Chevron will boost the so-called triple fracs — fracturing three wells with one frac spread at one time — to more than half of its wells in the Permian basin, a Chevron executive told Reuters, amid efforts to reduce the costs and times of fracking at the world’s top shale basin. Chevron plans to use triple-frac on between 50% and 60% of its wells in the Permian, up from 20% of wells “triple-fracked” last year, Jeff Newhook, a completions operations manager at the U.S. supermajor, told Reuters in an interview. The triple-frac…

Oil prices plunged early on Wednesday as China retaliated to the U.S. tariff of 104% on Chinese goods, and Brent Crude sank to below $60 per barrel for the first time in four years. As of 8:31 a.m. EDT, the front-month Brent Crude futures prices were plummeting by 5.25% at $59.46. The U.S. benchmark, WTI Crude, plunged by 5.59% to $56.09, close to the $55 per barrel mark. That level is already $10 a barrel below the average $65 per barrel price U.S. producers need to profitably drill a new well, as they indicated in the Dallas Fed Energy…

Oil prices plunged early on Wednesday as China retaliated to the U.S. tariff of 104% on Chinese goods, and Brent Crude sank to below $60 per barrel for the first time in four years. As of 8:31 a.m. EDT, the front-month Brent Crude futures prices were plummeting by 5.25% at $59.46. The U.S. benchmark, WTI Crude, plunged by 5.59% to $56.09, close to the $55 per barrel mark. That level is already $10 a barrel below the average $65 per barrel price U.S. producers need to profitably drill a new well, as they indicated in the Dallas Fed Energy…

China's retaliatory tariffs in response to US actions have intensified the economic standoff, causing significant disruption in global commodity markets. WTI and Brent crude oil prices have fallen to their lowest levels since 2021 due to fears of recession and oversupply amidst the ongoing trade war. Analysts warn that continued trade tensions, combined with OPEC+ output hikes and weakening Chinese consumption, could lead to further declines in oil prices. 7m ago 8:06am CST How We Got Here: A Tariff Timeline February 1, 2025President Donald Trump…

President Donald Trump signed several executive orders on Tuesday that should incentivize the construction of new coal power plants in the latest stark departure from his predecessor. “We're bringing back an industry that was abandoned,” Trump said, as quoted by Reuters. “We're going to put the miners back to work,” the U.S. president added. Coal power plants have declined as share of U.S. generation capacity over the years, especially with the influx of cheap natural gas. Coal plants currently generate a fifth of U.S. electricity,…

Crude oil prices slumped to their lowest level since 2021 after the U.S. announced a fresh 50% tariff for Chinese imports following Beijing’s refusal to withdraw its retaliatory 34% tariffs announced in response to Washington’s imposition of a 34% tariff rate on top of already existing levies. At the time of writing, Brent crude was trading at $60.36 per barrel, with West Texas Intermediate at $57.04 per barrel, both down by close to 4% from Tuesday’s close. Since the start of the year, the benchmarks have shed lover $10 per barrel…

The U.S. stock market bounced back on Tuesday, making the first sizable gains ever since U.S. President Donald Trump imposed a minimum 10% tariff on all imports from 90 countries, roiling financial markets across the globe. However, oil markets have struggled to advance after posting heavy losses to trade at multi-year lows on fears of a full-blown trade war. Brent crude for June delivery slipped 0.4% to trade at $63.94 per barrel at 11.45 am ET on Tuesday, a level they last touched in February 2021, while WTI crude for May delivery was flat on…

The tariff war is in full swing, but the analysis of their effect has focused on economies. While this makes sense, a look at some of the industries set to bear the brunt of the protectionist measures might be useful—because it might reveal a means of solving the trade deficit problem that has been irking President Trump enough to make him pick the trade equivalent of the nuclear option. The petrochemical industry has been the fastest-growing arm of the oil and gas industry for years. This is especially true of China, which has emerged as…

Some of you may be old enough to remember cold fusion, that wondrous scientific discovery touted by the press back in the last century. Well, we don’t want to leave the impression that we have discovered another cold fusion, just that the decision date for natural (white or gold or whatever color you like) hydrogen may be coming closer. In case you missed the initial findings, geologists believe there are substantial pockets of renewable hydrogen under certain geological formations. Renewable because rainwater seeping through the ground,…

Increasing financial constraints, a low commodity price environment and a shrinking pool of prospective basins have transformed how oil and gas players explore for new barrels. Across the globe operators are prioritizing low-risk, low-cost near field or infrastructure-led exploration (ILX) prospects instead of expensive, high-risk exploration plays. ILX, although not a recent phenomenon, is a reliable avenue that capitalizes on existing production hubs and pipeline networks to commercialize smaller discoveries that might otherwise remain untapped.…

The American Petroleum Institute (API) estimated that crude oil inventories in the United States fell by 1.057 million barrels for the week ending April 4, after a 6.037 million barrel spike in the prior week. So far this year, crude oil inventories have climbed nearly 22 million barrels, according to Oilprice calculations of API data. Earlier this week, the Department of Energy (DoE) reported that crude oil inventories in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) climbed 0.3 million barrels again to 396.7 million barrels in the week ending April 4.…

The American Petroleum Institute (API) estimated that crude oil inventories in the United States fell by 1.057 million barrels for the week ending April 4, after a 6.037 million barrel spike in the prior week. So far this year, crude oil inventories have climbed nearly 22 million barrels, according to Oilprice calculations of API data. Earlier this week, the Department of Energy (DoE) reported that crude oil inventories in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) climbed 0.3 million barrels again to 396.7 million barrels in the week ending April 4.…

Via Metal Miner The Raw Steels Monthly Metals Index (MMI) returned to the downside. Overall, the index witnessed a modest 0.75% decline from March to April. Steel Prices Find Peaks as Reciprocal Tariffs Spare Steel Steel prices either found a peak or began to stabilize by the start of April. As of April 4, hot rolled coil prices fell from their peak to $920/st. Meanwhile, CRC prices and HDG prices started to move sideways, trending only slightly higher from where they stood recent weeks, and steel plate prices dropped from their peak. Despite leveling…

Economic analysts in Central Asia and the Caucasus widely believe that the immediate impact of the US tariff policy on their respective countries’ exports will be limited. Even so, some worry about potential, unforeseen consequences arising out of a global trade war. The Trump administration’s announcement of global tariffs on imports comes at a time when Central Asian states are coming together in an attempt to boost regional trade. The tariff announcement calls into question recent US expressions of interest in expanding trade and…

Oil’s recent nosedive—thanks to tariffs, OPEC+ surprises, and good old-fashioned recession fears—has put a chill over Alberta’s energy sector. But if you were expecting panic from Canadian oil CEOs, think again. The tone out of Toronto today is clear: don’t flinch. InPlay Oil’s Doug Bartole isn’t pulling rigs or cutting spending just yet, despite the price rout. “Let’s take a longer view,” he told Reuters this week. Translation: don’t panic, at least not at $60. The CEO said, however,…

US President Donald Trump said the United States will hold high-level "direct" talks with Iran at a "very big meeting" this week while warning Tehran it would be in “great danger” if the talks on its nuclear program don’t succeed. Iran's foreign minister confirmed that a meeting was set to take place on April 12, but the talks would be "indirect." "Iran and the United States will meet in Oman on Saturday for indirect high-level talks," Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on X on April 7 shortly after Trump commented on…

Despite a wave of electric vehicle factories popping up across the U.S. in recent years—fueled by tax credits from the Inflation Reduction Act and promises of jobs in mostly Republican areas—many of these projects are now being scrapped, according to a new article by the Washington Post. Even before former President Trump’s new tariffs, the clean energy shift was already losing momentum. In just the first quarter of 2025, more EV-related projects were canceled than in the previous two years combined, according to Atlas Public…

In this week’s newsletter, we will take a quick look at some of the critical figures and data in the energy markets this week.  We will then look at some of the key market movers early this week before providing you with the latest analysis of the top news events taking place in the global energy complex over the past few days. We hope you enjoy. US-China Tariff Wars Trigger Largest Brent Sell-off Ever - Crude markets have experienced an unprecedented rout of investors as ICE Brent futures posted the highest ever daily traded volume…

Tensions between the world’s two largest economies have increased overnight as Beijing vowed to “fight to the end”, in response to a new wave of US tariffs. The statement followed a dramatic escalation by president Donald Trump, who threatened an additional 50 per cent tariff on Chinese goods, unless Beijing reverses its newly announced 34 per cent reciprocal levy – retaliation for Trump’s earlier 34 per cent tariff hike on Chinese imports. The new US tariffs are set to take effect Wednesday. China’s commerce…

The European Union should pledge to buy $350 billion worth of energy from the United States if it wants the U.S. tariffs on the EU eased, U.S. President Donald Trump has said. “We have a deficit with the European Union of $350 billion and it's going to disappear fast,” Trump said, as quoted by POLITICO. “One of the ways that that can disappear easily and quickly is they're going to have to buy our energy from us ... they can buy it, we can knock off $350 billion in one week. They have to buy and commit to buy a like amount of…