Egypt, South Korea to Cooperate in Transportation, Railway Sectors

The Egyptian and South Korean officials during their meeting. (Egypt Ministry of Transportation)
The Egyptian and South Korean officials during their meeting. (Egypt Ministry of Transportation)
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Egypt, South Korea to Cooperate in Transportation, Railway Sectors

The Egyptian and South Korean officials during their meeting. (Egypt Ministry of Transportation)
The Egyptian and South Korean officials during their meeting. (Egypt Ministry of Transportation)

Egypt discussed with South Korea on Friday ways of supporting and developing joint cooperation in the fields of railways, metro and sea transport.

They also reviewed other projects in progress between them.

Egyptian Minister of Transportation Eng. Kamel al-Wazir met in Cairo with his South Korean counterpart Noh Hyeong-ouk, who is currently on an official visit to the North African nation.

During the meeting, the ministers tackled the projects underway between Egypt and South Korean in the different fields of transport, especially as regards to upgrading the signaling system on the 118 km Naga Hammadi-Luxor line and the 224 km Luxor-High Dam line.

The two ministers also agreed to activate the agreement that was previously signed by Egypt and South Korea to locally manufacture metro train cars in Egypt, the Transportation Ministry said in a statement.

Wazir stressed that the Egyptian government places great importance on improving maritime transport, adding that a comprehensive plan has been implemented to transform Egypt into international hub for trade and logistics.

For his part, the Korean Minister underlined Seoul's keenness on increasing cooperation with Cairo in a number of sectors.

The ministers signed a memorandum of understanding to enhance cooperation in the field of railways and the public and the private sectors.

The agreement also aims at developing cooperation in signaling, communications, control systems and the renovation of railways.

The Egyptian government stressed that developing the railway network focuses on the carriages, railway, updating the traffic signal system, improving safety, installing modern equipment and training workers.

Egypt has in recent years witnessed several railway accidents.



Oil Inches up After Trump Cancels Chevron’s Venezuela License 

Oil tankers sail the Maracaibo Lake in Maracaibo, Venezuela on March 15 , 2019. (AFP)
Oil tankers sail the Maracaibo Lake in Maracaibo, Venezuela on March 15 , 2019. (AFP)
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Oil Inches up After Trump Cancels Chevron’s Venezuela License 

Oil tankers sail the Maracaibo Lake in Maracaibo, Venezuela on March 15 , 2019. (AFP)
Oil tankers sail the Maracaibo Lake in Maracaibo, Venezuela on March 15 , 2019. (AFP)

Oil prices edged up on Thursday after sliding in the previous two sessions, with supply worries resurfacing after US President Donald Trump announced a reversal of a license given to Chevron to operate in Venezuela.

Brent crude oil futures was up 2 cent at $72.55 a barrel by 0731 GMT. US West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures were up 6 cents at $68.68 per barrel.

A day earlier, the contracts settled at their lowest since December 10 due to a surprise build in US fuel inventories that hinted at weakening demand and hopes for a potential peace deal between Russia and Ukraine. Both benchmarks have lost about 5% so far this month.

Trump on Wednesday said he was reversing a license given to Chevron to operate in Venezuela by his predecessor Joe Biden more than two years ago.

Chevron exports about 240,000 barrels per day of crude from its Venezuela operations, over a quarter of the country's entire oil output. Ending the license means Chevron will no longer be able to export Venezuelan crude.

"The Venezuela news triggered unwinding after the recent sell-off amid Russian-Ukraine ceasefire talks," said Hiroyuki Kikukawa, president of NS Trading, a unit of Nissan Securities.

"Potential buying from the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve also supported the market since WTI was trading near its lowest level in over two months," he said.

Last week, Trump said his administration would quickly fill up the SPR. He criticized Biden for tapping the SPR to bring down the price of gasoline.

Market participants remain focused on Trump's Russian-Ukrainian peace talks. Trump said Volodymyr Zelenskiy would visit Washington on Friday to sign an agreement on rare earth minerals, while the Ukrainian leader said the success of the deal would hinge on those talks and continued US aid.

US crude oil stockpiles fell unexpectedly last week as refining activity ticked higher, while gasoline and distillate inventories posted surprising gains, the Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday.

"Since this is a seasonal off-peak period, with demand shifting from kerosene to gasoline, the sell-off driven by rising product inventories has likely run its course," NS Trading's Kikukawa said.

Separately, Goldman Sachs said in a note on Wednesday that the US administration's dual goals of commodity dominance and affordability reinforce the bank's Brent $70-85 range baseline, a range that is conducive to robust US supply growth.