Clipper Oil: Latest Fuel News - Biden Pledges to Slash Greenhouse Gas Emissions in Half By 2030

Latest Fuel News

April 2021

Biden Pledges to Slash Greenhouse Gas Emissions in Half By 2030

President Joe Biden is pledging to reduce U.S. greenhouse gas emissions by 50% to 52% by 2030, in the latest push by the administration to aggressively combat climate change.

The target, announced Thursday, more than doubles the country’s prior commitment under the 2015 Paris climate agreement, when the Obama administration set out to cut emissions 26% to 28% below 2005 levels by 2025. The U.S. is currently not yet halfway to meeting that goal.

Biden’s pledge on Earth Day is in line with what environmental groups and hundreds of executives at major companies have pushed for. The president announce the target at the closely watched global leaders’ climate summit on Thursday, during which he hopes to urge global cooperation to address the climate crisis. Continue reading here (Source: CNBC).

Outlook Brightens for Oil and Gas Demand as Vaccines Take Hold, Moody Says

Moody’s Investors Service upgraded its outlook for the global energy industry on Monday, citing a sustained increase in commodity prices and expectations for global economic growth to drive increased oil and gas demand over the next 12 to 18 months.

The firm said it expects that, as vaccine programs become prevalent and the coronavirus outbreaks fade, increased travel should drive demand for oil while greater commercial and industrial activity should boost demand for natural gas.

“Pent-up consumer demand and increasing trade and manufacturing activity as the Covid-19 pandemic is brought under control are driving a rebound in global economic activity,” said Elena Nadtotchi, a Moody’s Senior Vice President. “This, in turn, is quickening the pace of a recovery in demand for oil and gas through late 2021 and into early 2022.” Continue reading here (Source: Natural Gas Intelligence).

U.S. Energy Imports Declined in 2020, While Exports Remained Largely Unchanged

Energy exports from the United States exceeded imports by 3.4 quadrillion British thermal units (quads) in 2020, the largest margin on record, according to EIA’s Monthly Energy Review. U.S. energy exports totaled 23.4 quads, nearly equaling the record high set in 2019, and energy imports fell 13% to 20.0 quads, the lowest level since 1992. The United States exported more energy than it imported for the second consecutive year.

Our Monthly Energy Review reports aggregate totals of energy data in different physical units (barrels, cubic feet, etc.) by converting them into common units of heat, measured in British thermal units. The aggregate heat contents of petroleum, natural gas, and coal vary based on the mix of component products being consumed. Continue reading here (Source: EIA).

California Governor Seeks End to Oil Drilling in State by 2045

California Governor Gavin Newsom on Friday directed his administration to take steps to phase out oil and gas drilling in one of the nation’s top oil-producing states by 2045 and to ban new fracking permits within three years.

Newsom has been under pressure from environmental activists and progressive politicians who say extraction of oil and gas is at odds with California's goals of moving away from fossil fuels and fighting climate change.

"I’ve made it clear I don’t see a role for fracking in that future and, similarly, believe that California needs to move beyond oil," Newsom said in a statement. Continue reading here (Source: Reuters).

Oil Production in Alaska Reaches Lowest Level in More Than 40 Years

Crude oil production in Alaska averaged 448,000 barrels per day (b/d) in 2020, the lowest level of production since 1976. Last year's production was over 75% less than the state’s peak production of more than 2 million b/d in 1988. Production declined in 28 of the 32 years since Alaska’s oil production peak as the state’s oil fields have matured. The 4% decrease in annual oil production in Alaska in 2020 was part of a larger decline in U.S. oil production.

The Trans-Alaska Pipeline System transports crude oil from the North Slope of Alaska to Valdez on Alaska’s southern coast. Pipeline deliveries have decreased because of less production. Lower oil volumes cause oil to move more slowly in the pipeline, and the travel time for oil from the North Shore to Valdez has increased from 4.5 days in 1988 to 26 days in 2020. Continue reading here (Source: EIA).

One Year Later - COVID-19's Impact on Gasoline Demand

Gasoline demand has surpassed year-ago levels for the first time since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Same-store gasoline sales volumes in the U.S. took a nosedive last year during the week ended March 21, 2020, declining by 23.6% from same-week 2019 levels. The declines in subsequent weeks were even more dramatic, with the largest seen during the week ended April 11 that saw spring-2019 levels of gasoline sales volumes nearly cut in half.

For the same week this year, however, OPIS Demand data indicate that volumes surpassed 2020 levels by 10% on a same-store sales basis. Continue reading here (Source: The Association for Convenience & Fuel Retailing).