Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan intend to spend millions of dollars in the coming years developing international trade corridors in the South Caucasus. While such investment may boost prosperity, it is likely to exacerbate a pernicious environmental and health challenge: air pollution. A lack of environmental regulation of industry – along with the explosive growth of automobiles – since the Soviet Union’s collapse means that many cities in the Caucasus are often engulfed in smog. The expansion... Читать дальше...
China is the world’s biggest hydro power producer, having generated an estimated 1,303 terawatt hours of hydropower in 2022, according to data published by Ember, a UK-based energy think tank. As Statista's Anna Fleck shows in the chart below, this equates to approximately 31 percent of global hydropower that year. Following some way behind comes Brazil (427 TWh), Canada (398 TWh), the United States (249 TWh) and Russia (198 TWh).When looking at hydropower’s share of total electricity production for each of these countries... Читать дальше...
The Biden administration is potentially gearing up to reimpose oil sanctions on Venezuela, as President Nicolas Maduro violates the conditions of the existing temporary sanctions relief in his attempt to quash the opposition ahead of this year’s elections. On Wednesday, the Biden administration signaled that sanctions could be implemented anew when the six-month temporary deal expires on Thursday. Elections in Venezuela are scheduled for July 28, and Maduro has tirelessly worked to ban opposition... Читать дальше...
Via Metal Miner Overall, the Aluminum Monthly Metals Index (MMI) remained sideways, with a 2.03% rise from March to April. Aluminum prices outperformed all base metals throughout March, with a 4.71% rise from the close of February. Prices continued their rally throughout April, hitting their highest level since February 2023 by April 8. Aluminum Prices Chase 2023 Highs The aluminum price rally continued to play out during the first weeks of April as prices repeatedly toppled previous highs. This included their 2023 close... Читать дальше...
Only two days ago analysts were predicting oil over $100 a barrel, but by Wednesday midday, crude prices were nose-diving by close to 3% as demand concerns heavily outweighed the prospect of a wider regional conflict in the Middle East. At 12:41 p.m. ET on Wednesday, Brent crude oil was trading down 3.18% at $87.16, for a $2.86 per barrel loss on the day, while the U.S. crude oil benchmark, West Texas Intermediate (WTI), was trading down 3.25% at $82.59, for a loss of $2.77 per barrel on the day. Читать дальше...
Global oil demand jumped by 1.2 million barrels per day (bpd) in February from January, hitting a five-year seasonal high, with seasonal-high demand for gasoline and an all-time high oil demand in India, according to data from the Joint Organizations Data Initiative (JODI) published on Wednesday. Oil demand in the 38 countries that report data to JODI also rose by 1.1 million bpd in February 2024 compared to February 2023, showed the data shared by the Riyadh-based International Energy Forum (IEF). Читать дальше...
The net-zero carbon hydrogen industry is moving forward from pilot-scale projects of 10-20 MW of electrolysis capacity to large-scale projects of 100-200 MW and larger. While the discrepancy between the number of announced projects and those reaching financial close remains large, some of the more credible projects are getting financed and starting construction. Now investors and financiers are searching worldwide for optimal arrangements, locations offering the possibility of large-scale clean power production with high load factors... Читать дальше...
Unnamed Reuters sources said on Wednesday that the European Commission is preparing to sue Germany over its fees for purchasing gas from German storage in contravention of the European Union’s single market rules. In a matter of days, the European Commission is expected to file its infringement procedure lawsuit against the German tariff, Reuters reports, citing two unnamed sources, though a spokesman for the Commission told Reuters that talks were ongoing. The tariff, according to an EU energy... Читать дальше...
Crude oil prices moved lower today after the Energy Information Administration reported an inventory increase of 2.7 million barrels for the week to April 12. This compared with a significant build of 5.8 million barrels for the previous week and an estimated 4-million-barrel build for the week to April 12 as reported by the American Petroleum Institute on Tuesday. At the same time, the EIA reported declines in gasoline and middle distillates, which at the time of writing had not changed the direction... Читать дальше...
The world’s crude oil production fell by 1.2 million barrels per day (bpd) in February compared to the same month last year as steep output declines in Saudi Arabia and Iraq were partially offset by a large annual production gain in the United States, the latest data by the Joint Organizations Data Initiative (JODI) showed on Wednesday. Compared to January 2024, global crude oil production jumped by 473,000 bpd in February as U.S. oil production rebounded following shut-ins due to bad weather... Читать дальше...
Following a rally in energy stocks this year, hedge funds have been selling off U.S. oil company shares to pile into crude oil options, expecting a price rally in oil if the Middle East conflict escalates and a short-term pullback in energy shares, according to Goldman Sachs data reported by Bloomberg. Money managers have sold U.S. energy stocks for three consecutive weeks, per Goldman Sachs’s prime brokerage data. Shares in energy firms have outperformed the top tech stocks this year as the market... Читать дальше...
Kazakhstan is seeking more than $150 billion in compensation from the oil majors developing its huge Kashagan oilfield, after adding a $138 billion claim for lost revenue to a previous claim of $15 billion over costs, anonymous sources with knowledge of the matter told Bloomberg on Wednesday. Kazakhstan already claims that it is owed as much as $16.5 billion by international oil majors for project costs in two of the biggest oilfield developments in the country in the past decade, the Kashagan and Karachaganak oilfields. Читать дальше...
Japan’s refiners are prepared to tap reserves in case of a major escalation of the conflict in the Middle East and a possible disruption to oil supply, but they do not see threats to supply right now, according to the president of the Petroleum Association of Japan (PAJ). “We don't believe that there are any obstacles to the procurement of crude oil to Japan for now,” PAJ president Shunichi Kito said on Wednesday, as carried by Reuters. In case of a disruption, refiners would use Japan’s crude oil... Читать дальше...
Exports of the CPC blend from the Black Sea via the network of the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) are expected to drop by 12% in May compared to the scheduled shipments for April, due to a planned oilfield maintenance, Reuters reported on Wednesday, citing sources with knowledge of the matter. CPC blend exports are seen down to around 4.9 million metric tons in May, compared to 5.4 million tons planned to be exported in April, according to Reuters’ sources. The expected decline in exports is... Читать дальше...
Spot LNG prices in Asia jumped to the highest level since the beginning of January amid concerns that the conflict in the Middle East could further escalate. After lingering at around multi-month lows for nearly the entire winter heating season in the northern hemisphere, spot LNG prices for delivery into north Asia have jumped in recent days amid fears that an Israeli response to the Iranian attack could escalate into a regional conflict that could obstruct LNG cargo flows around the Middle East... Читать дальше...
The U.S. federal government will create a special task force to deal with global carbon emissions from trade and manufacturing activities. The news came from John Podesta, the new U.S. climate envoy set to replace John Kerry. In a speech at an event at Columbia University, Podesta called global trade “an elephant in the room…one that’s producing a lot of emissions” and went on to say that governments needed to harness international economic systems for climate action. It was to this end that the... Читать дальше...
The European Union and the United States are considering additional sanctions against Iran, with Reuters noting the move sought to discourage Israel from retaliation for this weekend missile strike barrage that would inevitably lead to an escalation in the conflict. The BBC cited Josep Borrell, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, as saying Brussels was currently working on the sanctions, while U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said news in this respect... Читать дальше...
Despite Iran’s attack on Israel over the weekend, oil prices dropped on Monday as an Iranian response to the Israeli hit on the Iranian diplomatic mission in Syria was largely expected and priced in. The well-telegraphed-in-advance Iranian drone attack against Israel may have been peak escalation, for now, analysts and investment banks say. However, uncertainty over a potential Israeli retaliation and whether restraint will prevail continue to keep the oil market on edge. Risk premiums and fear... Читать дальше...
It’s nearly two years since the United States Congress passed the historic Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), with the country’s solar sector expected to be one of its biggest beneficiaries. According to the U.S. Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), the IRA will drive an additional 160 gigawatts (GW) of solar capacity over the next 10 years and lead to over $565 billion in new investments. But the IRA is beginning to have some unintended consequences: attracting struggling European solar firms... Читать дальше...
Europe is "returning to petrol", according to a new article from Yahoo Finance which highlighted Volkswagen's EV sales as the canary in the coalmine. Sales of Volkswagen's electric vehicles have declined by nearly 25% in Europe, with a noticeable shift back to gasoline-powered cars amid waning interest in battery-operated models, the report says. It notes that the downturn, observed in the initial quarter of the year, is attributed to heightened inflation and escalating energy costs, which have... Читать дальше...
