Latest news with #Enterprise
The Sun
20 hours ago
- Business
- The Sun
US ethane exports to China hit new road block with license requirement
SINGAPORE/HOUSTON: U.S. exporters face potential disruption to their shipments of petrochemical feedstock ethane after the Commerce Department told them to seek licenses to export to top buyer China, according to trade sources and shipping data. Chinese petrochemical producers rely on the United States for almost all their ethane imports, buying about half of the total U.S. exports of the gas. Washington ordered a broad swath of companies to stop shipping goods to China without a license and revoked licenses already granted to some suppliers, Reuters reported on Wednesday. Those goods included ethane, as well as butane gas. If U.S. exporters are unable to obtain licenses quickly, they will need to seek alternative buyers. Costs for Chinese petrochemical makers will rise as they compete for alternative sources of ethane or switch to another more expensive petrochemical feedstock such as naphtha. China imported a record 230,000 barrels per day (bpd) of ethane from the United States last year, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Ethane is a byproduct of oil and gas production and is primarily used to make plastics. The exports have been caught in the trade war between the U.S. and China. Last month, China increased levies on imports of U.S. goods to 125% but waived the tariff for petrochemical producers. At least two Very Large Gas Carriers (VLGC) were waiting at U.S. ports to load ethane this week while 15 more tankers are headed to, or waiting off, the U.S. Gulf Coast, to load about 284,000 bpd of ethane in June, Kpler data showed. 'It's going to be a major issue if all exports are suspended,' said a Chinese ethane importer, who sought anonymity because he is not authorized to speak to media. 'We are cautiously watching if exporters can obtain new export licenses soon.' Petrochemical producer Ineos was scheduled to load ethane on VLGC Pacific Ineos Grenadier from Enterprise Products Partners' terminal in Morgan's Point, Texas, on May 24 for export to China, according to Kpler shipping tracking data. The ship docked on May 24 but has yet to load, according to LSEG tracking data. Enterprise, a top exporter of ethane, said in a regulatory filing on Thursday that it had received a letter from the Commerce Department on May 23 requiring a license to export ethane and butane to China. Enterprise said it was evaluating its procedures and internal controls and could not determine if it would be able to obtain a license. Enterprise and Ineos did not respond to requests for comment. The U.S. Commerce Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Ineos may divert the cargo to one of its European plants if it cannot ship it to China, one trade source said. The next vessel expected to load for ethane exports to China is the Stl Qianjiang, which is anchored near Energy Transfer's Nederland terminal, the data showed. That vessel is scheduled to ship ethane to Chinese petrochemical firm Satellite Chemical. Energy Transfer did not respond to requests for comment, while Satellite Chemical could not be reached for comment. 'We will continue working with the administration to ensure there are no unnecessary obstacles to these important trade flows,' said Dustin Meyer, senior vice president of Policy, Economics and Regulatory Affairs at the American Petroleum Institute trade group. 'The market disruption could be immediate,' Julian Renton, an analyst at East Daley Analytics, said in a note. Traders said there may be limited near-term impact on Chinese operators, as they have sufficient stocks to keep operations going for now. East Daley's Renton said that if the restriction holds, Chinese petrochemical plants could face critical feedstock shortfalls, while projects may stall. Shares of Enterprise were down 1.12% on Friday, while Energy Transfer shares were down 1.4%. Shares of ethane importers Satellite Chemical were down 3.1% earlier on Friday, while Wanhua Chemical stock lost 1.3%.
The Sun
20 hours ago
- Business
- The Sun
US ethane exports to China face new licensing hurdles
SINGAPORE/HOUSTON: U.S. exporters face potential disruption to their shipments of petrochemical feedstock ethane after the Commerce Department told them to seek licenses to export to top buyer China, according to trade sources and shipping data. Chinese petrochemical producers rely on the United States for almost all their ethane imports, buying about half of the total U.S. exports of the gas. Washington ordered a broad swath of companies to stop shipping goods to China without a license and revoked licenses already granted to some suppliers, Reuters reported on Wednesday. Those goods included ethane, as well as butane gas. If U.S. exporters are unable to obtain licenses quickly, they will need to seek alternative buyers. Costs for Chinese petrochemical makers will rise as they compete for alternative sources of ethane or switch to another more expensive petrochemical feedstock such as naphtha. China imported a record 230,000 barrels per day (bpd) of ethane from the United States last year, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Ethane is a byproduct of oil and gas production and is primarily used to make plastics. The exports have been caught in the trade war between the U.S. and China. Last month, China increased levies on imports of U.S. goods to 125% but waived the tariff for petrochemical producers. At least two Very Large Gas Carriers (VLGC) were waiting at U.S. ports to load ethane this week while 15 more tankers are headed to, or waiting off, the U.S. Gulf Coast, to load about 284,000 bpd of ethane in June, Kpler data showed. 'It's going to be a major issue if all exports are suspended,' said a Chinese ethane importer, who sought anonymity because he is not authorized to speak to media. 'We are cautiously watching if exporters can obtain new export licenses soon.' Petrochemical producer Ineos was scheduled to load ethane on VLGC Pacific Ineos Grenadier from Enterprise Products Partners' terminal in Morgan's Point, Texas, on May 24 for export to China, according to Kpler shipping tracking data. The ship docked on May 24 but has yet to load, according to LSEG tracking data. Enterprise, a top exporter of ethane, said in a regulatory filing on Thursday that it had received a letter from the Commerce Department on May 23 requiring a license to export ethane and butane to China. Enterprise said it was evaluating its procedures and internal controls and could not determine if it would be able to obtain a license. Enterprise and Ineos did not respond to requests for comment. The U.S. Commerce Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Ineos may divert the cargo to one of its European plants if it cannot ship it to China, one trade source said. The next vessel expected to load for ethane exports to China is the Stl Qianjiang, which is anchored near Energy Transfer's Nederland terminal, the data showed. That vessel is scheduled to ship ethane to Chinese petrochemical firm Satellite Chemical. Energy Transfer did not respond to requests for comment, while Satellite Chemical could not be reached for comment. 'We will continue working with the administration to ensure there are no unnecessary obstacles to these important trade flows,' said Dustin Meyer, senior vice president of Policy, Economics and Regulatory Affairs at the American Petroleum Institute trade group. 'The market disruption could be immediate,' Julian Renton, an analyst at East Daley Analytics, said in a note. Traders said there may be limited near-term impact on Chinese operators, as they have sufficient stocks to keep operations going for now. East Daley's Renton said that if the restriction holds, Chinese petrochemical plants could face critical feedstock shortfalls, while projects may stall. Shares of Enterprise were down 1.12% on Friday, while Energy Transfer shares were down 1.4%. Shares of ethane importers Satellite Chemical were down 3.1% earlier on Friday, while Wanhua Chemical stock lost 1.3%.
Techday NZ
2 days ago
- Business
- Techday NZ
Mirantis k0rdent unifies AI, VM & container workloads at scale
Mirantis has released updates to its k0rdent platform, introducing unified management capabilities for both containerised and virtual machine (VM) workloads aimed at supporting high-performance AI pipelines, modern microservices, and legacy applications. The new k0rdent Enterprise and k0rdent Virtualization offerings utilise a Kubernetes-native model to unify the management of AI, containerised, and VM-based workloads. By providing a single control plane, Mirantis aims to simplify operational complexity and reduce the need for multiple siloed tools when handling diverse workload requirements. k0rdent's unified infrastructure management allows organisations to manage AI services, containers, and VM workloads seamlessly within one environment. The platform leverages Kubernetes orchestration to automate the provisioning, scaling, and recovery of both containers and VMs, helping deliver consistent performance at scale. The platform also offers improved resource utilisation by automating the scheduling of computing and storage resources for various workloads through dynamic allocation. According to the company, this optimisation contributes to more efficient operations and cost control across modern and traditional application environments. Organisations can benefit from faster deployment cycles as k0rdent provides declarative infrastructure and self-service templates for containers and VMs. These features are designed to reduce delays typically associated with provisioning and deployment, allowing teams to accelerate time-to-value for projects. Enhanced portability and flexibility form a key part of the platform's approach. Workloads, including AI applications and microservices, can run alongside traditional VM-based applications on public cloud, private data centres, or hybrid infrastructure, without requiring refactoring. This capability aims to support a wide range of operational strategies and application modernisation efforts. Shaun O'Meara, Chief Technology Officer at Mirantis, stated, "Organisations are navigating a complex mix of legacy systems and emerging AI demands. k0rdent Enterprise and k0rdent Virtualization are delivering a seamless path to unified, Kubernetes-native AI infrastructure, enabling faster deployment, easier compliance, and reduced risk across any public, private, hybrid, or edge environment." With the new updates, platform engineers can define, deploy, and operate Kubernetes-based infrastructure using declarative automation, GitOps workflows, and validated templates from the Mirantis ecosystem. The solution is built on k0s, an open source CNCF Sandbox Kubernetes distribution, which Mirantis says enables streamlined infrastructure management and supports digital transformation initiatives across enterprises. k0rdent Virtualization, which operates on Mirantis k0rdent Enterprise, is positioned as an alternative to VMware tools such as vSphere, ESXi, and vRealize. This is intended to facilitate enterprises seeking to modernise application portfolios or expand edge computing infrastructure, including the integration of AI and cloud-native workloads, while retaining support for legacy infrastructure. The platform supports distributed workloads running across a variety of environments. It enables platform engineering teams to manage Kubernetes clusters at scale, build tailored internal developer platforms, and maintain compliance and operational consistency. k0rdent offers composable features through declarative automation, centralised policy enforcement, and deployment templates that can be used with Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud Platform (GCP), vSphere, and OpenStack. Mirantis provides k0rdent Enterprise and k0rdent Virtualization directly and via channel partners to meet the needs of organisations managing distributed and AI-driven workloads.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Enterprise businessman has eyes set on Alabama governorship
ENTERPRISE, Ala (WDHN) — An Enterprise businessman has thrown his hat in the ring for the highest office in the state. Chad Chig Martin is running for Alabama governor on the democratic ticket. This is Martin's second time running. His first was in 2022. 'I just feel like I have the business experience to do this, and I see a changing of the guard with Governor Ivey leaving here in the state, and I think I can offer a more energetic and positive direction,' Martin said. Currently, Martin is the owner of Honeysuckle Hemp in Dothan and has experience in aerospace and real estate. Leaning on his experience to focus on economic development for the state if he gets a chance to become governor. 'We've got areas that have been overlooked for years, and people are suffering in those areas. I want to put infrastructure in those areas, and some other things I want are to make sure every child has affordable health care,' Martin said. He says he also wants to restore 'community pride' in public schools as well as crack the code on a contentious legislative issue. 'We need to step up and get a lottery, it's not a moral compass thing, it's the fact 46 out of 50 states have it, and we are building schools in other states with that money,' he said. If Martin can get through the primary, he could face political heavyweight Senator Tommy Tuberville, who has previously expressed opposition to the lottery. Tuberville announced his gubernatorial run this week. The football coach-turned-politician said he would work to improve education and bring manufacturing to the Yellowhammer State, while attempting to stop illegal immigration. Sen. Tommy Tuberville running for governor of Alabama It would be an uphill battle for Martin, who says his first step is getting past the primary, which he claims is controlled by the black belt region — he would have to garner over 70,000 votes. 'I'm trying to reach out to Black voters, work with community leaders, and let them know they have a seat at the table,' said Martin. Martin says his campaign this year is off to a better start than last time, as he has a campaign manager this time, more funding, and he will soon participate in some debates around the state. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Enterprise Products says its China exports could fall due to license requirement
HOUSTON (Reuters) -Enterprise Products Partners on Thursday said its ethane and butane exports could be hurt by a U.S. Department of Commerce requirement that it apply for a license to export to China. The United States has ordered a broad swathe of companies to stop shipping goods, including ethane and butane, to China without a license and revoked licenses already granted to certain suppliers, Reuters reported on Wednesday. Enterprise, which owns and operates marine export terminals that handle ethane and butane, said in a regulatory filing it was evaluating its procedures and internal controls and could not determine if it will be able to obtain a license. Enterprise's marine export terminal on the Houston ship channel loaded about 213,000 barrels per day of ethane in 2024, of which about 85,000 BPD, or 40%, were exported to Chinese markets, Enterprise said. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
