Free Republic

U.S. shale oil production is expected to fall for a seventh month in a row in February, declining at about the same rate as the month before as drillers manage to eke out a few more barrels from each new well, U.S. data showed on Monday. Total output was set to decline by 116,000 bpd to 4.8 million bpd in February compared with January, a U.S. Energy Information Administration's (EIA) drilling productivity report said. Production was estimated to have fallen by about the same margin in January, despite some expectations that the decline rate would begin to quicken as companies...

A stunning new Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) report circulating in the Kremlin today states that one of the United States Navy’s top commanders was relieved of his command a few hours ago after he sent out an “email/posting” revealing that President Barack Obama was in the process of purchasing a multi-million dollar seaside luxury villa in the United Arab Emirates city (UAE) of Dubai. According to this report, the Commander of the US Navy’s Carrier Strike Group 15, Rear Admiral Rick Williams, posted a “pointed” query on 8 January [since deleted] to the US Naval Institute’s “Readiness Kill Chain” “recipients/responders”...

THE JACKI DAILY Show! Listen live at 2PM Eastern! Today's show is a fun departure from the average; Today, Jacki interviews Dina Dwyer-Owens talking about corporate values in her new book Values Inc. (with Enron the oil company as the teaching exhibit). The next segment brings a topical discussion with Economist Ed Ireland talking about frac'ing and earthquakes and what frrac revenus bring to the cities (new stadiums, schools, etc.) Topping it off with Chad Hennings talking about character in his new book Forces of Character. Now playing also on station KWEL in Midland-Odessa!

...Fayetteville Shale play officially bit the dust...tight oil horizontal rig count was down by 20...Bakken-Eagle Ford-Permian HRZ rig count was down by 14. The Bakken lost 3 rigs, the Eagle Ford, 4, and the Permian, 7.

Saudi Arabia is mulling the sale of shares in Aramco, believed to be the world's most valuable company, as part of plans to repair its finances and open up its economy. The announcement was made by the country's deputy crown prince as Saudi's secretive, state-owned oil firm grapples with the effects of oil prices nearing 12-year lows . Mohammed bin Salman told The Economist: "That is something that is being reviewed, and we believe a decision will be made over the next few months." The Saudi economy has taken a battering from the oil price decline and the finance ministry...

If you read Stephen Moore's column, he noted how the consensus over oil is wrong. We're not running out of oil. In fact, many have been saying we're going to run out since the 1930s: These stupid predictions of the end of oil have been going on for most of the last century. Just over 100 years ago, the U.S. Bureau of Mines estimated total future production at 6 billion barrels, yet we've produced more than 20times that amount. In 1939 the Department of the Interior predicted U.S. oil supplies would last 13 years. I could go on. The folks...

Russia’s oil-dependent economy appears headed for a second year of recession, and Energy Minister Alexander Novak says the blame falls squarely on the Saudis. The Russian gross domestic product fell by 4 percent in November from its level in the same month in 2014, and had shrunk 3.7 percent in October from its levels a year earlier, the Economy Ministry reported Monday. The reason, to no one’s surprise, is the plunge in oil prices over the past 18 months. The global average value of a barrel of oil has crashed from over $110 per barrel in the summer of 2014...

The economic war being conducted by Russia against Turkey provides some opportunities for the United States if it chooses to take advantage of them. However, according to Al-Monitor, a website that covers all aspects of what is going on in the Middle East, Israel is already poised to make a diplomatic and trade breakthrough with Turkey. Israel has uncovered a great deal of proven natural gas reserves in its offshore Tamar and Leviathan fields. The Jewish state has enough gas to supply its own needs and have plenty left over for export, an astonishing turn of events, as Israel has...

Barack Obama is preparing for his final State of the Union Address, which he'll deliver January 12. And the president is not looking to slow down as the end of his presidency nears. "I've got 12 months left to squeeze every ounce of change I can while I'm still in office. And that's what I intend to do," Obama writes in an email to supporters. We've done a lot of remarkable things together this year, and it's because of committed citizens like you that this country keeps moving forward. You keep proving the cynics wrong. On January 12, I'll be...

Guest essay by Eric WorrallHuffington Post has a plan to address the as yet unanswered question of who will foot the bill, for the renewable transformation green advocates want, in the wake of the Paris COP21 agreement. HuffPost’s suggestion is a $2.9 trillion rise in annual taxes on fossil fuels. How Can We Pay for the New Energy Economy?Many a great idea has been deflated by a simple question: “That’s nice, but who’s going to pay for it?” That question hovered like a cloud over the international climate conference in Paris a week ago. Simply put, the goal of the...

Factory activity in New York shrank for the fifth straight month in December, forcing significant job cuts. The New York Federal Reserve's Empire State manufacturing index, released Tuesday, did improve but stayed in negative territory. It moved up to minus 4.6, from minus 10.7. Any figure below zero indicates contraction. ...

The country's top finance official, Anton Siluanov, said the government must be prepared for prices to fall further in 2016 as the global glut grows and new supply -- for example from Iran -- enters the market. "Everything indicates that low oil prices are likely to dominate next year. And it is possible that at some periods [the oil price] will be $30 per barrel," Siluanov was quoted as saying by Russian state-run news agencies. That would spell more pain for Russia. Oil and gas exports make up almost half of government revenue. Oil futures were trading at their lowest...

The state of Michigan is enjoying low gas prices (and on Nov. 30 had the lowest prices at the pump in the nation), something analysts are saying can be attributed in part to the increased production of oil in the U.S. Crude oil production in the U.S. has increased 63 percent from 5.4 million barrels a day in 2009 to 8.7 million barrels a day in 2014. That’s the most production on U.S. soil since 1986, according to the Energy Information Administration. That increase in domestic oil production can be attributed to hydraulic fracturing, commonly referred to as “fracking.” That...

The draft of the international agreement to deal with climate change, which is being considered today in Paris by representatives from 195 countries, calls for the developed nations of the world to transfer wealth to developing nations, including through "public funds." "Developed country Parties shall provide financial resources to assist developing country Parties with respect to both mitigation and adaptation in continuation of their existing obligations under the Convention," says Article 9 of the draft agreement. "As part of a global effort, developed country Parties should continue to take the lead in mobilizing climate finance from a wide variety of...

OPEC was slow to understand the rising threat posed by the US shale industry. It may now have misjudged its resilience. Frackers have been quick to cut costs with multiple pad-drilling, and they can revive production relatively quickly as soon as prices recover. Goldman Sachs said the deeper the fall in oil prices over coming months, the sharper the rebound later, comparing it to the cycles after 1986, 1988, and 1998. OPEC needs a higher price to fund the social welfare nets and defence spending of its members. The great question is whether US shale will snap back within months...

Saudi Arabia might just bust OPEC by keeping its taps open, but right now the Kingdom's main concern is strangling American shale production. Read: Markets had been expecting Opec to announce a new ceiling on production after last Friday's meeting, but analysts at Barclays said the lack of any curbs in its announcement was a sign of discord. "Past communiques have at least included statements to adhere, strictly adhere, or maintain output in line with the production target. This one glaringly did not. " they said. Saudi Arabia needs oil prices of $100 a barrel to balance its budget, but...

On November 30, as the Paris international climate conference was getting underway, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a long-overdue update of Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) requirements. Originally established in 2005 and then greatly expanded by the Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA) of 2007, the RFS mandates increasing use of ethanol, biodiesel and other biofuels in America's cars and trucks. Two things were notable. For the first time, EPA set the overall mandate at levels significantly lower than targets Congress called for in 2007. Second, raising the hackles of the biofuel lobby, the Obama administration omitted the RFS...

The Obama administration delivered a blow to the corn industry on Monday, easing the amount of ethanol the nation must consume below the levels Congress had set nearly a decade ago -- and potentially laying a political stumbling block for Hillary Clinton in Iowa. The ethanol pullback comes as a slump in gasoline consumption and a domestic energy boom have lessened the fears of dependence on Mideast oil that inspired lawmakers to create the mandate during the George W. Bush administration. But the mandate is still popular in Iowa, home of the nation's first presidential caucus, where corn and ethanol...

Continued low oil prices and the war in Yemen have hit Saudi Arabia's budget so hard it is creating a special office to oversee government spending and cut waste. On Monday, the Saudi Press Agency published an item noting that Saudi Arabia was "willing to cooperate with OPEC and non-OPEC producers" to maintain a "stable" oil market. WTI retook $42, however analysts remain pretty pessimistic about hopes that the Gulf OPEC nations are in any mood to restrict production, which is hurting budgets but helping with certain political objectives, such as killing US shale and hurting arch-enemy, Iran. In a...

THE JACKI DAILY Show! Listen live at 2PM Eastern! Now playing also on station KWEL in Midland-Odessa! The host of the Jacki Daily show has had an impressive career in energy, law, and politics.Most recently, Jacki served as General Counsel to an engineering firm specializing in energy, national security and environmental cleanup. Previously, she served many years as legal counsel on Capitol Hill to the Chairman of the Subcommittee on the Constitution and the former Ranking Member of the Commercial and Administrative Law Subcommittee, advising on the oversight of federal agencies. Prior to her career in Washington, she worked as...