The U.S. Grid Isn’t Ready For A Major Shift To Renewables
The blame game for the massive power outages in Texas last month continues. The dominant argument is that renewables had an ignorable part to play in the crisis, with natural Continue Reading
Energy Secretary Ready To Unleash $40 Billion In Green Energy Funds
President Biden’s new Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm is ready to let loose $40 billion in Department of Energy loans, the former Michigan governor said on Wednesday at CERAWeek. Granholm has Continue Reading
Summary of Weekly Petroleum Data for the week ending February 26, 2021
U.S. crude oil refinery inputs averaged 9.9 million barrels per day during the week ending February 26, 2021 which was 2.3 million barrels per day less than the previous week’s Continue Reading
A Second Power Provider Defaults After Texas Energy Crisis
Power retailer Entrust Energy Inc. became the second electricity seller to be barred from Texas’s power market for failing to make payments after last month’s energy crisis. The Electric Reliability Council of Continue Reading
Texas Power Regulator Urged to Halt Collections as Crisis Fallout Spreads – WSJ
Electricity retailers are asking Texas’ power regulator to suspend immediate collections on the massive bills arising from the state’s electricity outage, as energy market participants try to mitigate the threat Continue Reading
Will Private Shale Firms Crush The OPEC Oil Rally?
This year’s rally in oil prices brings back an all-too-familiar question for the oil market and the OPEC+ group: Will U.S. shale come back faster than expected to ruin the Continue Reading
Spotlight: After the thaw: US shale production quickly recovers, refinery outages to take longer
Temperatures dipped far below normal levels in the mid-region of the US during the week ending Feb. 19, causing substantial production freeze offs and power outages at refineries, terminals, and Continue Reading
CERAWEEK: Oil, gas industry must hasten pace of decarbonization effort, Moniz says
Highlights Electricity sector ‘walking the talk’ on emissions reductions Opportunities seen for oil, gas in low-carbon world Moniz says must pick up pace in seizing those opportunities New York — Continue Reading
U.S. Companies Add Fewer Jobs Than Forecast, ADP Data Show
The number of employees at U.S. businesses rose in February by less than expected, underscoring the labor market’s struggle to recover despite a decline in Covid-19 infections in recent weeks. Continue Reading
Russia Considers Cutting Government Borrowing As Oil Prices Rally
Russia could end up borrowing US$6.8 billion (500 billion Russian rubles) less than planned this year as rising oil prices help its key oil revenues to rise, Bloomberg reported on Continue Reading
Coronavirus cases rise 9 percent in Europe, WHO reports
A coronavirus resurgence across Europe has ended a six-week decline in new cases on the continent, the World Health Organization said Thursday, reflecting a broader global trend that has seen infections on Continue Reading
Oil Prices for Mar. 03, 2021: Brent Crude, WTI
Oil climbed ahead of a crucial OPEC+ meeting, as the alliance was expected to agree a coordinated increase in output as the pandemic’s impact on the market recedes. Brent futures rose Continue Reading
Light Crude Closes Below $60
Oil tumbled below $60 a barrel in New York with the OPEC+ alliance said to be set to agree to a production increase later this week. U.S. crude futures fell Continue Reading
OPEC+ Is Set to Cool Down Oil Market With Extra Production
OPEC+ is poised to agree a production increase this week as it seeks to cool a rapid rally in crude prices. There’s a widespread view within the group that the market Continue Reading
Bill Gates-Led Group Shows U.S. Grid Emissions Can Fall 45%
The U.S. could cut emissions from its electricity grid in half within the next decade through investments in renewables and transmission, according to a research team backed by Bill Gates. At Continue Reading
Big Oil Clashes Over Fossil Fuel Future
Executives from major oil companies clashed over the prospects of oil and gas for the future at the first virtual edition of the CERAWeek conference in Houston. While BP’s Bernard Continue Reading
Houston’s Big Oil Conference Goes Green as Energy Transition Accelerates
For years, Mark Brownstein of the Environmental Defense Fund felt a little foreign at Houston’s big energy conference, where fossil fuels were king and conversations about climate change and clean Continue Reading
Global carbon emissions rebound to pre-lockdown levels
The pandemic resulted in the largest absolute drop in annual global energy-related C02 emissions in 2020, as economies gripped by the pandemic ground to a standstill, the IEA said. But Continue Reading
Reversing Trump, Interior Department Moves Swiftly on Climate Change
As the Interior Department awaits its new secretary, the agency is already moving to lock in key parts of President Biden’s environmental agenda, particularly on oil and gas restrictions, laying Continue Reading
Middle East Producers Are Desperate For Higher Oil Prices
A combination of continued production cuts and an increase in economic activity has prompted oil prices to return to pre-pandemic levels – a factor that will be crucial to the Continue Reading
Iraqi crude exports rise 4 percent in February
Nationwide oil exports increased to 3.395 million barrels per day (bpd) in February, up from 3.266 million bpd the month before , according to an Iraq Oil Report analysis of Continue Reading
Rockets land at Iraqi air base hosting U.S. forces
At least 10 rockets landed on Wednesday at Iraq’s Ain al-Asad airbase that hosts the United States, coalition, and Iraqi forces, the Iraqi military said. It was the second rocket Continue Reading
Iran To Join LNG Race In Asia With Huge North Pars Development
With Asian spot liquefied natural gas (LNG) prices having risen to unprecedented levels in January and the outlook remaining extremely robust Iran believes now is the time to move full Continue Reading
Exxon Mobil to Cut Jobs in Singapore as Big Oil Retrenches
Exxon Mobil Corp. expects to cut about 300 jobs in the Asian oil-trading hub of Singapore by the end of 2021, part of a global retrenchment that was announced last Continue Reading
Extreme Weather Puts $84 Billion of Indian Bank Debt at Risk
An increase in extreme weather events such as floods, droughts and cyclones risk souring debt worth more than 6.19 trillion rupees ($84 billion) at India’s biggest financial institutions. That’s according to Continue Reading
India Water Crisis Forces Farmers to Rethink Their Crops
On a scorching summer day in northern India, Ajay Singh sat next to his water pump and scanned his 10 acres of farmland. He once used to grow rice each Continue Reading
Venezuela Sees Oil Exports Rise Despite U.S. Sanctions
Venezuela’s crude oil exports rose last month despite Washington imposing new sanctions in January on several trading houses that worked with Caracas to export its oil. According to Tanker Trackers Continue Reading
GAC Group announces that its Aion V, sporting a graphene battery, will start production in September 2021
GAC Group recently announced “a major achievement in battery technology”. GAC stated that it achieved breakthrough progress with its graphene-based super-fast-charging battery and has now entered the phase of actual Continue Reading
Miami Says It Can Adapt to Rising Seas. Not Everyone Is Convinced.
Officials in Miami-Dade County, where climate models predict two feet or more of sea-level rise by 2060, have released an upbeat strategy for living with more water, one that focused on elevating Continue Reading
Natural Gas Storage
Working gas operators reported the second-largest weekly net withdrawals for the Lower 48 states following a week characterized by widespread extreme cold throughout most of the country, which increased heating Continue Reading
Central Appalachia 2020 coal deliveries to US power plants drop 37.5% on year: EIA
Highlights Q4 deliveries at 3.31 mil st, down 23.8% on year CAPP barge deliveries rise to one-year high in Q4 Coal deliveries from Central Appalachia mines to US power plants Continue Reading
CERAWEEK: Permian Basin oil growth may hinge on ExxonMobil, Chevron activity: Sheffield
Highlights Basin capable of 200,000 b/d growth for some years Pioneer, with Parsley add, now has 20 rigs in basin Majors greatly reduced Permian rigs in past year Houston — Continue Reading
Kerry confident US can compartmentalize, work with China on climate
The US can compartmentalize its geopolitical tensions with China to work with the country on ambitious climate plans aimed at limiting global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius, Special Presidential Continue Reading
How private equity squeezes cash from the dying U.S. coal industry
Private equity firms are proving there’s still plenty of profit in the U.S. coal industry despite a decade of falling demand for fossil fuel. They are spending billions of dollars Continue Reading
Biden vows enough vaccine for all US adults by end of May
President Joe Biden said Tuesday the U.S. expects to take delivery of enough coronavirus vaccine for all adults by the end of May — two months earlier than anticipated — Continue Reading
American Petroleum Institute move would recognize climate change, but undercut other measures
The American Petroleum Institute, the oil and gas industry’s top lobbying arm, is edging closer to endorsing a carbon tax, a tool that would make fossil fuels more expensive, boost Continue Reading
Huge Gasoline, Distillate Draws Outweigh Crude Oil Build
The American Petroleum Institute (API) reported on Tuesday a build in crude oil inventories of 7.356 million barrels for the week ending February 26. Analysts had predicted an inventory draw Continue Reading
U.S. Gasoline Demand Jumps To Highest Since Pandemic Started
U.S. gasoline demand jumped last week to the highest level since the COVID-19 pandemic started, with demand this past Sunday up by 18.2 percent compared to the previous Sunday, according Continue Reading
Oil Exports from Offshore Louisiana Facility Fall to Zero
Crude exports from Louisiana’s offshore supertanker port tumbled to zero as Asian buyers limited purchases to manage high inventories that threaten to overwhelm storage facilities. The lack of shipments in Continue Reading
Dying oil companies’ parting gift: millions in cleanup costs
When Weatherly Oil and Gas filed for bankruptcy in February 2019, the company was walking away from several hundred Texas wells. Many hadn’t produced a drop of oil in years. Continue Reading
Rolls-Royce’s all-electric ‘Spirit of Innovation’ completes taxi testing
Rolls-Royce has successfully completed the taxiing of its ‘Spirit of Innovation’ aircraft, the latest milestone on its way to becoming the world’s fastest all-electric plane. ( Earlier post .) The Continue Reading
Oil Suffers Worst Run This Year Before OPEC+ Decides Next Move –
Oil’s impressive 2021 rally is coming unstuck just days before OPEC+ meets to decide just how much crude it should return to the market. Futures in New York traded near $60 Continue Reading
Oil down more than 1% on Chinese fuel demand doubts, OPEC supply concerns
Oil prices fell more than 1% on Monday as fears that Chinese oil crude consumption is slowing and that OPEC may increase global supply following a meeting this week. Slideshow Continue Reading
Oil executives expect crude demand to climb, even as renewables are in vogue
Oil company executives at CERAWeek by IHS Markit were adamant on Monday that crude demand will rise over the coming decade and that the fossil fuel will remain a crucial Continue Reading
Baker Hughes: Long-awaited Energy Market Recovery Has Begun
The long-awaited, much-anticipated energy market recovery has begun, Baker Hughes CEO Lorenzo Simonelli said on Monday during CERAWeek, according to Reuters . The oil and gas industry suffered last year Continue Reading
CERAWEEK: Fossil fuel demand seen growing through 2030s: panels
The energy transition took off in a big way just as the coronavirus pandemic was overtaking the globe in 2020, but fossil fuels are still seen growing at least through Continue Reading
OPEC+ Decision To Raise Output Could Keep U.S. Gasoline Under $3
Rallying oil prices in recent weeks have intensified speculation that this week the OPEC+ group will decide to put more oil on the market as of April to prevent an Continue Reading
OPEC Oil Production Plunges In February Thanks To Saudi Cut
Saudi Arabia’s unilateral additional cut in oil production sent the total OPEC output down by 870,000 barrels per day (bpd) in February, the first monthly drop in the cartel’s production Continue Reading
IAEA chief Rafael Grossi warns Iran nuclear inspections should not be a ‘bargaining chip’
The head of the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog agency on Monday urged that inspections not be used as a “bargaining chip” as Iran, the United States and other nations lock Continue Reading
Abu Dhabi Formalizes Crown Prince’s Grip Over Oil Firm ADNOC
The de facto ruler of Abu Dhabi, the richest oil emirate in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), became the chairman of the newly-formed board of directors at state oil firm Continue Reading