Today’s Key Takeaways: Tariff war truce lifts oil. Drill baby drill – in the Cook Inlet! Green groups lose challenge to AKLNG. Investigating security risks from importing critical minerals.
OIL:
Crude Oil Gains 2% on Hopes of Tariff War Truce
Tom Kool, OilPrice.Com, April 16, 2025
Crude oil edged more than 2% higher on Wednesday, driven primarily by hopes that tensions will ease in the U.S.-China trade conflict and U.S. inventory data.
At 1:28 p.m. ET, Brent crude was trading up 2.09% at $66.02, while the U.S. benchmark, West Texas Intermediate (WTI), was trading up 2.12% at $62.63.
A weaker U.S. dollar, bullish inventory data, and renewed hopes for easing U.S.-China trade tensions are all boosting crude today, particularly following a Bloomberg report suggesting China may be open to trade talks—pending specific actions from the Trump administration.
China reportedly expects the U.S. to moderate critical rhetoric from cabinet members as a precondition for negotiations.
GAS:
Furie Embarks on Kitchen Lights Drilling Campaign
Alaska Business, April 15, 2025
The state’s only Alaskan-owned natural gas producer, Furie Operating Alaska, is commencing a campaign to drill new wells in Cook Inlet. The company moved the Spartan 151 jack-up rig to the Julius R platform in the Kitchen Lights Unit, a nearly 83,400-acre unit between Tyonek and Nikiski.
The move marks the start of a plan to find new, local sources of gas to meet the needs of Southcentral natural gas consumers.
Multi-Year Development Plan
“We are embarking on a $40 million in-field gas development program that will demonstrate that Alaskans can drill and produce more gas out of Cook Inlet,” says John Hendrix, president and CEO of Furie Operating Alaska’s parent company, HEX. “Furie will drill and bring on more gas this drilling season to meet the critical needs of our fellow Alaskan customers. Our customers are demanding more gas out of Cook Inlet and we are embarking a long-term development program.”
The Spartan 151 jack-up rig, leased from Hilcorp, can drill to a depth of 25,000 feet and can operate at a maximum water depth of 150 feet. In March, Furie doubled the number of wells that can be drilled from the Julius R platform from six to twelve, enabling more horizontal reach.
Current Issue
“We’ve identified twenty-seven targets from our platform within a 3-mile radius,” Hendrix says. “We’re still looking at other ways of bringing more well slots out there.”
Furie is launching the multi-year development program following what it calls “positive policy decisions” by the Alaska Department of Natural Resources, in the form of royalty relief, and Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority (AIDEA).
“Furie continues to aggressively pursue natural gas production in Cook Inlet. Partnered with funding from AIDEA, their efforts are a great example of AIDEA’s mission to invest in projects that grow Alaska’s economy and create jobs,” says AIDEA Executive Director Randy Ruaro.
Hendrix opines, “Outside of AIDEA, there’s no bank willing to invest in oil and gas; in the Lower 48, there’s banks all over and people willing to invest,” Hendrix opines. “If we can be seen as an Alaskan that’s dedicated to helping bring gas to the Southcentral region, and even as far north as Fairbanks, others will want to follow us.”
Furie drilled a sidetrack in Kitchen Lights last year with the Spartan 151 rig. This year’s stepped-up development comes in part because of a $50 million revolving line of credit approved in October 2024 to finance a multi-year North Kenai exploration program.
Hendrix explains, “We’re drilling two grassroots wells. That means we’re not exiting an existing well-base and going out; we’re drilling from scratch. And we hope that brings us up over 10 percent of Alaska’s gas supply.”
Furie’s natural gas production is already on the rise: it increased its contribution to Cook Inlet gas production from around 5 percent in December 2024 to 7.5 percent in February 2025. Production from Texas-based Hilcorp comprises the vast bulk of Inlet gas.
The drilling campaign is being supported by Cook Inlet Spill Prevention and Response, Inc., Cook Inlet Tug & Barge, Fairweather, Maritime Helicopters, Petrotechnical Resources of Alaska, Pollard Wireline Services, and Weaver Brothers.
DC Circuit rebuffs challenge to DOE approval of Alaska gas exports
Carlos Anchondo, E & E News, April 160, 2025 (subscription required)
A federal appeals court has dismissed an effort by environmental groups to challenge a Department of Energy gas export approval for a planned Alaska terminal.
In a 12-page decision Tuesday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit sided with DOE and a 2023 order from the department.
DOE’s order affirmed a Trump-era approval from 2020 that authorized liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports from the proposed Alaska LNG project to countries that don’t have a free trade agreement with the United States.
MINING:
TRUMP ORDERS INVESTIGATION INTO IMPORTS OF CRITICAL MINERALS: Trump yesterday evening signed an executive order directing the Commerce Department to launch an investigation into security risks associated with imports of critical minerals, the first step toward imposing tariffs.
“[A]n overreliance on foreign critical minerals and their derivative products could jeopardize U.S. defense capabilities, infrastructure development, and technological innovation,” the order reads.
The investigation raises global tension between the U.S and China, as Trump has imposed sweeping tariffs on Chinese goods. The majority of U.S. critical minerals and rare earth come from China. In response to the U.S. sweeping tariffs, China has placed export controls on a number of rare earth elements.
Last week, Reuters reported that China has also paused the shipment of the seven rare earth elements it placed on export controls. Rare earth elements and critical minerals are used for a range of products, including in the defense and energy sectors.
From the Washington Examiner, Daily on Energy, April 16, 2025