Michele Kearney's Nuclear Wire - Major Energy and Environmental News and Commentary affecting the Nuclear Industry. Nuclear Activities
Thursday, April 25, 2024
Wednesday, April 24, 2024
[Salon] Congress Passes New Iran Oil Sanctions But Biden Unlikely To Enforce Them - Guest Post
Congress Passes New Iran Oil Sanctions But Biden Unlikely To Enforce Them
by Tyler Durden
Monday, Apr 22, 2024
Over the weekend, as part of the $95 billion package providing funding for aiding Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan which passed by a vote of 360-58 on Saturday, the US House also passed new sanctions on Iran’s oil sector set to become part of a foreign-aid package, putting the measure on track to pass the Senate within days.
The legislation, as Bloomberg reports, would broaden sanctions against Iran to include foreign ports, vessels, and refineries that knowingly process or ship Iranian crude in violation of existing US sanctions. It would also would expand so-called secondary sanctions to cover all transactions between Chinese financial institutions and sanctioned Iranian banks used to purchase petroleum and oil-derived products.
About 80% of Iran’s roughly 1.5 million barrels of daily oil exports are shipped to independent refineries in China known as “teapots,” according to a summary of similar legislation.
Yet while the sanctions could impact Iranian petroleum exports - and add as much as $8.40 to the price of a barrel of crude - they also include presidential waiver authorities, according to ClearView Energy Partners, a Washington-based consulting firm.
"President Joe Biden might opt to invoke these authorities, vitiating the sanctions’ price impact; a second Trump Administration might not," ClearView wrote in a note to clients.
Amrita Sen, founder and research director of Energy Aspects, agreed and told Bloomberg Television in an interview that Biden's Administration is unlikely to “strongly enforce” the restrictions in an election year.
“I think all sanctions are sanctions on paper, with anything that remotely causes oil prices to go up, I don't believe they will enforce it strongly,” the research analyst told Bloomberg.
“What I really want to highlight is this is a US election year, so let’s not kid ourselves,” the analyst noted.
By not kidding ourselves, he meant that when it comes to democratic, liberal ideals, it's all bullshit when they conflict with self-serving interests of the demented deep state puppet roaming the halls of the White House.
Moreover, China is buying most of Iran's crude oil exports, and the majority of buyers in the world’s top crude oil importer are the independent refiners, the so-called ‘teapots’ in the Shandong province, which are not connected with the U.S. financial system in any way.
Therefore, the U.S. doesn’t have any means to enforce sanctions on China’s independent refiners for buying Iranian crude oil, Sen told Bloomberg. The teapots will continue to import Iran’s crude, while any new restrictions could take up to 500,000 barrels per day (bpd) of Iranian oil off the market, she added.
Crude oil exports from Iran hit the highest level in six years during the first quarter of the year, data from Goldman recently showed.
The daily average over the period stood at 1.56 million barrels, almost all of which was sent to China, earning the Islamic Republic some $35 billion.
"The Iranians have mastered the art of sanctions circumvention,” Fernando Ferreira, head of geopolitical risk service at Rapidan Energy Group, told the FT. “If the Biden administration is really going to have an impact, it has to shift the focus to China."
Tuesday, April 23, 2024
Monday, April 22, 2024
National Labs Are in Media Spotlight at Next USEA Briefing -
National Labs Are in Media Spotlight at Next USEA Briefing - micheletkearney@gmail.com - Gmail
Llewellyn King writes
Dear Friends,
The National Laboratories — those great repositories of scientific and engineering ability — have shaped the evolution of energy sometimes in apparent ways, as with natural gas and oil recovery, and sometimes as an invisible hand, perfecting, assisting, counseling and filling out the work of others.
The labs have been at the forefront of almost every aspect of the energy world, from nuclear waste to mastering switching and control of rooftop solar; from looking to decrease the electricity demand at data centers to helping with corrosion control on offshore structures and undersea technology.
The next United States Energy Association virtual press briefing will focus on what the labs are doing to help electric utilities and their associated companies in this current transformative period. It is set for Wednesday, May 1, at 11 a.m. EDT.
A panel of leaders from some of the most critically involved national labs have been invited to meet the press for an hour on Zoom.
These are some questions that might come up at the briefing:
What is going to be the impact of artificial intelligence on the grid both as a consumer of electricity and its role in operating the grid? Is vulnerability affected?
What is research into lithium batteries yielding? Will costs fall and discharge duration rise?
What is being learned about the extended operation of the current aging fleet of nuclear power plants?
What is lab involvement in virtual power plants?
What does lab research reveal about the chances of a carbon-free grid and when will that come about?
What is the most exciting national lab project that affects electricity supply, operation and resiliency?
What are the labs working on across the board?
I organize and host these monthly briefings. Mark Menezes, USEA president and CEO, and former deputy secretary of energy, welcomes the panelists and members of the press and the public in the online audience, and lends his expertise when it is helpful.
The USEA, now celebrating its centennial, is a unique Washington-based organization. It was created as the U.S. chapter of the World Energy Congress and is a non-lobbying, nonprofit organization, supporting all forms of energy. “Energy is good for people” might be its motto.
This promises to be one of the most consequential briefings I have organized for the USEA. It is open to all and there is no charge.
Please use this link to register for it -- and do share it:
https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_cA3K_WMNQfSKifdLyImteQ
Saturday, April 20, 2024
Friday, April 19, 2024
Thursday, April 18, 2024
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