Oil prices rise as investors monitor Ukraine war, Middle East conflict

Published

10 months ago

January 22, 2024

admin

A Repsol Oil Operations oil drilling rig pounds into the desert searching through thousands of feet for and oil reserve in El-Sharara, Libya.

Benjamin Lowy | Getty Images

Oil prices rose on Monday as investors monitored the war in Ukraine and conflict in the Middle East for any potential impact on crude supplies.

The West Texas Intermediate futures contract for February gained $1.01, or 1.38%, to trade at $74.42 a barrel. The Brent contract for March rose 91 cents, or 1.16%, to trade at $79.49 a barrel.

Several U.S. personnel are being evaluated for “traumatic brain injuries” after militants allied with Iran attacked an airbase in Iraq on Saturday with ballistic missiles and rockets, according to U.S. Central Command.

U.S. forces stationed in Iraq and Syria have repeatedly come under attack by Iran-allied militants since Israel’s military operation in Gaza began. Houthi militants, also allied with Iran, have continued their attacks on shipping through the Red Sea, a crucial trade artery, despite U.S. airstrikes.

The attacks have stoked worries that the U.S. and Iran are getting drawn into a regional conflict that could disrupt oil supplies.

Russian energy infrastructure also came under attack over the weekend. Ukrainian drones struck a major fuel processing and export facility near St. Petersburg, a source in Kyiv told the BBC. The Ust-Luga facility processes gas condensate into jet fuel and gasoil among other products.

Libya’s National Oil Corporation, meanwhile, resumed full production at the Sharara oilfield on Sunday after protests shut down output for two weeks. Sharara is one of Libya’s largest oilfields with capacity to pump 300,000 barrels per day.

Traders have generally been more focused on the supply and demand outlook than geopolitical risk.

The International Energy Agency has a bearish forecast for 2024, projecting that production outside OPEC, particularly in the U.S., will rise by about 1.5 million barrels per day, more than covering global demand growth of 1.2 million barrels per day.

OPEC, on the other hand, has presented a stronger outlook with oil demand forecast to grow by 2.2 million barrels per day, while production outside OPEC will grow by 1.3 million barrels per day.

“Investors want to be bullish but tepid data and cautious narrative from policymakers keep them on the backfoot,” Tamas Varga with PVM Oil Associates wrote in a note.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

Environment

Baidu- and Geely-backed JiYue brand unveils ROBO X EV that goes 0-100 km/h in under 1.9 sec

Published

2 hours ago

November 15, 2024

admin

JiYue, a Chinese EV brand focused on delivering all-electric “robocars” to the masses, has unveiled its latest model, and it’s quite a deviation from its previous EVs—but in the best way. Earlier today, JiYue launched the ROBO X supercar, designed for high-speed racing. By high speed, we mean 0-100 km/h acceleration in under 1.9 seconds. My mouth is watering.

JiYue has only existed since 2021, when parent tech company Baidu announced it was expanding from software development into physical EV production, joining forces with multinational automotive manufacturer Geely.

The new “robotic EV” marque initially launched as JIDU with $300 million in startup capital before garnering an additional $400 million in Series A funding, led by Baidu, in January 2022.

In August 2023, Geely took on a larger role in JIDU alongside a greater financial stake as the brand reimagined itself as JiYue, inheriting the JIDU logo and its flagship model, the 01 ROBOCAR.

In December 2023, Baidu and Geely unveiled a second model called the JiYue 07. It was born from JIDU’s ROBO-02 concept, which debuted in 2023 and was designed to compete against the Tesla Model 3 in China.

The 07 finally launched in China earlier this year with 545 miles of range. With an all-electric SUV and sedan on the market, JiYue has unveiled an exciting new entry in the form of a performance supercar called the ROBO X. Check it out:

JiYue’s new ROBO X EV is available for pre-order now

JiYue showcased its new ROBO X hypercar in front of the crowd at the 2024 Guangzhou Auto Show earlier today. Similar to previous models but with a unique spin, JiYue described the ROBO X as an AI smart-driving supercar that, for the first time, blends artificial intelligence and autonomous driving into a high-performance, race-ready EV.

When we say “high performance,” we mean a quad motor liquid-cooled drive system that can propel the ROBO X from 0 to 100 km/h (0 to 62 mph) in under 1.9 seconds. JiYue called the new ROBO X a “performance beast” with “the perfect balance of excellent aerodynamic performance and high downforce.” JiYue CEO Joe Xia was even bolder in his statements about the ROBO X:

For the next 20 years, the design of supercars will bear the shadow of Robo X. This is the best design in the history of Chinese automobiles today, and it is a landmark presence.

Fighter-style airflow ducts bolster the EV’s aerodynamics, efficiency, and overall posture. Per JiYue, the two-seater ROBO X is expected to deliver a maximum range of over 650 km (404 miles).

The new supercar features falcon-wing doors, a carbon fiber integrated frame, and a professional racing HALO safety system offering 360° of support. The interior features an AI smart cockpit with SIMO real-time feedback to give drivers an immersive racing experience.

Furthermore, JiYue said the vehicle will utilize parent company Baidu’s Apollo self-driving technology, which could make it the first electric supercar to apply pure-vision ADAS technology that enables track-level autonomous driving.

Following today’s unveiling of the ROBO X, JiYue has officially opened up pre-orders in China for RMB 49,999 ($6,915). That said, reservation holders will need to be patient as JiYue shared that it doesn’t expect to begin mass production of the ROBO X until 2027.

What do you think? Will people be talking about the ROBO X for the next 20 years?

FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.

Environment

Wheel-E Podcast: Solar moped, XPedition 2.0, LiveWire scooter, more

Published

2 hours ago

November 15, 2024

admin

Wheel-E Podcast: Solar moped, XPedition 2.0, LiveWire scooter, more

This week on Electrek’s Wheel-E podcast, we discuss the most popular news stories from the world of electric bikes and other nontraditional electric vehicles. This time, that includes the launch of the Lectric XPedition 2.0, Yamaha e-bikes pulling out of North America, LiveWire unveils an electric scooter concept, PNY readying its cargo e-scooters for pilot testing, Royal Enfield’s first electric motorcycle, and more.

The Wheel-E podcast returns every two weeks on Electrek’s YouTube channel, Facebook, Linkedin, and Twitter.

As a reminder, we’ll have an accompanying post, like this one, on the site with an embedded link to the live stream. Head to the YouTube channel to get your questions and comments in.

After the show ends, the video will be archived on YouTube and the audio on all your favorite podcast apps:

We also have a Patreon if you want to help us to avoid more ads and invest more in our content. We have some awesome gifts for our Patreons and more coming.

Here are a few of the articles that we will discuss during the Wheel-E podcast today:

Here’s the live stream for today’s episode starting at 9:30 a.m. ET (or the video after 10:30 a.m. ET):

[embedded content]

FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.

Environment

Crude oil heads to weekly loss as looming surplus depresses market

Published

3 hours ago

November 15, 2024

admin

Crude oil heads to weekly loss as looming surplus depresses market

Market Navigator: Crude oil under pressure

Crude oil futures were on pace Friday for loss for the week, as a supply gut and a strong dollar depresses the market.

U.S. crude oil is down more than 2% this week, while Brent has shed nearly 2%.

Here are Friday’s energy prices:

West Texas Intermediate December contract: $68.56 per barrel, down 14 cents, or 0.2%. Year to date, U.S. crude oil has shed about 4%.
Brent January contract: $72.36 per barrel, down 20 cents, or 0.28%. Year to date, the global benchmark has lost nearly 6%.
RBOB Gasoline December contract: $1.99 per gallon, up 0.46%. Year to date, gasoline has fallen more than 1%.
Natural Gas December contract: $2.70 per thousand cubic feet, down 2.98%. Year to date, gas has gained more than 4%.

The International Energy Agency has forecast a surplus of more than 1 million barrels per day in 2025 on robust production in the U.S. OPEC revised down its demand forecast for the fourth consecutive month as demand in China remains soft.

A strong dollar also hangs over the market, as the greenback has surged in the wake of President-elect Donald Trump’s election victory.