Shell Lowers Gas Production Guidance After Unplanned Maintenance Hit Volumes
Shell SHEL -6.97%decrease; red down pointing triangle lowered its integrated gas production estimate for the first quarter as volumes were hit by unplanned maintenance.
The London-based energy giant said Monday that maintenance in Australia, among other regions, means that gas production in the quarter should be between 910,000 and 950,000 barrels of oil equivalent a day, from a previous estimate of 930,000 to 990,000 barrels.
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Boston Globe
an hour ago
- Boston Globe
Lebanon aims to lure back wealthy Gulf tourists to jumpstart its war-torn economy
Now, after last year's bruising war with Israel, Hezbollah is much weaker and Lebanon's new political leaders sense an opportunity to revitalize the economy once again with help from wealthy neighbors. They aim to disarm Hezbollah and rekindle ties with Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries, which in recent years have prohibited their citizens from visiting Lebanon or importing its products. Advertisement 'Tourism is a big catalyst, and so it's very important that the bans get lifted,' said Laura Khazen Lahoud, the country's tourism minister. On the highway leading to the Beirut airport, once-ubiquitous banners touting Hezbollah's leadership have been replaced with commercial billboards and posters that read 'a new era for Lebanon.' In the center of Beirut, and especially in neighborhoods that hope to attract tourists, political posters are coming down, and police and army patrols are on the rise. Advertisement There are signs of thawing relations with some Gulf neighbors. The United Arab Emirates and Kuwait have lifted yearslong travel bans. All eyes are now on Saudi Arabia, a regional political and economic powerhouse, to see if it will follow suit, according to Lahoud and other Lebanese officials. A key sticking point is security, these officials say. Although a ceasefire with Israel has been in place since November, near-daily airstrikes have continued in southern and eastern Lebanon, where Hezbollah over the years had built its political base and powerful military arsenal. As vital as tourism is — it accounted for almost 20% of Lebanon's economy before it tanked in 2019 — the country's leaders say it is just one piece of a larger puzzle they are trying to put back together. Lebanon's agricultural and industrial sectors are in shambles, suffering a major blow in 2021, when Saudi Arabia banned their exports after accusing Hezbollah of smuggling drugs into Riyadh. Years of economic dysfunction have left the country's once-thriving middle class in a state of desperation. The World Bank says poverty nearly tripled in Lebanon over the past decade, affecting close to half its population of nearly 6 million. To make matters worse, inflation is soaring, with the Lebanese pound losing 90% of its value, and many families lost their savings when banks collapsed. Tourism is seen by Lebanon's leaders as the best way to kickstart the reconciliation needed with Gulf countries -- and only then can they move on to exports and other economic growth opportunities. Advertisement 'It's the thing that makes most sense, because that's all Lebanon can sell now,' said Sami Zoughaib, research manager at The Policy Initiative, a Beirut-based think tank. With summer still weeks away, flights to Lebanon are already packed with expats and locals from countries that overturned their travel bans, and hotels say bookings have been brisk. At the event hosted last month by the tourism ministry, the owner of the St. Georges Hotel, Fady El-Khoury, beamed. The hotel, owned by his father in its heyday, has acutely felt Lebanon's ups and downs over the decades, closing and reopening multiple times because of wars. 'I have a feeling that the country is coming back after 50 years,' he said. On a recent weekend, as people crammed the beaches of the northern city of Batroun, and jet skis whizzed along the Mediterranean, local business people sounded optimistic that the country was on the right path. 'We are happy, and everyone here is happy,' said Jad Nasr, co-owner of a private beach club. 'After years of being boycotted by the Arabs and our brothers in the Gulf, we expect this year for us to always be full.' Still, tourism is not a panacea for Lebanon's economy, which for decades has suffered from rampant corruption and waste. Lebanon has been in talks with the International Monetary Fund for years over a recovery plan that would include billions in loans and require the country to combat corruption, restructure its banks, and bring improvements to a range of public services, including electricity and water. Without those and other reforms, Lebanon's wealthy neighbors will lack confidence to invest there, experts said. A tourism boom alone would serve as a 'morphine shot that would only temporarily ease the pain' rather than stop the deepening poverty in Lebanon, Zoughaib said. Advertisement The tourism minister, Lahoud, agreed, saying a long-term process has only just begun. 'But we're talking about subjects we never talked about before,' she said. 'And I think the whole country has realized that war doesn't serve anyone, and that we really need our economy to be back and flourish again.'
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Councils fly flags to support Ukraine – but block defence spending
Councils are flying flags for Ukraine from their town halls while blocking investment in the British defence industry. At least a dozen English councils have passed motions to 'divest' from defence companies because of the war in Gaza, or have taken steps to reduce their holdings in arms companies. A report by two Labour MPs has found that defence companies have missed out on at least £30 million in investment because of action taken by local councils to focus their pension funds on 'ethical' firms. Despite this, several of the councils have displayed the Ukrainian flag from their town halls in solidarity against Russia. The MPs, Luke Charters and Alex Baker, said there was 'untapped potential' in local government pensions that could be used to boost investment in the defence sector, which often struggles to access finance. They argued that supporting British defence companies would help Ukraine, which has received more than £18 billion in military and humanitarian support from the UK. The MPs said there was a 'concerning trend among UK councils to divest from defence, with at least a dozen authorities implementing partial or full exclusion policies since 2022'. The MPs did not name the councils, but The Telegraph has found evidence of town halls in London, Bristol, Somerset, Oxford and Dudley where motions have been passed banning defence investment in support of Palestine. Dudley council, which is under no single party's overall control, passed a motion to divest from defence companies with the support of Labour and Liberal Democrat councillors. The council has flown the Ukrainian flag several times since the Russian invasion in February 2022, and lit up its town hall in blue and yellow. Labour-run Manchester city council, which voted to pressure its pension provider to abandon weapons manufacturers in November last year, has celebrated Ukrainian independence day and spent £50,000 to support Ukrainian refugees arriving in the city. The motion noted that councillors 'recognise the inextricable link between war, climate destruction, and human suffering' and that 'armed conflicts not only result in loss of life, including civilians and children, but also lead to intense environmental destruction'. Labour-run Waltham Forest Council, which announced plans to sell all defence investments in August last year, has hosted events for Ukrainian residents affected by the 'crisis' in their home country. Mr Charters told The Telegraph: 'With war on our continent, this is not the moment for councils to pull back from investing in UK defence. 'Firms and financiers have been clear when we have engaged with them: barriers like weak demand signals, short-term contracts, divestment, and regulatory uncertainty are holding the sector back. 'Our report calls for urgent engagement with local government pension schemes – and sets out 12 reforms to help unlock the capital and credit our defence sector needs to grow. 'Financing sovereign defence isn't optional – it's vital to our security and economic future.' The report's findings also include an apparent admission from the parliamentary pension scheme for MPs that their savings are often deliberately not invested in defence. A letter to the MPs from the chair of the fund said that while there was no specific ban on defence investments, 'environmental, social, governance and climate change issues tend to be more pronounced in some defence companies'. Mr Charters and Ms Baker said: 'There needs to be a holistic review by officials to understand how public investment vehicles are performing when it comes to defence sector investment. 'The UK cannot afford to miss this moment due to outdated ethical aversions. 'Defence investments represent not only a financial opportunity, but also an ethical obligation to secure the nation's future amidst an increasingly volatile geopolitical landscape.' Dudley council, Manchester city council and Waltham Forest council have all been approached for comment. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Indianapolis Star
2 hours ago
- Indianapolis Star
See Purdue's 50-year plan to transform downtown Indianapolis campus with high-rises
Over the next 50 years, Purdue University plans to transform its downtown Indianapolis campus into an urban hub with high-rise buildings serving up to 15,000 students, according to a new master plan. Today, Purdue's 28-acre sliver of land wedged between Indiana Avenue and Michigan Street on downtown's west side — roughly the same acreage as the parcel on which Lucas Oil Stadium and its south parking lot sit — is home to three parking garages and five expansive parking lots. A conceptual master plan approved by Purdue's Board of Trustees June 6 envisions 16 new buildings on that site, featuring 4.5 million square feet and about 3,500 student beds. With leasing agreements at nearby apartments, Purdue expects to offer students more than 5,300 beds downtown. The plan foresees an increase in Purdue's student enrollment in Indianapolis from about 2,800 in fall 2024 to 15,000 by fall 2075. Despite the dense development, the plan sets aside about 60% of the downtown acreage for open spaces where students can gather and walk, according to Maryland-based architecture firm Ayers Saint Gross, which designed the 50-year master plan. Construction on the campus' main building, the 15-story Academic Success Building near the intersection of West and Michigan streets, began this April. The $187 million facility with classrooms, lab space, dining halls and student housing will be complete around May 2027. The long-term plan comes as Purdue and Indiana University in Indianapolis jostle for position on the west side of downtown following the 2024 split of the two schools' joint urban campus, IUPUI. As Purdue updates its plans, IU has allotted hundreds of millions of dollars to build multiple major facilities, including an 11-story School of Medicine building and a 4,500-seat athletics center, on its downtown campus in the next few years. IUPUI split: Indiana Ave. fell as IUPUI rose. After Purdue and IU split, can they help renew the Avenue? After the IUPUI division, IU retains most of the 536-acre downtown campus and enrolled more than 25,000 students in fall 2024. IU also owns the 28-acre wedge of land where Purdue will expand between Indiana Avenue to the north, Michigan Street to the south and Blake Street to the west. Purdue has signed a 100-year lease to use the property. Purdue is expanding into Indiana's capital city in part to ease the strain on housing and other facilities at the West Lafayette campus, which now enrolls an all-time high of more than 55,000 students. University leaders have also announced partnerships with Indianapolis-based science and engineering firms like animal health company Elanco and race car manufacturer Dallara. 'Rather than a single hub, Purdue is weaving into the fabric of the city's innovation and industry corridors," David Umulis, Purdue's senior vice provost for Indianapolis, said in a statement, "expanding from downtown all the way to the northwest side of Indianapolis."
