The rapid deterioration of Hugo Chavez's health raises the question of why Venezuela – and by extension Chavez – plays such an integral role in the global energy market.
Shell may have moved an oil rig that ran aground off Alaska last week partly to avoid millions of dollars in taxes, U.S. Rep. Ed Markey said, raising even more questions about the oil company's decision on the timing of the move.
Oil demand in Europe, already at its lowest in 20 years after five years of declines, is set to fall further, dented by a bleak economic outlook, increasing energy efficiency and a switch to alternative forms of energy.
As we find ourselves deep into the winter, it is becoming increasingly clear that we are not getting the cold weather and the demand that comes with it to push natural gas higher.
It's been heralded as a game-changer for the global oil industry: the boom of shale oil in the United States, and with it the real prospects of ramping up domestic energy production and reducing imports. But it also raises serious questions about where it leaves Gulf oil producers.
Oil prices fell in heavy trading on Friday, pulled lower by a drop in gasoline on expectations that a large number of European cargoes could hit U.S. shores, while a key spread narrowed sharply on news of the start-up of a major Midwest pipeline.
The growing role of the U.S. as a major energy producer is changing the dynamic of the energy market. U.S. oil production continues to accelerate at a surprising rate, and the government now predicts the U.S. industry could pump 14 percent more oil this year alone.
Working in extreme Arctic conditions brings its own set of technical hazards, highlighted by the grounding of Royal Dutch Shell’s Kulluk rig on the rocks off Sitkalidak Island, after being battered by a northern Pacific gale. These problems may become more frequent.
Oil futures rose on news that top world oil exporter Saudi Arabia had cut back production in response to flagging demand, and after China reported strong demand for its exports.