David Fuller and Eoin Treacy's Comment of the Day
Category - Energy

    Shipping Giants Look at Arduous Reroute to Avoid Blocked Suez

    This article from Bloomberg may be of interest to subscribers. Here is a section:

    Loadings scheduled from Qatar’s Ras Laffan export terminal may experience “considerable delays” if the situation doesn’t improve by the end of this week, according to Rebecca Chia, an analyst at market information group Kepler.

    The congestion is also hitting bulk carriers that ship products from wheat to iron ore. There’s a long queue of bulk ships at the moment -- just shy of 40 vessels -- according to Peter Sand, chief shipping analyst at trade group BIMCO.

    “Unless the situation is resolved very quickly we will soon see ships sailing south of Africa,” Sand said. “Oil tanker rates are terribly low at the moment so that’s where there’s most upside. Then some upside for dry bulk.”

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    Germany to Sell Record Debt of Up to $576 Billion in 2021

    This article from Bloomberg may be of interest to subscribers. Here is a section:

    The final decision on next year’s budget will be taken by the government that takes charge of Europe’s biggest economy after Chancellor Angela Merkel steps aside following the election.

    Merkel’s conservative CDU/CSU bloc is on track to lead the next administration and favors a return to frugality once the coronavirus recedes, while Scholz’s struggling SPD and the surging Greens have pledged to invest billions in technology and tackling climate change.

    As things stand, Merkel’s bloc could form a coalition with the Greens, though the outcome is far from certain with discontent increasing among citizens weary of virus restrictions and unhappy with the slow pace of Germany’s Covid-19 vaccine rollout.

    With the contagion rate on the rise again, Merkel is holding talks with cabinet ministers and regional leaders later on Monday to decide the next steps in the government’s pandemic strategy.

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    CTA, Money Manager Unwinds Could Be Behind Oil Drop

    This trading note from Bloomberg may be of interest to subscribers. Here is a section:

    Crude oil has fallen the most in nearly three months, sliding as much as 4.75% today, and on its way to a test of the March 4 low at $60.52 per barrel. The move is probably linked to some unwinding of long positions from CTAs as daily price gains or losses of more than 3% can often trigger this account group to quickly unload. Watch for this unwind to continue if price action maintains this pace in the days ahead.

    Beyond that, money managers could be unwinding longs. This group’s crude holdings are the longest in more than two years, according to the most recent CFTC data. Let’s not forget Iran is swamping China with oil. Also, quarter-end window dressing can also get in the way of an otherwise nice trend.

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    Email of the on solar power, desertification, and profitability

    This video is very interesting. It is hard to comprehend the scale of this project.  It is part of China's ''ending poverty'' project.

    Whilst the US has been engaged in adventurism in the M-E and elsewhere (right up till today) resulting in heavy losses, both financial and human cost, China has been powering ahead in leaps and bounds, spreading their sphere of influence far and wide. Interesting times.

     

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    Platinum Quarterly

    This report from the World Platinum Investment Council may be of interest to subscribers. Here is a section:

    In 2020 the platinum market was in a deficit of -932 koz, the largest annual deficit on record albeit below the -1,202 koz deficit forecast in November 2020. This difference was due to Anglo American Platinum Converter Plant (ACP) Phase A being restarted in December 2020, three weeks earlier than expected. However, over the year, as a whole, lower supply due to COVID-19-related mine closures, ACP outages and reduced recycling far outweighed the pandemic-driven fall in demand from the automotive, jewellery and industrial sectors, which fall was partially offset by increased investment demand.

    For 2021 the platinum market is forecast to remain in a deficit for the third consecutive year. The modest deficit of -60 koz results from a 17% increase in total supply and a 3% increase in total demand. Interestingly, total supply in 2021 will still be 3% lower than in 2019, with industrial, jewellery and automotive demand levels all above their respective levels in 2019.

    Total platinum demand in 2020 was 7,738 koz, 7% (-569 koz) lower than in 2019. Automotive demand reduced by 17% (-474 koz) year-on-year, largely due to lower vehicle sales in the first half of the year, as measures to control the spread of COVID-19 resulted in vehicle factory and showroom closures. However, platinum automotive demand losses were cushioned by the impact of higher metal loadings on catalysts to meet tighter emissions regulations. Jewellery demand was similarly impacted in 2020, with volumes 13% (-279 koz) lower on a full-year basis despite quarter four demand returning to pre-pandemic levels. Industrial demand was 5% (-111 koz) lower, with strong glass sector demand largely compensating for weakness in all other industrial demand segments.

    In 2020, weakness in automotive, jewellery and industrial demand was partly offset by strong investment demand, from bars and coins and ETFs, collectively up 24% (+295 koz) year-on-year. Heightened global risk drove investor demand for hard assets such as platinum during the first half of the year, further encouraged by the weak platinum price. Investment demand increased in line with the improving economic outlook in the second half of 2020 and was bolstered by NYMEX futures exchange physical metal stocks, that increased significantly to address the disconnect between the price of platinum futures and platinum. However, as the year progressed bar and coin demand moderated somewhat as the platinum price increased and stock shortages in North America were addressed. ETF holdings increased strongly over the year with growth in North America, Europe and Japan far exceeding declines in South Africa.

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    Shell Plans to Take Virtual Power Plant to the Next Level

    This article by Nelson Nsitem for Bloomberg may be of interest to subscribers. Here it is in full:

    Royal Dutch Shell Plc agreed to buy Next Kraftwerke, the operator of a virtual power plant that brings together clean-energy capacity across Europe to sell the electricity into the market.

    Next Kraftwerke remotely connects and manages more than 10,000 off-grid units -- including solar, hydropower and bioenergy facilities -- across eight countries, the Hamburg-based company said Thursday in a statement. The deal expands Shell’s footprint in low-carbon technologies as the Anglo-Dutch oil major seeks to slash its emissions.

    “The acquisition of Next Kraftwerke will accelerate Shell’s strategy to grow by adding smaller renewable assets to our portfolio,” David Wells, vice president of Shell Energy Europe, said in the statement. The terms of the deal, which is expected to complete in the second quarter of this year, were not disclosed.

    Power is a key part of Shell’s ambition to become a “net-zero” company by 2050 and one of the world’s largest providers of green electricity. Shell aims to double electricity sales to 560 terawatt-hours by 2030.

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    Email of the day on oil prices

    Oil price is in the news and as a holder of a leveraged position I was very happy with the price spike. Here's an article that is arguing it's a sellers’ market, will remain so, and that shale production will not drive prices back down. What are your thoughts.

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    OPEC+ Keeps Tight Squeeze on Output, Sending Prices Soaring

    This article from Bloomberg may be of interest to subscribers. Here is a section:

    restraints. It leaves the world facing a significant supply squeeze, higher energy costs and the risk of inflation, just as widespread vaccination allows economies to start emerging from the downturn caused by the pandemic.

    “OPEC+ definitely risks over-tightening the oil market,” said Amrita Sen, chief oil analyst at consultant Energy Aspects Ltd. in London.

    Brent has already rallied almost 30% this year to above $67 a barrel as OPEC+ kept production below demand in order to drain the glut that built up during the worst of the Covid-19 lockdowns. Without additional supply, that deficit will widen significantly in April, according to the cartel’s internal estimates.

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    Ignoring Energy Transition Realities

    Thanks to a subscriber for this report from the team at Goehring & Rozencwajg which was released a couple of months ago. Here is a section:

    Electric vehicles also involve energy intensive lithium-ion batteries. Few realize how much energy is embedded in an electric vehicle before it is ever plugged in. Over the life of a typical EV, nearly 40% of the total energy goes into manufacturing the battery. The IEA expects electric vehicles will represent nearly 15% of total transportation energy by 2040. We calculate this equates to approximately 850 mm EVs and nearly 65 terawatt hours of batteries. This is a staggering amount considering global lithium-ion manufacturing capacity is currently less than 0.4 terawatt hours per year. These batteries will require an incredible 2 billion tonnes of oil equivalent to build. We will shortly release a detailed podcast that goes into these figures in great depth.

    Unfortunately, few people realize how energy intensive the “green transition” will be. As a result, much (if not all) of the carbon savings will be undone by generating the power in the first place. The IEA’s proposal assumes wind and solar make up nearly 50% of all electricity by 2040 and that some 850 mm electric vehicles will be on the road. These initiatives are expected to reduce CO2 by 55% or 18 bn tonnes per year. While this may sound impressive, simply moving away from coal towards much-cleaner natural gas would itself save nearly 14 bn tonnes of CO2 per year. When analyzed through this perspective, renewables would save an incremental 4 bn tonnes compared with the next cleanest option.

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