OIL
Oil’s chilly season
Ben Geman, Axios, October 12, 2020
Oil prices can’t seem to reach escape velocity, spelling more pain for producers as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to weigh on demand. Why it matters: The chart below provides a glimpse at why prices remain too low to pull the U.S. sector — which is seeing rising bankruptcies — out of jeopardy.
GAS
UK aims to become European LNG hub while US expects exports to be back to record levels by December
LNG Jounral.Com, October 12, 2020
UK major BP has started production at a major natural gas field in the LNG-exporting Sultanate of Oman, just 33 months after development was approved for the Block 61 second phase of the Ghazeer natural gas field to end local domestic shortages and lead to a full revival of LNG cargo exports.
MINING
China bans Australian coal imports as political relations sour
Bloomberg News, October 12, 2020
China has suspended purchases of Australian coal, according to people familiar with the order, as Beijing continues to tightly control imports of the fuel amid soured political relations with Canberra. Chinese power stations and steel mills have been verbally told to immediately stop using Australian coal, the people said, asking not to be identified as the matter is private. Ports have also been told not to offload Australian coal, one of the people said. China’s customs administration wasn’t immediately available to comment.
The ban marks an escalation in tensions that have already jolted agricultural exports from China’s biggest supplier of commodities. It isn’t clear when the halt might end or how it might affect long-term contracts that are already in place.
POLITICS
The Supreme Court Is Taking Critical Step Towards Resolving Frivolous Climate Suits
Craig Richardson, Real Clear Energy, October 12, 2020
Sometimes the most important Supreme Court decisions are overlooked because of their technical nature. That is the case with the Supreme Court’s choice to hear jurisdictional claims in B.P. P.L.C., et al. v. Mayor and City Council of Baltimore. The Court’s ruling will either allow cities to pursue superfluous nuisance claims against energy companies in state courts or limit the suits to federal courts that are less prone to accept broad liability claims. These jurisdictional claims are significant because they set the appropriate scope of appellate review for these suits. Lawsuits predicated on federal laws and involving federal officers’ actions should be decided at the federal level. By agreeing to hear arguments in the Baltimore case, the Supreme Court is taking a crucial step towards setting a consistent legal playing field.
The Supreme Court will not rule on the merits of Baltimore’s claims. Instead, they will decide whether the defendants can appeal a jurisdictional claim after a federal court rejects it.