Lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries hold promise for bringing more energy dense and low-cost batteries closer to market. University of California – San Diego engineers have developed an advanced cathode material for lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries that is healable and highly conductive, overcoming longstanding challenges of traditional sulfur cathodes. These improvements overcome the limitations of lithium-sulfur batteries’ current cathodes. The reporting work paper has been published in the journal Nature. Читать дальше...
Valero Energy Corp. and Chevron Corp. have entered the fray of buyers for oil traversing Canada's expanded Trans Mountain Pipeline system, signaling a potential shift in the West Coast's oil-sourcing landscape. Anonymous Bloomberg sources revealed on Friday that these refineries in California are set to receive cargoes of Cold Lake crude, a heavy grade from Canada's oil sands, loaded onto Aframax tankers out of the Westridge Terminal near Vancouver last June. This development marks the first sales... Читать дальше...
Via SchiffGold.com, Peter Schiff recently appeared on Market Overtime with Oliver Renick for an interview. In their wide-ranging discussion, Peter speaks on monetary policy, the reliability of inflation data, and reasons to avoid Bitcoin. Contrary to the popular narrative, gold’s recent rise is not because of world conflicts. Inflation is the driving force behind the metal’s price action: “This is just the beginning of a massive re-pricing of gold, and people aren’t even buying it yet. You have central banks buying... Читать дальше...
The Great Game is playing out once again in Central Asia, but it is getting a new name and adopting a different set of rules. Economics, not politics, is defining the terms of the current superpower competition for regional influence, according to a report prepared by a Kazakh research institute. There is a key difference governing the global rivalries in Central Asia in the 19th and 21st centuries: these days, regional states, not outsiders, wield the more influence over potential outcomes, according to the report... Читать дальше...
The total number of active drilling rigs for oil and gas in the United States rose this week, according to new data that Baker Hughes published on Friday, for an increase of 2. The total rig count fell by 2 to 619 this week, compared to 753 rigs this same time last year. The number of oil rigs rose by 5 this week. Oil rigs now stand at 511--down by 80 compared to this time last year. The number of gas rigs fell by 3 this week to 106, a loss of 53 active gas rigs from this time last year. Miscellaneous rigs stayed the same at 2. Читать дальше...
Representative Nunn has introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives The Year-Round E15 Act of 2024. This bill aims to temporarily apply the E10 Reid vapor pressure limitations to E15 fuel blends in several Midwestern states. Specifically, the bill targets Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin. If enacted, the Act would come into effect from May 1, 2024, and would run until September 15, 2024. During this period, E15 sales would be allowed year round in those specific states. Читать дальше...
A suspected Iranian spy ship that its own government calls an "intelligence and logistics" vessel returned home this week after a three-year mis, as well as more recently lingering near Yemen for months. The Iranian 'spy ship' BEHSHAD (9167289), which had a hand in the Red Sea Crisis by assisting Houthis in launching attacks against commercial and naval vessels over the past several months, has now returned to Iran after a 3-year deployment. We were able to verify her in… pic.twitter.com/NqJ3LYdIWY ... Читать дальше...
Africa’s biggest oil producer, Nigeria, plans to offer up to 20% of its crude oil production for trading on its commodities exchange, Akinsola Akeredolu-Ale, the chief executive of the Lagos Commodities and Futures Exchange, told Bloomberg in an interview published on Friday. The official didn’t elaborate on when the exchange’s first-ever crude trading would begin. The goal of the launch of crude oil trading is to expand access to financing for the oil and gas industry, on which Nigeria relies for... Читать дальше...
Oil price volatility has climbed dramatically as tensions between Israel and Iran escalate, with Brent breaking the $90 mark early on Friday morning before falling back to the $86 handle.Friday, April 19th 2024The drastic seesawing of oil prices in recent trading sessions reflects the uncertainty surrounding the Israel-Iran conflict, with initial reports of Israeli strikes on Iranian soil ratcheting up Brent above $90 per barrel, only to see them plunge back to $86 per barrel following Tehran’s dismissal of their impact. Читать дальше...
The U.S. Administration finalized on Friday a strategy to help protect federal lands, which includes restricting access to drilling and mining in a large part of the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska (NPR-A). The Public Lands Rule is aimed at helping safeguard the health of America’s public lands by ensuring that the U.S. protects clean water and wildlife habitat, restores land and waters that need it, and makes informed management decisions based on science, data, and Indigenous knowledge, the... Читать дальше...
SLB (NYSE: SLB), the world’s largest oilfield services provider, reported on Friday 14% higher net income for the first quarter compared to the same period last year, amid strong international drilling demand that more than offset a weaker North American market. SLB has been saying for several consecutive quarters that it expects strong international drilling business going forward, boosted by a rebound in offshore drilling and growing demand for oil and gas. SLB saw its net income rise to $1.07... Читать дальше...
Oil markets have largely discounted the Iranian missile and drone barrage directed at Israel because it was essentially a ruse designed not to inflict any damage, but to save face at home and abroad. Almost all of the missiles were intercepted by Israeli defense systems, yet Tehran was able to boast of its first direct attack on Israel. What should be more worrisome for oil markets is Israel’s response to Iran’s response (to Israel’s response), which came around midnight on Thursday, when first... Читать дальше...
Over the years, one of my most profitable investment research techniques has been to look for companies whose stock has been dragged down by negativity around the market in which they operate, even though they themselves are well-run, efficient, and profitable, characteristics that will enable them to survive a downturn and emerge stronger should competitors go under or cut back operations significantly when times are tough. So, when there is a flood of bad news about an industry and every stock is getting hit... Читать дальше...
Politics, Geopolitics & Conflict At midnight on Thursday, the six-month temporary oil sanctions relief Washington granted Venezuela last October expired, and the Biden administration moved to reimpose those sanctions, which was met with backlash in Caracas, where the move was described as a U.S. attempt to “control and manipulate the Venezuelan oil industry”. Nicolas Maduro was given every opportunity to comply with the conditions of the sanctions relief, yet, has continued to work to ban, arrest... Читать дальше...
1. Venezuela Braces for Impact After US Reimposes Sanctions - The Biden administration reimposed sanctions on Venezuela’s oil industry after its six-month waiver expired on 18 April, with the White House providing oil firms with a 45-day grace period to wind down operations. - The US waiver was linked to President Maduro’s agreement to hold a free and fair presidential election in July and to allow opposition politicians to participate, but both Maria Corina Machado and her proxy replacement Corina... Читать дальше...
Selling Pressure, Profit-Taking Dominate Trade This week, crude oil markets experienced significant volatility to the downside, driven by geopolitical concerns, unexpected inventory adjustments, and changes in demand. Although escalation fears between Israel and Iran loomed over the markets, price responses were muted, reflecting a complex set of influences on oil pricing. Geopolitical Tensions and Market Responses Concerns over potential supply disruptions due to tensions between Israel and Iran were top of mind this week. Читать дальше...
Russia was India’s single largest oil supplier for a second consecutive fiscal year, as surging imports of Russian crude dragged down the share of OPEC and Middle East supply to India to a record low, Reuters reported on Friday, citing data from tanker-tracking data obtained from industry sources. In the 2023/2024 fiscal year ended March 31, the share of Middle East oil supply of India’s oil imports slumped to as low as 46% -- the lowest on record dating back to 2001-2002, according to the Reuters analysis. Читать дальше...
Amid calls from some member states, the European Union should be careful in its efforts to ditch Russian LNG as it should protect its security of gas supply, the European Union Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators, ACER, said in a report on Friday. The Baltic EU member states have been calling for a ban on the bloc’s imports of LNG, but the EU’s watchdog believes that any such move should only be gradual. As the EU aims to completely end its reliance on Russian fossil fuels by 2027,... Читать дальше...
Oil prices gave up nearly all of early Friday’s gains after an Iranian official told Reuters that there hadn’t been a missile attack against Iran. Oil surged by as much as $3 per barrel in Asian trade early on Friday after a U.S. official told ABC News today that Israel launched missile strikes against Iran in the early morning hours today. After briefly spiking to above $90 per barrel early on Friday in Asian trade, Brent fell back to $87.10 per barrel in the morning in Europe. The news was later... Читать дальше...
Inflation, interest rates, and wars may well delay the energy transition by quite a long time, JP Morgan has warned in a call for “a reality check” on its shift from hydrocarbons to alternatives. “While the target to net zero is still some time away, we have to face up to the reality that the variables have changed,” the bank’s head of global energy strategy, Christyan Malek, told the Financial Times. Malek was the lead author of a new report by JP Morgan focusing on energy. The report noted higher... Читать дальше...
The director of the FBI has warned that the Chinese state has its sights set on U.S. critical infrastructure to compromise U.S. economic and national security. Speaking at the Vanderbilt Summit on Modern Conflict and Emerging Threats, Christopher Wray said “The PRC [People’s Republic of China] has made it clear that it considers every sector that makes our society run as fair game in its bid to dominate on the world stage, and that its plan is to land low blows against civilian infrastructure to... Читать дальше...
Israel launched missile strikes against Iran in the early morning hours, a U.S. official told ABC News today. The news was later confirmed by Iranian media, which said the country’s air defense system took down three drones over the city of Isfahan, according to Al Jazeera. Flights to three cities including Tehran and Isfahan were suspended, Iranian media also reported. The news of the Israeli strike prompted a sharp spike in crude oil prices, which gained $3 per barrel earlier in the day. "If these... Читать дальше...
Talk of $100 oil returned to the market this week following the Iranian attack against Israel that sparked fears of a widening conflict in the Middle East. Analysts are not ruling out $100 oil in case of further escalation and even $130 oil if a broader conflict disrupts oil flows in the Strait of Hormuz, where around 21 million barrels per day (bpd) of oil pass from the top Middle Eastern exporters en route to global markets. That’s around a fifth of daily global petroleum consumption. However... Читать дальше...
Following a strong rally amid escalating tensions in the Middle East, oil prices have pulled back sharply in the current week as demand worries outweigh geopolitical concerns. WTI crude for May delivery has declined 5.1% from the Friday close to trade at $83.15 per barrel while Brent crude June contract has retreated 4.9% to change hands at $87.50, marking the first time it has slipped under $90 in more than a week. However, several commodity analysts believe the markets are unduly discounting the... Читать дальше...
Coal was more popular than ever in 2023, despite big promises from many world powers to curb production and use in favour of cleaner alternatives. Mainly owing to China and India, the generation of electricity from coal production increased last year, as several new plants came online across Asia. While countries such as the U.S. and the U.K. are ditching coal for natural gas and renewable alternatives, several countries across Asia continue to rely heavily on coal for their electricity production... Читать дальше...
