Since 2000 OPEC oil production falls to lowest level
Crude oil production among members of OPEC has this year collapsed to a generational low, at just 16.13 million barrels daily, Reuters reported, citing a regular survey it conducts on OPEC production. The amount is the lowest since 2000, the publication noted.
The May average is also lower than OPEC production at the height of the Covid lockdowns, when the reduction was prompted by the collapse in demand as a result of the lockdowns. It is worth noting, however, that the May OPEC figure excludes the UAE, which left the group as of the first of that month.
Iran suffered the greatest loss of production, according to the Reuters survey, with exports falling to the lowest in six years as a result of the U.S. naval blockade in response to Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz. The closure, in turn, affected other Gulf states’ production.
Iraq, OPEC’s number-two in terms of output, saw production from its southern fields plunge by 70 percent since the start of the U.S. and Israeli war on Iran, with the average production at 1.3 million barrels per day, compared with 4.3 million bpd before the war began.
Keep on keepin’ on with U.S. natural gas
Total inland U.S. natural gas production on Tuesday was up from year-ago levels, even with a skew in the data, while federal estimates point to record-levels for domestic output and demand.
A production sample from IIR Energy in its NATGAS present report for Wednesday showed issues from Equitrans skewed production data after it reported zero volumes across its meters, though overall levels remain high. Total supply as of Tuesday was around 114.6 billion cubic feet, up 2.49 billion cubic feet from the same period last year.
According to Industrial Info Resources data, there are 142 active capital projects in the U.S. that are related to gas production worth US$31.2 billion.
The Gulf Coast is emerging as a natural gas powerhouse, where regional production of around 33.5 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) this week marked a 13.6 percent increase from year-ago levels. As regional oil basins such as the Permian mature, well pressures change and allow for lighter molecules associated with natural gas to escape subsurface pores, while heavier, oil-related compounds get stuck behind.
In a monthly market report published Tuesday, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said it expected total natural gas production to increase by 3.3 percent from year-ago levels to reach a record of 122.3 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d.)
“This upward revision is almost entirely the result of higher associated natural gas in the Permian region than we had previously expected,” analysts wrote.
An early-year report from the Interstate Natural Gas Association of America (INGAA) outlined a need for as much as 140,000 miles of new transmission and gathering pipelines for natural gas over the next 25 years to keep pace with production growth across North America.
Canada ‘open for business
Canada’s Federal natural resources minister brought the Global Energy Show in Calgary a message for international delegates: “Canada can be a supplier you need in a volatile world.”
Tim Hodgson told the opening session at the conference and trade show on Tuesday that Canada is reliable, democratic and “once again open for business,” according to source.
Middle East tensions have unsettled energy markets and Canada seeks to strengthen its role as a dependable global energy supplier.
Organizers expected 30,000 attendees this year, with more international participants than in previous years.
Australia’s uranium revival gains momentum
Australia’s fuel security crisis, triggered by Strait of Hormuz disruptions and the loss of a domestic refinery to fire, forced mining companies including Cauldron to ration diesel and consider suspending drill campaigns.
The Australian government’s proposed removal of the 50 percent capital gains tax discount – replacing it with inflation indexing only – is discouraging equity investment and raising concerns across the resources and startup sectors.
New South Wales passed a bill through its upper house to remove a 39-year uranium mining ban, while the Western Australian government has provided Cauldron with exploration grants despite uranium mining remaining banned in that state.
Cauldron Energy holds a 55-million-pound uranium resource at Yanrey in Western Australia, has identified a new 40-million-pound exploration target on recently acquired tenements, and is targeting a total resource base of over 100 million pounds.
China coking coal hits highest since 2024
Chinese coking coal rose to the highest since 2024 as the aftermath of a deadly mining accident and ongoing safety inspections kept prices elevated.
Coking coal futures in Dalian climbed as much as 1.9 percent to 1,486.5 yuan ($219) a ton, the highest since October 2024, before paring most of the gains. Prices are up around 14 percent so far this month.
A fatal blast at the privately owned Liushenyu mine in Shanxi, China’s main coal-producing region, killed at least 82 people last month and prompted intensified scrutiny of mine safety. Some coking coal mines in the province remain shut, constraining supply.
“The recovery in coal production in Shanxi has fallen short of expectations,” said Bu Tong, a senior analyst at Horizon Insights. “Safety supervision remains intensive, sustaining tightness in the spot market,” and seaborne coal prices are also catching up quickly, he said.
About 60 million tons of annual production capacity remains halted as of Friday, according to Horizon. Mines that have resumed operations are producing about 20 percent to 30 percent less than before the accident, it said.
Dalian coking coal futures added 0.1 percent to 1,460 yuan a ton as of 10:36 a.m. local time, while iron ore futures on the exchange declined 0.7 percent to 760.5 yuan a ton. Iron ore fell 0.7 percent to $101 a ton in Singapore. Dry bulk freight rates on the Baltic Dry Index dropped 1.8 percent to 2,981 points at Friday’s close in London, the sixth straight daily loss.