The Trump Administration insists that U.S. shale will survive lower oil prices and could work well and innovate further at current price levels of WTI crude prices of about $60 per barrel, and even lower.   The industry is not convinced. While public statements from the oil lobby and oil producers welcome President Donald Trump’s rollback of regulations and eased permitting processes, executives are privately fuming about the administration’s perceived target to bring oil prices down to $50 a barrel. Separately, the trade and tariff…

The idea of peak oil is familiar to most readers. It refers to the point at which global petroleum production reaches its maximum point and begins an irreversible decline. The concept was first introduced by M. King Hubbert in the 1950s. His theory proposed that oil production would follow a bell-shaped curve, with a peak representing the point at which half of the total recoverable reserves had been extracted. This prediction has been largely accurate, as we have witnessed a steady increase in global oil production followed by signs of plateauing…

US oil and gas operators have encountered an avalanche of economic policy changes from the Trump administration over the last week, creating market uncertainty in an already maturing industry. Rystad Energy expects onshore Lower-48 production will fall short of the record high output of 11.37 million barrels per day (bpd) of oil, achieved in November 2023, until at least June of this year. However, this outlook faces serious downside pressure should the recent price downturn hold, forcing operators to cut back on rig activity. Consistent returns…

Military leaders from several nations are quietly holding under-the-radar talks at the headquarters of the Turkish Navy in Ankara this week, focusing on Black Sea security in the event of a cease-fire between Russia and Ukraine. The meetings come days after two European diplomatic sources told RFE/RL that Turkey had declared it was willing to "assume responsibility for the maritime dimension" of a multinational military deployment in Ukraine. There are practical reasons for Turkey to do this. The 1936 Montreux Convention places strict limits on…

Grid connections for businesses delivering clean energy are to be prioritised, ministers have said. The government has said so-called ‘zombie projects’ which hold up the queue for National Grid connectivity are set to be axed from the waiting list. While industries including data centres and AI, wind energy and solar projects will be accelerated for grid connections, under plans by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ), aimed at addressing the issue of firms waiting up to 15 years for connectivity. The move comes after…

Via Metal Miner   The Aluminum Monthly Metals Index (MMI) remained sideways, as most components appeared consolidated. Overall, the index slid 0.74%, while aluminum prices experienced continued instability. Aluminum Price Volatility After Tariffs Aluminum prices have appeared increasingly volatile since the announcement of tariffs. Prices plunged after reaching a mid-March peak, breaking below their sideways range. The implementation of tariffs saw prices lose support due to demand risks. Soon after, the announcement of reciprocal tariffs…

Crude oil edged more than 2% higher on Wednesday, driven primarily by hopes that tensions will ease in the U.S.-China trade conflict and U.S. inventory data.  At 1:28 p.m. ET, Brent crude was trading up 2.09% at $66.02, while the U.S. benchmark, West Texas Intermediate (WTI), was trading up 2.12% at $62.63. A weaker U.S. dollar, bullish inventory data, and renewed hopes for easing U.S.-China trade tensions are all boosting crude today, particularly following a Bloomberg report suggesting China may be open to trade talks—pending specific…

Crude oil edged more than 2% higher on Wednesday, driven primarily by hopes that tensions will ease in the U.S.-China trade conflict and U.S. inventory data.  At 1:28 p.m. ET, Brent crude was trading up 2.09% at $66.02, while the U.S. benchmark, West Texas Intermediate (WTI), was trading up 2.12% at $62.63. A weaker U.S. dollar, bullish inventory data, and renewed hopes for easing U.S.-China trade tensions are all boosting crude today, particularly following a Bloomberg report suggesting China may be open to trade talks—pending specific…

Crude oil edged more than 2% higher on Wednesday, driven primarily by hopes that tensions will ease in the U.S.-China trade conflict and U.S. inventory data.  At 1:28 p.m. ET, Brent crude was trading up 2.09% at $66.02, while the U.S. benchmark, West Texas Intermediate (WTI), was trading up 2.12% at $62.63. A weaker U.S. dollar, bullish inventory data, and renewed hopes for easing U.S.-China trade tensions are all boosting crude today, particularly following a Bloomberg report suggesting China may be open to trade talks—pending specific…

Tehran is ready to ease US concerns over its nuclear activities but scrapping uranium enrichment is off the table, Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said as the two sides prepare for a second round of talks this weekend over Iran's nuclear program. Araqchi told reporters after a weekly cabinet meeting in Tehran on April 16 that Iran’s enrichment is a “real, accepted matter.” “We’re ready to build confidence in response to possible concerns, but the principle of enrichment is nonnegotiable,” he said, days ahead of…

Turkey’s top oil refiner, Tupras, has resumed purchasing Russian Urals crude oil after a brief halt earlier this year prompted by U.S. sanctions on Moscow. According to trading sources and shipping data reviewed by Reuters, the company restarted imports following a drop in Urals prices below the G7's price cap, reaching their lowest point since 2023. Tupras had previously become one of the largest buyers of Russian crude after Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine. In the first 11 months of 2024, Russian oil accounted for roughly 65% of Turkey’s…

Turkey’s top oil refiner, Tupras, has resumed purchasing Russian Urals crude oil after a brief halt earlier this year prompted by U.S. sanctions on Moscow. According to trading sources and shipping data reviewed by Reuters, the company restarted imports following a drop in Urals prices below the G7's price cap, reaching their lowest point since 2023. Tupras had previously become one of the largest buyers of Russian crude after Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine. In the first 11 months of 2024, Russian oil accounted for roughly 65% of Turkey’s…

U.S. crude oil production is set to peak at around 14 million barrels per day (bpd) in 2027, according to the Annual Energy Outlook 2025 of the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). U.S. oil production is set to remain around the 14 million bpd level by 2030 and in the early 2030s, after which it is expected to decline faster through 2050 as the shale boom fades. Shale-only oil production in the United States will also peak in 2027, the EIA’s outlook says. In two years, shale output would hit its record of 10 million bpd, up from…

Mexico has temporarily suspended imports of fuels from the United States by truck as it is stepping up inspections of permits in a bid to clamp down on illegal fuel trades, sources with knowledge of the matter have told Reuters. As Mexico is stepping up cargo inspections, trucks loaded with diesel and gasoline are currently not being allowed to cross the Texas border into Mexico, according to one of Reuters’ sources involved in the delivery of fuels by truck. Mexican authorities have not yet given a timeline on when fuel trade by road would…

Mexico has temporarily suspended imports of fuels from the United States by truck as it is stepping up inspections of permits in a bid to clamp down on illegal fuel trades, sources with knowledge of the matter have told Reuters. As Mexico is stepping up cargo inspections, trucks loaded with diesel and gasoline are currently not being allowed to cross the Texas border into Mexico, according to one of Reuters’ sources involved in the delivery of fuels by truck. Mexican authorities have not yet given a timeline on when fuel trade by road would…

Mexico has temporarily suspended imports of fuels from the United States by truck as it is stepping up inspections of permits in a bid to clamp down on illegal fuel trades, sources with knowledge of the matter have told Reuters. As Mexico is stepping up cargo inspections, trucks loaded with diesel and gasoline are currently not being allowed to cross the Texas border into Mexico, according to one of Reuters’ sources involved in the delivery of fuels by truck. Mexican authorities have not yet given a timeline on when fuel trade by road would…

Crude oil inventories in the United States saw an increase of 500,000 barrels during the week ending April 11, according to new data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration released on Wednesday. Crude oil prices were trading up in a rare show of strength prior to the crude data release by the U.S. Energy Information Administration after a sharp dip over the last couple of weeks in the wake of the tariff war between the United States and China. On Tuesday, the American Petroleum Institute (API) reported a build of 2.4 million barrels in…

U.S. LNG exporter Venture Global has started contractual deliveries from its first LNG export project, Calcasieu Pass, to its long-term customers amid an ongoing dispute with major oil and gas firms over the delays to the official commercial operations date at the export project. Venture Global said that Calcasieu Pass has reached the commercial operations milestone in just 68 months from the final investment decision (FID) on the project, making it among the fastest greenfield LNG projects completed. According to Venture Global, the start of commercial…

U.S. LNG exporter Venture Global has started contractual deliveries from its first LNG export project, Calcasieu Pass, to its long-term customers amid an ongoing dispute with major oil and gas firms over the delays to the official commercial operations date at the export project. Venture Global said that Calcasieu Pass has reached the commercial operations milestone in just 68 months from the final investment decision (FID) on the project, making it among the fastest greenfield LNG projects completed. According to Venture Global, the start of commercial…

Ahead of tonight's grand unveiling of what Beijing wants the world to think about its economy, the market was active with Gold soaring at the China open for the third day in a row... ...and the Yuan fix notably lower again... Ahead of the GDP print, we saw both new and existing home prices released by the statistics bureau for March showing price drops have slowed on a month-on-month basis... China March New Home Prices Fall 0.08% M/M China March Existing Home Prices Fall 0.23% M/M Of course, tonight's data tsunami is pre-Liberation Day Tariffs…