The entire base metal complex has been bullish in the current year, led by a 37% surge by tin and 17% by copper despite a weaker Chinese market and the U.S. dollar strengthening against major world currencies. Last week, copper prices soared to a two-year high just shy of $10,000 per ton largely spurred by a combination of positive investor interest--as evidenced by increasing bullish positions in Comex futures--and supply concerns due to mine-supply downgrades. Still, the Chinese market continues to send mixed signals. On one hand, macro…

U.S. natural gas producers and shippers could be one of the big winners of the latest advances in Artificial Intelligence.  The surge in data centers amid the booming AI technology development is set to lead to higher U.S. natural demand and prices by the end of the decade, according to investment bank Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co.    Natural Gas To Meet Some of Power Demand Spike Electricity demand to power the data centers is soaring and so is demand for grid connections. While many tech companies prefer to power their AI development…

Heat pumps are hotting up as governments worldwide search for alternatives to gas boilers. They can both warm and cool buildings and are powered by electricity, rather than fossil fuels, helping to decarbonise homes and offices. Governments worldwide are beginning to invest heavily in the technology as they strive to trade old boilers out for innovative heat pump technology to support a green transition. We have long relied on fossil fuels to heat residential and office buildings. Most boilers continue to be powered by natural gas, which contributes…

University of Michigan engineers have designed new chemical reactor to make an important ingredient for plastics, adhesives, carpet fibers, household cleaners and more from natural gas. The idea could reduce manufacturing costs in a post-petroleum economy by millions of dollars. The research paper has been published in the journal Science. The reactor creates propylene, a workhorse chemical that is also used to make a long list of industrial chemicals, including ingredients for nitrile rubber found in automotive hoses and seals as well as blue…

Chevron launched its first production at its Tengiz oilfield expansion project in Kazakhstan on Thursday, with completion of the final phase of the expansion set for the first half of next year, enabling an additional 260,000 barrels per day of crude oil output, or an additional 12 million tons per year.  “This is a significant step towards completion of the Future Growth Project (FGP). It is also important progress for the modernization of the existing base business at Tengiz and demonstrates TCO’s commitment to safely and reliably…

Via SchiffGold.com, What is Nvidia? If you’re a committed gamer the question may sound like nonsense. Nvidia, which was founded in 1993, is a tech company that makes GPUs and other products. It originally specialized in making products for the video game industry, that assisted in 3D rendering. If you were a committed gamer, you probably owned their products. If you weren’t, you might not have heard of them. But with sudden advances in artificial intelligence, it has been everywhere in the news because its products can also be used…

Saudi Aramco has sealed a sponsorship deal with FIFA, the International Federation of Association Football, through 2027, after winning a bidding process last October in which it was the only sponsorship candidate, the Associated Press reports. With the new deal, Aramco becomes a “Major Worldwide Partner of FIFA”, which gives it sponsorship rights for FIFA Men’s World Cup 2026 and Women’s World Cup 2027. “Through this partnership with FIFA we aim to contribute to football development and harness the power of sport…

Saudi Aramco has sealed a sponsorship deal with FIFA, the International Federation of Association Football, through 2027, after winning a bidding process last October in which it was the only sponsorship candidate, the Associated Press reports. With the new deal, Aramco becomes a “Major Worldwide Partner of FIFA”, which gives it sponsorship rights for FIFA Men’s World Cup 2026 and Women’s World Cup 2027. “Through this partnership with FIFA we aim to contribute to football development and harness the power of sport…

Saudi Aramco has sealed a sponsorship deal with FIFA, the International Federation of Association Football, through 2027, after winning a bidding process last October in which it was the only sponsorship candidate, the Associated Press reports. With the new deal, Aramco becomes a “Major Worldwide Partner of FIFA”, which gives it sponsorship rights for FIFA Men’s World Cup 2026 and Women’s World Cup 2027. “Through this partnership with FIFA we aim to contribute to football development and harness the power of sport…

When the presidents of Azerbaijan and Russia met on April 22 at the Kremlin, it wasn't Nagorno-Karabakh, Ukraine, or Iran that took center stage. It was the 50th anniversary of a Soviet railroad construction project. The occasion for the visit, at least officially, was to mark the 1974 start of construction of the Baikal-Amur Mainline (BAM) railway in the Russian Far East. The project was headed by Heydar Aliyev, in his role as first deputy chairman of the Soviet Union's Council of Ministers. Fifty years later that Aliyev's son -- Ilham Aliyev,…

Energy firms held by Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky have reported core earnings of $7.8 billion (7.3 billion euros) for 2023, Reuters reported on Thursday.   The energy assets of Kretinsky’s EP Corporate Group include the flagship energy holding EPH, which reported today core earnings – or earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) – of $3.85 billion (3.6 billion euros). This was down by 17% compared to the record EBITDA from 2022, when oil and gas prices surged following the Russian…

Energy firms held by Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky have reported core earnings of $7.8 billion (7.3 billion euros) for 2023, Reuters reported on Thursday.   The energy assets of Kretinsky’s EP Corporate Group include the flagship energy holding EPH, which reported today core earnings – or earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) – of $3.85 billion (3.6 billion euros). This was down by 17% compared to the record EBITDA from 2022, when oil and gas prices surged following the Russian…

The mining world is all aquiver this morning at talks of a potential mega-deal from BHP to buy up London-listed miner Anglo American. Metals miner Anglo has been seen as a potential takeover mark since its share price took a sharp dive last year on the back of weak production forecasts. But just hours after the news was confirmed by Anglo this morning, its share price has jumped by more than 12 per cent, effectively erasing the losses of the last 12 months. So what do analysts think Anglo has to offer BHP? Principally, the play would make BHP’s…

Hertz Global Holdings Inc (NASDAQ: HTZ) has raised the number of electric vehicles it plans to sell this year as it is cutting its EV fleet to reduce losses that have weighed on the car rental giant’s earnings. In the first quarter, Hertz upsized its EV disposition plan by 10,000 vehicles, for a total of 30,000 EVs intended for sale in 2024. Most of these EVs will be Teslas. The company incurred a $195 million charge to vehicle depreciation to write down the EVs held for sale which were remaining in inventory at quarter-end to fair value…

Hertz Global Holdings Inc (NASDAQ: HTZ) has raised the number of electric vehicles it plans to sell this year as it is cutting its EV fleet to reduce losses that have weighed on the car rental giant’s earnings. In the first quarter, Hertz upsized its EV disposition plan by 10,000 vehicles, for a total of 30,000 EVs intended for sale in 2024. Most of these EVs will be Teslas. The company incurred a $195 million charge to vehicle depreciation to write down the EVs held for sale which were remaining in inventory at quarter-end to fair value…

In a move that could reshape Europe's energy landscape, the European Commission is poised to propose new sanctions targeting Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports. According to Reuters sources close to the matter, the proposed measures will include a ban on shipments within the EU and sanctions on three Russian LNG projects. The European Commission's decision comes amid growing concerns over Europe's reliance on Russian energy, particularly in the wake of the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. While the EU imposed a ban on Russian seaborne oil…

Russian pipeline operator Transneft has warned Kazakhstan’s oil companies that ship crude to Germany via Transneft’s Druzhba pipeline that the customers of the Kazakh firms have until June to pay for metering services or risk a halt to supplies, trading sources told Reuters on Thursday. In early 2023, as Russian crude flows via the Druzhba pipeline dropped off, crude oil from Kazakhstan started flowing via the Russian pipeline network to Poland for further delivery to Germany. In December 2022, Kazakhstan’s…

The Arab oil embargo from 1973 is a painful memory for those who lived through it. It was the reason for creating the Strategic Petroleum Reserve in the United States and the International Energy Agency as means of, if not shielding oil-consuming countries, then at least cushioning any future blow. The U.S. shale revolution changed all that, and it changed it radically. The U.S. has gone from a top importer to the top producer, even as it continues importing quite substantial amounts of crude. The rate of production, made possible by shale projects,…

Hess Corporation (NYSE: HES) reported on Thursday much higher-than-expected net income for the first quarter of 2024 amid soaring oil and gas production, as the planned acquisition by U.S. supermajor Chevron drags on. Hess Corporation posted a net income of $972 million, or $3.16 per share, in the first quarter of 2024, compared with net income of $346 million, or $1.13 per share, in the first quarter of 2023. The rise in profits reflects higher production volumes in the first quarter of 2024, Hess said. The earnings per share (EPS) of…

As the global renewable energy capacity increases, so does the amount of waste from end-of-life equipment from solar, wind and other renewable energy activities. If we don’t address this problem soon it could become a whole new threat to the environment and human health. While a transition away from fossil fuels to alternative green energy sources is helping the world to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions and combat climate change, it is important to consider the implications that new energy activities may have on the environment. …