Tag: New England

Best in Energy – 6 January 2023

U.K. windfarms provided almost 27% of electricity in 2022

Ukraine calls for power conservation as temperatures fall

New England power generators replenish distillate stocks ¹

New England grid’s event summary for Dec 24 emergency ²

China’s crude buying tightens supplies for Europe ($BBG)

Venezuela’s oil exports fell again in 2022

U.S. warehouse leasing falls as goods demand slows ($WSJ)

Europe’s gas futures prices fall on plentiful stocks ($WSJ)

Australia/China to resume coal shipments after diplomacy

¹ Distillate fuel oil is an important fuel source for electricity generators designed to serve peak loads and provide emergency reserves. New England is particularly reliant on distillate to provide reserve generation and distillate units were heavily used during cold weather around Christmas. In the rest of the country, distillate is also used as lighting-up fuel for coal-fired units, which were heavily used during the extreme cold. Coal will not ignite on its own and distillate is sprayed into the furnace to provide initial combustion, heat up the furnace, establish air circulation, and support the combustion process until the flame is stabilised. As the coal combustion becomes self-sustaining, the distillate burners are gradually shut off.

² Failure of generators to start when instructed by the grid contributed to the shortfall in capacity in New England ISO region on December 24, as in other areas. Scheduled generation of 2,150 MW became unavailable. Failure to start remains one of the biggest problems for electric reliability during extreme cold events.

EUROPE’s gas futures prices no longer command a premium over futures for deliveries into Northeast Asia. Europe’s prices have fallen much more rapidly than Asia’s as fears of a winter emergency have faded. Europe’s futures are now trading at a slight discount for the first time since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. European importers are no longer paying a premium to attract cargoes which should leave more LNG cargoes available for consumers in Northeast and South Asia:

U.S. DISTILLATE STOCKS fell -1.4 million bbl over the seven days to December 30 (including drawdown of -0.7 million bbl in New England). Inventories were probably pulled forward along the supply chain to homes, offices and power generators as a result of extreme cold around Christmas:

Best in Energy – 6 December 2022

Renewables deployment accelerated by energy crisis

North Carolina substations in sophisticated sabotage

Oil tankers in queue to transit Turkish straits ($FT)

France prepares for tight power supplies next week

New England grid outlines winter reliability plan

EU retail sales fall with economy in recession ($WSJ)

EU plan for gas price cap distracts from real problem

U.S. jet fuel consumption below pre-pandemic level

BRENT’s six-month calendar spread has collapsed to a backwardation of just 67 cents per barrel (54th percentile for all trading days since 1990) from $8 (98th percentile) at the start of November. Month-to-month spreads are flat through April 2023. Traders anticipate crude supplies will remain comfortable through the first few months of next year because: (a) the EU/G7 price cap on Russia’s exports was set at a relatively high level; (b) policymakers have signalled a relaxed approach to enforcement (c) refiners have boosted purchases and inventories ahead of the price cap’s introduction; and (d) the slowing global economy is expected to dampen oil consumption:

Best in Energy – 1 August 2022

OPEC says Russia is essential to success of OPEC+

Lyondell plans to repurpose Houston oil refinery

New England solar reshapes electricity load curve

EU/UK ease sanctions on Russian oil trade ($FT)

U.S. threatens to sanction Iran oil trading ($WSJ)

Bangladesh sees LNG shortage until 2026 ($BBG)

China’s leaders recommit to zero-covid (trans.)

Australia explores controls on LNG exports

U.S. energy systems hit by shortages ($WSJ)

Iraq’s political crisis is intensifying ($WSJ)

CHINA’s manufacturers reported a significant contraction in activity last month with the composite purchasing managers’ index falling to 49.0 in July (2nd percentile for all months since 2011) down from 50.2 in June (33rd percentile). Repeated lockdowns are disrupting supply chains and economic activity:

U.S. GAS production was up +4.2% in May compared with the same month a year earlier, and up +3.1% in the three months March-May compared with the same period in 2021:

U.S. CRUDE OIL production fell -57,000 b/d in May compared with April as lower output from the Gulf of Mexico (-157,000  b/d) more than offset increases from the onshore Lower 48 (+95,000 b/d) and Alaska (+5,000 b/d). Onshore L48 output was up by just +468,000 b/d in March-May compared with the same period a year earlier:

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