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 →
By: Katie Holliday Uncertainty over rising tensions in Syria has driven oil prices to fresh highs in recent weeks, but analysts say the bullish sentiment is expected to stay regardless of whether or not the scenario escalates into a full blown war. “Even if there is a war in Syria or no war in Syria… Keep reading →
Global benchmark oil prices crept up to two-year highs over the past week or so as tensions in the Middle East and North Africa flare. US intervention in Syria currently awaits a congressional vote, so what will that decision likely mean for near-term price trajectory? It appears the geopolitical risk premium is mostly factored in… Keep reading →
The Mexican energy industry has remained closed to foreign investments since 1938 and its people have taken great pride in its energy independence. But President Enrique Peña Nieto hopes to revolutionize the country’s outdated energy policies with the reform bill he proposed August 12. The bill, which still has to be approved by Congress, would amend… Keep reading →
The operator of Japan’s Fukushima nuclear plant has warned that makeshift tanks – which are vulnerable to leaks – hold more than 200,000 tons of radioactive water. “The latest disclosures add to a long list of recent accidents, leaks and breakdowns that have underscored grave vulnerabilities at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant site more… Keep reading →
Hardly a bastion of security at the best of times, sectarian violence in post-war Iraq has trended upward over the past few months, with the number of dead – mostly from car bombs and reprisals – reportedly at a five-year high. However, despite deteriorating security, the country’s largest oil fields located in the southern region… 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 →
Many are calling for Department of Energy to speed up the natural gas export approval process. A new study by McKinsey Global Institute finds LNG exports “would decrease the U.S. trade deficit by between $11 billion and $27 billion each year.” [The Hill] Siting renewable energy projects on brownfields – land contaminated by industrial activity… Keep reading →
U.S. Energy Information Administrator Guy Caruso (R) compares notes with U.S. Chamber of Commerce Institute for 21st Centery Energy Managing Director Karen Harbert (C) as Deutsche Bank Chief Energy Economist Adam Sieminski looks on before they testify to the House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming about ‘The Future of Oil’ June 11, 2008 in Washington, DC.
As US oil production from shales grows, it may make sense to allow some oil exports in specific circumstances, says the new head of the Energy Information Administration. Keep reading →
Forget Syria, Here’s a Real Oil Market Supply Concern
By Jared AndersonIt made for great headlines, but the Syrian conflict never posed a serious risk to global oil supplies. Syria’s domestic production has dwindled and civil war ground exports down to virtually nothing last year. Escalating violence in Egypt, however, presents much more serious global oil market risk. Insurgents displeased with the ouster of Muslim Brotherhood… Keep reading →