Costas Paris and Joanne Chiu report in The Wall Street Journal that coming sanctions on Iran are already having an effect on how shipping companies are approaching the oil exporting country. They write: It will be months before new U.S. sanctions against Iran take hold, but global shipping operators are already pulling back from the big oil-exporting nation. The world’s two biggest shipping lines, Denmark’s Maersk Line and Swiss-based Mediterranean Shipping Co., said they were winding down general cargo shipments, while tanker owners said they plan to move their vessels to other … [Read more...]

With the U.S. renewing sanctions on Iran, OPEC's oil production curtailment program is being questioned. The sanctions are pushing oil prices higher, so OPEC must decide if it will produce more oil during the unexpected windfall, or if it will keep production stable and push prices higher for greater profits. At Reuters, Alex Lawler and Rania El Gamal report: The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries has a deal with Russia and non-OPEC producers to cut supplies that has helped erase a global glut and boosted oil prices to their highest since 2014. Officials are considering … [Read more...]

Scientists working for Kawasaki Heavy Industries and the government of Australia are working together to test ways to turn coal into liquid hydrogen. The group is putting over $380 million (US) into the plan. FT reports: The pilot project aims to generate “green energy” for use in cars, electricity generation and industry in Japan from one of the dirtiest fuels, brown coal. It involves converting coal to hydrogen at a power plant in the Latrobe Valley — a region in Australia with some of the world’s most abundant supplies of the fossil fuel, which is also called lignite. “The global … [Read more...]

The first cargo of LNG from the East Coast departed Cove Point terminal on Monday. The terminal makes Dominion Energy the second American company to export LNG, after Cheniere Energy's Sabine Pass terminal on the Gulf of Mexico became the first operation to export gas back in 2016. Bloomberg reports: Cove Point’s startup is accelerating America’s emergence as an LNG powerhouse that’s expected to challenge Australia and Qatar for worldwide dominance in the next five years. Three more export terminals may open on the Gulf Coast by 2019. While Cove Point’s East Coast location could give it … [Read more...]

Among the major players in the conflict in Syria are all of the world's top three natural gas producers. The United States, Russia and Iran. Qatar, the world's fourth largest producer, and Saudi Arabia, the world's ninth largest producer have also been linked to rebel groups in the country. Oilprice.com reports that in reaction to heightened tensions and missile strikes in Syria, LNG prices have been soaring. Tim Daiss writes: Also, on Wednesday, Saudi Arabia faced what the Associated Press (AP) called a flurry of attempted attacks by Yemeni rebels. Saudi Arabia’s defense forces said … [Read more...]

OPEC is targeting $80/barrel for oil, but will it be able to get there if it's not estimating the proper amount of non-cartel production? In The Wall Street Journal, Sarah McFarlane and Stephanie Yang report: While cuts from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries have helped eliminate oversupply of crude oil, the cartel said in its monthly market report that non-OPEC producers such as the U.S. are contributing to rising global supply. ”We still think that the cartel is underestimating non-OPEC supply growth,” said Capital Economics analysts, noting that higher prices will … [Read more...]

The short answer to the question above is, probably not. Using an indexed based approach to commodity investing is futile. If you're investing in commodities, it's best done using an active approach. Simon Constable explains why in The Wall Street Journal writing: 1. Unlike for stocks, the influence of technology on commodities is deflationary. Consider the massive profits generated by tech companies like Facebook Inc. and Alphabet Inc. New technology has helped power big gains in those stocks. And technology has helped fuel gains in stocks outside the tech sector, as well, by improving … [Read more...]

If the leaders of Saudi Arabia have their way, oil could be priced at $80/barrel once again soon. With economic activity picking up in America, and OPEC continuing its policy of production restriction, that target is closer than it's been for some time. Bloomberg's Javier Blas reports: Saudi Arabia wants to get oil prices near $80 a barrel to pay for the government’s crowded policy agenda and support the valuation of state energy giant Aramco before an initial public offering. In conversations with OPEC delegates and oil market participants, Saudi officials had been careful to avoid … [Read more...]

A recent auction of oil drilling rights in the Gulf of Mexico was met with yawns by the oil drilling industry. Only 1% of the land on offer was bid on, and the average paid was $153 per acre. That's very low. Timothy Puko reports for The Wall Street Journal: The tepid response shows just how difficult it is for the administration to fulfill its promise of helping the energy industry grow at a time of abundant supplies. A boom in shale drilling has helped set the country on course to become the world’s largest oil producer, but it has also sunk prices and lured drillers away from higher-cost … [Read more...]

With demand for lithium ion batteries for cars, phones, grid storage and more growing each day, there is a race on to secure the world's supplies of lithium. That race is becoming a battle in Chile, where regulators are unsure about whether or not to give a Chinese state-backed firm the go ahead to buy a major stake in SQM, a Chilean lithium miner. Reuters reports: The National Economic Prosecutor’s office, known by its Spanish initials FNE, is set to review the sale by Canada’s Nutrien Ltd of a 32 percent stake in Santiago-based SQM for more than $4 billion to Chinese bidder Tianqi … [Read more...]