Recently, panic struck the southeastern United States as the Colonial Pipeline, the country’s largest fuel pipeline network, shut down after a cyberattack. With 2.5 million barrels per day of gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel suddenly gone, mass panic buying ensued, sending prices into a spiral of volatility. The incident reminded …
Read More »Strong Oil Demand Growth Is Here To Stay
Global oil demand is set to rebound and remain robust for some time, BP’s chief executive Bernard Looney told Bloomberg News on the sidelines of an economic forum in Russia, reiterating views expressed by most forecasters and analysts. “There is a lot of evidence that suggests that demand will be …
Read More »EU, Bill Gates Form $1 Billion Clean Energy Pact
The European Commission and Bill Gates joined forces in an initiative that wants to mobilize as much as $1 billion investment in clean technologies such as green hydrogen and sustainable fuels. The Commission and Breakthrough Energy Catalyst, a program founded by Gates, want to muster the funding in 2022-2026 to …
Read More »ExxonMobil Strategy for Climate Change
Dissident shareholders of ExxonMobil have won two seats on the company’s board of directors. The election “will likely force it to alter its fossil-fuel focused strategy and more directly confront growing shareholder concerns about climate change,” according to The Wall Street Journal. Fossil fuels are probably on the decline long-term, …
Read More »Europe’s Zero Pollution Dreams
Of all the objectives in the European Green Deal, presented in December 2019, the “Zero Pollution Action Plan” immediately jumped out as the one policymakers were likely to struggle with the most. “Creating a toxic-free environment” with zero air, water and soil pollution is something hardly anyone can disagree with. …
Read More »Saudi Arabia Pivots to Green Hydrogen to Stay a Global Energy Leader
The COVID-19 pandemic devastated the oil-dependent economies of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) as prices of oil collapsed in 2020 due to a record low global demand for crude oil. The GCC includes the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, Kuwait, and Bahrain. Global travel restrictions, stay-at-home orders, shutdowns …
Read More »World Faces ‘Looming Mismatch’ between Energy Transition and Critical Mineral Supply
Progress on the world’s rising climate action ambitions could be undermined by a shortage of some of the critical minerals used in clean-energy technologies including wind turbines, solar farms and electric vehicles (EVs), unless governments act now to head-off a “looming mismatch” in supply and demand, according to a far-reaching …
Read More »NEOM Reveals Plans to Build Assembly Plant for Hydrogen-Powered Vehicles
The company behind Saudi Arabia’s $500 billion NEOM megacity project on Thursday revealed plans to develop an assembly plant to build up to 10,000 hydrogen fuel cell-powered commercial vehicles a year. The initiative is part of an agreement between US-based Hyzon Motors, an expert in the supply of zero-emission hydrogen …
Read More »Aramco Is at the Core of Saudi Economic Diversification Plans
Saudi Arabia’s plans to diversify its economy hinges largely on funding from Aramco and other leading public sector entities while large private sector players are expected to join the massive 5 trillion-riyal ‘Shareek’ investment plan. The recent confirmation by Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman that the kingdom is …
Read More »World Still Waiting for US Climate Target as Biden Summit Looms
The United States is still putting the finishing touches on its plan to cut its greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, ahead of a summit this week with world leaders, including Russia’s President Vladimir Putin and China’s President Xi Jinping. President Joe Biden’s administration has been pressing other countries to make …
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