Daily Energy Standup Episode #152 – BlackRock’s Grip: Unveiling the Companies Shaped by the Financial Powerhouse

A week after an employee of the world’s largest asset management company, BlackRock, described how the company attempts to stay out of the media spotlight while buying politicians and profiting off of war (according to […]

Highlights of the Podcast

00:00 – Intro
03:15 – Forget Oil a new wildcatters are drilling for a limitless Geologic hydrogen
06:11 – Fossil Fuel Giants flipped the script declare natural gas fuel of the future
08:34 – Sweden abandons 100% renewable energy goal as EU reconsiders climate policies I’m back, says Sweden
11:27 – From Merritt to Microsoft, these are the companies that BlackRock controls the most of
16:00 – Market Updates
18:42 – Outro

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Video Transcription edited for grammar. We disavow any errors unless they make us look better or smarter.

Michael Tanner: [00:00:15] What is going on Everybody, Welcome into another edition of the Daily Energy News Beat Stand up here on this gorgeous Tuesday, June 27, 2023. As always, I’m your humble correspondent, Michael Tanner, coming to you from an undisclosed location here in Dallas, Texas, joined by the Executive Producer of the show, the purveyor of the show, the Director and Publisher of the world’s greatest website, EnergyNewsBeat.com, Stuart Turley, my man, how are we doing today? [00:00:38][23.3]

Stuart Turley: [00:00:39] It’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood Michael, What are you doing? [00:00:41][2.3]

Michael Tanner: [00:00:42] I am trying not to sweat to Death, this is my first Texas summer I’m actually dying. It’s horrible, I’m just horrible is absolutely horrible. I got up this morning the sun isn’t even out yet it’s 81 degrees it’s Insane! It’s insane! I’m like, there’s. [00:01:00][17.9]

Stuart Turley: [00:01:00] One last summer and the Oklahoma sweat marks there that was pretty rough. [00:01:04][4.0]

Michael Tanner: [00:01:05] I was two summers ago thanks for bringing old memories back. [00:01:08][3.1]

Stuart Turley: [00:01:09] Oh Sorry is that two summers? Man. [00:01:11][2.3]

Michael Tanner: [00:01:11] I three summers ago I think it’s cuts come up on three summers Stu like time flies when you’re having fun. But no kidding I hope everybody is is staying staying cool if you’re here in Texas or around the country, we are seeing a massive heat wave. Hopefully here in Texas ERCOT figures their stuff out. Haven’t had any power freezes yet, but knock on wood, hopefully not. [00:01:32][20.4]

Michael Tanner: [00:01:32] We have a great show for you guys lined up Stu’s got a great menu. First up on that, Forget oil new wild patherns are drilling for limitless geologic hydrogen. Ooh, spicy. Next up, Fossil Fuel giants like the script declared natural gas, quote, fuel of the future. Next up, Sweden abandons 100% renewable energy goal as EU reconsiders climate policies I love this Stu edition I’m back Terminator style coming on back. Finally, From Merck to Microsoft, these are the companies that BlackRock controls the most of intend we’ve got a lot of oil and gas, so Stu will cover all that. [00:02:08][36.0]

Michael Tanner: [00:02:08] He’ll kick it over to me I’ll quickly cover the quote, Fallout from Russia Ukraine if you’re one of our many podcast listeners, I’m doing air quotes because there was absolutely no fallout from the attempted coup that Stu was back from Ross the was taking a part of, as you guys remember, over the weekend, there was the alleged coup and they got within 200 miles or to two kilometers, excuse me, of Moscow. Stu, as he covered yesterday in the show, thinks that maybe he’s a little bit dubious, but regardless, the fallout is basically nothing so we’ll cover what happened there and a bag of chips, guys. [00:02:41][33.2]

[00:02:42] But first check us out online world’s greatest website www.EnergyNewsBeat.com the best place for all of your energy news. Stu does a great job of curating the website making sure it’s up to speed with all of your energy news Dashboard.EnergyNewsBeat.com the best place for your data and energy combo get that while you still can. You never know when it’s going behind a paywall, a.k.a it’s going behind a paywall, so get ready for it. Email us [email protected], Alright Stu Where do you want to begin? [00:03:09][26.8]

Stuart Turley: [00:03:09] Hey, let’s start with Forget Oil a new wildcatters are drilling for a limitless Geologic hydrogen. I’m sorry, this is absolutely hilarious. Doug Wicks, director of the U.S. Energy Department, Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy, told Forbes what a title view them like Oil wildcatters right now. Drillers may be astronomical and how they geologic conditions needed to generate it appear to be ironic iron rich pockets of water near tectonic rifts located worldwide. Huh? [00:03:57][47.5]

Michael Tanner: [00:03:58] They want to drill into faults near tectonic plates? Oh, yeah, that’s fine let’s not dump it let’s not. I mean, if as long as California falls into the crevice, I’m good. [00:04:10][12.1]

Stuart Turley: [00:04:11] Hey, if it falls in the ocean, I’m okay. [00:04:13][2.2]

Michael Tanner: [00:04:13] Right? [00:04:13][0.0]

Stuart Turley: [00:04:14] Yeah. Go for it, Knock yourself out, it’s a 150 trillion metric tons 1 billion tons would power the United States for a full year. Okay, let me splain something here, Michael. Hydrogen is very expensive to make drilling in that tectonic area it would even be more expensive. The other part of this is there are no pipelines or infrastructure or engines or anything designed for this we’re 50 years away from this even happening. [00:04:53][39.0]

Michael Tanner: [00:04:53] Hey, I got to give a shout out to my boys over at Colorado School of Mines if you notice down in there in the second paragraph, the School of Mines proud alumnus over here and the U.S. Geological Survey are partnering with Shell, BP and Chevron to study this stuff, a.k.a green hydrogen or this geologic hydrogen is what it’s called,. [00:05:13][19.3]

Stuart Turley: [00:05:13] Its gonna be Green. [00:05:14][0.1]

Michael Tanner: [00:05:14] I’m going to call it yeah, the branding will come around to be great don’t worry we understand the sleight of hand. We were just talking before we got on this podcast about moving goal post. It’s going to move those goalposts trust me, I’ll end up as green when it’s all said and done. [00:05:27][13.6]

Stuart Turley: [00:05:28] But yeah, it goes in here too. Hydrogen eating microbes you got to sit there and love some of this stuff. [00:05:35][6.3]

Michael Tanner: [00:05:36] I did, anyway well, we’ll let we’ll let the folks over at Goldman handle that one, What’s next, Stu? [00:05:40][4.6]

Stuart Turley: [00:05:41] Okay, Fossil Fuel Giants flipped the script declare natural gas fuel of the future. [00:05:49][8.5]

Michael Tanner: [00:05:50] Speaking of moving goalposts. [00:05:51][1.0]

Stuart Turley: [00:05:54] In a surprising shift with energy and a major fossil fuel, players are boldly asserting that natural gas will play a pivotal role in the transition to a greener future, Bloomberg reported. Here’s where it gets a little interesting. [00:06:08][14.0]

Stuart Turley: [00:06:10] You sit back and it’s all the big dogs it’s shell BP we’ve already talked about this a little bit on our podcast over the last four or five months. Shell, for instance, plans to increase its natural gas investments by 25% this year, reaching a record 5 billion. BP. [00:06:30][20.0]

Michael Tanner: [00:06:30] Love it. [00:06:31][0.1]

Stuart Turley: [00:06:31] Love it I mean, it is. Last year on my podcast with Ben, not Stiller, but Ben, he was I said. [00:06:41][10.1]

Michael Tanner: [00:06:41] It was Ben Stiller you’re right it was Ben Stiller. [00:06:43][1.5]

Stuart Turley: [00:06:44] Yeah and then you sit back and say, we’re going to have a awakening this year in a couple of different ways. And this awakening is realizing that natural gas, I mean, that renewables are not what they’ve seen. And so the next two stories really play into that very nicely. [00:07:02][18.0]

Michael Tanner: [00:07:02] Yeah, I mean, there’s clearly in this article talks about it in the bottom paragraph, This paradigm of all of the oil and gas companies are ramping up natural gas investments while the IEA and our favorite friends are threatening us with an orderly transition. [00:07:17][14.9]

Michael Tanner: [00:07:17] Guys got to go listen to yesterday’s show one of the scariest quotes you’ll ever see. Basically, I’ll save it go listen to yesterday’s episode. Point being, guys, the IEA thinks we need to ramp down by 2028. Well, there’s a disconnect there it’ll be interesting to see how it plays out. What are these other two stories that fold into it? [00:07:39][21.7]

Stuart Turley: [00:07:40] The next one coming around the corner Sweden abandons 100% renewable energy goal as EU reconsiders climate policies I’m back, says Sweden. And on the front cover there is Randy Quaid, just as he’s flying up into the alien craft going, I’m back Sweden used to love nuclear and this is the only thing I could think of that was really close enough to it. [00:08:10][30.1]

Stuart Turley: [00:08:10] I just watched it this past week and I love Randy Quaid in that, you know, bring on the coffee and he’s a pilot flying up that oak. More than 40 years after the country voted to phase out Nuclear Sweden is now looking to build more nuclear reactors after its parliament formally abandoned 100% renewable energy targets to meet net zero by 2045. They’re not the only ones sitting there kind of going, scratching their head, going. [00:08:39][29.2]

Michael Tanner: [00:08:40] Who is a great awakening going on in Sweden right now? [00:08:43][3.1]

Stuart Turley: [00:08:44] We can’t print money we can’t meet our carbon goals by sitting there putting in solar and wind can’t do it not going to happen. British lobby group Net Zero Watch, which describes a net zero roadmaps of Western nations as utopian and unsustainable, welcome the move it’s pretty cool. [00:09:04][20.5]

Michael Tanner: [00:09:05] Yeah, I love this quote I mean, this is a lobby group, so take it for what it’s worth they clearly think this way, but they say net zero plans envisioned by the IEA, quote, are dangerously expensive and result in painful reductions in living standards for all but the richest, as well as the nations we get socially unstable and eventually the failure of the decarbonization effort. I mean, they’re paid to say that so, I mean, I guess that sounds cooler and. [00:09:30][25.0]

Stuart Turley: [00:09:30] Absolutely but on the other part, I love this one, living close to Russia focuses the mind. [00:09:36][5.2]

Michael Tanner: [00:09:36] For Ukrainian Seals you never know they’ll pop up. [00:09:41][4.4]

Stuart Turley: [00:09:41] Oh, yeah. Hey, congratulations, Michael our short got banned on TikTok. Yeah,. [00:09:47][5.4]

Michael Tanner: [00:09:47] I saw that. [00:09:47][0.5]

Stuart Turley: [00:09:48] One that Great? [00:09:48][0.3]

Michael Tanner: [00:09:49] I don’t know why was it the Ocean Gate reference? [00:09:51][1.9]

Stuart Turley: [00:09:52] That Ocean gate was absolutely hilarious I thought it was funny or I’m not sure if we’re going to get banned on the one where I’m beaten up for killing the whales, so who knows? The fact that we’re banned. [00:10:05][12.9]

Michael Tanner: [00:10:05] We stand with the environmentalists, kill the whale, throw up the offshore wind. [00:10:10][4.2]

Stuart Turley: [00:10:10] Hey, I’ve been banned by the U.N.. I’m Proud to be Banned. Okay let’s go to the. [00:10:16][6.1]

Michael Tanner: [00:10:16] Free willy can kiss my booty. [00:10:18][1.5]

Stuart Turley: [00:10:19] Oh, good grief, my young millennial. All right. From Merritt to Microsoft, these are the companies that BlackRock controls the most of Michael. [00:10:29][9.9]

Michael Tanner: [00:10:29] Sure let me just take a quick swing here, Stu. I’m going to go out on a limb and say they’re all ESG friendly, right? I’m sure. [00:10:36][6.7]

Stuart Turley: [00:10:37] Try again. [00:10:37][0.3]

Michael Tanner: [00:10:38] Yeah. Is most of them ESG friendly? [00:10:43][4.4]

Stuart Turley: [00:10:45] Ehh… Somewhat. Here’s where. [00:10:46][0.5]

Michael Tanner: [00:10:48] I don’t think any of them are there’s Meta I’m looking at this none of them are. [00:10:51][3.4]

Stuart Turley: [00:10:52] Here’s where it gets me worked up, you and I have talked about you go to Google this thing called Google, which is shadow banning our Website but we still get 60,000 people a day to it. You sit here and you take a look at this they go carbon neutral since 2007, Bull hockey! How many servers is Google running that it eats up more heat than all the whales on the planet anyway. [00:11:24][32.7]

Michael Tanner: [00:11:25] We should go back in Fired I’m with you. We should go back to pre fossil fuels. [00:11:28][2.8]

Stuart Turley: [00:11:29] Oh, absolutely. Okay. So the next one here, you say Meta how and they’re using and they’re running all this how in the world is Meta at carbon neutral? They buying carbon credits? Apple? [00:11:41][12.0]

Michael Tanner: [00:11:42] You got to I mean you’ve got their biggest let’s drill down here’s their biggest investments BlackRock ESG friendly BlackRock Apple 170 billion there is apparently is operating sweatshops in China. No, no, no. That’s good, that’s good. ESG talk about. [00:11:58][15.9]

Stuart Turley: [00:12:00] Nvidia? [00:12:00][0.0]

Michael Tanner: [00:12:00] Microsoft 155 Chat GPT basically about to put an entire industry out of business basically, hundreds of millions of people out of work. [00:12:09][8.6]

Stuart Turley: [00:12:09] Broadcom. [00:12:09][0.0]

Michael Tanner: [00:12:10] Co-founders, injecting vaccines all over Africa randomly that’s over to ESG I love it. And that and that’s literally half of the fine. You’ve got. Number three, Nvidia chipmaker Taiwan I’m sure that’s a great facility. [00:12:25][14.9]

Stuart Turley: [00:12:26] Oh, no and it’s the chips that are being going into the wasted dump we’ve got a video that our production team is doing and you did you missed that today since you’re working a real job. The all the solar panels are actually going to be more waste than all the nuclear waste in the world. [00:12:47][20.6]

Michael Tanner: [00:12:47] Amazon’s actually number three I see they have them right here it’s a little bubble chart. Amazon’s number three that seems like a fun place to work 12 hour shift, peeing in a bottle. [00:12:56][8.4]

Stuart Turley: [00:12:56] Oh yeah nice. [00:12:57][0.8]

Michael Tanner: [00:12:58] You work there? [00:12:58][0.0]

Stuart Turley: [00:12:59] Number 12 and number 22. [00:13:01][1.9]

Michael Tanner: [00:13:02] Chevron and Exxon that is ESG friendly right there I can get behind that BlackRock. [00:13:07][4.8]

Stuart Turley: [00:13:08] This is hypocrisy at its finest. I mean, you can’t tell me that they stand up there and Larry Fink is up there saying And then have you ever seen any of the BlackRock commercials yet? They’re making me airsick they’ve got a man standing there and a janitor and he’s sitting there going, We want to fund your retirement with ESG I threw up in my mom’s hospital room watching this thing it is disgusting. [00:13:36][28.1]

Michael Tanner: [00:13:38] We want to charge you more fees for ESG funds and still go by Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Google, Nvidia it’s a scam for fees. [00:13:47][9.2]

Stuart Turley: [00:13:48] Yeah. And then, you know, I walk across the road and get arrested for jaywalking, but these knuckleheads can get by with murder. That sounds like. [00:13:56][8.5]

Michael Tanner: [00:13:57] Crime! High crime! [00:13:57][0.0]

Stuart Turley: [00:13:58] Yeah, Sounds like a politician, politician Larry Fink, politician oh! [00:14:02][3.7]

Michael Tanner: [00:14:05] Interesting Klaus Schwab just throw the World Economic Forum in there. [00:14:08][3.2]

Stuart Turley: [00:14:08] They might as well they all sneak together. [00:14:10][1.5]

Michael Tanner: [00:14:11] Oh, you got anything else? [00:14:13][1.6]

Stuart Turley: [00:14:13] No. Thanks for Let me rant today and since you want to throw this story out, I appreciate you. [00:14:18][4.7]

Michael Tanner: [00:14:18] I almost did this almost that story always did me I’m glad to keep it in it was a fun one. [00:14:23][4.4]

Stuart Turley: [00:14:25] Well. [00:14:25][0.0]

Michael Tanner: [00:14:25] You know, I missed on yesterday’s show oh, what’s the fallout going to be from Russia? The invasion of the mercenary group. Wagner, Drum roll, please. I’m out of luck. Nothing. Nothing. Literally, it was nothing. Nothing happened abroad it was a 36 hour event. Oil stuck at 6941 we didn’t see much movement on the dollar, so it pretty held oil prices. Still, I love Reuters Oil prices rose slightly in choppy trading session Monday as investors balance concerned about global demand against political instability in Russia. Just say you choppy trading like they have to throw on incentives to make themselves sound smart. [00:15:01][35.9]

Michael Tanner: [00:15:02] You can just say prices rose slightly in a chopping trading day on Monday, but instead, they’ve got to go and try to like throw out to counter narratives so that when you sum up the counter narratives, they both equals zero. It’s like you don’t need to give me a positive or a negative each day if nothing happened you just saying nothing happened it’s just hilarious. [00:15:19][17.7]

Michael Tanner: [00:15:20] Because I don’t necessarily think people are balancing these two issues I don’t think they could care less about Russia and what’s going on with the Wagner group, because I thought there were already sanctions. Oh, so what you’re telling me, Reuters, is the sanctions don’t matter. Oh, so what I’m hearing is Stu was right, which I don’t like hearing, but I love it when Reuters is wrong so it just. Interesting, interesting, interesting, interesting. Okay. Well. [00:15:46][26.4]

Stuart Turley: [00:15:47] Correct me, I don’t want to admit Stu was right. [00:15:50][3.0]

Michael Tanner: [00:15:52] According to Reuters, you are apparently price caps don’t work they won’t they’ll never admit that. [00:15:57][4.9]

Stuart Turley: [00:15:58] Well, go back. [00:15:58][0.5]

Michael Tanner: [00:15:58] Deals over there. [00:15:59][0.8]

Stuart Turley: [00:16:00] ESG investing when you try to do carbon credits that is that is the biggest thing next Hunter is going to come out and try to come up with his own carbon credit fund. [00:16:13][12.7]

Michael Tanner: [00:16:14] Oh, it’s funny. [00:16:15][0.7]

Stuart Turley: [00:16:16] That was funny. [00:16:16][0.5]

Michael Tanner: [00:16:17] That’s funny! What should people be nervous about, Stu? It’s a pretty quiet day on my front besides that, nothing really on the Oil and Gas Newswire. [00:16:23][6.5]

Stuart Turley: [00:16:24] I’m just worried about any kind of false flags coming up it’s going to be brutal. [00:16:29][4.2]

Michael Tanner: [00:16:29] Well, who knows what you guys, you survived Monday. We appreciate you guys check this out. [00:16:34][4.7]

Stuart Turley: [00:16:36] Its Tuesday! [00:16:36][0.6]

Michael Tanner: [00:16:36] It’s Tuesday Now, Stu seems more excited than most of us so would you guys get out of here. Appreciate you checking this out for Stuart Turley, I’m Michael Tanner. Folks, we’ll see you tomorrow. [00:16:36][0.0]

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