Earlier this week, the Department of Energy (DoE) reported that crude oil inventories in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) climbed 0.3 million barrels again to 395.9 million barrels in the week ending March 14. Inventory levels in the SPR are hundreds of millions shy of the levels in inventory prior to the SPR withdrawal that took place under the Biden Administration.
Kazakhstan has once again found itself on the wrong side of OPEC+ production targets, and this time, it seems to have cost the oil minister his job. The country has been pumping oil as if the quotas didn’t exist, hitting record production levels at 1.767 million barrels per day in February (with the help of Chevron)—a cool 300,000 barrels over its quota.
For context, Urals crude has been stuck in a price rut thanks to a mix of global oversupply concerns, softening demand, and a shifting geopolitical landscape. But unlike previous downturns, the sting is dulled by a ruble that’s been flexing its muscles ever since Trump waltzed back into the White House.
The Cape Ann, the floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) for liquefied natural gas was located in the port of Le Havre two years ago. TotalEnergies has contracted 50% of the terminal’s annual capacity of around 5 billion cubic meters, to supply it with LNG from its global portfolio. The remaining capacity will be marketed according to rules approved by the regulator, the French supermajor said in 2023.
Nord Stream 2 was never put into operation after Germany axed the certification process following the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Russia, for its part, shut down Nord Stream 1 indefinitely in early September of 2022, claiming an inability to repair gas turbines because of the Western sanctions.
An earlier Trump directive froze funds tied to former President Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and a bipartisan infrastructure law, both of which allocated billions of U.S. dollars for clean energy initiatives. Trump, who has championed fossil fuels as a cornerstone of his energy policy, has made it clear that climate-focused spending is no longer a federal priority.
Since 2023, Yemen’s Houthi rebels have repeatedly attacked cargo ships passing through the strait of Bab al-Mandab that splits northeast Africa from Yemen on the Arabian Peninsula. The Iran-backed rebels have been targeting vessels with connections to Israel and Western countries, forcing dozens of shipping companies to take a 4,000-mile detour around the continent of Africa at significantly higher costs and extra shipping days.
U.S. natural gas futures eased to a two-week low on Monday amid record output, negative spot prices at the Waha Hub and forecasts for mild weather. Natural gas at the Waha hub–a regional pricing hub for gas in the Permian Basin in West Texas–sold for near-zero or sub-zero prices for much of 2024, a trend that has continued in the current year. Indeed, prices at the hub spent 164 days in negative territory and hit an all-time low -$7/mmbtu at the end of August, truly historical lows. The Permian Shale boom led to a surge in associated gas production, with output growing more quickly than takeaway capacity. Consequently, Permian gas infrastructure has become saturated in recent years, effectively meaning that producers sometimes have to pay for someone to take their gas so that they can continue to produce something more valuable: crude oil.
Earlier, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy declined a proposal by Trump to acquire approximately 50% of Ukraine’s rare earth mineral rights. Valued at several trillion dollars, Ukraine’s mineral reserves include lithium, titanium and graphite which are essential for high-tech industries. The proposal was delivered by U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent as part of a bid to compensate Washington for assistance to Kyiv. Trump had suggested that Ukraine owed the United States $500 billion worth of resources for its past military support. However, Zelenskyy sought better terms, including U.S. and European security guarantees. Trump’s proposal did not include provisions for future assistance, which Zelenskyy deems necessary. Zelenskyy’s team has developed an offer for a mineral partnership in exchange for security guarantees, which was announced earlier this month.
Following the tariffs, Chinese LNG buyers with long-term supply contracts with U.S. producers have started reselling the cargos to Europe, Bloomberg reported, citing sources from the trading world. What’s more, Chinese traders have grown cold towards new long-term commitments for future supply from the United States, instead seeking long-term deals with gas producers in the Middle East and the Asia Pacific.