☕️ Good morning, friends,

Yesterday you were thrilled by Kim Jong-un, so today we’re following up. Our favorite photo of the day: the North Korean king and his princess, Kim Ju-ae, delighting over chickens in a battery farm.

There’s no better way to kick off a Thursday.

Speaking of North Korea: we’re in Berlin and Hamburg all week and looking forward to seeing many of you.

BENCHMARKS

NUMBER OF THE DAY

153,000 barrels

China’s electric heavy-duty trucks will reduce daily diesel consumption by this amount, forecasts energy expert Rystad Energy.

🚛 E-Trucks Surpass Gas: In June, electric heavy trucks outsold LNG trucks for the first time. China’s oil demand already peaked in 2023 at 399 million tons.

⚡ Oil Giants Under Pressure: PetroChina and Sinopec report declining diesel/gasoline sales. Sinopec is investing in CATL and planning 500 battery-swap stations by 2025.

Watch: The electrification of heavy-duty transport marks a turning point for global oil markets. China’s rapid transition in transport could cause diesel demand to collapse faster than expected.

TOP BIT

⚙️ Washington Tightens Chip Controls

The US government has revoked special licenses for TSMC, the world’s largest semiconductor maker, that allowed it to ship chipmaking equipment to China without individual approvals. Samsung and SK Hynix also lost that status. For TSMC’s Nanjing plant, this means extra hurdles — though the financial impact is limited, as the facility accounts for only a small slice of revenue.

The Details

⚙️ New Hurdles: Starting December 31, suppliers will need …