Day: June 4, 2024
Qatar’s Huge New Long-Term LNG Contracts Are Crucial for Both China and the West
Although the U.S. and China are indirectly involved in the ongoing Russia-Ukraine and Israel-Hamas wars, the conflict between the world’s two leading Western and Eastern powers has not itself turned hot – yet. There are many senior officials on both sides who believe it is only a matter of time before it does, with the consensus being that it will follow the conventional war template seen in the current Ukraine conflict in the first phase at least. As recently as March, Admiral John Aquilino, head of the U.S.’s Indo-Pacific Command,…
Read MoreKataro didžiulės naujos ilgalaikės SGD sutartys yra labai svarbios tiek Kinijai, tiek Vakarams
Nors JAV ir Kinija netiesiogiai dalyvauja vykstančiuose Rusijos ir Ukrainos bei Izraelio ir „Hamas“ karuose, konfliktas tarp dviejų pasaulyje pirmaujančių Vakarų ir Rytų galių dar neįsipūtė. Abiejose pusėse yra daug aukšto rango pareigūnų, manančių, kad tai tik laiko klausimas, kada tai pavyks, ir sutariama, kad bus laikomasi įprasto karo šablono, matomo dabartiniame Ukrainos konflikte bent jau pirmajame etape. Dar kovo mėnesį JAV Indo-Ramiojo vandenyno vadovybės vadovas admirolas Johnas Aquilino…
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OPEC’s Oil Production Rises as Iraq Continues to Overproduce
OPEC’s crude oil production rose by 145,000 barrels per day (bpd) in May compared to April, as Iraq continues to pump above its quota and boosted output alongside African producer Nigeria, the monthly Reuters survey showed on Tuesday. OPEC produced a total of 26.63 million bpd in May, an increase of 145,000 bpd compared to April, according to the Reuters survey, which tracks supply to the market and is based on information provided by industry sources and shipping data. Iraq, OPEC’s second-biggest producer behind Saudi Arabia,…
Read MoreCan Turkmenistan’s Energy Exports Buy Influence in Beijing?
Turkmenistan occupies a unique position in Central Asia as the lone state in the region enjoying a trade surplus with China. Nevertheless, Beijing’s diplomatic signals suggest that Turkmenistan isn’t a high priority for Chinese diplomats. According to a report published by the Turkmen government-connected website, Business Turkmenistan, first quarter trade turnover in 2024 between Ashgabat and China totaled almost $2.6 billion. Turkmenistan accounted for almost 92 percent of that figure, or $2.39 billion, via sales of natural gas to…
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Oil Price Plunge Hits BP and Shell Shares
The slump in oil prices so far this week has dragged down shares in the top UK-based oil and gas supermajors, Shell and BP, with their stock falling on Tuesday and pushing London’s main FTSE 100 index in the red. As oil prices fell by more than 3% on Monday and continued to drop early on Tuesday, shares in BP and Shell also slumped in London today. BP (LON: BP) was down by 3.7%, and Shell’s (LON: SHEL) stock had dropped by 2% as of 2 p.m. in London on Tuesday. As major constituents of the FTSE 100 index, the supermajors dragged…
Read MoreChinese Money Managers Eye Middle East Oil Wealth
China’s sovereign wealth fund and a number of banks and hedge funds have boosted their presence in the Middle East, aiming to get a larger slice of the oil-wealth pie and raising concerns in the United States over closer cooperation between China and the U.S. allies in the Gulf region. This year, several state-held Chinese banks, the Chinese $1.35-trillion sovereign wealth fund, and a number of asset managers from the world’s second-largest economy have established offices and businesses in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and other financial…
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Singapore Looks to Have More Gas-Fired Power Plants to Meet Rising Demand
Singapore is seeking proposals from companies to build and operate two new natural gas-fired power plants by the end of the decade as it looks to have more generation capacity to meet soaring electricity demand. Singapore’s Energy Market Authority (EMA) launched on Tuesday a second Request for Proposal for new electricity generation capacity, inviting companies to build, own, and operate two new hydrogen-ready Combined Cycle Gas Turbine (CCGT) generating units to be ready in 2029 and 2030 respectively. Each generating unit is expected…
Read MoreChina-Taiwan Conflict Raises Concerns for Semiconductors and Gold
Via SchiffGold.com, American-made weapons will soon be bound for Taiwan, American lawmakers are telling Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te, sending shockwaves of uncertainty through electronics and metals markets this week. In a pointed “celebration” of Lai’s recent inauguration, Chinese military aircraft and warships have been conducting large-scale drills around the island. China considers Taiwan a strayed member of its territory and hasn’t ruled out the use of force to assert its claim. “China will surely be reunified,”…
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Erdogan Says Turkmenistan Could Soon Begin Gas Exports to Turkey and Europe
Turkmenistan could soon begin exporting natural gas to Turkey and then Europe via the expanded Trans Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline Project (TANAP), Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was quoted as saying on Tuesday. Turkmenistan, rich in natural gas, has been vying for an export route of its gas to Europe, after Russian pipeline flows to the EU slumped in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Turkmenistan has been negotiating gas exports to Turkey and global markets through swap deals, with a focus on electricity…
Read MoreOccidental Joins Berkshire In New Lithium JV
Occidental Petroleum has entered into a joint venture with Berkshire Hathaway’s BHE Renewables in a tie-up to extract and produce lithium compounds, Occidental said in a news release on Tuesday. The merger isn’t out of left field. Occidental’s wholly-owned subsidiary TerraLithium has patented DLE technologies that can process any lithium-containing brine “into a responsibly sourced supply of high-purity lithium,” Oxy said. As for BHE, it operates 10 geothermal power plants in California that process 50,000 gallons…
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First Solar and Qcells Score Panel Ecolabel Preferred in U.S. Federal Tenders
Solar panel manufacturers First Solar and Hanwha Qcells have registered several of their solar panel designs under a label of most sustainably produced panels, which the U.S. government prefers when sourcing solar equipment in tenders. Qcells’ residential and commercial solar panels achieved the Global Electronics Council’s (GEC) stringent sustainability criteria, making them EPEAT registered products, Hanwha Q CELLS America Inc said on Tuesday. The EPEAT standard for solar panels is among the low environmental-impact…
Read MoreNew Blast Furnace Could Cut Liberty Steel’s Emissions by 80%
Via Metal Miner Steel manufacturing giant Liberty Steel recently signed a contract with Chinese engineering company CISDI, finalizing a feasibility study to build an electric arc furnace at the Dunaújváros plant in Hungary. Steel production estimates state that the facility would have an annual crude capacity of 1.5 million metric tonnes. According to a May 16 announcement by the former’s parent company, GFG Alliance, Liberty Steel executive chairman Sanjeev Gupta and CISDI chairman Xiao Peng signed the agreement on the…
Read MoreCan London Become a Global Leader in Sustainable Finance?
Investing in the green transition, in the companies based in the Square Mile, is good for the climate fight and for our own economic development, says Chris Hayward Of the City’s many strengths, few have such global significance as our expertise in sustainable finance. Tomorrow, that talent and expertise will be on show at the City of London Corporation’s annual Net Zero Delivery Summit. London is ranked first is the Global Green Finance Index because we offer a one-stop-shop to investors, firms, and governments. In the Square Mile,…
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Shell CEO Warns of Policy Stability Ahead of U.S. Presidential Election
During a recent visit to Washington D.C., Shell CEO Wael Sawan highlighted the critical importance of policy stability for the energy sector, especially in the lead-up to the US presidential election. Speaking at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Sawan underscored how political decisions in the US capital—the “energy capital of the world”—significantly influence global investment strategies and spending. Sawan’s visit comes at a pivotal moment as Shell adjusts its focus towards its core petroleum business amid…
Read MoreTech Hardware Stocks Primed for Another AI-Fueled Liftoff
The decline in personal computer sales may end as soon as next year as consumers will be enticed to upgrade their legacy Covid-era PCs. The introduction of PCs equipped with fancy new AI chips, capable of running as digital assistants in the background and faster computing power, could boost sales that have been sagging since the upgrade cycle boosted by remote workers during Covid peaked in late 2021. On Sunday, comments from AI chip leader Nvidia, whose CEO, Jensen Huang, told the audience at the 2024 Taipei International Information Technology…
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Oil Prices Fall After API Reports Large Surprise Builds in Crude And Products
Crude oil inventories in the United States rose this week by 4.052 million barrels for the week ending May 24, according to The American Petroleum Institute (API), after analysts had forecast a 1.9 million barrel draw. For the week prior, the API reported a 6.490 million barrel dip in crude inventories. On Tuesday, the Department of Energy (DoE) reported that crude oil inventories in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) rose by 0.9 million barrels as of May 31. Inventories are now at 340.2 million barrels—the highest level since March of…
Read MoreChinese Firms to Build Controversial Black Sea Megaproject in Georgia
As global attention focused on the Georgian parliament’s attempts to pass a controversial “foreign agent” law, the government made another move that could strain ties with the West when it announced that a Chinese consortium would build a strategic port on Georgia’s Black Sea coast. “The decision to make this announcement the day after the ‘foreign agent’ vote doesn’t look to be an accident,” Tinatin Khidasheli, the Georgian defense minister from 2015-16, told RFE/RL. “It’s been an open secret…
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PRICER.LT KAINŲ PALYGINIMAS: PASKUTINIS PAVASARIO KAINŲ PALYGINIMAS. AR TIRPS KAINOS VASARĄ?
PRICER.LT KAINŲ PALYGINIMAS: PASKUTINIS PAVASARIO KAINŲ PALYGINIMAS. AR TIRPS KAINOS VASARĄ?
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