Oil prices are back above $100 after negotiations between Russia and Ukraine deteriorated. Energy markets are rife with uncertainty, with the IEA suggesting that buyers will need to work out the way to reduce demand as supply shortages loom.
Hopes that Russia and Ukraine would come to some style of agreement during the foremost recent set of talks evaporated quickly in the week, sending oil prices back above the $100 per barrel threshold. Meanwhile, the International Energy Agency has said that this energy crisis may worsen within the upcoming weeks, suggesting consumers will should bear the brunt of a 3 million b/d supply crunch if Russia doesn't end its invasion of Ukraine. The suggestion from the IEA is that buyers could mitigate this pain by staying home, shunning aviation, and even reducing speed limits. In brief, the volatility we've been seeing up to now is much from over.
OPEC+ Compliance Rises to Whopping 136%. The widening discrepancy between production targets and actual output from OPEC+ members reached a brand new high in February, with participating states underperforming the quota at 136%, corresponding to almost 1 million b/d.
IEA Warns Russia May Lose 3 Million B/d of Output. in line with the International Energy Agency, sanctions could force Russia to chop 3 million b/d of boring, with 1.5 million b/d coming from shrinking marketing opportunities for crude and another 1 million b/d from declining product exports.
White House Approves More LNG Exports to Europe. The Biden administration had authorized additional exports of LNG from Cheniere (NYSE:LNG), allowing outflows of up to 0.7 billion cubic feet per day to countries with which the US doesn't have a trade agreement, seeing strong European demand.
UK Oil Diplomacy Fails to Yield Results. The official visit of British Prime Minister Boris Johnson to Saudi Arabia and therefore the United Arab Emirates, seeking to receive assurances of upper production from OPEC’s heavyweights, didn't secure any public pledges towards London.
Alaska Leak Continues to Hamper production. A shallow gas zone has been leaking for 2 weeks already at ConocoPhillips’ (NYSE:COP) Alpine field in Alaska’s North Slope, with the leak detected at the field’s oldest drill pad CD1 resulting in a 15,000 b/d call production throughout this month.
Marathon Mops Up US SPR Release. US refiner Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) was awarded over 50% of the 30 million barrel strategic stock drawdown on, taking home quite 16 million barrels, with downstream peers Valero (NYSE:VLO) and Phillips 66 (NYSE:PSX) trailing its offtake rate by an oversized margin.
Iran Releases Political Prisoners, Bringing Deal Closer. Iran has released two political prisoners, both UK citizens of Iranian origin held in captivity since 2016, rekindling hopes that an Iranian nuclear deal is within arm’s reach as Moscow had reportedly secured the diplomatic guarantees that it demanded.
Japan Wants More Wind Energy. Spurred by the ramifications of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and subsequent sanctioning of Russian gas and coal, Japan’s government has streamlined the event of offshore wind projects, planning to reach 10GW of operable capacity by 2030.
US Senate Introduces Bill to Ban Russian Uranium. a gaggle of Republican senators introduced a bill to ban US imports of Russian uranium as a part of a tightening sanctions regime, potentially blocking 16% of yankee fuel imports and adding another boost to uranium prices, already at $55/pound.
Norway Sticks to Arctic Drilling Goal. the govt. of Norway will offer new oil and gas licenses in previously unexplored acreage within the Arctic, having added stakes in 31 exploration blocks within the Barents Sea, reportedly adjacent to mature areas that are drilled within the past.
Japan Earthquake Halts Refineries. Japan had temporarily lost 10% of its refinery capacity after domestic refiner Eneos (TYO:5020) close up its 145,000 b/d Sendai and 130,000 b/d Chiba refineries following a 7.4 magnitude earthquake, the strongest since the 2011 Fukushima tsunami.
Blank Check Investor Takes Glencore’s mine. Blank-check investor firm Metals Acquisition Corp (NYSE:MTAL) bought Glencore’s (LON:GLEN) CSA mine in Australia for $1.1 billion, paying most of the deal value in cash and handing $50 million worth of shares to Glencore.
European Countries Advocate Electricity Price Cap. Spain and Portugal will propose capping wholesale power prices at €180/MWh to halt surging electricity prices, essentially reinstating a rule that wont to be implemented within the EU until 2019 when curbs on power prices were scrapped across Europe.
Germany to mix LNG with Ammonia. German energy firm RWE (FRA:RWE) agreed to create a terminal for importing green ammonia in Brunsbüttel, the presumed site for Germany’s first-ever LNG terminal that's expected to come back on stream in 2025.
Thanks for reading and we’ll see you next week.
