BP Teases Fundamental Reset of Strategy to Boost Returns and Cash

Energy News BeatBP

BP (NYSE: BP) on Tuesday pledged to fundamentally reset its strategy as it booked its lowest annual and quarterly profits in years and seeks to push up its stock performance and regain investor trust.

“Building on the actions taken in the past 12 months, we now plan to fundamentally reset our strategy and drive further improvements in performance, all in service of growing cash flow and returns,” BP’s chief executive Murray Auchincloss said in a statement as the UK-based supermajor reported its fourth-quarter and full-year 2024 results today.

BP’s leadership will communicate its new strategy, which “will be a new direction for bp”, at a Capital Markets Update on February 26, Auchincloss added.

The executive, who took over as BP’s CEO after the abrupt resignation of Bernard Looney, has already vowed to make the supermajor a simpler and far more focused company and has cut some investments in renewables.

Analysts and investors expect even more cuts to the low-carbon business and a pledge to boost oil and gas production at the capital markets day later this month.

Shell and Equinor have already announced significant reductions in their commitment to renewable energy.

BP’s stock has been underperforming its UK-based peer, Shell, in recent years and Auchincloss and the board have been under increased pressure to seek fundamental changes to the business to reward shareholders more.

The pressure became more intense earlier this week after reports emerged that activist investor Elliott Management had bought a stake in BP and would be pushing for changes in strategy, or even for board reshuffles.

Meanwhile, BP on Tuesday reported an underlying replacement cost profit – its proxy for net profit – of $1.17 billion for the fourth quarter, down from $2.27 billion for the previous quarter, and down from $3 billion a year earlier.

The Q4 2024 earnings missed the analyst consensus estimate of $1.26 billion and were the lowest quarterly profit since the fourth quarter of 2020 when the pandemic was hitting global oil demand. BP attributed the lower profit to weaker realized refining margins – as flagged last month – as well as higher impact from turnaround activity, seasonally lower customer volumes, and fuel margins.

Today BP announced a $1.75 billion share buyback program related to the fourth quarter results which will be executed prior to reporting the first-quarter results.

BP will announce its full 2025 buyback and capex guidance at the capital markets day on February 26.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

We give you energy news and help invest in energy projects too, click here to learn more

Crude Oil, LNG, Jet Fuel price quote

ENB Top News 
ENB
Energy Dashboard
ENB Podcast
ENB Substack

 

The post BP Teases Fundamental Reset of Strategy to Boost Returns and Cash appeared first on Energy News Beat.

 

Understanding the Catastrophic Downside Risk of the Kellogg Plan and Exploring Alternatives

Energy News Beat

ENB Pub Note: This is the third article in a series from George McMillan about the Ukraine/Russia conflict and a potential end with Keith Kellogg’s plan, which is DOA. There are many reasons, but one critical reason is the stripped information on the Biden-Harris administration on land vs. sea power and energy. 


Understanding the Risk to Be Avoided

Performing MDMP SWOT risk to mission, the catastrophic downside risk that must be avoided is that the Legacy media blame Trump for losing: (a) the Ukrainian War, (b) letting the EU collapse economically, and (c) letting the populist parties rise to power in Europe and oust NATO.

This combination could lead to the Democrats winning the House and the Senate in the 2026 midterms and impeaching Trump halfway through his presidential term.

That could pave the way for the Democrats to win the White House and retain the House and the Senate in the 2028 election cycle, bring back mass censorship and lawfaring of Trump supporters, reverse the D.O.G.E. streamlining of government, and the WEF Globalists would achieve the single-party socialist state in the United States.

The Present Post-Global War on Terror (GWOT) Reality

The reality is that the Brzezinski/Wolfowitz/RAND strategy has completely backfired and created the present conditions where (1) the Catholic Ukrainians are at war with the Orthodox Russian-speaking Ukrainians; (2) Russians are winning the war in the predominantly Orthodox Christian Russian-speaking areas of the Donbas; (3) Europe is cut off from affordable Russian natural gas and the European automotive and consumer goods industries are collapsing while the cost of living is declining as inflation is rising; (4) the populist parties wish to oust the Globalist WEF backed EU and legacy ruling class politicians in Europe, who in turn want to oust the WEF Globalist EU and NATO institutions; (5) would jettison the Petrodollar and begin purchasing Russian natural gas via pipeline if the US does not ease sanctions, and (6) oust the Green new deal leftist politicians and policies as well and restart their nuclear plants as well to ease energy prices in Europe.

Putin’s Best Interest is to Maintain the Present Course

It is in Putin’s best interest to delay negotiations on the Ukraine War for as long as possible let the energy prices continue to soar and let the British and European economies continue to collapse. Why would Putin change his course of action now and save the EU politicians and NATO?

The Brzezinksi/Wolfowitz/RAND/WEF Globalist Strategies Have Failed

The blame needs to be properly placed on the Brzezinski/Wolfowitz/RAND strategies of the WEF Globalists.

The objective is to avoid catastrophic downside risk and facilitate the Republicans keeping both Houses of Congress through the 2026 midterm elections to further the effort of President Trump and the streamlining effort of the D.O.G.E.

Understanding the Risk to Be Avoided

Performing MDMP SWOT risk to mission, the catastrophic downside risk that must be avoided is that the Legacy media blame Trump for losing: (a) the Ukrainian War, (b) letting the EU collapse economically, and (c) letting the populist parties rise to power in Europe and oust NATO.

This combination could lead to the Democrats winning the House and the Senate in the 2026 midterms and impeaching Trump halfway through his presidential term.

That could pave the way for the Democrats to win the White House and retain the House and the Senate in the 2028 election cycle, bring back mass censorship and lawfaring of Trump supporters, reverse the D.O.G.E. streamlining of government, and the WEF Globalists would achieve the single-party socialist state in the United States.

The Present Post-Global War on Terror (GWOT) Reality

The reality is that the Brzezinski/Wolfowitz/RAND strategy has completely backfired and created the present conditions where (1) the Catholic Ukrainians are at war with the Orthodox Russian-speaking Ukrainians; (2) Russians are winning the war in the predominantly Orthodox Christian Russian-speaking areas of the Donbas; (3) Europe is cut off from affordable Russian natural gas and the European automotive and consumer goods industries are collapsing while the cost of living is declining as inflation is rising; (4) the populist parties wish to oust the Globalist WEF backed EU and legacy ruling class politicians in Europe, who in turn want to oust the WEF Globalist EU and NATO institutions; (5) would jettison the Petrodollar and begin purchasing Russian natural gas via pipeline if the US does not ease sanctions, and (6) oust the Green new deal leftist politicians and policies as well and restart their nuclear plants as well to ease energy prices in Europe.

Putin’s Best Interest is to Maintain the Present Course

It is in Putin’s best interest to delay negotiations on the Ukraine War for as long as possible let the energy prices continue to soar and let the British and European economies continue to collapse. Why would Putin change his course of action now and save the EU politicians and NATO?

The Brzezinksi/Wolfowitz/RAND/WEF Globalist Strategies Have Failed

The blame needs to be properly placed on the Brzezinski/Wolfowitz/RAND strategies of the WEF Globalists.

The objective is to avoid catastrophic downside risk and facilitate the Republicans keeping both Houses of Congress through the 2026 midterm elections to further the effort of President Trump and the streamlining effort of the D.O.G.E.

Recommendations

First, the Russo-Ukraine War is a sunk cost fallacy Ponzi Scheme. Russia has approximately a 7:1 KIA/WIA ratio over the Ukrainian Armed Forces. It is best to end the sunk cost fallacy Ponzi scheme by not feeding anymore more Ukrainians into the Donbas meat grinder.

Secondly, Putin is not fighting a war for territorial expansion to restore the Soviet Empire as Western rhetoric maintains, instead, Putin is fighting a defensive war of attrition in the Russian Speaking Orthodox Christian regions of Ukraine in proximity to his only warm water port in Rostov-on-Don and to protect the Russian Black Sea Fleet that has been stationed in Crimea since 1783 when Catherine the Great defeated the Turks.

Thirdly, since the populist parties are winning the elections in the German Speaking World of Central Europe and the Slavic World in the Danube River Valley and want to rebuild Nordstream, restart their nuclear energy plants, and oust the WEF Globalist EU and donor-class politicians and the USAID/NED NATO and NGOs that support them, and if the European populists want to purchase Russian energy they will have to exit the Petrodollar also unless sanctions are eased.

Fourthly, the choice is to either (a) continue feeding the sunk cost fallacy Ponzi Scheme in the Donbas by feeding more Ukrainians into Russian artillery fire, while continuing the support of the WEF Globalist politicians in the EU and the donor class politicians in each country, which means (c) continuing the policies of the Biden Administration suppressing the populists, or (d) withdraw from the Ukrainian War as promised to the MAGA loyalists, and support the Populist Politicians in ousting the WEF Globalist backed EU and the donor class politicians throughout the UK and Europe.

If option (d) is taken it would feed the MAGA base in the US and merge the MAGA base with the Populists in Europe that are currently being censored, lawfared and dealing with USAID/NED/WEF color revolutions similar to the censorship and Antifa-BLM color revolution of the 2020 US elections. If option (d) is taken the populist movements on both sides of the Atlantic would love President Trump. The MAGA and European populists could then form a new trading bloc to replace the EU and NATO.

The Risk to the Mission is Always the Fake News Media

This brings about the risk to the mission of the legacy media lambasting President Trump before the midterms and taking both Houses in the 2026 elections cycle, and possibly all three Houses in the 2028 general election cycle.

But that can be avoided if the failure of the Brzezinski/Wolfowitz/RAND geopolitical strategy is properly articulated to the public.

The public is already excited by the closure of USAID, it should be followed up by closing down and exposing the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) and the Globalist NGOs that it funds.

That would entail everyone in the cabinet to understand what the Brzezinski/Wolfowitz/RAND geopolitical strategy is and overcome three decades of Gloalist rhetoric and fake news. But this is better than continuing to feed the Ukraine Ponzi Scheme with more Ukrainian bodies and better than supporting the WEF Globalists candidates over the populist candidates. That would severely disappoint the populist movements on both sides of the Atlantic.

 

Part 1: Why Keith Kellogg’s Plan is DOA: Avoiding the Catastrophic Downside Risk of Russo-Ukraine Negotiations

Part 2: Why Keith Kellogg’s Plan is DOA: Shifting the Global Political Center of Gravity Part 2

Other Stories and Podcasts from George McMillan on Energy News Beat 

 

The post Understanding the Catastrophic Downside Risk of the Kellogg Plan and Exploring Alternatives appeared first on Energy News Beat.

 

Hanwha Ocean building LNG carriers for its shipowning arm

Energy News Beat

South Korean shipbuilder Hanwha Ocean has signed contracts to build two LNG carriers for its affiliate Hanwha Shipping.

The Okpo-based yard formerly Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME) is scheduled to deliver the vessels by the end of September 2027.

Hanwha Shipping was formally launched by Hanwha Ocean in April 2024 as a shipowning arm that will serve as a testbed and validation platform for new ship technologies.

Last September, Hanwha Ocean unveiled its next generation of ships at Gastech event in Houston including a zero-emission LNG carrier design called Ocean 1.

The vessel has been designed to feature an ammonia gas turbine-based electric propulsion system and advanced eco-friendly and digital solutions.

Details about Hanwha Shipping’s newbuilding pair, worth about $252m each, have not been revealed.

The post Hanwha Ocean building LNG carriers for its shipowning arm appeared first on Energy News Beat.

 

Ukraine sells US weapons to Mexican drug cartels – Tucker Carlson

Energy News BeatUkraine

Kiev resells up to half of Western military aid on black markets, the American journalist has claimed

A significant portion of the weapons Washington has provided to Kiev as military aid in its conflict with Russia is ending up in the hands of America’s “actual enemies,” including Mexican drug cartels, US journalist Tucker Carlson has claimed.

As much as half of all weapons sent by the US to Ukraine end up on international black markets, the former Fox News host said on Monday during an interview with retired US Army Lieutenant Colonel and Iraq and Afghanistan veteran Daniel Davis.

“The Ukrainian military is selling a huge percentage – up to half – of the arms that we send them. I know this for a fact,” Carlson claimed. However, he did not disclose his sources or provide specific evidence to support his statement.

Carlson argued that Washington is supplying Kiev with “hundreds of billions of dollars” worth of arms, a significant portion of which are being “stolen and sold to our actual enemies,” including “drug cartels on our border.” He also claimed that weapons from Ukraine could be easily purchased online, describing the situation as a “crime” and a “nightmare.”

Since 2022, the US Congress has authorized approximately $175 billion in aid for Ukraine. However, a large portion of that funding has reportedly been allocated to American industries and other US government activities related to the conflict.

In January, US President Donald Trump claimed that Washington had spent “$200 billion more than the EU” on aid to Kiev. Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky later stated that Kiev had received just over $75 billion in military and other forms of assistance from Washington, adding that he has no idea where Trump’s estimate of $200 billion originated or where it could have vanished.

Moscow has repeatedly warned that the unchecked supply of Western weapons to Ukraine has led to a large number of arms falling into the hands of organized criminal groups and extremists worldwide.

Western media and officials have also acknowledged that weapons supplied to Kiev’s backers have ended up in criminal hands. In April 2022, Europol reported that its investigations indicated weapons were being trafficked out of Ukraine and into the EU to supply organized crime groups.

In October 2022, Finnish authorities stated that weapons originally sent to Kiev had surfaced in the country and were acquired by local criminals. At the time, similar reports emerged from Sweden, Denmark, and the Netherlands.

In June 2023, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Western anti-tank weapons intended for Ukraine had been found on Israel’s border and were allegedly aimed at the Jewish state.

In June 2024, Spanish media reported that criminal gangs in southern Spain had obtained modern military-grade weapons allegedly smuggled from Ukraine.

Source: Rt.com

We give you energy news and help invest in energy projects too, click here to learn more

Crude Oil, LNG, Jet Fuel price quote

ENB Top News 
ENB
Energy Dashboard
ENB Podcast
ENB Substack

The post Ukraine sells US weapons to Mexican drug cartels – Tucker Carlson appeared first on Energy News Beat.

 

Spain urges EU to double budget, brace for Trump

Energy News BeatSpain

 

MADRID – The complex global geopolitical context following the return to power of US President Donald Trump calls for “a more ambitious and bolder European budget” of “at least” 2% of annual GDP, Pedro Sánchez’s government said in a statement on Monday.

Pedro Sánchez’s governing coalition (PSOE/S&D, Sumar) has drawn up a strategic document urging the EU to multiply–at least–by two times the budget to better face Trump’s ‘trade war’ and its defence challenges, among others.

Specifically, Sánchez wants the EU to increase its spending “at least to an annual amount of 2% of GDP”, which is double the Union’s ordinary budget, according to RTVE and El País.

According to Spanish media, Sánchez could soon present his particular ‘European Compass’ to the EU executive and his partners in Brussels.

Madrid’s objective is to strengthen European resilience in the face of the harsh measures announced by Trump, which, among others, include tariffs of 25 per cent on all steel and aluminium imports, which also affect the sector in the EU.

One of Madrid’s objectives is to increase the EU’s competitiveness vis-à-vis, among others, China and the United States to better face the challenge of the ecological and digital transitions.

“Security and defence, but also the fight against climate change, energy interconnections, technological development and scientific programmes are European issues and, as such, require European funding. The reports by (Mario) Draghi and (Enrico) Letta have already pointed in this direction”, the statement reads.

The Draghi report, presented by former European Central Bank president Mario Draghi last September, warns that the EU will need an extensive increase in investment to digitise and decarbonise the economy and increase its defence capacity to € 800 billion a year if it is to remain competitive with Washington and Beijing.

On the other hand, Madrid points out that another strategic sector – defence – also needs more spending, and not only in relation to direct military threats, including the war in Ukraine, but also to new challenges to European security.

“European security is not only about military threats. It is also cyber-attacks, climate change, terrorism and the fight against mafias and drug trafficking. These aspects require other types of interventions and resources that are not military”, Sánchez’s government points out.

Spain currently spends 1.8 per cent of its GDP on defence and has committed to reaching 2 per cent by 2029. However, this is still a long way from the 5 percent that Trump is demanding from NATO allies.

Joint debt financing

To try to achieve the objectives proposed in the document, Spain suggests the creation of a “joint debt mechanism”, and asks that the debt of the European Next Generation funds be refinanced for another 10 years to continue making “major investments”, according to the text of the communiqué quoted by the media.

The European bloc is expected to begin negotiations on the 2028-2034 multiannual budget shortly, and it is precisely at this time that Spain – whose economy is growing above the Eurozone average – wants to exert its influence to increase the bloc’s financial endowment.

Madrid’s proposal is likely to be rejected by the so-called ‘frugal’ EU countries, including the Netherlands, Austria, Denmark and Sweden, which have on several occasions made clear their disagreement with increased EU spending being financed by common debt and instead propose, among other measures, cuts in social policies.

(Fernando Heller | Euractiv.es)

Source: Euractiv.com

We give you energy news and help invest in energy projects too, click here to learn more

Crude Oil, LNG, Jet Fuel price quote

ENB Top News 
ENB
Energy Dashboard
ENB Podcast
ENB Substack

The post Spain urges EU to double budget, brace for Trump appeared first on Energy News Beat.

 

Hilong bags contract for Eni’s Congo LNG project

Energy News BeatHilong

Hilong announced in a statement last month that its offshore engineering unit secured the offshore platform transportation and installation contract for the second phase of Eni’s Congo LNG project.

According to the group, the contract is worth more than 400 million yuan ($54.7 million).

The contract value is expected to be more than RMB 400 million. Hilong Offshore & Marine has more than RMB 4 billion orders in hand.

Hilomg did not provide further details regarding the contact.

The firm only said that the contract marks a continuation of its cooperation with Eni.

In November last year, China’s Wison New Energies launched the hull of Eni’s Congo FLNG at its yard in Nantong, China. Eni will name the FLNG Nguya.

WNE won a contract from Italy’s Eni in December 2022 to build the 380 meters long 2.4 mtpa FLNG and officially started work on the project in January 2023.

The new FLNG will serve Eni’s project in the Republic of Congo, also known as Congo-Brazzaville, which will reach an overall LNG production capacity of 3 million tons per year, or about 4.5 billion cubic meters/year, from 2025.

Eni expects Congo LNG’s Phase 2 startup by the end of 2025.

The FLNG will complement the existing Tango FLNG, which launched operations in December 2023.

In February last year, Eni shipped the first LNG cargo from its Tango FLNG moored in Congolese waters and this shipment arrived at Snam’s FSRU-based facility in Piombino in April.

The Italian firm purchased the 144 meters long Tango FLNG from Belgium’s Exmar and chartered the 2002-built steam turbine LNG carrier, Excalibur, to serve as an FSU for the project.

The floating LNG producer, delivered in 2017 by WNE, has a liquefaction capacity of about 1 billion cubic meters per year of gas, or 0.6 mtpa, and a storage capacity of 16,100 cbm.

Exmar recently said that Tango FLNG is producing LNG above the guaranteed levels.

“The tests have proven that the actual production of LNG has exceeded the guaranteed levels, with an adjusted annual equivalent production in excess of 0.6 million tons per annum,” the company said.

As previously reported, the agreement for the sale and purchase of Tango FLNG contains a price adjustment clause related to the performance of the unit.

This includes “a negative correction of $78 million and a bonus of a maximum of $44 million,” Exmar said.

“Based on the production data, Exmar has concluded that it is entitled to a bonus, amount of which is not yet agreed,” Exmar said.

Source: Lngprime.com

We give you energy news and help invest in energy projects too, click here to learn more

Crude Oil, LNG, Jet Fuel price quote

ENB Top News 
ENB
Energy Dashboard
ENB Podcast
ENB Substack

The post Hilong bags contract for Eni’s Congo LNG project appeared first on Energy News Beat.

 

Elon Musk Heads $97.4 Billion Effort to Take Control of OpenAI

Energy News BeatElon Musk

A consortium led by Elon Musk announced Monday that it has offered €94.5 billion ($97.4 billion) to acquire the nonprofit overseeing OpenAI, marking the latest move in the billionaire’s efforts to prevent the AI startup from shifting to a for-profit model.

Musk’s bid is expected to escalate ongoing tensions with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman over the ChatGPT maker’s direction as a leader in generative AI. In response, Altman posted on X: “no thank you but we will buy twitter for $9.74 billion if you want.”

Musk co-founded OpenAI with Altman in 2015 as a nonprofit but departed before its rise to prominence. In 2023, he launched xAI, a rival artificial intelligence venture.

Musk, the CEO of Tesla and owner of tech and social media company X, is a close ally of President Donald Trump. He contributed over €242 billion ($250 million) to support Trump’s election and currently heads the Department of Government Efficiency, a newly established White House division focused on dramatically reducing the federal bureaucracy.

Recently, Musk criticised a €484 bilion ($500 billion) OpenAI-led initiative unveiled by Trump at the White House. Meanwhile, OpenAI is working to transition from a nonprofit to a for-profit entity, arguing that the shift is necessary to attract the investment required for advancing its AI models.

Source: Euractiv.com

We give you energy news and help invest in energy projects too, click here to learn more

Crude Oil, LNG, Jet Fuel price quote

ENB Top News 
ENB
Energy Dashboard
ENB Podcast
ENB Substack

The post Elon Musk Heads $97.4 Billion Effort to Take Control of OpenAI appeared first on Energy News Beat.

 

Iran Fires Back to Oil Exports

Energy News Beat

Daily Standup Top Stories

Iran Says Trump’s Maximum Pressure Will Fail to Drive Its Oil Exports to Zero

The new U.S. Administration’s maximum pressure campaign on Iran will fail – again – and will not achieve its goal to drive the Islamic Republic’s oil exports to zero, Iran’s Oil Minister Mohsen Paknejad said […]

Gov. Murphy Pulls Plug On Offshore Wind Projects Over High Costs, Supply Chain Woes

Gov. Murphy announced his administration won’t fund new offshore wind projects, undercutting his environmental agenda and legacy. It’s not been a good week for New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy. First, the Democrat made headlines for […]

GOP Move To Slash EV Tax Credits, Challenge Biden’s Green Subsidies

Republicans are eager to slash electric vehicle tax credits even as they struggle to coalesce around a strategy for a major tax and spending bill. ​Republicans are eager to slash electric vehicle tax credits even […]

BP shares pop 7% after reports activist hedge fund Elliott has taken a stake in the struggling British oil major

BP shares jumped on Monday following weekend reports that activist investor Elliott Management has built a stake in the struggling oil major and could pressure the energy company to shift gears on its core oil and gas businesses. […]

Highlights of the Podcast

00:00 – Intro

01:09 – Iran Says Trump’s Maximum Pressure Will Fail to Drive Its Oil Exports to Zero

03:31 – Gov. Murphy Pulls Plug On Offshore Wind Projects Over High Costs, Supply Chain Woes

05:51 – GOP Move To Slash EV Tax Credits, Challenge Biden’s Green Subsidies

09:51 – Markets Update

11:21 – BP shares pop 7% after reports activist hedge fund Elliott has taken a stake in the struggling British oil major

13:11 – Outro


Follow Stuart On LinkedIn and Twitter

Follow Michael On LinkedIn and Twitter

ENB Top News

Energy Dashboard

ENB Podcast

ENB Substack

ENB Trading Desk

Oil & Gas Investing


– Get in Contact With The Show –


Video Transcription edited for grammar. We disavow any errors unless they make us look better or smarter.


Michael Tanner: [00:00:10] What’s going on everybody? Welcome into the Tuesday, February 11th, 2025 edition of the Daily Energy Newsbeat. Stand up. Here are today’s top headlines. First up, Iran says Trump’s maximum pressure will fail to drive its oil exports to zero. Coming back home, Governor Murphy of New Jersey pulls the plug on offshore wind projects over high cost and supply chain Talk about a flip flop there. Staying here at home, GOP moves to slash EV tax credit and challenge Biden’s green energy subsidies. We will then jump over quickly, touch what happened in the oil and gas markets and touch a little bit on BP shares up about 7 % after reports that activist investor, hedge fund manager, Elliott management, and Paul Singer has taken a stake in the struggling British oil major. We will cover all that in a bag of chips. Guys, Stu is out on assignment today. So I am rocking a solo show. Let’s go and kick this off. [00:01:08][58.6]

Michael Tanner: [00:01:09] All right. Iran says Trump’s maximum pressure will fail to drive its oil exports to zero. Pretty interesting in this war of words. Now, you know, we’re about two, three weeks into the Trump administration. Lots have happened to tariffs. Iran trying to take all this oil off the market. There’s been multiple rounds of that and Iran now seems to be, you know, openly responding and Iran’s oil minister, Moshan Pakjad has this quote, the maximum pressure policy has failed and Trump’s dream of reducing Iran’s oil exports to zero will never come true. According to the Iranian minister, as he was quoted in this article yesterday, as you know, as a quick reminder, Donald Trump last week issued a memorandum that would seek to restore maximum pressure on Iran and he directed secretary of state to modify or rescind sanction waivers, particularly those that provide Iran any degree of economic or financial relief. He also instructed the secretary of state to quote, implement a robust and continual campaign in coordination with the secretary of treasury and other relevant executive departments or agencies to drive Iran’s export of oil to zero, including Iranian crude to the people’s Republic of China for this presidential memorandum, you know, to give, you know, to go back to what the quote that Iranian oil minister said, this is a wish for them, but they will never achieve it. The more restrictions imposed on us, the more sophisticated our measures will become. This is a failed policy. It has been tested before and yielded no results. If they try again, they will fail once more. So pretty heavy words. Basically what he’s saying is go ahead and sanction us all you want, go ahead and put maximum pressure on us. All you want this will not work. You know, he’s right and wrong. We’ve definitely seen about 2 million barrels, you know, one to 2 million barrels come off the market throughout all of these different Russian sanctions. We did see Iran increase its exports under the Biden administration following the first Trump administration, where there was kind of this maximum pressure on it. And so from, from this standpoint, you know, I, I agree that, you know, I agree with the, the intent of the Trump administration is let’s drive their exports as low as possible. I do agree with the Iranian side of this, that you’re going to, they’re always going to be able to export some. The question is how much and can you cripple them financially enough? I think that remains to be seen, but we will be keeping an eye on the Iranian crude exports. Cause I think, you know, as we cover in the, in the market segment today, the markets, I think responded to this a fairly positively in light of all this tariff stuff. [00:03:31][142.0]

Michael Tanner: [00:03:31] So let’s jump to the next one. Governor Murphy pulls the plug on offshore wind projects over high costs and supply chain woes. It’s really not been a good week for the New Jersey governor Phil Murphy. You know, he, he earlier this week was talking about harboring an immigrant in his home and then basically told the feds to come and come after him. And now he’s basically thrown the towel in on offshore wind in a statement Monday, governor Murphy announced his administration would not provide financial support to new wind energy projects. Here’s a quote from the governor developing the offshore wind industry in New Jersey is a once in a generation opportunity to create tens of thousands of jobs, drive an entirely new manufacturing supply chain and secure energy independence. And now here’s the next part. However, the offshore wind industry is currently facing significant challenges and now is the time for patience and prudence. You know, I support the New Jersey board of public utilities decision on the fourth offshore wind solicitation. And I hope the Trump administration will partner with New Jersey to lower costs and manufacturing, promote energy security and create good paying jobs. He was referring as in governor Murphy was referring to the NJBPU president, Christine Sadovi statement that the board would quote, not proceed with an award in New Jersey’s fourth offshore wind solicitation. So basically they’re out of the offshore wind game. Now is the time for patience and prudence. Not, you know, what I was doing since 2018, which was trying to shove wind energy down your throat, even though it’s massively unpopular, especially with the whales. It’s, I mean, these people are coming to their senses a little bit and partially they’re being dragged. You know, again, I think if, if Kamala Harris had won the election, you would obviously would not be seeing all of this, but that’s the beautiful part about elections. They have consequences and in this, in this respect, great consequences because offshore wind is a huge, huge drag on the economy. You know, that was, you know, shared sentiment by New Jersey representative, Chris Smith, who says the Bpu’s cancelation is a sign that they have finally understood the undeniable facts. Industrializing our oceans is completely untenable, widely rejected by the public and will come at unimaginable cost to New Jersey taxpayers and rate pairs. I love that quote, industrializing our oceans. I mean, we’ve already basically decimated our oceans due to overfishing. And now the real question is, are we going to decimate them even more by throwing up all these offshore winds, at least not in New Jersey? So they go ahead and whack offshore wind for public funding. [00:05:50][138.7]

Michael Tanner: [00:05:51] Let’s jump over to the next one. GOP to slash EV tax credits challenge Biden’s green subsidies. You know, this is pretty much top of lists. If you talk about what the department of energy and a lot of congressional Republicans would like to do to give you guys an idea, there was a bunch of green subsidies that were enacted via the 2002 inflation reduction act, otherwise known as the porky bill that was signed by the former president, Joe Biden. GOP lawmakers, and I’m going to read straight from the article, will, quote, repeal a lot of the EV tax credits. This is according to representative Michael Ruley. He’s a Republican out of the state of Ohio in a quote that he told to the Washington Examiner. Here’s the full quote. Originally, when we looked at it, I think it was a really interesting way of looking at the future. And Ruley said, I think the market always dictates what’s going to be bought if the market’s not dictating EVs. We have to go back to the combustion. President Donald Trump, as we all know, has long criticized subsidies for EVs saying they will destroy the auto industry. And Republicans really argue that these tax credits do distort the market. As a quick reminder, the inflation reduction act provided about a $7 ,500 credit for purchasing new electric vehicles with some commercial EVs actually included in that tax credit. There is also a $4 ,000 credit for those who purchase qualified use electric vehicles. Here’s a quote from representative Gary Palmer, Republican out of Alabama. I’m for the federal government, not getting involved in the market. If there’s a market for EVs, it’ll work out. If not, we shouldn’t be subsidizing it. The basic libertarian and laissez -faire approach, which I tend to agree with, you know, if there’s going to be a market for EVs, let the market decide itself. It’s a pretty interesting, you know, when you look at it, you know, these, you know, clean and climate energy provisions were estimated to cost about a trillion dollars between 2022 and 2031. That’s according to a, a U Penn Wharton school of business budget estimate. The default assumption, here’s another quote, is that we are getting rid of the credits and you make a super and you better make a super compelling case to actually keep the type of credits. And I agree with that, you know, remove it. And it’s the old Elon approach. And this is, you know, he’s talked about this at his specifically when talking about the Raptor engine at SpaceX, I’d rather remove more. If you’re not taking out more parts and having to add a few back in, you’re not pulling out enough. So I think that’s what he’s doing with Doge and what they’re talking about right here. So I think in an effort to end all of these subsidies, we will, we will see where it goes, but definitely I can see on the horizon here, these will be slashed. [00:08:16][145.6]

Michael Tanner: [00:08:17] Let’s go ahead and jump over into the finance guys. But before we do that, we’ll quickly pay the bills as always. Thank you for checking us out here on the world’s greatest website, www .energynewsbeat .com. The best place for all your energy and oil and gas news. Stu and the team do a tremendous job making sure that website pays up to speed. Everything you need to know to be the tip of the spear when it comes to the energy and the oil and gas business. You can also check us out in the description below all links to the timestamps, links to the articles. One of the best ways to support the show is go ahead and give us a subscribe over on Substack. The best way to support the show, if you are so inclined to go ahead and sign up for a paid subscription, you get a lot of custom content and more direct access to Stu and myself to answer any of your questions. Guys, we really appreciate it. That’s energynewsbeat .substack .com. Also check out reeseenergyconsulting .com guys. If you are an oil and gas operator, you are leaving money on the table by not using a marketing company to make sure that your gas contracts and your first purchasers are paying you top dollar for your product. Go check them out reeseenergyconsulting .com. And finally, if you want to be involved in the oil and gas business and specifically want to be Billy Bob Thornton from Landman, go ahead sign up investinoil .energynewsbeat .com. We will go ahead and get you all the information on how to start your oil and gas investing journey. There are great benefits to investing in oil and gas. You get nice little monthly dividends. You get some great tax benefits. And again, you get to show up parties and be Billy Bob Thornton and scream and yell and smoke cigarettes wherever you want. If you want to be Tommy from Landman, go to investinoil .energynewsbeat .com and we will show you how to do that and get you all the information. [00:09:50][92.9]

Michael Tanner: [00:09:51] Let’s quickly look guys at the markets. S &P 500 up six tenths of a percentage point. Nasdaq up 1 .2 percentage points. Two and 10 year yields. Two year yields were actually down two tenths of a percentage point. 10 year yields up 0 .18 percentage points. Bitcoin up about a percentage $97 ,400. Crude oil up 1 .8 percentage point. 72 .32 Brent oil only up about six tenths of a percentage point. 76 .05. Natural gas up about 13 cents or four percentage points to $3 .34. Really that price advance kind of goes back to what we’re talking about with the Iranian sanctions. It’s going to theoretically keep some oil off the market. The question is how much? If you listen to the Iranian oil minister, he’s going to say it’s not going to work at all. I tend to disagree slightly. It’s going to keep some. It’s not going to keep all. I think we can go back to the amount of oil that was coming out of Iran during the Trump administration to give ourselves a good gage at what exactly might be there. But yeah, it’s extremely interesting on that standpoint. I think the market is also weighing a lot of this tariff stuff. Aluminum and steel is being put under a 25 % tariff as announced today. The potential of that to enact a trade war with China makes things interesting from that standpoint. The you know, it again comes back to say, I think that $70 is that lower of the band and unless something massively comes and shifts the market, I think that’s where you’re going to see a lot of this goes. [00:11:21][90.1]

Michael Tanner: [00:11:21] Let’s jump over to our final story. BP shares up about 7 % after reports that activist investor and hedge fund manager Elliot Management has taken a stake in the struggling British oil major. These shares again were up about 6 .8 percentage points off this news while they’re to unveil fourth quarter earnings the day you listen to this and its broader strategy on the 26th. Part of the reason why Elliot I think has jumped in here is that BP has lagged relatively lower than its competitors, both in British and the US. Shares are down roughly 9 % year over year, while Shell, its closest competitor in the UK is actually up 6 percentage points. I think this comes back to part of the idea that the bigger a business gets sometimes what these activist investors see is the sum of the parts is greater than the whole. As you get so diversified as a large multinational conglomerate, there are opportunities that these hedge funds, specifically these activists see that probably make it attractive to say, we’re going to come in here, we’re either going to talk about spinning out some of your shut down some of your non -profitable businesses because as you know, if you have certain business units that aren’t doing well, that’s holding down your business units that are doing well and impacting your overall stock price. Elliot Management led by Paul Sanger has about 70 billion in assets and has been involved in all sorts of activist stuff. They’re used to doing this all the time. Their previous intervention was in Suncor, which is a Canadian energy company. Basically a note by RBC analyst says that the hedge fund could press to actually change BP’s chairperson, which would be a fascinating switch. All that’s to say is BP, I think is due for a slight change in their overall corporate structure. What that looks like, I think that remains to be seen, but we will be covering all of that guys. [00:13:11][109.3]

Michael Tanner: [00:13:11] Well, all right, I’m going to go ahead and jump out of here, guys. I appreciate you checking us out here on the World’s Greatest Podcast. Keep looking at our website, www .energynewsbeat .com. I’m Michael Tanner. I’ll see you tomorrow, folks. [00:13:11][0.0][777.2]

The post Iran Fires Back to Oil Exports appeared first on Energy News Beat.

 

Somali pirates head back to sea

Energy News Beat

AfricaPiracy

Shipping has been warned that Somali pirates are back hunting for targets. 

British maritime security consultants Ambrey has issued a notice to clients detailing a suspected pirate action group sighted departing Marreya, Eyl, to the northeast of Somalia.

Merchant vessels are advised to increase vigilance, and to engage armed security where possible if the vessel has a permissible freeboard. 

Yesterday the European Union Naval Force (EUNAVFOR) Operation ATALANTA reported that a Yemeni-flagged dhow was taken by pirates on Sunday. Then dhow is now likely being used by pirates as a mother ship to stage attacks on merchant vessels. 

Piracy was rampant off Somalia for a four-year period from 2008, but then it went dormant for about five years. From March last year, Somali pirates have been back in the headlines, abducting a number of vessels and their crews. 

The post Somali pirates head back to sea appeared first on Energy News Beat.

 

A.P. Moller Capital invests in Spanish ports group

Energy News Beat

EuropePorts and Logistics

A.P. Moller Capital has unveiled a new partnership with Bergé y Compañía to grow Bergé into a top ports infrastructure company in Iberia and Latin America. The unspecified investment is financed through a separately managed fund backed by A.P. Moller Holding.

Founded in Spain over 150 years ago, Bergé has a presence in 27 ports across Spain and Southern France, as well as operations in Mexico and Colombia. 

“We look forward to working alongside the BERGÉ team, leveraging our combined expertise to drive the company’s next phase of growth and expansion,” A.P. Moller Capital stated in a release. 

The transaction remains subject to relevant regulatory approvals.

The post A.P. Moller Capital invests in Spanish ports group appeared first on Energy News Beat.