Entries by Simon Lack

Anniversary Celebrations

SL Advisors Talks Markets
SL Advisors Talks Markets
Anniversary Celebrations



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Around this time of year, I’m often asked if we celebrate July 4th. Since it is the anniversary of America’s Declaration of Independence, in Britain it receives scant attention. But I often note that had the war turned out differently I might not have emigrated to America in 1982. We have much to celebrate in […]

Gas Kept Us Cool Last Week

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SL Advisors Talks Markets
Gas Kept Us Cool Last Week



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Our power infrastructure survived last week’s heatwave, which saw the PJM Interconnect system peak at an almost twenty year high of 160,560 Megawatts on June 23. Natural gas provided 44% of generation, with solar at 6%. The ISO-NE system that covers New England saw peak demand a day later. This was met 47% by natural […]

Energy By The Numbers

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SL Advisors Talks Markets
Energy By The Numbers



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The Energy Institute’s (EI) Statistical Review of World Energy provides a wonderfully detailed view of what’s actually happening, mostly untainted by any political bias. The world is using more of all kinds of energy, raising living standards across the developing world. Hydrocarbons still dominate and will for the foreseeable future.  There’s still a tendency even at […]

Coping With Heat

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SL Advisors Talks Markets
Coping With Heat



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This is the time of year when liberal news outlets warn of irreversible climate change. We spent a couple of days in Naples, FL which was, unusually, cooler than New Jersey. The daily afternoon thunderstorms that accompany hurricane season moderate the heat. When I first moved to New York from London in 1982 I remember […]

US Midstream Is Far From Conflict

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SL Advisors Talks Markets
US Midstream Is Far From Conflict



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To trade the daily moves in the market is to be an armchair strategist. JPMorgan estimates the crude oil market reflects a 17% probability of a worst-case supply disruption out of the Middle East. Presumably an oil spike would hasten the war’s conclusion via US pressure on Israel. So Israel’s attacks on energy infrastructure are […]

Strengthening Your Portfolio With Pipelines

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SL Advisors Talks Markets
Strengthening Your Portfolio With Pipelines



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When conflict occurs that might disrupt global oil supplies, portfolios that include an allocation to midstream energy infrastructure usually enjoy some modest protection. Crude traded up 14% on Thursday night as the Israeli attack unfolded. Some opportunistic hedging by producers trimmed those gains during the day. Energy stocks as usual responded positively. The effect on […]

The Ethane Standoff

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SL Advisors Talks Markets
The Ethane Standoff



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All over the world plastics are manufactured using derivatives of crude oil. Along with cement, steel and fertilizer these are what Vaclav Smil refers to as the four pillars of civilization. Modern life couldn’t exist without them. Renewables are largely irrelevant to their production. Anybody who studies how we use hydrocarbons must conclude, as we […]

Gas Exporters Keep Growing

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SL Advisors Talks Markets
Gas Exporters Keep Growing



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Venture Global (VG) continued its post-IPO recovery last week. Back in January price talk was above $50 which would have valued the company at double market leader Cheniere. Pushback from institutional investors reduced the IPO price to $25, but it quickly sank below this (see Nothing Ventured, Nothing Gained). VG has earned a reputation for […]

Did Ukraine Boost Oil Prices?

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SL Advisors Talks Markets
Did Ukraine Boost Oil Prices?



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Macro issues are driving the market even more than usual. Pipeline earnings came with barely a ripple as companies once again generally hit or modestly exceeded guidance. Crude oil rose on Monday on news that OPEC+ was planning a smaller than expected increase in output. This coincided with Ukraine’s spectacular attack on four Russian air […]

The World’s Only Shale Revolution

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SL Advisors Talks Markets
The World’s Only Shale Revolution



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In conversations with investors the Shale Revolution is acknowledged as driving US hydrocarbon production up. What is less appreciated is how much this has been a US phenomenon, with no equal anywhere else in the world. The technologies of hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”) and horizontal drilling were developed sufficiently that they allowed access to enormous reserves […]

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