US against EU push to censure Iran for nuclear activity

Spanish Market: Electricity, Metals
27/05/24

US president Joe Biden's administration is opposing a European push — spearheaded by France — to rebuke Iran for advances in its nuclear program at the UN nuclear watchdog the IAEA's board of governors meeting in June, a diplomatic source with knowledge of the matter told Argus.

"The US isn't enthused about the European effort to censure Iran at the IAEA's member state board meeting in early June," the diplomat said. "But there is a general European atmosphere that is exploring options and measures regarding Iran's nuclear program."

The Biden administration is concerned about the need to manage tensions with Tehran, particularly at what is a highly sensitive moment, the source said.

"Bear in mind, this board of governors meeting is happening around 10 days after the helicopter crash killed (Iran's president Ebrahim) Raisi and (foreign minister Hossein) Amir-Abdollahian" both of whom were primary interlocutors with IAEA director General Rafael Grossi on the nuclear file, the source said.

"There is currently a vacuum in Tehran. Timing is bad," the source said, explaining the US position.

A US State Department spokesman could not be reached for immediate comment.

Concerns among western officials have grown over Iran's nuclear activity in recent years. Former US president Donald Trump in 2018 pulled the US out of a 2015 nuclear deal, resulting in an erosion of strict limits that the agreement had placed on Iran's nuclear program.

Iran, in 2019, began breaching the restrictions and then pushed far beyond them. Tehran has enough highly enriched fissile material for three nuclear weapons, according to the IAEA. Iran is enriching uranium to up to 60pc purity, close to the near 90pc considered to be weapons grade, according to the IAEA.

Grossi in March said inspections in Iran were not what they should have been and called for additional monitoring capabilities, given the depth and breadth of the program.

"On Iran, recent negative developments haven't gone unnoticed. Nuclear threats by Iranian officials, and Grossi's recent interview all sent negative signals," the source said.

The Biden administration has always maintained that it is seeking a diplomatic solution for Iran's nuclear program. And since the conflict between the Gaza-based Palestinian militant group Hamas, backed by Iran, and Israel broke out, the US has attempted to stop the spillover of the conflict into the wider region.

US and Iranian officials have met at least twice for indirect talks in Oman this year.

What are the options?

"There is real concern nowadays within the international community that no one exactly knows where Iran is at the moment when it comes to nuclear enrichment," the source says. The IAEA has lost its "continuity of knowledge" in relation to the production and inventory of centrifuges, rotors and bellows, heavy water and uranium ore concentrate.

"But the options are limited," the source said. The most the IAEA can do if a state is out of compliance with its obligations under the Non-Proliferation Treaty Safeguards Agreement is to report its concerns to the UN Security Council.

Since June 2020, The IAEA's board of governors has adopted three resolutions regarding Iran's cooperation regarding the non-proliferation agreement.

"Two reports are to be published ahead of the meeting in June. Their outcome will set the scene on whether another resolution will adopted or not," the source said.

By Bachar Halabi

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12/12/24

Rio Tinto to invest $2.5bn in Argentina lithium mine

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Syrah declares Mozambique graphite plant force majeure

12/12/24

Syrah declares Mozambique graphite plant force majeure

Singapore, 12 December (Argus) — Sydney-based graphite producer Syrah Resources has declared a force majeure for its Balama operations in Mozambique and defaulted on US government-backed debt, given post-election civil unrest in Mozambique. This came as Syrah is unable to carry out production at Balama throughout October-December to replenish inventory and to sell to customers, because of a protest that had began at the site in late September, forcing a force majeure event. Syrah back in October said the protest is disrupting site access and causing production uncertainty. The firm is one of the few established non-Chinese graphite producers. The protest was originally linked to farmers with "historical farmland resettlement grievances", Syrah said. But it has persisted and worsened after Mozambique's general election in October, which triggered violent protests across the country's major cities given claims of electoral fraud. "The protest actions have been peaceful with no evident actions to deliberately damage property, plant or equipment at Balama," said Syrah. But efforts to reach a positive resolution have been "unsuccessful to date", it added. Syrah is still working on restoring operations "as quick as possible" but has acknowledged that any resolution will be a lengthy process. The Balama site has not been producing graphite since July, according to Syrah, owing to sufficient inventory for sales and low graphite fines demand. Balama produced around 24,000t of natural graphite during the April-June quarter. Syrah has been operating Balama in short "campaign" stints this year owing to insufficient market demand at times. The protest also triggered events of default on its loans with the US International Development Finance (DFC) and the US Department of Energy (DOE), given the "impacts and duration" of the protest. The US DFC pledged its first loan to a graphite operation to Syrah, which amounted to $150mn. Syrah also received a $102mn loan facility with US DOE for the expansion of its Syrah Vidalia anode active material facility in US. Syrah is engaging with US DFC and DOE on its defaults, it said.Australian mining company South32 earlier this month withdrew the production guidance for its Mozal Aluminium smelter in Mozambique because of riots and road blockages. By Joseph Ho Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

EPA defends 'good neighbor' efficacy

11/12/24

EPA defends 'good neighbor' efficacy

Houston, 11 December (Argus) — The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) responded to concerns raised by the US Supreme Court in June by defending the efficacy of the "good neighbor" plan in reducing NOx emissions regardless of the number of participating states. The high court's concerns were over the issue of severability — that is, how effective the good neighbor plan would be in lowering ozone season NOx emissions if only some of the original 23 states participated. In other words, it is the question of whether the emissions limits placed on states as part of the Cross-State Air Pollution Rule (CSAPR) cap-and-trade program under the plan would have changed based on the number of participating states. In a notice published in the Federal Register on Tuesday, EPA rejected the idea that the effectiveness of the good neighbor plan — and as a result, the NOx emissions limits imposed on each state — would wane if the number of participating states changed. Instead, the agency said that its plan is "by design severable by state" because the NOx emissions limits are imposed on individual sources rather than the states themselves. Each participating state's emissions obligations depend on the number of obligated power plants, their emissions and the types of emissions reduction measures they already have in place. As a result, pausing the imposition of tighter NOx limits under the good neighbor plan in certain states does not affect the NOx limits imposed in other participating states, EPA said. In a similar vein, EPA addressed concerns that the larger version of the CSAPR Group 3 seasonal NOx allowance trading program established under the good neighbor plan would become more illiquid if it covered fewer states than planned, which could lead to a smaller supply of allowances and higher prices. Calling those concerns "unjustified", the agency said that states can withdraw their sources from a trading program by submitting their own ozone reduction plans. EPA also cited previous instances from past cross-state ozone programs where the number of participating states has changed, noting that there has been no evidence of allowance shortages. EPA also responded to concerns that it used an inconsistent methodology to determine emissions obligations for each source — including the emissions reduction strategies that could be used and their associated costs. The agency said it used a methodology that was "nearly identical to prior good neighbor rules" and considered NOx reduction technologies that have been in place "for decades throughout the US." The severability issue was raised by the Supreme Court in June, when it paused implementation of the good neighbor plan nationwide. The court majority said that EPA did not provide a sufficient explanation in response to public comments from states that highlighted those concerns — especially because, until the court issued its stay, only 10 states were participating in the good neighbor plan because of lower court stays. But in September, the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit allowed EPA to respond to the issue of severability, while it paused related litigation. EPA finalized the "good neighbor" plan last year to help downwind states meet the 2015 federal ozone standards. It imposed more rigorous CSAPR ozone season NOx emissions limits on more than 20 states and called for new NOx limits for industrial sources. Illiquidity has been persistent in the CSAPR market, depressing activity and keeping prices steady for almost a year because of uncertainty surrounding the numerous legal challenges against the plan. The ozone season runs from May-September each year. With plan halted for the time being, EPA has returned to less-stringent seasonal NOx budgets and reshuffled the remaining participating states into the Group 2 and new "expanded" Group 2 markets, leaving the Group 3 market empty. By Ida Balakrishna Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Cop 29 grids, storage pledge signatories released

11/12/24

Cop 29 grids, storage pledge signatories released

London, 11 December (Argus) — The final list of signatories for pledges on expanding energy storage and grid capacity taken at the UN Cop 29 climate summit, was released today, almost four weeks after the commitment was first finalised, with 58 countries out of almost 200 Cop parties taking part. Signatories commit to a collective goal of increasing electricity storage capacity to 1500GW by 2030, a sixfold increase from 2022. Another pledge is to add or refurbish 25mn km of grid infrastructure by 2030, and recognise the need for an additional 65mn km by 2040. Lack of firm, clean power generators to back up intermittent renewables is a major barrier to increasing renewable penetration, while distributed resources require large investments in power grids to transport electricity to consumers. The list of 58 signatory countries includes the so-called troika of Cop host countries the UAE, Azerbaijan and Brazil. The US and all other G7 member states are present, with the exception of France. Also absent among major economies are China and Russia, while Saudi Arabia spoke in support of the pledges during Cop but does not appear on the list of signatories. In comparison, almost 120 countries had signed a pledge to triple global renewable capacity double global energy efficiency by 2030 during the Cop 28 summit in Dubai last year. The grids and storage pledges were one of the centrepiece announcements made by the Azeri host, following on from the calls made in Dubai on renewable capacity and energy efficiency, but also on transitioning away from fossil fuels in energy systems. But divergences on mitigation — actions to cut greenhouse gas emissions — during the summit this year, meant that the completed pledge, as well as any other specific mentions of fuels and energy transition technologies, were not included in final outcome texts. By Rhys Talbot Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

US inflation rises to 2.7pc in November

11/12/24

US inflation rises to 2.7pc in November

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