US tight oil production has already helped to shave somewhere on the order of $20-$25 per barrel from Brent crude oil prices, and continued output growth has the potential to further impact global pricing, according to Energy Information Administration (EIA) Administrator Adam Sieminski. The uptick in US oil production – which rose to 6.5 million… Keep reading →
It’s a commonly used analogy for the global oil market: Crude oil is fungible and supplies from
producing countries and companies enter a giant pool that is drained by a wide variety of consumers. Analysts, academics and politicians often talk of the global oil trade in this manner, saying that additional supplies of oil – regardless of where they originate – are good for US energy security because increased volumes available on the global market should exert downward price pressure. Well, perhaps unsurprisingly, it’s not that simple.
The situation is clarified in a recent journal article titled “Crude Oil Is Not Fungible, Where It Comes from Does Matter, and Global Markets Are More Fragmented Than Many Think.” The piece, written by Jonathan Chanis, a long-time commodity trader, finance expert and current Columbia University professor, appeared in American Foreign Policy Interests: The Journal of the National Committee on American Foreign Policy. Keep reading →
The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries Tuesday warned that expectations of growth in non-OPEC oil supply this year–seen as essential to meeting global oil demand in the long term–were subject to a high level of risk, particularly in the U.S.
It appears increasingly likely that Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez will not return to power following his latest cancer treatment in December and analysts are considering the implications of a post-Chavez regime for one of the largest crude oil producers in the world.
Venezuela holds some of the world’s largest oil reserves and is the second largest Opec oil exporter to the US. Oil revenue accounts for a bulk of the government’s income and has largely been used to fund Chavez’s wide-ranging social programs. But the country’s oil industry – which is essentially state-owned company PDVSA – has been struggling with declining production rates at mature fields, along with other problems. Keep reading →
The New York Energy Forum held its annual kickoff meeting last Thursday night, where leading market analysts presented their views about where oil and natural gas markets are headed this year. Sanctions-bitten Iranian crude output, the interplay of fundamentals and financial factors in oil markets and the US petroleum output boom were all topics of discussion.
Global benchmark crudes West Texas Intermediate and Brent have been range bound for the past two years and the speakers expected little change in 2013, despite an uptick in global oil demand. Keep reading →
As some of the world’s foremost energy experts from business, academia and government gathered in Austin, Texas for a major energy conference, the Northeastern US was still reeling from Hurricane Sandy’s devastation that took lives, homes and disrupted power and fuel delivery for millions of people. This stark reminder of how fragile US energy infrastructure can be makes the conference theme, “Transition to a Sustainable Energy Era: Opportunities and Challenges,” all the more timely and important.
The 31st US Association of Energy Economics/International Association of Energy Economics North American Conference kicked off this morning with an opening plenary session that was appropriately titled, “Putting the ‘Sustainable’ in Sustainable Energy Future.” Keep reading →
US dependence on imported crude oil is expected to drop to 41% this year, but it could drop even faster, and even to zero, says Adam Sieminski, Administrator of the Energy Information Administration.
EIA’s forecast is a substantial reduction even from 2011, when imports met 45% of US demand, and way below the record year of 2005 when the US imported 60%. Analysts agree that discoveries of new US resources, improvements in US auto fuel economy, and lower overall demand due to the recession have combined to reduce the need for imports. Keep reading →
The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries wants its members to rein in oil output, the group’s chief was quoted as saying Wednesday. OPEC must rein in output in line with the agreed ceiling of 30 million barrels a day, OPEC Secretary-General Abdalla Salem el-Badri was quoted as saying by the Gulf Oil Review. OPEC is still producing 1.2 million barrels a day above this threshold despite an agreement to keep that level in June, according to data from secondary sources compiled by OPEC analysts last week.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper (L) of Canada welcomes US President Barack Obama to the G8 Summit at Deerhurst Resort in Huntsville, Ontario, on June 25, 2010.
The recently announced high-profile oil and gas acquisitions by Chinese state-controlled companies highlight the numerous opportunities for the US and Canada to both partner and compete in global energy markets. Keep reading →
With a mix of nuclear, coal, natural gas, hydro and other renewable energy sources, the US electrical grid is energy independent, Chairman, President and CEO of Duke Energy Jim Rogers told the audience at the recent New York Times Energy for Tomorrow Conference.
Going back to the 1970′s US energy crisis, the idea of energy independence has been discussed, debated, shot down and resurrected countless times. When a panel of energy and environment experts gave the concept a fresh look, technology and natural gas were two key themes. Keep reading →
Jared Anderson
Conway Irwin
Peter Gardett