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$60 by YE 2016?

“Rigzone” reports that an article in “Barron’s” references the prediction of $60 oil by the end of this year. An initial reaction to this this forecast might be, “Why even take this seriously?” An almost 35% increase within less than 6 months is pretty incredible.  Well, there are at least two reasons. First, the forecast… Read More


Traders Bet Big on Shale

The big international oil trading firms bridge the gap between producers and consumers. To do so, they devote resources to intelligence, gathering systems, processing plants, and terminals.  Operating on a global scale, they are not going to deploy assets in areas in which they do not foresee long term opportunities.  According to a recent article… Read More


Myths and Misconceptions

Last month, writing in “Oil Voice”, Art Berman sought to contradict an article on the Wall Street Journal’s editorial page entitled “Lessons from the Energy Export Boom”. While some of the details have changed since that time, it is helpful to reiterate Berman’s points which debunked some industry myths and misconceptions. While we like to… Read More


McKinsey’s Shale Forecast

A recent article in “World Oil” offered a summary of consulting firm McKinsey Energy Insight’s (MEI) “North American Shale Outlook”. MEI’s forecast assumes oil prices ranging from $60-$70 per barrel from 2019 onward.  At these prices the firm projects that shale related drilling and completion activity will increase by 20% per year through 2021.  Concurrently,… Read More


NAFTA: Overhaul or Tune-Up?

“World Oil” reports that in spite of the rhetoric of the recent presidential campaign, the Trump administration is now striking a conciliatory tone with its NAFTA partners, especially on energy issues. Donald Trump has stated that he wants the U. S. to become a dominant player in global energy markets.  Duncan Wood, Director of the… Read More