ENERGY

Authored by Pete McGinnis via RealClearPolicy,

In June 2023, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management proposed a rule that would require stricter financial assurance standards for oil companies operating in the Outer Continental Shelf. This costly rule became final on April 15, 2024, but in the 10 months since its initial proposal, BOEM did nothing to alleviate concerns for smaller companies that comprise of 76 percent of oil and gas operators in the Gulf. As a result, many of these (more…)

Crude prices have given back the brief gains overnight (following API's report of a big crude draw) as US GDP slowed and weighed on demand expectations (offsetting nervousness from another attack on a ship in the Red Sea, and Israeli comments that it probably wouldn’t be able to defeat Hamas before the end of this year).

Additionally, traders are anxiously awaiting the OPEC+ meeting over the weekend for more clarity on the supply-demand outlook.

The official inventory data (more…)

Authored by Grant Smith via Bloomberg,

Bearish oil speculators have been out in force this month, building up their biggest short position in Brent since the depths of the pandemic in late 2020. But with a busy agenda of OPEC+ news scheduled for this weekend, history suggests that they should probably tread carefully, as the alliance could jolt prices higher.

The OPEC+ ministerial meeting is due June 2, when Saudi Arabia and its partners are widely expected to prolong roughly 2 (more…)