Commodity Trends

Oil & Chemicals

Merger Mania: The World’s Largest Oil Company And Petrochemical Company Merge

In the following article from  OilPrice.com we see a major merger in the works to expand Saudi Aramco from just energy into chemical products. In previous articles we’ve discussed the possibility that Saudi Arabia is looking for alternative revenue streams as the world shifts toward renewable energy. 

Merger Mania: The World’s Largest Oil Company And Petrochemical Company Merge Read More »

Oil Fallen

The $32 Trillion Push To Disrupt The Entire Oil Industry

Global oil and gas companies are increasingly facing an uphill battle as global warming policies are taking their toll. Most analysts and market watchers are focusing on peak oil demand scenarios, but the reality could be much darker. International oil companies (IOCs) are likely to face a Black Swan scenario, which could end up being a boon for state-owned oil companies (NOCs).

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Electricity Production Capacity Changes in 2019

Renewable Energy Trends in 2019

According to a new report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2019 will be a good year for renewables. A whopping 46% of new electricity production will come from Wind power and 18% will come from Solar Photovoltaic power with the remaining increase coming from clean burning Natural Gas for a total increase in generating capacity of 24 gigawatts (GW). On the other hand, 8 gigawatts (GW) of electrical generating capacity will be retired this year 53% of that will be coal fired, 27% natural gas and 18% will be nuclear powered plants.

Renewable Energy Trends in 2019 Read More »

Drilling Zones

Huge Backlog Could Trigger New Wave Of Shale Oil

Why would a company spend millions of dollars to drill an oil well and then not finish it? There are a couple of  reasons. Thanks to rapid advancements in drilling technology shale oil wells can actually be drilled faster than they can be completed. This can result in a high inventory of uncompleted wells called “drilled but uncompleted wells (DUCs)”.  But when the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) counts DUCs they don’t count the recently completed ones to allow time for completion.

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China Vanadium Battery Factory

Move Aside Lithium – Vanadium Is The New Super-Metal

The lithium ride was a great one. Cobalt, too. All they needed was their Elon Musk moment, which came in the form of the Nevada battery gigafactory. The next Elon Musk moment won’t be about lithium at all—or even cobalt. It will be for an element that takes everything electric to its revolutionary finish line: Vanadium.

Move Aside Lithium – Vanadium Is The New Super-Metal Read More »

U.S. Shale Has A Glaring Problem

Oil prices are down a bit, but are still close to multi-year highs. That should leave the shale industry flush with cash. However, a long list of U.S. shale companies are still struggling to turn a profit. A new report from the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) and the Sightline Institute detail the “alarming volumes of red ink” within the shale industry.

U.S. Shale Has A Glaring Problem Read More »

Electric Vehicles

Oil Price Rally Boosts Electric Car Sales

Tesla’s competition is about to get more crowded next year with many legacy automakers and luxury brands launching a record number of battery electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids. All EV makers will have one common element that could help lift demand for battery vehicles—rising oil prices leading to fuel prices at four-year highs, which could turn consumers towards EVs. To be sure, charging infrastructure and range are still key concerns in consumers’ minds regarding EVs, but utilities and major oil firms such as Shell and BP are already looking to expand the charging infrastructure, especially in Europe.

Oil Price Rally Boosts Electric Car Sales Read More »

100 dollar Oil

$100 Oil Is A Distinct Possibility

An oil price spike is starting to look increasingly possible, with a rerun of 2008 not entirely out of the question, according to a new report.

The outages from Iran are worse than most analysts expected, and bottlenecks in the U.S. shale patch could prevent non-OPEC supply from plugging the gap. To top it off, new regulations from the International Maritime Organization set to take effect in 2020 could significantly tighten supplies.

$100 Oil Is A Distinct Possibility Read More »

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