Pembina Pipeline Corp (PPL.TO) of Canada is veering away from considering a substantial investment in the recently expanded Trans Mountain oil pipeline (TMX), primarily due to lingering uncertainties surrounding shipping tolls, a top company executive revealed on Friday. While Pembina initially formed a partnership with the Western Indigenous Pipeline Group (WIPG) in 2021 to explore the possibility of acquiring a stake in the Canadian government-owned pipeline, recent months have seen a notable... Читать дальше...
The U.S. has big plans for lithium production in the coming years as it ramps up output to support the rollout of utility-scale battery storage and greater electric vehicle (EV) uptake. To ensure the U.S. has enough lithium to support the rapid growth of the battery market and reduce reliance on China, President Biden is supporting the development of the country’s lithium industry with funding from the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and other national policies. Meanwhile, the private sector is investing... Читать дальше...
Artificial intelligence is shaping up as the hottest topic of the year. Analysts are predicting how it would benefit virtually every industry, and developers are eager to try it everywhere they can. But there is one potentially huge problem with AI: its energy and raw material requirements. The energy problem surfaced last year, with one scientist doing the maths on how much electricity data centers hosting AI hardware would require. Warnings began coming in saying that the utilization of artificial... Читать дальше...
The Biden administration is expected to make a major announcement on China tariffs as soon as next week that will impact semiconductors, solar power, and electric vehicles, according to Bloomberg, citing people familiar with the matter. While the possibility of additional tariffs has been widely known, the specific industries to be targeted have now been identified. Moreover, Beijing will likely release angry comments after Biden's speech next week, followed by a tit-for-tat response. Two of the... Читать дальше...
The total number of active drilling rigs for oil and gas in the United States fell this week, according to new data that Baker Hughes published on Friday. The total rig count fell by 2 to 603 this week, compared to 731 rigs this same time last year. The number of oil rigs fell by 3 this week, after falling by 7 in the week prior. Oil rigs now stand at 496--down by 90 compared to this time last year. The number of gas rigs rose by 1 this week to 103, a loss of 38 active gas rigs from this time last year. Читать дальше...
The United States has extended a general license through November 15, allowing certain transactions with Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA that are necessary for wind-down operations, according to a notice from the U.S. Treasury Department. The extension covers key players in the industry, including Halliburton, Schlumberger, Baker Hughes Holdings, and Weatherford International PLC. This extension comes amid ongoing political tensions and economic challenges in Venezuela. Recent contract cancellations... Читать дальше...
The most severe solar storm in nearly two decades could disrupt electric power grids, navigation, radio, and satellite operations on Friday and Saturday, NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC) said in a warning today, in the first such severe solar storm advisory since 2005. SWPC, a division of the National Weather Service, said that “Space weather forecasters have issued a Severe (G4) Geomagnetic Storm Watch for the evening of Friday, May 10. Additional solar eruptions could cause geomagnetic... Читать дальше...
Higher Saudi crude prices and weakened refining margins will see Chinese refiners lift lower volumes of oil from the world’s top oil exporter in June compared to May, sources familiar with the plans told Reuters on Friday. This month, China is set to buy a total of 45 million barrels of Saudi crude. The volume is then expected to drop by 5.8 million barrels in June, with the lower supply mostly in the Arab Medium and Arab Heavy crude grades, according to Reuters’ sources. The Kingdom is also limiting... Читать дальше...
The United States wants to force a gradual shift in Iran’s “decision-making calculus” by signing a defense deal with Saudi Arabia and securing the normalization of relations between Riyadh and Israel. “We continue to work with allies and partners to enhance their capabilities to deter and counter the threats Iran poses, impose costs on Iran for its actions, and seek to shift Iran’s decision-making calculus over time,” a U.S. State Department spokesperson told RFE/RL. The security package has several... Читать дальше...
South Africa has hinted that Shell could receive fewer oil exploration licenses after the supermajor decided to sell its downstream business in the country, Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe told Bloomberg in an interview published on Friday. Earlier this week, Shell said it is preparing to divest from downstream operations in South Africa as a result of an internal portfolio review. Shell holds a majority share in Shell Downstream SA (SDSA), which was formed by the merger agreement... Читать дальше...
Strong oil demand and production in North America helped Canadian pipeline giant Enbridge Inc (NYSE: ENB) raise its first-quarter adjusted earnings and beat analyst estimates. Enbridge, operator of Mainline, North America’s biggest oil pipeline network, reported on Friday adjusted earnings of US$1.46 billion (C$2.0 billion) for the first quarter. Per share earnings rose by 8% year-over-year to C$0.92 per common share, which beat the C$0.81 average analyst estimate compiled by LSEG. Adjusted... Читать дальше...
Canadian oil and gas producer Crescent Point Energy (NYSE: CPG) reported on Friday that its adjusted net earnings from operations declined by 15% year-over-year in the first quarter of 2024, dragged down by lower crude oil and natural gas realizations. Crescent Point booked adjusted net earnings from operations of US$137 million (C$187 million) for Q1, down from US$160 million (C$219 million) for the same period of 2023. Net loss was at US$301 million (C$412 million) for the quarter that ended March 31... Читать дальше...
Following several weeks of declines, oil prices are now rising once again on a combination of geopolitical risk, rising demand, and supply concerns.Friday, May 10th 2024Oil prices are once again climbing after several weeks of declines. Falling US crude inventories and robust Chinese imports have sparked some bullish sentiment in oil markets. Brent futures are set to post their first weekly gain since early April, moving closer to $85 per barrel, further boosted by the easing of the US labor market... Читать дальше...
1. Environmentalists Push for White House Ban on New US Oil Ports - After US President Joe Biden halted approvals for new LNG terminals this January, climate activists are now pushing the White House to implement a similar regulatory pause for crude oil shipping facilities. - The pressure from Sierra Club comes after the Department of Transportation quietly approved a deepwater port (SPOT) off the coast of Texas developed by Enterprise Products Partners, capable of exporting VLCCs. - There are currently... Читать дальше...
Politics, Geopolitics & Conflict In the Middle East, this week’s peace talks saw Hamas agree to proposals for a ceasefire laid out by Egypt and Qatar, but Israel proceeded with its incursion into Rafah (southern Gaza), ordering a full-scale invasion. That took peace talks off the table again and came with a warning from the Biden administration that the U.S. would pause bomb shipments to Israel over civilian deaths. On Thursday, Netanyahu responded by saying Israel could “stand alone”. Last week... Читать дальше...
Crude oil futures are in a position to close higher for the week after recovering from earlier setbacks. Notably, both Brent and West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures reached one-week highs, driven by positive demand signals from China and the U.S. This recent uplift positions the market to potentially break a four-week decline, providing a critical moment for traders monitoring market directions. US Demand Insights In the U.S., the crude price gains were moderated by concerning demand data. Читать дальше...
U.S. crude oil exports are rebounding this month, dragging down the prices of physical crude grades in Europe and Africa amid a relatively tepid market, traders told Bloomberg on Friday. After a temporary dip in April, U.S. crude flows to Europe have rebounded so far in May, according to vessel-tracking data that Bloomberg has compiled. In the first three weeks of May, observed U.S. crude oil exports to Europe are estimated to be on the rebound and to average at least 2.1 million barrels per day (bpd)... Читать дальше...
Environmentalists are pressuring the Biden Administration to halt permitting for planned crude oil export facilities after successfully lobbying for a temporary suspension of LNG export project approvals. The Biden Administration should re-evaluate the approval process and halt issuing permits to deepwater oil export facilities, campaign groups led by Sierra Club said in a letter to the Department of Transportation and the White House. The climate activists sent the letter a month after the United... Читать дальше...
The California Public Employees' Retirement System has threatened to vote against the re-election of Exxon chief executive Darren Woods to the company’s board unless it dropped its lawsuit against two activist investors. The Financial Times reported that the threat was a response to Exxon’s retaliation against Arjuna Capital and Follow This, the Dutch Big Oil activist pressure group. In January, the two investors filed a proposal for Exxon shareholders to vote at the annual general meeting on May... Читать дальше...
President Biden will announce new tariffs on Chinese products next week, with electric cars among the products targeted, Reuters has reported, citing unnamed sources in the know. Besides electric vehicles, tariffs will also be imposed on semiconductors and solar power equipment. According to a Bloomberg report also citing unnamed sources, the new tariff round will also include batteries. Chinese EVs are already subject to a hefty 25% import tariff in the United States. However, a few months ago it... Читать дальше...
Crude oil prices started moving higher early on Friday, set to book their first weekly gain in several weeks as China reported growth in exports and imports, and ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas broke down. China reported a 5.45% increase in crude oil imports specifically for last month, equal to a daily rate of 10.88 million barrels. This was lower than the March average, which stood at 11.55 million bpd but was still strong enough to warrant a change in sentiment among traders. One reason... Читать дальше...
Last month, we reported that scores of beleaguered solar companies in Europe were looking to abandon their home countries and set up shop in the United States amid intense competition from Chinese solar manufacturers as well as favorable solar and clean energy policies in the U.S. To wit, Swiss solar module maker Meyer Burger has revealed plans to stop panel production in Germany and relocate to the United States after failing to garner support from Berlin. Similarly, Norway’s Freyr Battery has stopped…
The Trans Mountain Expansion Project, now finally completed after years of delays, is expanding access to markets for Canadian oil producers and is set to boost the price of Canada’s heavy crude oil for years to come, top executives at the major energy firms say. The expanded pipeline is tripling the capacity of the original pipeline to 890,000 barrels per day (bpd) from 300,000 bpd to carry crude from Alberta’s oil sands to British Columbia on the Pacific Coast. The Federal Government of Canada... Читать дальше...
Chinese electric vehicles are the talk of the world—or at least that part of it that is busy trying to transition from hydrocarbons-fueled to electric transport. For the most part, that talk is worried, because after turning China into the biggest EV market in the world, local carmakers are eyeing global expansion. Now, there's one more reason to worry: Chinese EV makers are squeezing out foreign brands at home, too. The Financial Times reported this week how Chinese car dealers were dropping foreign... Читать дальше...
As Canada’s oil and natural gas production hit record high levels, the country is taking pains to amplify its status as a global oil and natural gas superpower. One part of this greater initiative includes an ongoing effort to transform the sector to be less reliant on U.S. markets and infrastructure through strategic expansion of its own industry at a time when the United States is taking a step back. Canada took a major step in that direction on May first when the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion... Читать дальше...
