Guyana would make companies liable for oil spill damages in proposed bill
The South American country, whose oil production controlled by an Exxon Mobil-led (XOM.N), opens new tab consortium is expected to surpass 900,000 barrels per day this year, is trying to reinforce oversight of its nascent energy industry, where all crude and gas output comes from offshore fields.
Make sense of the latest ESG trends affecting companies and governments with the Reuters Sustainable Switch newsletter. Sign up here.
Responsible parties shall provide financial assurance to cover spills, conduct regular inspections and audits, and address any issues found, according to the measure.
The bill includes penalties for companies that fail to comply with regulations, including the suspension of licenses to explore and produce oil for those that do not provide the financial assurance required.
Under the proposed measure, the country's Oil Spill Committee would be assigned more formal duties to oversee the industry and coordinate response to any spills.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Scottish Sun
16 minutes ago
- Scottish Sun
Trump and Putin to meet TODAY in Alaska for historic Ukraine war summit that could shape the world
DONALD Trump and Vladimir Putin are just hours away from having a historic one-on-one which could shape the world order as we know it. The world's eyes are on Alaska today as leaders of both superpowers prepare to sit down in a summit that is set to decide the fate of the Ukraine war. 8 Trump is reportedly planning to make a bombshell offer to Putin to crack a ceasefire deal Credit: Reuters 8 Trump and Putin shake hands during a meeting in 2017 Credit: AFP or licensors 8 The summit could mark the begining of the end of the bloody war Credit: AP 8 On Thursday afternoon, Trump likened the high-stakes summit to a game of chess and warned there was a 25 per cent chance it could end in failure. He also vowed that Putin 'is not going to mess around with me', insisting the Russian leader 'wants a deal' but would face consequences if he overstepped. Trump and Putin are set to meet one-on-one at Elmendorf-Richardson base near Anchorage at 11.30am local time (8.30pm UK) today — under extraordinary security. Putin, who rarely travels abroad since launching his full-scale invasion, will arrive with his feared 'Musketeers' bodyguards, carrying everything from armour-piercing pistols to the infamous nuclear briefcase — and even a 'poo suitcase' to stop any analysis of his health. The Cold War-era base has been locked down by US and Russian forces, with over 32,000 troops, air defences, and electronic jamming systems in place. The crunch talks will be followed by a joint press conference by both leaders. The central topic of the meeting will be the Ukraine crisis, but the pair will also discuss trade and economic cooperation, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said. Trump and Putin will also have a wider meeting with delegations from Washington and Moscow. They will also attend a working lunch with their security entourage. For Trump, the meeting stands as a chance to bring peace to war-torn Ukraine and end a conflict which he said would never have started if he were the president back in 2022. Russia punches through frontline & deploys 110k troops days before Don talks And for Putin, the meeting will decide how much territory he can grab before ending his bloody assault. The Russian leader, who has consistently rejected calls for a ceasefire, said that he wants peace but that his demands for ending his invasion were "unchanged". On Thursday, Trump said the high-stakes meeting with Putin will be like "chess" - and warned there was a 25 percent chance of a flop. One major sticking point for Moscow is the annexation of more Ukrainian territory - one of Putin's long-term demands. It is understood that Trump will try to convince Putin to make peace by offering him deals and concessions. Though Washington has said that it will not engage in any agreement on a final peace deal without Ukraine's formal involvement in the negotiations. Trump has insisted Putin 'is not going to mess around with me' and claimed the Russian leader 'wants a deal'. Speaking in the Oval Office, he said: 'If I weren't president, he would take over all of Ukraine… but I am president and he's not going to mess around with me.' While playing down the chances of an immediate ceasefire, Trump hinted at a more 'important' second round of talks 'very quickly' — this time with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and 'maybe some European leaders' in the room. Putin has tried to sweeten the mood, praising Trump's 'sincere efforts' for peace, even as Zelensky warns he is 'bluffing'. If Putin agrees to a possible ceasefire, both leaders will reach the next stage of peace-making, where they are expected to hold a trilateral meeting with Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelensky. Trump has vowed "very severe consequences" if this turns out to be the case. Zelensky, fresh from meetings with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and UK PM Sir Keir Starmer, has warned that any talks without Ukraine risk disaster. Don, who hails himself as a great dealmaker, is said to be planning to present a money-making deal to lure sanctions-hit Putin into peace-making. The deal will include opening up Alaska's natural resources to Moscow and lifting some of the American sanctions on Russia's aviation industry, The Telegraph revealed. Proposals also include giving Putin access to the rare earth minerals in the Ukrainian territories currently occupied by Russia. Trump is seemingly betting on Russia's current economy, which has been hit hard by global sanctions since he launched his illegal invasion of Ukraine. There is also a chance that the meeting could go south as Trump warned that the Russians risk facing "very severe consequences" if they continue to bomb Ukraine and kill innocent civilians. 8 The last face-to-face meet DONALD Trump and Vladimir Putin last met in person at the G20 summit in Osaka, Japan, on June 28, 2019. It was during Trump's first term as the president of America. The meeting is widely remembered for a moment where Trump, with a smile, publicly warned the Russian leader: "Don't meddle in the election, please." Their private discussions reportedly touched upon arms control, trade, and regional security issues More than anyone else, the meeting will be key to European leaders who have long supported Ukraine and warned against future Russian aggression. Zelensky and European leaders are likely to reject any settlement proposals by the US that demand Ukraine give up further land. They want to freeze the current frontline as it is - giving away the territory already being held by the Russians. Zelensky has reiterated that Ukraine will not cede any further territory to Russia. But it may not be up to the embattlled leader if he is presented with a take it or leave it offer in the latter stages of the peace process. Trump announced on Friday that the only way to resolve the issues is for both sides to accept losses of land. He said: "It's complicated, actually. Nothing is easy. It's very complicated. "We're going to get some switched. There'll be some swapping of territories to the betterment of both." The MAGA prez said he would try to return territory to Ukraine. 8 Starmer talks with Zelensky in the garden of 10 Downing Street Credit: AFP 8 Don added: "Russia has occupied a big portion of Ukraine. They've occupied some very prime territory. "We're going to try and get some of that territory back for Ukraine." After Trump held a call with the European leaders on Thursday, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz confirmed that Trump reaffirmed that Trump would not negotiate territorial issues with Putin. Meanwhile, French President Emmanuel Macron will not be engaging in any "schemes for territory swaps" during the summit. The summit is set to take place at Elmendorf-Richardson base, one of the most strategic locations in the Arctic. Bristling with troops from the US Air Force, Army, Navy and Marine Corps, as well as National Guardsmen and Reserves, it is a symbolic location for both the US and Russia. 8
Reuters
17 minutes ago
- Reuters
Traders chase pips in China's stagnant bond market
SHANGHAI/SINGAPORE, Aug 15 (Reuters) - Bond traders in China are facing their toughest conditions in at least a decade, as low interest rates and meagre price swings push fund managers to chase yield in alternative debt markets. A languid economy and no changes in monetary policy have ground China's multi-year debt market rally to a halt this year. That shift has left traders with a market that has very little to offer in terms of arbitrage or returns amid intensifying competition - even as they scramble to deliver on elevated performance targets. Benchmark 10-year government bond yields have spent this year in a 1.6% to 1.9% range, with no discernible trend and subdued volatility for most of the time. "This year the tide's gone flat. No trend for allocators to follow and traders are stuck staring at still waters," said Huang Xuefeng, research director at Shanghai Anfang Private Fund, which has more than 3 billion yuan ($417.75 million) in assets under management. The 10-year yield has risen just 10 basis points so far this year, with daily moves mostly confined to within 1-2 bps since April. That compares with a drop of 87 bps in 2024 and 28 bps in 2023, spurred by the post-pandemic scramble for safety in fixed-income products and leading to massive trading gains. The lack of volatility has caught many investors off-guard. "Falling coupon rates and subdued volatility have made it hard for many to beat last year's performance," said Li Haitao, fund manager at Hexa Asset Management, which has 47 billion yuan in AUM. Nearly 300 bond funds have witnessed paper losses this year, and an index tracking China's pure bond funds (.CSI930609), opens new tab achieved a return of just 0.74% so far this year, on track for the worst annual performance since the index's inception 10 years ago. As intense competition forces top banks and funds to chase retail and smaller clients, market participants worry about an imminent crowding out that forces smaller funds to close. "As top players offer lower fees and enhanced research support to attract smaller clients, questions are mounting over the survival prospects of mid- and lower-tier funds, particularly those ranked outside the top 50," said a Beijing-based mutual fund manager. Bond mutual funds have faced persistent outflows since July, data from Tiantian Fund, a trading platform, showed, with RisingAMC HeFeng Pure Bond Fund and Hang Seng Qianhai Hengli Pure Bond Fund among those reporting substantial redemptions. Neither RisingAMC nor Hang Seng Qianhai Fund Management could be reached for comment. Despite persistent economic strains, traders are wary of betting on further yield declines — a strategy that paid off in prior years — as Beijing pushes to curb price wars and revive inflation. This has prompted some traders to ramp up trading frequency to capture smaller price movements, while others are branching into new asset classes to broaden their skill sets. "We've added trading volume as a new KPI this year, but it doesn't make too much sense — doing more trades doesn't necessarily mean making more money," said a bond trader at a regional bank in northern China, speaking on condition of anonymity as he is not authorised to speak to the media. His return target remains near 4%, similar to last year. Fund managers are also turning to the so-called "fixed income plus" strategies, incorporating alternative assets to enhance yield. Industry data shows such funds expanded by 256.9 billion yuan to 1.49 trillion yuan by end-June, accounting for roughly 15% of mutual fund growth in the first half. One of Hexa's bond funds managed by Li added convertible bonds in the second quarter, which account for 11.3% of net asset value, according to public disclosures. Anfang's Huang said they had stretched duration for most of their products and added high-yield dim sum bonds traded in Hong Kong to enhance return. "What can you do?" Huang said. "There's just nothing left to squeeze in the onshore market." ($1 = 7.1814 Chinese yuan)
Reuters
17 minutes ago
- Reuters
Thailand economy likely lost steam in second quarter on weak domestic demand: Reuters poll
BENGALURU, Aug 15 (Reuters) - Thailand's economic growth likely slowed in the second quarter as weak household consumption offset gains from strong exports, according to a Reuters poll of economists. Southeast Asia's second-largest economy was estimated to have expanded 2.5% year-on-year in the April-June quarter, the August 12-15 survey of 21 economists showed. Estimates ranged between 1.6% and 2.9%. The economy grew 3.1% in the first three months of 2025, and the government is scheduled to release the second-quarter data on August 18. On a quarter-on-quarter, seasonally adjusted basis, gross domestic product (GDP) likely expanded 0.3%, a smaller poll sample showed, slowing from 0.7% in the first quarter. ANZ economist Krystal Tan said high-frequency data showed a recovery in private investment but it was probably offset by a deterioration in private consumption, while strong import growth kept contribution from net exports to overall growth modest. "We expect growth to weaken materially in the coming quarters as the impact of higher U.S. tariffs filters through. The tourism sector is struggling and is unlikely to provide offsetting support," she said. Exports, a key growth driver, recorded double-digit gains for all months except April in the first half of the year, as companies rushed shipments before higher U.S. tariffs came into effect. The United States was Thailand's biggest export market last year, accounting for 18.3% of total shipments, with a value of $55 billion. Poon Panichpibool, a markets strategist at Krung Thai Bank, said domestic demand was weak, with high household debt and slowing foreign tourist arrivals weighing on consumption. Private consumption contracted in April, opens new tab and June, opens new tab on a month-on-month basis and ticked up slightly in May, opens new tab, Bank of Thailand (BOT) data showed. To prop up domestic demand, the central bank cut its key policy rate by 25 basis points to a three-year low of 1.50% on Wednesday. It was the fourth reduction in 10 months. BOT Assistant Governor Sakkapop Panyanukul said growth would moderate in the second half and stressed there was little risk of a technical recession, which is defined as two consecutive quarters of contraction. "We expect GDP growth to slow to 1.7% in the second half of 2025. Headwinds are piling up. Exports will slow as frontloading fades," said Erica Tay, director of macro research at Maybank. A separate Reuters poll in July forecast growth of 1.3% and 0.9% in Q3 and Q4, respectively.
