Within the newest version of the Numbers Report, we are going to check out a few of the most fascinating figures put out this week within the power and metals sectors. Every week we’ll dig into some information and supply a little bit of rationalization on what drives the numbers. Let’s have a look.
1. US Oil Majors Flip Homeward as Battle Hits Output
– US oil majors are more and more prioritizing upstream funding within the US and the broader Americas area as Donald Trump’s struggle in opposition to Iran has slashed their 2026 manufacturing outlook. – Regardless of extraordinarily optimistic Q2 outcomes for many majors, with each Exxon and Chevron posting double-digit billion-dollar returns, the positive factors had been nearly solely pushed by value results, not manufacturing progress. – Chevron was the one US main to publish quarter-on-quarter and year-on-year manufacturing progress, while Shell’s output fell by a whopping 300,000 b/d. – To offset manufacturing losses in Qatar and Oman, ExxonMobil has boosted its US manufacturing to a report 2.1 million b/d, while Chevron has been on the forefront of Venezuela’s upstream revival. – US oil majors’ bumper earnings within the wake of the US-Iran struggle have allowed for drastic reductions of their web debt, with Chevron and ExxonMobil paying down $8 billion and $7 billion, respectively.
2. Europe’s Energy System Runs Into Sizzling Water
– Europe’s coastal and fluvial areas shall be going through rising challenges as rising temperatures trigger…
Numbers Report – August 21, 2026
Within the newest version of the Numbers Report, we are going to check out a few of the most fascinating figures put out this week within the power and metals sectors. Every week we’ll dig into some information and supply a little bit of rationalization on what drives the numbers. Let’s have a look.
1. US Oil Majors Flip Homeward as Battle Hits Output
– US oil majors are more and more prioritizing upstream funding within the US and the broader Americas area as Donald Trump’s struggle in opposition to Iran has slashed their 2026 manufacturing outlook. – Regardless of extraordinarily optimistic Q2 outcomes for many majors, with each Exxon and Chevron posting double-digit billion-dollar returns, the positive factors had been nearly solely pushed by value results, not manufacturing progress. – Chevron was the one US main to publish quarter-on-quarter and year-on-year manufacturing progress, while Shell’s output fell by a whopping 300,000 b/d. – To offset manufacturing losses in Qatar and Oman, ExxonMobil has boosted its US manufacturing to a report 2.1 million b/d, while Chevron has been on the forefront of Venezuela’s upstream revival. – US oil majors’ bumper earnings within the wake of the US-Iran struggle have allowed for drastic reductions of their web debt, with Chevron and ExxonMobil paying down $8 billion and $7 billion, respectively.
2. Europe’s Energy System Runs Into Sizzling Water
– Europe’s coastal and fluvial areas shall be facing rising challenges as rising temperatures trigger extra frequent disruptions to marine and freshwater techniques, constraining cooling water operations and decreasing thermal effectivity. – The typical water temperature within the Mediterranean stood at 27° C final month, the best for any July on report, resulting in an overpopulation of jellyfish clogging cooling water techniques in nuclear energy crops throughout France. – Hotter seas are contributing to longer warmth on land as seawater temperatures for longer durations of time, exacerbating heatwaves which have resulted in additional than 25,000 deaths this summer season. – Europe has change into the fastest-warming continent globally, with local weather change lifting temperatures within the Mediterranean and Western Europe by 2° C and 1.4° C, respectively. – The UK’s Met Workplace nationwide climate forecaster predicted that this 12 months’s El Nino will doubtless be the strongest on report, with a 3° C rise in equatorial Pacific sea-surface temperatures.
3. India Builds Clear Energy Sooner Than It Can Use It
– Probably the most coal-dependent main financial system globally (70% of energy generated), India has been quietly working to spice up its renewable power capability, with era capability for clear power sources now totalling 331 GW. – This compares with 302 GW for fossil fuels, with 2026 marking an distinctive 12 months for India’s renewables as utility corporations added 81 GW of latest capability, marking a 28% year-over-year improve. – The overwhelming majority of this 12 months’s incremental capability got here from photo voltaic, bringing the full capability to 211 GW, solely 40 GW shy of India’s complete put in coal capability. – But regardless of the large capability out there, precise era has barely modified in comparison with earlier years – photo voltaic and wind accounted for roughly 20% of energy provide final month, while the share of coal has dipped barely to 67%. – The following stage in India’s renewable power growth will revolve round upgrading grid infrastructure and increase battery storage as 10-15% of its generated photo voltaic power remains to be curtailed.
4. Panama Canal Turns into the Quick Lane for US LNG to Asia
– Laden LNG transits by way of the Panama Canal reached a 3-year excessive final month, with 12 vessels passing by way of the waterway as Asian patrons scramble for out there LNG cargoes. – With Asia’s spot LNG benchmark value JKM nonetheless trending round $23 per MMBtu, US sellers are incentivized to ship liquefied fuel as rapidly as attainable, avoiding the 45-day-long route across the Cape of Good Hope. – Half of LNG carriers transiting the Panama Canal final month had been sure to Japan, with China and South Korea taking in two US LNG cargoes every. – Capping potential transits forward, the Panama Canal Authority has announced that it might cap each day transits from September onwards as a longer-than-usual El Nino season is predicted to scale back water ranges. – Initially, each day transits could be restricted to 34 each day vessels, to be lowered additional to 32 transits from mid-September, with the waterway’s nameplate transit capability set at 40 vessels per day.
– Chinese language coking coal costs jumped to a 2-year excessive after a lethal mining accident in Shanxi province triggered a widespread authorities drive to examine the protection of present mines. – Coking coal futures traded on the Dalian alternate soared 15% this week to ¥1,580 per tonne ($235 per tonne) as stockpiles of the metallurgical feedstock proceed to dry up. – As a lot as 130 mtpa of coking coal manufacturing capability was suspended instantly after the Liushenyu mine catastrophe, with some 60 mtpa nonetheless offline as of mid-August. – With 10% of home coking coal provide shut because of security checks, China’s metal {industry} is compelled to ramp up imports of metallurgical coal, with June inflows up 34% year-over-year. – Analysts anticipate costs to be increased for longer as one other mining accident at a thermal coal mine in Hunan final week hardened the federal government’s resolve to close all shoddy mines.
6. Large Tech’s Energy Crunch Turns into a Gasoline Emissions Drawback
– Greater than $100 billion was spent by information middle builders worldwide on new pure fuel crops, with the spending craze on devoted fuel energy era crops set to raise US emissions over the upcoming a long time. – At present, your complete US electrical energy {industry} emits some 1,485 million metric tonnes of carbon yearly, with pure fuel accounting for 45-50% of complete emissions inside the energy sector. – According to Bloomberg, the 99 proposed fuel crops would emit about 318 million metric tonnes of carbon dioxide yearly if run at industry-standard charges, lifting US energy sector emissions by 20%. – While not all of the at present proposed initiatives could be in the end constructed, investments into energy era are anticipated to remain excessive for fairly a while – the IEA initiatives a decade-high of $330 billion in pure fuel improvement this 12 months. – Greater than a 3rd of upcoming US information centre-linked fuel crops are to be inbuilt Texas, benefitting from a traditionally forgiving regulatory atmosphere for power initiatives.
7. Copper Backwardation Blows Out as Steel Heads to America
– An distinctive surge in copper shipments in direction of america has triggered a spike in money LME costs, resulting in the steepest copper futures backwardation in 5 years. – Spot LME copper costs are trading some $550 per tonne above the benchmark 3-month LME futures contract, with restricted availability of the important thing transition metallic placing a premium on immediate deliveries. – LME copper inventories posted an unprecedented 42-day streak of declines in June-July, as US imports of copper have averaged 200-220,000 metric tonnes in current months. – In line with positioning stories printed by the London Steel Trade, three buying and selling corporations held unusually giant positions within the August contract, exceeding out there dwell shares of solely 103,075 tonnes. – The following brief squeeze has led LME brief place holders to scramble for bodily metallic deliveries, solely for a similar copper to be delivered into CME warehouses within the US (¬60% of worldwide alternate stock by this level).
That’s it for this week’s Numbers Report. Thanks for studying, and we’ll see you subsequent week.
