The Times (July 9)
“Every one of Russia’s ten biggest refineries has been hit at least once since the start of the war.” The images of panic buying and “colossal queues will raise spirits in Kyiv,” but the attacks have only seemed to harden “Putin’s determination to achieve victory in Ukraine.” Nor have “the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Russian men on the battlefields of Ukraine” moved the war closer to an end. Similarly, “there are few signs so far that fuel deficits will change Putin’s mind about a conflict that he views as existential for his country.”
Tags: Attacks, Battlefields, Colossal queues, Deaths, Determination, Fuel, Kyiv, Panic buying, Putin, Refineries, Russia, Ukraine, Victory, War
Fortune (June 22)
“The U.S. farm economy has been fighting one battle after another in recent years, but a new threat is on the horizon that evokes memories of one of the worst agricultural disasters ever.” U.S. farmers were left reeling from low prices, tariffs and most recently Trump’s Iran War, which sent the prices for fertilizer and fuel soaring. Bankruptcies have been rising and now they may face the existential “risk of a ‘mini-Dust Bowl’ as a rare Super El Niño looms.”
Tags: Agricultural disasters, Bankruptcies, Existential, Farm economy, Farmers, Fertilizer, Fuel, Iran war, Low prices, Mini-Dust Bowl, Reeling, Risk, Super El Niño, Tariffs, Threat, Trump, U.S.
Financial Times (May 7)
“US fuel exports have surged to a record level as Europe and Asia lean on American energy supplies to make up for the shortfalls caused by the war in Iran.” Last week, America exported over “8.2mn barrels a day of refined fuels including gasoline, diesel and jet fuel,” a year-on-year increase exceeding 20%. Last week’s “huge demand for US energy” also transformed America into “a net exporter of crude oil for the first time since the second world war.” While this provides “a windfall” to US energy companies, “it also risks a political backlash for President Donald Trump as domestic pump prices rise.”
Tags: 20%, 8.2mn bbl, Asia, Backlash, Crude oil, Demand, Diesel, Energy, Europe, Exports, Fuel, Gasoline, Iran, Jet fuel, Record, Shortfalls, Surged, Trump, U.S., War, Windfall
The Economist (April 21)
“Three factors are pushing the world towards the cliff edge. Oil cargoes available to buy are drying up. Refineries are slashing output of fuel. And demand remains artificially high, especially in Europe. Something big must give somewhere large for energy markets to balance.”
Tags: Artificially high, Cargoes, Cliff edge, Demand, Drying up, Energy markets, Europe, Factors, Fuel, Oil, Refineries, Slashing output, World
CNN (December 27)
While the economic progress made during 2023 is remarkable, “there’s still a long way to go before inflation is where the Fed wants it,” partly because higher prices have been “pervasive” and “sticky.” They’re not easily reversible. “More than 90% of the items tracked in the Consumer Price Index are more expensive than they were in February 2020, with most price increases landing north of 20% and some (fuel and margarine) approaching 55%.”
Tags: 20%, 2023, CPI, Economic progress, Expensive, Fed, Fuel, Inflation, Margarine, Pervasive, Prices, Remarkable, Sticky
CNBC (September 24)
“The airline race for a breakthrough fuel to cut one billion tons of carbon is just starting.” As a result of the Inflation Reduction Act, “more investor money is expected to flow into green hydrogen… with climate analysts describing the tax credits as being a huge driver for sustainable aviation fuels because science aside, the biggest challenge with scaling up these operations and SAF production has been the financial incentive.”
Tags: Airline, Breakthrough, Carbon, Climate analysts, Driver, Fuel, Green hydrogen, Inflation Reduction Act, Investor, Money, Race, SAF, Scaling up, Tax credits
Business Insider (September 9)
“For the first time in decades, the western world is preparing for widespread and rolling energy shortages. The US, UK, and EU have all been squeezed by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, soaring costs for electricity and fuel, and record-breaking heat waves. While fall is just around the corner, the worst of the energy strain is likely still to come.”
Tags: Costs, Electricity, Energy shortages, EU, Fuel, Heat waves, Invasion, Record breaking, Russia, Soaring, U.S., UK, Ukraine, Western world
Reuters (September 9)
“Drastic Russian cuts to gas supplies to Europe this year have turned Norway into the European Union’s main source of the fuel.” Norway is now “forecast to deliver nearly 90 billion cubic metres of gas to the EU this year, or nearly 25% of the bloc’s demand…. That’s higher than the 20% Russia will likely provide.”
Australian Financial Review (February 4)
“Mr Buffett shocked the world in 2020 when Berkshire Hathaway announced that it bought stakes in five of Japan’s biggest trading companies, which at the time were grappling with declining profits as the COVID-19 pandemic reduced demand for fuel and raw materials.” Now, his “surprise bet” is clearly “paying off as the companies expect a record-breaking rebound in profits.”
Tags: 2020, Berkshire Hathaway, Buffett, COVID-19, Demand, Fuel, Grappling, Japan, Pandemic, Profits, Raw materials, Shocked, Stakes, Trading companies
Financial Times (March 26)
“Ten years ago, you knew where you stood with your energy suppliers. Oil companies sold road fuel, while utilities supplied electricity and gas. Today those lines of demarcation are blurring: utilities can fill up your car and oil companies want to keep your lights on.” This will make for a “period of intensified competition and instability, as companies that were previously able largely to forget about each other are now forced to battle for dominance.”
Tags: Blurring, Competition, Electricity, Energy, Fuel, Gas, Instability, Intensified, Oil, Suppliers, Utilities
