Notes From All Over -- Early Morning Edition -- May 20, 2020

Most anticipated graphic today, which will be out later this afternoon:

• Gasoline Demand (scroll to bottom at the link)
• analysts suggest it could trend toward 8 million b/d, which would be incredible
  

NASCAR: tonight, Darlington, NC.

EIA: weekly petroleum report, 9:30 a.m. CT later today.

• Weekly Petroleum Report

Random screenshot:

Renewable energy, 2020: annual growth to fall first time in twenty years. Reuters. And if Reuters says it, you know it has to be true.

Renewable capacity additions this year are set to total 167 gigawatts (GW), 13% less than last year, according to the IEA’s Renewable Market Update report.
But overall global renewable power capacity is still expanding and will grow by 6% in 2020.

Slower growth this year reflects delays in construction activity due to supply chain disruptions, lockdown measures and social distancing as well as financing challenges.
Next year, renewable power additions are forecast to rebound to the level reached in 2019, as delayed projects come online and assuming a continuation of supportive government policies.

Iranian oil to Venezuela: five tankers en route. ArgusMedia. Will "ease" Iranian oil glut.

Debacle: it certainly seems Russia and Saudi Arabia are in much deeper trouble regarding oil glut than the US:

Murder hornets in Texas? In North Dakota it's rabbit hemorrhagic disease ... well, actually not North Dakota but being reported by The Bismarck Tribune ... whatever. Could wipe out entire populations of rabbits.

US oil storage: there was a headline yesterday that suggested US crude oil storage will be sufficient, but just by the slimmest of margins. As far as I know, US crude oil storage data has historically considered on-shore storage only. Argus Media is reporting:

At least four empty very large crude carriers (VLCCs) booked for floating storage are on their way to the US Gulf coast and will likely add to the tally of VLCCs storing US crude. The four tankers are part of a flurry of floating storage bookings that occurred amid a growing oil glut on sharply lower demand from Covid-19-related restrictions on travel. The oversupply combined with an oil price crash resulted in high demand for crude storage. The glut persists, but rising prices have eased some of the pressure on storage capacity. The Nymex WTI June futures contract closed today at $32.50/bl, compared with the -$37.63/bl close of the May contract on 20 April.  

The Blue Nova, chartered by US oil producer Hess, is scheduled to arrive on 24 May, per data from oil analytics firm Vortexa. The Maxim, chartered by fellow US crude producer Occidental, is set to reach the US Gulf coast on 31 May. The remaining two VLCCs, the Occidental-chartered Sea Ruby and the Hess-chartered Leonidas, are scheduled to arrive on 3 June and 24 June, respectively.

Hess said it has chartered a third VLCC for storage. Occidental has no other known floating storage bookings.

The four tankers were chartered for 9- to 12-month durations at an average rate of $89,500/d, according to the Argus floating storage bookings database. VLCC short-term time charter rates have since dropped to around $75,000/d as the Opec+ cuts lower cargo demand and free up tonnage supply. 

Pier 1: I am surprised it lasted this long. On the verge of shutting down entirely only three months after filing for bankruptcy.

Chinese coffee: Luckin Coffee shares crash and burn. Face de-listing. 

******************************

Salmon

Again, a reader reminded me about grilling salmon. I used to do this fairly frequently, then got out of the habit. With my new "interest" in grilling, I tried salmon last night. I don't think it's ever turned out better. It was just an experiment last night, so a small amount of salmon.

Preparation time: ten seconds. Open the package, pour a bit of soy sauce on it. Plank has been soaking in water for an hour.

Start fire: twenty minutes. Baguette or French bread, oil/balsam pepper dip, and tonic water with quinine while waiting for the FOGO.

Grill: twenty minutes. In the past, in the oven or on the grill wrapped in aluminum foil, my wife and I always baked it no longer than 18 minutes. But for some reason, on the grill with very, very moist plank, twenty minutes was perfect. This salmon was as moist (and done) as ever I remember.

Next time: maybe an herbal seasoning. Not sure about that. Sophia loved it the way it was.

For ease, I removed the entire plank from the grill instead of taking the salmon off the plank. I let the salmon continue to cook / rest for about another ten minutes. I forget the exact time. Sophia was too eager to try it.

By the way: grilling gloves allow one to easily pick up the plank and salmon.