Milk production increases by 100,000 tons in Rajshahi
Milk production has been enhanced by around 100,000 tons while dairy farm largely expanded in Rajshahi district in last four years, delighting many people as fortune maker. In 2020, around 356,000 tons of milk was produced compared to 250,000 tons in 2016, said Ismail Haque, district livestock training officer. Dairy farming has become a blessing for people because many of them are doing business for attaining economic emancipation in the region, he said. Rabiul Karim has become an icon in the field of dairy farming in his locality at Katakhali Shyamnagar village, around nine kilometers off the Rajshahi city, for the last few years. He started the business with four cows around six years back leaving behind his high-salaried job in a private company. He has 32 cows in his Abrar Dairy Farm on around four bigha of land at present.
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UAE and Saudi Arabia’s spat over OPEC oil production
In a rare public spat between the Gulf state allies, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia have found themselves at loggerheads over an OPEC plan that seeks to extend a cap on oil production. Saudi Arabia has led a push in OPEC to raise output by some 2 million barrels per day from August to December 2021 but extend remaining cuts to the end of 2022. Under a proposed OPEC Plus deal, the UAE would proportionally cut its oil production by 18 percent, while Saudi Arabia would cut its output by 5 percent. Negotiations over the dispute were set to resume on Monday, but the meeting was called off. No new date was agreed. The UAE’s Energy Minister Suhail Al Mazrouei said that his country has “sacrificed the most, making one-third of our production idle for two years”. “We can’t make a new agreement under the same conditions – we have a sovereign right to negotiate that,” he said.
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Gas demand set to surpass pre-virus levels, carbon goals at risk
The world’s net-zero emission goals for the mid-century could be threatened by the expected rebound in global natural gas demand this year unless governments implement strong policies, a new report from the International Energy Agency (IEA) said Monday. The demand is expected to rebound by 3.6 percent this year and by about 7 percent by 2024, surpassing pre-COVID-19 levels, the report said. Natural gas demand dropped by around 1.9 percent, or 75 billion cubic meters (bcm), in 2020 due to lockdown measures taken to curb the spread of the coronavirus pandemic and due to mild winter conditions in the Northern Hemisphere. The growth in natural gas demand this year reflects the economic recovery from the COVID-19 crisis, the IEA said in its latest quarterly Gas Market Report: Analysis and Forecast to 2024. This revival, while at lower average rates, is still too high to be compatible with net-zero targets in the long term, the report said. Economic activity and gas replacing other more polluting fuels – such as coal and oil – in the electricity generation, industrial and transportation sectors are due to drive demand over the next few years.
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Top Australian coal mines are spewing more methane than rivals
A key mining region in Australia, the world’s top exporter of metallurgical coal used in steelmaking, is producing vastly more methane emissions than global competitors, according to new analysis. For every ton of coal produced in the Bowen Basin region in Queensland state, an average of 7.5 kilograms of the potent greenhouse gas is released, said Kayrros SAS, a geoanalytics firm that studied satellite observations from the European Space Agency. That’s 47 percent higher than the average global methane intensity estimated by the International Energy Agency, according to the company. Using raw materials with a higher methane intensity increases the challenge for end users, including steelmakers, who are facing increasing pressure from governments and investors to curb pollution and develop production methods that use alternatives to coal. Australia, which accounts for about half of the world’s metallurgical coal exports, is forecast to increase shipments through 2023 and this month a government fund approved a A$175m ($132m) loan for the development of a new mine in the Bowen Basin.
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Kazaks announce 2023 production plans
Kazakhstan uranium producer Kazatomprom plans to maintain 2023 uranium production at a similar level to 2022. CEO of the worlds largest producer and seller of natural uranium, Galymzhan Pirmatov said “Consistent with our market-centric strategy, we intend to continue exercising commercial discipline, which will result in 2023 production remaining -20 percent lower than previously planned subsoil use contracts levels, keeping production essentially flat in 2022 and 2023.” Although the uranium market is starting to show signs of improvement, including an increase in long-term contracting interest, a thinning spot market, and slightly improved pricing, we still find ourselves in a position where adding tonnes back into the market in 2023 would be unlikely to maximise returns for our shareholders.” The impact of Kazatomproms decision is to reduce uranium production by -5,000tU (approximately -13mlbs), roughly 10 percent of global production.
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Iron ore price jumps as Tangshan mills resume production
Iron ore prices jumped on Monday, fuelled by rising demand as mills in steel hub Tangshan resumed production after China’s centenary. Steel output at some producers was restricted due to the Communist Party’s 100th anniversary and environmental-related policies, sending down utilisation rates of blast furnaces at 247 mills across China to 81.01 percent as of July 2 from a week earlier, according to Mysteel consultancy. “As Tangshan resumed production, short-term demand will return to pre-centenary level,” analysts note, adding that overall demand was still weakened by steel cut policies. The most-traded iron ore futures on the Dalian Commodity Exchange, for September delivery, soared as much as 5.6 percent to 1,226 yuan ($189.80) per tonne, the highest level since June 11. They closed up 5.5 percent at 1,225 yuan.