Lower oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) prices, both off by around 40 percent and 60 percent in the past year respectively, will continue to change the global energy landscape, impacting everything from when and if new energy projects go forward, capex spending decisions at integrated oil majors, and even geopolitics. There is not much… Keep reading →
Four years ago, on March 11, 2011, a powerful earthquake triggered a massive tsunami that struck Japan’s northeastern Fukushima prefecture and led to a nuclear disaster – multiple reactor core meltdowns – at the Fukushima Daichi nuclear power plant. Unsurprisingly, that event prompted numerous national governments to reevaluate existing nuclear power plant safety regulations, with differing… Keep reading →
With the global oil market in a situation where futures contract prices are higher than prevailing prices – known by traders as contango – there is an incentive to purchase crude now and hold it until oil prices recover. Indeed, the world’s largest trading houses have been chartering tankers and shares of oil tanker companies… Keep reading →
The fallout from declining oil prices continues materializing on a daily basis – several companies announced workforce reductions this week – and Baker Hughes is one of the latest to make that difficult decision. “This is what I hate about this industry, frankly, is these brutal cycles we have to go through,” said Martin Craighead, chief executive… Keep reading →
It’s that time of the year again when world leaders, CEOs, thought leaders, power brokers and dignitaries from business and politics alike descend on the small Swiss ski resort of Davos for the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2015. This year’s gathering is scheduled for January 21-24 and Davos is sure to be bursting at… Keep reading →
Converting natural gas to liquid fuels using Fischer-Tropsch conversion is not a new idea but it has always been a big one, meaning it has always required very large and expensive production facilities. Royal Dutch Shell and South Africa’s Sasol have been the industry leaders in Gas-to-Liquids (GTL) for decades but their existing GTL plants… Keep reading →
Hedge funds are pulling out of bets that crude oil prices will rise in the short to medium term. With the market currently well supplied, investors are increasingly taking futures and options positions that could be profitable if oil prices decline further. “Money managers cut net-long positions, or wagers on rising prices, for benchmark West… Keep reading →
The Short-term Energy Outlook is the EIA’s periodic analysis of where energy fundamentals appear to be heading based on current data and assumptions. The reports cover supply/demand dynamics and pricing for oil, natural gas, refined products, coal, power, renewables, emissions and the US economy. This edition of the EIA’s STEO – released earlier this week… Keep reading →
As Wall Street retreats from the energy trading business new players like major oil companies, utilities and other corporate enterprises are taking large chunks of the energy derivative and price hedging market. “With Wall Street hamstrung by growing regulatory restrictions, a recently finalized ban on proprietary trading and increased capital requirements, these corporate behemoths are… Keep reading →
The investment banking community recently picked up on this trend and the EIA’s latest Today In Energy post details greater coal use in the US power sector compared with last year. Although power generators’ fuel portfolios vary by region, at the national level, higher 2013 natural gas prices relative to coal prices motivate utilities to… Keep reading →
