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MORNING ENERGY NEWS | 01/12/2021

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A special thanks to all those who have made the past year endurable, and who are making the future bright.

Forbes (1/11/21) column: "The oil and natural gas industry has made massive contributions to the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic over the last year. Those contributions have gone largely unnoticed by consumers and the news media, and that’s a good thing for all of us. Our society has faced many shortages and deprivations during this COVID-19 pandemic which has lasted for a full year now and shows no real signs of abating. From toilet paper to paper towels, Clorox CLX -2.1% Wipes to Pine-Sol, pork loins to ramen soup, Americans have at times had to find ways to do without items they had come to take for granted in their daily lives. One thing Americans have not had to do without at any point during this ongoing crisis is something so fundamental that they often don’t even notice it: Energy. Whether it be natural gas to heat and provide electricity to their homes, propane to fire up the grill or gasoline to power their car, people in the U.S. and around the world have seen no disruptions in supply despite the price crash and demand disruptions that have caused America’s domestic oil production to drop by more than 1 million barrels per day over the last 12 months...But of course, the reality about the oil and gas business is that the less it is discussed in the media, the better it is working for all of us. In the context of this COVID-19 pandemic, American consumers should be very happy they’ve hardly had to think about oil, natural gas, and their related plants, factories and supply chains at all. Because if you were talking about it in that context, that would mean you’ve been doing without it, and that is one deprivation that Americans have not had to bear."

"For some environmentalists, there is no such thing as an unjustifiable cost, because the cost is the point. For some of them, stopping economic development is the best way to protect the environment."

– Mario Loyola, National Review

Meanwhile, the government responsible for atrocious human rights violations and creating literal labor camps to pump out solar panels is still Tweeting away...

New York Times (1/8/21) reports: "In a flat, arid expanse of China’s far west Xinjiang region, a solar technology company welcomed laborers from a rural area 650 miles away, preparing to put them to work at GCL-Poly, the world’s second-largest maker of polysilicon. The workers, members of the region’s Uighur minority, attended a class in etiquette as they prepared for their new lives in the solar industry, which prides itself as a model of clean, responsible growth. GCL-Poly promoted the housing and training it offered its new recruits in photographs and statements to the local news media. But researchers and human rights experts say those positive images may conceal a more troubling reality — the persecution of one of China’s most vulnerable ethnic groups. According to a report by the consultancy Horizon Advisory, Xinjiang’s rising solar energy technology sector is connected to a broad program of assigned labor in China, including methods that fit well-documented patterns of forced labor. Major solar companies including GCL-Poly, East Hope Group, Daqo New Energy, Xinte Energy and Jinko Solar are named in the report as bearing signs of using some forced labor, according to Horizon Advisory, which specializes in Chinese-language research. Though many details remain unclear, those signs include accepting workers transferred with the help of the Chinese government from certain parts of Xinjiang, and having laborers undergo 'military-style' training that may be aimed at instilling loyalty to China and the Communist Party."

China celebrates Biden's re-entry into Paris Accord by approving six new coal projects.

Global Times (1/7/21) reports: "China's energy administrators have announced the approval of six construction projects for coal development bases, and the move has little to do with the drop in coal imports form Australia, industry insiders told the Global Times Thursday. The projects were approved last week and are all located in Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, according to a notice released by China's National Energy Administration (NEA) on its website on Wednesday. With a total investment of 7.998 billion yuan ($1.237 billion), the six projects are expected to jointly produce 15.3 million tons of coal per year, read the notice. The projects were authorized amid declining supplies from overseas countries including Australia, but they actually have little to do with the import reduction, said coal industry expert Pan Weier, a former official of China's State Administration for Coal Mine Safety."

Looks like the Crown Prince is channeling his inner Elon Musk. City set to have zero cars, zero streets, zero carbon emissions [and zero people? was perhaps left out?]

Indian Express (1/11/21) reports: "Saudi Arabia unveiled plans for a zero carbon city within the projected NEOM zone, the kingdom’s futuristic business hub set to be built along the Red Sea coast. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman announced the launch of the city, called ‘The Line’, in a televised presentation on Sunday. The eco-city with 'zero cars, zero streets and zero carbon emissions' will have the capacity to house one million residents, according to the de-facto ruler of the oil-rich kingdom...The project is expected to generate 380,000 jobs and contribute 180 billion riyals ($48 billion) to the kingdom’s GDP by 2030, the NEOM statement said. Saudi Arabia is the world’s leading crude exporter and is also among the most polluting countries."

Energy Markets

WTI Crude Oil: ↑ $52.99
Natural Gas: ↑ $2.83
Gasoline: ↑ $2.33

Diesel: ↑ $2.60
Heating Oil: ↑ $159.50
Brent Crude Oil: ↑ $56.47
US Rig Count: ↑ 412

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