Why Helium Could Be The Hottest Commodity Play Of 2022
Helium is already 100x more expensive than natural gas—even with skyrocketing oil and gas prices. And the helium land rush is on in full force. It’s made easier by the fact that the bulk of helium comes from natural gas fields, and what investors should be paying attention to now is the largest conventional gas […]
Running Out of Spare Capacity
Global oil markets could not have looked grimmer than back in the summer of 2020. COVID cases were increasing again and further global economic lockdowns were being threatened. Only two months before, oil prices had crashed into negative territory for the first time in history as global inventories had surged and threatened to overflow. Between […]
Someone Is Betting That Oil Will Soar to a Record $200 a Barrel
By Alex Longley September 30, 2021, 6:33 AM CDT Could the energy crunch get so bad that oil prices hit $200 a barrel? One options trader thinks so. Brent $200 calls for December 2022, options contracts that would profit a buyer from a rally toward that level, traded 1,300 times on Wednesday. While the contracts […]
Battle Brews Over Banning Natural Gas to Homes
By Katherine Blunt May 31, 2021 5:35 am ET Cities are considering measures to phase out gas hookups amid climate concerns, spurring some states to outlaw such prohibitions. A growing fight is unfolding across America as cities concerned about climate change consider phasing out natural gas for home cooking and heating. Major cities including San […]
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 […]
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 […]