Russia's Ukraine invasion supercharges push to make a new green fuel

 A nearly 450% jump in European gas prices the past year made the green fuel of the future cost-competitive about a decade ahead of schedule

Europe’s push to wean itself off Russian natural gas is sparking billions of dollars in new commitments toward building a market for low-carbon hydrogen. A nearly 450% jump in European gas prices the past year made the green fuel of the future cost-competitive about a decade ahead of schedule, according to BloombergNEF. Now, investment funds are joining governments and utilities in ambitious plans to make hydrogen a viable substitute for fossil fuels in manufacturing, transportation and heating. “It’s kind of a tipping point,” said Phil Caldwell, chief executive officer at Ceres Power Holdings Plc, a U. K.-based hydrogen technology company. “You’re going to see that capital coming in on a big scale now. There’s no turning back.”

Russia is ostracized on the world stage for invading Ukraine, but some of the harshest critics still need its oil and gas to keep their economies running. Europe is quickening efforts to break that addiction, with Fortescue Metals Group Ltd. planning a $50 billion project for the hydrogen supply chain with German energy giant E. On SE; Norway’s Scatec ASA building a $5 billion production plant; and investment fund Hy24 earmarking $1.6 billion for infrastructure….

Western ban on oil imports will double price to $300 a barrel: Russia

 A Western ban on Russian oil imports may more than double the price to $300 a barrel and prompt the closure of the main gas pipeline to Germany, Moscow warned on Monday

A Western ban on Russian oil imports may more than double the price to $300 a barrel and prompt the closure of the main gas pipeline to Germany, Moscow warned on Monday, as talks on Ukraine hardly advanced amid efforts to agree on civilian safe passage. Russia’s invasion, the biggest attack on a European state since World War Two, has created 1.7 million refugees, a raft of sanctions on Moscow, and fears of wider conflict in the West unthought-of for decades.

Sieges and the bombing continued as Kyiv rejected possible humanitarian corridors to Russia and Belarus, but said some limited progress had been made on agreeing logistics for the evacuation of civilians. Moscow would give the residents of the Ukrainian cities of Sumy and Mariupol the choice of moving elsewhere in Ukraine on Tuesday, setting a deadline in the early hours for Kyiv to agree, Russian news agencies reported.

Seeking to ratchet up the pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin, the United States said Washington and its European allies were considering banning Russian oil imports. Oil prices spiked to their highest levels since 2008. “A rejection of Russian oil would lead to catastrophic consequences for the global market,” said Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak, saying the price could more than double to over $300 per barrel.

Ukraine conflict: Oil surges on Russia nuclear alert as sanctions intensify

 The nuclear alert and bank payment constraints heightened fears that oil supplies from the world’s second-largest producer could be disrupted

Oil prices jumped more than $7 in early trade on Monday after Russian President Vladimir Putin put the country’s nuclear deterrent on high alert in the face of Western nations and Japan stepping up sanctions against Russian banks.

The nuclear alert and bank payment constraints heightened fears that oil supplies from the world’s second-largest producer could be disrupted as Russia digs in following its invasion of neighbouring Ukraine conflict. Brent crude futures were up $5.46 or 5.6%, at $103.39 at 2331 GMT, after hitting a high of $105.07 a barrel shortly after trade opened. Last week the benchmark contract hit a more than seven-year high of $105.79 after the invasion began.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were up $5.64, or 6.2%, at $97.23 a barrel, after hitting a high of $99.10 shortly after opening. WTI hit a high of $100.54 last week. Putin raised the stakes on Sunday, ordering Russia’s “deterrence forces” – which wield nuclear weapons – onto high alert, citing aggressive statements by NATO leadrs and the range of economic sanctions imposed on Russia by the West….

Saudi Aramco remains world’s most profitable company even as oil falls

Aramco plans to buy a stake in the refining and chemicals business of Reliance Industries Ltd as it seeks buyers for its crude and diversification downstream.

International News: Saudi Aramco showed Monday it’s still the world’s most profitable company — and paid out almost all its net income in dividends — despite the dwindling price of oil.

Profit slid 12% to $46.9 billion in the first six months of 2019, the state-owned energy giant said in its first-ever half-year earnings report. That easily outstripped corporate titans such as Apple Inc, Amazon.com Inc and other big oil producers, many of which suffered larger declines in profit as output and crude prices fell.

“We have some of the largest and most productive reservoirs on Earth,” Khalid Al-Dabbagh, senior vice president for finance, strategy and development, said in an interview. The company’s “unrivaled financial results” amid lower oil prices are “a testament to our resilience.”

Saudi Aramco paid out $46.4 billion in dividends in the first half. That included a $20 billion special payout to its owner — the Saudi government — which compares with a $6 billion payout last year. That’s of particular interest to potential investors ahead of an initial public offering planned for 2020 or 2021, though it may not be maintained, according to money manager T Rowe Price Group Inc….

'Petrol, diesel prices may stay high in immediate future': 10 points

Even as people across India see rising fuel prices burning a hole in their pockets, the price of petrol has touched Rs 85 a litre in Mumbai and Rs 77.17 a litre in Delhi

Petrol and diesel will continue to burn a hole in your pocket as Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) Chairman and Managing Director Mukesh Kumar Surana has told news agencies that fuel prices might remain high in the immediate future. Petrol prices in the country's financial capital, Mumbai, touched Rs 84.99 a litre on Wednesday, while the fuel's price inched higher to a new record of Rs 77.17 in Delhi. In Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai, and Chennai, diesel was sold at Rs 68.34, Rs 70.89, Rs 72.76, and Rs 72.14 per litre, respectively.

As of Wednesday, one trigger after another had led to the 10th consecutive day of increase in retail selling price of petrol and diesel. As frustrations mounted across the country, Union Law & Justice, Electronics, and Information Technology Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on Wednesday said that the Narendra Modi government was working on a long-term plan to tame fuel prices. "Instead of an ad-hoc measure, the government wants to have a long-term view that addresses not only volatility but also takes care of the unnecessary ambiguity arising out of frequent ups and downs," Prasad said.

The government has come under attack from the Opposition as fuel prices have gone up day after day. Former finance minister P Chidambaram claimed that the rates could be reduced by Rs 25 per litre but the government was not doing so. "It is possible to cut up to Rs 25 per litre, but the government will not. They will cheat the people by cutting price by Re 1 or Rs 2 per litre of petrol," he said in a Tweet.

Here are ten top points on rising petrol and diesel prices:

1) Congress protesting in Mumbai today as petrol nears Rs 85 a litre: The Congress targeted the Narendra Modi-led government at the Centre over high fuel prices, seeking to know why the petrol and diesel rates have gone up despite a fall in international crude oil prices. The party said it would hold a protest in Mumbai on Thursday over the matter. Mumbai Congress president Sanjay Nirupam said the residents of the city are paying the highest in the country for petrol and diesel.

Petrol prices in Mumbai touched Rs 84.99 a litre on Wednesday, while diesel was sold at Rs 72.76 per litre.

2) HPCL chief says review taxes on petrol, diesel: HPCL CMD Mukesh Surana on Wednesday said that there is a need to review taxation on petrol and diesel to provide relief to consumers. According to Surana, the solution has to be found while balancing the budgets of oil companies, the consumer, and the government.

3) 'Petrol, diesel prices might stay high in immediate future': In the immediate future, fuel prices might stay high, Surana told news agency ANI. He said that there is an Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) meeting scheduled to take place soon from where some triggers might come. "If OPEC countries increase production of oil, that could help fix the perception of high demand and less supply," he said.

Modi has an oil price headache and Saudi Arabia may just make it worse

Saudi Arabia is aiming for $80 to support the valuation of Saudi Aramco before an initial public offering

 

 

India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi has an oil problem. And it’s set to worsen with Saudi Arabia rooting for the commodity to push through the $80 barrier.

Modi’s government made the most of cheap oil by substituting any fall in prices with taxes that kept retail fuel rates unchanged for consumers and boosted the federal revenue. Now, pressure is mounting to forego some of that windfall as pump prices of gasoline and diesel hit records, likely marring the ruling party’s prospects at the national ballot in 2019.

“There is a strong case for the central government to take another excise duty cut, and ask state governments to reduce value added tax,” Anil Sharma and Ravi Adukia, analysts at Nomura Financial Advisory and Securities India Pvt. wrote in a note Tuesday.

Fuel prices have started to pinch as Brent, the benchmark for more than half of the world’s oil, hit $80 a barrel last week. It’s still short of its all-time high of $147.50. But cutting local taxes, which account for more than half of the retail gasoline and diesel prices, would stretch government finances at a time when the subsidy burden on kerosene and cooking gas is climbing.

Assuming an average oil price of $70, the fiscal 2019 subsidy would total about 355 billion rupees, or 105 billion rupees higher than budgeted, according to Kotak Institutional Equities. Meanwhile, Moody’s Investors Service estimates that fuel subsidies could total 340-530 billion rupees in fiscal 2019, the highest since fiscal 2015, if Brent crude oil prices average $60-$80 per barrel.

While Saudi Arabia has avoided pinpointing an exact price target for oil, Bloomberg reported citing people familiar with development that it is aiming for $80 to support the valuation of Saudi Aramco before an initial public offering.

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Prices of subsidised LPG zoom 16 per cent since Modi took charge

Global crude oil prices have slumped by 49 per cent during the same period

The prices of subsidised cooking gas zoomed by 16 per cent, from Rs 414 per cylinder when the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government came to power in May 2014 to Rs 479.77 in August 2017, despite global crude oil prices dipping by about 49 per cent.

The Narendra Modi-led government had stormed to power in 2014 on the back of serious corruption charges against the Congress-led regime and the rise in prices of commodities like cooking gas, against which the BJP had raised its voice. Interestingly, the price of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) was revised 22 times by oil marketing companies (OMCs) like Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL), and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (HPCL) since May 2014, when the BJP government took charge.

However, on the back of a 49 per cent drop in international crude prices, from $102.71 a barrel on May 30, 2014, to $52.16 (Brent crude) on August 3, 2017, prices of non-subsidised cylinders dipped 44 per cent, from Rs 928.50 per cylinder in May 2014 to Rs 524 in August 2017.

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Also, in an effort to reduce the subsidy burden or to completely do away with the subsidy, OMCs are authorised to increase prices of subsidised domestic LPG cylinders by Rs 4 per month till March 2018. "The government stands committed and will continue to provide subsidy assistance to the needy and poor households," said an official close to the development.

The subsidy amount on a 14.2-kg cylinder transferred to the accounts of Delhi consumers stands at Rs 86.54 currently, which the government wants to do away with or reduce to the range of Rs 40 per cylinder by March 2018. The current national average of LPG subsidy per cylinder comes to the tune of about Rs 58 per cylinder.

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Oil prices jump after Saudi Arabia and Arab allies cut ties with Qatar

Petronet says no impact on Qatar LNG

Saudi Arabia and key allies on Monday cut ties with Qatar, accusing it of supporting extremism, sending shockwaves through the energy industry as the countries involved include the world's top oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) exporters.

Saudi Arabia, the world's biggest crude oil exporter, along with the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, and Bahrain said they would sever all ties including transport links with Qatar, the top LNG exporter in the world. The three Gulf countries said they will give Qatari visitors and residents two weeks to leave.

"(Qatar) embraces multiple terrorist and sectarian groups aimed at disturbing stability in the region, including the Muslim Brotherhood, ISIS (Islamic State) and al-Qaeda, and promotes the message and schemes of these groups through their media constantly," Saudi state news agency SPA said .

While the announcements did not immediately affect oil shipments, benchmark Brent crude futures prices rose over 1 percent to well over $50 per barrel following the news.

Meanwhile, Petronet LNG said on Monday it did not expect any impact on gas supplies from Qatar after Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain severed ties with the Gulf Arab state accusing it of supporting terrorism.

"I don't think there will be any impact on it. We get gas directly from Qatar by sea," R.K. Garg, head of finance at Petronet, told Reuters when asked to comment on the coordinated move to cut relations.Petronet LNG, India's biggest gas importer, buys 8.5 million tonnes a year of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Qatar under a long-term contract. It also buys additional volumes from Qatar under spot deals.

The coordinated move dramatically escalates a dispute over Qatar's support of the Muslim Brotherhood, the world's oldest Islamist movement, and adds accusations that Doha even backs the agenda of regional arch-rival Iran.The three Gulf states announced the closure of transport ties with Qatar and gave Qatari visitors and residents two weeks to leave their countries. Qatar was also expelled from a Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen.

These were more severe measures than during a previous eight-month rift in 2014, when Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the UAE withdrew their ambassadors from Doha. At that time, travel links were maintained and Qataris were not expelled.

A split between Doha and its closest allies can have repercussions around the Middle East where Gulf states have used their financial and political power to influence events in Libya, Egypt, Syria, Iraq and Yemen.| READ MORE...