OPEC Secretary General Haitham al-Ghais said on Wednesday that the organization is ready to “intervene for the benefit of oil markets”, Saudi-owned Al-Arabiya TV reports, citing Ghais as saying that OPEC is aware, cautious and monitoring economic developments worldwide. In early October, OPEC+ announced plans to reduce oil production by …
Read More »Biden Asks Congress for $500 Million to Modernize the SPR
The Biden administration has asked Congress to approve $500 million in funds for the modernization of the four sites of the country’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve, suggesting in its request that the SPR is at risk of shortfalls. In a request to Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the White House’s Office of Management …
Read More »European Gas Prices Drop as Weather Predicted to Turn Warmer
Natural gas prices in Europe extended losses on Thursday as weather forecasts pointed to warmer temperatures, further delaying the start of the heating season in the region. Benchmark futures declined as much as 9.1%, following a slump of 8.2% on Wednesday. Warmer weather is expected in Scandinavia while above normal …
Read More »Oil Falls as Geopolitical Tensions Ease, China COVID-19 Concerns Return
Oil prices fell for a second day in early Asian trade on Thursday (Nov 17) as concerns over geopolitical tensions eased and rising numbers of COVID-19 cases in China added to demand worries in the world’s largest crude importer. Brent crude futures dropped by 62 cents, or 0.7 per cent, …
Read More »Adnoc Drilling Plans GCC Expansion as Oil and Gas Activity Increases
Adnoc Drilling, the largest national drilling company in the Middle East by rig fleet size, is looking to expand into the GCC as drilling activity increases after a surge in crude oil prices, according to the company’s chief executive. Rig activity in the GCC, which includes Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and …
Read More »Aramco’s S-OIL to Build SAR 26 bln Petrochemical Cracker in South Korea
Saudi Aramco announced its biggest ever investment in South Korea to develop one of the world’s largest refinery-integrated petrochemical steam crackers through its S-OIL affiliate. In a statement received by Argaam Aramco said, the SAR 26 billion ($7 billion) Shaheen project aims to convert crude oil into petrochemical feedstock. This …
Read More »Germany’s Gas Turbine Capacity Expansion Moving Too Slow
Germany is behind in its plan to expand its gas turbine capacity to 30 GW by 2030—the amount needed to stabilize its electricity distribution networks, according to General Electric. Just 4 GW of turbine capacity are in the planning stages. But the timeframes needed to get from the planning stage …
Read More »BP Says It Is Paying more Tax as It Makes more Profit
BP is paying more tax as it is making more profit, its UK head Louise Kingham told the Reuters Energy Transition Europe 2022 event on Wednesday. “It’s right that (the government) should think about how they protect the most vulnerable and taxation is not for companies to determine,” Kingham said. …
Read More »China Embraces Increased Coal Use for Energy Security
China is adding coal plants to tackle energy security concerns, but this doesn’t mean it is backing away from its previously stated emissions curbs, Chinese delegates said at the COP27 summit this week. China may be adding new coal plants to prevent a repeat poor performance from recent years that …
Read More »Why EV Battery Makers are in a Race to Develop Cheaper Cell Materials
American and European start-ups are racing to develop new batteries using two abundant, cheap materials — sodium and sulphur — that could reduce China’s battery dominance, ease looming supply bottlenecks and lead to mass-market electric vehicles. Today’s EVs run on lithium-ion batteries — made with lithium, cobalt, manganese and high-grade …
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