In 1973, at the height of the oil crisis, most of France's electricity depended on foreign oil imports. The then prime minister, Pierre Messmer, launched the famous Messmer Plan, an ambitious program with the aim of having France generate all its electricity from nuclear power. Four decades later, nuclear energy covers 71% of France's electricity production. [...]
Before covid, the energy sector was facing significant challenges due to growing demand for renewable energy, declining oil demand and falling profits. The virus has only further shaken the energy industry. Other factors they already faced: Many investors are pulling out of traditional energy companies. There has been an increase in social responsibility, reducing their popularity. [...]
After one month of a dramatic break-up and a beginning of an oil war between Russia and the Saudi Arabia, history was made last Sunday with a renewed agreement achieved by OPEC + of 9.7 million barrels per day (mbpd) oil output cut. A 10 million bpd oil reduction is the biggest cut ever agreed in [...]
Global oil and gas markets are facing an unprecedented situation: demand is collapsing because of the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) while supply, already overabundant, is significantly increasing. In some countries, large-scale production and exports of oil and gas provide vital income to finance their national budgets, which means volatility in global energy markets can translate [...]
In the current situation of entire economies being paralyzed by the coronavirus outbreak, you would think oil producing nations (like everyone else) have enough to worry about. With much economic activity including international air travel coming to a standstill, the loss of demand is enormous. Nevertheless, OPEC and Russia not only failed to come to a [...]
The beginning of December will be important for the oil markets. Because there will be an Aramco IPO, and also at the end of next week OPEC will meet. Next December 5th and 6th OPEC will meet with other nations outside the organization led by Russia, in its headquarters in Vienna. At the meeting they will [...]
In less than 2 months we have seen the price of a oil barrel falling by more than 32%, suffering its biggest drop since the raw materials crisis in 2015. Is this drop justified? Energy long-term investors are suffering a difficult period lately, since market experts have been talking for several months about an oil price [...]
More than 20 dollars of difference have come to be between the maximum value of the Brent quoted this year and the price of crude at the beginning of 2018. A totally bullish trend that brought oil to the brink of 90 $USD/bbl just two weeks ago. Reasons for its justification have not been lacking: a [...]
Talking about Venezuela is tantamount of talking about oil. This country, almost twice the size of Spain, has the largest amount of (heavy) crude oil reserves in the world, which grew strongly since 2011. It may be unfair and/or paradoxical that all this underground wealth is present at the worst time for the country, which is [...]
The strong and consistent rally in crude prices that took place between the end of June and early December, does not seem to be over yet. Oil market has shifted considerably over the last few weeks. Brent is trading above $66 per barrel. Investors are sitting on record bullish positions in Brent futures and options and [...]
