Jun 2017

The June 2017 issue of Petroleum Economist is out now!

The decision rolls back years of progress to mitigate climate change and puts him at loggerheads with major energy firms and most other nations

Saudi Arabia is taking the opportunity of collective oil-production cuts to focus on downstream ventures

The rescinding of civil servants' pay cuts will not deflect the government from pursuing broad economic reforms

Recent top appointments have increased speculation about the succession, but the overall outlook for the kingdom appears stable

The US has joined Syria and Nicaragua in rejecting the Paris climate agreement

The GCC faces an unprecedented crisis as three member states politically and economically ostracise Doha

Shell wants to leave some of its defunct Brent infrastructure at sea. It’s the cheap way to decommission—but might also have ecological benefits

Russia's gas behemoth continues to sink money into projects of dubious value

US sanctions against Russia have hit ExxonMobil harder than most and the supermajor is getting no change out of Washington in its efforts to loosen them

As companies queue up to lend their financial support, the rise of this new innovation is unstoppable

The market wants to shrug off the Riyadh-Doha spat. It’s a risky position

There has been much talk of energy integration in Latin America and the Caribbean for decades but progress has been patchy. A new report from the World Energy Council presents potential scenarios for the region

Yet more uncertainty will be negative for energy demand and stunt policy

The oil industry needs to start taking the rise of alternative vehicles seriously

Forecasters agree that EVs will hurt oil demand—but on the size of the impact consensus is scant

China wants to electrify its car fleet—and lead the global race to manufacture EVs

As IOCs flee, Ottawa hopes to lure Asian petrodollars back

If governments want more EVs, they’ll have to pay consumers to buy them and manufacturers to make them—at least for now

The coming slate of oil auctions in Brazil will give the industry its biggest crack at developing the country's crude in two decades. But nothing in Brazil comes easy

Austerity and higher prices have helped put the state firm back in the black. Deeper reforms are still needed

East Africa's new oil producers could maximise the industry's potential by working together, but that's easier said than done

The Qatar crisis has ensured that the region can no longer boast being an oasis of tranquillity

Either Q1-Q4 crude consumption will rise at its fastest pace since 2010, or the data are very wrong

NOC output growth plans threatened by renewed dispute

Batteries, not fuel cells, biofuels, or natural gas, are winning the race to power the next generation of cars

Natural gas and fuel cell vehicles are not growing as quickly as EVs, for good reasons

EVs will get a bigger share of the car market, but won't pose much of a threat to global gasoline demand

The Golden State prepares to tax petroleum demand into decline, promoting electric and zero-emissions vehicles

With an eye on Iran's rapid exploitation of the shared North Field, Qatar has lifted its development moratorium

China and India accounted for almost all the growth, says BP, and global emissions were flat for the second year in a row

Malawi hopes to emulate its eastern African neighbours by making big hydrocarbons discoveries but progress is slow

A ministerial departure and a supermajor arrival reflect the rising stakes in West Africa's latest upstream player, but the president is playing it cool

The group's latest figures show Gulf oil states' earnings have plummeted, while the region's population keeps rising

Mohammed bin Salman will have a free hand as the next Saudi king but faces formidable domestic and regional hurdles. Oil policy is one

Drilling boom offers bright spot in otherwise bleak global oil exploration outlook

Market forces will keep hurting coal, strengthening gas and supporting renewables—whatever Trump thinks about climate science

Surging green energy generation is creating surpluses, in turn supporting the rise of electric transport

While EV charging stations are expanding rapidly in Europe, the US uptake is slower

The sector must step up its investments in clean energy and efforts to mitigate climate change or risk being left with expensive, stranded assets, says a new report

In the race to lower costs, Alberta's in situ oil sands producers are beating the miners

Can the Deep Basin help Cenovus make a success of its ConocoPhillips deal?

Suncor is Canada's oil sands champion. It celebrates its hundredth anniversary this year

US tight oil companies staged a comeback at the first sign of a price recovery last year. Now, as surging US shale activity undercuts the oil price, markets want them to start putting on the brakes.

The future of contested oilfields is one issue bound up with Iraqi Kurds' independence hopes

Closer collaboration is essential to drive down the price tag for dismantling infrastructure, the UK's regulator says