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Korea's growing ‘no-spend challenge’ trend has people saving more amid rising inflation



Jane Nam
Thu, July 21, 2022 

South Korea’s “no-spend challenge” trend has citizens saving more, with some boasting of their zero-expenditures on social media.

On Instagram, there are currently over 3,000 posts using hashtags such as “no spend,” “no-spend challenge” and “no-spend day.”

One user, @jjeon_bu, dedicates their entire account to posting what appears to be weekly updates on their ledgers.



Their bio reads, “a new employee in their 20s who dreams of financial freedom.”

Each post is broken down into “income” and “expenditures,” with an explanation of some of the costs, including “books,” “appointment with friend” and “former savings.”

For their report on Wednesday, which was payday, they start their day by gaining 63 won ($0.048) from their bank in interest before taking out a 22,000 won ($16.77) expense for a date with a friend and 14,320 won ($10.92) for books.

More from NextShark: 'You are kind and gentle': TikToker helping an elderly Asian woman cross the street warms hearts

“I couldn’t do ‘no-spending’ but I only bought what was absolutely necessary! My best friend left for language training so I met with him for a farewell meal. I also bought Ramkun’s book after only borrowing it and so I can finally underline it.”

They noted that they bought their book at a discounted price before concluding that, “the farewell was an unavoidable expense.”

Koreans, especially Millennials and Generation Z, are making an effort to cut out what they deem to be “unnecessary costs.”

More from NextShark: Chinese man teaches his dog how to start the rice cooker while he is away in viral video

Kim Ji-yeon, a 29-year-old elementary school teacher, restricts herself to only eating out on the weekends and, instead of going to cafes after lunch, she limits herself to the free instant coffees available in her office.

“I first heard about the ‘no-spend challenge’ on Instagram,” she told The Korea Herald. “[I] thought it was a good way to save money. I was able to save around 200,000 won ($153) in two weeks.”

While experts such as Inha University consumer science professor Lee Eun-hee warn that extreme saving habits can be harmful if conducive to “cutting off friends and isolating yourself,” inflation and high costs of living are leaving many people with no choice.

According to a report from Korea Statistics, the consumer price index has surged by 6 percent to 108.22 as of June this year, the highest point in the last 23 years and seven months.

The misery index was also reported to be the highest in seven years, relaying the economic distress citizens have been facing with rising unemployment and inflation rates.

The Korean won hit its 13-year low in June, making 1,300 won equal to a mere U.S. dollar. This especially affected students studying abroad, whose parents are experiencing firsthand the brunt of the weakening home currency.

Featured Image via Getty Images

U.S. pipeline companies eye nat gas infrastructure for growth


 The headquarters of U.S. energy exporter and pipeline operator 

Kinder Morgan Inc. is seen in Houston

Wed, July 20, 2022 
By Laila Kearney

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. midstream companies have set their sights on natural gas pipelines and export terminals as a key growth opportunity as investor pressures and political headwinds make new crude oil pipeline projects unpalatable.

U.S. pipeline operators are expected to have benefited from high oil and gas prices and rising domestic production in the second quarter, though some analysts warn that the decline in consumer demand late in the quarter could affect results.

Earnings per share for five of the top U.S. oil pipeline companies are expected to have grown about 15% from the year ago period, according to a Reuters analysis.

Natural gas projects are expected to be the mainstay of growth in coming years as production rises and shippers find new customers in Europe, which is trying to wean itself off of Russian energy, and in Asia, where many countries are boosting imports of LNG.

"The biggest opportunity right now is primarily in serving LNG, whether it's adding U.S. export capacity or building pipelines to bring the gas to LNG terminals," said Stephen Ellis, a strategist at financial services firm Morningstar.

Kinder Morgan Inc, which kicks off the midstream earnings season on Wednesday, recently received the green light to finance expanded capacity on its Permian Highway Pipeline, which ships gas from west Texas to Houston for export.

The Houston-based pipeline operator is expected to report earnings per share of 27 cents for the quarter ended June 30, compared to adjusted earnings of 23 cents per share from the same period a year ago.

The expansion followed several proposals to build liquefied natural gas (LNG) processing plants along the U.S. Gulf Coast, which have the potential for liquefaction of about 3.1 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) of new gas supply, to take advantage of rising European and Asian demand.

Total natural gas output in the largest U.S. shale basins is expected to increase 0.7 billion bcfd to a record 93.0 bcfd in August, according to an Energy Information Administration forecast. Other companies looking to add new gas pipelines, particularly in the Permian, include units of Energy Transfer LP and MPLX LP.

A major challenge for midstream operators in coming years will be whether they are able to build new pipelines in areas outside the U.S. Gulf.

"Everybody has pretty much given up on ever doing another long-haul pipeline anywhere outside of Texas and, maybe, Louisiana," said Bradley Olsen, lead portfolio manager for Recurrent Investment Advisors' midstream infrastructure strategy.

The industry is watching the ongoing legal and environmental battle over the completion of Equitrans Midstream Corp's natural gas Mountain Valley Pipeline from northwestern West Virginia to southern Virginia. That line is expected to be finished next year, but has been embroiled in legal battles that have kept it from completion.

In contrast to natural gas, crude oil pipeline capacity exceeds production. Currently, there are roughly 8 million barrels per day of Permian crude pipeline capacity and less than 5.5 million bpd of production, according to EIA and Morningstar figures.

(Reporting by Laila Kearney in New York. Additional reporting by Arathy Somasekhar in Houston; editing by David Evans)

Germany plans immigration reforms to attract foreign workers


FILE PHOTO: The sun sets behind the skyline of Frankfurt


Wed, July 20, 2022 


BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany, faced with labour shortages that are contributing to soaring inflation, plans reforms to its immigration system to make itself more attractive to skilled workers who currently lean towards other rich countries, ministers said.

Labour Minister Hubertus Heil and Interior Ministry Nancy Faeser wrote in an article for business newspaper Handelsblatt that they wanted to turn Germany into an immigration destination.

"If we want to attract clever people, we have to offer them more than just simpler processes," they wrote.

"We're competing in the search for skilled labour with countries like the United States, Canada and Australia. We're talking good jobs, jobs with collective wage bargaining."

Europe's largest economy's need for skilled labour continues unabated, exacerbated by the country's ageing population. In June, almost 40% of employers in the engineering sector experienced shortages, economic research institute Ifo said.

Competition for skilled labour has intensified around the world, especially in industries where the COVID-19 pandemic has normalised home working, leading to narrowing wage differentials between wealthy and emerging economies.

German politicians hope the country's strong labour protections and human rights laws can help to attract skilled foreign workers.

"Germany has for a long time struggled to make itself visible as an immigration country," said Misbah Khan, migration policy specialist and member of parliament for the Green party, which is part of the centre-left coalition government. "Our strong civic rights are an important plus point."

Legislation announced last week will allow migrants already in Germany more time to find a job, but the two ministers said they wanted to go further to attract people from outside the EU who do not have an automatic right to work in the bloc.

Among the promised changes is a measure allowing industry trade associations to recognise foreign qualifications, sparing applicants the lengthy process usually needed to check their equivalence with Germany's certifications.

The ministers wrote that other countries do not have this hurdle. "Qualified workers steer wide of Germany," they said.

Recognition by a trade association would entitle people coming to Germany from overseas to a one-year visa to look for a job, they said.

(Reporting by Thomas Escritt, editing by Rachel More and Jane Merriman)

UNITED SLAVE STATES OF AMERIKA

23-Year-Old Black Man Shot

'Execution-Style' By California Police

Danteé Ramos 

Thu, July 21, 2022

A 23-year-old man was fatally shot while running from the San Bernardino police in California. Surveillance footage shows an officer firing at Robert Adams just seconds after pulling up in an unmarked vehicle.

Security camera footage shows two officers driving up in an unmarked car around 8 p.m. as Adams stood in the parking lot. 

“Police in San Bernardino, CA, fatally shot 23-year-old Robert Adams execution-style! It’s reported Robert didn’t know there were police in the unmarked car before he ran for his life. We need a full investigation into this horrific execution!” Ben Crump, the lawyer representing George Floyd’s family, tweeted.

Adams ran from the officers when they stepped out of their vehicle car. The clip shows that within seconds of getting out of the car, one of the officers fired at Adams from a distance, causing Adams to hit the floor.

The two officers have not been identified, but Adams’s family asks for murder charges to be filed against them.

Since the video’s release, Adams’ family has been urging authorities to file murder charges against the officers who have not been identified.

The two officers were considered to be with a “specialized investigations unit” and were “conducting surveillance in an unmarked vehicle” after “receiving information that a Black male armed with a gun was in the parking lot,” the San Bernardino police department said in a statement.

The two police officers say they gave verbal instructions after stepping out of the unmarked car and that Adams had a gun in his hand as he ran.

Adams’ family argues that their loved ones probably did not know they were officers when they arrived.

Adams’ mother, Tamika Deavila King, said she wants criminal prosecution after losing her son.

“A part of me is gone now, and I can’t ever get it back. I want criminal prosecution and I want justice and I never want another mother to have to bear this pain. It hurts so bad,” Deavila told the Guardian.

Audwin King, Adams’ stepfather, is standing behind his wife and is demanding complete retribution for his stepson’s killing.

“We want full justice for our son. We want cops like that off of the force. Police are supposed to protect and serve, not hunt and kill, and we can see that is what that man did. My stepson didn’t have a chance to defend himself, and the officer jumped out with the intention to gun him down like a dog in the streets,” King said.

Adams did not fire at the officers, according to Jennifer Kohrell, a spokesperson for the police department. The video footage does not show a weapon in Adams’ hands and shows him running in the opposite direction.

Kohrell said Adams “fit the description” of a person of interest police were investigating, but she declined to say whether police confirmed Adams was the person they were looking for.

Police released additional bodycam footage on Tuesday night showing the officer drawing his gun and pointing at Adams before chasing him and quickly firing.

Adams can be seen lying on the ground in pain while an officer stands above and with his weapon pointed at Adams.

“The location has a history of criminal activity,” said the police chief, Darren Goodman, regarding the location where the incident occurred.

Goodman further explained that the officer fired because he was “fearing that bystanders or the officers’ lives were in danger.” However bodycam clips do not reveal Adams pointing any weapon at the officers, nor does it show any bystanders near the lot.

An ambulance took Adams to a hospital after the shooting, where he died.

On Tuesday, in a statement, Crump said that he and California attorney Bradley Gage were representing Adams’ family.

“It is unbelievable that another Black family has to bury their child due to police shooting first and asking questions later,” the two lawyers said. “Robert appeared to be simply walking around the parking lot when officers exited their unmarked vehicle firing their weapons at him immediately. Robert never even had a chance to explain himself.”

Ben Reynoso, a local councilman, said he stands behind the officers facing criminal charges.

“I’ve been grappling with it all day. To watch him flee and get killed, there’s no justification. It was like an execution,” he said. “How often do we deploy these tactics? And to what end? If this could happen one time, is it happening somewhere else in our city right now?,” questioning the unmarked car decision.

The two officers have not been placed on leave and are currently working.

Police bodycam video shows teen raising arms before shot

Thu, July 21, 2022 
CHICAGO (AP) — Police bodycam video of an officer shooting a 13-year-old boy appears to show the boy raising his hands in the air a moment before shots were fired, according to an attorney for the boy’s family.
The shooting May 18 on the city’s West Side left the boy paralyzed.
The video is from the body camera of an officer running after the 13-year-old believed to have been a passenger in a stolen car. The footage is from another officer involved in the chase.
“Let’s be clear," said Andrew Stroth, an attorney for the boy's family. "What the video shows is an unarmed Black boy, running away from the police, puts his hands up, obeying what he heard from the officers, and without cause or provocations is shot.”
The officer's name has not been released publicly, but WLS-TV said his attorney, Timothy Grace, issued a statement saying the officer believed the boy was armed with a gun. Investigators said they never found a gun at the scene.
“Police officers are required to make split-second decisions and the law not only understands that, but allows for it," Grace said. "Illinois law tells us that we are not supposed to look at these situations with 20-20 hindsight, but rather we should judge the actions of a law enforcement officers from the perspective of a reasonable officer.”

The Civilian Office of Police Accountability is continuing to investigate and has issued no determination. The officer has been restricted to desk duty.

The boy's family has filed a federal lawsuit against the city. The lawsuit identifies the boy only by the initials A.G.

Analysis: Ukraine war rekindles Europe's demand for African oil and gas


A girl walks on a gas pipeline running through Okrika community near Nigeria's oil hub city of Port Harcourt

Thu, July 21, 2022


By Noah Browning, Ron Bousso and Wendell Roelf

BRUSSELS/LONDON/CAPE TOWN (Reuters) - Europe's thirst for oil and gas to replace sanctioned Russian supply is reviving interest in African energy projects that were shunned due to costs and climate change concerns, industry executives and African officials said.

Energy firms are considering projects worth a total of $100 billion on the continent, according to Reuters calculations based on public and private company estimates.

African countries that currently have little or no oil and gas output could see billions in energy investments in the coming years, including Namibia, South Africa, Uganda, Kenya, Mozambique and Tanzania.

Namibia alone could provide around half a million barrels per day in new oil production, following promising exploratory wells in recent months, according to unpublished estimates by two industry consultants.

Africa as a whole could replace as much as one-fifth of Russian gas exports to Europe by 2030, based on estimates by the International Energy Agency (IEA). The Paris-based watchdog said an additional 30 billion cubic metres (bcm) of African gas a year could flow to Europe by then.

"As the world seeks to replace Russian oil and gas volumes ... the industry is now focusing on the advantaged barrels Africa has to offer," said Gil Holzman, CEO of Canadian oil explorer Eco Atlantic Oil & Gas, which holds interests in oil licenses in nearly 30,000 square kilometers offshore Namibia.

"The majors have been building larger positions ... competitively bidding for exploration, development and production acreage," he told Reuters by e-mail, citing activity in the oil basins off Namibia and South Africa.

European sanctions on Russian oil supply and reduced gas flows have sent prices soaring and driven up inflation to 40-year records in some countries. Benchmark Brent crude in March reached near a 15-year high of $139 a barrel.

Investment in African energy has yet to recover from a plunge in oil and gas prices in 2014, the IEA said in a June report, highlighting Africa's potential to ease the supply crunch. Global oil output is set to rise from the pandemic but is then forecast to ebb in the late 2020s, it said.

"We are in the middle of the first truly global energy crisis and we have to find solutions to replace the loss of Russian oil and gas," IEA executive director Fatih Birol told Reuters in an interview in June.

The IEA shocked the oil industry last year by envisioning no investment in new fossil fuel projects in order to meet net zero emissions goals by mid-century.

Companies and countries eyeing oil and gas investments in Africa are aware they must move fast to profit from untapped reserves before the global transition to low carbon technology renders many fossil fuel projects unviable, the executives and officials said, as domestic fuel and power demand also rises.

Last month, Tanzania signed a liquified natural gas (LNG) framework agreement with Norwegian state energy giant Equinor and Anglo-Dutch oil major Shell that accelerates development of a $30 billion export terminal.

Patrick Pouyanne, CEO of French oil giant TotalEnergies, said on a visit to Mozambique's capital Maputo in January that, if security improves, the company aimed to restart a $20 billion LNG project this year that was halted by militancy.

Pouyanne said in May that TotalEnergies needed to make up for declining output and sanctioned Russian supply and was speeding up activity in Namibia, a promising oil frontier.

"Now there is a lot of activity to try to force forward these projects," said Gonçalo Falcão of global law firm Mayer Brown, which advises firms in the African energy space, citing East African gas projects worth tens of billions of dollars. "There is clearly a sense of opportunity to reinforce them."

BIRTH OF VENUS

For new African oil, nowhere looms larger than Namibia.

Not yet a producer, Namibia has had top companies sifting through geographical data and probing its waters for decades until Shell hit in February an "encouraging" supply of light oil - the kind coveted to produce scarce gasoline and diesel.

Nearly two months into the Ukraine crisis, with oil prices near record levels, Shell launched a "back-to-back" exploration well at the site - meaning one well immediately following another - for the first time in the company's nearly 150-year history, according to two industry sources, who declined to be named as exploration continues.

Shell said the quick progress followed the "promising" results of the first well but cautioned in a statement to Reuters that, due to its climate commitments, it would only advance projects "with a credible path to early development ... (that are) resilient and competitive in low- as well as high-price scenarios."

TotalEnergies completed an exploration well in the nearby Venus prospect in March, which it called "significant", with a more advanced appraisal well due in the third quarter.

On Namibia, TotalEnergies told Reuters it will "still have to determine if the volumes are commercially recoverable ... (but) investments remain necessary to satisfy demand".

A senior Shell official, speaking to Reuters on condition of anonymity, estimated it will take around $11 billion to develop the two companies' blocs.

The discoveries could lead to oil production of around half a million barrels per day, according to projections by data firm IHS Markit and estimates from natural resources consultancy Wood Mackenzie shared with Reuters. Both firms cautioned the forecasts were preliminary.

Maggy Shino, petroleum commissioner at the Ministry of Mines and Energy told Reuters time may be running out as the global transition to clean energy looms: "There is a possibility for Namibia to be the last African giant."

"In the wake of the success in drilling off Namibia comes the Ukraine and Russian war ... what we are seeing (is) that currently more companies are looking to invest in Namibia in the search for hydrocarbons," she said, adding the country hopes to begin production from the Shell project by 2026.

STILL CONTENDERS

The efforts are an echo of the initial decades of the post-colonial era when European governments and energy majors like Total, Shell and Eni worked in closer tandem to put Arab North Africa and a gaggle of Sub-Saharan states on the energy map.

Renewed European thirst for gas looks set to help push African output to a peak of nearly 500 billion cubic meters by the late 2030s, according to consultancy Rystad, up from 260 bcm in 2022.

Less sanguine, the IEA projects a peak of natural gas output in its "sustainable Africa scenario" under 300 bcm in 2024. It forecasts oil output will peak this decade at around 6 million bpd of oil in 2022 - down from over 10 million in 2010, indicating a longer life span for gas projects than oil.

More than half of Italian oil major ENI's production comes from Africa and over half its investment in the last four years was there. Its drive to boost output there since the oil price rise sparked by the Ukraine war has dovetailed with initiatives by Rome.

Eni CEO Claudio Descalzi together with senior government delegations travelled to Algeria, Gabon and Angola in April and inked agreements to boost exports to Europe.

"Africa now has a huge opportunity. Following the recent crisis in Ukraine, the global context of the energy markets and supply were radically changed -- not for a matter or years but for decades," Eni's Chief Exploration Officer Luca Bertelli told the Africa Energies Summit in London in May. "Momentum should be captured now".

Top European gas importer Germany stepped up efforts to court Senegal with a state visit by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in May, offering help to tap vast gas resources, though no concrete project was agreed.

"The first thing Germany and Europe can do is buy our gas," said Abd Esselam Ould Mohamed Salah, ministry of petroleum, mines and energy of Mauritania - which shares a vast gas field with neighboring Senegal that is due online next year.

"We welcome the increased interest we are seeing from European countries and companies in developing our resources, which is in our mutual interest," he told Reuters, citing sales of offshore exploration blocs.

(Reporting By Noah Browning and Ron Bousso in London, Wendell Roelf in Cape Town, Andreas Rinke in Berlin, Helen Reid in Johannesburg and David Gaffen in New York; Editing by Daniel Flynn)

Europe Does A Complete U-Turn On African Oil And Gas

Editor OilPrice.com
Wed, July 20, 2022 

European governments are scouring the world for natural gas as they seek to reduce their overwhelming and increasingly uncomfortable dependence on Russia's Gazprom.

Besides the United States, which has done its best to supply as much LNG as possible to its European allies, several African countries have emerged as potential sources of additional gas supplies. But they are not exactly happy about it.

"The gas here goes to Bonny and Europe to power homes and industries but we have no benefits from it," one local community development activist from the Niger Delta told Bloomberg recently. "Nothing comes to us."

The comment was part of an in-depth analysis by Bloomberg on Europe's mad dash for gas that has seen Nigeria, for example, send millions of tons of LNG abroad while local communities use illegally made fuels and wood to stay warm. Nigeria is far from the only one.

Mozambique is one of the biggest LNG hopefuls in the world, and the current energy security anxieties of European leaders have made it even more important. But Mozambique is a troubled country. It is suffering extremist attacks on civilians that have, in addition to the tragedy of human deaths, delayed the development of the country's gas reserves.

Yet there is a much bigger problem with Europe and its thirst for African hydrocarbons. Hypocrisy.

For years, new oil and gas field development and pipeline construction projects across Africa have suffered setbacks because of Western banks and governments' unwillingness to fund new hydrocarbon projects as the crusade on carbon emissions gathered pace.

Now, suddenly, the tables have turned with a deafening crash. The G7 is suddenly all for new oil and gas investments abroad after committing to suspend these just last November at the COP26. And Europe, that same Europe that has been advising African countries to focus on renewable energy and keep the oil and gas in the ground, is now asking for gas.

The International Energy Agency has joined the discourse, too, adding urgency to the continent's hydrocarbon development outlook. In a report released last month, the IEA said African gas producers had limited time to commercialize their resources, saying these producers needed to act quickly because the world would only need gas for a while before going low-carbon.

Apparently, the large-scale development of African gas resources was not at odds with Paris Agreement targets, according to the IEA's secretary-general, Fatih Birol. He told Reuters back in June that "If we make a list of the top 500 things we need to do to be in line with our climate targets, what Africa does with its gas does not make that list."

He also said that if African countries with gas reserves turned all of these reserves into production, this production could reach 90 billion cubic meters per year by 2030, of which two-thirds could be used domestically and the rest exported.

That would be 30 billion cubic meters for exports, equivalent to what the United States and Qatar, taken together, can supply annually to Europe. For context, Russian gas exports to Europe totaled 158 billion cubic meters last year.

Of course, to do that, energy companies and other funding providers would need to strengthen their walk-back on emission reduction commitments. They will probably do just that, on the basis that 'it's only for a short while", as Germany's government said when it decided to restart coal plants.

But there are environmental concerns about the long-term viability of gas production in Africa itself.

"It's difficult to predict how long this opportunity will be there, especially in the context of the energy transition, the world moving away from the fossil fuels," Silas Olan'g, Africa co-director of the Natural Resources Governance Institute, a New York-based environmental NGO, told NPR recently. "I think they are kind of misleading most of the governments," he said.

The situation is pretty complicated. On the one hand, some, notably the leaders of African countries with oil and gas reserves, feel that these countries deserve the chance to exploit these reserves the way Western countries did, which was instrumental in their evolution into developed economies.

While a year ago, the West would have frowned at this argument, now it is in the West's interest to support it wholeheartedly, so it gets a piece of the gas—and oil, why not—pie.

But on the other hand, there are environmentalists in Africa, too, and they are concerned that the continent's gas-rich countries may be going into a trap of stranded gas assets. It is difficult to argue with this concern when so many think tanks active in the same area as the NRGI are warning about such stranded assets.

Of course, the current U-turn being made by Europe and the U.S. appears to counter the argument of stranded assets and suggests that gas-rich African countries such as Nigeria, Senegal, Angola, and Equatorial Guinea have sufficient time to monetize their resources. If the U-turners are willing to provide the money for it.

By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com

The US is the world’s biggest oil producer — so why do we still need to import crude and ask countries like Saudi Arabia for help?

Chris Clark
Thu, July 21, 2022 

The US is the world’s biggest oil producer — so why do we still need to import crude and ask countries like Saudi Arabia for help?

Oil prices are high, energy worries are roiling the global economy, and the cost of filling up the gas tank is fueling one of the biggest economic shocks in U.S. history.

Unfortunately for American drivers, it’s familiar territory in a country that simultaneously leads the world in oil production but is among the planet’s biggest oil importers.

Gas prices have started to retreat, bringing small relief in the dead of the summer travel season. But those prices still hover at $4.40 per gallon nationally.

Considering President Biden’s failure to win production increases from Saudi Arabia — along with the criticized decision to send 5 million barrels from reserves to Europe and Asia — attention is again turning to the frustrating paradox of America’s oil export/import status.

At $75 or more for a tank, it can be frustrating to watch as domestic oil leaves U.S. ports faster than foreign oil comes in. But it’s a decades-old challenge, and only the nature of the crisis has changed.
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Leading from behind

The United States is the world’s top producer of oil (including crude, other petroleum liquids, and biofuels) and has been since 2018. According to the U.S. Energy Information Agency, it’s not even close.

The EIA reports that as of 2021, the U.S. produced 18.88 million barrels per day — or about 10 million per day more than no. 2 Saudi Arabia (10.84 million) and no. 3 Russia (10.78 million).

The EIA also notes that the U.S. is the largest oil consumer, using 20.54 million barrels a day, or 20% of the global stock, and well ahead of no. 2 China (14.01 million). The U.S. imported 7.86 million barrels of oil per day last year, the EIA report reveals.

So if America is producing roughly the same amount of oil as it imports, and interest in renewables is rising, shouldn’t it be true that the U.S. would not be so reliant on foreign oil, and that energy price anxieties should subside because U.S. stocks would be more than adequate?

Not by a long shot.

Oil price and politics

The reasons for the import/export discrepancy are actually fairly straightforward. Chief among them:

Foreign oil is cheaper: The cost of extraction is usually lower in other countries.

Rystad Energy, a private energy research firm, found in a 2020 analysis that Middle Eastern oil fields have the world’s lowest production cost at $31 a barrel. The U.S. produced oil from deepwater wells was at $43 a barrel, with fracking-produced oil costing $44 a barrel.

Energy as a weapon: Prices are frequently connected to how nations regard the environmental, economic, and geopolitical impacts of their oil.

Some concerns weigh heavier than others. Russia, for instance, is widely seen as using oil as a tool to gain concessions over its invasion of Ukraine.

The Russian invasion eventually prompted President Biden to sign a ban on Russian oil imports, but it’s unclear how much the ban has deterred Vladimir Putin. Europe now faces new uncertainty about accessibility to critical Russian oil ahead of winter.

Not all oil is the same: This is a fundamental challenge for the U.S., where much of the nation’s refining capacity is built to handle the heavy, harder-to-refine crude imported from the Middle East and elsewhere. That U.S. capacity wasn’t aimed at refining the kind of light, sweet crude that characterizes the flush oil fields of Oklahoma, Texas, and elsewhere.

Shifting U.S. refining capacity to light crude could create incredible upheaval in the market and jeopardize enormous existing investments, the American Petroleum Institute says.

Attempts to correct that mismatch have almost always stalled out, often over environmental protests or other political realities. Most believe the current situation won’t change until new refining capacity comes online or the current capacity is upgraded to handle what the U.S. produces. The costs of such a shift would be enormous.
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US is only a few days away from an ‘absolute explosion’ on inflation — here are 3 shockproof sectors to help protect your portfolio

Vale’s Plan to Turn Around $40 Billion Unit Suffers Fresh Blow

Vinícius Andrade and Mariana Durao
Wed, July 20, 2022 


(Bloomberg) -- Vale SA’s plan to turn around its copper and nickel-mining unit is taking longer than expected, risking a delay to a possible sale or spinoff of a group the miner says could be worth $40 billion.

The world’s second-largest iron producer slashed its annual goal for copper output by 19% as it grapples with extended maintenance and additional stoppages at some mills. In the first six months of the year, Vale’s nickel and copper production fell 10% and 25%, respectively.

Vale has been looking for alternatives to unlock value at its base-metals unit, which accounted for almost 15% of the Rio de Janeiro-based firm’s revenue in 2021. The company is yet to decide on whether it would spin off the division responsible for copper and nickel assets, or possibly merge that business with the assets of another company.

After facing several operational setbacks in 2021 -- including a fire at a Brazil’s Salobo copper mine and workers trapped in a Canadian mining –- the company signaled it would need another year of improving mine performance before deciding what to do with the division.

The process of stabilizing Vale’s base-metals operations “remains rocky,” Banco Bradesco BBI analyst Thiago Lofiego said. “We do note that production guidance implies a relevant recovery in production” in the second half of the year, he said. Analysts at Banco BTG Pactual SA analysts said investors may get less confident on the company’s execution.

MONOPOLY CAPITALI$M

EXPLAINER-How will Rogers' C$20 bln contested bid for Shaw play out

By Divya Rajagopal

TORONTO, July 21 (Reuters) - Rogers Communications faces a tough antitrust regulator and a July 31 deadline to close its C$20 billion ($15.5 billion) acquisition of Calgary-based Shaw Communications.

With all eyes now on the Competition Tribunal, the antitrust agency, the Competition Bureau, Canada, and Rogers-Shaw will argue their case. Here’s a look at how the legal battle is expected to play out.

WHAT IS THE DISPUTE ABOUT?

Canada's competition agency has blocked the merger on the grounds that the deal will reduce competition in Canada and said the concession offered by Rogers in the form of the sale of Freedom Mobile, a unit of Shaw, is not enough to ease regulator's concerns. Earlier this month the parties entered a two-day mediation process which remain unresolved.


WHAT ARE THE NEXT STEPS

Rogers-Shaw will have to extend their closing date of the transaction, set to expire on July 31. At the tribunal, the parties will continue their negotiations and try to find a solution. In the first week of August there will be a series of hearings based on any additional documents filed by both parties.

The tribunal will also hear the interventions filed by Quebecor, which has agreed to buy Freedom, if necessary.

Between August 15 to August 26, the parties will start pre-hearing talks to find a solution, but if no outcome is reached, the talks will continue into September and October. If the pre-hearings fail to resolve the bureau's concerns, the formal public hearing will kick off in the tribunal on November 7 and could drag till December 14.

In the past when the bureau has challenged a merger of a similar nature at the tribunal, the litigation has lasted around 12 to 14 months.

WHAT ARE THE VARIOUS POSSIBILITIES

At any point of time during this process the parties can settle through a consent agreement, where the parties agree to certain conditions under which the deal will be approved.

Besides selling Freedom Mobile, the bureau could ask Rogers to divest Shaw Mobile, the wireless business of Shaw and other assets including spectrum, Reuters reported.

Or Rogers can make the argument that the efficiency brought by the deal outweigh the anti-competition concerns and fight it out in the tribunal till a verdict is reached, lawyers familiar with the process said.

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT

If the tribunal rules in favour of the competition bureau, Rogers could approach the federal court. If the tribunal backs Rogers, then the fate of the deal will be decided by the Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry.

($1 = 1.2880 Canadian dollars)

(Reporting by Divya Rajagopal Editing by Diane Craft)

GM’s CEO Mary Barra doubles down on prediction she’ll beat Elon Musk in electric vehicle sales by 2025. Right now he outsells her by 14x


Julia Nikhinson—AP Images

Christine Mui
Wed, July 20, 2022 

Elon Musk’s Tesla currently sells more electric cars than any other company in the U.S. and holds over 60% of the U.S. market share.

With a lead like that, it seems unlikely that Tesla will be usurped anytime soon.

But General Motors CEO Mary Barra doubled down on a bold challenge to Musk earlier this week: By 2025, her company will be selling the most electric vehicles in the U.S.

Barra first made the prediction to CNBC in October 2021, replying “absolutely” when asked if she thinks GM can catch up to Tesla by the middle of this decade.

Tesla does not report U.S. numbers separate from its global sales, but Cox Automotive estimates it sold 352,471 cars to American drivers last year. That’s around 14 times more than GM’s Chevrolet brand. After a recall due to battery fire risks and paused production, Chevrolet finished the year with fewer than 25,000 electric vehicles sold, trailing third behind Tesla and Ford in U.S. sales, according to CNBC.

The prediction is part of GM’s larger goal to sell only zero-emission vehicles by 2035. It has pledged to invest $35 billion in electric and autonomous vehicles so that it can roll out 30 new battery-powered models globally leading up to 2025.

A GM spokesperson told Fortune that its four planned U.S.-based battery plants will expand capacity in North America to "build 1 million EVs by the end of 2025, as well as an additional 1 million units of capacity in China."

"We already have the best-selling EV in China. Our EV deliveries in North America in 2022 are growing again now that the Chevrolet Bolt EV and EUV are back in production," the spokesperson said.

They added that next year, the company is launching three high-volume Chevrolet EVs—the Silverado, Blazer, and Equinox—and have many other EV projects that will launch before 2025.

Beating Tesla on pricing

To beat Tesla in two and a half years, GM’s strategy is to deliver high-range electric cars at affordable prices.

“To really get to 30, 40, 50% EVs being sold, you have to appeal to people that are in that $30,000 to $35,000 price range,” Barra told the Associated Press.

Last month, the Detroit-based manufacturer cut prices on its 2023 Chevrolet Bolt EV and Bolt EUV by $6,000. The Bolt EV now starts at ​​$26,595, making it one of the least expensive electric vehicles in the U.S. The Bolt EUV sells for $28,195. And this September, GM is expected to reveal the Equinox EV, a $30,000 compact SUV set to join Chevrolet’s offerings in the fall of 2023.

The cheapest Tesla for sale right now is a rear-wheel drive Model 3, which sells for $46,990, following a 34% price hike in March. Over the last two years, the company has repeatedly hiked prices across its models. Supply-chain issues and inflation have made those increases necessary, Musk said.

Last Friday, Musk tweeted, “If inflation calms down, we can lower prices for cars,” responding to an inquiry on Tesla’s plans after pandemic supply-chain issues have been resolved.

But even before inflation troubles, Tesla’s prices were higher than GM's. When Tesla first announced its Model 3, it actively promoted, and Musk himself personally promised, a $35,000 starting price. For a brief period, Tesla did sell the Model 3 off-menu for $35,000 before getting rid of that version altogether for the 2021 model year.

Tesla did not respond to Fortune’s request for comment.

Challenges ahead for GM

Even with a competitive cost advantage, GM faces a wave of challenges to fulfill its goal of dominating the U.S. electric vehicle market. It’s struggling through the same inflationary pressures, high raw material costs, and semiconductor chip shortage that prompted Tesla’s price increases. To alleviate one of those issues, Barra said, GM will move toward buying and controlling three standard families of semiconductor chips in the coming years.

“We’re also working with a select group of strategic companies to source these for the volumes. We’ll have much better control and a stable supply,” Barra said in the interview.

With the Federal Reserve preparing to raise interest rates, and several economists warning of a looming recession, Barra acknowledged that the current business environment is “pretty volatile right now.”

“We’re looking at many different scenarios as any prudent business leader would to make sure we’re ready for whatever, however the situation evolves,” she added. “I’m an engineer, so I’m a problem solver.”

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com

GM’s Ultium battery inches ahead in the electric range race

Bloomberg News | July 22, 2022 

GM Ultium battery. Credit: General Motors

With the debut of the electric Chevrolet Blazer this week, we’re starting to get a clearer sense of the Ultium battery system General Motors has been developing along with LG the past several years and how it stacks up against the powertrains in vehicles on the market.


This has been a tortoise-and-hare race where GM got off to an underwhelming start relative to Tesla, which stormed out ahead of the pack a decade ago with longer-range EVs. While GM has been talking a lot about its plans to sell 30 EVs globally by 2025, Ford, Hyundai, Kia and Volkswagen have had more traction lately establishing themselves as challengers to Tesla.

GM has argued its Ultium-based vehicles may be a year or two behind, but they’ll be worth the wait. The automaker didn’t want to just retrofit the chassis of existing models and stick batteries into the floor. Its vehicles would deliver the longer driving range vital to win over consumers who haven’t yet been persuaded to go electric.

For the most part, GM looks like it will be vindicated, although not necessarily because of radically better range.

Two of GM’s Ultium-powered vehicles — the GMC Hummer pickup and Cadillac Lyriq SUV — just went into production, and a trio of Chevy EVs will go on sale next year. The Lyriq offers about 86 miles more driving distance on its 100 kilowatt-hour battery than the similarly priced Audi e-Tron.

GM estimates the Hummer pickup will go up to 350 miles, but with a massive battery in a 9,200-pound beast carrying all kinds of off-roading hardware, it’s difficult to gauge just how efficient it really is.

The Blazer offers the best indication yet of Ultium’s merits. The RS version will go an estimated 320 miles, compared to 318 miles for Tesla’s long-range Model Y, 314 miles for Ford’s Mustang Mach-E, 310 miles for Kia’s EV6 and 303 miles for Hyundai’s Ioniq 5. While Chevy may be able to brag about segment-leading range, it’s not a head-turning advantage.

That said, the Blazer is almost six inches longer and four inches wider than the Model Y and Mustang Mach-E, meaning it may offer a combination of slightly longer range and roomier interior. We’ll have to see once the model is available for a test drive.

As for upcoming pickups, GM’s electric Chevy Silverado will go about 400 miles on a charge with its 200 kWh battery pack when it goes on sale in less than a year. Ford’s recently launched F-150 Lightning goes 320 miles on a 131 kWh battery. So while GM will have an edge with respect to maximum range, Ford is holding its own in terms of efficiency.

The real advantage of Ultium may well be at the industrial level: GM can develop more vehicles and offer better variety. The Blazer will be available in rear-wheel drive for customers who want sportier handling, front-wheel drive for those who prioritize traction, and all-wheel drive for the snow belt. I don’t recall seeing a vehicle offering an option of front-, rear- or all-wheel drive.

That’s the bottom line: Even if Ultium ultimately doesn’t offer a huge advantage in terms of battery chemistry or power density, it enables GM to manufacture and market a much broader lineup of models.

(By David Welch)

Deep price cut leads electric 2022 Chevy Bolt EUV's recovery from devastating recall

Mark Phelan, Detroit Free Press
Wed, July 20, 2022 

Chevrolet cut the 2022 Chevrolet Bolt EUV electric vehicle's price $6,300.

Back from an embarrassing production halt due to faulty batteries, the 2022 and 2023 Chevrolet Bolt EUV and Bolt make a strong case for being the best affordable electric vehicle on the market.

Deep price cuts and appealing features including up to 252 miles on a fully charged battery make them attractive alternatives to flashier, more expensive EVs like the Cadillac Lyriq and Ford F-150 Lightning and Rivian R1T.

GM reduced the sticker prices of a Bolt small car $5,900 and cut the slightly larger SUV-style Bolt EUV by $6,300. The new prices will be reflected on the sticker on 2023 models, but the same discount comes off the price of the remaining 2022s.

And, unlike EVs that brag about monthslong waiting lists like keeping the customer waiting is a good thing, you can probably walk out of a dealership with either today. Cox Automotive estimates Chevy has a four-month supply of Bolt EUVs and nearly two months of the smaller Bolts on hand.

That makes either Bolt a good entrée to EVs for people who don’t want to pay a premium for the latest battery technology.

The Bolt was a sensation when it debuted as a 2017 model, sweeping major awards including North American Car of the Year and Free Press Car of the Year. The Bolt EUV, which is a bit bigger and styled to look like a small SUV — it doesn’t offer all-wheel drive, though — debuted in 2021. It was the first Chevy to offer General Motors’ revolutionary Super Cruise hands-free highway driving assistant. It’s still the least expensive vehicle with the system by a wide margin.

Chevrolet cut the 2022 Chevrolet Bolt EUV electric vehicle's price $6,300.

More: Cadillac’s enhanced Super Cruise is just that. Super.

More: 2023 Cadillac Lyriq EV is the answer to some questions, leaves others open

More: Chevrolet Bolt EV to disappear from lineup as new technology rolls out

How much?

The Bolt looks like just another compact small hatchback, a couple of inches shorter than a Kia Soul, but with less character.

That’s largely why Chevy developed the Bolt EUV: It needed an electric vehicle with a little visual pizzazz to boost sales. The EUV is visually distinctive — 6.3 inches longer, fractionally wider and taller, with styling tweaks that make it look more substantial and increase passenger space.

Prices for the 2023 Bolt and Bolt EUV start at $25,600 and $27,200, respectively. All prices exclude destination charge.

Chevrolet cut the 2022 Chevrolet Bolt EUV electric vehicle's price $6,300.

All Bolts come with a 65 kwh lithium-ion battery. A 200-hp electric motor drives the front wheels. Starting with the 2022 model year, all Bolts can accept DC fast charging in addition to the original model’s 240-volt capability.

The Bolt has an EPA estimated range of 252 miles on a full charge. The EUV rates 247 miles.

A full charge at 240v takes about seven hours, perfect for overnight charging at home, the way the Department of Energy estimates more than 80% of EV charging happens.

You get up to 95 miles range in 30 minutes at a DC fast charger, but that’s much slower than new EVs. The Bolt and EUV can only accept DC charging up to 55 kW, while new EVs can charge at 150, 190 or 350 kW.

I tested a top-of-the-line 2022 Bolt EUV Premier. A sporty Redline edition is the only meaningful change coming for the 2023 model.

My test vehicle cost $35,895, after subtracting the $6,300 discount from the window sticker.

The silver — aren’t they all? — EUV Premier was equipped with seven-speaker Bose audio, Super Cruise, panoramic power sun roof, navigation, 10.2-inch touch screen, wireless charging, Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, push-button start, pedestrian assist and automatic braking, heated front seats, power driver’s seat, 17-inch wheels, LED headlights and running lights.

Chevrolet cut the 2022 Chevrolet Bolt EUV electric vehicle's price $6,300.
Behind the wheel

2022 Chevrolet Bolt EUV Premier

Front-wheel-drive five-passenger compact electric vehicle

Price as tested: $35,895 (excluding $995 destination charge)

Reasons to buy: Affordable electric vehicle, Super Cruise available

Shortcomings: DC charging speed, regenerative braking less advanced than newer EVs

The 2023 Chevrolet Bolt EUV Redline Edition includes 17-inch black-painted aluminum wheels. Preproduction model shown. Available Summer 2022.

Why is GM giving me such a deal?

The Bolt and Bolt EUV face several obstacles.

Their most direct competitors, the Nissan Leaf and Hyundai Kona electric, get a $7,500 federal tax credit that comes off the sticker price.

GM no longer qualifies for that credit, paradoxically because it’s sold too many EVs. The credit phases out after an automaker sells 200,000 EVs. It expires because it was intended to encourage automakers to build EVs. The assumption was that after selling 200,000, they wouldn’t need any more convincing, but the effect is that the automakers that began making EVs early are penalized versus latecomers.

Only GM and Tesla have sold that many EVs. Toyota’s likely to hit the ceiling later this year.

President Joe Biden proposed raising the cap to encourage more people to buy EVs, but the a Senate caucus quashed the bill.

The 2023 Chevrolet Bolt EUV Redline Edition includes 17-inch black-painted aluminum wheels. Preproduction model shown. Available Summer 2022.

On top of that disadvantage, the Bolt’s styling, batteries and electronics are out of sync with the EVs drawing the most attention today. GM developed the Bolt on the assumption that EV buyers wanted modest little vehicles that maxed out on efficiency, not style or luxury.

It only took a decade watching Tesla build electric sports cars and hyping its super fast “ludicrous mode” for the rest of the auto industry to figure out that’s not the case. The result: Today’s crop of fast and gorgeous Lucid and Cadillac luxury cars, 1,000-hp Hummer EVs and $90,000 Ford F-150 Lightning Platinums.

Completing a sales-killing trifecta, the Bolts had a disastrous recall under which GM told owners their vehicles could burst into flames while charging. It took months for battery supplier LG to fix the problem and production to resume, but all appears to be well now.

Still, a deep price cut was advisable.

Chevrolet cut the 2022 Chevrolet Bolt EUV electric vehicle's price $6,300.
Safety and driver assistance features

Automatic emergency braking


Front pedestrian braking


Blind spot alert


Cross traffic alert


Automatic high beams


Lane keeping alert and assist


Following distance indicator


Forward collision alert


Adaptive cruise control


Super Cruise
Driving impressions

The Bolt EUV is a roomy and comfortable car. The rear seat has plenty of legroom and the long, SUV-style roof provides good headroom.

The electric motor delivers immediate acceleration and the steering is direct and responsive. The EUV doesn’t pretend to be a sporty vehicle, but its power and maneuverability are everything most owners are likely to want.

A paddle on the left side of the steering wheel allows you to increase energy regeneration when slowing down. I got used to it fairly quickly, but didn’t find it as useful as the variable one-pedal driving settings many EVs offer. In addition, the placement of a paddle on just one side of the steering wheel made it inaccessible in some turns, just when I wanted the most control over deceleration.


EV engineering is progressing rapidly and that’s the most obvious example of a feature that was class-leading when the Bolt was originally engineered, but now trails the competition.

The instruments and controls are clear and generally easy to use. Toggles manage climate functions including temperature, fan speed, seat ventilation and heating. There’s a volume dial, but not one for tuning.

The volume dial, touch screen home button and a dial to scroll through features are closely spaced in a spot that’s hard to see behind the steering wheel. I occasionally hit the wrong one, but owners will probably get used to them.

Over a week’s driving, the EUV’s computer-estimated range tracked closely with my real-world energy efficiency.

There’s a lot to like about the Bolt EUV, but the affordable little EV won’t be around forever. The Orion, Michigan, plant that builds it is scheduled to switch to new vehicles with GM’s latest technology in the next 18 months or so. For now, though, the Bolt EUV is an affirmative answer to the question, “Are there any affordable electric vehicles?”

The 2023 Chevrolet Bolt EUV Redline Edition includes 17-inch black-painted aluminum wheels. Preproduction model shown. Available Summer 2022.
2022 Chevrolet Bolt EUV at a glance

Base price: $33,000 (all prices exclude destination charge)

Front-wheel drive compact 5-passenger electric vehicle

On sale now

Specifications as tested:

Price as tested: $35,995

Motor: Single electric motor

Output: 200-hp/150kW; 266 pound-feet of torque

Transmission: Single-speed direct drive

EPA fuel estimated range: 247 miles

MPGe equivalent to gasoline: 125 city/108 highway/115 combined. 29 kWh/100 miles

EPA estimated annual fuel cost: $550

Charging time: 7 hours @ 240v and 48 amps; 95 miles in 30 minutes with 55kW DC charging

Wheelbase: 105.3 inches

Length: 169.5 inches

Width: 69.7 inches

Height: 63.6 inches

EPA passenger volume: 96.5 cubic feet

Cargo volume: 16.3 cubic feet behind rear seat; 56.9 with rear seat folded

Curb weight: 3,715 pounds

Assembled in Orion, Michigan

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Looking for an affordable EV? Grab a Chevy Bolt EUV while you can.