Lourenco Goncalves, Cleveland-Cliffs’ chairman, president, and CEO, raised the bar a bit while addressing the American Iron and Steel Institute’s (AISI’s) annual general meeting in Washington on Tuesday. He is also currently chairman of AISI.
Sometimes, even in a bit of chaos, there is complacency. And it seems that since March 2020, “a bit of chaos” has been the order of the day. That means in the world at large, and in steel specifically. Since 2020, we’ve been lurching from crisis to crisis. Whether it’s a pandemic, or war in Ukraine, and now in the Middle East, a company’s job is to manage risk and always chart a course with profitability in mind.
Looking at the current geopolitical situation in hotspots in Asia, Europe, and the Middle East, he compared the situation to 1930-40. “You connect the dots. We are at war already,” he said.
That really got people’s attention.
“And at this point in time, it’s time for the United States to really understand our role in the world. And by understanding our role in the world, understanding the role of steel in a situation like that,” he added.
Immediately, this brought to mind images of Liberty Ships and Rosie the Riveter, a US economy that got on a war footing and used extensive manufacturing as one of the keys to victory in World War II.
I was able to ask Goncalves about this further at a press conference following the remarks. That is, if the entire US economy could soon change, and there could be a massive uptick in demand for steel, as there was in the US in WWII.
“Yes, absolutely… I agree with your conclusion and your assessment,” he said. Unfortunately, that was something I would’ve rather been wrong about.
“I believe in the 1930-40 time frame, the world was repositioned, countries, that is in terms of who was friends with whom,” he added.
He went on to give the example of how a country like the Soviet Union was our ally in WWII but soon became our enemy afterward. Germany (West Germany until reunification), in contrast, soon became an American ally.
The world is much more interconnected than it was in 1939. Technology, in the sense of things like the Internet, AI, and intercontinental ballistic missiles, means 21st-century conflicts could look like a lot different than mid-20th-century conflicts.
One thing that hasn’t changed is the need for steel. Whatever the next month, six months, or five years bring, steel will be crucial for our nation’s future. The question is, with the future so uncertain, what added steps do we need to take to prepare?
https://www.steelmarketupdate.com/2024/05/19/final-thoughts-1679/
Gold jumped to fresh record highs after Iran’s president was killed in a helicopter crash.
Bullion jumped as much as 1.1pc to hit $2,440.59 an ounce after Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian and all the other passengers onboard died when the aircraft came down in northwest Iran.
His death has added to tensions in the Middle East, which analysts said increases the appeal of the metal, which is considered a safe haven in times of turmoil.
However, in a sign that markets were less concerned about the threat of instability, the price of oil remained relatively steady.
Brent crude, the international benchmark, rose just 0.4pc to a one-week high of $84.33 after the aircraft came down.
Nicholas Frappell, global head of institutional markets at ABC Refinery in Sydney, said: “Gold’s rally is news-driven with uncertainty about what happened in Iran.
“There is bound to be an element of jumping to conclusions on the basis of very little information.”
The rise in gold also comes amid optimism that the US Federal Reserve will make two interest rate cuts this year after inflation figures last week were lower than expected.
That offered support for the precious metal, which is priced in the dollar.
Gold was not the only metal hitting record highs overnight.
Copper jumped to a fresh all-time peak amid expectations that increased demand will lead to supply shortages.
The price of copper on the London Metal Exchange rose above $11,000 a ton for the first time.
Prices have gained more than a quarter since the start of this year, boosted in part by China rolling out property stimulus measures and upbeat industrial output data
Markets moved higher in early trading amid the boost from metal miners.
The blue-chip FTSE 100 was up 0.3pc, while the mid-cap FTSE 250 climbed 0.4pc.
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/gold-surges-record-iran-president-101749042.html
Southern Copper hopes to begin construction as soon as this year at a once fiercely contested copper mine in Peru’s coastal mountains as socio-political tensions ease and authorities get behind the project.
The company has had permits to build its Tia Maria project for years yet held back because of environmental opposition. A 2019 decision to approve its license unleashed weeks of protests and then-President Pedro Castillo called the mine a non-starter. The current government says it’s supportive.
“The opportunity that this presents for the region and the country is being seen,” CFO Raul Jacob said Monday in an interview.
Developing Tia Maria would be a big deal for the company, Peru and the global copper market. The stalled project has stood as a symbol of the difficulties of building new mines — a key reason for copper’s surge to record prices this year as investors bet on demand exceeding supply.
Southern Copper is working with farming groups, building houses and planting trees, with more than 200 people working in the area and $350-million in equipment ready to be assembled, Jacob said. That provides a pathway to start work late this year or early next year on a project that will probably cost about $500-million more than the official $1.4-billion estimate, he said.
With all permitting and board approval in place, the only thing to do before pulling the trigger on construction is to “check that we are in an appropriate social environment to start construction,” Jacob said.
Bringing Tia Maria on stream by the end of 2027 would generate a much needed 120 000 metric tons a year of metal for a market hit by a string of supply setbacks of late, including the closure of a major copper mine in Panama.
Tia Maria would consolidate Southern Copper’s annual copper production above one-million tons a year. The project would also be a major breakthrough in a country where mining’s relations with isolated rural communities often sour.
Southern Copper expects to increase copper output by 3% or more this year, with production so far tracking just above expectations, Jacob said. Output beyond this year at existing copper operations will depend largely on ore quality, he said.
Iron ore futures hit an over three-month high on Wednesday as investors bet on better demand following China's property support, despite ample stocks in the world's top consumer.
The most-traded September iron ore contract on China's Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE) TIO1! was up 2.5% to 919 yuan ($126.95) a metric ton by 0504 GMT, its highest since Feb. 20.
The contract has gained for five consecutive sessions.
The benchmark June iron ore (SZZFM4) on the Singapore Exchange rose 0.8% to $121.8 a ton.
China last Friday announced "historic" steps to stabilise its crisis-hit property sector, with the central bank facilitating 1 trillion yuan ($138 billion) in extra funding and easing mortgage rules, among others.
The property sector is a major consumption pillar for steel and has raised investors' prospects for steelmaking ingredients.
The futures rally was mainly due to positive macro sentiment, but fundamentals lagged with plenty of available supply in the spot market, an iron ore trader said.
Iron ore inventory at major Chinese ports assessed by information provider Mysteel stood at 147.4 million tons, up 6% from the beginning of March.
Other steelmaking ingredients on the DCE climbed, with coking coal NYMEX:ACT1! advancing 4.6% and coke (DCJcv1) up 4.4%.
Steel benchmarks on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were mostly up. Rebar RBF1! rose 1.5%, hot-rolled coil EHR1! added 1.1%, wire rod (SWRcv1) up 2.2%, while stainless steel HRC1! eased 0.1%.
($1 = 7.2391 yuan)
Jakarta (ANTARA) - Indonesia's Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs, Airlangga Hartarto, has sought support from the South Korean government in negotiations with the United States to open the market for Korean-made electric vehicles (EVs) produced in Indonesia.
"I am hoping for help from Korea in talking to the US to ensure the IRA (Inflation Reduction Act) provides market access for products resulting from the collaboration between LG and Hyundai (in Indonesia)," he said in a statement released by his ministry on Thursday.
Hartarto met with the Minister of Trade, Industry, and Energy of South Korea, Ahn Duk-geun, in Seoul on Wednesday.
South Korean companies Hyundai Motor Group and LG Energy Solution have invested in Indonesia and are currently building an EV battery factory in Karawang, West Java.
Besides Hyundai and LG's investment, there are several other collaborations between Indonesia and South Korea that are already running, such as the expansion of the Lotte petrochemical factory and the construction of the Krakatau Steel-Posco steel cluster, Hartarto noted.
However, there are several cooperation agreements whose implementation still needs to be pushed, Hartarto said.
They include expanding market access for Indonesian micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) through South Korean e-platforms, implementing Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS), producing hydrogen and ammonia energy, and building hydropower plants.
Hartarto expressed hope that Minister Ahn would help strengthen industrial, trade, and energy transition cooperation between the two counties.
He also invited Ahn to the 3rd Joint Committee on Economic Cooperation (JCEC) meeting in Jakarta in July 2024.
Meanwhile, Ahn outlined opportunities for cooperation related to the development of nuclear power plants through the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI).
The institution has developed the Small Modular Reactor (SMR) technology, which is designed to be safe and produce a lower carbon footprint than conventional reactors. SMR can serve as an alternative solution for supplying electrical energy, especially in remote or isolated areas.
The trade relations between Indonesia and South Korea are entering the fifth decade. Data from the Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs showed that the total bilateral trade between the two countries reached US$20.8 billion in 2023.
https://en.antaranews.com/news/314247/indonesia-seeks-us-market-access-for-korean-made-evs
Baker Hughes, an energy technology company, is expanding its Industrial & Energy Technology (IET) facility in Dammam, Saudi Arabia.
Once completed, the expansion is expected to create 60 new jobs and will add capacity for the current manufacturing and repairs of compression trains, seal gas and control panels.
In addition, the expanded site will add capabilities for the manufacturing and testing of vibration monitoring systems and for gears repairs.
The announcement was made at a groundbreaking ceremony hosted by Baker Hughes and attended by representatives from the Ministry of Energy, executives from the company’s long-term strategic partner Aramco, and local suppliers.
Since opening in 2018, the center has delivered 50 compression trains for major gas and hydrogen projects in Saudi Arabia, including NEOM and Jafurah. The expansion is expected to nearly double the center’s headcount and is scheduled to be completed by March 2025.
“We are proud to be investing in local talent and new skill development while growing our footprint in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,” said Alberto Matucci, vice president, Gas Technology Equipment, IET at Baker Hughes. “The Dammam site is crucial to supporting major gas and hydrogen project developments across the Kingdom that are further strengthening the resilience of the country’s energy system with reliable and additional alternative lower emission fuel sources. We look forward to continuing our partnership and supporting Saudi Arabia’s sustainable energy development journey.”
As Saudi Arabia continues to expand capacity in gas and hydrogen production to support increased electricity power generation, Baker Hughes has provided a range of localized and tailored solutions.
The expansion of the Dammam facility follows other recent announcements, including a significant gas technology order for Aramco’s Master Gas System 3 project, and the delivery of the first two trains of advanced hydrogen compression solutions to Air Products for the in the Kingdom, the largest project of its kind in the world. --OGN/TradeArabia News Service
(MENAFN- UkrinForm) Former lawyer Rudy Giuliani, who was a confidant of former US President Donald Trump, was served with a notice of indictment on Friday evening in a case of attempting to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.
According to Ukrinform, citing Axios , this was reported by Florida Attorney General Kris Mayes.
Giuliani was served with the notice on the same day as he celebrated his 80th birthday in Palm Beach, Florida, immediately after the party guests loudly congratulated him.
"No one is above the law," the Arizona state attorney said on social media.
As Ukrinform reported earlier, a grand jury in Arizona indicted Giuliani and other Trumpists, including 11 electors, on criminal charges of obstructing the legitimate transfer of power to President-elect Joe Biden in 2020.
The 2020 presidential race in Arizona was one of the most fiercely contested. Biden won by just over 10,000 votes over Trump.
Arizona became the fourth state to bring charges against pro-Trump electors, after Michigan, Nevada and Georgia.
MOSCOW: A Russian court has ruled that Deutsche Bank and UniCredit’s assets in the country are to be seized, documents showed. European banks have largely exited Russia after Moscow launched its offensive on Ukraine in 2022.
Russia has a list of Western assets that would be seized if Group of Seven (G7) leaders decided to confiscate $300 billion in frozen Russian central-bank assets, the Kremlin had warned on Dec 29 last year.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said any such move by the West would violate international law and undermine the global financial system and the world economy. A court in Saint Petersburg ruled in favour of seizing 239 million euros ($260 million) from Deutsche Bank, documents dated May 16 showed.
The same day, it ordered the seizure of around 463 million euros of assets belonging to Italy’s UniCredit.
Kremlin had threatened fiscal retaliation if Russian assets are seized
The court also seized Commerzbank’s assets worth 93.7 million euros ($101.85 million) as well as securities and the bank’s building in central Moscow. Commerzbank did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The decisions were issued in answer to a request from RusKhimAlians, which was planning to build a major gas processing and liquefaction plant in cooperation with German company Linde, which pulled out of the project due to Russia’s military campaign.
RusKhimAlians sued UniCredit and Deutsche Bank — both guarantors of the project.
Deutsche Bank said it would “need to see how this claim is implemented by the Russian courts and assess the immediate operational impact in Russia”.
UniCredit said it “has been made aware” of the decision and was “reviewing” the situation in detail.
UniCredit was one of the European banks most exposed to Russia when Moscow started its campaign in Ukraine, with a large local subsidiary operating in the country.
It began preliminary discussions on a sale last year, but the talks haven’t advanced.
Chief executive Andrea Orcel said UniCredit wants to leave Russia, but added that gifting an operation worth three billion euros was not a good way to respect the spirit of Western sanctions on Moscow over the conflict.
Nevertheless, UniCredit has gradually reduced its exposure to Russia and managed to increase the ratio of its capital to risk-weighted assets to 16 per cent from 15pc last year.
The lawsuits were filed by St Petersburg-based RusChemAlliance, a joint venture 50pc owned by Russian gas giant Gazprom which is the operator of the project.
Published in Dawn, May 19th, 2024
ROME (Reuters) - BlackRock is in talks with various governments over ways to fund critical investments to support artificial intelligence (AI), including increasing the power supply, the CEO of the world's largest asset manager said on Friday.
AI is seen as a major boost to global productivity, but it requires data centres and semiconductor plants that require huge amounts of electricity.
BlackRock CEO Larry Fink spoke remotely at a meeting in Rome of the B7 business groups of the Group of Seven (G7) states. The conference preceded next week's meeting in Italy of finance ministers and central bankers from the G7 more advanced economies.
"These AI data centres are going to require more power than anything we could ever have imagined. We at the G7 do not have enough power," Fink said.
"I think this is going to create a real competitive challenge for countries."
Data centres are likely to be built where power supply is cheaper, raising the need for state subsidies in areas where energy costs are not competitive, Fink said.
Investments to build the data centres and chip factories backing AI technologies and power them, which BlackRock estimates "in the trillions of dollars", require the participation of private investors and could be a great opportunity for pension funds and insurers, Fink said.
Japan on Tuesday said it envisages the need for electricity output to rise 35% to 50% by 2050 due to growing demand from semiconductor plants and data centres backing AI.
"We're in conversations with many governments right now about how can we bring private capital," Fink said, adding G7 states could not shoulder the cost given the risk of a "fiscal crisis".
"The deficits we're seeing in the G7 are becoming a burden for my children, your children, our grandchildren."
(Reporting by Valentina Za, editing by Gavin Jones and Rod Nickel)
China on Sunday initiated an anti-dumping investigation into polyformaldehyde copolymer imported from the EU, the US, Japan and China's Taiwan region, the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) announced.
On April 22, the MOFCOM received an application from Chinese mainland-based companies including Yunnan Yuntianhua Co, National Energy Group Ningxia Coal Industry Co and Kaifeng Longyu Chemical Co, requesting a formal anti-dumping investigation into polyformaldehyde copolymer imports from the EU, the US, Japan and China's Taiwan region, according to a statement published on the MOFCOM website.
The investigation will cover the period from January 1, 2023 to December 31, 2023, the statement said.
The probe began on Sunday and is expected to be completed before May 19, 2025. The probe may be extended for six months under exceptional circumstances, the government agency said.
The aggregate output of the applicants for the move accounted for more than 50 percent of the market from 2021 to 2023, making their application eligible, according to MOFCOM.
The ministry said that relevant stakeholders can register to take part in the probe and they are required to provide necessary information to competent authorities.
Tu Xinquan, dean of the China Institute for WTO Studies at the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing, told the Global Times on Sunday that an anti-dumping probe is part of the normal toolkit used by the WTO members to contain any potential impact on the domestic market, and it is an allowed practice under the framework of the WTO.
It should be noted that China is quite restrained in applying trade remedy measures compared with some countries, Tu said."These measures under the WTO framework stand in sharp contrast with those taken by the US government in its US Section 301 investigations, a unilateral action," Tu said.
The MOFCOM in October 2023 made a decision to keep in place anti-dumping duties on polyformaldehyde copolymer imported from South Korea, Thailand and Malaysia for another five years after a review.
The MOFCOM said that termination of trade remedy measures may continue to cause damage to the domestic industry or cause damage to occur again.Polyformaldehyde copolymer is used to replace non-ferrous metals such as copper, zinc and tin to manufacture mechanical parts, and it is widely used in automobiles, machinery, electronic appliances, construction and piping.
As seen in the February edition of the trade friction index of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT), the US, India and the EU were the major countries or trading bodies that triggered global economic and trade friction, the CCPIT said on April 28.Global Times
Saudi Arabian Mining Company Ma'aden has successfully extracted lithium from seawater, although not at levels that are commercially viable and its project remains at the pilot stage, its CEO told Reuters on Tuesday.
"We are actually producing lithium from seawater now," Robert Wilt said, without giving further details.
Wilt, who is vice chairman of Manara Minerals, also said that company was not looking at acquiring diamond business De Beers. "We are not looking at De Beers at all," he said.
London-listed miner Anglo American AAL has considered selling off its less profitable businesses like De Beers as it fends off BHP Group's $43 billion takeover offer.
"The kingdom does not need diamonds for its downstream development," Wilt said. "Manara's mandate is industrial metals that fuel the downstream growth."
Manara Minerals is a joint venture between Ma'aden and Saudi Arabia's $925 billion sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund (PIF), to invest in mining assets abroad.
Ma'aden, the kingdom's flagship mining company, is 67% owned by the PIF.
The United States and China are locked in a race over acquiring access to lithium, a mineral key for electric car batteries, laptops and smartphones.
Saudi Arabia has joined the pack and hopes to use lithium to manufacture batteries for electric vehicles (EVs) as part of its ambitions to transform itself into an EV hub.
The kingdom's growing mining industry is a key pillar in de-facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman's Vision 2030 programme to diversify the economy away from oil dependency.
Saudi Arabia's national oil giant Aramco is also attempting to extract lithium from brine in its oilfields, although Wilt says Aramco's efforts are so far separate from Ma'aden's.
"We are both working parallel paths. Ma'aden on extracting lithium from seawater. Aramco from brines where lithium has higher concentration," he said.
"There are ongoing discussions about how we can join forces," he added.
While these projects remain in their early stages, Saudi Arabia is seeking to acquire lithium abroad, along with other critical minerals.
"We are looking overseas for interests in copper, lithium, iron ore, and nickel," said Wilt.
Manara's first major venture abroad was to acquire a 10% stake in Brazil's $26 billion copper and nickel miner Vale Base Metals. Through Vale, Wilt said Manara had gained access to the Brazilian miner's operations in Canada and Indonesia. Manara is also in talks with other companies to open new ventures.
"We like things in East Asia through Africa, because we are potentially a centralized processing hub," he said, referring to Saudi Arabia's position in the supply chain.
Fool.com contributor Parkev Tatevosian identified big purchases made by Cathie Wood.
*Stock prices used were the afternoon prices of May 19, 2024. The video was published on May 21, 2024.
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https://finance.yahoo.com/news/cathie-wood-loading-beaten-down-122247100.html
The United States and Saudi Arabia are "days away" from finalizing documents for a historic bilateral agreement, a top priority for President Joe Biden, which could set the stage for normalizing relations between the kingdom and Israel, CBS News reported on Sunday, citing a source familiar with the matter.
A U.S. official confirmed to CBS News that significant progress was made on Saturday during a meeting between National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. The eastern city is home to Saudi Aramco, the kingdom's state-run oil giant.
In a statement released overnight Saturday, the Saudi Foreign Ministry described the draft agreement as "nearly final."
According to the report, the first component of the deal includes a series of agreements between the U.S. and Saudi Arabia, covering defense guarantees and civil nuclear cooperation. This aspect would strengthen U.S.-Saudi ties at a time when China is seeking to expand its influence in the Middle East.
A second component aims to normalize relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel. However, this is contingent on a third, more complex component: establishing a pathway to a Palestinian state.
If successful, this agreement would mark a significant diplomatic achievement for the Biden administration, reinforcing U.S. alliances in the region and potentially reshaping Middle Eastern geopolitics.
In line with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s directive to the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) to optimise production from the nation’s oil and gas assets, the Company has announced the successful commencement of oil production from the Akpo West Field.
The milestone, which is the result of meticulous planning, strategic collaboration, and unwavering dedication from all stakeholders involved in the project, will add 14,000 barrels per day condensate to the nation’s production. This will be followed up by the production of about 4million cubic meters of gas per day by 2028.
The development of Akpo West which is on Petroleum Mining Lease (PML) 2 (formerly OML 130) leverages the existing Akpo Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) facility via a subsea tie-back to keep costs low and minimize greenhouse gas emissions.
The milestone was enabled by the strategic leadership of the Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO), Mr. Mele Kyari, and the Upstream Directorate of the NNPC Ltd whose support played no small role in propelling the operators to actualise the short- and mid-term hydrocarbon production goal of the President Tinubu administration.
Located 135 kilometres offshore, Akpo West is one of the discoveries on PML 2 with proximity to the Akpo main which started up in 2009 and produced 124,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day in 2023.
PML 2 is operated by TotalEnergies with a 24% interest, in partnership with CNOOC (45%), Sapetro (15%), Prime 130 (16%), and the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Ltd as the concessionaire of the Production Sharing Contract (PSC).
https://championnews.com.ng/nnpc-ltd-celebrates-14000bpd-production-from-akpo-west-field/
We are looking for Senior Process Engineer for one of our clients with the following details:
Location : Dubai, UAE
Work Status : Resident - 5 days per week
Tentative start date : To be confirm
Contract duration : 1 year (with potential extension)
Qualifications & Experience Required:
Minimum 15 years' experience in petroleum & gas industry in process engineering at all life-cycle stages of project development (FEED, Basic and Detailed Engineering, Procurement, Fabrication, Installation, Construction, Pre-Commissioning, and Commissioning) for the oil and gas exploration-production industry - specially for onshore fields;
Mastery of Process simulation software (as minimum: Aspen Plus, Aspen Plus Dynamics, PRO/II, UNISIM or equivalent, FlareSIm or equivalent, Pipenet);
Strong knowledge in Process design according to Oil & Gas Industry Standards (API, NORSOK, etc) and TOTAL specifications.
Experience in Sour Gas Service design is required;
Experience in NGL design is required
Knowledge and experience in Green House Gas and Energy is a plus.
Working knowledge of process control systems and theory.
Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal; and strong computer & organizational skills
Activities:
The service will include the following missions:
15 - 25 years' experience in petroleum & gas processing industry in process engineering at all life-cycle stages of project development (FEED, Basic and Detailed Engineering, Procurement, Fabrication, Installation, Construction,
Pre-Commissioning, and Commissioning) for the oil and gas exploration-production industry - specially for onshore fields;
Mastery of Process simulation software (as minimum: Aspen HYSYS, Aspen HYSYS Dynamics, PRO/II, UNISIM,
Aspen Flare Network Analyser,
FlareSim or equivalent, Pipenet);
Strong knowledge in Process design according to Oil & Gas Industry Standards (API, NORSOK, etc) and TOTAL specifications.
Experience in Sour Gas Service design is required;
Experience in LNG design is a plus
Knowledge and experience in Green House Gas reduction and Energy Conservation is a plus.
Working knowledge of process control systems.
Exposure with multiphase flow assurance is a plus
Experience in Licensor coordination, EPC Scope of work preparation, Third party studies scope of work preparation and follow up.
Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal; and strong computer & organizational skills
If interested, kindly apply!
WTI Crude Oil
The West Texas Intermediate Crude Oil market has rallied a bit during the trading session on Tuesday to show a continuation of the overall upward pressure. That being said, the market looks as if it is ready to continue marching towards the $75 level, an area that I believe given enough time we will hit. If we break above that level, then it is very likely that we could go looking towards the $80 level. Ultimately, I think the market does get there given enough time, based upon the perceived demand coming in the reopening trade. Furthermore, we have worked through a lot of the glut of supply after the pandemic it. To the downside, I believe that the $67.50 level is the “floor in the market.”
Brent
Brent markets of course look very much the same, as we continue to see upward momentum come into the marketplace. The $75 level is being approached, and I do think that we are ready to go above there to look towards the $80 handle as well. Underneath, I believe that the $70 level should offer a significant amount of support, as it was the top of the ascending triangle that we just broke out of and of course it is a large, round, psychologically significant figure. The 50 day EMA is also walking right along, and I do think that it is probably only a matter of time before we see buyers in that general vicinity if we do for some reason pullback. The Federal Reserve is having its meeting over the next couple of days, so that could have an influence on the US dollar as well.
https://sg.news.yahoo.com/finance/news/crude-oil-price-forecast-crude-162250394.html
FORT MCMURRAY, Alberta (AP) — Residents who were ordered out of Canada’s oil sands hub of Fort McMurray, Alberta, due to a nearby wildfire are clear to return home, authorities said Saturday.
The Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo lifted the evacuation order for the Abasand, Beacon Hill, Prairie Creek and Grayling Terrace neighborhoods on the city’s southern edge.
About 6,600 residents of those neighborhoods were forced to hastily leave their homes on Tuesday when the fire was still deemed out-of-control, but a statement from the municipality said firefighters made considerable progress since then.
The statement said recent rainy weather has helped tamp down the blaze and reduce its intensity, allowing those fighting it to bring it under control and erect fireguards at its northern edge.
The municipality said local highways were open in both directions and emergency social services, including food and accommodation, will remain available until noon on Sunday.
The partial evacuation was familiar terrain for the Albertan city, which survived a catastrophic blaze in 2016 that destroyed 2,400 homes and forced more than 80,000 people to flee.
Elsewhere, the Parker Lake and Patry Creek wildfires continue to threaten the northeastern British Columbia town of Fort Nelson, which remained under an evacuation order.
The prices for crude oil, natural gas and other petroleum products were steady during the week of May 1-8.
The U.S. crude oil price for West Texas Intermediate closed on the New York Mercantile Exchange at $79 per barrel on May 8, which is a 9% increase from a year ago.
Retail gasoline prices across the U.S. averaged $3.643, which is down $0.01 for the week but up $0.11 year over year, according to the Energy Information Administration.
Other petroleum products, such as diesel and home heating oil, were fairly constant. Diesel averaged $3.894 per gallon on May 6, which is down $0.053 from the previous week and down $0.028 from the same period in 2023, according to EIA.
Crude oil inventories declined 1.4 million barrels last week to 459.5 million barrels, and gasoline inventories rose 0.9 million barrels to 228 million barrels.
International oil traders are concerned the conflicts in Gaza and Ukraine might have an impact on crude oil supplies.
Natural gas prices at the wellhead have been around $2 per million British thermal units for most of 2024 on trading on NYMEX for front-month delivery. However, natural gas closed on May 8 at $2.195 per mmBtu, which is the highest since Jan. 29.
U.S. spot natural gas prices are expected to turn negative in the Permian Basin as trading closed at $0.25 at the Waha Hub in West Texas.
Energy traders have been saying for weeks that they expected gas prices at the Waha Hub to turn negative when U.S. energy company Kinder Morgan started conducting seasonal maintenance on pipelines that move gas from the Permian shale in West Texas to the Gulf Coast.
Kinder Morgan told customers it planned to reduce flows on its Permian Highway Pipeline from May 7-12 and its Gulf Coast Express pipe from May 14-21.
Alex Mills is the former President of the Texas Alliance of Energy Producers.
Dangote said the refiner would not only focus on producing petroleum products.
He said the refinery would take most African crude grades.
Aliko Dangote, Africa’s richest person, has announced that Nigeria will cease importing petrol by June.
Speaking at the Africa CEO Forum Annual Summit in Kigali, Dangote revealed that his refinery will commence production next month, meeting Nigeria’s petrol needs and eliminating the need for imports.
“Right now, Nigeria has no cause to import anything apart from gasoline and by sometime in June, within the next four or five weeks, Nigeria shouldn’t import anything like gasoline; not one drop of litre,” he said.
The refinery will also produce diesel, aviation fuel, and other essential products, making Africa self-sufficient in these commodities.
With a capacity of 650,000 barrels per day, the refinery will meet the demands of West Africa and beyond.
Dangote emphasized that the refinery will not only focus on petroleum products but also produce polypropylene, polyethylene, base oil, and linear benzyl, raw materials essential for producing detergents and other products.
This will reduce Africa’s reliance on imports and make the continent self-sufficient in these critical products.
Dangote expressed his optimism that within three to four years, Africa will no longer need to import fertilizers, as his refinery will produce urea, potash, and phosphate, meeting the continent’s needs.
The refinery’s second phase is set to begin early next year, further expanding its operations and impact on Africa’s energy landscape.
https://www.withinnigeria.com/news/2024/05/18/nigeria-to-end-fuel-imports-by-june-says-dangote/
Asia's middle distillates market kickstarted the trading week with a flurry of selling interest from northeast Asian refiners for June parcels, with activity on the open trading window equally upbeat - though price levels were little changed.
South Korea's SK Energy and S-Oil both offered mostly second-half June loading diesel, while some traders were watching to see if GS Caltex offers more cargoes.
China exports on the other hand have not yet been prevalent, with traders expecting some offers to emerge soon, though there are talks of key oil majors mulling run cuts for June due to lacklustre local demand.
On the buying front, Indonesia's Pertamina emerged with some spot interest as markets await to see how import demand will pan out ahead of firm demand expectations in the June-July period.
Refining margins (GO10SGCKMc1) for the fuel were little changed at around $14.50 at the market's close.
Spot cash differentials (GO10-SIN-DIF) slipped back into discounts, giving back past three sessions of gains, as selling interest from key oil major Saudi Aramco was prevalent in the open trading window.
Buyers remained scant likewise the past few sessions, given the cautious demand-supply outlooks for June.
Meanwhile, on the jet fuel front, offers emerged unexpectedly from S-Oil as well, but other refiners said the sales could be due to the continuously better economic incentive for jet fuel production.
There is an element of summer demand that the markets are betting on as well, one of the sources added.
Regrade (JETREG10SGMc1) widened to a larger discount of almost $1.70 a barrel, taking cues from sufficient supply expectations in the spot June market.
Gulfstream LNG Development (Gulfstream LNG), a greenfield liquefied natural gas (LNG) export project under development in Louisiana, has received the U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) approval to start the pre-filing permitting process.
The approval marks the beginning of off the regulatory review for its proposed 4 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) modular export facility, being developed south of New Orleans.
The achievement follows Gulfstream LNG’s closing of its initial Seed Funding round and its move to a nearby downstream site on the same side of the Mississippi River as its previously announced location.
The upgraded 418-acre site, with over three kilometers (over two miles) of deepwater Mississippi River frontage, is secured under a long-term 50+ year lease agreement with a private landowner.
The site is traversed by a 26” natural gas pipeline that will supply, as per an executed agreement with the pipeline operator, the full volume of feed gas required for the operation of the Gulfstream LNG facility at its nameplate capacity.
Over the past year, Gulfstream LNG has further reduced project risk by selecting its key technical partners, including Baker Hughes as the liquefaction equipment provider, Honeywell UOP to provide its gas treatment technology, GTT to provide LNG tank technology and containment system, and Kiewit Energy Group Inc. to provide engineering, procurement, and construction support.
Gulfstream LNG facilities will include two ‘trains’ for gas processing, three electric-drive liquefaction ‘trains’ each with an average base LNG production capacity of approximately 1.4 MTPA, one 200,000 m3 LNG storage tank and tank protection system, two marine loading berths (one capable of receiving smaller barges and vessels, and one for servicing larger ocean-going LNG carriers), and an on-site gas-fired power generation plant.
Gulfstream LNG is also evaluating various CO2 capture, use and storage options to reduce its Scope 1 and Scope 2 CO2 emissions.
First production is anticipated in less than six years.
“Though the Administration’s pause in the review of DoE non- FTA permits does not directly impact Gulfstream LNG because of our stage in the FERC process, we encourage the US government to complete their evaluation as soon as possible. Export permit delays add uncertainty to project development, impact the global energy transition, and encourage the continued usage of coal and other dirty fuels,” said Vivek Chandra, CEO and Founder of Gulfstream LNG.
(Bloomberg) -- Calpers, the largest state public pension fund in the US, will vote against all Exxon Mobil Corp. directors, saying the oil giant is undermining shareholder rights.
Exxon sued two climate-focused investors earlier this year, accusing them of abusing the shareholder-proposal process. When the investors withdrew their proposals, Exxon opted to continue legal proceedings, asking the courts to provide more clarity on how the Securities and Exchange Commission interprets its own rules.
The current SEC process is “well-established” and has “successfully provided shareowners with a voice for decades,” the California Public Employees’ Retirement System wrote in a filing. “This lawsuit may have a chilling effect on future shareowner proposals in the United States.”
Calpers manages roughly $490 billion of assets and owns about 0.2% of Exxon stock, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/calpers-oppose-exxon-directors-amid-144215338.html
May 20, 2024 - China Energy International Group is expected to build a 2.4 billion euro ($2.6 billion) oil and oil derivatives refinery in Serbia’s northern city of Smederevo about four years from the day it obtains the first building permit, energy minister Dubravka Djedovic Handanovic told Serbian media.
The Serbian government signed the 2.4 billion euro framework agreement with China Energy International Group for the construction of the Smederevo refinery as a greenfield investment earlier this month.
The framework agreement was signed with a validity period of two years, Djedovic Handanovic told daily Politika in an interview on Friday.
The new facility will have a processing capacity of up to 100,000 barrels a day and will produce oil derivatives in accordance with the highest technological, ecological and product quality standards of the European Union, she said.
The facility will have 700 permanent workers and will employ further 2,400 workers indirectly.
Serbia currently has one oil refinery, operated by Serbian oil and gas group NIS, controlled by Russia’s Gazprom. The existing refinery is located in Pancevo, some 20 km north-east of Belgrade.
According to the plan, Serbia will build an oil pipeline from Pancevo to the location of the planned Chinese refinery in Smederevo, some 45 km to the southeast, in order to supply the future facility with crude oil, Djedovic Handanovic noted.
13,300 tank storage and production facilities as per the date of this article.
https://tankterminals.com/news/china-energy-to-complete-new-serbian-refinery-in-four-years-report/
NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — Two major international oil and gas companies have so far expressed interest in Israeli-Cypriot plans to build a pipeline that would convey offshore natural gas from both countries to Cyprus where it would be liquefied for export by ship, a Cypriot official said Tuesday.
Energy Minister Giorgos Papanastasiou told The Associated Press in an interview that the plan will be pitched on May 29 to energy companies involved in hydrocarbon exploration off Cyprus’ southern coast and other firms involved in pipeline and gas processing plant manufacture.
Getting energy companies on board is essential to get the project off the ground, and Papanastasiou will also present it individually to each firm in order to secure their backing.
Papanastasiou said the project’s key drawing card for energy companies is its low cost relative to other exporting methods, such as an idea for a 6-billion-euro (($6.5 billion), 1,900-kilometer (1,180-mile) pipeline connecting east Mediterranean gas deposits directly to Europe.
That relatively low cost would mean companies would recover their initial investment and turn a profit much quicker.
The roughly 320-kilometer (200-mile) pipeline is estimated at 450 million euros ($489 million) and the liquefaction plant at 1 billion euros ($1.1 billion).
Papanastasiou said there’s another option for a liquefaction plant aboard a ship instead of an onshore facility. But he said new, modular technology used to construct an onshore facility has the advantage of adding or subtracting modules to accommodate more or less capacity, depending on the supply of gas that’s needed.
The modules for the onshore plant would be built abroad and shipped to Cyprus for assembly.
Israel and Cyprus are already working on finalizing a deal for the project and Papanastasiou is expected to head a delegation to the neighboring country for detailed talks in the middle of next month.
Once the Israel-Cyprus agreement is finalized and energy companies sign up, a tender process will open for the construction of both the pipeline and the processing facility.
Some of the gas conveyed to Cyprus would be used for domestic power generation in order to reduce energy costs for consumers, Papanastasiou said.
Liquefying natural gas for ship-borne export offers more options regarding markets. Although Europe is the primary target market, Asia could also factor in, according to Papanastasiou.
https://ca.movies.yahoo.com/news/minister-2-major-gas-companies-162156130.html
Chevron Corporation's (CVX) ambitious Tengiz oil field project in Kazakhstan has recently encountered a significant setback. The expansion initiative, formally known as the Future Growth Project – Wellhead Pressure Management Project, is aimed at augmenting the total daily production from the Tengiz reservoir. However, unforeseen challenges have arisen, leading to a projected additional cost increase of $1.5 billion. This escalation could potentially elevate the total project cost to approximately $48.5 billion, marking a substantial deviation from the initial budget.
Project Budget and Progress Update
In October 2023, Chevron disclosed in its third-quarter earnings report that the Tengiz project budget was undergoing a revision due to slower-than-anticipated progress toward start-up. Initially budgeted at $45.2 billion, the project had already factored in a contingency of $1.9 billion in July 2021, acknowledging the potential disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the recent announcement indicates a further spending escalation, highlighting the complex challenges inherent in large-scale energy projects.
Chevron, despite acknowledging the budgetary adjustments, has emphasized that its guidance for the total cost of the Tengiz expansion project remains unchanged from the ranges provided in previous earnings calls. This assertion, which cites a cost increase of 3-5%, highlights the company's commitment to managing costs amid evolving circumstances.
Project History and Ownership Structure
The Tengiz expansion project has experienced several delays, with the completion date being postponed twice from the initial mid-2022 target. The project is a joint venture, with CVX holding a 50% stake in Tengizchevroil, the entity responsible for operating the Tengiz Field. Exxon Mobil Corporation (XOM Quick QuoteXOM - Free Report) and KazMunayGas, the state-owned national oil and gas company of Kazakhstan, hold a 25% and 20% stake in the venture, respectively. This collaborative ownership structure reflects the project's multinational nature as well as the strategic alliances to facilitate its implementation.
Implications and Future Outlook
The projected cost increase of $1.5 billion for the Tengiz oil field project highlights the inherent complexities and uncertainties associated with large-scale energy initiatives. While CVX remains committed to completing the project within the specified parameters, the additional costs necessitate a thorough reassessment of financial projections and risk management strategies.
In the broader context, the challenges facing the Tengiz project serve as a reminder of the dynamic nature of the energy sector and the importance of adaptive management practices. As the global energy landscape continues to evolve, companies must navigate a myriad of geopolitical, economic and operational factors to ensure the successful execution of strategic initiatives.
Conclusion
Chevron's Tengiz oil field project in Kazakhstan is facing a significant cost increase of $1.5 billion, potentially pushing the total project cost to approximately $48.5 billion. Despite the challenges posed by slower-than-anticipated progress and escalating costs, Chevron remains committed to completing the project within the stipulated parameters. The collaborative ownership structure and strategic partnerships underpinning the project highlight its significance within the broader energy landscape. As the project progresses, careful monitoring and adaptive management will be essential to mitigate risks and ensure successful outcomes in line with stakeholders' expectations.
https://www.zacks.com/stock/news/2276141/chevrons-cvx-tengiz-project-faces-cost-increase-of-15b
The United States and its allies in the Group of 7 nations set two goals in 2022 when they enacted a novel plan to cap the price of Russian oil: restrict Moscow’s ability to profit from its energy exports while allowing its oil to continue flowing on international markets to prevent a global price shock.
A year and a half later, only the latter goal appears to have worked. Energy prices have been relatively stable across the world, including in the United States, which helped devise the plan. But Russia’s war effort in Ukraine is intensifying, making it increasingly clear that efforts by Western allies to squeeze Moscow’s oil revenues are faltering.
A variety of factors have allowed Russia to continue profiting from strong oil revenue, including lenient enforcement of the price cap. Russia’s development of an extensive “shadow” fleet of tankers has allowed it to largely circumvent that policy. That has allowed the Russian economy to be more resilient than expected, raising questions about the effectiveness of the coordinated sanctions campaign employed by the G7.
The Biden administration maintains that the strategy has been effective and that the price cap has imposed costs on Russia and forced it to redirect money that it would have used in Ukraine to finance an alternative oil ecosystem.
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/20/business/russia-oil-price-cap-policy.html
Iran's president Ebrahim Raisi, country's foreign minister and several other officials were found dead hours after their helicopter crashed in the country's northwest, state media reported. PM Narendra Modi expressed deep sorrow over the unexpected death of Ebrahim Raisi and acknowledged his significant role in enhancing India-Iran relations saying, "Deeply saddened and shocked by the tragic demise of Dr. Seyed Ebrahim Raisi, president of the Islamic Republic of Iran. His contribution to strengthening India-Iran bilateral relationship will always be remembered. My heartfelt condolences to his family and the people of Iran. India stands with Iran in this time of sorrow."
Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said that First Vice President Mohammad Mokhber would take over as interim president.
Ebrahim Raisi's death may have major implications for Iran, Israel, and the wider region. It could also impact oil prices, global markets and gold prices.
Possible impact of Ebrahim Raisi's death on stock markets
Uncertainty in Iran could lead to volatility in oil markets as investors assess the impact of the death of Iran's president on oil production and exports. Oil prices rose in Asian trading following the crash of Ebrahim Raisi's helicopter.
Supply disruptions possible?
If there are supply disruptions to Iran's oil production, it could have a major impact on global oil supplies and prices. Although, so far despite volatility, the oil market has remained largely rangebound.
What could be the impact on gold prices?
Geopolitical uncertainty can lead to increased demand for safe-haven assets like gold. This results in pushing the prices higher and following the death of Iranian president gold has surged to an all-time high.
Global oil and gas contracts activity witnessed a decline of 15% in the number of contracts, from 1,346 in Q4 2023 to 1,142 in Q1 2024. Likewise, the total disclosed value decreased by 37%, from $50.2bn in Q4 2023 to $31.4bn in Q1 2024. Some of the notable contracts during the quarter include Samsung Heavy Industries’ $3.44bn construction contract for 15 LNG carriers each with a 174,000m³ capacity, Tecnicas Reunidas and Sinopec Engineering Group’s two lumpsum contracts worth approximately $3.3bn from Saudi Aramco for the EPC of the Riyas Natural Gas Liquids (NGL) fractionation facility in Saudi Arabia, and Tecnimont’s approximately $1.1bn contract from Sonatrach for the engineering, procurement, construction, and commissioning (EPCC) of a new linear alkyl benzene (LAB) plant with a capacity of 100,000 tons per annum (tpa) and utility infrastructure in east Algeria.
The upstream sector reported 842 contracts during Q1 2024, followed by the midstream and downstream/petrochemical sectors with 162 and 155 contracts, respectively during the quarter.
Europe recorded most of the contracts, with 381 contracts in Q1 2024, followed by North America and Asia with 345 and 229 contracts, respectively during the quarter.
Operation and maintenance (O&M) represented 59% of the total contracts in Q1 2024, followed by procurement scope with 16%, and contracts with multiple scopes such as construction, design and engineering, installation, O&M, and procurement, which accounted for 13%.
Further details can be found in GlobalData’s new report, Oil and Gas Industry Contracts Review by Sector, Region, Terrain, Planned and Awarded Contracts and Top Contractors and Issuers, Q1 2024.
India has made a rare request to its state-run oil refiners and private processor Reliance Industries Ltd. to jointly negotiate a long-term supply deal with Russia, according to people familiar with the matter.
The government wants its refiners to lock in at least a third of their contracted supply from Russia at a fixed discount to help shield the nation’s economy from volatile prices, the people said, asking not to be named due to the sensitivity of talks. The appeal to join forces was informal, they added.
However, Reliance is unlikely to share sensitive information with the state oil refiners given they’re competitors in the domestic fuel market, stifling the government’s efforts at collaboration, they said.
An oil ministry spokesman didn’t immediately reply to a text message seeking comment. Reliance, Indian Oil Corp., Bharat Petroleum Corp. and Hindustan Petroleum Corp. also didn’t reply to emails seeking comment.
India has been a major buyer of Russian crude since the invasion of Ukraine, but tighter enforcement of US sanctions crimped the trade and led to refiners needing to buy more expensive oil. The South Asian nation wants state processors to work together and boost their bargaining power during supply negotiations, rather than competing, the people said.
There is precedent for collaboration. State refiners have held joint talks with suppliers in the Middle East and West Africa previously to secure more favorable terms, but it’s unusual for India to request help from a private refiner.
State refiners have been seeking oil at a discount of more than $5 a barrel to Dated Brent, but Moscow is offering crude at a discount of $3 and is showing an unwillingness to budge, according to the people. The discount for one Russian grade blew out to more than $30 after the war before narrowing.
Indian Oil is the only state refiner to previously have a long-term supply deal with Russia, but that expired at the end of March and hasn’t been renewed due to a lack of consensus on volumes and price.
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/india-makes-rare-request-refiners-083236485.html
In a report released yesterday, Neal Dingmann from Truist Financial downgraded EOG Resources (EOG) to a Hold, with a price target of $136.00. The company’s shares closed yesterday at $129.86.
According to TipRanks, Dingmann is a top 100 analyst with an average return of 12.6% and a 71.34% success rate. Dingmann covers the Energy sector, focusing on stocks such as APA, Civitas Resources, and Devon Energy.
EOG Resources has an analyst consensus of Moderate Buy, with a price target consensus of $148.00, representing a 13.97% upside. In a report released on May 8, RBC Capital also maintained a Hold rating on the stock with a $147.00 price target.
Based on EOG Resources’ latest earnings release for the quarter ending December 31, the company reported a quarterly revenue of $6.36 billion and a net profit of $1.99 billion. In comparison, last year the company earned a revenue of $2.71 billion and had a net profit of $2.28 billion
TipRanks has tracked 36,000 company insiders and found that a few of them are better than others when it comes to timing their transactions. See which 3 stocks are most likely to make moves following their insider activities.
EOG Resources (EOG) Company Description:
Incorporated in 1985 and based in Texas, EOG Resources, Inc. is engaged in the exploration, development, production and marketing of crude oil and natural gas and natural gas liquids. It operates in the United States, Trinidad and Tobago, China and Canada.
Chesapeake Energy this week started laying off employees following the divestment of its assets in the Eagle Ford play, Reuters reported, citing the company.
Also according to the company, the layoffs had nothing to do with its $7.4-billion merger with Southwestern Energy.
Chesapeake Energy, which went through bankruptcy in 2020 when oil and gas prices crashed, has been solidifying in the past year its strategic focus on its gas assets in the Marcellus shale in Appalachia and in the Haynesville shale play in Louisiana while reducing its Eagle Ford position where it held oil assets.
Reports of a Chesapeake-Southwestern merger first surfaced in the autumn of 2023 as the U.S. shale patch began a new major consolidation phase that saw U.S. supermajors Exxon and Chevron each announce large acquisitions valued at over $50 billion.
The merger between Chesapeake and Southwestern will create the largest natural gas production company in the United States in terms of both output and market value. Ahead of the deal, Chesapeake sold $1.4 billion worth of Eagle Ford assets to Ineos Energy and another $700 million worth of assets in the shale play to SilverBow Resources.
Chesapeake reported robust financial figures for 2023, with the net result at a respectable $2.4 billion, down from $3.5 billion in 2022. This year, however, has been weaker because of the slump in U.S. natural gas prices. As a result, Chesapeake missed analyst expectations for its first-quarter results—hardly a surprise when natural gas prices shed 20% during that same quarter.
In response to the slump in prices, Chesapeake was among natural gas producers that said they would reduce production.
“Given current market dynamics, the company plans to defer placing wells on production while reducing rig and completion activity,” Chesapeake said in February.
“The company will drop a rig in the Haynesville and Marcellus in March and around mid-year, respectively, and a frac crew in each basin in March. These activity levels will be maintained through year end,” Chesapeake also said at the time.
https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Natural-Gas-Giant-Chesapeake-Begins-Layoffs.html
Phillips 66 on Monday agreed to acquire Pinnacle Midland, a midstream company owned by private equity firm Energy Spectrum Capital, for $550 million in cash, expanding the U.S. refiner’s natural gas gathering and processing footprint in the Midland Basin.
Oil and gas producers in the United States went on a nearly $250 billion buying spree in 2023, taking advantage of their high stock prices to secure lower-cost reserves, continuing the trend in 2024. In 2023, some 39 private companies were acquired by public companies.
The Midland basin in Texas, in the Permian shale, is the nation’s biggest oil and second biggest gas producing basin.
“Pinnacle is a bolt-on asset that advances our wellhead-to-market strategy,” said Mark Lashier, CEO of Phillips 66.
“Further, this transaction aligns with our long-term objectives to build out our natural gas liquids value chain.”
Phillips 66 holds 11 natural gas liquids (NGL) fractionation plants, along with natgas and NGL storage facilities and NGL pipelines, and 22,000 miles of pipelines.
Pinnacle’s assets include the Dos Picos natgas complex with a processing capacity of 220 million cubic feet per day (mmcfd), and 80 miles of pipelines.
The complex could be scalable toward a second 220 mmcfd gas plant and would integrate well into Phillip 66’s existing downstream infrastructure, the company said in a statement.
The transaction is expected to close mid-2024.
(Reporting by Seher Dareen in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber)
https://boereport.com/2024/05/20/phillips-66-to-buy-pe-owned-pinnacle-midland-for-550-mln/
(Bloomberg) – Exxon Mobil Corp. and Shell Plc are among oil and gas giants evaluating bids for a stake in Galp Energia SGPS SA’s major oil field offshore Namibia, according to people familiar with the matter.
TotalEnergies SE and Equinor ASA are also among those considering acquiring the 40% stake Galp is seeking to sell in the Mopane offshore discovery, said the people, asking not to be identified as the matter is private.
Based on Galp’s recent “in place” estimates for 10 Bboe in the Mopane complex, the entire discovery could be worth around $20 billion, or potentially more, some of the people said. The Portuguese firm said in an April filing that the oil estimate is before drilling additional exploration and appraisal wells.
Galp, which is working with a financial adviser to sell half of its 80% holding in the Namibian asset, has called for first round bids in mid-June, according to the people. Shares of Galp were up 2.8% at 3:14 p.m. Tuesday in Lisbon, putting it on track for the biggest daily gain in about a month and giving the company a market value of €15.2 billion ($16.5 billion).
Deliberations are in the early stages and other bidders could emerge, while the Lisbon-based company could also decide to retain the stake if it cannot reach a final agreement with any of the parties, the people said.
Representatives for Galp, Shell, Exxon, Equinor and TotalEnergies declined to comment.
Galp shares jumped 21% after the company said in April that a well test “potentially” indicated Mopane could be an important commercial find in Namibia following the completion of the first phase of its exploration. The “in place” estimates for 10 Bboe are the first in a series of tests to determine how much oil the offshore discovery contains and is recoverable.
Galp’s oil finds have added to discoveries drilled offshore Namibia, with Shell and TotalEnergies also finding oil in the area in the past two years. The finds are helping to turn the sparsely populated country into a hotspot for exploration. While no fields have yet been given the green light for development, hopes are high in the country that an economic boom similar to that seen in Guyana could follow.
Officials from Namibia’s Ministry of Mines and Energy and state oil company Namcor visited Guyana late last year seeking advice about oil developments, while Patrick Pouyanne, chief executive officer of TotalEnergies, recently drew parallels between the two countries.
Galp is the operator of the Mopane license area with an 80% stake. Namcor, or National Petroleum Corp. of Namibia, and Custos each hold 10% stakes.
MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian daily oil output rose in June to 11.15 million barrels per day (bpd), up from 11.11 million bpd in May, still below the amount agreed in a global deal to cut production, Energy Ministry data showed on Tuesday.
The production data for June was in line with what industry sources told Reuters on Monday.
Russian oil output has been restrained after contaminated oil was discovered in Russia's Druzhba pipeline network in April that led to the suspension of exports via the system that supplies crude to Europe and beyond.
Russian pipeline monopoly Transneft said on Monday it had fully resumed oil supplies via the Druzhba pipeline, RIA news agency reported.
All major oil producers, including Rosneft and Lukoil , increased production last month, while output at projects run by foreign majors under production sharing agreements fell by 11.2% from May.
In tonnes, oil output reached 45.653 million in June versus 47.004 million in May, which is one day longer than June. Reuters uses a tonnes/barrel ratio of 7.33.
Under a deal agreed with OPEC and other oil producers, Russia had agreed to reduce output by 228,000 bpd from the October 2018 baseline, indicating it should keep total output around the 11.17 million-11.18 million bpd level.
OPEC agreed on Monday to extend oil supply cuts until March 2020 as the group's members overcame their differences in order to prop up the price of crude amid a weakening global economy and soaring U.S. production.
Later on Tuesday, another meeting of OPEC and other large oil producers led by Russia will decide on whether to continue with the joint cuts.
The deal is expected to continue after Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Saturday he had agreed with Saudi Arabia to extend the reduction.
According to the energy ministry data, oil exports via Druzhba have been on the mend. Russian oil pipeline exports in June rose to 4.394 million bpd from 4.209 million bpd in May.
Russian natural gas production was at 54.38 billion cubic metres (bcm) last month, or 1.81 bcm a day, versus 63.28 bcm in May, the data showed.
(Reporting by Vladimir Soldatkin, editing by Louise Heavens)
https://uk.style.yahoo.com/style/russian-oil-output-june-still-071818858.html
The Australasian Centre for Corporate Responsibility (ACCR) is commenting on the results of the 2024 annual general meeting (AGM) of Shell plc.
26.7% voted against management’s recommendation* on Shell’s Energy Transition Strategy (ETS)
11.0% voted against management’s recommendation* on the re-election of chair Sir Andrew Mackenzie
21.1% voted against management’s recommendation* on a shareholder resolution filed by Follow This and 27 institutional investors calling on Shell to align its medium-term emissions reduction targets covering the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of the use of its energy products (Scope 3) with the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement
* Calculations of votes against management’s recommendation include votes ‘withheld,’ equivalent to an abstain vote, but not included in the company’s official calculations.
Commenting on the results from the AGM, Nick Spooner, Company Strategy Lead, UK, said:
“The Energy Transition Strategy presented by Shell this year weakens its emissions reduction targets over the short- and medium-term, while giving little clarity around how they will achieve the serious decarbonisation efforts that are required after 2030.
“26.7% of shareholders who exercised voting rights on the ETS did so against management’s recommendation, up from 23.4% in 2023. This increase in dissatisfaction follows the company weakening its scope 3 carbon intensity targets earlier this year and the removal of its 2035 target.
“Under the UK Corporate Governance Code, Shell will again have to consult with its shareholders, given the above 20% formal ‘against’ vote on its Energy Transition Strategy.”
“The new management team claims a stronger focus on capital discipline. However, their actions do not reflect this, reducing hurdle rates for fossil fuel projects at a time when risks related to the energy transition are most acute.”
“Shell’s exploration capex remains persistently above that of peers. We asked the company to justify how this spending is in the interests of shareholders, considering that the IEA states that there is no need for exploration capex under the Announced Pledges Scenario (APS) or Net Zero Emissions by 2050 (NZE) scenario.”
“During the AGM, Shell repeatedly described LNG as a ‘low carbon’ fuel. This is a misnomer that will increasingly be challenged by shareholders and regulators, perhaps via the courts.”
“Shell’s board of directors has year-on-year failed to respond to the concerns persistently expressed by over a fifth of its shareholders. The obvious next step for investors whose concerns are not being addressed, but who wish to see change, is to look toward board renewal.”
“The first and foremost step to mitigating a range of acute financial, environmental, legal and social risks for Shell is ceasing exploration for new oil and gas, in line with the IEA’s NZE modelling.”
https://www.accr.org.au/news/shell-faces-scrutiny-for-weakened-climate-plan/
The China National Petroleum Corporation on Sunday secured an eight-percent share in an onshore oil concession in Abu Dhabi in a deal worth $1.77 billion, the Emirati company said.
The Chinese giant signed a deal with the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company for a stake in the Abu Dhabi Company for Onshore Petroleum Operations which operates the 40-year concession, ADNOC said in a statement.
"This will be a mutually beneficial partnership that will enable us to maintain strong production levels," ADNOC chief executive Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber said.
CNPC chairman Wang Yilin said he hoped the deal would "lead to further opportunities to participate in the UAE's energy sector".
CNPC is China's largest oil and gas producer and supplier, responsible for more than half of China's crude oil output and 71 percent of its natural gas production, the statement said.
CNPC also has oil and gas projects in 37 countries in Africa, Central Asia and Russia, the Americas, the Middle East and Asia-Pacific, it said.
The United Arab Emirates is China's second-largest trading partner in the Middle East, with commerce worth $60 billion in 2016.
British oil giant BP last year secured a 10 percent share in the same oil concession, while France's Total won a further 10 percent out of the total 40 percent earmarked for foreign companies.
Inpex Corp. of Japan secured five percent and South Korea's GS Energy three percent.
ADNOC is still looking for a partner for the remainder of the concession, the statement said.
The Emirati company produces 3.1 million barrels per day, it said.
https://m.naharnet.com/stories/en/225679-china-s-oil-giant-cnpc-signs-1-77-billion-abu-dhabi-deal
First Gen LNG Holdings Corp. (FGEN LNG), a wholly owned subsidiary of First Gen Corp. (First Gen), and Tokyo Gas Co. Ltd (Tokyo Gas) have finalized their liquefied natural gas (LNG) partnership with the signing of a shareholders’ agreement (SHA) and share subscription agreement (SSA).
Under the SHA and SSA, Tokyo Gas will subscribe for shares and become a shareholder in FGEN LNG Corp. (FGEN LNG), the owner and operator of the interim offshore terminal project located in Batangas City.
“The execution of the SHA and SSA represents the next phase of the parties’ joint development of the project,” First Gen said in a disclosure on Wednesday.
The SHA will govern the rights of FGEN LNG Holdings and Tokyo Gas with respect to the ownership and operations of the project. The SHA will become effective once the necessary regulatory approvals are secured.
Last month, First Gen LNG awarded the contract for the second shipment of the company’s LNG supply requirement to CNOOC Gas and Power Trading & Marketing Limited (CNOOC).
The LNG cargo to be provided by CNOOC will be delivered by an LNG carrier which will be unloaded into storage tanks of the BW Batangas FSRU that is currently berthed at the First Gen Clean Energy Complex (FGCEC) in Batangas City. The LNG will be utilized by FGEN’s existing gas-fired power plants also located in the FGCEC.
First Gen has a portfolio of four existing gas-fired power plants with a combined capacity of 2,017 megawatts (MW) that have been supplied for many years with gas from the Malampaya filed, an indigenous offshore gas field.
FGEN LNG has constructed its interim offshore LNG terminal project and executed a five-year time charter party for the charter of the BW Batangas, which will provide LNG storage and regassification services as part of the project.
The FGEN LNG terminal will accelerate the ability to introduce LNG to the Philippines, to serve the natural gas requirements to serve the existing and future gas-fired plants of third parties and FGEN’s affiliates. FGEN believes that FGEN LNG terminal will play a critical role in ensuring the energy security of the Luzon grid and the Philippines.
https://businessmirror.com.ph/2024/05/23/first-gen-tokyo-gas-seal-lng-partnership/
(Bloomberg) -- Russia launched an overnight drone strike on the northeastern Ukrainian Sumy region, where authorities in Kyiv have braced for a potential new front in the war.
The attack, which damaged energy facilities and triggered blackouts in the city of Sumy, was carried out northwest of Kharkiv, where Kremlin troops opened a fresh front this month to put pressure on Ukraine’s increasingly fragile defenses. The power supply was partially restored by early Wednesday, the utility and local regional authority said.
As Ukraine’s military dispatches troops to Kharkiv to stave off the Russian advance, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has also warned of Russian activity in the neighboring regions of Sumy and Chernihiv, including shelling and sabotage operations. Ukraine’s military intelligence chief, Kyrylo Budanov, said earlier this month that Moscow was stationing units along the border near Sumy.
Ukrainian forces grappling with a shortage of ammunition and manpower after a months-long delay of new US materiel are trying to hold off Russia’s momentum. Authorities have said the Kremlin is seeking to draw off Ukrainian troops from other parts of the front line — though haven’t amassed enough to mount an assault to take Kharkiv, Ukraine’s No. 2 city.
Russia has increased attacks this year on thermal and hydro power plants with missile and drone barrages, destroying about half of Ukraine’s energy system. That’s forced Kyiv to import electricity from the European Union and implement scheduled power cuts to balance the system.
The shortage of electricity nationwide will continue in the coming months, and at times emergency imports from the EU won’t be enough to overcome the generation shortfall, Ukrenergo Chief Executive Officer Volodymyr Kudrytski said in televised remarks late Tuesday. Power companies now need to focus preparations for the next heating season, he said.
Energy infrastructure was damaged in the towns of Shostka and Konotop in the Sumy region, according to statements by the grid operator Ukrenergo and the Sumy regional military administration on Telegram. Konotop is about 240 kilometers (150 miles) east of Kyiv.
©2024 Bloomberg L.P.
https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/russian-strikes-cut-power-in-ukraine-s-northeast-border-region-1.2075921
News Americas, NEW YORK, NY, Weds. May 22, 2024: ExxonMobil’s drilling program in Guyana for this year and beyond includes plans to further appraise two well sites to assess the commercial potential for gas in the Haimara gas field off the shores of Guyana.
In 2019 and 2023, ExxonMobil drilled at the Haimara-1 and Haimara-2 wells with varying degrees of success. The company is now preparing for additional appraisal drilling at the Haimara-3 and Haimara-4 gas wells. According to the company’s insurance contract, the two wells will be part of ExxonMobil’s exploratory program.
Other planned drilling activities include oil wells Lau Lau-2, Trumpetfish-1, Bluefin-1, Hatchetfish-1, and Redmouth-1. In the Stabroek Block, approximately 17 trillion cubic feet of gas have already been discovered, with the Pluma and Haimara wells confirmed as gas fields.
The announcement comes as Exxon CEO Darren Woods recently told CNBC that the dispute with Chevron over Hess Corporation’s assets in Guyana could drag into next year. Exxon is claiming a right of first refusal on Hess’ assets in Guyana under an agreement that governs a consortium developing the country’s oil resources. Chevron has rejected Exxon’s claims that the agreement applies to its pending all-stock deal to acquire Hess, valued at $53 billion.
The Guyana Government, however, says it aims to develop this gas through the Gas-to-Energy project, which includes the construction of a 300 MW power plant and a Natural Gas Liquid (NGL) plant. The pipeline and transmission infrastructure are expected to be completed this year, with the power plant and NGL facility becoming operational next year. This could potentially reduce electricity rates by 50 percent.
Last year, the government released its draft Gas Monetisation Strategy for public feedback. Earlier this year, President Dr. Irfaan Ali announced that the administration is incorporating the feedback into the final strategy. Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo has described the monetisation of Guyana’s gas reserves as the next wave of economic opportunity for the country.
Meanwhile, according to Professor and Former Ambassador Dr. Kenrick Hunte, the Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) between Guyana and ExxonMobil, along with its Co-Venturers Hess and CNOOC, stipulates a 2% royalty on all petroleum produced and sold. However, ExxonMobil has been paying only 0.5%. Hunte noted in a letter to Kaieteur News on March 3, 2024, that the company has been paying Guyana out of its profits, thus reducing the country’s already limited revenue from royalties.
Dr. Hunte also highlighted that ExxonMobil has been deducting 75% of the monthly earnings from the Stabroek Block to recover its investments, in accordance with the Petroleum Agreement. Guyana receives 50% of the remaining 25%, equivalent to 12.5% of total revenues. ExxonMobil then provides Guyana with a share of its earnings, valued at 2%.
https://www.newsamericasnow.com/exxon-mobil-guyana-plans-for-more-gas-exploration/
Dutch wholesale gas prices rose on Wednesday to a four-month month high on concerns that Russia could halt gas flows to Austria's OMV.
The benchmark front-month contract (TRNLTTFMc1) at the Dutch TTF hub was up 0.98 euro at 33.90 euros per megawatt hour (MWh) by 11.16 GMT, according to LSEG data.
The contract earlier hit an intra-day high of 34.11 euros/MWh, its highest level since January.
In the British market, the front-month contract
The OMV news has added "tinder to already smouldering embers given where we are with the Ukrainian-Russian war as well as Middle East situation," said Nick Campbell, director at consultancy Inspired Energy.
"Given the expiry of the transit deal and potential for disruption to LNG supplies it feels very much like the market is taking a risk-off approach," he said.
Austrian oil and gas group OMV OMV said on Wednesday that gas supplies from Russia's Gazprom GAZP may be suspended in connection with a foreign court ruling, without identifying the case.
Gazprom has typically shipped around 40 million cubic metres (mcm) of gas a day via Ukraine transit routes in 2024 with around half of this gas going to Austria via pipelines through Ukraine and then Slovakia.
LSEG analyst Tomasz Marcin Kowalski said the market was also watching news that the lead contractor, who is building a Texas liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant for QatarEnergy [RIC:RIC:QATPE.UL] and Exxon Mobil XOM, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Tuesday, citing challenges at the project.
“Market participants may see this as a potential risk for delaying the ongoing LNG export project in Texas, as Europe is much more reliant on LNG supplies,” he said.
The rise in prices came against a backdrop of higher supply from Norway as maintenance eased.
"On the positive side, some of the Norwegian assets are back online which has increased the output considerably compared to yesterday," analysts at Auxilione said in a daily research note.
Flows began ramping up from Norway's Kollsnes processing plant with total Norwegian exports to the UK up by 24 million cubic metres a day (mcm/d) to 60 mcm/d LSEG data showed.
In the European carbon market, the benchmark contract (CFI2Zc1) was 0.02 euro lower at 76.23 euros per metric ton.
Uzbek energy firm Uzbekneftegaz is in talks with Azerbaijan’s SOCAR over joining a project to develop Shah Deniz, the largest gas field in the Azerbaijani section of the Caspian Sea, an Uzbek official said on Tuesday.
“The issue of Uzbekneftegaz’s involvement in gas production projects is being discussed,” Uzbekistan’s minister of Investment, Industry and Trade Lyaziz Kudratov said, adding the talks were about participation in BP BP.L-led Shah Deniz.
Negotiations are also underway for SOCAR to participate in oil and gas production projects in Uzbekistan, he said.
On its website BP said Shah Deniz is one of the world’s largest gas condensate fields. It is located on the deepwater shelf of the Caspian Sea 70 km south-east of Baku, in water depths ranging from 50 metres to 500 metres.
SOCAR oversees the project on behalf of the Azeri state. BP has a 29.99% stake, while Lukoil has 19.99%, TPAO has 19%, NIKO has 10%, and SGC Upstream has 21.02%.
BP operates Shah Deniz on behalf of its partners in the Shah Deniz Production Sharing Agreement (PSA).
WTI crude oil traded below $78 today after the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported an estimated inventory increase of 1.8 million barrels for the week to May 17.
This compared with a draw of 2.5 million barrels for the previous week that pushed benchmarks higher last week as it came after an API estimate that also pointed to a draw and it was the second weekly draw in a row, suggesting demand picking up.
A day before the EIA released its report, the American Petroleum Institute estimated sizeable builds in crude and fuels for the week to May 17, with oil adding 2.48 million barrels and gasoline stocks rising by 2 million barrels.
According to the Energy Information Administration, gasoline inventories shed 900,000 barrels in the week to May 17, with production averaging 10 million barrels daily.
This compared with a draw of 200,000 barrels for the previous week, when production averaged 9.7 million barrels daily.
Middle distillate stocks rose by 400,000 barrels in the week to May 17, with production averaging 5.1 million barrels daily.
This compared with a minor inventory decline for the previous week and a production rate of an average 4.8 million barrels daily.
The EIA report may contribute to oil market sentiment already dominated by pessimism about consumption after the latest signals from the Fed, which essentially come down to extra caution with regard to rates.
In short, the Fed has no intention of cutting these in the immediately observable future, waiting for inflation to come down closer to its target of 2%. Fed officials made this clear this week, as they advised the ultimate decision makers to refrain from rate cuts for at least another few months, Reuters reported.
Oil prices have been trending down since the start of the week, meanwhile, on the back of grim demand expectations because of persistently high interest rates. The API’s Tuesday report on inventories reinforced the decline, too.
https://oilprice.com/Energy/Crude-Oil/Oil-Falls-on-Small-Crude-Inventory-Build.html
Kaieteur News – With production now at some 645,000 barrels per day (bpd) up from 98,000 bpd from its first full year of production, Guyana is now ranked as the third highest global supplier of crude outside of the established Oil Producing and Exporting Countries (OPEC).
This is according to a recently published report by the US’ Energy Information Administration which said that “Guyana increased crude oil production by an annual average of 98,000 b/d from 2020 to 2023, making it the third-fastest growing non-OPEC producing country during this period.”
The United States of America and Brazil take the top spots respectively, while Guyana’s present production surpasses that of Norway, China, Mexico, Canada, Argentina and Qatar, among others. Crude oil production has been the largest contributor to Guyana’s economic growth in recent years. In 2022, Guyana’s GDP grew by 62.3 percent, the highest real GDP growth in the world that year, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The most recent estimate of recoverable oil and natural gas resources is more than 11 billion oil-equivalent barrels, and developers are still exploring the country’s offshore waters, the report re-iterated.
The first significant oil discovery in offshore Guyana was made by ExxonMobil in 2015 at what is now the Liza project in the Stabroek block. Since then, ExxonMobil and its partners, Hess and the China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC), have made more than 30 additional offshore oil and natural gas discoveries within the Stabroek block.
Guyana’s oil production comes from three floating production, storage, and offloading (FPSO) vessels: Liza Destiny, Liza Unity, and Prosperity. These vessels produce oil and natural gas from the Liza and Payara projects. All associated natural gas is reinjected into wells to support its production and used as on-site fuel. A proposed project would bring associated natural gas onshore to processing facilities via pipeline.
Currently, the block’s partners plan for the combined production capacity to reach approximately 1.3 million b/d by the end of 2027, with plans to develop three additional projects: Yellowtail, Uaru, and Whiptail. Once realized, the increased production would make Guyana the second-largest crude oil producer in Central America and South America behind Brazil, according to EIA. Additionally, it was noted that the future of the corporate partnership at the Stabroek block is uncertain, since Chevron’s acquisition of Hess, which holds a 30 percent stake in the Stabroek block, may face delays due to arbitration filings by existing block partners ExxonMobil and CNOOC, which claim preemption rights over Hess’s stake in the block. ExxonMobil holds a 45 percent interest in the Stabroek block, and CNOOC holds a 25 percent stake.
In trading on Wednesday, shares of Schlumberger Ltd (Symbol: SLB) entered into oversold territory, changing hands as low as $46.94 per share. We define oversold territory using the Relative Strength Index, or RSI, which is a technical analysis indicator used to measure momentum on a scale of zero to 100. A stock is considered to be oversold if the RSI reading falls below 30.
In the case of Schlumberger Ltd, the RSI reading has hit 25.2 — by comparison, the universe of energy stocks covered by Energy Stock Channel currently has an average RSI of 51.4, the RSI of WTI Crude Oil is at 36.1, the RSI of Henry Hub Natural Gas is presently 71.6, and the 3-2-1 Crack Spread RSI is 34.3. A bullish investor could look at SLB's 25.2 reading as a sign that the recent heavy selling is in the process of exhausting itself, and begin to look for entry point opportunities on the buy side.
Looking at a chart of one year performance (below), SLB's low point in its 52 week range is $42.73 per share, with $62.12 as the 52 week high point — that compares with a last trade of $47.18. Schlumberger Ltd shares are currently trading off about 2.3% on the day.
The SLB RSI information above was sourced from TechnicalAnalysisChannel.com
https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/schlumberger-stock-getting-very-oversold-1
The Export-Import Bank of Korea (Eximbank) announced on Thursday that it will provide the Amiral petrochemical complex project in Saudi Arabia with $1 billion in financing, Yonhap News Agency reported, citing a statement.
The project was awarded to Hyundai Engineering & Co. This project financing will be used to pay for construction costs incurred by South Korean companies.
As a result, it is expected to lead to exports of about $600 million worth of domestic goods and services, including equipment from about 90 small- and medium-sized enterprises.
In December 2022, Saudi Aramco and TotalEnergies took the final investment decision for the construction of a petrochemical complex in Saudi Arabia, Argaam reported earlier.
The Amiral project, commissioned by SATORP, a joint venture between Saudi Aramco and France's TotalEnergies, involves an investment of around $11 billion, of which $4 billion will be funded through equity by Saudi Aramco (62.5%) and TotalEnergies (37.5%). The commercial operations are targeted to start in 2027.
Saudi Aramco and TotalEnergies announced in June 2023 that they awarded Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) contracts for the $11 billion (SAR 41.3 billion) Amiral complex. These contracts included a mixed feed cracker and utilities, with a nameplate capacity of 1,650 kta of ethylene and related industrial gases, and utilities, flares and interconnecting systems that support main packages within the facilities.
China's state-controlled CNOOC expects domestic natural gas consumption to peak at 700bn m³ in 2040, said CNOOC's senior economist Xie Xuguang at a liquefied fuel shipping conference in Chongqing over 22-24 May.
The conference was jointly organised by the China Shipowners' Association and Langfang International Pipeline Exhibition. CNOOC also estimated China's gas consumption to hit 410bn m³ in 2024.
These most recent projections are aligned with earlier estimates from fellow state-controlled CNPC's economic and technology research institute in Beijing, which forecast Chinese gas demand will rise by 24bn m³ in 2024 in its annual report published on 28 February.
International Gas Union's president Li Yalan expects natural gas consumption in China to hit 500bn m³ in 2030 and eventually 650bn m³ in 2040. And all above growth scenarios could in fact be further enhanced should gas prices remain at "reasonable" levels, she added.
She did not expand on the definition of "reasonable", but recent buying interest from mostly second-tier buyers in China hinted that the ideal target price considered acceptable for buyers in the country could be no higher than $9-9.50/mn Btu.
Current spot prices are still considered way out of reach for Chinese importers. The front half-month of the ANEA — the Argus assessment for spot LNG deliveries to northeast Asia — was last assessed at $11.525/mn Btu on 23 May, $1/mn Btu higher from a week earlier.
Factors such as higher-than-average temperatures in northeast Asia, southeast Asia, south Europe and the US, and some remaining concerns over production outages in the Atlantic and Pacific basins have resulted in European gas hub prices strengthening and Asian spot prices also jumping higher as a result. This is despite higher-than-average inventories in traditional major importing countries such as Japan and South Korea, and expectations of higher nuclear availability in Japan and South Korea to weigh on gas-fired generation in the summer.
But traders have also pointed out that such higher prices may compel buyers in Asia to withdraw from the spot market, freezing out additional demand and eventually weighing on prices again.
China has continued to step up its LNG imports even as domestic gas production extended gains in April. The country imported more LNG in April as compared to in 2023, and imports even hit a record high in March.
A U.S. judge reportedly allowed a lawsuit from Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) against an activist shareholder group that is seeking to bar their climate resolution.
The lawsuit raised alarm among activists and proxy advisers who argued it would muzzle debate among shareholders and public companies, Reuters reported.
Notably, in January, Exxon sued climate activist groups Arjuna Capital and shareholder activist group Follow This, stating that it would not drop the matter after they agreed to withdraw their petition, citing "the likelihood" the pair could file similar resolutions in the future.
On Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Mark Pittman ruled that Exxon could continue its case against Arjuna Capital, citing jurisdiction to hear the case over a U.S.-based firm.
However, he said it could not pursue its claim against Follow This as it is Netherlands-based and outside the court's jurisdiction.
The judge also denied Exxon's request to obtain evidence to determine whether the court has the authority to hear the case and proposed transferring it to a Texas state court.
As per the report, the activist groups argued that Exxon's legal strategy would allow the company to "haul its shareholders into any court in the United States."
Exxon's legal battle with its investors also reflects the broader struggle within the energy sector to balance shareholder interests with environmental concerns.
This tension was evident at the COP28 climate summit, where a historic agreement was reached to shift away from fossil fuels and increase commitments to renewable energy sources.
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/exxon-wins-round-one-lawsuit-150640775.html
Zachry Holdings, Inc. (ZHI), the company contracted to build the $10 billion Golden Pass LNG export terminal project for QatarEnergy, the state-owned hydrocarbon giant, and ExxonMobil, the US-based oil and gas entity, has filed for bankruptcy.
The San Antonio-based ZHI stated the company and certain of its subsidiaries have initiated a voluntary court-supervised Chapter 11 process that will allow them resolve issues related to the LNG plant in Texas, which it started working on in 2019.
“As the project’s lead contractor, we have navigated significant challenges and disruptions stemming first from the COVID-19 pandemic and, more recently, international geopolitical issues. These unforeseen disruptions have resulted in significant financial strain while meeting targets and keeping the project appropriately staffed,” John B. Zachry, Chairman and CEO of ZHI said.
Zachry said the company was “forced to take action” after failing to “reach a mutually agreeable resolution to these issues.” He added that the bankruptcy proceedings would allow the company to initiate a structured exit from the GPX project.
In a statement to Reuters, Exxon, which owns a 30% stake in the project, said it would review construction timing and provide an update in the future.
In 2022, QatarEnergy Trading, a wholly owned subsidiary of QatarEnergy, had announced it would offtake, transport, and trade 70% of the LNG produced by Golden Pass LNG, which has a total production capacity in excess of 18 million tonnes of LNG per annum, with the first production expected by the end of 2024.
Crude oil futures bounced back Thursday after a three-day decline but are still on pace for a weekly loss.
U.S. crude oil is down 2.4% for the week while Brent, the global benchmark, has fallen 1.8%.
Here are today's energy prices:
- West Texas Intermediate July contract: $78.04 a barrel, up 47 cents, or 0.6%. Year to date, U.S. crude oil is up 8.9%.
- Brent July contract: $82.40 a barrel, up 50 cents or 0.6%. Year to date, the global benchmark is up about 7%.
- RBOB Gasoline June contract: $2.49 per gallon, up 1.1%. Year to date, gasoline futures are up 18.6%.
- Natural Gas June contract: $2.79 per thousand cubic feet. Year to date, natural gas is up 11.3%.
Oil prices have been stuck in a $3 range since their April highs as fears of a wider war in the Middle East ease and traders shift their focus back to basic supply and demand.
Prices have struggled to break out this month with investors remaining cautious that higher-for-longer interest rates could slow the U.S. economy and weigh on oil demand, according to Giovanni Staunovo, a commodity analyst at UBS.
Traders are also worried about a buildup in global oil inventories after a mild winter in parts of the Northern Hemisphere, Staunovo told clients in a note Thursday.
Nevertheless, UBS sees the oil market in a deficit and is forecasting Brent will rise to $91 per barrel in coming months. The bank also sees healthy demand growth of 1.5 million barrels per day in 2024, above the long-term growth rate of 1.2 million barrels per day.
The oil and gas contracts market faced turbulence, with a notable quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) decline of 37% in disclosed contract value, dropping from US$50.2 billion in 4Q23 to US$31.4 billion in 1Q24. This decline was accompanied by a decrease in overall contract volume, reveals GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.
GlobalData’s latest report, 'Oil and Gas Industry Contracts Review by Sector, Region, Terrain, Planned and Awarded Contracts and Top Contractors and Issuers, Q1 2024', reveals that the overall contract volume decreased from 1346 in 4Q23 to 1142 in 1Q24.
Pritam Kad, Oil and Gas Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “Many traditional oil and gas industry projects are getting delayed or postponed due to concerns over demand outlook in oil and gas consuming countries amid the looming recession and high inflation, which is clearly evidenced by the decrease in both contract value and volume.”
Operation and Maintenance (O&M) represented 59% of the total contracts in 1Q24, followed by procurement scope with 16%, and contracts with multiple scopes, such as construction, design and engineering, installation, O&M, and procurement accounted for 13% Some of the notable contracts during the quarter include Samsung Heavy Industries’ US$3.44 billion construction contract for 15 LNG carriers, each of 174 000 m3 capacity, and Tecnicas Reunidas and Sinopec Engineering Group’s two lumpsum contracts combined worth approximately US$3.3 billion from Saudi Aramco for the Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) of the Riyas Natural Gas Liquids (NGL) fractionation facility in Saudi Arabia.
In the petrochemical sector, Tecnimont recorded approximately US$1.1 billion contract from Sonatrach for the Engineering, Procurement, Construction, and Commissioning (EPCC) of a new Linear Alkyl Benzene (LAB) plant with a capacity of 100 000 tpy and utilities infrastructure in east Algeria.
Kad concludes: "Contrarily, oil prices are anticipated to be favourable for producers due to potential supply disruptions arising from geopolitical risks. GlobalData expects that delayed or near completion projects are likely to be pushed forward in the mid-term."
Landfills are major greenhouse gas emitters. They're the third-largest source of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, accounting for 14.4% of the total. Landfills produce carbon dioxide and methane gas. Methane is the more dangerous contributor to global warming. It's 28 times more effective at trapping heat in the atmosphere than carbon dioxide.
While methane gas is harmful to the environment when emitted, it's much less damaging when burned as a fuel to generate electricity or power commercial vehicles. That's leading several energy companies to invest heavily in facilities to capture landfill gas and convert it to valuable renewable natural gas (RNG).
Energy giants (NYSE: BP), Enbridge (NYSE: ENB), and Kinder Morgan (NYSE: KMI) have invested heavily in recent years to buy and build RNG platforms. British energy giant BP made the biggest splash, acquiring Archea Energy for $4.1 billion in 2022. At the time, Archea operated 50 RNG and landfill gas-to-energy facilities in the U.S. BP aimed to grow Archea's output fivefold to 30,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (BOE/d) by 2030.
Clean Energy Fuels advance biofuel production for fleets May 20, 2024 Clean Energy Fuels, the largest provider of the cleanest fuel for the transportation market, and Maas Energy Works, the nation’s largest dairy digester developer, started a new joint development agreement to build nine renewable natural gas (RNG) production facilities at dairy farms across seven states.
This new endeavor will include dairies located in Colorado, South Dakota, Georgia, Florida, Iowa, Nebraska and New Mexico, and will collect the manure from a combined herd size of approximately 35,000 cows preventing the methane emissions from entering the atmosphere.
The nine projects, each subject to finalizing diligence before beginning construction, are expected to be completed in 2026 and will produce up to an estimated 4 million gallons annually of ultra-clean RNG, a negative carbon-intensity transportation fuel which will make its way into Clean Energy’s nationwide network of RNG stations.
Industry pioneer Maas Energy Works has completed over 60 dairy digester projects over the past decade. The team specializes in lagoon cover digesters which involve a large tarp over a manure lagoon to capture the methane emissions. This process makes these facilities significantly less expensive to build and operate compared to tank digesters seen at other RNG plants. Financed by Clean Energy, the nine sites are forecasted to cost approximately $130 million in total.
“This JV brings together expertise from a seasoned RNG developer and producer and Clean Energy’s extensive RNG distribution network and growing RNG customer base. We are excited to continue our long working relationship with the team at Maas Energy Works to get these facilities online and producing pipeline quality RNG to help supply our transportation fleet customers with clean fuel to help them meet their sustainability goals,” said Clay Corbus, senior vice president at Clean Energy.
“This joint venture is clear proof that family farms paired with private businesses are an unstopped force in achieving decarbonization. If the markets for renewable fuels are clear and consistent, then American’s biogas industry will deliver. We will soon be capturing fugitive manure emissions and turning them into carbon-negative truck fuel with our partners at Clean Energy,” said Daryl Maas, CEO of Maas Energy Works.
Agriculture accounts for nearly 10 percent of U.S. GHG emissions and the transportation sector accounts for another 28%, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Capturing methane from farm waste lowers these emissions. RNG, produced by that captured methane and used as a transportation fuel, significantly lowers GHG emissions on a lifecycle basis when compared to diesel. This allows RNG to be one of the only fuels to receive a negative carbon-intensity score based on the reduction of emissions at the source and at the vehicle.
https://www.outlookseries.com/A0769/Infrastructure/3393_Clean_Energy_Fuels.htm
He reportedly directed officials to maximise thermal power generation to meet the power demand during non-solar hours.
By Anil Kumar Published Date - 19 May 2024, 06:30 PM
Hyderabad: Anticipating a power shortfall in June, the Centre has reportedly decided to defer shutting down power plants for planned maintenance during June and revive 5 GW of idle coal plant capacity across the country. According to reports, national load despatch centre Grid-India has projected a maximum night-time demand of 235 GW in June.
However, only about 187 GW of thermal capacity and 34 GW from renewable sources are available right now in the country to meet the demand during June.
Power Minister R K Singh held an emergency meeting recently to take stock of the situation, and decided to defer shutting down power plants for planned maintenance during June.
He reportedly directed officials to maximise thermal power generation to meet the power demand during non-solar hours.
However, State Energy officials claim that the State might not face any problem during June as it has taken measures to meet the demands. According to the Central Electricity Authority (CEA), Telangana’s energy requirement during June is likely to touch 6424 million units. State power officials claimed that they would easily meet the demand as they had managed to supply over 9,000 mu during March.
According to the Energy department, there has been a 52 percent increase in power consumption this year. The State had witnessed the highest ever intra-day peak load of power on the transmission and highest ever daily energy consumption on March 8, with the two clocking at 15,623 megawatt and 305.19 million units respectively.
“We are already supplying over 200 mu per day.
There is more than enough power available for supply in the State. We will easily manage the energy requirement not only in June but the entire year,” power officials claimed.
In May 2023, it was announced that India would pause the commissioning of new coal power plants for the next five years, apart from the ones already in the pipeline, in order to boost the renewable capacity of the country.
However, following anticipated shortage of power during the coming months, the Centre has shifted its stance from adding no new coal power capacity apart from planned ones to adding 80 GW of coal power capacity in the country, sources said.
The NDA government had slowed capacity growth based on the heavily polluting fuel to focus on the green energy transition, with an eye to meeting 2070 net zero emission goals.
However, due to the current situation, the Centre has decided to defer shutting down of old thermal plants.
https://telanganatoday.com/centre-anticipating-power-shortfall-in-june
Danish renewable energy giant Orsted says Australia’s first offshore wind farm deals must contain critical protections against inflationary shocks as the industry reels from soaring costs that have forced the cancellation of projects in the United States.
Orsted, the world’s largest offshore wind farm developer, secured one of just six exclusive federal permits this month authorising companies to begin assessing plans to build huge turbines off Victoria’s coast that could bring vast amounts of clean energy to homes and businesses.
The federal government has selected several projects to start development of offshore wind farms near the Gippsland coast.
Orsted’s head of market development in Australia, Albert Quan, said Australia had all the ingredients for a thriving offshore wind sector and was attracting strong international interest despite being a vastly smaller market than Europe, the US and Asia.
Commonwealth waters off the Gippsland coast, Australia’s first designated offshore wind zone, are considered world-class for their untapped energy potential, with strong and consistent wind speeds and relatively shallow ocean areas making it an ideal location to host large fixed-bottom offshore wind farms.
The steel cutting ceremony for the Norfolk Vanguard West and East HVDC Platforms was held at Drydocks World’s yard in Dubai and welcomed the Joint Venture partner for the project, Aker Solutions, the joint contractor Siemens Energy, as well as the developer and owner of the Norfolk offshore wind projects, RWE.
The overall project consists of East and West converter platforms and will be executed over the next five years including both the sail-away and offshore installation. As the first part of the project, the Norfolk Vanguard West HVDC Platform will be used to efficiently transfer electrical energy from offshore wind turbines to land. Major fabrication activities will be conducted at Drydocks World’s yard throughout the year.
The Norfolk Vanguard West and East HVDC platforms, each with a planned capacity of 1.4 GW, will be located in the southern North Sea, 50-80 km from the Norfolk coast in eastern England. The projects will significantly boost the UK's renewable energy output.
Drydocks World CEO, Capt. Rado Antolovic, PhD, said: “We are very proud to host our partners at the first steel cutting of the Norfolk Vanguard West HVDC Platform, a key component of the planned offshore wind farm. By collaborating with Aker Solutions and Siemens Energy in these projects, we are able to leverage our collective experience in renewable projects and in particular Drydocks World’s expertise in HVDC and HVAC platforms. This is another important step in our commitment to the renewable energy landscape."
Drydocks World and Aker Solutions entered a pre-commitment agreement in November 2023 for the UK Norfolk Vanguard East and West projects and both final project agreements (PSAs) were signed in February and March this year. The strategic collaboration with Aker Solutions is focused on the engineering, procurement, construction and installation (EPCI) and leverages Drydocks World's extensive expertise in executing major renewable energy projects.
The fabrication of the Norfolk Vanguard West and East platforms will combine capabilities, with Aker Solutions undertaking the substructure fabrication at its yard in Verdal, Norway, while the topside will be fabricated at the Drydocks Worlds shipyard in Dubai. Drydocks World brings proven capabilities and an in-depth understanding of the intricacies of large-scale renewable projects, having successfully delivered two HVDC and two high voltage alternating current (HVAC) platforms in the North Sea, including the acclaimed DolWin2, BorWin3, and Hollandse Kust Zuid Alpha and Beta projects.
https://www.drydocks.gov.ae/news-and-events/steel-cutting-ceremony-norfolk-vangard-project
Alpha HPA has announced it is set to establish the world’s largest single-site, high-purity alumina products refinery following a Final Investment Decision (FID) on Stage Two of the HPA First Project in Gladstone, Queensland.
The Stage Two FID follows a three-year product marketing campaign to over 200 end users; the successful construction, commissioning and 16 months of operation of Stage One; and a comprehensive redesign and re-engineering of the Stage Two facility to capture process refinements, expanded product range capability and key customer requirements.
Alpha HPA’s Managing Director Rimas Kairaitis said the company will now immediately commence project execution for the full-scale, Stage Two facility, having already advanced several key elements of the project’s implementation.
“Construction of the 10 hA, state-of-the-art, full-scale facility will commence mid-2024, on the existing HPA First Project site at Yarwun, near Gladstone, where the company’s Stage One facility is already in small-scale production of its high-purity aluminas and aluminium materials product range,” Kairaitis said. “Stage Two will encompass full-scale production of up to 10,000 tonnes of high-purity aluminium materials per year creating 120 ongoing local jobs on top of 300 jobs during construction.
“The feasibility study and financing represent a comprehensive endorsement of the company’s technology and business strategy and allows for Alpha HPA to establish Australia’s first, large-scale commercial capability to manufacture high-purity aluminas and related products to support key high-technology growth sectors and the global energy transition,” he added.
Alpha HPA said its proprietary process technology offers a unique opportunity to manufacture a wide-range, ultra-high-purity aluminium materials that are cost-competitive and low-carbon and which leverage off established industrial infrastructure in Gladstone.
Alpha HPA’s process allows for the extraction and purification of aluminium from industrial feedstock, producing materials of exceptional purity for high-technology applications, including the semiconductor, lithium-ion battery and LED lighting sectors.
In parallel, Alpha HPA continues to advance its complementary downstream Alpha Sapphire business, completing installation of the initial two sapphire growth units and commencing first crystal growth.
3 Stocks Going Green
Eni, a leading integrated energy company, has a robust presence in both upstream and downstream operations. Additionally, the company is expanding its renewable energy capacity to support the energy transition and achieve carbon neutrality.
In Italy and globally, Eni is operating in areas like onshore and offshore wind, solar, energy storage and floating wind. Integrating the new solutions with conventional technologies, the company is expecting to offer more and more electricity to households and businesses from renewable sources. By 2035, the energy giant is aiming for more than 30 gigawatts of installed capacity from renewables.
TotalEnergies is also a leading energy company with a strong presence in upstream and downstream operations. Moreover, it is aiming to reach a gross installed renewable power generation capacity of 100 gigawatts by 2030. The company is enhancing its expertise in renewable energy, with a particular focus on solar power, to address the increasing demand for electricity. To spearhead the energy transition, TTE is also making significant investments in wind energy and holds a prominent position in both onshore and offshore wind sectors.
BP has been relying on profitable refining and marketing assets, along with key oil and gas projects that are either already operational or scheduled for completion this year or in the future. Notably, the British energy giant can sail through periods of low oil prices, banking on its sizable refining and marketing businesses.
The company has also set up an ambitious energy transition target. BP has been building a diversified portfolio of renewable energy, ranging from wind to solar. In offshore wind, BP ranks among the leading global players. By acquiring the remaining shares in Lightsource BP, the company has established itself as a developer and operator of utility-scale solar projects.
https://www.zacks.com/stock/news/2276102/watch-these-3-energy-stocks-leading-the-green-transition
PARIS - The sharp drop in prices for minerals critical to the green energy transition is masking a looming shortage due to inadequate investment, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Friday.
In its second annual review of the market for such critical materials, the IEA noted prices for key minerals for electric vehicles, wind turbines and solar panels fell back to pre-pandemic levels, as supplies caught up with and surpassed demand.
While the price drops are good news for consumers, the Paris-based agency expressed concern it will deter investment needed to meet demand, which is set to soar as many nations try to phase out sales of new internal combustion engine cars in the next decade.
The IEA, which advises advanced economies on energy policy, calculated that announced projects will be able to meet only 70% of copper and 50% of lithium requirements in 2035, in a scenario in which countries worldwide meet their national climate goals. Both metals are key for manufacturing electric vehicles.
“Secure and sustainable access to critical minerals is essential for smooth and affordable clean energy transitions,” IEA executive director Fatih Birol said in a statement. “The world’s appetite for technologies such as solar panels, electric cars and batteries is growing fast - but we cannot satisfy it without reliable and expanding supplies of critical minerals,” he added.
The IEA forecasts the combined market size of key energy transition minerals is set to more than double to US$770 billion by 2040 as countries target net zero emissions by mid-century.
It found that only limited progress has been made in diversifying supplies, a key issue, given the recent experience with the pandemic snarling supply chains, and geopolitical tensions creating risks to access. The IEA called for stepping up of efforts to recycle materials, innovate and encourage behavioural changes in order to ease potential supply strains.
It also said some US$800 billion of investment in mining is required by 2040 to put the world on track to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius from pre-industrial levels. It warned, however, that “without the strong uptake of recycling and reuse, mining capital requirements would need to be one-third higher.”
The report analysed supply and geopolitical risks, as well as barriers to responding to supply disruptions, and exposure to environmental, social and governance (ESG) risks. The IEA said it found a “mixed picture” regarding ESG risks.
- Nampa/AFP
https://neweralive.na/posts/energy-transition-risks-critical-mineral-shortage-iea
Spanish utility Iberdrola on May 17 said it has agreed to buy the remaining stake in U.S. renewables company Avangrid Inc. in a deal valued at about $2.6 billion.
The company previously owned about 81.6% of Avangrid.
Headquartered in Connecticut, Avangrid has $44 billion in assets and operations across 24 U.S. states and is building the nation’s first large-scale offshore wind project—Vineyard Wind offshore Massachusetts—with partner Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners along with three other offshore wind farms.
Iberdrola said the transaction is intended to increase its exposure in the U.S.
The Spain-based electric utility said it will pay $35.75 per share, which is more than the original proposition of $34.25 per share. The price represents an investment of $2.551 billion, Iberdrola said in a news release.
The transaction was approved by the boards of directors for both companies, but it must secure approval from shareholders and regulators that include the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and state regulatory commissions of New York and Maine, Iberdrola said.
In addition to developing offshore wind farms, Avangrid owns and operates eight electric and natural gas companies that serve more than 3 million people in New York and New England, according to the release.
JINAN, China (AP) — Shi Mei and her husband earn a decent enough living by growing corn and millet on their small farm in eastern China’s Shandong province. In 2021, they diversified by investing in solar energy — signing a contract to mount some 40 panels on their roof to feed energy to the grid.
Now, the couple get paid for every watt of electricity they generate, harvesting the equivalent of $10,000 per year that Shi can track through an app on her phone.
“When the sun comes out, you make money,” Shi said.
Fool.com contributor Parkev Tatevosian discusses what the news could mean for Rivian (NASDAQ: RIVN) stock investors.
*Stock prices used were the afternoon prices of May 19, 2024. The video was published on May 21, 2024.
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https://finance.yahoo.com/news/massive-news-rivian-stock-investors-113044239.html
A food waste-to-hydrogen and carbon project is being planned at the Port of West Virginia, US, as part of the Appalachian Regional Clean Hydrogen Hub (ARCH2).
Empire Diversified Energy and Heartland Water Technology have partnered with Empire’s subsidiary Empire Green Generation to develop the facility.
The plant will treat food waste in an anaerobic digester to produce biogas and residual solid material (digestate). Biogas will then be put through methane pyrolysis using Heartland’s HelioStom ionic gasifier to produce clean hydrogen and “valuable sustainable carbon.”
Described as an “ultra-high temperature” ionic gasification technology, Heartland says HelioStorm destroys chemical contaminants and volatile organic compounds (VOCs), including perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).
Digestate will also be processed to produce a tar-free synthesis gas which will be used to generate energy to power the entire conversion system.
With plans to begin operations in Q3 2025, the trio has not revealed details on the plant’s exact location or production capacity.
Empire’s primary location, however, is in Follansbee, West Virginia, where it operates in the Port of West Virginia. At the Follansbee location, the company is deploying clean energy technologies to serve transportation, waste, steel and more.
The project comes as part of the ARCH2 hydrogen hub, which was selected for $925m of funding from the US Department of Energy’s (DOE) $8bn Regional Clean Hydrogen Hubs programme.
Bernard Brown, Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Empire, said by using the hub as a platform, the companies aim to “demonstrate how strategic investments in decentralised hydrogen infrastructure and technology can yield significant environmental and economic benefits.”
“The project not only aligns with our vision to redefine waste, it underscores its critical role of renewable hydrogen in shaping a sustainable, circular economy,” added Chris Beaufait, CEO of Heartland.
WIND: Community activists in New York are supportive of offshore wind facilities but want to hold developers accountable for promises to create local jobs. (Inside Climate News)
ALSO:
- Anti-wind groups are planning a protest in Ocean City, New Jersey, this weekend, as the area’s tourist season ramps up. (Press of Atlantic City)
- A Massachusetts community college is awarded a series of grants to develop training programs for offshore wind workers. (South Coast Today)
- A testing facility in Massachusetts has been upgraded to accommodate longer blades used in larger, modern turbines. (news release)
INDUSTRY: A Massachusetts startup is working to scale up a process that uses electricity to make steel and extract other metals from ore, aiming to reduce energy use and pollution from current processes. (Massachusetts Institute of Technology)
GRID: At a panel discussion this month, an executive from NYISO said the grid operator needs “a more proactive posture” to integrating renewable energy. (Utility Dive)
POLLUTION: A Government Accountability Office report finds natural gas peaker plants, which are more likely to be located near poor and minority communities, emit more pollution than conventional power plants. (E&E News, subscription)
OIL & GAS: The Department of Energy is closing a 1-million-barrel Northeast gasoline reserve established in 2014 in response to Superstorm Sandy. (Reuters)
BIOFUELS:
- A Maine company is the first in the state to offer “renewable propane” for home heating, which is made from nonpetroleum feedstocks but costs significantly more. (Portland Press-Herald)
- National Grid is seeking a rate increase to support efforts to use biogas from food and sewage waste in the natural gas system. (The City)
CLIMATE: Maine Gov. Janet Mills signs an executive order creating a new commission to help the state prepare for the impacts of climate change. (Portland Press-Herald)
SOLAR: A Pennsylvania company has been awarded a $1 million USDA grant to help fund a 1.4 MW solar array to help power its fleet of electric delivery vehicles. (Central Penn Business Journal)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
- An annual event held by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey this week aims to educate government leaders and fleet operators about electric vehicles. (ROI-NJ)
- The Connecticut Department of Transportation is conducting a survey on electric vehicle and charger use. (Fox 61)
https://energynews.us/newsletter/new-york-community-leaders-want-offshore-wind-job-promises-kept/
Indian metals-to-oil conglomerate Vedanta Ltd 's aluminium business will no longer add coal-fired capacity, its CEO said, in the company's biggest move yet toward renewable energy Vedanta Aluminium, the country's biggest producer of the metal, aims to increase the share of renewable energy it is using to 30% by 2030 from nearly 5% now, John Slaven told Reuters in an interview.
The company currently has 4.8 gigawatts of coal-based power generation capacity.Slaven said the company was securing supplies of 1.3 GW of renewable energy - a mix of solar and wind power - from India's Serentica Renewables India is the world's third-largest greenhouse gas emitter. Coal accounts for nearly 50% of the country's installed power capacity of 443 GW.Although India is seeking to cut greenhouse gas emissions and boost the share of non-fossil fuels in electricity generation, Prime Minister Narendra Modi 's government has defended the country's reliance on coal, citing growing energy requirements in the world's most populous country.
India has tried to attract private investment to help boost coal-fired power generation capacity by 80 GW by 2032. Still, Vedanta Aluminium - part of London-headquartered Vedanta Resources and led by billionaire Anil Agarwal - would increasingly focus on renewables for its energy-intensive aluminium business. "We don't want to add additional thermal power. We have got to really increase our renewables, so that's the focus," Slaven said. Other aluminium producers have similar plans.
India's No.2 aluminium maker, Hindalco Industries , run by billionaire Kumar Mangalam Birla, will largely rely on renewable power for any new capacity additions at its smelters, said a company spokesperson. Slaven said Vedanta Aluminium would raise its production capacity to cash in on India's strong demand for the metal. India's rapid economic growth would keep aluminium demand buoyant and eventually make the domestic market more attractive than Vendanta's top export destinations such as Southeast Asia, Japan, North America and South America.Industries such as construction, electrical transmission, wind and solar power, and automobiles, would keep demand strong, Slaven said.
The company expects to raise its aluminium production capacity to 3 million metric tons by 2026 from about 2.4 million tons now, and smelting capacity to 3 million tons from 2.4 million tons.Similarly, Vedanta Aluminium would boost its refining capacity to 6 million tons by 2026, from 2 million tons, Slaven said. He also said the company expects to get environmental clearances for its first wholly-owned bauxite mine in eastern India this year, a move that would help Vedanta Aluminium's capacity expansion plans. Other than buying bauxite locally, the company relies on imports for bauxite, which is used to produce alumina, the feedstock for aluminium.
The first phase of construction is the installation of foundations to anchor the wind turbines. For conventional fixed-bottom wind farms, this means driving large monopile foundations vertically into the seabed using hydraulic hammers on specialised installation vessels. These monopiles can weigh over 1,000 tons apiece, and can extend to over 30 metres below the seabed.
A new, innovative design is the ‘jacket foundation’, comprising a latticed understructure supported by multiple piles. This is used in deeper waters of up to 60 metres. Pile sections and jacket are assembled onshore, and then manoeuvred into position by crane vessels for pile-driving.
For floating wind farms in ultra-deep waters, anchors or mooring systems must be preinstalled on the seabed to secure the floating turbine platforms.
While this work is underway, an offshore substation platform will also be built. This is designed to collect the cables from clusters of turbines and transform the electricity to higher voltages.
Specialised vessels lay lengths of high-voltage cables across the seabed, linking the offshore substation to the onshore grid connection point, while also integrating the inter-array cables between turbine clusters.
But the true magic of offshore wind farm construction is the final installation phase. This is executed by heavy-lift installation vessels, and transition pieces are mounted onto the pre-driven foundations.
The transition piece is a tubular structure made out of high-grade offshore steel, and is connected to the turbine’s foundations. Next, the crane vessel positions the nacelle – a streamlined casing – and the blades. Upon assembly, electrical teams then wire up the turbine using array cables.
Dogger Bank mammoth offshore wind farm
Dogger Bank Wind Farm is currently under construction, and is another project Equinor is involved with – this time in a joint venture with energy company SSE Renewables and Vårgrønn, a Norway-based offshore wind company.
Dogger Bank is a large, shallow sandbank in the North Sea, 100 km off the east coast of England.
The project has a development area of around 599 square metres, and will have an installed generation capacity of 1.2GW (a gigawatt is one billion watts).
Work on Dogger Bank is being undertaken by Aibel, one of Europe’s leading offshore wind, oil and gas installations and onshore processing plants. Aibel is one of the largest suppliers on the Norwegian continental shelf and a full-range supplier of innovative and sustainable solutions. Dogger Bank is also fitted with the latest generation HVDC converter technology by Hitachi Energy, a global technology leader developing sustainable energy.
WIND: The developers of two Northeast offshore wind farms say they’ve canceled an agreement to use Dominion Energy’s new installation ship, saying only that “we have secured an alternative installation vessel.” (CT Examiner)
ALSO:
- Eversource says it has completed the first phase of a transmission project to accommodate offshore wind. (ReNews)
- A series of public meetings on Bureau of Ocean Energy Management offshore wind proposals begins today. (NHPR)
JOBS: Maine’s Energy Office has launched a new job board aimed at helping jobseekers connect with clean energy opportunities. (Portland Press Herald)
CLIMATE:
- It’s not yet clear whether Vermont Gov. Phil Scott will veto a bill requiring 100% renewable energy by 2030, with the governor saying “if we can do it in an affordable way for Vermonters, we’ll choose that route.” (WCAX)
- New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu issues a press release blaming climate policies for higher electricity rates in neighboring states. (news release)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
- Voters in four central New York school districts on Tuesday rejected proposals to purchase electric buses. (CNY Central)
- Advocates say a New Jersey bill to require registration and insurance for electric bikes would be burdensome for low-income delivery workers, many of whom are recent immigrants. (CBS News)
- New Hampshire, a state that lags its neighbors in electric vehicle adoption, will soon get its first Tesla service station. (Concord Monitor)
TRANSPORTATION: Some advocates in Boston say the city should consider adopting a congestion pricing program similar to the one being introduced in New York City. (WBUR)
POLLUTION: The Connecticut Port Authority is pursuing a $6 million EPA grant to provide dockside electricity for ships at the State Pier, which would help to cut emissions from idling engines. (WSHU)
COAL: A U.S. Senate hearing yesterday discussed mine safety and helping workers who have black lung disease, as lawmakers consider bills led by Pennsylvania’s delegation to improve benefits for miners. (Pennsylvania Capital-Star)
CARBON CAPTURE: A New Jersey natural gas utility installs two small carbon-capture devices – believed to be the first in the state – on the HVAC system at its headquarters. (Tap Into Roxbury)
COMMENTARY: Advocates say they are “deeply disappointed” in the Connecticut legislature’s failure to pass a climate bill, “squandering so much of the little time we have left.” (CT Mirror)
https://energynews.us/newsletter/offshore-wind-developers-drop-plan-to-use-new-installation-ship/
Centerra Gold (TSE:CG) First Quarter 2024 Results
Key Financial Results
- Revenue: US$305.9m (up 35% from 1Q 2023).
- Net income: US$66.4m (up from US$73.5m loss in 1Q 2023).
- Profit margin: 22% (up from net loss in 1Q 2023). The move to profitability was primarily driven by higher revenue.
- EPS: US$0.31 (up from US$0.34 loss in 1Q 2023).
Centerra Gold Revenues and Earnings Beat Expectations
Revenue exceeded analyst estimates by 3.6%. Earnings per share (EPS) also surpassed analyst estimates by 197%.
Looking ahead, revenue is expected to decline by 13% p.a. on average during the next 3 years, while revenues in the Metals and Mining industry in Canada are expected to grow by 12%.
Performance of the Canadian Metals and Mining industry.
The company's shares are up 11% from a week ago.
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/centerra-gold-first-quarter-2024-113059611.html
Investing.com-- Gold prices fell in Asian trade on Wednesday, pulling back further from record highs as anxiety over high U.S. interest rates grew ahead of more cues from the Federal Reserve.
Losses extended into industrial metals, with copper prices pulling back further from recent record highs as a speculative frenzy in the red metal cooled ahead of more cues on physical supply and overall demand.
A steady also weighed on metal prices, while safe haven demand for gold cooled amid little signs of worsening geopolitical conditions in the Middle East, after the Iranian President was killed in a helicopter crash.
Spot Gold fell 0.2% to $2,415.61 an ounce, while spot futures expiring in June fell 0.3% to $2,418.75 an ounce by 00:23 ET (04:23 GMT). Spot prices still remained in sight of their recent peak of $2,450.06 an ounce.
Gold hit by rate jitters as Fed minutes loom
The minute's of the Fed's late-April meeting, which are due later on Wednesday, were now in focus for more cues from the central bank.
The Fed had kept rates steady during the meeting, while Chair Jerome Powell still flagged the possibility of rate cuts in 2024. Traders will be waiting to see if this was the case among all Fed officials, especially as inflation remained sticky.
A string of Fed officials warned this week that the central bank needed more confidence that inflation was coming down, before it could begin trimming rates. Their comments supported the greenback and pressured most high-risk and non-yielding assets.
High rates bode poorly for gold, given that they increase the opportunity cost of investing in the yellow metal. While increased safe haven demand had pushed gold to record highs at the beginning of the week, a lack of escalation in the Middle East left the yellow metal vulnerable to rate pressures.
Other precious metals also retreated on Wednesday. Platinum futures fell 0.4% to $1,058.35 an ounce, while silver futures fell 0.4% to $31.950 an ounce.
A speculative frenzy in metal markets pushed silver prices to 12-year highs earlier this week, although the rally now appeared to be cooling. Platinum prices were also close to a one-year high.
Copper prices retreat as bulls pause for breath
Benchmark copper futures on the London Metals Exchange fell 0.9% to $10,730.0 a ton on Wednesday, while one-month US copper futures fell 0.8% to $5.0595 a pound. Both contracts retreated further from record highs hit at the beginning of the week.
A speculative frenzy- particularly a short squeeze on the Comex exchange- that had driven copper’s recent rally now appeared to have paused, as traders waited to see whether physical copper supplies could meet requirements.
Cooling optimism over China- the world’s biggest copper importer- also spurred some pullback in prices, as traders waited to see how Beijing would execute its recently outlined stimulus measures.
Investing.com-- Gold prices saw extended losses in Asian trade on Thursday, pulling back further from record highs as renewed concerns over high interest rates and waning safe haven demand battered the yellow metal.
Industrial metals also joined in on the losses, with copper prices falling sharply from record highs amid profit-taking and pressure from the dollar. But prices of the red metal steadied in Asian trade.
Spot gold fell 0.3 to $2,372.38 an ounce, while expiring gold futures in June fell 0.8 to $2,375.15 an ounce by 00:22 ET (04:22 GMT). Spot prices were now well below a record high of $2,450 an ounce hit at the beginning of the week.
Rate fears rise as Fed minutes show concerns over sticky inflation
Metal prices were pressured by an overnight bounce in the dollar, which hit a one-week high after the minutes of the Federal Reserve’s late-April meeting showed policymakers were increasingly concerned over sticky inflation.
Some policymakers were also open to raising interest rates further to bring down inflation, although such a scenario appeared unlikely.
Still, the Fed is likely to keep rates high for longer in the face of sticky inflation, with addresses from several policymakers this week showing that the bank had limited confidence in inflation reaching its 2% annual target in the near-term.
High for long rates bode poorly for gold and other precious metals, given that they increase the opportunity cost of investing in them. This notion has kept gold’s tryst with record highs fleeting so far this year.
A lack of any major worsening in geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, after the death of the Iranian President, also sapped safe haven demand for gold.
Other precious metals also fell on Thursday. Platinum futures fell 0.% to $1,041.20 an ounce, while silver futures sank 2.5% to $30.727 an ounce.
Copper prices slammed by profit-taking, China jitters
Benchmark copper futures on the LME fell 0.4% to $10,372.50 a ton, while one-month copper futures steadied at $4.8030 a pound. Both contracts were nursing a steep fall from record highs hit at the beginning of the week.
Losses in copper came as a speculative frenzy in the red metal now appeared to be stabilizing, leaving it open to profit-taking after a strong run over the past week.
Concerns over China also crept back into markets, as a trade war between Washington and Beijing appeared to be heating up. This somewhat undermined optimism over recent stimulus efforts from China, although markets were also waiting to see how the measures will be executed.
BHP has until Wednesday to return with a binding offer or walk away under UK takeover rules
Major shareholders in Anglo American are reportedly open to accepting a simpler takeover bid from its bigger rival BHP, which could create a mining juggernaut.
The Telegraph reported that two major Anglo investors said BHP’s current plan to break up the business was too complicated but suggested they would consider a revised bid that did away with this element.
“Taking away that conditionality can improve things,” one of Anglo’s 15 biggest investors said.
A City fund manager who holds stock in the miner added: “BHP needs to understand how complex this deal looks to investors. They are going to end up with all sorts of bits and pieces. I would prefer BHP to do the heavy lifting and take away all of Anglo.”
The news comes ahead of a deadline on Wednesday for Australia-based BHP, which is the world’s largest publicly-listed mining company, to return with a binding offer or walk away under UK takeover rules.
FTSE 100-listed Anglo has already rejected two proposals from BHP since last month, the first valuing it at £31bn and the second at £34bn.
The latter would have required Anglo to offload its Kumba iron ore operation and Amplats platinum miner in South Africa in a bid that the company said was “highly unattractive”.
Anglo has scrambled to propose its own plans to unlock more value for shareholders and remain independent by offloading parts of the business and focusing on energy transition metal copper.
Plans include selling its coking coal business, cutting its investment in UK fertiliser mine Woodsmith and demerge or sell diamond brand De Beers, which could reportedly include a London IPO for the historic arm.
Anglo will also spin-off its 79 per cent stake in Amplats, echoing BHP’s proposal for the business.
Anglo and BHP declined to comment.
https://www.cityam.com/top-anglo-american-investors-open-to-simpler-takeover-bid-from-bhp/
A HELPFUL neighbour in Limerick prevented young thieves from making away with expensive bathroom fittings while a Ballysimon home was empty during renovations.
Gardaí in Limerick praised the Ballysimon woman, in her early 60s, who spotted the broad daylight crime while she was in her back garden feeding her dogs.
Sergeant Ber Leetch, crime prevention officer at Henry Street Garda Station, said that the crime was stopped short at around 5.40pm on May 8 when the woman heard “noise coming from the house next door” as she was outside feeding her pets.
Knowing her neighbour’s home to be empty as it was undergoing renovations, the watchful neighbour went over to the house, Sergeant Leetch said, and “saw two young lads aged roughly 12 years old in the back bathroom”.
“She could see that the back door was open and two copper boilers had been ripped from the bathroom. The sink had also been ripped off the wall, causing damage,” Sergeant Leetch said.
“The youths ran from the house in different directions once they saw her, but nothing was taken. Entry had been gained through a rear window that had been left open.”
The Henry Street crime prevention officer explained that “criminals will often look for lead or copper in building or renovation sites”, and warned homeowners to “store these out of sight and securely”.
She added that “it is also a good idea to introduce yourself to your new neighbours and ask them to ring you if they see anything suspicious”.
https://www.limerickpost.ie/2024/05/19/helpful-limerick-neighbour-foils-bathroom-copper-caper/
New Delhi, May 19 (PTI) The demand of zinc is expected to double in India in the next five to 10 years on the back of huge investments in infrastructure sector, including steel, International Zinc Association said on Sunday.
The demand for zinc in India depends largely on the growth of the steel market as zinc is mainly used to galvanise steel to protect it from corrosion.
“I see a doubling of the demand (for zinc) in the next five to 10 years. The market for primary and refined zinc in India is currently close to 800 to 1,000 tonnes (per annum) and has a great opportunity to increase with all the developments that we are witnessing in India.
We see huge investments in additional steel capacity and …steel still needs to be protected by galvanized coatings. We see a lot of plans and investments going on for new galvanizing lines. So I expect a strong role for zinc in India,” International Zinc Association Global Director Martin Van Leeuwen told PTI in an interaction.
The current demand for zinc in India is 800 to 1,000 tonnes per annum.
There are very low zinc users in India, he said, adding that per capita consumption of zinc in the country is around 0.5 kg and is far behind the world average.
“If you look at zinc use in India, it is around half a kg per capita. To put that in perspective, the global average is about four kg per capita. And in developed countries like Korea, Europe, US it can go up to six or seven kgs per capita,” he explained.
When asked about the outlook for zinc in the current calendar year, he said that with the world switching over to green energy and strong growth in solar photovoltaics (PV), there seems a great opportunity for zinc in 2024.
“The energy transition…is getting us to some wonderful opportunities for use of zinc. We are seeing investments in solar PV and wind energy and especially those two require a lot of zinc to protect steel supports… zinc is also used to protect the towers, the wind towers for wind energy, especially those towers that are positioned at sea….We see great improvement and a great opportunity for zinc,” he explained.
https://www.takeonedigitalnetwork.com/zinc-demand-in-india-likely-to-double-in-next-5-10-years/
May 20 (SeeNews) - China's state-owned Zijin Mining Group has invested $2.5 billion (2.3 billion euro) in its Serbian copper mining activities in the past five years, from the acquisition of the business in December 2018 until the end of 2023, Serbia Zijin Copper's director general, Qiu Guozhu, said.
This nearly doubles the $1.26 billion initially pledged by the Chinese investor in its 2018 agreement with the Serbian government, Guozhu told Serbian broadcaster RTS in an interview over the weekend.
He noted $300 million was invested in Serbia in the past five years in solving ecological issues alone, including cutting sulphur dioxide emissions and installing a system for industrial waste water treatment.
Guozhu also said that Serbia Zijin Copper and Serbia Zijin Mining, the two units of the Chinese group in the Balkan country, now employ some 7,500 people, and will need more workers, especially in the areas of geology, geodesy, cartography, mechanical maintenance and finance.
Last month, Zijin Mining Group's director general, Chen Jinghe, told Serbian reporters visiting Zijin's mines and smelter in China that the Chinese group plans to double the annual capacity of its Serbian projects in Bor and Majdanpek to 450,000 tonnes of copper and 10 tonnes of gold in the next five years, turning Serbia into the top European producer and one of the global leaders in the area.
Jinghe has also said that the estimated copper reserves in Serbia total some 20 million tonnes, while the gold reserves are seen at 700 to 800 tonnes. The mining of these resources via most advanced equipment will be the focus of the future investments.
Last year, China's Zijin produced 1.01 million tonnes of copper and 68 tonnes of gold. The output of its Serbian unit alone totalled 240,000 tonnes of copper and 7.5 tonnes of gold in 2023.
The Chinese group injected $350 million into Serbian copper mining and smelting company RTB Bor in December 2018, acquiring majority ownership and renaming it to Zijin Bor Copper.
Serbia Zijin Copper says on its website it owns four copper mines (Veliki Krivelj, Novo Cerovo, Jama and copper mine Majdanpek), as well as a limestone mine and a smelter. The facilities are located in the Bor district in eastern Serbia, close to the border with Romania.
($ = 0.922 euro)
https://seenews.com/news/china-pours-25-bln-into-serbian-copper-mines-over-five-years-858233
LONDON – Copper surged to its highest level, extending a powerful, months-long rally driven by financial investors who have piled into the market in anticipation of deepening supply shortages.
Futures on the London Metal Exchange (LME) jumped more than 4 per cent on May 20, taking copper past US$11,000 a tonne for the first time.
The market has seen many optimistic forecasts, and BHP Group wants to buy rival mining company Anglo American chiefly for its copper mines.
Several developments in 2024 have emboldened copper bulls and drawn in a rising flow of speculative money. Tight supply of copper ore fuelled talk of output cuts by smelters, while a short squeeze on the New York futures market in May triggered a global rush to secure the metal.
“That has taken prices to another level and it’s very difficult to call a top in this environment,” Mr Craig Lang, principal analyst at researcher CRU Group, said by phone from Singapore. “Commodities markets do tend to overshoot.”
Investors, traders and mining executives have warned for years that the world faces a critical shortfall of copper amid ballooning demand in green industries – from electric vehicles to renewables infrastructure.
Commodities veteran Jeff Currie said earlier in May that copper was the best long trade he had ever seen.
LME copper was up 3 per cent to US$10,992.50 a tonne by 12.04pm on May 20.
Prices have gained more than a quarter since the start of 2024, spearheading across-the-board gains for major industrial metals.
Gold has also rallied to a record along with copper, with both metals getting support from optimism that the US Federal Reserve will start cutting interest rates in 2024.
A series of setbacks at major mines is fuelling fears that a much-anticipated production shortfall will arrive earlier than expected. Smelter treatment fees – a gauge of tightness in the ore market – plunged to below zero in April.
In addition, a short squeeze on the Commodity Exchange (Comex) in New York drove prices there to an unprecedented premium over the LME. That triggered a rush to reroute metal supplies to the United States, meaning less metal available elsewhere.
“The Comex short squeeze is rediverting copper to the US and tightening supplies in other regions,” said Jinrui Futures analyst Gong Ming.
“The Chinese market is expected to see inventories withdrawal soon, with exports rising.”
Still, many participants in the physical trade have warned that copper prices are running ahead of reality. Demand remains relatively tepid – especially in top buyer China, where inventory levels remain high. BLOOMBERG
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/copper-hits-record-above-us11000-on-bets-that-shortage-looms
Malibu, CA , United States , May 20, 2024 - (ABN Newswire) - In this segment of The Ellis Martin Report and MoneyTalk Radio we speak with Patrick Elliott , CEO of Forte Minerals Corp. (CNSX:CUAU) (OTCMKTS:FOMNF) (HAM:2OA). We believe we are finally headed into a parallel copper and gold bull market with prices of these commodities reaching historic levels this year. Forte believes it's well positioned to provide potential upside for investors looking to possibly capitalize on the still oversold equities on top of this new trend.
To Listen to the Interview, please visit:
https://www.abnnewswire.net/lnk/54L703I8
About Forte Minerals Corp. :
Forte Minerals Corp. (CNSX:CUAU) (OTCMKTS:FOMNF) (FRA:2OA) is a Canadian exploration company committed to maximizing shareholder value through acquiring, exploring, discovering, and developing copper and gold projects in Peru .
The team is composed of dedicated and qualified professionals who have a combined 215 years of experience in exploration and mining in the Americas and a combined 60 years of successfully managing public companies. This combination of expertise accelerates the extensive connections to projects and financing.
About The Ellis Martin Report:
The Ellis Martin Report (TEMR) is an internet based radio program showcasing potentially undervalued companies to an audience of potential retail investors and fund managers that comprise our listening audience. TEMR is broadcasted on the VoiceAmerica Business Channel and The Opportunity Radio Network. CEO and company interviews are paid for by those represented on the program.
Contact:
T: +1-604-983-8847
E: info@forteminerals.com
India is on a mission to become the world's leading and most sustainable producer of critical minerals, according to Priya Agarwal Hebbar, Chairperson of Vedanta group firm Hindustan Zinc. Speaking at the Bank of America Securities Global Metals, Mining, and Steel Conference 2024 in Miami, Hebbar highlighted the crucial role of minerals such as cobalt, copper, lithium, nickel, and rare earths in the production of clean energy technologies, including wind turbines and electric cars.
The demand for critical minerals is particularly high for the production of batteries for electric vehicles. Hebbar emphasized the mining and metals sector's essential contribution to achieving global net-zero goals. "We take our role as champions of India's natural resources very seriously and we are well positioned to capitalize on this economic growth", Hebbar, who is also a Vedanta Director, stated.
Hebbar stressed that the transition to net-zero goals globally will be mineral-intensive and meeting this demand will be challenging. The mining and metals sector, she noted, holds the key to unlocking the future.
In line with this vision, Hindustan Zinc recently announced its plans to enter strategic mineral exploration through the formation of a subsidiary, Hindmetal Exploration Services Pvt Ltd. This move underscores the company's commitment to expanding its footprint in the critical minerals sector and supporting India's ambitious sustainability goals.
Prices of copper hit record highs in London and Shanghai on Monday on property stimulus measures and better-than-expected industrial output data in China, as well as systematic buying.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange rose 2.7% to $10,959.50 per metric ton by 0158 GMT, having surged as much as 4.1% earlier in the session to a historic high of $11,104.50.
The most-traded July copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange climbed 5% to 87,470 yuan ($12,099.04) a ton. Earlier in the session, it was up 6.8% to a record high of 88,940 yuan a ton.
China on Friday announced “historic” steps to stabilise its crisis-hit property sector, with the central bank facilitating 1 trillion yuan in extra funding and easing mortgage rules, and local governments set to buy “some” apartments.
China’s industrial output grew 6.7% year-on-year in April, accelerating from the 4.5% pace seen in March and above the 5.5% increase tipped in a Reuters poll of analysts, helped by improving external demand.
The industrial sector consumes a large amount of base metals.
A trader said the metal price rally on Monday was exacerbated by systematic traders who simply chased the higher prices.
The futures prices, however, do not reflect an improvement in demand in the physical copper market.
The premium to import copper into China’s Yangshan area was at zero on Friday, compared with $60 in March, reflecting weak import demand.
SHFE copper inventories have been elevated in the past two months, despite May being China’s traditionally strong copper demand season.
Stockpiles were last at 290,376 tons, compared with 33,130 tons at the start of the year.
LME aluminium rose 0.4% to $2,623.50 a ton, zinc climbed 0.9% to $3,057.50, lead increased 0.8% to $2,301.50, tin edged up 0.4% at $34,375 and nickel was up 0.1% at $21,100.
SHFE aluminium rose 1% to 21,035 yuan a ton, nickel jumped 4% to 156,320 yuan, zinc advanced 2% to 24,255 yuan, lead increased 0.4% to 18,810 yuan and tin was up 2.2% at 280,750 yuan.
https://www.brecorder.com/news/40304274/copper-hits-record-high-on-chinas-property-support-measure
COPPER
While the copper market on Monday once again posted a major range up move, it reversed sharply providing another blowoff top type formation. However, the market has managed to overcome similar “blowoff top” type action recently. In fact, it appears that copper is starting to flow into LME copper warehouse stocks which could be a sign of a frothy market and a sign that physical owners are beginning to step in and capitalize off record pricing. However, the trade remains concerned about Panamanian, Chilean, and Peruvian supply flows. On the other hand, high prices are likely to stimulate scrap supply and could begin to reduce demand from already high-cost green energy demand. In a positive demand development Chinese April refined copper output jumped sharply by 9.2%.
GOLD & SILVER
Clearly, volatility has expanded and is likely to stay elevated with gold and silver continuing to march to their own drummer. It should be noted that gold ETF holdings are beginning to rise consistently, with last week posting an inflow of 230,227 ounces, and with the addition of 135,000 ounces in just the last two sessions. However, in addition to a need to balance yesterday’s sharp run up, the market saw Chinese bullion imports slow last month reportedly due to record prices. On the other hand, it should be noted that yuan silver futures prices posted a record in China. Apparently, Chinese gold imports declined to 136 tons last month for a 30% decline from March and they posted the lowest monthly import tally this year. However, Russian central bank gold holdings reportedly increased by 5.1 tons providing an offset to the drop in Chinese gold demand. A portion of yesterday’s rally might have been attributable a US Fed comment suggesting that US rates are currently restrictive has that ever so slightly pushes the rate policy pendulum in favor of the doves. It should be noted that the silver market is reportedly seeing an increase in demand from the solar industry providing a short-term overbought market with fresh fundamental support. It should be noted that gold and silver at times showed definitive divergence with gold softening and silver generally holding its gains. Certainly, the gold market is significantly overbought in spec and fund categories while the silver market has a smaller relative long position and therefore it should retain significant buying capacity if conditions warrant.
Copper mining may be unable to keep pace with soaring demand for the metal that anchors the transition to electric vehicles and renewable energy sources, warns a report from the International Energy Forum (IEF).
Under a baseline business-as-usual scenario, the world will need to mine 905 million tons of copper between 2018 and 2050 – 115% more than the 757 million tons mined before 2018.
Meanwhile, electrifying the global fleet of vehicles would require a 55% increase in new mine output compared to baseline trends. This equates to bringing 54 major new copper mines into production by 2050, requiring an unprecedented 1.7 new mines to open annually over the next decade.
An electric vehicle (EV) is manufactured using 60 kg of copper, compared to 24 kg for an internal combustion engine (ICE) automobile. However, the copper needed for the electrification of vehicles goes beyond just manufacturing; it will also be required for grid upgrades to support charging.
Transitioning the entire global energy system away from fossil fuels to renewable sources like wind and solar by 2050 would require a 460% increase in copper mine production – equivalent to developing 194 major new copper mines beyond baseline levels in just 26 years.
The report states that it is “highly improbable” that there will be sufficient new mines to meet the surging demands from vehicle electrification and the energy transition on the desired timelines under current policies and industry outlooks.
Copper resources in the earth’s crust are enough to satisfy long-term global needs estimated at 6.6 billion tons. However, the rate at which prospective deposits can be identified, permitted through often-contested regulatory processes, and then developed into operating mines is challenging. On average, it takes over two decades between discovering a copper deposit and start production.
Despite a surge in mining exploration budgets, a mere 16 out of the 224 copper deposits unearthed after 1990 were discovered within the last decade.
Environmental opposition has also derailed some high-profile proposed copper mines, including Alaska’s Pebble Mine, which the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency blocked in 2023 over potential impacts on salmon fisheries.
https://www.mercomindia.com/copper-threatens-green-energy-transition
May 22, 2024 at 02:32 am EDT
BEIJING, May 22 (Reuters) - Copper prices fell on Wednesday on softening physical demand and higher inventories in top consumer China and as investors were cautious ahead of the release of minutes of the Federal Reserve's latest meeting.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME) was down 1% to $10,750 per metric ton by 0613 GMT.
The most-traded June copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) lost 1.1% to 86,160 yuan ($11,903.35) a ton.
Both contracts had hit record highs on Monday amid copper concentrate supply shortages and demand optimism.
But a lack of fundamental support cooled the rally, which had dampened consumption from copper users, traders said.
Discount to buy copper in China's spot market widened to 340 yuan per ton on Tuesday, the biggest since January 2015, according to Shanghai Metals Market .
Copper warehouse stocks on SHFE stood at 291,020 tons last Friday, more than four times higher than that in the beginning of February. Meanwhile, China's April refined copper output rose on a daily average basis from the prior month, easing concerns of smelters' output cut.
The dollar was steady against a handful of peers on Wednesday, as the market assessed calls for patience from Federal Reserve officials and awaited the publication of Fed minutes for more insight on the central bank's interest rate path.
A stronger dollar makes it more expensive to buy the greenback-priced commodity.
LME aluminium gained 0.2% to $2,732 a ton, nickel dropped 0.4% to $21,215, zinc dipped 0.1% to $3,135, tin decreased 0.1% to $34,300, while lead gained 0.5% to $2,348.50.
SHFE aluminium climbed 0.7% to 21,285 yuan a ton, zinc advanced 0.4% to 24,790 yuan, tin shed 0.2% to 277,120 yuan, lead fell 2% to 18,525 yuan, and nickel was 0.5% lower to 157,010 yuan.
LIMA - The Peruvian government's 2024 copper production goal of three-million metric tons is realistic, senior industry executives said on Tuesday, as the country seeks to boost mining investments to help lift the economy out of recession.
The South American country produced 2.76-million tons of copper last year, dropping its rank from first to second for global production of the red metal. It still ranks first globally for export volumes.
Mining is key to Peru's economy, which fell into a recession in 2023 due to adverse climate effects, social conflicts and a drop in investments.
"The 3 million ton projection is realistic," Carlos Castro, manager of corporate affairs and business development at Minera Las Bambas, told Reuters on Tuesday on the sidelines of a forum attended by global mining executives.
Las Bambas, owned by the China's MMG, has seen production drop in the recent years in the midst of social protests by residents demanding greater benefits from the mine.
"It's a reasonable projection," said Raul Jacob, vice president of finance at Southern Copper, the country's third-largest copper producer.
Southern Copper hopes to increase its copper production by 20% this year from 2023, when it extracted 374 149 t of the metal, according to government figures.
Peru's Mining and Energy Minister Romulo Mucho announced the three-million-ton goal in March.
"We're going to break the record this year, we can do it, the first three months of the year show that we're growing," Mucho said on Tuesday.
Miners' confidence comes as copper prices hit two-year highs.
Victor Gobitz, president of Antamina, Peru's second-largest copper producer, said the forecast is "very optimistic," but still achievable. "I would estimate production will land in the 2.8-million to 3-million tons range."
Antamina, which is controlled by Glencore, BHP, Teck and Mitsubishi, produced 435 378 t of copper last year, and hopes to maintain that level in 2024.
In the last year, Peru has granted environmental permits for the expansion of some key projects and expects the construction of others such as Southern Copper's Tia Maria.
Southern Copper's long-stalled $1.4-billion Tia Maria project in Peru is set to break ground by the end of the year or in the first half of 2025, according to a senior company executive.
Demand for copper in a diverse set of industries has been on the rise this year as the global economy continues to thrive.
In fact, price of the industrial metal hit an all-time high on Tuesday. Here are the top three stocks that could benefit the most from record copper price.
BHP Group Ltd BHP
BHP is fine pick to play continued demand and subsequently elevated price of copper as it operates one mine in Australia and several more in South America.
The New York listed firm is worth owning also because it has a 45% stake in Resolution Copper – one of the largest undeveloped copper projects in the world that is expected to produce 40 billion pounds of the industrial metal over 40 years.
BHP produced 1.72 million metric tons of copper in its latest reported financial year. Still, the Australian miner is committed to expanding its footprint in copper as evidenced in its recent $43 billion bid for Anglo American.
Southern Copper Corp SCCO
Southern Copper Corp makes it to our list of top copper stocks that are worth buying in 2024 because it’s among the world’s biggest integrated copper producers.
The mining giant based out of Phoenix, Arizona has capacity to materially increase its copper output as it holds the largest copper reserves as well.
In fact, $SCCO is committed to expanding production by a whopping 84% between 2022 and 2032. A bunch of large-scale expansion projects it has already secured approval for positions it well for long-term growth.
Southern Copper expects to invest $1.8 billion annually on average to boost its copper production in a bid to take advantage of the rising demand and higher copper price.
Freeport-McMoRan Inc FCX
Any list of best copper stocks would be rather incomplete without the mention of Freeport-McMoRan considering it has the Grasberg mine in its portfolio.
That’s significant since the aforementioned mine located in Indonesia is currently one of the biggest single copper sources in the world. $FCX is expected to boost its annual copper output by some 800 million pounds in the near term.
Last month, Freeport-McMoRan reported its Q1 earnings that handily topped Street estimates as “market fundamentals for copper [remained] positive, supported by [its] increasingly important role in global economy”.
Wall Street currently has a consensus “overweight” rating on Freeport-McMoRan that pays a dividend yield of 0.55% at writing.
Anglo American on Wednesday rejected a third takeover proposal from BHP Group that valued the company at 38.6 billion pounds ($49.18 billion), but agreed to a one-week extension for its rival to table a binding offer. The move marks the third unsuccessful offer in a month from BHP, the world's biggest listed mining group, as Anglo works on a radical plan to divest its less profitable coal, nickel, diamond and platinum businesses.
The 29.34 pounds per share approach, based on undisturbed share prices at market close on April 23 and raised from an initial 25.08 pounds, is still conditional on Anglo un-bundling its platinum and iron ore assets in South Africa, the country where it was founded and has deep roots, employing more than 40,000 people. Anglo reiterated that this condition carries significant execution and completion risks.
BHP's proposal "does not address the Board's concerns about the structure, which results in significant complexity, execution risks, an extended timeline to completion," Anglo chairman Stuart Chambers said in a statement. "(It) consequently has the potential for material value leakage to be disproportionately suffered by Anglo American's shareholders," he added.
Anglo's share price reversed earlier losses at 27.15 pounds, up 1% by 1344 GMT. BHP said in a separate statement that it will not increase the percentage of its shares it is offering Anglo's shareholders as part of the deal, unless a third party makes a competing offer.
Analysts at JP Morgan
last week said BHP would need to boost its offer by around 30% to reflect fair value for Anglo and its prized copper assets in Chile and Peru. Developments such as artificial intelligence and automation, and the energy transition including electric vehicles and renewable energy, have driven up demand prospects for copper cable used to conduct electricity. ($1 = 0.7849 pounds)
BHP and Kingsrose Mining have struck an exploration alliance that will see the Big Australian fund the junior’s nickel-copper exploration in Norway and Finland.
BHP will fund up to $87 million across the project generation and earn-in phases, leaving the major with the option to establish a joint venture with Kingsrose once the targets become defined projects.
“The terms of these alliances are industry-leading in how they foster collaboration and the opportunity for mutual value creation between a major and junior company,” Kingsrose managing director Fabian Baker said.
“The exploration tenements held by Kingsrose in Norway and Finland represent a rare exploration opportunity with respect to their scale and prospectivity for discovery.
“The alliances will see significant exploration expenditure across these mineral belts with the objective of discovering Tier-1 mineral deposits.”
The alliance follows Australian-based Kingsrose’s participation in the BHP Xplor program, a six-month accelerator course for early-stage explorers looking to fast-track and de-risk their geologic concepts and become investment ready.
“BHP developed the Xplor program to address the challenge of declining global discovery rates by building an industry-first platform for cross-industry collaboration, talent sharing and lifting of exploration operating standards,” BHP exploration vice president Sonia Scarcelli said.
“BHP is pleased to continue its collaboration with Kingsrose who represent a leading explorer both technically and in their responsible approach to mineral exploration.”
Kingsrose has identified two highly prospective mineral belts in Norway and Finland that are host to numerous historical and recent mineral discoveries.
“We look forward to continuing our collaboration with the team at BHP and delivering successful and responsible exploration in Norway and Finland,” Baker said.
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https://www.australianmining.com.au/bhp-xplor-sets-up-copper-aspirants-success/
Shares of Vedanta Group-controlled Hindustan Zinc have nearly doubled investor wealth in a month's time after its shares rallied 8.75% on Wednesday to hit a fresh all-time peak of Rs 807 on BSE . The metal stock 's market capitalisation has also crossed the Rs 3 lakh crore mark after 6 days of non-stop rally.
Hindustan Zinc is also the best-performing metal stock in the calendar year 2024 with a staggering return of 146% year-to-date. So what's driving this surge?
While Hindustan Zinc derives most of its revenues from zinc, the recent stock boom is largely attributed to the sharp surge seen in silver prices globally. The company is India's only silver producer and after recording its highest-ever silver production in FY24, it has become the third-largest silver producer globally. "The rally is predominantly to do with silver whose prices have hit fresh record highs. For Hindustan Zinc, silver is a by-product and any price rise simply adds to its bottomline.
The future outlook of silver continues to look bullish and the stock is being seen as a play on silver," Sunny Agrawal, Head of Fundamental Equity Research, SBI Securities , told ETMarkets In FY25, HZL's silver sales are expected to rise over 27% to Rs 6,840 crore. Silver accounted for about 19% of the company's total sales in FY24 with zinc occupying a bulk of over 60% share.
The company has given FY25 guidance for saleable silver production of 750 to 775 tons. On MCX , silver was trading above the Rs 94,000 mark and is seen as crossing the Rs 1 lakh milestone soon with developing industrial use cases like EVs, solar panels, 5G, etc. Silver prices are up around 20% so far in 2024. In the middle of a commodity boom , HZL also has plans to create two separate entities - one for zinc/lead and another for silver - while turning the recycling business into a subsidiary.
The Indian government, which owns a 29.54% stake in the miner, has told the company that the timing is not appropriate considering they are in the process of divesting the stake."However, looking at the rally of zinc prices , we have spoken to the government and we feel that this is the right time for the government to disinvest and also help us to demerge these entities and create a silver as a separate entity because we continuously believe that it will unlock another $3 to $4 billion on the market cap," HZL CEO Arun Misra had told investors last month in a concall.Anil Agarwal-controlled Vedanta holds a 64.92% stake in HZL.
(Bloomberg) -- Copper steadied following the biggest drop in almost two years, as Chinese factories balked at paying record prices and Federal Reserve officials made hawkish comments on inflation.
The metal surged to an all-time high above $11,000 a ton on Monday, as bullish bets put pressure on holders of short positions to close out their trades. That was followed by a slump of 4.1% on Wednesday, the most since July 2022, amid profit-taking and signs of weaker demand in China.
Factories in the world’s biggest metals consumer are struggling to pass on the surging costs of copper to clients making products ranging from air-conditioners to home electronics.
In the US, minutes from the May Federal Open Market Committee meeting showed concern over “disappointing” price increases. The central bank may hold rates higher for longer “should inflation not show signs of moving sustainably toward” its 2% target. That could put a dampener on global economic growth.
The record rally for copper was “showing signs of easing,” Jinrui Futures Co. said in a note. Still, China’s vow to step up stimulus along with expectations supplies will tighten may support elevated prices in the near term, the firm said.
Copper was little changed at $10,411 a ton on the London Metal Exchange as of 3:16 p.m. local time. Aluminum was 0.9% lower.
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/copper-extends-decline-record-prices-032750420.html
COPPER
While there does not appear to be a specific event puncturing Chinese copper demand expectations, that mantra has combined with a severely overbought technical condition for a definitively bearish track today. However, the source of the reversal was likely price shock at Chinese factories given record pricing and to a lesser degree macro pressures from hawkish Fed news. The bearish bias is furthered by the lack of positive price response to a local lawsuit filed against Rio Tinto in the Papua New Guinea which could disrupt production. Ongoing volatility is justified considering recent record high pricing and significantly overbought spec and fund long categories in futures especially with dollar adversity and reduced delayed US rate cut prospects in lay.
GOLD & SILVER
While the declines yesterday in gold and silver were blamed on fear of hawkish statements from the last Fed meeting minutes, the declines this morning are the result of a realization of hawkish news from the actual release. Apparently, the Fed had a debate on whether policy was tight enough to bring inflation down as quickly as was hoped for and some policymakers were disappointed in the economic information they have seen since the March meeting. Therefore, a minimal higher high for the move in the US dollar adds to the liquidation bias in markets that were significantly overdone into the recent highs. In another slightly disappointing development yesterday, both gold and silver ETF holdings declined breaking a six-day pattern of inflows to gold and suggesting that small investors are not decisively bullish yet. Recent dialogue indicated buyers suffered price shock and are waiting for lower prices. In a supportive development overnight, the Peoples Bank of China reportedly added 225 tons of gold to its reserves last year which represents the largest annual purchase since 1977. In the end, the takeaway from the Fed meeting minutes is bearish and perhaps very bearish as a reduction in rate (cuts) prospects is disappointing but chatter of the need to hike rates gives the bear camp ongoing confidence today.
https://www.archerfinancials.com/ongoing-volatility-in-copper/
Futures Market:
Overnight, LME lead opened at $2,329/mt and continued its recent upward trend, reaching a high of $2,359/mt, the highest since April 26, 2022. However, after the release of the US Fed meeting minutes, the US dollar index jumped to a one-week high, causing base metals to plummet. LME lead also fell sharply to $2,308/mt, eventually closing at $2,312/mt, down 0.73%.
Overnight, SHFE lead warrant inventory decreased by over a thousand tons. The most-traded SHFE lead contract opened at 18,685 yuan/mt, but the tight supply of scrap eased, causing SHFE lead to move downwards after a higher opening, reaching a low of 18,455 yuan/mt. SHFE lead closed at 18,520 yuan/mt, down 0.19%. The open interest increased by 1,132 lots compared to the previous trading day to 80,756 lots.
Spot Market Fundamentals:
Yesterday in the lead spot market, SHFE lead continued its downward trend. Sellers maintained small premiums, but actual transactions were quiet. Downstream enterprises increased their inquiries, leading to improved activity. In terms of primary lead, inventory at smelters was low, with quotations maintaining a premium of 0-150 yuan/mt over the average SMM 1# lead price ex-factory. In the mainstream trade markets of Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Shanghai, domestic lead was quoted with a premium of 0-50 yuan/mt over the SHFE 2406 lead contract. For secondary lead, the decline in lead prices forced traders to sell, significantly increasing the arrivals of scrap at smelters. The secondary refined lead was quoted with a discount of 150-0 yuan/mt over the SMM 1# lead average price ex-factory.
Lead Price Forecast for Today:
Macro aspects: US Fed meeting minutes suggest that it may take longer to cut interest rates. The "new Fed news agency" reported that due to poor Q1 inflation data, Fed officials expect rate cuts to take longer, with some open to rate hikes if inflation accelerates. However, April inflation data reassured that no rate hikes are needed.
Fundamentals: Recently, domestic and overseas lead ingot inventories have continued to decline. Additionally, some primary and secondary lead smelting enterprises are undergoing maintenance, limiting ingot supply. Since May, lead import losses have narrowed, opening the window for lead concentrate imports and easing the tight domestic raw material supply. Meanwhile, the recent decline in lead prices has forced scrap battery traders to shift from hoarding to selling due to fear of further price drops, increasing the circulation of scrap batteries in the market. The arrivals of scrap at some smelters have significantly increased.
How much a stock's price changes over time is important for most investors, since price performance can both impact your investment portfolio and help you compare investment results across sectors and industries.
Another thing that can drive investing is the fear of missing out, or FOMO. This particularly applies to tech giants and popular consumer-facing stocks.
What if you'd invested in Southern Copper (SCCO) ten years ago? It may not have been easy to hold on to SCCO for all that time, but if you did, how much would your investment be worth today?
Southern Copper's Business In-Depth
With that in mind, let's take a look at Southern Copper's main business drivers.
Phoenix, AZ-based Southern Copper Corporation engages in mining, exploring, smelting, and refining copper and other minerals. The company conducts exploration activities in Argentina, Chile, Ecuador, Mexico and Peru.
Southern Copper has the largest copper reserves in the industry and operates high-quality, world-class assets in investment grade countries, such as Mexico and Peru.
Southern Copper reports results under three reportable segments. Each consist of a groups of mines with similar economic characteristics, type of products, processes and support facilities, regulatory environments as well as employee bargaining contracts.
Peruvian operations (around 36% of the company's revenues) includes the Toquepala and Cuajone mine complexes and the smelting and refining plants, industrial railroad and port facilities that service both mines. The Peruvian operations produce copper, with significant by-product production of molybdenum, silver and other materials.
Mexican Open-Pit (58% of revenues) includes La Caridad and Buenavista mine complexes, the smelting and refining plants and support facilities, which service both mines. The Mexican open pit operations produce copper, with significant by-product production of molybdenum, silver and other materials.
Mexican underground operations (6% of revenues) (IMMSA unit) includes five underground mines that produce zinc, lead, copper, silver and gold, a coal mine which produces coal and coke, and several industrial processing facilities for zinc, copper and silver.
The geographic breakdown of the company’s sales is as follows – Americas (50% of revenues), Europe (32%) and Asia (18%).
Approximately 80% of the company’s revenue come from the sale of copper, 6% from molybdenum and 10% from silver and zinc.
Bottom Line
While anyone can invest, building a lucrative investment portfolio takes research, patience, and a little bit of risk. If you had invested in Southern Copper ten years ago, you're probably feeling pretty good about your investment today.
According to our calculations, a $1000 investment made in May 2014 would be worth $3,904.41, or a 290.44% gain, as of May 23, 2024. Investors should keep in mind that this return excludes dividends but includes price appreciation.
In comparison, the S&P 500 gained 180.42% and the price of gold went up 76.55% over the same time frame.
Looking ahead, analysts are expecting more upside for SCCO.
Southern Copper expects copper production to be up 4.1% year over year and reach 948,800 tons in 2024 driven by the Pilares project running at full capacity and the Buenavista zinc concentrator ramp-up. Copper prices have gained recently supported by China's output reduction plans and the pickup in industrial activity. Strong demand amid worries about potential shortages is fueling copper prices. Silver prices have gained on expectations of interest rate cuts and safe haven demand. Higher output and metal prices will aid Southern Copper’s top line while cost-control measures will boost margins. With substantial copper reserves and strategic growth investments, the company is positioned for growth. The long-term prospects for copper remain positive, buoyed by U.S. infrastructure investment and global clean energy transition.
Shares have gained 7.91% over the past four weeks and there have been 3 higher earnings estimate revisions for fiscal 2024 compared to none lower. The consensus estimate has moved up as well.
Asked in an interview if South32 would be interested in Anglo’s share of its manganese business, Kerr told Reuters: “At the right price, absolutely. We know them better than anyone else.” He declined to elaborate on what that price might be.
South32 is the world’s largest producer of the steel hardening additive which it mines at its GEMCO operations in Australia’s Northern Territory and in South Africa’s Kalahari Basin.
Kerr, who had just returned from a trip to the United States, where South32 is developing its Taylor zinc-lead-silver project, has around $5 billion to spend as it seeks to bulk up its portfolio with two more assets.
“In a perfect world, we would like to have another operation in copper and zinc, and another shovel ready project,” he told Reuters in an interview, adding the miner was open to increasing its exposure in Southern Africa.
Investors are coming around to the fact that miners need to buy over build to grow and the bump in base metals prices over the past few months is helping to reframe their view, said Kerr.
Miners must become more aggressive to secure new projects or risk missing out, given the growing appetite for energy transition metals including copper, investors and mining CEOs said on Wednesday.
“When you see the short term bump in prices, it allows them investors) to envision a long term bump,” he said.
South32 has been one of the most active miners in buying and selling assets, nearly doubling its exposure to base metals over bulks from less than half of its portfolio, over the past nine years.
It in February agreed to sell its Illawarra metallurgical coal business to a consortium led by an Indonesian-owned company for $1.65 billion, exiting coal to focus on expanding in copper and zinc.
That is on track to finalize in the first half of next financial year, Kerr said, as its exit from fossil fuels has sparked interest from new shareholders.
“We certainly have seen more interest from European funds and even Australian super funds,” Kerr added.
(By Melanie Burton; Editing by Christian Schmollinger and Lincoln Feast)
The Southeast Asia Iron and Steel Institute (Seaisi) estimates that southeast Asian countries' steel demand will grow by 3.7pc from 2023 to 76.5mn t in 2024.
But the growth rate fell below previous expectations considering high global inflation risks, volatile prices and a demand slowdown in China and many other regions, the institute said at the 2024 Seaisi conference in Vietnam held over 13-16 May.
Steel demand in the six major countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean-6) fell by 1.9pc from 2022 to 73.5mn t in 2023, Seaisi said. Asean-6's steel production also dropped by 2.1pc on the year to 49.4mn t in 2023, in line with contracting demand. Asean-6's net imports slid by 1.3pc on the year to 24.3mn t in 2023.
Lower external demand, high inflation and interest rates as well as tightening global financial markets were the main reasons for steel industrial setbacks last year. It led to a slowdown in construction sectors and steel industrial destocking activities in the region. Steel demand in Malaysia, Philippines and Vietnam fell by 14pc, 7.5pc and 4.8pc respectively in 2023, weighing on regional industrial performance although demand rose by 18pc in Singapore and 6.3pc in Indonesia, Seaisi said. Thailand's steel demand edged down by 0.1pc in 2023.
Asean regional steel demand was expected to increase in 2024 because Asean-6 governments were optimistic about achieving their economic growth targets, given strong private consumption in most countries, the rolling out of infrastructure and construction projects, a recovery in tourism and electronics, and as inflation rates move towards targeted ranges. But the region will continue to experience challenges from supply chain uncertainties on the back of escalating geopolitical tensions and wars, weakening Asean currencies except for the Singapore dollar, economic slowdowns outside of Asean, volatile commodity prices, and extreme weather, Seaisi said.
Seaisi did not provide a forecast for regional steel production in 2024, but it sees steel capacity expansions in the region leading to overcapacity issues. It expects Asean-6 crude steel capacity to rise from 78mn t/yr in 2022 to 94mn t/yr in 2024.
The Steel Authority of India (SAIL) has received approval, at the board and Ministerial levels for a Rs 1,00,000-crore capex plan, which will contribute to capacity ramp up by approx. 75 percent to 35 MTPA by 2030.
Simulataneously, the company is also working on a concrete decarbonisation plan to bring down its carbon footprint. both greenfield and brownfield ones, The board has already approved a greenfield expansion plan for IISCO Steel Plant in West Bengal to hike capacity to four MTPA. The mill will produce higher grade hot rolled coil (HRC) and API-grade steel products for the oil and gas sector and steel in automotive components. The new mill is expected to be completed in about four years. IISCO’s current capacity is 2.6 MTPA of crude steel, and is utilised for conversion to rebar, wire rods and heavy structural products.
For expansion at Bokaro steel plant, the pre-feasability report studies (PFR) have been completed, as well as a consultant has been appointed for preparation of DPR. Alos, the brownfield expansion and modernisation efforts at the Durgapur Steel Plant have been initiated and plans submitted in October. While a product mix is under-discussion, there will be a new TMT mill of 1.4 MTPA coming up as part of the expansion plan.
A part of the capex will also go towards introduction of 'new technologies', and embedded carbon emissions in steelmaking would be 'substantially lower'. SAIL has already achieved around 20 percent reduction in its first phase of decarbonisation.
The company is now preparing time-bound action plans to achieve less than 2.3 tonne/ tonne of crude steel of CO2 emissions by 2030-31.
https://www.projectstoday.com/News/SAIL-gets-clearance-for-Rs-one-lakh-cr-expansion-plan
Fundamentals in the US scrap market are not yet strong enough to support a possible price rise during June trading. Consequently, market participants expect prices either to remain unchanged from May values or decline slightly.
Some mills’ outages and inconsistent domestic market and scrap export values are seen exerting strong pressure on scrap prices, making any upswing unlikely.
A scrap dealer tells Kallanish: ”Low scrap prices have a negative impact on supply. However, I think other factors will outweigh and prices will not be able to hold. In the best-case scenario, we may see stabilisation but not a rise.”
On the West Coast, US-origin containerised HMS 1&2 80:20 price declined to $348/tonne cfr Taiwan due to weak demand amid electricity limitations last week, with current week’s indicative values at around $345/t cfr. Taiwan mill Feng Shin has maintained its scrap and rebar offers this week.
On the East Coast, Turkish mills concluded four US-origin cargoes, most at $380/t cfr for HMS 1&2 80:20 with one sale at $382.5/t cfr. Amid squeezed costs and weak steel sales, Turkish mills are not willing to pay higher for scrap.
Wednesday, 22 May 2024 15:50:36 (GMT+3) | Istanbul
Speaking at a press conference held in Istanbul, Haluk Kayabaşı, CEO of Turkey-based Kibar Holding, has stated that dumped stainless steel imports threaten local production and that safeguard measures should be implemented to prevent unfair competition, as reported by Turkish media.
Pointing out that Turkey imposed only a 12 percent duty on stainless steel imports at the beginning of the current year while many countries imposed import duties of up to 58 percent on stainless steel from China, Indonesia and Taiwan, Mr. Kayabaşı stated that Turkey has become an open market for the Asian countries which cannot sell to the EU and the US. Noting that Turkey-based POSCO Assan TST, a joint venture between Kibar Holding and South Korean steel producer POSCO, can meet local Turkish demand, the Kibar Holding CEO stated that POSCO Assan has no chance of competing unless company-based antidumping duties are implemented against low-quality and dumped Asian stainless steel imports. Stating that POSCO Assan has the capacity to meet 80 percent of the local stainless steel demand, Mr. Kayabaşı said that the company’s capacity utilization has decreased to 45 percent due to dumped imports.
Noting that POSCO Assan registered a net loss of $67 million in 2023, Kayabaşı said that, if dumping of imports from Asia continue and a loss is recorded in 2024, negotiations will be held with the South Korean partners to determine whether the company will continue production.
Thursday, 23 May 2024 10:06:23 (GMT+3) | Shanghai
In April this year, China’s stainless steel imports amounted to 194,000 mt, up 27.08 percent month on month, while up 58.97 percent year on year, according to China’s customs authorities.
In April, China’s stainless steel exports totaled 392,600 mt, up 1.63 percent month on month, while rising by 4.35 percent year on year.
In the January-April period this year, China’s stainless steel imports and exports amounted to 802,200 mt and 1.4544 million mt, up 37.59 percent and 8.25 percent year on year, respectively.
In April, China’s net export volume of stainless steel amounted to 198,600 mt, down 15.02 percent month on month, while increasing by 21.87 percent year on year. In the first four months this year, China’s net export volume of stainless steel totaled 652,200 mt, down 14.24 percent year on year.
In April China’s stainless steel scrap imports amounted to 8,400 mt, down 2.33 percent month on month, while decreasing by 77.72 percent year on year. In the January-April period this year, China’s stainless steel scrap imports reached 38,100 mt, down 73.21 percent year on year.
UPDATE 1-Iron ore climbs to 3-month high on prospects of improved property demand
Updates prices
By Mai Nguyen
May 20 (Reuters) -Iron ore futures rose to their highest level in three months on Monday, as traders welcomed China's latest support measures for its crisis-hit real estate sector that accounts for a large volume of iron ore.
The most-traded September iron ore on China's Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE) DCIOcv1 closed 1.1% higher at 894.50 yuan ($123.72) per metric ton.
Earlier in the session, the contract rose as much as 2.4% to 906 yuan, the highest since Feb. 20.
China announced "historic" steps on Friday to stabilise its property sector, with the central bank facilitating 1 trillion yuan in extra funding and easing mortgage rules, and local governments set to buy "some" apartments.
Iron ore and steel are heavily used in the construction sector and China is the world's biggest consumer of the commodities.
The benchmark June iron ore SZZFM4 on the Singapore Exchange was 1.4% higher at $119 a ton, as of 0702 GMT.
Gains in other metals such as copper and gold, with both climbing to record highs on Monday, also boosted trading sentiment in the ferrous complex, said a trader.
"Ferrous opened strong today due to pulling effect from other metals, and also very positive real estate support announced last Thursday and Friday," the trader said.
However, with Chinese steel mills margin remaining in negative territory, prices of raw materials are likely to fall soon when mills start pushing back against their suppliers, the trader added.
Crude steel output in China in the first four months of 2024 fell 3% year-on-year, and an analyst expected this year's annual output will not surpass 2023's level.
The latest batch of China data for the property sector showed demand remained weak.
Property investment fell 9.8% year-on-year in the first four months, and new home prices in April dropped at the fastest monthly rate in more than nine years.
Other steel-making ingredients on the DCE rose on Monday, with coking coal DJMcv1 up 1% at 1,743 yuan a ton, and coke DCJcv1 also rising 1% to 2,278 yuan.
Steel benchmarks on the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) were trading in green.
SHFE rebar SRBcv1 strengthened 0.7% to 3,735 yuan a ton, hot-rolled coil SHHCcv1 grew 0.5% to 3,865 yuan, wire rod SWRcv1 increased 1.8% to 4,006 yuan and stainless steel SHSScv1 gained 1.4% to 14,455 yuan.
($1 = 7.2301 yuan)
Reporting by Mai Nguyen in Hanoi; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips and Krishna Chandra Eluri
Iron ore futures rose on Tuesday, as resilient demand and improved prospects in top consumer China continued to support the market.
The most-traded September iron ore contract on China's Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE) TIO1! ended daytime trade 1.7% higher at 908 yuan ($125.47) a metric ton.
The benchmark June iron ore (SZZFM4) on the Singapore Exchange rose 1.9% to $120.4 a ton, as of 0751 GMT.
On Friday, China announced steps for its crisis-hit property sector, with the central bank facilitating 1 trillion yuan ($138 billion) in extra funding and easing mortgage rules, among others.
"There's still a lot of hot air built into iron ore prices and China's wider industrial metals complex, which have been propped up by optimism and positive sentiment around the recent bouts of housing sector-related support packages," said Atilla Widnell, managing director at Navigate Commodities.
However, Widnell added that "while the measures are supportive of house prices and will address the wider wealth and value destruction created by excess inventory, we do not believe it will be a silver bullet for construction activity and associated steel demand."
Chinese steel mill margins also remain weak, placing pressure on prices of steel making raw materials, ANZ Research said in a note.
Other steelmaking ingredients on the DCE were mixed, with coking coal NYMEX:ACT1! edging up 0.1% and coke (DCJcv1) slipping 0.1%.
Steel benchmarks on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were mostly up. Rebar RBF1! rose 0.4%, hot-rolled coil EHR1! advanced 0.3% and stainless steel HRC1! was up 0.4%, while wire rod (SWRcv1) slipped 0.1%.
($1 = 7.2369 Chinese yuan)
BEIJING: China 's imports of Australian coal in April rose to the highest level since July 2020, Reuters records and customs data showed on Monday, because of improving trade relations and tariff advantages.
The country imported 7.19 million metric tons of Australian coal last month, according to data from the General Administration of Customs. That represents a 25 per cent increase from the same month of 2019, before a years-long unofficial ban on Australian coal imports. Australian coal exports to China have been recovering since February 2023, when China ended the ban in place since 2020, after trade relations improved between the two countries. Australian exporters have also benefited from a free trade agreement that allows Australian coal to enter China tariff-free. China reinstated a 3 per cent-6 per cent import tariff at the beginning of the year on countries without an agreement, applying to Russian and Mongolian coal imports.
The country also increased coal imports from sanction-hit Russia and neighbouring Mongolia last month, the data showed, to make up for domestic production cuts. Russian coal imports ticked up 5 per cent year-on-year to 8.49 million tons, despite sanctions affecting major Russian coal traders. The increase came mostly from coking coal imports, which rose by 18 per cent. China's total coal imports increased 11 per cent in April to 45.25 million tons as domestic production failed to meet demand. Safety inspections have curbed production in the main coking coal producing hub of Shanxi, where output dipped by 18.9 per cent in the first quarter of the year. Imports from Mongolia, mostly coking coal, also helped fill the gap, rising by 33 per cent last month to 7.2 million tons.Indonesia, China's largest coal supplier, shipped 17.82 million metric tonnes in April, down 15 per cent from a year earlier.
Most Adani Group shares recovered at market close on Wednesday after a news report alleging the conglomerate had a decade back supplied low-grade coal as higher quality coal to a state government-owned power generation company.
Group flagship, Adani Enterprises, which hit a low of Rs 3,075 during trade today, closed 0.61 per cent higher at Rs 3,134.75.
Adani Ports ended at Rs 1,377.90, down 0.54 per cent, off its day's low of Rs 1,364.35. Adani Total Gas ended 0.47 per cent higher at Rs 934.55, while Adani Energy Solutions advanced 2.33 per cent; Adani Power rose 1.68 per cent while Adani Green Energy added 0.14 per cent.
Financial Times, citing a report of the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), claimed that in January 2014 Adani Group bought 'low-grade' coal from an Indonesian company at an alleged cost of $28 a tonne.
This shipment, the report alleged, was then sold to the Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution company (TANGEDCO) as high-quality coal for an average price of $91.91 per metric tonne.
An Adani spokesperson denied the allegations, calling them “false and baseless.”
“The suggestion that Adani Global Pte Ltd supplied to TANGEDCO inferior coal, as compared to the quality standards laid down in the tender and PO [purchase order], is incorrect,” the spokesperson said.
“While it is difficult for us to comment on individual cases due to the sheer volume of data and the elapsed time, not to add the contractual and legal obligations, it is important to note that the coal supplied, irrespective of the declaration by the supplier, is tested for quality at the receiving plant,” the company added.
Last December, the Delhi High Court directed the Central Bureau of Investigation and Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) to look into the allegations of over-invoicing of coal imports and equipment by some companies, including Adani Group and Essar Group.
"This court finds it appropriate to direct the respondents to meticulously and expeditiously look into the allegations of the petitioners to unearth actual factual position and take appropriate actions against the erring companies, if any, as per law," the court said.
Earlier, the Adani Group had rejected the 'over-invoicing' charge and said the issue of overvaluation in the import of coal "was conclusively settled by India's highest court of law". It added the DRI's show cause notice alleging over-valuation in the import of coal was quashed by the appellate tribunal (CESTAT). "Further, the DRI's appeal was dismissed as withdrawn by the Supreme Court of India on January 24, 2023 with the observation that 'we appreciate the stand taken by the government in not entering into futile litigation'."
Perth, Australia , May 20, 2024 - (ABN Newswire) - The Arrow Minerals Ltd (ASX:AMD) project is along strike and adjoins the giant Simandou iron ore project under development by Winning Consortium /SimFer JV(RIO/Chalco/Bauwu).
At 4.6bt at 65% Fe, Simandou is the world's largest undeveloped high grade iron ore project. High-grade, low-impurity iron ores can support net zero carbon emissions and deliver varieties of Green Steel.
Port, dual-track multi-user rail and mine development spend of USD$27b is well advanced and due for commissioning in 2025. This is the largest mine and infrastructure project on the African continent. The planned rail comes within 20km of the Arrow Minerals' project. Rio Tinto forecast first production in 2025.
The company is well advanced on a tenement wide drilling programme. 5,069 metres drilling completed and on track for 15,000 metres by the end of July. Approximately 40 km strike of the highly prospective Simandou banded iron formation has been mapped on the Arrow tenure.
Multiple drill holes and mapping has confirmed potential for high grade iron (ie DALDDH003, 12 metres at 60.1% Fe) mineralisation on the Arrow tenure.
There are 6 rigs on site now testing Direct Shipping ore (DSO) targets. DSO is an iron ore that can be mined, crushed, screened and blended to a customer specification.
Our vision is to be a highly profitable and substantial supplier of DSO to global markets and delivering substantial benefit to the communities where we operate.
*To view the full Update Presentation, please visit:
https://abnnewswire.net/lnk/54B98SBJ
About Arrow Minerals Ltd :
Arrow Minerals Ltd (ASX:AMD) is an exploration and development company focused on delivering long-term shareholder value through the discovery of economic mineral deposits in West Africa . The Company has implemented a systematic science-based exploration philosophy whilst remaining commercially nimble to ensure we capture and retain value.
Contact:
Arrow Minerals Ltd
E: info@arrowminerals.com.au
WWW: www.arrowminerals.com.au
JSW Steel, a major player in India's steel industry, has strategically secured essential raw materials by acquiring a Mozambique-based mining firm specializing in high-grade coking coal, Kallanish notes.
JSW Steel will obtain a 92% equity stake in Minas de Revuboe (MDR) and shareholders' loans for $73.7 million.
This deal grants JSW Steel access to over 800 million metric tonnes of premium hard coking coal reserves in Mozambique, as revealed in an investor presentation from 17 May 2024.
This strategic step highlights JSW Steel's dedication to bolstering its raw material supply chain.
Coking coal is a vital ingredient in primary steel production, and owning a mining operation in Mozambique will help JSW Steel mitigate supply chain risks and reduce dependency on external suppliers.
The company is reportedly also considering acquiring a 20% stake in Australia's Whitehaven Coal's Blackwater coal mine, valued between $750 million and $1 billion.
However, its previous attempt to acquire up to 75% of Canada's Teck Resources' metallurgical coal business fell through last year.
Indian steel mills heavily rely on imports to fulfil their coking coal needs due to a shortage of good quality domestic coking coal.
In 2023, India imported approximately 55 million tonnes of coking coal, with JSW Steel accounting for approximately 23% of total imports, according to customs data.
Source:Kallanish
