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Trying to bounce back from Covid, the world has run headlong into an energy crisis. The last spike of this magnitude popped the 2008 bubble. Crude oil is up 65% this year to $83 per barrel. Gasoline, above $3 per gallon in most of the country, is more costly than any time since 2014, with inventories at the lowest level in five years.  Meanwhile natural gas, which provides more than 30% of all U.S. electricity and a lot of wintertime heating, has more than doubled this year to $5 per…

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Chinese coal prices tumbled on fears of government intervention in the strained energy sector, as Beijing seeks to rein in electricity costs and stem a crisis that has hobbled the country’s economic growth. Thermal coal futures trading on the Zhengzhou Commodity Exchange, which have hit record levels in recent weeks, fell the maximum 8 per cent for a second consecutive day on Wednesday to Rmb1,755 ($274) a tonne. The CSI Coal index of big China-listed miners dropped 8.5 per cent. The retreat came a day after China’s National Development and…

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THE natural gas and energy crunch sweeping Asia and Europe has propelled spot rates for liquefied natural gas carriers above $260,000 per day on key routes as traders sought vessels to profit from cargo arbitrages worth over $100m. The Baltic Exchange currently assesses time charter equivalent rates to ship 180,000 cu m of LNG to Tokyo from Gladstone, Australia at $262,215 per day, with LNG-fuelled ships at $201,535. That is up 7% and 11% , respectively, from the last assessment on October 14, data show. Pacific LNG rates are trading…

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A decade of underinvestment in traditional energy supply chains has finally caught up to world economies. Surging demand, tightening inventories and soaring prices are causing energy shortages and blackouts. Coal and natural gas inventories are at dangerously low levels, diesel power generation is switching on, factories are shutting down, and blackouts are already happening in China. The situation has deteriorated materially since “The Myth of OPEC+ Spare Capacity” was published, yet the consensus remains that OPEC+ can tame oil markets at any time by unleashing its abundant spare capacity. In this context,…

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From ageing electric batteries to old engines to rearview mirrors, the auto industry is revving up its recycling efforts as it faces pressure to reduce its colossal carbon footprint. The world’s automakers are investing in facilities to salvage old parts but the industry is also looking to recycle the millions of electric batteries used for the cars of the future. While electric cars are cleaner than their fossil fuel forebears, the raw materials needed for their batteries are extracted from mines in Africa that are often accused of environmental damage…

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