OIL
DOI beats NEPA challenge to ConocoPhillips leases in Alaskan petroleum reserve at 9th Circuit
Sebastian Malo, Reuters, July 9, 2020
A federal appeals court on Thursday upheld a ruling that the U.S. Department of the Interior had taken all necessary steps to gauge potential environmental risks from oil-and-gas leases it made in northern Alaska. A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a lower court ruling that had approved seven leases issued to ConocoPhillips in 2018 in Alaska’s National Petroleum Reserve, ruling that an environmental risk assessment published five years before the auction was broad enough in scope that it also authorized the sales under federal law.
Oil Went Below $0. Some Think It Will Rebound to $150 One Day.
Joe Wallace, The Wall Street Journal, July 9, 2020
Oil markets began the 2020s by nosediving below $0 a barrel for the first time. Investors and analysts are now trying to work out what the rest of the decade holds in store. Some think the bust will set in motion a boom, predicting that investment in oil-and-gas production will dry up and propel crude prices back above $100 a barrel. “That funding pressure is going to be massive. It’s going to be really difficult for some of the producers to produce,” said Trevor Woods, chief investment officer of Ohio-based hedge fund Northern Trace Capital. “We could hit $150 pretty easily by 2025.”
GAS
API study on the environmental benefits of US LNG
Lydia Woellwarth, LNG Industry, July 10, 2020
A new study released yesterday by API and conducted by researchers at ICF examines the environmental benefits of US natural gas use in China, Germany, and India, finding that using US LNG rather than coal for electricity generation produces on average 50.5% fewer greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in all base case scenarios studied.
MINING
Copper is surging, but it doesn’t mean economy is booming
Bloomberg News, July 10, 2020
Copper prices are surging, and for once it’s not because the economy is booming. The metal – known colloquially as Dr. Copper because its performance is often used to gauge the health of the overall economy – has surged by a staggering 45% since mid-March. That’s despite the International Monetary Fund downgrading its global forecast and a resurgence of covid-19 infections forcing governments around the world to re-impose business-crippling lockdowns. Copper’s gain has been driven chiefly by concerns over strains on supply from key producers South America.
POLITICS – “A public opinion poll is no substitute for thought.” Warren Buffet
Crowdfunded Alaska Poll Shows Unusually Tight Presidential, Congressional Races In Deep-Red State
Andrew Sollender, Forbes, July 9, 2020
A crowdfunded poll shows a close race in Alaska, typically a safely Republican state, with President Trump and incumbent Sen. Dan Sullivan leading their general election opponents by just a few points. The poll of 1,081 Alaska voters, conducted by Public Policy Polling and funded through a GoFundMe, showed Trump with a 46% approval rating and 49% disapproval rating in the state, which he won by 15 points in 2016.