Today’s Key Takeaways: Oil hits 7-week high, OPEC claims demand is here to stay. Next phase of search AKLNG partners. Murkowski recognized for critical minerals leadership. Meet AK’s new BLM state director.
OIL:
Oil rises to 7-week high on US-China trade deal
Katya Golubkova, MSN, June 11, 2025
Oil prices rose to their highest in seven weeks on Wednesday as U.S. President Donald Trump said a deal had been done with China, heightening expectations of a de-escalation in trade tensions between the world’s two largest economies.
Brent crude futures were up $1.15, or 1.7%, to $68.02 a barrel at 1249 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was up $1.31, or 2%, to $66.29. At that level, WTI reached its highest in more than two months.
OPEC Chief Claims Oil Demand Growth Is Here to Stay
Irina Slav, OilPrice.Com, June 11, 2025
Crude oil demand will continue growing over the coming decades as the world’s population increases, the secretary-general of OPEC, Haitham Al Ghais, said this week, predicting a 24% cumulative rise in this demand until 2050.
“There is no peak in oil demand on the horizon,” Al Ghais said at the Canadian Global Energy Show, as quoted by Reuters. The top OPEC official went on to reiterate a warning about the adverse potential consequences of underinvestment in new oil and gas supply—something, in which OPEC has been very consistent over the past few years amid a pressure campaign from anti-oil activists who have the ears of most governments of the developed world for forcing the oil and gas industry to quit its core business.
According to Al Ghais, global investment needs for new oil and gas stand at $17.4 trillion for the next 25 years. For comparison’s sake, the investment needed for achieving a net-zero global economy has been calculated at $110 trillion for the period between 2021 and 2050 but in the past three years the price tag has repeatedly been revised upwards.
OPEC estimates that global oil demand will grow by 1.3 million barrels per day in both 2025 and 2026, which is in stark contrast with the demand estimate of the International Energy Agency. The IEA sees oil demand growth this year at less than 1 million bpd. Although demand rose by 990,000 barrels daily over the first quarter, the IEA expects this to slow considerably to just 650,000 bpd over the remainder of the year.
GAS:
Glenfarne Advances to Next Phase of Search for Alaska LNG Partners
Jamison Cocklin, Natural Gas Intelligence, June 9, 2025(subscription required)
More than 50 companies from North America, Asia and Europe have expressed interest in partnering to advance the long-delayed Alaska LNG project, according to lead developer Glenfarne Group LLC.
The company launched a strategic partner selection process for the 20 million ton/year project in May. It said after completing the first round of the process that companies in Japan, the European Union, India, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and the United States have formally expressed interest.
MINING:
Benchmark recognizes Murkowski’s critical minerals leadership.
A.J. Roan, Metal Tech News, June 6, 2025
At its annual Giga USA conference in Washington, D.C., Benchmark Mineral Intelligence Ltd. presented its Lifetime Achievement Award to U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), recognizing her pivotal role in shaping national policy on critical minerals and supply chain security.
Founded as a specialized provider of battery material pricing data, Benchmark Mineral Intelligence has grown into a central node in the global effort to track, analyze, and forecast the supply chains underpinning the energy transition.
Headquartered in the United Kingdom, the analytics firm has expanded its coverage to include a broader range of critical inputs – such as rare earth elements and copper – that underpin clean energy technologies, advanced manufacturing, and national defense, and is widely regarded as a primary reference for governments, institutional investors, and industry stakeholders alike.
As demand for critical minerals has continued to accelerate, Benchmark’s data and analysis have become instrumental in shaping mineral policy and informing global market strategy.
Hosted annually in Washington, D.C., Giga USA is Benchmark’s flagship conference focused on the upstream and midstream segments of the lithium-ion battery and energy storage supply chain – bringing together policymakers, industry leaders, and technical experts to assess market trends, policy developments, and infrastructure needs.
With this year’s program highlighting policy leadership and domestic mineral strategy, the presentation of Benchmark’s Lifetime Achievement Award served as a reflection of that focus.
Representing the resource-rich state of Alaska, Sen. Murkowski has played a central role in elevating critical minerals to a matter of national policy for more than a decade.
During that time, she has consistently advanced bipartisan legislation aimed at identifying domestic resources, improving permitting timelines, and reducing U.S. dependence on foreign supply chains – positioning mineral security as a foundation for energy, technology, and defense readiness.
Her legislative focus on mineral security began well before the issue entered the national spotlight, introducing the Critical Minerals Policy Act in 2011 – one of the earliest attempts in Congress to define a federal strategy for identifying mineral dependencies, expanding domestic production, and modernizing outdated permitting systems.
Many of its core principles were later codified in the Energy Act of 2020 – a bipartisan law she co-authored as chair of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee that directed federal agencies to prioritize mineral research, expand recycling initiatives, and strengthen domestic supply chains.
This year’s recognition from Benchmark Mineral Intelligence marks a culmination of that policy legacy.
Joining an esteemed group of previous recipients, including Nobel Prize-winning battery pioneer Sir Stanley Whittingham, former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Tesla co-founder and Redwood Materials CEO JB Straubel, Murkowski was honored for the sustained legislative groundwork that helped transform mineral security from an overlooked vulnerability into a cornerstone of national energy and economic strategy.
“Senator Lisa Murkowski has been the guiding light for the critical minerals industry we see today,” said Benchmark Mineral Intelligence Executive Chairman Simon Moores. “Critical minerals like lithium, graphite, and rare earths are now more geopolitically important than oil. Without Senator Murkowski, critical minerals would not be in the mainstream policy conversation or global discourse. I’ve had the privilege of working closely with her for nearly a decade: our industry cannot thank her enough.”
The senator responded with appreciation, noting the shared progress made in advancing U.S. mineral priorities.
“I was proud to accept Benchmark’s Lifetime Achievement Award this week at the GIGA USA conference. Benchmark sets the standard for excellence in mineral intelligence, so to be recognized by them is a true honor,” Murkowski wrote in a social media post. “I thank Simon and his team for being great partners across many years as we have sought to rebuild U.S. supply chains. Together, we’ve made substantial progress in raising awareness and taken the first key steps to restore U.S. mineral security.”
POLITICS:
Kevin Pendergast Named BLM Alaska State Director
Will oversee 70 million surface acres of public lands and 220 million acres of subsurface mineral estate
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has named Kevin J. Pendergast as the new director of the Alaska State Office in Anchorage. Pendergast will lead the BLM’s efforts of implementing the Administration’s and Secretary of the Interior’s priorities of unleashing Alaska’s extraordinary resource potential.
Jon Raby, currently exercising the authority of the BLM director, announced the appointment June 3 noting “Kevin brings decades of Interior Department and private sector experience and is a proven leader,” Raby said. “He has spent many years in Alaska working with policy makers, industry leaders, and communities across the state. His expertise will ensure we continue to unleash the resource potential in Alaska.”
As the state director for Alaska, Pendergast will continue the BLM’s efforts to expand opportunities for exploration and development in the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska and the Coastal Plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Pendergast will also lead the BLM’s work towards revocation of public land withdrawals that will help solidify the path forward for the proposed Ambler Road and Alaska Liquified Natural Gas Pipeline projects.
Pendergast has served as the BLM Alaska deputy state director for resources since 2019 where he leads one of the key mining programs in the Interior Department and directly manages the oil and gas leasing efforts in the state, as well as overseeing recreation and other important programs. The economic contributions from Alaska’s BLM-managed public lands totaled more than $1.7 billion and supported more than 4,000 jobs in Fiscal Year 2023.
As BLM’s Alaska State Director, Pendergast will be responsible for overseeing the management of 70 million surface acres and 220 million acres of Federal sub-surface mineral estate. He will also oversee permanent staff and seasonal employees who help manage a myriad of public land uses and resources to include the Federal Subsistence Management Program, the Alaska Land Transfer Program. the National Petroleum Reserve and oversight of the Trans-Alaskan Pipeline System. He will start as the state director June 29.
In addition to his assignments in BLM, Pendergast has also served as a Deputy Regional Director for the Interior Department’s Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, a senior program advisor for Interior’s Office of Budget, and an acting deputy superintendent of Grand Teton National Park. Pendergast built his initial career in Alaska as a consultant and project manager working in nearly every corner of Alaska.
Pendergast holds a bachelor’s degree in Geology from Oregon State University and bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from the University of Alaska Anchorage. He is a registered Professional Engineer in the state of Alaska and a certified Professional Geologist from the American Institute of Professional Geologists. Pendergast lives in Anchorage with his wife and family.