Today’s Key Takeaway: Middle East tensions lead to oil price increase. Going green while producing natural gas. 3 uranium mines open in US. Wild year for energy policy begins.
OIL:
Oil prices rise more than 3% on mounting Middle East tensions, OPEC pledge to support market
Spencer Kimball, CNBC, January 3, 2024
KEY POINTS
- Houthi militants, who are based in Yemen and backed by Iran, claimed Wednesday that they targeted the CMA CGM Tage container ship.
- Protests in Libya have also shut down the Sharara oilfield, which produces 300,000 barrels per day, two engineers told Reuters on Wednesday.
Oil rose more than 3% on Wednesday as tensions mount in the Middle East and OPEC pledges to remain united in supporting prices.
The West Texas Intermediate contract for February gained $2.41, or 3.5%, to trade at $72.84. The Brent contract for March added $2.47, or 3.25%, to trade at $78.36.
GAS:
A Fracker Tries to Produce ‘Guilt-Free’ Gas
Phirad Dvorak, The Wall Street Journal, December 28, 2023
Natural-gas producer BKV says it will bury enough carbon dioxide to offset emissions generated in making and burning its gas. Can it?
A shale driller is out to prove that it is possible to go completely green—while still producing natural gas.
Denver-based BKV says that by the 2030s it will store millions of tons of climate-warming carbon dioxide in wells deep underground to eliminate or offset all of the emissions generated from manufacturing and using its gas.
The idea is that consumers can buy that gas and use it without contributing to climate change, says Christopher Kalnin, BKV’s chief executive: “We called it…guilt-free energy.”
BKV isn’t alone. Companies such as Exxon Mobil and Chevron are pouring billions of dollars into businesses aimed at capturing and storing carbon emissions—arguing that such efforts go a long way toward neutralizing the greenhouse gases generated by their products.
At the recent United Nations climate summit in Dubai, many oil producers argued that the world will continue consuming fossil fuels for a long time and that abatement techniques are necessary to meet climate goals.
Two years into its own decarbonization plan, BKV is struggling to keep it—and its business—on track, suggesting how tough, costly, and time-consuming such efforts are likely to be.
MINING:
Three uranium mines open in the US
Alan Shaw, Mining Technology, January 2, 2024
The mines are based in Arizona and Utah.
Three new uranium mines in the US began production at the end of last year. US mining company Energy Fuels opened the mines in Arizona and Utah in response to strong market conditions.
At the end of November last year, uranium prices reached more than $80 per pound (lb) for the first time in more than 15 years.
Commenting on the attractive market conditions, Mark Chalmers, CEO of Energy Fuels, said: “Due to the substantial increase in uranium prices, US Government support for nuclear energy and nuclear fuel, and a global focus on reducing carbon emissions, Energy Fuels is resuming large-scale uranium production.”
POLITICS:
A wild year for energy policy begins
Christian Robles, Politico, January 2, 2024
The Biden administration is poised to spend the coming months finishing major climate rules, distributing billions of dollars for clean energy — and, most likely, sending out a flurry of press releases promoting every step.
Welcome to 2024, a year of frantic climate action before voters cast their ballots in November — with the polls overwhelmingly pointing to a rematch between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump, who has vowed to “terminate” Biden’s “Green New Deal atrocities on Day 1.”
Biden has every incentive to get his action done sooner rather than later: Any rules finished too close to the end of the year would be vulnerable to nullification if Republicans win control of Congress, Robin Bravender writes.