IEW 2025 Days III & IV: India's quest for a gas economy

Over the course of Thursday and Friday - days III & IV - of India Energy Week 2025 that put us on the home stretch of the global event, conversations turned more meaningfully towards the Indian government's assertion of placing a 'gas economy' at the heart of its march to net zero by 2070. 

What many in the industry choose to describe as a 'bridging fuel', is a medium the Indian government, and indeed many others, appear comfortable in embracing to wean them off coal and help with a shift to more sustainable sources. 

In India's case, the country's Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri is leading the charge personally. Yours truly had the pleasure of reconnecting with the Minister and interviewing him for Forbes to discuss a host of energy related issues. Have a read here if you wish. 

In its collaborative transformation of the energy mix, the current Indian government is carefully examining the US shale revolution. Shale has already greatly changed the rules of international oil and gas trade and geopolitics, with the US making a significant shift from conventional to non-conventional oil and gas fields.

To this effect, the Oilholic hosted a Day III session titled "Harnessing the force of shale oil and gas in building future global energy systems."

Eminent panellists included Barnali Barua Tokhi, MD, Bharat PetroResources Ltd, Rahul Patel, MD and CEO, Transcontinental Energy Services, Trailukya Borgohain, Director (Operations), Oil India Ltd. 

The panel explored emerging concepts in exploration, extraction and distribution that have triggered a global shift in how untapped shale oil and gas resources are used, helping to fill energy supply gaps and change market dynamics. 

As it appears, the world’s remaining proven hydrocarbon reserves, 70% of oil and 45% of gas are considered unconventional. So, how they are tapped matter greatly. The panellists discussed how technological advances have now made many significant reservoirs of recoverable shale resources available to develop in multiple locations worldwide.

As the event neared its close on Day IV, focus also turned to STEM talent and process efficiencies achieved by the industry by deploying industrial AI. And, of course, to the deals that rained at the event as the great and the good of the global energy world queued up to ink agreements in India over the course of the week. 

Signature deals, among several moves, included BP's technical partnerships with EIL and ONGC, BPCL's agreement with Petrobras for 6 million barrels worth of exports to India, and, IOCL and ADNOC's long-term agreement for LNG up to 1.2 mmtpa from 2026 for 14 years.

And here are yours truly's thoughts via Forbes, based on conversations here, on climate finance and the trillions required if the world is to meet its net zero emissions targets. 

Finally, before bidding goodbye to Delhi, the Oilholic also took time out from the hustle and bustle of the conference to provide some analysis, and sum up the goings-on at the event to colleagues at Energy Connects. Watch this space when the good folks at EC publish the interview. 

It's been an immense pleasure and a privilege to attend and speak at India Energy Week for the very first time. But its now time to bid goodbye to India until next year. More thoughts soon. Keep reading, keep it here, keep it 'crude'! 

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© Gaurav Sharma 2025. Photo I: India Energy Week 2025. Photo II: Gaurav Sharma at IEW 2025. Photo III: Gaurav Sharma (left) at the Energy Connects studio in conversation with the media outlet's Editor-in-chief Chiranjib Sengupta at IEW 2025. © Gaurav Sharma 2025.

IEW 2025 Days I & II: Reimagining the future of energy

The first two days of India Energy Week or IEW 2025 have whizzed by with several aspects of the event's core theme - reimagining the future of energy in India and the world - discussed widely at various panel sessions and forums. 

The event was inaugurated on Tuesday by the country's Prime Minister Narendra Modi who noted in his opening remarks that India's wider energy sector ambitions would depend on "key five pillars" - namely "resource availability, a skilled workforce, economic strength, political stability, and strategic geography."

He also reiterated his pledge of more than doubling India's current renewable energy capacity from its current level to 500GW by 2030. Here's The Oilholic's full report for Forbes on the opening remarks. 

Following the Prime Minister's keynote, day I of the event also saw India's Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri note that the world's energy transition journey can never be a straight cut exercise in resource replacement; rather a nuanced resource utilisation journey reliant on diverse supply chains banking on both  renewable and traditional sources. 

The event also saw several energy ministers from Brazil to Qatar hobnob with their counterparts and delegates on the first day, indicative of the interest in India's energy sector. 

Among them, rather curiously, was UK's eco-zealot minister Ed Miliband who attempted to portray to a foreign audience that he actually cared about the North Sea calling his country a "proud oil and gas producer." But - with his policy actions implying the exact opposite - was widely and rightly ridiculed back home. 

The event's exhibition floor also opened its doors with over 70,000 visitors expected here over the course of the week. Two themes instantly caught this blogger's eye - "Make In India" pegged to domestic manufacturing and Green Hydrogen, an admirable firm favourite of Minister Puri. 

Yours truly also kicked into gear on Day II by moderating a leadership panel session titled "Bridging the energy transition's investment gaps." 

Eminent panelists included Bhupinder Singh Bhalla, Former Secretary of Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, Roberto Bocca, Head, Centre for Energy and Minerals, World Economic Forum, Hitesh Vaid, CFO of Cairn Oil and Gas, and Katan Hirachand, Chief Executive & Chief Country Officer - India, Societe Generale. (See below right for details, click on image to enlarge)

It was a fascinating discussion on climate finance acknowledging the complexities and opportunities of the energy transition and the mammoth task of underpinning global action by investment dollars,  trillions of which may be required according to some. Securing these would be the challenge of our age. 

Elsewhere on day II, other sessions touched on the reliable role of gas in the energy mix and discussed the familiar topic of technology as an efficiency enabler and facilitator of faster decarbonisation. 

Various aspects of India's energy ecosystem, its policy framework and investment drive were also examined, and how the global south could perhaps take some learnings from the country's approach over the last decade. That's all for now folks. There's plenty more to come from IEW 2025. So keep reading, keep it here, keep it 'crude'! 

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© Gaurav Sharma 2025. Photo I: Yashobhoomi Convention Centre, Delhi, India - the venue of IEW 2025. Photo II: 'Make In India' display at the IEW 2025 exhibition. Photo III: Gaurav Sharma at the Indian government's green hydrogen booth. © Gaurav Sharma 2025. Photo IV: Detail of 'Bridging the energy transition's investment gap.' (Courtesy: dmgevents)

Getting ready for India Energy Week 2025

The Oilholic is delighted to be back in Delhi ahead of India Energy Week 2025 as the world's second-largest of crude oil importer and a leader in renewables opens its doors to the global energy community. 

The week-long event - being held from Feb 11 to 14, 2025 - will showcase India's energy sector and its potential. Yours truly would be speaking and moderating sessions at the event as advised last month.

The venue for India Energy Week happens to be the 100,000 square feet Yashobhoomi Convention Centre near the Indian capital's Indira Gandhi International airport. If you have been out and about town as this blogger has, you can't really miss the event's signage and the buzz created around it from fuel forecourts to shopping malls, transport terminals to state highways leading in to town. 

For background on India's energy sector, should you need it, here are this blogger's thoughts on investment opportunities in the Indian energy sector via a piece on Forbes, and its rising oil demand via a market assessment for Energy Connects. 

Looking forward to the deliberations, meeting thought leaders and friends over an exciting few days in the Indian capital. Join, if you can, for some fantastic industry exchanges and networking in New Delhi. More soon from here. But for now keep reading, keep it here, keep it 'crude'! 

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To email: journalist_gsharma@yahoo.co.uk  

© Gaurav Sharma 2025. Photo: Gaurav Sharma in front of India Energy Week 2025 signage in New Delhi, India.© Gaurav Sharma 2025

A visit to Metafuels SAF 'Aerobrew' lab and pilot plant

(Left to right: Leigh Hackett, Chairman of Metafuels, Marco Ranocchiari, Leader of Energy Systems Integration platform, Paul Scherrer Institute, Gaurav Sharma, Energy Analyst, Oilholics Synonymous, Saurabh Kapoor, CEO of Metafuels at the Aerobrew pilot plant and laboratory.)

Last month, the Oilholic headed out to the Paul Scherrer Institute in Würenlingen, Switzerland, to visit a laboratory and pilot site run by start-up firm Metafuels. It's attempting something that's a bit different in the sustainable aviation fuels space by producing its fuel via a methanol-to-jet fuel process. 

For context, you'd mostly find that e-sustainable aviation fuels or e-SAFs start-ups (i.e. those deploying renewable energy to produce synthetic fuel), do so by deploying the Fischer-Tropsch process. It involves sequential chemical reactions that convert a carbon monoxide and hydrogen mix, or synthetic gas ("syngas") into liquid hydrocarbons. 

But the team at Mefafuels led by two experts from the carbon capture and storage sphere - CEO Saurabh Kapoor and Chairman Leigh Hackett - is attempting something no other start-up known to yours truly is currently doing by viably deploying methanol synthesis to produce their SAF. 

Via their chosen method, methanol is synthesised from carbon monoxide and hydrogen at high pressure using catalysts made up of copper and zinc oxide. This too is a long-established process. But only recently have petrochemists managed to create pathways and additional steps for synthesising longer-chain hydrocarbons such as butylene, ethylene, propylene, and ultimately kerosene / jet fuel. 

Kapoor, Hackett, and a third co-founder Ulrich Koss, along with a team of a dozen people, believe they have come up with a methanol-to-jet fuel process that makes their e-SAF "economically viable" with fewer unwanted by-products and less waste compared to the routinely deployed Fischer-Tropsch process. 

In their laboratory, Metafuels demonstrated to the Oilholic that the synthesis works as they intend it to, and with the desired efficiency, to produce a jet fuel they've trademarked with a rather catchy name - Aerobrew. (See right)

Several members of the team, including Kapoor and Hackett, as well as designated officials from the Paul Scherrer Institute led by Marco Ranocchiari, spent an entire day with The Oilholic, explaining and demonstrating the viable path to upscaling their Aerobrew. 

Moving beyond the lab, Metafuels' demonstration plant with a production capacity of 50 litres is nearly complete which this blogger was also given a kind tour of. The plant will help Metafuels work on concepts for producing Aerobrew on a much larger scale. 

And speaking of scaling up the process, here's yours truly's feature on Metafuels for Forbes, which touches on the firm's plans for commercialising Aerobrew. The first step of this would an industrial-scale commercial plant with a capacity of 5000 litres, or hundred-times that of the pilot plant by 2028. 

The anticipated cost of production of 5,000 litres of Metafuels' e-SAF will likely be around 50% lower and the yield around 80% higher, according to the company. This is massive if achieved on a commercial scale. 

While The Oilholic can personally testify that Metafuels' offer is what it says on the tin, or shall we say an eagerly-awaited barrel of Aerobrew - the start-up is neither short of belief nor backers. 

Speaking of the latter, it has raised $22 million so far in funding via a diverse set of venture capital funds. 

At the time of writing, these include Celsius Industries, RockCreek, Fortescue Energy Ventures, Verve Ventures, Energy Impact Partners and Contrarian Ventures, as well as the Swiss Federal Office of Energy. The future looks promising for both Metafuels, and the demand for SAFs, especially in European aviation markets. 

So, it will be interesting to see where this goes, and the Oilholic intends to keep you posted when / where possible. With those final thoughts, it's time take your leave. More musings to follow soon. Keep reading, keep it here, keep it 'crude'! 

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© Gaurav Sharma 2025. Photo I: The Oilholic with the Metafuels team at Aerobrew lab as captioned. Photo II: Metafuels SAF Aerobrew. Photo III: The Oilholic with the Metafuels team at Paul Scherrer Institute, Switzerland. © Gaurav Sharma, December 18, 2024. 

Speaking and moderating at India Energy Week 2025

Delighted to announce that yours truly will be moderating and speaking at India Energy Week 2025 due to be held in New Delhi, India from February 11 to 14, 2025. This global energy event aims to unite over 700+ exhibitors, 70,000+ energy professionals and 500+ speakers from across the globe. It will offer invaluable insights, thought leadership, foster collaboration among key stakeholders and accelerate progress on the sustainable energy agenda. 

Explore the event's groundbreaking agenda and register as a delegate here. 

Looking forward to the deliberations, meeting thought leaders and friends. Join, if you can, for some fantastic industry exchanges and networking in New Delhi.

Keep reading, keep it here, keep it 'crude'! 

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To email: journalist_gsharma@yahoo.co.uk  

© Gaurav Sharma 2025. Digital event banner courtesy of dmgevents, 2025.

"Drill Baby, Drill!" (Again)

What can only be described as the greatest political comeback in history was completed on Monday by Donald J. Trump as he returned to the White House as the 47th President of the United States. 

Destroying all premature political obituaries about him and opponents of descriptions, the Trump 2.0 era began with a familiar cry of "drill baby, drill" from the President, among other things. 

Drill the Americans will, and already are, pumping north of 13 million barrels per day of crude oil. Here's The Oilholic's Forbes piece on the day's 'crude' developments and how the President wants to tap into America's "liquid gold" to usher in a "a new golden era" for the country. 

As for the oil price itself, this blogger stands by what one told Reuters earlier during the day's trading session - the Trump administration will most likely go after Iran and Venezuela, with heightened sanctions on Russia already priced in oil market. 

This will likely keep the Brent front-month futures contract around $80 per barrel. However, the direction of travel from there will be dictated by emerging Trump policies, non-OPEC production, international trade wars (or not) and China's economy. 

That's all for the moment folks. Keep reading, keep it here, keep it 'crude'! 

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To email: journalist_gsharma@yahoo.co.uk  

© Gaurav Sharma 2025. Photo: US flag. © DWilliam / Pixabay, 2015. 

Oil spikes as US hikes sanctions on Russia & more

Happy New Year dear readers. Oil trading began on a much firmer footing this month, with Brent capping the $80 per barrel mark for the first time in three months on January 10. 

The global proxy benchmark has pretty much stayed near the mark in the couple of market sessions we have had since, as traders get their first quarter antennae up to gauge the direction of travel. And, of course, factor in recent news of heightened US sanctions on Russia's oil exports.

Many of the curbs target what's described as a "shadow fleet" of ageing non-Western oil tankers that carry Russia's oil. It has sent China and India - two of the biggest buyers of Moscow's black gold - scrambling for alternatives while they work out the situation. 

Extremely cold weather in the North Hemisphere, and an anticipation of tougher sanctions on Iran by an incoming Donald Trump administration are also providing an upside. However, wider market fundamentals have not shifted by much. 

The dollar remains relatively strong, lack of clarity on where China's demand may eventually go this year persists and there is still plenty of non-OPEC oil out in the market to meet global demand growth projections just north of 1 million barrels per day. 

Many are also factoring in higher US production levels in 2025. So the current firmness in Brent prices may prove to be short-lived. 

Away from the oil market, yours truly also discussed Central Europe's natural gas conundrum following Ukraine's new year's eve decision to end Russian energy transit via its territory on CGTN earlier this month. 

Basically, the old continent will need to find around 15 bcm of natural gas from elsewhere, which it can but at a considerably higher cost. (Full interview clip here).

Finally, switching tack to market related political developments, the year has begun with oil rich Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (finally) on his way out of office and an election on the horizon. Meanwhile, incoming US President Donald Trump has caused a stir revisiting his attempt to acquire the resource-rich and strategically important Arctic island of Greenland. 

We're barely a week away from Trump entering the White House with massive implications for the energy market and beyond. And on that note, its time to say goodbye for now. Keep reading, keep it here, keep it 'crude'! 

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© Gaurav Sharma 2025. Photo: Oil production site. © jplenio / Pixabay, 2018. 

Driving home for Christmas... (petrol prices edition)

Season's greetings dear readers. Many of you may be driving home for Christmas and looking forward to the New Year, with perhaps that most famous of Chris Rea songs playing on the radio. 

As you fuel up for the journey ahead, it is now pretty certain the current year and its festive season will end with petrol prices (or gasoline if you wish) at their lowest since 2021. 

That's because crude oil prices are at their lowest for nearly three years too, owing to lower demand (mainly from China), higher supply (largely from the US) and a stronger dollar (courtesy of the US Federal Reserve). 

Here are your truly's observations on the current market permutations via Forbes, and why lower prices may last well in to 2025. 

From a UK perspective, at the time of writing this blog, a litre of petrol would set you back on average by 135p (US$1.70), and sub 130p if you happen to a Costco member. In fact, lower prices at the pump are being replicated across Europe.  

And average US prices are pretty low this festive season as well, with a gallon of petrol going for $3.145 this week, counting in regional fluctuations around the mark. That's $0.83 per litre or 66p - a price, as always, many in Europe can only dream of!

On that note, it's time to take your leave for the festive week. The Oilholic will be back in Jan. And wherever you are driving or travelling to (or not driving or travelling at all), be safe and merry. Here's wishing you all a great Christmas & a Happy New Year! The Oilholic will be back in Jan, after the holidays. 

Keep reading, keep it here, keep it 'crude'! 

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To email: journalist_gsharma@yahoo.co.uk  

© Gaurav Sharma 2024. Photo: Driving in Gloucestershire, UK on December 23, 2024 © Gaurav Sharma 2024. 

Media missives from ADIPEC 2024

With ADIPEC 2024 drawing to a close on November 7, the Oilholic capped a fascinating and engaging week out in Abu Dhabi by hosting four pivotal industry panel sessions at the event on subjects ranging from climate finance to hydrogen markets in Asia.

Yours truly also hit the airwaves to discuss the wider energy market, impact of the US elections, an incoming Donald Trump administration and the various developments at ADIPEC 2024 which attracted over 200,000 people this year. 

These included broadcasting calls with the BBC, WION, Energy Connects and more, with this blogger's week also peppered with plenty of missives via the keyboard for Forbes, and of course this blog.

All blog entries for each ADIPEC may be found here. And here are selected Forbes copies in chronological order based on soundbites and insight from the event. 

• ADNOC Boss Urges Energy Peers To Fully Embrace Power Of AI, November 4, 2024
• Donald Trump’s Presidency Will Likely Boost U.S. Oil Output In 2025, November 6, 2024
• Strait Of Hormuz: Why Iran Wont Harm Critical Oil Shipping Route, November 7, 2024
• British Energy Majors May Lean More On Oil And Gas To Boost Profits, November 8, 2024
• New U.K. Tax Rates Are Hammering North Sea Oil And Gas Drilling, November 12, 2024

That's a wrap for this year's ADIPEC. Keep reading, keep it here, keep it 'crude'! 

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To email: journalist_gsharma@yahoo.co.uk  

© Gaurav Sharma 2024. Photo: Gaurav Sharma at ADIPEC 2024 studio in Abu Dhabi, UAE on November 4, 2024 © dmgevents /APCO Worldwide. 

ADIPEC 2024 sessions to be hosted by yours truly

The Oilholic is delighted to be back in Abu Dhabi, UAE for ADIPEC 2024, the world's largest energy conference and exhibition of its kind, being held here from November 4 to 7. Yours truly will be holding four panel sessions at the event with distinguished industry thought leaders. 

Please do join if you can for some fantastic and insightful industry dialogues. Here are the details of the sessions:

Monday, November 4, 2024 @ 15:30 GST

Climate finance: the role of the energy and finance sectors

With:

- Lina Osman, Managing Director & Head, Sustainable Finance - Africa and MENAP, Standard Chartered

- Bruce Johnson, Director, Corporate Finance and Treasury, Masdar 

- Jassim AlSane, Co-head of Investment Banking MENA, Goldman Sachs 

- Debnath Mukhopadhyay, CFO, TruAlt Bioenergy

(Click image to enlarge)

Tuesday, November 5, 2024 @10:00 GST

Standardised sustainability reporting: building energy transition trust to boost investment 

With:

- Karim Arslan, Executive Director, Green & Sustainable Finance Originator, Green & Sustainable Hub, Natixis Corporate and Investment Banking

- Semih Ozkan, Executive Director, EMEA Energy, Power, Renewables, Metals & Mining, J.P. Morgan

- Don Dimitrievich, Senior Managing Director and Portfolio Manager for Energy Infrastructure Credit, Nuveen

(Click image to enlarge)

Wednesday, November 6, 2024 @14:30 GST

Asia’s role in defining the hydrogen market

With:

- The Right Honourable Abang Johari Tun Openg, Premier of Sarawak, Malaysia

- Hiroshi Matsuda, Chief Regional Officer, EMEA, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries 

- Koji Yamamoto, SVP, JOGMEC 

- Shoichi Kaganoi, SVP, Hydrogen & CCUS Development, INPEX

- Karine Boissy-Rousseau, VP Green Gases, TotalEnergies

(Click image to enlarge)

Thursday, November 7, 2024 @11:45 GST

The strategic role of NGOs in unlocking energy investment for emerging economies

With:

- Maha Attia, Assistant Vice Chairman for Foreign Trade, Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS) 

- Madadh MacLaine, Secretary General, Zero Emissions Ship Technology Association (ZESTAs) 

- Huda Al Houqani, Director, Abu Dhabi Sustainability Group (ADSG)

- Michel Abi Saab, General Manager, Emerge

(Click image to enlarge)

Keep reading, keep it here, keep it 'crude'! 

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To email: journalist_gsharma@yahoo.co.uk  

© Gaurav Sharma 2024. Photo © Gastech / dmgevents 2024. 

Are we back to fundamentals as oil prices tank further?

For the second successive session this week oil prices have slid further and faster. After Monday's declines of over 2%, Tuesday has logged fresh intraday drops of as high as 5%. 

At the time of writing this post, The Oilholic noted that Brent and WTI front month futures contracts had breached their respective $74 and $70 per barrel floors. Headwinds are in fact gathering momentum and yet lower prices may follow. 

Over the weekend, China's promised economic stimulus underwhelmed the market with its vagueness. Then came a revelation that OPEC - deemed the most bullish of the crude oil demand growth forecasters - had revised its prediction lower for 2024 below 2 million bpd. The IEA's prediction is below 1 million bpd. 

And if that wasn't bearish enough, media reports, led by The Washington Post, also suggested on Tuesday that Israel may not attack Iran's oil facilities as feared. So has the risk premium effectively decoupled and are we now back to market fundamentals driving the oil price again? Largely yes in an oversupplied market. But then again not a complete yes yet, as its contingent upon what Israel may or may not do next! 

That said, outlandish $100 per barrel oil price predictions can once again take a back seat. That's all for the moment folks! Keep reading, keep it here, keep it 'crude'! 

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To email: journalist_gsharma@yahoo.co.uk  

© Gaurav Sharma 2024. Photo: Oil production site. © jplenio / Pixabay, 2018. 

Gastech 2024 sessions to be hosted by yours truly

The Oilholic is delighted to be back in Houston, Texas, US for Gastech 2024, one of the world's largest energy industry fixtures, being held here from September 17 to 20. Yours truly will be holding three panel sessions and two fireside chats at the event with Hardeep Singh Puri, India's Honorable Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas, and Chris Ashton, Chief Executive Officer of Worley. 

The three panels will include distinguished industry thought leaders. Please do join if you can for some fantastic and insightful industry dialogues. Here are the details of the sessions:

Tuesday, September 17, 2024 @ 12:45 pm CDT

IEW2025: Energy transformation through innovation and investment

With His Excellency Hardeep Singh Puri, Honorable Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas, India

(Click image to enlarge for details)

Tuesday, September 17, 2024 @ 4:50 pm CDT

Harnessing the advantages of natural gas to fuel the Artificial Intelligence revolution

With:

- Rebekah Eggers, Global Client Engagement & Innovation Director, Energy & Resources Sector, IBM

- Arun Kumar Singh, Chairman & CEO, Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Ltd

- Ken West, President & CEO, Honeywell Energy and Sustainability Solutions 

- Naser Al Yafei, SVP - Strategy, Sustainability & Transformation, ADNOC Gas

- Matthew Babin, Head of Energy & Natural Resources, Palantir Technologies

(Click image to enlarge for details)

September 18, 2024 @ 10:40 am CDT

Delivering projects in a challenging operating and cost environment

Executive leadership fireside chat with Chris Ashton, CEO, Worley

(Click image to enlarge for details)

September 19, 2024 @ 10:45 am CDT

Decarbonizing heavy transportation: Collaborations to address the acceleration of climate technology solutions from development to deployment

With:

- Sukhmal Jain, Director (Marketing) & Board Member, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited

- Yoki Firnandi, CEO, PT Pertamina International Shipping

- Meg Gentle, Executive Director, HIF Global

- Mark S. Brownstein, SVP, Environmental Defense Fund

(Click image to enlarge for details)

September 19, 2024 @ 2 pm CDT

Fostering greater climate technology innovation, deployment, and scale across the value chain

With:

- Mahdi Aladel, CEO of Aramco Ventures

- Paula Gant, President & CEO, GTI Energy

- Vikas Dhole, GM of Project Management, AspenTech

(Click image to enlarge for details)

Keep reading, keep it here, keep it 'crude'! 

To follow The Oilholic on Twitter click here.

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To email: journalist_gsharma@yahoo.co.uk  

© Gaurav Sharma 2024. Photo © Gastech / dmgevents 2024. 

Regular columns for Energy Connects

Dear readers, really excited to share the news that yours truly will now be writing regular opinion columns for global news and analysis platform Energy Connects. The portal, which is a part of the dmgevents portfolio, provides access to an engaged global audience that incorporates the entire energy value chain from oil and gas to wind, solar, utilities, hydrogen and nuclear companies. 

The first of the Oilholic's missives is already online here. Do give it a read, and feedback is welcome as always. Looking forward to offering more thoughts and analysis via Energy Connects on a regular basis from hereon. 

Delighted to share my first @energyconnects_ opinion piece & looking forward to writing for the title on a regular basis: Transitioning #oil market lays bare forecasters’ divergent assumptions https://t.co/s1YaVosCXV #OOTT #oilandgas #OPEC #IEA #EnergyTransition

— Gaurav Sharma (@The_Oilholic) April 25, 2024

Dive into our latest monthly column on the intriguing world of oil demand forecasting. Is it a science or an art? Uncover the debate and complexities shaping energy transition. #EnergyConnects #energynews #news #OOTT #oilandgas @The_Oilholic https://t.co/jC9MHQfiQW

— Energy Connects (@energyconnects_) April 26, 2024

More musings to follow soon. Keep reading, keep it here, keep it 'crude'! 

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To email: journalist_gsharma@yahoo.co.uk  

© Gaurav Sharma 2024. 

Rising shale output & oil's recovery to November levels

At the start of the year there were some doubts whether US shale oil production would remain high, having broken records in 2023 and propelled the States to the top of the global oil production leader-board. 

But a recent update from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) has gone some way in dispelling those doubts. 

The statistics arm of the US Department of Energy projects that production will likely  go up in March. Key basins are expected to produce around 20,000 more barrels per day (bpd) next month. This implies a total of 9.7 million bpd in shale production - a volume that hasn't been recorded since December last year. 

Conventionally, you'd think an upbeat US production forecast would knock a few dollars off crude prices. However, the market is more or less holding firm, as the Oilholic noted in an earlier blog post. After the profit-taking of last few weeks cooled, the last couple of sessions have seen oil futures return to levels not seen since November. That'd be $83+ per barrel prices for the Brent front-month contract and $79+ per barrel for the WTI.

A combination of OPEC+ cuts, Moscow's recent (and well documented) difficulties in shifting its crude owing to Western sanctions and heightened geopolitical tensions in the Middle East are keeping oil prices at elevated levels. 

However, the Oilholic reckons the price will face resistance at $85 and the upcoming week should be interesting. (And the EIA's next update - in this data series - is on March 18, and next weekly US inventory report is out on February 22). 

Elsewhere, yours truly participated in a panel discussion on TRT World's Round-table program to discuss Italy's overtures to Africa for its energy security needs whilst addressing the thorny issue (or shall we say the political hot potato) of migration. 

One guesses, that in reaching out to African heads of state ahead of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF)'s next high-level summit in Algeria in March, Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has made a strategic and pragmatic move. (The full broadcast is available here)

And finally, remember Uniper? And it's bailout by the German government in 2022 after its options for Russian gas imports ran out? Well its back with a bang, and ready to repay (some of) the bailout money back in phases. That's just as Berlin is seemingly contemplating a share sale to recoup (some of) the money. Here's a full Forbes report. Well that's all for now folks. More soon. Keep reading, keep it here, keep it 'crude'! 

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To email: journalist_gsharma@yahoo.co.uk  

© Gaurav Sharma 2024. Photo: Oil well in Oman © Shell.