Author Archive

• Gazprom: Angel or Demon?
  oilprice, | January 29th, 2010 at 12:11 am

  

  Gazprom faces regular opprobrium for its bullying ways of using energy as a pressure and political tool. Seen by some, mostly Russians, as the symbol of a successful and strong Russia, others see it as a dominating juggernaut, economic right arm of the Kremlin implementing, or should we say, imposing its policies by using energy as a weapon. read more...

• Weekly Oil Market Summary
  oilprice, | January 23rd, 2010 at 7:25 pm

  

  New measures by Chinese authorities to curb bank lending reversed a rally in energy prices early in the week, bringing West Texas Intermediate futures down more than 4% in the second half of the week to below $75 a barrel by Friday.

  China continued its efforts to slow down its economy and prevent overheating, and told some banks to stop making certain kinds of loans. The Chinese move on Wednesday hit all commodities across the board, from gold to lead, with the prospect of slower economic growth in the country.

  Not even the news that China’s oil imports in December exceeded 5 million barrels of oil a day for the first time could stop the decline.

  U.S. data, meanwhile, showed that demand for oil had slipped 1.8% in the four weeks leading to Jan. 15 from the like period a year ago, when the U.S. economy was in the grip of a recession. Crude inventories declined in the week, against expectations, but gasoline inventories rose. Continued milder weather in the Northeast further dampened heating oil prices.

  News that utilization of U.S. refinery capacity fell to its lowest levels since the 1980s drove home the point that demand for distillates was lagging. Refinery utilization in the previous week dropped 2.9 percentage points to 78.4% of the 17.6 million barrels per day total capacity, the lowest level in two decades except for periods when hurricanes shut down refinery operations.

  The U.S. and China are the world’s top two oil-consuming countries, so the signs of weakening demand in both were bearish for energy prices.

  As if all that wasn’t enough, the announcement by the White House on Thursday of tough new measures to limit banks’ proprietary trading threw a double whammy in energy markets. There were concerns that Wall Street banks, among the biggest energy traders, would have to cut back their activities. Plus, the news sent equities into a tailspin, and dragged down commodities prices.

  The uncertainty about U.S. bank restructuring reversed the dollar’s climb against the euro, which had also weighed on crude oil prices. After dropping below $1.41, the euro bounced back up above that level at the end of the week.

  But continuing concerns about Greece’s debt and new uncertainty about whether Ben Bernanke will be confirmed for a second term as Federal Reserve chairman supported the dollar and were likely to dampen any strong rise for the euro, analysts said.

  Originally published at: http://www.oilprice.com/article-crude-oil-prices-fall-victim-to-china-syndrome.html

  By Darrell Delamaide for OilPrice.com who have recently launched a Free Market Intelligence Report which focuses on unique Geopolitical and Investment News which enables readers to spot trends and events in the marketplace and reduce investment risk. To find out more visit: http://www.oilprice.com

• Regulators Seek to Throw Light on Hedge Fund Impact in Energy Trading
  oilprice, | January 11th, 2010 at 12:58 pm

  

  Do hedge funds have an impact on energy trading?

  While the answer might seem intuitive, the debate as to whether they actually do has come to resemble the medieval theological dispute about how many angels can dance on the head of the pin.

  Because, like angels, many trades in energy futures are invisible, and it is often not possible to pinpoint where they take place. read more...

• Can Iraq Escape the Resource Curse
  oilprice, | December 28th, 2009 at 11:13 am

  

  After decades of dictatorship, war and international sanctions, Iraq’s massive oil reserves are set to be tapped proper. If the seven oil projects awarded to foreign oil companies this weekend, and the three from an auction earlier this year, develop as planned, within eight years, Iraq will see its oil production capacity leap to more than 12 million barrels per day (bpd). read more...

• Increasing Political Tension as Major Powers Scramble for Energy Security
  oilprice, | December 14th, 2009 at 2:20 pm

  

  As the major powers gather energy resources worldwide political tensions are on the rise. China Russia and Amrica are now seeing the strategic importance Africa can play in their nations energy security and all three are courting resource rich countries. read more...

• Unswayed by Political Risks, Oil Companies Eye Iraq’s Multibillion-Barrel Prize
  oilprice, | December 8th, 2009 at 1:24 pm

  

  As multinational military forces have left Iraq, international petroleum companies have eagerly descended - seduced by the long-term potential of vast oil reserves off-limits to foreigners for decades. Yet lingering violence, legal questions and political uncertainty make doing business in this country a gamble. read more...

• Iran’s Nuclear Ambitions Highlight Kazakhstan’s Uranium Potential
  oilprice, | November 30th, 2009 at 1:26 pm

  

  One bonus of the global recession is that it wiped a lot of incompetent hedge fund managers and energy speculators from the canyons of Wall Street. As the Gordon Gecko sycophants regroup and look for the next Big Thing, maximizing profit while minimizing risk, the landscape looks very different than it did a year ago. In such a climate, it is uranium, not oil and natural gas that would seem to have the brightest future for one simple, overriding capitalist principle – supply and demand.

  read more...

• Solar Energy Showing Promising Signs After Years of Disappointment
  oilprice, | November 25th, 2009 at 6:06 pm

  

  After years of over promising and under delivering, the solar Industry is finally starting to show some interesting developments which have the potential to make solar power as cheap as fossil fuel on a cost-per-watt basis within five years.

  read more...

• Biofuel Technology Rising to the Forefront
  oilprice, | November 23rd, 2009 at 11:22 am

  

  Did the EIA deliberately put out distorted key Oil projections under intense pressure from the Bush Administration. What does this mean for the Oil Industry and what opportunities does it create, especially in the Biofuels arena. read more...

• The Great Geopolitical Battle Over Energy Transit Routes
  oilprice, | November 18th, 2009 at 4:40 pm

  

  An extraordinary game of Geo-strategy is underway to lock in long term agreements in the energy sector. At a global level, the transit routes of future oil & gas pipelines become the object of a power struggle involving not only the suppliers and end-users but also the transit countries. read more...

• The Untapped Energy Riches of Uzbekistan
  oilprice, | November 11th, 2009 at 12:26 pm

  

  Uzbekistan is one of the world's largest producers of Natural Gas, but it's landlocked location makes it difficult for Oil Companies and countries to access the resources. Could the pacification of Afghanistan be the best chance they have of fully utilizing the Natural gas? read more...