Oil Tops $60 At Close of Year
Oil prices are set to close out the year up more than 11 percent, hitting their highest level since 2015. However, the road to higher prices was rocky. In the Continue Reading
Oil prices up as balance approaches
U.S. data showing the surplus on the five-year average in crude oil stocks at just 9 percent helped drive oil prices higher on the last trading day of 2017. Data Continue Reading
U.S. crude ends year above $60 on strong global oil demand
U.S. oil prices closed above $60 a barrel on the final trading day of the year, the first time since mid-2015, as the commodity ended 2017 with a 12 percent Continue Reading
Iranians take to streets as anger at economy boils over
Thousands of demonstrators poured on to the streets in cities across Iran on Friday in the biggest protests since the pro-democracy unrest of 2009, as anger over the economy came Continue Reading
A year of historic change in Saudi Arabia, with more to come
Saudi Arabia in 2017 laid the groundwork for momentous change next year, defying its conservative reputation for slow, cautious reforms by announcing plans to let women drive, allow movie theaters Continue Reading
Venezuela probes ex-oil czar Ramirez over alleged graft scheme
Venezuela is investigating Rafael Ramirez, a once powerful oil minister and former head of state oil company PDVSA, in connection with an alleged $4.8 billion Vienna-based corruption scheme, the state Continue Reading
Pipeline projects move ahead to tackle rising Texas shale output
Several oil pipeline companies this month agreed to move ahead on multi-billion-dollar projects that would link Texas shale fields to Gulf Coast export hubs, offering new outlets for burgeoning output Continue Reading
Canada crude-by-rail exports to U.S. rise to six-month high
Canadian crude-by-rail exports to the United States climbed to a six-month high of 137,000 barrels per day in October, data from the National Energy Board showed on Friday, the latest Continue Reading
U.S. crude, natural gas output at multi-year records in Oct: EIA
U.S. crude oil production in October rose to the highest in more than 46 years, while natural gas production leaped to a new record, U.S. Energy Information Administration data showed Continue Reading
U.S. oil rig count ends 2017 40 percent above year-ago levels: Baker Hughes
The U.S. oil rig count rose by about 42 percent by end-2017 compared to the corresponding period last year, as energy companies boosted spending amid a recovery in crude prices. Continue Reading
New Year’s Day cold snap to hit U.S. winter wheat, rivers
A New Year’s Day cold snap in the southern U.S. Plains poses a threat to winter wheat, particularly in Kansas, the country’s biggest producer of the grain, agricultural meteorologists said. Continue Reading
No certification needed for offshore drilling safety, U.S. proposes
Third parties will no longer need to verify whether some safety features for offshore oil and gas drilling work as designed, the U.S. government proposed. The Bureau of Safety and Continue Reading
Alberta is leaving economic recession behind
After starting the year in recession, the oil-rich province of Alberta is entering 2018 with the fastest rate of growth in Canada, the economic minister said. At one point last Continue Reading
Texas energy sector ends the year with optimism
The energy sector in Texas is leaving 2017 on a high note, though oil prices will need to be higher than expected for strong rig counts, a bank survey found. Continue Reading
U.S. Rig Count Falls Slightly As Canada’s Rig Count Tanks
The number of active oil and gas rigs dipped this week, according to Baker Hughes data, decreasing by 2 rigs, bringing the total rigs to 929 rigs, which is an addition Continue Reading
Show of strength after Iran protests
State TV showed crowds carrying flags Thousands of pro-government demonstrators are attending rallies in Iran, after two days of anti-government protests. State TV showed crowds of black-clad supporters in the Continue Reading
US Interior Department proposes reducing offshore-drilling safety regs
The Trump administration’s Interior Department proposed Friday regulations that would scale back some of the safety regulations for offshore drilling put into place by the previous administration in the wake Continue Reading
Exclusive: Russian tankers fueled North Korea via transfers at sea
Russian tankers have supplied fuel to North Korea on at least three occasions in recent months by transferring cargoes at sea, according to two senior Western European security sources, providing Continue Reading
British trade group weighs domestic shale against Russian LNG
A British trade group said it’s better to tap inland gas than be vulnerable to foreign suppliers, as a vessel docked with its first-ever cargo of Russian LNG. Tanker Christophe Continue Reading
Surveys of oil basins in Russian Arctic completed
A Russian energy company said it completed surveys necessary to get a better understanding of the oil and gas reserve potential in Arctic waters. A subsidiary of Gazprom Neft said Continue Reading
UK receives first cargo from Russia’s Yamal LNG
The first cargo lifted from Yamal LNG has been delivered into the UK’s Isle of Grain terminal aboard the Arc 7 tanker, the Christophe De Margerie, according to data from Continue Reading
An Open letter to the School of Public Health, UQ, re: the looming net energy cliff
Open Letter To: Staff of the School of Public Health, Re: The looming Net Energy Cliff, Global Economic/Industrial collapse and Human Die-off “infinite consumption from a finite resource base is Continue Reading
U.S. oil prices hit highest since mid-2015 on surprise output drop
U.S. oil prices hit their highest levels since mid-2015 on the final trading day of the year as an unexpected fall in American production and a fall in commercial crude Continue Reading
Oil Prices Steady After EIA Reports Crude Draw
Amid a mixture of news pulling oil prices in opposite directions the Energy Information Administration reported another draw in U.S. crude oil inventories for the week to December 22. The Continue Reading
Oil Price Volatility Crashes To Three-Year Low
Oil price volatility continues to dive, dropping to a three-year low as 2017 comes to a close. The CBOE Crude Oil Volatility Index (OVX) recently dipped below 20, a level Continue Reading
Analysts See WTI Averaging $56 In 2018
Expectations of robust oil demand growth and high OPEC and allies’ commitment to the production cuts have prompted analysts to raise again their forecast for oil prices in 2018, and Continue Reading
Oil Resurrection Sets Stage for Another OPEC-Shale Clash in 2018
OPEC cuts drive price gain as threat of U.S. output persists WTI, Brent up more than 11% this year; set for 2nd annual gain Oil’s revival from the biggest crash Continue Reading
Algeria’s shale gas plans will take time, require tough reforms
Algeria needs to exploit its shale gas resources to offset a surge in local energy consumption that is eating into vital exports, but developing the industry will take time and Continue Reading
Libya oil company to fix blown-up pipeline in ‘very few’ days
Libya’s Waha Oil company plans to repair a crude pipeline blown up on Tuesday within a “very few” days, it said on Thursday. On Tuesday, the explosion, about 130 km Continue Reading
Iran’s economy ‘on a good trend’
Iran says its economy is in good shape in the post-sanctions environment, even amid warnings of external pressures. File photo by Maryam Rahmanian/UPI. Dec. 28 (UPI) — The economy for Continue Reading
Libya’s Damaged Pipeline Will Come Back Online In January
The Libyan crude oil pipeline blown up on Tuesday will take about a week to repair , the chairman of Libya’s National Oil Corporation (NOC) said on Wednesday. On Tuesday, Continue Reading
Nigeria: Senate Cuts Short Recess to Address Fuel Scarcity
The Senate yesterday cut short its three-week recess to convene a meeting with stakeholders in the oil sector, with a view to addressing the fuel scarcity which appears to have Continue Reading
Nigeria: Blame Game Continues As Fuel Scarcity Persists in Abuja
The relief felt in Lagos is yet to extend to Abuja as the shortage of fuel persisted in the nation’s federal capital territory Wednesday. Long queues remained the main feature Continue Reading
Fuel Crisis Intensifies In Nigeria
Williams is a financial/business journalist, a communications specialist and an author. With over ten years’ newsroom experience, he has a reputation for crafting major headlines… Again, Nigeria’s government has failed Continue Reading
Once a Cash Cow, Venezuela’s Oil Company Now Verges on Collapse
A general with no energy experience has been installed as the head of the state oil company. Arrest s, firings, and desperate emigration have gutted top talent. Oil facilities are Continue Reading
Venezuelans protest over pork shortage, Maduro blames Portugal
Hundreds of Venezuelans took to the streets in poor parts of Caracas overnight to protest a shortage of pork for traditional Christmas meals in the latest symptom of social discontent Continue Reading
Venezuela Backs Its New Cryptocurrency With 5 Billion Barrels Of Crude
Venezuelan President Maduro shocked the market in early December when he followed China’s ‘petro-yuan’ futures announcement by making headlines of himself proclaiming a new national cryptocurrency – the ‘Petro’ – Continue Reading
South Korea finalizes energy plan to boost renewable power generation
South Korea has finalized a power supply plan that aims to make renewables the country’s fuel of choice for power generation for the next 15 years, its energy ministry said Continue Reading
China’s leaders fret over debts lurking in shadow banking system
In March 2013, retired chemical company employee Anne Xing, her older sister and their husbands visited a China Everbright Bank branch on the outskirts of Shanghai. A private wealth manager Continue Reading
Beijing starts using special license plates for green vehicles
State media in China reported Thursday that commuters in Beijing started using special license plates to designate alternative vehicles for the first time. The Chinese Ministry of Public Security in Continue Reading
Clear winners: China’s war on smog lifts commodities like metals, LNG to 2017 peaks
Industrial metals, liquefied natural gas and steel are set to finish 2017 on top of the world as a crackdown on pollution in China, the world’s no.2 economy, boosts demand Continue Reading
Higher oil prices needed to sharply boost U.S. drilling: Dallas Fed
Oil prices will need to rise further for energy companies to significantly expand drilling activities, according to a survey released on Thursday by the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas. U.S. Continue Reading
U.S. crude stocks drop, refiners run near full capacity
U.S. crude stocks fell more than expected last week as refineries pushed output to its highest rate for this time of year in nearly two decades, the Energy Information Administration Continue Reading
U.S. natgas futures climb as storage withdrawals meet expectations
U.S. natural gas futures surged on Thursday after federal data showed a storage withdrawal in line with market expectations. Front-month gas futures NGc1 for February delivery on the New York Continue Reading
U.S. safety regulator proposes offshore overhaul
The U.S. government opened a deregulation scheme for safety rules for oil and gas drillers in the Gulf of Mexico up for public comment on Thursday. The Bureau of Safety Continue Reading
Power Plants Bloom Even as Electricity Prices Wilt
A glut of gas flowing out of the shale field has helped fuel a surge in power plant construction in the northeast. A glut of gas flowing out of U.S. Continue Reading
It’s Been One of the Worst Years Ever for Billion-Dollar U.S. Weather Disasters
Hurricanes, floods, fires dominated coast-to-coast events ‘This is one of the worst years on record for U.S. damages’ In the year that President Donald Trump pulled out of the Paris Continue Reading
The Biggest Oil Story Of 2017
The ban on crude exports from the U.S. was lifted at the end of 2015, and exports ticked up in the following year, but only modestly. 2017, however, was the Continue Reading
There Aren’t Enough Truckers In Texas
Permian’s production growth—the main driver of the second shale revolution as oil prices crept higher this year—may be limited not by geological or technological constraints, but by a shortage of Continue Reading
Oil treading water even as Forties pipeline system returns to life
Oil prices started the trading day Thursday in static territory after pipeline operator Ineos said restrictions on a major North Sea network were lifted. “All restrictions on the flow of Continue Reading