U.S. economy slows sharply as oil and gas slump deepens: Kemp
The U.S. economy eked out anemic growth in the final three months of 2015, and the struggling performance of the oil and gas sector was a major contributor to the Continue Reading
Alberta to Subsidize New Petrochemical Plants
The government of Alberta said Monday it would provide up to 500 million Canadian dollars ($357 million) in subsidies to support new petrochemical plants, part of a plan to help Continue Reading
Anadarko to cut 2016 budget in half after $6.692-billion loss in 2015
Anadarko Petroleum Corp., The Woodlands, Tex., anticipates an initial 2016 budget of $2.8 billion, a reduction of 50% from the company’s actual 2015 capital investments and almost 70% from the Continue Reading
Texas Shale Drillers Lure $2 Billion in New Equity to Permian
Oil producers in West Texas, defying expectations they would fall victim to OPEC’s price war, are instead selling investors on the idea that they can still profit with prices below Continue Reading
How Free Electricity Helped Dig $9 Billion Hole in Puerto Rico
To understand how Puerto Rico’s power authority has piled up $9 billion in debt, one need only visit this bustling city on the northwest coast. Twenty years ago, it was Continue Reading
High costs, weak demand stifle US Illinois Basin coal markets
The start to 2016 has not brought any reported contract coal deals out of the US Illinois Basin, as utilities are largely out of the market and producers are reeling Continue Reading
Once Unstoppable, Tar Sands Now Battered from All Sides
Canada’s tar sands industry is in crisis as oil prices plummet, pipeline projects are killed, and new governments in Alberta and Ottawa vow less reliance on this highly polluting energy Continue Reading
Shell divesting from Malaysia
Royal Dutch Shell said it took in more than $60 million for the sale of a majority of its holdings in a Malaysian refining company to a national company there. Continue Reading
Advocacy group: British fracking plans a blow to democracy
A British plan to develop an industrial-scale shale natural gas industry within a decade is an “attack on democracy,” an environmental campaign group said. Advocacy group Friends of the Earth Continue Reading
S&P Lowers Shell’s Rating, Puts Other Oil Majors on Watch
Royal Dutch Shell Plc had its debt rating cut to the lowest since Standard & Poor’s began coverage in 1990, and downgrades of several other major European oil and gas Continue Reading
BP Cites Low Oil Prices in $3.3 Billion Loss, as Industry Toll Mounts
The newest measure of the oil industry ’s falling fortunes came on Tuesday in the form of a $3.3 billion fourth-quarter loss reported by BP . For all of 2015, Continue Reading
BP reports worst annual loss in over 20 years, cuts more jobs
BP ( BP.L ) slumped to its worst annual loss in over 20 years in 2015, the British oil and gas company announced on Tuesday, and said it would cut Continue Reading
BP Profit Falls 91%, Missing Estimates, as Oil Slump Deepens
BP Plc reported a 91 percent decline in fourth-quarter earnings after average crude oil prices dropped to the lowest in more than a decade. The company’s shares fell the most Continue Reading
Russia Bonds Drop as Ruble Rout Seen Reducing Rate-Cut Prospects
Russian government bonds retreated for a third day as oil’s renewed drop weighed on the ruble, spurring speculation the central bank will delay a return to a rate-cut cycle to Continue Reading
Russia Ready to Discuss Oil Production
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov reiterated Tuesday that the country is ready to take part in a potential meeting of top oil producers in February, Russian news agencies reported. Last Continue Reading
Putin lines up state sell-offs to plug budget hole
Russia is lining up seven major state companies, including Aeroflot, Alrosa, the diamond miner, and Rosneft, for potential privatisation as the Kremlin debates drastic options to replace dwindling oil revenues. Continue Reading
Oil Prices Fall on China Data, Output Doubts
Crude-oil prices fell in early Asia trade Monday, dragged by l ackluster Chinese manufacturing data and dimming prospects of a coordinated production cut by world’s dominant oil producers. On the Continue Reading
Oil falls 2 percent on China data, fading prospect of OPEC action
Oil fell 2 percent on Monday as weak economic data from China, the world’s largest energy consumer, weighed on prices and an OPEC source played down talk of an emergency Continue Reading
Iran Cancels London Summit for New Oil Deals
Iran canceled a London conference to promote new contracts for global oil companies, two weeks after economic sanctions were lifted, because the British government hasn’t been able to issue visas Continue Reading
Mosul dam flows, returning power to IS held city below
The Iraqi government restarted electricity and water supplies to Mosul on Saturday, as engineers running the Mosul hydroelectric dam re-opened its main gates, fearing the barrier wall could otherwise collapse.Turning Continue Reading
Saudi Arabia didn’t make output cut proposal: Saudi source to Arabiya TV
Saudi Arabia was not the source of a proposal to cut oil production that Russia was studying, al-Arabiya television reported on Sunday, quoting an unnamed Saudi source. But the kingdom, Continue Reading
Saudi Offers $1.9 Million Bounty to Help Uncover Attack Plots
Saudi officials are offering as much as 7 million riyals ($1.9 million) for information that would help foil militant attacks. Authorities will pay a 1 million riyal-reward to anyone who “provides Continue Reading
Death toll up to 70 from Islamic State Damascus attack – monitor
The death toll from a suicide attack in Damascus on Sunday that was claimed by the Islamic State militant group has risen to more than 70, the Syrian Observatory for Continue Reading
Battered by War, Iraq Now Faces Calamity From Dropping Oil Prices
A collapse in the price of oil, which accounts for more than 90 percent of the Iraqi government’s revenue, points to even tougher times ahead. Credit Essam Al-Sudani/Reuters BAGHDAD — Continue Reading
Oil-Price Poker: Why the Saudis Won’t Fold ‘Em
The game being played in the global oil market today bears more than a passing resemblance to poker. Nobody wants to quit while they’re losing. That is important for investors Continue Reading
Saudi Arabia Forms Group to Investigate Yemen Airstrike Claims
Saudi Arabia on Sunday announced the formation of an independent group to investigate claims of airstrikes that have led to civilian deaths in Yemen , where the kingdom has led Continue Reading
Nigeria: Panic in Bayelsa As Explosion Rocks Agip Pipelines
There was panic yesterday among indigenes of coastal communities of Brass Local Government Area of Bayelsa State following explosions from Oil Pipelines owned by Nigerian Agip Oil Company (NAOC). The Continue Reading
Nigeria in Talks to Borrow $3.5 Billion as Oil Saps Budget
Nigeria’s government is in talks for concessionary loans worth $3.5 billion from the World Bank and African Development Bank to help finance a planned record budget this year, Finance Minister Continue Reading
Venezuela Tries to Convince Oil Nations to Cut Production
Venezuela’s Oil Minister Eulogio Del Pino faces an uphill battle persuading Russia and Saudi Arabia to cooperate in cutting oil production amid a supply glut that has pushed prices down Continue Reading
Saudi’s China challenge: How much can it pay for oil market share
It’s probably no coincidence that Saudi Aramco [SDABO.UL] revealed it is in advanced talks to buy stakes in Chinese refineries just as data came out showing that Russia toppled Saudi Continue Reading
Manufacturing activity contracts for 6th month
China’s manufacturing activity contracted for the sixth straight month in January, signalling persistent weakness, official data showed on Monday. The purchasing managers’ index (PMI) came in at 49.4, down from Continue Reading
China should consume more natural gas to control air pollution: expert
China should increase the proportion of natural gas in an energy mix currently dominated by coal to cut air pollution, an expert said Sunday. Compared with coal, the burning of Continue Reading
Collapse Of Shale Gas Production Has Begun
All opinions expressed in this post are his and do not necessarily reflect those of Ron Patterson. The U.S. Empire is in serious trouble as the collapse of its domestic Continue Reading
Seadrill Deepens Cost Cuts to Ride Out CEO’s Worst Rig Slump
Seadrill Ltd., once the crown jewel among billionaire John Fredriksen’s oil and shipping holdings, is deepening planned cost reductions this year as it attempts to make it through the worst Continue Reading