Hybrid vehicles give lifeline to Platinum Metals
In the next few years, a surge in hybrid car sales as the electric vehicle market slows will likely lead to an unexpected increase in demand for platinum group materials (PGMs), similar to what is predicted for coal's extended life. PGMs – primarily platinum and palladium – face a long-term decline in demand, as their primary use was to clean auto exhausts – a process not required in pure EVs.
China's Gasoline Exports Rise to Record
China's gasoline exports in November nearly tripled from a year ago to an all-time high, as refiners processed crude at near record rates to take advantage of sturdy profit margins at home although domestic demand for the motor fuel remained sluggish.Gasoline shipments were 1.84 million tonnes last month, data from the General Administration of Customs showed on Monday. That compares to the previous record at 1.73 million tonnes in October and 630…
2/3 of Electricity by Solar PV, Wind by 2050
Share of electricity in the final demand energy mix will more than double from today’s level to 40% in 2050, with two thirds of that electricity provided by solar PV and wind, said DNV GL.Electrification will transform how energy is produced and consumed. By midcentury, 40% of final energy demand will be met by electricity (up from 19% in 2017), 63% of which will be generated by solar PV and wind…
Gas to Become World's Primary Energy Source by 2035
Oil and gas will be crucial components of the world’s energy future, according to DNV GL’s forecast of the energy transition. While renewable energy will grow its share of the energy mix, oil and gas will account for 44% of world energy supply in 2050, compared to 53% today.Gas will become the largest single source of energy from 2034.DNV GL’s Energy Transition Outlook (ETO), a forecast that spans the global energy mix to 2050…
OPEC: Oil Markets Tightening Even as U.S. Shale Booms
The global oil stocks surplus is close to evaporating, OPEC said on Thursday, citing healthy energy demand and its own supply cuts while revising up its forecast for production from rivals who have benefited from higher oil prices. U.S. shale oil output has been booming over the past year since OPEC reduced its own production in tandem with Russia to prop up global oil prices. But…
Europe Gasoline/Naphtha-Cracks Hit two-year Low
Gasoline refining margins in northwest Europe dropped to a two-year low on Monday even as substantial volumes traded on European barge markets. The highest volume of gasoline barges in nearly seven years traded on Monday, brokers told Reuters, with 48,000 tonnes changing hands. Volumes were elevated due in part to the specification change from winter to summer grade gasoline. Some traders said that contango in gasoline is steep enough to support storing the fuel…
More than Half of Norway Car Sales Now Electric, Hybrid
Norway tops global sales of electric cars as big subsidies have aided shift from fossil fuel cars. Sales of electric and hybrid cars exceeded half of new registrations in Norway in 2017, a record aided by generous subsidies that extended the Nordic nation's lead in a shift from fossil-fuel engines, data showed on Wednesday. Pure electric cars and hybrids, which have both battery power and a diesel or petrol motor…
Oil Steady as U.S. Output Offsets Crude Draw
U.S. crude inventories fall below 2016 levels; but U.S. oil production up 13 pct since mid-2016. Oil prices steadied on Thursday after U.S. data showed a big fall in crude stockpiles but also an increase in production, taking U.S. crude output to its highest in more than two years. Brent crude was down 5 cents at $50.22 a barrel by 1055 GMT. U.S. light crude was 10 cents lower at $46.68. Both benchmarks fell more than 1 percent on Wednesday.
Oil Prices Slip as High Stocks Overshadow OPEC Cuts
Oil slipped on Friday, pressured by growing global stocks, while expectations that an oil output cut by producers might eventually balance the market helped to underpin prices. Brent crude futures were trading at $55.42 per barrel at 1448 GMT, 23 cents below their last close. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were down 17 cents at $53.19 per barrel. Both appeared on track for losses on the week…
Oil Prices Slip as Inventories Outweigh OPEC Cuts
Crude supplies remain plentiful in major regions; demand growth falters in China, India. Oil slipped on Friday, pressured by growing global stocks, while expectations that an oil output cut by producers might eventually balance the market helped to underpin prices. Brent crude futures were trading at $55.33 per barrel at 1256 GMT, 32 cents below their last close. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were down 28 cents at $53.08 per barrel.
Oil Rises on OPEC Cut, China's Demand Forecast
Saudi energy minister sees oil market tighter in 2-3 years; other key OPEC members begin cutting oil production. Oil prices rose on Thursday, supported by reports that key members of OPEC were starting to cut production as promised and by forecasts of strong demand growth in China. Brent crude was up 70 cents at $55.80 a barrel by 1135 GMT. U.S. crude was up 60 cents at $52.85.
U.S. Refiners Cash in on Mexico's Record Imports
U.S. Gulf Coast refiners are cashing in on rising fuel demand from Mexico, shipping record volumes to a southern neighbor that has failed to expand its refining network to supply a fast-growing economy. The fuel trade could top a million barrels per day (bpd) at times in 2017 as Mexico becomes increasingly dependent on the United States for strategic energy supplies and providing business worth more than $15 billion a year to refiners such as Valero…
Refiners Prep for Low Sulfur Diesel Demand
Even if the diesel engine's scandal-driven fall from grace pushes it out of the world's passenger cars, an increasing need for it on ships, in trucks and heavy industry could save the refineries that invested heavily in producing the fuel. The unfolding crisis that kicked off when Volkswagen falsified U.S. car emissions has spurred a litany of changes at vehicle manufacturers, which are now putting their cash behind electric cars, or back to gasoline engines.
Diesel's De mise in Automobiles of Limited Concern to Refiners
Even if the diesel engine's scandal-driven fall from grace pushes it out of the world's passenger cars, an increasing need for it on ships, in trucks and heavy industry could save the refineries that invested heavily in producing the fuel. The unfolding crisis that kicked off when Volkswagen falsified U.S. car emissions has spurred a litany of changes at vehicle manufacturers, which are now putting their cash behind electric cars, or back to gasoline engines.
Innogy to Push Windfarms, Electric Car Charging in U.S
Innogy, Germany's largest energy group, is looking at the United States market to expand its renewable energy and electric car charging business, its chief executive told German weekly Welt am Sonntag. "We want to invest around 6.5 billion euros between 2016 and 2018," Chief Executive Peter Terium told the paper, adding that investments will include grid networks and infrastructure but also wind farms in Germany…
Oil Rally is Not Just About Hedge Funds: Kemp
Oil prices are becoming dangerously overheated as speculators anticipate a rebalancing of supply and demand that has barely started, according to many oil analysts. "Even as oil rallies, analysts have barely nudged up their price forecasts as they worry that crude's recent gains might not be sustainable," notes the Wall Street Journal ("Analysts just aren't buying the oil rally", April 28).
Looming Gasoline Glut Could Dampen Rebound
Low crude prices have spurred production by refiners; U.S. gasoline stocks near highest on record. A rebound in oil prices this year from 12-year lows is in danger of coming to a crashing halt, as the main engine of global demand growth for the past several years starts to sputter amid signs of a gasoline glut. Crude oil has rallied more two-thirds from its mid-January nadir on robust demand from refineries worldwide…
Mansion Sales, Discount Dining: Oil Woes hit Houston's Rich
Prices for mansions in Houston's swankiest neighborhood have tumbled in lock step with crude prices. The Houston Opera has offered free season tickets to patrons who lost their jobs in the oil bust. A fancy restaurant offers cut-price dinners. Twenty months into the worst oil price crash since the 1980s, well-heeled residents of the world's oil capital are among the hardest hit…
OMV Looks to Sell Turkish Unit Petrol Ofisi
Austrian oil group OMV said on Friday that it is putting its Turkish subsidiary Petrol Ofisi up for sale as part of its strategy to dispose of non-core assets. OMV is focusing on growth in its upstream business, which covers crude oil and natural gas production, and its integrated downstream business, covering refining, sales and distribution. Petrol Ofisi, with its retail station network, no longer fits this strategy, the company said.
Iran's Tankers Target India, EU
Iran wants to up exports to India by 200,000 bpd within 6 months. With Iran ready to resume business as usual with the world under a historic nuclear deal, Tehran will target India, Asia's fastest-growing major oil market, and old partners in Europe with hundreds of thousands of barrels of its crude. Iran expects the United Nations nuclear watchdog to confirm on Friday it has curtailed its nuclear programme…
