Crude oil futures lower as global trade risks increase
Crude oil futures fell more than 50 cents/b in mid-morning trade in Asia Friday as risk-off sentiment heightened on US trade policy and its stance on Iran sanctions. At 10:30 Continue Reading
Oil drops 1%, set for biggest monthly fall since November as trade wars spreads
Oil prices fell by more than 1% on Friday and were on track for their biggest monthly fall since November Front-month Brent crude futures, the international benchmark for oil prices, Continue Reading
Oil Prices Flat On Minor Crude Draw
Amid the ongoing fears of an escalating trade war between China and the United States, the Energy Information Administration countered the price decline potential of the China factor by reporting Continue Reading
Renewables Are Set To Outprice Oil & Gas By 2020
Moore’s Law might be dead, but Swanson’s Law remains alive and well. Swanson’s Law is the observation that solar PV panels tend to become 20 percent cheaper for every doubling Continue Reading
Sea-level rise could be even worse than we’ve been led to expect
ONE THING scientists are sure will happen as the world warms is that the seas will rise, putting millions of people at risk of land erosion, flooding and permanent displacement. Continue Reading
The State of Exploration 2019
Exploration activity bounced back in 2018 but declining performance points to the limitations of the global exploration drilling opportunity set and the urgent need for its renewal in 2019 and Continue Reading
World Oil Production, February 2019 Data.
The data for the charts below are from the EIA’s Monthly Energy Review . I will update this post Friday, May 31st with March data for the USA and charts Continue Reading
Libya’s New Civil War
On April 4, Khalifa Haftar , the militia leader who controls eastern Libya, launched a large-scale offensive to capture the capital, Tripoli. The attack marked the collapse of negotiations to Continue Reading
U.S. Lets Some Countries Continue Limited Iran Oil Imports
With tensions rising between Iran and the U.S. in recent days, amid concerns about a potential U.S.-Iran conflict, is there a chance the two countries could talk directly? WSJ’s Gerald Continue Reading
US ‘maximum pressure’ on Iran is empowering Russia in Syria
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani attend a news conference, after a meeting in the Black sea resort of Sochi on 14 February, 2019 [File: Reuters/Sergei Chirikov] Continue Reading
Trump’s sanctions hit OPEC oil output despite Saudi boost: survey
Top oil exporter Saudi Arabia has raised production in May, a Reuters survey found, but not by enough to compensate for lower Iranian exports which collapsed after the United States Continue Reading
U.S. says countries buying Iranian oil will be subject to sanctions
The United States will sanction any country which buys oil from Iran after the expiration of waivers on May 2, U.S. Special Representative for Iran Brian Hook said on Thursday. Continue Reading
Pompeo says Iran attacked oil tankers to raise global oil price
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Thursday blamed Iran for attacks on oil tankers in the Gulf, saying it was an effort by Tehran to raise the global price Continue Reading
Iraq’s North Oil Co. sues to take Khurmala back from KRG
Khurmala Dome accounts for one-third of Iraqi Kurdistan’s oil output; the federal North Oil Company, which controlled the field until 2008, is taking legal action to reclaim it. Then-KRG Prime Continue Reading
Japan’s Apr oil imports from Iran drop 52% on month to 141,712 b/d: METI
Japan cut its Iranian crude oil imports by 51.6% month on month to 141,712 b/d in April before the expiry of US sanction waivers on May 2, according to data Continue Reading
Trade War Starts Changing Manufacturers in Hard-to-Reverse Ways
When the Trump administration first imposed tariffs on $34 billion in Chinese imports in July, Andy LaFrazia figured it was just another curveball for his company. “Everyone was saying: ‘Oh, Continue Reading
Colombian cities hit by Venezuela gasoline shortages
Venezuela’s widespread gasoline shortages are starting to affect some cities in Colombia, where drivers depend on cheap fuel smuggled in from their socialist-governed neighbor. Residents of the Colombian border city Continue Reading
China willing to meet reasonable rare earth demand from other countries
China is willing to meet reasonable demand for rare earths from other countries, but it would be unacceptable that countries using Chinese rare earths to manufacture products would turn around Continue Reading
Burning tires: the murky oil business polluting parts of Asia
When local investigators scoured a riverbed in southern Malaysia for clues in a chemical dumping case that hospitalized over one thousand people earlier this year, they found a cocktail of Continue Reading
China’s CNPC Capital denies link to vessel carrying Iranian oil
China’s CNPC Capital, the financial arm of state energy giant China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC), said on Friday that a unit cited by a U.S. official this week as owning Continue Reading
China’s Factories Take a Bigger-Than-Expected Hit From U.S. Trade Battle
BEIJING—Activity in Chinese factories slumped in May, according to a key measure, as new orders for goods fell in response to uncertainties created by the escalating trade dispute with the Continue Reading
Weekly Petroleum Status Report
Summary of Weekly Petroleum Data for the week ending May 24, 2019 U.S. crude oil refinery inputs averaged 16.8 million barrels per day during the week ending May 24, 2019, Continue Reading
Investor Icahn sues Occidental Petroleum over ‘misguided’ Anadarko deal
Occidental Petroleum Corp’s activist investor Carl Icahn has filed a lawsuit against the company over what it called its “misguided” pact to buy Anadarko Petroleum Corp, and may seek a Continue Reading
Analysis: US gasoline stocks rise as implied demand stumbles
US gasoline inventories climbed 2.2 million barrels last week to 230.94 million barrels despite a drop in production, suggesting lower demand, data released by the Energy Information Administration showed Thursday. Continue Reading
US oil and natural gas rig count drops as Permian production climbs
Oil-directed rigs fall by seven to 849 Gas rigs fall by two to 210 Permian production climbing Houston — US oil and natural gas rigs fell by 13 to 1,061 Continue Reading
Exxon’s Shareholders Reject Climate Resolution
Exxon’s shareholders rejected a proposal to set up a climate change board committee and voted down a proposal for corporate governance changes that some shareholders had proposed to protest the Continue Reading
Domestic Gasoline Stocks Grew Ahead of Memorial Day Weekend
In the run-up to a busy Memorial Day weekend, refineries across the country boosted their crude utilization rate to 91.2% — a significant increase to a spring season which has Continue Reading
U.S. vows first oil lease sale in Alaska Arctic refuge this year
The U.S. Interior Department is determined to sell oil leases for the first time this year in the ecologically sensitive but presumably petroleum-rich coastal plain of Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Continue Reading
Trump Administration Lifts Summer Ethanol Ban
The move has been opposed by oil companies and environmentalists, who object that it could lead to higher prices at the gas pumps and increase air pollution during the summer Continue Reading
US launches large-scale project to store renewable energy
A pioneering $1bn project for large-scale storage of energy from wind and solar power has been launched in Utah, offering a way to manage the variability of renewable generation. A Continue Reading
Why Oil Majors Are Going All-In On U.S. Shale
Chevron sold off much of its assets in the North Sea, no longer viewing the region as a high priority. Ithaca Energy, backed by Israel-based Delek, agreed to buy Chevron Continue Reading
Analysis: US gasoline stocks rise as implied demand stumbles
US gasoline inventories climbed 2.2 million barrels last week to 230.94 million barrels despite a drop in production, suggesting lower demand, data released by the Energy Information Administration showed Thursday. Continue Reading
Oil Industry Ready to Attack as Trump Ups Ethanol in Fuels
Oil industry foes are preparing to go to court to fight an Environmental Protection Agency regulation allowing year-round sales of higher-ethanol E15 gasoline nationwide. The agency’s final rule, set to Continue Reading
US energy department rebrands gas exports ‘molecules of freedom’
US energy officials appeared to rebrand natural gas produced in the country as “freedom gas”, in a statement announcing an increase in exports. The US Department of Energy said the Continue Reading
The Energy 202: Trump administration’s ‘molecules of U.S. freedom’ come with a cost
“Molecules of U.S. freedom.” “Freedom gas.” That’s the latest way the Trump administration has decided to describe fuel that oil and gas companies are selling abroad. Both of those turns Continue Reading
UK data: Oil output rises 9% on year in Q1
UK oil production rose by nearly 9% on the year in the first quarter of 2019 to 1.18 million b/d, continuing a half-decade revival and beating industry expectations, government statistics Continue Reading
UK passes 300 hours of coal-free power generation
The UK passed 300 hours of coal-free generation on Thursday, the National Grid said, as mild, windy conditions reduced the need for older power plants. Receive daily email alerts, subscriber Continue Reading
Russia to start removing tainted oil from Belarus pipeline on June 1: Interfax
Russia’s pipeline monopoly Transneft said on Friday it planned to start removing tainted oil from the Belarusian pipeline on June 1, Interfax news agency reported citing a Transneft spokesman. The Continue Reading
Rotterdam The Hague Airport initiates study for the production of renewable jet fuel from air
Rotterdam The Hague Airport and a European consortium led by EDL Anlagenbau Gesellschaft mbH signed a cooperation agreement to develop a demonstration plant that produces renewable jet fuel from air. Continue Reading
Crude oil futures see mild recovery on bullish inventory data
Crude oil futures saw a modest upswing in mid-morning Asian trade on Thursday, despite a significant drawdown in US crude oil inventories, as US-China trade concerns continue to overshadow sentiment Continue Reading
Oil rises on declining U.S. crude stocks, but trade war worries linger
Oil prices rose on Thursday after an industry report showed a bigger-than-expected decline in U.S. crude inventories, although concerns that the U.S.-China trade war will trigger an economic downturn kept Continue Reading
Crude Inventory Draw Perks Up Oil Prices
The American Petroleum Institute (API) reported a large draw in crude oil inventory of 5.265 million barrels for the week ending May 24, coming in over analyst expectations of a Continue Reading
Oil prices fall as trade war worries outweigh supply disruptions
Oil prices fell in volatile trade on Wednesday, weighed down by equity markets as China signaled readiness to escalate the trade war with the United States, stoking concerns that an Continue Reading
Smart Money Turns Increasingly Bearish On Oil
Over the past month, hedge funds and other portfolio managers have been liquidating some of their bets that oil prices will rise, as concerns about the future of global economy Continue Reading
Fossil Fuel Subsidies Are Destroying The World: UN Head
Subsidies for the fossil fuel industry should be eliminated as they help to “destroy the world” the United Nation’s Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told media this week, adding pollution should be Continue Reading
Falling wind, solar power costs will aid in global climate action: report
Falling renewable power costs could be the solution to boosting global climate action, the International Renewable Energy Agency said in a report released Wednesday. In 2018 the global weighted-average cost Continue Reading
United Nations Says 80 Countries May Ramp Up Climate Pledges
About 80 countries want to increase their climate pledges ahead of schedule under the Paris climate accord, the United Nations said Tuesday, signaling that some of them would do so Continue Reading
Pompeo not decided on extending waiver for Iraq to import Iran power: spokeswoman
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has not made a decision on extending a 90-day U.S. waiver exempting Iraq from sanctions to buy energy from Iran, a State Department spokeswoman Continue Reading
One Huge Supply Risk Oil Market Shouldn’t Be Ignoring
While the oil market is fixated on the U.S.-China trade war for signs of demand, and on Iran, Venezuela, and the Middle East for signs of more supply disruptions, investors Continue Reading
No negotiations with U.S., says Iran’s Supreme Leader
Iran will not negotiate with the United States, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Wednesday, after President Hassan Rouhani signaled talks with Washington might be possible if sanctions were Continue Reading