President Trump is planning an ethanol deal to please U.S. farmers angry that many oil refiners have been freed from obligations to use oil-based fuel. The plan is likely to make oil companies make up the lost production.

With a $30 million prize pool on the line… And over 2 million people tuning in… One event has piqued the interest of a generation. And with the industry as a whole slated to pull in $3 billion in just a few short years… Investors can’t ignore the esports boom any longer. Teams are selling for tens of millions of dollars…and the stars of this sports niche are earning a cool million every month. That’s more than the top MLB players. This is the new reality of sports, and it’s fueled by young, internet…

The supply disruptions in the oil market may not be over, despite volatility and prices easing in the days after the Abqaiq attack. The repairs at the Abqaiq processing facility are on an extremely tight timetable. According to Bloomberg, Saudi Aramco had about 50 million barrels in storage within the country prior to the attack, plus around 80 million barrels at ports around the world (although not all of that is usable). Aramco is determined to keep export levels from falling, choosing to draw down inventories to keep shipments unaffected. It…

It sounds harsh, but it’s true: millennials really do ruin everything. And the oil industry will be no exception. From talent acquisition to courting investors, to finding new end uses for petroleum, the oil industry is facing a whole new set of challenges—one that extends far beyond geopolitical risk premiums and barrel prices. Oil companies who are quicker to adapt to this changing of the guard will have first pick of investment dollars and top talent, while those who are slow to change will get the leftovers. You’re Dead To…

“The global economy has become increasingly fragile and uncertain, with growth slowing and downside risks continuing to mount.” That warning came from the OECD on Thursday, which said that the economic outlook for both industrialized nations and emerging markets were “weakening.” Unless governments took action, “growth could get stuck at persistently low levels.” One of the main reasons that a low-growth trap looms is because of the U.S.-China trade war, which is taking “an increasing toll on confidence…

Money from New Mexico’s general fund would be used in a plan for providing local students with free college education regardless of their income level. The fund has recently enjoyed substantial inflows thanks to the booming development of the Permian shale play that spans Texas and New Mexico. NPR reports that the plan, proposed by Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham, has to first be approved by the legislature of the state and quotes the Governor as saying, “It means better enrolment. It means better student success. In the long run, it means…

The total value of Russia’s oil reserves is estimated at $1.2 trillion, nearly doubling the valuation over the course of a single year, Moscow’s Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment reported Friday.  According to the ministry’s data, the market value of the oil reserves increased by 88 percent over the past year, largely due to newly discovered reserves as well as the higher valuations for the existing reserve supply. Russia’s oil reserves valuation increased by $385 billion to $1.07 trillion.  Regarding newly discovered…

Two recent market milestones — Exxon Mobil dropping out of the S&P 500 top 10 and the energy sector weighting in the index hitting a low — pose a big question: Are we beginning to see the end of Big Oil as an investment?

The most important historic milestone was not the heavy damage to the Saudi oil installations during the attacks on them on September 14, 2019. Rather, it was a quiet Ashura ceremony held in the Imam Khomenei Hussainia in Tehran on September 11, 2019. Ayatollah Sayyed Ali Khamene‘i led the mourning ceremony for the Martyrs of the Tragedy of Karbala on the Day of Ashura1. To Khamene‘i’s left, sitting on cushions on the ground, were, in order of proximity to Khamene‘i, Hojjat al-Islam Sayyed Muqtada al-Sadr, the Shi’ite-Iraqi…

Japan needs to find an alternative to nuclear energy, and it needs to do so in a hurry. The Japanese energy mix has been in a serious state of flux since the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster, after which Japan shut down all 54 of the nation’s nuclear reactors as they awaited the prescription of newer, stricter safety standards.  Since then, nuclear power has not made a great comeback in Japan. Yes, some (but certainly not all) of the nuclear reactors were eventually brought back online, but the Japanese public, to a large degree, no longer…