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MORNING ENERGY NEWS  | 07/06/2021
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Welcome to the Green New Deal.


Reason (7/2/21) reports: "In order to save the planet from catastrophic climate change, Americans will have to cut their energy use by more than 90 percent and families of four should live in housing no larger than 640 square feet. That's at least according to a team of European researchers led by University of Leeds sustainability researcher Jefim Vogel. In their new study, 'Socio-economic conditions for satisfying human needs at low energy use,' in Global Environmental Change, they calculate that public transportation should account for most travel. Travel should, in any case, be limited to between 3,000 to 10,000 miles per person annually. Vogel and his colleagues set themselves the goal of figuring out how to 'provide sufficient need satisfaction at much lower, ecologically sustainable levels of energy use.' Referencing earlier sustainability studies they argue that human needs are sufficiently satisfied when each person has access to the energy equivalent of 7,500 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity per capita. That is about how much energy the average Bolivian uses. Currently, Americans use about 80,000 kWh annually per capita...Two things that humanity for sure doesn't need according to the study are economic growth or the continued extraction of natural resources such as oil, coal, gas, or minerals. Vogel concluded: 'In short, we need to abandon economic growth in affluent countries, scale back resource extraction, and prioritize public services, basic infrastructures and fair income distributions everywhere.' He added, 'In my view, the most promising and integral vision for the required transformation is the idea of degrowth—it is an idea whose time has come.'"

“Ocean State House leaders apparently understand that as our state struggles to recover, economically, from the pandemic … now is not the time to impose new taxes at the pump. It would be cruel for lawmakers to impose this fuel tax, which will especially harm rural and low-income residents, just so the elite can receive a subsidy for their expensive electric vehicles.”

 

– Mike Stenhouse,
Rhode Island Center for
Freedom & Prosperity

It's tough to make predictions, especially about the future.


Bloomberg (7/1/20) reports: "Demand growth for refined oil products will never return to the levels it reached before the coronavirus outbreak, Citigroup said. As the global economy restarts, fewer people will fly and use their cars, analysts including Ed Morse wrote. With meetings going virtual and business no longer needing to move employees around the world in the same way as before, there will be powerful forces pushing a transition away from oil, they wrote in a report. At its peak, the virus wiped out as much as 30% of total oil demand, and the market is still recovering. The report comes just days after Royal Dutch Shell warned of a record writedown to the value of its assets after it reduced its view for long-term oil and gas prices, while BP Plc has also taken similar steps. Citi said that oil is more likely to be at $45 than $60 a barrel in the long-term. 'Oil product demand growth will falter significantly, change its contours and never return to pre-covid-19 rates of growth,' they said. With its more pessimistic take on demand, Citi also cast a warning to those hoping for a return of $100 crude. Some in the market have been gearing up for such a possibility, they said, driven by spending reductions from major energy companies following the oil price rout and geopolitical risks in some of the world’s major producing nations. But with production returning at $45 a barrel, longer-term supply costs falling in recent years and plenty of supply already offline with political risks, triple-digit crude 'has far more fantasy than reality at its heart."

Pourin' on the COAL!!! 


Mining Dot Com (7/2/21) reports: "Coal prices across Asia are surging to records, underscoring a challenge for governments seeking a faster energy transition: the dirtiest of fuels they’re racing to phase out is enjoying booming demand. Power plants are rushing to secure adequate electricity supplies as a hot summer adds to demand from the region’s post-pandemic industrial revival. On top of that, output in some key producer nations has been hurt, while high natural gas costs mean there’s no cheaper alternative for utilities to turn to. All that has sparked a coal rally in Asia, the center of demand for the fossil fuel. The price of physical coal cargoes in Australia’s Newcastle and China’s Qinhuangdao ports have soared more than 50% this year to their highest ever. Futures are also up, with those in Australia jumping almost 50% and prices in China more than doubling."

Sooner or later Canadians are going to discover that their entire country is responsible for less than 2% of total global CO2 emissions. Then they are going to apologize for it.


Interesting Engineering (7/2/21) reports: "Canada announced this week it will ban the sale of new internal combustion engine (ICE) cars and light-duty trucks by 2035 as part of its efforts to fight climate change, a report from Reuters explains. Canada joins a growing list of countries banning the fuel-guzzling vehicles, with Britain saying it will ban ICE vehicles by 2030, and Norway — another country with extremely cold winters — having announced it will do the same as early as 2025. Though phasing out ICE vehicles is undeniably a necessity, alongside other measures required for mitigating the effects of climate change, one key stumbling block remains in cold weather countries: Extreme climates reduce the range and increase the charging times of electric vehicles."

It's a good start, but the RFS is still a dog with fleas...


E&E News (7/2/21) reports: "The Trump administration's EPA overstepped its authority when it lifted seasonal restrictions on the sale of higher-ethanol fuel, a federal court ruled today. A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit said EPA went beyond the intent of Congress in 2019 in reinterpreting regulations in order to allow 15% ethanol fuel to be sold year-round throughout the country — a policy change that was the biofuel industry's biggest victory during the Trump administration. In an opinion written by Judge Judith Rogers, a Clinton appointee, the court focused on legislative language related to limits on the volatility of gasoline — called Reid vapor pressure — and the impact of ethanol blending. Most gasoline sold in the U.S. contains 10% ethanol, which is allowed year-round by the RVP-related rules. EPA opened the way to sales of E10 in 1979. But E15 came on the market later, around 2010, and EPA allowed it during winter months through a waiver provision in the law. At the direction of President Trump, EPA found a way to use the waiver provision to allow year-round sales as well — a move the American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers challenged in court. The ruling means summer sales could soon be restricted again, depending on how the decision is implemented. Biofuel groups said it's not certain how the ruling will affect the rest of this summer."

Energy Markets

 
WTI Crude Oil: ↓ $74.78
Natural Gas: ↓ $3.66
Gasoline: ~ $3.13
Diesel: ~ $3.25
Heating Oil: ↓ $217.07
Brent Crude Oil: ↓ $75.96
US Rig Count: ~ 538

 
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