Oil and the Economy

Oil Industry’s Gamble on Plastics Looks Increasingly Risky
The rosy outlook for plastics, one of the oil industry's most promising growth markets, is starting to sour. Read More
Oil and the Economy

U.S. Energy Sector Sheds Jobs As Production Falls
While almost every other industry increased employment, the number of people working in the U.S. oil and gas sector continued to fall. Read More
Oil and the Economy

Twin Defeats Highlight Industry in Crisis
Two high-profile pipeline setbacks are part of a broader story in which the winds facing the oil and gas industry are blowing in an increasingly unfavorable direction. Read More
Oil and the Economy

LNG Glut Curtailing U.S. Gas Exports
Oil prices are on the mend, but the global LNG market continues to wallow in oversupply. Read More
Oil and the Economy

SAFE Releases Report To Get America Moving Again
COVID-19 has exposed frailties in the U.S. economy. The crisis provides an opportunity to bolster American economic resilience. Read More
Oil and the Economy

Oil Storage Filling Up Fast
With demand for oil slumping worldwide, global storage could be full by June. Read More
Economics

The Return of “Peak Demand?” What the Future May Hold for Global Oil
As Coronavirus reignites the global oil demand debate, near-term problems have brought back concerns about the long-term viability of oil and gas. Read More
Economics

Softer Fed Stance Signals Growing Economic Concerns
Looser monetary policy would help commodity markets, but the Fed’s softening line also highlights the growing fear of an economic slowdown. Read More
Economics

LNG Supply Tightness in 2020s, But Glut Today
LNG prices are set to tumble as a raft of new projects come online, but a tighter market is expected in the 2020s as project developers face questions on the next tranche of export projects. Read More
Demand

Shipping Industry Remains Unprepared for New Sulfur Rules
Bank of America Merrill Lynch cited the IMO regulations as one of three major factors—along with Iran sanctions and pipeline bottlenecks facing U.S. shale—that could contribute to an oil price spike “akin to the one observed in 2008.” Read More
Economics

Keep the Car Running: Transportation Costs Hit Indie Musicians
Artists may suffer a number of setbacks as a result of rising fuel prices, particularly independent musicians whose livelihoods are made on the road. Read More
Economics

Battle Between Ethanol and Refiners Reaches Stalemate
The current zero-sum battle between corn states and the biofuels industry and oil refiners is not new, but it has exploded into a fierce fight over the past year as the EPA cracked open the door to a weakening of the RFS. Read More
U.S. Oil and Gas
Trump's Energy Dominance Retrospective
From energy dominance to COVID-19, how did the Trump administration affect energy policy?
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U.S. Oil and Gas

U.S. Shale Industry Sees Bankruptcies and Consolidation
Low oil prices and high-profile deals point to a shift toward consolidation in the U.S. oil industry. Read More
U.S. Oil and Gas

Oil Downturn Rocks State Budgets
U.S. state governments dependent on oil and gas revenues face a fiscal crunch as COVID-19 hits production. Read More
U.S. Oil and Gas

Shale Faces Both Financial and Operational Problems
The oil market is close to rebalancing, and one big factor has been the steep decline in U.S. shale production. Read More
U.S. Oil and Gas

Problems for the Bakken Begin to Mount
The Dakota Access pipeline shutdown could remove 570,000 barrels per day of takeaway capacity from the Bakken shale formation. Read More
U.S. Oil and Gas

Shale May Not Recover From Pandemic
With global demand perhaps permanently scarred from the pandemic, the U.S. oil industry may have already peaked. Read More
U.S. Oil and Gas

U.S. Shale Succumbs to Debt
A tighter market could help shale bounce back, but the heady days of aggressive growth-at-all-costs drilling are long gone. Read More