Oil Poised for Record Two-Year Loss as U.S. Stockpiles Gain
Oil headed for its biggest two-year loss on record in New York as an expansion in U.S. crude stockpiles exacerbates a global glut. Futures have lost 31 percent this year, Continue Reading
Rally in Energy Stocks Not Enough to Save Worst Month in 3 Years
It’s going to take more than a one-week rally to rehabilitate shares of companies in the oil patch. A week after rebounding oil prices pushed energy shares to their biggest Continue Reading
Oil Prices Fall on Oversupply Fears
Oil prices renewed their slide Wednesday ahead of data expected to show an increase in U.S. crude stockpiles. The American Petroleum Institute, an industry group, estimated that U.S. crude stocks Continue Reading
U.S. crude stocks rise unexpectedly on distillate build, imports: EIA
An oil pump jack can be seen in Cisco, Texas, August 23, 2015. U.S. crude stocks rose unexpectedly last week on a bigger-than-expected build in distillate and gasoline inventories and Continue Reading
Oil down more than 3 percent on U.S. crude build; Brent near 2004 low
Crude prices fell more than 3 percent on Wednesday, with Brent sliding toward 11-year lows, after an unusual build in U.S. stockpiles and signs Saudi Arabia will keep adding to Continue Reading
Doubting The Peak
Dennis Coyne, an editor and frequent contributor to this blog, has suggested that we are not at peak oil. He argues that there is likely to be a dip in Continue Reading
Oil Investors See Record 2nd Year of Misery as Market Drops
Another horrendous year is drawing to a close in the oil patch. After starting out with hopes of a rebound, 2015 will instead punctuate the worst two years ever suffered Continue Reading
Oil ends 2015 in downbeat mood; hangover to be long, painful
Oil prices headed for a second year of steep losses, despite inching up fractionally in the last trading hours of 2015, as record OPEC supply created an unprecedented global glut Continue Reading
From Oil Glut to Shortage? Some Say It Could Happen
With the world awash in crude, the oil industry is contemplating a new problem the oversupply could tee up: an oil shortage. That could leave the world in exactly the Continue Reading
$10 Trillion Investment Needed To Avoid Massive Oil Price Spike
OPEC says that $10 trillion worth of investment will need to flow into oil and gas through 2040 in order to meet the world’s energy needs. The OPEC published its Continue Reading
Iran’s Missile Tests Remind the U.S. That Hostilities Have Not Ended
Photo The aircraft carrier Harry S. Truman in the Gulf of Oman on Friday. Credit Mass Communication Specialist 3Rd Class J. M. Tolbert/U.S. Navy, via Associated Press WASHINGTON — After Continue Reading
Oil price decline, Islamic State hurt Iraqi banks
Falling oil prices caused a liquidity shortage at Iraq’s listed banks, reducing their overall profit before tax 44 percent to 74 billion dinars ($68 million) in the third quarter from Continue Reading
Saudi Arabia says won’t limit oil production, can meet customer demand
Saudi Arabian Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi talks to journalists before a meeting of OPEC oil ministers at OPEC’s headquarters in Vienna in this file picture taken December 4, 2013. Saudi Continue Reading
Iran’s OPEC envoy predicts oil could reach $50 in 2016
Iran’s national representative to Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) predicted oil prices in 2016 at between $35 to $50 a barrel, but that they would not go above Continue Reading
Obama Administration Preparing Fresh Iran Sanctions
The Obama administration is preparing to sanction nearly a dozen companies and individuals in Iran, Hong Kong and the United Arab Emirates for their alleged role in developing Iran’s ballistic-missile Continue Reading
Scandal-hit Petrobras faces new challenge
At a Christmas breakfast with journalists, Aldemir Bendine, the chief executive of Petrobras, said Brazil’s state-controlled oil company was aiming to become “smaller” thanks to an array of planned asset Continue Reading
Four China teapot refineries apply for 14.47 mil mt/year of crude quotas
Four more Chinese independent teapot refineries, with a total capacity of 15.6 million mt/year, have joined others in applying to the National Development and Reform Commission to process around 14.47 Continue Reading
Commodity sector in pain as China’s super-boom ends
A decade old commodity boom came crashing to an end in 2015, hurting energy and mining firms as China’s industrial rise and appetite for raw materials slowed. The outlook for Continue Reading
China’s Financial Growing Pains Caused World of Hurt in 2015
China’s long history of tempestuous trading spilled over its borders this year, signaling that a once-isolated market is moving to the center of global finance. Chinese volatility upended markets from Continue Reading
Energy Megadeals Were Scarce in 2015
U.S. oil and gas companies are selling assets and acreage piecemeal as they jockey to survive a downturn in energy prices, and the trend for small transactions looks likely to Continue Reading
ConocoPhillips Beats Rivals in Race to Export U.S. Shale Crude
ConocoPhillips will supply the first cargo of U.S. shale oil to be exported since a 40-year ban on such shipments was lifted earlier this month. ConocoPhillips said the cargo will Continue Reading
End of easy money for mini-refiners splitting U.S. shale?
Energy companies and oil trading firms that teamed up to build several mini-refineries that convert a swelling surplus of ultra-light U.S. crude into fuels for export seemed like a pretty Continue Reading
Oil Slump Threatens $125 Million in North Dakota Property Debt
The plunge in oil prices may jeopardize almost $125 million of securitized loans backed by real estate in North Dakota, as drillers in the state scale back operations, Morningstar Credit Continue Reading
US views on climate change pose test for 2016 candidates
Global warming or hot air? Democratic politicians say climate change is a grave threat to the US. Their Republican counterparts accuse them of alarmism over a non-issue. A close study Continue Reading
Ireland’s Corrib Field Now Producing Natural Gas
Shell and its partners this week began piping gas from the offshore Corrib field to an inland terminal after gaining final consent on Tuesday from Ireland’s Department of Communications, Energy Continue Reading
Rouble slides amid fears for Russian economy
The rouble fell to its lowest level in more than a year on Wednesday as Russians faced the prospect of a second successive year of recession in 2016 amid continued Continue Reading
Russia’s ESPO Blend crude still struggles in Asia-Pacific
Six years after its first export shipment, Russian crude ESPO Blend is as far from becoming a regional benchmark as it was then. It remains an also-ran in Asia-Pacific despite Continue Reading
Ruble Caps Third Annual Slump as Oil Seen Stoking Losses in 2016
The ruble weakened on its last trading day of 2015, extending its third annual slide as the plunging price of oil dimmed the outlook for a recovery in the Russian Continue Reading
Russia May Cut Crude Estimate in 2016 Budget as Prices Plunge
Russia may cut its oil-price estimate for the 2016 budget next year, possibly following other crude-exporting nations as the commodity, which makes up about 40 percent of the country’s budget Continue Reading
Freak storm pushes North Pole 50 degrees above normal to melting point
This storm in the far North Atlantic is the same storm that caused two tornado outbreaks and widespread flooding in the United States. Now, it’s pushing temperatures at the North Continue Reading
Cataclysms from the North Pole to South America
Rising water forces road closures and threatens homes. From the top of the world to near the bottom, freakish and unprecedented weather has sent temperatures soaring across the Arctic, whipped Continue Reading
The stunning scope of the world’s refugee crisis
One out of every 122 people alive today is someone who, at some point, was forced to leave his or her home. If you totaled up all these people, they Continue Reading
Oil Prices Fall on Oversupply Fears
Oil prices renewed their slide Wednesday ahead of data expected to show an increase in U.S. crude stockpiles. The American Petroleum Institute, an industry group, estimated that U.S. crude stocks Continue Reading
Brent oil prices retreat toward 11-year lows | Reuters
Brent crude oil slid back toward 11-year lows on Wednesday as indications of slowing global energy demand bumped up against record-high inventories. Benchmark Brent, near $37 per barrel, traded just Continue Reading
U.S. Crude-Oil Stocks Seen Decreasing in DOE Data
U.S. crude-oil stocks are expected to decrease in data due Wednesday from the Department of Energy, according to a survey of analysts by The Wall Street Journal. Estimates from 10 Continue Reading
Crude Prices Rise on U.S. Export Prospects
Crude prices were up Tuesday with the U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate moving higher than its global counterpart Brent because of the prospect of the first shipment of crude being Continue Reading
Oil hovers near 11-year lows on abundant supply, slowing demand
Oil prices steadied not far off their 11-year lows on Tuesday, under pressure from slowing global demand and abundant supplies, with Saudi Arabia signaling no change to its oil policies Continue Reading
What Could Drive the Price of Oil
Average U.S. gasoline prices fell below $2.00 a gallon in the week before Christmas. There was much rejoicing when average U.S. gasoline prices fell below $2.00 a gallon in the Continue Reading
Supply outlook clouds crude’s rally
The outlook for the oil price next year is under renewed pressure following strong signals from Saudi Arabia that the world’s largest crude exporter is preparing for a long period Continue Reading
Global growth will be disappointing in 2016 says IMF’s Lagarde
Global economic growth will be “disappointing” next year, the head of the International Monetary Fund said in a guest article for German newspaper Handelsblatt published on Wednesday. IMF Managing Director Continue Reading
Not Even OPEC Can Fix Oil Glut
Surprisingly strong crude output in the U.S. and Mideast over the past year pushed oil prices to their lowest levels in more than a decade. But for investors trying to Continue Reading
US criticizes Russia over civilian deaths in Syria
The United States criticized Russia on Tuesday for killing hundreds of civilians in airstrikes in Syria and accused Moscow of undermining hopes for a cease-fire between Bashar Assad’s government and Continue Reading
As Implementation Day nears, oil companies seek clarity on doing business in Iran
* Only nuclear sanctions on Iran to be lifted on Implementation Day * Terrorism and human rights sanctions will stay in effect * US trade embargo will also remain, barring Continue Reading
Iran moving away from ‘oil curse’
Iran is drifting away from an oil-centered economy greatly prone to spasmodic market volatility and turmoil, which has unfailingly stunted the country’s every bid for sustainable development. At their peak, Continue Reading
As U.S. Hails Iraqi Success in Ramadi, Focus Turns to Next Move in ISIS Fight
Photo Iraqi security forces patrolled in Ramadi, the capital of Anbar Province, on Tuesday. Credit Ahmad Al-Rubaye/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images WASHINGTON — The Obama administration, anxious to showcase a Continue Reading
Iraq Plans to Sell Shares in $1.3 Billion Grand Faw Port Plan
Iraq aims to sell shares to the public in the $1.3 billion Grand Faw container port first proposed in 2011 before falling oil prices crimped the government’s ability to support Continue Reading
Saudi economic shake-up shows it is planning for cheap oil
Saudi Arabia’s planned cuts in spending and energy subsidies signal that the world’s largest crude exporter is bracing for a prolonged period of low oil prices. The OPEC heavyweight shows Continue Reading
As hydropower dries up, Tanzania moves toward fossil fuels
As drought continues to cripple its hydropower plants, Tanzania is struggling to produce enough electricity – and is moving toward using more fossil fuels to make up the shortfall. Hydropower Continue Reading
Egypt, Ethiopia, Sudan: Governments Sign Agreement Over Dam
Leaders from Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan have signed an agreement designed to assuage Egyptian worries over the construction of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, Egyptian Streets reported Dec. 29. Egypt Continue Reading
Venezuela: Opposition Denounces Challenge To Election Results
The secretary general of Venezuela’s opposition coalition denounced a move by the ruling United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) to challenge the results of the country’s Dec. 6 legislative elections, Continue Reading