built and the contractors used nonexistent addresses.

—There was a shortfall of more than $2.1 million in the national lottery that should have gone to the government treasury. The anti-corruption unit is recommending public action against the head of the lottery, Marie Margareth Fortune Daudier, for embezzlement of public property and abuse of office, and Jean Moise Fortune for complicity in the embezzlement of public property.

If there is one case that shows how public employees think of themselves as running fiefdoms it’s the Gonaives law school. Investigators said they found “a situation of anarchy, generalized disorder and almost total opacity in the mode of operation” of the school both academically and in terms of administrative and financial plan.

The school’s former president, Luc Benoit Pierre, told investigators that 25% of the 3,000 students were accepted without proof that they had even gradudated from high school. Investigators found that despite multiple efforts by Pierre to take corrective measures, a group of employees circumvented him and succeeded “because of the opposition and bad faith of [law school] officials who take pleasure in this chaotic situation that characterizes the functioning of [the law school] today.”

Two employees, Roland Paphius and Cheddlie Cherenfant, are accused of embezzling $67,396 by issuing checks to staffers for “fictitious services that have nothing to do with the assignments of their respective positions.”

When Pierre learned about what was happening and tried to put an end to the administrative mismanagement by blocking access to the bank accounts for law school officials, the culprits opened a new account, allegedly with the help of the vice dean.

———

© Miami Herald
Morocco Recalls Tunisia Ambassador after Saied Receives Polisario Chief

Sunday, 28 August, 2022 - 

Tunisia's President Kais Saied welcomes the head of the Polisario Front movement Brahim Ghali, upon his arrival in Tunis, Tunisia August 26, 2022. (Tunisian Presidency/Handout via Reuters)
Asharq Al-Awsat

Morocco recalled its ambassador to Tunisia on Friday after Tunisian President Kais Saied received the head of the Polisario Front movement that is seeking independence for Western Sahara, a territory Morocco regards as its own.

Morocco said Tunisia's decision to invite Brahim Ghali to a Japanese development summit for Africa that Tunis is hosting this weekend was "a grave and unprecedented act that deeply hurts the feelings of the Moroccan people".

The row opens a new front in a series of disputes over Western Sahara that has already dragged in Spain and Germany and escalated an overarching regional rivalry between Morocco and Algeria, the Polisario's main backer.

Tunisia has this year grown closer to Algeria, its most populous neighbor and one upon which it relies for energy, with Saied meeting Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune in July.

Tunisia this weekend is hosting the Tokyo International Conference on African Development, which will include heads of state from several African countries.

Tunisia, in response to Morocco's decision, announced it was recalling its ambassador to Rabat for consultation.

Tunisia's ministry of foreign affairs said in a statement early on Saturday that the country maintains its complete "neutrality over Western Sahara issue in compliance with international legitimacy".

It said the African Union had circulated a memorandum inviting all members of the African Union, including the head of the Polisario Front movement, to participate in the activities of the Tokyo International Conference on African Development Summit in Tunisia.

Also, the president of the African Commission extended a direct individual invitation to Brahim Ghali to attend the summit, the statement said.

Senegalese President Macky Sall, who is currently chair of the African Union, is scheduled to speak. The African Union recognizes Western Sahara as a member, but African states are split over both the Polisario and the territory's independence.

In a terse foreign ministry statement, Morocco said it would no longer take part in the summit. It also accused Tunisia of having recently "multiplied negative positions" against Morocco, and said its decision to host Ghali "confirms its hostility in a blatant way".

In 2020 the United States recognized Rabat’s sovereignty over Western Sahara in return for Morocco's agreeing closer ties with Israel.

Since then, Morocco has taken a tougher stance over Western Sahara, withdrawing its ambassadors to Spain and Germany until they moved closer to its stance on the territory.

Algeria has withdrawn its own ambassador to Spain, a major customer for Algerian gas, after Madrid's sudden shift on Western Sahara.

UN Figures Show Russia on Path to Demographic Extinction, Krupnov and Chernyshov Say

Sunday, August 28, 2022

– Yury Krupnov of the Moscow Institute of Demography, Migration, and Regional Development says that United Nations data show that Russia now “faces extinction and disappearance from history;” and Nakanune analyst Yevgeny Chernyshov summarizes the data pointing to that conclusion.

            “By most demographic criteria” reported by the UN, the Nakanune news agency analyst says, “Russia is at the bottom half of all countries and by some it is almost at the very bottom. This is a truth which must be reckoned with.” But instead, the government is in denial and the population is kept in the dark about the true state of affairs.”

            “Most officials are afraid to speak the truth, fearing that they will get in trouble with their bosses and thus continue to present a falsely positive picture of where the country is.” But as they do that, Chernyshov says, “the population is dying out” and doing far more rapidly than many suspect (www.nakanune.ru/articles/119269/).

            He offers the following evidence drawn from 2021:

·       Russia ranks 15th from the bottom of the 236 countries the UN surveyed in terms of mortality rates.

·       This position did not reflect the impact of covid because other countries suffered from that and Russia’s ranking did not change.

·       Life expectancy in Russia fell by 4.5 years in 2021, the second greatest decline among all countries.

·       Russia suffered a million more deaths than births last year, the first time any country has suffered that kind of decline since 1950.

·       Russia ranked 193rd among the countries of the world with a fertility rate of 1.49 children per woman per lifetime.

·       In terms of mortality before age 40, Russia ranked 158th in the world; and in terms of mortality before 60, 179th.

·       Among men between 15 and 60, Russia ranked 212th, below even the poorest African countries.

·       And these figures are especially bad because Russia has succeeded in reducing infant mortality significantly. It ranks 40th in the world in terms of that figure.

Share of Russian Women Killed by Partners Rose Dramatically During Pandemic Lockdown

Sunday, August 28, 2022

  It is a commonplace to assert that the lockdown accompanying the covid pandemic increased stress among family members, but only now are data becoming available showing just how serious the impact of the stress of being confined together for extended periods was in the Russian Federation.  

            According to the Algorhythm of Light, a consortium of Russian women’s rights NGOs, the share of deaths of Russian women at the hands of partners increased from just over half of all such deaths to two-thirds during the pandemic when many couples were prevented from interacting with others outside the home (readymag.com/algorithmsveta/2020-2021/).

            The group compiled these statistics on the basis of court filings and acknowledges that the actual numbers may be even worse. But the increase in such deaths during the pandemic was almost certainly worse in Russia than elsewhere because the government not only failed to have programs to combat it but denied that this was a problem (the-village.ru/city/news/380963-ne-veryat-v-nasilie and tass.ru/obschestvo/8259403).

            Russian women’s rights groups have been calling for the adoption of special laws and programs to prevent violence in the home for more than 30 years without success; and when they appealed at the start of the pandemic for emergency steps, they were no more successful than earlier (kommersant.ru/doc/4310901).

            As a result, the upsurge in deaths from family violence in Russia was far greater than in any other country for which data are available.








OOPS
After cloud-seeding activities in China's Chongqing, experts warn of possible floods


ANI
28th August 2022,

Beijing [China], August 28 (ANI): After cloud seeding activities were carried out to bring precipitation, some parts of China's Chongqing welcomed long-awaited rains recently, but experts warned that the city and the region should prepare for possible flooding and landslides.

Reeling under the severe heatwaves and drought some parts of Chongqing city in Southern China welcomed long-awaited rains as the southwestern municipality has endured brutally hot temperatures this summer for several straight days.

Neighboring Sichuan province also witnessed rainfall in some regions, China Daily reported.

The National Meteorological Center of the country forecasted heavy rains in most parts of Sichuan and Chongqing in the following 10 days.

It said that there will be five to eight rainy days, with precipitation 40-100 percent more than the normal level for the period, and isolated regions will see twice the rainfall typically seen.

"Therefore, residents in affected areas should prepare for flooding and landslide risks since the ongoing dry spell has left caked hillsides less able to absorb fast-moving waters."Zhang Yan, from the city's meteorological bureau, said that the ongoing heat wave in Chongqing is expected to ease, with daily highs in most parts of the municipality struggling to reach 35 C, and wide swathes of rainfall are forecast.

"The city should prepare for the upcoming downpours," China Daily quoted him as saying.

The world's second-largest economy has been hit by record temperatures, flash floods, and droughts this summer, phenomena that scientists have warned are becoming more frequent and intense due to climate change.

The recent heatwave and drought on the Chinese mainland, have severely affected the agriculture sector putting the harvest under "severe threat".

The Agriculture Ministry of China said that the ongoing heat wave is the worst China has seen since records began more than 60 years ago. Southern China in particular has recorded its longest sustained period of high temperatures and sparse rain.

The rice farmers of China have been worst hit by the recent drought and heatwave situation.

The water levels across China are so low that some inland river shipping routes are no longer safe, adding that "a lot of agricultural commodities that are imported passes through these shipping routes which will now be extended by five days, which will push up business costs."Chongqing and Sichuan have also been battling wildfires since last week, exacerbated by high temperatures and water scarcity.

The meteorological administration said that the high temperatures have basically been alleviated in the regions of south China, Jiangxi, and Anhui."In rural Sichuan and Chongqing, the villagers are facing a scarcity of drinking and agricultural water. The increased demand of water forced them to take more water from the rivers for irrigation. Due to this, China's largest river Yangtze has completely dried up in many places. Its size has also reduced considerably. Apart from this, 66 other rivers have also completely dried up.

The national meteorological service renewed its warnings for drought and high temperatures on Tuesday, calling for 11 provincial governments to "activate" emergency responses.

To overcome this ongoing situation, Chongqing's Wansheng district on Friday, carried out cloud seeding activities to bring the region long-awaited precipitation unseen since August 7. Rainfall was also prompted by seeding in other districts including Ba'nan and Qijiang.

"The heat and drought conditions in Chongqing's 22 districts and counties have been slightly alleviated since Thursday after Chongqing conducted enhanced mass cloud seeding operations," the Chongqing Meteorological Bureau said at a news conference on Friday, China Daily reported.

"The city is seeking more opportunities to artificially induce precipitation," the Bureau said. (ANI)
U.S.-backed Syrian Kurdish forces move to halt 'brutal torture' at IS camp





Kurdish internal security special forces patrol inside al-Hol camp

Sun, August 28, 2022 

AL-HOL, Syria (Reuters) - U.S.-backed Syrian Kurdish security forces have launched a new operation targeting Islamic State sleeper cells in a large northeastern detention camp where violence has reached record levels.

At least 44 people including 14 women have been killed this year in the al-Hol camp, which holds internal refugees and families of suspected IS fighters.

"We launched the campaign at this time because of the urgent need brought on by the escalation and increase in violent cases by IS cells in al-Hol camp," said Ali Hassan, a spokesperson for the internal security forces operating in Syria's semi-autonomous northeast.

He told Reuters the victims showed signs of "brutal torture", were often killed with silenced pistols or rifles and their bodies hidden in sewage pipes.

"Compared to last year, there is an increase in the pace of operations within the camp, especially during and after the attempted prison break," Hassan said.

He was referring to a January riot in a northeast Syrian prison, where IS suspects attempting a jailbreak took over part of the detention facility and dozens escaped.

Hassan said perpetrators of the violence in al-Hol likely had contact with IS units still roaming free.

Al-Hol houses around 55,000 people, including Syrians, Iraqis and other nationals who fled IS-held areas as the jihadists faced an onslaught by the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces.

The UN refugee agency in June described the situation at the camp as "catastrophic" saying that an additional "safe space" should be created to protect women and girls from attacks.

The agency said humanitarian organisations had had their facilities vandalised and equipment looted and that repeated lockdowns due to security incidents in the camp meant aid workers had reduced access to people in need.

(Reporting by Orhan Qereman; Writing by Maya Gebeily; Editing by Nick Macfie)

99% PRO

The Pros And Cons Of Deep Sea Mining

  • Experts expect the global metals and minerals market to have a compound annual growth rate of more than 8% between now and 2026 as the energy transition accelerates.

  • As demand for metals and minerals grows, interest in deep sea mining is increasing, although scientists, governments, and environmentalists are concerned about its potential environmental impacts.

  • The longstanding refusal of the U.S. to ratify the U.N.'s Law of the Sea treaty means that it may fall behind in deep sea mining if regulations are agreed upon and mining begins.

While everyone’s sights are set on lithium, a mining boom is taking off across a range of metals and minerals. As the demand for mined minerals accelerates to support the rapidly expanding renewable energy industry, Wall Street is betting big on commodities, with plans for land and deep sea mining picking up the pace around the world. The question is, how will the industry be able to develop at the rapid pace needed to meet the growing global demand while also responding to concerns around its impact on the environment?  Experts expect the global metals and minerals market to grow from $6,877.41 billion in 2021 to $7,507.82 billion in 2022, with a CAGR of 9.2 percent. It will expand even further to $10,274.68 billion by 2026 at a CAGR of 8.2%. The Asia Pacific was the biggest metals and minerals mining region in 2021, followed by Western Europe. Several technological innovations are expected to drive innovation in metals over the next decade from 3D printing to artificial intelligence and big data analytics. The use of drones in mining projects is also expected to make operations more efficient thanks to better monitoring, surveying, and mapping techniques to repair faults, manage inventory, and enhance site safety. 

The anticipated growth of the mining industry has encouraged Wall Street analysts to bet big on the commodities market. Earlier this year, supply-side constraints following the pandemic and the Russian invasion of Ukraine led to a sharp rise in commodity prices. While this has largely settled, due to rising inflation and other global economic concerns, analysts are expecting the market to rally again towards the end of the year. 

Recently, the push for deep sea mining has been greater than ever, as the future demand for metals and minerals looks bright. The question is how to manage the approval of mining in international waters. In 2021, the small island state of Nauru called for the first use of a procedure that gave the UN body the International Seabed Authority (ISA) a 2023 deadline for the fast-track of deep sea mining exploitation rules. But governments, scientists, and environmentalists are concerned about the two-year ultimatum.

During ISA meetings in Jamaica earlier this month, the organization rejected calls to put the issue on the agenda for comment from member states. This means the 167 powers represented in the ISA will not have a chance to comment on the issue before the 2023 deadline. Since the enactment of the two-year deadline, the ISA secretary has established a roadmap, which would allow for commercial deep sea mining operations to start as soon as next year. Regardless of whether the mining code has been finalized or not, the procedure would require the ISA to “consider and provisionally approve” requests for exploitation licenses. 

Several countries are concerned about the environmental implications of rushing a decision on deep sea mining, accusing the ISA of being blindsided by plans to develop the industry at the cost of safeguarding the marine environment. In June, Chile called for a 15-year memorandum on adopting regulations. Chile’s ambassador Constanza Figueroa questioned, “Are we willing to be accomplices to the unknown and irreparable damages submarine mining might cause?” Ecuador’s representative added, “We are not ready… If we act with haste, we could put ourselves in irreversible situations with respect to the marine environment.”  

The deep sea environment holds a wealth of minerals, such as manganese, cobalt, copper, and nickel, which could be used for rapidly growing renewable energy technologies including solar panels, wind turbines, and electric-vehicle batteries. Professors at MIT exploring the potential for deep sea mining explain that sediment on the ocean floor accumulates at a rate of 1 millimeter a millennium, meaning that areas disturbed by mining would take a very long time to recover. This could have a significant biological impact. Experts fear that mining could hurt all surrounding ecosystems and marine life. But on the flip side, many recognize the importance of mining in support of building the components required for a transition to greener energy and the movement away from fossil fuels.  

But while some raise concerns about the impact deep sea mining could have on the environment, others highlight the potential opportunity of becoming one of the first countries to exploit these resources. A deep sea region between Hawaii and Mexico contains greater levels of copper, cobalt, nickel, and manganese than all of its proven land deposits combined. This has driven many mining firms to push for undersea projects. And the Biden government cited a projected 400 to 600 percent increase in demand for critical minerals earlier in the year. However, the U.S. is not currently an ISA member state, meaning it may not be involved in the early stages of deep-sea mining. 

As the demand for metals and minerals continues to increase worldwide, mining activities are rapidly expanding as various countries look to lead the growing global industry. In addition, the nascent deep sea mining industry will likely begin to be developed despite growing environmental concerns over rushing regulations in the sector.

By Felicity Bradstock for Oilprice.com

UK
Union Leader Tells 'SIR' Keir Starmer 
To 'Get A Spine' And 'Stick Up For' Workers

Ned Simons
Sun, August 28, 2022 


Labour needs to “get a spine” and stand up for working people, the general secretary of the Unite union has said.

Sharon Graham told Keir Starmer he is more likely to win the next election if he did more to back workers seeking pay rises as employers make big profits.

“There isn’t really a very strong voice for workers in parliament currently,” she told BBC Radio 4′s Broadcasting House on Sunday.

“It is more likely they (Labour) would get elected more if they spoke up for workers more.”

“I think that if they came out now strongly and said `hang on a second, these abhorrent profits that are going on and what’s happening with the cost of living, this is what we think should happen’ – then I think they would very much get elected.

“From my point of view, I think we are doing Labour a favour actually by saying `look, get a spine, stick up for workers’. Graham told the programme “you cannot defend workers by being silent”.

Starmer has been under pressure from unions and Labour’s left to do more to show support for striking workers across the country.

The party has been embroiled in an internal row over whether MPs and members of the frontbench should be allowed to join workers on the picket line.

Starmer has said Labour needs to move away from being a “party of protest” and instead act like a “government in waiting” with an emphasis on negotiating with unions.

Speaking this morning, Pat McFadden, Labour’s shadow chief secretary to the Treasury, said he did not support a general strike but understands why people are pressing for pay increases.

“Our call on government ministers would be to stop being an absent government and to help resolve these disputes to ensure that people get a decent pay rise, but to do that around the negotiating table,” he told Sky News.

“Nobody wants to see industrial action but it is understandable why people at work want a decent pay rise given the inflationary pressures that they’re feeling right now.”

Canada Set To Miss Out On A Massive LNG Opportunity

  • Despite Canada's huge gas reserves, the country does not own a single LNG export terminal.

  • Canada’s energy regulatory framework is notorious for scaring away oil and gas projects.

  • At current prices, just one facility for exporting superchilled gas could be adding nine figures to the Canadian GDP each day.

Shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine in late February, dozens of Eurozone countries pledged to heavily cut Russian natural gas imports or halt them completely as soon as they could afford to. These countries took several aggressive measures to replenish their natural gas stockpiles ahead of the winter season, including reaching a political agreement to cut gas use by 15% through next winter. It’s, therefore, little wonder that Germany--the country’s worst hit by the Russian energy crisis-- is currently on a mad dash to secure alternate sources of gas before the onset of winter. But here’s the biggest irony of them all: Germany and Europe are more likely to secure future gas supplies from Mozambique, one of the world’s poorest nations with scant infrastructure, riddled with terrorism and located 8,140km away from Germany, than Canada, one of the biggest producers of the stuff, with more than a dozen potential LNG sites and a ‘mere’ 6,400km away.

Indeed, this might turn out to be one of the biggest missed opportunities in Canadian history considering that at current prices, just one Canadian port exporting superchilled gas could be adding nine figures to the Canadian GDP each day. 

Love-Hate Relationship

Canada is the planet’s fifth largest producer of natural gas and ranks 15th in the world for proven natural gas reserves. The country’s biggest problem simply is lack of infrastructure--and political goodwill.

It’s somewhat shocking to learn that Canada does not own a single LNG export terminal, with virtually all the country’s natural gas exports delivered to the United States via pipeline. It’s not for lack of trying though. In recent years, Natural Resources Canada says it has received proposals for 18 LNG export projects, including five on the East Coast. Currently, just one terminal is under construction, with a second not quite poised to break ground.

In sharp contrast, Mozambique is gearing up for a $100B LNG windfall, with the country poised to ship its first cargo of liquefied natural gas (LNG) overseas at a time when prices have soared to record highs with Europe desperately trying to cut energy ties with Russia. 

According to ship-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg, the BP-operated LNG tanker British Mentor was slated to arrive this week at a new floating terminal that Italian energy giant Eni S.p.A. is completing off Mozambique’s northern coastline. Eni has said that commissioning activities at the Coral-Sul FLNG vessel were progressing well, with first exports to be communicated in due course. The Italian company is already planning a second floating export platform in the southern African country that could be completed in less than four years. 

All that progress despite the fact that Mozambique has been plagued by terrorism, civil strife and rampant systemic corruption for decades, to a point where it has been unable to exploit its vast fossil fuel reserves leading to its status as the world’s third poorest nation.

You can blame this state of affairs on Canada’s love-hate relationship with fossil fuels.

Despite the Canada–United States Free Trade Agreement in 1988, a sense of ambivalence towards fossil fuels prevails to this day. In the current geopolitical climate, oil and gas are both hated and adored. Hated because of their outsized role as the number one climate change pariah. Adored as an alternative source of natural gas, especially since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the attendant threat that Moscow might cut off gas supplies to Europe.

Back in March, Canadian Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson announced that Canada has the capacity to increase oil & gas exports by up to 300,000 barrels per day (bpd) by the end of this year to help improve global energy security. He also added that Canada is looking at ways it may be able to displace Russian gas with liquified natural gas (LNG) after requests for help from Europe. Currently, a Shell-led consortium is building a large LNG facility on the west coast at Kitimat which is due for completion around 2025, but the country exports zero LNG.

But it need not be this way. Canada’s energy regulatory framework is notorious for scaring away oil and gas projects, and in February turned down a $10-billion LNG export facility planned for Saguenay, Quebec largely on the grounds that it would increase greenhouse-gas emissions. All five of the now-languishing East Coast projects were in the planning stages as early as 2015 but have been held back by a hostile and byzantine regulatory climate.

At this stage, it’s not 100% clear whether Canada is ready to relax its attitude towards fossil fuels. 

Recently, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau went on record saying that exporting LNG  from Canada’s east coast to Germany could ease Europe’s gas crunch: “It’s doable, we have infrastructure around that,” he said at a joint press conference with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz though he failed to offer a timeline when asked for one. 

However, as Politico notes, doable doesn’t necessarily mean realistic, especially given that Europe wants to slash Russian gas purchases by two-thirds by the end of the year. 

In the same vein, Trudeau conceded that weak business cases have kept proposed export facilities from moving forward: “Right now our best capacity is to continue to contribute to the global market to displace gas and energy that then Germany and Europe can locate from other sources,” Trudeau has conceded.

Recent comments by Canadian gas producers are also quite telling. In an interview this weekEnbridge Inc. (NYSE: ENB) CEO Al Monaco hinted at Canada’s infamous industry red tape when he said the country needs to “get out of our own way when it comes to energy and building infrastructure.

Perhaps not even sky-high natural gas and LNG prices are enough to persuade Trudeau's administration to change its stance on oil and gas. But as they say, you never really know, considering that the U.S. only began exporting LNG in 2016, and has managed to become the world’s leading LNG exporter in such a short space of time.

By Alex Kimani for Oilprice.com

Samarco mine disaster settlement talks irk Brazil officials as deadline approaches

Bloomberg News | August 24, 2022 

Reconstruction efforts at Samarco’s Fundão tailings dam in 2017. (Image courtesy of BHP)

The latest talks over a multibillion-dollar settlement for a 2015 mining disaster failed to yield a deal, with Brazilian officials signaling the two sides are still far apart with time running out.


“We don’t have an agreement and no perspective that we’ll have one,” Minas Gerais State Planning Secretary Luisa Barreto said in an interview Wednesday after a new round of conversations in Brasilia with representatives of the Samarco iron ore mine and its owners Vale SA and BHP Group.

Without saying how much the companies are offering, Barreto said their proposal falls short of the required environmental and social compensation for a tailings dam collapse that killed as many as 19 people and contaminated waterways in two states. Minas Gerais Attorney General Jarbas Soares Jr. said on Twitter that authorities won’t return to the negotiating table unless there’s a “minimally worthy” new offer.



The companies previously offered 52 billion reais ($10 billion), people with knowledge of the matter said earlier this month. That compares with a 155 billion-real public civil action for reparation.

Brazil’s Supreme Court President Luiz Fux has been acting as mediator in the renegotiation process after an initial arrangement failed to address many of the needs, with allegations of shortfalls in the foundation created to manage payments.

Fux has committed to resolving the case before stepping down on Sept. 9 in an attempt to give affected communities a clear framework for reparations and replace other lawsuits. After that, authorities would undertake the necessary measures to obtain reparations, Barreto said, without elaborating.

Samarco, Vale and BHP said they remain committed to repairing the damage caused by the dam collapse, and to the negotiation process. BHP said the Renova Foundation, which was created to compensate for and repair damages, has disbursed 23 billion reais and provided aid for more than 389,000 people.

Samarco has been under bankruptcy protection since April 2021 as it seeks an agreement with creditors.