In The News

Russia vs Saudi Arabia: Reuters

Davide Barbuscia and Darya Korsunskaya March 10, 2020
OPEC nations failed to reach agreement with a group of non-OPEC nations led by Russia to limit oil production and, in defiance, Saudi Arabia approved opening the pumps for full production, forcing prices to plummet. Stock prices of major oil companies also fall. Saudi Arabia and Russia have large financial cushions, but other countries and oil companies with debt could struggle. “The world’s top...

Governments Clamp Down: New York Times

March 9, 2020
The world has more than 110,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and nations impose more restrictions to contain the spread, which also slows spending and hurts businesses. “Italy began one of the largest-ever attempts to restrict the movement of people in a Western democracy, with a lockdown of the country’s northern region affecting about 16 million people and fueling questions about whether...

OPEC to Russia – It’s Over: OilPrice.com

Julianne Geiger March 8, 2020
A meeting between OPEC and non-OPC members, more than 20 nations in all, resulted in no deal to cut oil production in order to boost prices. “OPEC and the Coronavirus have been pressuring Russia for weeks as oil prices have tumbled to sub-$50 per barrel, but Russia has so far decided it doesn’t want to participate in further production cuts to offset the loss in demand,” reports Julianne Geiger...

End of Oil Dependence and Geopolitics: BBC

James Landale January 4, 2020
Technological advances in renewable energy are putting purveyors of fossil fuels on notice. For example, solar energy is advancing with improved site locations, molten salt and mirrors. Battery and electric vehicle technologies are also advancing, and such developments will impact global politics, suggests James Landale. “From that moment, much of the history of the 20th Century can be seen...

$20 Trillion Threat of Climate Change: OilPrice.com

Nick Cunningham December 14, 2019
Businesses and investors who deny climate change is underway can anticipate the loss in trillions of market value. Natural disasters are on the rise and cost more, and entire asset classes and sectors can expect repricing. “One glaring example is the real estate market along coastlines, which will see both physical damage and a dramatic repricing as the threat becomes increasingly clear,”...

OPEC Cuts Production: Wall Street Journal

Summer Said, Benoit Faucon and David Hodari December 11, 2019
Saudi-led OPEC and Russia and its allies, 24 nations in all, agreed to implement an additional collective oil production curb of 500,000 barrels a day, pushing the Brent crude price up by 1.2 percent. The original pact was to hold back about 1.2 million barrels per day. Some analysts express doubt about the new pact’s effect because based on some independent estimates, Saudi Arabia’s production...

Saudi Arabia’s Aramco IPO and Peace: Ozy

Sanjay Kapoor November 28, 2019
Trade is supposed to help secure peace, though trade in oil has been linked to war. So analysts mull over Saudi Arabia’s plans for the world’s largest initial public offering. The Saudi Aramco IPO announcement followed soon after the September 14 drone attack on a refinery in Abqaiq. Investors expect stability and so Saudi Arabia, unlike the United States and Israel, did not rush to blame Iran. “...