It’s possible that I shall make an ass of myself. But in that case one can always get out of it with a little dialectic. I have, of course, so worded my proposition as to be right either way (K.Marx, Letter to F.Engels on the Indian Mutiny)
Wednesday, August 21, 2024
Joe Biden’s critics are attacking him for saying pro-Palestinian protesters ‘have a point.’ His Jewish backers aren’t concerned.
President Joe Biden speaks onstage during the first day of the Democratic National Convention at the United Center on August 19, 2024 in Chicago, Illinois. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
In the face of right-wing criticism, Joe Biden’s pro-Israel backers said they aren’t concerned after he said pro-Palestinian protesters “have a point” in his speech at the Democratic National Convention.
Biden made the statement in the middle of a longer discussion of his efforts to reach a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war. He said he and Secretary of State Antony Blinken were working to head off a regional war, free hostages, deliver increased aid to Gaza “and finally, finally, finally deliver a ceasefire and end this war.”
He added, “Those protesters out in the street, they have a point. A lot of innocent people are being killed, on both sides.”
Biden’s omission of the word “Israel” from the speech, and his apparent acknowledgement of the pro-Palestinian protesters outside the convention, were a departure in tone from previous speeches he’s given in which he has declared his support for Israel even as he seeks a ceasefire deal that would free hostages held by Hamas. Since Oct. 7, he has also rebuffed calls to end his backing for Israel’s military campaign against Hamas in Gaza.
David Makovsky, a fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, said he “immediately” took note of Biden not mentioning Israel. But he said he did not expect the speech to reflect how Biden is approaching ceasefire talks.
“Biden is not, in campaign mode, going to have an impact on the negotiations,” Makovsky told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. “It’s a matter of pride for him to [have] hostages get out. He’s going to do whatever it takes to get a deal. He will be making campaign speeches all along, as he did last night, but when he is governing he will be laser focused on getting a deal.”
Jewish Democrats dismissed concerns about the speech, rejecting the idea that Biden, who has trumpeted his pro-Israel bona fides for decades, is now ceding rhetorical territory to Israel’s adversaries.
“The president’s been very clear, not just for the past three and a half years, but for the past 50 where he stands on the issue of Israel,” Halie Soifer, CEO of the Jewish Democratic Council of America, told JTA. “We have no doubt, not only that he but also that the vice president stands strongly with Israel. His reference to the protesters was clearly that there must be a ceasefire, and that’s something this administration has been calling for, but not just in a vacuum, a ceasefire that ensures the release of all of the hostages.”
One of Biden’s critics said the larger concern was that Biden’s words reflected the mood of Democrats. Rich Goldberg, who worked in the National Security Council during the Trump administration, called Biden’s remarks “a gut punch to Jewish Americans.”
Goldberg, a senior adviser at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told JTA that Biden’s statement had the effect of “legitimizing rioters who pledge support for Hamas and call for a genocide of Jews. No, the people who say they support Oct. 7 don’t have a point — and Biden’s need to say that speaks volumes about what the base of the party wants to hear.”
At least one Jewish Democratic official — though he did not directly criticize Biden or refer to his speech — slammed the anti-Israel protesters the morning after the speech and called for them to be condemned. Rep. Brad Schneider, who represents a suburban Chicago district, said in response to a question about “alienation from Israel” among Democrats that protesters have demonstrated outside his house.
“They scream and they yell,” Schneider said at an event on the convention sidelines hosted by the American Jewish Committee. “They’re calling for [the] end of aid to Israel. What they’re really calling is for the elimination of Israel and the exclusion of the Jewish people from the American political body. They are a minority. They are wrong, and we have to call them out as such.”
Progressive critics of Biden’s Israel policy also looked askance at his remarks on the conflict — because they feel that his actions do not match his words. Simone Zimmerman, a founder of the Jewish group IfNotNow, which is harshly critical of Israel, called his statement about the protesters “absolutely unconscionable and enraging” because his government is still providing military aid to Israel.
Matt Duss, a former foreign policy adviser to Sen. Bernie Sanders, echoed that idea.
“It’s good that the president acknowledged that protesters have [a] point about the huge number of civilians being killed, but that’s not enough,” he told JTA. “He needs to stop sending the bombs that are killing them.”
Aaron David Miller, a former Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiator at the State Department, said Biden’s statement doesn’t reflect an ideological shift.
He attributed the president’s remarks, which were made in the keynote address of a night meant to project Democratic unity, to sentiments across the party, which he said is anxious for the war to end and would not be receptive to what he called Biden’s “I love Israel talking points.”
Miller, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, told JTA, “For a guy who describes himself as a Christian Zionist, who says if there were no Israel we’d have to create one, and who’s had Israel’s back for last 11 months, he could be forgiven for getting caught up in the political moment in front of a Democratic Party — and demonstrators outside — many of whom want a cease-fire yesterday and are appalled by Israeli military tactics and the death toll of Palestinians in Gaza.”
Sautu Voyage — The Uto Ni Yalo’s call for ocean protection and Pacific solidarity
After nearly a decade, the Uto ni Yalo (UNY) is once again embarked on a momentous international voyage on Sunday with its sights set on Tonga — voyaging as an Ambassador of Pacific goodwill to the 53rd Pacific Islands Forum Leaders’ Meeting (PIFLM53).
The UNY and its sister vessels from across the region have long stood as symbols of the Pacific’s resilience, promoting traditional voyaging and sustainable sea transport and advocating for the health of our oceans. The voyage, aptly named “Sautu Voyage – Moana ‘o e Melino,” is a celebration of the shared heritage and ancestral ties between Fiji and Tonga, offering a powerful reminder of the unity and collaboration that defines the Blue Pacific Continent in the face of contemporary challenges, aligning with the Forum’s theme, “Transformative Resilient Pasifiki: Build Better Now.”
At this critical juncture for the Pacific, the Sautu Voyage embodies the ancient wisdom of an “Ocean of Peace,” moving away from its usual security framing to a more cultural understanding, where all depend on the ocean, treat it with respect, and see it as a unifying element that connects our islands rather than divides them—a true source of prosperity for our region.
While in Tonga, the UNY stands ready during the PIFLM53 as a safe space for Talanoa on critical issues that are important to Pacific people and places, advocating for the protection of 30 percent of the Pacific Ocean by 2030 and representing an affirmation of Pacific leaders’ vision of a fossil fuel free Pacific. Our hope is that the image of the UNY, a traditional double-hulled canoe, will inspire our regions’ leaders to embrace the different ways we work together in the Pacific, with State and non-state actors working together for a stable Pacific.
Sautu Voyage Crew and partners on board the UNY.
Rev. James Bhagwan, Trustee of the Uto ni Yalo Trust, emphasised the significance of this voyage: “The Sautu Voyage is more than just a journey; it’s a call to action for the Pacific. As we sail to Tonga, we are reminded of our shared responsibility to protect our oceans and uphold the values that bind us together as one Blue Pacific Continent. This voyage also provides a unique opportunity for young seafarers, some of whom are experiencing blue ocean voyaging for the first time. Building and strengthening our voyaging community—both within the Uto ni Yalo and alongside our sister voyaging societies—will feature prominently on this sail, alongside our calls for strengthened collaboration between civil society organisations and governments to achieve the vision of the 2050 Strategy.”
The voyage is also a celebration of Tonga’s recent acquisition of its own traditional voyaging canoe, the Hinemoana II. As in our Pacific culture communities and families come together to celebrate the birth of a child, we come together to celebrate this significant milestone for Tonga’s traditional voyaging community.
Dr Kathryn Mengerink, Executive Director of the Waitt Institute, a key partner in this voyage, highlighted the importance of this collaboration: “Supporting the Sautu Voyage is part of our commitment to the Pacific’s future. It is an honour to work with the Uto Ni Yalo team, Pacific Leaders, and local partners to progress the vision of protecting 30 percent of the Pacific Ocean by 2030, to ensure its health for the prosperity of the communities that depend on it and for the generations to come.”
This historic voyage has been made possible through the generous support of the Waitt Institute, Blue Prosperity Coalition, Oceans 5, Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty Initiative, Greenpeace Australia Pacific, the Office of the Pacific Oceans Commissioner, with in-kind contributions from National Geographic Pristine Seas, Tradewinds Marine, Value City and Niranjans.
As the UNY sets sail on Sunday, those inspired by this journey also have a unique opportunity to participate. A few paid spots are still available for the return sail, departing Tonga for Fiji on 5 September 2024, offering a once-in-a-lifetime chance to experience the rich tradition of Pacific voyaging firsthand.
This story was originally published at Uto Ni Yalo Trust – Fiji on 16 August 2024, reposted via PACNEWS.
Canada refuses to comment on US sale of Canadian-made weapons to Israel
Rights advocates say Canada is not being transparent and has failed to take danger of arms exports to Israel seriously.
Palestinians stand at the site of an Israeli attack on a shelter that housed displaced people in central Gaza on August 17 [Ramadan Abed/Reuters]
Montreal, Canada – Canada has refused to comment on a planned United States sale of Canadian-made weapons to Israel, after news of the deal drew rebuke from rights advocates who argue the arms will help fuel Israeli human rights abuses against Palestinians.
In a brief statement to Al Jazeera on Tuesday, a spokesman for Canada’s foreign affairs department, Global Affairs Canada, said it “will not speculate on a possible Foreign Military Sale by the United States”.
“Since January 8th, the Government of Canada has not approved new arms export permits to Israel, and this remains the federal government’s approach,” it said.
Canada announced earlier this year that it would not authorise new export permits for weapons to Israel amid mass protests over the country’s war in the Gaza Strip, which has killed more than 40,000 Palestinians over nearly 11 months.
But rights advocates quickly noted that Canada has not revoked existing arms export permits, nor would the prohibition affect Canadian weapons and components that first go to the US before they are shipped to Israel.
Those transfers to the US are difficult to track because of a decades-old preferential trade relationship that allows the North American neighbours to more easily exchange military weapons and related components.
Last Tuesday, the US’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) announced that a company based in the Canadian province of Quebec would be the main contractor in a possible deal to send $61.1m in munitions to Israel.
The company, called General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems Inc, is set to supply tens of thousands of “M933A1 120mm High Explosive Mortar Cartridges and related equipment”, the agency said in a statement. Deliveries are expected to begin in 2026.
Michael Bueckert, vice president of Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME), an advocacy group, told Al Jazeera that the Canadian government “has a responsibility” to stop the shipment.
“If Canada is going to knowingly allow weapons to be transferred to Israel while it claims to be stopping this sort of thing, it just destroys their entire credibility,” he said.
Bueckert added that, with experts accusing Israel of committing “genocide” in Gaza, it also “shows that they’re more interested in public relations than taking action to prevent complicity in genocide”.
The National Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM), another advocacy group, also urged Canada to prevent the transfer.
“Any decision otherwise would render the Government’s earlier weapon permits ban to become moot,” its CEO, Stephen Brown, said in a statement on Tuesday.
On Monday, the left-leaning New Democratic Party (NDP) issued a statement publicly opposing the sale, saying it was “horrified” to learn of Canada’s involvement.
“Canada must not be fuelling the ongoing genocide in Gaza with Canadian-made weapons,” said Heather McPherson, a Canadian parliament member and foreign affairs critic for the NDP.
“By refusing to end arms sales to Israel, including by allowing loopholes to send weapons through the United States, Canada could potentially be complicit in war crimes.”
General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems Inc, the Canada-based company involved in the sale, did not immediately respond to Al Jazeera’s request for comment.
Legal experts have said Canada is flouting its obligations under international law to prohibit weapons transfers to countries when there is a serious risk the equipment could be used in human rights violations. Advertisement
For instance, the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) — a United Nations pact to which Canada is a signatory — bans transfers if states have knowledge the arms could be used in genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and other violations of international law.
The UN’s top court, the International Court of Justice (ICJ), has already said there is a “plausible” risk that Israel is committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.
Rights groups have also documented scores of Israeli military attacks against Palestinian civilians, journalists and humanitarian aid workers across the enclave since the war began.
Against that backdrop, in March, a group of Palestinian Canadians and human rights lawyers sued Canada over exports of military equipment to Israel.
“We are seeking to hold Canada to its own standards and to its international legal obligations,” Henry Off, a board member for Canadian Lawyers for International Human Rights (CLAIHR), one of the groups involved in the case, told Al Jazeera at the time.
“We don’t want the Canadian government to be contributing to the mass starvation and bombardment of Gaza.”
But as Israel’s war in Gaza drags on, rights advocates have urged the government to also close the “loopholes” that allow the country to send weapons to the US with less oversight and fewer reporting requirements.
Bueckert said the Canadian government has failed to take the concerns of its citizens seriously — or take real action to address their calls to end weapons shipments to Israel.
“I think they’ve really been very dismissive and condescending towards the concerns that Canadians have about the very real and dangerous transfer of military goods to Israel,” Bueckert told Al Jazeera.
“I think in general Canada is not taking seriously the legal consequences for its complicity in genocide.”
Circle K owner seeking takeover of 7-Eleven parent company
Canadian-based retail giants have submitted a “friendly, non-binding proposal” to buyout the 7-Eleven chain of stores from its Japanese owners Seven & i.
Circle K is owned by Canadian company Alimentation Couche-Tard and have submitted a “friendly, non-binding proposal” to buyout the 7-Eleven chain of stores.
Tue, 20 Aug, 2024 - 15:00
Mattieu Dion
Circle K owner Alimentation Couche-Tard has approached the parent company of the 7-Eleven convenience store chain for a possible takeover in the latest in a series of ambitious plans by a company that was built on making one deal after another.
Couche-Tard confirmed Monday that it has made a “friendly, non-binding proposal” to Japan’s Seven & i Holdings which had a stock market value of about $38bn (€28.9bn) as of Monday’s close in Tokyo.
There’s no guarantee any agreement can be reached, the company cautioned — and there are significant barriers to completing such a massive deal.
One of those barriers could be US antitrust regulators, who are likely to challenge any deal over concerns it would lead to higher prices for consumers and weaken the job market, the Financial Times reported Tuesday, citing two people briefed on the matter.
Wish list
But if the Canadian company can pull it off, it would be the fulfilment of a dream for founder and Executive Chairman Alain Bouchard, who has been eyeing 7-Eleven for decades.
7-Eleven operates,84,500 franchise stores across 19 countries.
Mr Bouchard made his first approach around 2005, looking for a deal with the Japanese company for its US business, according to a biography published several years ago. The idea was shot down quickly.
Mr Bouchard moved on, targeting a series of convenience store and gas station deals in the US and Europe before eventually turning his sights on Carrefour SA in 2021. Negotiations on a $20bn offer for the supermarket chain died in the morass of French politics, but last year the company landed a smaller deal in Europe, acquiring about 2,200 stores from TotalEnergies SE for €3.1bn.
Today the company has about 16,700 stores spread in 31 countries and territories — 75% of which were added through acquisitions.
Broad horizons
The Circle K owner still sees more opportunities in the US. Less than an hour after confirming its proposal to Seven & i, the company announced the acquisition of 270 GetGo retail and fueling locations from Pittsburgh-based Giant Eagle.
Couche-Tard is now the second-largest US operator with more than 7,100 locations, representing about 5% of convenience stores, and another 2,100 in Canada. The acquisition of 7-Eleven’s 13,000 locations in those two countries has the potential to raise competition concerns.
A spokesperson for Couche-Tard declined to comment beyond the company’s Monday morning statement.
Why Japan's 7-Eleven is on a rival retailer's shopping list
Mariko Oi & Annabelle Liang BBC News
Getty Images 7-Eleven is the world's biggest convenience store chain
When the owner of 7-Eleven announced this week that it had received a buyout offer from a Canadian rival it triggered shockwaves in Japan.
A Japanese company of this size has never been bought by a foreign firm.
Historically, companies from Japan were more likely to buy overseas businesses.
7-Eleven is the world's biggest convenience store chain, with 85,000 outlets across 20 countries and territories.
And it's been especially successful at selling itself as an option for a quick and cheap yet tasty meal, and in places where there is already an abundance of that, such as Japan and Thailand.
"We have more stores than McDonald's or Starbucks," the chief executive of Seven & i Holdings, Ryuichi Isaka, told BBC News before the firm received the buyout offer.
Around a quarter of those 85,000 shops are in Japan, while there are roughly 10,000 in the US.
A big player
In comparison, Quebec-based Alimentation Couche-Tard, which operates the Circle K chain, has almost 17,000 stores in 31 countries and territories. More than half of its outlets are in North America.
The approach valued Seven & i at more than $30bn (£23bn) before news of the preliminary offer emerged.
7-Eleven's shares jumped by over 20% on Monday, before giving up some of those gains the following day.
Analysts point to the Japanese yen's weakness against the US dollar and other major currencies for helping to make Seven & i affordable.
Along with the weakness of the yen, efforts by the Japanese government to promote mergers and acquisitions appear to be working, said Manoj Jain from Hong Kong-based hedge fund Maso Capital.
Getty Images Alimentation Couche-Tard operates the Circle K chain
7-Eleven has been keen to capitalise on the popularity of the food it sells - a wide range, including rice balls, sandwiches, cooked pasta, fried chicken and dumplings.
While in much of the world convenience stores are where people grab a bar of chocolate or a bag of crisps in an emergency, in Japan, shops like 7-Eleven are popular with visitors searching for culinary delights.
These 7-Eleven dishes have turned the chain into a social media sensation in Asia.
Dropping into a 7-Eleven store has even been touted as one of the top things to do in Thailand, where its ham and cheese toastie has become a TikTok hit.
British singer Ed Sheeran is among the celebrities who have helped raise 7-Eleven's profile - a video of him trying snacks from a store in Thailand went viral.
Mr Isaka has been aiming to repeat that success in the US and European markets as the company came under pressure from investors to sell some of its businesses and focus on the 7-Eleven brand.
The firm has been updating its strategy so more stores could follow the approach of its Japanese shops.
"What we found is that stores which sell fresh food are attracting many more shoppers," Mr Isaka said.
"We want to grow with high quality - not just increase the quantity. We want to make sure customers are happy, and increase sales of each store whilst increasing the number of stores," he added.
American roots
Seven & i has also been on a shopping spree. In January, it bought more than 200 stores in the US from petrol station chain Sunoco for around $1bn (£770m).
In April, it bought back more than 750 stores from a franchisee in Australia.
For most of its almost century-long history 7-Eleven was an American brand.
Starting out in 1927 selling blocks of ice that were used to keep fridges cool, it later stocked essential items like eggs, milk and bread.
At the time, the stores were open between 07:00 and 23:00 - hence the name.
Seven & i Holdings The first 7-Eleven store opened in Texas in 1927
As the business grew, 7-Eleven began offering franchises outside the US.
In 1974, Japanese retail firm Ito-Yokado struck a deal to open the country's first 7-Eleven. In 1991, it bought a 70% stake in the chain's US parent company.
Ito-Yokado was renamed Seven & i Holdings in 2005 with the "i" in its name being a nod to Ito-Yokado and Mr Ito, who was by then the company's honorary chairman.
Now, as the the company decides whether it will remain under Japanese ownership or return to its North American roots, experts are wondering whether more of Japan's big firms could become takeover targets.
There is now a "greater willingness of Japanese boards and management teams to accept offshore capital and be receptive to foreign approaches,” Mr Jain said.
More foreign investors may now be encouraged to pursue their interest in Japanese companies, he added.
Manufacturing has become a target with a 71% year-on-year increase in attacks. Credit: Shutterstock
Malwarebytes‘ 2024 State of Ransomware report published today (20 August) shows a surge in malicious activity on US and UK businesses.
As a global leader in real-time cyber protection, the “ThreatDown 2024 State of Ransomware” report reveals an alarming increase in ransomware attacks over the past year.
In the US there has been a 63% increase in ransomware attacks on organisations and businesses, with the UK seeing an even greater rise of 67%.
Gangs carrying out attacks who are not in the top 15 known threat actor groups have increased from 25% to 31% – meaning lesser-known groups are increasing their activity.
This also indicates that the ransomware being used is becoming more accessible to a broader range of cybercriminals and marks a significant shift in the tactics and strategies employed by attackers.
Marcin Kleczynski, Founder and CEO, Malwarebytes said: “Ransomware gangs have time and motivation on their side. They constantly evolve to respond to the latest technologies chasing at their tails.
“We’ve seen this very distinctly over the past year as widespread adoption of technologies like EDR has helped identify attackers before they launch malware, pushing ransomware gangs to work more quickly and put more effort into hiding themselves. Organisations and MSPs need additional support and continuous coverage to out manoeuvre today’s criminals.”
Other key findings in the report include that the US accounts for 48% of all ransomware attacks worldwide and suffers 60% of the world’s attacks on education and 71% of attacks on healthcare.
With a 71% year-on-year increase in ransomware attacks, the manufacturing sector has become a default target for cyber criminals to exploit vulnerabilities.
The report also features insights from the ThreatDown MDR team on three key shifts in the tactics and techniques of ransomware gangs such as Living off the Land (LOTL) Techniques – companies with a dedicated Security Operations Center (SOC) are finding it harder to identify attackers inside their company’s system.
‘Nighttime Attacks’ are also heavily featured in the report with most ransomware attacks happening between 1am and 5am when IT staff are less likely to be present.
It is also reported that the attack chain – how long it takes to execute a ransomware attack, has reduced from weeks to hours.
All three changes in attack strategy highlight the need for rapid detection and response capabilities for businesses.
Workers are now more worried about getting laid off than they were 10 years ago, according to new research from the NY Fed.get
Just when we thought unemployment numbers were holding steady and the labor market was starting to recover, a new survey by the New York Federal Reserve knocks us right back down to earth.
The truth is employees are more worried about losing their job in the next four months than they have been at any point in the last 10 years. Opportunities for promotion, as well as overall job and compensation satisfaction, also fell.
Worker happiness is also moving in a “troubling” direction, according to a survey by BambooHR. Happiness scores tracked from 57,000 employees have dipped since the pandemic, with tech workers in particular hitting a four-year low.
Perhaps in anticipation of getting laid off, or fed up with their current unhappiness, the New York Fed found the percentage of workers looking for a job in the last month peaked at 28.4%. But with cooling hiring rates, falling salaries and likely fewer promotions, employees are even willing to take a lower starting salary for a new job than they were four months ago, according to the survey. It’ll take, on average, $81,147 for a worker to switch to a new employer. This is, however, still higher than last year’s $78,645.
It’s demoralizing to say the least. Our contributors have some tips on how to beat the labor market blues: From “right-spotting” to stay positive in your current job, to getting creative with your job search and even taking the time to learn a new skill or get a new certification, there are things you can do to keep yourself in a better state of mind about your career prospects. On the bright side? You’re likely not the only one feeling this way.
I’m hoping for more uplifting news soon. Happy reading, and hope you have a ✨ very demure, very mindful ✨ week.
Estidamah, Saudi Coffee Company Join Forces to Boost Kingdom’s Coffee Industry
UNSUSTAINABLE
The partnership is part of national efforts to boost local coffee production, which will support the economy and help achieve the goals of the Kingdom's Vision 2030. (SPA)
-20 August 2024 AD Ù€ 15 Safar 1446 AH
The National Research and Development Center for Sustainable Agriculture (Estidamah) and the Saudi Coffee Company signed a strategic memorandum of cooperation aimed at boosting the coffee sector in the Kingdom, reported the Saudi Press Agency on Tuesday.
The partnership is part of national efforts to boost local coffee production, which will support the economy and help achieve the goals of the Kingdom's Vision 2030.
It focuses on various key areas, including localizing modern technologies for coffee cultivation and production, implementing findings from research and applied studies, and boosting the skills of local farmers through training in best agricultural practices in order to improve crop quality and maximize economic returns.
The joint research team will focus on technological innovation and prioritize the use of nanotechnologies and biocatalysts to improve coffee plant growth.
Furthermore, artificial intelligence will be utilized to manage coffee farms more efficiently, ultimately leading to greater productivity and improved quality.
The partnership will explore the possibility of using alternative water sources, including rainwater harvesting, to ensure the long-term sustainability of production and open up new possibilities for expanding coffee cultivation in different regions of the Kingdom.
Estidamah board member Dr. Abdulrahman Al-Saghir said this partnership marks a significant advancement for the Saudi coffee industry by leveraging Estidamah's research expertise with the Saudi Coffee Company's marketing capabilities.
The ultimate objective, he explained, is to position the Kingdom prominently on the global map of coffee production.
Sustainability Director at the Saudi Coffee Company Dr. Abdullah Bokhari said the collaboration marks an important stride toward empowering local farmers and boosting the global competitiveness of local coffee.
The collaboration is anticipated to generate new job opportunities and bolster rural development in coffee-producing areas, thus enhancing the quality of life for local communities.
CEO interview: “Onshore oil industry must generate cash for well decommissioning”
The UK onshore industry needs to raise money to plug and abandon hundreds of redundant oil wells as part of the energy transition, Angus Energy’s chief executive told DrillOrDrop.
Richard Herbert, chief executive of Angus Energy. Photo: Angus Energy
In an extended interview, Richard Herbert said the onshore industry had to follow the North Sea’s example and invest to decommission old wells.
He said:
“It’s not on the same scale as the North Sea was but the [onshore] industry has hundreds and hundreds of wells to abandon safely, so that they don’t pollute future water courses.
Official data analysed by DrillOrDrop shows there are nearly 500 UK onshore wells that are not classed as operating but have not been fully decommissioned. More detailed article coming soon.
Mr Herbert said:
“[site operators] have sites to demolish and return to open fields and someone has to pay for that. And the government won’t pay for it and nobody else is going to pay for it.
“So the industry has to generate some wealth that can be used to reward its shareholders but also can be used responsibly to end the oil era in onshore UK.”
Mr Herbert, who runs the UK’s biggest onshore gas field at Saltfleetby in Lincolnshire, said the onshore industry was playing “a very important role” in the energy transition “that maybe people don’t’ understand when they look at our business model.”
He said:
“the energy transition doesn’t just involve building a lot of windmills and solar farms and everyone buying electric cars and cooking on those electric things, that I can’t cook on.
“It also involves cleaning up more than 100 years of industrial activity and if you look at all these producing fields in the Weald and in the east midlands, it’s a bit like the North Sea.
“the big [offshore] companies are investing billions of pounds now in taking out the platforms and plugging the wells and making it look like it did before we ever went there. We have to do the same onshore.”
He said the investment tax breaks in the energy profits levy – described by fossil fuel opponents as a loophole – were “critical capital allowances that allow the industry to invest and replenish our domestic production”.
Last month, the new Labour government extended the energy profits levy, also known as windfall tax, by another year. It also increased the rate of tax and removed the investment allowances.
Other key points
Mr Herbert has been Angus Energy’s chief executive since 2023 and was a senior executive at BP. As well as Saltfleetby, his company operates onshore oil sites at Balcombe and Lidsey in West Sussex and Brockham in Surrey.
In his DrillOrDrop interview, he also said:
The oil and gas industry had to lower its climate impact but developing domestic oil and gas fields was in the best interests of the country
“We all recognise that we have to continue to lower the impact of oil and gas because of the climate impacts of it.
“But at the same time, it has to be done in the right way.”
He said:
“we are in the very early days of the energy transition. We still rely significantly on oil and gas for our energy, for transportation, for home heating, for electricity generation, for industry, and importing oil and gas when we have domestic resources does not make any sense.
“I think the whole industry recognises that if we are given a chance to produce and develop domestic oil and gas fields it is in the best interests of the country as we manage our way through what’s going to be a complex energy transition.”
Campaigner Sarah Finch who brought the successful legal challenge at the Supreme Court on downstream carbon emissions. Photo: DrillOrDrop
“The reaction I’ve heard since this case was that people are confused about how this is this is going to be interpreted and what does it really mean.”
The court ‘s majority judgement said Surrey County Council should have taken into account downstream emissions from burning oil produced at UKOG’s Horse Hill site when deciding planning permission.
The decision is expected to have widespread implications for carbon intensive industries, including a new coal mine in Cumbria.
Mr Herbert said it was difficult to know how the judgement would affect Angus Energy and the onshore generally. He said “right now we are waiting to see.
“We have a planning application which has just been submitted to drill additional wells at the Saltfleetby gas field and that approval process could be affected by this. At this stage, we remain optimistic that we will get the right outcome and if this involves more work to be clear about the impact of what we’re trying to do then so be it. We can live with that.”
He described the argument, put forward by the former head of BP, John Browne and others, against issuing new North Sea licences as “an interesting point to debate”.
He said:
“I think in terms of production and opportunities to get as much out of the ground now or in the short term to stop us importing, I find it much harder to find arguments against that because that seems to me to be efficient and logical.
“We still have an electricity system that is very dependent on hydrocarbons. We have home heating that is very largely dependent on hydrocarbons. We don’t have that many electric cars on the road yet and a lot of those that are there the electricity is being generated by gas. So we’ve got a long way to go.”
He said he would be “the first to support” Labour’s plans for investment in alternative energy”.
But he said “it can’t come at the cost of the oil and gas industry”.
The energy transition “has to be done in the right way”, he said.
“What doesn’t work right now is the high levels of taxation that were committed by the last government as a knee-jerk reaction to what happened in Ukraine. And rather than seeing those come down as commodity prices have come down again, we’re actually seeing people trying to push them up.”
Angus Energy in southern England
The Weald – potential in question
Mr Herbert described the Weald oil fields in southern England as “small and complicated”.
Asked whether there was potential for future development of oil and gas in the Weald, he said:
“Probably not.”
He said there was “not much public support from the community” for the industry.
Balcombe – well test, stimulation and wrong location
Balcombe residents challenging the Balcombe well test at the High Court. Photo: DrillOrDrop
At Balcombe, where there were near daily protests during drilling in 2013, local people have delayed a well test by bringing a legal challenge. Angus Energy and the Department of Housing, Communities and Local Government will defend the case at the appeal court in January 2025.
Asked whether the Balcombe oil site, in the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, was in the wrong place, Mr Herbert said:
“If we were starting from scratch today, we would say ‘shall we go and explore for oil in an area of outstanding beauty? Probably too difficult’.”
He acknowledged local opposition to the plans, but said they were “borne out of the fear of fracking”. He said he thought the site could be “developed responsibly without putting at risk the water course and everything that’s in the AONB”.
The well would have to be flowed even if it was going to be abandoned, he said.
“the only way to deal with this is to allow the well to be flowed and then we either make a commercial decision to abandon it and put it back to what it was like before we drilled, or we have some encouragement that says we have an asset here that could be developed and which could generate production, taxes, jobs and all the things that we do this for.”
Asked if Angus Energy planned any form of stimulation of the Balcombe well, Mr Herbert said:
“Not in terms of hydraulic stimulation, no. We have not applied in our planning permission to do that. And if we were to develop the field, I think it is extremely unlikely that we would be looking to do that. I can’t say impossible because I don’t know what the test might tell us about the best way to encourage production from the wells.”
He said high volume hydraulic fracturing “never got off the ground in the UK. I don’t think it ever will”.
But he said the industry had been stimulating wells to deal with formation damage “for decades” and “no one ever made a fuss about it”.
“If we wanted to clean up a well and do a very small job on it, that is something that we would have to apply for permission for. It’s not something we have currently applied for.”
Mr Herbert said Angus had no recent contact with Frack Free Balcombe Residents’ Association, the group bringing the challenge to the Balcombe well test.
Brockham and Lidsey – water injection plans
At Brockham, near Dorking, Angus said it was seeking permission to import formation water from other sites to inject into the reservoir. It currently has permission to inject just water from Brockham.
The company restarted production at Brockham in June 2024, after a break of 18 months. New production levels were 40-50 barrels of crude oil a day, Mr Herbert said. But 60% of the output from the field was formation water.
Mr Herbert said:
“we’ve argued successfully that to maximise the recovery from Brockham we need to replace the fluids we’re taking out. And therefore we would like the ability to bring additional tanker loads of water in to make sure that we’re doing that. We’re in the process of putting that together.”
He said this permission would allow Angus Energy to restart production at its Lidsey field, near Bognor Regis, which has no water disposal facilities.
Lidsey produced about 15-20 barrels a day in 2020. Mr Herbert said even at this level of production the field “would still be economic”.
“we have licences from the government to maximise production from these fields so we will do what we can to achieve that. But we can’t make a decision on that until we’re able to consider the movement of the fluids, particularly the water, to Brockham.”
Official figures show the field contributes about 80% of UK onshore gas production. But this represents less than 1% of total UK gas production.
Mr Herbert said the field was currently constrained to about 11 or 12 million cubic feet per day. He said he hoped new wells, workovers and a £3m project to install a booster compressor, would increase production at Saltfleetby.
The company was revising its reservoir model for the field, Mr Herbert said, to shape decisions on future wells and workovers.
Angus and its partner, Trafigua, are also looking at potential gas storage at Saltfleetby. Mr Herbert said “there could be a role” for market-driven storage at the field, where a trader buys a cargo of cheap liquefied natural gas (LNG) and stores it until prices rise.
He added:
“I believe we should take a serious look at carbon capture at this site. This government has both committed to net zero emissions and at the same time acknowledged the role of gas in the foreseeable future. Onshore sites will have to be an essential part of the new strategy.”
He also said once Saltfleetby’s gas was worked out, the company would “be looking to see if there is anything else around”, including oil.
Acquisitions and hedging
Angus has previously hinted about new areas of interest and Mr Herbert suggested this could include additional UK onshore fields:
“we recognise that the company has the potential to grow and we can take on more opportunities.”
He said:
“as a UK onshore producer, the first place people would expect us to look at is onshore UK and there’s quite a lot of companies that are, if not distressed, then they are struggling.
“There’s a logic to potentially combining or adding assets in onshore UK. But this comes back to the attitude of the new government to the environment in which we would be investing.
“I think we need to have clearer rules and a clearer understanding of government direction before we commit to that.”
At the time of writing, Angus Energy’s share price was 0.25p. This is down from 1.37p when DrillOrDrop last interviewed an Angus Energy chief executive.
Mr Hebert said:
“I believe we’re significantly undervalued. We’ve had to fight to get through some very difficult situations in the last 12-18 months.”
The company hedged Saltfleetby gas during a period of lower prices and before production from the field got underway.
Mr Herbert said the bubble in the gas price “largely coincided with the period when the field was still being developed”. He said the situation was worsened by the need to honour hedges when there was no production. He said: “there was a bit of a lost opportunity there”.
The hedging commitments will continue until summer 2025 and cash flow would be lower, Mr Herbert said.
“we’ve got another 12 months of dealing with those, where for quite a significant part of our production we receive a price that is significantly below the current price. That’s just a legacy position that we have to deal with.
“The good news is that 12 months from now that will be gone and we’re still hedging a percentage of our production but we’re doing it at prices that are much more aligned to current market prices so they give us price protection.”
The company restructured its debt earlier this year and Mr Herbert appeared optimistic for the future. He said:
“We have a very strong asset that has very strong cash generating potential”.
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