Energy

  • Many oil workers were laid off, and it appears they will be needed again.

    12 July 2016

    (Re) Calling All Oil Workers

    The rig count has rebounded from the lows seen in late May; a small indication that oil companies in the U.S. could begin drilling anew. Shale drilling is a short-cycle prospect, requiring only a few weeks to drill and bring a well online. Because of this, the collective U.S. shale industry has been likened to the new "swing producer": low oil prices force quick cutbacks but higher prices trigger new supplies. In essence, shale could balance the market in the way OPEC used to. 

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  • A rising rig count could torpedo oil's rally.

    11 July 2016

    More Rigs could be the Oil Rally's Greatest Foe

    In an industry where anything could happen, surprises—often unwelcomed—are hard to come by. Oil is exactly such an industry at the moment. No one is sure where oil is heading, near-term forecasts range from $20 to $80 per barrel by the end of the year, and there are just too many wild cards on the scene.

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  • Nuclear power is getting some high-profile support.

    7 July 2016

    Don't be so Quick to Judge Nuclear Power

    Let us for a second imagine a world without nuclear energy. That is a tough one but let us try. No nuclear bombs, of course, no Chernobyl and Fukushima, no worries about Iran and North Korea. A wonderful world, maybe?

    Probably not, because without nuclear energy we would have burned millions more tons of coal and billions more barrels of oil. This would have brought about climate change of such proportions that what we have today would have seemed negligible.

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  • Many analysts believe drilling and service is in a catch 22 with oil prices.

    22 June 2016

    An Oil Drilling and Service Catch 22

    The impact of rising oil prices on North American light tight oil (LTO) production is said to be a “Catch 22”, the title of Joseph Heller’s popular 1961 novel set in WWII. The premise was you could get out of the army if you were crazy but you weren’t crazy to try to get out of the army. Therefore, this avenue to escape the war didn’t work for the book’s main character John Yossarian

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  • Experts are calling for the price of Uranium to double by 2018.

    15 June 2016

    Uranium Bottom: Are We There Yet?

    With prices set to double by 2018, we've seen the bottom of the uranium market, and the negative sentiment that has followed this resource around despite strong fundamentals, is starting to change.

    Billionaire investors sense it, and they're always the first to anticipate change and take advantage of the rally before it becomes a reality. The turning point is where all the money is made, and there are plenty of indications that the uranium recovery is already underway.

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  • Oil prices had new life until recently.

    14 June 2016

    Oil Slips off an 11-Month High

    Oil prices reached their highest level in eleven months in the middle of last week.  The front-month futures contract did not post a key reversal on June 9, but the continuation contract did.  Since reaching almost $51.70, prices have pushed lower, with lower highs and lower lows. 

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  • Oil has nearly doubled, but remains only half of what it was two years ago.

    8 June 2016

    Nearly Double the Price, but Only Halfway Back

    With today's gains, the price of Brent has nearly doubled from its lows in January.  Of course, the price of oil is still less than half of levels that prevailed two years ago.  At the same time, many leveraged investors cast a jaundiced eye toward currency pegs.  Many have concluded that the Middle East currency pegs cannot be sustained.

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  • Don't get your cooperation hopes up for the OPEC meeting.

    1 June 2016

    OPEC Meeting: I've Got Expectations in Low Places

    OPEC ministers meet in Vienna tomorrow. Expectations could hardly be lower.  Attempts to agree on an output freeze were stymied by the Saudi's insistence that is rival Iran participates as well.  Iran cannot agree to limit its production yet, or it would have sacrificed (or postponed) it nuclear program for naught. 

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