The ‘net zero’ myth

Earlier this month, the world’s leaders got together to small talk about the weather and to big talk about the climate at the 26th edition of the UN’s climate change conference (COP26) in Glasgow. On the sidelines, activists (myself included) campaigned to persuade governments to replace platitudes with attitude, inaction with action. Nevertheless, the hot

“We still want the government in our lives thanks,” say fossil fuel companies

Following the Prime Minister’s claims that it’s time for governments to step back from Australians’ lives, fossil fuel companies across the country say they’d like the government to stay involved with theirs for quite a while longer if that’s ok. A spokesperson for the mining, oil, gas and coal industries quietly pointed out that they

How Much Sulphur is in Fuel?

Sulphur is a naturally occurring component found in crude oil. When total sulphur content is more than 0.5 per cent oil is classed as “sour.” When total sulphur content is less than 0.5 per cent it’s classed as “sweet.” Unless it’s removed during the refining process, sulphur is also present in gasoline and diesel. As

Will Oil Ever Become Truly Worthless?

Could fossil fuels and Big Oil actually become ‘worthless’ within the next few decades, and what would this mean for the global economy? New research suggests as many as half of the world’s fossil fuel assets could become worthless by 2036 if the green energy transition goes ahead at the pace projected coming out of

Fuel price gap leaps to highs not seen since the introduction of the global sulphur cap

The price gap between high and low sulphur fuel oil has widened to extremes not seen since around the introduction of the global sulphur cap in January 2020. While the difference in price between the two dominant fuels has averaged around $110 per ton in the first 22 months of the sulphur cap era, in

COP26 climate pledges could help limit global warming to 1.8 °C

At the COP26 Climate Change Conference taking place in Glasgow, a key question is what do all the new pledges by different countries to reduce emissions mean for global warming? This was a central question we addressed in the IEA’s recent World Energy Outlook 2021 (WEO-2021), and we are continuing to update that analysis. By

20 countries at COP26 promise to end financing for international fossil fuel projects

The international climate conference’s “energy day” dawned with fresh efforts to block the flow of money to fossil fuel companies, as activists brushed aside arguments from corporate leaders of coal, oil and gas firms that they need to help meet the energy needs of consumers over the next three decades. The United States and 20

Shipping’s decarbonization move set to hit HSFO demand

The demand for high sulfur bunker fuel oil is set to dwindle worldwide closer to 2030, likely causing the use of scrubbers to fall, as the shipping industry accelerates its decarbonization journey, an industry expert said recently. That is despite ports, such as Singapore, seeing robust HSFO sales in 2021. January-September sales of high sulfur

Asian HSFO markets firm on higher power, bunker demand

The backwardation in the Asian 180cst and 380cst high-sulphur fuel oil (HSFO) markets has widened to multi-month highs, driven by higher power generation and bunker fuel demand. The backwardation in 180cst HSFO markets, or the premium of prompt prices to forward values, widened from $5.75/t on 3 August to over a nine-month high of $6/t

Mammoet completes first project using HVO fuel

Mammoet, the global market leader in engineered heavy lifting and transport, has executed its first operation using low-carbon HVO fuel. The operation, to transport two topsides, is another step towards more sustainable operations for the world’s leading heavy lifting and transportation company.  In the past, Mammoet’s worldwide fleet has run on conventional diesel. With new