Two months ago, Russia said no to Saudi Arabia’s proposal for deeper oil production cuts. It was enough to start a price war that, coinciding with the Covid-19 pandemic, wiped out billions in oil revenues for both Russia and Saudi Arabia while forcing them to enact even deeper cuts than previously discussed. Some say the price war was never about Saudi Arabia and Russia. They say it was about U.S. shale. If that is accurate, what happens when the U.S. shale patch regains enough strength to start ramping up production again?  It might sound…

Oil prices are back at levels last seen in mid-March, and while fundamentals for crude have improved somewhat, markets have become too optimistic Market euphoria continues to push financial markets and commodities higher, and oil prices have climbed back to levels not seen since lockdown orders in the U.S. began in March. By a variety of metrics, markets have recently made up a lot of lost ground over the past two and a half months. The Dow Jones Industrial Average surged past 25,000 points on Tuesday, and the S&P 500 jumped above 3,000. Both…

A catastrophic dam failure at a Michigan hydropower facility this month has left thousands stranded, highlighting the fact that when it comes to clean energy, it’s not all rainbows and unicorns. The events were like the stereotypical action movie. Surreal, actually. And if you weren’t living it, it would be nearly impossible to believe…  A deadly Wuhan-originating virus, complete with unknown properties and remedies, makes its way to major U.S. cities. It spreads. The entire economy shuts down, leaving tens of millions of people…

Unquestionably the current global health situation is going to cause a severe economic crisis not seen since the Great Depression. This is already apparent in the dramatic decrease in demand for fossil fuels. Oil is hit especially hard as 60 percent of consumption stems from activities such as driving and flying. The demand for natural gas has fared slightly better with a lower decrease. However, storages in one of the most important gas markets of the world, Europe, are quickly filling up. The EU’s gas market and infrastructure are highly developed…

The American Petroleum Institute (API) estimated on Tuesday a large crude oil inventory build, of 8.731 million barrels for the week ending May 22. Analysts had predicted an inventory draw of 2.50 million barrels. In the previous week, the API estimated a draw in crude oil inventories of 4.8 million barrels. Meanwhile, the EIA’s estimates were for wildly different, with the industry body reporting last week that the inventories had fallen by 5 million barrels. WTI was trading down on Wednesday afternoon prior to the API’s data release,…

The American Petroleum Institute (API) estimated on Tuesday a large crude oil inventory build, of 8.731 million barrels for the week ending May 22. Analysts had predicted an inventory draw of 2.50 million barrels. In the previous week, the API estimated a draw in crude oil inventories of 4.8 million barrels. Meanwhile, the EIA’s estimates were for wildly different, with the industry body reporting last week that the inventories had fallen by 5 million barrels. WTI was trading down on Wednesday afternoon prior to the API’s data release,…

Chevron Corp has plans to cut between 10 percent and 15 percent of its workforce as crude oil prices remain stubbornly low amid the coronavirus pandemic and oversupply. With oil demand set for a slow rebound in the coming quarters due to the pandemic, Big Oil, along with service providers and small drillers, have been forced to shift gears to trim the fat—and often then some in order to stay afloat. While oil prices have rebounded somewhat in the last couple of weeks, WTI is still trading down nearly 50% on the year—an untenable situation…

Chevron Corp has plans to cut between 10 percent and 15 percent of its workforce as crude oil prices remain stubbornly low amid the coronavirus pandemic and oversupply. With oil demand set for a slow rebound in the coming quarters due to the pandemic, Big Oil, along with service providers and small drillers, have been forced to shift gears to trim the fat—and often then some in order to stay afloat. While oil prices have rebounded somewhat in the last couple of weeks, WTI is still trading down nearly 50% on the year—an untenable situation…

With Rosneft having effectively taken control of Kurdistan’s oil and gas sector in northern Iraq through the deal done in November 2017, Russia had been looking to leverage this presence into a similarly powerful position in the south of the country. In particular, Moscow had sought to strike new oil and gas field exploration and development deals with Baghdad as part of Russia’s role in intermediating in the perennial dispute between Kurdistan and the south on the budget disbursements for oil deal. These ambitions were put on hold…

The government of Ukraine, which is keen to wean itself off Russian energy supplies, approved on Wednesday a plan to import liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the United States, Reuters reported, citing a televised government meeting. Under the memorandum approved by the government, Ukraine will be importing at least 5.5 billion cubic meters of LNG annually, while the seller will be Louisiana Natural Gas Exports Inc, according to acting energy minister Olga Buslavets. Ukraine has been seeking for years to diversify its oil and gas supplies away from…