The same fire that melts the butter hardens the egg. That “same fire” in Western Pennsylvania, the birthplace of American steel, was President Trump’s Section 232 tariffs. They hardened the barrier against steel imports while melting the aspirations of steelmakers who were relying on imports. Western Pennsylvania is home to US Steel, the iconic steelmaker that in its early years was known simply as “The Corporation.” It was America’s biggest steel producer for virtually the entire 20th century. USS and other large integrated steelmakers welcomed Trump’s 25% across-the-board tariffs in March 20 ..read more

Former Vice President Joe Biden has prioritized climate policy in his platform for the upcoming US Presidential Election, but the future composition of the Senate would have a big influence on how a potential Biden administration pursues energy and emissions goals. As discussed in the recent S&P Global Platts Analytics US CO2 Pricing Monitor, Biden is now targeting a carbon-free US power sector by 2035, as well as net-zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2050. In the event that Biden wins the election in November, his future administration can be expected to make considerable use of ..read more

October marks a historic but largely forgotten moment in the history of the oil sector, and something which is unlikely to ever be repeated if forecasts for the demise of the world’s most valuable fossil fuel prove accurate. Fifty years ago, BP – then known as British Petroleum and state-owned – discovered oil off the coast of Scotland in the once mighty Forties field with the help of a GBP370 million loan. The financing would be equivalent to GBP5.5 billion ($7.16 billion) in today’s money from the then cash-strapped government of Harold Wilson. In its heyday during the late 1970s, the cluste ..read more

How is energy demand faring across different sectors and regions amid the evolving coronavirus pandemic? In this week’s Commodity Tracker, S&P Global Platts editors look at global aviation, Chinese fuels consumption, Brazilian power demand and European refining, as well as US LNG output. 1. Lift in air travel helps jet fuel but demand still far from normal   What’s happening? Global aviation continues to recover and global kerosene/jet fuel demand is tracking the pattern closely. Even so, global flights are still running only 61% of pre-pandemic norms, with international travel laggin ..read more

The glut in low sulfur fuels has been a double-edged sword for the shipping industry. It muted the impact of availability and compatibility concerns at the cost of lower prices, which have mirrored the wider crude market since May. Demand for very low sulfur fuel oil is set to recover slowly in line with increasing confidence in the industry’s new fuel of choice, according to some experts. Crude prices have plateaued around $40/b for several months as a tentative recovery in demand has stalled and the OPEC+ producer alliance has eased off on its output cuts. A similar situation has occurred in ..read more

In California, greenhouse gas emissions produced by this year’s record-breaking wildfire season have climbed past the industrial, power and residential emissions categories and could even overtake transportation as the top polluter, according to estimates by S&P Global Platts Analytics. The scale and devastation of the California wildfires have also added urgency to the state government’s climate priorities, with the latest measure targeting that top emitter, cars. Governor Gavin Newsom pointed to the fires when announcing an ambitious new target to phase out new sales of gasoline-powered ..read more

Libyan oil flows have resumed but their stability remains uncertain, while India’s coal powered generation has dipped, granting gains to renewables. S&P Global Platts editors and analysts also discuss the latest Chinese actions on coal imports, Norwegian gas flows to Europe, and separate challenges faced by power markets in the UK and California. 1. Libya’s fragile oil return complicates market outlook   Click to enlarge What’s happening? Light sweet Libyan crude is starting to trickle through after an eight-month hiatus as rival groups agreed a tentative truce. The prospect of over ..read more

Sentiment in China’s metals markets was buoyant in July and August on easy credit conditions and expectations of further stimulus flowing to infrastructure. But September saw a distinct change of tone as cash flows tightened, demand waned and metals prices came under pressure, leaving the market hoping for better after China’s Golden Week holiday. Paul Bartholomew discusses what could happen in coming months. Money’s too tight to mention Beijing unsurprisingly opened the monetary sluice gates to support the economy as China emerged from the lockdown in late March. This had two notable effects ..read more

An unusually active Atlantic hurricane season has tested the resilience of US liquefaction infrastructure that is still in its infancy relative to terminals in more mature exporting nations. Utilization is starting to rise toward pre-pandemic levels, as demand and price recovery in buyer markets in Asia and Europe are incentivizing exports. While the trend could quickly turn around – depending on further storm damage and planned or unplanned maintenance – higher consumption during the approaching winter could provide the commercial lift the industry needs to sanction new projects in 2021. The ..read more

The global tanker market is set for some critical capacity management in 2021-22. Weaker freight rates have sapped enthusiasm for new orders, and creaking oversupply of older ships could accelerate scrapping. With uncertainty over pandemic-related oil demand and over fueling ships ahead of key climate goals, a step backward may be the way forward for tankers. The boom in tanker deliveries in 2019 is set to be followed by a lull. New orders have fallen to decade lows, with the third quarter of 2020 seeing a substantial decline. A total of 84 vessel orders have been placed so far this year compa ..read more