INDUSTRY NEWS
Encore Green acquires desalination technology
Nash, co-founder and special advisor to Encore Green Environmental Technologies and Licensing, has taken a big step forward with the purchase of XRI/Fountain Quail’s water treatment technology and equipment formerly known as NOMAD, which desalinates produced water.
New Mexico Oil Output Signals Modest Shale Recovery
New Mexico’s oil production surged to a record in May highlighting the Permian Basin’s role as the shale industry sees some recovery from the pandemic.
Oil Increases as Signs of Demand Strength Continues
Futures in New York rose 1.7% on Thursday as equities climbed toward all-time highs. While U.S. gross domestic product growth missed forecasts in the second quarter, household spending jumped by the most decades, underscoring the demand for oil and other commodities to support the supply chain. Oil was also supported by a weaker dollar, which boosts the appeal of commodities priced in the currency.
The Insult of Favoring OPEC’s Leaders Over America’s Energy Workers
As demand for oil continues to grow, gasoline prices are climbing across the country. Yet, the Biden Administration has asked OPEC – not domestic producers and USA energy workers – for help to supply the U.S. with more oil. Enticing countries with lower environmental standards is actually detrimental to the Administration’s stated policy goal of combating global climate change by reducing fossil fuel usage.
The World Will Run Out Of EV Batteries By 2025
EV batteries contain a litany of expensive and finite rare earth metals and minerals, most notably cobalt and lithium, which cause tricky negotiations with global supply chains and which are not without their negative environmental externalities thanks to sometimes messy mining operations.
The Net-Zero Narrative Is Riddled With Holes
Bjorn Lomborg, environmentalist and president of the Copenhagen Consesus, recently addressed this discrepancy between the public narrative and the realities of the energy transition in this article for the Financial Post. In it, Lomborg noted the paradoxical claims that, on the one hand, net-zero will be the most challenging thing humankind has ever had to do (per IEA) and, on the other, “No one is being asked for a sacrifice” (per John Kerry, President Biden’s climate envoy).
Texas Upstream Job Growth Surges 94% for June
Texas’ addition of 3,100 upstream jobs from May to June is 94% higher than the 1,600-job gain that TXOGA reported from April to May. In fact, TXOGA noted in a written statement emailed to Rigzone that Texas’ upstream sector posted its fifth best single-month job growth performance in more than five years.
USA and Germany End Nord Stream 2 Feud
Under the agreement, Germany commits to taking action if Russia tries to use energy as a weapon against Ukraine, a decision that may mark a concession from Chancellor Angela Merkel, who had previously balked at making independent moves against the Kremlin over the gas pipeline that will run from Russia to Germany and could allow Moscow to bypass Ukraine.
10 Things You Never Knew About Oil
From OPEC to U.S. shale, from fracking to negative oil prices, from endless political debates to inventories, the fossil fuel industry is never short on headlines. But the industry has a few lesser-known tidbits that might come as a surprise to even the savviest oil industry connoisseur.
Four Flaws With the EU’s New Climate Plans
Most remarkable here is the Commission’s intention to impose a de facto ban on gasoline and diesel cars by 2035, even if France seems keen to extend this until 2040. When even France is less restrictive, you’re not in a good place. Feeling the need to resort to outright prohibition, the Commission is clearly not putting great trust in innovation to come up with economically efficient, CO2-neutral cars.
OPEC+ makes deal to boost output as Gulf allies call truce
The deal, agreed at a hastily convened Sunday meeting ahead of a long Islamic holiday, allows for monthly supply hikes of 400,000 barrels a day. It puts OPEC+ back in control of the market after two volatile weeks, in which traders considered the possibility that the alliance could unravel.
Oil And Gas Is Booming In The Land Of Enchantment
After uncertainty about political decisions concerning oil and gas, following a year of low demand that drove down both oil prices and production levels, New Mexico has surpassed North Dakota as the second-largest oil producer in the U.S. following a boost in oil production this spring, not seen since the pre-pandemic period.
Biden Climate Czar Threatens to Bypass Congress on Clean Energy
Congress should enact a clean-electricity standard that forces utilities to pare greenhouse gas emissions, but if lawmakers fail to deliver, the administration is prepared to act on its own, President Joe Biden’s climate chief told Bloomberg.
U.S. Shale On Track For One Of Its Best Years Ever
According to the Norwegian energy navel-gazer, U.S. shale producers can expect a record-high hydrocarbon revenue of $195 billion before factoring in hedges in 2021 if WTI futures continue their strong run and average at $60 per barrel this year and natural gas and NGL prices remain steady. The previous record for pre-hedge revenues was $191 billion set in 2019.
USA Gasoline Demand Hits Record High
Demand has regained its footing as vaccinations and easing economic restrictions propel more Americans to resume their pre-pandemic lifestyles. Oil prices have risen almost 50% this year as U.S. refineries run close to full-bore to keep up with fuel demand. While the U.S. recovery quickens, the world’s largest oil producers can’t agree on how to supply the market with Saudi Arabia advocating for tempered supply increases given the potential headwinds that still exist.
Keystone XL Owner Seeks $15 Billion In Damages From Washington
According to the notice, the U.S. administration violated the North American Free Trade Agreement with its decision to kill the $9-billin project that would have carried 830,000 bpd of Canadian crude to the United States. The company had to official drop Keystone XL after President Biden revoked a crucial permit.
Oil Set for Best Half Since 2009
The recovery in key economies such as the U.S. and China has helped underpin a surge in fuel use and sent crude prices to the highest since 2018. OPEC+ sees the market in deficit for the rest of this year if it keeps output steady, while the prospect of an imminent flood of Iranian crude is fading as talks drag on.
Oil Prices End Trading Day Above $75
Oil advanced, closing above $75 a barrel for the first time since 2018, with an OPEC+ deal left in limbo after producers earlier signaled a tentative agreement to only gradually increase supplies through the end of the year.
Biden Admin Fights Another Canadian Oil Export Pipeline
The picturesque city on the Atlantic is the injection point for a seldom-used, World War II-era oil pipeline that carries crude from the Maine coast to Montreal-area refineries. The Portland Pipe Line Corp, currently exclusively owned by Suncor Energy Inc., has been trying to reverse it for more than a decade so it can export Canadian crude to foreign markets. But the city seeks to prevent the reversal amid concerns exporting crude oil would threaten waterways and air quality.
U.S. shale industry tempers output even as oil price jumps
This year's run up in crude prices, and oil output curbs imposed by the OPEC+ producers group, historically would have triggered a drilling boom. But investors are demanding financial returns over more volume and energy financiers are shifting to renewables, so shale firms are determined to stay disciplined.