USDA: Biofuel demand will absorb more than half the US soyoil crop in 2019.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced on Friday that U.S. biofuel producers will consume more than 50% of the soybean oil produced here in the United States by next year. A recent flurry of federal policies has transformed the industry, including increased blending mandates as well as curbs on imports of foreign biofuels and feedstocks. In its monthly report on supply and demand, the USDA has raised its expectations for the use of soybean oil by biofuel producers during the 2025/26 year marketing period…
Baker Hughes reports that US oil/gas rig counts have dropped for the 11th consecutive week, to their lowest level since 2021.
Baker Hughes, a leading energy services company, said that the U.S. firms have cut back on the number of oil rigs and natural gas production for the 11th consecutive week for the first since July 2020. This was when the COVID-19 epidemic reduced demand for fuel. The number of oil and gas drilling rigs, a good indicator of future production, dropped by two in the week ending July 11 to 537, the lowest level since October 2021. Baker Hughes reported that the rig count is down by 47 or 8% this week compared to this time last.
PDVSA Reaches $17.5b in Abroad Oil Sales in 2024
Venezuelan state-run PDVSA's oil sales abroad in 2024 stood at $17.52 billion, according to a results document seen by Reuters on Friday, as exports jumped due to U.S. licenses allowing foreign partners to operate in the sanctioned OPEC member.There are no comparative figures from previous years because PDVSA has not published its results since 2016, and it did not immediately respond to a request for comment.Venezuela has some of the world's largest reserves of oil…
Freeport-McMoRan is poised to benefit from Trump's tariff on copper against competitors with few options
Freeport-McMoRan's annual profit could increase by $1.6 billion if President Donald Trump’s proposed copper tariff is implemented. This benefit would be driven by Freeport-McMoRan's position as the United States' largest producer, with greater expansion options than its competitors. Freeport, based in Phoenix, is responsible for 60% of the U.S. output of copper. Since the 19th century it has developed U.S. mining projects with decades of growth without the need of new permits.
CPC Corp Looks to Buy US Shale Gas Assets
Taiwan's state-owned energy company CPC Corp is in early stage discussions to buy shale-gas producing assets in the United States, three sources familiar with the matter said, in a bid to secure natural gas supplies to fuel Taiwan's economy.If a deal is struck, CPC would join a growing list of Asian companies taking ownership of U.S. natural gas assets, gaining exposure to the commodity at a time that the United States is…
Britain's FTSE 100 closes record, boosted by miners
Investors ignored the latest U.S. threats of tariffs and focused on negotiations, resulting in a record-breaking FTSE 100 closing on Thursday. The commodity-heavy FTSE 100 climbed 1.2% to 8,975.66, exceeding its previous intraday high hit in March. Susannah Streeter is the head of money markets and Hargreaves Lansdown. The fact that the UK was among the first countries to sign an agreement with the United States also helped boost sentiment. The FTSE 100 has risen 9.8% this year.
Gold Reserve, a bidder for Citgo, is happy with the refinery's management
Gold Reserve executives said that they were pleased with Citgo Petroleum management's performance on Thursday. This could be a sign of top executives staying at the Venezuelan-owned U.S. refining company if the bid of a Gold Reserve division for its parent was approved by an American federal judge. Last week, a court official overseeing an auction of shares recommended a $7.4 billion offer by Gold Reserve’s Dalinar Energy Corporation.
Russell: Trump's tariffs on copper won't boost US production, but will increase costs
The proposed 50% tariff on imported copper may be the most embarrassing own goal in the ongoing trade war between the United States and the rest of world. Trump announced Wednesday that the tariff would take effect on August 1. Trump's statement was quite definitive, but there are still many questions. For example, what products would be included in the definition? And, is there a possibility of exemptions or reduced rates for major US suppliers, like Chile and Canada?
Masdar and Iberdrola, both from the UAE, invest in a 1.4 gigawatt UK wind farm
Masdar, Abu Dhabi's renewable energy company owned by the government and Iberdola of Spain will invest together in a 1.4 Gigawatt (GW), wind farm in United Kingdom. This was announced in a Thursday statement from Masdar's parent firm TAQA. According to the statement, it is estimated that the project will cost approximately 5.2 billion euro ($6.10 billion) and that 24 international banks have signed agreements for project financing of around 4.1 billion euro.
Russell: Trump's tariffs on copper won't boost US production, but will increase costs
The proposed 50% tariff on imported copper may be the most embarrassing own goal in the ongoing trade war between the United States and the rest of world. Trump announced Wednesday that the tariff would take effect on August 1. Trump's statement was quite definitive, but there are still many questions. For example, what products would be included in a definition of copper? And, is there any scope for exemptions, or for lower rates, for major US suppliers like Chile and Canada?
Saudi Aramco Discusses LNG Purchase to Support Commonwealth LNG's Market Growth
Oil giant Saudi Aramco is in talks with Commonwealth LNG to buy liquefied natural gas from the U.S. company's proposed facility in Cameron, Louisiana, as it seeks to strengthen its position in the market for the superchilled fuel, four people told Reuters on Wednesday.The talks are for 2 million tons per annum (mtpa), two of the people said.Aramco and Commonwealth LNG did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment.If a deal is struck…
Sources: Saudi Aramco and Commonwealth LNG in negotiations for an offtake agreement
Four people said that Saudi Aramco, the oil giant, is in discussions with Commonwealth LNG about buying liquefied gas from its proposed Cameron, Louisiana facility. The company wants to improve its market position for super-cooled fuel. Two people confirmed that the talks concern 2 million tonnes per annum. Aramco and Commonwealth LNG didn't immediately respond to comments. If a deal can be reached, Commonwealth LNG will get closer to its goal of selling 8 mtpa of the 9.5 mtpa capacity of the plant.
Venture Global will supply additional LNG from CP2 to German firm
Venture Global and SEFE Energy GmbH announced on Wednesday that they would supply 0.75 million additional tonnes of liquefied gas per year to the German distributor. Venture Global announced that the LNG will be supplied by the Calcasieu Pass 2 project (CP2) for 20 years. This brings the total volume purchased of LNG by SEFE, short for Securing energy for Europe, to 3 mtpa. The United States is the largest LNG exporter in the world. After President Donald Trump took office, he lifted the moratorium on new permits.
Temasek portfolio value reaches record high, says US risk has likely peaked
Singapore's Temasek, the state-owned investor in Singapore, reported on Wednesday a 11.6% increase year-on-year to S$434 Billion ($340 Billion) and that risks related to U.S. immigration policies and tariffs and fiscal tightening had probably peaked. On Monday, U.S. president Donald Trump began a new phase in his trade war by telling allies - from major suppliers like Japan and South Korea down to smaller players such as Malaysia - that they will be facing higher tariffs starting August 1.
Trump announces a 50% tariff on imported copper
The President Donald Trump announced on Tuesday that he would announce a 50% duty on copper in the afternoon, with the aim of increasing U.S. production. Copper is a critical metal for electric vehicles, military equipment, the power grid, and many consumer products. Trump's decision imposed copper tariffs shocked the markets. It came earlier and at a greater rate than expected. After the announcement, U.S. Comex Copper futures jumped over 12% to a new record high.
SEC filing reveals that Venture Global is making money on LNG exports from Plaquemines plant
Venture Global has exported more LNG cargoes out of its Plaquemines facility in Louisiana, and it earned twice as much in fees as its other U.S. location. According to the SEC filing, the LNG company exported 51 cargoes of LNG from Plaquemines for a liquefaction charge of $7.09 million British thermal units per quarter (mmBtu). During the same time period, the company exported 38 LNG cargoes at an average of $2.66/mmBtu.
Exxon warns that lower gas and oil prices could affect second-quarter profits
Exxon Mobil said on Monday that lower prices for oil and gas could reduce its second-quarter profits by $1.5 billion compared to the previous quarter. The earnings snapshot of the biggest U.S. producer of oil is closely monitored for clues as to how the oil sector in general will do when companies release their quarterly results within a few short weeks. Benchmark Brent crude averaged $66.71 a barrel in the April-June quarter, a 11% decrease from the previous quarter.
South Korea's Presidential adviser will fly to Washington before the tariff deadline
His office announced on Saturday that the South Korean presidential security advisor plans to visit Washington between July 6 and 8, 2018. Wi Sung Lac, the national security advisor to President Lee Jae Myung, will "have in depth discussions about all pending issues between South Korea & the United States", the office announced in a press release. The visit coincides with the possibility that South Korea will seek to extend the U.S. Tariff Freeze, which is due to expire in a few days.
South Korea's trade minister could ask for an extension of the tariff freeze during US-South Korea talks
South Korea's Trade minister Yeo Han Koo said that he may request an extension to the U.S. Tariffs Freeze that expires in a few days, when he travels to Washington to meet with U.S. officials. Yeo, South Korea's newly appointed trade envoy, will fly to the U.S. this Friday. He plans to meet with U.S. Representative Jamieson Greer, and other senior officials, on Saturday. This is just before the deadline of July 9, when U.S. Tariffs may increase dramatically.
Baker Hughes reports that US drillers have cut oil and natural gas rigs in the US for the 10th consecutive week.
Baker Hughes, a leading energy services company, said that the U.S. firms have cut back on the number of oil rigs and natural gas wells for a tenth consecutive week for the first since July 2020. The number of oil and gas drilling rigs, a good indicator of future production, dropped by eight in the week ending July 3 to 539, the lowest level since October 2021. Baker Hughes released its report a day early than usual due to Friday's Fourth of July holiday in the United States.
