Many people are now getting jittery about Saudi Arabia. Protesters in the Kingdom have called for a “day of rage” his Friday to show their dissatisfaction with King Abdullah’s regime. Meanwhile the King has tried to head off serious unrest in the country by pledging to boost spending on housing, social welfare and education. And … Read More
oil industry outlook
“An oilquake that shakes our world to its core”
The press reports this morning that members of Opec have joined Saudi Arabia in boosting oil output to make up the fall in output from Libya. The countries concerned – Kuwait, UAE and Nigeria – have all promised to boost production. In many ways you could argue that OPEC’s gamble is trying to delay the … Read More
UK Gov: its “crazy” not to prepare a low-carbon future
Three years ago during the last oil price hike when oil reached $150 a barrel, there were repeated calls for a concerted effort for the international community to finally wean itself off its chronic oil addiction. There were repeated calls that the combined financial crisis and energy crunch was a prefect reason to kick-start the … Read More
“The last man will switch off the button”
At one point yesterday, Brent crude, the European benchmark grade of oil was topping $108 a barrel—its highest level in 2½ years. Such is the surge in oil prices caused by the Libyan crisis that it could derail the global economic recovery according to Fatih Birol, the International Energy Agency’s chief economist. Analysts argue that … Read More
Exxon is Running Out of Oil
When the history of the hydrocarbon age is written, the one company that will personify Big Oil more than any other will be Exxon. Yes, there are other oil majors like Shell and BP, but they are like young pretenders to the Oil King. Exxon is the company that has bet its future on oil, … Read More
We Can Win the Fight to Eliminate Dirty Fossil Fuel Subsidies
We are in this fight to win it for ourselves, our pocket books, our planet, and our kids and grand kids. And this is a fight. Despite the trillion in profits big oil and gas companies are making on the backs of American consumers, they came out swinging against President Obama’s second call in his … Read More
The Oil Boom is Back
A new report by the energy consultancy, PFC Energy, is arguing that the center of the global energy industry is slowly shifting away from the oil majors. Publicly traded companies in Russia, China and Brazil are taking more of the top spots in its influential global ranking of the world’s energy giants. In part to … Read More
CO2 emissions to rise by 25% in 20 years, says Big Oil
We are on the path to climate chaos, Big Oil has admitted. Both BP and Exxon have conceded that progress on climate change is totally insufficient to stabilize CO2 emissions. Both oil companies have just published their Energy Outlooks, and the outlook looks grim. In a bleak prognosis for success on reducing carbon dioxide emissions, … Read More
Bolshoi Petroleum is “environmental villain number one”
Ever since BP’s complex deal with Russian giant Rosneft was announced late last Friday, the list of critics to the deal has been growing. Take today’s leader in the Financial Times that calls the deal “risky, ethically vexing” and a “difficult transaction to spin.” I am surprised that a tabloid newspaper hasn’t spun the deal … Read More
Reserves Replacement Ratio: past its sell-by date?
Is a key valuation metric used by analysts to assess oil companies pushing big oil towards riskier and riskier projects? Those of us outside the financial sector may not be too familiar with acronyms such as RoACE, NAV or RRR. But the last one in particular has been intriguing me lately because of its implications … Read More