Soros Fund Management, a hedge fund firm, took new strides in the energy sector, purchasing stakes in Devon Energy and Transocean, a regulatory filing showed Tuesday. “The investments of investorGeorge Soros and his family, bought 385,497 shares of Devon Energy and 149,000 shares of Transocean in the fourth quarter, according to a filing with the… Keep reading →
Oil prices increased to their highest in nearly two months on Monday, following concerns over escalating conflict with Islamic State militants in Libya and threats to withhold exports from Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdish region. “Egypt bombed Islamic State targets inside Libya on Monday and Cairo renewed calls for a U.S.-led coalition to confront militants there a… Keep reading →
Oil Rig Count Continues To Plunge, with a Baker Hughes rig survey reporting the number of rigs is down 30% from November. “America’s oil and gas drillers laid down 98 rigs last week, 84 oil rigs and 14 gas rigs. The number of rigs drilling horizontal wells into shale formations topped out at 1,372 in… Keep reading →
Citigroup predicted the recent increase in oil prices is a temporary lull in the downward price trajectory. The bank lowered its crude oil price forecast. “Despite global declines in spending that have driven up oil prices in recent weeks, oil production in the U.S. is still rising, wrote Edward Morse, Citigroup’s global head of commodity… Keep reading →
The world’s richest sovereign wealth fund severed ties with 32 coal mining companies, removing them from its portfolio in 2014, based on the risk of facing regulatory action on climate change. “Norway’s Government Pension Fund Global (GPFG), worth $850bn (£556bn) and founded on the nation’s oil and gas wealth, revealed a total of 114… Keep reading →
Illicit oil sales are no longer the main source of revenue for the Islamic State, according to a Pentagon statement earlier this week. “Oil smuggling had become a crucial source of revenue for the group, which holds a handful of oil fields in Iraq and Syria. Oil profits set the extremist organization apart from other… Keep reading →
Despite the 15 percent jump in oil since Thursday, U.S. crude is not in for a sharp bounce upward, Stewart Glickman of S&P Capital IQ told CNBC on Tuesday. The energy equity analyst noted in a “Squawk on the Street” interview that the forecast from S&P Capital IQ sister company Bentek Energy for 2015 puts… Keep reading →
An increase in the price of oil did little to affect the U.S. stocks, with the market remaining unchanged at the close of business yesterday. “A jump in oil helped push up energy stocks, but other sectors slipped after disappointing data on the U.S. economy. European markets closed mostly higher after France endorsed Greece’s efforts… Keep reading →
A new report from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection has found that there is little to no risk of radiation exposure from hydraulic fracturing activity. “In the most comprehensive study of the subject ever conducted, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection found that there is no concern of radiation exposure from fracking wells for… Keep reading →
Oil prices surged following Saudi Arabia’s Royal Court announcement of the death of King Abdullah on Friday. Brent crude climbed as much as 2.6 percent, while West Texas Intermediate jumped 3.1 percent, following the announcement. It is yet to be seen whether Saudi Arabia, OPEC’s largest oil producer, will change its policies with respect to its oil output, but many analysts do not expect Saudi’s oil policies to change with the crowning of King Abdullah’s half-brother, Crown Prince Salman. In fact, Bloomberg reports that King Salman announced he will maintain the policies of his predecessor and that Saudi Oil Minister Ali Al-Naimi will remain in his post.
