Subsidies for India’s renewable sector are falling, needs renewed support, says study

 Even though the government is pushing for the rapid adoption of clean energy, it also continues to support the industry based on fossil fuels. 

by Mayank Aggarwal on 22 July 2021

As India’s renewable energy sector is showcased as evidence of efforts to combat climate change, the government’s subsidy support to the clean energy sector has fallen over the past few years, a study has found.

The research shows that while the subsidy support for renewable energy has fallen, it has increased for the oil and gas sector and support for coal has continued despite the health impact on citizens.

Meanwhile, subsidy for electric vehicles has increased, highlighted the report and recommended that the government continue to provide financial and non-financial support for the growth of the sector.

The government’s push for renewable energy has been one of its main defence against criticism for using fossil fuels. However, government subsidies to the renewable sector have fallen by nearly 45 percent since their peak in (financial year) 2017, according to a latest study, which states that support for the sector needs a revival.

The study, “Mapping India’s Energy Subsidies 2021: Time for renewed support to clean energy”, by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) and the Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW) found that subsidies to renewable energy fell from Rs. 154 billion (15,470 crore) in (FY) 2017 to Rs. 85.77 billion (Rs. 8,577 crore) in (FY) 2020.

It argued that to ensure India’s clean energy transition is smooth it is crucial that the financial support for the renewable energy sector continues. It explained that the renewable energy subsidies are at a standstill due to a combination of factors including grid-scale solar and wind achieving market parity, lower deployment levels, and subsidy schemes nearing the end of their allocation period.

The report said India’s public sector units make massive annual investments in the energy sector as it is noted that over the last six years from (FY) 2014 to (FY) 2020, the seven energy-related units invested Rs. 2.5 trillion (Rs. 2.5 lakh crore) in 183 projects.

“Overall, this is still heavily skewed toward fossil fuels, which were the focus of 11 times more investment than clean energy in (FY) 2020. An assessment of these seven PSUs found relatively low ambition on clean energy and no planning on how to manage the stranded asset risk of fossil-intensive asset portfolios,” said the study.

Balasubramanian Viswanathan of the IISD, who is one of the co-authors of the study, said it is time for a new wave of support measures that are focused on emerging technologies such as grid integration and storage, decentralised renewable energy, green hydrogen, and offshore wind. Viswanathan explained to Mongabay-India that one of the primary reasons for the decreasing subsidy support is the maturity of the grid-scale solar and wind combined with market forces.

“Also, the first big wave of the subsidy support under the country’s solar mission has come to an end. Moreover, policy uncertainties such as the renegotiation of tariff in the renewable energy projects and introduction of safeguard duty on the modules being imported have led to a decrease in investments,” he said.

He pointed out that to reach 450 GW by 2030, India would need to deploy “historic levels of about 39 GW every year” and that is “hard to imagine without the right support policies.”

“For India to go near the 2030 target of 450 GW, the sector needs a strong push not just in terms of subsidies but also through ramping up of ambition by state-owned companies and an increase in the electric mobility infrastructure, battery storage and grid storage, and other emerging clean technologies,” Viswanathan said.

The study recommended that under its flagship Aatmanirbhar Bharat (self-reliant India) programme, the government should “develop more nuanced subsidies as part of a broader strategy for green industrial policy that considers both the central and state levels and prioritises integrated solar PV manufacturing, electric vehicles, and storage solutions.”

Read more: [Charts] A long road to 2030 for India’s import-heavy solar power sector

Subsidies to the oil and gas sector increased

The study also revealed that oil and gas subsidies jumped by about 16 percent in (FY) 2020 and reached Rs. 553.47 billion (Rs. 55,347 crore) compared to (FY) 2019 due to financial support for household consumption of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG).

However, in a statement released along with the study, experts note that the LPG subsidies were suspended during the (FY) 2021 oil price crash and have not yet been reintroduced. They emphasise that this may reduce oil and gas subsidies in future years, but has led to new concerns around clean energy access, as no alternative support for clean cooking has been provided.

The study said that the support for fossil fuels has increased as of the latest year of comprehensive data, hitting Rs. 705.78 billion (Rs. 70,578 crore) in (FY) 2020 – which is over seven times the sum of subsidies to clean energy.

The installation of solar power systems in the country is yet to achieve the desired pace. Photo by Jitendra Parihar (Thomson Reuters Foundation)/Flickr.

It highlighted the support for coal continued. “Concessional tax benefits continue to be the largest subsidy for the (coal) sector, at Rs. 131.54 billion (Rs. 13,154 crore), 87 percent of all coal support. In (FY) 2021, several non-subsidy measures were implemented to incentivise domestic coal production, such as withdrawing or pushing back environmental regulations, despite health impacts for citizens,” it said.

The report stressed that reforming fossil fuel subsidies can generate valuable additional resources for economic recovery from COVID-19 and investments in clean energy.

It further stressed that the “falling prices of grid-scale solar and a drop in demand during COVID-19 have created economic challenges for coal power” and “while coal makes significant contributions to government revenue and rail cross-subsidies, its full social cost is much higher than its net contributions.”

“Such decisions will simply exacerbate pollution-related health problems in a context where major Indian cities have already topped global charts on air pollution, pushing costs onto citizens and the health system. Low GST rates should be reformed, and green taxes such as the coal cess should continue to periodically increase so that the full social costs of coal are reflected in prices,” it said.

Prateek Aggarwal of the CEEW, who is the co-author of the study, in a statement, said: “Redirecting a share of coal tax revenues to clean energy and supporting communities, regions, and livelihoods impacted by the transition will help ensure a just and equitable energy transition. The government should encourage public sector undertakings, which are currently investing more in fossil fuels, to set ambitious targets for high levels of investment in clean energy and establish national capacity in manufacturing.”

Read more: About 40 percent of India’s districts have some form of coal dependency

Support for electric mobility is a positive trend

The report also said that since (FY) 2019, subsidies for electric vehicles have risen more than 2.3 times, reaching Rs. 11.41 billion (Rs. 1,141 crore) in (FY) 2020, mainly driven by growing sales and further support is needed for manufacturing capacity.

It explained that many of the subsidies have been driven by the increase in sales of two-wheeler electric vehicles, up by around 21 percent from (FY) 2019 to 2020 but the sale of four-wheel electric vehicles, however, dropped by 200 units.

“Various states and union territories also support the adoption of the EVs through subsidies for manufacturers, consumers, and charging infrastructure or through government procurement,” it said.

The report also highlighted the need for non-financial incentives for the EVs such as “priority lanes and reserved parking spaces.”

“An estimated investment of Rs. 205.8 billion (Rs. 20,580 crore) will be required toward charging infrastructure development alone. The government is also actively working to support the EV manufacturing industry by framing favourable industrial policies,” it said

.

India is close to achieving about 100 GW installed capacity of renewable energy. Photo by Zorori47/Flickr.

According to the report, going forward what is required is an increase in support measures to ensure the “production of cheaper and more efficient EVs” to tackle the current low demand.

“As EV subsidies grow, all efforts must be made to ensure that sustainability remains at the helm of this transition to EVs on all fronts: clean energy supply, prioritising a sustainable supply chain for manufacturing, choosing battery components, and designing a recycling plan,” it said.

Chandra Bhushan, who is president and chief executive officer (CEO) of the International Forum for Environment, Sustainability and Technology (iForest), a think-tank working on environmental and sustainability issues, said that a recent global survey of EVs shows that 39 percent of buses and 44 percent of two-three wheelers sold globally are EVs while in case of vans/trucks and passenger cars, the number is about one percent and four percent respectively.

“Frankly, if India wants to speed up adoption of EVs, it should focus on buses and two/three-wheelers as they are already commercialised. This segment is market-ready and won’t require much subsidy push. However, in the case of electric four-wheelers, there might be a case of subsidies for a limited time. But most importantly, the mainstreaming of EVs requires the government to facilitate the transition through standards, infrastructure and policies like public procurement,” Bhushan told Mongabay-India.


Read more: A large scale shift to electric vehicles may not be as environment friendly as it seems

Article published by mayank

Australia’s reliance on gas exports questioned as Japan winds down fossil fuel power

Government urged to speed up transition to green energy as Australia’s biggest market shifts away from LNG and coal

Is Japan’s shift away from fossil fuel electricity generation a signal for Australia’s LNG export industry? Photograph: Dazman/Getty Images/iStock 

Adam Morton Climate and environment editor

@adamlmorton

Thu 22 Jul 2021 

A Japanese pledge to wind down gas and coal-fired electricity much faster than previously planned has sparked warnings Australia needs to speed up a transition away from fossil fuel exports.

A draft revised energy mix released by Japanese officials on Wednesday said the country – Australia’s biggest market for liquefied natural gas (LNG) and thermal coal – would cut gas-fired electricity generation nearly in half and reduce coal power by more than a third by 2030.

The plan, devised to help the country ramp up emissions cuts by 2030, would require renewable energy to provide up to 38% of generation. Coal, LNG and nuclear energy would each provide about 20%.

While a shift away from coal has been widely forecast, the expected fall in Japanese gas-fired electricity is at odds with claims by the Australian government and the $36bn LNG export industry that its product would displace coal and help reduce global emissions.

Llewelyn Hughes, an associate professor at the Australian National University’s Crawford School of Public Policy, said the Japanese announcement was a “big deal” for Australia and consistent with the country’s target of having 45GW of offshore wind energy capacity – nearly equivalent to Australia’s current power grid – by 2040.

Australia has huge potential to develop offshore windfarms near existing substations, report says

Read more

He said some thought it would be challenging for Japan to meet its revised targets, but the commitment showed the country was on a trajectory to using fewer fossil fuels. “It indicates a long-term decline in coal and gas,” Hughes said.

Over the past year, the Japanese prime minister, Yoshihide Suga, has set national targets of net zero emissions by 2050 and a 46% cut by 2030 compared with 2013 levels. The 2030 target had previously been a 26% cut.

Rebecca Mikula-Wright, the chief executive of the Investor Group on Climate Change, said the draft energy mix was “a clear signal of the country’s intent to speed up its decarbonisation”. Australia’s other major customers in Asia – China and South Korea – were also heading towards net zero emissions and would reduce demand over the coming decade, she said.

“To remain competitive in global export markets, Australia needs to quickly put in place the right climate policy and investment signals to help ensure we are producing the green energy and other products that our major trading partners will increasingly demand,” she said.

The country’s oil and gas lobby group, the Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association, rejected suggestions Japan’s shift meant gas would play a declining role.

‘We are in the same boat’: Japan urges Australia to join forces to address challenge of China

Read more

Its chief executive, Andrew McConville, said Australian LNG was “an important part of a cleaner energy future” and would “still be needed in Japan to power their large manufacturing industry”. He said demand for gas in Asia had been forecast to grow significantly by 2040 and that gas with carbon capture and storage (CCS) was “a pathway to a large-scale clean hydrogen industry”.

Gas is used not only in electricity generation but also manufacturing industries, heating and cooking. It is often said to have about half the emissions of coal when burned, but studies have suggested this is an underestimate once leakage of methane – a potent greenhouse gas – during extraction and transportation is counted.

A recent major IEA report suggested the world should not open any new oil or gas fields or coal plants if it was to have a chance of limiting global heating to 1.5C above pre-industrial levels

But the prime minister, Scott Morrison, recently told the oil and industry it would “always” be a major contributor to Australia’s prosperity. It has committed $224m to to develop new gas fields in the Northern Territory’s Beetaloo Basin. Labor also supports opening up new gas reserves.

On Thursday, the resources minister, Keith Pitt, said the government would continue to “prioritise unlocking new sources of gas supply”. He said Japan was only one of Australia’s customers and demand from other Asian countries was set to rise. “Fast-growing nations such as India, China, Vietnam, Pakistan, Thailand and Bangladesh will likely take more Australian LNG,” he said.

Australia’s gas export industry has grown exponentially in northern Western Australia and Queensland since 2014. A June summary of resources and energy data published by the federal industry department showed Japan bought 37.9% of Australia’s LNG and 36.5% of thermal coal exports over the past year. Together, they were worth $22bn.

‘A shocking failure’: Chevron criticised for missing carbon capture target at WA gas project

Read more

The extraction and processing of the gas have been responsible for a significant rise in Australia’s industrial emissions that, according to government reports, has effectively replaced some of the reduction in carbon dioxide caused by an influx of solar and wind into the electricity grid.

The government and industry justify the LNG industry’s local emissions by arguing Australian LNG has the potential to reduce global emissions by about 170m tonnes a year by displacing coal. Neither has produced evidence to show this is happening.

The federal Greens leader, Adam Bandt, said the Japanese announcement showed the major parties were giving communities “false hope” about coal and gas continuing for decades. The bipartisan political support to open the Beetaloo Basin was “economic and environmental madness”, he said.

“It’s time to face facts and tell workers in Queensland and New South Wales the truth. Coal and gas are now on borrowed time and we need to support workers and communities to transition,” Bandt said.

Japan To Cut LNG, Coal In Power Sector As It Bets On Renewables

By Tsvetana Paraskova - Jul 22, 2021, 10:30 AM CDT

The world's largest importer of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and one of the biggest importers of coal, Japan, aims to significantly raise the share of renewable power in its electricity sector and reduce its reliance on fossil fuels, according to a draft energy policy plan through 2030.

Japan, like many other developed nations, aims to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050, or as Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry (METI) said last month "a carbon neutral society by 2050."

Under the draft new policy, Japan will target to have renewable energy sources make up between 36 percent and 38 percent of the country's power generation by the end of this decade. The previous target was to have renewable energy generate between 22 percent and 24 percent of Japan's electricity mix by 2030.

The new plan hasn't changed the target for nuclear power generation, which was left at 20-22 percent of electricity generation. But the share of coal is now targeted to drop to 19 percent by 2030, from 26 percent now, while the share of LNG is planned to decline to 41 percent from 56 percent.

The world's top LNG importer aiming to reduce the use of the super-chilled fuel for power generation is likely to rattle the market.

According to estimates from Lloyd's List Intelligence, Japan was the single largest importer of LNG in the world in the first half of 2021, holding a 20.49-percent share of all LNG imports globally. To compare, all 27 members of the European Union (EU), plus the UK, combined, accounted for 20.94 percent of global LNG imports.

The fastest-growing market for LNG, China—which is expected to soon surpass Japan as the largest LNG importer—accounted for 18.22 percent of LNG imports in the first half this year, Lloyd's List Intelligence data showed.

Reduced future use of coal and LNG in Japan is set to create disturbances in the Asian markets of those fossil fuels, especially for Australia, which supplies two-thirds of Japan's thermal coal and is Japan's top LNG supplier, too, Reuters columnist Clyde Russell notes. 

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

NATIONALIZE THEM 

P.E.I. energy minister 'disappointed' Maritime Electric limiting solar power

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Company citing need to prevent ‘integrity issues’ with grid

Kerry Campbell · CBC News · Posted: Jul 22, 2021 

More Islanders are looking to install solar panels, says Maritime Electric. (Submitted by Alex Ittimangnaq)

P.E.I.'s privately-owned electrical utility has introduced a new limit on how much electricity it will allow customers to make, while the province continues to provide incentives for residents to generate their own renewable energy.

Maritime Electric has introduced a cap of 30 kilowatts of generating capacity for new and existing customers through its net metering program.

The previous limit, which is written into the province's Renewable Energy Act, had been 100 kW.

Net metering allows customers to generate their own electricity using solar panels, wind turbines or other means, and feed that into the grid in exchange for credits they can use when they draw electricity.

The change is about maintaining the quality of the electrical grid for everyone, says Maritime Electric spokeswoman Kim Griffin. (Jessica Doria-Brown/CBC)

Maritime Electric spokeswoman Kim Griffin told CBC News the company has seen a "huge influx" of net metering applications as a result of provincial incentives for solar electricity, and said the utility is looking to prevent "integrity issues" with its electrical grid.

"It's really about keeping voltage consistent for all customers," said Griffin.

"We have over 80,000 customers so it's been about integration into the system that works and maintains quality for all, including the hundreds of solar customers."

'Disappointed and quite frustrated'

The company said most household users wouldn't require more than 30 kW capacity, and business customers can install up to 100 kW capacity if they have access to three-phase power, which is limited in the province.

P.E.I. Energy Minister Steven Myers said he's "disappointed and quite frustrated" Maritime Electric made the change without first consulting with government.

"We've introduced one of the most aggressive solar rebate programs in the whole country," Myers said.

Energy Minister Steven Myers is questioning whether Maritime Electric is a willing partner in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. (Ken Linton/CBC)

"I believe in distributed energy and the capabilities of it. And if our network has to shift in order to accept those changes, then … we would expect somebody to reach out to us and have that conversation from Maritime Electric versus making wholesale changes and not telling us."

Myers said he only learned of the change weeks ago. Maritime Electric says it implemented the change in December. 

Part of plan to reduce emissions

Maritime Electric and the province say there are now 900 Islanders taking part in net metering. The company says nearly half of those accounts started up in the past year.

P.E.I. introduced a solar electric rebate program in 2019, offering to pay 40 per cent of the costs, up to $10,000, when residents install solar photovoltaic panels at their home or business.

The province has also pledged to reduce its carbon emissions from fossil fuels as much as possible by the year 2030.

In light of the utility's move, Myers questioned whether the province has "a partner that's willing to work with us" to achieve its emissions targets.

"If we don't, we have to look at what we might need to do to fix that," he said.

Loophole in legislation

P.E.I.'s Renewable Energy Act stipulates utilities allow net metering customers to have up to 100 kW of generating capacity, but also provides for companies to refuse to sign up customers if doing so "is likely to have a serious adverse impact" on the grid or other customers.

Maritime Electric said customers who want to sign up for net metering should call the company before purchasing equipment. The company also said the 30 kW limit is per electric meter, so customers with more than a single meter can go beyond the limit.

• Province seeks input on how to get to net-zero energy consumption by 2030

• P.E.I. announces details of solar panel assistance

Myers said he's considering legislative changes in response to Maritime Electric's move.

The utility admits to what it called a "miscommunication" in failing to tell government ahead of time of its plans.

Farms most likely to be affected

Green MLA Steve Howard, who owns a renewable energy company that he's placed in a blind trust, said large installations of up to 100 kW would take up to nine months of planning to get up and running. 

He said he's aware of at least one company whose plans have been affected by the change, adding the move is most likely to have a negative impact on farmers, many of whom do not have access to three-phase power.

"I find that particularly problematic," Howard said of Maritime Electric's new net metering limit.

'This was government's way of helping farmers,' says Green Party MLA for Summerside-South Drive Steve Howard. (Al McCormick/CBC)

Howard pointed to a pending increase in electrical rates for farmers because the Island Regulatory and Appeals Commission has ordered Maritime Electric eliminate a tiered billing structure that provided lower electricity rates for high-consumption users.

"The solar rebate program was held up as the main way to help farmers deal with the rate shock that might come along with getting rid of the descending block rate structure," Howard said.

"This was government's way of helping farmers deal with that, and now that tool has essentially been removed because it's really only the large farms that will have the large impacts, and it's the large farms that will no longer be able to install appropriately-sized systems."

NO SUCH CREATURE

Tesla & BHP Form An Alliance To Promote Sustainability In The Mining & Resources Sector


ByJohnna Crider
Published2 days ago

BHP announced that it and Tesla have announced a nickel supply agreement and that it will supply Tesla with nickel from its Nickel West asset in Western Australia. The company stated that this is one of the most sustainable and lowest carbon emission nickel producers in the world.

Financial Times noted that this would secure non-Chinese supply. FT also pointed out that this is the third nickel agreement that Tesla has signed within 8 months — since Elon Musk called for supplies of sustainable nickel last year. During Tesla’s Q2 2020 earnings call, he reemphasized to any mining companies out there to mine more nickel.

“Wherever you are in the world, please mine more nickel, and don’t wait for nickel to go back to some long — some high point that you experienced some five years ago or whatever. Go for efficiency, as environmentally friendly, nickel mining at high volume. Tesla will give you a giant contract for a long period of time if you mine nickel efficiently and in an environmentally sensitive way. So, hopefully, this message goes out to all mining companies.”

BHP noted that in addition to its new supply agreement with Tesla, the two will collaborate on ways to make the battery supply chain more sustainable. The focus will be on end-to-end raw material traceability using blockchain. Technical exchange for the battery raw materials production, as well as the promotion of the importance of sustainability in the resources sector, will also be a key focus. Part of this includes identifying partners who are aligned with both companies’ principles and battery value chains.

Tesla also plans to work with BHP on energy storage solutions that will help BHP lower carbon emissions in its operations through the increased use of renewable energy combined with battery storage.

Vandita Pant, BHP’s chief commercial officer, shared a statement:

“Demand for nickel in batteries is estimated to grow by over 500 percent over the next decade, in large part to support the world’s rising demand for electric vehicles.

“We are delighted to sign this agreement with Tesla Inc., and to collaborate with them on ways to make the battery supply chain more sustainable through our shared focus on technology and innovation.”

BHP Minerals Australia President, Edgar Basto, touched upon how BHP produces some of the lowest carbon intensity nickel in the world:

“BHP produces some of the lowest carbon intensity nickel in the world, and we are on the pathway to net-zero at our operations. Sustainable, reliable production of quality nickel will be essential to meeting demand from sustainable energy producers like Tesla Inc.

“The investments we have made in our assets and our pursuit of commodities like nickel will help support global decarbonization and position us to generate long-term value for our business.”

In the video above, Samantha Langley, Principal, Business Development at BHP, shared that the company was at the beginning of a revolution that will transform our world.

“We signed a nickel supply agreement with one of the world’s leading sustainable energy companies, Tesla. This is an alliance that will promote sustainability in the mining and resources sector. And Nickel West is one of the most sustainable nickel producers in the world.”

Fiona Wild, Vice President, Sustainability & Climate Change for BHP, described nickel as the workhorse for lithium-ion batteries and pointed out that it has a really important role to play in decarbonization,

“We expect to see an increase in demand. So this is really a future-facing commodity.”

The Tesla Effect on the Mining Industry

In 2019, just after Elon Musk shared that Tesla might get into the mining business, I shared a video from Sean Mitchell who shared his thoughts as to why Tesla getting into the mining business made sense. Mining Journal noted that Elon Musk was commenting on battery scaling, which was one of the challenges that Tesla was facing at the time.

“There’s not much point in adding product complexity if we don’t have enough batteries,” he told the meeting.


“We’re matching the product roll-out according to the scaling of battery production, that’s really the main limiting factor.

“As we scale battery production to very high levels, we actually have to look further down the supply chain.

“We might get into the mining business, I don’t know — maybe a little bit at least,” he quipped.

“But we’ll do whatever we have to, to ensure we can scale at the fastest rate possible.”

Towards the end of my article, I mentioned at the time that it would be interesting to see how Tesla would influence the mining industry since Elon Musk is well known for revolutionizing industries that he gets into. As you can see with this latest bit of news, Tesla is definitely impacting the future of mining with renewables plus battery storage.

Once BHP achieves its goal of net-zero emissions, how it accomplished this with Tesla’s help will be a blueprint for other mining companies.

World’s Largest Oil Trader Pays Billions To Execs, Staff

By Julianne Geiger - Jul 23, 2021, 4:30 PM CDT

The coronavirus pandemic was good to the oil trading segment of the energy industry. While oil and gas companies floundered as oil demand tanked and lockdowns ensued, oil traders such as Vitol Group made a killing. And Vitol just shared its spoils with its employees--$2.9 billion of it, anyway.

Vitol Group’s $2.9 billion payment was the most it has ever paid out. A fact that seems fitting given the record results that the commodity trader saw in 2020. Its net profit last year was $3.2 billion, most of which was earned during the horrific Q2 that saw oil prices go negative.

But while the rest of the oil industry was hemorrhaging money, Vitol was raking it in.

Overall, according to Bloomberg, citing annual accounts, Vitol has paid out $19 billion over the paid 17 years to its partners. The money that Vitol Group, a privately held company, distributes is paid out to its 350 top employees through share buybacks.

A Good Time to be a Commodity Trader

If that money were to be spread out evenly across those 350 owner-partners, it would equate to more than $8 million. And this would be on top of the $2 billion payouts they received last year. And this would also be on top of their regular salaries, of course.

Speaking of salaries, Vitol increased that too. In 2020, Vitol saw a 67% increase in its salary bill, to $1.23 billion, which is spread across 2,480 employees.

Vitol’s banner years in 2019 and 2020 were under the leadership of a new CEO, Russell Hardy, who was presented with unique challenges—and volatile oil prices—as 2020 started out with warmer than usual weather, tensions in the Middle East, the oil price war, and the coronavirus lockdowns.

Vitol trades about 7 million barrels of crude oil and products per day.

When asked in February 2020 whether Vitol would be able to make money off this volatility, Hardy replied, “Well, volatility is not our business.”

By Julianne Geiger for Oilprice.com