The HC Insider Podcast: Conversations in Energy & Commodities

At the core of commodity trading is forecasting. The last decade of low prices and low volatility has transformed into a market of high volatility and higher prices. How has that changed the nature of forecasting? What does it  mean for tools, models and skillsets. And are markets still forecastable? Our guest is Matteo Mazzoni, Director of Energy Analytics at ICIS, an independent commodity intelligence service that provides data analytics in energy and chemicals.

On Tuesday 27th February, HC Group and bp hosted a breakfast and networking event for women in the trading and origination community. The highlight of the morning was a thought-provoking panel discussion featuring industry leaders Carol Howle, EVP Trading & Shipping at bp and Alice Acuña, EVP Trading at CEPSA. Moderated by Laura Berger, Portfolio Director, Liquid Fuels & Chemicals at HC Group, the panel delved into strategies for fostering greater diversity and inclusion within commodity trading. The discussion resonates with this year's International Women's Day theme, "Inspire Inclusion." Let's continue to work together in championing diverse perspectives and contributions, ensuring inclusivity for all women.

Hydrocarbons have been a key driver of geopolitics and globalization over the past century. Even in the past decade, we have seen how US shale production and China’s energy security policies have dramatically changed the world. Now, peak demand and the energy transition is set to upend decades of global policy and economics – with a huge impact on the commodity markets. Will battery metals become the crucial natural resource? Will the electron revolution reverse globalization? We are delighted to have as our guest, Pulitzer Prize winning author and Vice Chairman of IHS Markit, Daniel Yergin at the time. We discuss Daniel’s latest book – The New Map, Energy, Climate and the Clash of Nations and explore his take on the future of hydrocarbons and the impact of energy transition.

To find out more about HC and our talent advisory services in the energy & commodities sector visit www.hcinsider.global 

To connect with our host Paul Chapman, you can find him at www.linkedin.com/in/paulchapmanhc/

Why is it crucial to the energy transition that critical minerals that underpin it develop traded markets? What will it take to get there? And what are the challenges that this future faces - from uncertain policies, to supply chains and geopolitics? On February 22, in London, Benchmark Minerals Intelligence hosted the HC Insider Podcast in front of a live audience to discuss these questions. Our panellists were Guy Winter, Partner at Fasken, Jessica Fung, Head Strategist at Pala Investments,  Matthew Ashley, Lead Cobalt Trader at Traxys and Caspar Rawles, Chief Data Officer at Benchmark.

For more on HC Group go to: www.hcgroup.global

Sand has transformed modern civilization. It is the ubiquitous commodity; in our infrastructure, in our industry and even in our personal care products.  Yet due to its characteristics, the supply chain is fragmented, disastrous for our environment and often corrupt. And by a tragic quirk of geometry, desert sand is unusable meaning we wreck our riverbeds and oceans to acquire it. In this episode, author and journalist Vince Beiser joins us to discuss sand and its role in the modern world. Vince is the author of The World in a Grain - the story of sand and how it transformed civilization. 

CEO of Edge Petrol, Gideon Carroll joins Enco to discuss the UK's Pumpwatch Scheme proposed by the government. What is in it? And what will the impact be on consumers, fuel retailers and wholesalers?

For more on Edge Petrol visit https://www.edgepetrol.com/

For more on Enco Insights visit www.encoinsights.com

In this episode, we return to critical metals and how their fortunes are affected by the energy transition, technology and geopolitics. To tell that story we are focusing on three in particular: Neodymium, Gallium & Hafnium. Each has a key role in the modern world with demand set to grow but with challenges markets and policy makers are grappling with. Our guest is Ellie Saklatvala, Head of Non-Ferrous Pricing at Argus Media, the leading independent pricing agency.

The energy transition requires the mobilization of vast amounts of capital. It affords huge opportunity but also risks. The technological pathways, policy support and geopolitics are uncertain and volatile. How can these risks be managed? And opportunities be captured? In this episode, we go into the world of private equity and the thinking and strategies needed to participate in the most profound economic restructuring in modern times. Our guest is John Skrinar, partner at Cresta Fund Management, a mid-market infrastructure fund, investing in the energy transition.

To find out more on HC Group visit: www.hcgroup.global

Information has always been the lifeblood of commodities trading. Today, the sources of data that provides the information and insight have grown exponentially - as has its value. So much so that companies are viewing data as a strategic asset, transforming how they value, collect, manage, and protect it. And once that mindset is in place, it can be transformative. To understand more about this key insight and journey, we are joined by Jason Vogt, Managing Director of Cargill Data Asset Solutions.

To find out more about Cargill and Cargill Data Asset Solutions visit: https://www.cargill.com/data-asset-solutions

For more information and to RSVP for our upcoming HC Insider Podcast Live event on Feb 22 in London visit: https://benchmarkevents.benchmarkminerals.com/TheTradingFutureForCriticalMinerals

In this episode, Doomberg joins us to discuss their most recent analysis and controversial views of the oil and commodities markets. Why Peak Oil is unlikely to happen and oil will remain cheap and abundant. How US oil production has changed the energy map and the in turn its role in global security – a gap which China is planning to fill. And how China’s grip on critical minerals for the energy transition is tightening at the expense of its environment – “Geopollutical  Warfare”. Doomberg runs the leading paid Substack which is focused on energy, finance and economics (his voice is modulated to match their Green Chicken avatar).

For more information on HC Group go to www.hcgroup.global

For more information on Doomberg and content go to https://doomberg.substack.com/

Singapore has been a leading commodities trading hub for decades. Its strategic location, strong governance and connectivity have spurred the growth of a rich ecosystem of global trading firms in the city-state. How is Singapore navigating the changing world of commodities? Amidst deglobalization, digitalization and the energy transition, how is Singapore staying relevant and keeping ahead of the curve? And how does this impact its long-term strategy and talent development plans? Our guest is Lee Pak Sing, Assistant Chief Executive Officer of Enterprise Singapore, the Singapore government agency that champions enterprise development and supports the growth of Singapore as a hub for global trading and startups.

In this final bonus episode of Enco Insights, CEO Bill Read discusses the history of expert networks, the genesis of Enco Insights and its aims and goals.

For future episodes of Enco Insights, please follow the podcast on your preferred platform. 

For more information on Enco please visit www.encoinsights.com

Our 2023 Annual Review is published and ready for download. The review contains key trend and market moves within the energy & commodities world alongside data driven analysis and editorials. 

Download here or on our website: 

https://www.hcgroup.global/hc-insider/market-reviews/access-annual-review-2023

What does the future hold for the agri sector and the food our plates? And what does it mean for the sector’s participants and investors? Robert Berendes, Executive Partner of Flagship Pioneering and longtime industry executive and investors sets out his views on the paradigm shifts the sector is going through.  How has the last four years changed the sector and impacted investors? And what are the surprising views Robert holds on the availability of food, land and changing nature of commodity trading. 

To find out more on HC Group visit: www.hcgroup.global

To find out more on Flagship Pioneering visit: https://www.flagshippioneering.com/people/robert-berendes

To start the New Year, in this episode we review the oil markets in 2023 and the likely major themes and trends in 2024. Why were forecasts for 2023 mainly wrong – 100$ oil never materializing? What were the major market, policy and geopolitical events that drove prices and what do these herald for 2024? Will the volatility continue? What are the trends in production, refining, shipping and consumption? Our guest is David Wech, Chief Economist for Vortexa, the ship tracking and data analytics firm

This week battery metals expert and CEO of Benchmark Minerals Intelligence joins Enco Insights to provide a quick view on Graphite, the indispensable anode material in the energy transition. 

The UN predicts global population will peak sometime in 2080s around 10 billion people. Companies, countries (think global social security schemes) and the commodities sector predicates forecasts on these assumptions. Yet, there is a growing body of evidence that these assumptions are far too optimistic and that not only will global population peak earlier but will subsequently decline much more rapidly. Already much of the West and Asia is in decline and replacement rates of falling at an accelerated pace. Is this a long-range risk no board rooms are talking about? Our guest is analyst, futurist and swine consultant Todd Thurman who has become a global authority on the subject on how it will impact the commodities world. 

In this episode we review the major themes and events for the Natural Gas markets in 2023 and what that might herald for 2024. The gas markets and LNG are now the crucial global energy balancer. What happened in 2023? What were the key market, regulatory and policy actions and how did countries and participants fare? What are the key factors and milestones to look at for 2024 and beyond? Our guest is Anne-Sophie Corbeau, Global Research Scholar at the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs.

Enco Insights is a global expert network dedicated to the energy & resources sector. 

www.encoinsights.com

You can find out about Zodia Markets here:

https://zodiamarkets.com/about-us/#our-team

Global food production faces the twin challenges of meeting growing demand while achieving that both sustainably and lowering carbon emissions. In this episode we dive into what this actually means . What is the impact of agriculture on carbon emissions and how does the sector impact the environment? How are farmers, processors, traders and shippers building sustainability into practices and strategy? What are the policy frameworks and incentives globally? And how are competitive advantages being created through this? Our guest is Robert Horster, Global Sustainability Director Agricultural Supply Chain and Head of Environmental Markets for Cargill.