Tuesday, May 11, 2021

Price changes for Thursday, May 13th, 2021

 

Hi to all,

 

Here’s what I have for this week’s price changes, all data in:

 

*Heating and stove oils show an increase of 1.4 cents a litre.

*Diesel shows an increase of 1.6 cents a litre, and...

*Gasoline shows an increase of 4/10ths of a cent a litre.

 

Market highlights

 

OPEC+ adds oil

OPEC+ started to add more oil to the world markets May 1st, but all indicators seem to point to some OPEC members getting a head start on adding oil with OPEC member Iran adding almost 200,000 barrels a day as early as April.

      Saudi Arabia was due to add an extra 250,000 to an agreed amount divided between other OPEC+ nations of 350,000 barrels a day in May, and the same amounts due again to increase in June month.

      OPEC has yet to release figures that show exactly how much more has been added, but it is said it may be substantially over the 600,000 barrel mark with the addition of 200,000 by Iran.

      According to a Reuters News Agency survey, they found that OPEC members Algeria, Nigeria and Angola added a collective 100,000 barrels to their April output.

 

US Colonial pipeline shut down

The US Colonial pipeline has been shut down as of Friday in an apparent ransomware cyber-attack that has shut down exports from the US Gulf Coast region of refining to the US Northeast area, and gas station supplies there are drying up quick with an anticipated Friday restart of fuel deliveries set for a few days away.

     Gas stations in Atlanta, North Carolina and Florida have been shut with US governors there calling a state of emergency as supplies dry up.

     Spot prices for gasoline and other products have failed to rise to signal the impending US shortage and prices here are not anticipated to be affected though a 4/10ths of a cent have been recorded so far this week.

     In the US, some prices have hit close to three dollars a gallon on the news.

     The US government has stated that it is prepared to move product by rail and transport trucks if it is needed.

 

Inflation-there, I said it

First indications of inflation may the reason why oil prices have been tempered and spot prices not rising as much as anticipated. The US government is due to release the latest consumer price index figures this Friday that may indicate a slowdown in the US economy, this following a much weaker than expected US jobs report last Friday that showed a lower than expected 260,000 growth in jobs.

     Any indications of inflation may also signal that consumers have been saving more than the usual in the face of a continued Covid fight and rising prices for consumer items.

 

Greene report and hydrogen

Hydrogen may be the word for the future of Newfoundland and Labrador as it sets to switch direction of the province’s finances towards the creation of its version of the green economy, according to the Greene report.

     Hydrogen demand is set to skyrocket in the next couple of years as economies refocus on a fossil fuel based economy and the world seeks answers for the carbon problem.

     In the report, Greene and the volunteer committee recognise the opportunity of hydro resources and the possible use of it in the generation of hydrogen as a solution to the carbon issue, and the possible direction this province could take in transitioning the economy to a carbon neutral and green economy.

     The process of electrolysis is used to generate hydrogen. DC power is what is required in the process and provides an interesting turn to the Muskrat Falls oversupply of electricity issue as , while controversial, the electricity converts back to Ac at Soldier’s Pond.

     If you could take the unsold electricity and convert it into a tangible product that is needed like hydrogen, it could help alleviate some of the burden on Muskrat and taxpayers.

     That possibility should be seriously examined, especially if they can solve the Labrador-Island fixed link issue.

 

That’s it for this week!

 

Regards,

 

George Murphy

Twitter @GeorgeMurphyOil  

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