A late phase reflection on global oil

My basic beef with working in the oil industry has always been the obliviousness of the industry to the fossil fuel issue. I became quite disillusioned and began speaking up here and there in a reckless Clint Eastwood go ahead and make my day kind of way. Speaking up became a pastime. I did it […]

USA Oil Production Outlook Set to Grow

The U.S. oil production outlook is set to grow over the next five years from 10.96 million barrels per day (MMbpd) in the beginning of 2021 to more than 12.9 MMbpd by 2030. That’s according to GlobalData, which noted that the biggest growth is expected to happen in the Permian Basin. In a statement sent […]

The Key to U.S. Domination of Global Natural Gas Markets

One of the byproducts of U.S. oil fracking is lots of extra natural gas. But without a way to get it to coastal shipping locations, much of it is simply burned off, wasting the gas and adding to global warming. But if more pipelines could be built, the U.S. could become a much bigger force […]

Could we be hitting natural gas limits already?

Many countries have assumed that natural gas imports will be available for balancing electricity produced by intermittent wind and solar, whenever they are needed. The high natural gas import prices recently being encountered in Europe, and especially in the UK, appear to be an indication of an underlying problem. Could the world already be hitting […]

Texas adds 2,800 oil exploration and production jobs in August

Oil exploration and production companies in Texas added 2,800 jobs in August as the industry continues to recover from the pandemic-driven oil bust. The state’s upstream sector has recovered 19,700 jobs since employment bottomed out a year ago, about a third of the 60,000 jobs lost during the pandemic last year. The state has 178,500 […]

The U.S. Remained The World’s Top Oil Producer In 2020

Earlier this month BP released its Statistical Review of World Energy 2021. The Review provides a comprehensive picture of supply and demand for major energy sources on a country-level basis. Each year, I do a series of articles covering the Review’s findings. In the previous article, I discussed the trends in global carbon dioxide emissions. Today, I want to […]

Forget About Peak Oil – We Haven’t Even Reached Peak Coal Yet

Despite all the heavy dissemination of narratives and talking points about a “climate emergency” and the “energy transition” during 2021, the ongoing economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic proves that the world still heavily relies on fossil fuels to provide its constantly growing energy needs. Indeed, as the pushers of Peak Oil demand theory try […]

US May Oil Production Growth Surprises

All of the oil (C + C) production data for the US state charts comes from the EIAʼs Petroleum Supply monthly PSM. After the production charts, an analysis of three EIA monthly reports that project future production is provided. The charts below are updated to May 2021 for the 10 largest US oil producing states. U.S. […]

IEA’s roadmap shows difficult journey to net zero

Polarised responses to the International Energy Agency report on achieving net zero emissions by 2050 reveal the enormous challenges of the goal and differences about whether it is realistic in the timeframe. Like the Rorschach inkblot test, reactions to the report reveal more about the reader’s own views on how energy and climate systems change […]

The Saudi prince of oil prices vows to drill ‘every last molecule’

A Boeing 767 passed over the Red Sea, turning east into Saudi Arabia. A commercial version of the aircraft can carry around 260 passengers. Inside, Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman and a dozen or more aides were on their way home from a tumultuous meeting at OPEC’s headquarters in Vienna the day before. […]

The “mother-frackers” of shale now resemble OPEC

AN HOUR AFTER dawn Scott Sheffield is at the window of his 2,300-acre (930-hectare) Forked Lightning ranch in New Mexico, contemplating a day’s fishing. The estate, formerly owned by Jane Fonda, has four miles of river running through it. It’s muddy at the moment, he says, but on a good day a fly fisherman can […]

US shale sees light at the end of a tunnel

The US oil and gas sector collapsed in the market turmoil caused by COVID-19 last year, but the US shale patch is back on track and looks still healthy. The US oil and gas sector is recovering from last year’s market downturn. But unlike the boom-and-recession cycle of the past, the industry has postponed production […]

Is The World Sleepwalking Into An Oil Supply Crunch?

Under-investment in oil supply will lead to a tight oil market later this decade. It’s a narrative that’s gained increasing traction as capital expenditure on upstream oil and gas has shrunk. Spend in 2021 is half the peak of 2014 after slumping to new depths in last year’s crisis. I asked Harry Paton of our […]

How Will USA Oil Production Evolve to 2023?

U.S. crude oil supply will only marginally increase this summer. That’s according to Rystad Energy’s latest analysis, which forecasts that U.S. crude output is forecast to grow by 60,000 barrels per day to 11.51 million barrels per day (MMbpd) in July and remain at the same level in August. A dip is then expected in […]

Visualizing US Oil & Gas Production

This article contains still images from the interactive dashboards available in the original blog post. To follow the instructions in this article, please use the interactive dashboards. Furthermore, they allow you to uncover other insights as well. Visit ShaleProfile blog to explore the full interactive dashboard These interactive presentations contain the latest oil & gas […]

US April Oil Production Flat – Peak Oil Barrel

All of the oil (C + C) production data for the US state charts comes from the EIAʼs Petroleum Supply monthly PSM. After the production charts, an analysis of three EIA monthly reports that project future production is provided. The charts below are updated to April 2021 for the 10 largest US oil producing states. U.S. […]

Iran Says It Can Quickly Hike Oil Output If Sanctions Are Lifted

Iran’s Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh said his country has taken “many measures” to ensure it can raise crude production in “a very short time” if U.S. sanctions are lifted, the state-run Shana news agency reported. World powers have worked for months trying to broker an agreement between Iran and the U.S. that would restore […]

How colonialism’s legacy makes it harder for countries to escape poverty and fossil fuels today

While fossil fuels were powering wealthy nations’ economic growth in the 19th and 20th centuries, many countries across the Global South remained largely impoverished. Today, all that burning of oil, coal and natural gas has warmed the planet toward dangerous levels, and science shows that fossil fuel use must decline to slow climate change. At […]

Peak Oil: The Continuous Climb

Scientists, philosophers, and engineers have been predicting the eventual peak of oil production for decades, but each estimate has been incorrect. Was 2019 the year of peak oil? What are factors contributing to a decline in production? What are the newest estimates for peak oil? All of this and more in the first episode of […]

February Non-OPEC Oil Production Sinks

Below are a number of oil (C + C ) production charts for Non-OPEC countries created from data provided by the EIAʼs International Energy Statistics and updated to February 2021. Information from other sources such as OPEC, the STEO and country specific sites such as Russia, Norway and China is used to provide a short term outlook […]

OPEC told to expect limited U.S. oil output growth, for now

OPEC officials heard from industry experts that U.S. oil output growth will likely remain limited in 2021 despite rising prices, OPEC sources said, giving it more power to manage the market in the short term before a potentially strong rise in shale output in 2022. Officials from OPEC’s Economic Commission Board (ECB) and external presenters […]

One day in May and Big Oil’s future

May 26, 2021 is not “a date that will live in infamy,” unless you work in the oil and gas industry. That day saw three events across the world being cited as the “end to Big Oil.” In The Netherlands, a Dutch court ruled Shell Oil must accelerate its carbon emissions reduction efforts to comply […]

IEA Tells OPEC To “Open The Taps”

Oil prices climbed on Friday as the IEA boosted optimism about global oil demand recovery. Friday, June 11th, 2021 Oil prices showed modest gains on Friday, after a selloff on Thursday. Oil prices drop after U.S. lifting sanctions on Iranian officials. The U.S. Department of the Treasury said on Thursday it is removing several Iranian […]

Rosneft Warns of ‘Severe’ Oil Shortage Amid Hasty Energy Shift

Russian oil giant Rosneft PJSC warned of an impending shortfall in supply as global producers increasingly channel funds into a “hasty” energy transition. “The world risks a severe deficit of oil and gas,” Rosneft Chief Executive Officer Igor Sechin said Saturday at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. “The world consumes oil, but isn’t ready […]

Oil alliance holds firm on output as price passes $70

Saudi energy minister says recent market developments confirmed that the decision to gradually increase production was ‘the right decision’ Energy agency’s view of hydrocarbon investment is ‘sequel to La La Land,’ Saudi minister says DUBAI: The OPEC+ alliance of oil producers led by Saudi Arabia and Russia kept supply on an upward track on Tuesday […]

Did China Just Sound The Death Knell For Venezuela’s Oil Industry?

China has announced that it will impose taxes on heavy sour crude, a move that could hit Venezuela hard as it continues to struggle with U.S. sanctions and a dilapidated oil industry. Media reports suggest as many as 400,000 bpd of Venezuelan oil could be orphaned as new Chinese tax laws make it impossible for […]

Is the next ‘peak oil’ going to be its final one too?

What if the next ‘peak oil’ is the last one? According to analysts, this could happen anytime between now and 2040. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) estimates peak oil to be around 2040 itself. These estimates, nonetheless, were made before the ramifications of the pandemic were fully grasped. That said, peak oil may be sooner […]

World Oil Supply To Increase Further As OPEC+ Alliance Continues To Ease Output Cuts

The International Energy Agency (IEA) stated in its latest monthly update for May 2021 that global oil consumption is now forecast to rise by 5.4 mb/d in 2021, 270 kb/d lower than in previous Report. Europe and OECD Americas have been revised down by 320 kb/d and 515 kb/d respectively in 1Q21, while India’s Covid […]

The IEA Sees The End Of Oil And Gas Investment (But Don’t Bet On It)

Blind people are now circling the elephant that is the IEA Net Zero 2050 report, some finding a beautiful tree, others a slimy snake. The coverage of this report is an excellent example of ‘where you sit determines where you stand’ with climate change advocates hailing “IEA’s net zero emissions by 2050 maps the huge […]

EIA: Natural gas and oil will remain integral

Natural gas and oil will remain central to meeting our nation’s energy needs well into the future — so says the nonpartisan U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) in its 2021 Annual Energy Outlook. This analysis is critically important given the Biden administration’s apparent shift away from the previous administration’s focus on building American energy dominance […]

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