INDUSTRY NEWS
The U.S. Has Lost Its Position As The World’s Top LNG Exporter
After briefly surpassing Qatar and Australia as the world’s top LNG exporter, the United States lost the top slot to Qatar in April as volumes in the north dropped along with heating fuel demand, Bloomberg reports.
Texas RRC Turns to AI
The Texas Railroad Commission (RRC) has announced that it has turned to artificial intelligence to optimize the time the agency’s technical analysts spend on seismicity reviews to ensure residents and the environment are protected.
U.S. Natural Gas Prices Hit $9 For The First Time Since 2008
U.S. natural gas prices have surged by more than 130% since the beginning of the year, due to strong demand for LNG, especially in Europe, which is scrambling to replace as much Russian gas as soon as possible. In addition, early heat waves in the U.S. at the start of May boosted demand for air conditioning and power generation, while supply growth is struggling to catch up with demand.
Oil Inventories Down to Dangerously Low Point
Crude oil inventories are down to a dangerously low point across Europe, North America, and OECD Asia just as OPEC+ spare production capacity has dwindled to the lowest levels since April 2020.
BlackRock, JPMorgan, others tell Texas they don’t boycott energy companies
The money managers are under pressure from a new Texas law that prohibits state agencies that invest funds from investing in financial firms found to boycott fossil fuel energy companies.
USA Keeps Adding More Rigs
All 14 rigs were land rigs, the count showed. The additions take the total U.S. rig count up to 728, comprising 709 land rigs, 18 offshore rigs and one inland water rig, Baker Hughes’ latest count outlined.
Privateers Push Permian Delaware Output To Record Heights In 2022
Total hydrocarbon production in the Permian Delaware Basin, the top-producing play in the Permian, will hit a record 5.7 million barrels of oil equivalent per day average in 2022, according to Rystad Energy research.
Big Oil gets investor reprieve as energy worries trump climate concerns
Major oil companies have handily defeated several high-profile climate resolutions brought by shareholder activists in the current run of annual general meetings.
Interior Secretary Deb Haaland Is No Friend to Alaska
It didn’t take long to find out that Haaland’s visit wasn’t going to help Alaska whatsoever, unless one’s vision for the state is that it become a national park in its entirety, with fewer economic opportunities, decreased population, and more government dependence.
Why Are the Majority of Leased Offshore Federal Waters Non-Producing?
“Finding oil and gas is a prospective business and companies need to cast a wide net of lease blocks to identify and develop commercially viable discoveries. Non-producing leases are not ‘idle’. Just because there is no surface activity occurring at a lease block does not mean it is ‘idle’,” Milito said.
The NOPEC Bill Could Send Oil Prices To $300
If the U.S. passes the NOPEC bill, a bill designed to pave the way for lawsuits against OPEC members for market manipulation, the oil market could face even more chaos. OPEC’s most influential energy ministers warned against passing the legislation, suggesting it could send oil prices soaring by 200% or 300%.
U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve drops to lowest level since 1987
The 180 million-barrel release is equivalent to about two days of global demand, and was the third time Washington had tapped the SPR in the six months prior.
Tennessee plans to boycott banks, financial institutions that divest from fossil fuels
Last week, the Tennessee General Assembly passed a bill that prevents the state from working with banks or financial institutions that won’t work with fossil fuel companies — with an exception for when the state is unable to find an alternative.
Biden admin cancels massive oil and gas lease sale amid record-high gas prices
The DOI halted the potential to drill for oil in over 1 million acres in Alaska's Cook Inlet, along with two lease sales in the Gulf of Mexico. The move comes as Biden has taken a few actions to combat high gas prices, despite his administration's generally hostile approach to the oil industry.
U.S. Gasoline Prices Hit All-Time High
Retail gasoline prices in the United States hit an all-time high this week, with the national average at $4.351 per gallon, GasBuddy's Patrick DeHaan said on Twitter on Monday.
U.S. Shale Swings From Losses To Record Cash Flows
The largest shale producers have left years of bleeding cash behind, focusing on returning capital to shareholders from the record cash flows they have been generating for several months now.
Bitcoin mining, Permian energy developing close ties
Not only does bitcoin mining reduce emissions but creates jobs for pumpers, information technology specialists, electricians and construction workers who need to extend well pads, Harrison said. It also provides new revenue streams in terms of increased royalties and production taxes.
New gas pipeline boosts Europe’s bid to ease Russian supply
The new pipeline connection, called the Gas Interconnector Greece-Bulgaria, will give the country access to ports in neighboring Greece that are importing liquefied natural gas, or LNG, and also will bring gas from Azerbaijan through a new pipeline system that ends in Italy.
U.S. Gas Production Slows At The Worst Possible Time
Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in late February, U.S. natural gas prices have increased approximately 50%, Reuters reports, and producers in Appalachia and West Texas are now struggling with a shortage of pipelines to move product to market
Over 150 Companies Sent Inquiries About Fossil Fuel-Boycotting Investment Funds
Nearly 160 financial companies have been identified by the State of Texas for offering investment services that “appear to boycott fossil fuels.”