The U.S. House voted and passed a measure to take away the Biden Administration’s ability to pause the approval of new LNG exports to large markets. The vote, which took place on Thursday, is designed to grant only the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission the authority to approve new LNG exports within the United States—meaning that the Biden Administration’s Department of Energy would no longer have the authority to stand in the way of new approvals. But while the measure passed in the Republic-led House... Читать дальше...
In an attempt to show that they are finally taking heed of the rapidly aggravating problem of air pollution, authorities in Uzbekistan have slapped fines on two major state-run power plants for causing harm to the environment. Tashkent thermal power plant, or TTP, and the Novo-Angren TPP will in aggregate be required to pay 2 billion sums (about $160,000) for flouting air quality standards, failure to comply with proper waste disposal protocols and oil spillages. The penalties levied earlier this... Читать дальше...
Oil trading giant Trafigura has agreed to debt repayment plans with its oil products customers in Mongolia, which will lead to significant losses for the trader in Mongolia, Bloomberg reported on Thursday, saying the losses could be in the hundreds of millions of dollars. “We have been trading oil and metals in Mongolia for a number of years. We have a good track record of successfully recovering debts from counterparts in emerging markets,” Bloomberg cited a Trafigura spokesperson as saying. The... Читать дальше...
Via Metal Miner The Raw Steels Monthly Metals Index (MMI) fell 11.17% from January to February as steel prices declined. U.S. flat rolled steel prices continued to slide after finding a peak at the close of 2023. Following a 2% decline throughout January, hot rolled coil prices fell over 5% during the first half of February. HRC prices now sit at the $1,000/st mark, as bearish momentum appeared to accelerate in recent weeks. Producer Q4 Results Show Lower Volume Despite Steel Prices Uptrend In their... Читать дальше...
Total investments in oil and gas activity offshore Norway, including pipeline transportation, are estimated to hit $23 billion (244 billion Norwegian crowns) this year, up by 5% compared to last quarter’s assessment, Statistics Norway said on Thursday. The latest forecast for 2024 for the sectors oil and gas, manufacturing, mining and quarrying, and electricity supply now suggests investments in these sectors combined would jump by around 30% this year compared to 2023. Last year, total investments... Читать дальше...
Researchers at NYU Tandon School of Engineering achieved a major breakthrough in Redox Flow Desalination (RFD), an emerging electrochemical technique that can turn seawater into potable drinking water and also store affordable renewable energy. In a paper published in Cell Reports Physical Science, the NYU Tandon team led by Dr. André Taylor, professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering and director of DC-MUSE (Decarbonizing Chemical Manufacturing Using Sustainable Electrification), increased... Читать дальше...
In what was a rather uneventful quarter for Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway, the massive hedge fund made only a few modest changes to its portfolio in Q4 2023, which as of Dec 31, 2023 was valued as $347.4 billion (at least the long book, short positions don't have to be disclosed). Among the notable changes, Berkshire sold out of its entire stake in homebuilder DR Horton (valued at $641MM in Q3), Markel ($234MM), StoneCo ($114MM) and Globe Life ($90MM). The fund also reduced its holdings in its top position Apple... Читать дальше...
Woodside Energy expects to book non-cash post-tax asset impairment charges of $1.5 billion for its 2023 fiscal year, mostly due to impairment for the Shenzi field in the Gulf of Mexico, which Australia’s top energy company bought as part of the merger with BHP’s petroleum assets in 2022. Of the expected $1.5 billion impairments, about $1.2 billion is related to the Shenzi oil and gas field offshore Louisiana, which accounted for around 5% of Woodside’s production in 2023, the company said in a statement on Thursday. Читать дальше...
Centrica, the owner of British Gas, issued a “strong 2023 financial result” today, as the company’s retail division saw a sharp jump in profits for the year. In the company’s annual results, it revealed operating profit for 2023 came in at £2.8bn, down on 2022’s figure of £3.3bn. British Gas Energy saw profits skyrocket from £72m to £751m, slightly exceeding analyst expectations of £747m. This offset a decline in profit from the group’s other businesses, namely Centrica Energy, which…
Occidental Petroleum reported its strongest quarterly financial results in three years for the final three months of 2023, beating analyst expectations. Net income attributable to shareholders came in at $1 billion for the period, which translated into $1.08 per diluted share. Adjusted earnings attributable to common shareholders came in at $710 million, or $0.74 per share. "Our teams performed exceptionally well during the fourth quarter of 2023, concluding another year of operational excellence... Читать дальше...
The Department of Energy has issued a challenge to the U.S. solar power industry. It urged developers to increase the amount of total installed community solar to 20 GW by 2030. To date, the total installed capacity of community solar is 7 GW. The 20-GW target was first announced back in 2021, when the Department of Energy’s national Community Solar Partnership said it would power the equivalent of 5 million households and result in savings of $1 billion for the consumers that benefit from it. Last year... Читать дальше...
The merger and acquisition deals are coming in the shale patch, at a rate almost too fast to document. Last week news broke about Devon Energy, (NYSE:DVN), and Canadian-based producer, Enerplus, (NYSE:ERF) opening merger talks. Enerplus has some choice acreage in the Bakken play that would be very attractive to Devon as it fills in a lot of gaps in its own prime Bakken acreage. They also hold some non-operated acreage in the Marcellus, that would likely be sold off as Devon has no other operation in that basin. Читать дальше...
In September last year, the European Union's electric utility industry association, Eurelectric, warned that the bloc needed what Reuters called "unprecedented" investments in grid upgrades. Otherwise, Eurelectric said, the EU could well miss its energy transition targets. A month later, the Biden administration announced a $3.5-billion grant pot for grid upgrade projects, including building new transmission lines to connect more wind and solar installations. The transition leaders are in a rush to bolster their grids. Читать дальше...
Jared Kushner, Donald Trump’s son-in-law and former advisor, has defended a $2-billion investment from Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, denying that there was any conflict of interest or that the receipt of the investment was unethical. Kusher’s private equity firm, Affinity Partners, received $2 billion in investment from Saudi Arabia shortly after he left the White House. Critics have condemned the deal as unethical and a conflict of interest due to the fact that Kushner was working closely... Читать дальше...
UK banking giant Barclays has just announced that it will drop direct funding for new oil and gas projects, joining other major European banks in halting the financing of fossil fuel expansion. Barclays has been one of the top ten banks financing fossil fuels globally since 2016, just after the Paris Agreement was signed, according to the 14th annual Banking on Climate Chaos report published by environmental groups last year. Estimates by climate campaigners, including Rainforest Action Network and Reclaim Finance... Читать дальше...
India’s industry expansion and rising oil refining to meet higher fuel demand are set to drive a tripling of the country’s natural gas consumption by 2050, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said on Wednesday. In 2022, India’s natural gas consumption amounted to 7.0 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d), with over 70% of the demand coming from the industrial sector. By 2050, India’s natural gas consumption is set to more than triple to 23.2 Bcf/d, according to EIA’s estimates. Among... Читать дальше...
Via Metal Miner Month-on-month, rare earths prices exhibited sharp downward movement. While weaker downstream demand could potentially prove one culprit in the dropping prices, another potential factor is an increase in global rare earth production outside of China. If true, China could find itself bumped down the totem pole in terms of rare earth magnets dominance. Meanwhile, China’s economy continues to waver due to the weakened property sector, which could also potentially impact prices. For now... Читать дальше...
Developed economies need to provide at least $1 trillion per year to climate finance for developing countries to meet the national and global climate targets, one of the biggest developing economies and a major carbon polluter, India, said in a proposal to the United Nations. Developed countries have pledged to support developing economies with funding to address climate change and reduce emissions. Developing countries have been arguing for years that they cannot meet climate goals without substantial... Читать дальше...
University of Tsukuba researchers have developed highly durable electrodes without precious metals to enable direct hydrogen production from seawater. Water electrolysis utilizing renewable energy sources is emerging as a promising clean method for hydrogen production. But the water electrolysis method, a promising avenue for hydrogen production, relies on substantial freshwater consumption, thereby limiting the regions available with water resources required for water electrolysis. Therefore, it... Читать дальше...
