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Here's what the Oilman has for you today:

• Phone Chat with the Crown Prince and the Russian President

• Petro Will Save "Mother Nature"

• Coal to Keep the Lights On: India's Plan to Meet Rising Demand

• Tweet of the Day

Phone Chat with the Crown Prince & Russian President

On Monday, Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman of Saudi Arabia and Russian President Vladimir Putin had a phone conversation about OPEC+ cooperation

The focus of the call was to keep oil prices steady before the virtual OPEC+ meeting on Wednesday.

Sources reveal that the meeting, which is only for OPEC+ ministers, will not result in any changes to oil production policy. Despite Western sanctions and price caps, Russia's oil production remains stable. Chinese demand will be a focal point of the meeting on Wednesday.

Delegates have stated that changes to the output policy are unlikely due to the rise in oil prices this year. On Monday, Brent crude was trading at $85.94 per barrel while WTI was at $78.95 per barrel, both lower than the previous day.

The Federal Reserve's decision on interest rates on Wednesday may also impact oil prices. How?

• Traders expect the Federal Reserve to end its rate hikes in two months, which could push oil prices higher due to the generally inverse relationship between rates and oil prices.

• Uncertainty remains, however, as both Russia and China can swing production and demand by more than 1 million barrels per day.

• Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has warned that a soft landing was far from certain and there was still a danger of recession.

It is expected that OPEC+ will maintain the current production levels, but we'll have to wait and see how the meeting plays out.

Petro Will Save "Mother Nature"

Ironic, right?

Gustavo Petro, Colombia's President, seeks to steer the nation from fossil fuels and replace oil revenues with tourism, agriculture, and renewable energy.

The oil industry and economists, however, predict unintended consequences if this change is rushed.

Tax amendments to raise levies on coal and oil industries could also damage these vital sources of finance.

At the World Economic Forum in Davos, Petro stated that reducing the consumption of oil and coal is the only way to save the planet from the climate crisis.

Existing contracts will be strengthened, and the ban on new exploration contracts will not impact those already signed, according to Mines and Energy Minister Irene Velez.

"We are trying to protect...Mother Nature, which is our moral commitment" stated Velez.

The Colombian Oil Association predicts that Colombia will run out of oil within a decade without new exploration contracts.

Investments in Colombia's oil and gas sector are expected to drop due to new policies, as cited in a report from the Autonomous Regulatory Rule Committee (CARF).

The report also predicts a decline in oil production by 286,000 barrels per day by 2030.

Colombia's oil production averaged 760,000 bpd in 2021, per data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA).

Colombia was South America's largest coal producer and second-largest petroleum producer after Brazil in 2021 and was the fifth-largest crude oil exporter to the United States.

Outgoing president of state-owned energy firm Ecopetrol, Felipe Bayón, believes that oil production in Colombia still has a future, considering the new world energy order after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Bayón believes that Colombia must maintain its energy sovereignty.

Despite this, Mr. Petro's leftist government insists on shunning new production.

His government has not offered a plan on how they will wean Colombia off of fossil fuels. And this despite the fact that oil exports account for one-third of all Colombian exports.

Should be interesting to see how that plays out for everyday Colombians.

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Coal to Keep the Lights On: India's Plan to Meet Rising Demand

Welp folks, the Indian government is planning to fire up them coal-fired power plants to keep pace with the growing demand for electricity.

In India, coal still provides a good chunk of the country's energy, about 70% or so.

With a scorching summer ahead and record demand expected, the government has decided to use an emergency law to crank up production from the coal plants.

Now, some of these plants that rely on imported coal haven't been running at full capacity lately, because they can't compete with the ones that use cheaper domestic coal.

What with coal prices going through the roof last year, and the EU ban on Russian coal imports, the world of coal trade has changed.

And let's face it, when it comes to energy security, many developing nations put it ahead of all that climate pledge business.

And why is the government invoking this emergency law, you might ask? Well, it seems the western Indian states of Maharashtra and Gujarat, which host the bulk of the coal industry, asked for help to ensure power supply.

The government is expecting these coal-fired plants to use 8% more coal in the next financial year, with demand continuing to rise due to growing economic activity and weather that's as predictable as a Kansas tornado.

Last June, the big shot power-generating company in India, NTPC Ltd, said it could increase its coal generation capacity, putting energy security ahead of everything else after some spring power outages.

And according to NTPC's chairman, Gurdeep Singh, the coal phase-out in India is gonna take a while, maybe 2 to 3 decades or more.

And don't you go thinking India is ready to ditch coal from its energy mix any time soon.

Coal Minister Pralhad Joshi made it clear at the end of last year that coal will continue to play an important role in India until at least 2040, as it remains an affordable source of energy with demand yet to peak.

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