Sudan removes force majeure on oil shipments to Port Sudan: Sudan has removed a 10-month force majeure on the transport of crude oil from South Sudan to a port on the Red Sea amid improving security conditions, Reuters reported earlier this week, citing a letter from Sudan’s Energy and Petroleum Minister Mohiedienn Saied to his counterpart in South Sudan Puot Kang Chol. The nation had halted crude transportation through the main pipeline, the Petrodar pipeline, linking the two neighbours last March. The decision comes after Sudan formed a new security agreement with Juba and Sudanese pipeline operator BAPCO. South Sudan offered crude cargoes for delivery in January to contracted traders via a tender last month, according to an email seen by the newswire.

(** Tap or click the headline above to read this story with all of the links to our background and outside sources.)

Background: South Sudan was pumping some 150k bpd through Sudan for export prior to the forced majeure. The Petrodar pipeline runs some 1.5k km from South Sudan’s upper Nile state, Melut Basin, to Sudan’s Red Sea coast, Port Sudan. It was established by a consortium including Malaysia’s Petronas and China’s Sinopec and CNPC.

Container shipping rates from Asia to the US West Coast increased by 50% as of 1 January, jumping to USD 6k per 40-ft container, up from around USD 4k a month prior, Bloomberg reports, citing data from Oslo-based freight platform Xeneta. Shipping rates from Asia to the US East Coast spiked 31% m-o-m to reach USD 7.1k per 40-ft container. Rates are on the rise amid growing concerns over potential US tariffs and port strikes, which threaten to halt operations at entry points responsible for nearly half the country’s seaborne trade.

Looking ahead: “2024 was an extremely challenging year for shippers and life isn’t getting any easier as we head into 2025,” Xeneta senior shipping analyst Emily Stausbøll told the news outlet. The market is therefore constricting amid “a lot of uncertainty,” Stausbøll added.

OTHER STORIES WORTH KNOWING THIS MORNING-

  • Indonesia joins BRICS: BRICS member states have approved Indonesia’s entry into the group by consensus. The Indonesian Foreign Ministry said that “BRICS membership is a strategic way to increase collaboration and partnership with other developing nations.” (Reuters)
Tags: