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Industry News

Biden heads off rail strike with 60-day cooling off period

(The Maritime Executive) - To head off the supply-chain impact of a railway strike, U.S. President Joe Biden has established a presidential emergency board to help resolve a labor dispute between Class I rail carriers and their unionized workforce. The decision averts a possible large-scale labor action, which could have started as early as Monday.

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Hydrogen power isn't as green as it looks

(Vigor Times) - Governments around the world are offering rich subsidies and incentives to producers of hydrogen energy, which many see as a holy grail. Companies are equally excited: Hundreds of projects worth at least $600 billion have been announced. Estimates suggest demand could increase up to tenfold by midcentury.

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National Current Conditions

(Drought.gov) - Extreme heat and dryness in the Southern Plains and Missouri/Arkansas led to another week of major degradations. However, parts of the Midwest (which have been experiencing flash drought) and the Southeast saw good rain and improvements. As of July 19, 2022, 44.57% of the U.S. and 51.87% of the lower 48 states are in drought.

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New European port Antwerp-Bruges becomes foundation member of H2Global

(Port Technology) - The foundation has set itself the goal of making green hydrogen acceptable as an energy substitute in Europe – thereby advancing the energy transition and independence from Russian gas supplies.

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Sulfur an often-overlooked, but important nutrient

Depending on your soil test results; nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium are nutrients we supply year after year to our corn crop; however, there is a nutrient we might be overlooking when making fertilizer applications.

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Oil settles up nearly $4 as tight supply outweighs recession fears

(Reuters) - Oil prices settled sharply higher on Thursday, rebounding from steep losses the previous two sessions, as investors returned their focus to tight supply despite nagging fears of a potential global recession.

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Russia shuts down terminal after Kazakhstan offers to send more oil to the EU

(Euractiv) - A Russian court ordered the “temporary closure” on Wednesday (6 July) of the Novorossiysk oil terminal, which is key for exporting Kazakh oil, just two days after President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev told Council President Charles Michel his country is ready to send more oil to the EU.

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Letters citing rail service crisis continue to circulate at STB

(Progressive Railroading) - Surface Transportation Board members and other federal officials continue to hear from rail shippers and other rail industry stakeholders about ongoing freight-rail service issues and the supply-chain crisis.

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Brazil eases rule on lithium exports amid rising demand

(Reuters) - Brazil relaxed rules on lithium exports in a bid to cement itself as a global supplier and tap into surging demand for the metal used in electric vehicle batteries.

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US group streamline announces Saudi expansion with Zamil deal

(Trade Arabia) - US-based Streamline Innovations has partnered with Zamil, a Saudi trading company and supplier to the energy industry, to market and deploy its environmentally forward treatment solutions for hydrogen sulfide (H2S) in the kingdom.

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E.U. to vote on historic fee for carbon-heavy imports

(E&E News) - The European Parliament postponed a vote today on parts of a sweeping climate package that includes an ambitious plan to tax the carbon content of imported goods.

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Whitehouse on carbon tariffs, reconciliation bill
,p>(E&E News) - Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse has spent a year trying to inject carbon tariffs into reconciliation talks, and as negotiations ramp up again, he's having another go at it.

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Slovakia says hardest hit by Russia oil sanctions, expects solidarity

(Reuters) - Slovakia said on Friday it would be hardest hit by European Union sanctions on Russian oil and it expected solidarity from Brussels to mitigate the impact.

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STB proposes amendment to emergency service rules

(Progressive Rail Roading) - The Surface Transportation Board late last week issued a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) to amend its emergency service rules to provide relief for shippers in situations that require immediate relief.

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Trafigura to stop buying crude from Russia's Rosneft ahead of EU deadline

(Reuters) - Global commodities trader Trafigura Group will stop all purchases of crude oil from Russia's state company Rosneft (ROSN.MM) by May 15 when tighter EU rules on Russian oil sales come into effect, a company spokesperson said on Tuesday.

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Japan to fund $892 million to help develop low-emission fuels

(Reuters) - Japan's state-backed New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO) said on Tuesday it will allocate 114.5 billion yen ($892 million) to help develop new fuels such as synthetic ones that emit lower carbon dioxide (CO2).

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Precision farming market to grow to USD 15.6 billion by 2030

(Future Farming) - The precision farming market is expected to grow further due to the growing adoption of global positioning system (GPS), guidance, and remote sensing technologies by farmers and growers. The precision farming market is expected to grow from USD 8.5 billion in 2022 to USD 15.6 billion by 2030, at a CAGR of 7.9%, according to the latest report by MarketandMarkets.

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Russian oil imports banned, stocks down

(AP) — President Joe Biden has announced that the U.S. will ban all Russian oil imports, toughening the toll on Russia’s economy in retaliation for its invasion of Ukraine. But he also acknowledged it will bring costs to Americans, particularly at the gas pump. The action on Tuesday follows pleas by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to U.S. and Western officials to cut off the imports. Biden declared in remarks at the White House that “We will not be part of subsidizing Putin’s war.”

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The impact of the Ukraine invasion on global agriculture

(AG Web) - On February 24th, the Russian government led by President Vladimir Putin launched an attack on its neighbor Ukraine, seeking to bring that country back into the Russian sphere of influence by force.  The conflict is now in its second week, with the Russian army having captured a handful of cities in the south-eastern corner of Ukraine but their offensive has evidently stalled in much of the rest of the country.  

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Fertilizer giant Yara slashes production in Europe

(CNN Business) - Norway's Yara, one of the world's largest fertilizer makers, is curtailing its ammonia and urea output in Italy and France due to the surge in natural gas prices, it said on Wednesday, in another sign of rising costs for food production.

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Member News

Koch changes company name to reflect its diversification

(Bloomberg) -- Koch Industries Inc., the second-largest closely held firm in the US, is changing its name after nearly six decades, along with its corporate structure.

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Exxon aims to become a top lithium producer for electric vehicles with Arkansas drill operation

(MSN) - Exxon Mobil aims to become a leading producer of lithium for electric vehicle batteries through a drilling operation the oil giant is launching in Arkansas, the company announced Monday.

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Tessenderlo Kerley, Inc. celebrates groundbreaking in Ohio for fertilizer facility

Tessenderlo Kerley, Inc. held a celebratory groundbreaking to mark the commencement of construction on a new liquid fertilizer facility in Defiance, Ohio. The new 50,000-square-foot production facility will occupy 50 acres and is set to become operational in 2024. The facility will service the Eastern Great Lakes Region through its distribution partners and will include terminal loadouts for rail cars and tanker trucks.

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Ford to buy lithium from ioneer for U.S. EV battery plant

(Reuters) - Ford Motor Co (F.N) said on Thursday it will buy lithium from ioneer Ltd's (INR.AX) Rhyolite Ridge mining project in Nevada and use the metal to build electric vehicle batteries in the United States.

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Koch Ag Completes Acquisition, Forms Joint Venture With Moroccan Phosphate Subsidiary

(The Daily Scoop) - "The closing of this acquisition marks Koch's first substantial investment on the African continent," said Brad Razook, Executive VP of Koch Industries and CEO, Resources. "We are excited to add another nutrient to the KAES portfolio in collaboration with a world-class partner."

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Shell Pushes Big Plans To Drill More in Gulf

(The Wall Street Journal) - Political uncertainty is clouding prospects for new drilling in the Gulf of Mexico, but Shell PLC—the Gulf’s biggest producer—is still investing billions of dollars in its waters to pump oil for years to come.

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Rhyolite Ridge: Investing in the future

(Elko Daily) - Alot has been happening with the Rhyolite Ridge lithium/boron project in recent months.
“On March 31, U.S. President Joe Biden announced plans to invoke the Defense Production Act to provide hundreds of millions in new subsidies for the mining of minerals critical for the wind, solar and electric vehicles industries.

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Penflex Becomes The Sulphur Institute's Newest Member

(MSN) - Penflex Corporation recently became the newest member of The Sulphur Institute (TSI), an international, non-profit organization dedicated to advocating for the safe use of sulfur.

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Koch to acquire 50% stake in JFC III from OCP

(Agri Business Global) - Koch Ag & Energy Solutions (Koch) and OCP have signed an agreement under which a Koch affiliate will acquire a 50% interest in Jorf Fertilizers Company III (JFC III) from OCP, the world's largest phosphate mining and leading global fertilizer group. When closed, the transaction will establish a 50/50 joint venture.

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Exxon posts biggest profit in seven years on high oil prices

(Reuters) - Exxon Mobil Corp (XOM.N) on Tuesday reported a fourth-quarter profit of $8.87 billion, its largest in seven years, as the top U.S. oil producer benefited from strong energy prices.

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