U.S. At Risk Of Blackouts This Summer

Extreme weather this summer will strain the U.S. power grids, putting two-thirds of North America at risk of electricity shortfalls this summer during periods of peak demand on the hottest days, the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) said this week in its reliability assessment. In a normal summer with around-usual temperatures, the grid would cope as […]

France Taps Emergency Fuel Stocks as Strikes Hobble Production

France is dipping into strategic stockpiles of fuels like gasoline and diesel for at least the third time in a year, with strikes over pension reforms decimating production and hampering logistics. The country has released more than 10 million barrels of oil since the latest spate of labor action started just over three weeks ago. […]

The Saudis Push Peak Oil Even Higher in China

Every year, state-owned giant China National Oil Corp. publishes an estimate of when the country’s oil demand might peak. Over the last few years, the date hasn’t changed much — give or take, around 2030 — but the apex just keeps moving higher. In 2018, CNPC said Chinese consumption would climax at about 690 million metric tons. In […]

Will The Oil Price Recovery Last?

Following a 10% slump in two weeks, oil prices jumped by 5% on Monday as concerns about the banking sector eased and 400,000 bpd of crude exports from Kurdistan were shut in. The move lower in oil prices this month was driven by broader market jitters amid a liquidity scare in the banking sector, which […]

Gasoline Is About To Get More Expensive

Here’s some bad news for drivers of luxury cars and large sport-utility vehicles who are pumping the top grade of gasoline: the premium they pay over regular fuel is getting pricier. US and European refiners are scrambling to get enough octane to make high-quality gasoline. There are several potential reasons for the shortfall, including the […]

USA EIA Cuts 2023 Oil Price Forecasts

The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) lowered its Brent and West Texas Intermediate (WTI) oil price forecasts for 2023 in its latest short term energy outlook (STEO), which was released this week. According to the March STEO, the EIA now sees the Brent spot price averaging $82.95 per barrel and the WTI spot price averaging […]

When The Economy Gets Squeezed By Too Little Energy

Most people have a simple, but wrong, idea about how the world economy will respond to “not enough energy to go around.” They expect that oil prices will rise. With these higher prices, producers will be able to extract more fossil fuels so the system can go on as before. They also believe that wind […]

The End of the Oil Age Gets Postponed Again

It looks like we have to wait a little more to see the end of the oil age. Our desire to burn more and more stuff knows no limits — at least not when talking about the foreseeable future. Statements like “oil will be needed for at least another 10 years” or “independent experts agree […]

The Global Diesel Crisis Isn’t Over Yet

When the EU and the U.S. were discussing oil sanctions against Russia, some analysts warned that while markets would shrug off the oil embargo, things would be different for fuels. Because every economy runs on diesel, and global diesel stocks were critically low. Global diesel stocks remain critically low a month after the fuel embargo […]

IEA Raises Global Oil Demand Forecast Again

The International Energy Agency raised its forecast for global crude oil demand for 2023 in its Oil Market Report for February. Citing the re-opening of China’s economy as the main driver of rising demand, IEA analysts raised the 2023 forecast to 101.9 million barrels per day (bpd), an increase of 200,000 bpd from the agency’s […]

USA to Sell 26MM More Barrels From Strategic Oil Reserve

The Biden administration plans to sell more crude oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, with deliveries estimated to happen between April and June. The non-emergency sale will amount to 26 million barrels of crude, according to people familiar with the matter, and is part the congressionally mandated sale lawmakers approved years ago for the current […]

Heinberg: A realistic ‘energy transition’ is to get better at using less of it

In 2022, I authored two articles expressing doubts about society’s transition from fossil fuels to renewable solar and wind power. In this final article in the series, I’ll explain why my conclusions are based on experience as well as analysis. This article was produced by Earth | Food | Life, a project of the Independent Media Institute. My […]

China’s Oil Giants Want More Russian Crude

China’s state-owned oil refining giants are speeding up purchases of Russian crude, citing the allure of cheap cargoes from the OPEC+ producer as demand recovered after Covid Zero was ditched. China Petroleum & Chemical Corp., or Sinopec, as well as PetroChina Co. and CNOOC Ltd. have started and will continue to ramp up their procurement of […]

What Would War-End Mean for Global Oil and Gas?

The end of the war in Ukraine would reduce pressure on Western governments to continue expanding sanctions on Russia’s oil and gas sector. That’s according to Matthew Bey, a Senior Global Analyst at risk intelligence company RANE, who outlined that a war-end could also result in some sanctions, including the price cap on Russian crude […]

Key Chinese Middle Eastern Hub Switches Gas Supplies To Europe

China has expanded its influence in the Middle East, signing long-term business deals with geologically strategic partners such as Oman and Iran. Turkey, with which Oman struck the major gas deal last week, has been notable in recent years for its political, economic, and military fluidity in dealing with NATO countries and Russia alike. It […]

Are You Really Against Fossil Fuels? Read This Before You Answer

It is easy for anyone to say that they are against fossil fuels. Opposition to coal, oil and natural gas is fashionable and will prompt heads to nod and even hands to applaud in most places.  But are people aware of the extent to which their lives are dependent on fossil fuels? Do they know […]

Visualizing U.S. Consumption of Fuel and Materials per Capita

Visualizing U.S. Consumption of Fuel and Materials per Capita Wealthy countries consume massive amounts of natural resources per capita, and Americans are no exception. According to data from the National Mining Association, each American needs more than 39,000 pounds (17,700 kg) of minerals and fossil fuels annually to maintain their standard of living. Materials We […]

Gasoline Price More Expensive Than Year Ago

The price of regular gasoline in the U.S. is more expensive than year ago levels, according to data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), AAA Gas Prices, and GasBuddy. In its most recent gasoline and diesel fuel update, which was released on January 23, the EIA pegged the U.S. regular gasoline price at $3.415 […]

More pain at the pumps in 2023

A key driver of inflation – high gasoline and diesel prices – are expected to continue well into 2023, and it’s not just high oil prices and loss of Russian oil that will drive volatility, according to a new forecast from Kalibrate. The retail analytics firm warns gasoline and diesel prices could be even higher […]

Analysts Predict Freeport LNG Restart Date

Rystad Energy now anticipates Freeport LNG will restart in March at the earliest. That’s according to Rystad Energy Vice President Emily McClain, who made the statement in a market note sent to Rigzone recently. McClain highlighted in the note that a “full ramp up” at the site was not expected until “mid-year”. “Freeport LNG’s restart […]

US LNG And EU Import Capacity Imparity

Just barely into the new year and the LNG industry found itself in the spotlight again, with many unprecedented new events and shifts to evolve. Notwithstanding that LNG is slated to be more global than ever, we just cannot not give US LNG exporters credit for the boost in their LNG supplies to EU, amplified […]

China’s Oil Demand Is Set To Hit A Record High In 2023

China’s oil consumption is expected to jump by 800,000 barrels per day (bpd) this year to a record 16 million bpd, after Beijing abandoned the strict ‘zero Covid’ policy and re-opened its borders, a median estimate of 11 China-focused consultants polled by Bloomberg News showed. Following the initial exit Covid wave after the strictest curbs […]

EIA Slashes 2023 Brent Forecast

The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) has cut its 2023 Brent spot average price forecast by 10 percent in its latest short term energy outlook (STEO). The EIA now sees the commodity averaging $83 per barrel this year, compared with $92 per barrel in its previous STEO. Looking ahead to 2024, the EIA’s latest STEO […]

Can Civilization Survive? These Studies Might Tell Us

The world’s shift away from its current reliance on fossil fuels will be the biggest, most expensive, and most complex technical project ever attempted by humans. If it fails, that might mean the end of industrial civilization. For it to succeed, enormous amounts of investment and effort, along with some shared sacrifice, will be required. […]

The Era Of Cheap Oil Has Come To An End

The recent crude price slump may not be indicative for what is to come in oil markets according to several investment bank analysts. OPEC has not consistently produced more than 30 million bpd since 2015-2018. Structural underinvestment in new oil supply may lead to structurally higher prices. In its latest monthly report, OPEC revealed it had yet […]

Europe’s $1 trillion energy bill only marks start of the crisis

Europe got hit by roughly $1 trillion from surging energy costs in the fallout of Russia’s war in Ukraine, and the deepest crisis in decades is only getting started. After this winter, the region will have to refill gas reserves with little to no deliveries from Russia, intensifying competition for tankers of the fuel. Even […]

We Need Growth, Not A Recession

Generations Y and Z, your time has come to step up to the plate and take responsibility for the biggest growth opportunity in human history. Unfortunately, it starts with facing global challenges that are causing a lot of anxiety. Carbon emissions still haven’t peaked, and we are on track to a catastrophic 2.7° C of […]

George Monbiot: The US is a rogue state leading the world towards ecological collapse

There are two extraordinary facts about the convention on biological diversity, whose members are meeting in Montreal now to discuss the global ecological crisis. The first is that, of the world’s 198 states, 196 are party to it. The second is the identity of those that aren’t. Take a guess. North Korea? Russia? Wrong. Both […]

Wrapping up the Energy Crisis Year of 2022

This has undoubtedly been a year where the Energy Transition has felt, more often than not, thrown into reverse.   In Germany, coal mines have been reopened, and nuclear power stations scheduled to be decommissioned been given an extended lease of life. Nearly all EU countries, very dependent on Russian oil and gas, have been […]

Bare Cupboards

“Hundreds of millions will starve over the course of the next decade.” Stanford professor Paul R. Ehrlich said that when discussing the world’s growing population in his book, The Population Bomb. That was in 1968, and the world population was just a bit more than 3.5 billion. The United States had about 200.4 million people […]

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LATEST NEWS HEADLINES

• OPEC Excludes Bloomberg, Reuters and WSJ Reporters From Meeting
• Oil sands face uncertain future in post-peak world
• For the Global Oil Market, Russia’s Output Cut Isn’t Happening
• Could the EPA break America’s power grid?
• ‘Worst yet to come’ for Europe energy shortages

• From Warzone to Fusion Power: Breakthrough in Cooking Up Plasmas With Microwaves
• France Taps Emergency Fuel Stocks as Strikes Hobble Production
• U.S. Oil Production Flattens as Saudi Arabia, Russia Cut Output
• World population could fall to 6 billion by 2100: study denies UN estimates
• The Saudis Push Peak Oil Even Higher in China
• Limits to Growth Revisited