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 →
The United States is expected to produce more hydrocarbons – oil, natural gas, and liquids (such as condensates) – than any other country in the world this year, according to the US Energy Information Administration. The EIA published an article last Friday on US hydrocarbon production growth, comparing it to that of global oil and… Keep reading →
On the heels of Europe’s economic crisis the continent finds itself paying more for dirtier, less reliable electric power, Eon’s chief executive Johannes Teyssen recently told the Financial Times. The chief of Germany’s largest utility described an American competitive advantage in energy that Europe is unlikely to replicate for several years, if at all. “There… Keep reading →
Norway’s colossal sovereign wealth fund – reportedly the world’s largest at $750 billion – is known as the ‘oil fund’ as it was created largely from the country’s prudent oil and gas resource revenue management. Less than 1% of the fund is currently invested in real estate, but that’s quickly changing. The fund managers are… Keep reading →
Iran has a new oil minister – Bijan Namdar-Zanganeh – and he has an ambitious plan to bring oil output back to 2005 levels of 4.2 million barrels per day, up from 2.56 MM bbl/d now. If he can actually make it happen – a big “if” – additional supply on the market could impact prices.… Keep reading →
The price of West Texas Intermediate crude had risen for five consecutive days as of yesterday afternoon – “the longest stretch of gains since April” – on news of escalating unrest in Egypt, as Brent hit a four-month high. A police crackdown on protests in Egypt has left more than 500 dead. [Bloomberg] Iran has… Keep reading →
The House passed the 2013 Nuclear Iran Prevention Act by a 400-20 vote facilitating broader economic sanctions and increased oversight for enforcing existing Iran sanctions. On July 31, 2013, the House of Representatives passed the 2013 Nuclear Iran Prevention Act (H.R. 850) aimed to impose tougher sanctions against Iran’s petroleum sector and other industries, in… Keep reading →
“Peak oil” is a term that’s been bandied about for decades, but almost always in reference to supply, not demand. The Economist is calling oil “yesterday’s fuel”. “The world’s thirst for oil could be nearing a peak. That is bad news for producers, excellent for everyone else.” [Economist] There’s a nice (and very thorough) piece… Keep reading →
Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, a Saudi billionaire investor with holdings in outfits like Citigroup and Time Warner, published a critical letter to Saudi Arabia’s oil minister, Ali Al-Naimi (on twitter, no less). It said that the country “won’t be able to fulfill its plan to increase capacity to 15 million barrels a day”, that “there’s… Keep reading →
It sounds counterintuitive, but Texas’ energy boom its taxing its energy capacity. “Many municipalities and businesses are bracing for big surcharges this year, after having been hit hard last summer, as energy use by oil drilling and production equipment outpaces the capacity of the region’s power grid.” [Wall Street Journal] India’s oil imports from Iran… Keep reading →
