Canadian security agencies have been briefing representatives of energy companies who have obtained high-level security clearances, according to freedom of information documents obtained by the Guardian. “Meetings were officially billed to discuss ‘threats’ to energy infrastructure but also covered ‘challenges to energy projects from environmental groups’, ‘cyber security initiatives’ and ‘economic and corporate espionage’.” [Guardian]… Keep reading →
Domestic Saudi Arabian oil consumption increasingly cuts into oil exports, reducing the valuable revenue those exported barrels provide, which funds the country’s current account surplus. Subsidized domestic prices incentivize direct burning crude to generate power needed to cool a growing Saudi population. As the Kingdom shifts more to natural gas for power generation – freeing… Keep reading →
“There has rarely been a more compelling time to invest in energy,” said Barclays analysts in their latest Global Energy Outlook, released this morning. Here are four key takeaways: Oil price risk has swung from downside to upside, thanks to geopolitical risk. Geopolitical risk has supplanted US production growth as the big global story in… Keep reading →
The US Northeast has traditionally been saddled with some of the country’s highest natural gas prices. But with production growth in the region exceeding expectations, a resulting gas glut could push regional prices down below those at other trading points around the US, according to Barclays. Barclays data shows that output from the Marcellus shale,… Keep reading →
Early indications of the direction the newly activist Federal Energy Regulatory Commission are deeply worrying, not just for the power industry but for the entire economy, as well as for the future of the agency’s own necessary and important work in overseeing the evolving US electricity sector. Not many people cry for banks when regulators… Keep reading →
A rise in well permitting in recent weeks seems to point to robust drilling activity in the second half of this year, according to Barclays. The bank monitors permitting data in 30 states, which has been on an upward trajectory of late. Onshore drilling permit activity showed a 4% increase month-over-month in June, adjusted to… Keep reading →
JP Morgan may be on the verge of the largest payment ever to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, at close to $1 billion, related to allegations that the bank manipulated electricity markets in California and the Midwest. The deal is not yet finalized, but the conversations highlight an increasingly aggressive stance taken by a little-known… Keep reading →
New York Energy Week officially kicked off Monday night with a star-studded panel discussion and reception held at the New York Academy of Sciences’ beautiful event space on the 40th floor at 7 World Trade Center. The need for public/private partnerships when advancing energy initiatives was a common theme throughout the discussion, which was appropriate… Keep reading →
New York Energy Week kicks off today with the Solar Financing Market Perspectives breakfast at 8:00am (see Energy Solutions Forum’s solar policy primer here). The opening ceremony at 5:30pm features New York State Governor’s Office Chairman of Energy & Finance, Richard Kauffman; Kenneth Daly, President of National Grid New York; Francis J. Murray, Jr, President… Keep reading →
Oilfield service companies are being told to prepare for a ramp-up in natural gas drilling next year as the outlook for prices continues to improve, according to Barclays Oil Services and Drilling analyst James West. West presented the results of a semiannual survey of more than 300 oil and gas companies’ budgeted global upstream capital… Keep reading →
