News
The American Petroleum Institute (API) estimated that crude oil inventories in the United States fell by 609,000 barrels in the week ending February 13, after increasing by 13.4 million barrels in the week prior. Inventories in the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) keep climbing week after week. The Department of Energy (DoE) reported that crude oil inventories rose by 200,000 barrels to 415.4 million barrels in the week ending February 13. This is 310.1 million barrels shy of maximum capacity. US production stopped its fifth week in a row losing…
Shares of BHP Group, the world's largest miner, jumped to a record high in Australia after it posted earnings at the top end of Wall Street expectations. The miner's pivot into copper, aided by a surging rally in industrial metals, offset softer conditions in its iron ore unit. BHP chief executive Mike Henry reaffirmed to investors earlier on a call that the miner is pivoting toward "future-facing" metals. In other words, he explained that the world's largest miner's shift away from operations focused on serving China's steel mills has paid off,…
The history of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), their danger to the ozone layer, and the drive to replace them reminds me of an observation from former CBS news correspondent and commentator Eric Sevareid: "[T]he real cause of problems is solutions." When chemists F. Sherwood Roland and Mario Molina asked where chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) go after leaking from refrigerators and air conditioners or being intentionally released from aerosol cans, they did not know that the answer would lead to the world-shaking discovery that these chemicals were threatening…
Abu Dhabi’s national oil company, ADNOC, keeps making headlines again, not only when looking at upstream but also in its LNG strategic operations. At present, the oil and gas giant’s quiet acceleration in LNG shipping is often treated as merely a capacity add. Mainstream media is focusing on factors such as increased hulls, greater flexibility, and improved service for export projects. This focus is, however, too narrow, as the UAE’s national champion is not simply expanding its fleet. ADNOC is clearly establishing the physical…
Canada-based Ensign Energy Services has been working in Venezuela for 25 years and has never left the country, where rig counts have plummeted, and the political and regulatory landscape has been a minefield to navigate. “We’re the only Canadian company — the only oilfield service drilling company — operating in Venezuela,” Bob Geddes, Ensign Energy Services’ president and chief operating officer, told the Financial Post in an interview. “We’ve stuck through Venezuela, thick and thin, and here we…

