OPEC+ inched closer to delaying its January output increase, with Russia actively discussing keeping its current curbs for an extra three months as oil markets weaken. The producer group has been dropping hints for weeks that its plan to add almost 2mn barrels a day to oil markets next year …
Read More »Trump Issues Executive Order on Fracking
Trump will issue an executive order to require an economic analysis of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, as the president seeks to use what he portrays as Biden’s mixed messages on energy to woo voters in the swing states of Pennsylvania and Ohio. The order calls for U.S. agencies to analyze …
Read More »Iraq’s Crumbling Economy is Becoming a Threat to OPEC
From his third-floor office in eastern Baghdad, Iraqi Oil Minister Ihsan Abdul Jabbar can see the rowdy protesters below as they march toward Tahrir Square, the symbolic heart of Iraq’s latest uprising. On Sunday, thousands of Iraqis again gathered with national flags at the square, across the Tigris river from …
Read More »Total Considers Investing in Iraqi Natural-Gas Projects
Total SE is considering natural-gas investments in Iraq, according to the Middle Eastern nation’s government. The two sides held talks this week about projects in western Iraq and near the southern energy hub of Basra, the Iraqi oil ministry said in a statement. They hope to reach an agreement soon, …
Read More »U.S. Shale Mergers Reshuffle the Oil Production Landscape
The series of mergers reshaping the beleaguered U.S. shale oil industry accelerated Tuesday when Pioneer Natural Resources Co. agreed to buy Parsley Energy Inc. for $4.5 billion in stock, creating one of the largest producers in the Permian Basin. The deal came a day after ConocoPhillips announced its $9.7 billion …
Read More »Oil Falls after Report Points to Surprise Crude Stockpile Gain
Oil dropped toward $41 a barrel in New York after an industry report pointed to a surprise increase in American crude stockpiles, countering optimism over a potential U.S. stimulus agreement. The American Petroleum Institute reported crude inventories climbed by almost 600,000 barrels, according to people familiar with the data. That …
Read More »Russia’s Lukoil Plans Iraq Oil Output Boost
Lukoil PJSC is seeking to develop new oilfield projects in Iraq even as slumping crude prices and OPEC+ supply cuts have compelled the company to slash production in the country. Russia’s second-biggest oil producer pumped 400,000 barrels a day last year at its West Qurna 2 project in southern Iraq, …
Read More »Qatar Books Key U.K. LNG Supply Deal as Export Push Begins
Qatar Petroleum is set to ramp up exports of liquefied natural gas to the U.K. as the Persian Gulf country seeks buyers for the output from a new project and several large supply contracts are due to expire. Qatar reserved capacity for as much as 7.2 million tons of LNG …
Read More »The World’s Top Energy Agency Is Pressing for Aggressive Carbon Cuts
The world’s most authoritative body of energy analysts, the International Energy Agency, has found in its annual flagship report that the world is headed toward global warming higher than the Paris Agreement’s most aggressive limit of 1.5°C. The agency, long known for its expertise in fossil fuels, lays out a …
Read More »Gas Market Buys Merkel and Putin Time on Nord Stream 2
Germany won’t need additional gas flows this season, giving Chancellor Angela Merkel and Russian President Vladimir Putin another reason to bide their time on the controversial Nord Stream 2 pipeline. After two warm winters and the coronavirus pandemic, demand for the fuel used for heat and power generation is sagging …
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