Tag: oil

February 15, 2019

Analysts say oil prices are approaching breakout levels, and the final day of trading this week will offer clues about whether crude futures can keep rallying. Brent crude on Friday topped $65 a barrel for the first time this year, […]

February 14, 2019

Officially, Venezuela has the world’s largest crude oil reserves with 303 billion barrels of proved reserves. In reality, a lot of this oil is extra-heavy crude oil, and may not be economical to produce at prevailing prices. Thus, some portion […]

February 6, 2019

Senators Bernie Sanders and Charles Schumer have issued a call to limit share repurchases by companies, saying in a New York Times op-ed, “…companies, rather than investing in ways to make their businesses more resilient or their workers more productive, […]

February 5, 2019

During just six months crude oil prices ripped higher by about 20 percent, plunged more than 40 percent and snapped back 25 percent, an intense volatility that analysts warn could be the new normal in the oil market. December was […]

February 4, 2019

The U.S. stock market, after plunging late in 2018, has largely recovered, yet thinking about the economy in coming months should include the possibility of a recession or at least significant economic slowing in the U.S. and the world more […]

February 1, 2019

Bearish voices are loudest these days. Several big houses have downgraded their 2019 price forecasts: Goldman Sachs has gone from $70/bl to $62.50/bl, citing a surge in production, particularly from US shale. Opec may be less influential than it used […]

January 31, 2019

Oil sanctions imposed by the U.S. on Venezuela earlier this week could prove to be an energy windfall for India and China. The Trump Administration announced sanctions against Venezuela’s state-owned oil company, Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A., or PDVSA, targeting the […]

January 25, 2019

A couple years ago, I asked a friend with ties to the Venezuelan émigré community if there was a betting pool on the date the Venezuelan regime would fall and he said most Venezuelans have shortened index fingers from tapping […]

January 24, 2019

Global oil markets are facing an uncertain year with slowing global growth driving less global demand for oil while the supply picture looks unclear with production cuts by OPEC and Russia potentially counteracted by the growth in U.S. shale oil […]

January 17, 2019

OPEC slashed production in December, delivering a bullish signal to the market one month before the producer group officially began a fresh round of output cuts. Last month, OPEC struck a deal with Russia and nine other nations to keep […]

January 14, 2019

Oil and gas merger and acquisition (M&A) activity has ground to a halt in recent months due to extreme volatility in commodity markets. But don’t expect that to continue, especially in the U.S. exploration and production (E&P) sector, where valuations […]

January 10, 2019

“The activity level on the Norwegian Shelf is high. Production forecasts for the next few years are promising and lay a foundation for substantial revenues, both for the companies and the Norwegian society. There is considerable interest in exploring for […]

January 9, 2019

The U.S.-China trade war and booming American shale production are among the top worries for the United Arab Emirates’ energy minister and former OPEC president. After a volatile year for oil prices, hydrocarbon-exporting countries are buckling down for what could […]

January 8, 2019

With 28 countries and a combined population of around 512 million people, the European Union is something of a prized market — and political battleground — for the world’s largest energy exporters, particularly when it comes to natural gas. Russia […]

January 7, 2019

If you thought global oil markets were a rollercoaster ride in 2018, better buckle up. Last year was certainly chaotic with international benchmark Brent prices surging above $85 a barrel in October, only to plunge 40% in the final months […]