Новости за 17.05.2024

A recent report by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) and the Center for the Study of Democracy (CSD) reveals that the European Union (EU) has imported EUR 3 billion worth of oil products from Turkish ports that predominantly handle Russian oil—ports that don't have refining hubs. This trade has effectively bypassed the EU/G7 sanctions on Russian petroleum products. Since the implementation of the EU/G7 petroleum products ban on February 5, 2023, until the end of February 2024... Читать дальше...

EPFL (École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne) researchers have used a genetic learning algorithm to identify optimal pitch profiles for the blades of vertical-axis wind turbines. Vertical-axis wind turbines with their high energy potential, have until now been vulnerable to strong gusts of wind. The explanatory open access paper has been published Nature Communications. When you consider today’s industrial wind turbine, you likely picture the windmill design, technically known as a horizontal-axis... Читать дальше...

Via Metal Miner The Global Precious Metals MMI (Monthly Metals Index) slowed its upward price action and moved sideways from April to May. All in all, the index only rose by 2.38%. Among precious metal prices, gold remains at historically high levels, while silver and palladium prices trended more sideways month-over-month. Precious Metal Prices: Gold Gold prices rallied to new highs in Q1 2024. However, more recent price action drove gold prices into a sideways range after a swing low formed near $2277/oz. 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. The total rig count rose by 1 to 604 this week, compared to 720 rigs this same time last year. The number of oil rigs rose by 1 this week, after falling by 3 in the week prior. Oil rigs now stand at 497--down by 78 compared to this time last year. The number of gas rigs stayed the same this week at 103, a loss of 38 active gas rigs from this time last year. Читать дальше...

In a strategic move to bolster its commitment to sustainable energy, Saudi Aramco (2223.SE) has entered into three significant memorandums of understanding (MOUs) with U.S. companies Aeroseal, Spiritus, and Rondo. The agreements aim to explore and develop lower-carbon energy solutions, as detailed in an official statement released on Friday. Improving Pipeline Integrity The MOU with Aeroseal—an energy efficiency solutions provider—focuses on the deployment and commercialization of its innovative... Читать дальше...

Heat waves in some parts of Asia and forecasts of above-average temperatures in southeast Asia and China in the coming weeks have prompted more spot LNG buying, which has raised the spot prices in Asia this week to the highest level since early January. The average LNG spot price for delivery into northeast Asia in July has increased this week to $10.90 per million British thermal units (MMBtu), according to estimates from industry sources cited by Reuters. This week’s average spot LNG price in Asia... Читать дальше...

Chinese refiners processed lower crude volumes in April due to maintenance, while apparent oil demand in the world’s top importer of the commodity fell for the first time on an annual basis since the end of 2022. Chinese government data showed on Friday that crude processing rates fell by nearly 4% year-over-year to 14.36 million barrels per day (bpd) in April, due to the start of maintenance season at refineries.   Apparent oil demand in China declined by 3% in April compared to the same month last year. Читать дальше...

OPEC+ is once again grappling with familiar challenges: some of its members are eager to increase crude oil production after a prolonged period of restraint. Historically, OPEC has maintained that its primary mission is to balance global supply and demand, not to directly influence prices. However, the rise of U.S. shale oil a few years ago forced OPEC to seek additional support to fulfill this—or any other—primary mission, leading to the formation of OPEC+. With Saudi Arabia and Russia at the forefront... Читать дальше...

Politics, Geopolitics & Conflict The US House of Representatives (Republican-led) has now passed a bill to force Biden to deliver weapons to Israel after he postponed bomb shipments to force Netanyahu’s hand over civilian deaths. Tel Aviv isn’t budging, and the House bill has a low probability of becoming law. It’s more of a barometer of the intensity of the backlash over the Israel-Hamas conflict playing out in the corridors of DC and on college campuses across the country. As of the time of writing late on Thursday... Читать дальше...

US Job Market and Fed Rate Expectations Crude prices edged up on Thursday after data showed a stabilizing U.S. job market, fueling expectations that the Federal Reserve could begin cutting interest rates by autumn. Lower interest rates are anticipated to stimulate economic activity, potentially boosting oil demand. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) and Brent are up slightly for the week, but have lost 3% and 5.2%, respectively, this month. Initial claims for unemployment benefits fell to 222,000, down from 232,000 the previous week... Читать дальше...

Russia and China expect to finalize soon the preliminary work on the natural gas link Power of Siberia 2 and sign an agreement on the pipeline’s construction, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said in China this week. “We plan to finalize the review of the project and sign soon the deal to build the pipeline with a capacity of 50 billion cubic meters of gas via Mongolia,” Novak told Russian television, as carried by news agency Interfax. Russia and China also plan “other new projects,” Novak... Читать дальше...

Oil prices have remained rangebound this month, but falling inventories and a slowdown in U.S. inflation could provide the spark for a breakout. Friday, May 17th 2024Crude prices continue to trend within a very narrow range, confined within $82 and $84 per barrel over the course of May, and despite this week’s improving macroeconomic outlook Brent futures continue to be rangebound. That said, a slight US oil inventory drop and US inflation slowing down to a monthly rate of 0.3% might provide support for a breakout next week. Читать дальше...

Readers may have noticed that I don’t often write about coal stocks. That is because I try my best to be positive, and coal is a hard subject on which to be that way. It is still needed, for sure, but its long-term future in a world of increasing concern about climate control and emissions is uncertain at best. The companies involved in its extraction, processing, and distribution are essentially in a race against time, trying to make the most money they can from their assets before those assets... Читать дальше...

EV Box, the electric vehicle charging business of French utility giant Engie, booked another loss for the first quarter of this year, following a loss for full-year 2023, and is expected to record a loss in 2025, too, executives said on Friday.   Engie reported on Friday lower group pre-tax earnings for the first quarter, due to a decline in natural gas prices and consumption. Excluding nuclear, Engie’s earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) fell by 3.7% in the first quarter compared to the same period of 2023. Читать дальше...

Norway’s $1.66-trillion sovereign wealth fund, the world’s biggest, is encouraging UK-based supermajor Shell to shed more light on its eased climate targets. The fund, which is commonly referred to as ‘Norway’s oil fund’ because it was created with oil and gas revenues, is a shareholder in many large companies in the world, including Big Oil, and has the power to influence other investors with its investment decisions. As of the end of 2023, Government Pension Fund Global, as the fund is officially known... Читать дальше...

The United States could see a deceleration in clean energy rollout and risks losing $1 trillion in low-carbon energy investments if Donald Trump wins the presidential election in November, Wood Mackenzie said in a new report this week. A Republican victory in the presidential vote could slow the energy transition momentum of Joe Biden’s presidency and reduce investment in the clean energy sector, as Trump is expected to roll back some of the key green energy policies of the Biden Administration.... Читать дальше...

Crude oil discoveries in Suriname have opened access to some 2.4 billion barrels in reserves, Wood Mackenzie analysts have estimated. The consultancy also reported the South American nation holds some 12.5 trillion cubic feet in natural gas reserves. The project closest to commercial production is a discovery made by Petronas with its partner Exxon in two Suriname blocks. According to Wood Mackenzie, production there could begin at a daily processing rate of 100,000 barrels. There are also other... Читать дальше...

China’s natural gas production went up by 5% during the first four months of the year to 83 billion cubic meters, the country’s National Bureau of Statistics reported today. In April alone, output rose by 3.2% to 19.8 billion cubic meters, the statistics service also said. Imports of natural gas, meanwhile, increased by even more, at 20.7% on the year to 43 million tons. Earlier this week a PetroChina executive predicted that China’s LNG imports alone could break last year’s record in 2024, rising... Читать дальше...

Crude oil prices were on the climb today, set for a weekly gain on signs of strong demand coming from economic reports in key markets. If the week does end with an overall gain, it would be the first one in three weeks, according to Reuters. "WTI crude oil prices seem to have found a near-term floor/support at around US$78.40/barrel after a 9%+ decline from 26 April in the past week due to several encouraging factors such as two consecutive weeks of decline in U.S. crude oil stockpile and more upcoming... Читать дальше...

Before the bitcoin halving, many experts were forecasting disaster for the cryptocurrency. JPMorgan projected prices would drop to $42,000, saying the market was overbought. Others said any potential gains post-halving were already priced in. Regardless of where you stood before the halving took place in April, bitcoin is still here and it’s going strong. However, one sector of the crypto markets has undergone a profound shift in the weeks since. With bitcoin mining rewards getting cut in half, many... Читать дальше...

The world’s largest crude oil exporter, Saudi Arabia, is looking to prevent its economy from overheating and driving inflation higher as it aims to boost growth in its non-oil sector. Allowing more time to implement the massive investment projects under the Vision 2030 plan to diversify the oil-dependent economy could be a wise move, Saudi Finance Minister Mohammed Al-Jadaan said this week. “If you don’t allow your economy to catch up with your projects, basically what will happen is you’ll import... Читать дальше...

By John Kingston of FreightWaves With the benchmark diesel price used for most fuel surcharges down for the fifth week in a row, diesel consumers should be reveling in the fact that market trends appear to have completely thrown out concerns about the Middle East conflict and are focused on the markets for both diesel and gasoline as primary drivers. The Department of Energy/Energy Information Administration average weekly retail diesel price fell 4.6 cents Monday to $3.848 a gallon. The five consecutive... Читать дальше...