Oil
Higher-For-Longer Interest Rate Fears Weigh On Global Oil
Critical figures and data are emerging in the global energy marketrend as China becomes the single most important buyer of LNG supplied under long-term agreements, a crucial intermediary in trading cargoes of liquefied natural gas.
Despite China’s reopening, the country’s LNG imports did not see any major uptick, in fact, its January imports are 15% down year-on-year, totaling 6.07 million tonnes according to Kpler.
Roughly one-sixth of all term agreements that will begin delivering LNG through 2027 have been concluded with Chinese firms, with China overtaking Japan as the main term buyer.
Attesting to the growing Chinese clout on LNG trade, Chinese firms are assumed to have resold at least 5.5 million tonnes of LNG last year, roughly 6% of the spot market, as sellers benefited from Europe’s runaway gas prices.
Indeed, oil prices have remained rangebound this week with ICE Brent hovering around the 84 per barrel mark. As the US saw its trading activity halted due to Presidents’ Day, the market is still trying to decipher how and when will China’s return to the markets materialize. Provided the US Fed minutes see no unexpected development, oil trading will stay on its current choppy course.
As the European Union is finalizing its 10th sanctions package against Russia, Brussels has indicated it would not target the nuclear sector and focus on trade bans and technology export controls instead, worth an estimated $12 billion.
IEA head Fatih Birol warned that European nations might face energy shortages over the upcoming winter as very little new LNG capacity is coming to the market this year, while China’s consumption of gas is bound to increase in 2023.
The Biden administration’s draft regulation requiring government contractors to disclose their emissions and set decarbonization targets might disrupt the US military’s 250,000 b/d oil demand and compel refiners to no longer bid for state supply deals.
Guyana’s vice president Bharrat Jagdeo said the South American country wants to take back 20% of the prolific Stabroek block operated by ExxonMobil (NYSE:XOM), corresponding to its unexplored segments, and remarket it by 2024.
Top officials at the International Atomic Energy Agency said they’ve detected uranium enriched to 84% during one of their recent inspections, close to weapons grade, prompting the UN agency to demand an explanation from Tehran.
The Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) and the federal authorities in Baghdad formed a joint committee to draft a new oil and gas law for the country that would integrate Kurdistan’s needs, marking a huge step forward in their 15-year tug of war.
The European Union failed to adopt a comprehensive set of policy conclusions on climate amidst a deepening spat over the role of nuclear in the transition towards renewable energy, pitting France against the likes of Germany and Spain who oppose nuclear.
The London-based Intercontinental Exchange has launched a new market for TTF gas futures and options to provide an alternative to the benchmark Dutch TTF contract, to be used to avoid the European Union triggering its market correction mechanism and setting gas prices.
The European carbon contract hit an all-time this week as it was one cent away from reaching the €100 per metric tonne threshold in intra-day trading, spurred by lower wind generation across the continent and forecasts of cold weather next week.
US electric vehicle carmaker Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) is rumored to be mulling a takeover of Canada-based battery metal miner Sigma Lithium (NASDAQ:SGML), a company that focuses on spodumene production in Brazil and has a market cap of $3.2 billion.
The Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) announced that the country needs to ramp up renewable power capacity as the closure of several coal-fired power plants in 2025-2027 cuts off some 13% from current electricity provision.
The price of iron ore is rising again as higher demand from China combined with lower steel output from Brazil and Australia heat up spot trading globally, with the 62% delivered ex-China quotes already back at $129 per metric tonne.
South Africa’s mining giant Sibanye-Stillwater (NYSE:SBSW) launched an unsolicited takeover of Australian zinc miner New Century Resources (ASX:NCZ), already owning 19.9% of the firm, arguing the NCR is losing value and direction.
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