**President Joe Biden has “no plans” to meet with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman next month after the kingdom moved to cut international oil production in line with Russia, a senior White House official said Sunday.
** Investors are worried that the US could flood the market with more oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserves, according to Energy Aspects’ Amrita Sen.
The prediction comes after OPEC+ decided earlier this month to slash its production quota by 2 million barrels a day — despite objections from Washington — leading to speculation that the White House could respond with more releases from the SPR to ease prices.
** The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on Sunday approved a temporary waiver of U.S. cargo transport rules in order to provide Puerto Rico with liquefied natural gas (LNG) as it recovers from Hurricane Fiona.
** South Korea’s Hyundai Motor Co said Friday it will break ground this month on a $5.5 billion electric vehicle and battery plant in the United States. Hyundai plans to begin commercial production in the first half of 2025 with an annual capacity of 300,000 units.
** Traffic jams and stuck barges are clogging up a critical artery of the U.S. economy, as a prolonged drought pushes the Mississippi River’s water levels to near-record lows.
** The chairman and CEO of energy company Chevron warned the global energy crisis had been exacerbated by Western governments “doubling down” on green energy policies that will only cause “more volatility, more unpredictability, and more chaos.”
World
** OPEC+ member states lined up on Sunday to endorse the steep cut to its output target agreed this month after the White House, stepping up a war of words with Saudi Arabia, accused Riyadh of coercing some other nations into supporting the move.
** A large section of the Nord Stream pipe needs to be replaced so that the gas pipeline from Russia to Germany can be in a ready-operational state again, Gazprom’s chief executive Alexey Miller has told Russian state TV in an interview.
** Between increasingly limited flows from Russia, no new natural gas projects coming online in the next year, and more competition from Asian markets, Europe’s energy crisis looks likely to get much worse in winter 2023-24.
** Some of oilfield service firm Schlumberger’s more than 9,000 Russian employees have begun receiving military draft notices through work, and the company is not authorizing remote employment to escape mobilization, according to people familiar with the matter and internal documents.
** Beijing has reportedly told state-owned natural gas importers to halt resales of cargoes to buyers in Europe and Asia, to make sure China has enough supply for domestic needs this winter.
