- Future growth of natural gas consumption is concentrated in
Asia.
- The gap between production and consumption widens as time
goes on. The EIA expects non-OECD Asia to
consume 120 bcf/d by 2050, outpacing regional production by 50 bcf/d.
- China alone will see its gas consumption triple between
2018 and 2050.
- Long-term projections for LNG are highly predicated on this
blistering demand growth rate.
Market
Movers
- BP (NYSE: BP) and Kosmos Energy
(NYSE: KOS) announced a discovery at the Orca-1 exploration
well in offshore Mauritania. The companies call it a "major gas
discovery."
- Phillips 66 (NYSE: PSX) saw its
share price surge to more than a
one-year high on higher retail fuel margins and better-than-expected earnings
from the third quarter. Still, profits fell by half.
- Marathon Petroleum (NYSE: MPC) is
planning to spin off its
gas-station chain and may shakeup executive leadership in response to activist
investor pressure from Elliott Management Corp.
Tuesday
October 29, 2019
Oil prices were flat in early trading on
Tuesday as trade war hopes fade and markets await the API's crude inventory
report. The IEA's bearish report on global oil demand and a looming supply glut
was offset by reports that Saudi Arabia was ready to cut its production even
further.
Vaca
Muerta on edge with new Argentine President. The oil-friendly
President of Argentina Mauricio Macri was ousted on Sunday. His efforts to put
a Band-Aid on the crisis in the last few months - which included a fuel prize
freeze and currency controls - have already cut drilling activity in the Vaca
Muerta. But larger questions swirl around what the new president will do.
Analysts say that price controls and rampant inflation may deter investment.
Trump's
vow to take Syrian oil denounced by legal experts. "What I
intend to do, perhaps, is make a deal with an ExxonMobil or one of our great
companies to go in there and do it properly ... and spread out the wealth," Trump said during a news
conference. Legal experts said such a proposal would be illegal and also an
ethical disaster. "It is not only a dubious legal move, it sends a message to
the whole region and the world that America wants to steal the oil," said Bruce
Riedel, a former national security advisor told Reuters.
8
in 10 Americans say U.S. should decrease or limit drilling. A
nationwide poll from The Washington
Post and the Kaiser Family Foundation finds that 8 in 10 Americans say the U.S.
should "decrease" drilling or "stay as is." 51 percent said oil and gas
exploration on federal lands should be reduced, and 53 percent say the same
thing about offshore. Less than 15 percent say drilling should expand on public
lands or offshore.
Saudi
Aramco struggling to achieve IPO valuation that it wants. Saudi
officials have long said that Aramco should be valued at around $2 trillion,
but analysts have long questioned that figure. Meanwhile, Saudi officials are
scrambling to keep the IPO on track to launch before the end of the year. Some
investors say the company is not worth more than $1.2 trillion, according to the FT. Aramco says that it
earned $68 billion in the first nine months of 2019, making it the world's most profitable company.
U.S.
shale braces for brutal earnings season. The number of
bankruptcies among North American E&Ps has been rising as of late, and
access to capital has been closing off. With earnings season under way, there
will be close scrutiny on the shale
sector as companies come under pressure after a period of lower prices. "As
yet, the decline in drilling activity is not reflected in lower production
growth, but this is probably only a question of time," Commerzbank said.
Lithium
miners cut expansion plans on low prices. Albemarle Corp. (NYSE: ALB),
SQM
(NYSE: SQM) and other lithium producers are cutting expansion
plans due to a down market and low prices, according to Reuters. Lithium demand is
expected to more than triple through 2025 as demand for batteries in EVs soar.
However, analysts say that lithium miners have boosted supply too quickly.
U.S.
consumer health showing signs of weakness. Despite what some
are calling a manufacturing recession, the American consumer has kept the
economy growing. However, there are signs that consumers are becoming overstretched.
Fed
to cut interest rates. Market watchers widely expect the U.S.
Federal Reserve to again cut interest rates on Wednesday, most likely by 25
basis points. But GDP growth has slowed and the cuts are not showing signs of reigniting
the economy.
Pemex
reports first production increase in six quarters. Pemex said
its oil output averaged 1.69 mb/d in the
third quarter, up from 1.67 mb/d in the second, the first increase in six
quarters. Debt also fell slightly. The company said the improvement came after
it began drilling in shallow water fields.
Texas
hit hard by slowdown. Employment and investment is slowing down as the shale
industry gets hit by low oil prices and a pullback from investors and lenders.
GM,
Toyota and Fiat Chrysler side with Trump. In a major split
among major automakers, GM (NYSE: GM), Toyota
and Fiat
Chrysler side with the Trump
administration on fuel economy standards, even as some of their major
competitors agreed to work with California on stricter standards. The
automakers said they want uniform federal regulations so that there is
certainty.
BP's
earnings drop by 41 percent. BP (NYSE: BP) reported third
quarter earnings that were slightly better than expected, but were still down
by 41 percent from a year earlier. Part of the problem was not just lower oil
prices, but also lower natural gas prices. "We don't think this is going to get
better over the next 2-3 years," BP's CFO Brian Gilvary said.
ConocoPhillips
beats estimates. ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) posted higher-than-expected
earnings and reported nearly $1 billion in free cash flow. Shale output was up
21 percent from a year earlier.
For
best health and climate impact, put renewables in Midwest. A
new study from Harvard University finds that for every 3,000 megawatts of wind
power put in the Upper Midwest, it would translate into $2.2
trillion in climate change and health benefits, or about $113/MWh. That
compares to just $28/MWh of benefits in California. The Midwest is the region
that stands to gain the most from renewable energy, largely because of the
large concentration of coal-fired power plants that would be displaced.
VW
ramps up EV factory in China. VW aims to produce as many as 1
million EVs in China by 2022, according to Reuters. The expansion
would allow VW to surpass Tesla's (NASDAQ: TSLA) capacity
in the country.
Related News
1.
Axxela Rated BBB
plus Long-Term (NG), A2 Short-Term (NG)- GCR; Outlook Stable
2.
Oil Markets: Oil
Bulls Broken By Economic Fears - OIR 251019
3.
OPEC Raises
Nigeria's Oil Production Quota by 80,000bpd
4.
Oil Rebounds On
Rare Market Optimism - OIR 221019
5.
OPEC Faces
Critical Decision As Oil Drops Again - OIR 181019
6.
Average Prices
Of PMS, AGO, HHK and Cooking Gas - September 2019
7.
Oil Markets
Bearish Despite Rising Geopolitical Risk - OIR 151019
8.
A Long-Term
Crisis Looms For Oil
9.
Oil Prices Rise
On Trade War Optimism And Tanker Attack - OIR 111019
10. Border Closures
May Only Offer Temporary Subsidy Reprieve
11.
The Impact Of
Impeachment On Trade War Talks - OIR 081019
12. A Crisis Looms
Over U.S. LNG

