OPEC+ just agreed to boost oil production for another month. Luckily for U.S. shale, they also decided to pause the hikes, which would help the shale industry dodge the bullet of WTI of $50. This is good news for an impressively resilient industry, because its resilience seems to taper out around $50 per barrel. This weekend, the OPEC+ group said it would add another 137,000 barrels daily to global supply. That was bearish news after an extended streak of monthly hikes. Yet the producer cartel also said it planned to suspend the hikes next year…

China’s accelerated crude stock builds in 2025 may come in handy at the end of this year as global oil flows are being redirected again in the wake of the U.S. sanctions on Russia’s top oil firms.  China, the biggest buyer of Russian crude, has a cushion to soften the blow from the sanctions, although it’s unlikely it would halt its imports from Russia.   But the stockpiles in China, estimated at between 1.2 billion and 1.3 billion barrels in strategic and commercial reserves, have put a floor under oil prices in…

Previously, we reported that U.S. investors are increasingly pumping money into Canada’s fossil fuels sector, with U.S. funds now owing nearly 60% of Canada’s Oil & Gas sector thanks to low costs, favorable policy changes and the completion of the Trans Mountain Pipeline (TMX) expansion. That’s a major shift from a decade ago when global funds were busy divesting from Canadian oil sands driven by a combination of low global oil prices, high production costs, and increasing environmental concerns over pollution. Back then,…

A key lesson was learned by U.S. President Donald Trump following his landmark meeting on 30 October with Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping: that the hardline approach he has adopted in his second term in the top job, characterised by quickly-implemented tariffs and sanctions, has worked well and he should stick with it. In broad terms, Trump rated the one hour and 40 minute get together on the sidelines of the APEC summit in South Korea’s Busan as a ‘12’ on a scale of one to 10, with “an outstanding group of decisions made”.…

Much of the hydrogen discourse over the past decade has been aspirational: visions of a clean hydrogen economy, deep decarbonization of industry and transport, and futuristic power systems built around electrolysis. In many of my earlier pieces on OilPrice, I warned that hydrogen was entering a “reality phase” — where hype must give way to execution, economics, and scaling. Now we are beginning to see real projects crossing the threshold, and the balance is shifting. But the path forward is fragile: execution, policy alignment,…

Ukraine’s defence agencies are claiming that their campaign of strikes on Russian oil infrastructure, combined with Western sanctions, are indirectly benefiting major Western oil companies. According to The Kyiv Independent, Ukraine’s military and energy officials attribute rising refining margins at ExxonMobil, Chevron, Shell, and TotalEnergies to disruptions in Russian oil-product exports and constrained global fuel supply. According to Ukrainian officials, nearly 160 successful strikes have been carried out this year against refineries,…

Ukraine’s defence agencies are claiming that their campaign of strikes on Russian oil infrastructure, combined with Western sanctions, are indirectly benefiting major Western oil companies. According to The Kyiv Independent, Ukraine’s military and energy officials attribute rising refining margins at ExxonMobil, Chevron, Shell, and TotalEnergies to disruptions in Russian oil-product exports and constrained global fuel supply. According to Ukrainian officials, nearly 160 successful strikes have been carried out this year against refineries,…

Gas prices are falling across much of the United States, but Seattle drivers are still paying a premium, according to Fox 13 Seattle. The national average for a gallon of gas is $3.066. In Washington state, the average jumps to $4.388 per gallon. In the Seattle–Bellevue–Everett metro area, the price is $4.648 per gallon, and in King County it reaches $4.732 per gallon. AAA says some Seattleites are paying as much as 53% above the U.S. norm for gasoline. Fox writes that the national average continues a slow decline, heading toward the…

SM Energy and Civitas Resources announced an all-stock merger valued at about $2.8 billion in equity, or $12.8 billion including debt, creating one of the largest independent U.S. shale producers by output and acreage.  Bloomberg reported that under the agreement, Civitas shareholders will receive 1.45 shares of SM Energy for each share of Civitas they own, giving Civitas investors about 52% of the combined company and SM shareholders 48%. According to Reuters, the combined firm will operate under the SM Energy name and be headquartered in…

SM Energy and Civitas Resources announced an all-stock merger valued at about $2.8 billion in equity, or $12.8 billion including debt, creating one of the largest independent U.S. shale producers by output and acreage.  Bloomberg reported that under the agreement, Civitas shareholders will receive 1.45 shares of SM Energy for each share of Civitas they own, giving Civitas investors about 52% of the combined company and SM shareholders 48%. According to Reuters, the combined firm will operate under the SM Energy name and be headquartered in…

Back in 2019, the United States had a dust-up with China regarding trade and tariffs, and as part of its response, China threatened to reduce the export of rare earth elements (REEs) essential for many civilian and military electronics.  The Chinese, then as now, held a dominant position in the mining and processing of these metals. China did not carry through on its threat, and by early 2020, both nations signed an agreement that de-escalated the trade war. Fast forward to today, and we have China and the United States de-escalating a trade…

The giant Upper Zakum oilfield in the UAE could achieve its 2030 target to boost production capacity to 1.5 million barrels per day (bpd) from 1 million bpd earlier than planned, the CEO of co-venturer ExxonMobil said.  “The team is working hard to drive production up,” Exxon’s chief executive Darren Woods told Bloomberg in an interview in Abu Dhabi.  “We’ve got an objective that we set by 2030, but I think we can do better than that,” the top executive of the U.S. supermajor said.  ExxonMobil…

The giant Upper Zakum oilfield in the UAE could achieve its 2030 target to boost production capacity to 1.5 million barrels per day (bpd) from 1 million bpd earlier than planned, the CEO of co-venturer ExxonMobil said.  “The team is working hard to drive production up,” Exxon’s chief executive Darren Woods told Bloomberg in an interview in Abu Dhabi.  “We’ve got an objective that we set by 2030, but I think we can do better than that,” the top executive of the U.S. supermajor said.  ExxonMobil…

The giant Upper Zakum oilfield in the UAE could achieve its 2030 target to boost production capacity to 1.5 million barrels per day (bpd) from 1 million bpd earlier than planned, the CEO of co-venturer ExxonMobil said.  “The team is working hard to drive production up,” Exxon’s chief executive Darren Woods told Bloomberg in an interview in Abu Dhabi.  “We’ve got an objective that we set by 2030, but I think we can do better than that,” the top executive of the U.S. supermajor said.  ExxonMobil…

The risks surrounding Venezuela, the world’s largest oil and gas reserves holder, are clearly skyrocketing. With Venezuela’s president, Maduro, calling upon Russia, China, and Iran to assist in a possible military confrontation with the USA, global oil and gas markets are growing increasingly nervous about a potential conflict. The ongoing military buildup by the Trump Administration around Venezuela, officially set up to confront the country’s perceived pivotal role in the international drug trade, almost looks like the so-called…

Kodal Minerals said Monday its Bougouni lithium mine in southern Mali remains operational even as Islamist insurgents intensify a nationwide fuel blockade that has paralyzed transport, closed schools, and choked diesel deliveries critical to mining logistics. The al-Qaeda-linked Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) has expanded attacks on petroleum tankers entering from Côte d’Ivoire and Senegal, aiming to isolate the capital Bamako, according to Reuters. Kodal’s site, 180 km south of the city, continues trucking…

The decision by Washington to block Iraq from importing gas from Turkmenistan via a swap deal with Iran may prove problematic for Baghdad, but it could reignite interest in building a trans-Caspian pipeline that enables Turkmen gas to flow to Europe.  Washington’s decision was part of an effort to ramp up sanctions pressure on Tehran and was not specifically intended to punish either Baghdad or Ashgabat, although both will be impacted. Iraq is suffering from crippling power shortages, and importing gas from Turkmenistan…

When the PBS reporter asked the energy consultant about electricity prices, you knew he was trying to be fair, you know, both sides of the story. Wasn’t it true that having an AI center in the area might lower electricity prices? Yes, the consultant replied, because the electric industry’s costs are largely fixed, so if it had excess capacity and could spread those costs over more customers (AI facilities, presumably), that would lower costs to all customers. Fixed costs, economics 101. Then he said that where there was no excess capacity,…

The United Arab Emirates doesn’t expect oversupply on the oil market as demand remains solid, the energy minister of one of OPEC’s top producers said on Monday.  On Sunday, the OPEC+ producers, including the UAE, decided to pause their reversal of the production cuts in the first quarter of 2026, after a small increase in December. Citing “seasonality” and historically weaker demand in the first quarter of any year, OPEC said it would halt the production increases in January, February, and March.  One of the OPEC+…

The United Arab Emirates doesn’t expect oversupply on the oil market as demand remains solid, the energy minister of one of OPEC’s top producers said on Monday.  On Sunday, the OPEC+ producers, including the UAE, decided to pause their reversal of the production cuts in the first quarter of 2026, after a small increase in December. Citing “seasonality” and historically weaker demand in the first quarter of any year, OPEC said it would halt the production increases in January, February, and March.  One of the OPEC+…