Breaking News from our friends at North of 60 Mining News: ITH advances Livengood as gold prices rise!
OIL
In its May Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO), the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) expects Brent crude oil prices will average $34 per barrel (b) in 2020 and $48/b in 2021. Although market outlooks are subject to many risks, the May STEO remains subject to heightened levels of uncertainty because the effects on energy markets of mitigation efforts related to the 2019 novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) are still evolving. Despite the April agreement between the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and partner countries (OPEC+) to reduce production levels through the end of 2022, crude oil prices have remained at some of their lowest levels in more than 20 years. EIA expects that global liquid fuels inventories will grow by an average of 2.6 million barrels per day (b/d) in 2020 after falling by about 0.2 million b/d in 2019. EIA expects global inventory builds will be largest in the first half of 2020, rising at a rate of 6.6 million b/d in the first quarter and increasing to builds of 11.5 million b/d in the second quarter because of widespread travel limitations and sharp reductions in economic activity.
GAS
AGDC wants new sponsor to take over, or it will sell LNG project assets
Oil and Gas News Briefs from Larry Persily, May 13, 2020
The state corporation that has been leading the proposed multibillion-dollar Alaska North Slope natural gas project since late 2016 wants someone else to take over the development effort. The corporation’s plan assumes that an economic analysis currently underway determines the project is economically viable. If no one steps up to take over from the state, which has been paying just about all the bills the past four years, the Alaska Gasline Development Corp. (AGDC) board of directors appears ready to sell off the project’s assets — which could include permits, studies and engineering work — in a formal bidding procedure.
Exclusive 360 Energy Expert Network Video Interview: Sproule –There is a silver lining in North American Natural Gas, you just need to know where to look.
Oil & Gas 360, May 13, 2020
The team from Sproule just released the Special Market Report: “Finding the Silver Lining: North American Natural Gas.” Michael Tanner, Host 360 Digital Closing Bell, and Analyst, and myself were able to sit down with Christoffer Mylde, Senior Vice President, Corporate Development, Liam O’Brian, Strategic Advisory & Insights from Sproule to cover the special report. Access to capital in the oil & gas market has become increasingly difficult over the last few years due to the producers shifting focus towards providing investors with more cash returns, ultimately providing less cash at the drill bit. Other mitigating factors include the dramatic decline in demand causing the forced shut ins of large number of oil wells that are also producing natural gas. This huge volume of gas being taken off the market, and the worldwide demand for LNG remaining at a fairly steady rate look to keep the prices over the $3.00 mark towards the end of the year. The report is an excellent overview of the North American Natural Gas, and our interview is worth your time.
MINING
ITH advances Livengood as gold prices rise
Shane Lasley, North of 60 Mining News, May 13, 2020
After years of quietly and efficiently optimizing a plan for Livengood, International Tower Hill Mines Ltd. is now moving ahead with new pre-feasibility study for developing a mine at the 11.5-million-ounce gold project about 70 miles north of Fairbanks, Alaska. A previous PFS completed for Livengood in 2017 outlined plans for a 52,600-metric-ton-per-day mill that would produce 6.8 million ounces of gold over a 23-year mine life, or roughly 294,100 oz annually.
POLITICS
Will climate shape Biden’s VP search? Meet the vetters
Adam Aton, E & E News, May 13, 2020
A year ago, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti unveiled his vision for a Green New Deal. He followed up in February with a laundry list of green directives — congestion pricing, fossil fuel divestment, aggressive decarbonization timelines — that echoed the most progressive plans in the presidential field. Now Garcetti is helping Joe Biden pick his running mate. Biden’s elevation of Garcetti suggests the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee increasingly sees the climate movement as an important constituency. And Garcetti’s rise could, in turn, empower climate hawks to have a greater hand in shaping Biden’s policies. Although Garcetti does not come from the activist left — and some progressives suggest his record as a climate hawk might be overstated — he nevertheless represents one of the strongest voices for climate action in Biden’s inner circle. The other three officials guiding Biden’s selection of vice president lack a pronounced profile on energy or the environment. They are Chris Dodd, the former Connecticut senator who became a lobbyist for Hollywood; Lisa Blunt Rochester, the at-large congresswoman from Biden’s home state of Delaware and a member of the Congressional Black Caucus; and Cynthia Hogan, Biden’s longtime counsel in the Senate and vice president’s office, who became a lobbyist for Apple Inc.
Basement-bound Biden campaign worries some Democrats
Bill Barrows & Steve Peoples, AP, May 13, 2020
Joe Biden has no foreseeable plans to resume in-person campaigning amid a pandemic that is testing whether a national presidential election can be won by a candidate communicating almost entirely from home. The virtual campaign Biden is waging from Wilmington, Delaware, is a stark contrast with President Donald Trump, who is planning travel despite warnings from public health experts about the coronavirus’s spread. It also intensifies the spotlight on how Biden, the presumptive Democratic nominee, will manage his campaign, with some in his party fretting that his still-developing approach isn’t reaching enough voters.