C.O.B. Tuesday

We had the great opportunity today to host a friend and longtime auto industry entrepreneur,  Henrik Fisker, CEO of Fisker Inc., for our first electric car-focused episode. Henrik is a leading automotive designer and some of his creations include the BMW Z8, Aston Martin DB9, Viking motorcycle, Fisker Karma, and Force 1, to name a few. He also previously held executive positions at Ford Motor Company and Aston Martin Lagonda Ltd. Simply put, his impressive career is something us car nerds can only dream of, and we were thrilled to visit with him and discuss the new Fisker Ocean electric SUV. Our conversation had a few major themes: electric car development, supply chains, consumer attitudes, the hybrid market, adoption rate of EVs, Fisker's strategic partnerships and outsourced manufacturing, and a few of the ways Fisker has separated themselves from competitors with pricing, range, and unique design features. It was also fascinating to hear Fisker's vision for a fully online consumer experience from purchasing to delivery to maintenance and how they are reimagining the traditional dealership design. Before Henrik got away, we couldn't help ourselves... we asked him about his favorite cars of all time. He had some great answers! To kick us off,  Mike Bradley presented a summary of this week's equity & commodity performance and interesting headlines, and also flagged that we are headed into Q2'22 earnings with OFS reporting this week.  Colin Fenton expanded on Mike's thoughts with an international update on markets, changes in G7 leadership, Nord Stream gas flows, and a key fertilizer production statistic from this week. We had a lot of fun spending time with Henrik and are excited to follow Fisker's future. Thanks to you all for watching! 

Today we had the honor of hosting Governor Mike Dunleavy of Alaska for an exciting and informational episode. Governor Dunleavy is a Scranton, PA native and as a young man moved to Alaska in 1983 where he had an extensive career in education serving as a teacher, principal, and superintendent before his 5-year term as an Alaska State Senator from 2013-2018. He became Governor in 2018 and is up for re-election this November. We had a fantastic time visiting and walked away from the discussion impressed with Gov. Dunleavy and his passion to advance the state's energy opportunities. Gov. Dunleavy helped frame our discussion with background and history of the state, the state's unique features, history of their energy production, difficulties with federal regulations, the proposed pipeline from the North Slope to Nikiski and how it would impact the state's LNG exports to Asia, the Native American and US veteran populations of Alaska, and information on Alaska's energy transition minerals. We also cover relations with Russia and the full spectrum of energy available in Alaska from hydro, nuclear, geothermal, wind, solar, and tidal, to oil and natural gas. Overall, we learned a lot about the state (which Gov. Dunleavy thinks is the "best kept secret in the United States of America") and have a better appreciation for their contributions and challenges. We can't thank the Governor enough for his time and consideration and are looking forward to Veriten's future visit to Alaska! The Veriten team quickly hit a few key points to start the show:  Mike Bradley highlighted interesting headlines of the week including OPEC's 2023 Market Outlook and ERCOT's struggles with the heat, and also covered weekly equity and commodity performance.  Colin Fenton provided a macro market outlook and warned that coastline states that skipped the 2014/2016 slump may see areas of recession, and that unfortunately inflation peaking does not mean inflation is over. Thanks to you all. We hope you enjoy and that you learn something new about Alaska!

Monte Dobson, CEO of ExxonMobil India, discusses India's energy landscape, talent growth in Bengaluru, taxation considerations, and energy security. They explore the shift to cleaner energy sources, challenges in infrastructure development, and potential collaborations between the US and India for mutual energy growth.

We are focusing on India this week at Veriten and are excited to study the country, their needs, their challenges, and their opportunities. Today we were delighted to welcome  Sunita Narain, Director General of the  Center for Science and the Environment (CSE). Sunita is a 40-year environmentalist, political activist, and author; her work includes in-depth research on the governance and management of the environment. She is the editor of " Down to Earth" magazine and the author of " Conflicts of Interest," a collection of essays on the environmental movement in India. We were lucky enough to meet Sunita at this year's CERAWeek in Houston and as you will hear, she is incredibly passionate, upbeat, thoughtful, and pleasant. We are big fans and supporters. To start the session, Sunita provides background on the CSE and their history. The CSE is a think tank agency that focuses their research on environmental issues with the intent to use their research to push for change. In our discussion, we touch on India's advanced waste management systems, the coal industry, the letter Sunita wrote to the Finance Minister about natural gas taxation, air quality, water management, climate change, the current high temperatures in India, energy security, developing the energy grid in India, and the importance of thinking interdependently in today's world. We wrap up with Sunita's vision for the energy and environmental world in ten years, and her thoughtful and touching response emphasizes how different the developing world is from the day-to-day discussions we have in the OECD. Overall, we are excited to follow the CSE's developments in the upcoming years and are also glad to have made an incredible friend in Sunita. Mike Bradley kicked off the session with a look at energy and commodity performance and highlighted key upcoming macro events, including the Supreme Court's ruling on West Virginia v. the Environmental Protection Agency and its importance.  Colin Fenton chimed in with a follow-up on the LME copper curve, manufacturing activity, and China's shortening of COVID lockdown restrictions. Later this week, we will sit down with Monte Dobson, CEO and Lead County Manager of ExxonMobil India and are excited to spend more time learning about India.  As always, thanks to you all for your support! 

We had an exciting and informative session today with Michele Della Vigna, Managing Director and Head of Energy Research for EMEA (Europe, the Mideast, and Africa) at Goldman Sachs. In his extensive research career, Michele has spent over twenty years at Goldman covering strategy and content across the global equity energy and natural resources teams. He is the also the creator of Goldman's Carbonomics research program which looks at the economics behind a transition to net-zero emissions. In our discussion, Michele describes the top three items he and the research team at Goldman are currently focused on, the European outlook on natural gas, issues created by the lack of policy clarity on a global basis on carbon, the severe underinvestment in hydrocarbons, how ESG frameworks have impacted and will continue to impact investing, Norway as an example of a positive green transition experience, the Goldman research group's team and global scope, hydrogen, and what Michele thinks the energy world will look like in ten years. We had a quick upfront discussion:  Mike Bradley flagged that last week was one of the worst performing weeks in the market for the S&P and energy sector and pointed out key upcoming macro events and interesting headlines from this week. Colin Fenton shared two items that caught his attention this week including the LME copper forward curve and the drop-off in Russian gas flows into Europe. It was fantastic to visit with Michele. He and his group sit at the epicenter of every trend shaping and changing the energy world right now. It goes without saying, but we also greatly appreciate your viewership and hope you enjoy today's discussion! We certainly did! 

Today, we were delighted to host  David Firestein, President and CEO of the George H.W. Bush Foundation for U.S.-China Relations (the Bush China Foundation). His multi-decade experience immersed in China (and Russia) provided balanced perspective and historical context to a whole set of complex geopolitical issues. The conversation ranged from David's perspective on how/why the US-China relationship has changed, how that change impacts China-Russia relations, how the Chinese people perceive the US, US-China energy market inter-play, and the ever-present Taiwan-China tension. We wrapped up our discussion with David focusing on China's role in and attitude towards climate change. As it so happens, June 12th would have marked George H. W. Bush's 98th birthday and we also touch on his legacy in the conversation as well. Mike Bradley started the show with a discussion on natural gas markets, LNG outages, prospects for winter markets in both the US and Europe, and the overall wild equity market ride we are on right now.  Colin Fenton flagged what is catching his eye in global currency and government debt markets and how that action presents risk to both equity markets as well as energy demand. David has a quote highlighted on the Bush China Foundation's webpage that we found worth repeating: "The gravest threat to America today is the untethering of our nation's public policy and political discourse from factual reality; unless and until we rectify that, we as a nation will never be able to out-compete China - or, indeed, solve any of our nation's pressing problems." A truer thought we have not heard. Our best to you all! 

Today we had the pleasure of hosting  Meredith Angwin, Energy Analyst and Author of " Campaigning for Clean Air: Strategies for Pro-Nuclear Advocacy" and most recently " Shorting the Grid: The Hidden Fragility of Our Electric Grid." Meredith is a passionate advocate for abundant, affordable, clean energy and has also been an early advocate for nuclear energy. In her extensive career, she has headed research projects on pollution control for fossil fuels, corrosion control for nuclear plants, and was one of the first female project managers at the Electric Power Research Institute. More recently, she has shifted focus to grid governance, reliability and oversight. In her latest book and with us live today, Meredith explains the grid and associated challenges in a straightforward and understandable way. We focused today on " Shorting the Grid" and the story Meredith tells us all by closely examining power in New England. Our key topics included an overview of the structural history of the power industry, the advent of the Regional Transmission Organizations ("RTOs"), background on New England's historical reliability measures (running oil during weather driven demand increases), new pay for performance initiatives, and additional structural changes and challenges in the market (like MPOR, the minimum offer price rule). We also touch on hydro power, the implications of the current natural gas price spike, the warning signs of more potential power shortages, overdependence on renewables with limited backup fuel, the lack of transparency and accountability, the hazards of relying on natural gas but not building enough pipelines, and, of course, what Meredith thinks the power market could look like in ten years. It was an extremely educational and interesting session and we are thankful to Meredith for joining us. We wholeheartedly recommend her book. It takes some really complicated issues and makes them easy to follow. Mike Bradley started the show with an update on weekly equity and commodity performance and key events, noting that European natural gas is at the lowest price since the Ukranian war started and also focused on recent executive action around US solar tariffs and the mixed messages the government is sending to Industry.  Colin Fenton provided an update on US LNG export data and crude oil, showing markets are reacting to the EU's ban on Russian deliveries and also noting inflationary effects on US households with new credit cards skyrocketing. Brett Rampal, Veriten's nuclear expert, also joined and peppered in his thoughts and observations in the session.  

We're starting the week with a Special Edition COBT with a great friend of the firm, independent energy and climate thinker, and former COBT guest,  Michael Shellenberger. Michael is the Founder & President of  Environmental Progress, Author of " Apocalypse Never: Why Environmental Alarmism Hurts Us All" and most recently " San Fransicko: Why Progressives Ruin Cities." He is currently running for Governor of California as an Independent and is passionate about the future of his home state. Should he be elected, he intends to push the state back to a pro-growth, pro-civilization agenda. We were excited to dig into his campaign, life on the ground in California, and of course his proposed policy changes. Our discussion was timely as California's primary election for Governor is taking place today, Tuesday, June 7th. In our discussion with Michael, we discuss his journey to running for office and identifying as an independent, his passionate voter base, the homeless, public drug use, growing security problems, the mental health crisis, the nation's highest gasoline costs, the "Curley Effect," and his plan for California to rebuild communities with both compassion and accountability. We also touch on Michael's energy views including the importance of energy abundance, desalination plants, water storage plants, and nuclear energy for the state. We're rooting for Michael in this election and hope that his pro-growth and pro-civilization message will resonate with California's constituents. The Veriten team quickly hit a few key points to start the show:  Mike Bradley shared the equation for this year's hot and difficult summer and passed it to Colin Fenton who noted the other historical anniversary of June 6th besides D-Day and built on Mike's comments with a note to keep an eye on SP-15 power prices. It was a great opportunity to visit with Michael on the eve of the election and we can't thank him enough for sharing his time. As always, we hope you enjoy! 

We are excited to share a Special Edition COBT with you today! We had the opportunity to visit with former guest Alex Epstein, Author of " The Moral Case for Fossil Fuels" and Founder of the Center for Industrial Progress. Alex recently published a new book, " Fossil Future: Why Global Human Flourishing Requires More Oil, Coal, and Natural Gas - Not Less." We appreciate his tenacity for swimming against the current tide and are always interested to hear from him as he is at the center of the energy, climate, and technology debate. Our conversation starts with a look at the key themes in "Fossil Future" including energy freedom, freedom to trade, and the importance of contracts / property rights for underdeveloped countries. Alex's philosophical background is at the core of the book which examines and questions how experts think and the knowledge system trickle-down from expert opinions to all of our own conclusions. We also touch on his reflections since his first book released in 2014, potential world population growth or shrinkage, the importance of philosophy, "Arguing to 100," initial feedback he's received for "Fossil Future," human flourishing, and of course, what he thinks the energy world will look like in the next few years. Thank you to Alex for joining! With so much to discuss, we had a quick intro from the Veriten team:  Mike Bradley compared index prices from when Alex's first book released in 2014 to today for commodities, US CPI, World Food and NAM Fertilizer.  Colin Fenton reminded us that in the sea of chatter about a potential recession to stay open to the possibility of stagflation. As always, we hope you enjoy and welcome your feedback! Thanks to all of you from all of us at Veriten.

Today we had the pleasure of hosting our good friend  Dr. Scott Tinker, Chairman of  Switch Energy Alliance and the Director of the  Bureau of Economic Geology at  The University of Texas at Austin. Scott's work is focused on addressing major societal challenges in energy, the environment, and the economy. He has co-produced two documentary films exploring energy across the developing world, " Switch" and its sequel " Switch On." It is always fantastic to visit with Scott and we appreciate his friendship and his never-ending push for the concept of the "radical middle" to create a new, better, and more thoughtful energy debate. In our discussion, we ask Scott for his thoughts on the current energy debate and political environment, his work with students and young professionals, the importance of getting more people out of poverty, energy density, China's and India's growth plans and potential environmental impact, and more. Scott also provides interesting takeaways from a recent and unique conference he co-hosted focusing on the dual challenge of climate and energy. We also discussed Scott's upcoming PBS series called "The Energy Switch," releasing this June. In the series, Scott moderates as leading professionals on both sides of the issues debate the key variables and decision points of our energy future.  As you all know, we frequently ask our guests, "What Does The Energy World Look Like In Ten Years?" As you will hear in today's video, Scott forecasted that in ten years, we'll have a "more balanced knowledge base" from which we can make great decisions for our energy future. It was a really interesting answer to the question we are always asking. We had a fantastic discussion with Scott and enjoyed his common-sense, practical, and global perspective. Mike Bradley kicked off the show with an update on energy market performance and weekly energy headlines, warning for a potential summer of pain with nations potentially hoarding supplies and restricting exports.  Colin Fenton shared a few thoughts on the new economic environment and reiterated Mike's point that we could experience a challenging summer.  As always, thank you for your friendship and support! One request of all of you... if you have a minute, watch Scott Tinker's most recent TED Talk, "The Dual Challenge: Energy and Environment". He's getting lots of views and we want to encourage you to view it and share it with others in your network as well.