The easing of the COVID-related sanitary regime at Chinese customs crossings enabled Kazakhstan to quadruple the amount of agricultural goods it exported to the country in 2023 as compared to a year earlier. The 2.2 million tons, which comprised wheat, barley, soybeans, flax and sunflower seeds, that was sent to China last year was not just significantly more than the 615,000 tons delivered in 2022. It was also a large surge on the previous record of 1.2 million tons recorded in 2019. Most of the deliveries were carried on freight trains... Читать дальше...
The Biden Administration took one more baby step towards refilling the nation’s Strategic Petroleum Reserves (SPR), announcing on Friday a request for proposal for another 3 million barrels of crude oil for May delivery. The Strategic Petroleum Reserve started out at the onset of the current administration’s term with 638.1 million barrels in storage—the nation’s rainy day oil fund. But by the end of 2021, more than 44 million barrels had been sold off. In 2022, a whopping 221 million barrels had... Читать дальше...
The TotalEnergies refinery in Port Arthur, Texas, has been forced to shut down its two crude distillation units and two vacuum distillation units, due to a malfunction at the gasoline-producing unit, sources with knowledge of the refinery operations have told Reuters. After a malfunction at the gasoline-producing fluidic catalytic cracker (FCC) at the 238,000 barrel-per-day refinery, the plant shut down on Thursday the two crude distillation and two vacuum distillation units, according to Reuters’ sources. Читать дальше...
The total number of active drilling rigs for oil and gas in the United States fell again this week, according to new data that Baker Hughes published on Friday. The total rig count fell by 2 to 619 this week, compared to 775 rigs this same time last year. The number of oil rigs fell by 2 this week, settling at 499--down by 124 compared to this time last year. The number of gas rigs fell by 1 this week to 117, a loss of 33 active gas rigs from this time last year. Miscellaneous rigs hit 3 rigs after rising by 1. Читать дальше...
The world’s largest uranium miner issued a dire warning on Friday concerning its production outlook for 2024, sparking fears that nuclear fuel supply could be at risk. London-based Kazatomprom—the largest uranium miner in the world—said on Friday that sulfuric acid shortages and construction delays at newly discovered deposits could lead to the company missing production targets—challenges that could remain into next year. Uranium supply is already under threat, with spot prices for yellowcake-uranium... Читать дальше...
Brent Crude oil prices are expected to average $74 per barrel this year, Citi said in a note, revising down its previous forecast by $1 a barrel, due to expectations of excess supply. The researchers at the bank also slashed their Brent forecast for 2025 by $10 per barrel, and now see the international benchmark averaging $60 a barrel next year. “We believe softer market fundamentals, absent major supply disruptions, will result in OPEC+ rolling over its Q1 2024 production cuts throughout the whole... Читать дальше...
Via Metal Miner U.S. flat rolled steel prices closed the year decidedly bullish. A nearly 14% month-over-month rise saw HRC prices easily outperform all base metals both during the month and throughout 2023 as a whole. Meanwhile, plate prices saw an upside correction after prices traded down throughout November. HRC Prices See First Decrease Since September HRC prices finished 2023 very strong. In fact, the turn of the year marked three consecutive months of increases that saw prices rise over 61% from their late-September low. Читать дальше...
The Canada Energy Regulator is hearing arguments on Friday from Trans Mountain Corporation on why it should allow a change in the route and diameter of a small section of the pipeline. The company has warned that without that change it could face a worst-case scenario of a delay of two years in the completion of the pipeline. The expanded Trans Mountain pipeline will triple the capacity of the original pipeline to 890,000 barrels per day (bpd) from 300,000 bpd to carry crude from Alberta’s oil... Читать дальше...
Oil prices are being pushed higher by renewed geopolitical risk after the UK and the U.S. launched an attack on Houthi positions in Yemen. Brent temporarily climbed above $80 before falling back slightly.Friday, January 12, 2024The escalation of tensions in the Red Sea, culminating in the largest US/UK attack on Houthi positions since the start of Operation Prosperity Guardian, has prompted multiple tankers to divert from the Suez Canal and Danish shipping firm Torm joined the ranks of European companies avoiding Red Sea transits. Читать дальше...
Tesla expects to stop production at its Giga Berlin factory, its largest in Europe, for two weeks at the end of January and early February, due to a lack of components as the Red Sea attacks on shipping have strained supply chains. “The considerably longer transportation times are creating a gap in the supply chains. Due to a lack of components, we are therefore forced to suspend vehicle production in the Gigafactory Berlin-Brandenburg,” Tesla said in a statement on Friday carried by The Wall Street Journal. Читать дальше...
As tensions rock the Middle East, the Horn of Africa is following suit, with the New Year presenting a critical resurgence of Al Shabab, an Al-Qaida affiliate, helped along by geopolitics that strike at the very heart of Somalia’s territorial sovereignty. On the surface of the issue is a deal between Ethiopia and the autonomous region of Somaliland that will give landlocked Ethiopia the right to use the port of Somaliland, a region attempting to gain international recognition as a sovereign state and not part of Somalia. Читать дальше...
The crude oil market is currently grappling with heightened volatility, primarily driven by escalating tensions in the Middle East. A notable uptick in oil prices, nearly 1%, was triggered by Iran's seizure of an oil tanker off Oman's coast, amplifying fears of intensifying conflicts in this key oil-producing region. This incident caps a period where oil benchmarks initially increased over $2 a barrel but later faced downward adjustments, influenced by unexpected rises in U.S. inflation and a decrease in China's demand for Saudi oil. Читать дальше...
1. Biden Revamp of Permitting Rules Scares US LNG Players- The White House is developing a new set of policy recommendations for new LNG facilities that could significantly slow down the construction of future and pending projects, just as the United States has become the world’s largest LNG exporter. - The US Department of Energy, the government body issuing LNG export permits to producers, is re-evaluating its project requirements to include the climate impact of proposed liquefaction plants. -... Читать дальше...
- Iran seized a U.S. oil tanker that had loaded in Iraq and was on its way to Turkey on Thursday. The act was one of retaliation for the U.S. seizure of a ship last year carrying what Washington said was Iranian oil for China in violation of sanctions. The vessel seized was the same vessel, under a different name, that was seized for carrying Iranian oil in 2023. - The Houthis launched their biggest attack in the Red Sea yet on Tuesday this week, with the U.S. and UK shooting down 21 drones and missiles... Читать дальше...
If you read my year end review and outlook for oil that was published a few weeks ago, before I went on my somewhat extended holiday break, you will know that I started this year bullish for oil, but with a few provisos. Mainly, they are to do with economic conditions in the US and to a lesser extent China. Higher for longer interest rates should inflation remain elevated (as Thursday’s US CPI suggested it might) could affect the demand side of the pricing equation, but as long as crude stays above... Читать дальше...
Amid escalating tensions in the Middle East and the U.S. and UK strikes on Houthi targets in Yemen overnight, the largest shipping and tanker industry groups are advising members to stay away from the Bab el-Mandeb Strait while shippers are diverting transit away from the Red Sea en masse again. In an advisory to its members, the International Association of Independent Tanker Owners (Intertanko), representing nearly 70% of all international oil, chemical, and gas tankers, said that tankers should... Читать дальше...
The European Union must raise significantly emissions capture and removals to meet its target to become a carbon-neutral bloc by 2050, the European Commission said in a draft document seen by Bloomberg News. According to the Commission’s estimates, the EU will need to capture 450 million tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) annually, per the document expected to be unveiled on February 6. That level of emission removals would be nearly ten times the current global capacity of carbon capture and storage (CCS)... Читать дальше...
China imported a record-high volume of crude oil last year, beating the previous annual record from 2020, as fuel demand rebounded after the Covid restrictions were abandoned in early 2023. Chinese crude oil imports jumped by 11% year-on-year to 11.28 million barrels per day (bpd) in 2023, according to data from the General Administration of Customs released on Friday and reported by Reuters. The 2023 crude imports topped the previous record level of 10.81 million bpd from 2020, when China took advantage... Читать дальше...
Alberta produced a record amount of crude oil in November last year, with the daily average topping 4 million barrels. As the larger Trans Mountain pipeline nears completion, oil sands producers in Canada’s oil province ramped up production by more than 330,000 barrels daily to a total of 4.16 million bpd, in November, Bloomberg reported, citing data from the Alberta Energy Regulator. The Trans Mountain pipeline will, after its expansion, be able to carry 590,000 bpd more in crude oil than it did before the expansion... Читать дальше...
Ron DeSantis and Nikki Haley both spoke in favor of oil and gas at a recent debate in Iowa, with the former Florida governor vowing to stimulate more local production and the former South Carolina governor noting the importance of nuclear in cutting emissions. “We’re gonna choose Midland over Moscow. We’re gonna choose the Marcellus over the mullahs. And we’re gonna choose the Bakken over Beijing,” Ron DeSantis said during the debate, noting that if he becomes president, development in the Bakken... Читать дальше...
U.S. and UK forces in the Red Sea have struck military targets in Yemen in response to Houthi attacks on ships in the area. Reuters cited witnesses as saying there had been strikes across the country. "These targeted strikes are a clear message that the United States and our partners will not tolerate attacks on our personnel or allow hostile actors to imperil freedom of navigation," President Biden said in a statement following the air and sea strikes. The escalation follows what the U.S. Central Command called the biggest Houthi attack yet... Читать дальше...
Last year proved to be another disappointing year for the majority of commodities with everything from oil and gas to grains and base metals recording large declines. Unfortunately for the bulls, 2024 could end up serving up more of the same, if early market sentiment is any indication. Whereas the Bloomberg Commodities Index (BCOM), a popular benchmark tracked by 23 exchange-traded contracts on physical commodities, is essentially flat in the new year, market sentiment closely echoes the start of 2023, signaling trouble ahead. Читать дальше...
China produced a record amount of crude oil and natural gas last year, the National Energy Administration has said. The authority added that the increase in shale and other unconventional gas output was especially remarkable. That was the same year that imports of crude oil also broke several records and natural gas imports remained robust. In crude oil, domestic production rose by more than 3 million metric tons last year, the NEA said, as cited by China Daily. This brought the total to 208 million tons... Читать дальше...
In 2003, the late author and investment banker Matther Simmons predicted that with “certainty,” by 2005 the U.S. would enter a long-term natural gas crisis for which the only solution was “to pray.” T. Boone Pickens and a number of high-profile energy insiders concurred. ConocoPhillips and ExxonMobil made large acquisitions of natural gas companies, betting on a future with much higher natural gas prices. Liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminals were being built to help address the expected supply shortfall. Читать дальше...
Just days after similar protests shut down the country’s largest oilfield, Sharara, new protests against corruption and distribution of oil wealth have erupted again in Libya, threatening to shut down two oil and gas facilities within 72 hours. The two facilities, at the Zawiya refinery, west of Tripoli, pump gas from the Mellitah complex, owned by Italian Eni and the Libyan National Oil Company (NOC), and halting operations here would interrupt the flow of gas through the Libya-Italy Greenstream pipeline. Читать дальше...
