Ship carrying nearly 3,000 cars ablaze off Dutch coast, crew member dead: A fire blazed on a cargo ship off the Dutch coast with nearly 3,000 vehicles on board on Wednesday, killing one member of the crew and injuring several others, the coastguard said. Several crew members were forced to jump overboard after the fire began on Tuesday night on the 199-metre (655-foot) Panama-registered Fremantle Highway as it was en route from Germany to Egypt. The Indian Embassy in the Netherlands said in a social media post the fire had "resulted in the death of an Indian seafarer and injuries to the crew", and that it was in touch with family of the deceased. Japan's Shoei Kisen, which owns the ship, said the entire crew of 21 was Indian. Rescue ships sprayed water onto the burning vessel to cool it down, but using too much water risked its sinking, the Dutch coastguard said. It was attached to a salvage vessel to prevent it drifting. The fire might last for several days, Dutch news agency ANP reported, citing the coastguard. Smoke continued to billow from the vessel near the northern Dutch island of Ameland. Source: Reuters Click

UPS labor deal could pressure delivery firm's annual outlook, say analysts: A tentative labor deal reached between United Parcel Service (UPS.N) and the Teamsters union on Tuesday, if ratified, could pressure full-year outlook for the world's largest parcel delivery firm, according to analysts. The five-year contract, which the head of the union claims to be worth $30 billion in new money, covers about 340,000 U.S. employees and provides wage increases, and one more paid holiday among other benefits. UPS shares closed down 1.9% on Tuesday signaling investor worries about the labor deal's impact on costs. The company's workers have until Aug. 22 to vote on the tentative deal. While the delivery firm has managed to avert a strike, analysts expect the contract would raise overall labor inflation, pressuring the outlook for the year and also weighing on margins at a time when the industry is reeling from waning demand. Source: Reuters Click

France's TotalEnergies starts commercial drilling at Uganda project: France's TotalEnergies (TTEF.PA) said on Wednesday it had begun commercial drilling this month at its Tilenga petroleum project in Uganda's west ahead of an expected start of oil production in the east African country in 2025. TotalEnergies has faced fierce resistance from environmental protection groups and green energy campaigners who say the Tilenga project, which is partly located in a national park, and a planned crude oil export pipeline are a disaster for the planet. "Drilling of the Tilenga wells began in July 2023, with production scheduled to start in 2025. A total of 420 wells will be drilled at Tilenga," a spokesperson for TotalEnergies said. TotalEnergies and its partner, China's CNOOC, have said production in Tilenga will hit a peak of 190,000 barrels per day.  Source: Reuters Click

Germany's updated hydrogen strategy sees heavy reliance on imported fuel in future: Germany will have to import up to 70% of its hydrogen demand in the future as Europe's largest economy aims to become climate-neutral by 2045, an updated government strategy published on Wednesday showed. The German cabinet approved a new hydrogen strategy, setting guidelines for hydrogen production, transport infrastructure and market plans. Germany is seeking to expand reliance on hydrogen as a future energy source to cut greenhouse emissions for highly polluting industrial sectors that cannot be electrified such as steel and chemicals and cut dependency on imported fossil fuel. Produced using solar and wind power, green hydrogen is a pillar of Berlin's plan to transition away from fossil fuels. But even with doubling the country's domestic electrolysis capacity target for 2030 to at least 10 gigawatts (GW), Germany will need to import around 50% to 70% of its hydrogen demand, forecast at 95 to 130 TWh in 2030, the strategy showed. "A domestic supply that fully covers demand does not make economic sense or serve the transformation processes resulting from the energy transition as a whole," the document said. Source: Reuters Click

Brazil's Petrobras oil output dips slightly in second quarter: Brazilian state-run oil company Petrobras (PETR4.SA) said on Wednesday its second-quarter crude oil production fell 0.6% compared to the same period last year. The firm pumped 2.10 million barrels per day (bpd) between April and June, it said in a securities filing. Including natural gas, the company produced a daily average of 2.64 million barrels of oil equivalent (boed) in the period, also 0.6% below the second quarter of 2022. The company attributed the decline mainly to losses from maintenance stoppages, in addition to the natural decline of mature oil fields and asset sales. This was partially offset, however, by the ramp-up of its P-71 platform in the Itapu field and the start of production of a new FPSO in the Buzios field, Petrobras said. Source: Reuters Click