News of the Day:
Studies Show Industry Offers Better Jobs, Greater Opportunity
Sam Winstel, American Petroleum Institute, July 17, 2020
Some lawmakers have proposed putting hundreds of thousands of Americans to work in clean energy jobs while moving the U.S. away from natural gas and oil and, presumably, from the jobs our industry supports. Somebody should check to see if that’s what working men and women want. Two new studies released this week by North America’s Building Trades Unions (NABTU) show that workers appreciate jobs in natural gas and oil over “green-collar” jobs – because they pay better, last longer and provide greater opportunities.
OIL
Oil Prices Hit Four-Month High On Vaccine Hopes
Tsvetana Paraskova, OILPRICE.COM, July 21, 2020
Oil prices surged early on Tuesday to their highest level since Saudi Arabia and Russia broke up the OPEC+ pact in early March, thanks to promising results in a coronavirus vaccine trial and the European Union reaching a historic stimulus package deal after five days of marathon talks. As of 10:37 a.m. EDT on Tuesday, WTI Crude prices were surging by 3.41 percent at $42.20, while Brent Crude prices were rising by 3.28 percent on the day to $44.69. Both benchmarks reached their highest levels since March 6 this year, when the leaders of the OPEC+ pact, Saudi Arabia and Russia, failed to reach a deal on how to manage oil supply to the market that had started to show worrying signs that the pandemic would wipe out a lot of demand as lockdowns started in Europe.
GAS
North Pole one step closer to receiving natural gas
John Dougherty, KTVF, July 17, 2020
Crews began moving two 100-foot-long, 75,000-gallon fuel tanks from their storage facility in Fairbanks to a new facility being built in North Pole. The tanks, each weighing 230,000 lbs., are being taken from a facility in Fairbanks to a new facility in North Pole that is currently under construction. The tanks were loaded onto special trailers by cranes. The trucks are traveling to North Pole late on Friday. The crew expects the tanks to be off-loaded Saturday or Monday. Dan Britton, the General Manager of the Interior Gas Utility, says after they completed a new five-million-gallon tank in Fairbanks, the smaller tanks were no longer needed, so they are moving them to North Pole. The tanks in North Pole will help bring natural gas to North Pole for the first time.
MINING
Corps to release review of Alaska mine project this week
Becky Bohrer, Associated Press, July 21, 2020
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers plans to release its final environmental review of a proposed copper and gold mine near the headwaters of a major salmon fishery in southwest Alaska, a review a corps official says will inform a permit decision expected later this year. For years, the proposed Pebble Mine has been shrouded in controversy that release of the review expected Friday is unlikely to clear up. Some tribes, tribal groups, fishermen and others say the review has been rushed and is superficial. Tom Collier, CEO of the Pebble Limited Partnership, the project developer, said the work done so far provides confidence the review will show “why we believe the project can be done without harm to the Bristol Bay fishery.”
POLITICS
Joe Biden’s Climate and Energy Plan Is a Gift for China
Daniel Turner, Real Clear Energy, July 20, 2020
If there were any doubt before the coronavirus pandemic, there’s little now: China is not America’s ally; it’s not a “strategic competitor;” and it’s not an adversary. Simply put, China is an enemy. The Covid-19 outbreak, and resultant shutdown of the global supply chain, exposed the unsettling fact that America is dependent on China for many essential materials.
In a new study my group Power The Future documents China’s virtual monopoly of rare earth elements (REEs) – integral components of more than 200 products across a wide range of industries especially “green energy” technology like wind turbines and solar panels. The communist nation control 95% of these elements, so let’s connect the dots: American leadership pushes a “green” agenda and American power transitions from domestic fossils to Chinese technology. Just as they did during the Covid crisis, China will gladly, aggressively exploit this position. Last year, China’s rare earth producers explicitly stated their willingness to use China’s dominance of the industry as a weapon in the trade war against America.