U.S. crude inventories fell more than expected, signaling a recovery for the oil industry.
U.S. crude inventories fell more than expected in the last week of August, a sign that oil demand continues to recover from the coronavirus pandemic.
Domestic commercial crude inventories decreased by 9.4 million barrels during the week ended Aug. 28, compared with the previous week. The national crude supply sits at 498.4 million barrels, about 14 percent higher than the five-year average for this time of year, the Department of Energy said Wednesday.
Analysts had forecast a smaller draw of 1.9 million barrels. Still, West Texas Intermediate, the U.S. benchmark, declined Wednesday by about 3 percent to settle at $41.51.
Meanwhile, U.S. refineries processed an average of 13.9 million barrels of crude oil per day last week, a decline of 800,000 barrels per day compared with the previous week. Refineries operated at about 77 percent of their capacity, the agency said.
Trump hasn’t made coal great again
President Donald Trump spent more than $1 billion in taxpayer funds, rolled back environmental rules and tried to stop power plant closings to fulfill a vow he made to West Virginia coal miners in the 2016 campaign.
But nothing he’s done is rescuing the coal industry.
U.S. coal production — after a slight uptick in 2017 — is expected to be down 31 percent this year from 2016 levels. By some estimates, more than five dozen coal-burning power plants have closed, and although mining jobs remained steady before dropping this year, they didn’t increase.
“They’ve tried to do a lot but very little has been effective,” said Seth Feaster, an analyst with the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis, an organization that focuses on transitioning to a diverse, sustainable and profitable energy economy. “It’s a pretty bleak picture for coal.”
New fracking player emerges near top spot
Liberty Oilfield Services, which will become North America’s second-biggest fracking provider with the acquisition of a Schlumberger unit, expects to one day topple Halliburton from the top spot.
“Customer demand has told us to grow at this pace, and then deals like this come to us,” Liberty CEO Chris Wright said in an interview after the deal was announced Tuesday. “Our goal with this acquisition is to keep getting better, but to the extent we succeed at that, it probably leads to us being the leader sometime down the road.”
Less than three years ago, the Denver contractor didn’t even crack the top ten for its frac-fleet size. Now in its ninth year of business, Liberty is growing its presence within a business that is severely shrinking: Threefourths of U.S. frac crews have been sidelined this year, according to Primary Vision Inc.
Jet fuel’s demand slowly climbing back
Demand for jet fuel in the United States has been on a steady rise since May, when public health fears of the coronavirus brought the airline industry nearly to a standstill.
While still far below normal levels, in mid-August jet fuel demand reached more than 40 percent of the amount consumed a year earlier, up from around 20 percent in May, according to Energy Department data.
With the most coronavirus cases in the world, government restrictions and public fears in the United States continue to hamper air travel here.
Solar, wind make up majority of new power
For the first time, solar and wind made up the majority of the world’s new power generation — marking a seismic shift in how nations get their electricity.
Solar additions last year totaled 119 gigawatts, representing 45 percent of all new capacity, according to a report last week by BloombergNEF. Together, solar and wind accounted for more than two-thirds of the additions. That’s up from less than a quarter in 2010. The surge comes as countries move to slash carbon emissions and as technology costs fall.
“That is a big deal,” said Luiza Demoro, a Brazil-based BNEF analyst. “It shows that we are going in a good direction. It’s good for the climate.”