Energy
Oil bulls are betting on OPEC+ agreement; will it be enough
BY: Hussein Sayed, Chief Market Strategist at FXTM
Oil futures jumped on both sides of the Atlantic on expectations the world’s biggest producers would finally agree on production cuts. That comes a little over a month after the expired OPEC+ deal led to a surge of crude production by Saudi Arabia in a fight for market share, despite the industry being confronted with the coronavirus-driven collapse in demand.
Brent crude has managed to recover half of its losses from the March lows, while WTI has gained 34%. However, both Benchmarks have still lost more than half their value since the beginning of the year.
Many observers have thought it would be too challenging to get Russia and Saudi Arabia to sit round the same table any time soon, but collapsing Oil prices and intervention from the US have made this possible.
In terms of demand, the US has seen a fall of 14.4 million barrels a day, according to the US Energy Information Administration. India, the world’s third-largest consumer, has seen a plunge in demand of 18% according to FGE, but refineries are painting a more gloomy picture saying their demand tumbled by more than two-thirds in early April. And while China’s economy is expected to fire on all cylinders soon, it still won’t be enough to compensate for the lost demand globally.
Interestingly, Oil futures are trading higher but physical purchasers can buy at a much lower price, with some grades in North America being sold at a price tag of less than $10 a barrel. That reflects the current distress and glut in energy markets at this stage with many wondering whether a Saudi – Russian deal will bring stability back to the market.
Given the magnitude of the current economic crisis, there’s a high chance of a deal being struck. Markets are pricing a 10 – 15 million barrels a day cut in oil production. That could send prices a little higher in the short term, but fundamentals will still rule further out and if demand doesn’t recover by the end of April, then that supply-demand equation will again look terrible. According to the latest estimates, global demand has fallen by nearly 25 million barrels a day and the awaited cut is still far from balancing the equation.
To have a more meaningful deal, the US needs to jump in, but given that all US producers are private companies, it makes this mission very difficult. Another source of stability could come from Friday’s G20 emergency energy minister’s meeting. If more producers join the deal and large oil consumers contribute to the demand side by adding to their strategic oil reserves, this should provide a longer-term stability factor to prices.
The worst-case scenario, where OPEC and its previous allies fail to commit to production cuts, would be disastrous for oil-producing economies and the energy sector. This would see both benchmarks test a single-digit number.
Energy
AVEVA Unveils Key Learnings from its 2023 Sustainability Progress Report and first AVEVA Industrial Intelligence Index
AVEVA, a global leader in industrial software, launches AVEVA’s 2023 Sustainability Progress Report and the first edition of the AVEVA Industrial Intelligence Index at London Tech Week 2024 where the company advocates for an ethical and impact-driven AI aimed at increasing creativity and efficiency for a more sustainable world.
AVEVA 2023 Sustainability Progress Report: key learnings
In 2023, AVEVA continued to make progress on its core ESG framework objectives, including enabling the sustainable transformation of industry through its software, modelling environmental stewardship and ethical best practice, and fostering an inclusive workplace culture where every employee feels engaged and empowered to learn and grow.
This fourth edition of the report is AVEVA’s first publication of ESG data and workstream advancements aligned to a calendar year reporting period. It details progress made in 2023 to AVEVA’s three key pillars: Technology handprint, Operational footprint, and Inclusive culture.
Technology handprint
“Beyond our efforts to reduce our own carbon footprint, we recognize that our biggest opportunity to make a positive impact and accelerate our journey towards NetZero is through our core products, digital solutions that can help industries improve efficiency, circularity, traceability and resilience” declared Lisa Wee, Global Head of Sustainability, AVEVA.
With this regard, the company has developed a green new logo program that has supported in the first six months the deployment of clean tech activities for 25 customers. In addition, with 13 new case studies quantifying the reduction of emissions AVEVA software enables for customers, the company demonstrates how it walks the talk through tangible achievements contributing to sustainability. Last but not least, hackathons run in 2023 generated 80 sustainability-led technology ideas for future innovations.
2023 also saw the launch of AVEVA’s Sustainability Accelerator program the purpose of which is to advance sustainability use cases and capabilities across the company’s portfolio and partner ecosystem, including via AVEVA’s industrial intelligence platform, CONNECT.
“AVEVA’s Sustainability Accelerator program aims to enable faster uptake of existing sustainability solutions across the industrial landscape, while we continue to invest in product capabilities and partnerships that will push out the frontiers of sustainability innovation for industry” said Joana Mainguy, Director of Sustainability in charge of the program.
Finally, AVEVA has pioneered a new standard for green software: since the end of 2023, 31% of its portfolio has built-in power consumption measurement technology.
Operational footprint
In 2023, AVEVA met 4 out of the 15 2025 ESG targets including 93% reduction in scope 1 and scope 2 emissions through a combination of measures: the company procured 100% of renewable electricity in all global markets as per RE100 criteria, reduced its overall fleet of 21% over the year, and counted hybrid or electric vehicles for 25% of the remaining fleet. Notable achievements related to upstream emissions include a 36% decrease in purchased goods and services and a 49% decrease in business travel emissions. The latter goes beyond our 2025 ESG goal of a 20% reduction.
Regarding the scope 3, AVEVA has integrated e-waste data in the inventory under the waste category to report another significant achievement: “Our initial target of diverting 5 tons of e-waste from landfill in 2025 was surpassed by 22.75 tons in 2023. 100% of e-waste sent to our disposal partner is now diverted from landfill,” explained Lisa Wee.
Inclusive culture
AVEVA’s commitment to developing a workplace environment where all employees feel included and are treated with dignity and respect is also highlighted in the report.
“Globally, with 39.9% of new hires, 29% of managers and 26,5% of leaders being women, AVEVA has significantly increased gender representation in 2023 and will continue in this direction to raise these numbers to 50% of new hires, 40% of managers and 30% of leaders by 2030. Besides, we have reached our goal of less than 1% pay equity, and it currently stands at 0.5%”,commented Lisa Wee with enthusiasm. In addition, AVEVA demonstrated its commitment to society donating £ 310,000 to causes supported by AVEVA employees’ communities around the world.
AVEVA also achieved key milestones in regions: In the US, the company has developed a partnership with two Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) for an ‘AVEVA Scholars Program. Spanning three years, the program includes scholarships and immersive onsite experiences, ultimately paving the way for talented Black scholars in Engineering and Computer Science to join the AVEVA team upon graduation. The pilot will kick-off mid-June 2024 and count 12 students.
AVEVA INDUSTRIAL INTELLIGENCE INDEX REPORT: A 2-in-1 publication to report on industrial needs and to give guidance on existing solutions through inspiring examples of successful and sustainable digital transformation:
At London Tech Week 2024, AVEVA launched its first annual AVEVA Industrial Intelligence Index:
“AVEVA has been supporting the industrial world for more than half a century. Listening to our customers’ needs and understanding their challenges is how we innovate and develop tailored solutions that will help them cope with current and future challenges. With more than 25 000 customers across all industries, we have built a unique expertise. Today I’m delighted to introduce our first AVEVA Industrial Intelligence Index Report. Our ambition is to issue this report every year to help C-suite executives, business unit leaders, and strategic decision-makers leverage industrial intelligence and succeed in the digital age, with inspiring insights about how industries transform towards a more sustainable future” declared Caspar Herzberg, AVEVA CEO.
Drawing on research conducted with 500 global industry executives across Europe, North America and Asia Pacific, this first edition gives valuable and actionable insights into the power, manufacturing, infrastructure, and chemicals industries. Including comments from AVEVA’s experts and leaders, the report unveils macro trends and describes the forces that drive change and innovation. It also presents case studies showcasing successful digitalization initiatives, and strategies for driving innovation and efficiency to chart a course towards a more sustainable and profitable future.
Energy
AVEVA Appoints Joanna Mainguy as New Sustainability Accelerator Director
- Joanna Mainguy will steer strategies for sustainability innovation across AVEVA’s portfolio and partner ecosystem, furthering ESG targets for 2025 and beyond
AVEVA, a global leader in industrial software, driving digital transformation and sustainability, today announced the appointment of Joanna Mainguy as Sustainability Accelerator Director.
Joanna’s appointment testifies to AVEVA’s dedication to strengthening the company’s sustainability impact in line with advancing global climate commitments.
As Sustainability Accelerator Director, Joanna Mainguy will focus exclusively on sustainability solutions and strategies to accelerate innovation that will help AVEVA’s customers to achieve their net-zero targets.
She will look at how AVEVA leverages current market and customer analysis to inform its in-house development team, advise on new customer collaborations and on how AVEVA should grow its partnership network and M&A pipeline to reflect its sustainability priorities.
Joanna will lead the implementation of a sustainability solutions plan tailored to meet the most pressing needs of AVEVA’s industrial customers on low-carbon transition, circularity and resilience, via an integrated product, marketing and sales approach. She will work closely with AVEVA’s portfolio, business area and R&D leads to continue to develop new sustainability capabilities and drive collaboration on go-to-market initiatives that support industry with contributing to an accelerated energy transition and shift to a circular economy.
Joanna was formerly Industry Director, EMEA, for Energy & Sustainability at Microsoft, where she led strategic engagements with major energy providers and supported the energy transition with digital solutions. She has worked across the entire energy value chain and has more than 15 years of experience in process industries and the energy sector, including work for major system integrators, software and energy companies.
Lisa Wee, Global Head of Sustainability, AVEVA, said: “We are excited to welcome Joanna to AVEVA. She will bolster our mission to enable faster uptake of existing sustainability solutions across the industrial landscape, while in parallel we continue to invest in product capabilities and partnerships that will push out the frontiers of sustainability innovation for industry. At AVEVA we look to lead by example on sustainability and we achieved a 93% reduction in Scope 1 and 2 emissions last year. We aspire to help our customers better leverage digital solutions to realize their own ambitious sustainability targets early, and Joanna brings a wealth of experience to help support this.”
Commenting on her appointment, Joanna Mainguy, Sustainability Accelerator Director, AVEVA, said: “I am delighted to join AVEVA at such a pivotal time in its sustainability innovation and growth trajectory. I look forward to working with AVEVA teams and customers to continue to grow the sustainability benefits that can be achieved with AVEVA software. I am also keen to work closely with our partners to drive further positive change at scale, since we know addressing the climate crisis will continue to require expanded collaboration”.
AVEVA actively embeds sustainability into its core product strategy with specific capabilities in its software portfolio.
AVEVA’s software enables organizations to connect and contextualize key sustainability data with artificial intelligence and human insight, enhancing their agility, resilience and sustainability in order to help drive responsible use of the world’s resources.
AVEVA’s 2023 Sustainability Progress Report reveals significant progress across all three pillars of the company’s sustainability framework, encompassing product strategy, operations and culture.
Energy
Climate Change: NNPC Ltd/Total Energies JV Achieves Zero Gas Flare
In pursuit of meeting the targets of 20% (unconditional) and 47% (conditional) greenhouse gas emission reduction as contained in the Nationally Determined Contribution under the Paris Accord signed by the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration, the NNPC Ltd/TotalEnergies Joint Venture has achieved zero routine gas flare in all its assets.
According to a statement signed by Olufemi Soneye, Chief Corporate Communications Officer, NNPC Ltd., this feat was announced on Thursday during an inspection tour of OML 100 in South-eastern Niger Delta, off Port Harcourt, by a joint NNPC Ltd and TotalEnergies Team to ascertain the success of the OML Flare Reduction Project launched in December 2023.
The NNPC Ltd/TotalEnergies Joint Venture, which is the concession holder of four leases, had hitherto achieved zero routine flaring across OML 99 (2006), OML 102 (2014), and OML 58 (2016), leaving OML 100 as the only lease with routine flaring going on.
The significance of this achievement is that the last routine flare volume of about 12MMscf/d (twelve million standard cubic feet per day) of gas has now been eliminated giving rise to a greenhouse gas emissions reduction of about 341KtCO₂e/yr.
The achievement is an outcome of a programme introduced by the NNPC Ltd to galvanize action towards achieving the zero routine flare by 2030 across its portfolio of assets.
It is also a testament to NNPC Ltd’s prioritization of sustainability anchored on the ‘first R’ of its 5R Strategy (Reduce, Replace, Renew, Re-plant, Repurpose), as it strives to reduce its carbon footprint.
Work is ongoing across all other assets within NNPC Ltd’s Upstream Directorate to ensure that all assets achieve zero routine flaring by 2030 or earlier.
-
Transport3 days ago
Gov Mbah Flags-off dualization of 43.7 Penoks-Abakpa Nike-Opi-Nsukka Road
-
Politics4 days ago
Matawalle’s Loyalty to President Tinubu Unquestionable, says YAN Speaker
-
GRPolitics3 days ago
Banditry: FG Exonerates Matawalle of All Allegations
-
GRLife3 days ago
SystemSpecs Founder John Obaro Bags Honorary Doctorate for Trailblazing Impact in Tech Innovation
-
Entertainment3 days ago
Remembering Iyalode of Yorubaland
-
GRPolitics1 day ago
Zamfara: PDP members Praise Metawalle, Protest Against Gov. Lawal