In The News

Saudis Threaten New Oil-Price War: WSJ

Benoit Faucon and Summer Said July 1, 2020
Oil prices plummeted in March when OPEC and non-OPEC producers including Russia could not agree on production cuts to stabilize oil prices. Producers opened the taps, and oil prices went into negative territory with worries over storage space. By April, 23 nations agreed to a 10 percent cut in output. But many producers depend on oil revenue for budget, and Saudi Arabia promised a new price war...

Oil, Gas Sector in Terminal Decline? OilPrice.com

Robert Rapier June 19, 2020
The rise of renewable energies and reduced energy consumption due to the Covid-19 pandemic may push fossil fuels into terminal decline, reports Robert Rapier. Global consumption of coal, while still growing, peaked in the developed world after being replaced by natural gas. Price pressure has accompanied intense production for oil and natural gas in recent years while consumers increasingly...

Saudi Arabia Imposes Austerity Measures: WSJ

Stephen Kalin and Donna Abdulaziz May 11, 2020
Countries around the world have their hands full responding to the Covid-19 pandemic and cannot afford missteps in other areas. In early March, OPEC nations failed to reach agreement with non-OPEC nations to limit oil production, and Saudi Arabia responded by opening the pumps, forcing prices to plummet. The oil producers later reached agreement to limit production, but it was too late. Two...

Unprecedented Wipeout for Oil: Bloomberg

Catherine Ngai, Olivia Raimonde and Alex Longley April 20, 2020
The Covid-19 pandemic stopped the global economy, and the price of future contracts for West Texas Intermediate crude oil, in May plunged into unprecedented negative territory. Brent and other pricing benchmarks also fell. Energy companies and distributors have no place to store oil, and there is no interest in crude contracts that require delivery, regardless of low price. “Underscoring just how...

US Energy Independence Is Dying: OilPrice.com

Irina Slav April 8, 2020
As COVID-19 spread worldwide, Saudi Arabia and Russia failed to agree on oil production limits. Russia suggested it would slash production only if the United States did likewise, putting a dagger into any notion of US energy independence. Many US firms reject a deal with OPEC or Russia. Production continues, global oil storage is running out; the US economy remains dependent on fossil fuels and...

Libya Defies Calls for Global Ceasefire: Guardian

Patrick Wintour April 2, 2020
The civil war in Libya has escalated even though the United Nations called for a “global ceasefire.” Warlord General Khalifa Haftar and his forces, the Libyan National Army, or LNA, claim to occupy some towns in the northwest and repel attacks by the UN-backed government army aiming to capture the key airbase. After the two warring parties recently agreed to a humanitarian truce, the peace...

Everyone Suffers From Oil-Price War: Economist

March 20, 2020
After Russia refused to reduce oil production in Vienna in early March, Saudi Arabia as de facto leader of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, decided to produce more crude oil as a counterattack. Saudi Arabia announced that daily production would unprecedently increase to 12.3 million barrels per day in April, 25 percent more than it produced in February. Following that,...