Right after Saudi Arabia-led OPEC and Russia broke up their pact to keep oil supply and prices in check, some in the U.S. oil industry were optimistic that oil prices would go back up to $65 by the end of the year regardless of the end of the production restrictions, …
Read More »Russia’s Move in European Gas Markets
Russia sees a silver lining in the oil price collapse—it now believes that the oil price war will help it win the war for natural gas market share in Europe. Russia’s gas giant Gazprom, the single largest supplier of natural gas to Europe, has watched with apprehension the growing volumes …
Read More »Oil Demand Expected to Take a Major Hit in the Coronavirus Pandemic
Right after Saudi Arabia-led OPEC and Russia broke up their pact to keep oil supply and prices in check, some in the U.S. oil industry were optimistic that oil prices would go back up to $65 by the end of the year regardless of the end of the production restrictions. …
Read More »Russia Is Out of Control
Russia is out of control. All of a sudden, it has launched an oil price war, even though it is unrealistic that the Kremlin can defeat Saudi Arabia and the United States in such a contest. Saudi Arabia’s population is one-fifth of Russia’s, while holding equivalent international currency reserves. The …
Read More »US-Saudi Alliance One of ‘Many Ideas’ Being Discussed
Forging an oil alliance between the United States and OPEC’s top producer Saudi Arabia is one of “many, many ideas” being floated by US policymakers but it is uncertain whether it will become a formal proposal, the US energy secretary told Bloomberg TV on Monday. “I don’t know that that’s …
Read More »Poland to Supply US Gas to Ukraine
Poland will transport 6 to 8 billion cubic meters of American liquefied natural gas (LNG) per year to Ukraine in a deal that will help reduce Ukraine’s dependence on Russian gas. The deal should begin delivering the required natural gas in two to three years but much depends on the …
Read More »Gas Prices will Remain Low over the Next Two Years
Fitch Ratings has trimmed its natural gas price forecasts both for the U.S. and European benchmarks on the back of “very large” market oversupply, Kallanish Energy reports. “Current prices in Europe and Asia rarely cover the half-cycle cash costs – that include variable operating costs and transport to Europe – …
Read More »Shell Lowers 2020 Capex
British oil major Shell joined other companies in the sector in lowering capital expenditure for the current year by about $5 billion and suspended the next tranche of its share buyback plan to weather a hit from the recent oil price crash. The company said it would reduce 2020 cash …
Read More »China’s Crude Reserves to Reach 1.15 Billion Barrels in 2020
Wood Mackenzie’s latest analysis reveals that China’s crude stock (including strategic and commercial petroleum reserves) could reach 1.15 billion barrels in 2020, equivalent to 83 days of oil demand. Wood Mackenzie senior consultant Lei Sun said: “Major crude oil importers such as China have been known to build their strategic …
Read More »Coronavirus and Mild Winter Helps Germany to Reach 2020 Climate Target
The coronavirus crisis and an unseasonably mild winter in Europe have combined to help Germany reach its 2020 climate target, Agora Energiewende said. Mild temperatures accompanied by strong winter storms have led to rising production levels from wind power farms amid a lower energy consumption for heating, the Berlin-based think-tank …
Read More »