US NEWS

U.S. installed 26 gigawatts of new clean power in 2020; 170 GW of capacity enough to power 50 million homes Industry employs 415,000 Americans and has invested $334 billion in the U.S. economy since 2005 with more growth coming The American Clean Power Association today released its first Clean Power Annual report, which showed wind, utility solar, and battery storage power capacity in the U.S. topped 170 gigawatts (GW), following a record 26 GW of clean energy projects coming online in 2020.

"Low-carbon hydrogen isn't ""cost competitive with other energy supplies in most applications and locations"" and the situation is unlikely to change unless there's ""significant support to bridge the price gap,"" according to the World Energy Council. Published Tuesday, the analysis – which was put together in collaboration with PwC and the U.S. Electric Power Research Institute."

The agreement was signed between the Government of Sri Lanka and the Export-Import Bank of India.A press statement from the Indian High Commission in Colombo said, ‘India has become the first country to partner with Sri Lanka in fulfilling the vision of the President of Sri Lanka, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, to ensure that 70% of Sri Lanka’s national power requirements are fulfilled by renewable energy sources by 2030,”

KKR & Co.'s Independence Energy and Contango Oil & Gas Co. are near an agreement to combine in an all-stock deal that could value the new business at about $5.5 billion, including debt. The aim is to expand the combined firm's oil and gas footprint. The new company, which will be based in Houston and operate under a new name and ticker symbol, plans to seek a listing on the New York Stock Exchange.

West Texas Intermediate futures surpassed the $70 mark to close at its highest since Oct. 2018 after briefly touching the key psychological level earlier this week. Investors focused on the health of the U.S. market ahead of inventory data.

BP reached an agreement today to purchase 9GW of solar development projects in the US from independent US solar developer 7X Energy for $220 million. The acquisition is a step towards BP’s target of growing its net developed renewable generating capacity to 20GW by 2025 and aim to increase this to 50GW by 2030.The deal will also grow BP’s renewables pipeline from 14GW to 23GW.

Exxon Mobil is pulling out of a deep-water oil prospect in Ghana just two years after the west African nation ratified an exploration and production agreement with the U.S. oil titan. The company relinquished the entirety of its stake in the Deepwater Cape Three Points block and resigned as its operator after fulfilling its contractual obligations during the initial exploration period.

The June-July WTI time-spread, also known as the prompt cash roll, traded at 20 cents a barrel Tuesday, the strongest level since May 2020, according to Bloomberg data. The spread serves as an indicator of supply-and-demand balances at the main U.S. crude storage hub in Cushing, Oklahoma. Its recent strength shows that inventories are tight just as oil refiners are ramping up output.

Shell Oil Company, a subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell plc, has reached an agreement for the sale of its interest in Deer Park Refining Limited Partnership, a 50-50 joint venture between Shell Oil Company and P.M.I. Norteamerica, S.A. De C.V. (a subsidiary of Petroleos Mexicanos, or Pemex). The transaction will transfer Shell's interest in the partnership, and therefore full ownership of the refinery, to Pemex, subject to regulatory approvals.

The latest deal in a wave of US energy consolidation was announced on Monday. Shale oil producer Cimarex Energy and Cabot Oil & Gas revealed a “merger of equals” that will create a group with an enterprise value of $17bn. The combination brings together Cimarex’s oil assets in the prolific Permian shale field of West Texas and New Mexico, and Cabot’s acreage in northeast Pennsylvania’s Marcellus Shale, the biggest US gasfield.

US developer Primergy Solar has signed an agreement for solar modules from for a 1GW photovoltaic project it is developing in Las Vegas, Nevada.The agreement for the Gemini solar-plus-storage project will see the Maxeon-supplied modules delivered over a four-quarter period starting in the second quarter of 2022. Project completion is planned by the end of 2023.

Empire Petroleum has acquired oil and gas assets in New Mexico, US, from ExxonMobil for an undisclosed sum. Empire said that the assets comprise about 700 gross oil, gas, and injector wells. It also includes approximately 40,000 net acres of Permian leasehold. Empire CEO Tommy Pritchard added, “This acquisition is a terrific example of what Empire looks to manage in their assets: mature producing oil properties with predictable, long-life production with significant upside potential.“Looking towards the future, the geologic location of the Permian EMSU and AGU holds 23,400 acres of residual oil zone potential (ROZ).”

Oil extended losses after an increase in U.S. crude inventories added to concerns around the prospect of more Iranian oil returning to the market under a potential revival of the nuclear deal. West Texas Intermediate crude futures for June delivery fell $2.57 to $62.92 a barrel at 10:35 a.m. in New York. Brent for July settlement slid $2.50 to $66.21 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange.

RWE Renewables (RWE) has partnered with Facebook and the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) to realise a 150 MW solar facility in Shelby County, Tennessee, US. Facebook will use 110 MW of the solar energy to support the company’s data centre operations in Gallatin, Tennessee, and the broader Tennessee Valley.

Oil rose on Tuesday to hit $70 a barrel for the first time since March, as expectations of demand recovery following reopenings of the European and US economies offset concern over spreading coronavirus cases in Asia. Brent crude was up 47 cents, or 0.7 percent, at $69.93 by 0825 GMT, and earlier topped $70 for the first time since March 15. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was up 45 cents, or 0.7 percent, at $66.72.

West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was up 0.73 percent to $65.84 per barrel, while Brent crude, the London-based international benchmark rose 0.58 percent to $69.11 per barrel. “Crude oil prices kept firm trading range on-demand growth prospectus with re-opening of economic activities in Europe and UK. However, worries on record cases in India and weak data from the US and China have capped prices for the day. Crude oil prices are facing strong resistance near $68 with the balanced market”.

Following President Biden's Interim National Security Strategic Guidance signaling for continued growth in partnerships with African economies, the African Energy Chamber (AEC) believes it is vital to engage U.S. companies and investors to counter the often-wrong preconceptions about investing in the continent, as Africa has some of the fastest-growing economies globally and possesses significant investment and development opportunities for U.S. firms. Majors like Chevron, ExxonMobil, and Kosmos Energy making significant discoveries and operating in multiple countries like Angola, Mozambique, Nigeria, Equatorial Guinea, Senegal, Ghana, and others.

Oil prices today are experiencing a lift on positive demand outlooks released by OPEC and IEA, which both came out with a similar consensus that oil demand will average 96.4 million bpd in 2021, a bullish tune for traders who have pushed Brent front-month contracts towards $69 per barrel. The IEA, in particular, warned that demand will outpace supply, a risk that Rystad Energy also sees as a real possibility, especially as vaccination campaigns allow for more sustained economic reopenings. However, given the demand dent in India as well as the potential impact of the Colonial closing on US refinery runs, we believe 2021 oil demand will likely average 94.6 million bpd.