212 - Chevron permitted to restart in Venezuela | U.S. diesel shortage starts to ease

Subscribe to the newsletterBiden gives Chevron permit to restart Venezuelan oil saleshttps://www.politico.com/news/2022/11/26/biden-chevron-permit-venezuelan-oil-sales-00070836Chevron can resume key role in Venezuela's oil output, exportshttps://www.reuters.com/business/energy/us-issues-expanded-license-allow-chevron-import-venezuelan-petroleum-2022-11-26/- this might add barrels to the market, but if might not because it might just shift oil from the black market to the legal market and not actually add barrels- Chevron isn't likely to restart production in a significant way because the license only goes for 6 months and significant investment and infrastructure repair is needed.- Might help Chevron recoup some lossesRussian Oil Is Already Trading Far Below Europe’s Proposed Cap https://finance.yahoo.com/news/price-russian-oil-now-try-113456772.html- Urals trading at $51.76/barrel on Monday Mov 28- Is there any way to do a price cap and keep Russian oil on the market?- Poland wants $30/barrel but Greece, Malta, Cypress want a higher cap because they make a lot of money shipping Russian oil or want compensation- What's more important to Europeans - shipping jobs or hurting Putin?Oil prices erase 2022 gains as China's protests spark demand worries https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/oil-drops-more-than-1-chinas-covid-protests-fuel-demand-worries-2022-11-28/- Protests in China: unlike Tiananmen Sq, where Chinese people don't know what happened, now there is WeChat and people can see before the gov quashes it.- Technology does change things but is it enough to get ahead of the government? The government can just cut the internet.-  Will the protests mean more oil demand or less oil demand? China could come out with a jobs program which would be good for demand. Could also beat the war drums about Taiwan to crush dissent. Column: U.S. diesel shortage starts to easehttps://www.reuters.com/business/energy/us-diesel-shortage-starts-ease-kemp-2022-11-24/- "The increase was small but runs against the normal trend for a drawdown at this time of year and indicates high prices and a slowing economy are starting to rebuild inventories"- Runs against what Dr. Foreman said last week about the US economy and that distillate indicators show the economy is strong- If oil prices keep going down, will distillate follow?Energy Companies Expect More Friends in Washington as Republicans Take Over Househttps://www.wsj.com/articles/energy-companies-expect-more-friends-in-washington-as-republicans-take-over-house-11669517278- is there anything they can do for oil? ensure no windfall tax- the issue is the regulatory state not legal issues This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit energyweek.substack.com