Hurricane Harvey ravaged southeastern Texas, affecting oil, natural gas, and gasoline prices all over the country.
Oil Prices
Oil And Gas Update – Hurricane Harvey Drives Oil, Nat Gas Prices Up And Down
By GEORGE BIBIKOS | COZEN O'CONNORSign up and get Breaking Energy news in your inbox.
We will never sell or share your information without your consent. See our privacy policy.There are parties who feel oil is near it’s high point and within a few decades the sun will set on oil as an energy source. Some people who believe most strongly in alternative energy sources and electric vehicles argue that the future lies outside of oil.
With the nine-month extension of the OPEC led production cuts the consensus among traders is that oil will likely stay between $50-$60 a barrel this year. But beyond that there a number of different viewpoints as to where prices will go. Some parties feel the medium term future for oil has already been written by the lack of investments made upstream and within a few years the price of oil may nearly double.
With the day of the OPEC meeting approaching there appears to be a growing consensus among industry insiders that OPEC will be able to regain some degree of control over oil prices. Many experts now believe that the planned production cuts will be sufficient to consume the surplus and in 2018 the oil market will reach an equilibrium at somewhat higher commodity prices. This analysis often has an optimistic sounding ending. Oil prices ending up at levels everyone can live with and US shale picks up the growth in demand from the market.
Modern economies function in a similar manner to ecosystems. Independently enterprises relying upon each other to provide goods which they add value to – either through further processing, transporting to new markets, or selling to consumers. This system works because no single entity dominates the system and any single piece which fails has its places taken by another that can operate more efficiently. However, the system breaks down when an economy becomes reliant upon a single industry and that industry fails. This is what is happening in Venezuela and the effect may well become worse as problems cascade down creating major system failures.
Recent years have seen a resurgence in American oil production and with the United States edging closer and closer each year toward becoming the second largest producer of crude oil in the world.
ExxonMobil Earnings – What Do They Mean?
By Michael VinciThis week, ExxonMobil and Chevron released quarterly results from Q1 2017. Both released numbers that topped consensus estimates. Some analysts have suggested the Exxon’s numbers can provide insight into the energy sector, as follows. As the world’s largest publically traded oil and gas company, ExxonMobil can say a lot about the oil economy as a… Keep reading →
Persistently High Supplies of Oil Leads to Market Woes
By Michael McDonaldLast week was a tumultuous week for traders in oil markets as lingering doubts over the effectiveness that a production cut led by the nations of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) was achieving the desired result of reducing global oil supply. The market has been saturated for over two years and some producers… Keep reading →
Keeping Oil Down: Weak Demand for Gas Combines with Libyan Pipelines
By Michael McDonaldOil prices fell again this week as lower than expected demand for gasoline combined with two major oil fields in Libya resuming production to further depress crude prices. The combination of lower than expected demand and increased production stoked concerns that despite the efforts of major oil producers the global inventory surplus would remain unaffected.… Keep reading →
Nigerian Military Force Attack Illegal Oil Pirates
By Michael McDonaldLast Thursday, representatives of the Nigerian military stated that the military had destroyed 13 illegal refineries in the oil hub located in the Niger Delta. Two soldiers were killed in the attacks upon what were described as “sea robbers”. A spokesman for the military, Major Abubakar Abdullahi, said soldiers had “discovered and destroyed 13 illegal… Keep reading →
