VIDEO - Energy Update April 2019

As spring heats up, so does the energy sector. 

April started with uranium company Boss Resources (ASX:BOE,OTC Pink:BQSSF) announcing the receipt of a mineral export permit from the Australian government.

Boss has steadily been working towards restarting uranium production at the Honeymoon mine and is now fully permitted, and looking for long-term buyers.

In mid-April, the US Department of Commerce handed down its ruling on the Section 232 investigation. The probe into foreign uranium imports was passed on to President Donald Trump, who has 90 days to announce his decision.

If successful, the Section 232 investigation could lead to a 25 percent domestic production quota in the US, as well as a stipulation forcing all US government agencies that use U3O8 to purchase domestically.

Also in April, Raymond James released its list of three uranium stocks to watch. Cameco (TSX:CCO,NYSE:CCJ), NexGen Energy (TSX:NXE,NYSEAMERICAN:NXE) and Uranium Participation Corporation (TSX:U,OTC Pink:URPTF) took the top spots.

“We have reduced our 2019 average uranium price by 8 percent (to US$30.80 per pound from US$33.63 per pound) to reflect the weaker market to start the year,” analysts noted.

Lastly, the Minerals Council of Australia has once again come out in support of Australia repealing its nuclear energy ban and looking into developing a nuclear energy strategy. The issue had been raised on the campaign trail when Prime Minister Scott Morrison stated he isn’t ruling out the idea, but it is not a priority of his.

Australia is home to several high-grade uranium deposits, although the country has had a strict ban on nuclear energy since 1998.

The current U3O8 spot price is US$25.75 per pound.

Moving over to oil and gas.

At the beginning of the month, Trump issued his second executive order related to advancing construction of the Keystone XL pipeline. The expanded pipeline, which currently runs between Hardisty, Alberta and Steele City, Nebraska, is expected to carry 830,000 barrels of crude daily across the border between the cities.

Following a bumpy start to the year, the price of oil began to stabilize in mid-April.

Long-term production cuts on the part of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries have kept crude prices from fluctuating wildly in the first quarter of 2019. The organization has removed more than 1.2 million barrels per day from the market in an effort to calm volatility.

Over in Australia, Santos (ASX:STO,OTC Pink:STOSF), one of the country’s largest energy producers, reported a new sales record for Q1 2019 of AU$1.02 billion.

The record number comes despite Tropical Cyclone Veronica impacting Western Australia and outages in the Cooper Basin.

The current price of Brent crude is US$74.27 a barrel while West Texas Intermediate is sitting at US$65.83.

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Securities Disclosure: I, Georgia Williams, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.