Although the oil price war was triggered by the Russia-Saudi fall-out, US shale will be the first casualty, writes Robin Mills. In the process, the US will learn that producing a lot of oil at high prices is not the “energy dominance” it has made a centerpiece of foreign policy, …
Read More »Saudi Arabia’s Terrible Decision
Those with a functioning memory may have thought that last week’s decision by Saudi Arabia to maximize oil production to crash oil prices and bankrupt U.S. shale producers was an early April Fool’s Day joke. Apparently, though, it is not, and collective amnesia seems to have gripped senior Saudis and …
Read More »Turkey’s 3rd Drillship Reaches Its Mediterranean
Turkey’s third drillship arrived in Tasucu, Mersin, a coastal city in the Mediterranean region of the country on Sunday, the country’s energy minister said. Fatih Donmez said that the Turkish Petroleum Corporation took the ship into its inventory on Jan. 31 and it set off from the U.K. “We named …
Read More »Coronavirus Crisis an ‘Excellent Opportunity’ to Speed Global Energy Transition
The Coronavirus economic stimulus packages being drawn up by governments around the world should build-in “large scale” spending on clean energy technologies including wind, solar, green hydrogen and carbon capture and storage (CCS), says Fatih Birol, executive director of the International Energy Agency (IEA). Investment in renewables, said Birol, in …
Read More »Spare Capacity in Oil Market Set to Fall as Producers Ramp Up Supply
Global oil spare production capacity could fall in April as Saudi Arabia and the UAE bring more supply to the market following the collapse of output restriction pact. “Global spare capacity will drop by 2-3 million bpd as most of the players with spare capacity will start ramping up their …
Read More »Coronavirus Expected to Weaken 2020 Solar Power Demand
The impact of coronavirus on global renewables markets could make 2020 the first “down year” for solar power capacity addition since the 1980s. This according to BloombergNEF, which has revised down its February global solar photovoltaic demand outlook for the year from between 121 gigawatts (GW) and 152GW to between …
Read More »Saudi Arabia is Starting a Reckless Oil War with Russia, the US Is also a Target
In a reckless move characteristic of his leadership, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman, known as MBS, spurred an oil crisis this week that cratered financial markets and could devastate American oil producers. After Saudi Arabia indicated it will massively ramp up oil production, oil prices experienced their biggest one …
Read More »US Oil Companies to Slash Spending Amid Saudi-Russian Trade War
American oil producers are slashing their budgets for new operations for the rest of this year, which means far fewer new rigs, a painful downturn for dozens of oil-field services companies and the certainty of layoffs, from Texas to North Dakota. Worldwide, the coronavirus pandemic has kneecapped the petroleum business, …
Read More »Saudi Arabia Keeps Pummeling Russia; Sells Oil at $20
Russia refuses to open negotiations with Saudi Arabia, which is flooding world markets with cheap oil in a brazen attempt to punish Russia for rejecting substantial oil production cuts that would have steadied sinking oil prices. Saudi Arabia has made huge cuts to its official selling prices for oil. Arab …
Read More »Libya’s National Oil Company Calls for Reopening Oil Fields, Ports
Libya’s National Oil Corporation (NOC) on Friday called for reopening the country’s oil fields and ports, closed in January by tribal leaders in protest against the UN-backed government. “We call on those responsible for the closure to immediately lift the blockade and spare oil sector workers and citizens further suffering,” …
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