COVID 19
Make your own face mask—no sewing machine required
State medical officer encourages Alaskans to wear homemade masks
OIL
Trump
says, ‘we’ll work this out’ and ‘get our energy business back’ at meeting with
oil CEOs
Pippa Stevens, CNBC, April 3, 2020
President Donald Trump said that the U.S. will “get our energy business back,” as he met with oil executives from at least seven companies amid the ongoing collapse in oil prices. “We’ll work this out and we’ll get our energy business back. I’m with you 1,000%. It’s a great business, it’s a very vital business,” he said. Trump added that he’s “looking very seriously” at an infrastructure package. The meeting included CEOs from Exxon, Chevron, Occidental Petroleum, Devon Energy, Phillips 66, Energy Transfer Partners and Continental Resources founder Harold Hamm.
Oil Search lays off just 8 in Alaska vs. 92 or so in Australia
GAS
The natural gas surplus goes offshore
Anna Shiryaevskaya and Naureen S. Malik, Bloomberg/Rigzone, April 3, 2020
Liquefied natural gas traders are following the latest trend in the oil market by storing huge amounts of the commodity on tankers, hoping prices will rise before the ship docks. But while crude can sit for months or even years in a tank, super-chilled LNG tends to evaporate even in the specialized vessels that handle it. That limits the amount of time “floating storage” is feasible.
MINING
Growing New York gold stockpile eases fear of shortages
Reuters, April 3, 2020
The amount of gold stored in vaults in New York registered by CME Group’s Comex exchange has risen by nearly 2 million ounces, CME data showed, proving ample to settle monthly contract obligations and easing concerns of shortages that sent prices skyrocketing. Traders worried it would be impossible to fly gold from London to deliver against Comex contracts after coronavirus lockdown measures grounded planes and shut several precious metals refineries last month.
POLITICS
Massive
small business rescue gets off to stormy start
Zachary Warmbrodt, Politico, April 3, 2020
A small business lending program designed to halt an avalanche of layoffs got off to a rocky start on Friday as banks rushed to figure out how to process millions of expected applicants based on guidelines the Trump administration published just hours earlier.