Tag: Energy Information Administration (EIA)

End Of The Pandemic Or The Beginning Of A Recession?

Posted on by Tim Snyder

“The following is an excerpt from Tim Snyder’s “Weekly Quick Facts” newsletter. Tim is an accomplished economist with a deep understanding of applied economics in energy. We encourage you to visit Matador Economics and learn more about Tim. While there, you can sign up for his completely free Daily Energy Briefs and Weekly Quick Facts newsletters.”

What is it about the truth that scares people?

Gasoline prices this week took a bit of a respite after several weeks of steep climbs. The relief at the pump is palatable and very much appreciated by those on fixed budgets. But the fall from record highs, may not continue if inflation continues to run unchecked.

Diesel prices fell as word of another variant of Covid-19 seems to be making the rounds. The Chinese Government shut in 26 million people this week, sending a signal that demand for the products may falter over the next couple of weeks.

Gas Prices - Recession

Are we at the end of the pandemic or the beginning of a recession? Continue reading "End Of The Pandemic Or The Beginning Of A Recession?" →

Truth: The New Frontier In Energy

Posted on by Tim Snyder

“The following is an excerpt from Tim Snyder’s “Weekly Quick Facts” newsletter. Tim is an accomplished economist with a deep understanding of applied economics in energy. We encourage you to visit Matador Economics and learn more about Tim. While there, you can sign up for his completely free Daily Energy Briefs and Weekly Quick Facts newsletters.”

What is it about the truth that scares people?

I remember a time when finding the truth from a political party or the press was essential to the bond that both would build with their constituents. I know that sounds pretty naïve, and there has been politically leaning news media since way before I was born, but the truth is, we all used to read the newspaper for the facts, and if they got the facts wrong, they would print a retraction and fix the mistake. Sadly though, those days are long gone.

Today, however, the truth is more like the seasoning you put on your pasta primavera. It accentuates what it needs to but never overpowers the narrative. Unfortunately, that’s what is happening in the battle between fossil fuels and renewable energy today. The facts are sprinkled about to not offend the narrative that the economy desperately needs fossil fuels, and renewables are nowhere near ready for “center stage”.

Let’s have a little truth for a change! Continue reading "Truth: The New Frontier In Energy" →

The World Is Not Ready To Go Green

Posted on by Tim Snyder

“The following is an excerpt from Tim Snyder’s “Weekly Quick Facts” newsletter. Tim is an accomplished economist with a deep understanding of applied economics in energy. We encourage you to visit Matador Economics and learn more about Tim. While there, you can sign up for his completely free Daily Energy Briefs and Weekly Quick Facts newsletters.”

A little clarity helps keep the truth intact!

On Monday, March 21, 2022, in an address to the Business Roundtable’s CEO Quarterly Meeting, President Biden made these comments, “Things are shifting. We’re going to - there’s going to be a “New World Order” out there, and we’ve got to unite the rest of the free world in doing it.”

It’s dangerous to try and speculate as to what he meant, but in retrospect, the comments were made against the backdrop of the Invasion of Ukraine by Vladimir Putin.

Was Biden boasting to his corporate supporters like GM, Apple, and Amazon and passing on some little glimpse of what he believes is about to come with Russia and maybe China?

Or was Biden sending a signal to NATO that when the initial Russian invasion is over, he believes Ukraine will fall quickly and new alliances will develop? Some nations will find themselves pitted against former NATO partners and committed to the Russians because of their vast energy resources? Probably both Continue reading "The World Is Not Ready To Go Green" →

Iran Sanctions And OPEC's Deliberations Have Failed To Lift Oil Prices

Posted on by Robert Boslego

OPEC+ members met over the weekend to discuss the oil market and the possible actions they may take at the next OPEC meetings scheduled for June 25th and 26th. OPEC’s press release reported:

Following its 14th Meeting, which took place on 19 May 2019, in Jeddah, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee (JMMC) has reaffirmed its commitment to achieving a balanced market and working towards oil market stability on a sustainable basis with solid fundamentals.”

After the meeting, ministers spoke with reporters. According to reporting by CNBC:

Saudi Arabia’s influential oil minister, Khalid al-Falih, warned that global crude stockpiles are rising, threatening to swamp the world in oil and cause prices to collapse. Overall, the market is in a delicate situation. On the one hand, there is a lot of concern — and we acknowledge it — about disruptions and sanctions and supply interruptions. But on the other hand, we see inventories rising. We see plentiful supply around the world, which means we think, all in all, we should be in a comfortable situation in the weeks and months to come.” Continue reading "Iran Sanctions And OPEC's Deliberations Have Failed To Lift Oil Prices" →

Round 2: Trump Vs. OPEC

Posted on by Robert Boslego

With oil prices having staged a recovery during the first quarter of 2019, primarily due to the withholding of oil supplies from Saudi Arabia, President Trump has once again entered the oil market as a threat. Not since OPEC’s founding in 1960 has an American president been as vocal or involved as Trump.

Trump’s intervention in “Round 1,” summarized below, shocked the market, causing a massive price collapse. However, with close scrutiny of the president’s views, both before taking office and over the past year, the market should not have been so surprised.

Saudi Arabia is in a delicate position. On the one hand, it needs oil prices in the $80s to support it's country’s budget, even if lifting costs are $10 or less. It also knows that a “high price” is not the best price longer-term, due to cutbacks in demand and the increasing availability of substitutes, such as U.S. shale.

But possibly most importantly, it depends on the U.S. for its security. And looking forward, it wants U.S. investment to help diversify its economy as the oil age wanes.

Simply put, it cannot afford to ignore this U.S. president, whose first international trip was to KSA. There is an important political and economic link to the U.S. that it did not have even one president ago (Obama). And its arch-nemesis, Iran, at the same time is being severely harassed by President Trump. Continue reading "Round 2: Trump Vs. OPEC" →