Counter-intuitive

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DAILY ENERGY NEWS | 02/21/2023

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The so-called "greens" could do much for the environment simply by getting out of the way of unleashing American energy.

Epoch Times (2/16/23) reports: "Attempts to restrict oil and natural gas production in the United States would result in negative impacts on the environment, according to a recent report, coming at a time when the Biden administration has taken several steps to curtail domestic fossil fuel activity. Over the past years, there has arisen a 'political movement centered in North America and Europe' which focuses on halting oil and gas production in these regions, according to The Environmental Quality Index report (pdf) published by the Institute for Energy Research (IER) this month. “The great irony is that this political movement—which purports to be about protecting the environment—results in oil and natural gas production moving from countries with the highest environmental standards to countries with lower, or even functionally zero, environmental standards,' the report notes. 'Reductions or limitations on domestic U.S. oil production must be made up elsewhere in the remaining major oil-producing countries, which have far lower environmental standards than the U.S.' The report analyzed the Environmental Performance Index (EPI) produced by Yale University and found that the United States had an EPI score of 51.1. Meanwhile, the 20 largest oil-producing nations outside the United States had an average EPI score of 39. A lower score indicates poor performance concerning the impact to the environment...A similar situation is happening in the mining industry, where President Biden has imposed a multi-decade moratorium on thousands of acres of land within the country citing the need to protect the natural environment."

"ESG, for instance, was unimaginably favoring Russian oil companies controlled by Putin over Canadian ones that compete in a free market in one of the world’s freest countries. Exposed to the world by Putin, ESG has jumped the shark once again over the past year."

– Jude Clemente, Forbes

Net zero ain’t easy kids when wind and solar can’t keep the lights on and nukes cost nearly double the early estimates.

Bloomberg (2/18/23) reports: "Electricite de France SA said the cost of building its flagship Hinkley Point C nuclear power station in the UK is set to spiral further to £32 billion ($38.5 billion). Higher levels of inflation have pushed up the estimated spend on the plant, the French energy giant said in a presentation published alongside its annual results. The revised estimate is the latest indication of surging costs after the start of plant was delayed last year. In May, EDF raised the price tag to build the two reactors at Hinkley to £25 billion to £26 billion, The plant is due to start in June 2027, but there is a risk of an additional delay of around 15 months, it added. The cost overruns at Hinkley Point have sullied a plant that was supposed to usher in a nuclear renaissance in the UK, as the government seeks to boost the country’s energy independence and reduce reliance on fossil fuels. Both EDF and its partner in the project, China General Nuclear Power Corp., will be asked to provide additional voluntary equity for the project. It is unlikely that the Chinese entity will offer any additional funding for the project once a previously-agreed equity cap is met, EDF said, meaning the French company may have to cover the overruns. "

The electricity always has to come from somewhere.

Emergency? Why doesn’t India just use more solar?

MENFA (2/21/23) reports: "In order to satisfy the nation's soaring electricity demand and prevent blackouts, India is enacting an emergency regulation that would require some of its largest coal-fired power plants to run at full capacity. According to a Feb. 20 power ministry order reviewed by Bloomberg News, power plants using imported coal would be required to run nonstop for three months throughout the summer to relieve the strain on domestic coal supply. The emergency rule was previously employed by the ministry during a power outage last summer when sweltering heat endangered economic expansion. Several areas of the nation are experiencing abnormally high temperatures for this time of year, and peak electricity consumption over the last week has already surpassed the records set during the energy crisis last year. The peak electricity consumption, which was 215 gigawatts last summer, is expected to rise to 229 gigawatts in April, according to the government. The two damaged facilities are the massive 4,620 megawatt Adani Power Ltd. facility at Mundra in Gujarat's coastline state and the 4,000 megawatt Tata Power Co. plant in the same town. Due to their difficulty in supplying energy at such rates when import coal costs rise, several of these facilities with fixed-price power supply contracts have not been functioning at full capacity."

Energy Markets

WTI Crude Oil: ↓ $76.23
Natural Gas: ↓ $2.10
Gasoline: ↓ $3.40

Diesel: ↓ $4.48
Heating Oil: ↓ $273.47
Brent Crude Oil: ↓ $83.02
US Rig Count: ↑ 855

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