Westgen Technologies

Taco Tuesday Press Release Time!!! I have wanted to work with Westgen Technologies going all the way back to when they were...Westgen Technologies. :) If you know, you know. These guys have some of the most innovative technology in the patch, and the team at Funk Futures is thrilled to represent them in the Rockies! Big thanks to Ben Klepacki P.Eng., Chris Roche, for giving us a shot, and Elizabeth DeStephens, P.E. NACD.CD for originally connecting me to this great company. Press Release is below:

Check it out! Our CEO, Dan Balaban, recently joined Justin Gauthier and Ben Klepacki on the Wicked Energy Podcast to discuss the role of open-minded dialogue in shaping energy solutions. The episode dives into critical topics such as overcoming polarization in energy conversations, navigating Alberta’s evolving energy landscape and Dan’s journey behind Canada’s largest wind and solar projects. Dan also touches on his new endeavour as an investment partner with the Auger Energy AI Fund to tackle energy challenges through artificial intelligence and how more understanding and kindness is needed in the energy sector to push things forward. The full episode is out now – listen now at: https://spoti.fi/3OdPQKx #GreengatePower #WickedEnergyPodcast #RenewableEnergy

US imports of crude hit a 4 year low last week as a result of the Trans Mountain #Pipeline expansion that has nearly tripled #Canada’s capacity to the Pacific coast. Expect the Middle East to pay attention to this when deciding to release more capacity and put more downward pressure on pricing. EQT Corporation expects decommissioning of coal power plants and the addition of new datacenters to support AI to increase natural gas demand by up to 10 BCF/D by 2030. Good news for the long-term gas market, but in the interim very high inventories and warm weather continue to keep gas pricing (and my general emotional state) depressed. In Canada, the The Globe and Mail reported that the #CanadaGrowthFund is considering supporting the Pathways Alliance giant carbon capture project for the #Oilsands. This would be a huge win for industry and emissions. Rig counts remain unchanged from last week in the US (at 585) and down one in Canada (216).  #energy #energynews #technology #oilandgas #cleantech #methane

Southwestern Energy and Chesapeake Energy have announced their merger is expected to close the first week of October and they will become the aptly named “Expand Energy”. Approximately 30% of oil production in the Gulf of Mexico is currently shut in due to #HurricaneHelene and oil inventories in the US are down to 2.5 year lows. Despite this, expected additional production from the middle east continues to put negative pressure on oil prices. North of the border, Trudeau has survived a non-confidence bid and I promised I wouldn’t make any political commentary. Alberta gas averaged $0.49 CAD (for those south of the border that’s approximately 5 Monopoly dollars). Despite this, most longer term forecasts for gas stay fairly positive as lower oil prices should drive down oil production (and its associated gas), leaving the market less flooded. #energy #oilandgas #technology #permian #montney

Hurricane Francine dominates the news for energy this week south of the border, hitting Louisiana and taking shutting in roughly 40% of Gulf production. Oil recovered slightly, although Macquarie decreased their long term forecast for 2024 to $75/bbl WTI (they're still more bullish than I am). #OPEC's thoughts seem more inline with mine as they again decrease their demand forecast for 2025. Here's to hoping that means they maintain production cuts. In #Technology news SLB recently announced they were able to capture 90% of lithium from brine using Direct Lithium Extraction (DLE) technology. While they failed to mention the price of the pilot, if this technology can prove economic it could be a game changer in the environmental impact of lithium mining. #oilandgas #energy #news

As I missed the end of last week, we'll start there. The oil industry continues to have more references to “Bears” than the cold war. In less bad news, Marathon receives stockholder approval to merge with Conoco, leading to another likely mega-merger in the Permian. In great news the Public Utility Commission in Texas has approved 10 GW of additional natural gas power (that’s about 8 times the power required to go from 1985 to 1955 for those who get the reference). This will hopefully help with our negative gas prices AND bring our electrical grid into the first world. Quite excited for my Teams meetings to stop dropping from power outages. In the tech world, Bitcoin mining is competing with AI to see who can become more carbon intensive https://lnkd.in/gwfqzyKK and Lego, after trying 600 different kinds of oil-free plastics, has indicated they have found a mixture to move to by 2030, at a 70% increase in material cost. I wonder if they’ll be softer to step on…

I promised some good news this week, and that took some hunting to be honest. Despite challenging economic data, a drawdown in US oil inventories is holding oil price steady. Some guy named Warren Buffet, whose track record on investments is the exact opposite of my own, is continuing his investment in Oxy, showing a bullish market approach from one of the best. In Canada, natural gas remains cheaper than air (and you thought vaporized exploding dinosaurs would be expensive). A rail strike is putting pressure on crude oil shipments but TMX wins again and keeps the crude discount down. #energy #oilandgas #news #technology 

In the Lower 48, feelings on the economy are bouncing around more than our bitcoin wallets, with the price of oil falling suit. SpaceX has decided to enter the world of methane satellites to “hold super-polluters accountable” and scientists expect a fairly heavy hurricane season that is likely to impact LNG exports, keeping short term gas pricing bearish. I'll try to find some good news for next week... In Canada this week was dominated by Tourmaline's acquisition of Crew Energy and a continued reduction of the heavy oil discount down to $12.25/bbl. Southern BC has also learned that maybe pipelines aren’t that bad as gasoline prices continue to drop from TMX.