INDUSTRY NEWS
Judge Orders Wind Farm Dismantled in Win for Tribal Sovereignty
“The developers failed to acquire a mining lease during or after construction, as well as after issuance of the 10th Court of Appeals’ decision hold that a mining lease was required,” Choe-Groves ruled, according to Tulsa World (Dec. 22).
Largest Lithium Deposit in the World Suspends Output
Chile’s lithium mining giant, Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A (NYSE:SQM), has announced that it has suspended operations at the Atacama salt flat due to widespread protests by an indigenous community.
Texans asked to conserve energy Tuesday as expected demand likely to put strain on electric grid
The Electric Reliability Council of Texas says cold weather brought "record-breaking demand" for power at the same time that the state is experiencing "unseasonably low wind," limiting the amount of electricity fed into the grid by windmills. It issued the second request as it said the winter storm was "encompassing the entire state" and forecast temperatures would continue to drop.
How Fracking Helped the U.S. Become the World’s Top LNG Exporter
In 2003, the late author and investment banker Matther Simmons predicted that with “certainty,” by 2005 the U.S. would enter a long-term natural gas crisis for which the only solution was “to pray.” T. Boone Pickens and a number of high-profile energy insiders concurred.
Advancing Natural Gas Operational Practices to Enhance Utility Safety and Sustainability
In this era of transition, regulators must make decisions with a keen understanding of the nuances involved in energy distribution. Encouraging continued investment in natural gas technologies — including leak surveying, damage prevention, methane detection and leak grading and repair — can effectively bridge the gap between our current energy landscape and the more sustainable future we all seek.
Traders Most Bearish on Oil Since March 2023
Hedge funds and other portfolio managers ended the last week of 2023 with the most new bearish positions in futures and options contracts since March and the second-largest jump in weekly short additions since 2017.
Berkeley can’t enforce natural gas ban, federal court rules again
A federal court rejected a rehearing of Berkeley’s ban on new natural gas appliances, putting similar regulations in Oakland and elsewhere in doubt.
USA Commercial Crude Oil Inventories Drop
U.S. commercial crude oil inventories, excluding those in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR), decreased by 5.5 million barrels from the week ending December 22, 2023, to the week ending December 29, 2023, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) latest weekly petroleum status report.
World’s Largest Lithium Reserve Discovered Beneath California’s Salton Sea
The U.S. Department of Energy has made its second major lithium discovery this year, both of which promise to make the country self-sufficient in the critical battery metal for decades.
Iran Sends Warship to Red Sea After USA Sinks Houthi Boats
Iran dispatched a warship to the Red Sea after the US Navy destroyed three Houthi boats, a move that risks ratcheting up tensions and complicates Washington’s goal of securing a waterway that’s vital to global trade.
New U.S. Oil Field Developments Are A Sign Of Things To Come For Saudi Arabia
The final phase of sidelining the Middle East’s major hydrocarbons producers is continuing, with news that three new oil and gas lease auctions in the Gulf of Mexico have been signed off by the U.S.’s Department of the Interior. These will augment the many other new exploration and development conventional and shale projects announced over the past year by the U.S.’s big oil and gas firms.
Argentina Eyes Free Market for Oil
Argentine President Javier Milei is seeking to extinguish decades of government intervention in the nation’s oil industry by unshackling crude exports and leaving local fuel prices at the whim of market forces.
Ten Improbable Energy Ideas for 2024
Nowadays, you have to prepare for the unexpected, for the event that seems barely plausible but happens. Such as the way Russia did not conquer Ukraine in a week. Or how the European economy survived without Russian gas. Or how the Chinese foreign minister disappeared. Or water shortages develop in the Amazon Basin. So, we put together a list of ten events, all plausible, that could occur in the energy sector. A few, we think, are more than likely.
Oil Drillers Snap Up Gulf of Mexico Leases Ahead of Biden Pause
Hess Corp. was the high bidder in a US auction for drilling rights in the Gulf of Mexico, which raised a total of $382 million from oil giants before the Biden administration imposes a two-year hiatus for future sales.
OPEC Influence Wavers as U.S. Shale Roars Back
It appears that along with the latest Middle Eastern war, the expansion in U.S. oil production was the surprise of the year. Back in April, analysts were confident that U.S. shale drillers would remain focused on shareholder returns and capital discipline and would not dare think about production growth too much.
Red Sea Tanker Traffic Falls Sharply amid MidEast Tension
Less well-known than the Suez Canal at the other end of the Red Sea, the strait between Yemen and Africa is almost as crucial. Massive volumes of crude, diesel and other petroleum products from the Middle East and India are hauled through these waters on their way to Europe. Russian oil to India and China heads the other way.
Putin Orders Asset Seizures From Austrian and German Energy Giants
Putin has ordered the seizure of Austria’s OMV and Germany’s Wintershall DEA assets in Russia. The main aim is clearly to hit back at the West while also cementing control of the existing Western assets in Russia’s Arctic, which are still valued at several billion dollars.
In this East Texas town, a 45-foot tall oil pump is a holiday symbol and connection to the past
As families and communities nationwide set up their Christmas trees, Nativity scenes and other holiday decorations, Lufkin residents earlier this month stopped downtown to celebrate the lighting of a 45-foot tall Mark 640 pumping unit, festively named Rudolph.
EIA Drops WTI Oil Price Forecast
According to its December STEO, the EIA now sees the WTI spot price averaging $77.63 per barrel in 2023 and $78.07 per barrel in 2024. The EIA projects that the WTI spot price will come in at $78.82 per barrel in the fourth quarter of 2023, $78.80 per barrel in the first quarter of 2024, $79.53 per barrel in the second quarter, $77.50 per barrel in the third quarter, and $76.50 per barrel in the fourth quarter, the December STEO shows.
Christmas 2023 Gas Prices Head to $2.99 for First Time in Years
The national average price per gallon of gasoline at American pumps is now 6.8 cents lower than a year ago, with price drops hitting their 13th week in a row and now averaging $3.03 according to GasBuddy.