Author: omc_admin

At 10:16 GMT, Light Crude Oil Futures are trading $62.74, up $0.90 or +1.46%. Trump Tariff Ruling Eases Demand Concerns—Temporarily The rally gained added fuel after a U.S. trade court blocked most of former President Donald Trump’s tariffs, lifting risk appetite across equity and commodity markets. The court found Trump overreached by imposing sweeping duties, which had dampened global trade and oil demand. Analysts warn the decision could face appeal, but for now, the move has removed a short-term demand headwind. SEB’s Bjarne Schieldrop said the ruling makes the “machine of the global economy move better and faster,” potentially supporting…

The Californian developer of batteries with silicon anodes, Amprius, has signed a contract manufacturing agreement with an unnamed “leading battery manufacturer in South Korea.” Its plant in South Korea will manufacture SiCore silicon anode cells to Amprius’ specifications, supporting both current and future battery platforms. Amprius says that the new partnership “represents a pivotal step in Amprius’ journey to scale its SiCore platform” and that the unnamed Korean battery maker “brings extensive experience in manufacturing advanced lithium-ion batteries across a range of form factors and cell chemistries.” South Korea is home to several battery-making giants and multiple smaller players. In…

LinkedIn cofounder and AI investor Reid Hoffman is sounding the alarm on a growing trend in the tech world: AI systems being marketed as your new best friend.”I don’t think any AI tool today is capable of being a friend,” Hoffman said in a Wednesday episode of the Possible podcast. “And I think if it’s pretending to be a friend, you’re actually harming the person in so doing.”His comments came amid Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s push to embed AI companions across Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and even Ray-Ban smart glasses.Last month, Zuckerberg told podcaster Dwarkesh Patel he sees AI chatbots as…

In a report sent to Rigzone on Wednesday by Emily Ashford, an energy analyst at Standard Chartered Bank, analysts at the bank, including Ashford and the bank’s commodities research head Paul Horsnell, said they expect the eight OPEC+ producers who contributed additional voluntary curbs “to continue with the accelerated unwinding of the November 2023 tranche of 2.22 million barrels per day of voluntary cuts”. “The eight OPEC+ producers who contributed additional voluntary cuts are scheduled to meet virtually on 31 May to discuss production strategy for July loading programs,” the analysts highlighted in the report. “Adding a further 411,000 barrels…

A global military buildup poses an existential threat to climate goals, according to researchers who say the rearmament planned by Nato alone could increase greenhouse gas emissions by almost 200m tonnes a year.With the world embroiled in the highest number of armed conflicts since the second world war, countries have embarked on military spending sprees, collectively totalling a record $2.46tn in 2023.For every dollar invested in new hardware, there is not only a corresponding carbon cost but also an opportunity cost to potential climate action, critics say. This is on top of the huge death toll resulting from armed conflicts.“There…

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday laid the foundation stone for a City Gas Distribution (CGD) project in West Bengal’s Alipurduar district. The project, valued at ₹1,010 crore, will extend piped natural gas (PNG) supply to over 2.5 lakh households across Alipurduar and neighbouring Cooch Behar districts.In addition to household connections, the plan includes provision for commercial and industrial users. Around 19 compressed natural gas (CNG) stations will be set up under the minimum work programme targets set by the government.The CGD initiative is expected to ensure fuel supply and create employment opportunities in the region.‘Not just a pipeline project’Speaking…

Paris: France’s TotalEnergies said Thursday it would sell its stake in a major offshore oil field in Nigeria to UK energy giant Shell for $510 million.TotalEnergies is giving up its 12.5 percent stake in the Bonga field, increasing Shell’s own share to 67.5 percent, the companies said in separate statements.The French firm is withdrawing from a production-sharing agreement that the Nigerian state signed in 2021 with TotalEnergies, Shell, US oil major ExxonMobil and Italy’s Eni following two years of tough negotiations.Bonga is part of the OML 118 block, 120 kilometres (75 miles) south of the Niger Delta. The field is…

Exxon Mobil Corp. has agreed to enter exclusive negotiations with North Atlantic for the Canadian company’s potential takeover of a refining and petrochemical complex in France. The 1,500-acre site in Gravenchon, Normandy hosts the second-biggest refinery in France and one of the largest integrated chemical complexes in Western Europe, North Atlantic noted. With two distillation trains, several conversion units and associated logistics facilities, the site can process up to 230,000 barrels a day of crude and other feedstocks. The planned transaction involves the divestment of an 82.89 percent stake in Esso Société Anonyme Française SA (Esso SAF), which manages the refinery,…

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with David Markley, a 58-year-old former Amazon employee, based in Seattle. It’s been edited for length and clarity.During my seven years at Amazon, I conducted over 500 interviews and earned my title as a bar raiser, an objective, third-party interviewer tasked with finding applicants who would “raise the bar” at the company.I’d give one, or sometimes more than one, applicant an “inclined to hire” status, following a series of in-person interviews. This meant the person was a fit for the role and likely to be hired.If I were deciding between two candidates,…

OPEC+ ratified group-wide production quotas for this year and next, ahead of a decision by eight key members at the weekend whether to bolster output again in July. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its partners reaffirmed their longer-term targets for 2025 and 2026, which underpin its current supply restraints, according to a statement after a video conference on Wednesday.  A more market-sensitive discussion on whether to continue their 411,000 barrel-a-day hikes, which have sent prices crashing over the past two months, will be finalized in a call on Saturday, according to delegates who asked not to be identified. The…