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Delighted to announce that yours truly will be joining Applied Computing 's Demo Day proceedings on June 10, 2025 at IET London Savoy Place in London, UK. The Oilholic will also be moderating the panel discussion titled - Redesigning Energy: New Technologies Powering the Transition - where we'll explore the critical role of technologies and their potential to help reshape the future of energy, industry, and sustainability.
The question some in the oil markets are asking is will OPEC+ hike production again over the weekend for a third consecutive month in a row. The Oilholic is not among them - a hike is most likely coming, quite possibly of the same volume seen in the previous two announcements, i.e. 411k barrels per day (bpd). That's because OPEC has quite overtly shifted from defending a price level to protecting its market share, as yours truly said in a BBC interview this morning.
As the week progressed, Emerson Exchange 2025 came into its element sparking discussions under the event's core them of accelerating innovation. Over 300 presentations, client engagements and panels took place covering AI, automation, IIoT, predictive analytics, smart industrial equipment and more. The industrial sectors covered included traditional energy, renewables, power and utilities, chemicals, mining, pharmaceuticals, automotive, and food and beverage, but to name a few.
With Emerson Exchange 2025 - the thought leadership event of global engineering services, industrial automation and technology giant Emerson - drawing to a close on May 22, the Oilholic enjoyed a fascinating and engaging week out in San Antonio, Texas, US. An action-packed week included insightful 1-on-1 discussions, panel chats, a product launch and wider interactions on the global energy and industry mix, and, where it is heading to with the "plant or factory of the future.
While the doors of Emerson Exchange 2025 opened on Monday, formal proceedings got underway on Tuesday morning with a keynote from Emerson CEO Lal Karsanbhai. The global industrial technology and software vendor's boss said his industry is facing dynamic markets in an evolving industrial landscape. "Emerson is moving in the right direction with purpose, conviction and agility in automation, shaping what's next for global industries," he noted.
The Oilholic has arrived in San Antonio, Texas, US for the week-long Emerson Exchange 2025 - the thought leadership event of engineering services, industrial automation and software giant Emerson. The event - being held at the city's Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Cente - is expected to draw in nearly 4,000 attendees from over 50 countries, representing 300-plus companies integral to the global industrial and manufacturing complex.
Earlier this year The Oilholic headed to Le Vaudreuil in Normandy, France, some 115 km northwest of Paris, to get up close to Schneider Electric's ongoing smart factories drive. Its plant in the French commune is one of 11 such sites around the world where digitalisation and automation are in full swing to improve throughput, and, of course, to demonstrate the efficacy of Schneider Electric's solutions to existing as well as potential customers.
US President Donald Trump makes no secret of his pro oil and gas credentials. It is also widely understood that the President seeks lower crude prices for the American consumer. Ideally, US shale producers would prefer oil prices north of $75 per barrel. That isn't exactly low enough for the President. Thanks to an uncertain macroeconomic climate, the kerfuffle caused by his trade tariffs and OPEC+ opting to bring more barrels on to an already well supplied market - prices have recently slumped
Delighted to announce that yours truly has partnered with global technology, engineering and industrial software giant Emerson to speak and moderate at the company's upcoming thought leadership event - Emerson Exchange 2025. This year's theme for the event - due to be held in San Antonio, Texas, US, from May 19 to 22, 2025 - is "accelerating innovation.
The Oilholic has been on record noting there is little to be bullish about oil at this stage of the trading cycle. Recent events have not only proven this to be the case but amplified the prevailing bearish sentiment. With OPEC+ determined to ramp up production despite tepid demand and US President Donald Trump's administration resuming nuclear talks with Iran carrying the possibility of a settlement - a bit of a mad scramble to lower oil price forecasts is taking place.
Oil futures have taken a heavy pummelling in the wake of the so-called Trump Tariffs right down to four-year lows. That's after President Donald Trump imposed a 10% baseline tariff on imports to the US, and much higher rates of up to 50% against dozens of countries. With major manufacturing centers in Asia on the President's tariffs list published on April 2, both Brent and WTI front-month futures subsequently shed over $10 per barrel or 14% from the price they were trading at the day before the
Mohed Altrad (left), French entrepreneur and founder of multinational services and equipment firm Altrad Group, with Gaurav Sharma, Energy Analyst, Oilholics Synonymous, at Altrad Sparrows training centre in Tyrebagger, Scotland, UK. Earlier this month, the Oilholic headed some 550 miles north from London to Tyrebagger Hill, on the outskirts of the UK's energy capital Aberdeen, for a very special meeting with an extraordinary entrepreneur - none other than Scaffolding King Mohed Altrad.
With CERAWeek 2025 by S&P Global drawing to a close on March 14, the Oilholic capped a fascinating and engaging week out in Houston by having insightful 1-on-1 discussions, panel chats and wider interactions on the global energy mix and where it is heading to. All blog entries for CERAWeek may be found here. Yours truly also provided insight to Energy Connects and Forbes throughout the event as detailed below.
The home stretch of CERAWeek did not disappoint. But before Days IV and V got underway, the conclusion of Wednesday (Day III) brought perhaps the biggest talking point of the event. That's after the World Nuclear Association, anchored a huge group of cross-sector executives to commit to expanding nuclear energy. How huge you ask dear readers? Well it counts Google, Amazon, Meta, Occidental and Dow, 14 major global banks and financial institutions including Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and Bank
Days II & III of CERAWeek 2025 have zipped by with plenty of soundbites, among which (1) fawning over the US as a key energy investment destination, (2) discussions over the LNG market, and (3) BP's reset stood out for the Oilholic. For much of Tuesday (Day II), all you could hear was how the US had become the prime energy investment market since the election of Donald Trump as President.
The Oilholic is back in H-Town for CERAWeek 2025 to hear a succession of oil and gas bosses openly blast renewables, criticise the eonomics of the energy transition and big up the potential for natural gas on the event's first day. The language may more colourful than last year but the pattern of the dialogue remained the same. For the Oilholic, the main differentiation point for Day I was Trump's top energy czar making his mark with Trumpian aplomb.
(Left to right: Ivor van Dartel, Founder and CEO of Vaeridion, Markus Kochs-Kmper, CTO of Vaeridion, and Gaurav Sharma, Energy Analyst, Oilholics Synonymous, at the startup's laboratory and engineering site in the Bosch Innovation Campus in Holzkirchen, Germany) Late last month, the Oilholic headed out to the Bosch Innovation Campus in Holzkirchen, Germany, some 25 miles south of Munich, for a visit to green aviation startup Vaeridion's laboratory and engineering test site of its 'microliner' el
The second day of the fresh trading week has heaped yet more misery on the oil market. Its the same story as the last week - of declines along familiar lines (global demand, lower Chinese imports, economic uncertainties, oversupply of light crude in particular - the whole works). Compared to last week, on Monday the Brent front-month contract ended 8.11% lower while the WTI ended 7.01% lower.
The Oilholic is delighted to be back in Houston, Texas, US for Gastech 2024, one of the world's largest energy industry fixtures, being held here from September 17 to 20. Yours truly will be holding three panel sessions and two fireside chats at the event with Hardeep Singh Puri, India's Honorable Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas, and Chris Ashton, Chief Executive Officer of Worley.
The first two days of Gastech 2024 have flown by with talking points aplenty and a who's-who of the energy industry in Houston at the city's George R. Brown Convention Center. Former US President George W. Bush got things going on Monday night by highlighting his state and country's achievements in the global energy sphere at the Gastech pre-event gala dinner.
Over the course of Thursday and Friday - days III & IV - of Gastech 2024 that put us on the home stretch towards the conclusion of global event, many of the conversations revolved around climatetech and harnessing the power of natural gas as a destination fuel in the world's march to a low to a zero carbon future. An action packed agenda was underpinned by several movers and shakers in the natural gas space especially LNG terminal developers and operators from Venture Global LNG to Mexico Pa
With Gastech 2024 drawing to a close on September 20, the Oilholic capped a fascinating and engaging week in Houston by hosting two pivotal industry fireside chats with H.E. Hardeep Singh Puri, Minister of Petroleum & Natural Gas, India and Chris Ashton, CEO of Worley. And it was wonderful moderating multiple panel sessions on subjects ranging from harnessing the potential of natural gas for powering AI to solutions for the decarbonization of the global transport complex and climatetech fina
The last few weeks have been relentless in terms of geopolitical developments and their impact on the oil market - albeit a somewhat oversupplied one with plenty of barrels to more than meet global demand. From the lows of September last seen in December 2021, the Brent front-month contract has ended the current trading week posting its highest weekly rise in almost two years.
For the second successive session this week oil prices have slid further and faster. After Monday's declines of over 2%, Tuesday has logged fresh intraday drops of as high as 5%. At the time of writing this post, The Oilholic noted that Brent and WTI front month futures contracts had breached their respective $74 and $70 per barrel floors. Headwinds are in fact gathering momentum and yet lower prices may follow.
Delighted to announce that yours truly will be moderating and speaking at ADIPEC 2024 - the world's largest energy conference and exhibition - in Abu Dhabi, UAE, from November 4 to 7. Explore the event's program touching on critical energy issues, latest technological developments, and energy transition through groundbreaking innovation, visionary leadership and action here.
The Oilholic is delighted to be back in Abu Dhabi, UAE for ADIPEC 2024, the world's largest energy conference and exhibition of its kind, being held here from November 4 to 7. Yours truly will be holding four panel sessions at the event with distinguished industry thought leaders. Please do join if you can for some fantastic and insightful industry dialogues.
The first two days of ADIPEC 2024 in Abu Dhabi have whizzed by with one theme dominating proceedings - the deployment of AI as a service. In whichever direction you look around the venue - ADNEC Centre - you can't miss signage flagging it. At the opening ceremony on Monday, ADNOC's CEO and the UAE's Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber said the state-operated energy company will deploy autonomous AI for the very first time and called on his peers to embrace it too f
Over the course of Wednesday and Thursday - days III & IV - of ADIPEC 2024 that put us on the home stretch towards the conclusion of global event, conversations turned to a collaborative transformation of the energy mix. It was acknowledged that a blend of human ingenuity, finance and technology, with conducive inter-governmental policies would go a long way.
With ADIPEC 2024 drawing to a close on November 7, the Oilholic capped a fascinating and engaging week out in Abu Dhabi by hosting four pivotal industry panel sessions at the event on subjects ranging from climate finance to hydrogen markets in Asia. Yours truly also hit the airwaves to discuss the wider energy market, impact of the US elections, an incoming Donald Trump administration and the various developments at ADIPEC 2024 which attracted over 200,000 people this year.
The last few weeks have brought range-bound volatility to the oil market with Brent futures oscillating between $70 and $75 per barrel. For the Oilholic, the now not-so-new Brent price floor is at $70 that OPEC appears to be protecting, although the producers' group rarely publicly comments on oil prices. In the face of subdued global, especially Chinese, demand growth, working to protect a price level rather than market share isn't quite working either.
The Oilholic is delighted to be back in Abu Dhabi, UAE for GMIS 2024 , being held here on December 5 as part of the inaugural Abu Dhabi Business Week. Yours truly will be hosting one fireside chat and one panel session at the event with distinguished industry thought leaders. Please do join if you can for some fantastic and insightful industry dialogues.
The Oilholic recently had the privilege of speaking and moderating at th e Global Manufacturing and Industrialisation Summit (GMIS) in Abu Dhabi, UAE on December 5 , hosted by the Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development at the inaugural Abu Dhabi Business Week, with a key theme of building resilience across the global industrial, manufacturing and petrochemical complexes.
Season's greetings dear readers. Many of you may be driving home for Christmas and looking forward to the New Year, with perhaps that most famous of Chris Rea songs playing on the radio. As you fuel up for the journey ahead, it is now pretty certain the current year and its festive season will end with petrol prices (or gasoline if you wish) at their lowest since 2021.
Happy New Year dear readers. Oil trading began on a much firmer footing this month, with Brent capping the $80 per barrel mark for the first time in three months on January 10. The global proxy benchmark has pretty much stayed near the mark in the couple of market sessions we have had since, as traders get their first quarter antennae up to gauge the direction of travel.
What can only be described as the greatest political comeback in history was completed on Monday by Donald J. Trump as he returned to the White House as the 47th President of the United States. Destroying all premature political obituaries about him and opponents of descriptions, the Trump 2.0 era began with a familiar cry of "drill baby, drill" from the President, among other things.
Delighted to announce that yours truly will be moderating and speaking at India Energy Week 2025 due to be held in New Delhi, India from February 11 to 14, 2025. This global energy event aims to unite over 700+ exhibitors, 70,000+ energy professionals and 500+ speakers from across the globe. It will offer invaluable insights, thought leadership, foster collaboration among key stakeholders and accelerate progress on the sustainable energy agenda.
(Left to right: Leigh Hackett, Chairman of Metafuels, Marco Ranocchiari, Leader of Energy Systems Integration platform, Paul Scherrer Institute, Gaurav Sharma, Energy Analyst, Oilholics Synonymous, Saurabh Kapoor, CEO of Metafuels at the Aerobrew pilot plant and laboratory.) Last month, the Oilholic headed out to the Paul Scherrer Institute in Wrenlingen, Switzerland, to visit a laboratory and pilot site run by start-up firm Metafuels.
The Oilholic is delighted to be back in Delhi ahead of India Energy Week 2025 as the world's second-largest of crude oil importer and a leader in renewables opens its doors to the global energy community. The week-long event - being held from Feb 11 to 14, 2025 - will showcase India's energy sector and its potential. Yours truly would be speaking and moderating sessions at the event as advised last month.
The first two days of India Energy Week or IEW 2025 have whizzed by with several aspects of the event's core theme - reimagining the future of energy in India and the world - discussed widely at various panel sessions and forums. The event was inaugurated on Tuesday by the country's Prime Minister Narendra Modi who noted in his opening remarks that India's wider energy sector ambitions would depend on "key five pillars" - namely "resource availability, a skilled workforce, economic strength, pol
Over the course of Thursday and Friday - days III & IV - of India Energy Week 2025 that put us on the home stretch of the global event, conversations turned more meaningfully towards the Indian government's assertion of placing a 'gas economy' at the heart of its march to net zero by 2070. What many in the industry choose to describe as a 'bridging fuel', is a medium the Indian government, and indeed many others, appear comfortable in embracing to wean them off coal and help with a shift to
With India Energy Week 2025 drawing to a close on February 14, the Oilholic capped a fascinating and engaging week out in Delhi by hosting pivotal industry panel sessions at the event on subjects ranging from bridging the energy transition's investment gaps to harnessing the power of shale oil and gas. All blog entries for India Energy Week may be found here.
Global crude oil markets have taken a bit of a double whammy. First off, US President Donald Trump - a.k.a (perhaps) Tariff Man - is back with. err.tariffs! Canada, Mexico and China were all (again) in the firing line and (again) retaliated with tariffs of their own against the US. As global stock markets plunged, commodity prices took a knock, oil benchmarks slumped as well and then some more.
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