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Lithium War Heats Up After Epic Launch
Of Tesla Model 3
The unveiling of Tesla’s Model 3 electric car was no less than the lifting of the final curtain on a game-changing energy revolution. And if we follow that revolution to its core, we arrive at lithium—our new gasoline for which the feeding frenzy has only just begun. Unveiled just on 31 March and already with 325,000 orders, it seems that the market, too, understands that the Model 3 is more than just another electric vehicle. In one week alone, Tesla has racked up around $14 billion in implied future sales, making it the “biggest one-week launch of any product ever.” (And if you think the “implied future sales” negates the news, think again: Each order requires a $1,000 refundable deposit. ) It will change the world because it is the first hard indication that the tech-driven energy revolution is not only pending, it’s arrived. The Model 3 and its […]
Kuwait’s Oil Output Set to Return to Normal After Strike Ends
Kuwait’s oil production is set to return to normal in three days after thousands of striking workers returned to their jobs Wednesday. OPEC’s fourth-largest producer will boost output to an average of 3 million barrels a day in three days, according to a statement from Kuwait Petroleum Corp. on Wednesday. Output was 1.5 million barrels a day on Tuesday compared with 1.1 million on Sunday. Oil refineries are still operating at about 520,000 barrels a day, Khaled Al-Asousi, spokesman at state refiner Kuwait National Petroleum Co., said in a text message. Plants had been operating at that rate, less than 60 percent of capacity, since the strike began on Sunday. The 13,000 members of the Oil & Petrochemical Industries Workers Confederation went on strike to protest cuts in pay and benefits as Middle Eastern crude exporters reduced subsidies and government handouts to cope with falling oil prices. A global […]
Exclusive: Iran struggles to find enough ships for oil exports
Malta-flagged Iranian crude oil supertanker ”Delvar” is seen anchored off Singapore March 1, 2012. Iran faces a struggle to increase oil exports because many of its tankers are tied up storing crude, some are not seaworthy, and foreign shipowners remain reluctant to carry its cargoes. Tehran is seeking to make up for lost trade to Europe following the lifting of EU sanctions imposed in 2011 and 2012, which deprived it of a market that accounted for over a third of its exports and left it relying completely on Asian buyers. Iran has 55-60 oil tankers in its fleet, a senior Iranian government official told Reuters. He declined to say how many were being used to store unsold cargoes, but industry sources said 25-27 tankers were parked in sea lanes close to terminals including Assaluyeh and Kharg Island for this purpose. Asked how many tankers were not seaworthy and needed […]
What Oil Glut? Outages Put Supply, Demand Close to Balance
Oil-producing governments across the world are scrambling to address petroleum outages that have taken nearly 2 million barrels a day off the market and sent crude prices rallying. The outages have been caused by an oil-worker strike in Kuwait, alleged pipeline sabotage in Nigeria and payment disputes in Iraqi Kurdistan. The missing oil supply—about 1.85 million barrels a day—has essentially brought the oil market’s supplies back into balance with demand, if only temporarily, and raised questions about big producers’ ability to quickly ramp up during supply outages. The situation offers a glimpse of what the oil market would look like if the current glut were to end after nearly two years of weighing on prices. Oil demand is expected to average 94.8 million barrels a day in the first quarter of 2016 compared with oil supply of 96.4 million barrels a day.
Russian Oil Output, Exports May Rise After Doha Deal Fails
Just two days after the collapse of international oil-supply talks in Doha, Russia signaled it isn’t afraid to play a game of chicken. Freed from a plan to coordinate output with OPEC members, Russian officials said Tuesday that the country may boost both production and exports. Daily output in 2016 could grow by 100,000 barrels to 10.81 million, according to Deputy Energy Minister Kirill Molodtsov. “And why not?” he said at the National Oil and Gas Forum in Moscow. “It’s possible.” Talks among major oil […]
