Новости за 02.05.2024

The looming threat of cyberattacks from China is intensifying in the United States. Already, incidences of attacks from Chinese spy agencies are increasing in the West, and Beijing could seriously escalate its cyber warfare tactics if it sensed any heightened threat from the U.S. or its allies. As such, increased planning and investment in cybersecurity is more important than ever across key U.S. industries. However, one of the quickest growing sectors in the country – the clean energy sector – has... Читать дальше...

Asian crude oil imports fell in April from March, according to estimates by LSEG Oil Research, suggesting sluggish growth in Asia’s crude purchases so far this year. Last month, Asia – the bellwether of crude imports and implied import demand – saw imports averaging 26.89 million barrels per day (bpd), per LSEG Oil Research data cited by Reuters’s Asia Commodities and Energy Columnist, Clyde Russell. The April imports declined from 27.33 million bpd of crude oil Asia imported in March and were flat... Читать дальше...

While 'hard' data has been improving recently (albeit then downwardly revised a month later), it is the 'soft' survey data that has collapsed amid Bidenomics. Source: Bloomberg And this morning continued that trend as S&P Global's US Manufacturing PMI (survey) fell from 51.9 in March to 50.0 as the final print for April (49.9 flash). ISM's Manufacturing survey also missed, dropping from 50.3 to 49.2 (contraction). Source: Bloomberg Chris Williamson, Chief Business Economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence... Читать дальше...

Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) idea follows the Japanese art of kintsugi, an artist takes the broken shards of a bowl and fuses them back together with gold to make a final product more beautiful than the original. Image Credit: Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory. Click the press release link for the largest view and more images. That idea is inspiring a new approach to managing plasma, the super-hot state of matter, for use as a fusion power source. Scientists are using the imperfections... Читать дальше...

France has revealed an ambitious strategy to amplify its offshore wind capacity, signaling a determined effort to make as much progress as neighboring nations in meeting climate objectives. In an announcement during a visit to Saint-Nazaire on the Atlantic coast, Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire unveiled a comprehensive plan encompassing tenders and incentives aimed at increasing its offshore wind capacity sixfold by 2035. This ambitious endeavor comes as a response to the wind industry's recent struggles... Читать дальше...

Russia’s energy behemoth Gazprom announced with great fanfare in early 2024 that it had overtaken Turkmenistan as China’s largest supplier of natural gas in terms of volume. But when it comes to export earnings, Ashgabat still tops Moscow. The Turkmen portal, Oil & Gas, reports that during the first quarter of this year, Ashgabat generated $2.4 billion in income from gas exports to China. That figure was confirmed by Daryo, Uzbekistan’s most popular news website. The Daryo report noted that Russia... Читать дальше...

Russia's Gazprom Group, a state-controlled energy giant, has disclosed its first annual net loss in 23 years, signaling a significant shift in financial performance attributed to dwindling gas shipments to Europe and pricing pressures. In the wake of restricted gas flows to Europe, historically Gazprom's primary market, and plummeting gas prices exacerbated by geopolitical tensions, Gazprom Group, which encompasses oil and power ventures alongside its core gas operations, reported a substantial 629... Читать дальше...

As host of COP27 two years ago, Egypt saw a flurry of announcements for large scale green hydrogen production mostly in the huge Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZone) that straddles the ship canal from Port Said to the Gulf of Suez. The proposals draw upon Egypt’s rich solar and wind resources to power electrolysis, anticipating ammonia and other hydrogen derivative exports. At COP27, the government hailed the signing of eight framework agreements with companies including ACWA Power, Alfanar, Masdar, Scatec, TotalEnergies, and others. Читать дальше...

The Taliban, who govern Afghanistan, are working with Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan to create a regional energy trade hub that would facilitate oil sales from Russia to South Asia, Taliban acting commerce minister Nooruddin Azizi told Reuters this week. Representatives of Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, and Turkmenistan have recently discussed in Kabul the idea of creating an energy and logistics hub in the Herat province in western Afghanistan. The three countries plan to invest in the hub, which is expected... Читать дальше...

Having adversely intervened in virtually every other M&A deal in the past 3 years, the Biden FTC will reportedly allow Exxon's $60 billion purchase of Pioneer to go through after the companies agreed to minor concessions, Bloomberg reported citing people familiar with the matter. The announcement of the deal will likely come any moment, and the resulting deal will make Exxon - a company which Biden once said makes money money than god - far and away the biggest oil and natural gas producer in the Permian Basin... Читать дальше...

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE: CNQ), the top oil and gas producer in Canada, reported lower-than-expected earnings for the first quarter, dragged down by weaker prices for synthetic crude oil and natural gas. Canadian Natural Resources reported on Thursday adjusted net earnings per share of US$1.00 (C$1.37), compared to the average analyst estimate of US$1.08 (C$1.48) per share, according to LSEG data cited by Reuters. While realized prices for crude were slightly higher than in Q4 2023, the realized... Читать дальше...

The United Arab Emirates state-owned oil company, Adnoc, has updated its maximum crude oil production capacity figure—and without much fanfare. ADNOC has quietly updated the figure on its website but did not make an official announcement. The new capacity is 4.85 million barrels per day (bpd)—up from the 4.65 million bpd that it published in 2023. Its published natural gas production capacity is 11.5 bcf per day. ADNOC has plans to increase its oil production capacity to 5 million bpd by 2027—a target... Читать дальше...

Norway saw cash flow from its stakes in oil and gas fields nearly halve in the first quarter of 2024 compared to the same period of 2023, as natural gas prices slumped and gas consumption in Europe was below expectations, said state company Petoro, which manages field holdings of Western Europe’s top oil and gas producer. In the first quarter of the year, Petoro delivered a cash flow of $5.4 billion (60 billion Norwegian crowns) from the State's Direct Financial Interest (SDFI) to Norway. The cash... Читать дальше...

Australian Retirement Trust, which manages $183 billion (AUS$280 billion) of retirement savings, is placing thermal coal on its exclusion list as of July 1, as it looks to have a net-zero emissions portfolio by 2050. Thermal coal includes the mining of lignite, bituminous, anthracite, and steam coal and its sale to external parties, the second-largest Australian pension fund said in updates to its product offering. The fund will be screening its investments and exclude direct investments in coal... Читать дальше...

Helped by higher crude and product trading profits and increased refining margins, Shell (NYSE: SHEL) smashed earnings estimates for the first quarter of the year and announced a new $3.5-billion share buyback as the UK-based supermajor looks to close the stock valuation gap to its U.S. peers. Shell reported on Thursday adjusted earnings of $7.7 billion for the first quarter, down from $9.6 billion for the same period of 2023. This year’s first-quarter earnings were higher by 6% compared to the fourth quarter of 2023... Читать дальше...

Devon Energy Corp (NYSE: DVN) raised its production guidance for 2024 after topping first-quarter earnings estimates as its production exceeded expectations and more than offset weak natural gas prices. The shale producer, which has focused its drilling program on the Delaware basin in the Permian, reported $730 million, or $1.16 per diluted share, in core earnings for Q1, adjusted for items analysts typically exclude from estimates. The earnings per share exceeded the average analyst estimate of $1.11 per share... Читать дальше...

Several large institutional shareholders in Shell have called on the rest of the company’s shareholders to support a resolution demanding greater climate action, the Financial Times has reported. The resolution authors include Dutch activist investor group Follow This, Amundi, and Axa Investment Managers, along with 25 others, the report said. Collectively, the 27 own 2.5% in the supermajor. Shell has already recommended to its shareholders to vote against the resolution on the basis that its current... Читать дальше...

After a harsh winter in January that reduced oil and gas output, U.S. drillers are ramping up again, with the February average daily gaining 600,000 bpd from January, according to data from the Energy Information Administration. In the first month of the year, production dropped by 700,000 bpd from the previous month, however, so there is still some rebounding due to the return to end-2023 production levels. Severe winter weather prompted cuts in production in January, with North Dakota alone having... Читать дальше...

The former chief executive of Pioneer Natural Resources, Scott Sheffield, is facing allegations of collusion by the Federal Trade Commission, for an attempt to co-ordinate production cuts to lift oil prices, the Wall Street Journal has reported, citing unnamed sources. These say that Sheffield contacted other shale oil producers as well as companies from OPEC to try and coordinate a production policy that would have raised oil prices, thus benefiting Pioneer. The WSJ report mentioned “hundreds of... Читать дальше...

Energy markets have kicked off the new month on the back foot, with oil prices sliding 3% in Wednesday’s intraday session following a surprise U.S. inventory build amid lingering uncertainty about future oil demand growth.  Weekly data by the Energy Information Administration (EIA) reveals crude stockpiles of 7.3 million barrels for the week to April 26, a sharp swing from a draw of 6.4 million barrels posted the previous week.   That marks the highest inventory levels since last June. Meanwhile... Читать дальше...

We are nearly halfway through the earnings season, with 46% of S&P 500 companies having returned their first quarter scorecards. According to FactSet data, 77% of S&P 500 companies have exceeded earnings expectations while 60% have reported a positive revenue surprise.  Unfortunately, the energy sector has underperformed the market, thanks in large part to lower oil and gas prices. The Energy sector is reporting the second-largest (year-over-year) earnings decline of all 11 market sectors... Читать дальше...

Permian producers are not shutting in oil wells with associated natural gas despite the fact that the Texas regional gas price has been stuck at below-zero levels since early March. Major pipeline operators in the Permian basin haven't yet seen any effect of the negative gas prices at the Waha hub in West Texas on activity as producers are look to maximize oil realizations at West Texas Intermediate crude prices at above $80 per barrel. But the U.S. natural gas benchmark, Henry Hub, has been depressed... Читать дальше...

The future of the global energy sector is caught up in a messy and misleading ideological debate. Depending on which politically informed echo chamber one inevitably finds themself confined to on social media, they are either told that the energy transition is a dangerous myth that will end in economic disaster and permanent rolling blackouts, or that clean energy is going to save the world overnight – as soon as conservatives get out of the way. As usual, the truth lies somewhere in between.  The... Читать дальше...