In a recent article I described the mechanisms which drive the market structures of backwardation and contango, which explained how and why the market got into negative territory, with a steep contango forward curve. But having got there, how does that same understanding of market behaviour help us form a view of where we go from here?
Actions taken by producer states under the OPEC+ banner, coupled with moving oil into storage, should see a stock draw of 4.7 million barrels per day in the second half of 2020, the International Energy Agency (IEA) has said in its recent Oil Market Report (OMR).
The proposed 10 million bpd cut by OPEC+ for May and June will keep the world from physically testing the limits of storage capacity and save prices from falling into a deep abyss, but it will still not restore the desired market balance. Just hours before delegates stepped into the (again virtual) closed meeting, Brent was fluttering in the mid-$30s, seemingly oblivious to the fact that even if a 10 million bpd cut is agreed upon, or even in the best-case scenario 15 million bpd if the US, Canada, Norway and Brazil join forces, an excess of supply of the magnitude of 5-10 million bpd will remain, and will need to be stored.
Two years after the U.K.’s largest natural gas storage site slipped into retirement, demand for new places to keep the fuel is ratcheting up.
Statkraft AS joined with Statera Energy to build 1 gigawatt of storage in the U.K. with a backup generator fueled by natural gas, part of an effort to profit from the nation’s need to balance its power grid.
A £20 million competition has been launched to give a boost to innovative ways of storing electricity, the Government has said.
The year ended with exciting headlines about wind power having generated more than 100% of Scotland’s electricity requirements on 20 out of 30 days in November.
There’s no mystery about the biggest problem with wind power. It is, quite simply, that the wind does not always blow and when it doesn’t, other sources of generation have to be available to provide the back-up.
Conamix, an Ithaca, New York-based battery-technology startup, raised $2 million from investors including an Exelon Corp.-backed company focused on innovations in energy storage.
A scheme which will use two disused slate quarries on the edge of Snowdonia as reservoirs for power storage has been given the go-ahead by the Government.
Oil companies booked tankers to store as many as 9 million barrels of crude in northwest Europe amid signs that space in on-land depots is filling up, a ship-operator said. The glut could get bigger still, given the region is scheduled to load the most cargoes in 4 1/2 years next month.
Oil traders once again believe it’s worth heading out to sea.
Capture Power said it would retain its commitment to the delivery of the White Rose Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) project after one of the consortium members pulled out. Drax said it was pulling out of the major scheme to develop technology to store emissions amid concerns over Government green policy changes. The company blamed the “drastically different financial and regulatory environment” which has seen the wholesale price of electricity drop and moves by the Government to rein back support for low carbon technology.
The new head of the International Energy Agency (IEA) said there needed to be greater partnership between the organisation and China. Fatih Birol made the comments on his first visit to the world's largest energy consumer. Birol, who took up his new post earlier this month, told an audience of Chinese officials and foreign diplomats in Beijing that one of his top priorities in the role will be to strengthen ties with the company.
Baron Oil has signed a convertible loan agreement with InfraStrata for the Islandmagee gas storage project in Northern Ireland. The loan will specifically provide bridge financing for the imminent drilling of the project’s salt appraisal well. Baron will provide a secured loan of €1.8million to InfraStrata with an option to convert the loan balance in an equity participation of 15% in Islandmagee Storage Limited. The loan has an 8% interest coupon and is repayable by May 2016 and Baron has an option to extend the loan until December 31, 2016.
More support is needed from politicians to reduce energy demand and boost energy storage, according to environmental campaigners. The call from WWF Scotland came as they published figures showing that March broke records for wind power output in Scotland. Their analysis of data showed that wind turbines alone provided the National Grid with enough electricity to supply, on average, the energy needs of 110% of Scottish households, 2.6 million homes. This represents an increase of 16% compared to the same period last year. Overall, wind power generated the equivalent of 57% of Scotland’s total electricity consumption - domestic and non-domestic - for the month.
Libya extinguished fires at three of five oil-storage tanks that started last week at its largest oil port, helping global crude prices to stabilize. Libya is still seeking international assistance because of possible environmental damage, said Ali al-Hasy, a spokesman for the Petroleum Facilities Guard, part of the internationally-recognized government of Prime Minister Abdullah al-Thinni. Es Sider has tanks with a capacity of 6.2 million barrels of oil, compared with current Libyan output of 352,000 barrels, according to National Oil Corp.