The world's best thinkers on energy and climate
One can hardly call it a trade war just yet—posturing for a trade war may be a more apt label—but the U.S. Shale industry, which has enjoyed a mighty good run in the last year, may soon find itself the next target as China and the United States face off in the fight to flesh out new trade terms. … [Read more...]
The most prevalent view regarding future oil supply, as well as total energy supply, seems to be fairly closely related to that expressed by Peak Oilers. Future fossil fuel supply is assumed to be determined by the resources in the ground and the technology available for extraction. … [Read more...]
Tensions between Iran and Saudi Arabia triggered doubts about the success of the OPEC+ oil production cut deal two years ago when it was first being hatched. Now, with the deal in its second year, these doubts have been rekindled by the escalation between the two regional rivals. There is no end in sight for the proxy war that Saudi Arabia and Iran are fighting in Yemen, and it could spell the end of the deal. … [Read more...]
The world’s largest independent oil trader, Vitol, is looking to secure long-term deals with some of the biggest oil-producing countries in the Middle East, in what has become a challenging wider oil-trading market. … [Read more...]
The U.S. will supply much of the world’s additional oil for the next few years, according to a new report from the International Energy Agency (IEA). … [Read more...]
The price of oil is well off the low for this cycle because the OPEC + Russia plan to rebalance supply & demand has worked. Now the question is “What is the Right Price for oil in a balanced market?” … [Read more...]
Oil just posted its worst week in more than two years — WTI lost 9.5 percent and Brent lost 8.5 percent. The last time the two oil benchmarks fell by that much in a single week was early 2016 when the oil market was in serious turmoil and prices dipped below $30 per barrel. … [Read more...]
Oil prices fell back suddenly over the last few trading sessions, dragged down by some forces beyond the oil market. The steady decline of the U.S. dollar has helped drive up crude prices for weeks, but that came to an abrupt halt last week. A rebound for the greenback led to a steep decline in oil prices on Friday. … [Read more...]
The oil glut is over, at least when it comes to U.S. commercial inventories: over the past two months they have been within the average range for the season, thanks to hefty draws. These draws, one analyst argues, are a signal of higher-than-expected demand that is not only an American trend but a global one. … [Read more...]
Crude oil prices ended 2017 at $60/barrel (b), the highest end-of-year price since 2013. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil prices averaged $51/b in 2017, up $7/b from the 2016 average, and ended the year $6/b higher than at the end of 2016. Brent prices have moved up $10/b since the end of 2016 and ended the year at $65/b, widening the Brent-WTI spread to $5/b at the end of the year, the largest difference since 2013. … [Read more...]
OPEC and its Russia-led non-OPEC allies in the deal managed to stay together for a full year of high compliance with the oil production cuts and have agreed to extend the pact for a second year to the end of 2018. … [Read more...]
U.S. regular retail gasoline prices averaged $2.41 per gallon (gal) in 2017, 27 cents/gal (13%) higher than in 2016, but two cents/gal less than in 2015. Higher crude oil prices in 2017 contributed to higher gasoline prices. In 3 of the 10 cities for which EIA collects weekly retail price data, gasoline prices exceeded $3.00/gal at least once in 2017, and prices in every city except Houston exceeded $2.50/gal at some point in the year. … [Read more...]
One of the more important recent developments in global energy is the resurgence of U.S. energy production, thanks in large part to the shale revolution. Now, after half a century as a net importer, the U.S. is poised in the coming decade to become a net exporter, as imports from historic sources decline and demand for U.S. energy products abroad grows. … [Read more...]
Recent Comments