Surging US oil production is impacting trade flows and price differentials more than global supply levels and benchmark pricing according to analysis from the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies. But that could change over the longer term as backed out West African crudes play a larger role in Brent price formation. “While the USA largely… Keep reading →
Admiral Mike Mullen, retired Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, spoke on U.S. energy security last Wednesday in Washington DC at an event hosted by the groups Securing America’s Future Energy and the Foreign Policy Initiative. Mullen was asked whether the US can take advantage of the surge in domestic energy production as a… Keep reading →
Daniel Yergin, Pulitzer Prize winning author and Vice Chairman of global consulting firm IHS spoke at the 2014 EIA Conference in Washington D.C. on Monday. EIA, the U.S. Energy Information Association is the statistics arm of the federal Department of Energy and the conference featured leading figures from industry, academia and government. Yergin stated emphatically… Keep reading →
The EIA’s latest Short-term Energy Outlook is out and US crude oil output continues to soar, while natural gas prices are expected to climb back toward the $5 per million BTU level this year, before slightly pulling back in 2015. EIA Administrator Adam Sieminski highlighted just how prolific US crude oil production has been in… Keep reading →
The highly informative and thought-provoking 2014 annual International Association for Energy Economics (IAEE) International Conference came to a successful close last week in New York. The energy world, a world of disparate natural resources endowments that constantly wrangles with its steady companion ‘political risk’, is highly volatile and, therefore, always in flux. In this context, Jason… Keep reading →
Two timely research studies from think tanks inside the Beltway address energy security with particular focus on America’s new role in rearranging the established global energy order. This order is in flux precisely because of the renaissance in the American energy sector ignited by its shale (tight) oil and gas boom. Over the last decade,… Keep reading →
Various authorities have been playing regulatory catchup in the wake of unanticipated oil transport by rail increases and several associated accidents. Today’s big news is a US Transportation Department announcement that crude oil moving by rail will be subject to extensive testing for characteristics like vapor pressure and other properties that impact flammability. The testing… Keep reading →
Energy security, rather than energy independence, should be the priority for US geopolitical positioning as the superpower reviews the impact of the ongoing production boom from shale oil and gas fields in the continental US, a new report argues. “The three key factors in the promotion of energy security are increasing energy efficiency, diversifying supply… Keep reading →
The issue of exporting US crude oil – essentially banned since the 1970’s energy crisis – is gaining steam, as US domestic oil production volumes increase to levels few thought possible just a few years ago. Amid this environment of surging incremental production, certain high-profile industry and high-ranking government officials soften to the idea of… Keep reading →
The global oil market is a strange place indeed and the surge in US crude production coupled with outdated regulations are creating counterintuitive trade dynamics. A majority of US crude imports come from Canada – 2.5 million barrels per day in September according to EIA data – but now the US also exports more crude… Keep reading →
