Russia Looks To Become Leader In Hydrogen Tech (30 December 2020): By Vanand Meliksetian - Russia’s mineral and energy wealth has given it a second chance in global affairs after the Cold War and the implosion of the Soviet Union. Oil and gas exports have provided the necessary income to rebuild the country and exert influence abroad. The energy transition is the ‘Sword of Damocles’ hanging over the Russian fossil fuel industry. Moscow, therefore, is trying to find a new purpose for its energy industry by early investments in hydrogen technologies. Russia’s energy ministry is working on a hydrogen strategy in cooperation with foreign partners in Japan and Germany. The tools for this transformation are the country’s energy titans Rosatom, Novatek, and Gazprom. Each of these companies, with the support of Moscow, is looking into different technologies to produce and export the hydrogen. According to deputy prime minister Alexander Novak, “experts say that hydrogen may constitute 7 to 25 percent of the global energy balance by 2050, as soon as the issues of high production costs and the challenges related to transportation are resolved.” (Source: Oil Price)
3 Ways to Play the $30 Trillion ESG Boom in 2021 (28 December 2020): By Alex Nicholas - There’s an old dictum in investment circles that says that “the trend is your friend.” For decades, megatrends have always set the stage for winning investments, whether they involved technological revolutions, population demographics, or government-driven regulations. And right now, the $30 Trillion ESG Megatrend ticks all the right boxes... Especially with Joe Biden about to give a big boost to the sector. Over the past half-decade, ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) investing has emerged as the single biggest global megatrend. Every year, more than $3 trillion in new global funds flow into the $30 trillion ESG market - and even the Big Banks are feeling the ethical squeeze keenly. According to research provider ETF Flows via MarketWatch, $15 billion in new funds flowed into ESG funds during the first half of 2020, 40% faster than the year before. (Source: Oil Price)
Natural Gas Prices Plunge 10% On Extremely Bearish Weather Forecast (28 December 2020): By ZeroHedge - Natural gas futures are down more than 10% on Monday morning following new weather models that suggest warmer weather is ahead. Meteorologists at BAMWX show one model that suggests temperature anomalies for much of the country could be well above average for early January. For the next two weeks, heating degree days for US-Lower 48 will be below trend, suggesting warmer temperatures and a decline in energy use to heat homes. "I suspect, however, the forecast for January came out extremely bearish over the weekend, triggering the gap opening, but we'll learn more about that on Monday. The big takeaway this week is likely to be that next week's government report is going to show an average draw. Remember that professionals look at least two weeks ahead," said FX Empire. (Source: Oil Price)
The Worst Performing Energy Stocks Of 2020 (27 December 2020): By Tsvetana Paraskova - With just a few trading days left in 2020, analysts are taking stock of the best and worst in stocks that this very unusual year has brought. The pandemic and the resulting collapse in oil prices slammed the already weak energy sector that has been the worst performer of all sectors this year. Vaccine development and the rollout that followed shortly thereafter lifted the shares of companies in the oil and gas sector in the fourth quarter. Even so, the energy industry is still the biggest underperformer, with many companies losing billions of U.S. dollars from their market valuations. Some of the energy industry’s biggest names have been among the worst energy performers in 2020. And no single sector of the oil and gas industry was spared the 2020 bloodbath, from integrated oil and gas to exploration and production, pipeline transportation, refining, and oilfield services. (Source: Oil Price)
Musk: Apple Once Refused Meeting To Discuss Buying Tesla (23 December 2020): By Tsvetana Paraskova - A few years ago, when Tesla was struggling through the Model 3 program and production, Apple refused a meeting to discuss potentially buying the electric vehicle maker for around US$60 billion, Tesla’s chief executive Elon Musk said on Tuesday. “During the darkest days of the Model 3 program, I reached out to Tim Cook to discuss the possibility of Apple acquiring Tesla (for 1/10 of our current value). He refused to take the meeting,” Musk tweeted on Tuesday, replying to an exchange on Twitter discussing reports that Apple targets to produce a consumer EV in 2024. The 1/10 of Tesla’s current value – which was about US$606 billion early on Wednesday – Musk is referring to suggests that he had put a US$60-billion price tag on Tesla when he tried to approach Apple’s chief executive Cook. In 2017 and 2018, Tesla was going through “production hell,” as Musk had put it, during its efforts to ramp up the production of the Model 3. Musk was sleeping at the factory in an attempt to fix the production woes at Tesla’s mass-market Model 3, the EV maker burned a lot of cash, while analysts were saying that the company might have to tap capital markets sooner rather than later to raise much-needed financing. (Source: Oil Price)
Apple To Build Own EV With “Breakthrough” Battery Tech (22 December 2020): By Tsvetana Paraskova - Apple plans to manufacture an electric passenger vehicle with its own breakthrough battery technology in 2024, sources with knowledge of the plans told Reuters, in what could be a revival of the iPhone maker’s car project ambitions. Apple targets a mass passenger EV with a battery technology expected to “radically” cut the battery costs and boost the range, a source who has seen the battery design of the cell phone maker told Reuters. Reports of Apple looking to develop a car are nothing new, but the company had reportedly significantly scaled back in 2016 its efforts to build a self-driving car, as it had been plagued by a variety of problems, from disagreements among leaders about the direction the project should take, to supply chain challenges, and the consequent outflow of managers and employees alike. Early in 2019, Apple laid off around 200 employees from its autonomous car Project Titan, CNBC reported back then, citing people with knowledge of the matter. (Source: Oil Price)
U.S. Looks To Boost Energy Storage By 525% By 2025 (21 December 2020): By Irina Slav - 240 percent: this is the increase in battery storage capacity added in the United States during the third quarter of this year, compared with the second quarter. 240 percent is certainly an impressive figure—the result of research by Wood Mackenzie and the U.S. Energy Storage Association. What’s more impressive, however, is that this may just be the start of a long-term trend—a much-needed trend for a world that is hoping to someday rely on solar and wind for most of its electricity. Intermittency is the biggest obstacle for solar and wind replacing fossil fuels and nuclear entirely. The sun simply does not shine around the clock—or the year—and the wind does not blow all the time. To make up for this—and to store excess electricity produced during peak sunshine and wind—battery storage has been touted as the simplest and most effective solution. Even though it is not particularly cheap, at least not yet, battery storage has therefore been on the rise, even figuring as an obligatory part of offers in some tenders for new solar and wind capacity. (Source: Oil Price)
Cutting-Edge Tech Is The Future Of Emissions Control (20 December 2020): By Irina Slav - Methane emissions, especially those from the oil and gas industry, are becoming the new focus of attention for regulators and environmentalists. Tracking and measuring carbon dioxide emissions is now standard practice, but methane emissions used to be elusive. This is no longer the case, thanks to cutting-edge tech. The European Space Agency recently reported that its scientists had used data from two satellites to map methane emissions from space, in partnership with data analytics services provider Kayrros, which developed the tools that made not just the detection of individual methane releases possible, but also their duration and quantification. For those wondering what the big deal is with this tech, detecting and tracking methane emissions is instrumental in taking action to reduce them. As Kayrros puts it, "Methane comes from millions of different locations. There is just no climate action possible without reliable methane detection and attribution. Fixing them requires knowing if they exist, and where. You can't fix what you can't measure." (Source: Oil Price)
Oil At 9-Month High While Bitcoin Soars Past $23,000 (17 December 2020): By Tsvetana Paraskova - Oil prices continued to rise on Thursday morning, reaching a nine-month high on a U.S. crude inventory draw and a weak dollar, while the price of bitcoin jumped to a record high of above $23,000, just a day after hitting the $20,000 mark. The price of the most popular cryptocurrency surged to over $23,000 on Thursday morning, tripling so far this year. “These are extraordinary gains in such a short period of time and bitcoin has a history of doing well amidst the hype. Can USD30,000 be on the cards by Christmas? Why not,” Craig Erlam, Senior Market Analyst - UK & EMEA at OANDA, wrote in a market commentary on Thursday. Bitcoin’s Thursday rally above $23,000 was also fueled by “a new ‘whale’, Ruffer Investment, announcing a $744 million investment in bitcoin and after Guggenheim Partners CIO Scott Minerd claimed that bitcoin should be worth $400,000, based on its scarcity and relative value to gold as a percentage of GDP,” John Hardy, Head of FX Strategy at Saxo Bank, said. (Source: Oil Price)
U.S. LNG Exports Hit Record High In November (16 December 2020): By Tsvetana Paraskova - Exports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) out of the United States hit an all-time high in November due to recovering global gas demand and prices and unplanned outages at LNG export facilities outside the U.S., the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said on Wednesday. According to EIA estimates, the U.S. exported a total of 9.4 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) of LNG in November 2020, beating the previous record set in January 2020, when exports totaled 8.1 Bcf/d. The U.S. LNG exports last month accounted for 93 percent of peak LNG export capacity utilization, the EIA said. For most of the spring and summer of this year, American LNG exports were low, and they even hit their lowest volume in 26 months during the summer due to depressed demand with lockdowns all over the world. (Source: Oil Price)
Will Oil Continue To Rally In 2021? (15 December 2020): By Yousef Alshammari – Oil prices have finally hit $50 last week, a projection that we made back in June this year. Bullish sentiment prevailed in the oil markets over the past week despite a significant increase in US crude oil inventories. Traders are expecting demand to pick up next year as vaccination campaigns are rolled out worldwide. Yet recent traffic data shows that road traffic is still below pre-crisis levels by 5% in Asia, 20% in Europe, and 40% in the US. The recent growth in US crude inventories is clearly due to an increase in imports and a decrease in exports. The EIA figures continue to show that demand is slowing in the United States, not only due to reduced mobility but also due to the beginning of winter season. US refinery runs are currently 2.16 million bpd below their level a year ago. (Source: Oil Price)
Supermajors Are Betting Big On Carbon Credits (14 December 2020): By Haley Zaremba - “PEAK OIL IS SUDDENLY UPON US” blared a Bloomberg Green headline earlier this month. While the COVID-19 pandemic has been devastating for many economic sectors, few were as hard hit as the oil industry, which saw oil prices drop below zero in a historic bottoming out during what some are now referring to as “Black April.” In the wake of this largely unanticipated blow to once stalwart oil, groups like the World Economic Forum advocated for a “new energy order” and a “great reset” to catalyze the world’s energy transition to cleaner energy sources on the eve of climate crisis. And instead of fighting back or burying their heads in the sand, many oil supermajors have accordingly rushed to diversify their portfolios and get ahead of the sea change catalyzed by the pandemic and its ensuing green stimulus packages. Definitively, the next generation of energy superpowers will no longer be oil companies. (Source: Oil Price)
Could This Cathode Breakthrough Make Batteries Cheaper? (13 December 2020): By Tsvetana Paraskova - More energy- and cost-efficient batteries will be key to accelerating the adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) and increasing the share of renewable power generation as many countries pledge to make their economies greener in the aftermath of the pandemic. So the race to find the next breakthrough in the most widely used kind of batteries, the lithium-ion battery, is on. Researchers have been at work for years to develop longer-lasting and cheaper batteries that can store more energy. Most recently, scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) have looked at ways to make the battery cathode store more energy at a relatively lower cost. And they think they may have found the solution. The researchers have worked to improve the performance of the lithium-ion battery by using a cathode that is very rich in nickel and working to overcome one key challenge in using nickel-rich cathodes. The challenge is that high nickel content in the cathode raises the possibility of unwanted side reactions, damages the material, and makes storage and handling difficult. (Source: Oil Price)
EV Metal Index Soars To Record Heights In 2020 (12 December 2020): By MINING.com - The MINING.COM EV Metal Index, which tracks the value of battery metals in newly registered passenger EVs (including hybrids) around the world fell back from the all-time high hit in September, but still recorded the third best month ever in October. The index was not only boosted by the overall increase in EV sales during the month of 71% year over year, but also the relative outperformance of full electric cars and plug-in hybrids which saw the total battery capacity increase 122% year on year to nearly 14,000 MWh, according to Adamas Intelligence, which tracks demand for EV batteries by chemistry, cell supplier and capacity in over 90 countries. Battery raw materials deployed in October retreated from the record-breaking tonnage recorded the month before, according to data from Adamas, but compared to the same month last year usage has more than doubled. (Source: Oil Price)
World Oil Demand Hits Two-Month High (11 December 2020): By Tsvetana Paraskova - Global demand for road fuels hit a two-month high last week, recovering from the slowdown in October and November when many countries in Europe imposed lockdowns for a second time this year, according to various data points about road use, traffic jams, and road freight services tracked by Bloomberg. Last week, global road usage was 24 percent below the typical levels before the pandemic, but this was an improvement from the road travel and freight transportation in the middle of November, when road usage was 30 percent below pre-COVID levels, according to Bloomberg’s analysis. Traffic and fuel use in Asia is strong, while demand is also ticking up in Europe, where several countries, including the UK, ended nationwide lockdowns earlier this month. According to Bloomberg’s traffic and road usage data, global oil demand recovery is on a three-speed road—Asian demand is the strongest, followed by Europe and the Americas. (Source: Oil Price)
Solar Energy Is On The Brink Of A Golden Age (10 December 2020): By Haley Zaremba - Solar power is heading into a golden age thanks to an unlikely culmination of forces. A new axis of energy has emerged with the United States, the European Union, and China leading the charge toward a global energy transition to renewable energies and especially solar power. The United States has certainly not been a poster child for green energy in the last few years or, indeed, most of the nation’s history. Under the Trump administration, the country pulled out of the Paris climate accord and dragged its feet to put together a green stimulus package even as the rest of the world started to seriously edge into renewable energy markets, threatening to leave the U.S. behind. Under the new administration, led by incumbent president Joe Biden, the prognosis for U.S. renewables has improved drastically. (Source: Oil Price)
Is Elon Musk Wrong About Lithium? (9 December 2020): By Alex Kimani - "There is a massive amount of lithium on earth...there really is enough lithium in Nevada alone to electrify the entire U.S. fleet." Elon Musk, Tesla CEO. Back on November 23, lithium producer stocks got badly hammered after Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) CEO Elon Musk made the above remark on Tesla's battery day event. Tesla's main thrust of the event was that EV batteries were about to become much cheaper and more powerful and could give internal combustion engines (ICEs) a serious run for their money in the years to come. Musk's comments are certainly bearish for a commodity that has seen its price in free fall, tumbling 33% in the space of just 12 months. Musk's observation is true, to an extent, since battery costs have been on a sharp decline over the past half-decade. Indeed, the cost of lithium-ion batteries has dropped dramatically since 2010 and is expected to continue to do so. (Source: Oil Price)
Finding A Way Around The World's Largest Oil Chokepoint (8 December 2020): By Vanand Meliksetian - Oil is sometimes referred to as ‘black gold’. The discovery and export of fossil fuels have led to tremendous wealth creation for certain countries. In this sense, no region in the world is more blessed than the Middle East. Especially the countries surrounding the Persian Gulf are rich in oil and gas deposits. Unfortunately, political instability is almost a synonym for the Middle East. The risk of supply disruptions is a significant threat for those heavily reliant on fossil fuel sales. Therefore, risk mitigation is an important part of the business. The antagonism between Iran and the U.S. escalated significantly under President Trump. According to sources, Washington came close to acting militarily but the President was dissuaded when informed on the risks and potential losses. Skyrocketing oil prices are one of those consequences as Tehran has repeatedly threatened to close off the Strait of Hormuz in case it is attacked. Approximately 20 percent of the world’s oil travels through the narrow strait separating mainland Iran from Oman and the UAE. Even a short disruption of supplies will most definitely have a devastating effect on prices. Circumventing the Strait, therefore, is essential to maintain exports to markets. (Source: Oil Price)
Can China’s Most Popular EV Conquer Europe? (7 December 2020): By Tsvetana Paraskova - A new US$4,400 China-made city car overtook the Tesla Model 3 as the best-selling electric vehicle (EV) in China this August, and has been the top-selling EV in the world’s largest automotive market since then. Wuling, a Chinese joint venture of General Motors, SAIC Motor, and Liuzhou Wuling Motors, launched the Hong Guang MINI EV in July. The car has limited range capabilities and a top speed of just 60 mph, but it has been selling like hot cakes in China due to its affordability. The starting price of the Hong Guang MINI EV is just US$4,400 (28,800 Chinese yuan), around ten times lower than the starting price of a Tesla Model 3. The target customers of the Hong Guang MINI EV are young first-time buyers attracted by the very low price tag, as well as drivers looking for a mini car for city drives. The cheapest EV anywhere in the world, Hong Guang MINI EV has quickly gained popularity in China, toppling Tesla Model 3 from the top spot of the best-selling electric cars in the world’s largest car market. (Source: Oil Price)
Commercial Green Hydrogen Just Got A Step Closer (6 December 2020): By Tsvetana Paraskova - Green hydrogen development advanced further this week after the world’s first pilot project for green hydrogen heating of homes was approved. While proponents of green hydrogen—the low-carbon emission hydrogen made from electrolysis with power from renewables—cheer this world-first trial, the structure of the project’s funding offers a glimpse into what green hydrogen desperately needs to become a feasible solution to emission reductions—solid government support. Green hydrogen has been the hype of the past year in clean energy technologies. From governments to oil majors, everyone is talking up green hydrogen solutions to cut emissions in sectors where this is more difficult than in electricity production, such as chemicals and ammonia production. Today, nearly all—or 99.6 percent—of global hydrogen production comes from fossil fuels—coal, oil, or natural gas. (Source: Oil Price)
The U.S. Senate Just Gave Nuclear Power A Major Boost (5 December 2020): By MINING.com - The US Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works (EPW) has approved a bipartisan bill that, among other provisions, advances the federal initiative to establish a US national strategic uranium reserve. Under the American Nuclear Infrastructure Act (ANIA), the US Department of Energy will be restricted to only buy uranium recovered from facilities licensed by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission or equivalent agreement state agencies as of the date of enactment. Uranium from companies owned, controlled, or subject to jurisdictions in Russia or China are excluded from participating in the program. Senate committee chairperson Senator John Barrasso said that the ANIA preserves America’s nuclear fuel supply chain, prevents more carbon emissions from entering the atmosphere, and protect economic, energy, and national security. (Source: Oil Price)
Denmark To End Oil Production In 2050 (4 December 2020): By Irina Slav - Denmark will stop extracting oil from the North Sea in 2050, the Danish government has said, adding it would cancel its eighth licensing round, announced earlier this year. The round failed to attract much attention, anyway, with just one applicant expressing interest after French Total withdrew, Reuters noted in a report on the news. Denmark is not a particularly large producer of oil and gas, with its average daily output this year estimated at 83,000 bpd of oil and 21,000 of oil equivalent. Yet it is the largest in the European Union, which excludes Norway and, from next year, the UK. The small Scandinavian country is also one of the most ambitious climate goal-setters. Copenhagen plans to reduce emissions by 70% from 1990 levels by 2030 and become carbon-neutral by 2050. (Source: Oil Price)
Can EV Batteries Get Any Cheaper? (3 December 2020): By MINING.com - A new research note from battery supply chain specialist and price reporting agency, Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, has a warning for carmakers about the direction of battery prices used in electric vehicles – that they won’t fall indefinitely. Andrew Leyland, Head of Strategic Advisory at Benchmark, points out that lithium-ion battery cell prices have fallen from $290 per kiloWatt hour six years ago to $110/kWh today, driven by economies of scale and technological improvement. Some industry forecasts have prices falling as low as $60 to $70/kW. Not so fast, says Leyland: “Worryingly enough many automotive board members still expect battery costs to continue to decline at pace without understanding the supply chain they are at the end of. “Price volatility is introduced to the automotive battery supply chain at the mineral extraction phase. Here prices are determined by the market fundamentals of supply, demand, cost and inventory level.” (Source: Oil Price)
China's Big Plastic Ban Is A Massive Failure (2 December 2020): By Alex Kimani - Back in 2008, Beijing introduced a nationwide ban on ultra-thin plastic bags in a bid to tame the plastics menace that had earned the nation the reputation as the world's largest generator of waste and also the largest source of waste plastic flowing into our oceans. But more than a decade since the policy was unveiled, use of these banned ultra-thin bags is still rampant, including in Jilin Province, home to the country's strictest restrictions on plastic bags. And now, Beijing intends to phase in a raft of new anti-plastic regulations as early as the end of 2020. Beijing plans to ban/prohibit the usage of non-degradable plastic bags in stages. By the end of the current year, Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin, Chongqing—aka the Four Municipalities—will prohibit usage of non-degradable plastic bags (thicker bags above 25 microns are assumed to be included) in supermarkets, shopping malls, pharmacies, catering packaging, bookstores, and various exhibition conferences. Restaurants will also be banned from using single-use straws by the end of 2020. (Source: Oil Price)
New Study Links Texas Oil Refineries To Elevated Cancer Risk (1 December 2020): By Tsvetana Paraskova - People who live close to oil refineries are at increased risk of cancer, a new study from the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) has found. Proximity to an oil refinery was associated with an increased risk of multiple cancer types, according to the conclusions of the multi-year study completed by a team of physicians, environmental scientists, and students at UTMB. The study, published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, found statistically significant rises in several types of cancer among people living very close to the oil refineries in Texas. Most previous studies on a possible link between proximity to oil refineries and cancer risk have been carried out outside the U.S., the team said in the study, adding that they wanted to test the hypothesis that there is an increased cancer risk across different cancer types according to proximity to an oil refinery in Texas. (Source: Oil Price)