Oil Prices Near $70 On Geopolitical Uncertainty
Oil prices closed out the first quarter on a high note, with Brent hovering around $70 and WTI at $65. Rising geopolitical concerns – declines in Venezuela and fears that Continue Reading
Oil, gas markets close week mixed amid optimism on U.S. production
After an up-and-then-down week, oil and gas markets closed slightly higher Thursday ahead of the Easter holiday weekend. All major U.S. and European stock exchanges and markets were closed Friday Continue Reading
Qatar energy firms to raise foreign share ownership to 49 percent: QP
Foreign investors will be able to hold up to 49 percent of Qatar stock exchange-listed shares in three subsidiaries of Qatar Petroleum (QP) [QATPE.UL] after limits on foreign ownership were Continue Reading
The Sahara Desert is expanding—world’s largest desert grew by 10 percent since 1920
The Sahara Desert has expanded by about 10 percent since 1920, according to a new study by University of Maryland scientists. The research is the first to assess century-scale changes Continue Reading
Saudi Stock Market Prepares New Rules For Aramco Listing
New financial market rules aimed at preventing major price drops in newly listed companies on Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul exchange will be ready by the end of this June, in anticipation Continue Reading
How Tillerson’s Exxon Designed an Oil Deal to Skirt Anticorruption Scrutiny
The drilling rights the company sought in Liberia, however, appeared to be linked to former officials from the West African nation, according to internal Exxon documents reviewed by The Wall Continue Reading
Royal Dutch Shell’s Brazil subsidiary secures four deep-water blocks
Royal Dutch Shell’s Brazilian subsidiary secured four deep-water exploration blocks off the country’s coast, the company announced. Shell Brasil Petroleo said Thursday it will operate in two of the four Continue Reading
World’s Most Indebted Oil Company Makes Major Hedge
In February and March, Brazil’s state-controlled oil firm Petrobras hedged 128 million barrels of its expected 2018 production —equal to around 15 percent of total production—at an average price of Continue Reading
Total Tally For Fukushima Decommission Is $75 Billion
The decommissioning of the Fukushima nuclear power plant will cost an annual US$2 billion (220 billion yen) until 2021, an unnamed source told the Japan Times. Half of the money Continue Reading
Shanghai oil on par with U.S. market as local traders bet on lower prices
Shanghai crude oil futures fell further on Thursday and were at parity with the U.S. market, as state oil majors and local traders piled on more bearish bets amid concerns Continue Reading
China uses economic muscle to bring N Korea to negotiating table
China virtually halted exports of petroleum products, coal, and other key materials to North Korea in the months leading to this week’s unprecedented summit between Kim Jong Un, the North Continue Reading
Russia Could Build North-South Korea Gas Pipeline
A decade-old idea of a Russian gas pipeline to South Korea via North Korea could be revived if the security situation on the Korean peninsula improves, South Korea’s Foreign Minister Continue Reading
The U.S. Faces A Pipeline Crisis
The U.S. threatens to swamp the world with oil in the next few years, although that will only be possible if there is a commensurate construction boom for pipelines to Continue Reading
Baker Hughes: With 2-rig loss, US rig count drops for first time this month
In the only decline for the month, the US drilling rig count dropped 2 units to 993 during the week ended Mar. 30, data from Baker Hughes indicate. The report, Continue Reading
Payback Time: Oilfield Services Raise Prices
Oilfield service providers are upping their prices, the latest Dallas Fed Energy Survey has found, confirming what producers began to complain about last year when oil prices started recovering. The Continue Reading
As shale wells grow longer, buyouts attract hemmed in oil producers
A recent drought in oil company mergers and acquisitions could be coming to an end over a new Texas range war: U.S. shale producers are building miles-long horizontal wells that Continue Reading
U.S. crude oil production rose slightly in January: EIA
(Reuters) – U.S. crude production rose by 6,000 barrels per day (bpd) in January to 9.964 million barrels per day, the Energy Information Administration said in a monthly report on Continue Reading
Exclusive: Trump weighs dropping personal efforts on biofuel reform – sources
President Donald Trump is seriously considering abandoning efforts to remake the nation’s biofuel laws after wading deep into an issue that divides some of his core constituencies, according to three Continue Reading
Trump’s Tariffs Can’t Deter Chinese LNG Investment
In all of the problematic trade talk between Washington and Beijing, and with mounting concerns that Trump’s tariff plans could cause such a backlash that China would even consider ditching Continue Reading
FirstEnergy Asks For Government Bailout
Utility FirstEnergy has asked for what is effectively a government bailout for several nuclear and coal-fired plants, after it said it would have to shutter three nuclear power facilities over Continue Reading
Judge Deals Exxon Blow In Climate Cover-Up Case
A federal judge has put an end to Exxon’s attempt to sue the district attorneys of New York and Massachusetts for investigating the company with relation to its alleged cover-up Continue Reading
EPA To Scrap Fuel Efficiency Rules
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is expected to announce in the coming days that it will be rolling back the fuel economy targets for cars and SUVs—a move that Continue Reading
EPA chief to sign fuel economy determination this weekend: sources
US Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt will sign a final determination by Sunday which will begin a months-long effort to weaken US fuel economy standards and likely set off Continue Reading
Oil prices rise with Wall Street; U.S. crude discount widens
Oil prices rose on Thursday as the equities markets rallied and as market participants weighed a rise in U.S. crude inventories and production against continued OPEC supply curbs. WTI’s discount Continue Reading
New Oilfield Capex To Surpass $800 Billion By 2025
Capital expenditure on upcoming oil and gas fields worldwide will amount to US$811 billion on 615 projects planned between 2018 and 2025, data and analytics company GlobalData says. In upcoming Continue Reading
Oil Majors Should Invest In Deepwater Drilling
Following a record year for production, deepwater drilling may be bound for another round of investment. All the oil and gas exploration financed in the decade of high prices that Continue Reading
Oil to rise in 2018 as OPEC wages tug-of-war with U.S. shale: Reuters poll
(Reuters) – Oil prices are likely to rise this year thanks to supply disruptions and an OPEC-led deal to limit production, but doubts over the future of compliance with the Continue Reading
Big Oil Expresses Interest In 11 Iraqi Oil & Gas Fields
Sixteen companies—including Big Oil’s Exxon, Chevron, and Total—have expressed interest in taking part in Iraq’s bidding round on April 15, which will award the rights to develop 11 oil and Continue Reading
Iraq’s Oil Reserves May Be Much Higher Than Thought
Iraq’s crude oil reserves may turn out to be much higher than believed, the country’s oil minister Jabar al-Luaibi said at a recent industry event, timing the statement with news Continue Reading
IOCs scramble to analyze new contract model
The Oil Ministry has shortened the deadline for its fifth bidding round, giving companies just days to evaluate big changes to the contract model. Iraqi oil officials lead the first Continue Reading
The World’s Biggest Solar Project Comes With a ‘Batteries Included’ Sticker
Lower cost to store power signals end to daytime-only supplies Solar developers adding batteries to projects around the world The world’s biggest-ever solar project — a $200 billion venture in Continue Reading
Sudan: Fuel Shortage Bites Across Sudan
Sudan — The shortage of fuel and cooking gas has renewed in Khartoum and a number of states over the past two days. People reported to Radio Dabanga that buses Continue Reading
How Tillerson’s Exxon Designed an Oil Deal to Skirt Anticorruption Scrutiny
The drilling rights the company sought in Liberia, however, appeared to be linked to former officials from the West African nation, according to internal Exxon documents reviewed by The Wall Continue Reading
Shadow cast over peace talks as fighting flares, oil declines in South Sudan
Clashes flared between Sudan Sudanese troops and rebels, complicating talks to end the civil war that has cut oil production, two days after a regional bloc called for the insurgents’ Continue Reading
Exxon leads oil majors in bids for Brazil’s offshore reserves
Exxon Mobil Corp roared into Brazil’s prolific offshore oil fields again on Thursday, clinching eight blocks in partnership with other oil firms eager to lap up the country’s choice reserves Continue Reading
U.S. efforts to pressure oil-rich Venezuela tricky
Data in a U.S. report suggests that as Venezuela depends on oil revenue, and it’s a top oil exporter to the United States, pressure could cuts both ways. The U.S. Continue Reading
Alfred De Zayas: Venezuela must take the US to the International Court of Justice
Alfred De Zayas, UN independent expert for the promotion of an international democratic and equitable order (Archive) Alfred de Zayas, a UN Independent Expert for the promotion of an international Continue Reading
European Majors Join Race for Mexico Oil Bonanza in Gulf Waters
European oil majors are swarming the shallow-waters of the Gulf of Mexico as the country races to attract investment before an election. (Bloomberg) — European oil majors are swarming the Continue Reading
China’s crude oil futures contract should confound the skeptics: Kemp
China’s new crude oil futures contract, which began trading this week, has a good chance of confounding the doubters and becoming a regional benchmark where other contracts have failed. The Continue Reading
Exclusive: China taking first steps to pay for oil in yuan this year – sources
China is taking its first steps towards paying for imported crude oil in yuan instead of the U.S. dollar, three people with knowledge of the matter told Reuters, a key Continue Reading
U.S. Petroleum Imports Could Fall To Zero In 2020
In 2006, following 35 years of declining U.S. oil production, net monthly imports of crude oil and finished products had climbed to more than 13 million barrels per day (BPD). Continue Reading
Hitachi, Mitsubishi Motors and ENGIE testing plug-in vehicles as renewable energy storage for office buildings
Hitachi Europe Ltd., Mitsubishi Motors and ENGIE are partnered in a project to explore the potential for electric vehicles to act as a means of energy storage for an office Continue Reading
Shanghai oil on par with U.S. market as local traders bet on lower prices
Shanghai crude oil futures fell further on Thursday and were at parity with the U.S. market, as state oil majors and local traders piled on more bearish bets amid concerns Continue Reading
China Auto Exec on Self-Driving Cars: ‘You Can’t Just Put Some Sensors on Top’
China has made self-driving auto technology a national priority, but the recent U.S. fatality involving an autonomous test car is prompting calls for the Chinese government to slow those efforts Continue Reading
U.S. oil drillers cut rigs for first week in three: Baker Hughes
U.S. energy companies this week cut oil rigs for the first time in three weeks even as crude prices hover near three-year highs. A man works on the rig of Continue Reading
Exclusive: Firms complain of contaminated crude from U.S. reserve
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Three firms that bought crude oil last year from U.S. emergency stockpiles raised concerns about dangerous levels of a poisonous chemical in the cargoes, according to Continue Reading
Exclusive: Trump advisers urge him to leave biofuel reforms to Congress
President Donald Trump’s advisers have urged him to let Congress take the lead in efforts to lower the cost of the nation’s biofuels policy for refining companies, and to use Continue Reading
Alberta puts incentives offer behind effort to cut emissions
More than $25 million in funding is available for large industrial polluters who come up with clever ways to cut emissions, an oil-rich Canadian province said. The provincial government in Continue Reading
Canada taking less LNG as North American shale improves
The change in the North American natural gas sector means Canadian imports of liquefied natural gas from top suppliers like Qatar are declining, data show. The National Energy Board, the Continue Reading
U.S. issues call for information on Arctic lease for drillers
The U.S. government published a call for information in the Federal Registry on Thursday regarding a proposed opening for drillers in Alaska’s Arctic waters. The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management Continue Reading