The HC Commodities Podcast

Today, we're discussing power demand, the US natural gas markets, satellites for commodity trading intelligence and the “momentification" of everything. Our guest is Bill Perkins, founder of a variety of companies including Skylar, the commodities hedge fund, Synmax, a satellite intelligence company, author of Die With Zero and well-known commodities personality. Skylar Capital Management have recently launched MWHS, the Skylar Electricity Futures ETF, listed on NYSE Arca. The fund seeks to provide investors with direct exposure to the U.S. electricity futures markets in ERCOT and PJM.

For more on the fund visit: https://www.skylaretfs.com/mwhs.

For related content and to find out more about HC Group, a search firm dedicated to the energy & commodities sector, visit https://www.hcgroup.global

Today, we return to the subject of renewables and the associated electric ecosystem - electrotech - particularly in the developing world. What is the prevalence and relevance of these technologies in power generation and consumption in the world shortly leading the Iran War? And what has that attack itself done to those trend lines? Our guest is Daan Walter, principal and energy strategist at Ember, the global think tank dedicated to the energy transition.

For more on Ember visit: https://ember-energy.org

or subscribe to their substack here:https://www.electrotech-revolution.com

For related content and to find out more about HC Group, a search firm dedicated to the energy & commodities sector, visit https://www.hcgroup.global

HC Group's Q3 Market Review is ready for download - talent trends and moves from across the commodities sector.

Download for free here: https://www.hcgroup.global/insights/market-reviews/access-q3-market-review-2026

For more on Enco Insights and the advsiors we can connect you with for short or long term projects visit www.encoinsights.com

For Hyperion Search our renewables and electrotech search firm visit www.HyperionSearch.com

For related content and to find out more about HC Group, a search firm dedicated to the energy & commodities sector, visit https://www.hcgroup.global

 Today, we return for part two on the predictability premium - how trading organizations can boost valuations of the asset-backed organizations they're within. One of the major challenges in creating a commercial organization is translating that value to the board and addressing their questions. That's what we're tackling in part two today - how to win the mandate to build a commercial organization and how to maintain it. Our guest is Christian Lins, Partner at Oliver Wyman in their risk and trading practice, which he leads in North America, and Christian's based in Houston.

For related content and to find out more about HC Group, a search firm dedicated to the energy & commodities sector, visit https://www.hcgroup.global

For commodity trading professionals, it now seems obvious that large global asset-backed producers, refiners, miners and processors should have some form of trading capability.

The risks alone of having a stranded product, an unfulfilled short or being exposed to wild price swings justify it, let alone the profits, market access and intelligence these capabilities can generate.

This view rarely translates to other divisions within the group, let alone to the board or shareholders. Commercial teams are seen as risky, consumers of cash and culturally suspect, while investors supposedly discount them.

In this two-part series, host Paul Chapman tackles this disconnect with Christian Lins, Partner at Oliver Wyman, a global management consulting firm. Together, they explore whether investors assign real value to these capabilities and how senior commercial leaders can bridge the gap.

To read Christian's paper on the subject (available on October 7th) visit: https://www.oliverwyman.com/our-culture/our-people/christian-lins.html

For more on Enco Insights - our senior advisor network visit www.encoinsights.com

For related content and to find out more about HC Group, a search firm dedicated to the energy & commodities sector, visit https://www.hcgroup.global

Recorded at the Canadian Crude Oil Conference on September 16 in Lake Louise, Alberta, Paul Chapman interviews Adam Waterous on
the state of Canada's oil sector against a backdrop of worsening relations with the US and events in the Middle East. And what will it take to turn its enormous energy advantage into economic value. Adam is the founder, managing partner, and CEO of Watrous Energy Fund. Before founding Watrous Energy Fund in 2017, Adam spent more than two decades advising energy industry through Watrous & Co. and later Scotiabank. After spending much of his career advising others on transactions, Adam became an investor himself. Through Watrous Energy Fund, he and his team have built Strathcona Resources and Greenfire Resources into significant players in the Canadian energy industry. Adam brings a unique perspective to today's conversation: banker, deal maker, investor, and company builder. So what will it take to truly make Canada an energy superpower?

For related content and to find out more about HC Group, a search firm dedicated to the energy & commodities sector, visit https://www.hcgroup.global

Today, Doomberg returns to the show. We discuss cascading events in the Middle East, Ukraine and how the global hydrocarbon shortage has shifted from crude to refined products. As US lawmakers consider a diesel export ban, how bad could this get? Further, what does the crisis mean for the midterms, and is the AI power boom sustainable? Doomberg is an independent reader-supported publication primarily on Substack covering energy, finance, and geopolitics. It's one of the most widely read finance and energy newsletters on the platform, and their work sits at the intersection of energy, finance, commodities, and politics. He modulates his voice for anonymity. Read Doomberg's Escalation Clauses for free here:https://newsletter.doomberg.com/p/67e20820-4a1a-4f28-bf24-75679656ea79

For related content and to find out more about HC Group, a search firm dedicated to the energy & commodities sector, visit https://www.hcgroup.global

Data centers are the crucial rate limiting factor for the Hyperscaler's growth, and in turn, power supply is the rate limiting factor for those data centers. Who is financing that power infrastructure? How are they doing it? And indeed, what happens if there's a correction in the market or the flood of money leads to overcapacity? And what is the best analogy in historical capital cycles to examine this current infrastructure build out with? Our guest argues that it's the shale revolution. Joining me in my office in Houston is Hil Vaden, Executive Director over the Energy Capital Insights Group at S&P Global, who themselves are hosting the Financing US Power Conference on September the twenty-eighth through the thirtieth here in Houston, covering many of the topics we discuss here.

Sign ups and details here:

https://www.spglobal.com/energy/en/events/conferences/financing-us-power?

For related content and to find out more about HC Group, a search firm dedicated to the energy & commodities sector, visit https://www.hcgroup.global

Crises, outsized returns, accusations of environmental damage, missing cargoes and all the rest: corporate communications is done on hard mode in the commodities sector. Why is the sector still largely defined by anomalous events, gripping books and not its successes?
And why is it so important to get communications right, not just for companies and executive teams but for the sector as a whole? Especially as more and more large corporates are building commodity trading platforms. Why is it so hard to explain to investors and shareholders why trading matters?  Our guest is Will Medvei, Partner at Brunswick Group, a global communications agency where he leads the energy and resources practice.

www.hcgroup.global

https://www.brunswickgroup.com

For related content and to find out more about HC Group, a search firm dedicated to the energy & commodities sector, visit https://www.hcgroup.global

US Natural Gas is expected to do some heavy lifting in 2026 and beyond. Powering the huge growth in domestic data centers, filling European storage and bridging the gap presented by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz and the damage wreaked on Qatar LNG. Europe is banking on a mild winter. Producers would appreciate a cold one in the US after multiple years of historically warm ones. And El Niño has introduced a new dimension of volatility. Joining us to discuss the US Natural Gas market and its consequence for the world is Emily Kyne , Vice President of Commodity Strategy and Trade Analytics at ARM Energy, a leader in natural gas transportation and management in North America..

For more on ARM Energy visit https://www.armenergy.com/

For more on HC Group visit www.hcgroup.global

For related content and to find out more about HC Group, a search firm dedicated to the energy & commodities sector, visit https://www.hcgroup.global