Pakistan calls on Russia to upgrade carbamide facilities, build new metals plants

Pakistan is showing interest in Russia not just shipping fertilizers, but also taking part in the modernization of Pakistani fertilizer manufacturing plants, the Russian Industry and Trade Ministry's Asia, Africa and Latin America Department director Sergei Nosov told the Chamber of Commerce and Industry's Russia-Pakistan Business Council on Tuesday, as per Interfax.

Russian fertilizer exports to Pakistan have been growing in 2024 but the prospects are not limited to them, Pakistan is also keen on Russian companies' involvement in upgrading its facilities that produce fertilizers, including carbamide, he said.

Russia has the expertise and equipment needed to implement these turnkey projects, he said. Furthermore, Russia is actively promoting a wide range of agricultural equipment, including combines for grain purification and tractors much needed on the Pakistani market, Nosov said. As for metallurgy, rolled steel products and pipes for infrastructure projects are in high demand, he said.

Pakistan has recognized that restoring the Karachi steel mill is not economically justified, and invited Russian companies to participate in creating a new one in its place, Nosov said. Options for industrial site development include blast furnaces and electric smelting facilities with a minimal ecological footprint, he said. Yet another option is to set up metal rolling production using Russian raw material and prefabs, he said.

In 2023, trade between the two countries was up 51%, at USD1.1 billion, according to the ministry's data. That is thanks to the increase of both exports and imports. Russia actively exports its agricultural products, including wheat, lentils and peas, and plans to expand the range of agricultural exports to the Pakistani market, in particular with halal products.

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A Gazprom delegation headed by Alexei Miller, the Russian gas giant's CEO, made a working visit to Iran on September 24, as per Interfax.

"In the course of the visit, a working meeting was held in Tehran between Alexei Miller and Mohsen Paknejad, Iran's Minister of Petroleum. The meeting addressed matters pertaining to the cooperation in the gas sector," Gazprom said in a press release.

Masoud Pezeshkian, elected Iranian president in the summer, formed his cabinet in August. He succeeded Ebrahim Raisi, who died in a helicopter crash in May.

In June 2024, a Strategic Memorandum on the elaboration of arrangements for supplies of Russian natural gas to Iran was signed with National Iranian Gas Company (NIGC) during a visit by Miller to Iran. The volume should reach 300 million cubic meters a day or around 100 billion cubic meters a year for domestic consumption and re-export to neighboring countries, Iran has said.

Gazprom has a representative office in Iran.

Earlier it was reported that the Hungarian company MVM and Gazprom are planning to expand cooperation in order to increase MVM's role in regional gas trade.

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TotalEnergies and Air France-KLM have signed an agreement for TotalEnergies to supply up to 1.5 MMt of more sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) to Air France-KLM Group airlines over a 10-yr period, until 2035, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

This agreement marks one the largest SAF purchase contracts signed by Air France-KLM to date. In 2022 and 2023, Air France-KLM was the world's leading SAF user, representing 17% and 16% of total global production, respectively.

Accelerating the decarbonization of air transport in Europe. This contract builds on a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed in 2022 for the supply of 800,000 tons of SAF. By re-evaluating this agreement today, the two groups are reaffirming their objective to curb the environmental impact of the air transport sector as quickly as possible by reducing carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions.

By 2030, Air France-KLM aims to reduce its CO2 emissions per passenger/km by 30% compared with 2019 levels. The Group aims to achieve this goal through a combination of fleet renewal, operational measures such as eco-piloting, and the incorporation of at least 10% of more SAF on all its flights. These ambitious targets go beyond regulatory obligations.

The SAF supplied to Air France-KLM will be made from waste and residues from the circular economy and will be produced in TotalEnergies' French and European biorefineries and refineries by coprocessing. This SAF will be used to fuel flights operated by Air France-KLM’s airlines on departure from France, the Netherlands and other European countries. The development of SAF is at the heart of TotalEnergies' transition strategy to meet demand from the aviation sector.

Air France-KLM has implemented a strict sourcing policy, purchasing only second-generation SAF that does not compete with global food production, and that is RSB or ISCC+ certified for its sustainability.

SAF allows for a reduction in CO? emissions of at least 75% and up to 90% over the entire fuel lifecycle, compared with fossil fuel equivalents.

In January 2020, TotalEnergies and Air France took part, alongside Safran and Suez, in the Call for Expressions of Interest launched by the French government to encourage the emergence of a French SAF production industry.

Since 2022, TotalEnergies has been supplying SAF to Air France-KLM Group airlines in France, as part of the French incorporation mandate.

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Russia's Transport Ministry expects the volume of investment in the program of Russian Railways in 2025 to be at the level of this year, First Deputy Transport Minister Valentin Ivanov told journalists on Monday on the sidelines of the Digital Transportation international forum, as per Interfax.

"We believe that the investment program should be the same as this year. We have about 1 [trillion rubles] or slightly more there," Ivanov said. Regarding the parameters of Russian Railways' five-year investment program, Ivanov said that it was still under discussion. "We expect it to be reviewed and approved in November," Ivanov said.

As reported earlier, the Russian government plans to review Russian Railways' five-year investment program in November, which is currently approved annually.

Russian Railways' 2024 investment program was approved at almost 1.275 trillion rubles, including investments to develop infrastructure in the Eastern area of the country at 366 billion rubles.

It was previously reported that Russian Railways' 2023 investment program was raised from 1.1 trillion to 1.19 trillion rubles.

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New Zealand's Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced further sanctions against Russia and Belarus over the situation in Ukraine, as per Interfax.

"These new sanctions target five individuals and six entities," Peters said in a statement published by the country's Foreign Ministry.

Since March 2022, New Zealand has imposed sanctions on more than 1,700 individuals and entities, along with a range of trade measures against Russia.
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