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Can Big Oil Survive At Today’s Prices?
Data suggests that oil producers need prices in the $70-80 range to survive. That is unlikely in the next year or so. Without more timely price relief, the future looks grim for an industry on life support. EIA Revises Consumption Upward Major EIA revisions to world oil consumption* data provide a new perspective on oil-market balance. The world was over-supplied by only 570 kbpd of liquids in April compared to EIA’s earlier estimate for March of 1,450 kbpd; that March estimate has now been revised downward to 970 kbpd (Figure 1). February’s over-supply has been revised downward from 1,180 to 240 kbpd. These revisions indicate that oil markets are much closer to balance than previously thought . (Click to enlarge) Figure 1. EIA world liquids market balance (supply minus consumption). Source: EIA and Labyrinth Consulting Services, Inc. The EIA adjusted world consumption growth for 2016 upward […]
Libya Plea for Arms to Fight Islamic State Backed by U.S.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry backed providing weapons to Libya’s unity government to assist in the fight against Islamic State and other jihadist groups, a move endorsed at a meeting of top diplomats of nations from Italy and the U.K. to Russia and Saudi Arabia. The idea “makes sense,” Kerry said after talks in Vienna with the head of the unity administration, Fayez al-Sarraj, and representatives of more than 20 nations. Sarraj said his Government of National Accord would supply the United Nations with a list of weapons it needs “as soon as possible.” The UN would have to provide exemptions to an arms embargo before weapons could be shipped. The envoys met in the Austrian capital to discuss ways to bolster Sarraj’s UN-backed government, the most significant attempt so far to end the violence that has fractured Libya since the ouster of former leader Muammar Qaddafi in […]
After 41 Years, Saudi Arabia’s Treasuries Holdings Are Unveiled
After 41 Years One of the great mysteries of the $13.4 trillion Treasuries market has been solved after more than 41 years. The Treasury Department on Monday released a breakdown of Saudi Arabia’s holdings of U.S. debt, ending a longstanding policy of keeping the figures secret. The stockpile of the world’s biggest oil exporter stood at $116.8 billion as of March, up from $82.7 billion two years earlier, according to data disclosed in response to a Freedom-of-Information Act request filed by Bloomberg News. The sum ranks the […]
Dying Infants and No Medicine: Inside Venezuela’s Failing Hospitals
By morning, three newborns were already dead. The day had begun with the usual hazards: chronic shortages of antibiotics, intravenous solutions, even food. Then a blackout swept over the city, shutting down the respirators in the maternity ward. Doctors kept ailing infants alive by pumping air into their lungs by hand for hours. By nightfall, four more newborns had died. “The death of a baby is our daily bread,” said Dr. Osleidy Camejo, a surgeon in the nation’s capital, Caracas, referring to the toll from Venezuela’s collapsing hospitals. The economic crisis in this country has exploded into a public health emergency, claiming the lives of untold numbers of Venezuelans. It is just part of a larger unraveling here that has become so severe it has prompted President Nicolás Maduro to impose a state of emergency […]
Saudi Arabia’s credit rating lowered
While strong when compared with other sovereign credit ratings, Saudi Arabia’s fiscal health remains under threat from low oil prices, Moody’s said. Moody’s Investors Service said the drop in crude oil prices, off more than 50 percent since the middle of 2014, has undermined the economy and finances for Saudi Arabia. As a result, the long-term rating for the country was lowered one notch from Aa3 to A1. According to Moody’s, Saudi Arabia’s nominal gross domestic product declined around 13 percent last year and should shrink another 5 percent in 2016. Though crude oil prices have recovered strongly so far this year, the ratings agency said it will be another three years before the Saudi economy returns to […]
