OIL
Porcaro Communications gets paid to “change their mind” but leaves the facts behind.
Mark Hopkin, Anchorage Daily News, September 16, 2020
Full disclosure: Five years ago, I worked on the campaign to oppose the repeal of SB 21. I wrote some of the TV commercials and helped place the millions of dollars of oil-funded TV and radio buys directed at keeping the then-new oil tax intact.
Our Take: Mark Hopkin, President of Porcaro Communications, claims in this opinion piece that he is promoting new taxes on the oil & gas industry, not just because his firm is getting paid to do so, but because he “delved into the facts.”
We suggest that in the future, Mr. Hopkin take a deeper dive into the facts and avoid hitting his head in the shallow end thereby becoming confused.
Look no further than his statement “SB 21 was a massive overcorrection.”
- SB 21 replaced ACES.
- Under ACES production dropped 200,000 bpd in 6 years.
- Even though prices were high, the ACES tax rate was so high, producers could make much more nearly anywhere else.
- Production dropped from the same legacy fields that are now the target of Ballot Measure 1.
- BM1 has higher tax rates than ACES at prices up to $120.
- WHY IS THERE ANY REASON TO BELIEVE THE SAME THING WOULDN’T HAPPEN AGAIN? Prices are even lower now and the tax rate is higher.
- SB 21 has higher taxes than ACES at prices up to $65/bbl, where we are now, and where we will be for a long time, according to most experts.
- Under SB 21, the state has received more revenue than was projected under ACES. $1.5 billion
- Under SB 21, more oil has been produced than was projected under ACES. 75,000 bpd.
Looking for less production and less revenue to the state? Then Mark Hopkin is your man.
Looking for more production, more jobs, more revenue? Then we suggest looking elsewhere for your facts before voting:
We’re real Alaskans and we’re voting NO ON 1!
GAS
Natural Gas Prices Plunge On Souring Demand, LNG Exports
Julianne Geiger, OILPRICE.COM, September 21, 2020
Natural gas prices plunged on Monday by more than ten percent as the outlook for demand and LNG exports worsened as multiple Hurricanes caused disruptions in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico
Sempra Launches Open Season for Port Arthur LNG Pipeline
Jamison Cocklin, Natural Gas Intelligence, September 21, 2020
A Sempra Energy affiliate has launched a binding open season soliciting bids for additional long-term firm transportation service on the Texas Connector Project, which would link the proposed Port Arthur liquefied natural gas (LNG) export facility to various interstate pipelines.
MINING
Tesla “battery day” a possible blow to cobalt miners
Cecilia Jamasmie, Mining.Com, September 21, 2020
Elon Musk’s Tesla hosts its annual shareholder meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 22, followed by the highly anticipated “battery technology day”, a worldwide live-streamed event during which the firm is expected to unveil its own new type of battery cell. Speculation points to a cobalt-free battery that uses more of less costly metals such as nickel and manganese. Tesla currently uses the nickel-cobalt-aluminum cathode chemistry, which has a low cobalt content of about 5%, for their cars produced outside China. The company also embraces the Responsible Minerals Initiative (RMI) to identify red flags such as child labor in their cobalt sourcing.
POLITICS
Politics and Weather Play Havoc with the Oil Market
Phil Flynn, Futures, September 21, 2020
Oil prices are lower on turmoil, whether it be from mother nature or politics. Fears of more Covid-19 shutdowns weigh on prices and fears that increasing political divides after the death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg reduces the odds that the U.S. will get much-needed coronavirus relief. The U.K. and France are imposing more Covid-19 restrictions, which is offsetting news about improving European traffic. Bloomberg News reports that road traffic in Europe and China is still rising but stagnating in the U.S.
Even mother nature is creating problems for oil. Fox News reports, “Tropical Storm Beta, in an incredibly busy 2020 Atlantic hurricane season, is crawling off the coast of Texas and Louisiana and threatens to bring flash flooding to areas still impacted by Hurricane Laura. Beta could bring up to 20 inches of rain to some states over the next several days. It’s to make landfall along Texas’ central or upper Gulf Coast late Monday night.”
There also is the return of Libyan oil weighing on crude oil prices. It appears a deal made will allow the state oil production that at first will be about 90,000 barrel per day (bpd) and rise quickly to 220,000 bpd. Reports say that a tanker is heading to Libya’s Marsa el Hariga terminal as the country’s national oil company announces partial force majeure lifting – ship tracking. Of course, one must keep in mind that previous deals to restart Libyan oil production and exports have fallen apart.