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Report: Russia’s Planned Gas Pipeline to China Faces Construction Delay

A man smokes a cigarette on a frozen river in Beijing on January 28, 2024. (Photo by Pedro PARDO / AFP)
A man smokes a cigarette on a frozen river in Beijing on January 28, 2024. (Photo by Pedro PARDO / AFP)
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Report: Russia’s Planned Gas Pipeline to China Faces Construction Delay

A man smokes a cigarette on a frozen river in Beijing on January 28, 2024. (Photo by Pedro PARDO / AFP)
A man smokes a cigarette on a frozen river in Beijing on January 28, 2024. (Photo by Pedro PARDO / AFP)

Mongolian Prime Minister L. Oyun-Erdene said construction of Russia's planned new Power of Siberia-2 gas pipeline to China, which was expected to start this year, may be delayed, the Financial Times reported on Sunday.
Russia has been in talks to build a new pipeline to carry 50 billion cubic meters of gas a year from northern Russia to China via Mongolia, almost as much as the now-idle Nord Stream 1 pipeline under the Baltic Sea that was damaged in 2022, Reuters said.
China and Russia have yet to agree on key details of the mammoth project, the PM told the paper, adding that record global gas prices during the past two years had complicated talks.
Gazprom, which will operate Power of Siberia-2 has said it aims to start delivering gas by 2030. But agreement on key issues, including pricing remains elusive.
"Those two sides still need more time to do more detailed research on the economic studies," Oyun-Erdene told the FT. "The Chinese and Russian sides are still doing the calculations and estimations and they are working on the economic benefits," he said.
Russia is ramping up supplies to China to compensate for the loss of much of its gas sales in Europe since its invasion of Ukraine nearly two years ago, which prompted Western states to slap sanctions on Moscow and trim reliance on Russian energy.
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Viktoria Abramchenko told state news agency TASS last year that building of the Mongolian part of Russian gas link to China may start in the first quarter or first half of 2024.

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Iraq Approves Three-Month Mechanism to Export Crude via Local, International Firms

The Zubair Oil Field in Basra, Iraq, April 6, 2026. (Reuters)
The Zubair Oil Field in Basra, Iraq, April 6, 2026. (Reuters)
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Iraq Approves Three-Month Mechanism to Export Crude via Local, International Firms

The Zubair Oil Field in Basra, Iraq, April 6, 2026. (Reuters)
The Zubair Oil Field in Basra, Iraq, April 6, 2026. (Reuters)

Iraq's cabinet approved mechanisms for exporting Iraqi crude through specialized international and local companies and via multiple export outlets, the government said on Tuesday.

The contracts under the new mechanism will run for three months starting September 1, according to a statement issued after the cabinet meeting.

Iraq ‌is seeking ‌to diversify its oil ‌export ⁠channels and maintain flexibility ⁠in marketing its crude amid the Iran war and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, which has disrupted regional oil flows and created uncertainty around shipping routes.

Iraq ⁠has worked to develop ‌alternative export ‌routes in addition to its traditional southern terminals, ‌including routes through Türkiye and Syria, ‌as it seeks to reduce reliance on Gulf shipping routes.

Iraq is OPEC's second-largest oil producer and relies heavily on ‌crude exports for state revenue. Most of its exports are ⁠shipped ⁠from terminals in the southern Gulf, leaving the country particularly exposed to disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz.

The government did not immediately provide details on the companies to be selected, the volumes to be exported under the mechanism, or the specific export outlets covered by the contracts.

Business

Aramco, Maaden Sign Joint Venture Agreement on Mineral Exploration, Hard-Rock Mining in Saudi Arabia

File photo of the Saudi flag - SPA
File photo of the Saudi flag - SPA
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Aramco, Maaden Sign Joint Venture Agreement on Mineral Exploration, Hard-Rock Mining in Saudi Arabia

File photo of the Saudi flag - SPA
File photo of the Saudi flag - SPA

Aramco and Maaden announced the signing of a shareholders’ agreement to form a Joint Venture (JV) to unlock new opportunities in mineral exploration and hard-rock mining in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Combining the strengths of two leaders in their respective fields, the JV would focus on copper and other minerals critical to the energy transition. The JV plans were first disclosed in January 2025.

The JV is expected to be owned 51% by Maaden and 49% by Aramco, and focus on exploration across Zone-4, also known as the Transition Zone, within the Arabian Platform. It represents a major new opportunity for mineral discovery in the Kingdom.

Spanning approximately 182,000 square kilometers, nearly 10% of Saudi Arabia’s total land area, the expected exploration area stretches along a 100-kilometer-wide zone running parallel to the Arabian Shield.

Aramco Vice President of Transition Minerals Saleh M. Al Saleh said: "Over 90 years, Aramco has accumulated and analyzed the largest amount of geological and geophysical data ever acquired in a single basin for the Kingdom. This partnership intends to leverage this legacy information to find minerals in the JV area within the basin. Maaden’s expertise, our people, high-performance computing, and AI are expected to play a pivotal role in accelerating the discovery of key transition minerals at low cost."

Maaden Executive Vice President for Exploration Darryl Clark said: “Maaden has been advancing one of the world’s largest single jurisdiction exploration programs across the Arabian Shield to help unlock the Kingdom’s mineral potential. This joint venture would take that ambition into a new area. By combining Maaden’s exploration and development expertise with Aramco’s extraordinary knowledge of the Arabian Platform, we would have an opportunity to move faster, explore smarter, and create new opportunities to discover the minerals that will power the energy transition.”

Copper, which is increasingly significant for electric vehicles, power networks, energy storage, and renewable energy systems, would be a main focus of the JV. Copper is a major metal making up over 20% of the $1.2 trillion mined metals market. The copper market is currently valued at approximately $250 billion and is projected to grow to over $400 billion by 2035. The JV would also explore for other energy transition minerals including zinc, lead, and rare earth elements that are expected to be crucial to industries of the future.

Leveraging advanced computational algorithms, AI, and high-performance computing, the JV intends to target areas most likely to contain copper and valuable minerals, accelerating the path from regional screening to target definition and discovery. This is expected to support long-term sector development, reinforce the Kingdom’s role in the global minerals value chain, and help meet rising demand for transition minerals.

The effectiveness of the shareholders’ agreement and the incorporation of the JV is conditional upon the fulfillment of certain condition precedents, including, but not limited to, obtaining all the required corporate and regulatory approvals and antitrust clearance.

Business

Gold Slips on Firmer Treasury Yields, Oil Prices; Fed Minutes in Focus

An employee displays a gold necklace at a jewelry store in Varanasi, India (AFP)
An employee displays a gold necklace at a jewelry store in Varanasi, India (AFP)
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Gold Slips on Firmer Treasury Yields, Oil Prices; Fed Minutes in Focus

An employee displays a gold necklace at a jewelry store in Varanasi, India (AFP)
An employee displays a gold necklace at a jewelry store in Varanasi, India (AFP)

Gold fell on Tuesday, pressured by higher Treasury yields and oil prices, while traders awaited minutes of the US Federal Reserve's July policy meeting for clues on the outlook for interest rates.

Spot gold was down 0.4% to $4,397.42 per ounce, as of 0624 GMT, while US gold futures for December delivery dropped 0.5% to $4,452.90. Yields ‌on the benchmark ‌10-year US Treasury note extended gains, raising ‌the ⁠opportunity cost of holding ⁠non-yielding bullion.

Oil prices edged higher after Iran said it would shift to a "fully offensive" military posture following a breakdown in efforts to negotiate a permanent end to the war with the United States, while Washington ruled out extending a temporary ceasefire agreement.

Oil prices will remain one ⁠of the key factors keeping gold under ‌pressure as the situation in ‌the Middle East continues to look uncertain, ANZ analyst Soni ‌Kumari said.

Traders' expectations around Fed policy rates are ‌going to be important for gold, with a focus on technical levels, Kumari added.

Elevated energy prices tend to raise inflationary fears and bolster expectations of higher interest rates. While gold is typically seen ‌as a hedge against inflation, higher interest rates tend to diminish bullion's appeal.

However, market ⁠pricing for ⁠a September quarter-point hike flipped to a nearly 65% chance of a "hold" after unexpected job losses in July, lower-than-expected consumer price inflation and weaker retail sales.

Investors are also awaiting minutes of the Fed's most recent policy meeting, with the release scheduled for Wednesday.

Spot gold may test support at $4,381, a break below which could open the way towards the $4,320 to $4,351 range, according to Reuters technical analyst Wang Tao. Among other metals, spot silver slipped 0.7% to $65.32 per ounce, platinum lost 0.6% to $1,759.63 and palladium dipped 0.6% to $1,325.47.