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)
Thursday, December 19, 2024
Melting sea ice in Antarctica causes ocean storms, scientists say
Scientists know the damaging consequences of the loss of Antarctic sea ice
- Copyright AFP Ludovic MARIN
The record-breaking retreat of Antarctic sea ice in 2023 has led to more frequent storms over newly exposed parts of the Southern Ocean, according to a study published Wednesday.
Scientists know that the loss of Antarctic sea ice can diminish penguin numbers, cause ice shelves to melt in warmer waters, and impede the Southern Ocean from absorbing carbon dioxide.
But this new research, published in the peer-reviewed journal Nature, explores another consequence: increased heat loss from the ocean to the atmosphere, and an associated rise in storms.
Since 2016 there has been a large-scale reduction in Antarctic sea ice, but nothing like 2023 when a record amount failed to reform over the winter.
For this study, Simon Josey of the UK’s National Oceanography Centre and colleagues focussed on three regions that experienced unusually high levels of sea-ice retreat that year.
Using satellite imagery, ocean and atmospheric data, and wind and temperature measurements, they found some newly ice-free areas experienced double the heat loss compared to a stabler period before 2015.
This was accompanied by “increases in atmospheric-storm frequency” over previously ice-covered regions, the authors found.
“In the sea-ice-decline regions, the June–July storm frequency has increased by up to 7 days per month in 2023 relative to 1990–2015.”
The loss of heat caused by reduced sea ice could have implications for how the ocean circulates and the wider climate system, the study added.
Oceans are a crucial climate regulator and carbon sink, storing more than 90 percent of the excess heat trapped near Earth’s surface by greenhouse gas emissions.
In particular, sea-ice retreat could mean changes in how a deeper layer of cold, dense Antarctic bottom water absorbs and stores heat.
The authors said further in-depth analysis of possible climate impacts were needed, including if sea-ice retreat could have even further-reaching consequences.
“Repeated low ice-cover conditions in subsequent winters will strengthen these impacts and are also likely to lead to profound changes further afield, including the tropics and the Northern Hemisphere,” it said.
Myanmar junta FM briefs neighbours on election plans: Thai FM
By AFP December 19, 2024 Ethnic and pro-democracy rebels are fighting junta forces in Myanmar
- Copyright AFP/File STR
Myanmar’s junta-appointed foreign minister briefed officials from five neighbouring countries on the military’s repeatedly delayed plans to hold elections, Thailand’s foreign minister said on Thursday.
The Myanmar military seized power in 2021, making unsubstantiated claims of massive electoral fraud in 2020 polls won resoundingly by the Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD).
It has since unleashed a bloody crackdown on dissent and as fighting ravages swathes of the country has repeatedly delayed plans for fresh polls that critics say will be neither free nor fair.
Junta-appointed foreign minister Than Swe met diplomats from China, India, Bangladesh, Laos and Thailand for an “informal consultation”, Thai foreign ministry spokesman Nikorndej Balankura told reporters.
Myanmar “outlined very broadly that progress is being made towards an election” in 2025, he said, adding that no details, including an exact date, were discussed.
The talks in Bangkok were hosted by Thai foreign minister Maris Sangiampongsa and come a day ahead of informal talks on Myanmar hosted by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) bloc.
ASEAN, of which Myanmar is a member, has made little progress towards resolving the Myanmar crisis.
Thailand, which regularly hosts thousands of people fleeing the conflict, has held its own bilateral talks with Myanmar’s junta leaders.
In 2023 its then foreign minister also said he had met briefly with Suu Kyi, who has been in military custody since the coup.
The junta has several times pushed back a timetable for fresh polls as it struggles to crush widespread opposition to its rule from ethnic rebel groups and pro-democracy “People’s Defence Forces”.
In 2022, the junta-stacked election commission announced that Suu Kyi’s NLD would be dissolved for failing to re-register under a tough new military-drafted electoral law.
China, the junta’s most important ally, has grown increasingly alarmed at the conflict on its doorstep and in October called for a “reconciliation led by all people of Myanmar”.
Earlier this year, its foreign minister said Beijing backed the junta’s plans for polls.
The United States has said any elections under the junta would be a “sham”, while analysts say polls would be targeted by the military’s opponents and spark further bloodshed.
Portugal, Spain, France bust contaminated seafood ring
Mickael Vallee, a professional fisherman, holds glass eels he fished in Cordemais, western France - Copyright AFP JEAN-SEBASTIEN EVRARD
A European operation has spared revellers a potential food poisoning nightmare before Christmas, seizing 30 tonnes of molluscs illegally fished in polluted waters and arresting 62 suspects, authorities said on Thursday.
Law enforcement in Portugal, France and Spain seized the molluscs and six tonnes of glass eels worth up to 10 million euros ($10.4 million) on the seafood market, Europol said.
The delicacies can fetch up to 25 euros per kilo (2.2 pounds), but poaching gangs exploited Asian workers by paying them just one euro per kilo of molluscs fished in contaminated Portuguese waters.
This made the case the first proven crime in the European Union combining environmental offences and human trafficking for labour exploitation, Europol added in a statement.
The gangs mainly fished Japanese clams, especially popular during the Christmas season on the Iberian Peninsula, and falsified the documentation to present them as fit for consumption.
This could have sparked a public health alarm as the continuous consumption of contaminated molluscs puts people at risk of developing serious illnesses including hepatitis.
Spain-based companies imported the seafood from neighbouring Portugal and sold them without carrying out obligatory sanitary measures to boost their profits, the Spanish Civil Guard added in a statement.
The operation, coordinated by Europol, involved the Civil Guard, French gendarmes and Portugal’s National Republican Guard.
First severe bird flu case in US sparks alarm
AFP December 18, 2024 Rescued chickens gather in an aviary at Farm Sanctuary's Southern California Sanctuary in Acton, California
- Copyright GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP/File MARIO TAMA
Issam AHMED
An elderly patient in Louisiana is in a “critical condition” with severe avian influenza, US authorities announced Wednesday, the first serious human case in the country as fears grow of a possible bird flu pandemic.
The new case brings the total number of infections in the United States during the current 2024 outbreak to 61, with other patients experiencing mild symptoms they recovered from at home.
The severity of the Louisiana case has heightened alarm, echoing similar cases worldwide. Last month, a teenager in Canada was also hospitalized with a severe case of bird flu.
According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Louisiana patient was exposed to sick and dead birds in backyard flocks.
“The patient is experiencing severe respiratory illness related to H5N1 infection and is currently hospitalized in critical condition,” the Louisiana health department said in a statement to AFP, adding the person has underlying medical conditions and is over the age of 65.
“Over the 20-plus years of global experience with this virus, H5 infection has previously been associated with severe illness in other countries, including illnesses that resulted in death in up to 50 percent of cases,” Demetre Daskalakis, a senior CDC official told reporters on a call.
“The demonstrated potential for this virus to cause severe illness in people continues to highlight the importance of the joint… US federal response,” he added.
The case was confirmed last Friday, according to the CDC. Genetic sequencing revealed that the H5N1 virus in the patient belonged to the D1.1 genotype.
This genotype has recently been detected in wild birds and poultry in the United States, and in human cases reported in Washington state and in the Canadian case, in British Columbia province.
The D1.1 genotype differs from the B3.13 genotype, which has been identified in dairy cows, some poultry outbreaks, and human cases with mild symptoms such as conjunctivitis.
A handful of US cases have had no known animal source of infection, including a case in Delaware, the CDC reported on Wednesday.
Health authorities, however, say there is still not enough evidence to suggest human-to-human transmission is occurring and that the overall risk to the general public remains low.
– Mounting concern –
Still, concerns are mounting among scientists and public health experts that the cases being detected represent only a fraction of the true prevalence.
Meg Schaeffer, an epidemiologist at the US-based SAS Institute, told AFP recently there were now several factors suggesting that “avian flu is knocking on our door and could start a new pandemic any day.”
US cases have included a young child in California, reported last month.
The current US outbreak of the flu — technically the Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza, or H5N1 bird flu — was first reported in March in dairy cows.
The rising frequency and diversity of mammalian infections in recent years have heightened concerns about the virus’ adaptability and its potential for cross-species transmission.
Compounding these concerns is the possible role of raw milk as a vector for transmission.
The US Department of Agriculture issued a new federal order requiring that raw milk samples be shared on request from any dairy farm and milk transporter.
The order also mandates that any samples testing positive for bird flu be reported to federal authorities.
Uncertainty looms over how the incoming administration of President-elect Donald Trump will address the outbreak.
Trump’s pick for health secretary, vaccine skeptic and conspiracy theorist Robert F. Kennedy Jr., is a known proponent of raw milk, raising questions about the administration’s stance on public health measures.
Amazon workers in US strike days before Christmas
By AFP December 19, 2024 Workers at several Amazon facilities from southern California to New York are picketing - Copyright AFP/File Benoit PEYRUCQ
Thousands of workers at Amazon facilities across the United States went on strike Thursday, the Teamsters Union said, halting work at the height of the busy holiday gift-giving season.
The union, which says it represents some 10,000 workers at the massive online retailer’s facilities around the country, called the action the “largest strike against Amazon in US history.”
Workers will picket at facilities in New York, Atlanta, southern California, San Francisco and Illinois, with other Amazon Teamsters “prepared to join them,” the union said in a statement.
“The nationwide action follows Amazon’s repeated refusal to follow the law and bargain with the thousands of Amazon workers who organized with the Teamsters,” it said.
Less than a week before the Christmas holiday, the strike threatens a significant disruption of deliveries of Amazon orders as Americans rush to send last-minute gifts.
“If your package is delayed during the holidays, you can blame Amazon’s insatiable greed,” Teamsters boss Sean O’Brien said in the statement.
“We gave Amazon a clear deadline to come to the table and do right by our members. They ignored it.”
Workers at a New York facility became the first Amazon employees to unionize in April 2022, with several other sites since following suit.
Originally an independent union, the Amazon workers voted in June to affiliate with the Teamsters.
Amazon has repeatedly sought to block the unionization efforts, with legal proceedings still ongoing.
The Teamsters represents only a tiny fraction of the 1.5 million employees at Amazon, the nation’s second largest private employer after Walmart.
The union has some 1.3 million members nationwide in sectors ranging from freight delivery to cafeteria employees.
In the 2024 presidential election, the union chose not to endorse either Donald Trump or Kamala Harris, the first time it did not back the Democratic nominee since 2000
White House unveils new climate goals weeks before Trump’s return
By AFP December 19, 2024 US President Joe Biden speaks on Earth Day at Prince William Forest Park on April 22, 2024 in Triangle, Virginia
- Copyright GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP/File Andrew Harnik
Issam AHMED
President Joe Biden’s administration on Thursday unveiled a new climate target under the landmark Paris accord, just weeks before Donald Trump’s return to the White House threatens to upend US efforts to combat global warming.
According to a White House Statement, the United States commits to reducing economy-wide greenhouse gas emissions by 61-66 percent below 2005 levels by 2035, reflecting the world’s second-largest polluter’s goal of limiting long-term heating to 1.5 degrees Celsius.
“I’m proud that my administration is carrying out the boldest climate agenda in American history,” Biden said in a video statement hailing the new measures, aimed at keeping the United States on the path to net zero emissions by 2050.
“We will turn this existential threat into a once-in-a-generation opportunity to transform our nation for generations to come.”
But his climate legacy hangs in the balance, with Trump’s second term expected to bring sweeping rollbacks of environmental protections and a retreat from international commitments, including the Paris agreement, mirroring his first term.
“In his first term, President Trump advanced conservation and environmental stewardship while promoting economic growth for families,” Trump-Vance transition spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said in a statement to AFP.
She added Trump’s policies “produced affordable, reliable energy for consumers along with stable, high-paying jobs” and vowed that his second term “will once again deliver clean air and water for American families while Making America Wealthy Again.”
– States and businesses to the rescue?
In a call with reporters, Biden’s global climate envoy John Podesta acknowledged that while Trump “may put climate action on the back burner,” he remained confident in the private sector and state and local governments to drive progress.
“That’s not wishful thinking — it’s happened before,” he stressed.
Environmental groups broadly welcomed the new targets, which were due before a deadline in February and include a commitment to reduce emissions of super polluting methane by 35 percent by 2035.
“This provides an important rallying point and benchmark for forward-looking states, cities, and businesses that understand addressing climate change is good for the economy,” Rachel Cleetus of the Union of Concerned Scientists told AFP.
“Even though the Trump administration may not lift a finger to deliver on this plan, it sets a north star for what the US should be aiming for,” added Debbie Weyl of the World Resources Institute.
– Bold record, with caveats –
Biden’s administration arguably pursued the most ambitious climate agendas in US history, marked by rejoining the Paris agreement, passing the Inflation Reduction Act with record clean energy investments, and committing to protecting 30 percent of land and water by 2030.
Yet critics point to the contradiction of the US maintaining its status as the world’s largest fossil fuel producer, complicating efforts to lead on global climate action.
While China is the world’s largest emitter, the United States remains the largest historic polluter, amplifying its responsibility to address the climate crisis, environmentalists argue.
Despite progress, the US remains off-track to meet its current 2030 target of reducing emissions by 50-52 percent below 2005 levels.
A recent report by the independent Rhodium Group said the United States was on track to achieve only a 32-43 percent reduction by 2030, though a senior Biden administration official said their own estimate “now reaches up to 45-46 percent.”
Meanwhile, the European Union — the world’s fourth largest emitter — is debating a 90 percent reduction by 2040 over 1990 levels, but will likely miss a February UN deadline to file its revised climate roadmap.
Neil Makaroff, an analyst at the Strategic Perspectives think tank specializing in climate transition, said the European Union is “behind schedule” in presenting its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) and is “unlikely to fit into the UN timetable”.
Market trends and falling renewable energy costs may limit backsliding under Trump, but Cleetus cautioned against complacency, highlighting concerns about fossil fuel expansion.
“Regardless of the politics, the science and what’s happening in the world are very clear,” she said, noting that 2024 is on track to be the hottest year on record as climate catastrophes mount.
Even if Trump withdraws the United States from the Paris Agreement on his first day back, the process takes a year.
In the meantime, his administration could revise or simply ignore the US NDC — the voluntary pledge underpinning Washington’s climate commitments to the United Nations.
Biden Administration Races to Approve Green Funding Ahead of Trump Presidency
The Biden administration is rapidly approving green energy loans to solidify progress on the U.S. green transition before Trump's inauguration.
Trump has vowed to cut spending on renewable energy and boost fossil fuel production, putting green initiatives at risk.
The Department of Energy's Loan Programs Office is working to finalize as many loans as possible, but faces criticism for the rushed process.
Following the recent election of Donald Trump as the next president of the U.S., the Biden administration is racing to approve huge quantities of green funding to ensure the U.S. gets the best chance possible at a green transition. The Biden government’s far-reaching climate policy, the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), is under threat as President-elect Trump has repeatedly threatened to cut spending on renewable energy and clean tech in favour of greater fossil fuel production. The government is, therefore, racing to advance clean energy before Trump’s inauguration in January.
The Loan Programs Office at the Department of Energy (DoE) is working to finalise as many loans as possible before the change of government in January, as its future looks uncertain. During Biden’s leadership, the office announced around $54 billion in loans or loan guarantees, which is just a small portion of its total lending power, for projects such as the Rivian electric car factory in Georgia and a massive power line in the Midwest. However, the office has closed just $13.5 billion of the deals to date.
Kennedy Nickerson, a former policy adviser to the loan programs office, stated, “They see the writing on the wall… They want to get out as much money as possible just to safeguard as much progress as they can.”
Companies expecting a payout from the Loan Office are now worried that loans could be delayed or stopped under the new Trump administration. In addition to losing out on critical funds and threats to the advancement of the U.S. green transition, some company leaders believe that if their projects are delayed it leaves space for China to move ahead, which could be detrimental to U.S. geopolitical aims.
he passing of the IRA in 2022, the Loan Programs Office was made responsible for the distributin of up to $400 million in funding. The office, which was established in 2009, has input from thousands of experts at the DoE, making it better prepared to assess green energy and clean tech projects than most commercial banks.
Since Biden’s inauguration in January 2021, the office has approved $34 billion in loans for the electric vehicle (EV) and battery industries, aiming to counter China’s dominance in the global market. Funds have been awarded to battery manufacturers and automakers, to strengthen domestic EV and battery supply chains. It has also provided financing for several novel technologies to drive innovation that could help advance the U.S. green transition.
The office is now racing to finalise various funding decisions for fear that Trump may attempt to halt green spending once in office. In his July Party Platform, Trump stated his intention to DRILL, BABY, DRILL.” He said, “We will become Energy Independent, and even Dominant again. The United States has more liquid gold under our feet than any other Nation, and it’s not even close. The Republican Party will harness that potential to power our future.”
During his first term in office, Trump rolled back over 100 environmental rules and withdrew the U.S. from the Paris climate agreement, which it had joined in 2015. He also sought to establish more opportunities for new drilling on federal land and offshore drilling.
Trump has been adamant about his intention to halt programmes and funding from the IRA. “My plan will terminate the Green New Deal, which I call the Green New Scam. Greatest scam in history, probably,” Trump said in a September speech. He also stated plans to overturn Biden administration regulations on vehicles, power plants, and household appliances.
The rush to approve funds has been criticised by the opposition in recent weeks. A letter from three House Republicans addressed to the head of the Loan Programs Office, Jigar Shah, stated, “The last-minute drive to expedite loans exposes the federal government — and American taxpayers — to tremendous risk.”
Shah responded by saying, “Our process remains the same… We continue to do everything with a fine-toothed comb. But right now, borrowers are sufficiently motivated to move more quickly.”
The rush to finalise funding decisions started even before the November presidential election when the office recognised the potential shift in policy approach. In October, Katie Harris with BlueGreen Alliance, a coalition of union and environmental groups, stated, “The Biden-Harris administration is trying to get this money out the door and get it fully obligated.” Harris added, “It’s quite the undertaking.”
By early September, $61 billion in climate funding had been awarded across several government departments, such as the Environmental Protection Agency, with much of it allocated this year. This figure does not include the significant tax credits that have been awarded.
While it will be impossible to complete all the pending loans under the Loan Programs Office and other government agencies, the Biden administration is making a clear effort to distribute the funding as quickly as the bureaucratic process will allow to ensure that the U.S. is given the best possible chance at a green transition.
By Felicity Bradstock for Oilprice.com
What is a trade deficit — and does it matter to the economy?
By Christopher Reynolds,
The Canadian Press
December 19, 2024
In a post on Truth Social early Wednesday, Donald Trump claimed his country is financially supporting its northern neighbour.
The U.S. president-elect wrote that “we subsidize Canada to the tune of $100,000,000 a year” — an apparent reference to a previous claim about a $100-billion trade gap — and said the imbalance “makes no sense.”
“Many Canadians want Canada to become the 51st State,” he said in the post, made at 3:23 a.m. EST.
In fact, the U.S. trade deficit sat at US$41 billion in 2023, according to figures from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. What is a trade deficit?
On the global stage, countries export some goods and services while importing others. A trade deficit occurs when the dollar value of a country’s imports is more than its exports.
Each country has an overall global trade balance, as well as various balances with other states they buy and sell with — for example, the one between the United States and Canada.
More than $3.5 billion in goods and services cross the border daily, with the U.S. comprising Canada’s closest largest trading partner. More than two-thirds of Canadian trade is with its southern neighbour, and Canada is among America’s top trading partners as well. What are key factors behind the U.S. trade deficit with Canada?
It mainly boils down to oil. Virtually all of Canada’s crude oil exports and much of its other energy products flow south. Energy exports accounted for more than $177 billion or roughly 28 per cent of Canada’s goods exports to the U.S., according to the federal government.
“If we exclude oil ... the U.S. is actually benefiting from this trade relationship,” said Salim Zanzana, an economist at the Royal Bank of Canada.
The idea that an imbalance necessarily hurts a country is misplaced, said Stuart Trew, director of the trade and investment research project at the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives.
“This is actually not a problem for the United States,” he said.
“It’s actually creating jobs in the United States ... Most of the oil we send to the United States, at least from Alberta, is refined in U.S. refineries employing thousands of people. And that is then turned into products like plastics, like chemicals, like fuels — also in the United States.
“The other thing is that they need that oil,” he added.
That sentiment enjoys support from Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, who posted a similar argument on X in response to Trump.
“Canada (especially Alberta) sends billions of raw materials (oil, gas, minerals, grain, livestock, timber, etc) to your U.S. refineries and factories which your great American companies and workers upgrade and sell around the world, including back to Canada (we are your biggest customer by a mile),” she wrote.
“Literally millions of good paying American jobs and companies rely on these affordable raw materials from Canada to make trillions of dollars of wealth in your country.” Does a trade deficit mean the country’s economy is weak?
Trump has both suggested that Canada’s trade surplus with the U.S. is a point of pride for Canadians — “they were bragging and got caught!” he said in a Twitter post in 2018 — and a point of shame: “we subsidize Canada...”
But experts say a trade deficit or surplus is not in itself good or bad.
The focus should be on overall trade and investment between countries, Trew said. If cross-border trade goes up, as it has for decades, both nations can benefit.
Each can leverage their comparative advantage in different areas — crude oil in Canada and machinery production in the U.S., for example — while closely integrating their supply chains in other fields such as automotive manufacturing.
“They export way more services to us,” Trew noted. “You turn on Netflix, you turn on Amazon Prime. It’s not problematic.”
He qualified that the massive imbalance in goods trade with China is an issue “if your goal is to enhance your manufacturing capacity,” since cheaper Chinese-made consumer products can undercut American suppliers. Why is this not as simple as winners and losers?
Observers suggest Trump is using the trade gap as a pretext to raise tariffs or gain leverage in negotiations around the Canada-U.S.-Mexico free-trade agreement.
“Mr. Trump’s method is pretty well known. You hit the other side over the head, force them to react and maybe make concessions, and then you negotiate,” said former Quebec premier Jean Charest, now a partner at the Therrien Couture Joli-Coeur law firm, in an interview on Wednesday.
Trump has threatened to impose 25 per cent tariffs on all goods from Canada unless it stops the flow of migrants and illegal drugs into the U.S.
Charest stressed the tightly braided supply chains in auto and other manufacturing sectors.
“If you put a tariff on it, you’re really putting a tariff on yourself,” Charest said. “Components that go into building cars may cross the border up to seven times until the final building of a car.” What are the ramifications of Trump’s fixation on trade gaps and tariffs?
If the incoming president sees trade gaps as an imbalance to be corrected — or compensated for — the ripple effects would be far-reaching.
“It could spread to non-trading industries,” Zanzana said of potential tariffs. “There’s also a risk of retaliatory tariffs, which Canada has done in response to previous tariffs on steel and aluminum.”
He also cited lower growth, higher inflation, weaker business investment and greater uncertainty as likely outcomes.
Zanzana framed a trade deficit as a form of borrowing. Since the value of imports amounts to less than can be bought out of export sales, “that shortfall needs to be made up for by selling assets or borrowing abroad,” he said.
“Balancing the trade gap, therefore, would essentially require re-balancing economy-wide net borrowing, and the biggest net borrower in the economy is — surprise, surprise — the federal government.”
Achieving that goal would be “very hard” given U.S. federal deficit levels already stand near record highs, he said.
Charest said Trump’s social media post underscores the need to diversify trade rather than remain “captive to a single American client.”
“I don’t think it’s useful for us to engage with Mr. Trump on the abrasiveness side,” he said.
“But he does shed light in a brutal way on the fact that we as a country have to rise above the circumstances in which we are now and redefine our place relative to the United States, relative to the rest of the world.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 18, 2024.
BP, Iraq Advance Redevelopment of Kirkuk Oil and Gas Fields
By Mitchell Ferman
December 19, 2024
(Bloomberg) -- BP Plc reached an agreement with the Iraqi government on technical terms to redevelop the prolific Kirkuk oil and gas fields, the company said Thursday.
“Today’s signing is an important step toward a fully termed contract,” BP Executive Vice President William Lin said in a statement.
“We are grateful to the Iraqi government for its continued support of BP’s activities in the country, particularly around Rumaila, and for the dedicated engagement to progress negotiations on the potential future development of these critically important fields in and around Kirkuk.”
Negotiations are expected to be complete early in 2025, BP said.
The British oil giant has a long history with the second-largest producer in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, which holds the world’s fifth-largest proved crude reserves. The company was part of the consortium that discovered oil in Kirkuk in the 1920s and now Kirkuk appears be key to BP’s upstream strategy under CEO Murray Auchincloss.
Thursday’s step by BP and Iraq follows a memorandum of understanding that the two sides signed in August to invest and explore in the region.
European, Chinese Officials Board Ship Linked to Cable Damage
By Sanne Wass
December 19, 2024
(Bloomberg)
(Bloomberg) -- Representatives from Sweden, Finland, Germany accompanied Chinese officials to board a China-registered ship that was potentially involved in undersea cable sabotage in the Baltic Sea last month.
The bulk carrier, Yi Peng 3, has been anchored just outside Denmark’s territorial waters for a month. Swedish and Finnish authorities have previously said the commercial vessel was of interest as incidents of data cable damages in the Baltic Sea are investigated.
Officials from the three countries and China will “collectively inspect the ship,” Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen told reporters on Thursday. He said his nation coordinated the move after two days of meetings between the four nations. Denmark also has an observer onboard, he said.
“There has been interest from the countries that have experienced damage to cables, and from Denmark because the ship has sailed in Danish waters, in getting to the bottom of this matter,” Lokke Rasmussen said.
Swedish police said in a separate statement that Chinese authorities are conducting the investigations aboard the vessel, and have invited Sweden onboard “in an observer role.”
A high-speed fiber optic cable connecting Finland and Germany was cut in mid-November by what was likely an external impact, while a nearby link between Lithuania and Sweden was also damaged. Yi Peng 3 was in the vicinity of two cables when it happened.
Sweden, Finland and Lithuania are working together to investigate the cause of the broken cables. However, the onboard investigations on Yi Peng 3 are not part of this probe, and no investigative measures will be carried out by Sweden boarding the ship Thursday, Swedish police said in a statement on Thursday.
European investigators believe that the Chinese bulker Yi Peng 3 intentionally severed two subsea cables in the Baltic last month, likely on behalf of Russian intelligence services. This week, Danish news station TV2 found evidence that Yi Peng 3 may have attempted to snag three other subsea cables in the Kattegat, ten days before the suspected attack in the Baltic.
On Nov. 17-18, two subsea cables suddenly broke off the coast of Sweden. Based on AIS data, Swedish authorities know that the bulker was maneuvering oddly at the sites where the cables were severed; in addition, photos of the ship's bow show that one of its anchors is badly twisted, and an ROV inspection of the damaged cable sites showed clear signs of anchor-dragging. Yi Peng 3 has been anchored just outside of the Danish territorial seas off Jutland ever since, guarded by Danish and German vessels - though no boarding has occurred, since she is in international waters and her flag state (China) has yet to grant permission.
Over the last few weeks, Danish news outlet TV2 - in conjunction with TV4 and Nordic Defense Analysis - examined Yi Peng 3's AIS record in detail, including data from her inbound transit as she headed for Ust-Luga, Russia. They found that on November 7, off Laeso in the middle of the Kattegat, Yi Peng 3 slowed down and came to a stop while passing over three subsea cables.
The maneuver looked suspicious, and there was no obvious reason for a commercial bulker to stop at that location. TV2 decided to investigate further and brought in mini-ROV firm BluEye Robotics to do a site survey. After a short boat trip out to the Kattegat and a few hours of ROV inspection, they found a long dragline and a deep impression, much like the imprint of a dropped anchor. The location and direction of the single dragline corresponded precisely with Yi Peng 3's AIS track from November 7.
"When we look at the sonar recordings, we can see that there are a number of parallel tracks down there, and then over a longer distance there is a much larger drag track, which also has the same course as Yi Peng 3 had," confirmed analyst Jens Wenzel Kristoffersen of Nordic Defense Analysis, speaking to TV2. "It's striking."
Denmark’s foreign minister said Thursday that he expected a Chinese ship, anchored off the Danish coast and linked to two severed undersea cables, would be able to leave once an inspection which included four countries was completed.
Sections of two telecom cables were cut on November 17 and 18 in Swedish territorial waters of the Baltic Sea.
Suspicions have been directed at a Chinese ship — the Yi Peng 3 — which according to ship tracking sites had sailed over the cables around the time they were cut.
The Yi Peng 3 has remained anchored in international waters in the Kattegat strait between Sweden and Denmark since November 19.
“Representatives of the Chinese authorities are conducting investigations aboard the vessel and have invited the Swedish authorities to take part in an observer role,” Swedish police said in a statement Thursday.
It added that “no investigative measures will be taken by the Swedish Police Authority aboard the vessel.”
Police stressed that the “investigations taking place on the vessel on Thursday are not part of the police investigation.”
Police also said the visit was facilitated by Danish authorities and that the Swedish Accident Investigation Authority would also take part.
Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen told Danish media that representatives from four countries — China, Sweden, Germany and Finland — were aboard the ship. – Mounting tensions –
Rasmussen added that a Danish representative was also there “due to the facilitating role we have played”, referring to meetings held between the country at the foreign affairs ministry in Copenhagen earlier this week.
“It is our expectation that once the inspection is completed by this group of people from the four countries, the ship will be able to sail to its destination,” Rasmussen said.
European officials have said they suspect sabotage linked to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The Kremlin has rejected the comments as “absurd” and “laughable”.
Sweden in late November requested China’s cooperation in the investigation, but Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson stressed that there was no “accusation” of any sort.
Early on November 17, the Arelion cable running from the Swedish island of Gotland to Lithuania was damaged.
The next day, the C-Lion 1 submarine cable connecting Helsinki and the German port of Rostock was cut south of Sweden’s Oland island, around 700 kilometres (435 miles) from Helsinki.
Tensions have mounted around the Baltic Sea since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
In September 2022, a series of underwater blasts ruptured the Nord Stream pipelines that carried Russian gas to Europe, the cause of which has yet to be determined.
In October 2023, an undersea gas pipeline between Finland and Estonia was shut down after it was damaged by the anchor of a Chinese cargo ship.
International
Companies That Spent Billions on M&A Are Now Selling for Peanuts
By Ben Scent
December 19, 2024 at 12:00AM EST
Richard Betsalel, managing director of Crosbie & Company Inc., says the future landscape of the Canadian mergers and acquisitions market looks promising.
(Bloomberg) -- Companies that spent billions on poorly timed acquisitions in recent years are now offloading those assets at knockdown prices.
Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. announced Tuesday it’s going to sell Chinese department-store chain Intime to a local apparel group for $1 billion. The price is around 30% of the company’s valuation when Alibaba bought it during the heady days of 2017. The internet giant, which has largely abandoned its acquisitive ways amid government pressure, said it will book a $1.3 billion loss on the transaction.
The deal came a day after BlackBerry Ltd. said it would divest its Cylance endpoint security unit to software startup Arctic Wolf for $160 million plus a small amount of stock. That’s a far cry from the $1.4 billion BlackBerry paid when it agreed to buy the business in 2018. Under BlackBerry’s ownership, Cylance reported substantial losses and its revenue fell over 50%, according to Royal Bank of Canada analysts.
The moves show how companies that were major acquirers during the boom times may sober up and regret those purchases only a few years later. Just last month, Just Eat Takeaway.com NV agreed to sell US food delivery service Grubhub for $650 million, a roughly 90% discount to the price it paid to buy the business at the height of the Covid pandemic.
Overpayment was the inevitable byproduct of an era when competition for assets was fierce, according to Oliver Scharping, a portfolio manager at Berenberg.
“Years of zero interest rates and pandemic-fueled deal hysteria sent valuations soaring in hype sectors, often detached from fundamentals,” Scharping said. “Now, as the zeitgeist demands a sober look in the mirror, companies are trimming excess, dumping underperformers, and opting for brutal honesty over sunk-cost fantasy — even if it means a multibillion-dollar haircut.”
Valeriya Vitkova, a senior lecturer at City University of London’s Bayes Business School, said that companies didn’t properly assess synergies and the expected benefits of some deals were overestimated.
Now may be a good time to find buyers for these assets as the M&A market has become active again, Vitkova said. Overall M&A volumes have risen 16% this year to $3.2 trillion, according to data compiled by Bloomberg, and bankers expect the pace to pick up next year.
These divestments allow the companies to focus on shoring up their main operations at a pivotal time. Alibaba has been working to reignite growth in its Chinese e-commerce division, where it faces fierce competition from PDD Holdings Inc. and ByteDance Ltd. Meanwhile, BlackBerry Chief Executive Officer John Giamatteo is trying to turn around the company by devoting more attention to its Internet of Things business as well as its secure communications platforms.
Reopening the Gates
A representative for Just Eat Takeaway said the market has changed since it bought Grubhub, with competition increasing and sector valuations falling. The sale to Wonder Group Inc. represents the “most attractive outcome” and “reflects the current trajectory of the business,” the representative said. Alibaba didn’t immediately respond to queries.
A spokesperson for BlackBerry said it’s “incredibly pleased” with the outcome for Cylance, which will help profitability and let it focus on the growth engines in its portfolio. Investors seem happy too, with BlackBerry shares jumping 15% the day the deal was announced, the biggest gain since August 2023.
Companies will continue to pursue divestments of acquisitions that didn’t work out, as markets are rewarding focus and punishing bloated firms, Berenberg’s Scharping said. That could provide good opportunities for cash-rich corporate buyers looking for bargains, as well as private equity firms that Bloomberg-compiled data show are sitting on $1.6 trillion of dry powder.
“The pricing reset has reopened the gates for disciplined buyers to act,” Scharping said. “We’re seeing opportunists leverage cleaner balance sheets and tighter focus to pick up discounted assets with long-term upside.”
--With assistance from James Boxell, Luz Ding, Amy Thomson, Monique Mulima, Adam Blenford and Aaron Kirchfeld.
(Updates with BlackBerry share jump in 11th paragraph.)
Drive to Dump Trudeau Has Momentum, Liberal Lawmaker Says
WON'T MATTER LIBERALS ARE TOAST
By Laura Dhillon Kane
December 18, 2024
Former finance minister Joe Oliver reacts to the political turmoil in Trudeau's cabinet and what economic impact this could have on Canadians.
(Bloomberg) -- Justin Trudeau’s political crisis is deepening, with more members of his Liberal Party publicly calling for the Canadian prime minister to step aside and give a new leader a chance before an election in 2025.
Jenica Atwin, a Liberal who serves as parliamentary secretary to a cabinet minister, told a newspaper in her home province of New Brunswick that Trudeau should leave and that she won’t run for reelection if he stays.
Chad Collins, an Ontario member of parliament, said that around 50 elected Liberals — perhaps more — are part of a growing group that wants the prime minister’s resignation. Other Liberals in the anti-Trudeau camp have given similar numbers. That would be about a third of the 153-person Liberal contingent in the House of Commons.
Monday’s resignation of Chrystia Freeland, Trudeau’s powerful finance minister and his longtime deputy, was a massive shock that has irreparably damaged the prime minister, Collins said in an interview.
Freeland said she quit after being told she would be moved to a different role in the cabinet. Trudeau delivered that news on Friday, she said — just three days before she was due for a major speech that would update the country on its fiscal and economic situation.
“I don’t know who’s giving him advice. I can guess. It’s not good advice,” Collins said. “But the buck stops with him with the decisions he makes, and we’re now seeing the fallout that’s come with what many would consider a very poor decision.”
“In terms of who the successor is, I don’t know at this point whether or not we could do much worse,” he said.
The 52-year-old Trudeau has been under pressure to leave for months. In June, the Liberals lost a special election in a Toronto district that they had held for decades. In September, they lost a seat in Montreal in similar fashion. Soon after, about two dozen Liberal lawmakers signed a letter asking him to go.
But Freeland’s resignation — coming at a time when Canada’s economy faces the threat of tariffs from the incoming Trump administration — has turned bubbling discontent into a full-scale crisis for Trudeau. The prime minister has canceled all of his usual year-end television interviews and said almost nothing publicly since Freeland quit, other than some brief comments at two Liberal events.
“This isn’t just about one man — it’s about saving our party from a historic defeat,” Wayne Long, another Liberal member of parliament from New Brunswick, wrote in an open letter on Wednesday. Polls suggest the Conservative Party, led by Pierre Poilievre, is on course to win a majority government in the next election.
More Liberals will step away from politics if Trudeau tries to stick around, Collins warned. “I think the risk he runs is that he’ll have a skeleton crew of experienced elected representatives.”
OTTAWA — Canada Post is set to start accepting commercial letters and parcels as it works to get back to normal operations following a month-long strike.
Canada Post said mail is being processed on a first-in, first-out basis, and it will start accepting new international mail on Dec. 23.
More than 55,000 employees were ordered back to work by the Canada Industrial Relations Board after it determined a deal could not be reached before the end of the year.
The Crown corporation and the Canadian Union of Postal Workers had been deadlocked in negotiations, with federal mediation on pause as key issues like wages and weekend expansion seemed to see no movement.
Now, the government has appointed an industrial inquiry commission to come up with recommendations by May 15 on how a new agreement can be reached, while the existing contracts have been extended to May 22.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 19, 2024.
Electric bus maker Lion Electric granted creditor protection by Quebec court
MONTREAL — The Lion Electric Co. says it has been granted protection from creditors under the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act by the Superior Court of Quebec.
The electric bus maker says it plans to seek recognition of the CCAA proceedings in the U.S. under Chapter 15 of the Bankruptcy Code.
Deloitte Restructuring Inc. has been appointed as monitor to oversee the restructuring efforts at the company.
Lion Electric says the court also issued an order approving a sale and investment solicitation process.
The company sought court protection from creditors after it said Monday that it had defaulted on its debt.
The company temporarily laid off 400 employees and shut down production at its Illinois plant earlier this month after getting a two-week reprieve from its lenders to explore its alternatives.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 19, 2024.
US private fusion company Commonwealth Fusion Systems has announced plans to independently finance, construct, own and operate a commercial-scale fusion power plant in Chesterfield County, Virginia.
A rendering of the ARC fusion power plant (Image: CFS)
Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS) - a Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) spinout company - said it has reached an agreement with Dominion Energy Virginia to provide non-financial collaboration, including development and technical expertise as well as leasing rights for the proposed site at the James River Industrial Park. Dominion Energy Virginia currently owns the proposed site.
CFS said it conducted a global search for the site of its first commercial fusion power plant, known as ARC.
"This is a historic moment," said CFS co-founder and CEO Bob Mumgaard. "In the early 2030s, all eyes will be on the Richmond region and more specifically Chesterfield County, Virginia, as the birthplace of commercial fusion energy. Virginia emerged as a strong partner as they look to implement innovative solutions for both reliable electricity and clean forms of power. We are pleased to collaborate with Dominion Energy."
Dominion Energy Virginia President Edward Baine said: "Commonwealth Fusion Systems is the clear industry leader in advancing the exciting energy potential of fusion. Our customers' growing needs for reliable, carbon-free power benefits from as diverse a menu of power generation options as possible, and in that spirit, we are delighted to assist CFS in their efforts."
CFS is currently working to build the SPARC prototype fusion machine at its headquarters in Devens, Massachusetts. It is described as a compact, high-field, net fusion energy device that would be the size of existing mid-sized fusion devices, but with a much stronger magnetic field. It is predicted to produce 50-100 MW of fusion power, achieving fusion gain greater than 10.
SPARC will pave the way for a first commercially viable fusion power plant called ARC, which will generate about 400 MWe - enough to power large industrial sites or about 150,000 homes. ARC is expected to deliver power to the grid in the early 2030s.
Since CFS's founding in 2017, it has collaborated with researchers in MIT's Plasma Science and Fusion Center (PFSC) on a range of initiatives, from validating the underlying plasma physics for the first demonstration machine to breaking records with a new kind of magnet to be used in commercial fusion power plants.
"This will be a watershed moment for fusion," said CFS co-founder Dennis Whyte, the Hitachi America Professor of Engineering at MIT. "It sets the pace in the race toward commercial fusion power plants. The ambition is to build thousands of these power plants and to change the world."
Westinghouse, Aecon team up for nuclear new build projects
Thursday, 19 December 2024
Westinghouse Electric Company and Canadian construction company Aecon have announced the signing of two agreements, creating a collaborative framework for the development and deployment of advanced nuclear new-build projects in Canada and around the world.
NON DEI BOARD
The signing of the agreements (Image: Aecon)
Under a strategic cooperation agreement, Westinghouse and Aecon will work together on opportunities for the construction of AP1000 power plants in markets throughout Canada. Meanwhile, under a memorandum of understanding (MoU), Aecon can build on its experience of supplying AP1000 modules and nuclear components for the Vogtle plant in Georgia, USA, and other projects to potentially expand the supply of key AP1000 and advanced nuclear reactor components to projects in Canada and abroad.
Leveraging its fabrication and modularisation facility in Cambridge, Ontario, Aecon previously provided fabrication services of critical nuclear class AP1000 modules for the Vogtle unit 3 and 4 project, and on-site specialised welding services.
Headquartered in Ontario, Aecon is a North American construction and infrastructure development company and is a Tier 1 Canadian constructor with significant nuclear experience. Westinghouse said Aecon will support its advanced nuclear technologies to "provide a way to quickly deploy significant new nuclear to meet economic, environmental and energy security needs in Canada and globally".
"With extensive nuclear EPC expertise, strong technical knowledge, as well as specialised nuclear fabrication and manufacturing solutions tailored to meet the stringent demands of the North American nuclear power industry, Aecon is at the forefront of delivering nuclear infrastructure," said Aecon Nuclear Senior Vice President Aaron Johnson. "We are proud of our role in advancing the energy transition to help ensure the supply of clean, reliable and affordable electricity for generations to come. We look forward to collaborating with Westinghouse through these framework agreements as we continue supporting our clients in their technology selection and deployment."
Westinghouse Energy Systems President Dan Lipman said: "By partnering with Aecon, we are underscoring our commitment to helping to ensure that nuclear new-build projects of all scales will benefit the Canadian economy by employing local trades and creating jobs in Canada. For each four-unit AP1000 project Westinghouse builds in Canada, we expect to create nearly 8000 Canadian jobs during construction and another 12,000 full-time jobs for ongoing operations."
"With Canada's urgent need to bring more nuclear generation online to meet its objectives, the proven, fully operational AP1000 reactor becomes the natural choice because it can be deployed now," said John Gorman, president of Westinghouse Canada. "Today's agreement with Aecon further strengthens Westinghouse's construction and supplier relationships across Canada with an experienced AP1000 project partner to ensure it can move quickly to meet the nation's requirements."
Westinghouse - now owned by Canada's Brookfield and Cameco - noted the agreements with Aecon are the latest in a series of agreements with Canadian firms "that provide opportunities for expansion and diversification by supporting Westinghouse's advanced nuclear technologies globally".
Earlier this month, Westinghouse signed an MoU with BWXT Canada for the potential manufacture of key AP1000 and AP300 reactor components, including steam generators, reactor vessels, pressure vessels and heat exchangers.
In October, Westinghouse and Vancouver-based shipbuilding firm Seaspan ULC announced they had signed an MoU to support nuclear new-build projects in Canada and around the world. Under the agreement, Seaspan has the potential to manufacture key AP1000 and AP300 reactor components, including pipe spools and steel structures.
Westinghouse opened a new global engineering hub in Kitchener, Ontario, in June this year to support its growing Candu and global new-build business. Canada, it said, is now the third largest engineering centre for the AP1000.
In February, Westinghouse released a comprehensive, independent report from PricewaterhouseCoopers outlining the significant economic impact from deploying four AP1000 reactors in Ontario. Their deployment could have an impact of more than CAD28.7 billion (USD20 billion) on Canada's GDP during the manufacturing, engineering and construction phase alone, the study found.
KHNP, Candu Energy and Ansaldo Nucleare sign Cernavoda 1 refurb deal
Thursday, 19 December 2024
Romania's Nuclearelectrica has ceremonially signed the engineering, procurement and construction contract for the estimated EUR1.9 billion (USD1.97 billion) refurbishment of Cernavoda unit 1 with a consortium of Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power, AtkinsRealis's Candu Energy, Canadian Commercial Corporation and Ansaldo Nucleare.
The signing was in the presence of, back row from left: Valeria Baistrocchi, chargé d’affaires at the Italian Embassy; Rim Kap-soo, ambassador of the Republic of Korea; the Head of Romania's Prime Minister’s Chancellery, Alexandru-Mihai Ghigiu; Romania's Energy Minister Sebastian Burduja and Canada's ambassador Gavin Buchan (Image: KHNP)
The engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract covers the development of the detailed design, procurement of equipment and materials, execution of retubing works and refurbishment works as well as construction of the necessary infrastructure. Its entry into force is subject to the approval of Nuclearelectrica's shareholders (it is 82.49% state-owned) and the approval of the Canadian government.
Candu units are pressurised heavy water reactors designed to operate for 30 years, with a further 30 years available subject to refurbishment. This includes the replacement of key reactor components such as steam generators, pressure tubes, calandria tubes and feeder tubes. It involves removing all the reactor's fuel and heavy water and isolating it from the rest of the power station before it is dismantled. Thousands of components, including those that are not accessible when the reactor is assembled, are inspected, and all 480 fuel channels and 960 feeder tubes are replaced during the high-precision rebuild.
Cernavoda is the only nuclear power plant in Romania and consists of two 650 MWe Candu reactors. Unit 1 went into commercial operation in 1996 and unit 2 in 2007. Most of the work on units 3 and 4 - like units 1 and 2, Candu-6 reactors - was done in the 1980s prior to the fall of the government of Nicolae Ceausescu in 1989. Work is now on-going to construct units 3 and 4, with scheduled commercial operation in 2030 and 2031.
The unit 1 refurbishment project began in 2017 and is currently in the second of three phases. This phase, due to last from February 2022 to 2026, covers providing the financial resources, negotiating and granting engineering, procurement and construction contracts, assessing, preparing and scheduling the activities to be carried out and obtaining all the authorisations and approvals necessary to start the project. The third phase, scheduled for 2027 to 2029, starts with the shutdown of unit 1 and includes all the work required on it and its recommissioning.
Cosmin Ghita, Nuclearelectrica CEO, said: "The goal for Cernavoda NPP unit 1 refurbishment is to ensure the operation of the unit for another life cycle in conditions of safety and economic efficiency ... carried out according to standards of excellence and the international experience gained from the refurbishment of the other Candu nuclear units worldwide. This is a key project which will extend unit 1’s operational life by 30 years to support Romania’s decarbonisation goals by avoiding an additional 5 million tonnes of CO2 emissions annually. We are keen to work with internationally renowned partners which have historically contributed to the current operational performance of Cernavoda units 1 and 2."
Candu Energy, the original supplier of the reactor technology for Cernavoda unit 1, and Ansaldo Nucleare will lead the engineering and procurement aspects of the Nuclear Steam Plant and Balance of Plant, respectively. KHNP said it would oversee the entire execution process including replacement of major components, and the construction of main infrastructure such as a radioactive waste storage facility. KHNP’s share of the project amounts to approximately EUR840 million. KHNP will work alongside key domestic partners, including KEPCO KPS, Doosan Enerbility, Hyundai E&C and Samsung C&T.
Joe St Julian, President, Nuclear, at AtkinsRealis, said: "The last seven Candu reactors built around the world, and the ongoing life extension of 10 Candu reactors in Ontario, have been conducted on time and on budget. As the only organisation that has taken a leading role in every Candu reactor life extension project to date globally, our unmatched track record of executing on schedule, cost, safety, and quality performance, along with the expertise of our top-tier, proven consortium partners, will deliver this project for Romania at and above their expectations."
Whang Joo-ho, President and CEO of KHNP, said: "This achievement reaffirms the global recognition of KHNP’s operation and maintenance expertise, cultivated over five decades. Through the successful completion of the Cernavoda unit 1 refurbishment project, we will further strengthen KHNP’s global presence."
Daniela Gentile, CEO of Ansaldo Nucleare, said the signing of the contract "reaffirms the enduring trust that Nuclearelectrica has consistently placed in us and our partners, endorsing our expertise. This achievement not only strengthens our partnership with Nuclearelectrica but also, following the signing of the EPCM contract for Cernavoda units 3 and 4 during COP29 in Baku, further consolidates Ansaldo Nucleare’s presence in Romania”.
Bobby Kwon, President and CEO of Canadian Commerical Corporation (CCC), said: "CCC appreciates the confidence that Romania has demonstrated to-date in Canadian nuclear technology and is pleased to facilitate this important project that will ensure Romanians continue to have access to emission-free energy and helps realise Romania’s potential as a regional hub for clean electricity in Eastern Europe."
Joint venture planned for commercialisation of Newcleo SMR
Thursday, 19 December 2024
France-based innovative reactor developer Newcleo is to create a joint venture with Italy's NextChem to develop a new generation commercial-scale power plant, based on Newcleo's LFR-AS-200 small modular lead-cooled fast reactor.
A cutaway of Newcleo's reactor design (Image: Newcleo)
According to an agreement signed with NextChem's parent company - Italian technology and engineering group Maire SpA - upon execution of binding agreements Newcleo will take a 40% stake in NextChem's newly incorporated company focused on creating new intellectual property and performing technical services.
The deal will result in NextChem being granted newly issued shares up to 5% of Newcleo's share capital at pre-money valuation, subject to the achievement of certain milestones - the first of which is Newcleo's entrance into the joint venture company, and the last being linked to the final investment decision by the first client.
The transaction is expected to be finalised by the end of February 2025.
Under the agreement, NextChem will contribute skills, management and engineering competences and tools to the joint venture, as well as a dedicated commercial platform for the deployment of LFR-AS-200 projects.
Newcleo will develop the nuclear reactor for its own LFR-AS-200 technology, while NextChem will leverage its own know-how to enable the joint venture company to deliver the extended basic design, procure the critical proprietary equipment relevant to the conventional island and balance of plant of the nuclear power plant, and provide project management/integration services to Newcleo.
"The conventional island and balance of plant are essential to convert nuclear energy into electrical power dispatchable to the grid or used to serve chemical districts according to NextChem's e-Factory format, thus contributing to the decarbonisation of the chemical industry by producing low-carbon chemicals and e-fuels," the partners said.
The joint venture company will also provide integration services to other small modular reactor (SMR) and advanced modular reactor vendors who are not competing with Newcleo. "This business model will serve the industrialisation of the energy transition for any customer potentially interested in implementing power plants based on Generation IV nuclear technologies," they said.
Tecnimont - another Maire subsidiary - will be granted a preferred partner status for the delivery of projects, thanks to its state-of-the-art modularisation approach to optimise construction and planning methodology, reducing time and costs.
"This collaboration is a clear representation of our ability to offer a complete range of services for energy transition combining our innovative vision on sustainable technology solutions with our traditional competences in integrated engineering solutions," said Maire CEO Alessandro Bernini. "Today we set a further milestone in our progressive path to implement carbon-neutral chemistry models based on safe, reliable and competitive energy supply."
Newcleo CEO Stefano Buono said: "This joint venture brings together the best of our respective expertise and skills to trailblaze the delivery of new nuclear technologies. Maire's sustainable technology value proposition provided through NextChem, strong track record in international EPC delivery, optimising process plant and implementing modularisation makes them the perfect partner for the modular design of our Advanced Lead-Cooled Fast Reactors. Their approach to a circular economy dovetails with our aim to close the nuclear fuel cycle and provide a sustainable solution to the issue of waste.
"This venture marks a new era for collaboration in the sector, which alongside other partnerships will be instrumental in realising the energy transition. We are glad to see major technology and engineering companies entering the nuclear business' fast race towards a decarbonised world."
According to Paris-headquartered Newcleo's delivery roadmap, the first non-nuclear pre-cursor prototype of its reactor is expected to be ready by 2026 in Italy, the first reactor operational in France by the end of 2031, while the final investment decision for the first commercial power plant is expected around 2029.
At the same time, Newcleo will directly invest in a mixed uranium/plutonium oxide (MOX) plant to fuel its reactors. In June 2022, Newcleo announced it had contracted France's Orano for feasibility studies on the establishment of a MOX production plant.
Oklo signs power agreement with data centre developer
Wednesday, 18 December 2024
In what is claimed to be "one of the largest corporate power agreements in history", US nuclear power plant developer Oklo has signed a non-binding Master Power Agreement with data centre designer, builder and operator Switch to deploy 12 GW of Oklo Aurora powerhouse projects by 2044.
(Image: Oklo and Switch)
The Master Agreement establishes a framework for collaboration, with California-based liquid metal fast reactor developer Oklo expected to develop, construct and operate Aurora powerhouses to provide power to Switch across the USA through a series of individual binding power purchase agreements.
Since January 2016, all Switch data centres have been powered by 100% renewable energy, nearly 984 gigawatt-hours of power annually. The partners said this Master Agreement with Oklo supports Las Vegas-headquartered Switch's mission to "build efficient, sustainable infrastructure while bolstering the voluntary market for renewable and clean energy sources".
They added: "This Master Agreement highlights Oklo's business model of simplifying clean energy access by selling power, not power plants. It offers customers a direct, flexible pathway to clean, reliable, and affordable advanced nuclear energy."
Oklo's model is to build, own and operate its reactors - it will be selling power rather than power plants. The company, founded in 2013 and with OpenAI co-founder Sam Altman as chairman, says its deployment model can be tailored to individual needs and will help industries reduce reliance on existing grids.
The Aurora powerhouse is a fast neutron reactor that uses heat pipes to transport heat from the reactor core to a supercritical carbon dioxide power conversion system to generate electricity. It uses metallic fuel to produce up to 50 MWe as well as producing usable heat, and can operate on fuel made from fresh HALEU or used nuclear fuel. It says it aims to deploy its first commercial unit before the end of the decade.
"The relationship with Oklo underscores our commitment to deploying advanced nuclear power at a transformative scale for our data centres, further enhancing our offerings of one of the world's most advanced data centre infrastructures to current and future Switch clients," said Switch Founder and CEO Rob Roy. "By utilising Oklo's powerhouses, we aim to ensure that Switch remains the leader in data centre sustainability while supporting our vision of energy abundance."
"We are excited to collaborate with Switch on this historic agreement," said Jacob DeWitte, co-founder and CEO of Oklo. "Rob Roy and the Switch team share the vision we have for nuclear energy's role in powering artificial intelligence and providing the world with energy abundance. Oklo expects to benefit enormously from Switch's record of turning visions into reality.
"The lifespan of this Master Agreement will allow us to iterate and evolve with Switch, from development to deployment to scaling. We believe that working with Switch will not only accelerate our early powerhouses but also accelerate our ability to scale by demonstrating customer demand for decades to come."
There has been growing interest from operators of data centres in using nuclear energy, which they see as a way to meet their considerable projected energy requirements while also helping them to meet their climate commitments. The past few months have seen Microsoft, Google and Amazon all signing agreements to use nuclear energy in the years to come in the USA.
Last month, Oklo said it had a customer pipeline of 2100 MW for its Aurora powerhouse reactors, which it says will range from 15 MWe to 50 MWe and be scalable.
Reactor vessel installed at Xudabao 4
Wednesday, 18 December 2024
The reactor vessel has been installed in its design position at Xudabao 4, Rosatom has announced.
(Image: Rosatom)
In June 2018, Russia and China signed agreements, including for the construction of two VVER-1200 reactors at the new Xudabao (also known as Xudapu) nuclear power plant site in Liaoning province.
The two units - 3 and 4 - are scheduled for commissioning in 2027-2028.
Alexey Bannik, vice president of Rosatom's JSC Atomstroyexport for projects in China, said: "The Xudabao NPP construction project is a striking example of cooperation between Russia and China in the field of high technology. Our partnership spans more than a decade, and the power units created according to the Russian design have demonstrated many years of efficient and trouble-free operation. And our joint history continues."
Agreements signed in June 2019 are for Rosatom to supply nuclear fuel, design the nuclear island, supply key equipment, as well as provide field supervision, installation supervision, and commissioning services for the supplied equipment. Turbine generators and balance of plant are being supplied by China.
Construction of Xudabao unit 3 began in July 2021, with that of unit 4 starting in May 2022. In June this year, the dome was hoisted into place on the reactor building of unit 4 in a single stage process.
When completed, the two units are expected to generate more than 18 billion kWh of electricity per year, equivalent to saving about 6.4 million tonnes of coal and reducing carbon dioxide emissions by about 18.9 million tonnes per year.
Two CAP1000 reactors - the Chinese version of the Westinghouse AP1000 - are planned for units 1 and 2 of the Xudabao plant. Construction of unit 1 began in November 2023.
The Xudabao plant is owned by Liaoning Nuclear Power Company Limited, a joint venture between China National Nuclear Corporation (70%), Datang International Power Generation Company (20%) and State Development and Investment Corporation (10%).
US development agency announces grants for Bulgarian nuclear projects
Wednesday, 18 December 2024
The US Trade and Development Agency has signed two grant agreements to support Bulgaria's nuclear ambitions: one will support a cost-shared feasibility study with US company Deep Isolation to support the safe underground disposal of used fuel from Bulgaria's nuclear power plants, while the other will support a prefeasibility study for the deployment of small modular reactor technology.
The agreement for the USTDA grant to support the waste disposal study was signed by Ebong (seated, left) and Tzochev (Image: USTDA)
The US agency-funded study on underground disposal will be carried out by Deep Isolation to evaluate the feasibility of disposing used fuel from existing and future power plants a kilometre or more below ground, using Deep Isolation's patented deep borehole technology. The agreement was signed by US Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) Director Enoh Ebong and, on behalf of the Bulgarian government, by Sergey Tzochev, Head of the Board of Directors for State Enterprise Radioactive Waste (SERAW), who said: "Partnering with Deep Isolation represents a step toward our long-term vision of exploring innovative and sustainable approaches for the safe management of radioactive waste, based on the latest advancements in science and technology."
"Bulgaria is prioritising safety measures that will allow it to expand its nuclear power generation capacity," Ebong said. "Using cutting-edge US technology to create a safe long-term disposal option for spent fuel can also open the door to additional plants being built. USTDA's support for this project is a continuation of our longstanding engagement with the country's nuclear energy sector."
A separate grant agreement signed by USTDA with state-owned Bulgaria Energy Holding (BEH) is for a detailed technical analysis of US-sourced small modular reactor (SMR) design options to support Bulgaria's planned deployment of one or more SMR nuclear plants. It will also support an examination of potential plant sites and the development of a roadmap outlining a path to implementation, including an approach to securing financing.
"Our assistance will support Bulgaria’s goal of remaining a regional leader in electricity production while supporting international decarbonisation efforts," Ebong said.
"USTDA’s study will be crucial for the application of the new SMR energy technology in Bulgaria," Minister of Energy Vladimir Malinov said.
BEH is a state-owned holding company which owns the main electricity generation facilities in Bulgaria, including the existing Kozloduy nuclear power plant, as well as the country's electricity and gas transmission grids and transit networks. In 2021, it signed a memorandum of understanding with US engineering firm Fluor to look at the possibility of replacing coal boilers with NuScale SMRs. The country has committed to stop using coal for electricity generation by the late 2030s, with plans including two new Westinghouse AP1000 reactors to be built at the Kozloduy site.
The USTDA strategically facilitates export opportunities for US companies, funding project preparation and partnership-building activities that develop sustainable infrastructure and foster economic growth in partner countries.
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