Commodities Focus

The CIS steel industry has emerged from pandemic demand slumps relatively quickly thanks to Chinese demand and government incentives in Russia. Although further challenges lie ahead, production cuts at steel mills appear to be less severe than at their European peers. Platts Managing Editor Laura Varriale is joined by Platts Metals Editors Katya Bouckley and Wojtek Laskowski to discuss the current shape of Russia and Ukraine’s steel industry.

Ira Joseph, head of gas and power for S&P Global Platts Analytics, and Ryan Ouwerkerk, manager of Americas natural gas pricing for S&P Global Platts, are joined by Samer Mosis, Platts team lead, EMEA LNG, to discuss a range of short- and long-term dynamics impacting the Eastern Mediterranean and Middle Eastern gas markets, from Tuna-1 to the future of Leviathan, Egyptian LNG and Cypriot markets.

Meg Gentle, CEO of Tellurian, joins S&P Global Platts senior natural gas writer Harry Weber to discuss the global LNG market, the trajectory for prices and what lies ahead for US commercial development. She is a former marketing chief at Cheniere who is now developing an up to 27.6 million mt/year export facility in Louisiana called Driftwood LNG. Related story: Asian prices boost Driftwood LNG commercial efforts: Tellurian CEO

There is a lot going on with offshore wind development -- particularly on the US East Coast, where S&P Global Platts Analytics estimates there could be over 37 GW of capacity installed by 2050 –- with Orsted involved in many of those projects. In this edition of the Platts Commodities Focus podcast, Jared Anderson, senior writer with S&P Global Platts, speaks with David Hardy, Orsted president and chief operating officer for North America offshore, about offshore wind contract pricing, transmission planning, regulatory developments, policy drivers and more.

Amy Gasca, Manan Ahjua and Mark Watson of S&P Global Platts talk with Brett Perlman, CEO of the Center for Houston's Future and ex-Public Utility Commissioner of Texas, about the state's energy policies and the energy transition. * Is ERCOT's market functioning as it was intended? * How can Houston's role as "Energy Capital of the World" shape North America’s energy transition?

S&P Global Platts senior natural gas writer Harry Weber and S&P Global Market Intelligence midstream finance reporter Allison Good wrap up the recently completed second-quarter earnings reporting season by companies in the midstream sector. While some companies looked for expansion opportunities, others outlined additional capital spending cuts and project deferrals as operators of pipelines, processing facilities and liquefaction terminals looked for signs of a rebound in volumes.

Gasoline volumes from Northern Europe to West Africa are expected to continue to grow, and new hedging tools may be needed for medium range clean tankers in the West of Suez market. Platts Shipping Editors Sam Eckett, George Griffiths, and Chris To discuss emerging benchmark opportunities into West Africa, while probing the unprecedented state of trans-Pacific container rates.

Ira Joseph, head of gas and power for Platts Analytics, and Ryan Ouwerkerk, manager of Americas natural gas pricing for S&P Global Platts, take a look at how US natural gas prices have jumped and the turnaround in global gas benchmarks.

The outlook for hydrogen Asia-Pacific has become a lot more positive over the last six to 12 months, with companies from Australia to Japan stepping up efforts to formulate policies and plan projects in the hope that the clean fuel can play a big role in the energy transition process. But at this point there are probably more questions than answers. How quickly new hydrogen projects can come up? How fast governments can formulate polices? And how soon trade flows and a transparent market place can develop? Peter Godfrey, Asia Pacific Managing Director of The Energy Institute of the UK, joins S&P Global Platts senior editor Sambit Mohanty in this episode of Commodities Focus Podcasts to discuss the opportunities and challenges in Asia's hydrogen market.

April was the nadir of the global demand slump from COVID-19 lockdowns while swinging output cuts from OPEC+ and a slump in US drilling hit production volumes across the board. Oil and gas producers have also been grappling with more pessimism over long term oil demand, have written down asset values and some have stepped up their energy transition game. S&P Global Platts senior writer Robert Perkins is joined by colleagues Nick Coleman, Starr Spencer and S&P Global Market Intelligence's Peter Marin to discuss the key themes of the latest earnings season.