Crude oil inventories in the United rose by 1.232 million barrels for the week ending November 22, according to The American Petroleum Institute (API). Analysts had expected a draw of 2.06 million barrels. For the week prior, the API reported a 4.753 barrel build in crude inventories. So far this year, crude oil inventories have fallen by just over 4 million barrels since the beginning of the year, according to API data. On Tuesday, the Department of Energy (DoE) reported that crude oil inventories in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) rose…

Crude oil inventories in the United rose by 1.232 million barrels for the week ending November 22, according to The American Petroleum Institute (API). Analysts had expected a draw of 2.06 million barrels. For the week prior, the API reported a 4.753 barrel build in crude inventories. So far this year, crude oil inventories have fallen by just over 4 million barrels since the beginning of the year, according to API data. On Tuesday, the Department of Energy (DoE) reported that crude oil inventories in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) rose…

Donald Trump’s nomination of Chris Wright as Secretary of Energy has sparked significant debate, with environmental groups labeling him a “climate skeptic” or “climate denier” regarding his views. However, a closer examination of Wright’s publicly stated views reveals a more nuanced position that doesn’t align with typical climate change skepticism. Climate Change Skepticism Conventional climate change skeptics question the causes, severity, or even existence of human-driven climate change for several reasons.…

A new report says the collapse in rough diamond prices has prompted the world's largest producer to implement broad price cuts.  Bloomberg reports that De Beers' final sale of rough diamond stones on the secondary market was led by a 10% to 15% price cut amid a slumping market pressured by the proliferation of artificial diamonds and sliding demand across the West and China.  Yet on Monday, the company capitulated on that position at its final sale of the year. De Beers cut prices by 10% to 15% for most of the goods it sells, according…

Via Metal Miner A much-reported but little-understood development in the aluminum market this month has the potential to significantly alter the supply chain landscape for aluminum semi-finished metals in the year ahead. Beyond that, it could have serious repercussions for the price of aluminum around the globe. As my colleague Nichole already reported, China’s Ministry of Finance canceled the 13% VAT refund or rebate on exported aluminum and copper semi-finished products effective December 1. The summary of HS codes covered appears below.…

Jaguar has revealed the first look at its new luxury electric car following a backlash over its recent rebranding. The iconic Britich carmaker sparked criticism last month after switching up its logo to ‘JaGUar’ and launching an ad which included slogans such as “delete ordinary” and “copy nothing.” The move led to accusations Jaguar was ditching its old followers and even a wild claim from Nigel Farage the brand would go bust. Jaguar’s managing director Rawdon Glover has since hit back at what he called…

One of the biggest hydropower plants in South America is ramping up electricity generation as the historic drought in the Amazon in September and October has eased and the rainy season has begun. The Santo Antonio hydropower plant on the Madeira River in the Amazon has even managed to generate some electricity during the drought this year after lessons learned from last year’s drought, the plant’s president Caio Pompeu Neto has told Reuters. Santo Antonio, operated by Latin America’s biggest power utility Eletrobras, has created…

One of the biggest hydropower plants in South America is ramping up electricity generation as the historic drought in the Amazon in September and October has eased and the rainy season has begun. The Santo Antonio hydropower plant on the Madeira River in the Amazon has even managed to generate some electricity during the drought this year after lessons learned from last year’s drought, the plant’s president Caio Pompeu Neto has told Reuters. Santo Antonio, operated by Latin America’s biggest power utility Eletrobras, has created…

One of the biggest hydropower plants in South America is ramping up electricity generation as the historic drought in the Amazon in September and October has eased and the rainy season has begun. The Santo Antonio hydropower plant on the Madeira River in the Amazon has even managed to generate some electricity during the drought this year after lessons learned from last year’s drought, the plant’s president Caio Pompeu Neto has told Reuters. Santo Antonio, operated by Latin America’s biggest power utility Eletrobras, has created…

President Vladimir Putin has approved a new, multiyear budget that sets defense spending for next year at record-high levels, signaling no let-up in Russia's determination to defeat Ukraine. The approved budget, which was published on the government’s main website on December 1, calls for 35.5 percent of all spending to be allocated for national defense in 2025. That’s up from a reported 28.3 precent this year.The spending plan had been approved by both houses of Russia’s parliament over the previous 10 days. At 13.5 trillion…

The UK’s National Energy System Operator (ESO) took the industry on a brief rollercoaster today, issuing and then swiftly canceling an electricity capacity margin notice within hours. The ESO initially raised concerns about power availability and warned consumers that the grid was nearing its margin with an expected capacity of 47,166 MW against a transmission demand of 46,717 MW. The notice, active for less than a workday, was rescinded by evening, restoring a semblance of calm. At least for now. Capacity margin notices, while not uncommon,…

The UK’s National Energy System Operator (ESO) took the industry on a brief rollercoaster today, issuing and then swiftly canceling an electricity capacity margin notice within hours. The ESO initially raised concerns about power availability and warned consumers that the grid was nearing its margin with an expected capacity of 47,166 MW against a transmission demand of 46,717 MW. The notice, active for less than a workday, was rescinded by evening, restoring a semblance of calm. At least for now. Capacity margin notices, while not uncommon,…

None of the three dozen sales of oil wells proposed in California this year has materialized due to the considerable clean-up costs for the wells estimated by the state’s oil and gas regulator. Last year, California sought to prevent a rise in the already high number of so-called orphan oil wells. The state also looked to keep from passing off to taxpayers the liability for plugging and abandoning oil wells should operators not have sufficient funds to plug and decommission non-producing or marginal wells and clean up the sites. That’s…

Canada’s pipeline giant Enbridge Inc. expects its core profit to be higher in 2025 compared to 2024 levels, thanks to the expected strong utilization of its assets and the contribution of recently acquired U.S. natural gas assets. Enbridge on Tuesday announced its first guidance for the core profit – or adjusted earnings before interest, income taxes, and depreciation (EBITDA) – for 2025. The guidance of adjusted EBITDA of US$13.8 billion to US$14.2 billion (C$19.4 billion to C$20.0 billion) is 17% higher than the original guidance…

Canada’s pipeline giant Enbridge Inc. expects its core profit to be higher in 2025 compared to 2024 levels, thanks to the expected strong utilization of its assets and the contribution of recently acquired U.S. natural gas assets. Enbridge on Tuesday announced its first guidance for the core profit – or adjusted earnings before interest, income taxes, and depreciation (EBITDA) – for 2025. The guidance of adjusted EBITDA of US$13.8 billion to US$14.2 billion (C$19.4 billion to C$20.0 billion) is 17% higher than the original guidance…

Oil prices were moving higher early on Tuesday morning ahead of the latest OPEC+ meeting as members of the group aligned behind plans to extend production cuts into 2025.- US President-elect Donald Trump threatened to slap a 100% tariff on BRICS if the respective countries decide to create a new currency alternative to the dollar, promising to block them from the ’wonderful US economy’.- China has already been trading Iranian crude in Chinese yuan, whilst Brazil’s President Lula da Silva proposed creating a common currency in…

The European Commission on Tuesday said it is earmarking $4.83 billion (4.6 billion euros) in funds to support net-zero technologies, including electric vehicle battery cell manufacturing. The new Commission, which took office on December 1 for a five-year term until 2029, is now launching two new calls for proposals with a budget of $3.6 billion (3.4 billion euros) to accelerate the deployment of innovative decarbonization technologies in Europe, including electric vehicle batteries. The Commission also plans $1.26 billion (1.2 billion euros)…

NATO's new secretary-general is trying to talk tough ahead of Donald Trump taking office. Surely he knows Brussels is in for a rough ride, given that during the first Trump administration the president (rightly) ripped NATO member states for not paying their fair share in defense spending, while relying on Washington to shoulder the burden. Mark Rutte has warned Trump in a Financial Times interview that if Ukraine is pressured into a 'bad' peace deal that is favorable to Moscow, then the United States and Europe would face a "dire threat" from…

Russia’s crude oil shipments jumped by 570,000 barrels per day (bpd) last week, to 3.36 million bpd, just ahead of the OPEC+ meeting which will discuss on Thursday the group’s production plans for early next year. More vessels loading from Russia’s western ports drove the surge in seaborne shipments in the week to December 1, according to tanker-tracking data monitored by Bloomberg. The four-week average crude oil exports by sea also rose, for the first time in three weeks, per the data reported by Bloomberg’s Julian Lee…

U.S. president-elect Donald Trump has threatened BRICS nations with 100% tariffs if they decide to challenge the U.S. dollar’s dominance in the global economy. BRICS is an acronym denoting the emerging national economies of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. “The idea that the BRICS countries are trying to move away from the dollar while we stand by and watch is OVER.,” Trump wrote in a social media post early Sunday.  “We require a commitment from these countries that they will neither create a new BRICS…