Alaska’s Key to Oil Production - It’s a Gas…
The two-and-a-half year bout to rehabilitate pipelines on Alaska’s North Slope appears to be over. Daily field-by-field production figures from Alaska’s Department of Revenue show that production curtailments, especially in the Prudhoe Bay Unit, have given way to steady production at surprisingly high rates. During October 5-21, statewide crude production averaged 767,000 b/d, compared
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Supply and demand
After six days of decline, oil prices rose 50 cents on Friday to close at $49.93, down $7.67 or 13 percent for the week. Oil prices now have fallen 66 percent since July 11th. As more production and consumption numbers are released, it is becoming obvious that excess supply is behind the continuing drop in prices. Although subject to later revision, the IEA reports that total world liquids production
OPEC
As oil prices continue to fall, the average price received by OPEC is now approaching $40 a barrel. A recent analysis by PFC Energy suggests that this price is well below what most of the members need to balance their budgets. Venezuela is said to need oil at $102; Iran at $83, the Saudis at $54; Kuwait at $52; and the UAE at $45. In deciding on the next round of production cuts, OPEC’s first
Price Forecasts
As oil prices spiraled upwards last spring, the press was full of stories about how high prices could go. Many thought $200 a barrel or more before the end of the year sounded reasonable. Now the tables have turned and the game has become picking a bottom for 2009. The IEA’s chief economist set the tone by expecting oil to remain under downward pressure next year as a weakening global economy
US Auto Industry Worst Week in History
The US automobile industry had one of the worst weeks in its history. After two days of appealing to the Congress for a $25 billion bailout loan, US automobile executives were told to come back with a workable plan that would restructure the industry and convince lawmakers that any loan would do more than keep the industry on life support for a few more months. By week’s end, GM’s board
More on the IEA Report
Two weeks after the IEA’s 2008 World Energy Outlook was published, lengthy commentary and analysis of the report’s findings continue to pour in. All compliment the 190 staff analysts and statisticians that worked on the report along with many outside consultants that were brought in for the project. The general acknowledgement that current trends are unsustainable and the effort to work
Briefs - November 24, 2008
U.S. fuel demand fell 5.2 percent in the first 10 months of this year, the biggest drop since 1981, the American Petroleum Institute said. Deliveries of petroleum products, a measure of consumption, averaged 19.6 million barrels a day in the period, down from 20.7 million barrels a day a year earlier. Gasoline demand averaged 9.06 million barrels a day from January through October, down 2.6 percent
