Laura Looms: Gulf Coast Oil Refineries Brace for Cat 3 Hurricane
Hurricane Laura is set on a collision course with America’s refinery row. Forecast to grow into a Category 3 storm before landfall early Thursday morning, Laura will strike near the border of Texas and Louisiana. The nation’s biggest refinery, Saudi Aramco’s 600,000 bpd plant in Port Arthur, Texas, near the Louisiana border, could get a direct hit. It has already shut down, as have others in Port Arthur including Total’s 225,00 bpd refinery, and Valero’s 335,000 bpd. They may not reopen for a while. Click here to read more from Forbes.
State of Transportation, Energy, and Vehicle Electrification
The transportation market is transitioning to lower-carbon-intense sources of energy and more efficient use of existing energy resources, but the transition is proceeding at an evolutionary pace. While many are advocating a rapid transition to an electrified transportation market, the realities of market fundamentals and the nature of consumer choice stand in the way of radical reform. Click here to read more from Fuels Institute.
Tracking the Growing Wave of Oil & Gas Bankruptcies in 2020
2020 hasn’t been kind to the energy sector, and a growing wave of energy bankruptcies has started to build. After a difficult year marred by rising geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and crude prices in the $50-60 per barrel range, analysts warned that the energy sector needed a strong recovery to offset a rising (and expiring) mountain of debt. Instead, the oil patch has seen one bombshell after another, and the impacts are adding up. Click here to read more from Visual Capitalist.
Oil Market Treads Rebalancing Tightrope as Demand Recovery Falters
Global oil market balances are largely supportive of firmer oil prices over the coming 18 months, with demand exceeding supply despite growing concerns over the potential for a second wave of COVID-19 infections to derail the economic recovery. Click here to read more from S&P Global Platts.