Add the heft of Rice University’s respected Center for Energy Studies to the weight of scholarly analysis urging an end to America’s four-decades-old ban on domestic crude oil exports. In a new study, the center lays out a case for U.S. crude oil exports that builds on the findings of IHS, ICF, Brookings, the Aspen… Keep reading →
Earlier this month Oilprice.com’s Nick Cunningham wrote this piece explaining that the debate over exporting U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) has been won – citing the openness of the Obama administration and leading Democrats to exports. Cunningham writes: In fact the Obama administration and Congressional Democrats have received little blowback for the LNG projects that have received… Keep reading →
Smaller oil and gas producers have been major drivers of the US shale boom, and hedging has been critical to financing their operations. But rising production is driving more hedging activity as that market is becoming less liquid, which could mean higher hedging costs for some producers. “There’s a reason the shale and tight oil… Keep reading →
Google and private equity firm KKR are investing $400 million, including equity and debt financing, in six solar power plants being built by a subsidiary of Japan’s Sharp Corp. The projects have a combined capacity of 106 megawatts and should begin operating by January. [Reuters] The Tennessee Valley Authority is retiring eight units at three… Keep reading →
The possibility of a rapprochement in nuclear talks between the US and Iran – though they did not produce a deal – had fueled a degree of oil market optimism about Iran’s reinstatement as a global oil supplier. But even if negotiations had proved successful, political and logistical hurdles would likely have stalled any significant return… Keep reading →
The Senate has unanimously approved a bill to implement the U.S.-Mexico Transboundary Hydrocarbons Agreement aimed to facilitate offshore drilling cooperation in the Gulf of Mexico. On October 12, 2013, the Senate unanimously approved S. 812 to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to implement the 2012 U.S.-Mexico Transboundary Hydrocarbons Agreement. The agreement establishes a legal… Keep reading →
Improved drilling productivity in shale and other unconventional formations has been a major driver of the US shale gas and tight oil revolutions, and will be critical to the development of the country’s energy future. The US Energy Information Administration has developed a new information resource, a monthly Drilling Productivity Report, to shed more light on… Keep reading →
Two of the oil industry’s more colorful chief executives – Total’s Christophe de Margerie and Eni’s Paolo Scaroni – provided some choice remarks on a range of energy-related topics yesterday at a Council on Foreign Relations event, The Future of Energy. They were joined by Michael Levi, director of the Council’s program on energy security… Keep reading →
Investment bank Raymond James has updated its US oil and natural gas liquids production forecast, with new estimates suggesting that the country could produce enough oil to satisfy domestic demand in less than ten years’ time. “The U.S. could easily be approaching the ‘holy grail’ of net oil ‘energy independence’ toward the end of the… Keep reading →
The American Petroleum Institute’s latest statistics for US crude oil production show output for the month of August at its highest level in a quarter of a century. Production averaged more than 7 million barrels per day in August for the tenth consecutive month, according to API. “U.S. crude oil production in August increased by 1.2… Keep reading →
