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DAILY ENERGY NEWS | 01/03/2024

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Freedom molecules are in high demand. Imagine if our producers were celebrated and not fighting a hostile administration at every juncture.

Bloomberg (1/2/23) reports: "The US tied Qatar as the world’s top exporter of liquefied natural gas last year, a milestone for the meteoric rise of America as a major supplier of the fuel. Both countries exported 81.2 million tons in 2022, according to ship-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg. While that’s a modest increase for Qatar, it marks a huge leap for the US, which only began exporting LNG from the lower-48 states in 2016 and has seemingly overnight become a dominant force in the industry. A shale gas revolution, coupled with billions of dollars of investments in liquefaction facilities, transformed the US from a net LNG importer to a major supplier. The global energy crisis and a shift away from Russian pipeline gas has increased demand for US LNG, which could also help support construction of several new export projects across the Gulf Coast. The US would have been the world’s top LNG exporter if not for a fire at the Freeport export plant in Texas, which has kept the plant shut since June. The facility is slated to resume operations later this month, which will cement the US as the biggest exporter of the fuel."

And as Nick Deiuliis reminds us, there is no better place, environmentally speaking, for those molecules to be extracted than right here at home. The latest episode of Nick's The Far Middle Podcast now streaming on his website, or wherever you listen.

"Without crude oil, there can be no electricity. All the parts to generate electricity, and all the components needed to use electricity, are all made from the oil derivatives manufactured from raw crude oil. In the pre-1800s, before crude oil, humanity had no electricity."

– Ronald Stein, P.E.,
Heartland Institute

Despite Big Green, Inc.'s best efforts, we're still cooking with gas.

Utility Dive (1/2/24) reports: "The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit will not reconsider its decision to overturn Berkeley, California’s first-in-the-nation ban on natural gas hookups in new construction, according to a denial on Jan. 2. A three-judge panel of the federal appeals court struck down Berkeley’s ordinance in April, agreeing with California restaurant owners that the city overstepped the federal Energy and Policy Conservation Act when it passed the ban in 2019. The decision led other jurisdictions in the region to reconsider their own building electrification rules to avoid legal threats, with Eugene, Oregon, reversing its gas ban altogether and Washington state changing recently adopted building codes that would have mandated electric heat pumps in new buildings. Some building electrification advocates worried the court’s decision would chill decarbonization efforts as local and state governments face down lawsuits often led by the well-funded gas industry...If Berkeley wants to move forward with the case in the court system, its only course of action is to ask the U.S. Supreme Court to hear it, said Amy Turner, director of the Cities Climate Law Initiative at Columbia University’s Sabin Center for Climate Change Law. Berkeley’s city attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment on potential next steps."

Somebody better tell China we hit "peak" emissions last year...

The Guardian (12/30/23) reports: "Global efforts to slow a runaway climate catastrophe may have reached a critical milestone in the last year with the peak of global carbon emissions from energy use, according to experts. A growing number of climate analysts believe that 2023 may be recorded as the year in which annual emissions reached a pinnacle before the global fossil fuel economy begins a terminal decline. The milestone is considered a crucial tipping point in the race to drive emissions to net zero. But for many climate experts it’s an inflexion point that was due years ago and which, although encouraging, falls far short of the rapid reduction the world needs. The world’s leading climate scientists have consistently warned that the buildup of carbon dioxide in the Earth’s atmosphere means it is critical to drive down emissions before 2030 if leaders hope to keep global heating to a maximum of 1.5C above pre-industrialized levels. The rate at which emissions would need to be reduced will require, most experts agree, global transformation on a scale not yet in the pipeline."

...because they certainly aren't acting like it.

Bloomberg (1/2/23) reports: "China has front-loaded its oil import quotas for 2024, with an allocation to private refiners and traders that nearly matches all of the allowances granted for the whole of last year. In a move that surprised the market, Beijing has issued quotas for 179.01 million tons — or 3.59 million barrels a day — of crude imports for the year ahead, according to industry consultancy JLC. Including a preliminary allocation in December, the total for 2024 now stands at 183.69 million tons, just a sliver below the quotas awarded for 2023. JLC said it’s the first time that nearly a whole year’s quota has been issued in one go, and the injection of certainty should help smaller private operators map out their year. China’s big state-owned refiners aren’t subject to import limits. 'On the premise that total volume is under control, refiners can better arrange their raw materials purchases and production plans for the full year,' the consultancy said. Chinese refiners have been slow to snap up spot cargoes in recent months due to a lack of quotas, driving a plunge in prices of the Middle Eastern barrels that are mainly purchased by Asian buyers. Now traders are waiting to see whether a full allocation will jump-start the market. The quota awards include 40 million tons for Zhejiang Petroleum & Chemical Co., 20 million tons for Hengli Petrochemical Co. and 16 million tons for Shenghong Group, JLC said. Still, it’s likely that the government will issue additional quotas later in the year given the start-up of the Yulong mega refinery in Shandong, OilChem said in a note."

Energy Markets

WTI Crude Oil: ↑ $71.67
Natural Gas: ↑ $2.70
Gasoline: ↓ $3.09

Diesel: ↓ $3.98
Heating Oil: ↑↓ $160.43
Brent Crude Oil: ↑ $77.23
US Rig Count: ↓ 653

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