Biden brushes aside calls to end candidacy

Spanish Market: Crude oil
12/07/24

President Joe Biden said on Thursday he will not end his re-election bid despite calls from Democratic lawmakers and donors who have raised doubts about his ability to defeat former president and Republican nominee Donald Trump.

"I believe I'm the best qualified to govern, and I think I'm the best qualified to win," Biden told reporters following the conclusion of a three-day NATO summit in Washington. "I beat [Trump] once, and I will beat him again."

Biden's televised debate with Trump last month led some Democratic lawmakers to urge him to end his campaign, and even senior Democrats like former House of Representatives speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-California) suggested that Biden should decide soon whether to remain in the race. Biden in his debate, which he called a "stupid mistake," often appeared feeble and confused and struggled to clearly articulate his policy positions.

But Biden appeared stronger and more coherent in his solo press conference on Thursday — the first since November — in part because he talked about his international initiatives, which he considers among his strongest policy strengths.

Biden cited NATO's security support for Ukraine and his administration's efforts to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza among his accomplishments. During the NATO summit this week fellow leaders "made it a point in their statements to thank the US and to thank me personally for all that NATO has achieved," Biden said, as a counterpoint to Trump's frequent criticism of the military alliance.

Biden acknowledged that his age and medical conditions have led him to curtail his work schedule, with no engagements after 8pm, even though several late evening events were on his agenda during the NATO summit. He appeared to blame his staff for putting too many events on his schedule. Biden earlier attributed his poor performance during the debate to two transatlantic trips in June, to attend the 80th anniversary of the Normandy landing in France and to participate in the G7 summit in Italy.

Even with a clearly stronger performance today — Biden took multiple questions during an hour-long press conference that ended at 8:30pm ET — his tendency to misspeak will continue to fuel his critics. At a NATO event earlier today, Biden mistakenly introduced Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy as Russian president Vladimir Putin, while NATO leaders watched uncomfortably. "I am better [than Putin]," Zelenskiy jokingly retorted, while Biden said he thought too much about how to "beat Putin." And Biden referred to vice president Kamala Harris as "vice president Trump" during the press conference.

Harris is qualified to serve as president but "I am the most qualified person to run," Biden repeatedly said. "I am the qualified person to do the job to make sure that Ukraine will not fall, that Ukraine succeeds, that the European alliance stays strong." Biden said he would only drop out of the race if his staff told him polls "showed there's no way you can win."

At the summit, NATO members decided to establish an organization formally tasked with coordinating military assistance and training for Ukraine's armed forces, rather than have the US alone lead the effort. Referencing Trump's criticism of NATO and frequent adoration of Putin, Biden said that the election "is much more than the political question — it's a national security issue." Biden referred to several unnamed NATO leaders who told him: "You've got to win. You can't let this guy come forward. It'd be a disaster."

The NATO summit declaration also accused China of covertly assisting the Russian war effort by providing key components for weapons. The US previously threatened to impose sanctions against Chinese companies allegedly helping the Russian defense industry.

"I'm not prepared to talk about the details of [potential new sanctions] in public," Biden said. "I think you'll see that some of our European friends are going to be curtailing their involvement" in China.

Biden said he would not sit down to negotiate with Putin over Ukraine "unless Putin's ready to change his behavior."

Hungary's prime minister Victor Orban met with Zelenskiy, Putin and Chinese president Xi Jinping earlier this month to discuss a possible Ukraine peace deal, and he plans to meet with Trump on Friday. The Biden administration has dismissed Orban's mediation as unhelpful.

By Haik Gugarats

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16/12/24

Shell takes FID on Nigeria’s Bonga North oil project

Lagos, 16 December (Argus) — Shell has taken a final investment decision (FID) on Nigeria's Bonga North field, aiming for first oil from the deepwater project by 2030. The firm expects crude production from Bonga North to peak at 110,000 b/d but it has not given a timeframe. Bonga North — which currently has estimated recoverable resources of over 300mn bl of oil equivalent (boe) — will involve drilling up to 16 wells and will be tied back to the existing 225,000 b/d Bonga floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) facility. The FPSO already handles output from the Bonga Main and Bonga North West fields, which started up in 2005 and 2014, respectively. Crude production from the FPSO averaged 120,000 b/d in January-November, with output in November rising by 9pc on the month to 135,000 b/d, according to Nigeria's upstream regulator NUPRC. Shell said modifications to the FPSO will be required to accommodate Bonga North, but a source told Argus today that these will largely be limited to the facility's topsides. The company previously told Argus that a separate and more thoroughgoing FPSO life-extension programme, which "will run well into 2029", had been put in place because the facility was originally designed to operate only until 2025. Shell's Nigerian offshore subsidiary operates the Bonga North project with a 55pc stake under a production-sharing contract with state-owned NNPC. ExxonMobil, TotalEnergies and Italy's Eni are the other project partners with 20pc 12.5pc and 12.5pc stakes, respectively. The Bonga fields are located in Nigeria's OML 118 licence at water depths exceeding 1,000m. In addition to Bonga Main, Bonga North West and Bonga North, the block also holds the undeveloped Bonga South West oil field, which NNPC said will be developed in three phases. Bonga South West will have its own separate FPSO and produce 150,000 b/d at peak between 2027 and 2031, NNPC said. By Adebiyi Olusolape Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Libya declares force majeure at Zawiya refinery

15/12/24

Libya declares force majeure at Zawiya refinery

London, 15 December (Argus) — Libya's state-owned NOC declared force majeure at its 120,000 b/d Zawiya refinery today following clashes between armed groups near the facility. NOC said a number of storage tanks were hit, causing fires. These were subsequently brought under control, it added. Zawiya is Libya's largest operational refinery, with most of its production absorbed domestically. It runs on crude from Libya's Repsol-led El Sharara oil field. The rest of the field's crude is exported as the Esharara grade from a nearby loading terminal which forms part of the wider Zawiya complex. Any prolonged fighting and wider damage to the Zawiya complex could threaten production at El Sharara, particularly if exports are forced to stop. Zawiya exported 160,000 b/d of Esharara crude last month, according to Kpler, and is scheduled to load eight cargoes also worth about 160,000 b/d in December. Political instability has led to several forced shutdowns of oil production facilities over the past decade or so. El Sharara only just returned to production in early October following a forced outage which also affected other fields throughout the country. Libya produced 1.24mn b/d of crude in November, Argus estimates. By Aydin Calik Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Mexico’s industrial output falls 1.2pc in October

13/12/24

Mexico’s industrial output falls 1.2pc in October

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Canada sets 2035 emissions reduction goal

13/12/24

Canada sets 2035 emissions reduction goal

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US rail group optimistic about 2025 rail demand

12/12/24

US rail group optimistic about 2025 rail demand

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