https://oilprice.com/rss/main The latest news and headlines Tue, 24 Dec 2024 09:31:21 -0600 https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/A-Bullish-Catalyst-for-Oil-as-2024-Draws-to-a-Close.html oilprice-article-39594 While liquidity in oil markets is traditionally very low over the Christmas period, China has provided a bullish catalyst for Brent and WTI this year by announcing its monster $410 billion treasury bond sale.- US natural gas producers are anticipating a reversal of fortunes next year after 2024 saw gas-focused drillers struggle with oversupply and multi-year price lows, dipping as low as $1.60 per mmBtu during the year.- Over the next 12 months, US natural gas production in the Lower 48 states is expected to add around 4 BCf/day and surpass 107… Tue, 24 Dec 2024 06:00:00 -0600 Michael Kern https://oilprice.com/Energy/Natural-Gas/Big-Oil-Looks-to-The-Eastern-Mediterranean-as-Replacement-for-Russian-Gas.html oilprice-article-39589 Ever since Russia invaded Ukraine on 24 February 2022, the U.S. and its key North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) allies have looked to new sources of gas supply to allow the security group to phase out all such supplies flowing into Europe from Russia. The key reasons for this are still intact, but with Donald Trump beginning his second term as U.S. President on 20 January, this part of the multi-pronged strategy to further diminish Russian influence in Europe is set to pick up pace. It is also a key part of the new Trump Presidential Administration’s… Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:00:00 -0600 Simon Watkins https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/Canadas-Economy-Is-Picking-Up-Steam-Lifted-By-Oil-Gas-Extraction.html oilprice-article-39592 The Canadian economy grew 0.3 per cent in October, helped by strength in oil and gas extraction, mining and quarrying, Statistics Canada has revealed in its monthly GDP release. Oil and gas extraction, mining and quarrying rose 2.4 per cent in October with all three subsectors rising. "Canada's economy is picking up steam as we wrap up the year, and we're expecting growth in the fourth quarter close to two per cent," wrote Andrew DiCapua, a senior economist at the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, in a note to clients. "If this momentum holds, it could… Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:00:00 -0600 Alex Kimani https://oilprice.com/Alternative-Energy/Renewable-Energy/Hydrogen-Fuel-Cells-A-Promising-Green-Alternative-to-Battery-Electric-Vehicles.html oilprice-article-39580 While the battery electric vehicle (BEV) market has been growing rapidly over the last decade, several automakers are also investing in research and development into an alternative green technology - hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs). Many believe that hydrogen could be the key to decarbonising heavy industry, providing clean heating, and running greener vehicles. Countries worldwide have invested heavily in renewable energy sources to generate electricity; however, this does not provide the fuel needed to power certain operations. By… Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:00:00 -0600 Felicity Bradstock https://oilprice.com/Finance/the-Markets/Why-Governments-Make-Poor-Speculators.html oilprice-article-39578 There can be few fields of human endeavor in which history counts for so little as in the world of finance. Past experience, to the extent that it is part of memory at all, is dismissed as the primitive refuge of those who do not have the insight to appreciate the incredible wonders of the present. Only after the speculative collapse does the truth emerge.               —John Kenneth Galbraith, A Short History of Financial Euphoria, 1990 All the recent talk about government Bitcoin reserves has gotten me… Mon, 23 Dec 2024 14:00:00 -0600 Kurt Cobb https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Workers-Seek-Shelter-As-Hanford-Nuclear-Complex-Issues-Leak-Alert.html oilprice-news-39594 Workers at the Hanford nuclear site were ordered to take cover on Friday after a large holding tank with ammonia vapor was discovered to be leaking near the vitrification plant in the 200 East Area. Workers in that area were told to shelter in place with doors, windows and ventilation closed while other workers were told to avoid the 200 East Area. The Hanford Site is a decommissioned nuclear production complex operated by the United States federal government on the Columbia River in Benton County in the U.S. state of Washington The 200 East Area… Mon, 23 Dec 2024 13:30:00 -0600 Alex Kimani https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/Saudi-Arabia-Becomes-Top-Buyer-Of-Russian-Fuel-Oil.html oilprice-article-39591 Saudi Arabia was the leading buyer of Russian seaborne fuel oil and vacuum gasoil (VGO) exports in November, LSEG data has revealed. According to Reuters calculations based on LSEG data, Russian fuel oil and VGO exports grew  6% month-on-month in November to about 4.26 million metric tons. Asian countries have become top buyers of Russia's fuel oil and VGO ever since the European Union imposed a full embargo on Russian oil products in February 2023. India is no longer the biggest buyer of Russian crude. According to the Centre for Research… Mon, 23 Dec 2024 13:00:00 -0600 Alex Kimani https://oilprice.com/Metals/Commodities/Nickels-Price-Plunge-Indonesian-Dominance-Shakes-Global-Markets.html oilprice-article-39577 Via Metal Miner   When the story of global nickel prices is written for 2024, Indonesia and China will undoubtedly be the main characters. This is not only due to the former country’s high production output but also alleged violations of environmental rules and poor labor practices, which Indonesia has consistently denied.  Indonesia is numero uno in global nickel production, accounting for 51% of the world’s total mine production. The country also sits on 42% of total global reserves. Because of this, it’s been a major… Mon, 23 Dec 2024 13:00:00 -0600 Metal Miner https://oilprice.com/Geopolitics/International/Turkeys-Rise-in-Syria-Stokes-Regional-Rivalry-with-Iran.html oilprice-article-39576 The fall of Bashar al-Assad's government at the hands of rebels, including Ankara-backed factions, has effectively made Turkey the dominant foreign actor in Syria at the expense of Iran and its ally Russia. Turkey and Iran have competed for years for influence in the South Caucasus, and this rivalry appears to have now extended to the Levant. "The Islamic republic has had significant misgivings about Turkish influence in Syria, be it economic, political, or military, long before the fall of Assad. But with the loss of Iran's sole state ally in… Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:00:00 -0600 RFE/RL staff https://oilprice.com/Alternative-Energy/Fuel-Cells/Green-Hydrogen-Costs-Set-to-Stay-Too-High-For-Too-Long.html oilprice-article-39588 Green hydrogen will struggle to compete at price level with gray hydrogen made from natural gas at least until 2050—much longer than previously anticipated, according to new estimates by research firm BloombergNEF. BNEF’s new report on hydrogen prices finds that green hydrogen, the one produced via electrolysis using renewable energy, will fail to reach price parity with gray hydrogen by the middle of the century, as costs have more than tripled from last year’s forecast.   Rising costs for electrolyzers mean that in 2050,… Mon, 23 Dec 2024 11:00:00 -0600 Charles Kennedy https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Indian-Oil-Probes-Allegations-of-Albemarle-Bribes-to-State-Firms-Officials.html oilprice-news-39592 Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), a state-owned oil giant, has launched an internal investigation over alleged bribes paid by Albemarle to IOC officials to secure contracts more than a decade ago, Indian media report. Responding to news articles from last week, IOC said in a statement filed with the local stock exchange that “the Company is neither a party to nor these is any allegation against the Company in relation to the proceedings referred in the said news articles”. The statement goes on to say that “However, the Company has… Mon, 23 Dec 2024 10:30:00 -0600 Charles Kennedy https://oilprice.com/Energy/Crude-Oil/Russia-Loses-Indian-Oil-Market-Share-to-Middle-Easts-Exporters.html oilprice-article-39586 India imported lower volumes of Russian crude oil in November while it boosted purchases of Middle Eastern crude, as Russia exported lower volumes overall while some Indian refiners were undergoing maintenance. In the months prior to November, India continued to boost crude imports from Russia. Over the past two years, India has become a key buyer of Russia’s oil, while the attractiveness of cheaper crude supply has made Russia the single biggest supplier of oil to India. But last month, India imported 1.52 million barrels per day (bpd) of… Mon, 23 Dec 2024 10:00:00 -0600 Charles Kennedy https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/High-Electricity-Taxes-Are-Crippling-European-Industry.html oilprice-news-39591 European countries need to work out ways to lower taxes on electricity to revive the competiveness of Europe’s energy-intensive industries, Leonhard Birnbaum, president of electricity lobby Eurelectric, told Reuters in an interview published on Monday.  Power prices in the EU are up to three times higher than in the United States, for example, which further erodes the competitiveness of energy-intensive industries including aluminum, steel making, chemicals, and cement production.  Europe is losing and will continue to lose competitiveness… Mon, 23 Dec 2024 09:30:00 -0600 Tsvetana Paraskova https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/Tesla-Soars-to-15-Trillion-Valuation-After-Trumps-Re-Election.html oilprice-article-39575 Tesla shares just reached a new all-time high following Trump’s victory in the 2024 presidential election, propelling the company to a massive $1.5 trillion valuation as of December 18, 2024. This graphic, via Visual Capitalist's Marcus Lu, highlights the most valuable automakers by market cap worldwide as of Dec. 13, 2024, based on figures from CompaniesMarketCap.com. Tesla Dominance Tesla accounts for nearly half of the market capitalization among global carmakers. Its valuation surpasses the combined value of the next 29 automakers. Rank… Mon, 23 Dec 2024 09:00:00 -0600 OilPrice.com https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Russia-Expands-Global-Nuclear-Footprint-Despite-Western-Pushback.html oilprice-news-39589 Russia is looking to maintain its position as “one of the biggest builders of new nuclear plants in the world,” a top envoy of Russian President Vladimir Putin told the Financial Times in an interview published on Monday.  “We are building more than 10 different units around the world,” Boris Titov, Putin’s special representative for international cooperation in sustainability, told FT.  “We need a lot of energy. We will not be able to provide this energy without using . . . nuclear,”… Mon, 23 Dec 2024 08:00:00 -0600 Tsvetana Paraskova