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MORNING ENERGY NEWS  |  07/14/2020
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Careful, Joe, your 'Moderate' mask is slipping.


Bloomberg (7/14/20) reports: "Joe Biden on Tuesday will call for setting a 100% clean-electricity standard by 2035 and investing $2 trillion over four years on clean energy, two people familiar with his plan said Monday. The Democratic nominee's new commitments mark a clear shift toward liberals' priorities in combating climate change and cutting the use of fossil fuels. The people briefed on his plan spoke on the condition of anonymity. Biden's blueprint also calls for the creation of a climate conservation corps modeled after the work relief program President Franklin Delano Roosevelt created during the Great Depression, according to another person briefed on the initiative. The plan also embraces Sen. Chuck Schumer's plan to rapidly turn over the nation's automobile fleet, with taxpayers enticed by cash vouchers to trade in their gas-powered cars for plug-in electric, hybrid or hydrogen fuel cell cars. The initiative also would steer tens of billions toward building charging infrastructure including in rural communities."

"I. Am. Shook! Look, like, honestly, gardening — food, that comes out of dirt. Like, it’s magic."

 

– Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez,
Biden Climate Adviser

China Coal imports increase 13%;  mask exports up 32% and medical devices up 50%.  Biden's buy China solar policies will help.


Sydney Morning Herald (7/14/20) reports: "China's surging demand for iron ore and coal worldwide has boosted Australian exports despite the rising animosity between the two countries. The surge illustrates a two-track trade relationship developing between the economies: imports critical to China's infrastructure stimulus are climbing while trade bans are imposed on beef, barley and education, which can be sourced from elsewhere. Iron ore imports into China grew by 10 per cent over the first half of the year, coal by 13 per cent and LNG by 3 per cent. Tuesday's data from China's customs department does not breakdown commodity imports by country but Australia accounts for up to 60 per cent of China's annual iron ore imports and more than 30 per cent of its coal imports. Overall imports across all sectors from Australia fell by 0.1 per cent in the year to June. The new figures also show China's textile exports including masks have jumped by 32 per cent during the first six months of this year, with medical devices jumping by almost 50 per cent, pointing to a growing demand for Chinese medical products during the pandemic. Both exports and imports beat market expectations to record a positive result, putting China on track to become the only G20 economy to grow in 2020."

Biden Administration = Europe


Wall Street Journal (7/13/20) column: "Modern central banks jealously guard their independence—unless it comes to the environment. Witness monetary maestros’ growing enthusiasm for using central-bank balance sheets to pursue green-policy goals. Christine Lagarde told the Financial Times last week she wants the European Central Bank she leads 'to look at all the business lines and the operations in which we are engaged in order to tackle climate change.' That could include shifting ECB bond purchases under its quantitative easing (QE) programs to favor debt issued by environmentally correct companies. Governor Andrew Bailey suggested this month that the Bank of England might also weigh green concerns more heavily in its QE corporate-bond portfolio. The appeal to climate activists is obvious. Central banks are among the most powerful economic institutions, with cash to burn and minimal accountability to voters who often are skeptical of expensive green follies...Central bankers already face challenges to their independence from German courts and President Trump’s Twitter feed. Why they’d invite another challenge is a mystery."

Downturn? What downturn?


The Advocate (7/13/20) reports: "After about a decade in development, Covington-based LLOG Exploration is moving forward on an oil and gas discovery in the Gulf of Mexico despite a tumultuous market in the past few months.  LLOG Exploration specializes in deepwater production and expects to drill inside a discovery known as Taggart which sits 140 miles southeast of New Orleans in the Gulf of Mexico under the Devils Tower Spar. The spar is owned by Williams, a publicly traded Tulsa, Oklahoma-based energy business. LLOG Exploration inked a deal with Williams, where the businesses would use a tie-back, which refers to an underwater connection between a new oil and gas discovery and an existing production facility...But LLOG Exploration is bullish that its investment will pay off, especially since it won't go into production until 2022. 'We recognize the current challenging oil market, but we believe that we will see improved pricing in the market,' said the company in a statement. 'LLOG believes that smart investment through a down cycle can create advantaged barrels as we see pricing recovery over the full life of the project.'" 

Energy Markets

 
WTI Crude Oil: ↓ $39.43
Natural Gas: ↓ $1.73
Gasoline: ↓ $2.19
Diesel: ↓ $2.43
Heating Oil: ↓ $120.98
Brent Crude Oil: ↓ $42.22
US Rig Count: ↑ 284

 
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