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 →
Brazilian billionaire Eike Batista faces regulatory scrutiny for potential illegal activity at petroleum company OGX. From luncheons with Madonna to reportedly selling his $19 million yacht for scrap, Batista’s highly-publicized fall from grace continues. [New York Times] Chinese national oil champion CNPC just bought into Novatek’s Yamal LNG venture, giving French Total and CNPC 20%… Keep reading →
It’s no longer, if, but rather when. In study released in late July 2013, DB’s US-based Vishal Shah estimates that three-quarters of the world’s solar market will be “sustainable” within 18 months, meaning they can operate with little or no subsidy. In 2 years, he reckons, the market will have flipped from one being largely… Keep reading →
Natural gas inventories, or the volume of gas periodically injected, stored and withdrawn in various parts of the US, is a major price determinant. Storage dynamics also vary significantly by region, from production centers with ample salt cavern storage capacity to demand centers like the northeast where cold winters require utilities to maintain enough supply… Keep reading →
Companies often lament regulations that impact their business and tout free markets, but here’s a case of a company applauding tougher regulations that could boost the market for its products. Power Solutions International claims to be the world’s largest alternatively-fueled engine manufacturer and sees pending diesel emissions limits as an opportunity for on- and non-road… Keep reading →
Yesterday’s Gulf of Mexico lease sale brought in just over $102 million in high bids, less than the two previous sales. Various news outlets described it in less-than-glowing terms. Oil & Gas Journal called the results “lackluster“, while Fuel Fix said the sale drew “tepid interest“. “This sale was not eye-popping, and may be closer to a… Keep reading →
Coal-to-gas switching in the power sector has been a “brutally efficient” driver of US natural gas demand, and until new demand sources materialize, it will keep gas trading in the $3.20-$4.20 per million Btu range, according to Macquarie Global Oil & Natural Gas Economist Vikas Dwivedi. “Gas demand so far has been led by power,” Dwivedi said during… 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 →
The enormous blackout that left 50 million people along the US East Coast without power occurred 10 years ago this week and Scientific American spoke with electrical engineer Jeff Dagle, a member of the task force and a specialist in power-grid resilience at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, to find out what caused the failure and what’s… Keep reading →
The decade long reformation of energy trading now looks to be only the opening act of a transformation that Dodd Frank regulation and a newly aggressive – and costly – approach by federal regulators is set to propel into its next stage. Deregulation of energy markets, only partially finished by federal regulators before the collapse… Keep reading →
