Via Metal Miner In a world where the appetite for energy is insatiable, the battery market has become the playground for some of the brightest minds aiming to fuel everything from cell phones to electric vehicles. However, as our gadgets become even smarter, the traditional batteries we’ve relied on seem ever so dim-witted in comparison. Enter the era of cutting-edge battery technology, where the latest developments are juicing up the market with a blend of high energy and high drama. The Latest Tech On (and Off) the Battery Market Let’s…

China has allocated more export quotas for refined petroleum products for 2024, issuing a second batch that nearly matches the volumes in the first batch.   China has recently issued 18 million metric tons of fuel export quotas in the second batch of allocations for this year, Chinese trade sources and consultancies told Reuters on Tuesday.   The volumes in the latest batch include 14 million tons of refined products and 4 million tons of marine fuel, consultancy firms Longzhong and JLC, as well as trade sources, said.…

Saudi Aramco is keeping its huge dividend of $31.1 billion for the first quarter despite a decline in net income due to lower crude sales as the Kingdom is voluntarily restricting supply to the market.  Aramco, the state oil giant of the world’s top crude oil exporter and the largest oil firm globally, reported on Tuesday a net income of $27.3 billion for the first quarter of 2024, down from $31.9 billion for the same period of 2023, due to lower crude oil volumes sold, weakening refining and chemicals margins, and lower finance…

The OPEC+ group is still studying whether to raise oil production but it would act on supply if necessary, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said on Tuesday.    The possibility to raise supply is still being reviewed, Russia’s top oilman said, as carried by Russian news agency Interfax. “It always depends on the current situation, the balance of supply and demand,” Novak said. “Everything is being analyzed. Right now, you don’t need to predict anything, you just need to see how the market…

The OPEC+ group is still studying whether to raise oil production but it would act on supply if necessary, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said on Tuesday.    The possibility to raise supply is still being reviewed, Russia’s top oilman said, as carried by Russian news agency Interfax. “It always depends on the current situation, the balance of supply and demand,” Novak said. “Everything is being analyzed. Right now, you don’t need to predict anything, you just need to see how the market…

Oil prices remained under pressure on Tuesday morning, but Israel's decision to send troops into Rafah and Saudi Arabia's aggressive pricing of its June cargos should help to stop oil prices from falling. - International organizations are increasingly sounding the tocsin on shrinking crude inventories, with the IEA indicating Q2 2024 would see demand surpass supply by a whopping 900,000 b/d, the first two consecutive negative quarters since late 2021. - With OPEC+ curbing supply by means of Saudi Arabia’s and Russia’s voluntary…

It is fairly common nowadays to see relatively near-term estimates for a point at which demand for petroleum-based fuels begins to decline. The term often used to describe this “tipping point” is Peak Oil Demand. When I say “near term,” I mean right around the corner if you look at an estimate published last year by the International Energy Agency-IEA, an intergovernmental agency headquartered in Paris, France, and originally established after the Oil Embargo of 1973 to help cushion against future oil shocks. This agency…

Oil and gas companies have boosted offshore drilling in recent months, finding large resources in the newest exploration hotspots and aiming to develop huge low-cost, low-emission oil and gas fields that will yield decades of high returns. The majors are investing more in deepwater exploration as they are doubling down on their pledge to continue delivering oil and gas to meet global demand. The high offshore drilling activity is already showing in the rising profits and backlogs of the world's top oilfield services providers and rig charterers.…

So strategically vital to Russia, Iran, and China is the Akkas gas field in Iraq that enormous pressure was brought to bear on politicians in Baghdad to ensure that all contracts related to the field went to Russian firms in the first instance, with back up from Chinese companies when required. Iranian gas companies are not thought up to the task of running a major gas field development, which is why their own gas fields are mostly being effectively run by firms from those two countries, particularly Russia. However, in one of the most extraordinary…

The Federal Trade Commission last week gave the green light to Exxon’s acquisition of Pioneer Natural Resources. There was one condition attached to the approval of the $60-billion deal: that Scott Sheffield, the former CEO of Pioneer, does not join the combined company’s board. The FTC alleged that Sheffield had colluded with OPEC and OPEC+ members to limit production and increase oil prices. The allegations shook the shale oil world, where several large consolidation deals are awaiting the trade watchdog’s approval. Now, the…

Giant Chevron and mid-cap Cheniere have said they are bullish on natural gas demand, which Chevron CEO Mike Wirth says he expects to beat expectations due to surging electricity consumption from big tech.  Speaking to CNBC on Monday, Wirth said that while the market for natural gas was evolving rapidly, making it difficult to pin down, he expects soaring electricity consumption from artificial intelligence (AI) and data centers, combined with efforts to electrify the American vehicle fleet and manufacturing, to spur global natural gas demand,…

By John Kemp, senior energy analyst at Reuters Saudi Arabia and its allies in OPEC? are likely to keep oil production unchanged for a further three months when ministers review output allocations on June 1. The tightening of petroleum supplies and depletion of inventories widely anticipated at the start of the year has failed to materialise so far. If OPEC+  officials had hoped to increase production into a tightening market characterised by rising oil prices they are likely to be frustrated. Crude stocks, futures prices and calendar spreads…

By Mish Shedlock of MishTalk The lie of the day is from the EPA: Carbon capture will pay for itself (thanks to IRA subsidies). No, it won’t even with subsidies. Expect blackouts and a higher price for electricity. Suite of Standards to Raise Costs, Reduce Output Let’s take a dive into the EPA news release Biden-Harris Administration Finalizes Suite of Standards to Reduce Pollution from Fossil Fuel-Fired Power Plants “Today, EPA is proud to make good on the Biden-Harris Administration’s vision to tackle climate change and…

Via Metal Miner The Raw Steels Monthly Metals Index (MMI) moved sideways, with a modest 1.86% decline from April to May. U.S. flat-rolled steel prices found a bottom at the close of March and proceeded to move sideways. HRC prices saw a modest increase but ultimately closed the month at $838 per short ton. Meanwhile, HRC Midwest Futures saw a strong decline throughout April, which saw the delta between MetalMiner HRC prices and futures narrow to a mere $1 per short ton as of May 1. This signals that markets expect the sideways steel price trend…

Shell is preparing to divest from downstream operations in South Africa as a result of an internal portfolio review, Shell said in a statement on Monday reported by Reuters and confirmed in an interview with the Daily Maverick just hours later.  Shell holds a majority share in Shell Downstream SA (SDSA), which was formed by the merger agreement between Shell South Africa and Thebe Investment Corporation a decade ago. The partnership was intended to merge Shell’s marketing and refining business, with Thebe, a black empowerment group,…

The U.S. Treasury Department on May 1 imposed new sanctions on hundreds of companies and people tied to Russia's weapons development program as part of its continuing effort to limit Russia’s ability to access the materials it needs to “prosecute its illegal war against Ukraine." The department said in a news release that the goal of the sanctions was to "further degrade Russia’s ability to sustain its war machine." The Treasury Department imposed sanctions on nearly 200 targets, while the State Department designated more than…

One of the recent positives for bonds and non-energy stocks could have run its course after Saudi Arabia raised the price of its flagship crude to Asia for a third consecutive month, according to Bloomberg markets live reporter Garfield Reynolds Over the weekend, state-owned Saudi Aramco raised the June official selling price of Arab Light crude for customers in Asia by 90 cents to $2.90 a barrel above the regional Oman-Dubai benchmark, Bloomberg reported. It compares with an increase of 60 cents forecast in a Bloomberg…

One of the recent positives for bonds and non-energy stocks could have run its course after Saudi Arabia raised the price of its flagship crude to Asia for a third consecutive month, according to Bloomberg markets live reporter Garfield Reynolds Over the weekend, state-owned Saudi Aramco raised the June official selling price of Arab Light crude for customers in Asia by 90 cents to $2.90 a barrel above the regional Oman-Dubai benchmark, Bloomberg reported. It compares with an increase of 60 cents forecast in a Bloomberg…

One of the recent positives for bonds and non-energy stocks could have run its course after Saudi Arabia raised the price of its flagship crude to Asia for a third consecutive month, according to Bloomberg markets live reporter Garfield Reynolds Over the weekend, state-owned Saudi Aramco raised the June official selling price of Arab Light crude for customers in Asia by 90 cents to $2.90 a barrel above the regional Oman-Dubai benchmark, Bloomberg reported. It compares with an increase of 60 cents forecast in a Bloomberg…

Ten years ago this week, we posted one of out most viral stories, highlighting the over-capacity in the auto industry:  "Where the World's Unsold Cars Go To Die," which highlighted the 'endgame' of automakers' 'channel stuffing' efforts to disguise the sudden lack of demand for all the exciting new models that they had forecast would boom to the moon... And now, as MishTalk's Mike Shedlock reports,  we are seeing similar pictures across Europe... "Some are parked here for a year, sometimes more." Le…