The takeover by PKN Orlen, an oil refiner and retailer, of fellow Polish energy giant PGNiG is not merely the merger of two of Poland’s largest companies, it is a strategic move that the country’s government hopes will put PKN Orlen in the “premier league” of European energy firms. The …
Read More »10 Reasons to Sell ExxonMobil Now
In January 2017, Rex Tillerson left to join the Trump administration as Secretary of State (and was permitted to sell more than $50 million in directly held Exxon stock tax free). His replacement, CEO Darren Woods — now nearly four years into the job — has presided over a 50% …
Read More »Can Biden Fix Climate Change With $1.3 Trillion?
In his Democrat Party nomination acceptance speech last night, Vice President Joe Biden indicated that he could solve the problem of climate change. And he said he could do it all with the money the government would get by changing the tax code. In two sentences and just 75 words …
Read More »Solar Technology could Increase Global Access to Drinking Water
Providing access to clean drinking water has been a challenge in some parts of the world for years. As the population grows and resources shrink, it becomes an even more pressing matter. New solar technology provides a possible solution by desalinating saltwater with minimal energy consumption. While water covers two-thirds …
Read More »Too much Supply, Too Little Demand, OPEC+ Wants Production Cuts
Fearing slow oil demand recovery, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies, a group known as OPEC+, during a meeting on August 19, pushed major oil producing countries pumping above output targets to cut more in August-September. During the 21st Meeting of the Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee …
Read More »Renewables Account for 57% of New U.S. Generating Capacity in First Half of 2020
Data just released by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) states that renewable energy sources (solar, wind, biomass, geothermal, hydropower) dominated new U.S. electrical generating capacity additions in the first half of 2020, according to an analysis by the SUN DAY Campaign. Combined, they accounted for 57.14% or 7,859 MW …
Read More »BP Walks Away From the Oil Supermajor Model It Helped Create
In the late 1990s, BP Plc boss John Browne used an oil-price slump to usher in the age of the supermajor, buying U.S. rivals Amoco and Arco to create a transatlantic giant. He kicked off a round of mergers that saw his company and four others dominate the industry — …
Read More »Covid-19, the No.1 Threat to Oil Market’s Full Recovery
Global oil demand has rebounded somewhat faster than previously thought, although the spread of the coronavirus in the United States and Latin America is “casting a shadow over the outlook,” the International Energy Agency (IEA) wrote in its latest Oil Market Report. The last few weeks have seen crude oil …
Read More »Denmark Allows Nord Stream 2 to Complete Pipeline Hit by US Sanctions
Danish Energy Agency on July 6 gave Nord Stream 2 permission to use pipe laying vessels with anchors to complete the final stretch of the gas pipeline in Danish waters, allowing the company to restart work on the pipeline from Russia to Germany that was hit by US sanctions. Nord …
Read More »BP Is Getting Out of Petrochemicals with $5 Billion Sale
BP has agreed to sell its petrochemicals business to Ineos for $5 billion, the latest in a series of asset sales by the UK oil company as it tries to refocus on cleaner energy. Ineos will pay an initial deposit of $400 million, BP said in a statement Monday. The …
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