Saudi energy minister defends voluntary oil cuts as precautionary
Saudi Minister of Energy Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman al-Saud arrives for the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) meeting in Vienna on June 3, 2023
Joe Klamar | Afp | Getty Images
Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman defended the voluntary output cuts announced by some allied oil producers in April, which he noted were first criticized as likely to spike crude prices — then, as failing to support them.
On April 3, several producers of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its partners — collectively known as OPEC+ — revealed a combined 1.66 million barrels per day of production declines until the end of this year.
This Sunday, they extended these measures through the end of 2024, with Riyadh announcing an additional 1 million-per-day voluntary and extensible drop, starting in July. The OPEC+ group otherwise collectively decided to stick to its targets for 2023, with production at 40.463 million barrels per day next year.
The news comes after months of macro-economic concerns — including the collapse of several U.S. and European banks, a potential global recession, and a slower-than-expected recovery of Chinese demand — weighed on oil prices in the first few months of the year.
On Sunday, the Saudi oil minister defended the voluntary moves as precautionary.
“It was just our sensibility, if you will call it, that the environment was not sufficiently allowing confidence to be there. So taking a precautionary measure tends to put you on the safe side. And it is part of the typical rhythm that we have installed in OPEC, which is being proactive, being preemptive,” Abdulaziz told CNBC’s Dan Murphy.
“That tool is with us. It doesn’t mean we have certainty that things will go sour or left or right.”
He noted that critics of the April voluntary cuts had accused OPEC+ of seeking to increase prices which would in turn stoke inflation — and then later “pedaled back again and said OPEC+ action failed to [rise] prices.”
The alliance has found itself repeatedly at odds with international consumers. The U.S., for instance, has proved a vocal critic, citing concern for the strain on households that are already battling high prices.
Framework changes
Abdulaziz also said he thinks the long-term framework changes agreed at Sunday’s OPEC+ meeting will lead to fairer quota-setting among producers who have increased or depleted their spare capacity.
OPEC+ now intends to have three independent analysts — IHS, Wood Mackenzie and Rystad Energy — study the individual capacity of each OPEC+ member, with an eye to inform their baselines — the starting level from which producers cut their output.
“Hopefully by mid-year next year, we will have new baselines and a way forward that makes it more equitable, more fair for everybody to assign for them production levels that is going to be commensurate with their capacities in the most transparent way,” the energy minister said.
Asked if the group can trust ally Russia, whose export levels have been opaque since the implementation of Western crude and oil product sanctions, Abdulaziz added: “Absolutely. But I always like [the] President [Ronald] Reagan line, ‘Trust but verify,'” noting the instrumental role of independent sources in assessing production.
GE Vernova’s onshore wind business announced that it received orders in 2024 to repower over 1 gigawatt (GW) of wind turbines in the US.
Wind energy repowering is all about breathing new life into older turbines. By swapping out aging parts like turbines, blades, and nacelles for the latest tech, wind farms see significant boosts in efficiency, power capacity, and overall lifespan. Other infrastructure and control systems can also get a second life.
Adding new components to existing infrastructure and grid connections means it’s less expensive to extend the life of the wind farm with fewer resources. New components make the turbines less prone to breakdowns which means less maintenance, so there are fewer operational costs.
The repowering projects for which GE Vernova received orders will use nacelles and drive trains that it manufactures in its Pensacola, Florida, factory.
“As the United States works to meet the doubling of projected demand for more energy, repower projects like these help US workers in US factories take advantage of what we already have, where we already have it,” said Matt Lynch, general manager of Repower at GE Vernova.
The orders were booked between the first and fourth quarters of 2024. GE Vernova’s wind repower projects are expected to come online between 2024 and 2027.
GE Vernova’s onshore wind business has a total installed base of approximately 56,000 turbines and nearly 120 GW of installed capacity worldwide.
Read more: Cleantech investments to top fossil fuels for the first time in 2025
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Kia’s official first-party NACS adapters are now ready to ship out, but owners will have to wait to use them on Tesla Superchargers until later this quarter.
The rollout of Supercharger access to non-Tesla brands is hitting a fever pitch this year, with several brands added to the “coming soon” list, and even beyond that, VW and Honda have both made their own announcements that access is coming soon.
But for most vehicles, charging on Superchargers will require an adapter for the time being, as most brands aren’t adding native NACS ports to their vehicles until a future date (the current exceptions are the 2025 Kia EV6 and Hyundai Ioniq 5 which have native ports).
Each manufacturer is dealing with adapter rollouts separately, and Kia’s ready to announce that their adapters are ready to go.
Kia told us today that shipments of first-party adapters are currently en route to dealerships, and certain owners will be getting a notification soon to claim their adapter.
In Kia’s previous announcement about adapter availability, it said that any 2024 or 2025 EV6 or EV9 owners who took delivery after September 4 would get a free NACS adapter. Those owners should receive a push notification soon in their Kia Connect app through which they can claim their adapter.
For other owners, adapters will be available from Kia dealers for $249, which is roughly in line with the average cost we’ve been seeing for these adapters. Dealers should be getting the adapters any day now.
However, these adapters will be of limited usefulness for the next several weeks. You’ll be able to use them to charge at Tesla destination chargers, or any home charger with a Tesla/NACS plug on it, but Supercharger access still requires a handshake between the car and the charging network, and that handshake is currently disabled.
Originally, Kias were going to gain access on January 15th, but that was pushed back until the “back end of this quarter.” Some owners found out a loophole to allow for charging on the network, but that loophole was closed just yesterday.
As a result, Kia is also including “definitive instructions” on how to use the adapters along with each shipment. It wants to ensure that everyone is using them properly, especially given the recent back-and-forth about, uh, unsanctioned methods to access the network before official availability.
Kia’s EV6 with the native NACS port has also taken longer to arrive than Hyundai’s 2025 Ioniq 5. Ioniq 5s are already shipping (and can even charge faster than Teslas at a Supercharger, a feat the EV6 should also achieve), but EV6s haven’t yet hit dealerships. They should be on around the same timeline as Supercharger access, and ought to be available in the back half of this quarter.
So… Kia fans will still have to wait a little bit, but at least you’ll have the adapters ready to go for when the floodgates open later this quarter.
If you’re looking to buy one of the fastest-charging EVs on the road today, use our link to check local dealers and get in line for when they get the new 2025 Kia EV6s in stock.
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EV charger manufacturer Kempower and Ziegler Energy Solutions have paired up to deliver EV fast charging infrastructure for commercial fleets.
To put it simply, Finland and US-based Kempower brings DC fast chargers to the table, and Ziegler Energy Solutions’ (ZES’s) specialty is infrastructure, energy efficiency, and operational flexibility, along with sales and service.
“As businesses and municipalities increasingly transition to electric fleets, reliable and adaptable EV charging infrastructure with the highest uptime is paramount,” said Troy Monson, general manager of Ziegler Energy Solutions. “Partnering with Kempower enables us to deliver scalable, user-friendly solutions that support our customers’ electrification goals and operational needs.”
ZES, which is now a Kempower Certified Partner, helps fleet operators address challenges like high mileage, uptime demands, and energy cost management using its EV fleet planning tools that simulate real-world scenarios like duty cycles, charging schedules, and energy needs. It also has a leasing program, and integrates solar and battery storage into fast charging infrastructure.
This means Kempower can now offer its DC fast chargers to fleet operators with ZES’s support, ensuring uptime and reliability.
Read more: GM is using AI to find ideal spots for EV charging stations
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