The Barrel: the essential perspective on global commodities

J Robinson
Senior Writer

Mexico’s liberalized natural gas market in an era of nationalism

May 22, 2019 10:40 UTC

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In December, Mexico’s energy market reform turned five years old. The event was unceremoniously marked by the inauguration of Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, or AMLO—a nationalist, left-leaning presidential candidate elected partly on a promise to dismantle it.

While the recent growth of Mexico’s reformed gas market has surpassed the expectations of many, it now faces new challenges ahead.

In an early move that rattled investors, president-elect Lopez Obrador in October announced the cancellation of Mexico City’s new international airport. The decision followed an unofficial, popular referendum on the project that AMLO called an exemplary exercise of democracy.

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gas, LNG, Mexico, Policy, US

Seth Clare
Senior pricing specialist

IMO 2020 could create fierce competition for scarce water resources

May 21, 2019 10:48 UTC

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The International Maritime Organization (IMO) regulations set to take effect in 2020 have sparked mountains of research on the expected costs for the energy and maritime sectors. Less thought has been given to IMO 2020’s environmental consequences, especially on water demand.

The US refining complex will need more water than ever before after IMO 2020 comes into effect. This conclusion is based primarily on forecasting from S&P Global Platts Analytics and the US Energy Information Administration along with the findings of recent academic research.

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diesel, gasoline, IMO 2020, oil, refining

Andrew Critchlow
Head of news, EMEA

US war with Iran unlikely, but would devastate oil markets: Fuel for Thought

May 20, 2019 07:10 UTC

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Drone attacks on pipelines in Saudi Arabia and the mysterious alleged sabotage of tankers near Fujairah sent pulses racing, but a phony war in the Persian Gulf failed to trigger a feared triple-digit surge in crude prices.

A hot war, however, between the US and Iran could be an entirely different matter.

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geopolitics, Iran, oil, OPEC, Saudi Arabia, US

Emma Slawinski
Editor, Platts Insight

Energy and commodities highlights: Middle East tensions, Panama Canal, global EV sales

May 17, 2019 11:26 UTC

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The past week was marked by heightened geopolitical tensions as attacks on ships and oil infrastructure in the Middle East spread jitters through oil markets.

On May 12, the UAE government said that four commercial vessels suffered “sabotage” in the Gulf of Oman, without giving more specific details about the nature of the attack. The following day, a drone attack halted flows through Saudi Arabia’s main oil transport pipeline to terminals and refineries on the Red Sea.

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coal, EVs, geopolitics, LNG, metals, oil, trade wars

Emmanuel Latham and Felix Maire
S&P Global Platts

Evolving battery technology will alter demand for raw materials

May 16, 2019 06:28 UTC

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Ahead of the S&P Global Platts Global Metals Awards in London, on May 16, The Barrel presents a special series of articles looking at the global metals trade. Emmanuel Latham and Felix Maire take a look at how changing battery chemistries will affect markets for metals like cobalt, nickel and lithium.

As the automotive sector hits difficult times, electric vehicles are proving to be one area in which horizons seem bright.

Global light duty plug-in electric vehicles were up 43% year on year in February as depicted in the latest Platts Analytics EV Essentials data, and several carmakers are increasing their commitment to the electrification of passenger vehicles.

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batteris, cobalt, EVs, lithium, nickel

Laura Huchzermeyer
Managing editor, Americas crude

Increased trade tensions could squelch US crude flow to China

May 15, 2019 14:30 UTC

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Escalation of trade tensions between the US and China is likely to further dampen US crude flows to China, at time when China was seen stepping back into the US market following a cooling-off period.

Although crude oil imports are not included in the latest round of China’s tariff increases to US goods announced on May 13, the heightened tensions between the two countries has been enough to put the brakes on oil trade.

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China, oil, tariffs, US

Andrew Critchlow
Head of news, EMEA

African swine flu impact spreads over Chinese economy, global commodity prices

May 15, 2019 08:57 UTC

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Bacon could soon be off the fried breakfast menu. African swine flu is sweeping across South East Asia and threatening to spread even further after decimating some pig farmers in China, which consumes more pork than any other country. The virulent disease is now creating a domino effect for commodities markets, farmers and consumers.

HSBC’s closely watched aggregated commodity price index of 20 key resources gained 2% last month, with the cost of pork showing the biggest increase. Pork prices tracked by the bank’s commodities research unit gained by almost 40%. The cause of this unwelcome inflation is China’s pig crisis.

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agriculture, China, Europe, soybeans, US

Jun Kai Heng
Associate editor, metals

Iron ore markets digest impact of Vale tailings dam disaster

May 14, 2019 09:24 UTC

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Ahead of the S&P Global Platts Global Metals Awards in London, on May 16, The Barrel presents a special series of articles looking at the global metals trade. Here, Jun Kai Heng looks at how iron ore buyers and sellers are adapting to tightened supply of specific products, following the accident at one of Vale’s Brazilian operations in January.

On January 25, a Vale tailings dam in Brumadinho, part of its Southern Systems mining operations, collapsed, resulting in massive loss of life and a significant impact on its iron ore supply chain over the longer term.

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Brazil, China, iron ore, steel

Paul Hickin
Associate editorial director

Insight Conversation: Carole Nakhle, Crystol Energy

May 13, 2019 12:07 UTC

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Carole Nakhle, CEO of independent consultancy Crystol Energy and founder of Access for Women in Energy, spoke to Paul Hickin about energy transitions and shifting oil and gas politics.

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geopolitics, oil, OPEC, Russia, Saudi Arabia, US

Paul Bartholomew and Jing Zhang
Steel markets, APAC

Chinese steel output rises relentlessly despite plant closures

May 13, 2019 09:17 UTC

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Ahead of the S&P Global Platts Global Metals Awards in London, on May 16, The Barrel presents a special series of articles looking at the global metals trade. Paul Bartholomew and Jing Zhang take an in-depth look at China’s steel production in recent years, and the likely trajectory in 2019.

Just a few years ago, market updates from major iron ore producers Rio Tinto and BHP routinely stated that they expected Chinese crude steel production to reach 1 billion metric tons by the end of the next decade.

This sounded like an incredible amount of steel, particularly as China’s economic growth trajectory was heading south. Further, such a prediction seemed unrealistic given China’s steel output had retreated by 2.3% in 2015 to just under 804 million mt. › Continue Reading

China, economics, industrial policy, steel

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