Business Intelligence and Analytics 60

Friday, April 17, 2020

Business Intelligence and Analytics 60

1          Coronavirus’s impact on supply chain
https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/operations/our-insights/supply-chain-recovery-in-coronavirus-times-plan-for-now-and-the-future

Even as the immediate toll on human health from the spread of coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2), which causes the COVID-19 disease, mounts, the economic effects of the crisis—and the livelihoods at stake—are coming into sharp focus. Businesses must respond on multiple fronts at once: at the same time that they work to protect their workers’ safety, they must also safeguard their operational viability, now increasingly under strain from a historic supply-chain shock.

2          Three Scenarios to Guide Your Global Supply Chain Recovery
https://sloanreview.mit.edu/article/three-scenarios-to-guide-your-global-supply-chain-recovery/
On Friday, Feb. 28, 2020, technology executive Pierre Haren and I published a short article in which we predicted “that the peak of the impact of COVID-19 on global supply chains will occur in mid-March, forcing thousands of companies to throttle down or temporarily shut assembly and manufacturing plants in the U.S. and Europe.” This prediction was accurate; see, for example, the closing of automotive factories in Europe and the U.S. or luxury brands shutting down their manufacturing activities in Europe.

3          Global economy will suffer worst year since Great Depression of 1930s, IMF says
https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/imf-worst-year-since-depression-1.5531430
Beaten down by the coronavirus outbreak, the world economy in 2020 will suffer its worst year since the Great Depression of the 1930s, the International Monetary Fund says in its latest forecast.

The IMF said Tuesday that it expects the global economy to shrink three per cent this year — far worse than its 0.1 per cent dip in the Great Recession year of 2009 — before rebounding in 2021 with 5.8 per cent growth. It acknowledges, though, that prospects for a rebound next year are clouded by uncertainty.

4          Alphabet soup: How will post-virus economic recovery shape up?
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-economy-graphic-idUSKCN21R242
Will be it a U? A V? Maybe a W? Predictions for economic recovery after coronavirus-linked lockdowns are throwing up a medley of letters to indicate whether we can expect a bounceback, a slow-burn recovery or relapse.

Of more than 50 economists polled by Reuters, some forecast the world economy will shrink as much as 6% in 2020. The other extreme was a prediction for 0.7% growth. The average was a 1.2% contraction.

5          Everything You Need To Know About Big Data in 2020
https://datafloq.com/read/everything-you-need-to-know-about-big-data-2020/8213
You would be hearing a lot about big data. Just like its name, Big Data is the biggest thing in the marketplace. Perhaps, you just have heard that this technology is creating a number of job opportunities around the world.

While businesses are considering this technology a breakthrough, it is both a challenge and opportunity for developers & experts.

6          Rolls-Royce launches Emer2gent, an alliance to hasten economic recovery from coronavirus using data analytics
https://venturebeat.com/2020/04/16/rolls-royce-launches-emer2gent-an-alliance-to-hasten-economic-recovery-from-coronavirus-using-data-analytics/

An alliance of companies led by Rolls-Royce will work to develop new ways of supporting businesses and governments as they recover from the economic impact of COVID-19, the automaker announced this morning. Google Cloud, IBM, the Leeds Institute for Data Analytics, Truata, The Data City, and ODI Leeds have pledged to join Emer2gent, which will combine traditional economic, business, travel and retail data sets with behavior and sentiment data to provide new insights into — and applications to support — the global recovery from COVID-19.

7          Connecting with customers during a crisis
https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/marketing-and-sales/our-insights/connecting-with-customers-in-times-of-crisis

The COVID-19 global humanitarian and economic crisis has forced individuals and companies to rapidly change how they live and work. Many elements of business and life are being challenged; in some cases, the next normal may look very different as new ways of working are carried over into the future. Companies are doing their best to manage through this pandemic—from ensuring an effective crisis response, 1 to managing supply-chain disruptions, 2 to safeguarding the well-being of their employees by adjusting daily working practices. 3

8          The Insignificance of Significance Testing
https://towardsdatascience.com/the-insignificance-of-significance-testing-6f6a5a91589
And so scientists are naturally concerned with finding good criteria to judge if the results they obtained are really worth reporting. The idea of significance testing tries to establish objective measures that help to separate the wheat of science from the chaff of science.

The most popular criteria for statistical significance is probably (I’m 95 percent sure) the p-value. But as we will see, this seemingly “best” criteria can open the door to a whole new set of problems. It can make shady results look solid, can give nothing the air of significance, can hide bad research behind a deceptive sense of objectivity.

9          Unlocking Business Potential with Digital Data Optimization
https://www.informationweek.com/big-data/unlocking-business-potential-with-digital-data-optimization/a/d-id/1337445

Recent research from technology industry trade association CompTIA suggests that enterprises looking to maximize the value of their data need to implement new practices. According to the Trends in Data Management report, many organizations are currently working with a blank slate when it comes to data optimization simply because advanced data practices haven’t been positioned as a top priority.

10        Visualizing Decision Trees with Python (Scikit-learn, Graphviz, Matplotlib)
https://www.kdnuggets.com/2020/04/visualizing-decision-trees-python.html
Decision trees are a popular supervised learning method for a variety of reasons. Benefits of decision trees include that they can be used for both regression and classification, they don’t require feature scaling, and they are relatively easy to interpret as you can visualize decision trees. This is not only a powerful way to understand your model, but also to communicate how your model works. Consequently, it would help to know how to make a visualization based on your model.

11        Explainable AI: The key to Responsibly Adopting AI in Medicine
https://insidebigdata.com/2020/04/16/explainable-ai-the-key-to-responsibly-adopting-ai-in-medicine/
In this special guest feature, Niv Mizrahi, CTO & Co-Founder of Emedgene, discusses a field of technology that constantly is rising in importance – explainable (or interpretable) AI, and specifically how it has become a key responsibility for adopting AI in medicine. Emedgene is a genomics company using AI to automatically interpret genetic data so that health organizations can scale personalized care to wider populations. An expert in machine learning and big data, Niv has led Emedgene’s development from idea to a mature solution used by leading genomics labs.

12        How to Make Your (Now Virtual) Event Shine
https://sloanreview.mit.edu/article/how-to-make-your-now-virtual-event-shine/
7 Strategies for Better Virtual Conferencing

The first three strategies are about how to engage your audience. This is always the most important aspect to consider when communicating in any medium. The next four strategies involve the production of your videoconference, which may depend on the technology and resources you have at your disposal.

13        How business leaders can plan for the next normal
https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/leadership/the-future-is-not-what-it-used-to-be-thoughts-on-the-shape-of-the-next-normal

Dealing with the coronavirus crisis and its aftermath could be the imperative of our times. Indeed, we have argued that it augurs the “imminent restructuring of the global economic order.” As Ian Davis, one of our previous managing partners, wrote in 2009 in the midst of the global financial crisis:

“For some organizations, near-term survival is the only agenda item. Others are peering through the fog of uncertainty, thinking about how to position themselves once the crisis has passed and things return to normal. The question is, ‘What will normal look like?’ While no one can say how long the crisis will last, what we find on the other side will not look like the normal of recent years.”

14        Business Networking Isn’t Dead – It’s Not Even in Hibernation
https://www.business2community.com/small-business/business-networking-isnt-dead-its-not-even-in-hibernation-02302296

I heard on the grapevine, OK it was someone posting on LinkedIn, that business networking is meant to be dead in the wake of COVID-19 and I was actually stunned that they thought the world had stopped networking.

As many of us rapidly find ourselves and our businesses forced to close doors, hibernate or adapt it is understandable that in the face of these kinds of restrictions be it trading or simply an inability to gather in groups of more than two, that you could be forgiven for thinking that networking as we know it is in hibernation too.

15        Dive Into Deep Learning: The Free eBook
https://www.kdnuggets.com/2020/04/dive-deep-learning-book.html
Thanks to the current realities associated with COVID-19, lots of us around the world are spending more time at home than we normally do, and some of us may have additional idle time on ours hands. For those of us looking to spend some of this idle time learning something new or reviewing something previously learned, we have been (and hope to continue) spotlighting a few select standout textbooks of interest in data science and related fields. This is the next entry in the series.

16        In the Face of a Pandemic, Can Pharma Shift Gears?
https://sloanreview.mit.edu/article/in-the-face-of-a-pandemic-can-pharma-shift-gears/
The COVID-19 pandemic may well prove to be the biggest challenge for humankind since World War II. Pharmaceutical companies will be key to fighting a disease that is bringing health care systems to their knees and sending shock waves through economies across the globe. They have the scientific know-how, the management capabilities, and the physical and technological capacities to develop treatments — and, ultimately, a vaccine against the virus.

17        Microsoft plans Planetary Computer to assess the Earth’s health
https://venturebeat.com/2020/04/15/microsoft-planetary-computers-environment-land-ai-for-earth/
Microsoft today announced a series of initiatives aimed at advancing the protection and preservation of biodiversity and ecosystems around the world. It said that it would support the development of a “Planetary Computer” to aggregate environmental data and would leverage AI to develop and deploy technology that helps partners and customers with sustainable decision-making. Microsoft also said that it would advocate for public policy initiatives that measure and manage ecosystems and that it’d expand its AI for Earth program to give grantees greater access to machine learning tools.

18        Ten Guidelines for Creating Opportunities in a Time of Crisis
https://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/ten-guidelines-create-opportunities-coronavirus-crisis/
The truth is that every crisis, while deeply unsettling, also contains the seeds of opportunity. When we face the kind of dramatic crisis we do today, we need to remember three things:

How do we cope with this crisis now? This question is uppermost in people’s minds – as it should be – and it also tends to dominate the news.

What opportunities does this crisis create?

What can be done to anticipate crises in the future and prepare for them? Even if it isn’t possible to preempt a future crisis, how can we prepare to respond rapidly and effectively?

19        Hobbled by coronavirus, China’s first-quarter GDP shrinks for first time on record
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-economy-gdp-idUSKBN21Z08Q
China’s economy contracted for the first time on record in the first quarter as the coronavirus shut down factories and shopping malls and put millions out of work.

Gross domestic product (GDP) fell 6.8% in January-March year-on-year, official data showed on Friday, a slightly larger decline than the 6.5% forecast by analysts and reversing a 6% expansion in the fourth quarter of 2019.

Energy, Petrochemicals and Plastics 59

Friday, April 10, 2020

Energy, Petrochemicals and Plastics 59

1          Weekly Resin Report: Prices Continue to Spiral Down
https://www.plasticstoday.com/resin-pricing/weekly-resin-report-prices-continue-spiral-down/196001843762791

Just like the world at large, the mood at the spot resin market last week is best characterized as nervous. There was a lot of quoting but not much buying, as many participants seemed to be probing the market for ideas of price and availability, reports the PlasticsExchange in its Market Update. Still, overall interest was active, which led to good completed volumes at the resin clearinghouse’s trading desk.

2          Mexico accepts oil output deal, says Trump resolved its impasse with OPEC+
http://www.worldoil.com/news/2020/4/10/mexico-accepts-oil-output-deal-says-trump-resolved-its-impasse-with-opecplus

Mexico said it has reached an agreement with OPEC+ for deep oil-production cuts, after an intervention from U.S. President Donald Trump resolved an overnight impasse.

However, delegates from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries said they were unaware of the terms of the deal to which Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador was referring.

3          Saudi, Russia seek to finalise oil cuts in G20 talks, want U.S. involved
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-global-oil-g20-energy-idUSKCN21S19K
Saudi Arabia, Russia and their allies will press Mexico on Friday to join an accord for collective oil production cuts equivalent to 10% of global supplies and will push the United States and other producers to remove a further 5%.

The plan for cuts top the agenda for Friday’s video conference of energy ministers from the Group of 20 (G20) major economies, after Moscow, Riyadh and others in the OPEC+ group forged a deal in marathon talks on Thursday, only to have it stumble when Mexico balked at the initiative.

4          Goldman Sachs: 10 million bpd cut by top oil producers not enough
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-global-oil-research-goldman-idUSKCN21R0QW
Goldman Sachs said a 10 million barrel-per-day (bpd) cut by major producers would not be enough to improve global balances in a market reeling from a coronavirus-led demand collapse and a mounting supply glut.

5          Oil Could Fall Back To $20
https://oilprice.com/Energy/Oil-Prices/Oil-Could-Fall-Back-To-20.html
The decline in demand could cause inventories to fill up, enforcing substantial curtailments by refineries and shut ins at oil wells, according to a new report from Rystad Energy. The hit to demand will “last longer” than previously expected, as more countries impose lockdown orders while “the spread of the virus will resist restrictions more than we first expected,” the firm said. Rystad sees a demand hit of around 20 mb/d in May and more than 15 mb/d in June. Demand growth remains negative for the duration of 2020.

6          Why The OPEC+ Output Cut Is Irrelevant
https://oilprice.com/Energy/Crude-Oil/Why-The-OPEC-Output-Cut-Is-Irrelevant.html
I’m in favor of the global output cut orchestrated by President Trump but let’s recognize it for what it is: largely irrelevant. Mohammed bin Salman and Vladimir Putin were glad to burn down the world a month ago when they walked away from production cuts. They had dueling temper tantrums in the junior high locker room while the world descended into economic Armageddon. To Trump’s credit, he may have found a way for them to reverse their terrible blunder, save face and emerge looking like much better guys than they really are.

7          OPEC+ Deal Won’t Solve The Oil Storage Crisis
https://oilprice.com/Energy/Crude-Oil/OPEC-Deal-Wont-Solve-The-Oil-Storage-Crisis.html
It was going to be a reasonably good year for oil. OPEC+ would continue to keep a lid on production to keep prices above dangerous levels, and U.S. shale would continue to expand.   But a series of events–some predictable and some not-so-predictable would change the trajectory of the global oil market.

8          BP’s U.S. Refineries Cut Run Rates As Demand Crumbles
https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/BPs-US-Refineries-Cut-Run-Rates-As-Demand-Crumbles.html

Sources told Reuters last week that BP has reduced refinery run rates at its 430,000-bpd refinery in Whiting, Indiana, the 242,000-bpd Cherry Point, Washington, refinery, and the 155,000-bpd in Toledo, Ohio, refinery, due to low demand from U.S. consumers.

9          Petrochemical plant constructions slow as pandemic threatens workforce
https://www.bicmagazine.com/departments/engineering-construction/pu-petrochemical-plant-constructions-slow-as-pandemic-threat/

Concern about the virus spreading in construction sites, where up to several thousand workers congregate and share facilities, have had immediate consequences and in some cases indefinitely extended timelines.

While petrochemical companies did not report output declines in March 2020, construction projects have dramatically slowed or even crawled to a halt due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

10        Braskem revises petchem production rates to avoid unnecessary inventories
https://www.spglobal.com/platts/en/market-insights/latest-news/petrochemicals/040920-braskem-revises-petchem-production-rates-to-avoid-unnecessary-inventories

Brazilian petrochemical producer Braskem is revising its production rates on a weekly basis to avoid unnecessary inventories, according to Pedro van Langendonck, the company’s CFO.

“We are adjusting our production. Some plants are running close to full capacity, some other plants are below that,” Langendonck said Wednesday at its fourth-quarter conference call.

11        China’s PP fibre output up on demand for surgical masks, protective gears
https://www.icis.com/explore/resources/news/2020/04/10/10495115/china-s-pp-fibre-output-up-on-demand-for-surgical-masks-protective-gears

A large number of Chinese producers have switched to making polypropylene (PP) fibre amid a spike in global demand for surgical masks and personal protective gears.

The rise in production, supported by even greater demand, had led to steep gains in prices of the product.

12        Why Covid-19 Is The Ultimate Energy Transition Stress Test For Refiners
https://www.woodmac.com/news/feature/why-covid-19-is-the-ultimate-energy-transition-stress-test-for-refiners/

Refining has always been a challenging business, but global capacity has continued to grow despite periodic bouts of rationalisation in OECD countries. The energy transition introduces the threat of oil demand peaking before 2040, which makes refinery investment decisions even more difficult.

13        Is U.S. Energy Dominance Coming To An End?
https://oilprice.com/Energy/Crude-Oil/Is-US-Energy-Dominance-Coming-To-An-End.html
America’s era of “energy dominance” was brief.

The slogan was always silly. Leaving aside the extensive environmental fallout, the notion that a debt-fueled drilling boom allowed the U.S. to “dominate” energy markets in some way never really made sense. And despite a substantial increase in production over the past decade, activity is and always was connected with the global market – aggressive drilling never insulated the American economy from these global forces, at least not in the way that industry-friendly politicians seemed to think.

14        Canadian oil production could fall 25% before post-COVID ‘resurgence’
https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/enbridge-monaco-oilpatch-covid-19-1.5525276
With an American election at this year, the chief executive of Enbridge was already expecting 2020 to be a “choppy” year for the company, since presidential candidates can have differing viewpoints on whether major pipeline projects should proceed and on the oilpatch, as a whole.

15        Molecular Fusion Technology Permanently Embeds Antimicrobials in Polymer Substrates
https://www.plasticstoday.com/medical/molecular-fusion-technology-permanently-embeds-antimicrobials-polymer-substrates/67993994262775

A new proprietary line of polymer fusion products with antimicrobial blocking agents has been introduced by Polyfuze Graphics Corp. The products are designed to exceed the rigid labeling standards of the medical, food service, reusable packaging, and health services industries. The labeling technology for olefins developed by the Clarkdale, AZ–based company relies on pigmented polymers to create permanently fused labels for products in the medical, food packaging, outdoor sports and automotive sectors.

16        COVID-19 Reframes Debate on Single-Use Plastic Bags
https://www.plasticstoday.com/packaging/covid-19-reframes-debate-on-single-use-plastic-bags/24749037262781

As cities and states grapple over whether or not plastic retail bags are safer than reusable totes during the coronavirus crisis — and try to decide to ban or not to ban single-use plastic bags — the plastics industry continues to promote the benefits of plastic across a wide range of applications. These benefits are, after all, why plastic became so ubiquitous in the first place: Consumer safety, improved shelf life (less food waste), and hygiene, to name just a few.

17        Demand up in a time of crisis | Special report
https://www.packagingnews.co.uk/features/demand-time-crisis-special-report-covid-19-07-04-2020
A pandemic that threatens the lives of millions across the globe sounds like the plot to a Hollywood blockbuster. But that is what we are all living through. Coronavirus (Covid-19) is deadly to the elderly and anyone with underlying health problems, and faced with such a growing problem it’s no surprise governments globally have reacted by closing off boarders, locking down cities and preaching social distancing.

18        Graphic: Oil majors cut 2020 spending by 22% after prices slump
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-global-oil-majors-capex-graphic-idUSKBN21J516
Cuts announced by nine major oil companies, including Saudi Aramco, Exxon Mobil and Royal Dutch Shell, come to a combined $38 billion, or a drop of 22% from their initial spending plans of $175 billion.

Exxon on Tuesday cut its 2020 budget by $10 billion to $23 billion.

BP has cut its 2020 spending plan by 25% and will reduce output from its U.S. shale oil and gas business.

Recycling, Renewables and Sustainable Business 30

Friday, April 10, 2020

Recycling, Renewables and Sustainable Business 30

1          Coronavirus Unnerves US Wind Energy Market During a Record Year for Construction
https://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/coronavirus-rattles-us-wind-market-during-a-record-year-for-installations

After a decade of dramatic ups and downs, 2020 was supposed to be a climactic year for U.S. wind farm construction. Instead, with the coronavirus pandemic rattling supply chains and thinning workforces, things could get messy for an industry that should be taking a victory lap.

Developers are poring over force majeure provisions in their contracts. Investors are nervous. Without political relief, projects could get canceled outright, industry figures say — and relief in Washington, D.C. looks anything but certain.

2          Electric Vehicles: Coronavirus Wreaks Havoc Across The Supply Chain
https://www.woodmac.com/news/opinion/electric-vehicles-coronavirus-wreaks-havoc-across-the-supply-chain/

As challenging as it is, the coronavirus is an anomalous event. It may stall the electrification of the transport industry, but the direction of travel remains unchanged – the fight against climate change is still very much on.

Automakers haven’t changed their carbon-neutral goals and we don’t expect governments to defer or cancel policies designed to phase out internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles. And while it’s tempting to think that the oil price crash is bad news for EV adoption, in reality the purchase price, charging infrastructure and available models currently have a much greater impact on sales.

3          Scientists create mutant enzyme that recycles plastic bottles in hours
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/apr/08/scientists-create-mutant-enzyme-that-recycles-plastic-bottles-in-hours

A mutant bacterial enzyme that breaks down plastic bottles for recycling in hours has been created by scientists.

The enzyme, originally discovered in a compost heap of leaves, reduced the bottles to chemical building blocks that were then used to make high-quality new bottles. Existing recycling technologies usually produce plastic only good enough for clothing and carpets.

4          Global corporate PV funding down 31% amid Covid-19 crisis
https://www.pv-magazine.com/2020/04/08/global-corporate-pv-funding-down-31-amid-covid-19-crisis/
The global business climate has dramatically deteriorated amid the ongoing public health crisis caused by the Covid-19 outbreak, and the solar sector is no exception, with a whopping 31% decrease in corporate funding for solar projects, according to a new report by Mercom Capital Group.

5          Global storage deployments could see hit in 2020, but ‘fundamental drivers’ still remain, analysts say
https://www.utilitydive.com/news/global-storage-deployments-could-see-hit-in-2020-but-fundamental-drivers/575585/

If the pandemic causes an economic downturn and restrictions on the movement of goods and people continue through the second quarter of the year, analysts would need to shave 3 GWh of storage capacity from prior estimates. The firm also forecasts a 10% reduction in the supply of lithium-ion batteries. However, the global storage market is still expected to grow 13-fold by 2025, to 230 GWh, and the total pot of energy storage investments is predicted to increase from $18 billion last year to $100 billion by 2025.

6          Addressing climate change post-coronavirus
https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/sustainability/our-insights/addressing-climate-change-in-a-post-pandemic-world

A ferocious pandemic is sweeping the globe, threatening lives and livelihoods at an alarming rate. As infection and death rates continue to rise, resident movement is restricted, economic activity is curtailed, governments resort to extraordinary measures, and individuals and corporations scramble to adjust. In the blink of an eye, the coronavirus has upended the world’s operating assumptions. Now, all attention is focused on countering this new and extreme threat, and on blunting the force of the major recession that is likely to follow.

7          Siemens and Uniper develop joint decarbonization plan for power generation
http://www.worldoil.com/news/2020/4/8/siemens-and-uniper-develop-joint-decarbonization-plan-for-power-generation

Uniper and Siemens Gas and Power signed a cooperation agreement for the development of projects on the decarbonization of power generation and promoting sector coupling. It extends the long-standing partnership between the two companies. It is important to look at the energy, mobility and industry sectors together, because they all can and must contribute to reducing greenhouse gases. One focus of the planned cooperation is the production and use of “green hydrogen” – in other words, hydrogen from renewable energy sources. The companies intend to implement projects in this field together, addressing the entire value chain.

8          Renewables Account for Almost Three Quarters of New Capacity in 2019
https://www.irena.org/newsroom/pressreleases/2020/Apr/Renewables-Account-for-Almost-Three-Quarters-of-New-Capacity-in-2019

The renewable energy sector added 176 gigawatts (GW) of generating capacity globally in 2019, marginally lower than the (revised) 179 GW added in 2018. However, new renewable power accounted for 72 per cent of all power expansion last year, according to new data released by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA).

9          For the Ohio River Valley, an Ethane Storage Facility in Texas Is Either a Model or a Cautionary Tale
https://insideclimatenews.org/news/09042020/ethane-plant-appalachia-mont-belvieu-texas
The Trump administration and industry leaders have pointed to a major petrochemical storage complex outside Houston as a model for the upper Ohio River Valley.

If only they could find a place like Mont Belvieu, Texas, where geological features allow for large-scale underground storage of the chemicals used to make plastic products, there could be an economic resurgence to follow the collapse of steel and coal. Tens of thousands of jobs would follow.

10        Investor Pressure Forces Barclays To Sign Up To Net Zero Target
https://www.forbes.com/sites/mikescott/2020/04/10/investors-pressure-forces-barclays-to-sign-up-to-net-zero-target/

One of the biggest global financiers of fossil fuel projects has announced that it wants to become a net zero carbon company by 2050, in the latest sign that the move to a low-carbon economy is well under way.

The resolution, by U.K.-based Barclays, says the bank has an “ambition” to become a “net-zero bank” by mid-century, and follows intense pressure from shareholders. In January, 11 large institutional shareholders filed another, stricter resolution demanding that the bank phase out lending to energy companies, gas and electric utilities that are not aligned with the Paris climate agreement, which aims to keep average global temperature rise to “well below 2C above pre-industrial levels”.

11        Rapid renewables growth brings challenges for US: Part I
https://blogs.platts.com/2020/04/08/us-renewables-growth-california-curtailment/
Renewable power generation growth in the US is soaring and is expected to overtake natural gas-fired power generation by 2045, according to the US Energy Administration, leading to major concerns about the reliability of these intermittent resources and the significant impacts they will have on US power supply and prices.

12        Part II – Northeast and ERCOT
https://blogs.platts.com/2020/04/09/us-renewables-challenges-northeast-ercot/
California has emerged as a case study for the difficulties power system operators face in the transition to renewables energy. Those challenges, from rapid renewables growth and market penetration, are just beginning to be felt in other regions of the US.

13        Record-size hole opens in ozone layer above the Arctic
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/apr/07/record-size-hole-opens-in-ozone-layer-above-the-arctic

A rare hole has opened up in the ozone layer above the Arctic, in what scientists say is the result of unusually low temperatures in the atmosphere above the north pole.

The hole, which has been tracked from space and the ground over the past few days, has reached record dimensions, but is not expected to pose any danger to humans unless it moves further south. If it extends further south over populated areas, such as southern Greenland, people would be at increased risk of sunburn. However, on current trends the hole is expected to disappear altogether in a few weeks.

14        Market Size Is Expected to Reach USD 18.9 Billion by 2027
https://www.energytrend.com/news/20200407-16849.html
The global smart electricity meters market size is expected to reach USD 18.9 billion by 2027. The market is anticipated to expand at a revenue-based CAGR of 7.8% from 2020 to 2027. The rising demand for energy security has been prevailing in the energy sector for a long time. Renewable energy generation has sufficed this demand to a certain extent. Still, the energy provided by such systems is intermittent, and thus energy conservation and efficient utilization of power are the key aspects of energy security. Smart meters deliver instantaneous data regarding power consumption that can be analyzed and the consumption can be controlled, stabilizing the energy demands.

Business Intelligence and Analytics 59

Friday, April 10, 2020

Business Intelligence and Analytics 59

1          How to Optimize Supply Chain Management with Big Data
https://bigdataanalyticsnews.com/optimize-supply-chain-management-with-big-data/
Having big data by itself is of little use unless subjected to proper analytics with defined objectives in focus. Plan adequately for it with superior data systems alongside cloud-based technologies for better collection, storage, analytics, and faster speeds as traditional ERP and SCM systems may not cope.

2          Coronavirus is bringing to light ‘cracks in US infrastructure and supply chain’
https://www.energy-storage.news/news/coronavirus-is-bringing-to-light-cracks-in-us-infrastructure-and-supply-cha

The COVID-19 crisis is bringing into the public eye the US’ dependency on importing goods, particularly batteries for advanced energy storage and electric vehicles, the CEO of a battery materials startup has said.

Dr Francis Wang, head of Nanograf, a US company working to commercialise a high energy density battery anode made with a composite of silicon and ‘curved’ graphene, replacing existing anodes which use graphite, said that the situation created by the novel coronavirus “is bringing to light… cracks in US infrastructure and the supply chain”.

3          How to Make Better Decisions About Coronavirus
https://sloanreview.mit.edu/article/how-to-make-better-decisions-about-coronavirus/
Decision-making becomes most important in times of crisis, and this certainly is one of those times. But it also becomes more challenging, too, during periods of stress and most difficult when future outcomes are uncertain — which describes the current period as well. One reason is because cognitive decision biases are likely to appear in highly changeable, high-stress environments, influencing decisions in damaging ways.

4          A Long Time Until the Economic New Normal
https://sloanreview.mit.edu/article/a-long-time-until-the-economic-new-normal/
We are in the middle of a historic rupture in the economic fabric of our society. The COVID-19 pandemic has already had a pervasive impact on the United States, and economic and financial market experts are hotly debating how quickly the economy will recover once we get “on the other side” of the contagion and the enormous pressures it has placed on our health care system. Although it is too early to estimate the exact economic impact, it is likely that full recovery of economic activity, including GDP growth, jobs, and unemployment, will take at least a year, and likely much longer.

5          Coronavirus putting world on track for new Great Depression, says WTO
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/08/coronavirus-putting-world-on-track-for-new-great-depression-says-who

International trade has dried up as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic and could be on course for a collapse as severe as that of the 1930s Great Depression, the World Trade Organization has said.

The Geneva-based WTO, responsible for policing the global trading system, said even the most optimistic scenario for 2020 was that trade would shrink by 13%, a bigger drop than in the 2008-09 recession caused by the banking crisis.

6          What Employees Need to Hear From Leaders in Times of Crisis
https://sloanreview.mit.edu/article/what-employees-need-to-hear-from-leaders-in-times-of-crisis/
Amid the COVID-19 crisis, our professional (and personal) futures feel more uncertain by the hour. Businesses are experiencing unimaginable disruptions, to the point where some are worried about their very survival. Organizations that serve downstream supply chains are no exception. None of us is immune to the current state of our world, our towns, our companies, and our teams — and front-line workers, most at risk in a number of ways, may be even more aware of the uncertainty than their leaders when times get tough.

7          We Will Need All the Automation We Can Get
https://www.informationweek.com/big-data/ai-machine-learning/we-will-need-all-the-automation-we-can-get/a/d-id/1337411

Enterprise automation is not a cause for alarm but a societal imperative. Here’s why.

It’s a prediction that has been made for decades, even centuries. Technology-driven automation is about to trigger mass unemployment. In today’s rendition this means that there will soon be no need for truck drivers, fast food workers, retail store staff, middle managers, and machine operators — even doctors, lawyers, bankers and accountants are at imminent risk. What will we all do?

8          Successful Use Cases of Artificial Intelligence for Businesses
https://www.kdnuggets.com/2020/04/successful-use-cases-ai-business.html
Self-learning and Automation of workflow are not new terms in the professional world. In fact, they are the two most basic advice given to humans by their fellow mates. Learning from our past experiences and the experiences of others and getting the work done in a way that reduces the effort while not compromising with the efficiency have been the key contributors of all major breakthroughs in any field.

9          5 Ways How the Corona Crisis Will Change Organisations
https://datafloq.com/read/5-ways-corona-crisis-will-change-organisations/8178
Humankind is facing the biggest crisis of our generation. Across the globe, economies are coming to a standstill. Globalisation has been put on pause, and once the virus recedes, we will have to get used to the ‘1,5-meter economy’. For social creatures like humans, this social distancing will prove to be difficult.

10        6 Smart Ways to Retain Your Customer Base Amid COVID-19 Outbreak
https://www.business2community.com/small-business/6-smart-ways-to-retain-your-customer-base-amid-covid-19-outbreak-02300577

The recent COVID-19 outbreak has turned the world upside down and has disrupted the way we do business. Business owners are scrambling to keep up with the rapidly changing economy. It’s clear that this pandemic will continue to leave lasting impacts across the digital marketing world. Even though the world is in quarantine and almost everybody is at home, it’s important to keep in touch with your customers or otherwise, you’ll lose them.

11        How to Survive the COVID-19 Pandemic as a Service Business
https://www.business2community.com/strategy/how-to-survive-the-covid-19-pandemic-as-a-service-business-02300608

The last few weeks have turned the world on its head. You may be working from home. Or social distancing with your family or roommates, working on solutions for your business. You might have had to make really hard decisions lately. You may be feeling uneasy or stressed, or lost. In recent weeks, many governments have announced that all non-essential businesses must close. This is heartbreaking for many local business owners, despite the obvious necessity of this measure from a public health perspective. Many businesses had already closed earlier in March to prevent the spread of the virus and to protect their employees and customers.

12        Coronavirus threat to global peace and stability, UN chief warns
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/10/coronavirus-threat-to-global-peace-and-stability-un-chief-warns

The head of the United Nations has called the coronavirus pandemic the “fight of a generation” and a threat to world peace and security.

The secretary general, Antonio Guterres, warned the UN security council that the pandemic had the potential to increase social unrest and violence, which would greatly undermine the world’s ability to fight the disease.

It was, he said, the UN’s most grave test since it was founded 75 years ago and had already hindered efforts to resolve international, regional and national conflicts.

13        Storytelling with data.

What is an area graph, how does an area graph work, and what is an area graph good for? —
http://www.storytellingwithdata.com/blog/2020/4/9/what-is-an-area-graph
An area graph is a specialized form of the line graph, where instead of simply connecting our data points with a continuous line, we also fill in the region below that line with a solid color. This might seem to be a minor cosmetic change, but it has a significant effect on how we perceive the data in the chart.

14        WTO sees ‘ugly’ trade plunge, likely worse than financial crisis
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-trade-wto-idUSKBN21Q1VM
The World Trade Organization on Wednesday forecast that goods trade would shrink more steeply this year than in the global financial crisis a decade ago before rebounding in 2021 as the COVID-19 pandemic recedes – if countries worked together.

The WTO said global trade would fall this year by between 13% and 32%, giving a wide range because so much about the economic impact of the health crisis was uncertain.

Energy, Petrochemicals and Plastics 58

Friday, April 3, 2020

Energy, Petrochemicals and Plastics 58

1          Oil Price Fundamental Daily Forecast – Short-Covering Rally Fueled by Hope of Output Deal
https://www.fxempire.com/forecasts/article/oil-price-fundamental-daily-forecast-short-covering-rally-fueled-by-hope-of-output-deal-642280

U.S. West Texas Intermediate and international-benchmark crude oil futures are trading higher on Friday on increased expectations of a production cut by OPEC and other major producers known as OPEC+.

The markets are following through to the upside following record gains on Thursday after U.S. President Donald Trump said he had brokered a deal that could result in Russia and Saudi Arabia cutting output by 10 million to 15 million barrels per day (bpd), representing 10-15% of global supply. Trump also said he made no offer to cut U.S. output.

2          Natural Gas Price Fundamental Daily Forecast
https://www.fxempire.com/forecasts/article/natural-gas-price-fundamental-daily-forecast-oil-price-war-truce-could-trigger-short-covering-rally-642262

Natural gas futures are trading higher on Friday after hitting a multi-year low the previous session. Thursday’s weekly U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) storage report failed to move the needle much although most traders interpreted the report as bearish. The reluctance to short the market at current levels on bearish data suggests investors may fear being caught on the wrong side if Russia and Saudi Arabia agree to crude oil production cuts.

3          Weekly Resin Report: Processors in Holding Pattern, Waiting for Sharper Price Slides
https://www.plasticstoday.com/resin-pricing/weekly-resin-report-processors-holding-pattern-waiting-sharper-price-slides/134317936062734

Last week’s spot resin markets were not immune to the economic uncertainty wrought by the COVID-19 pandemic. While there was a good flow of both buy and sell inquiries, processors were generally apprehensive to pull the trigger, and, ultimately, the completed volumes were less than average, reports the PlasticsExchange in its Market Update.

4          Global gas prices to remain weak until 2022: Rystad Energy
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-gas-idUSKBN21K1QC
Global gas prices this year will average even lower than previously expected due to the effects of the novel coronavirus and look set to remain weak for a few years, consultancy Rystad Energy said on Thursday.

Before the virus outbreak, gas prices were already below average due to an oversupply of liquefied natural gas (LNG) in the market.

5          Wood Mackenzie releases gas and LNG outlook
https://www.lngindustry.com/liquid-natural-gas/01042020/wood-mackenzie-releases-gas-and-lng-outlook/
Wood Mackenzie research director, Robert Sims, said: “While the collapse of LNG prices towards US production breakevens was foreseeable, the narrative for the rest of 2020 could not be more unpredictable.

“An already oversupplied LNG market comes out of a mild winter with high inventories across Europe and Asia, only to face a global pandemic which has already destroyed gas demand across China and looks increasingly set to do the same across the Asia Pacific and Europe.

6          Coronavirus and the petrochemicals industry
https://www.britishplastics.co.uk/bprblogs/guest-blog/coronavirus-and-the-petrochemicals-industry/
The coronavirus outbreak has touched virtually every aspect of modern life. For the petrochemicals industry, the landscape is shifting at an alarming pace. Only one thing seems certain: the coming decade will be shaped by this crisis. Consumer behaviour, investment decisions, the corporate landscape and even the path of globalisation will be influenced by its effects.

7          ICIS China March petrochemical index slumps on crude crash, pandemic woes
https://www.icis.com/explore/resources/news/2020/04/01/10488731/icis-china-march-petrochemical-index-slumps-on-crude-crash-pandemic-woes

Petrochemical prices in China slumped in March, hit by heavy losses in upstream crude market just as the country was emerging from severe pandemic-related restrictions that nearly ground its production and trades to a halt in February.

8          April petrochemicals prices drop as COVID-19 infection rate rises
https://www.spglobal.com/platts/en/market-insights/latest-news/petrochemicals/040220-april-petrochemicals-prices-drop-as-covid-19-infection-rate-rises

The collapse in power prices across Europe has stalled a number of power purchase agreement (PPA) negotiations in the UK, Italy, Spain, the Nordics and Germany, Luca Pedretti, chief operating officer and co-founder of PPA advisory and software business Pexapark, told S&P Global Platts in an interview Wednesday.

9          Oil price rebounds on hopes Saudi Arabia and Russia will reach deal
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/apr/02/oil-price-rebounds-on-hopes-saudi-arabia-and-russia-will-reach-deal

Global oil prices rebounded to more than $30 a barrel for the first time in almost a month on Thursday after Saudi Arabia and Russia signalled a possible truce in a price war that has triggered the fastest oil market collapse in decades.

The price of Brent crude leapt by 30% after the US president, Donald Trump, fanned hopes of a new deal between Riyadh and Moscow to help stabilise the oil market.

10        OPEC+ debates biggest ever cut as virus destroys oil demand
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-oil-opec-cut-size-idUSKBN21L15A
OPEC and allies are working on a deal for an unprecedented production cut equivalent to around 10% of global supply, an OPEC source said after U.S. President Donald Trump called on oil nations to stop the oil rout caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

11        The Only Logical End To The Oil War
https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/The-Only-Logical-End-To-The-Oil-War.html
The global oil and gas industry is in a state of utter distress and uncertainty at the moment. At a time where the coronavirus pandemic is decimating oil demand, the last thing that the oil world needed was an OPEC+ row that threatens to open the oil spigots in the world. Instead of taking measures to temporarily slash supply to keep up with the demand drop, Saudi Arabia and Russia are going head to head to increase supplies.

It is nigh impossible to model the current abnormal situation, as it is both temporary and unsustainable. While it is difficult to remain clear-eyed during all the confusion, one must imagine a pandemic-free world to model medium to longer term scenarios. In this case, one could appreciate the OPEC+ dilemma, which Figure-1 describes:

12        Deep OPEC+ cuts won’t be enough to prevent oil inventory build: IEA head
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-global-oil-iea-idUSKBN21L222
Deep oil output cuts by OPEC and other producing nations would not be enough to prevent a huge build in global crude inventories in the second quarter as measures to contain the coronavirus lead to “unprecedented” demand loss, the head of the International Energy Agency, Fatih Birol, said.

13        $5 Crude Could Put Canada’s Oil Sands Out Of Business
https://oilprice.com/Energy/Oil-Prices/5-Crude-Could-Put-Canadas-Oil-Sands-Out-Of-Business.html
Over the last few weeks, the higher breakeven costs for oil and the lack of sufficient takeaway capacity has come back to haunt Canada’s oil patch.  Two months ago, the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP) was expecting upstream capital investment in Canada’s oil sands to grow this year from 2019 for the first increase in capital expenditures in five years due to “a more competitive economic environment,” thanks to new policies of the Alberta government.

14        WoodMac: Coronavirus and the petrochemicals industry
https://www.bicmagazine.com/industry/refining-petchem/woodmac-coronavirus-and-the-petrochemicals-industry/

The coronavirus outbreak has touched virtually every aspect of modern life. For the petrochemicals industry, the landscape is shifting at an alarming pace. Only one thing seems certain: the coming decade will be shaped by this crisis. Consumer behaviour, investment decisions, the corporate landscape and even the path of globalisation will be influenced by its effects.

15        Lower for Longer – Chemical Sector
https://www.bicmagazine.com/industry/refining-petchem/lower-for-longer/
The global chemical sector should prepare for an extended downturn along with lower-for-longer oil prices, both of which will have big implications for profitability and investments, reports ICIS Chemical Business.

“It’s very possible that Q3 could have negative GDP as well [as Q2], and then the question is how big is the bounce back towards the end of the year?” said Rhian O’Connor, ICIS lead analyst, demand forecasting on an ICIS webinar this week.

16        Platts market on close shows commodity markets functioning despite COVID-19
https://blogs.platts.com/2020/04/02/platts-market-on-close-commodity-covid-19/
A key question for any market during times of uncertainty and volatility is what is happening to liquidity?

Over recent weeks commodity prices, and particularly oil markets, have seen unprecedented volatility. Although the forward view may become clearer, there is still huge uncertainty around fundamentals in the months ahead. S&P Global Platts has a unique insight into several key commodity markets through its Market on Close (MOC) assessment process.

17        Asia petrochemical makers recalibrate output amid pandemic-hit demand
https://www.icis.com/explore/resources/news/2020/04/03/10489918/asia-petrochemical-makers-recalibrate-output-amid-pandemic-hit-demand

Petrochemical producers in Asia are looking at further reducing output in the face of a sharp demand downturn and low crude prices that could last months amid a coronavirus pandemic.

Some downstream plants are bringing forward scheduled turnarounds to manage a strong inventory build-up, while economic activity in a huge swathe of the globe has virtually halted due to lockdowns.

18        Oil refiners face reckoning as demand plummets
https://www.bicmagazine.com/industry/refining-petchem/oil-refiners-face-reckoning-as-demand-plummets/

The global oil refining industry is facing a reckoning from falling fuel demand that is the deepest and fastest ever, as reported by Reuters.

Within weeks, the industry will need to cut output by 30% or more as the coronavirus pandemic keeps much of the world at home with little need to drive or fly. Smaller and financially weak oil refiners may not emerge from the crisis, say refining consultants and traders.

19        ‘It’s going to be very difficult and very painful’: Oilpatch begins layoffs and oil production cuts
https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/bonterra-mullen-wcs-wti-1.5516400
After several weeks of speculation about when the oilpatch would take significant steps in response to record low oil prices, companies in Western Canada are now beginning to pull back on oil production and layoff workers.

Heavy oil prices in Alberta have been hit the hardest, selling for under $4 US a barrel in recent days.

20        Why Alberta is throwing billions behind the Keystone XL pipeline
https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/analysis-alberta-invests-in-keystone-1.5516144
With the energy sector still reeling from weeks of economic turmoil, Alberta’s United Conservative government announced Tuesday it is throwing its financial heft behind the long-delayed Keystone XL pipeline.

The investment of $1.5 billion, plus a $6-billion loan guarantee, aims to accelerate construction of the massive project and was warmly greeted by a sector desperate for some good news.

21        Thermoformers Step Up to Produce Protective Gear for Healthcare Workers
https://www.plasticstoday.com/medical/thermoformers-step-produce-protective-gear-healthcare-workers/49704222062744

All across the country, manufacturers are stepping up as best they can to help healthcare providers struggling with shortages of medical equipment. In Janesville, WI, custom packaging supplier Prent Corp. has dedicated a line to the production of face shields needed by local healthcare facilities. In Kalamazoo, MI, Fabri-Kal will be delivering its first batch of face shields later this week to hospitals in southwest Michigan.

22        Saudi Belligerence Pushes VLCC Rates to Comedic Highs
https://www.rigzone.com/news/saudi_belligerence_pushes_vlcc_rates_to_comedic_highs-01-apr-2020-161585-article/

Whenever oil prices head lower for what is perceived to be a finite period of time, crude traders tend to go for contango plays. It is a market structure conveying expectations that the future price will be higher than the current spot price. For decades, whenever such a situation or the possibility of it has arisen, traders have hoarded oil, often in floating storage, hoping to sell it for higher prices further down the line.

23        Saudi Arabia to build two petrochemicals units for $1.8 billion
https://meconstructionnews.com/40287/saudi-arabia-to-build-two-petrochemicals-units-for-1-8-billion
SK Gas have formed a joint venture with Advanced Global Investment Company to setup the plants in Jubail Industrial City

Saudi Arabia’s Advanced Petrochemical Company has announced that it has signed a deal with South Korea’s SK Gas to set up two petrochemicals units for a combined value of $1.8 billion in the Kingdom.

24        Fitch Revises PTT Global Chemical to Negative; Affirms at ‘AA+(tha)‘
https://www.fitchratings.com/research/corporate-finance/fitch-revises-ptt-global-chemical-to-negative-affirms-at-aa-tha-31-03-2020

Fitch Ratings – Bangkok – 31 Mar 2020: Fitch Ratings (Thailand) Limited has revised PTT Global Chemical Public Company Limited’s (PTTGC) Outlook to Negative from Stable. The agency has also affirmed PTTGC’s National Long-Term Rating and senior unsecured rating at ‘AA+(tha)’ and National Short-Term Rating at ‘F1+(tha)’.

25        IHS Markit sees forced oil production cuts of 10MMbpd ahead
http://www.worldoil.com/news/2020/3/31/ihs-markit-sees-forced-oil-production-cuts-of-10mmbpd-ahead
Research firm IHS Markit expects up to 10 MMbpd of world oil production will be cut or shut-in from April to June 2020 as oil storage fills up and output from financially strapped companies begins to fall. If oil cannot be sold or stored, it cannot be produced. Transportation constraints and lack of access to every available tank will prevent the utmost maximum level of storage capacity being reached.

Recycling Renewables and Sustainable Business 29

Friday, April 3, 2020

Recycling Renewables and Sustainable Business 29

1          Coronavirus Spurs Nonprofit Startup to Develop World’s First Compostable N95 PLA Masks
https://www.ptonline.com/blog/post/coronavirus-spurs-nonprofit-startup-to-develop-worlds-first-compostable-n95-pla-masks

As we approached the end of March, the first month for most of us across the country practicing social distancing and essentially finding ourselves living in quite a different world, PT and its Gardner Business Media trade manufacturing news ‘siblings’ have been reporting on how our industries are faring with several notable examples of how companies are stepping up to help in the Coronavirus battle.

2          What the Solar and Wind Power Industries Want From the Next Coronavirus Stimulus Bill
https://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/what-the-solar-and-wind-industries-want-from-the-next-coronavirus-stimulus

The U.S. renewables industry were left out of the $2.2 trillion coronavirus stimulus bill passed last week, but the battle is far from over.

Congress is already considering further legislation to rescue the economy from the ravages of the COVID-19 pandemic, and renewable energy groups are ready to bring their proposals back to the table.

3          Hybrid Solar and Energy Storage Plants Are Growing Rapidly, But Are They a Good Idea?
https://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/hybrid-power-plants-are-growing-rapidly-but-are-they-a-good-idea

As battery prices continue to fall and the penetration of variable wind and solar generation rises, power plant developers are increasingly combining wind and solar projects with on-site batteries, creating “hybrid” power plants.

4          Coronavirus threatens US plastics recycling as states cancel collections
https://blogs.platts.com/2020/04/01/coronavirus-us-plastics-recycling-collections/
The coronavirus pandemic has created a wave of complications for the recycled plastics industry and hampered short-term supply of plastic waste, with several US areas suspending recycling programs, and concerns about transmission creating problems for waste processors.

5          Coronavirus could stall a third of new U.S. utility solar this year: report
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-solar-idUSKBN21J4Q3
About 5 gigawatts (GW) of big U.S. solar energy projects, enough to power nearly 1 million homes, could suffer delays this year if construction is halted for months due to the coronavirus pandemic, according to a report published on Wednesday.

6          GCL Plans To Invest $2.5 Billion In World’s Largest Solar Panel Factory
https://cleantechnica.com/2020/03/30/gcl-plans-to-invest-2-5-billion-in-worlds-largest-solar-panel-factory/
A report by Power Technology claims China’s GCL Systems Integration Technology plans to invest more than $2.5 billion to construct the world’s largest solar panel factory. Citing a report by Bloomberg, it says the new facility will be built in eastern Hefei province. According to a regulatory filing with the Shanzen stock exchange, the company says the new factory will be able to produce 60 gigawatts (GW) of solar panels each year, enough to meet half of global demand.

7          The 5 Most Promising Long-Duration Storage Technologies Left Standing
https://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/most-promising-long-duration-storage-technologies-left-standing

Long-duration energy storage holds great potential for a world in which wind and solar power dominate new power plant additions and gradually overtake other sources of electricity. Wind and solar only produce at certain times, so they need a complementary technology to help fill the gaps. And the lithium-ion batteries that supply 99 percent of new storage capacity today get very expensive if you try to stretch them out over many hours.

8          How could geothermal energy be derived from oil wells?
https://www.thinkgeoenergy.com/how-could-geothermal-energy-be-derived-from-oil-wells/
The European Union is supporting a large number of different research projects that tackle different among them the Multi-sites EGS Demonstration project MEET, a project that aims to boost the market penetration of geothermal energy in Europe. Its main goal is to demonstrate the viability of EGS with electric and thermal power generation in all main kinds of geological settings (crystalline, sedimentary, metamorphic, volcanic).

9          Will the coronavirus kill the oil industry and help save the climate?
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/apr/01/the-fossil-fuel-industry-is-broken-will-a-cleaner-climate-be-the-result

The plunging demand for oil wrought by the coronavirus pandemic combined with a savage price war has left the fossil fuel industry broken and in survival mode, according to analysts. It faces the gravest challenge in its 100-year history, they say, one that will permanently alter the industry. With some calling the scene a “hellscape”, the least lurid description is “unprecedented”.

10        Oceans’ capacity to absorb CO2 overestimated, study suggests
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/apr/03/oceans-capacity-to-absorb-co2-overestimated-study-suggests

The North Atlantic may be a weaker climate ally than previously believed, according to a new study that suggests the ocean’s capacity to absorb carbon dioxide has been overestimated.

11        Oceans can be restored to former glory within 30 years, say scientists
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/apr/01/oceans-can-be-restored-to-former-glory-within-30-years-say-scientists

The glory of the world’s oceans could be restored within a generation, according to a major new scientific review. It reports rebounding sea life, from humpback whales off Australia to elephant seals in the US and green turtles in Japan.

12        Cooling down PV panels with water
https://www.pv-magazine.com/2020/03/31/cooling-down-pv-panels-with-water/
French PV system installer Sunbooster has developed a cooling technology for solar panels based on water. It claims its solution can ramp up the power generation of a PV installation by between 8% and 12% per year.

The solution consists of a set of pipes that can surround a rooftop PV system or ground-mounted plant. The pipes are used to spray a thin film of water onto the glass surface of the modules.

13        New York’s Coronavirus Threat Pushes Grid Operators to Work and Live in Isolation
https://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/coronavirus-pushes-new-yorks-grid-operators-to-work-and-live-in-isolation

As New York struggles with the country’s worst outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, the state’s grid operator has taken an extreme step that other parts of the country may have to consider in the weeks ahead: asking critical employees to live and work at the control centers that keep the power grid operating, leaving them unsure when they’ll be able to come home.

14        Next generation solar panels boost efficiency but may carry toxic risks
https://www.canadianmanufacturing.com/manufacturing/next-generation-solar-panels-boost-efficiency-but-may-carry-toxic-risks-249826/

Solar photovoltaic (PV) technology has evolved steadily since it was first developed by Bell Labs in 1954. It is now scalable, easily integrated with other energy technologies including batteries, and the cost of modules (commonly known as panels) has decreased by 80% since 2009.

15        How Coronavirus Could Help Us Fight Climate Change: Lessons From The Pandemic
https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidrvetter/2020/03/30/how-coronavirus-could-help-us-fight-climate-change-lessons-from-the-pandemic/

It is a truly global emergency. By March 30, 2020, the coronavirus pandemic had claimed more than 35,000 lives worldwide, with about 750,000 confirmed cases across more than 170 countries.

The speed with which the virus has spread has taken most governments apparently by surprise: in less than three months, the outbreak has all but shut down economies worldwide, putting millions of people into isolation, emptying the streets and the skies.

Business Intelligence and Analytics 58

Friday, April 3, 2020

Business Intelligence and Analytics 58

1          Coronavirus and technology supply chains: How to restart and rebuild
https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/operations/our-insights/coronavirus-and-technology-supply-chains-how-to-restart-and-rebuild

For the technology industry, the effects of the coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2), which causes COVID-19 disease, started to take hold in January when China—a critical link in the global technology chain—began reporting more cases. And while the country’s early lockdowns and quarantines are slowly beginning to lift, the pandemic’s international expansion is leading to new restrictions across the globe that are weighing on business activity. Consequently, the technology supply chain now faces a new set of challenges.

2          Spies, hijacks and export bans: the global battle for coronavirus equipment
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/02/global-battle-coronavirus-equipment-masks-tests
US buyers waving wads of cash managed to wrest control of a consignment of masks as it was about to be dispatched from China to one of the worst-hit coronavirus areas of France, according to two French officials.

The masks were on a plane at Shanghai airport that was ready to take off when the US buyers turned up and offered three times what their French counterparts were paying.

3          Triage in a Pandemic: Can AI Help Ration Access to Care?
https://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/triage-in-a-pandemic-can-ai-help-ration-access-to-care/
As media reports about shortages of ventilators and hospital beds show, the COVID-19 pandemic will most probably lead to rationing of care. In this opinion piece, Gregory P. Shea, Krzysztof “Kris” Laudanski and Cassie A. Solomon explore the likely impact of care rationing in the absence of the best possible information on decision quality, patients and care providers. They also consider the potential benefits of artificial intelligence (AI) in guiding decisions about how care can be rationed. Shea and Solomon are co-authors of Leading Successful Change, published by Wharton School Press. Laudanski is a faculty member at the University of Pennsylvania, focusing on anesthesiology and critical care.

4          The CFO’s role in helping through the coronavirus crisis
https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/strategy-and-corporate-finance/our-insights/the-cfos-role-in-helping-companies-navigate-the-coronavirus-crisis

The spread of the novel coronavirus has created a worldwide humanitarian and economic crisis. The events we are living through are in many ways unprecedented, with large-scale quarantines, border closings, school closings, and physical distancing. Governments and communities have been jolted into action to “flatten the curve.”

5          Projecting Leadership and Humanity in Crisis
https://sloanreview.mit.edu/article/projecting-leadership-and-humanity-in-crisis/
Effective leadership can make crises manageable instead of overwhelming. Leading through crisis typically involves adopting a systematic approach to problem-solving: Stages of crisis include issue detection, response, recovery, and learning. Key considerations that can reduce the panic people feel when the world seems to be spiraling often include enacting a more directive style of leadership to clarify priorities, instituting a frequent cadence of communication, and formulating team decision-making structures to help people digest uncertainty and focus their attention on pressing tasks.

6          When will U.S. economy bottom? Economists hunt for the right view
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-usa-data-idUSKBN21L0I8
The economic crisis spawned by the coronavirus pandemic has produced a wave of grim U.S. data, with likely more to come as millions lose jobs, businesses shutter and spending stops.

But at some point, the bottom will be reached.

Given how fast the situation has developed, judging when that happens in real time will prove challenging for economists who usually depend on monthly, quarterly or yearly trends in data to judge the state of the business cycle.

7          Royal Dutch Shell reskills workers in AI, part of energy transition
https://www.cnbc.com/2020/04/03/royal-dutch-shell-reskills-workers-in-ai-part-of-energy-transition.html
Working at Royal Dutch Shell’s Deepwater division in New Orleans gives Barbara Waelde a front-row seat to how the right data can unlock crucial information for the oil giant. So when her supervisor asked her last year if she was interested in a program that could sharpen her digital and data science capabilities, Waelde, 55, jumped at the chance.

8          4 Tips From a Manager of Remote Workers
https://www.business2community.com/human-resources/4-tips-from-a-manager-of-remote-workers-02298354

Between 2005 and 2017, there was a 159% growth in remote work across the United States. Today, about 4.7 million US workers spend at least some of their workweek working remotely — a number that’s rising daily in the midst of the COVID-19 outbreak (novel coronavirus 2019).

9          Best Free Epidemiology Courses for Data Scientists
https://www.kdnuggets.com/2020/04/epidemiology-data-scientists.html
The emergence of COVID-19 has made for a tempting pool of data for data scientists to dip their toes into. While much of the amateur analysis being done on existing COVID-19 data is benign, and makes for good practice and can actually do a good deal of help in painting a picture of reality for those who consume this analysis — visualizations of the numbers of confirmed coronavirus cases and deaths, for example, has been a particular source of quality conveyance — there are tools that data scientists generally don’t possess when it comes to expertly forecastor explain the spread, distribution, and impact of infectious diseases. This is what the field of epidemiology is in part about.

10        Canada facing ‘major’ medical gear shortage as 68 countries restrict exports
https://www.canadianmanufacturing.com/exporting-and-importing/canada-facing-major-medical-gear-shortage-as-68-countries-restrict-exports-250359/

Scores of countries have moved to restrict the export of face masks, gloves and other medical supplies critical for front-line workers in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, leaving Canada and others scrambling to source products that now have higher price tags.

11        9 Tips for Running a Great Virtual Business Meeting
https://www.business2community.com/strategy/9-tips-for-running-a-great-virtual-business-meeting-02298051

Virtual meetings have become a staple in the professional workplace, allowing for a simulated face-to-face experience that serves as a viable substitute for the real thing.

With recent events surrounding COVID-19, many businesses find themselves utterly dependent on virtual meetings to conduct business, keep projects moving forward and communicate with remote staff and clients. And while nothing can fully replace an in-person meeting, taking the right approach can ensure a successful outcome. Here are 9 tips for running a great virtual business meeting.

12        Introduction to the K-nearest Neighbour Algorithm Using Examples
https://www.kdnuggets.com/2020/04/introduction-k-nearest-neighbour-algorithm-using-examples.html
KNN also known as K-nearest neighbour is a supervised and pattern classification learning algorithm which helps us find which class the new input(test value) belongs to when k nearest neighbours are chosen and distance is calculated between them.

It attempts to estimate the conditional distribution of Y given X, and classify a given observation(test value) to the class with highest estimated probability.

It first identifies the k points in the training data that are closest to the test value and calculates the distance between all those categories. The test value will belong to the category whose distance is the least.

13        U.S. factory activity contracts in March; orders tumble to 11-year low: ISM
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-economy-manufacturing-idUSKBN21J5S5
U.S. manufacturing activity contracted less than expected in March, but disruptions caused by the coronavirus pandemic pushed new orders received by factories to an 11-year low, reinforcing economists’ views that the economy was in recession.

14        Traders Scramble To Be First In Line To Ditch Crude Oil
https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Traders-Scramble-To-Be-First-In-Line-To-Ditch-Crude-Oil.html

While oil futures hit an 18-year-low on Monday, the prices of physical barrels from Europe to North America slumped to record discounts to benchmarks and trade in the teens and single digits, with traders scrambling to place physical crude barrels amid an unprecedented demand loss and growing global glut.

15        Long-range Correlations in Time Series: Modeling, Testing, Case Study
https://www.datasciencecentral.com/profiles/blogs/long-range-correlation-in-time-series-tutorial-and-case-study

We investigate a large class of auto-correlated, stationary time series, proposing a new statistical test to measure departure from the base model, known as Brownian motion. We also discuss a methodology to deconstruct these time series, in order to identify the root mechanism that generates the observations. The time series studied here can be discrete or continuous in time, they  can have various degrees of smoothness (typically measured using the Hurst exponent) as well as long-range or short-range correlations between successive values

16        Fascinating New Results in the Theory of Randomness
https://www.datasciencecentral.com/profiles/blogs/fascinating-new-results-in-the-theory-of-randomness
I present here some innovative results from my most recent research on stochastic processes. chaos modeling, and dynamical systems, with applications to Fintech, cryptography, number theory, and random number generators. While covering advanced topics, this article is accessible to professionals with limited knowledge in statistical or mathematical theory. It introduces new material not covered in my recent book (available here) on applied stochastic processes. You don’t need to read my book to understand this article, but the book is a nice complement and introduction to the concepts discussed here.

17        Enterprise AI Goes Mainstream, but Maturity Must Wait
https://www.informationweek.com/big-data/ai-machine-learning/enterprise-ai-goes-mainstream-but-maturity-must-wait/a/d-id/1337428

An O’Reilly survey illustrates how enterprise groups are moving more applications into production, but also how companies face cultural and talent focused barriers.

Artificial intelligence’s emergence into the mainstream of enterprise computing raises significant issues — strategic, cultural, and operational — for businesses everywhere.

18        6 Measures to Instill a Positive Work Ethic in an Office
https://www.business2community.com/workplace-culture/6-measures-to-instill-a-positive-work-ethic-in-an-office-02297009

When establishing a new company, it’s vital that the employees you recruit are both comfortable and productive in their working environment.

Sadly, for some business owners, the task of building a workplace that’s ripe for productivity is easier said than done, and some workers can struggle to hit their stride for a range of reasons in a new job.

Energy, Petrochemicals and Plastics 57

Friday, March 27, 2020

Energy, Petrochemicals and Plastics 57

1          Oil Price Fundamental Daily Forecast – Only Saudi’s Can Prevent Another Steep Plunge
https://www.fxempire.com/forecasts/article/oil-price-fundamental-daily-forecast-only-saudis-can-prevent-another-steep-plunge-641130

U.S. West Texas Intermediate and international-benchmark Brent crude oil futures are trading mixed on Friday as traders responded to international government pledges to inject a massive amount of funds and other measures into the global economy in an effort to limit the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic, despite fears the outbreak will destroy demand for oil.

2          Natural Gas Price Fundamental Daily Forecast
https://www.fxempire.com/forecasts/article/natural-gas-price-fundamental-daily-forecast-gains-capped-as-covid-19-weighs-on-supply-demand-641108

Natural gas futures are drifting sideways-to-lower early Friday and within a few cents of unchanged as traders wait for direction amid concerns over the rapidly spreading coronavirus and the possibility of a nationwide shutdown. The lack of price movement is surprising, given forecasts calling for milder weather and lower heating demand over the next two weeks.

3          Weekly Resin Report: Periods of Calm Alternate with Feverish Activity, as Resin Markets Reckon with COVID-19
https://www.plasticstoday.com/resin-pricing/weekly-resin-report-periods-calm-alternate-feverish-activity-resin-markets-reckon-covid-19/72913889262684

Nervous trading spread through the resin markets last week, as periods of calm alternated with bursts of activity. While some sellers fear that low upstream energy and feedstock costs will translate to sharply lower resin prices ahead, other market participants clawed for material, almost as if it were toilet paper at the supermarket, finding comfort in added resin inventory for their factory floors, reported the PlasticsExchange in its Market Update.

4          Coronavirus affects Americas petrochemicals markets
https://www.spglobal.com/platts/en/market-insights/latest-news/petrochemicals/032520-coronavirus-affects-americas-petrochemicals-markets

While chemical manufacturing is among sectors deemed critical to combat the spread of the coronavirus, markets continue to face serious challenges as end-users step back and cancel or postpone orders, unable to gauge demand in the coming weeks and months amid increasing stay-at-home orders throughout the Americas.

5          Europe chemicals prices, stocks mixed as US stimulus effect starts to peter out
https://www.icis.com/explore/resources/news/2020/03/25/10486684/europe-chemicals-prices-stocks-mixed-as-us-stimulus-effect-starts-to-peter-out

The unprecedented US $2,000bn fiscal stimulus’ effect on investors began to peter out on Wednesday and European chemicals prices, commodities and stocks had a mixed day.

6          COVID-19 demand update: Oil seen down 4.9%, jet fuel down 20%, road fuel down 5.6% in 2020
https://www.rystadenergy.com/newsevents/news/press-releases/covid-19-demand-update-oil-seen-down-4point9-jet-fuel-down-20-road-fuel-down-5point6-in-2020/

Rystad Energy is creating a weekly comprehensive report calculating the effect of the novel coronavirus in our lives and updating estimates for global fuel markets.

As a result of recent developments, with travel restrictions, quarantine obligations and new government policies being announced daily around the world, we are making substantial frequent updates to most of our estimates.

7          COVID-19 and oil price war could derail two-thirds of the world’s oil & gas project sanctioning in 2020
https://www.rystadenergy.com/newsevents/news/press-releases/covid-19-and-oil-price-war-could-derail-two-thirds-of-the-worlds-oil-and-gas-project-sanctioning-in-2020/

The effect of the COVID-19 virus on global demand for oil and gas, along with an ongoing price war that has sent oil prices tumbling at an unprecedented rate, are poised to wreak havoc on new project development plans for this year. According to an impact analysis from Rystad Energy, exploration and production (E&P) companies are likely to reduce project sanctioning by up to $131 billion, or about 68% year-on-year, as they batten down the hatches to weather the storm.

8          Coronavirus and oil price war
https://www.icis.com/explore/resources/news/2020/03/27/10462108/topic-page-coronavirus-and-oil-price-war

It is the scale of the demand shock that is unprecedented. Demand for crude products has crashed – What is the impact likely to be on the supply of refinery propylene and C4s, and of aromatics from the cat cracker? And what of the supply of oil-based cracker feedstocks?

9          Is This The Beginning Of The End For Texas Oil?
https://oilprice.com/Energy/Crude-Oil/Is-This-The-Beginning-Of-The-End-For-Texas-Oil.html
Widespread misery was evident in the Dallas Fed’s latest survey, which included responses from 161 energy firms and took place from March 11-19. The quarterly survey offers a window into not just the economic health of the industry, but also a look into the psyche of many oil executives in Texas. The numbers were stunning.

10        Oil at historic lows beginning to force shut-in of wells
http://www.worldoil.com/news/2020/3/27/oil-at-historic-lows-beginning-to-force-shut-in-of-wells
Only the old hands at the Coffeyville oil refinery could remember anything like the prices posted this month. The small Kansas plant in the heart of rural America was offering just $1.75 a barrel for Wyoming sweet crude.

11        Permian production already a victim of oil price war
https://www.bicmagazine.com/industry/commodities/globaldata-permian-production-already-a-victim-of-oil-price-/

“Of all the unconventional plays, the Permian Basin reduction in forecast production growth will be the largest in absolute terms and exemplifies quite well the collateral effect sought by the oil price war initiated by Russia and Saudi Arabia a few weeks ago.

12        European ethylene oversupply intensifies amid lockdowns, price at 11-year low
https://www.spglobal.com/platts/en/market-insights/latest-news/oil/032720-european-ethylene-oversupply-intensifies-amid-lockdowns-price-at-11-year-low

European ethylene spot prices have fallen to their lowest in 11 years as oversupply deepens from the impact of COVID-19 lockdowns on downstream operations, shutting down polymer demand. Ethylene was assessed at Eur513/mt FD NWE Thursday, down Eur12/mt on the day and the lowest since January 22, 2009 when it was at Eur505/mt FD NWE.

“Even with low prices Europe needs to reduce stocks, or shut down their production, which could be a disaster,” one source said.

13        Canadian Crude Costs More to Ship than Buy
https://www.rigzone.com/news/wire/canadian_crude_costs_more_to_ship_than_buy-27-mar-2020-161541-article/

Canadian heavy crude has become so cheap that the cost of shipping it to refineries exceeds the value of the oil itself, a situation that may result in even more oil-sands producers shutting operations.

Western Canadian Select crude in Alberta dropped $2.84 to a record low of $6.45 a barrel on Thursday, according to Bloomberg data going back to 2008, almost as cheap as a Starbucks venti-sized pumpkin spice latte.

14        IEA Boss Warns Demand Will Plunge By 20 Million Barrels Per Day
https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/IEA-Boss-Warns-Demand-Will-Plunge-By-20-Million-Barrels-Per-Day.html

Global oil demand could fall by about 20 million barrels per day, EIA’s Executive Director, Fatih Birol said in a Thursday press briefing, according to Bloomberg.

As 3 billion people in the world remain confined to their homes except to leave to get necessities, activity around the globe is falling—and oil demand along with it. Exacerbating the issue, Birol said, was the oil price war between Saudi Arabia and Russia.

15        Global oil refiners to deepen output cuts as coronavirus destroys demand
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-oil-refineries-idUSKBN21D19K
il refiners from Texas to Thailand are bracing for deeper output cuts, bruised by an unprecedented demand shock as more countries lock down and restrict travel to contain the spread of the coronavirus.

16        Saudi struggles to find buyers for extra crude as demand dives
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-saudi-oil-idUSKBN21D20F
Saudi Arabia is struggling to find customers for its extra oil as demand plummets due to the coronavirus and freight rates surge, industry sources said, undermining the kingdom’s bid to seize market share from rivals by expanding production.

17        Falling Latam fuel demand leaves U.S. refiners without favored export customers
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-global-oil-latam-usa-idUSKBN21E0FP
Demand for refined products in Latin America is quickly drying up as the coronavirus pandemic worsens, leaving U.S. refiners without their primary export destination as the virus spreads.

18        Russia calls for new enlarged OPEC deal to tackle oil demand collapse
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-oil-opec-russia-rdif-exclusive-idUSKBN21E13T
A new OPEC+ deal to balance oil markets might be possible if other countries join in, Kirill Dmitriev, head of Russia’s sovereign wealth fund said, adding that countries should also cooperate to cushion the economic fallout from coronavirus.

19        Petrochemical plants work to assure continuity amid logistic, workforce challenges
https://www.bicmagazine.com/departments/operations/pu-petrochemical-plants-work-to-assure-continuity-amid-logis/

Petrochemical plants have set up emergency response teams and readied special Covid-19 staffing plans while implementing remote working where possible, according to the American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers (AFPM) association, as reported by Petrochemical Update.

20        Energy Department withdraws tender to fill Strategic Petroleum Reserve
http://www.worldoil.com/news/2020/3/26/energy-department-withdraws-tender-to-fill-strategic-petroleum-reserve

The Trump administration halted plans to start buying oil to top up the nation’s emergency stockpile after failing to win funding from Congress, throwing a wrench in its most tangible efforts to help struggling drillers cope with the price rout.

21        Canada’s Woodfibre LNG pushes back construction start
https://www.lngworldnews.com/canadas-woodfibre-lng-pushes-back-construction-start/
Woodfibre LNG, owned by Pacific Oil & Gas, planned to start construction on a 2.1 million metric tonnes per annum LNG terminal and associated facilities this summer.

However, the project has been postponed to 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and as a preferred U.S. construction contractor for the marine part of the project has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

22        LNG Canada temporarily reduces workforce by 50%
https://www.lngindustry.com/liquefaction/26032020/lng-canada-temporarily-reduces-workforce-by-50/
LNG Canada has announced that, due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, it has had to temporarily reduce its workforce by 50%.

In the statement, Peter Zebedee, CEO of LNG Canada, said: “I’ve spent most of my life working in the energy industry. I’ve seen my share of ups and downs. That’s the nature of our business. What we’re experiencing now is without precedent. Impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic are rippling across our industry, our province and our country. They’re being felt everywhere in the world. They impact all of us.

23        Over 1 Million OFS Job Cuts Likely in 2020
https://www.rigzone.com/news/over_1_million_ofs_job_cuts_likely_in_2020-26-mar-2020-161522-article/
More than one million jobs in the oilfield service industry (OFS) are likely to be cut in 2020 due to low project volumes brought about by the virus pandemic and the ongoing oil price war.

That’s according to a new Rystad Energy impact analysis, which reveals that shale services will bear the biggest brunt of the job cuts.

24        Can The U.S. Convince Saudi Arabia To End The Oil War?
https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Can-The-US-Convince-Saudi-Arabia-To-End-The-Oil-War.html

US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo is applying verbal pressure to Saudi Arabia, encouraging the Middle Eastern country who started the oil price war to “rise to the occasion” and reassure the oil markets, the State Department has said, according to the Arab News.

25        Canadian oil companies ask government for cash, credit to survive
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-canada-oil-idUSKBN21C3HD
Canadian oil and gas companies are urging Ottawa to free up credit and cash to help them survive the twin shocks of COVID-19 spread and a crude price war, pitching ideas ranging from tax deferrals to backstopping bank loans.

26        Oil majors slash 2020 spending 20% after prices slump
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-global-oil-majors-capex-graphic-idUSKBN21D1Y6
The world’s biggest oil and gas companies are slashing spending this year following a collapse in oil prices driven by a slump in demand because of coronavirus and a price war between the top exporters Saudi Arabia and Russia.

27        Oil price may fall to $10 a barrel as world runs out of storage space
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/mar/25/oil-price-may-fall-to-10-a-barrel-as-world-runs-out-of-storage-space

The world may soon run out of space to store its extra oil as Saudi Arabia prepares to increase its fossil fuel production even as global demand for energy continues to fall due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Oil storage levels across the world’s storage facilities have climbed to about three-quarters full on average since the January shutdown of major refineries in China’s industrial heartlands to stem the outbreak of the coronavirus.

28        Barclays Slashes Oil Price Forecast On Demand Shock
https://oilprice.com/Energy/Oil-Prices/Barclays-Slashes-Oil-Price-Forecast-On-Demand-Shock.html
Barclays slashed its oil price estimates for this year for the second time in two weeks, expecting WTI Crude to average $28 a barrel in 2020 due to the demand shock from the coronavirus and the supply shock from the Saudi-Russian oil price war.

Recycling, Renewables and Sustainable Business 28

Friday, March 27, 2020

Recycling, Renewables and Sustainable Business 28

1          Scientists find bug that feasts on toxic plastic
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/mar/27/scientists-find-bug-that-feasts-on-toxic-plastic
A bacterium that feeds on toxic plastic has been discovered by scientists. The bug not only breaks the plastic down but uses it as food to power the process.

The bacterium, which was found at a waste site where plastic had been dumped, is the first that is known to attack polyurethane. Millions of tonnes of the plastic is produced every year to use in items such as sports shoes, nappies, kitchen sponges and as foam insulation, but it is mostly sent to landfill because it it too tough to recycle.

2          How much PV is needed in an hybrid solar-diesel mini-grid?
https://www.pv-magazine.com/2020/03/26/how-much-pv-is-needed-in-an-hybrid-solar-diesel-mini-grid/
The use of solar radiation databases and a solar simulator when designing solar-plus-diesel mini-grids could improve operation, costs and output, according to a study by researchers from Brazil’s Federal University of Santa Catarina.

The researchers said, whereas solar irradiation data is relatively important for urban, grid-connected PV projects, it is absolutely crucial for solar-diesel mini-grids in remote areas.

3          Green hydrogen can power green Alpine tourism
https://www.pv-magazine.com/2020/03/26/green-hydrogen-can-power-green-alpine-tourism/
Winter tourism, arguably more than any other form, is particularly prone to the effects of climate change, as sub-zero temperatures and plenty of snow are prerequisites.

In Austria, one of Europe’s most popular winter sport destinations, a consortium led by Canadian-owned BRP-Rotax has presented a green hydrogen solution for snowmobiles.

4          Coronavirus Lockdowns Cause Dramatic Drop In Air Pollution
https://www.forbes.com/sites/davekeating/2020/03/27/coronavirus-lockdowns-cause-dramatic-drop-in-air-pollution/

The dramatic slowdown in economic activity across Europe as a result of Coronavirus lockdowns can already be seen from space.

Almost all of the European Union has gone into lockdown, with the exception of Sweden, Hungary and the Netherlands. Today the European Space Agencypublished satellite images showing what a difference this has made to nitrogen dioxide concentrations over cities such as Paris, Madrid and Rome.

5          Oil Price Crash Opens A Window Of Opportunity For Renewables
https://oilprice.com/Alternative-Energy/Renewable-Energy/Oil-Price-Crash-Opens-A-Window-Of-Opportunity-For-Renewables.html

Just a month ago, companies and investors had a financial incentive to continue investing in new oil and gas projects despite the societal and environmentalist backlash against fossil fuels.    Not anymore.

In just a couple of weeks, the oil price crash made investments in renewable energy starting to look more attractive. Or at least as attractive as investment in oil and gas.

6          What is the Safest Energy for the Future?
https://www.altenergymag.com/article/2020/03/what-is-the-safest-energy-for-the-future/32904
Emotional not rational reasons are why people have rejected nuclear energy. Looking at the basic facts, nuclear energy is the cleanest, safest, and cheapest approach to energy production. The risks of nuclear energy are greatly exaggerated by activists, politicians, and the media, which promote agendas rather than fact.

7          Twelve U.S. states generate more than 30% of their electricity from nuclear power
https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=43256
Nuclear power plants play an important role in U.S. electricity generation, consistently providing about 20% of total annual generation. Of the 30 U.S. states with operating commercial nuclear power plants, 12 states generated more than 30% of their electricity from nuclear power.

8          Sweden Reaches 26% Electric Vehicle Market Share!
https://cleantechnica.com/2020/03/25/sweden-reaches-26-electric-vehicle-market-share/
Yes, the Swedish electric vehicle market is an odd one in which approximately 80% of electric vehicle sales are plug-in hybrids, leaving only 20% of the market for fully electric vehicles. Most EV markets are around 50–50 or favor fully electric vehicles (BEVs). Nonetheless, an overall EV market share of 26% is a stunning achievement in early 2020.

9          Detroit’s near future based on SUVs, not EVs, production plans show
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-autos-emissions-suvs-insight-idUSKBN21D1KW
General Motors Co (GM.N) and Ford Motor Co (F.N) have widely touted their commitment to emission-free electric cars, but their production plans show a growing reliance on ever-larger gas-powered vehicles.

10        First Solar’s PV Module Factories All Still Running Amid Coronavirus Shutdowns
https://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/first-solars-factories-all-still-running-amid-coronavirus-shutdowns

First Solar, the largest PV module maker in the Western hemisphere since opening a second factory in Ohio last year, said on Thursday that all of its global factories remain in production despite the coronavirus outbreak.

11        Nacero selects Topsoe’s TIGAS™ technology for USD 3 billion natural gas-to-gasoline plant
https://blog.topsoe.com/nacero-selects-topsoes-tigas-technology-for-usd-3-billion-natural-gas-to-gasoline-plant

Nacero has signed agreements with Haldor Topsoe for basic engineering and license for a planned natural-gas-to-gasoline facility in Casa Grande, Arizona, with a capacity of 35,000 barrels-per-day of finished gasoline. Pending final investment decision, Topsoe will also supply proprietary hardware, catalysts, and services.

12        Bio and synthetic LNG provide viable path to decarbonisation
https://www.lngindustry.com/small-scale-lng/26032020/bio-and-synthetic-lng-provide-viable-path-to-decarbonisation/

The CE Delft study looks at both the availability and costs of liquefied bio methane (LBM) and liquefied synthetic methane (LSM). The study came to the conclusion that both fuels could become available in sufficient quantities to make a contribution towards future decarbonisation for the shipping industry, and that the costs need not be significantly higher than those of other low and zero carbon fuels.

13        Joined at the hip: A hybrid future for onshore renewables
https://www.energy-storage.news/blogs/joined-at-the-hip-a-hybrid-future-for-onshore-renewables
Such is the maturation of the renewables sector as we enter the 2020s that simply co-locating generation with storage is almost old hat. Now renewables developers the world over are pushing the envelope even further, adopting their onshore wind cousins to bring forward hybrid projects that profess to unlock the full value of a grid connection and unleash the potential of onshore renewables as a whole.

14        Coronavirus Forces Rethink on Plastic Bag Bans
https://www.plasticstoday.com/medical/coronavirus-forces-rethink-on-plastic-bag-bans/150312389262698

Several years ago — 2012 to be exact — just after San Francisco banned plastic T-shirt bags, there was a sudden uptick in the number of E. coli cases caused by the adoption of reusable cotton or polyester non-woven bags as alternatives. Obviously, people weren’t aware that these reusable bags were being used to carry raw meat one time and produce the next without being washed. As a result, people were getting sick from the E. coli bacteria. I blogged about that at the time and explained why single-use plastic retail bags are really not single use, and why they are much safer for consumers and more eco-friendly than alternative bags that require washing in hot, soapy water after each use.

15        World’s wind power capacity up by fifth after record year
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/mar/25/worlds-wind-power-capacity-up-by-fifth-after-record-year

The world’s wind power capacity grew by almost a fifth in 2019 after a year of record growth for offshore windfarms and a boom in onshore projects in the US and China.

The Global Wind Energy Council found that wind power capacity grew by 60.4 gigawatts, or 19%, compared with 2018, in one of the strongest years on record for the global wind power industry.

Business Intelligence and Analytics 57

Friday, March 27, 2020

Business Intelligence and Analytics 57

1          Supply chain outlook: Why the situation varies by industry
http://news.mit.edu/2020/sheffi-global-supply-chain-covid-19-0325
By now, the media images are familiar: empty shelves in large markets where shoppers have loaded up on food, toiletries, and medicine. Many people, if they can afford it, have bought large quantities of goods to avoid repeated trips into public, in line with their state and local government guidelines. But others may be simply spooked by the unknown: Will we run out of the things we need?

2          Supply chain outlook: The timing of the slowdown
http://news.mit.edu/2020/simchi-levi-supply-chain-covid-19-0325
The rapid spread of the Covid-19 virus is already having a huge impact on the global economy, which is rippling around the world via the long supply chains of major industries.

MIT supply chain expert David Simchi-Levi has been watching those ripples closely in 2020, as they have moved from China outward to the U.S. and Europe. His tracking of supply chain problems provides insight into what is happening in the global economy — and what could happen in a variety of scenarios.

3          Strategy under uncertainty | McKinsey
https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/strategy-and-corporate-finance/our-insights/strategy-under-uncertainty

At the heart of the traditional approach to strategy lies the assumption that executives, by applying a set of powerful analytic tools, can predict the future of any business accurately enough to choose a clear strategic direction for it. The process often involves underestimating uncertainty in order to lay out a vision of future events sufficiently precise to be captured in a discounted-cash-flow (DCF) analysis. When the future is truly uncertain, this approach is at best marginally helpful and at worst downright dangerous: underestimating uncertainty can lead to strategies that neither defend a company against the threats nor take advantage of the opportunities that higher levels of uncertainty provide. Another danger lies at the other extreme: if managers can’t find a strategy that works under traditional analysis, they may abandon the analytical rigor of their planning process altogether and base their decisions on gut instinct.

4          Pandemic Panic: Can Governments Protect Jobs and Markets?
https://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/layoffs-loom-governments-respond-pandemic-panic/
The COVID-19 virus has infected populations around the world and slammed the global economy. While it is unclear where the coronavirus pandemic is headed, experts believe that it will lead to a worldwide recession.

Mauro Guillen, professor of international management at Wharton and the creator ofan online course on the coronavirus crisis that the school plans to launch on March 25, believes that the challenge on the economic front is whether policy makers can find a way to prevent firms from laying off workers and if they can help calm panicky markets.

5          Taking Care of Our People
https://www.business2community.com/strategy/taking-care-of-our-people-02296299
Like our customers, each of us and our people are facing things we may have never experienced before. We are being asked to work in new ways–some of which we are ill equipped to support. We have no clear answers and are figuring them out on the fly. And things we decide this week, may have to be changed in the coming weeks.

6          How To Painlessly Analyze Your Time Series
https://www.kdnuggets.com/2020/03/painlessly-analyze-time-series.html
We’re surrounded by time series data. From finance to IoT to marketing, many organizations produce thousands of these metrics and mine them to uncover business-critical insights. A Site Reliability Engineer might monitor hundreds of thousands of time series streams from a server farm, in the hopes of detecting anomalous events and preventing catastrophic failure. Alternatively, a brick and mortar retailer might care about identifying patterns of customer foot traffic and leveraging them to guide inventory decisions.

7          Technology Driven Insurance Data Analytics
https://datafloq.com/read/technology-driven-insurance-data-analytics/8081
The nature of the Insurance industry being data-centric, insurers abide by the policy of keeping data as a treasure for their respective growth. This data can only be turned into a gold mine of Insurance Data Analytics by in-depth analysis of other engagement areas of the customer and the insurer depending upon the kind of insurance one prefers.

8          Making sense of ensemble learning techniques
https://www.kdnuggets.com/2020/03/making-sense-ensemble-learning-techniques.html
For many companies/data scientists that specialize or work with machine learning (ML), ensemble learning methods have become the weapons of choice. As ensemble learning methods combine multiple base models, together they have a greater ability to produce a much more accurate ML model. For example, at Bigabid we’ve been ensemble learning to successfully solve a variety of problems ranging from optimizing LTV (Customer Lifetime Value) to fraud detection.

9          How bad will Canada’s COVID-19 recession be?
https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/covid-19-recession-economy-analysis-1.5510596
The black swan has landed.

The novel coronavirus pandemic is well underway worldwide, but it wasn’t until this month that Canadians started coming to grips with the economic pain it can bring, in addition to its heavy human toll.

10        Coronavirus measures could cause global food shortage, UN warns
https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2020/mar/26/coronavirus-measures-could-cause-global-food-shortage-un-warns

Protectionist measures by national governments during the coronavirus crisis could provoke food shortages around the world, the UN’s food body has warned.

Harvests have been good and the outlook for staple crops is promising, but a shortage of field workers brought on by the virus crisis and a move towards protectionism – tariffs and export bans – mean problems could quickly appear in the coming weeks, Maximo Torero, chief economist of the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation, told the Guardian.

11        MIT-affiliated companies take on Covid-19
http://news.mit.edu/2020/mit-companies-covid-19-0326
As the world grapples with the public health crises and myriad disruptions brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic, many efforts to address its impact are underway.

Several of those initiatives are being led by companies that were founded by MIT alumni, professors, students, and researchers.

12        AI program could check blood for signs of lung cancer
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2020/mar/25/ai-program-could-check-blood-for-signs-of-lung-cancer

Scientists have developed an artificial intelligence program that can screen people for lung cancer by analysing their blood for DNA mutations that drive the disease.

The software is experimental and needs to be verified in a clinical trial, but doctors are hopeful that if it proves its worth at scale, it will boost lung cancer screening rates by making the procedure as simple as a routine blood test.

13        Want to Build an AI Model for Your Business? Read this
https://www.kdnuggets.com/2020/03/build-ai-model-business-read-this.html
Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, and Deep Learning models have demonstrated significant power to grow and improve businesses. We have found that the best approach to AI production is what venture capitalists do when they evaluate and invest in startups.

14        Preparing the Supply Chain for the Next Disruption
https://medium.com/bcggamma/preparing-the-supply-chain-for-the-next-disruption-48bbbc63b79f
COVID-19 has put supply chains for all industries under enormous stress. From the sourcing of raw materials to the distribution of finished products, supply chains are at the frontline of this crisis. But this is not likely to be the last pandemic or global crisis. How supply chains are currently coping — or not — provides some valuable lessons for facing similarly widespread disruptions in the future.

15        Managing the Flow of Ideas in a Pandemic
https://sloanreview.mit.edu/article/managing-the-flow-of-ideas-in-a-pandemic/
Most organizations are hierarchical or centralized, so their senior leaders are at the center. All roads lead to them. The leaders are typically older and have more health conditions. During a pandemic, like the one we now face with COVID-19, standard organizational structures are a management disaster in the making — because the senior people are likely to be the hardest hit.

16        Coronavirus pandemic has delivered the fastest, deepest economic shock in history
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/mar/25/coronavirus-pandemic-has-delivered-the-fastest-deepest-economic-shock-in-history

The shock to the global economy from Covid-19 has been faster and more severe than the 2008 global financial crisisand even the Great Depression. In those two previous episodes, stock markets collapsed by 50% or more, credit markets froze up, massive bankruptcies followed, unemployment rates soared above 10% and GDP contracted at an annualised rate of 10% or more. But all of this took around three years to play out. In the current crisis, similarly dire macroeconomic and financial outcomes have materialised in three weeks.

17        5 Ways to Do Smart & Responsible Marketing During COVID-19
https://www.business2community.com/marketing/5-ways-to-do-smart-responsible-marketing-during-covid-19-02295026

In everything we do as brands, context matters. Beyond the basic actions taken to protect employees and businesses during a crisis, brands can either help or hinder our collective experience. So when a cultural moment shifts as dramatically as it has in the face of COVID-19, it’s important that brands address the issue with tact, empathy, and mindful marketing.

18        Using artificial intelligence to detect COVID-19
https://medium.com/@haidaramohamed32/using-artificial-intelligence-to-detect-covid-19-6fcd9857b93f
Among the tens of thousands of cases detected, several cases of COVID-19 are asymptomatic. These most common symptoms of the virus are fever and a dry cough. Some people may also experience aches, headache, tightness or shortness of breath. These symptoms suggest an acute respiratory infection or radiologically detectable lung abnormalities. We can use Artificial Intelligence algorithms to detect the disease using automatic X-ray analysis to support radiologists.

19        What is the probability that someone you know will die from COVID-19 this year?
https://statmodeling.stat.columbia.edu/2020/03/24/what-is-the-probability-that-someone-you-know-will-die-from-covid-19/

I teach a Math Methods class that covers basic probability, mathematical modeling, and data science. For one of my upcoming lectures I plan on applying the very simple tools that we’ve covered so far to COVID-19. As I’m sure you’re aware, there are very dire predictions for the total number of Americans that will die from COVID-19, ranging from 0.5–3M. However, I wanted to connect these impersonal numbers to a very basic question: