In a NATO summit in Washington centered on the war in Ukraine and extending support to Kyiv, the Western military alliance also took aim at China for being "a decisive enabler of Russia's war" by supplying Moscow with dual-use products. Finding Perspective: Beijing promptly batted away the label as "lies and smears" but the criticism continued to mount in Washington. NATO has steadily increased its focus on China over the last several years, with Beijing's support for Moscow amid its full-scale invasion of Ukraine marking a tipping point for the…

SunPower Corp. has suspended new solar installations and halted shipments, causing its stock to plunge by nearly 40% in afternoon trading. The solar company informed dealers that starting September 17, it will not support new leases, power purchase agreements (PPA) sales, or new project installations. This decision, outlined in a letter included in a research note from Roth MKM, signals severe operational challenges for SunPower. Analysts and market observers reacted sharply to the announcement. Pol Lezcano, an analyst with BloombergNEF, remarked,…

Canada is trying to perform a high wire act between maintaining its reputation as one of the world’s most climate-conscious superpowers on one side, and its position as one of the world’s largest and most powerful producers of fossil fuels on the other side. Canada has set some of the most ambitious decarbonization targets of any country on Earth. But it is also the fourth-largest oil producing nation, and actively expanding the industry’s reach and production.  Indeed, the Canadian oil industry is having a banner…

China-based CPP-Metron Consortium has pulled out of a contract with the government of Cyprus for the construction of what was to be the island’s first natural gas import terminal, claiming non-payment by the government, the Associated Press reported on Thursday.  According to the consortium, the government has failed to honor its commitments despite promising to do so in a March meeting chaired by President Nikos Christodoulides. “No contractor can be expected to work indefinitely on credit,” the consortium said, as cited…

Rare earth mineral companies in China have been stung by declining prices at the same time the government "tightens its grip" on the industry, according to Nikkei Asia. Companies like Rising Nonferrous Metals, a rare-earth miner listed in Shanghai, are losing money this year, a stark contrast to last year's profitability.  The company is blaming "drastic slide in sales prices of its major rare-earth products," according to the report. They sell dysprosium, terbium and didymium, a mix of neodymium and praseodymium. This company belongs to central…

Unnamed trading sources told Bloomberg on Thursday that loading through August had been canceled for at least 10 cargoes at Freeport LNG’s gas export terminal in Texas after the facility was shut down following Hurricane Beryl.  Traders not authorized to speak publicly on the matter told Bloomberg that the figure could rise further since the facility is not yet operating at full capacity.  Preliminary data from BloombergNEF revealed that gas flows delivered by pipeline into Freeport on Tuesday were less than a third of normal volumes.…

Unnamed trading sources told Bloomberg on Thursday that loading through August had been canceled for at least 10 cargoes at Freeport LNG’s gas export terminal in Texas after the facility was shut down following Hurricane Beryl.  Traders not authorized to speak publicly on the matter told Bloomberg that the figure could rise further since the facility is not yet operating at full capacity.  Preliminary data from BloombergNEF revealed that gas flows delivered by pipeline into Freeport on Tuesday were less than a third of normal volumes.…

Via Metal Miner   According to an official with the country’s new government, an additional £2.5 billion ($3.2 billion) will be made available for the UK steel manufacturing sector. This is in addition to the amount the government has already pledged for new furnaces at Tata Steel’s Port Talbot site. “There is a better deal available for Port Talbot and for the steel industry as a whole, I’m sure of that,” newly appointed Business Secretary John Reynolds said on July 7 during the BBC political show “Sunday…

Oil was trading down slightly on Thursday but largely holding onto its gains from the previous day, which saw the U.S. benchmark rally over 2.9%. American jobs data are feeding cautiously into optimism that the Federal Reserve remains on track for rate cuts, and another big drawdown in U.S. crude inventories lends further support to crude prices. On Thursday at 11:19 a.m. ET, Brent crude was trading at $84.63, down 0.53%, while WTI was holding onto its gains for the most part at $82.46, down 0.47%, maintaining the narrowing Brent-WTI…

The Vineyard Wind offshore project has been temporarily shut down following a turbine blade failure that resulted in debris washing ashore on Nantucket Island. The U.S. Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) is collaborating with Vineyard Wind to determine the cause of the incident, which has posed potential hazards to beachgoers during the peak summer tourist season. A BSEE spokesperson confirmed that no injuries were reported, but operations have been halted until further notice. This incident is a significant setback for Vineyard…

The Vineyard Wind offshore project has been temporarily shut down following a turbine blade failure that resulted in debris washing ashore on Nantucket Island. The U.S. Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) is collaborating with Vineyard Wind to determine the cause of the incident, which has posed potential hazards to beachgoers during the peak summer tourist season. A BSEE spokesperson confirmed that no injuries were reported, but operations have been halted until further notice. This incident is a significant setback for Vineyard…

After electricity is restored in Houston, people may ask with respect to future electricity reliability: what’s next? Well, in Houston we would characterize Centerpoint’s response as being more or less typical for a regulated utility. The hurricane disrupted and damaged the local grid and the utility moved to restore power with much outside assistance asap in line with standard industry practice. So what’s the problem? The problem is: what happens after the next hurricane or the one after that? Utility executives all around the…

National oil companies (NOCs) have been sitting on the sidelines of the latest merger frenzy in the industry, but the time may be right for these state-owned giants to return to spending on expansion via acquisitions, Wood Mackenzie said in a new report. The NOCs have seen their share of spending on mergers and acquisitions (M&As) collapse to the lowest level in 20 years, but a push for diversification among Middle Eastern state oil giants and energy security issues in China may prompt state-held players to look at international expansion…

National oil companies (NOCs) have been sitting on the sidelines of the latest merger frenzy in the industry, but the time may be right for these state-owned giants to return to spending on expansion via acquisitions, Wood Mackenzie said in a new report. The NOCs have seen their share of spending on mergers and acquisitions (M&As) collapse to the lowest level in 20 years, but a push for diversification among Middle Eastern state oil giants and energy security issues in China may prompt state-held players to look at international expansion…

Authored by Danny Ervin via RealClearEnergy, I am generally pessimistic about the future of the U.S. due to recent energy policies at the federal and state levels that favor "green" energy technologies, primarily solar and wind. These policies often distort the economics of power production, leading to a massive misallocation of capital and overinvestment in unreliable solar and wind projects. Reliable electricity supply requires consistency every second of the day, not just minute-by-minute, but also over weeks, months, and years. My past…

The Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee (JMMC), the OPEC+ panel monitoring the oil market, is not expected to recommend in August any changes to the current production policy plan of the group, OPEC+ delegates told Bloomberg on Thursday.    The JMMC panel meets more frequently than the OPEC+ ministers and typically observes the most recent market developments and, if necessary, recommends a course of action to the ministerial meetings. The JMMC meetings are currently being held every two months, with the previous taking place…

The Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee (JMMC), the OPEC+ panel monitoring the oil market, is not expected to recommend in August any changes to the current production policy plan of the group, OPEC+ delegates told Bloomberg on Thursday.    The JMMC panel meets more frequently than the OPEC+ ministers and typically observes the most recent market developments and, if necessary, recommends a course of action to the ministerial meetings. The JMMC meetings are currently being held every two months, with the previous taking place…

Oil bulls have a narrow window for bullish bets as driving season and weather disruptions create a prime opportunity for a market rally. With the driving season in full swing and weather-related production disruptions upon us, now may be the best chance for a market rally this year. It is a pivotal moment for bulls, with the tide expected to change after this quarter when the driving season ends. Despite its presumption that global oil demand growth is on a long-term downward trend, even the International Energy Agency (IEA), often criticized for…

China has long been building inroads into Africa, while the U.S. backs down from the region, leaving a gaping hole in the West’s influence over the “final frontier”. Now, however, we’re seeing all that soft power and oil-backed loans fizzle out as various think tanks note that China is increasingly choosing Arab oil over African crude.  Back in 2002, at the end of Angola’s 27-year civil war, the central African country pioneered the so-called “Angola model” wherein it received oil-backed loans from…

U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) is up over 2.9%, with Brent up only half that on the day, after the EIA reported a larger-than-expected draw on U.S. crude stockpiles and a weakening U.S. dollar. U.S. crude oil inventories have drawn down more than 20 million barrels over the last three weeks as driving season props up demand. On Wednesday at 5:16 p.m. ET, Brent crude was trading up 1.72% at $85.17, up $1.44 on the day, while WTI was trading up 2.90% at $83.10, for a gain of $2.34 on the day. The price of the OPEC basket of…