Send this article to a friend:

June
26
2021

Oil Prices Continue To Climbs Despite Resistance
Tom Kool

Oil prices are on course to close out another week of gains despite fears of Iranian production coming back online and OPEC+ preparing to increase its output.

Friday, June 25th, 2021

Oil appears set to close out another week of gains, although trading became choppy this week as OPEC+ readies production increases. 

Biden supports Line 3. The Biden administration supported the contentious Line 3 pipeline in Minnesota in a court filling. 

Amazon buys up renewable energy. Amazon (-1.38%) said it would purchase 1.5 GW of renewables from 14 different solar and wind projects. Amazon is the largest corporate purchaser of renewables worldwide. 

U.S. LNG grows costlier. Even as U.S. LNG exports have expanded, supplying liquefied natural gas to the growing Asian market has become more expensive for US producers this year, a Rystad Energy report reveals. Rystad Energy estimates that the short-run marginal cost (SRMC) of US LNG exports to the Asian market has risen to about $5.60 per MMBtu as of June 2021, up 65% from $3.4 per MMBtu in mid-2020 and 30% higher than last year’s average of $4.30 per MMBtu.

Venezuela’s Descent Into Anarchy Is Fueling Maduro’s Desperation. After more than 15 years of U.S. sanctions which caused Venezuela’s one mighty petroleum industry to collapse, the crisis-driven Latin American state now appears on the verge of failure.

Chevron won’t cut oil and gas production. Unlike European supermajors, U.S. Chevron(0.15%) doesn’t have any plans to reduce its oil and gas business to invest in solar or wind power, chief financial officer Pierre Breber said at a Reuters conference on Thursday.

BP to stick with oil and gas for decades. BP (0.00%) will continue producing oil and gas for decades to come and will benefit from rising oil prices even as it reduces output as part of its shift to low-carbon energy, Chief Executive Bernard Looney told Reuters on Tuesday.

Japan restarts nuclear reactor. Japan restarted the first nuclear reactor in more than three years, restarting a unit that has been offline for a decade. Only 10 of Japan’s 33 operable nuclear units have resumed operations under the regulatory regime created in the wake of the Fukushima nuclear disaster.

Court shoots down FERC permit for pipeline. A rare rebuke of FERC occurred in federal court this week. The court nixed a permit for a gas pipeline, saying that that the pipeline company did not show that its project was needed, and FERC should have scrutinized it more. The decision could have broader implications for pipeline permitting.

Uncertainty looms for Canada’s oil sands. Just one of Canada’s five biggest oil companies, Suncor Energy (-1.00%)has a plan to cut emissions. Reuters looks at the tough road ahead for Canada’s oil sands.

Schlumberger sets net-zero goal. Schlumberger (0.27%)set a net-zero goal by 2050 for Scope 1 and 2 emissions, and a goal to cut Scope 3 emissions by 30%. Related: Judge Blocks Biden’s Ban On Oil Leasing

Indian utility goes big on renewables. India’s largest power generator, NTPC Ltd., doubledits long-term commitment to renewables, promising to build 60 GW by 2032, up from a 32 GW goal it announced last year. 

Judge closes case against Dakota Access, for now. A U.S. district court closed a long-running case against the Dakota Access oil pipeline on Tuesday, but allowed for Native American tribes and other opponents of the line to file additional actions against it, according to Reuters.

Honda goes all-in on electric. Honda Motor Co. has become the first of Japan’s automakers to state publicly it will phase out sales of gasoline-powered cars completely, setting 2040 as the goal

400% increase in fracking crews. Even a more than 400% jump in the number of fracking crews working the U.S. shale patch isn’t enough to send oil output soaring, according to Bloomberg. 

Gas infrastructure in Europe leaking methane. The potent greenhouse gas methane is spewing out of natural gas infrastructure across the European Union because of leaks and venting, video footage made available to Reuters shows.

Army Corps to review Line 5. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said Wednesday it would conduct an extensive review of Enbridge Energy's plan to build an oil pipeline tunnel beneath a Great Lakes channel in Michigan, which could significantly delay the project.

Gas inventories down, global gas prices rising. A rebound in demand for gas and LNG is pushing up prices, just as heat waves hit parts of North America and Europe. Now there is a danger of not enough supply to go around. Prices are up sharply in Europe, resulting in more coal burned. 

EU to tighten carbon market. The EU is set to remove some allowances in its carbon market in an effort to slash emissions. The decision is still in flux and will be part of a suite of new policies to be revealed in mid-July, but the move could raise the cost of carbon, pushing out coal and imposing higher costs on gas. 

Oil companies see shortfall by 2023. A new Dallas Fed survey finds that three out of four oil and gas industry executives see a global supply shortfall by 2023.

Refiners win at Supreme Court. Oil refiners won a major court case at the Supreme Court regarding federal biofuels blending requirements. The court said that the EPA has broad authority to issue waivers to refiners.

By Tom Kool for Oilprice.com 

Tom majored in International Business at Amsterdam’s Higher School of Economics, he is now working as news editor for Oilprice.com.

oilprice.com