Ira Joseph, head of gas and power for Platts Analytics, and Ryan Ouwerkerk, manager of Americas natural gas pricing for S&P Global Platts, take a look at oversupply in global natural gas markets.

What might the US shale investor risk-reward equation look like as the market shows some signs of rebalancing and as lockdowns begin to ease? How long will it take the US shale sector to repair soured investor confidence? Tim Perry, managing director at Credit Suisse, digs into those topics and more with Jeff Mower, director of Americas oil news at S&P Global Platts.

Jared Anderson, Kassia Micek and Manan Ahuja of S&P Global Platts delve into changing power market dynamics as coronavirus-related lockdowns ease in many areas and look ahead to see where market conditions might be headed for the remainder of 2020 and into next year.

Labour shortages have been one of the key problems caused by the coronavirus crisis in the rice market. Robert Beaman talks to senior rice editors Rebecca Li and Peter Storey about how the Indian rice industry and its competitors have coped with access to labour during lockdown and the consequent market disruptions, while Piero Carello considers some of the lessons learnt by the agriculture sector as a result of the crisis.

US Secretary of Energy Dan Brouillette joins Chris Newkumet, Washington bureau chief for S&P Global Platts, to discuss the state of America's energy markets -- what we know, where we are, and what's ahead. Topic for discussion include US oil production and exports, new oil price benchmarks, LNG trade flows, the future for US coal, and the ongoing energy transition.

S&P Global Platts journalists discuss European gas, power and carbon market trends going into the third quarter of 2020. The markets saw price support in June as economies began to emerge from coronavirus lockdowns – but any faltering in demand or rebound in gas flows could undermine these trends, as could a modest uptick in French nuclear availability.

The annual acreage report from the US Department of Agriculture saw a 5 million acre drop in corn planting from the Prospective Plantings report at the end of March. The resultant rise in corn prices coupled with low ethanol stocks lifted ethanol prices, the S&P Global Platts benchmark Chicago Argo terminal ethanol price reached its highest level in eight months seven on July 7. Join Sophie Byron, associate pricing director for agriculture in the Americas; Pete Meyer, director of agriculture analytics; and Rafael Savoia, pricing specialist covering Latin American corn, as they discuss what is happening to Americas corn crop and how the Brazil and Argentina export programs are shaping up.

The death of George Floyd in the US on May 25 significantly raised global awareness of racial and cultural issues. Within this environment, giant resources company Rio Tinto attracted opprobrium for the destruction of an indigenous sacred site in Western Australia during the expansion of an iron ore mine. In light of this, how might ESG (environmental, social and corporate governance) play a bigger role in resources? Could it impact iron ore supply? What might it mean for the way mining companies are rated? S&P Global Platts Head of News for Asia Mriganka Jaipuriyar discusses these issues with Platts APAC Head of Metals News and Insight Paul Bartholomew, and S&P Global Ratings Associate Director, Corporate Ratings, Minh Hoang.

S&P Global Platts managing editor Laura Varriale talks to steel news editor Annalisa Villa and pricing specialists Amanda Flint and Len Griffin about the state of the European steel industry after lockdowns start to ease across mainland Europe, sparking hope for more industry activity.

In the UK, the drive toward Net Zero 2050 makes hydrogen an attractive investment, but questions remain about how markets will develop and the associated costs. Hydrogen has vast potential to decarbonize hard-to-abate sectors such as heavy transport, home heating and industry, but the path to decarbonisation is still not entirely clear. Jeffrey McDonald speaks with Corin Taylor, principal consultant in DNV GL and Tony Smith of Peel, to dive further into these questions and the potential for a hydrogen hub to emerge in the UK.

As the push towards clean fuels intensifies, many alternate energy sources are figuring in discussions among policy makers in Asia, as they prepare for energy transition. One fuel that has garnered a lot of attention is hydrogen. From finding low-cost production methods to creating a transparent price discovery mechanism, hydrogen has a few challenges to overcome to make bigger inroads into leading Asia-Pacific markets, says Edgare Kerkwijk, Board Member of the Asia-Pacific Hydrogen Association, in an interview with S&P Global Platts Senior Editor Sambit Mohanty.

S&P Global Platts global thermal coal experts Deepak Kannan, Fred Wang and Sarah Matthews discuss key developments driving coal demand in the South Asian region, specifically in Bangladesh and Pakistan, and explain how Platts new assessments shed light on the price impact and supply-demand fundamentals in the region.

France’s Total was the first mover among European oil and gas majors to announce its ambition to become a greener company, creating in 2016 a separate division for gas, renewables and power under the leadership of Philippe Sauquet. Sauquet joined S&P Global Platts on June 10 for an in-depth chat about Total’s strategy, its ambitions to grow the business, and challenges facing the sector given low energy prices and the impact of the COVID-19 crisis.

After a collapse in oil demand due to both the COVID-19 pandemic and the accord between Saudi Arabia and Russia earlier this year, OPEC+ is now back in the driving seat. It has extended its unprecedented production cut deal through July, tried to crack down on those that lack the will power to deliver their share and brought in frequent market monitoring in a bid to react quickly to rapidly changing conditions. S&P Global Platts seasoned OPEC watchers Paul Hickin, Herman Wang and Rosemary Griffin examine whether this is a new and improved alliance or whether the same old cracks may start to appear.

S&P Global Platts Asia thermal coal team Deepak Kannan, Fred Wang and Jenny Ma discuss key developments in Northeast and Southeast Asia region amid the coronavirus pandemic, while Platts Analytics analyst Matthew Boyle gives a peek into the outlook for coal demand and supply-demand fundamentals for the rest of 2020.

US working natural gas in storage started the injection season with levels well above the five-year average. After the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, heavy US demand destruction was anticipated, which would add to the storage glut. However, residential and commercial and gas-fired generation demand have remained resilient. From a global perspective, the pandemic has led to a steep drop in US LNG exports. LNG feedgas demand started out 2020 setting record highs, nearing 9 Bcf/d, but the softened global demand picture has cut feedgas deliveries in half. US storage levels are expected to enter the heating season in November with than 4 Tcf underground, but lower associated gas production in oil-rich basins adds an element of downside risk.

As lockdowns ease off and upstream markets begin to recover, the petrochemical sector looks carefully at its own end user demand, as well as to Asian export opportunities. Callum Colford and Abdulaziz Ehtaiba tell Ora Lazic about market fundamentals in the European olefins and their derivatives going into H2 2020, and review what the post-pandemic recovery might look like.

Despite challenges in the commercial aviation sector, hydrogen remains a potentially disruptive energy carrier and transportation fuel, particularly in decarbonisation scenarios. Aviation is responsible for between 2%-3% of global emissions, and most of the abatement has come from blending biofuels into the existing blend. Could hydrogen play a bigger role in aviation? How does the current economic crisis, which has decimated the aviation industry, factor into current research and trends? Jeffrey McDonald speaks with Dr. Anita Sengupta from Airspace Experience Technologies and Roel van Benthem from Royal Netherlands Aerospace Centre to discuss these questions and more.

The recent floating storage boom drove tanker freight earnings to levels last seen during the Golden Tanker Era of 2004-2008, but how sustainable are VLCC time charter equivalent revenues in excess of $100,000/d? Tanker owners have now concluded their first-quarter earnings call season and were wondering how long the current boom would last. Barbara Troner, Catherine Wood and Marieke Alsguth discuss what’s been driving the Americas tanker markets into the second quarter, comparing shipowner hopes and concerns with current market reality.

Libya exported some crude and condensate from its storage caverns at the Zawiya terminal this week, a first from this port in almost four months. But with the civil conflict still brewing in the volatile North African oil producing powerhouse, a full or sustained return of Libyan oil is unlikely. When these barrels do come back, they will face a crowded sweet market place along with an oil market still reeling from a huge demand loss brought upon by the Coronavirus pandemic. Platts reporters Eklavya Gupte, Charlotte Bucchioni and Nicholas Baldwin tell Joel Hanley the latest.

S&P Global Platts talks to Mercuria CEO and co-founder Marco Dunand about the challenges, implications, and opportunities that the COVID-19 pandemic presents across all the key commodity classes in a time of unprecedented volatility in the global markets. Founded in 2004, Mercuria Energy Trading is one of the world biggest independent energy traders with a turnover of $116 billion last year. Operating in more than 50 countries, Mercuria trades oil, petrochemicals, biofuels, natural gas and LNG, power, coal, iron ore, base metals and a range of other dry bulk commodities.

India has started to wind back its lockdown regime but domestic demand for steel could remain muted until the October-December quarter. This has left Indian mills relying on overseas markets, particularly China, in recent times. But how sustainable is this approach? How will the various downstream segments in India perform in the coming months? S&P Global Platts Head of Metals News & Insight for APAC Paul Bartholomew discusses these and other issues with Asian Steel Markets Editor Ashima Tyagi.

The S&P Global Platts benchmark Chicago Argo ethanol assessment has trended upward and ethanol inventories have started to drop after reaching record highs as production has climbed. Does this mean that the US ethanol industry is recovering from COVID-19? Join Platts Agriculture Associate Pricing Director Sophie Byron and pricing specialists Wes Swift and Sergio Alvarado as they discuss the US ethanol industry’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, how it affects corn and DDGS prices, and the future of all three markets in a post-pandemic economy.

Brazil, the top global sugar producer and second-largest ethanol producer, started its Center-South crop on April 1, targeting to crush 600 million tons, amid a global consumption crisis and huge uncertainty in the world’s economy amid the coronavirus pandemic. S&P Global Platts senior analysts Beatriz Pupo and Claudiu Covrig join senior price specialist Nicolle Castro for a wide discussion about sugar and ethanol production, consumption and price expectations during and after the pandemic.

London shipping editors Wyatt Wong, George Griffiths, and Sam Eckett explore the devastated LNG, container, and dry bulk markets post-COVID-19. How can shipping recover from a global demand drought? Can positive sentiment for the second half of 2020 stand up to the facts?

At China's latest "Two Sessions," the government did not provide a GDP target for 2020, but it outlined plans to boost infrastructure investment. The big focus this year was on maintaining employment levels and protecting the economy from uncertainties caused by the coronavirus pandemic. What are the implications for the oil and metals markets? Will it be enough to drive consumption? S&P Global Platts head of metals news and insight for APAC Paul Bartholomew discusses these issues with colleagues senior steel analyst Zhang Jing, senior oil analyst Oceana Zhou, and market insights head for China Sebastian Lewis.

US crude storage quickly became a major issue at the crux of the coronavirus lockdowns, as global markets struggled to find enough places to stash oil amid the oversupply and decreased demand. That created a huge incentive for traders and producers to store their barrels instead of selling them on a prompt, physical basis, which overwhelmed storage availability. Ernie Barsamian, CEO of the Tank Tiger, talks with Laura Huchzermeyer, managing editor of the Americas crude team at S&P Global Platts, about the changes and challenges of the storage market.

S&P Global Platts market specialists Kevin Allen, Lara Berton, and Eric Su, give a global view on petrochemical markets dealing with the consequences of the recent oil price crash and the coronavirus pandemic, with particular focus on olefins, polymers and aromatics.

The US power sector is known for its high level of reliability and focus on contingency planning and redundancies, but what happens when working next to your colleague suddenly becomes a health hazard? Scott Aaronson, vice president of security and preparedness for the Edison Electric Institute, talks with Jasmin Melvin of S&P Global Platts about emergency preparedness for utilities and the challenges ahead for the industry.

Renewable energy continues to grow at a rapid pace in the power markets. Tom Tiernan, CEO of the American Wind Energy Association, talks with Manan Ajuha, senior director, North America power analytics, S&P Global Platts, about the economics of US offshore and onshore wind development, policy priorities, and the industry's challenges ahead.

After a historic collapse into negative territory, oil prices have rebounded on the backs of OPEC+ production cuts and the first glimmers of an economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. Will the upward trend be sustainable? S&P Global Platts news editors examine the latest market forecasts and the dynamics influencing the OPEC+ alliance’s ability to bring down the global surplus of oil.

S&P Global Platts senior natural gas writer Harry Weber and S&P Global Market Intelligence midstream finance reporter Allison Good analyze the just-completed release of first-quarter earnings results by companies in the midstream sector. The rocky market is expected to continue in the months ahead due to the coronavirus pandemic, with impacts on supply, demand and prices. Companies are cutting spending and delaying projects to address the market turmoil.

As states begin to lift coronavirus pandemic stay-home orders and business start the process of reopening, power load is expected to slowly rebound from the increase in commercial demand. However, it could take some time as many states have a phased-in approach while many areas are still under local restrictions. By early May, 23 states had begun to lift stay-home orders with a handful of states expected to start the process by mid-May, but another handful of states still have no end date in sight.

Demand destruction from shutdowns designed to slow the spread of the coronavirus pandemic has put PVC, a construction staple, through the ringer in recent months. S&P Global Platts editors Kristen Hays, Ora Lazic and Fumiko Dobashi take a look at the situation in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East and Asia.

Battery technology for electric vehicles and energy storage will play an important part of the broader energy transition. Key topics include understanding cost trends and competitivenes of these technologies and challenges ahead for alternative storage technologies. Roman Kramarchuk, head of energy scenarios, policy and technolgy analytics at S&P Global Platts, talks with Christina Lampe-Onnerud, founder and CEO of Cadenza Innovation.

Will commodity markets ever be the same again? Global investor Jim Rogers, chairman of Beeland Interests Inc., talks to Sambit Mohanty, S&P Global Platts senior editor, to discuss what lies ahead for commodity markets, where the silver linings are as the coronavirus pandemic continues to trample markets, and the pains of recession.

It's been a chaotic couple of months for the global commodities markets, and the oil sector has been on the firing line of the price and demand collapse resulting from the coronavirus pandemic. Within days of lockdowns, expanding from Asia into Europe and the US, capex cuts were announced by oil and gas producers as they rapidly adjusted their spending plans to shore up budgets as prices slumped. The majority of oil majors have reported their first-quarter earnings, showing a partial snapshot of the pandemic's impact on commodity markets.

S&P Global Platts senior natural gas writer Harry Weber and S&P Global Platts Analytics head of gas and power Ira Joseph discuss the latest developments in the global LNG market as the weak price environment continues and project developers face challenges securing long-term contracts to finance new terminals. Amid supply and demand disruptions, decisions on new projects are being deferred to 2021 and perhaps beyond.

US natural gas prices have long been primarily determined by domestic supply and demand dynamics; however, with the rise of associated gas production in prolific basins like the Permian and the buildout of substantial LNG export capacity, the US natural gas market is experiencing unprecedented exposure to global market dynamics. S&P Global Platts senior natural gas pricing specialists Eric Janssen, Veda Chowdhury, and Kelsey Hallahan discuss the dynamics currently at play, with an eye to what’s to come.

S&P Global Platts experts interviewed Matthew Chamberlain, CEO of the London Metal Exchange, and the youngest one in history. The key topics of discussion revolved around the temporary switch away from traditional open outcry trade in the face of the coronavirus pandemic and how things will evolve from an environment standpoint once the world restarts.

Europe is slowly coming out of lockdown and steel mills in Southern Europe can gradually ramp up production again. The steel market is however still far away from a healthy supply and demand balance - with prices dipping and production cuts remaining in place across most of Europe's steelmakers. Laura Varriale talks to Annalisa Villa, Viral Shah and Amanda Flint about how the steel industry is reacting to dropping demand and what that means for steel and scrap prices during these unprecedented times.

Supply and demand in the global vegetable oils markets have both shifted in response to the coronavirus crisis, resulting in increasingly complex and unpredictable price trends. Robert Beaman talks to George Duke and Piero Carello about how production and consumption have changed in Asia, while Rowan Staden-Coats looks at how this has combined with trends in the European biofuels sector to influence the market for used cooking oil.

Pandemic oil demand destruction has converted clean products tankers into offshore storage containers as onshore storage is approaching tank top. Forced floating storage as a result of discharge problems has the products tanker markets buzzing arguably at a faster pace at present than their larger sisters on the crude side. Barbara Troner, Marieke Alsguth and Chris To of the S&P Global Platts shipping team put their heads together with Platts’ Beth Brown to explore the dynamics of current products forward pricing structures and floating storage opportunities.

Coal markets are giving way to the coronavirus pandemic as cascaded demand and international government regulations left producers presented with the complex decision to slash supply. Sarah Matthews discusses the situation with EMEA coal market specialist Joseph Clarke, Asia market specialist Fred Wang and Jenny Ma, and Americas market specialists Tyler Godwin and Olivia Kalb.

California is showing significant power price drops as a result oversupply, congestion and decreasing demand, with renewable curtailments increasing.

S&P Global Platts senior natural gas writer Harry Weber and S&P Global Market Intelligence midstream finance reporter Allison Good preview the upcoming release of first-quarter earnings results by companies in the North American midstream sector. It will be the first opportunity for the market to see how extensive the impact of the coronavirus pandemic has been on operators of pipelines, processing facilities, gathering systems and liquefaction terminals. The near-term outlook is expected to be dim for many.

US crude storage has quickly become an overwhelmingly important issue as the global market continues to grapple with an oversupply of crude and dramatically dwindling demand in light of the coronavirus pandemic. A steep contango in the oil market structure has created the huge incentive for traders and producers to store away their barrels instead of selling it on a prompt physical basis and this is quickly overwhelming storage availability. Joining the podcast is Richard Redoglia, the CEO of Matrix Global Holdings, which launched the world’s first futures contract on crude oil storage capacity and holds monthly storage contract auctions.

Global demand for commodities has been obliterated. From copper as a barometer of the global economy to oil as a potential inflation hedge, no commodity has escaped the impact of coronavirus. Jeff Currie, head of commodities research at Goldman Sachs and someone who identified the commodities supercycle in the 2000s, did a Q&A with the London news team at S&P Global Platts on 7th April hosted by Paul Hickin and Andy Critchlow. He discussed what a potential supply and demand recovery could look like and what the OPEC+ deal could mean for crude markets. In a wide-ranging discussion he brought his insight to LNG, the broader metals complex, shale oil and energy transition too.