Oil Price Outlook December 2017
This assessment is based on the data in the 2017 BP Statistical Review of World Energy available here. As such it uses that review’s definition of oil which is crude Continue Reading
Analysts Raise 2018 Oil Price Forecasts
Oil and gas analysts at investment banking firm Jefferies raise their 2018 Brent Crude and WTI oil price forecasts. Oil and gas analysts at investment banking firm Jefferies have raised Continue Reading
How Low Oil Prices Have Decimated The Saudi Economy
Back when oil was at $100 and above, the Saudi economy was firing on all cylinders, and nobody even dreamed that the crown jewel of Saudi Arabia – Aramco – Continue Reading
Giant gas field startup could transform Egypt
The Egyptian energy sector will be transformed now that production started at the Zohr gas field, one of the biggest in the world, Italy’s Eni said Wednesday. Production started at Continue Reading
Tables Turned: Saudi Arabia Hunts for Oil Assets in the U.S.
Saudi Arabia’s energy Minister Khalid al-Falih speaks at an oil-and-gas conference in Basra, Iraq, on Dec. 4. Saudi Arabia is hunting for an energy deal in American shale country, as Continue Reading
Zohr Begins Production
Eni SpA announces the production start up of Zohr, the largest ever discovery of gas in the Mediterranean Sea. Eni SpA announced Wednesday the production start up of Zohr, the Continue Reading
Iraq oil ministry starts taking over Majnoon oilfield operations
Iraq’s oil ministry said on Thursday it had started to take over operations of Majnoon oilfield from Royal Dutch Shell and planned to lift output in future. The ministry said Continue Reading
Venezuela’s Brutal Crime Crackdown: Executions, Machetes and 8,292 Dead
“We think they were alive a good while as they died from asphyxia,” said Zair Mundaray, a veteran prosecutor who led the exhumation and investigation that pieced together how the Continue Reading
Exclusive: PDVSA in talks with Trafigura to swap over 10 pct of crude output – documents
Venezuela’s PDVSA and international trading company Trafigura are in discussions to swap over 10 percent of the South American country’s crude output for imported fuels for domestic use, according to Continue Reading
BP and Kosmos partner on five Ivory Coast offshore oil blocks
Ivory Coast has awarded partners BP and Kosmos Energy five new offshore oil blocks under an agreement with state oil company Petroci, government spokesman Bruno Kone said on Wednesday. Petroci Continue Reading
China’s Natural Gas Consumption Soars
Chinese natural gas consumption surged through the first 11 months of 2017, up 19 percent year-on-year. China is the third largest consumer of natural gas in the world, behind the Continue Reading
Parts of Alaska wilderness open to oil and gas drilling with tax overhaul
At long last, a senator said the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is open to responsible energy development, though advocates said the move is “unconscionable.” U.S. Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Dan Continue Reading
New York pension move from oil and gas draws grassroots praise
While some U.S. political trends are diverging from public opinion, environmentalists said it was people power that led to New York divesting from fossil fuels. Advocacy group 350.org said its Continue Reading
For Oil Drillers, Glut Damps the Excitement as Arctic Opens Up
Congressional Republicans and the Trump administration are poised to offer up a bevy of new opportunities for oil exploration in lands and waters owned by the government. They happen to Continue Reading
Summary of Weekly Petroleum Data for the Week Ending December 15, 2017
U.S. crude oil refinery inputs averaged about 17.1 million barrels per day during the week ending December 15, 2017, 111,000 barrels per day more than the previous week’s average. Refineries Continue Reading
Is Aramco Shopping For U.S. Shale?
Saudi Aramco has held early talks to buy a stake in a U.S. company and has inquired about potentially acquiring assets in the two biggest U.S. oil and gas shale Continue Reading
EV Range Set To Triple With New Lithium Battery Breakthrough
The University of Waterloo researchers breakthrough involves the use of negative electrodes (the anode) made of lithium metal, a material with the potential to dramatically increase battery storage capacity. Quanquan Continue Reading
Small Portion Of Alaska Wildlife Refuge Opens For Drilling
Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) is now open for drilling as a result of a recent congressional vote on the issue, which ended over forty years of debate on Continue Reading
Surge in U.S. shale hedging to boost drilling in 2018
When oil prices rocketed toward $60 a barrel this fall, U.S. shale producers hedged more barrels of oil during the quarter than in at least three years, which could help Continue Reading
What’s Next For U.S. Shale Giants?
For OPEC, U.S. shale oil is a curse. For the Trump administration, it is the biggest tool to help achieve what the White House has dubbed energy dominance . There Continue Reading
Exclusive: Offshore driller Ocean Rig prepares to explore sale-sources
Offshore driller Ocean Rig UDW Inc is preparing to explore a sale amid pressure from some of its largest shareholders to review its strategic alternatives, according to three people familiar Continue Reading
Kremlin says it’s trying to get ahead of sanctions
The Kremlin is working to figure out ways to maneuver around possible sanctions that could restrict Russia’s business opportunities, a spokesman said. Russia’s currency lost considerable value at the start Continue Reading
Barclays Bearish On Oil Prices In 2018
Unplanned temporary outages such as the Forties Pipeline shutdown are currently supporting oil prices, but as we go into 2018 a lot of those temporary issues will go away and Continue Reading
ITER Nuclear Fusion Plant Is Halfway Finished
The International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor plant in Saint-Paul-Lez-Durance, France, is 50 percent complete. The sprawling landscape of construction cranes and partially completed buildings, along with a massive metal-and-steel ring, was Continue Reading
UK’s Forties North Sea oil pipeline due to restart in early Jan -Ineos
Britain’s Forties oil and gas pipeline, one of the biggest in the North Sea, should restart in early January after repairs to a crack over Christmas, operator Ineos said on Continue Reading
Bribery Scandal Blemishes Big Week For Eni
It’s been a busy week for Eni. The Italian oil giant started production at the largest natural gas field in the Eastern Mediterranean. But Eni’s CEO also just found out Continue Reading
Oil Climbs After Surprise Drop in Industry Tally of U.S. Supply
Buyers draining American storage points to tighter market Traders awaiting weekly U.S. government count on Wednesday Crude rose in after-hours trading because an oil-industry assessment was said to show a Continue Reading
Oil Prices Rise After API Reports Significant Draw In Crude Inventories
The American Petroleum Institute (API) reported a draw of 5.222 million barrels of United States crude oil inventories for the week ending December 15, marking three large draws in as Continue Reading
Oil Gains as Pipeline Outage Continues
Oil prices rose Tuesday, helped in part by the continuing outage of a North Sea pipeline and reports that Russia’s largest oil company could envision continuing production curbs past 2018. Continue Reading
Oil crawls up as UK pipeline still out; U.S. supply limits gains
Oil edged up towards $64 a barrel on Tuesday, helped by a North Sea pipeline outage, OPEC-led supply cuts and expectations that U.S. crude inventories had fallen for a fifth Continue Reading
Goldman Says ‘Stellar’ Demand May Fast-Forward OPEC’s Exit
Global oil inventories will have re-balanced by mid-2018 Backwardation forecast to strengthen further in second quarter OPEC’s desire to clear the global oil inventory overhang may come sooner than expected, Continue Reading
Analysts Raise 2018 Oil Price Forecasts
Oil and gas analysts at investment banking firm Jefferies raise their 2018 Brent Crude and WTI oil price forecasts. Oil and gas analysts at investment banking firm Jefferies have raised Continue Reading
Sanction-Proof Oil Rig Beats US Policy From Cuba to Russia
The oil rig was built mostly in China and drilled its first well in Cuba. Now it’s delivering a victory for Russia in its fight against U.S. sanctions. Italian oil Continue Reading
The World’s Biggest Offshore Boom Is Accelerating
In a sign that Brazil’s offshore sector is competitive in a world of $50–$60 oil prices, two large oil companies just announced significant investments in oil fields in the South Continue Reading
Fracking Puts Pressure on OPEC’s Bottom Tier
Regarding Walter Russell Mead’s “ Fracking Our Way to Mideast Peace ” (op-ed, Dec. 12): While the general sentiment is correct that American energy independence frees American foreign policy, it Continue Reading
Protestors Demand Kurdish Officials To Step Down
Tension in Kurdistan is again high as Kurdish protestors have been demanding for two days that the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) quit, in the latest fallout from the independence referendum Continue Reading
Protests in Kurdistan turn violent
At least four people have been killed, dozens injured and numerous political party offices burned across Iraqi Kurdistan as protestors railed for a second day over a lack of public Continue Reading
Saudi Arabia intercepts Houthi missile fired toward Riyadh; no reported casualties
Saudi air defenses shot down a ballistic missile fired by Yemen’s Houthi group toward Riyadh on Tuesday, the Saudi-led coalition said, in an attack that could escalate a proxy war Continue Reading
Ballistic missile intercepted over Saudi Arabia capital Riyadh
A MISSILE fired at Saudi Arabia’s capital Riyadh was shot down moments before it hit a royal palace today. Saudi air defences intercepted a ballistic missile fired towards the city, Continue Reading
Zohr Begins Production
Eni SpA announces the production start up of Zohr, the largest ever discovery of gas in the Mediterranean Sea. Eni SpA announced Wednesday the production start up of Zohr, the Continue Reading
Venezuela’s impact on oil markets could be worse than expected: RBC
Oil traders expecting steep production losses from Venezuela are likely to be underestimating the severity of the country’s crisis, according to analysts at RBC Capital Markets. In a research note Continue Reading
Nigeria: Fuel Scarcity – Lagos Gets 300 Petrol Trucks, Abuja 170
The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, on Tuesday said it released 300 trucks of petrol to Lagos and 170 to Abuja, to stem long queues at filling stations. NNPC Spokesman, Continue Reading
Mexican Protesters Dig Up Part of a $400 Million Pipeline
Sempra’s natural-gas deliveries halted by indigenous group It’s deja-vu for Mexican planners beset by local opposition A chunk of Sempra Energy ’s natural gas pipeline sits in the dirt behind Continue Reading
BHP defends climate positions and Paris support
A day after the U.S president broke away from a climate precedent, Australian miner BHP said it may leave industry groups because of its stance on the Paris deal. In Continue Reading
Offshore oil searches are coming back to fashion – just not in Asia
Surveying the ocean floor for oil and natural gas reserves is gradually emerging from a multi-year slump, everywhere apart from Asia. That’s despite Asia being the world’s biggest consumer of Continue Reading
The Climate for Coal Just Got Even Chillier
It’s been a pretty good 18 months for the coal industry following the disastrous price crash of 2015, but on Tuesday miners got a big lump in their stockings. BHP, Continue Reading
Chinese growth gives support to oil prices
An assessment that China’s economy was in a steady pattern of growth and repair assessments on a North Sea pipeline system sent oil prices higher on Tuesday. China is the Continue Reading
China suffers natural gas shortage as coal ban backfires
AP reported that Chinese authorities have commandeered supplies of natural gas to heat homes, disrupting supplies to industry, after efforts to clear the smog-choked air by banning coal use led Continue Reading
China Orders Big Oil Firms to Cut Own Gas Use to Ease Shortfall
China has ordered the country’s biggest explorers to cut their use of natural gas to divert more of the fuel to the north, where a harsh winter is causing shortages. Continue Reading
Nebraska regulators deny TransCanada request on Keystone XL route
Nebraska regulators on Tuesday denied TransCanada Corp’s request to amend its route application for the proposed Keystone XL pipeline through the U.S. state, a potential setback for the company as Continue Reading