Good morning; here's what the Oilman has for you today:

• Chevron Doubles Down in the Permian While Exxon Enters Lithium

• Boeing CEO Says No to “Green” Jet Fuel

• Tweet of the Day

Chevron Doubles Down on Permian; Exxon Enters…Lithium?

Chevron and Exxon made news this week. How? With two very different acquisitions.

One was typical of the industry – the other – not so much.

Tradition versus transition

Chevron acquired PDC Energy, an oil and gas operator with assets in the Permian and the Denver-Julesburg Basin, for over $6 billion.

Exxon, meanwhile, spent about $100 million on buying lithium mining rights in Arkansas.

Pretty divergent moves, right?

You could call it a transformational moment for the oil industry.

Or you could call it taking advantage of opportunities, as Big Oil has always done.

• Chevron is betting on plays where it already has a large presence.

• Exxon is betting on government support for local raw material sourcing for what some keep calling the “EV revolution.”

Exxon is just covering all its bases while Chevron stays on the business-as-usual-but-with-carbon-capture track.

Future case studies

In all fairness, that $100 million Exxon spent on buying those rights is not a huge sum for the company.

Yet it does signal its openness to a sort of diversification.

Who wouldn’t diversify when the government is paying?

But if you think Chevron is missing out on those government payments, it’s not.

Chevron is betting on carbon capture (that’s also being subsidized by the Biden administration).

So, that deal is a no-brainer: more oil production, more CO2 to capture and store…

…and sell afterward.

Did you know the U.S. has a large and growing CO2 market? Now you do.

Today's Edition is Brought to You By Energy Builders Podcast

The latest Energy Builder’s episode features guest Brett Chell. Brett is the Founder and CEO of Cold Bore Technology, producer of LayerZERO, a digital infrastructure provider for pads all over the US. They partner with and service a wide range of clients, from most of the pressure pumpers in the US to the operators that contract them and every service company in between.

On this episode, Brett and Adam discuss:

• Brett’s experience working on, running, and building drilling rigs

• How he transitioned from the oilfield to capital formation

• And how he used his experience to build a quarter-of-a-billion-dollar energy tech company

Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and more.

Boeing CEO Says No to “Green” Jet Fuel

So-called Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAFs) have no future as a substitute for existing jet fuel, the chief executive of Boeing has warned.

SAFs, Dave Calhoun told the FT, will “never achieve the price of jet fuel”.

If it was going to happen, it would already be happening

“There are no cheap ways to do SAF — if there were, we would already be doing them.”

That’s from the head of energy transition research at Energy Aspects, Robert Campbell, who was commenting on Calhoun’s statement.

It’s pretty obvious that there are no cheap ways to do SAFs.

These fuels are made from waste oils from the food industry and biomass.

The key word is “waste”. That’s what makes the SAF sustainable.

But there is no endless supply of waste oils and biomass out there.

Actually, supply is very limited and will run out quickly if SAF production is scaled up.

Ironic, isn't it? The source of sustainable jet fuel is literally unsustainable.

So much for air transport’s transition

Air travel is a thorn in the side of climate activists and activist governments.

Air transport uses enormous amounts of fuel, and this means it generates enormous amounts of emissions.

Battery-powered planes and biofuels are the two alternatives available for changing the status quo, but neither is really viable.

Battery planes could only work on very short-haul flights for very rich people.

It’s all that additional weight from the batteries, and, honestly, would you fly a battery-powered plane?

Biofuels were considered a more realistic alternative, but they cost more than three times as much as normal jet fuel.

And that’s not changing. Ever.

Around the Global Patch

🇸🇦 Saudi energy minister warns short sellers: 'Watch Out!' 
🇨🇳 China's April coal imports from Australia skyrocket by 75%.
🇬🇧 UK's biggest oil and gas fields advance towards final investment.

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