Implicitly or explicitly Opec countries are battling with US oil producers over the commodity price. There is much evidence to suggest that given US production growth volumes – Gulf Coast output alone is up 1.9 million barrels per day since 2010 – and weak global demand, Opec could only marginally impact prices by cutting production.… Keep reading →
Benchmark crude oil price declines may threaten domestic producers’ continued production growth. On January 5, 2015, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) released a report — drawing from the S&P Goldman Sachs Commodity Index (GSCI) — showing that energy commodity prices recorded the largest declines in 2014 compared to non-energy commodities. Notably, the GSCI’s energy component… Keep reading →
Energy sources and related commodities have driven national security issues ever since the modern nation-state was born with the Peace of Westphalia. Oak made Spain and England’s stout sailing ships. Water energy and wind drove mills and moved water. Wood and coal moved steamships. Then came the almost magical commodity of oil, packed with energy. World War II… Keep reading →
Saudi Arabian oil minister Ali al-Naimi has begun opening up a bit more about Opec and the kingdom’s decision to leave oil production quotas unchanged at the producer group’s meeting last month. Since that decision – and price cuts on behalf of individual Opec members – benchmark oil prices plummeted and are now down about… Keep reading →
Times are changing and Opec is not what it once was in terms of oil price influence, but it’s too soon to completely dismiss the producer group that collectively controls such a large share of the world’s oil production, reserves, exports and thus supply. In this article, a Saudi diplomat argues his country “gets… Keep reading →
Falling oil prices are bringing down prices of high-risk bonds many companies used to finance their capital intensive unconventional drilling programs. “Most of that decline has occurred in the last 30 days. It’s already making it harder for oil companies to reach out to the financial markets to fund more of their drilling operations, as… Keep reading →
As media reports explode about WTI crude oil futures prices closing below $60 per barrel today, there is no shortage of opinions about how far oil prices will go in the current bear market. The last major oil price crash in 2009 saw WTI prices fall to $34/bbl, before recovering fairly quickly. This time the… Keep reading →
As global benchmark oil prices on Wednesday reached lows not seen since the wake of the economic crisis in 2009, Saudi Arabian oil minister Ali al-Naimi responded to reporters’ questions with some of his own. The world’s most important oil minister held his ground reiterating that the oil market will correct itself without Opec interference.… Keep reading →
While oil prices are down after OPEC refused to curtail production, it won’t have a big impact on output from U.S. shale producers, at least for the near term, IHS’ Dan Yergin told CNBC on Monday. “There’s a lot of momentum in the system so I think you don’t really see the big impact of… Keep reading →
An Oil Boom is a Power Boon U.S. News (Lamont Colucci): OPEC met on Nov. 27, and openly recognized that the United States’ oil technological revolution – driven by enhanced oil recovery methods including hydraulic fracturing (known as fracking) and horizontal drilling – has undermined the cartel’s economic and political power. This constitutes one of the… Keep reading →
