Oil news
EV Sales Rise as Trump Threatens to End Tax Credits
At least for the time being, EV sales are still pushing higher. Helped along by Trump's threat to end EV tax credits, sales of EVs were up 12% in the fourth quarter of 2024, according to a new report from Bloomberg. Forecasts from researcher Cox Automotive put the year's total at 1.3 million EVs sold. Plug-in vehicles now make up about 8% of the US car market, only slightly more than last year, despite a rise in sales from the prior quarter's 8% growth rate. A strong fourth quarter boosted total car sales, with the annualized…
Categories: Oil news
South Africa Looks to Attract Chinese Firms to Its $27-Billion EV Industry
South Africa’s recently adopted tax breaks for electric vehicle production have already piqued the interest of three Chinese EV manufacturers to invest in new-energy vehicles in the African country, an official at the local automotive association told Bloomberg. Three car makers from China have already signed non-disclosure agreements with the South African Automotive Business Council, its CEO Mikel Mabasa told the newswire in an interview published on Friday. Mabasa did not elaborate on which these automakers are. South Africa now has as…
Categories: Oil news
South Africa Looks to Attract Chinese Firms to Its $27-Billion EV Industry
South Africa’s recently adopted tax breaks for electric vehicle production have already piqued the interest of three Chinese EV manufacturers to invest in new-energy vehicles in the African country, an official at the local automotive association told Bloomberg. Three car makers from China have already signed non-disclosure agreements with the South African Automotive Business Council, its CEO Mikel Mabasa told the newswire in an interview published on Friday. Mabasa did not elaborate on which these automakers are. South Africa now has as…
Categories: Oil news
A Bright Spot For Oil Demand?
Crude oil markets experienced limited activity over the past week as the holiday season reduced trading volumes. With markets closed for New Year’s Day, price movement was minimal, reflecting the lack of major catalysts during the shortened session. Light crude oil futures hovered around $70.55 before surging to $73.73 on Thursday, with most traders remaining on the sidelines until the release of key economic data from the U.S. and China later in the week?. Despite the quiet trading environment, the market drew some support from positive…
Categories: Oil news
A look Ahead to 2025 in Oil
At this time of year, most people take stock of the year just gone and look forward to the year to come. For traders and active investors, that isn’t just a matter of P & L. It is also a time to look at what you got right and, more importantly in many ways, what you got wrong. With that in mind, I looked back to what I wrote at the end of 2023 about what to expect in 2024. Not to brag, but my overall big picture predictions panned out pretty well. I said in that piece that going into 2024, the market’s focus was on tight supply,…
Categories: Oil news
Biden Makes a Big Bet on Clean Hydrogen With New Tax Credits
In the high-stakes race to dominate the clean hydrogen market, the Biden administration just handed out a golden ticket—or rather, loosened the strings on who can cash in. New rules for a tax credit worth up to $3 per kilogram of hydrogen are a boon for companies eager to turn this clean-burning fuel into big business. After months of lobbying and a draft that left many industry players fuming, the Treasury Department has delivered a rulebook that’s friendlier to hydrogen hopefuls. The revisions don’t just extend the timeline…
Categories: Oil news
Moldova’s Breakaway Region Idles Industry Without Russian Gas
Days after Russian natural gas stopped flowing to the breakaway region of Transnistria in Moldova, the area shut down all industrial production except food production, Transnistria’s first deputy prime minister, Sergei Obolonik, said. “All industrial enterprises are idle, with the exception of those engaged in food production - that is, directly ensuring food security for Transdniestria,” said the senior official, as quoted by Reuters. Transnistria has also cut off the supply of heating and hot water to households after Russia…
Categories: Oil news
Moldova’s Breakaway Region Idles Industry Without Russian Gas
Days after Russian natural gas stopped flowing to the breakaway region of Transnistria in Moldova, the area shut down all industrial production except food production, Transnistria’s first deputy prime minister, Sergei Obolonik, said. “All industrial enterprises are idle, with the exception of those engaged in food production - that is, directly ensuring food security for Transdniestria,” said the senior official, as quoted by Reuters. Transnistria has also cut off the supply of heating and hot water to households after Russia…
Categories: Oil news
Italy Urges EU to Set Much Lower Cap on Natural Gas Prices
The EU needs to extend the cap on natural gas prices but set the cap at a much lower level, to avoid fresh shocks in energy bills, Italian Energy Security Minister Gilberto Pichetto Fratin told a local radio station on Friday. “At this point, the EU needs to renew the price cap, but lower the ceiling,” Pichetto Fratin told Radio Radicale. The European Union set at the start of 2023 an emergency cap on natural gas prices. This cap expires at the end of January 2025. The cap on gas prices, the so-called “market correction mechanism,”…
Categories: Oil news
Uranium Spot Prices Set for Recovery in 2025
End of Ukraine Transit and Cold Snap Squeeze Europe’s Gas Hopes - The halt in Russian pipeline gas flows via Ukraine has ramped up gas prices in Europe, resulting in rows between Kyiv and Central Eastern European countries all the while the region is bracing for a period of colder-than-average temperatures. - Europe’s TTF natural gas futures rose above €50 per MWh this week, the highest level since October 2023, with the halt in Russian pipeline flows aggravated by a continent-wide cold snap and relatively quick inventory depletion.…
Categories: Oil news
2024 Oil Market Review
Crude oil markets experienced limited activity over the past week as the holiday season reduced trading volumes. With markets closed for New Year’s Day, price movement was minimal, reflecting the lack of major catalysts during the shortened session. Light crude oil futures hovered around $70.55 before surging to $73.73 on Thursday, with most traders remaining on the sidelines until the release of key economic data from the U.S. and China later in the week. Despite the quiet trading environment, the market drew some support from positive economic…
Categories: Oil news
The Power Struggle Unfolding in Syria
Politics, Geopolitics & Conflict The power struggle continues to unfold in Syria, with the HTS (the opposition forces that overthrew Assad) vying for control of some areas and sectarian tensions will arise. Talks are ongoing between the HTS and the Syrian Democratic Forces, another opposition grouping. HTS is seeking that the SDF subordinate itself now and merge militarily with the HTS. The SDF is the Kurdish grouping in the north, which Turkey has been fighting through its proxy, the Syrian National Army (SNA). We will also be watching Russia’s…
Categories: Oil news
Russia Is Losing Its Grip on European Energy Markets
The end of 2024 isn't just the end of a year. It's also the end of Russian gas flows through Ukraine, which brings to an end a decades-long chapter of Moscow’s dominance over European energy markets. While the EU has, to a large degree, insulated itself from immediate fallout—thanks to alternative supply deals in Slovakia and Austria—the move still carries weighty geopolitical consequences. Hungary remains reliant on Russian gas via TurkStream, but the real crisis has hit Moldova’s breakaway region of Transnistria,…
Categories: Oil news
Italy Urges EU to Set Much Lower Cap on Natural Gas Prices
The EU needs to extend the cap on natural gas prices but set the cap at a much lower level, to avoid fresh shocks in energy bills, Italian Energy Security Minister Gilberto Pichetto Fratin told a local radio station on Friday. “At this point, the EU needs to renew the price cap, but lower the ceiling,” Pichetto Fratin told Radio Radicale. The European Union set at the start of 2023 an emergency cap on natural gas prices. This cap expires at the end of January 2025. The cap on gas prices, the so-called “market correction mechanism,”…
Categories: Oil news
Signs of Optimism in Oil Markets as a New Year Begins
Oil markets have started the year with a renewed sense of optimism, driven by stock draws in the U.S. and China's attempts to stimulate its economy.The gradual return of oil market participants from the New Year’s Eve holidays has been marked with tacit optimism as US stock draws tightened product availability just as cold snaps are threatening both Europe and the US. Meanwhile, China’s vows to be more proactive with stimulus measures have lifted the spirits of those who gave up on more robust policy coming from Beijing, even if temporarily,…
Categories: Oil news
Middle East Crude Prices Surge as Supply From Iran and Russia Falls
Reduced supply of crude from Iran and Russia has prompted a rally in the prices of crude from the Middle East, where some grades have soared to rarely seen premiums over the global benchmark, Brent. The Murban crude futures from the United Arab Emirates (UAE), for example, have outperformed Brent over the past two months, traders have told Bloomberg. In addition, the prices of Oman and Dubai crude jumped to a rare premium over Brent in recent weeks, as demand for Middle Eastern oil has increased in China and India, key Iranian and Russian buyers,…
Categories: Oil news
Middle East Crude Prices Surge as Supply From Iran and Russia Falls
Reduced supply of crude from Iran and Russia has prompted a rally in the prices of crude from the Middle East, where some grades have soared to rarely seen premiums over the global benchmark, Brent. The Murban crude futures from the United Arab Emirates (UAE), for example, have outperformed Brent over the past two months, traders have told Bloomberg. In addition, the prices of Oman and Dubai crude jumped to a rare premium over Brent in recent weeks, as demand for Middle Eastern oil has increased in China and India, key Iranian and Russian buyers,…
Categories: Oil news
Trump Calls on the UK to Open Up the North Sea and Get Rid of Wind Farms
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has called for opening up the UK North Sea to oil and gas and getting rid of windmills, in response to the recent announcement by Texas-based Apache that it would cease oil and gas production in the region due to the uneconomical windfall tax. “The U.K. is making a very big mistake. Open up the North Sea. Get rid of Windmills!” President-elect Trump posted late on Thursday on social media platform Truth Social. Trump attached an article about Apache’s recent announcement that it would exit the…
Categories: Oil news
China’s CNPC to Boost Capacity at Giant Iraqi Oilfield to 1.2 Million Bpd
The supergiant West Qurna 1 oilfield in Iraq is expected to have its production capacity raised to 1.2 million bpd by 2035, the project’s subsurface manager, Cai Kaiping, has said. Oil production at the field has increased to 550,000 barrels per day (bpd) since China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) took over the operations a year ago. At the beginning of 2024, CNPC officially took over from U.S. oil giant ExxonMobil as the lead contractor of the West Qurna 1 oilfield in Iraq, near Basra in the southern part of the country. West Qurna…
Categories: Oil news
US Natural Gas and Heating Oil Prices Jump on Cold Snap Forecast
Natural gas and heating oil prices in the United States started the year with a spike as temperatures dropped amid a polar vortex that, according to forecasts, could bring the coldest weather in a decade to northern states. Natural gas prices have gone up by 4% since the start of the week, the Financial Times reported today, adding that heating oil prices have added 5%. At the start of the week, natural gas futures briefly topped $4 per million British thermal units. “The market has been rather complacent as US production was surging and…
Categories: Oil news