At national parks China releases mandate on natural assets
The Ministry of Natural Resources announced the outcome of the unified and confirmed registration of natural resources for the country’s first batch of national parks on Monday. This step clarifies issues around ownership, management responsibilities and ecological boundaries to serve the protection and supervision of natural resources.
China declared the establishment of its first batch of national parks — the National Park of Hainan Tropical Rainforest, Wuyishan National Park, Giant Panda National Park, Northeast China Tiger and Leopard National Park, and Three-River-Source National Park — in 2021, with the aim of protecting the integrity of their ecosystems while making use of their valuable natural resources scientifically and rationally.
Türkiye to begin first Southeastern shale oil drilling
Türkiye could start drilling its first test well in southeastern Diyarbakır province within a few weeks to explore shale oil potential, with plans to drill 24 wells over the next three years, Energy and Natural Resources Minister Alparslan Bayraktar announced on Friday.
In March, Türkiye signed agreements with U.S.-based Continental Resources and TransAtlantic Petroleum to develop shale oil in the Diyarbakır Basin and shale gas in the Thrace region.
Preliminary assessments by the Energy and Natural Resources Ministry and Continental Resources indicate the basin could hold 6.1 billion barrels of oil.
“We are focusing on how much of this resource we can produce and by what methods,” Bayraktar told broadcaster A Haber on Friday.
“We may have clearer results by the end of this year and early next year through horizontal drilling. We aim to begin the first vertical drilling in a few weeks.”
Canada’s natural resources could be our greatest strength
Canada is navigating a new world order marked by instability and uncertainty.
To succeed, we’ll need to shed our typically bashful Canadian reflexes and embrace the reality that we hold much of what the world needs. This is not a moment for humility or for quietly downplaying our strengths.
In fact, it’s the opposite. We need to expand our international reach and reframe our brand in the global community with confidence. To that end, the Business Council of Canada recently published a report, “Selling to our Strengths”, that provides a roadmap to get us there.The report is a call for policy coherence and recommends a whole-of-government strategy that links Canada’s admirable export ambitions to pragmatic policies that will bolster our capacity to produce, transport, and enrich the value of Canada’s energy, food, and mineral resources.
We have an abundance of natural riches, but we lack the infrastructure—both physical and regulatory—to fully leverage our natural assets and deliver the commodities our allies and trading partners need.
The federal government’s One Canadian Economy Act, Bill C-5, is a step in the right direction, but major improvements are still needed in how we approve and permit major projects.
In new report, italian olive oil sector demonstrates resilience
The 2024/25 crop year is closing with 250,000 metric tons of production, as Italy’s olive oil yields continue to fall — averaging 9 percent lower this decade compared to the last.
The latest figures released by Ismea, the public agency for services to the agricultural market, also confirmed that Italian per capita olive oil consumption declined in 2024, signaling a changing approach of many households to the staple product.
The Ismea report shows olive oil consumption decreasing in 2024 to 440,804 tons, compared with the 474,405 tons reported in 2023 and the 518,694 tons in 2022.
The data show that the average Italian consumes about 7.5 liters of olive oil per annum. In 2019, per capita consumption reached 7.6 liters. Seven years before, consumption was at 12 liters per capita.
“Consumers often do not know the difference between one product and the other,” Anna Cane, president of the olive oil group at the Italian Association of the Edible Oil Industry (Assitol), told Olive Oil Times.
“Consumers tend to value sustainability or quality, but when those mean more expensive choices, most of them go for the cheaper option,” she added, hinting at the need for the whole sector to better promote the unique qualities of extra virgin olive oil among Italian consumers.
In may global natural gas production dropped
The world’s natural gas production fell in May compared to April, driven by lower output in Russia, the United States, and Norway, according to the latest data by the Joint Organizations Data Initiative (JODI).
The Monthly Oil & Gas Data Review of the latest JODI oil and gas databases updates showed on Monday that natural gas production in the 58 countries that have updated their most recent self-reported figures for May declined by 4.8 billion cubic meters (bcm) in May compared to April.
The monthly drop was driven by a fall of 3.2 bcm in Russia’s production, a 1.6 bcm decline in the U.S., and output falling by 1.3 bcm in Norway, which has now replaced Russia as Europe’s top natural gas supplier.
Compared to May 2024, global gas production inched up by 0.7 bcm, led by output growth in China, Qatar, Nigeria, and a smaller year-over-year rise in the United States.
Meanwhile, natural gas demand in JODI-reporting countries slumped by 12 bcm month-on-month in May and by 2.7 bcm year over year.
Major gas-consuming countries for power generation contributed to the monthly decline amid mild spring temperatures after the end of the winter. Demand fell in the United States, South Korea, Japan, Turkey, and the UK.
EU plus UK natural gas demand fell by 2.1 bcm m/m but rose by 2.8 year-on-year.
Total global gas inventories rose in May by 9.9 bcm m/m. However, these declined by 27.6 bcm year-on-year. EU+UK inventories increased by 7.2 bcm in May m/m but fell by 25.1 bcm y/y.