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The Cohesion Fund invests €275.7 million for better drinking water supply and upgraded wastewater collection and treatment services in the Cluj and Sălaj counties, north-west Romania.
Under this EU-funded project, almost 240,000 inhabitants will enjoy better drinking water, said EU Commissioner for Environment, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Karmenu Vella.

On Tuesday, he said: "Everyone should have access to good drinking water. With this cohesion project, the EU invests for the health and quality of life of our citizens, while protecting the environment and reducing water losses. This is a great example of what the EU can do for you." The project will increase the local water supply connection rate from 79% to 95%.

Works will extend the supply of drinking water using sources that are microbiologically controlled. They also include upgrades at the water treatment plant at Gilău, the rehabilitation of the underground water source Florești in Cluj and the construction or reconstruction of almost 1,550 km of networks. The project should be completed in July 2023.
Meanwhile, 408 early-career researchers have been awarded European Research Council grants in this year's first completed ERC call for proposals. The highly-coveted funding will help individual scientists and scholars to build their own teams and conduct pioneering research across all disciplines. The grants, worth in total €621 million, are part of the EU' Research and Innovation programme, Horizon 2020.
Carlos Moedas, European Commissioner for Research, Science and Innovation, said: " To answer the most difficult challenges of our age, researchers need the freedom and conditions to follow their curiosity. This is what the EU provides via the European Research Council grants: an opportunity for outstanding scientists to pursue their most daring ideas. "

President of the European Research Council (ERC), Professor Jean-Pierre Bourguignon, commented: " Science breaks down borders. With researchers of 51 nationalities, the outcome of this call marks a record high in ERC competitions. It also reminds us that talent is everywhere to be found and it is essential that the EU keeps attracting and funding outstanding researchers from all over the world. It is with great pride that the ERC contributes to this challenge. "

The successful candidates' research covers a diverse range of topics, including studying how forest foods could provide a solution to world hunger; assessing the intensity, frequency, and distribution of extreme sea levels in Europe; investigating how tech companies sell their products and seek consumers' trust, or unraveling the survival skills of single cell organisms . See all nine examples of the research selected for funding in Croatia, Finland, France, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain, and the UK.

The results of this grant competition show a greater diversity of nationalities than ever before: researchers are from 51 different countries of origin across the world, from as far afield as Taiwan and Cuba. 20 researchers will move to Europe from outside the EU and associated states to conduct new research.

The ERC-funded research will be carried out in 24 countries, with institutions from Germany (73), the UK (64) and the Netherlands (53) to host the highest number of projects. Some 13% of applications were selected for funding this time.

These Starting Grants will help the selected scientists build their own research teams, creating an estimated 2,500 jobs for postdoctoral fellows, PhD students and other staff at the host institutions.

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Martin Banks

Martin Banks is a highly qualified journalist with many years experience of working within the EU institutions. He is an occasional, and highly valued, contributor to EU today, writing on a wide variety of issues.

Sep 05, 2019 Sep 05, 2019

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Romania: better drinking water in Cluj and Sălaj thanks to Cohesion Policy - EU Today

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The Cohesion Fund invests €275.7 million for better drinking water supply and upgraded wastewater collection and treatment services in the Cluj and Sălaj counties, north-west Romania. Under this EU-funded project, almost 240,000 inhabitants will enjoy better drinking water, said EU Commissioner for Environment, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Karmenu Vella.

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Romania's natural gas producer Romgaz, majority controlled by the state, has started negotiations with large foreign companies with the aim of teaming up and bidding for offshore concession rights made available to investors by the National Mineral Resource Agency (ANRM) for the first time in ten years, Economica.net reported.

Romgaz will definitely bid for onshore perimeters, but it lacks expertise and therefore is attempting to find experienced partners for offshore perimeters, the company's CEO Adrian Volintiru commented.

The National Mineral Resources Authority announced, at the end of July, that it would auction the rights for the exploration, development and exploitation of 28 perimeters. Of these, 22 are onshore perimeters and 6 are offshore perimeters.

Romgaz already is part of an association, led by Russian group Lukoil, operating an offshore perimeter in the Black Sea. According to the latest estimates, the perimeter (Trident) might have gas reserves of up to 30 billion cubic meters of gas. Romania's annual consumption is about 10 billion cubic meters.

Separately, Volintiru said, quoted by Bursa daily, that the price of the 20% stake in Greek company Gastrade, which Romgaz could buy in September this year, is EUR 12.5 million. Gastrade is developing an LNG terminal and invited other investors to take part in the project.

Speaking of the investment, the Romgaz GM specified that "there is a structure already defined, with five shareholders, each with a 20% stake."
(Photo: Pixabay)

Romgaz, the largest natural gas producer in Romania, controlled by the state, registered in the first six months of the...

Romania's natural gas producer Romgaz, majority controlled by the state, has started negotiations with large foreign companies with the aim of teaming up and bidding for offshore concession rights made available to investors by the National Mineral Resource Agency (ANRM) for the first time in ten years, Economica.net reported.

Romgaz will definitely bid for onshore perimeters, but it lacks expertise and therefore is attempting to find experienced partners for offshore perimeters, the company's CEO Adrian Volintiru commented.

The National Mineral Resources Authority announced, at the end of July, that it would auction the rights for the exploration, development and exploitation of 28 perimeters. Of these, 22 are onshore perimeters and 6 are offshore perimeters.

Romgaz already is part of an association, led by Russian group Lukoil, operating an offshore perimeter in the Black Sea. According to the latest estimates, the perimeter (Trident) might have gas reserves of up to 30 billion cubic meters of gas. Romania's annual consumption is about 10 billion cubic meters.

Separately, Volintiru said, quoted by Bursa daily, that the price of the 20% stake in Greek company Gastrade, which Romgaz could buy in September this year, is EUR 12.5 million. Gastrade is developing an LNG terminal and invited other investors to take part in the project.

Speaking of the investment, the Romgaz GM specified that "there is a structure already defined, with five shareholders, each with a 20% stake."
(Photo: Pixabay)

Romgaz, the largest natural gas producer in Romania, controlled by the state, registered in the first six months of the...

Romania's natural gas producer Romgaz, majority controlled by the state, has started negotiations with large foreign companies with the aim of teaming up and bidding for offshore concession rights made available to investors by the National Mineral Resource Agency (ANRM) for the first time in ten years, Economica.net reported.

Romgaz will definitely bid for onshore perimeters, but it lacks expertise and therefore is attempting to find experienced partners for offshore perimeters, the company's CEO Adrian Volintiru commented.

The National Mineral Resources Authority announced, at the end of July, that it would auction the rights for the exploration, development and exploitation of 28 perimeters. Of these, 22 are onshore perimeters and 6 are offshore perimeters.

Romgaz already is part of an association, led by Russian group Lukoil, operating an offshore perimeter in the Black Sea. According to the latest estimates, the perimeter (Trident) might have gas reserves of up to 30 billion cubic meters of gas. Romania's annual consumption is about 10 billion cubic meters.

Separately, Volintiru said, quoted by Bursa daily, that the price of the 20% stake in Greek company Gastrade, which Romgaz could buy in September this year, is EUR 12.5 million. Gastrade is developing an LNG terminal and invited other investors to take part in the project.

Speaking of the investment, the Romgaz GM specified that "there is a structure already defined, with five shareholders, each with a 20% stake."
(Photo: Pixabay)

Romgaz, the largest natural gas producer in Romania, controlled by the state, registered in the first six months of the...

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RO natural gas producer Romgaz to bid for new offshore perimeters

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Romania's natural gas producer Romgaz, majority controlled by the state, has started negotiations with large foreign companies with the aim of teaming up and bidding for offshore concession rights made available to investors by the National Mineral Resource Agency (ANRM) for the first time in ten years, Economica.net reported.

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Use the Mining industry What is the nature and importance of the mining industry in your country? Lexology Getting The Deal Through tool to compare the answers in this article with those from other jurisdictions. Target minerals What are the target minerals?
Angola is one of the richest countries in the world in natural resources, with significant reserves of diamonds, iron ore, phosphates, copper, gold and manganese, among other valuable natural resources. However, its true mineral potential is yet to be unlocked, despite the significant exploration and mining projects already implemented, in particular in the diamond subsector.
Which regions are most active?
Once a major iron ore, gold and copper producer, Angola's mineral development was greatly impaired after independence in 1975 (save for diamond mining) by almost 30 years of civil war, which ended in 2002. Angola has since resumed mineral mining. As a result of the National Geology Plan (PLANAGEO) and the 2013-2017 National Development Plan launched by the Angolan government, one may now observe the effective boost and diversification of the national mining industry that now covers a broader variety of mineral projects. Despite all the diversification efforts, Angola's second-largest export continues to be gems and precious metals, diamonds in particular. This strategic focus on the mining sector appears to be the way forward to overcome the economic crisis caused by the drop in oil prices. The mining sector's role in the future of the country is expected to increase in the short term.
Legal and regulatory structure Basis of legal system Is the legal system civil or common law-based?
A very significant portion of Angola's rich and varied natural resources remains unexplored. In the latest years, target minerals continue to be diamonds, gold, iron ore, manganese and copper. Yet one has recently observed a committed diversification of investment in industrial and construction mineral resources (eg, marble, granite, quartz).
Regulation How is the mining industry regulated?
The most active or at least most promising regions in terms of mining potential, are Lunda North, Lunda South, Uíge, Huíla, Cuanza-North and Malange. With new investment taking place for exploitation of industrial and construction minerals resources, new regions are taking the lead, such as Bengo and Namibe.

Angola's legal system is civil law-based.
What are the principal laws that regulate the mining industry? What are the principal regulatory bodies that administer those laws? Were there any major amendments in the past year?
The mining industry is regulated at state level by the Constitution of the Republic of Angola, Law 31/11, of 23 September 2011 (Mining Code) and some additional statutory and regulatory acts.

The Angolan mineral regime may be described as a 'contractual system'. Laws and regulations take second place to contracts in the definition of the material terms and conditions, which are often found in the relevant mineral investment contracts granting the mineral rights along with the detailed operational and economic terms and conditions for the exercise of the mineral rights.

The Mining Code is the cornerstone of the Angolan mineral regime, and governs the exploration and mining of all minerals. This law regulates exploration, evaluation, reconnaissance, mining and marketing of mineral resources in general. Besides the Mining Code, the following are also relevant for the mining sector:
Classification system What classification system does the mining industry use for reporting mineral resources and mineral reserves?

Executive Decree 346/17, of 14 July 2017, which sets forth the criteria for delimitation of concession areas for exploitation of construction materials;

Joint Executive Decree 316/17, of 27 June 2017, which approves the list of equipment (for use in exploration and mining activities) exempted from customs duties and fees;

Presidential Decree 231/16, of 8 December 2016, which classifies rare metals and rare earth elements as strategic minerals;

Presidential Decree 163/16, of 29 August 2016, which approves the rough diamonds sale policy;

Presidential Decree 158/16, of 10 August 2016, which sets forth administrative offences and relevant penalties;

Presidential Decree 174/15, of 15 September 2015, on regularisation of inactive mineral licences;

Law 14/15, of 11 August 2015, which approves the Private Investment Law (PIL);

Order 255/14, of 28 January 2014, of the Ministry of Geology and Mines, on monitoring of posting of bonds and payments of surface fee and royalties under the Mining Code; and

Order 2/03, of 28 February 2003, of the Central Bank of Angola, which establishes the foreign exchange regime applicable to holders of mineral rights.

Mining rights and title State control over mining rights To what extent does the state control mining rights in your jurisdiction? Can those rights be granted to private parties and to what extent will they have title to minerals in the ground? Are there large areas where the mining rights are held privately or which belong to the owner of the surface rights? Is there a separate legal regime or process for third parties to obtain mining rights in those areas?
The Ministry of Mineral Resources and Petroleum (MMRP), the Ministry of Finance and the Angolan Central Bank (BNA) are the main regulatory entities. The national concessionaire for diamonds, rare metals and rare earth elements (Endiama, EP), and the national concessionaire for noble materials, ferrous and non-ferrous metals (Ferrangol, EP) are vested with certain regulatory and supervisory powers in respect of the minerals falling within their authority as concessionaires. Also noteworthy is the Market Regulation Agency for Gold (set up by Presidential Decree 2/14, of 2 January 2014), whose main purpose is to organise, regulate and supervise the gold market and SODIAM - Sociedade de Comercialização de Diamantes de Angola, SA, which acts as the single channel for marketing of all diamond productions extracted from Angola.

The Mining Code refers to secondary legislation for the classification of reserves, although that legislation has yet to be enacted. In its absence, mineral resources and mineral reserves should be classified in accordance with internationally accepted methods and systems, to be approved by the MMRP.

The state is the owner of all mineral resources according to the Angolan Constitution and the Mining Code, and the state sets forth the terms and conditions for their concession, exploration and mining, which gives it effective control over the grant of mining rights. Under the Mining Code, state-owned, mixed-ownership or private companies may be granted and enforce mineral rights for exploration and mining.
Publicly available information and data What information and data are publicly available to private parties that wish to engage in exploration and other mining activities? Is there an agency which collects mineral assessment reports from private parties? Must private parties file mineral assessment reports? Does the agency or the government conduct geoscience surveys, which become part of the database? Is the database available online?
In contrast to the former Mining Law, the state is entitled to participate in mineral production in consideration for the grant of mineral rights for mining and marketing, through a state-owned company with at least a 10 per cent shareholding in the company to be set up for the mining stage, or a participation (or both) in kind (minerals produced) in a proportion to be defined (the proportion increases directly with the increase in the internal rate of return of the project).

Endiama, EP is the national concessionaire for diamonds, rare metals and rare earth elements, and Ferrangol, EP is the national concessionaire for noble materials, ferrous and non-ferrous metals. Both concessionaires may establish unincorporated or incorporated joint ventures with other Angolan or foreign partners for the performance of their operations.

Concession decrees granting mineral rights are published in the Angolan Official Gazette and there is also a public registry for mining companies.

The executive branch produces and compiles all data on mineral resources and mineral reserves, but may authorise other public or private entities to perform those activities in duly justified cases. Private entities wishing to invest in the mining sector may consult available mining data at the MMRP; however, no official databases are available online.
Acquisition of rights by private parties What mining rights may private parties acquire? How are these acquired? What obligations does the rights holder have? If exploration or reconnaissance licences are granted, does such tenure give the holder an automatic or preferential right to acquire a mining licence? What are the requirements to convert to a mining licence?
Holders of exploration licences must submit periodic reports containing all data and information acquired during the programme on production and marketing of mineral substances and mineral activities carried out in order for the MMRP to be able to monitor and inspect mineral activities. Holders must also submit an updated work programme and a forecast of the minimum expenditures to be made in the following year.

Given the statutory requirement of a public tender to grant mineral rights over strategic minerals (ie, diamonds, gold, radioactive minerals, rare metals and rare earth elements), or in areas of high geological potential, MMRP is required to publish a list of the areas up for award and the relevant terms of reference in the Angolan Official Gazette or in a widely read newspaper, at least once a year and within question 1.

The Mining Code adopts a single-contract model for the entire mineral process. The former legal framework foresaw two separate contracts for mineral projects: one for exploration, evaluation and reconnaissance, and another for mining and marketing. The Mining Code divides mineral activities into three stages (reconnaissance and exploration, appraisal and mining), explicitly stating that the rules, rights and obligations for the three stages will be set forth in the relevant mineral investment contract.

Under the former legal regime, in addition to spontaneous applications, the state could organise public tenders or issue invitations to tender for the award of exploration licences for one or more previously designated areas. Conversely, the Mining Code clearly prefers public tenders, which can be either optional or compulsory, depending on the geological potential of the relevant area or the 'strategic' classification of the mineral in question.

Minerals are classified as 'strategic' if warranted by their economic importance, use for strategic purposes, or specific technical mining aspects. The mineral's rarity, relevant impact on economic growth, high demand on the international market, significant job creation, importance for state-of-the-art technology, positive influence on the balance of payments or importance to the military industry are deemed as fundamental factors to be weighted by the executive branch when classifying a mineral as strategic. Diamonds, gold and radioactive minerals are expressly defined as strategic minerals in the Mining Code and rare metals and rare earth elements were also recently defined as strategic minerals in Presidential Decree 231/16, of 8 December 2016.

If no public tender is required, mineral reconnaissance, exploration, evaluation, appraisal and mining rights will be granted on a first-come, first-served basis. The applicant is basically required to demonstrate that it possesses the technical and financial capacities required to carry out the mineral activities for which it has applied.

The following titles are issued for mineral rights:

exploration title, for the reconnaissance, exploration, evaluation and appraisal of mineral resources;

mining title, for the mining of mineral resources;

mineral permit, for the exploration or mining of mineral resources used in civil construction; and

mineral ticket, for artisanal mining.

Among several other obligations, holders of mineral rights must:
Renewal and transfer of mineral licences What is the regime for the renewal and transfer of mineral licences?

ensure the hiring of Angolan technicians and workers and provide training and technical and vocational instruction to the employees;

apply the methods most suited to obtain maximum yield consistent with market economic conditions, environmental protection and sound exploitation of the mineral resources, without carrying out rapacious mining;

relinquish the initial area covered by the mineral rights for exploration step-wise;

ensure and enforce compliance with the rules on health and safety at work and the requirements of the environmental impact assessment study;

report on the impact of the mineral activities on land occupancy and environmental characteristics; and

repair the damage caused to third parties by the performance of geological-mineral activities.

As noted above, under the single-contract model, all mineral rights (from exploration to marketing, including evaluation, reconnaissance and mining) are formally granted from the outset pursuant to the mineral investment contract. However, the holder of the relevant mineral rights is required to obtain an exploration title - issued at the same time with as the approval and gazetting of the mineral investment contract - and a mining title, as a condition for the exercise of the rights granted to it. The transition of a given mineral project from the exploration stage to the mining stage is subject to the preparation and approval of a 'technical, economic and financial viability study'. The mining title is then issued after the study is approved (which must include an environmental impact study), and the holder of the relevant rights can exercise its mining and marketing rights from then on.

Exploration, evaluation and reconnaissance rights may be granted for an initial period of up to five years and extended by successive one-year periods up to a maximum seven years. If the seven-year period proves insufficient to prepare or complete the feasibility study, the holder of the mineral rights may apply for and be granted an exceptional one-year extension.
Duration of mining rights What is the typical duration of mining rights?
Mining rights are granted for a period of up to 35 years (which includes the exploration and appraisal stage), extendable by one or more 10-year periods. Holders applying for extension must justify their application by submitting the relevant technical, operational and other grounds. Extensions are only granted if the applicant is not in breach of its legal and contractual obligations.

Mineral rights may be transferred upon specific authorisation from the MMRP or the Head of the Executive, as applicable, which is only granted to prospective assignees that meet the same (technical and financial) requirements as the original rights holders. Although mining laws do not specifically address the issue, changes of control of the holders of mineral rights or their parent companies are typically notified to the MMRP. No consent or authorisation is legally required per se, but it is an expression of courtesy that will help maintain a sound institutional relationship with the relevant authorities and avoid charges that the change of control at stake was actually a way of circumventing the authorisation required for the transfer of the relevant mineral rights.
Acquisition by domestic parties versus acquisition by foreign parties Is there any distinction in law or practice between the mining rights that may be acquired by domestic parties and those that may be acquired by foreign parties?
See question 11 for the duration and extension of mineral rights. Concession contracts may be terminated early and concession titles withdrawn in some instances:

termination or withdrawal is triggered under specific contractual clauses;

the project becomes technically or economically unviable;

breach of legal obligations, contractual obligations or obligations arising from the concession title;

abandonment, suspension or reduction of the mineral operations, save as provided for in the Mining Code, the title or the contracts;

suspension of mineral operations due to force majeure events, as defined in the contract or concession title;

the concession holder is convicted of a crime of aggravated contempt, because it failed to perform acts provided for in the Mining Code or ordered by the relevant authority;

reconnaissance, exploration, evaluation and appraisal or mining of mineral resources not included in the contract or concession title; and

performance of the contractual obligations is impossible.

Angolan law does not require the participation of local partners in mineral concessions, thus both foreign and local mining companies (owned by Angolan nationals) may be awarded concessions and engage in the exploration and mining of minerals. The national concessionaires (Endiama, EP and Ferrangol, EP) may partner with local or foreign entities in connection with mineral projects, as members of unincorporated joint ventures set up for the exploration stage and as shareholders of the companies incorporated for the mining stage.
Protection of mining rights How are mining rights protected? Are foreign arbitration awards in respect of domestic mining disputes freely enforceable in your jurisdiction?
The award of mineral mining and marketing rights entitles the state to participate in mining concessions. Other than that, there are no industry-specific rules or restrictions on corporate structures, nor are there mandatory participations or ownership interests reserved for national associates. However, preference is to be given to national partners or companies when setting up a business partnership.

Diamond artisanal mining and construction minerals are the exception to the rule: only Angolan citizens are allowed to carry out diamond artisanal mining operations and only Angolan citizens or legal persons whose share capital is majority-held (two-thirds, to be exact) by Angolan citizens may be awarded exploration and mining rights for construction minerals and mining rights of mineral-medicinal waters.

Investors are afforded broad legal guarantees:

the unrestricted right to mine the mineral resources discovered during exploration, except as expressly provided for in the Mining Code or ancillary legislation;

the right to freely dispose of and market the mining products;

the right to recover investment expenses incurred during the reconnaissance, exploration, evaluation and appraisal stage from the mining proceeds; and

the right to be compensated for any losses resulting from actions limiting the exercise of mineral rights, under the law or the mineral investment contract.

The PIL reinforces these guarantees by offering additional protection to foreign investment, namely in matters of expropriation.

In contrast to the former legal framework, which foresaw arbitration in Angola as the proper mechanism to resolve any disputes that could not be resolved amicably between the parties, the Mining Code is silent on the proper venue to resolve disputes, leaving it up to the dispute resolution clauses of mineral investment contracts. Contracting parties tend to include arbitration clauses in their agreements; however, disputes arising from termination of the concession contract or withdrawal of the concession title must be resolved by national courts, and disputes on the significance or insignificance of minerals extracted during the reconnaissance, exploration, evaluation and appraisal stage for purpose of assessment of the relevant tax should be settled by the Minister responsible for the mining sector.
Surface rights What types of surface rights may mining rights holders request and acquire? How are these rights acquired? Can surface rights holders oppose these requests?
Angola is a signatory of the New York Convention and so international arbitral awards are recognised and enforceable in Angola, provided they are handed down in another contracting state. The convention entered into force in Angola on 4 June 2017.

The Angolan Constitution states that courts are independent and cannot accept any form of interference from any other public body. Their decisions are final (subject only to appeal) and prevail over other entities' decisions.

Holders of exploration licences or mining titles do not acquire surface rights in relation to the concession areas. If the land belongs to private persons or is in the private domain of the state or of public law corporate bodies, holders of mineral rights will need the consent of the relevant owners or occupants to use or exploit the land, on the terms that may be agreed between the parties. This consent is also required for any geological-mineral investigation works involving use of the land. Consent is presumed given in case of deposit of the annual rent and the provisional bond set forth in the Mining Code.
Participation of government and state agencies Does the government or do state agencies have the right to participate in mining projects? Is there a local listing requirement for the project company?
If the concessionaire fails to reach an agreement with the owners or occupants of the land within the boundaries of any demarcated area during the mining phase it is barred from starting any operations until it either purchases the land or the state expropriates the land for reasons of public interest, pursuant to the law.

Conversely, private owners of a surface right over a certain area are not entitled to carry out exploration or mining activities without first securing the relevant exploration licence or mining title.
Government expropriation of licences Are there provisions in law dealing with government expropriation of licences? What are the compensation provisions?
As mentioned in questions 8 and 13, the state is entitled to participate in the mineral production (either through a minimum 10 per cent shareholding in the company holding the mining rights, a production-sharing mechanism, or a combination of the latter). Endiama, EP is involved in projects in connection with diamonds, rare metals, rare earth elements, and Ferrangol, EP is involved in projects in connection with noble materials, ferrous and non-ferrous metals, as members of the relevant unincorporated joint ventures or as shareholders of the companies holding the relevant mineral rights.

The project company is required to establish a legal presence in the country (eg, a subsidiary organised and run under Angolan law or a local branch of a foreign company), just as any other company wishing to engage in activities that require a physical presence in Angola. The set-up of foreign special-purpose vehicles or registration of any special-purpose vehicle branches in Angola, although not legally prohibited per se, is a practical impossibility in light of state participation requirement.

The Mining Code lists mineral investment contracts' termination events and the grounds for withdrawing concession titles and also foresees the possibility of redeeming the concession area for reasons of public utility in the event of discovery of strategic mineral resources or minerals subject to a special framework (whose mining is in the higher interest of the national economy), subject to a fair compensation to the holder of the relevant mineral rights.
Protected areas Are any areas designated as protected areas within your jurisdiction and which are off-limits or specially regulated?
The compensation will be calculated on the basis of:

the amount of the investment made in the exploration, evaluation, reconnaissance and appraisal stage;

the unrecovered amount of the investment made in the exploration, evaluation, reconnaissance and appraisal stage, in case the project has already moved on to the mining stage; and

the value of the assets redeemed (including real estate property acquired for the exercise of the mineral rights), the average estimated profit for the next 10 years of mining and the outstanding debts.

Duties, royalties and taxes Duties, royalties and taxes payable by private parties What duties, royalties and taxes are payable by private parties carrying on mining activities? Are these revenue-based or profit-based?
Under the Mining Code, mineral rights may be awarded for areas in the territorial or maritime domain under the jurisdiction of the Republic of Angola that have not been granted for the carrying out of other activities, or that are not allocated to the same. The executive branch may also declare portions of the national territory with considerable mineral potential as 'mineral reserve areas', which will then be restricted in terms of movement of people and goods.

To date, no areas of the Angolan territory have been declared as mineral reserve areas.

Industrial tax (income tax on mineral activities)

The tax rate currently in force is of 25 per cent. For purposes of determining the taxable income, costs of exploration, evaluation and reconnaissance, contributions to the Mining Development Fund, among others, are considered as tax deductions additional to those provided for in the general tax law.

Royalty (tax on the value of mineral resources)

The tax rates currently in force are as follows: strategic minerals and precious metals and stones - 5 per cent; semi-precious stones - 4 per cent; metallic minerals - 3 per cent; and construction materials of mining origin and other minerals - 2 per cent.

Surface fee (fee levied on the concession area awarded payable during the exploration phase)

The surface fee value varies according to the size of the concession area, the type of mineral explored and the exploration year in question, and can range from US$2 to US$40 per square kilometre. These amounts are doubled in the event of extension of the exploration period.
Tax advantages and incentives What tax advantages and incentives are available to private parties carrying on mining activities?
Contributions to the Mining Development Fund and Environmental Fund

The Mining Code imposes holders of mineral rights the duty to make annual contributions to the Mining Development Fund and to the Environmental Fund (contributions raging from roughly US$ 1,250 and US$ 3,000).

Investments in the mining sector are covered by the Mining Code and, on a subsidiary basis, the PIL. Tax advantages and incentives are negotiated and set out in the relevant mineral investment contract.

Holders of mineral rights subject to industrial tax may obtain tax incentives by way of deductible costs. Tax incentives must be applied for with the Minister of Finance and are subject to an MMRP opinion. The application for tax exemptions is discussed and negotiated during the contractual stage of the investment procedure and is attached to the contract, after approval by the negotiations committee and issue of a favourable opinion by the MMRP. The negotiations committee is comprised of representatives of the MMRP, the national concessionaire (if applicable), the Ministry of Finance (in the event fiscal and customs benefits and exemptions are to be negotiated) and a regulatory authority (should it be created).

Incentives may be granted for the following acts with relevance to the Angolan economy: acquisition of supplemental goods and services on the local market; carrying out of mineral activities in remote areas; contribution to the training and development of local human resources; carrying out of research and development activities in cooperation with Angolan academic and scientific institutions; local processing and dressing of minerals; and significant contribution to increase exports.
Tax stablisation Does any legislation provide for tax stabilisation or are there tax stabilisation agreements in force?
Holders of mineral rights may also apply for and be granted investment premiums (uplift), grace periods for the payment of income tax (whenever they are covered by any of the above-mentioned situations) and any other type of tax incentive provided for by law.
Carried interest Is the government entitled to a carried interest, or a free carried interest in mining projects?
The executive branch may also authorise tax and customs exemptions to Angolan companies exclusively engaged in the processing, dressing and cutting of minerals extracted in the country.
Transfer taxes and capital gains Are there any transfer taxes or capital gains imposed regarding the transfer of licences?
There is no specific legislation on this matter in Angola, nor are there any tax stabilisation agreements in place. In turn, most (if not all) mineral investment contracts contain specific provisions on stability and supervening circumstances, which may, to a certain extent, protect the investors' rights and interests in this regard.
Distinction between domestic parties and foreign parties Is there any distinction between the duties, royalties and taxes payable by domestic parties and those payable by foreign parties?
Financial commitments on the part of the state are not to be expected even in the absence of any specific provision on the matter, as state participation in the mining and marketing projects (as opposed to exploration projects) is a legal requirement (notably by means of a shareholding interest in the relevant mining companies).
Business structures Principal business structures What are the principal business structures used by private parties carrying on mining activities?
No. Gains resulting from the transfer of mineral rights will be taken into consideration when assessing the transferor's liability in terms of industrial tax (corporate income tax). However, a 2 per cent conveyance tax may apply in certain cases.

There is no distinction between duties, royalties and taxes payable by domestic parties and foreign parties.

Mining activities are primarily carried out through locally incorporated companies and branches of foreign corporations. Mining concessions (under which the mining or production phase is developed), however, are usually reserved to companies incorporated under the laws of Angola - though the companies may be entirely foreign-owned. The concept of 'trust' does not exist in and is not recognised by the laws of Angola.

In general, there is little operating difference between a branch and a subsidiary in Angola, the main differences being:
Local entity requirement Is there a requirement that a local entity be a party to the transaction?

A subsidiary is a separate legal entity, while a branch has no autonomy from the foreign company that sets it up - namely, its head office.

The liability of the shareholders of a company is in principle limited to the amount of the company's share capital, while a foreign company is fully responsible for the liabilities arising from the branch activities.

As the branch and head office are the same legal entity, the company would be governed on corporate matters by one law only: the personal law of the company, typically the one where the company has its registered offices.

Conversely, corporate documents issued by the foreign company at the head office level (minutes of shareholders' meetings, board resolutions, powers of attorney, etc) will always be subject to a more cumbersome and expensive procedure, involving translation and several tiers of legalisation.

Bilateral investment and tax treaties Are there jurisdictions with favourable bilateral investment treaties or tax treaties with your jurisdiction through which foreign entities will commonly structure their operations in your jurisdiction?
The costs of registering a branch are broadly similar to those of incorporating a local company, although the latter are slightly higher.
Financing Principal sources of financing What are the principal sources of financing available to private parties carrying on mining activities? What role does the domestic public securities market play in financing the mining industry?
See question 13.
Direct financing from government or major pension funds Does the government, its agencies or major pension funds provide direct financing to mining projects?
On 8 February 2018 Angola adhered to the country's first double taxation treaty, with the United Arab Emirates (still pending ratification). In addition, the Angolan National Assembly has approved bilateral investment treaties between Angola and the following countries: Brazil, Cuba, Germany, Italy, Namibia, Portugal, Russia, South Africa, Switzerland, the US and the UK.
Security regime Describe the regime for taking security over mining interests.
Private parties generally fund their mining activities in Angola with loans granted by national and foreign banks. There is a stock market in place but is only taking its first steps.

Typically, the government does not finance mineral projects; private parties take out loans with banks or funds to fund their operations.
Restrictions Importation restrictions What restrictions are imposed on the importation of machinery and equipment or services required in connection with exploration and extraction?
The Mining Code expressly provides that mineral rights may be pledged by way of credit security, but only to secure credits contracted by the holder of the relevant mineral rights to finance the activities covered by the concession title. The pledge is created by delivering an authentic copy of the title and the concession contract for the relevant mineral rights to the pledgee.

The holder of the mineral rights does not forfeit possession or the exercise of the mineral rights pledged and must still comply with all its legal and contractual obligations. Mineral rights pledged may not be transferred by the relevant holder, nor encumbered again, without the express prior authorisation of the pledgee.

The Mining Code does not impose specific restrictions on the importation of machinery and equipment or services required in connection with exploration and mining.
Standard conditions and agreements Which standard conditions and agreements covering equipment supplies are used in your jurisdiction?
In addition, holders of mineral rights benefit from a customs duties exemption on the importation of goods for exclusive and direct use in carrying out mineral exploration, evaluation, reconnaissance, mining and processing operations. The exemption does not cover stamp tax, statistical tax and miscellaneous service fees.
Mineral restrictions What restrictions are imposed on the processing, export or sale of minerals? Are there any export quotas, licensing or other mechanisms that prevent producers from freely exporting their production?
In the interest of protecting local industries, the exemption does not apply if goods of the same or a similar quality (available for delivery within a reasonable delay) and at a price not exceeding by more than 10 per cent the cost of the imported item, are available in Angola.

No standards apply, although there is nothing preventing the parties from applying any standards they may deem appropriate.

Holders of mineral rights are allowed to market the products of mining, in accordance with the conditions set forth in the Mining Code and the provisions of the relevant sale and purchase contracts.

Export of minerals extracted in Angola is subject to licensing by the relevant body of the Ministry of Commerce and to customs clearance by the Customs National Service. The MMRP needs to be notified. The relevant entity must issue a certificate of origin for all minerals extracted in and exported from Angola. The importation of any mineral in the national territory is subject to the prior favourable opinion of the MMRP. When allowed, such operation is always subject to standard customs clearance under the general terms of the law and to licensing by the Ministry of Commerce. The body responsible for the mining sector is notified of the technical and quantitative data of importations of mineral resources as soon as the relevant operations are carried out, for statistical and monitoring purposes.
Import of funds restrictions What restrictions are imposed on the import of funds for exploration and extraction or the use of the proceeds from the export or sale of minerals?
Regarding strategic minerals, the executive branch may set up one or more marketing companies, with a view to purchasing minerals directly from the producers, in an open market regime. The executive branch may promote the acquisition of certain types of strategic minerals by the above-mentioned companies if it is required to do so to create a public reserve, guarantee strategic stocks, prevent the fall of market prices or for any other reason of public interest.

Marketing of diamonds is subject to specific export and sale rules and must be made through the single channel institutionalised by SODIAM. It should also be highlighted that Angola is party to the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS), and has adopted the international system of certification of diamonds for export. Under the Mining Code, and for the same reasons that led to the adoption of the KPCS for diamonds, including those stated in United Nations General Assembly Resolution 55/56, a similar certificate of origin should be issued for other strategic minerals that are to be exported.
Environment Principal applicable environmental laws What are the principal environmental laws applicable to the mining industry? What are the principal regulatory bodies that administer those laws?
The foreign exchange regime applicable to mining activities in Angola is set forth in the Mining Code, the BNA Order 2/03, Presidential Decree 163/16 and in certain provisions of the PIL. General foreign exchange law, notably Law 5/97, of 27 June 1997, applies to all matters on which the above statutes are silent, as well as its ancillary regulations and instructions and orders from the BNA.

Subject to the control of the BNA, approval of mineral investment contracts entitles foreign investors to repatriate dividends, pro rata to their investment. Capital operations and import of funds are equally subject to foreign exchange restrictions, even though applicable regimes vary. For example, the governor of the BNA is entitled to make an assessment of whether, in a given period, the requested transfer of funds would result in difficulties in the balance of payments, in which case he or she may impose conditions or suspend the transfer altogether.

Specific environmental requirements may be found in the Mining Code and in a contractual annex to exploration licences and mining titles dealing with environmental impact and recovery. The annex, in particular, covers such areas as environmental impact, preservation, recovery and rehabilitation (the precise regime in each case depending on the scope of the mineral rights awarded). The general framework within which such provisions operate is derived from environmental statutes, most significantly the following:

the General Environmental Law;

the Decree on Environmental Impact Assessment;

the Decree on Environmental Licensing; and

the Decree on Environmental Audits.

Environmental review and permitting process What is the environmental review and permitting process for a mining project? How long does it normally take to obtain the necessary permits?
The national and regional sector strategy and programmes in the fields of environment and sustainable development, as well as the international instruments which Angola has subscribed, including without limitation, the Convention on Biodiversity, the Cartagena Protocol, the Agenda 21, and the International Convention on Waste, also apply to mineral activities.

The relevant regulatory body is the Ministry of Environment.

Projects that by their nature, dimension or location bear upon the environmental and social balance and harmony shall be subject to environmental impact assessment (EIA), which shall be made an integral part of the mineral investment contract. Operations in the mining phase are subject to such requirement.
Closure and remediation process What is the closure and remediation process for a mining project? What performance bonds, guarantees and other financial assurances are required?
As regards exploration, evaluation and research activities, much will depend on the activities in each case. Where such research work includes, for instance, the execution of trenches, pits, holes, drilling or perforations, and any work associated with it, the impact upon the environment may be such that an EIA may become legally necessary before the mining phase is reached.

It should also be noted that the granting of environmental licences is subject to the payment of a fee.

The holder of the exploration licence or mining title is liable for any damages caused by geological and mining activities. Penalties may be assessed and the holder is further subject to the obligation to pay damages, regardless of contractual provisions.

Generally, in the mandatory EIA it is already set forth how the closure of the project will be handled from an environmental standpoint as well as the environmental financial charges and the relevant financial guarantee.

Mining titles frequently focus on the actions necessary for recovery and rehabilitation purposes (for example, dismantling and removal of facilities and infrastructures, reforestation, social rehabilitation, watercourse restoration).
Restrictions on building tailings or waste dams What are the restrictions for building tailings or waste dams?
Holders of mineral rights for exploration or mining of mineral resources at an industrial scale are required to post a bond to guarantee compliance with the contractual obligations (including closure and remediation commitments). The bond for the reconnaissance, exploration, evaluation and appraisal stage shall be of up to 2 per cent of the investment amount, and at the mining stage of up to 4 per cent.

Holders of mineral rights are further required to set up a legal reserve for purposes of mine closing and environmental restoration, of an amount corresponding to 5 per cent of the investment.

The above-mentioned EIA must take contain various information, including a waste management plan (along with the assessment of the effects of the project on the environment; the social impact of the projects; the environmental management plan; the environmental monitoring programme; the environmental audits, as well as the respective environmental reports; the environmental restoration programmes; the site abandonment plan; the environmental financial charges; the financial guarantee for the environmental charges; the plans for the use of water; the waste management plans and the control of hazardous substances).

Moreover, holders of mineral rights are especially required:

to comply with the obligations deriving from the environmental impact study and the environmental management plan, on the terms established therein;

to take the measures necessary to reduce the formation and propagation of dust, waste and radiation in mining areas and surrounding areas;

to prevent or eliminate the contamination of waters and soil, using appropriate means to that end;

not to reduce or in any other way prejudice the normal water supply to populations;

to carry out mineral operations so as to minimise damage to the soil;

to reduce the impact of noise and vibrations to acceptable levels as determined by the relevant authorities, when using explosives in the vicinity of settlements;

not to discharge in the sea, water currents and lagoons contaminant waste which is harmful to human health, wildlife and flora; and

to inform the authorities of any occurrence which has caused or may cause environmental damage.

The Mining Code contains special rules for the protection of water resources (ie, in the mining process) mineral operators must adopt the following measures for protection of water resources:

(i) build decanting basins for sediments extracted during the ore processing stage, thus avoiding the pollution and/or siltation of the rivers and lagoons;

(ii) create water recycling circuits, so as to allow the reuse of water during the various mineral production stages;

(iii) perform periodic water analysis in various spots of the rivers existing within the concession, in order to allow for its quality to be controlled; and
Health & safety, and labour issues Principal health and safety, and labour laws What are the principal health and safety and labour laws applicable to the mining industry? What are the principal regulatory bodies that administer those laws?
(iv) keep updated records with information relating to (i), (ii) and (iii) above.
Management and recycling of mining waste What are the rules related to management and recycling of mining waste products? Who has title and the right to explore and exploit mining waste products in tailings ponds and waste piles?
Finally, a technical manager must exist in each mining concession, who is entrusted with the technical responsibility for the safety of the mine under his or her supervision, for the technical conditions for the mining thereof and for the proper execution of the mining plan.
Use of domestic and foreign employees What restrictions and limitations are imposed on the use of domestic and foreign employees in connection with mining activities?
Further to the specific provisions in the Mining Code, Angolan General Labour Law (Law 7/15, of 15 June 2015) contains the key principles, rules, requirements and procedures applicable to employment in the mining industry. There is also a fairly extensive number of ancillary statutes and regulations to consider. The principal regulatory body is the Ministry of Public Administration, Employment and Social Security.

Apart from the applicable environmental rules, there are no specific rules on recycling mining waste products. There are also no specific titles to explore and exploit mining waste in tailings and waste piles.
Social and community issues Community engagement and CSR What are the principal community engagement or CSR laws applicable to the mining industry? What are the principal regulatory bodies that administer those laws?
Holders of mineral rights shall favour the hiring of Angolan individuals (preferably members of local communities) over expatriates.

In addition to the above, the general principle one may find under Presidential Decree 43/17, of 6 March 2017, is that at least 70 per cent of the workforce of an Angolan or foreign employer that employs more than five workers must be Angolan nationals. This principle is considered by the Angolan authorities as the minimum standard for the structuring of a company's workforce. Therefore, only 30 per cent can be foreign, non-resident employees.
Rights of aboriginal, indigenous or disadvantaged peoples How do the rights of aboriginal, indigenous or currently or previously disadvantaged peoples affect the acquisition or exercise of mining rights?
Angola has no specific legislation on the matter.
International law What international treaties, conventions or protocols relating to CSR issues are applicable in your jurisdiction?
The Mining Code has a number of provisions on the rights of local communities residing in areas where mineral activities are to be carried out, including the right to be consulted during the preparation of the EIA, and prior to any decisions being made that could affect their living conditions or rights. Such consultation is absolutely mandatory in the event that a mining project is likely to destroy or damage any assets or cultural or historical heritage belonging to the local community as a whole. Holders of mineral rights must relocate, at their expense, any local community that is displaced by reason of the mineral operations, and all traditions, customs and practices of local communities must be taken into account in the relocation process.
Anti-bribery and corrupt practices Local legislation Describe any local legislation governing anti-bribery and corrupt practices.
Angola has no specific legislation on the matter.

Angola has no specific legislation on the matter.
Foreign legislation Do companies in your country pay particular attention to any foreign legislation governing anti-bribery and foreign corrupt practices in your jurisdiction?
Corruption is specifically addressed in a few statutes in Angola, such as the Law on the Criminalisation of the Infractions relating to Money Laundering (Law 3/14, of 10 February 2014), and the Public Probity Law (Law 3/10, of 29 March 2010). There are also scattered provisions in the Criminal Code, the Customs Code and Public Procurement Law.
Disclosure of payments by resource companies Has your jurisdiction enacted legislation or adopted international best practices regarding disclosure of payments by resource companies to government entities in accordance with the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) Standard?
More recently, the National Assembly resolved to ratify the African Union Convention on Preventing and Combating Corruption.
Foreign investment Foreign ownership restrictions Are there any foreign ownership restrictions in your jurisdiction relevant to the mining industry?
Yes. Particular attention is paid to the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and the UK Bribery Act.
International treaties Applicable international treaties What international treaties apply to the mining industry or an investment in the mining industry?
No.
Update and trends Update and trends What were the biggest mining news events over the past year in your jurisdiction and what were the implications? What are the current trends and developments in 2017 in your jurisdiction's mining industry (legislation, major cases, significant transactions)?
As mentioned in question 13, the only restrictions relate to mineral rights for diamond artisanal production, which may only be granted to Angolan citizens, and those relating to minerals for civil construction or mining rights of mineral-medicinal waters, which may only be granted to companies organised under Angolan law in which Angolan citizens hold at least two-thirds of the capital.

Besides the bilateral investment treaties mentioned in question 26, bilateral cooperation treaties for the mining sector were entered into with Cuba (Presidential Decree 91/14, of 25 April 2014), Democratic Republic of the Congo (Resolution 8/08, of 21 January 2008), Mozambique (Resolution 90/09, of 6 October 2009) and South Africa (Resolution 33/05, of 5 August 2005).

Diamond projects at an industrial scale continue to play an important role in the Angolan mining industry. However, one of the major industry trends in 2017 was the substantial investment in artisanal and semi-artisanal mining of diamonds and construction materials, with hundreds of new concessions being awarded by the executive to national entrepreneurs (whether or not associated with foreign investors).

Another key event that seems to have contributed to the boost of the Angolan mining industry was the 2017 presidential election bringing President João Lourenço into office. The political stability observed during the election period and the steady transition of power from an executive that was in office for more than 30 years was a clear sign to all investors that Angola is one of the most promising African countries where to direct their investments. This political change not only brought into office a new executive team (including the new MMRP that superseded the former Ministry of Geology and Mines) but also some changes at the level of national concessionaires that have now chosen to take a much more investor-friendly approach to the industry that has already gained the attention of most key mining players.

This all seems to indicate that after some years of flat investment in the Angolan mining industry, with fewer investments going into new and existing mineral projects (regardless of the remarkable results announced by Catoca and Lulo Projects), new investments are now at full speed.

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Use the Mining industry What is the nature and importance of the mining industry in your country? Lexology Getting The Deal Through tool to compare the answers in this article with those from other jurisdictions. Target minerals What are the target minerals?

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The Angolan President called on the national oil companies to recruit Angolan staff and train workers to ensure the "Angolanisation" of oil production, in a speech delivered on Tuesday in Luanda.

João Lourenço, at the inauguration of the Angola Oil & Gas 2019 conference, an initiative of Africa Oil & Power, said that since oil exploration is a capital intensive and advanced technology sector, "its importance will be even greater if it incorporates more national workers."

The President pointed out that the government has sought to encourage oil companies to comply with plans to train, promote and take on Angolan staff and technicians at different levels of the oil industry, increasing the sector's "Angolanisation", according to the Angop news agency.

He recalled that the reform of the National Oil Institute is underway along with the construction of a higher institute, both in the province of Kwanza Sul, restated the country's commitment to attracting investment, promoting partnerships and businesses in all segments of the energy chain and the oil industry and acknowledged that despite the effort to diversify the economy, oil continues to play a prominent role in the Angolan economy.

During his speech, Lourenço spoke about the readjustment of the way the sector is organised, in February, about the National Oil, Gas and Biofuels Agency, which has taken on the role of national concessionaire, about restructuring of state oil company Sonangol and strengthening the role of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Oil. (Macauhub)

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Angola's President wants oil exploration to be more Angolan

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The Angolan President called on the national oil companies to recruit Angolan staff and train workers to ensure the "Angolanisation" of oil production, in a speech delivered on Tuesday in Luanda.

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Image source: Getty Images

The global war over oil continued over the weekend when coordinated strikes on critical Saudi Arabian oil infrastructure reduced production capacity by 50%, representing 5% of the world's oil supply.

The news sent oil stocks on the Toronto Stock Exchange flying on Monday. Share prices on Encana, Canadian Natural Resources, and Cenovus Energy surged over 10% on market open. Enbridge (TSX:ENB)(NYSE:ENB) experienced a modest 2% spike to around $47 per share on the news.

Canadian oil futures opened relatively flat. Meanwhile, U.S. oil futures surged by over 10%, trading at more than $79 per barrel.

How the Saudi attacks affect Canadian investors

The reduction in oil production will likely cause a modest rise in gas prices throughout the rest of the year. This is good news for shareholders of Enbridge, as it means larger profit margins. Enbridge currently boasts a profit margin of 10.21%, levered free cash flow of negative $571 million, and unchanged gross profit from four years ago.

Also standing to win on the price increase are up to seven smaller Canadian oil exploration and production corporations, including Kelt and Peyto that face potential de-listing from the TSX. Kelt and Peyto have lost nearly 60% of their value in the past year and now trade for under $4 per share. The North American oil industry is struggling - and these stocks may be some of the first to go.

Canadians without oil stocks in their portfolio should worry about how rising oil prices will impact other investments like consumer cyclical stocks. Reduced disposable income available for non-essential goods and services like entertainment may harm these industries.

Yemen Houthi rebels responsible for attacks

Although Yemen's Houthi rebels have already claimed responsibility for the attacks, the United States government denies their confession. Instead, U.S. leadership is speculating on Iranian involvement. The state of Iran is a historical oil competitor against the powerful OPEC and North American oil interests.

OPEC struggles to gain cooperation from Iran to restrict production and set prices at artificially high prices. As a result, lower world oil prices weigh heavily on the less cost-competitive North American oil titans like Enbridge.

North American oil struggles to compete against Iran

Trade sanctions have done wonders in the past to protect OPEC and North American oil from Iran's belligerence. Former U.S. president Ronald Reagan first led the way for sanctions against Iran in 1987. In 2006, the United Nations Security Council passed a resolution to impose sanctions against Iran in response to accusations of excessive uranium enrichment.

The U.N., along with former U.S. president Obama, revoked Iranian sanctions in 2016. Consumers were ecstatic to see their receipts at the pump when Iran began flooding the oil market with low-priced gasoline. North American oil companies were not as happy, and there were rumours that the low oil prices would cause less cost-competitive firms to fail.

Was Iran involved in the attacks?

Iran may not have much to gain from an attack on Saudi oil interests. OPEC had already conceded to Iranian production earlier this year when it gave Iran a symbolic exemption from its collusive supply cuts. North American oil interests, however, may have more to gain from blaming Iran for the attack on Saudi oil infrastructure than Yemen.

Regardless of the real culprit, Canadian investors should be cautious where they put their money. Betting on less cost-competitive North American oil is a volatile gamble. Geopolitics determines the profits of Enbridge - not traditional, free-market capitalism. The direction world leaders will take our geopolitically sensitive investments is too difficult to tell.

Instead, Canadians should look into high-dividend banking, insurance, and consumer defensive stocks. Rising oil prices may be a sign that recession fears could become a reality. Thus, Canadian investors should ensure their portfolios are stocked with more resilient industries.

Fool contributor Debra Ray has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of Enbridge. Enbridge is a recommendation of Stock Advisor Canada.

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What All Canadian Investors Should Know About Saudi Oil Strikes

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The global war over oil continued over the weekend when coordinated strikes on critical Saudi Arabian oil infrastructure reduced production capacity by 50%, representing 5% of the world's oil supply. The news sent oil stocks on the Toronto Stock Exchange flying on Monday.

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Social and political tension fuelled by climate change have yet to translate into international military confrontations, but local conflicts are heating up due to pressures such as drought and water scarcity.

In fragile states, such as Yemen and South Sudan, competition for scarce natural resources is increasing, while a growing need for humanitarian aid undermines states' ability to deal with climate risks, Johan Schaar, of the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, said on Wednesday.

"I don't see big, shooting wars but I think you will have an increasing frequency of very localised conflicts and tensions that could then escalate into much more," Mr Schaar said at World Water Week in Stockholm.

Climate-related disasters often force people from their homes, putting a strain on the communities into which they move and stirring grievances, he said.

In South Sudan, the world's newest country, climate change is shortening and delaying the rainy season, while almost 80 per cent of the rural population is affected by droughts and floods, said Alier Oka, the undersecretary at the Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation.

"Climate change has impacted resources. Rainfall variability is the key issue," he said at the conference.

That is pushing some herders to consider moving to new areas in search of pasture and water, where they are likely to run into problems with settled farmers.

"This is common in South Sudan and happening now," Mr Oka said.

A man holds dry earth from a sugar beet field, as extreme drought hits France, in Cantaing-sur-Escaut. Reuters

As a result, looting of cattle and tribal fighting are occurring more frequently, he said.

In Yemen, embroiled in civil war since 2015, water has become "weaponised", said Muna Luqman, chair of Food4Humanity, a local charity.

Half the population has no access to safe drinking water, which was already a scarce commodity in the arid country before the Iran-backed Houthis overran the capital Sanaa, she said.

Lawlessness combined with climate stresses such as drought and extreme heat, has worsened health and social problems with women and children worst-hit, she said.

Yemen is suffering its third major cholera outbreak since 2015.

But using water wisely can foster peace, said Ms Luqman, who has worked on projects to encourage tribes in remote areas to share water stations.

More than half the world's population is likely to live in water-scarce areas by 2050, said the Economist Intelligence Unit, which launched a "Blue Peace" index this month to better manage shared water supplies.

Elisabeth van Duin, a director at the Netherlands Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management, warned that a lack of safe water, migration and population growth could all "destabilise societies and contribute to regional conflict".

From Syria to Lake Chad, climate change has escalated tensions, Ms van Duin said, with global hotspots in the future likely to include India and China, where millions of people are set to become victims of droughts and floods by 2050.

"Water can become a weapon in conflict," she told the conference. She said that climate and water stress would be "particularly hard on the developing world".

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From Yemen to South Sudan, how water contributes to conflict

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Social and political tension fuelled by climate change have yet to translate into international military confrontations, but local conflicts are heating up due to pressures such as drought and water scarcity.

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Artificial reefs boost marine life

CP launches projects to win back trust

This is CP Group's second effort to create an artificial coral reef under the sea. CP GROUP

After taking a lot of from the sea, CP Group has developed projects with local communities and officials to create natural habitats.

The attempt has led to the company sponsoring artificial coral reefs as a habitat for marine life.

The effort is part of the group's sustainability project called "SEACOSYSTEM". CP Group has launched the project to boost trust from society.

It showcases the group's five key elements of sustainability.

These are sustainable and traceable production and market chain, improving local communities' livelihoods, creating animal habitats, improving animal breeding and improving research and development.

Last Thursday, Suphachai Chearavanont, CEO of Charoen Pokphand (CP) Group, led the corporate team to launch the artificial coral reef project in Songkhla's Ranot district.

The reef was created by placing 1,000 cement bars on the seabed. The project follows the first artificial-reef making bid conducted last year in Narathiwat and Pattani provinces. The three southern provinces are known as major fishing grounds.

"The company has grown from using natural resources on land and in the sea. We were labelled as marine plunderers but now we are changing the way we do business by achieving sustainability and being friendly to the environment and ecology," Mr Suphachai said.

Based on the coral-reef making team's observations, it found that 140 schools of fish have been seen in artificial reefs which the company helped develop last year in Narathiwat and Pattani provinces.

The team recorded 22 types of edible fish and eight types of ornamental fish.

CP Group has been seen launching sustainable projects -- both commercial and "CSR" (corporate social responsibility) projects -- to show the company is observing United Nations sustainable development goals.

The group said it has tried to make its products eco-friendly which are harvested from responsible and accountable sources.

"Thanks to the locals' efforts to protect the sea we have attempted to make things better by purchasing baby fish that come from responsible harvesting only," Mr Suphachai said.

"We have an efficient traceability system to check the product is from legal fishing activity," he said in response to criticism the company had purchased small fish-ingredients from destructive trawlers to make animal feed stocks.

It pledged that by 2030, its products will be fit for a zero carbon label and produce zero waste in the processing chain.

Artificial coral reefs, he said, will help return seafood stocks into the sea.

Yet the company seeks to do more by providing market channels for selling seafood harvested by local fishers.

He said CP Group plans to sell locally-harvested seafood and products at the company's distribution channels.

CP Group has also carried out a project, the so-called Smart Crab Bank, with local fishery communities in southern provinces.

The innovation received three top awards from the 4th International Invention Innovation Competition in Canada last month.

The project helps fishermen bypass the use of female crabs to hatch eggs.

The Smart Crab Bank used an artificial intelligence (AI) programme to create a conducive atmosphere -- concerning temperature, the amount of light and water quality -- to monitor crab eggs incubated and hatched into baby crabs, before releasing them into the sea.

In the past, fishers needed to use crabs to hatch the eggs -- a cumbersome process with a high loss.

The CP Group's Smart Crab Bank innovation makes crab reproduction easier and more efficient, its advocates say.

It is estimated that 1.5 billion baby crabs were released to the sea under the company's project, although only 0.05% survived.

Vicharn Ingsrisawang, deputy chief of the Department of Fisheries, said artificial coral reefs are one way to increase marine life.

According to the department, it has started to place artificial coral reefs since 1978 in 20 coastal provinces over 584 sites, covering 2,063 square kilometres.

"Yet artificial coral reefs like this are not the only way to replenish marine lives. That requires responsible fish catching methods," he said.

He said Thailand needs to do more to ban destructive fishing gear and stop harvesting during breeding season.

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CP launches projects to win back trust This is CP Group's second effort to create an artificial coral reef under the sea. CP GROUP After taking a lot of from the sea, CP Group has developed projects with local communities and officials to create natural habitats.

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Indonesia's president travelled to the area hardest hit by forest fires, as neighbouring countries urged his government to do more to tackle the blazes that have spread a thick, noxious haze around Southeast Asia.

President Joko Widodo flew to Riau province, where nearly 50,000 hectares have burned, to encourage authorities to get the haze under control.

Widodo told reporters Tuesday in the provincial capital, Pekanbaru, that about 5,600 additional military personnel have been deployed to help the 9,000 people currently fighting the fires, which have razed more than 328,700 hectares of land nationwide.

He said at least 52 helicopters have dropped more than 263 million litres of water and 150 tonnes of salt for cloud seeding as part of the firefighting efforts in six provinces that have declared states of emergency. The provinces have a combined population of more than 23 million.

"All efforts have been made, with more personnel on the ground to battle the fires," Widodo said, "but the most important measure is prevention before fires occur."

Widodo regretted that local authorities have been slow in detecting and responding to fires before they start to grow.

"We have all the resources, but all of them were not activated properly," he said.

He urged people to refrain from setting fires on peatlands or in forests that could trigger wildfires, and ordered authorities take firm action against arsonists, both company employees and villagers.

Forestry and Environment Minister Siti Nurbaya Bakar said Tuesday the ministry is investigating 370 plantation companies suspected of intentionally setting fires for new planting, including 103 in Riau province.

She said authorities have sealed off at least 49 companies in the past week for investigation, including a Singaporean-based company and four firms affiliated with a Malaysian palm oil corporate group.

Police have arrested 185 people suspected of starting forest fires. They could be prosecuted under an environmental protection law that allows up to 10 years in prison for setting fires to clear land, national police spokesperson Dedi Prasetyo said.

Nearly every year, Indonesian forest fires spread health-damaging haze across the country and into neighbouring Malaysia and Singapore. The fires are often started by smallholders and plantation owners who set land on fire as a cheap way of clearing it for new planting.

Many areas of Indonesia are prone to rapid burning because of the draining of swampy peatland forests for pulp wood and palm oil plantations.

Poor visibility caused by smoke caused flight delays at several airports in Indonesia and Malaysia, and prompted authorities to shut schools in some parts of both countries.

The Indonesian Disaster Mitigation Agency detected 2,153 hotspots across the country on Monday, more than half of which were in the six provinces of Riau, Jambi, South Sumatra, West Kalimantan, South Kalimantan and Central Kalimantan. The provinces have a combined population of more than 23 million.

It said 99 per cent of the hotspots were caused by deliberately set fires.

Indonesia declared a moratorium on new development of peatlands after particularly disastrous dry season fires in 2015 which burned 2.6 million hectares of land and spread haze across Indonesia, Singapore, southern Thailand and Malaysia.

The World Bank estimated the fires cost Indonesia $16 billion US, and a Harvard and Columbia study estimated the haze hastened 100,000 deaths in the region.

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Indonesia sends more troops to combat forest fires | CBC News

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Indonesia's president travelled to the area hardest hit by forest fires, as neighbouring countries urged his government to do more to tackle the blazes that have spread a thick, noxious haze around Southeast Asia. President Joko Widodo flew to Riau province, where nearly 50,000 hectares have burned, to encourage authorities to get the haze under control.

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Minerals Yearbook (Volume III. -- Area Reports: International)
Listed below are chapters from the Minerals Yearbook (Volume III. -- Area Reports: International). These annual reviews are designed to provide timely statistical data on mineral commodities in various countries. Each report includes sections on government policies and programs, environmental issues, trade and production data, industry structure and ownership, commodity sector developments, infrastructure, and a summary outlook. More information is available on the three volumes of the Minerals Yearbook.

Printed copies of the Minerals Yearbook may be ordered through the U.S. Government Printing Office (See Minerals Yearbook, Vol . III, Area Reports: International for order details). The printed edition of Volume III is divided into regional publications. Links to individual country chapters can be accessed through the following regional page links or through the alphabetical listing of all countries for which Minerals Yearbook chapters are available:

Alphabetical Index to Countries

Special Publications

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Minerals Yearbook (Volume III. -- Area Reports: International)Listed below are chapters from the Minerals Yearbook (Volume III. -- Area Reports: International). These annual reviews are designed to provide timely statistical data on mineral commodities in various countries. Each report includes sections on government policies and programs, environmental issues, trade and

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The day the yellow clams turned black is seared in Ramon Aguero's memory. It was the summer of 1994. A few days earlier, he had collected a generous haul, 20 buckets of the thin-shelled, cold-water clams, which burrow a foot deep into the sand along a 13-mile stretch of beach near Barra del Chuy, just south of the Brazilian border. Agüero had been digging up these clams since childhood, a livelihood passed on for generations along these shores.

But on this day, Aguero, 70, returned to find a disastrous sight: the beach covered in dead clams. "Mile after mile, as far as our eyes could see. All of them dead, rotten, opened up," he said. "They were all black, and had a fetid odour."

He wept at the sight. The clam die-off was an alarming marker of a new climate era, an early sign of this coastline's transformation. Scientists now suspect the event was linked to a gigantic blob of warm water extending from the Uruguayan coast far into the South Atlantic, a blob that has only become warmer in the years since.

The mysterious blob covers 130,000 square miles of ocean, an area nearly twice as big as this small country. And it has been heating up extremely rapidly, more than 2C, over the past century, double the global average. At its centre, it's grown even hotter, warming by as much as 3C, according to one analysis.

The entire ocean is warming, but some parts are changing much faster than others, and the hot spot off Uruguay is one of the fastest. It was first identified by scientists in 2012, but it is still poorly understood and has received virtually no public attention. What researchers do know is that the hot zone here has driven mass die-offs of clams, dangerous ocean heat waves and algal blooms, and wide-ranging shifts in Uruguay's fish catch.

The South Atlantic blob is part of a global trend: around the planet, enormous ocean currents are travelling to new locations. As these currents relocate, waters are growing warmer. Scientists have found similar hot spots along the western stretches of four other oceans: the North Atlantic, the North Pacific, the South Pacific, and the Indian.

Analysis of multiple temperature data sets found numerous locations around the globe that have warmed by at least 2C over the past century. That's a number that scientists and policymakers have identified as a red line if the planet is to avoid catastrophic and irreversible consequences. But in regions large and small, that point has already been reached.

A study of data from Berkeley Earth shows how the temperature average of the last five years compares with 1880-1899: the analysis found that one-tenth of the globe has already warmed by more than 2C, when the last five years are compared with the mid- to late 1800s. That's more than five times the size of the United States. About 20 per cent of the planet has warmed by 1.5C, a point at which scientists say the impacts of climate change grow significantly more intense. The fastest-warming zones include the Arctic, much of the Middle East, Europe and northern Asia, and key expanses of ocean. A large part of Canada is at 2C or higher. Some entire countries, including Switzerland and Kazakhstan, have warmed by 2C. Austria has said the same about its famed Alps.

The percentage of the globe that has exceeded 2C varies depending on the time periods considered. Over the past five years, 8 to 11 percent of the globe crossed the threshold, while over the past 10 years, the figures drop slightly to between 5 and 9 percent. Considering just the past five years increases the area by roughly 40 per cent.

These hot spots are the scenes of a critical acceleration, places where geophysical processes are amplifying the general warming trend. They unveil which parts of the earth will suffer the largest changes. Extreme warming is helping to fuel wildfires in Alaska, shrink glaciers in the Alps and melt permafrost across Canada's Northwest Territories. It is altering marine ecosystems and upending the lives of fishermen who depend on them, from Africa to South America to Asia.

It is making already hot places in the Middle East unbearable for outdoor workers and altering forests, lakes and rivers in the United States. It has thawed the winters of New England and transformed the summers of Siberia.

For Uruguay, a small and politically liberal country of fewer than 4 million, the key vulnerability is in the oceans. Uruguay is famous for its laid-back former president, who lived on a humble flower farm rather than at the mansion occupied by his predecessors, as well as its cattle and sheep, which outnumber Uruguayans by a factor of six. But it's also known for its tourism and beaches. Nearly half of Uruguayans live in the coastal megacity of Montevideo. Meanwhile, international tourists flock to the beaches of Punta del Este, a stylish resort where the Trump Tower Punta del Este is under construction.

But waters have warmed by 1C in just 20 years in the estuary of the Rio de la Plata, where the vast river spills into the ocean, and in the common offshore fishing area shared by Uruguay and Argentina. That is a very fast change in a very short time. In 2017, a record-setting ocean heat wave caused mass fish die-offs and a dangerous algal bloom, forcing beach closures in Montevideo. Such events are becoming more common and more severe. What the clammers along the coast near Brazil experienced decades ago is spreading and becoming harder to ignore.

Uruguay is trying to help them, but that effort underscores the possibilities, and the limits, of adapting to extreme climate change. Over the past five years, earth has passed a significant threshold. The planet is now more than 1C warmer than it was in the mid- to late 1800s, before industrialisation spread across the world. The past five years are by far the hottest, and display the most numerous and expansive 2C hot spots. And while five years may be a brief period in climatic terms, 2019 is already following the same ultrawarm pathway.

Barring some dramatic event like a major volcanic eruption, which can cause temporary global cooling by spewing ash that blocks the sun, scientists expect this to continue and steadily worsen. "We're not going to really cool down much in the future, so the last five years are indicative of the new normal," said Zeke Hausfather, a researcher with Berkeley Earth.

While the global data sets do not agree about what is happening to every stretch of the earth, they show unmistakable patterns. For instance, an intriguing group of ocean hot spots appears again and again. One cause? The tropics are expanding. Straddling the equator, the tropics are already hot because they receive the most sunlight. As the sun hits the tropics, enormous columns of air rise skyward and then outward. But as greenhouse gases trap more heat, those columns of air are pushed farther toward the north and south poles.

Air that rises in the tropics falls back down over the middle latitudes. With a warming planet, though, the air is falling in different places. One region where that air sinks is the South Atlantic Ocean, where the tropical expansion has led to a southward shift in the location of a gigantic counterclockwise circulation of winds. These winds, in turn, drive key ocean currents, including a warm, salty, 60-mile-wide stream called the Brazil Current, which is being pushed even farther south.

Near Uruguay, the Brazil Current collides with the cold and nutrient-rich Malvinas Current that flows north from waters off Argentina. Where the two currents meet, known as the "confluence", features sudden temperature contrasts and fosters rich fisheries. But that zone, too, is on the move. Research suggests it is shifting southward at a rate of more than 40 miles per decade.

The result has been a stunning temperature change off the Uruguayan coast. "The southward displacement of warm waters creates a very strong signal," explains oceanographer Alberto Piola, a professor at the University of Buenos Aires.

In 2012, scientists first flagged it as one of the ocean's fastest-warming stretches. And they've attributed the changes to a broad global pattern that can't be explained just by natural climate variability.

Some other analyses suggest that a tremendous amount of change has occurred here since the late 19th or early 20th century. Gerrit Lohmann and Hu Yang, climate scientists with the Alfred Wegener Institute in Germany, examined the Brazil Current region. They found a warming of between 2C and 3C between 1900 and 2018, with the warmest regions located farther offshore, according to a high-resolution data set of sea surface temperatures from the Hadley Centre in Britain.

Ramon Aguero was about six years old when his parents taught him and his younger brother Arturo how to dig for clams. The brothers learnt to read the weather and the tides to find the richest lodes, which they collected with shovels and buckets.

Later, as the brothers grew up, it became their work as well - work that disappeared when the government banned clamming after the 1994 die-off. Arturo Agüero had five children to feed, and had to move to Montevideo to find work.

"When they shut down the clams, I wanted to die," he said. "Because that is what I knew how to do. I knew how to work the clams. I knew it all."

Similar upheaval struck 100 other clammers, many of whose families had worked these beaches for generations. Forty years ago, marine biologist Omar Defeo, a professor at the University of the Republic in Uruguay, began studying this fishery. He thought it was a good dissertation topic, so he began making the 200-mile trip from Montevideo out to a region called the Rocha department.

It's a place of endless cattle fields, horseback riders along the highways, and beaches that, unlike in the tourist havens far to the south, are quiet and almost empty. But then came the huge die-offs, first along the coast of Brazil, then Uruguay and finally Argentina, wiping out clams along each coastline. Defeo's research became much more urgent.

"In a process of more or less 10 years, the mass mortalities destroyed the populations of yellow clam," said Defeo, who has made about 200 trips to the beaches at Barra del Chuy.

In 2008, the fishery finally reopened after a 14-year hiatus, but for an extremely small catch - just three tons. The most recent year's allowed catch was only 10 tons - a decline of 95 percent from the peak of 220 tons in 1985. Over decades of research, Defeo and his colleagues have chronicled the species' downfall amid warming waters: The clams are now much smaller, rarer and increasingly contaminated by toxic red tides - making them unsafe to eat for weeks at a time. The red tides, in turn, are worsened by climate change, scientists say.

What's more, the Rocha beaches are crawling with more tropical species, including crabs and smaller kinds of clams attracted to the warmer waters. The upheaval matches a key prediction of climate science.

That's the sort of biological wreckage that has shown up along the beaches at Barra del Chuy. For the fishers who remain, even gathering the small numbers of clams that they're allowed to take has gotten tougher.

On an early April day, fall in the Southern Hemisphere, driving winds from the south pushed the waves more than a football field's length inland over the gently sloping beach. For Maria Celia Pereyra Ambrossi, there was no way to pursue her catch. The clams, which are hard to find even on a good day, were all underwater.

"The wind in this area of the beach is always strong, and each passing year, it is stronger," said Pereyra Ambrossi, her silver hair whipped in all directions. "It wasn't that way before."

Two days later, the weather had finally calmed, and the ocean had given back much of the beach. Jose Rocha, 68, and four other family members packed into an old red Volkswagen Golf and drove straight out onto the sand. Barefoot, Rocha walked along the shoreline, dragging his rusty shovel behind him until he found a promising spot to dig.

But the clams were sparse, and only about four pounds were gathered. After about an hour, Rocha stopped and rolled a cigarette as he leaned against the hood of his car. "We are in a time. I do not know what's happening, where the climate is not the same," Rocha said. "The climate is not the same anymore."

Government regulators, academics like Defeo and the fishers themselves have hatched a plan to leverage the shrinking supply of the yellow clam. "The strategy is to catch low numbers of clams, because the stock is very reduced, to sell with a good price to restaurants and just to have this low number of fishers," Defeo said.

The clams are commanding prices nearly double what they were just six years ago, thanks to increasing restaurant demand.

In recent years, the clam has been marketed at high-end restaurants in the tourist meccas of Punta del Este and José Ignacio, about 100 miles down the coast from Barra del Chuy. It's become part of a trend to alter the Uruguayan diet, heavy on beef, toward healthier and locally gathered food.

The first to serve the yellow clam was Lo de Tere in Punta del Este, one of Uruguay's most popular tourist spots. Just steps from the harbour, it serves only Uruguayan food gathered within about 100 kilometers.

On a recent visit, chef Nicolas Larrosa pulled several live clams out of a tub of seawater to display them before cooking. As he lifted one up, it sprayed water on the kitchen floor from both of its siphons, the tubelike structures used to filter seawater and gather nutrients.

Larrosa filled a frying pan with oil and garlic before adding the clams, still in their shells. After the frying, he sprinkled a bit of parsley. It's simple - and that's the point.

"People have discovered this. And they are addicted," said Eduardo Marfetan, who owns the restaurant with his wife and daughter. "I have one client, from Buenos Aires, he calls me, before he comes to Punta Del Este, he says, 'You have clams?' "

Most of the time, the answer is no. The clams are never on the menu, Marfetan said. They are a special sold only when the restaurant has them in stock. The deliveries arrive from Nancy Schuch and her husband, Gabriel Rocha, who buy them from the clammers off the beach. She moves the clams through a small beachside processing plant - the first of its kind in this industry. It is this innovation, paired with a marketing campaign aimed at restaurants, that has led to a new commercial life for the clam.

When it comes to the effects of climate change in the South Atlantic, the clams are only the beginning

Plans are afoot for an even larger plant. Schuch and Javier Vitancourt, the plant's veterinary technician, hope to create a more state-of-the-art facility that will also be open to the public, who would be able to try the clams at any time.

That is, if the climate allows it.​ Schuch said the clams - and the business - will be OK in the long term. "I'm positive," she said.

Defeo, though, takes a cautious tone about the future. "The resource is in a delicate situation," he said. "The stock has not been recovered, and we need to monitor the fishery constantly just to provide early warnings."

When it comes to the effects of climate change in the South Atlantic, the clams are only the beginning. Ocean life is exquisitely sensitive to temperature. In July, Defeo and his student Ignacio Gianelli published a study demonstrating for the first time that the entire Uruguayan fish catch is shifting toward more tropical, warm-water species.

Andres Domingo, the director of Uruguay's national oceans and fisheries agency, is worried about the changing currents. "These conditions probably have a lot of impact on ecosystem ecology," he said.

Harvests of the Argentine hake, traditionally the largest fish catch in Uruguay, have plummeted. The hake is a cold-water species, so it may be fleeing the warming waters. Yet given that the species has also been overfished, it's hard for scientists to attribute the changes exclusively to warming.

Patagonia has experienced an utterly opposite trend - a dramatic explosion in the catch of Argentine red shrimp. The catch has grown from a little over 40,000 tons in 2006 to a record of 230,000 tons in 2017. Barbara Franco, who studies fisheries and climate change at the University of Buenos Aires, said the temperature measurements in the deeper ocean waters along Patagonia are too spotty to attribute the shrimp boom to climate change.

Climate change can make for winners and losers, especially when it comes to fisheries. Along the US coast, fast-warming waters drove lobsters away from southern New England and into the Gulf of Maine, leading to crashing fisheries in one spot and a boom in another. That could be happening here, too.

Still, the overall consequences of these oceanic changes are likely to be negative, Franco said. Fisheries in Uruguay and Brazil are projected to decline by more than a quarter by the end of the century.

That could mean major harm to any number of small-scale fisheries, far beyond the community that gathers the yellow clam. According to the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organisation, workers in these smaller, often local and subsistence-driven fisheries account for 90 percent of all fishery workers around the globe, largely in developing countries. In many cases, they are earning the equivalent of less than $1 per day.

Scientists say they are struggling to keep up with the impacts of a warming world, whether measuring changes in the Arctic or disappearing kelp forests in the southern Pacific.

"We're really playing catch-up," said marine scientist Boris Worm of Dalhousie University in Canada. "Everything we base our civilization on is based on the accumulated experience from the last 7,000 years, about how the world works, and how we can survive in this world that had an exceptionally stable climate.

"And we're shifting away from that equilibrium at breakneck speed now. We're living in a no-analog world that none of us has any experience with."

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Hot zones are making the oceans too dangerous for fish

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The day the yellow clams turned black is seared in Ramon Aguero's memory. It was the summer of 1994. A few days earlier, he had collected a generous haul, 20 buckets of the thin-shelled, cold-water clams, which burrow a foot deep into the sand along a 13-mile stretch of beach near Barra del Chuy, just south of the Brazilian border.

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Indonesia rushes to pass bill seen as pandering to mining companies

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The bill is part of a batch of highly contentious pieces of legislation that parliament has been attempting to rush through in its final days. The previous week, parliament had passed in record time an anti-corruption bill widely seen as weakening the national anti-graft commission.

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JAKARTA (Reuters) - Indonesian Energy Minister Ignasius Jonan told reporters on Wednesday the country is unlikely to begin natural gas imports in 2025 as initially expected because some big gas projects will start production, reducing the need for overseas shipments.

The government previously estimated Indonesia will have a gas deficit by 2025 and would need to start importing the fuel.

"That was the previous calculation we made before discoveries (of new fields)," Jonan said on Wednesday.

Indonesia upstream oil and gas regulator SKK Migas said projects such as Sakakemang and the Tangguh Train 3, among others, are expected to start operating before 2025.

SKK Migas Chairman Dwi Soetjipto said although he expects the volume of domestic gas consumption to increase by 2025, he estimated the portion of domestic use will stay at the current level of 60% of the country's natural gas production in 2025.

"Growth of (domestic) demand is not expected to surge but production growth is expected to jump with the start of Jambaran Tiung Biru and Tangguh Train 3," Soetjipto said.

BP's Tangguh Train 3 project, in the eastern province of West Papua, is expected to start production in 2022, he said, with production capacity of around 3.8 million tonnes per year. Pertamina's Jambaran Tiung Biru project in eastern Java will start in 2021.

The regulator is also maintaining its projection that Chevron's Indonesia Deepwater Development (IDD) project will start operations in 2024.

Meanwhile, the government has said Repsol's Sakakemang gas project, which has an estimated 2 trillion cubic feet gas resources, is estimated to come onstream within three years from 2019.

Heru Setiawan, a director at Indonesia's state energy company PT Pertamina [PERTM.UL], estimated that Indonesia would not require gas imports until 2035 due to the recent large discoveries.

Meanwhile, Pertamina will use its future import contracts for trading purposes, Setiawan said.

"We will boost our trading. We have partnerships with traders overseas such as ENI and Mitsui and we have representative office in Tokyo," he said. "The point is the trading must be active."

Minister Jonan said that future domestic demand for gas will continue to come from the power sector. Indonesia's power generators currently have 20% of their energy sourced from gas and it is expected to increase to around 23% by 2025.

Gigih Prakoso, chief executive of state gas utility PT Perusahaan Gas Negara (PGN), said Indonesia needs to build more gas infrastructure to boost consumption of natural gas.

"Currently we only have around 20% of the infrastructure needed to optimize the usage of natural gas in Indonesia," Prakoso said.

He said that the government estimated $48.2 billion of investment is needed to fully develop the gas infrastructure network across the archipelago to optimize consumption.

Coal is the country's biggest source of energy for electricity, providing about 60% of Indonesia's power.

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Indonesia is unlikely to begin natural gas imports in 2025: minister

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JAKARTA (Reuters) - Indonesian Energy Minister Ignasius Jonan told reporters on Wednesday the country is unlikely to begin natural gas imports in 2025 as initially expected because some big gas projects will start production, reducing the need for overseas shipments. The government previously estimated Indonesia will have a gas deficit by 2025 and would need to start importing the fuel.