Thursday, March 20, 2025

Locator: 48535B.

Gold: hit a new record high -- $3,051.96. 

Copper: hits a record; hits $10,000 in rally fueled by Trump's tariff threats.

China grid: China accelerates grid spending to absorb deluge of solar power.

Russia's oil price: drops 24% below budget target. Link here.

Most wanted:

• under Biden's administration, the FBI captured a total of four on the "Most Wanted" list
• under Trump, the FBI has already captured three on the "Most Wanted" list; new FBI director has been in office less than one full month

March Madness: Texas falls to Xavier in the final play-in game last night. My NCAA "March Madness" bracket has already crashed.

• first round, all 64 teams playing: today and tomorrow

Pemex: nationalized, again? Link here. 

In fact, it appears the entire Mexican energy sector -- fossil fuel, electricity, renewable energy -- has been nationalized. But I may have lost something in translation. 

California headlines:

• PSX plans to shut down it's refinery in Los Angeles this year; link here;
• this one refinery supplies 10% of the gasoline on which the state relies; ten percent;
  
• costly health care expansion -- for uninsured criminals -- worsens California's chronic budget deficit;
• LA city budget shortfall grows to nearly $1 billion, with layoffs "nearly inevitable";
• California's Medicaid (Medi-Cal) budget shortfall: $6.2 billion;
• University of California system begins hiring freeze amid threats to budget;
• "California's bullet train may deserve a mercy killing" -- the headline seems to be an op-ed but it's being reported by a most prestigious and credible source, CalMatters.
• Governor Newsom suggests the project connecting Sacramento to San Diego simply isn't going to happen; will now concentrate on that all-important, highly traveled corridor from Merced to Bakersfield
• Expedia shows no flights between these two cities

Sixth industrial revolution: link here. 

Sixth industrial revolution, link here:

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Back to the Bakken

WTI: $67.16.

New wells:

• Friday, March 21, 2025: 52 for the month, 167 for the quarter, 167 for the year,
• None.
• Thursday, March 20, 2025: 52 for the month, 167 for the quarter, 167 for the year,
• 41022, conf, CLR, Alfsvaag Federal 8-31H, 
• 40156, conf, Hess, EN-Schroeder-157-94-1102H-3,

RBN Energy: Mexico hoping for boom in LNG exports, but major hurdles remain.

Mexico’s LNG sector has seen notable advancements in the past year, including new export project announcements and strategic investments. But many of the proposed LNG projects require extensive pipeline buildouts — no easy task south of the border and perhaps the biggest impediment most of the export projects face. In today’s RBN blog, we’ll look at where things stand with Mexico’s LNG sector and the export projects under development.