As global oil prices continue to plunge based on an aggressive international trading policy by Saudi Arabia, questions are being raised about the sustainability of the U.S. shale boom.
“The price of oil fell some more on Tuesday, down as low as $75.84 before closing at $77 a barrel. The decline is blamed on Saudi Arabia cutting prices rather than cutting output amid signs of global glut. That’s discouraging to America’s highly leveraged drillers, who had been hoping beyond hope that $80 would act as a floor on prices.
If prices don’t recover soon this could be the beginning of the end of the Great American oil fracking boom. Already ConocoPhillips COP +2.06% and Shell have announced a pull back in onshore investment. But the real pain will be felt by the army of smaller independent producers.” [Forbes]
The Kremlin has accused the United States government of launching a money laundering investigation into his inner circle of confidants amid mounting Western sanctions. “
“Dmitry Peskov, Mr. Putin’s press secretary, told reporters Thursday that Moscow was not happy with a U.S. investigation into Gennady Timchenko, a co-founder of the Gunvor trading house, Reutersreported.
Sources told Reuters that Gunvor Group allegedly bought oil from Russia’s Rosneft and sold it to third parties after sanctions were imposed in the wake of Crimea’s annexation.
“What is happening in the various ‘sanction actions’ is hard to explain and very often is aimed directly against Putin. This is yet another example of this — though I don’t know how reliable the information is — this theme when the attacks on Russia focus on the leader of the country, Putin himself,” Mr. Peskov said, Reuters reported.” [Washington Post]
Solar 3D, a leading global solar power company has brought the complete stake in MD Energy, a Southern Californian based solar systems provider.
“The purchase is part of Solar3D’s growth-by-acquisition strategy, which is intended to dramatically accelerate the company’s top line revenues, as well as its operating earnings.
MD Energy is a premier provider of solar energy projects. It has designed and installed systems from a few kilowatts up to multi-megawatts for a variety of residential, commercial and industrial customers. MD Energy is operating profitably and its revenue in 2014 is anticipated to be approximately $7.3 million with substantial growth expected in 2015. Following the acquisition, MD Energy will continue to operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of Solar3D.
“The acquisition of MD Energy is a perfect complement to our SUNworks subsidiary, which is growing very rapidly in Northern California,” said Jim Nelson, Solar3D’s CEO. “MD Energy is located in Southern California, arguably the hottest solar market it the world right now. Our acquisition strategy is dependent on only acquiring companies with great leaders. We have that with Danny Mitchell, who will continue to lead his team of experienced professionals. We have enormous confidence in the commitment and competitive strength of MD Energy’s management team.” [CNN Money]
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