Tag: Pakistan

Best in Energy – 20 February 2023

Freeport LNG’s poor safety culture ($FT) ¹

Asia’s diesel margins fall to 11-month low

IEA chief warns of gas shortage next winter

Pakistan/Bangladesh hit by expensive LNG

China becomes major LNG reseller ($BBG)

CFTC reports still disrupted by cyber attack

U.S. construction worker shortages ($FT)

Semiconductor prices fall by a third ($BBG)

China/Russia diplomatic ties deepen ($WSJ)

U.S./China espionage history review ($FT)

¹ Freeport LNG suffered a catastrophic failure after multiple safety systems failed and personnel ignored warning signs and lost situational awareness about the state of the plant. The resulting explosion is a classic example of what James Reason called an “organisational accident” – multiple systems should have prevented an incident but they were allowed to erode because of a poor internal safety culture leading to a rapid increase in risk (“Managing the risks of organisational accidents”, Reason, 1997).

Reason’s book is one of the best I have read on any topic, offering powerful insights in an engaging and accessible way. He provides a general framework for understanding why many catastrophic industrial and transportation failures happen. Everyone operating critical systems and machinery should be required to read it as part of their training. I can strongly recommend it to everyone else who is interested in safety, reliability and resilience systems.

U.S. OIL AND GAS drilling rates have stalled in response to the slump in prices since the third quarter of 2022. There has been no net increase in the number of active rigs (760) for the last 31 weeks:

Best in Energy – 14 February 2023

[MUST READ] U.S./China sanctions lessons

Russia’s crude is likely selling above quoted prices

Russia’s oil output unaffected by sanctions ($BBG)

U.S. SPR to sell 26 million barrels in second quarter

U.S. coal-fired generator retirements to accelerate

Russia’s gas exports in search of new markets

Global freight rates fall on excess capacity ($BBG)

High-altitude balloon monitoring systems ($WSJ)

Pakistan plans to shift from costly gas back to coal

Hedge funds cash in on coal investments ($FT)

Singapore slows new investment into China ($FT)

U.S. DURABLE GOODS orders for nondefense capital equipment excluding aircraft (a proxy for business investment) were up by +5 % in December 2022 compared with December 2021. Orders are reported in cash terms; with inflation running faster than 5%, the volume of new business was down in real terms. Even in nominal terms, however, orders have been flat since the middle of 2022, confirming the merchandise side of the economy has run out of momentum:

Best in Energy – 1 February 2023

South Asia’s LNG buyers express interest after prices fall

France’s nuclear generators key for power prices in 2023

India to boost government capital spending in 2023/24

U.S. refiners predict high margins on Russian sanctions

U.S. road haulage firms see recovery in late 2023  ($WSJ)

Greek tankers resume shipments of Russian oil

Pakistan prepares for IMF loan – or debt default

U.S. gas consumption hit record on December 23

Freeport LNG requests authorisation to restart one unit

U.S. CRUDE OIL including condensates production fell by -35,000 b/d to 12.38 million b/d in November compared with October. But production was up by +585,000 b/d (+5.0%) compared with the same month a year earlier. Annual growth levelled off at around +600,000 b/d for most of 2022:

Best in Energy – 31 January 2023

Europe’s ammonia plants idle – for now

IMF upgrades economic forecast slightly

Germany plans to keep gas stocks high

Germany explores strategic gas reserve

EU boosts imports of Russian LNG ($BBG)

Pakistan’s foreign exchange shortage

Journalism – impartiality and framing ¹

Commodity trading  (McKinsey report)

¹ This report on impartiality and bias in journalism focuses on the British Broadcasting Corporation and its coverage of government finance issues (spending, taxation, borrowing and debt) in the United Kingdom. But the same issues are relevant for other media organisations and other topics, including energy. Factual accuracy is a necessary but not sufficient condition for impartiality. Selection of sources, choice of language, exploration of alternative viewpoints and narrative framing are just as important.

U.S. INTEREST RATE traders expect the federal funds target rate to peak at 4.75-5.00% by July 2023 up from 4.25-4.50% at present. Thereafter the rate is expected to start declining before the end of the year as the central bank responds to decelerating inflation and/or recession:  

CHINA’s manufacturers reported an increase in business activity in January 2023. The official purchasing managers’ index climbed to 50.1 (26th percentile for all months since 2011) from 47.0 (1st percentile) in December 2022:

Best in Energy – 24 January 2023

Freeport LNG requests approval to restart some operations

Pakistan restores power transmission system after blackout

North Sea seabed conflicts between wind farms and CCUS

U.S. official denies easing sanctions on Iran oil ($BBG)

Investors bet on rapid inflation slowdown ($WSJ)

U.K. explores tariff to protect steelmakers ($FT)

Nuclear reactor life extensions to 80 years ($BBG)

CHINA imported 508 million tonnes of crude oil in 2022, down from 513 million in 2021 and 542 million in 2020, according to preliminary data from the General Administration of Customs. Slower imports as the country grappled with intermittent  lockdowns eased pressure on global petroleum supplies. But the economy’s re-opening is likely to boost crude imports and tighten the market in 2023:

Best in Energy – 5 January 2023

China LNG imports to rebound later in 2023

Russia ships Arctic crude oils to India and China

North America electric reliability in next 10 years

Pakistan’s retail gas storage in plastic balloons ¹

China boosts coal output and inventories (trans.)

U.S. gas prices tumble on mild weather ($WSJ)

Amazon plans 18,000 layoffs ($WSJ)

Steel and decarbonisation pathways

¹ Gas has been transported and stored in bags or balloons by poorer, often rural, customers without connection to grid supplies across Asia for some time. Specialised gas containers are relatively expensive. Photo agency Alamy has a photograph of a cyclist trailing a gas-filled “balloon” in China’s Shandong province in 2014. Don’t try this at home!

EUROZONE MANUFACTURERS reported business activity declined for the sixth month running in December but the deterioration was less widespread than in November and October. The eurozone manufacturing purchasing managers’ index was at 47.8 (21st percentile for all months since 2006). The index remained well below the 50-point threshold dividing expanding activity from a contraction. But declines were less widespread than November when the index was at 47.1 (17th percentile) and October at 46.4 (13th percentile):

U.S. CRUDE PRODUCTION including field condensates rose by +69,000 b/d to 12.381 million b/d in October 2022. The increase came entirely from onshore production in the Lower 48 states, most of which is from shale. Production has been up year-on-year by an average of around +630,000 b/d (+5.7%) in the last 12 months:

Best in Energy – 11 November 2022

China’s leaders reiterate and adapt covid strategy (trans.) ¹

China trims coronavirus quarantine and contact tracing

China’s commentators question covid strategy ($BBG)

Pakistan to ration gas supplies as EU absorbs more LNG

U.S. diesel prices climb as inventories dwindle ($NYT)

U.S. diesel prices rise with stocks low ahead of winter

Global insurers press for more details on oil price cap

¹ The Politburo Standing Committee special study session on epidemic control is top news across all government-controlled media. Reverse engineering the official commentary, top leaders seem anxious to counter political and social fatigue with repeated lockdowns, reinforcing the current zero-covid strategy in the short term despite its rising costs, while also searching for a way out via improved vaccination rates and the development of new vaccines and therapeutic drugs.

U.S. SERVICE SECTOR prices increased at an annualised rate of +7.8% in the three months to October, more than three times faster than the central bank’s target, ensuring that interest rates are likely to continue rising:

BRITAIN’s economy entered a recession during the third quarter with real gross domestic product declining in three out of four months between June and September. So far the downturn has been led by manufacturing but is likely to spread to construction and services:

Best in Energy – 8 September 2022

Global energy employment report from IEA

Germany to subsidise basic electricity quota

China boosts coal imports amid hot dry spell

China buys cheap LNG from Russia ($BBG)

U.S. power use forecast to hit record in 2022

White House plan to cut industrial emissions

Semiconductor makers face downturn ($BBG)

Europe set for big gas shortfall in 2023 ($BBG)

Europe energy suppliers face Lehman moment

Goldman’s case for a U.S. soft landing ($WSJ)

Pakistan’s floods risk triggering unrest ($FT)

U.S. COOLING DEMAND since the start of the year has been around +11% higher than the long-term seasonal average (1981-2010) and +2% higher than the prior seven-year average (2015-2021). Higher-than-usual temperatures have contributed to pressure on electricity networks and put gas consumption by power generators on course for a record high this year:

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Best in Energy – 27 July 2022

[MUST READ] Germany cuts ammonia production to save gas

[MUST READ] Critical minerals recovery from waste streams

Japan strikes benchmark coal deal at $375/tonne ($BBG)

Germany to subsidise energy efficiency renovations

IMF downgrades global economy forecasts

Pakistan raises electricity prices

U.S./Russia oil price cap ($FT)

U.S. uranium import reliance

CYCLICAL INDICATORS: three of the top five stories featured on the front page of the Wall Street Journal on Wednesday are about slower sales, slower corporate earnings and slower hiring:

CATERPILLAR’s share price in the three months from May to July was down by -13% compared with the same period a year ago. The heavy equipment manufacturer’s share price has been closely correlated with the OECD’s leading economic indicator. The slump is consistent with the onset of a business cycle slowdown:

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Best in Energy – 8 July 2022

[MUST READ] EU still vulnerable to Russian gas cuts this winter

German landlord cuts heating to limit bills and gas consumption

U.S. manufacturers start to idle on higher energy costs ($BBG)

U.K. transmission operator’s investment pathway to 2030

Africa’s governments face fuel price protests ($BBG)*

South Asia hit by Europe’s rush for LNG ($WSJ)

Big nickel short position broke the LME ($BBG)

U.S. gasoline consumption fell in second quarter

* Sharp increases in the cost of food and fuel have often acted as the trigger for unrest. In eighteenth century England, increases in grain prices as a result of bad harvests or war frequently led to local disturbances, usually targeting bakers, grain merchants and government storehouses, with magistrates often calling in soldiers to restore order. Fuel riots were less common but a sharp rise in the price of coal would normally trigger a parliamentary inquiry to investigate monopolistic practices and hoarding. Food and fuel price rises were always seen as politically sensitive and a potential threat to public order (“The Coal Industry of the Eighteenth Century”, Ashton and Sykes, 1929).

U.S. PETROLEUM INVENTORIES including the strategic petroleum reserve fell -1 million bbl to 1,678 million bbl last week. Stocks have fallen in 78 out of the last 105 weeks by a total of -440 million bbl since the start of July 2020. The most recent week saw an increase in crude inventories (+2 million bbl) but depletion of gasoline (-2 million), distillate fuel oil (-1 million) and jet fuel (-1 million).

The drawdown in fuel stocks in the week ending July 1 is likely associated with the impending public holiday on July 4, which will have seen inventories pulled forward from the primary distribution system of refineries, pipelines and bulk terminals (where they are recorded) into the secondary system of retailers and local fuel suppliers as well as end-users’ own storage tanks (where they are not recorded). It largely reversed a big build in gasoline, distillate and jet fuel the week before as stocks were pre-positioned ahead of the holiday demand:

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