The Iraq War Was Not About Oil
Why did the U.S.-led coalition attack Iraq in 2003? Sixteen years after George W. Bush’s “Mission Accomplished” speech, the answer seems obvious to some: oil of course! When war was waged, this was the widespread view in Jordan (71 percent), Morocco (63 percent), Pakistan (54 percent), Turkey (64 percent), Germany (60 percent) and France (58 […]
Red River Statutory Rivalry: Texas Lien Statute is Fatal to Texas Producers’ Security Interests
The lesson from In re First River Energy LLC: Even though Texas lien law does not require the filing of a financing statement for perfection, file one anyway. It will be helpful in the event a dispute is decided under the laws of another state. The transactions Texas and Oklahoma producers sold oil and condensate to […]
Climate Change for Energy Professionals – Part 1
By Charles Sartain on February 16, 2021 Gray Reed’s in-house Cassandra, energy partner Paul Yale, has set out to educate energy industry professionals, and anyone else willing to learn, on the latest developments in the climate change debate. Here is Part One, in which Paul reviews three books with differing points of view: The Uninhabitable Earth: Life After Warming, by David Wallace-Wells; Apocolypse […]
Oil prices rally as record winter storms hit Texas shale supplies
(Bloomberg) –Oil hit a fresh 13-month high as cold weather in Texas may see supply curbed from America’s largest shale patch. U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures surged as much as 2.2% in early Asian trade, rising above $60 a barrel for the first time in more than a year. Brent crude in London rallied past […]
U.S. will import 62% more crude by 2022 due to domestic production declines, says EIA
WASHINGTON – Throughout much of its history, the United States has imported more petroleum (which includes crude oil, refined petroleum products, and other liquids) than it has exported. That status changed in 2020. The U.S. Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) February 2021 Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO) estimates that 2020 marked the first year that the United […]
Texas rattles gas markets by limiting out-of-state sales during blackouts
(Bloomberg) –Texas is restricting the flow of natural gas across state lines in an extraordinary move that some are calling a violation of the U.S. Constitution’s commerce clause. Texas Governor Greg Abbott on Wednesday told a media briefing that he was banning gas from leaving the state through Feb. 21 to ensure in-state power generators […]
Falling Texas crude output becomes a global oil market crisis
LONDON (Bloomberg) –What began as a power issue for a handful of U.S. states is rippling into a shock for the world’s oil market. More than 4 million barrels a day of output — almost 40% of the nation’s crude production — is now offline, according to traders and executives. One of the world’s biggest […]
Mexico plans tax breaks for Pemex among limited fiscal aid options
(Bloomberg) –Mexico is preparing a significant tax break for its state-owned oil firm while the constitution blocks it from taking on debt to increase social spending during the pandemic, Finance Minister Arturo Herrera said in an interview. Lowering the state’s demands on Pemex, its biggest taxpayer, could help the oil giant reorder its finances as […]
Baker Hughes to strengthen its asset performance management portfolio with agreement to acquire ARMS Reliability
HOUSTON & LONDON–(BUSINESS WIRE)– -Baker Hughes is acquiring ARMS Reliability, a leading global provider of reliability solutions to some of the world’s largest industrial companies across a wide range of industries including mining, oil and gas, power, manufacturing, and utilities. The acquisition deepens Baker Hughes’ industrial asset performance management (APM) capabilities and will expand the […]
Oil prices wobble on lower U.S. supplies and weaker crude demand
(Bloomberg) –Oil switched between gains and losses after a U.S. government report showed domestic crude inventories fell ahead of a sharp reduction in output due to a cold blast sweeping parts of the country. Futures in New York rebounded after sliding as much as 1.3% on Thursday. U.S. crude stockpiles tumbled more than 7 million […]