OPEC Faces a Bigger Problem in Washington Than Trump's Tweets target="_blank" rel="nofollow">U.S. politicians have tried several times since 2000 to pass the NOPEC bill, but the White House opposed it — both George W. Bush and Barack Obama threatened to use their veto. The risk for OPEC is that Trump may break with his predecessors.

Pipeline constraints hit WT Sour, Intermediate prices target="_blank" rel="nofollow">In recent weeks, companies such as Plains All American and Phillips 66 have set their posted prices for West Texas Sour almost $12 below what they pay for West Texas Intermediate. The posted price for West Texas Sour ended the week at $49.80, compared to $61.50 for West Texas Intermediate, according to Plains All American.

OPEC Likely to Agree on Production Increase Next Week target="_blank" rel="nofollow">The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies are set for contentious meetings on June 22 to 23 as they review whether to unwind supply curbs put in place 18 months ago. While the producers able to revive production are ready to do so, there’s growing opposition from countries who can’t.

Oil boom bottleneck costs Permian investors $1 billion a day target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Even as production soars in the Permian, dwindling pipeline space and a rail and trucking shortage have raised shipping costs, boosting the discount producers in the region take to offload their oil. The bottleneck benefits refiners who can buy cheaper crude and pipeline owners with extra space, but it’s dragging down explorers.

Gas Glut in Permian Sparks Dilemma Over How Much to Burn target="_blank" rel="nofollow">With natural gas pipelines in the Permian Basin reaching 98 percent of capacity, Texas is weighing whether to keep intact or loosen strict state regulations that limit flaring, the process used by drillers to burn off excess gas pumped up along with their oil.

Oil Is Still Going To $80 target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Oil prices are taking a hit right now as the media and markets are fooled by a narrative that new oil supply is coming onto the market from Saudi Arabia and Russia. That is not the real story. In fact, it’s #fakenews.

Pipeline leaks test drone developers target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Right now twelve drone and other technology developers are competing in a contest to see who can build the most effective device to find methane leaks, in a contest staged by the Stanford University Natural Gas Initiative and Environmental Defense Fund.

Permian-Based Tech Kicks Produced Water Recycling Up a Notch target="_blank" rel="nofollow">A “very practical” approach that Permian operators have employed is recycling and re-using produced water, said Burnett. “No one is using fresh water aquifers’ groundwater for oil and gas operations. Brackish ground water and recycling and re-use fills the need for shalers.”

Saudi Arabia turns to Halliburton for its fracking needs target="_blank" rel="nofollow">While Saudi Arabia is known as the world’s largest oil exporter, it has vast supplies of gas as well, but much of it is difficult to recover from shale rock and tight sand. The goal is to use the unconventional drilling and fracking technologies developed in the U.S., especially in Texas, to tap into those gas resources.

Oil Prices Mixed After This U.S. Shock; OPEC, Russia Eye 'All Options' target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Oil prices recovered some ground Wednesday after a surprise jump in U.S. crude inventories, which added another headwind to oil markets following suggestions that OPEC might increase production.

The $100 a barrel oil wager comes back to the options market target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Whether it’s the specter of sanctions on Iran, Venezuela’s output plunge, or a momentum play on the back of the past year’s 46 percent surge in Brent, there are now the equivalent of about 93 million barrels wagering on the global benchmark hitting $100 at some point in the next 12 months.

EPA Goes To War With California target="_blank" rel="nofollow">The EPA is expected to announce a rollback of corporate average fuel economy to hold the numbers to 34.5 mpg. However, California has set their own limits and has been setting the rules for the other 49 states for many years.

Permian grows while overall oil rig count stays flat target="_blank" rel="nofollow">The Permian added four oil rigs, but that was counterbalanced by losses elsewhere. The overall rig count grew by just one rig drilling for natural gas, while the oil rig count remained flat.

The numbers behind the Permian spotlight at OTC

The main thing is, offshore is a long-term commitment, said Maierdan Halifu, senior analyst at Rystad in Houston. If you make a discovery and sanction a project, you're making a commitment for the next six or seven years. But shale is very flexible. You can drill wells relatively fast and get the return relatively fast."

California Oil Dreams Fade as Iconic Beverly Hills Derrick Comes Down

Draped in flower-covered panels, the iconic derrick that towers over Beverly Hills High School has pumped crude for decades. Now, it waits to be dismantled, its demise mirroring the fate of oil drilling in California.

U.S. crude exports soar

Analysts attributed the surge to lower prices of U.S. crude compared to Brent crude produced in the North Sea. The price gap between Brent and the U.S. benchmark, West Texas Intermediate has widened from $3 a barrel in early March to about $6 a barrel this week, according the S&P Global Platts, a commodities research and analytics firm.

Permian On Track To Become Largest Oil Basin In The World

The Permian Basin has long been touted as the fastest growing shale play in the United States, but now its oil-producing prowess is being highlighted again as the Energy Information Administration forecasts the prolific basin’s May production to be 3.183 million bpd—an expected 73,000 bpd rise from April.

Bullish oil signs show Saudi Arabia’s $80 goal within reach

Apart from the technical indicators, investors will also be watching tumbling U.S. petroleum stockpiles, which now stand below their five-year average for the first time since 2014, and record American production.

Cyberattacks on the oil and gas industry are on the rise

“The whole cyber-threat landscape mirrors what’s happening in the world,” Scali said. “What we see is cyberattacks typically are geopolitically driven. I can’t think of an industry that would actually have more geopolitical factors and drivers behind it than oil and gas. Given the complexity of geopolitics around natural resources and prices, as well as the significance of petrochemicals and petrochemical products to the normal operation of a society and national infrastructure, it very much puts oil and gas at a risk of the geopolitical winds changing and, thus, organizations in that industry being targeted.”

Texas and Gulf of Mexico lead rig count jump

The overall rig count grew by five - up to 1,008 - courtesy of four rigs added to the Gulf and three in Texas. The loss of two rigs drilling for natural gas kept the rig count from growing higher.