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ExxonMobil Corp. and Saudi Basic Industries Corp. (Sabic) Gulf Coast Growth Ventures petrochemical complex under construction in Gregory, Texas, U.S., on Wednesday, July 28, 2021.
Eddie Seal | Bloomberg | Getty Images

LONDON — The world’s largest oil and gas majors are seeking to lure back investors by returning more cash to shareholders. Market participants, particularly those looking to the long term, remain highly skeptical.

It comes at a time when oil and gas companies are raking in their highest profits since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic amid a sustained period of stronger commodity prices.

A robust showing in the three months through June built on better-than-expected first-quarter earnings and lent further support to the industry’s efforts to pay down debt and reward investors.

In the U.S., ExxonMobil said late last month that it would back shareholder returns through its dividend and Chevron announced it would resume share buybacks at an annual rate of between $2 billion to $3 billion.

In Europe, meanwhile, the U.K.’s BP, France’s TotalEnergies, Norway’s Equinor, Italy’s Eni and Anglo-Dutch oil giant Royal Dutch Shell all announced share buyback programs or increased dividend payouts — or both. It reflects a broader industry trend of energy majors seeking to reassure investors that they have gained a more stable footing amid the ongoing Covid-19 crisis.

Share buybacks are designed to boost the firm’s stock price, benefiting shareholders. Dividend payments, meanwhile, reflect a token reward to shareholders for their investment. Both are options available to a company seeking to reward investors.

These investments are likely to become stranded assets, and investors don’t want to be left holding the bag.
Kathy Hipple
Finance professor at Bard College

Ahead of the second-quarter results, energy analysts had warned that Big Oil still faced a host of uncertainties and challenges. Some of these include the remarkable success of shareholder activism in recent months, a “tremendous degree” of ongoing investor skepticism and intensifying pressure to massively reduce fossil fuel use.

“Day traders may reap short-term profits, but serious long-term investors have concluded that the old energy of the past — oil and gas extraction, is just that — old, with a sell-by date that is moving closer by the day,” Kathy Hipple, finance professor at Bard College in New York, told CNBC via email.

“Once institutional investors determine that demand has peaked — which likely has already happened — they will abandon the sector permanently,” she added. “Many already have, based on the stock performance of the sector over the past several years.”

IPCC report a ‘death knell’ for fossil fuels

The energy sector, alongside financials, is one of this year’s top performers on the S&P 500, up almost 30% year-to-date. Yet, share prices of many oil majors continue to trail the earnings outlook considerably.

In the U.K., for instance, BP has seen its stock price climb nearly 20% so far this year, but the oil and gas giant recorded a collapse of more than 47% in 2020. BP has previously described 2020 as “a year like no other” due to the impact of the Covid-19 crisis on global energy.

Oil prices have since rebounded to near $70 a barrel and all three of the world’s main forecasting agencies — OPEC, the IEA and the U.S. Energy Information Administration — expect a demand-led recovery to pick up speed through to 2022.

Hipple said that savvy long-term investors would shy away from oil and gas majors “unless and until” they fully acknowledge the climate crisis. “These investors understand that the oil majors are still investing tens of billions in unnecessary oil and gas infrastructure, ignoring the IEA findings that no additional infrastructure is possible to meet a 1.5 [degrees Celsius] scenario,” Hipple said, referring to a critically important target of the Paris Agreement.

“These investments are likely to become stranded assets, and investors don’t want to be left holding the bag.”

Last week, the world’s leading climate scientists delivered their starkest warning yet about the deepening climate emergency. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s landmark report warned a key temperature limit of 1.5 degrees Celsius could be broken in just over a decade in the absence of immediate, rapid and large-scale reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.

U.N. Secretary-General, António Guterres, described the report’s findings as a “code red for humanity,” and said it “must sound a death knell” for coal, oil and gas.

Energy majors are typically still overwhelmingly reliant on oil and gas revenues for their earnings — a concept that is irreconcilable to the demands of the climate emergency.

“We frankly just don’t think these are very good businesses,” David Moss, head of European equities at BMO Global Asset Management, told CNBC’s “Street Signs Europe” on Friday.

European energy majors are currently generating “very strong” cash flow following a sustained rebound in oil prices, Moss said, but noted that many are choosing to keep spending relatively tight rather than invest in future production projects.

“With the oil companies, we still just don’t think they represent good long-term businesses,” Moss said. “They don’t generate consistent returns on capital or cash flow, albeit at the moment they look to be in a pretty good place.”

Not everyone is as downbeat on the outlook for the oil and gas industry, however.

Rohan Reddy, analyst at Global X, a New York-based provider of exchange-traded funds, says there are currently a number of positive signs for energy majors, citing rising stock prices, an upswing in second-quarter earnings and increased shareholder distributions.

“Right now, the energy sector is the best performing one within the S&P 500 and many European markets, and even though some of the big majors like BP and Shell have lagged the broader energy sector, we think right now that’s just due to hesitancy around the delta [Covid] variant,” Reddy told CNBC on Aug. 11.

“We think there is going to be a lot more investors starting to pile into to some of those big energy names.”

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Orbea unveils Denna: A fancy shmancy mid-drive electric road bike tuned for gravel

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Orbea unveils Denna: A fancy shmancy mid-drive electric road bike tuned for gravel

The latest addition to Orbea’s electric road bike lineup is here, and it’s designed to handle more than just pavement. The Orbea Denna, announced today, is a gravel-optimized electric road bike that builds on the company’s previous experience with models like the Gain and Terra. Featuring a mid-drive motor “tuned specifically for off-road conditions”, the Denna aims to blend power, range, and versatility for riders looking to tackle everything from steep climbs to loose trails.

At the heart of the Denna is Orbea’s RS Gen2 RC system, a customized version of Shimano’s EP platform. The RS (Rider Synergy) branding refers to Orbea’s firmware tweaks that aim to deliver a more natural ride feel by adjusting power delivery to match rider input.

The second-generation update increases the motor’s torque output to 85 Nm, giving it plenty of climbing ability, especially on rougher terrain.

The Denna offers two built-in power modes:

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• Gravel mode is tuned for smoother gravel roads, offering a more efficient power delivery at higher cadences.

• Gravel+ mode adjusts torque for looser terrain, delivering extra power at lower cadences to improve traction.

Riders can further tweak the assist settings through the Shimano e-Tube app, dialing in torque output to match their riding style.

Orbea designed the Denna with tire clearance up to 50c, allowing riders to customize their setup based on terrain. The frame geometry includes:

• A lower bottom bracket for stability

• Optimized chainstay length for balance between responsiveness and comfort

• A longer wheelbase to improve handling over uneven terrain

• A size-specific fork trail for consistent ride quality across all frame sizes

The OMR carbon frame and fork are built for both stiffness and compliance, allowing an interesting mix of vertical flex to absorb road vibrations while maintaining lateral rigidity for efficient pedaling.

The Denna is powered by a 420Wh battery, which Orbea claims can support up to 3.5 km (2.5 miles) of elevation gain in Eco mode. That’s not exactly the most common way to measure battery capacity, but most electric road bikes with similar sized batteries tout flat land ranges of 120-150 km (75-90 miles) per charge.

For riders who need even more range, an optional 210Wh range extender battery that is roughly the size of a water bottle adds extra distance without significantly increasing weight.

While range extenders are less common for everyday e-bikes, electric road bikes and gravel bikes are uniquely relevant candidates, as riders of these types of bikes often head out on extended rides covering significant distances.

Riders can switch between assistance modes using the left brake lever, and the system is compatible with multiple display options, including Shimano’s EN600 unit or a paired Garmin device for real-time battery and motor data.

For added utility, all Denna models include mounting points for fenders and two water bottle cages, making it adaptable for long-distance adventures.

Orbea is offering the Denna through its MyO customization program, allowing buyers to select components, colors, and finishes to match their riding style—whether that means a more road-oriented build or a full gravel setup.

Joseba Arizaga, Orbea’s Road Product Manager, summed up the company’s vision for the Denna:

‘’We are thrilled to be launching Denna today. It represents the next evolution of eRoad riding—where power, range, and capability come together to break down barriers and redefine what’s possible. With our Rider Synergy concept and gravel-specific tuning, Denna provides a seamless, natural ride feel that enhances every adventure, whether on smooth tarmac, rugged backroads or both. It’s not just about assistance; it’s about expanding the ride, unlocking new routes, and pushing further than ever before.”

Last but not least (definitely not least), prices can be found below. They range considerably for the different models that feature higher spec loadouts of key components.

Euros (EU) Dollars (US) Pounds (UK) 
M10i 9,999 9,999 8,999
M11e 9,999 9,999 8,999
M20i 7,599 7,599 7,299
M31e 6,999 6,999 6,399
M20 5,899 5,999 5,699
M30 5,499 5,599 5,199

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Tesla complains about being target of retaliatory tariffs, and it was right: it’s starting

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Tesla complains about being target of retaliatory tariffs, and it was right: it's starting

Tesla’s policy team sent a letter to the US government to complain about potentially being the target of retaliatory tariffs amid Trump’s trade war.

The automaker was right, as Canada is already targeting Tesla directly with a few policy changes.

On Tuesday, March 11, Tesla’s policy team sent a letter Jamieson Greer, President Trump’s top US trade representative, to warn them the current trade war, started by Trump, could make Tesla’s target of retaliatory tariffs (via Reuters):

“As a U.S. manufacturer and exporter, Tesla encourages USTR to consider the downstream impacts of certain proposed actions taken to address unfair trade practices.” 

The automaker didn’t elaborate on why it thought that, but it’s likely because its CEO, Elon Musk, is one of the Trump’s top advisers, and he contributed more than $250 million to the President’s campaign.

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Many people see Musk as a sort of “shadow president,” and therefore, some of the backlash of the administration’s policies falls on him and, in turn, on Tesla.

It also doesn’t help to dissociate Musk and Trump from Tesla when Musk organizes for the President to do a Tesla infomercial at the White House.

Musk has been Trump’s biggest supporter. He has praised virtually all of Trump’s policies and even said that he loves Trump “as much as a straight man can love another man.” That’s an actual quote.

However, there’s one of Trump’s policies that Musk has stayed completely silent on: the sense less trade war that he started with US allies, including Canada and Mexico.

Canada, Mexico, and the US have a free trade agreement that Trump himself signed in 2020.

For some reason, he appears to have completely forgotten about it and keeps claiming that Canada and Mexico are “screwing over the US” with this deal. He even asked several times “who negotiated this deal?”

Musk is most likely quiet about it because he knows it bads for the US and its allies, as well as himself and Tesla.

Tesla gets roughly 25% of its parts for vehicles built in the US from Mexico, in addition to an undisclosed amount of Canadian parts. Furthermore, Tesla builds a significant amount of its manufacturing machinery in Canada.

The automaker’s policy team was right to worry about reliatory measures over the trade way.

Just today, B.C. Hydro, which offers rebates for installing EV charging stations, announced that it is excluding Tesla products from the program in response to U.S. tariffs.

BC Energy minister Adrian Dix commented on the move (via CBC):

“I thought they [Tesla products] shouldn’t be made available on a public subsidy program right now. I don’t think anyone in British Columbia needs to be told why, and I think most people would support their removal from that list,”

The province is also considering removing Tesla from the $4,000 rebate program at the purchase of electric vehicles.

That’s just the beginning. NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh, who could be part of the new Canadian government if a coalition is formed after the upcoming elections, vowed to implement a 100% tariffs on Tesla vehicles coming from the US.

He is the second leading Canadian politician to propose this measure this month.

Electrek’s Take

I really wouldn’t want to work for Tesla’s policy team these days. They are walking a difficult line. The president’s policies are hurting the company, but the company’s CEO is his best buddy.

So they have to write things like “Tesla encourages USTR to consider the downstream impacts of certain proposed actions taken to address unfair trade practices” instead of “You are killing us over here with these schizophrenic trade policies!”

Generally, I would have issues with policies singling out a specific company, but we are talking about the US breaking a free trade agreement over false pretends and opposing ridiculous tariffs with the hope of crippling the country’s economy and force them to be annexed by the US, which Trump hasn’t been shy about as of late.

It’s unacceptable, especially for an ally, and therefore, everything is on the table, including trying to hurt Trump’s top financial backer.

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ChargePoint deploys DC fast charging stations in upstate New York – why it’s a win

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ChargePoint deploys DC fast charging stations in upstate New York – why it's a win

ChargePoint has brought five new DC fast charging stations online in upstate New York, supported by key funding from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA).

ChargePoint’s fast charging stations are in Cortland, Waterloo, Lake Placid, Niagara Falls, and Ripley. With ChargePoint’s mobile app, EV drivers can find, use, and pay for charging at the new locations.

“ChargePoint’s collaboration with NYSERDA demonstrates the critical role that public-private partnerships will continue to play in the build out of charging infrastructure, particularly at the state level,” said Rick Wilmer, CEO of ChargePoint. “When all types of institutions work together to defray costs, much-needed EV charging infrastructure can scale at an accelerated pace.”

NYSERDA’s support, through its Clean Transportation program, enables the build-out of critical EV charging infrastructure across New York State, reducing the capital investment needed to deploy public charging sites. This includes building out access in underserved communities, defined as disadvantaged communities by New York State’s Climate Justice Working Group. Fifty percent of the fast-charging stations funded through this program will be located in communities designated as disadvantaged.

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Electrek’s Take

The Trump administration is actively working to dismantle federal support for the buildout of the NEVI program and DC fast charger rollout in general. That’s pretty dumb, considering EV adoption is surging, and the electric vehicle industry has already created thousands of American jobs up and down a rapidly expanding supply chain.

But states and utilities are stepping up with their own incentives, and this partnership between ChargePoint and New York State is exactly the kind of success story that keeps the momentum rolling. Trump might tap the brakes on federal support for DC fast chargers, but he can’t derail the progress completely. States like New York that are serious about building out EV charging infrastructure are moving forward – no matter what.

Read more: New York awards $60M to Revel to install 267 DC fast chargers


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