Continental’s proven reserves drop
U.S. shale leader Continental Resources reported its proved reserves for the year ending Dec. 31 declined by millions of barrels. Value of the company’s portfolio declined by about 10 percent Continue Reading
EIA: U.S. energy spending down sharply
Investment in the mining and other extractive industries, including oil, declined in the United States by more than 30 percent last year, federal data show. When measured as a share Continue Reading
Oil prices tumble after Fed testimony
Despite upbeat U.S. and European labor reports, lingering concerns over U.S. economic momentum throttled crude oil prices in early Thursday trading. Data from the U.S. Labor Department showed seasonally adjusted Continue Reading
Oil Hits Hurdle as U.S. Fuel Glut Puts Brakes on Refining
Refineries in the middle of the US are curtailing crude processing as profits shrink, leaving behind oil that’s adding to a supply glut and pushing prices to the lowest since Continue Reading
U.S. refineries’ windfall from cheap crude running out of steam
The Phillips 66 oil refinery is viewed from the air in Carson, California August 5, 2015. U.S. refiners’ months-long windfall from cheap and plentiful crude showed further signs of running Continue Reading
Oil Industry Caused 2005 Swarm of California Earthquakes: Newly Published Study
Oil and gas wastewater disposal has been tied to a series of earthquakes in California for the first time, in a peer-reviewed study published last Thursday. A string of quakes Continue Reading
Bank of Russia Vows Hands Off Ruble, Warns on Policy Tightening
The Bank of Russia, repeating that an interest-rate increase is possible, said it’s standing by its commitment to a free-floating exchange rate and will only intervene in the currency market Continue Reading
Repsol to Shut Unprofitable Norwegian Oil Field
Repsol SA plans to shut down its unprofitable Varg oil deposit in the North Sea, the first time a Norwegian field will be closed because of the crude-price collapse. “Varg Continue Reading
Total Trims Loss, To Further Cut Capital Spending
French oil giant Total SA reported a $1.63 billion fourth-quarter loss on Thursday and said it would cut billions more in spending, rocked by low oil prices that forced it Continue Reading
Hidden Dangers of the Oil-Price Shock
Many observers, from the International Monetary Fund to Virgin’s Richard Branson, say the stock market is overreacting to the oil-price shock. (Crude closed at $26.21 on Wednesday.) The basic argument Continue Reading
The petrodollar age is no more but with it go old certainties
The drop in oil price adds a twist to the forces driving fragmentation and conflict. Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, is being forced to consider a fire sale of state Continue Reading
Nymex Crude Slips Below $27 a Barrel
Oil futures prices on the New York Mercantile Exchange Thursday fell below $27 per barrel as the market largely ignored a drawdown in U.S. crude oil stockpiles amid a wider Continue Reading
Oil Extends Loss to Trade Near 12-Year Low on Cushing Supplies
Oil extended losses to trade near a 12-year low as crude stockpiles at the delivery point for New York futures expanded to a record even as nationwide supplies slipped. West Continue Reading
Oil seen falling in days to $25 a barrel
Crude prices may be days away from hitting $25 a barrel or even lower as weakening technicals put more pressure on a market already staggering from oversupply, chartists said. U.S. Continue Reading
Oil falls on U.S. supply record, weak demand outlook
Oil slid on Thursday, dented by record U.S. crude inventories at the Cushing delivery point, worries about the demand outlook, and as Goldman Sachs said prices would remain low and Continue Reading
Oil Retreats Despite Surprise Drop in Inventories
Oil prices pulled back Wednesday even as weekly data from the U.S. Energy Department showed a surprise decrease in crude-oil stockpiles. The U.S. Energy Information Administration said crude-oil inventories declined Continue Reading
Natural Gas Falls as Weather Forecasts Warm
Natural gas prices continued their retreat toward the $2 mark Wednesday as warming weather forecasts for late February suggest winter-heating demand won’t be enough to resolve a potentially historic glut. Continue Reading
OPEC January Production
The latest OPEC Monthly Oil Market Report is just out. The the data is “Crude Only” production and do not reflect condensate production. Also the charts, except for Libya, are Continue Reading
OPEC Sees Steeper Drop in Rivals’ Supply as Price Curbs Spending
OPEC revised estimates of production from rival suppliers, indicating a steeper drop in non-OPEC supply than previously anticipated. Production outside the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries will fall by 700,000 Continue Reading
Oil Traders Look Again at Floating Storage as Onshore Tanks Fill
The world is so awash with crude, the boss of BP Plc said people will be filling their “ swimming pools ” with it by the end of the year. Continue Reading
OPEC points to larger oil surplus in 2016, says low prices hurting economy
A worker checks the valve of an oil pipe at the Lukoil company owned Imilorskoye oil field outside the West Siberian city of Kogalym, Russia, in this January 25, 2016 Continue Reading
As Oil Profits Plunge, Gulf Regimes Weigh the Unmentionable: Taxes
Dubai’s year-round sunshine and near-zero taxes have been easy sells for foreign investors and expatriate workers. Oil’s plummet below $30 a barrel might change that for the glitzy emirate and Continue Reading
Russian Intervention in Syrian War Has Sharply Reduced U.S. Options
For months now the United States has insisted there can be no military solution to the Syrian civil war, only a political accord between President Bashar al-Assad and the fractured, Continue Reading
As Syria Devolves Further, Allies Criticize American Policy
Allies of the United States sharply criticized the Obama administration’s Syria policy on Wednesday, when the outgoing foreign minister of France called it “ambiguous” and the president of Turkey said Continue Reading
Russia proposes March 1 ceasefire in Syria; US wants it now
Russia has proposed a March 1 ceasefire in Syria, U.S. officials said Wednesday, but Washington believes Moscow is giving itself and the Syrian government three weeks to try to crush Continue Reading
Ayatollah Khomeini’s Grandson Is Disqualified From Elections
Photo Hassan Khomeini, right, the grandson of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, registering in Tehran in December to take part in the election for the Assembly of Experts, the clerical body that Continue Reading
Iran addressing high unemployment
Iran aims to advance employment by bringing younger workers into a modernizing petrochemical sector, members of the Iranian parliament said. A profile from the World Bank described the unemployment rate Continue Reading
Abadi Signals Iraq Cabinet Overhaul as Cleric Steps Up Pressure
Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi signaled an overhaul of his cabinet, days after Iraq’s most senior Shiite cleric expressed disapproval at the slow place of change in the country. Lawmakers and Continue Reading
OPEC: Oil in Americas under pressure
An uncertain price trajectory for 2016 and a sharp decline in rig activity in North America means oil production is under pressure, OPEC said. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries Continue Reading
Nigeria: Nollywood Has the Potential to Be an Alternative to Crude Oil
Actors and other stakeholders in the Nigerian movie industry, a.k.a Nollywood, said on Tuesday that the industry is a potential alternative to the ailing oil sector. In separate interviews with Continue Reading
Nigeria’s Spending Splurge With Borrowed Cash Spells Bond Pain
Record government spending — and having to borrow to fund almost half of it — spells trouble for investors in the bonds of Africa’s biggest oil producer. Nigeria’s naira debt Continue Reading
Carbon sequestration to help China in climate change negotiations
China’s forests and wider ecosystem store around 100 billion tonnes of carbon that would otherwise contribute to climate change talks, according to new official research. The Chinese Academy of Sciences Continue Reading
Asia to Pay Less for Iran Oil in Break From Link to Saudi Prices
Iran is selling its Heavy crude grade for March to buyers in Asia at a deeper discount to Saudi Arabia’s prices for the first time in a decade as it Continue Reading
China Turns a Glut of Oil Into a Flood of Diesel
Fuel producers from India to South Korea are finding that rising refined products from China are cutting the profit margins they’ve enjoyed from cheap oil to the lowest in more Continue Reading
Why Declining Chinese Oil Production Is Good for Global Prices
China’s role as a big oil consumer has become a crucial factor in energy markets in recent years. Now, its role as a major producer is gaining attention as well. Continue Reading
U.S. shale oil output to double by 2035: BP
U.S. shale oil production will double over the next 20 years as drillers that became more efficient amid a slump in oil prices unlock new resources, British energy giant BP Continue Reading
White House stands by Clean Power Plan
As the Supreme Court issues a stay on a pivotal Clean Power Plan, the White House said the EPA would continue working with states to reduce their emissions. In North Continue Reading
Supreme Court’s Blow to Emissions Efforts May Imperil Paris Climate Accord
The Supreme Court ’s surprise decision Tuesday to halt President Obama’s climate change regulation could weaken or even imperil the international global warming accord reached with great ceremony in Paris Continue Reading
Stung by Low Oil Prices, Companies Face a Reckoning on Debts
On the 15th floor of an office tower in Midland looms a five-foot-long trophy black bear, shot by the son of an executive at Caza Oil & Gas. But it Continue Reading
US LNG to change market dynamics, bring liquidity, flexibility: Cheniere
The startup of US LNG exports, some of which will be headed for Europe, will shift market dynamics, creating a much more competitive European gas market, a senior official from Continue Reading
Crowded insurance industry becomes latest casualty of oil slump
The insurance industry is becoming the latest casualty of the oil price slump, with postponements and cancellations of energy projects forcing down premium rates and income in a market that Continue Reading
Low Oil Prices Don’t Trickle Down Much to European Drivers
About six months ago, when the oil price dipped below $40 a barrel for the first time in six years, Nicholas Samy traded in his gas-guzzling truck and bought a Continue Reading
Russia’s Sechin floats idea of oil output cuts
The head of Russian state-run oil company Rosneft on Wednesday floated the idea of a coordinated output cut by major oil-producing countries to prop up sagging prices but fell short Continue Reading
BP CEO `Very Bearish’ on Oil as Storage Tanks Are Filling Up
BP is planning for oil prices to stay low for the first six months of the year and expects surplus production to only start diminishing when storage tanks fill up Continue Reading
Sechin: Rosneft could go private
Russia’s state-owned oil company Rosneft could move toward privatization, though oil markets would first have to stage a major recovery, the CEO said. Rosneft Chief Executive Officer Igor Sechin is Continue Reading
Tullow cuts spending guidance by 18 percent
Africa-focused Tullow Oil said the challenge for 2016 was to navigate the weakened market with key offshore priorities intact while cutting investments. Tullow said revenues were down 27 percent for Continue Reading
BP Boss Calls for Climate-Change Action at Oil Conference
BP PLC Chief Executive Bob Dudley called on governments Wednesday to do more to encourage a shift to lower-carbon fuels, warning that the world is on course to see global Continue Reading
Rosneft rejects case for oil output cuts
The most powerful figure in Russia’s oil industry on Wednesday signalled his steadfast opposition to combining with Opec to reverse the crude price rout through co-ordinated cuts in production. Igor Continue Reading
Weak Oil Prices Fuel Ukrainian Hopes of a More Conciliatory Russia
Ukraine’s political elite is hoping that plummeting oil prices will restrain neighboring Russia’s interventionist ambitions—and give Western sanctions on Russia a bit more bite. Recent diplomatic overtures have raised hopes Continue Reading
The crash of 2016?
You cannot understand the vulnerable state of the U.S. and global economies — and nervous stock markets — without coming to grips with the crash of “emerging-market” countries. Led by Continue Reading