Energy Prospectus

Crude Oil prices jump more than 10% at the open on news of COVID-19 vaccines.
Opening Prices (9am CT):
> WTI crude oil DEC20 is up $3.77 at $40.91
> HH natural gas DEC20 is down $0.027 at $2.861

Closing Prices:
> WTI prompt month (DEC 20) was up $3.15 on the day, to settle at $40.29/Bbl.
> In contrast, NG prompt month (DEC 20) was down $0.029 on the day, to settle at $2.859/MMBtu.

"Shares of Pfizer (PFE) jumped more than 12% in pre-market trading after the company announced that their clinical trial showed that their vaccine candidate was more than 90% effective in preventing COVID-19 in participants with no evidence of a previous coronavirus infection. Shares of BioNTech (BNTX), which is working on the vaccine alongside Pfizer, jumped more than 14% higher during the early session."

Also: "The Trump administration is planning to hit Iran with a "flood" of sanctions before the presidential inauguration on Jan. 20 in hopes of making it more difficult for Joe Biden, should he be elected president, to return to the 2015 U.S. nuclear deal, two Israeli sources briefed on the effort told Axios. The sanctions are separate from the Iranian nuclear program and instead linked to its ballistic missile program, assistance to terror organizations and human rights violations."

From Raymond James Energy Sector Research Team:
"To state the obvious, the U.S. elections ended up being quite the nail-biter, and votes are still being counted. Based on what is currently known, the presidency is poised to change hands, whereas Congress is likely to be in status quo: Democratic-controlled House, Republican-controlled Senate. So, what does all this mean for climate and energy policy? This report, our post-election wrap-up, follows our preview from July. Here are the three key takeaways.

First, the fact that Republicans appear to have retained Senate control will make it difficult if not impossible for president-elect Joe Biden to enact his major climate reforms. Investors looking for such reforms will need to focus on Europe rather than the U.S.
Second, the Biden administration will have leeway to make regulatory changes via the EPA, Department of Interior, and trade policy, but - as always - these changes will be constrained by existing law and judicial review, as well as influenced by personnel decisions. Many of our readers are concerned about fracking, so let's be clear: Biden does not aim to impose a ban on it.
Third, states will continue to play a leading role on climate issues, especially vis-a-vis the traditionally state-regulated electric power sector. This means that what happens in Washington is not the "end all and be all" for energy companies."

Notes below are from AEGIS ENERGY

WTI is up $3.87 to $41.01/Bbl, and Brent is up $3.70 to $43.15/Bbl
WTI is trading nearly 10% higher this morning, its largest jump since June
Pharma company Pfizer provided an update on its progress towards a Covid-19 vaccine
OPEC+ minister’s comments hint at a possible delay in the proposed output hike in January

The proposed vaccine was effective in preventing more than 90% of infections in a study of tens of thousands of volunteers, according to Pfizer
The timing of this vaccine is essential as Europe is beginning to see more oil demand destruction due to the surge in infections
Pfizer and BioNTech have a $1.95 billion contract with the U.S. government to start delivering up to 100 million doses. The companies began manufacturing before they even knew the vaccine was effective, allowing them to produce up to 50 million by the end of this year and 1.3 billion doses by the end of 2021

OPEC+ ministers talk openly about the possibility of delaying output hikes in January as the resurgence of coronavirus cases cast doubt on the market’s ability to absorb the additional oil
Prince Abdulaziz said the cartel’s next move could go “beyond” what the market is expecting, hinting that the cuts could be extended beyond April 2022
Support for pushing the output hikes out further past January has begun to gain momentum. Algeria, which holds this year’s OPEC presidency, came out last week as the first country to support the move