Petroleum

Trump threatened to pull US Security Umbrella from Saudi if it didn’t raise Oil Prices to Help US Frackers

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – On April 2, the Republican Party more or less joined the Organization of Petroleum Exporting States Plus (OPEC+). That is the upshot of reporting by Timothy Gardner, Steve Holland, Dmitry Zhdannikov, and Rania El Gamal for Reuters that Trump threatened de facto Saudi ruler crown prince Mohammed Bin Salman with […]

Climate Crisis

The Beginning of the End for Oil? Energy in a Post-Pandemic World

Michael T. Klare

( Tomdispatch.com) – Energy analysts have long assumed that, given time, growing international concern over climate change would result in a vast restructuring of the global energy enterprise. The result: a greener, less climate-degrading system. In this future, fossil fuels would be overtaken by renewables, while oil, gas, and coal would be relegated to an […]

Arab World

With Oil Cratering and Saudis facing Mountain of Debt, what Future for Arab World with Coronavirus?

Middle East Monitor

( Middle East Monitor ) – Oil prices have hit zero. Yes, oil was “sold” this week with producers only asking buyers to pay for transporting it to its final destination. This is the worst collapse in oil markets in history; it is unprecedented for oil to lose 94 per cent of its value in […]

Climate Crisis

US Oil “Technically Worthless,” and Coal Plants Shuttered, as a Tidal Wave of Bankruptcies Looms

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – May contracts for West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil went as low as -$37.63 on Monday. So report Jillian Ambrose and Martin Farrer at The Guardian. The price, well below zero, was a first for the US oil market, and showed the conviction of traders that the economy would not […]

Donald Trump

Trump is Using Saudi Arabia to Prop up his Big Oil Donors, and that should Worry Us

Thembisa Fakude

( Middle East Monitor ) – When Saudi Arabia approached members of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its affiliates recently to cut oil production in an attempt to cushion the impact of the falling oil prices as a result of Covid-19, Russia rejected the proposal. The subsequent spat between Moscow and Riyadh […]

Climate Crisis

Killing off the Animals: By Burning Fossil Fuels, we’ll destroy 50% of their Habitat this Century

The Conversation

By Christopher Trisos and Alex Pigot | – The impacts of climate change on species and ecosystems are already evident. Poleward shifts in the geographic distributions of species, catastrophic forest fires and mass bleaching of coral reefs all bear the fingerprints of climate change. But what will the world’s biodiversity look like in the future? […]

Petroleum

Will the Pandemic Kill Big Oil and OPEC even before the Electric Car?

Middle East Monitor

By Hani Habeeb | – ( Middle East Monitor ) – Giant oil tankers have changed into floating warehouses for oil following the sharp drop in the price per barrel. The dispute between Russia and Saudi Arabia has led to the biggest drop since 2002. It seems that US President Donald Trump’s call to Saudi’s […]

Corruption

The Contango Tango: SecState Pompeo Pressures Saudis to Raise Gasoline Prices, Harming US Consumers

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had a phone call with Saudi crown prince Mohammed Bin Salman on Tuesday. So reports Sam Meredith at CNBC. Then the State Department issued a statement on Wednesday that said, “Secretary Pompeo and the Crown Prince focused on the need to maintain stability in global […]

Featured

“A Seller’s Market for Bankruptcy Talent:” The Beginning of the End of Methane-Producing Fracking?

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – On Monday, the price of West Texas Intermediate petroleum fell below $30 a barrel for the first time in four years. Elliot Smith at CNBC reports that BP CFO Brian Gilvary is braced for petroleum demand actually to contract in 2020. This prediction is very bad news for US fracking […]