Monday Edition

05.24.10

North America

BP ATTEMPTS AGAIN TO SHUT GULF OIL WELL
BP’s planned attempt this week to shut off its blown Gulf of Mexico well has a 60-70% chance of success, a BP executive said on Monday. "We need it to work," BP Chief Operating Officer Doug Suttles told CNN, referring to a so-called "top kill" operation -- the injection of heavy fluids and then cement into the seabed well to block oil flow. Read more


STATE AG SECRETARIES PUSH FOR BIOFUEL TAX CREDITS
Eight Midwestern Agriculture Secretaries are urging Congress to extend the 45ct/gal ethanol tax credit, OPIS reports. "The failure to extend the biodiesel tax credit and the damage that has been done to that industry clearly highlight the need to act in a timely manner to make sure these critical policies are in place by the end of the year," said Iowa's Secretary of Agriculture.

CME LAUNCHES NEW CPO FUTURES CONTRACT
CME has launched its dollar-denominated CPO futures contract, trading on its Globex platform. The move is aimed at globalizing the Malaysian CPO futures market. The US exchange is working with Bursa Malaysia to offer the cash-settled futures contract in the US, Bloomberg reports.


South America

BUNGE TO CAPITALISE ON BRAZIL ETHANOL MARKET
Bunge plans to capitalise on the growing ethanol market in Brazil, building on its deal to acquire sugar producer Moema, ICIS reports. “We will support biodiesel producers with oil and sometimes take minority positions in those companies, but ethanol demand in Brazil is growing by 8% annually, and we want to capitalise on that growth,” said Bunge’s chief financial officer.

Europe

BRITAIN MAY MISS RENEWABLE ENERGY TARGET
Britain looks set to miss a European renewable energy target and its goal of a 34% cut in GHG emissions by 2020 as emissions decline more slowly, a report by Cambridge Econometrics said on Monday, Reuters reports.


EU NEEDS MORE GREEN INNOVATION
It is critical that Europe be more innovative with its green investment to avoid the continent being left behind, EU climate action commissioner Connie Hedegaard said, Argus reports. The EU's 20% emission reduction target by 2020 and the recently low emissions trading scheme allowance price will not help drive green innovation that could benefit the country in the long term, according to Hedegaard.

Asia / Pacific

PALM OIL FUTURES MAY DECLINE ON ECONOMIC RECOVERY CONCERNS
Palm oil futures may decline on concern that the global economic recovery will slow, reducing demand for commodities. August-delivery palm oil ended little changed at $750/mt in Malaysia Monday. Shipments of Malaysian palm oil to the EU dropped 27% in the first 20 days of this month, Intertek said last week. Read more


MALAYSIA FACING TROUBLES WITH CPO SUSTAINABILITY
Malaysia is facing difficulty in convincing the EU that its palm oil is sustainably developed, the Director of the European Centre for International Political Economy, said Monday. He said palm oil's image in the EU is generally bad as the campaigns by NGOs like Green Peace and Friends of the Earth have been so successful in discrediting the oil. Read more

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