Barclays

Oil Prices Set For a Bumpy Ride in 2012

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Although Iranian geopolitical risk could ease in the second quarter of 2012, the global oil market remains tight, with considerable risk to both the upside and downside, says international banking giant Barclays in its most recent quarterly Global Outlook.

If the news flow from Iran slows in the second quarter, the bank sees oil prices easing slightly lower, as the decreased threat of a supply disruption would calm traders. However, the tightness in the global oil system – spare production capacity is currently only about 2% of global demand – is likely to persist into the second half of the year, keeping upward pressure on prices. Keep reading →

 /  Published March 27, 2012 at 9:00 AM

Barclays Closes US Carbon Desk In Latest Cap And Trade Setback

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A major European bank closed its US carbon trading business this week in a sign that 2012 is a “make-or-break” year for cap-and-trade programs designed to fight climate change.

London-based Barclays determined the US carbon market, currently comprised of a handful of states, is too small to justify the expense of a dedicated trading desk in New York, according to sources familiar with the decision. Barclays was a major player in US greenhouse-gas trading programs on the East and West coasts and remains active in Europe’s carbon market, the largest in the world. Seth Martin, a Barclays spokesman, declined to comment. Keep reading →

 /  Published January 20, 2012 at 1:30 PM

Oil Majors Seek Power Of The Sun

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Using solar-powered facilities in enhanced oil recovery has attracted widespread attention in the industry, and now the sector’s largest firms are moving the technology out of the lab and into the market.

GlassPoint Solar’s successful start-up of the first commercial solar thermal enhanced oil recovery (EOR) system in California has raised questions about the technology’s prospects for widespread use, both in the US and internationally. Keep reading →

 /  Published July 28, 2011 at 10:45 AM

Natural Gas Review: Boring Is Beautiful

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Natural gas prices will remain little-changed from their current levels over the remainder of the year and into 2012, analysts said as they review the fuel’s recovery from a slight dip in May amid a broader commodities sell-off and ahead of first-half 2011 financial results.


Low and comparatively stable natural gas markets are widely held to be structuring the impending future of the US power sector, limiting the uptake of more-expensive renewable fuels and easing the impacts of emissions limits that could impose new costs on power plants. The fuel’s accessibility and pricing has attracted the attention of alternative-fuel vehicle manufacturers, who propose a new transport system based on natural gas rather than refined petroleum. Keep reading →

 /  Published July 20, 2011 at 6:00 AM
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