Oilprice.com

Not So Prolific: U.S. Shale Faces A Reality Check

The collapse of oil prices has forced the U.S. shale industry to slash production costs. In order to improve the "breakeven" costs for the average shale well, the industry has deployed three general strategies: improving techniques and technology, such as drilling longer laterals or using more frac sand; focusing drilling on the sweet spots; and demanding lower prices from oilfield service companies. All three of those strategies led to a decline in the breakeven price for a shale wells.

Trump Could Fuel A Nuclear Energy Boom In 2017

With Trump at the helm, sentiment gives way to practicality in the energy industry. For the vast untapped potential of the nuclear energy industry and the uranium that feeds it, this could contribute to a market-disrupting revival that no longer bows to fear and the politics of economy.

Are The Saudis About To Reveal The Best Kept Secret In Oil?

One of the oil world's longest and best kept secrets may finally be revealed. Saudi Arabia is preparing to unveil how much oil it holds, a closely guarded state secret that has been kept quiet for decades.

Can Oil Markets Survive An OPEC Implosion?

A technical meeting that was supposed to iron out some wrinkles for a deal to cut oil production ended in acrimony over the weekend, and OPEC's effort at coordination could be at yet another impasse.

Tesla, Apple and Uber Push Lithium Prices Even Higher

After more than tripling in price this year, Lithium is no longer that dull commodity we take for granted in our consumer electronics: It's the commodity powering the next, undeniable energy revolution. The tight supply picture emerging as electric cars, mega-batteries and massive energy storage solutions become the cornerstones of our lives could be on the edge of turning new lithium explorers into the next barons.

Where Will Oil Prices Go After Algiers?

Saudi Arabia and Iran may yet come to terms on some sort of production arrangement, but the outcome of the negotiations in Algeria this week may not do much to rescue oil prices. Following the media spectacle, the oil markets may have to shift their attention back to the supply and demand fundamentals, which are not reassuring.

Frack Sand: The Unsung Hero Of The OPEC Oil War

The late-2014, Saudi-initiated oil-price war may have taken the 'boom' out of the US shale industry as it seriously threatened OPEC market share, but Saudi victory has been elusive: US shale has proven amazingly resilient. The industry has adapted quickly to the new playing field, and the unsung hero of a new uptick in drilling and investment isn't just true grit--it's sand.

The Next Sector To Recover From The Oil Price Crash

Oilfield services, shipbuilders and other industries that rose with the pre-2014 oil price boom have had it hard. Since barrel rates fell, their previous patrons have become uninterested in doling out major purchase orders, leaving oil and gas equipment manufacturers without revenues.

Could A Lithium Shortage De-Rail The Electric Car Boom?

We've gone electric, and there's no going back at this point. Lithium is our new fuel, but like fossil fuels, the reserves we're currently tapping into are finite--and that's what investors can take to the bank.

Saudis Ramping Up Oil Output To Gain Leverage In OPEC Talks

Saudi Arabia suggests it may be increasing its August crude output to a new all-time high as it could give it more leverage to influence the September informal talks on a possible production freeze, Reuters reported on Wednesday, citing industry sources.

Surprise Natural Gas Drawdown Signals Higher Prices Ahead

The U.S. electric power sector burned through a record amount of natural gas in recent weeks, a sign of the shifting power generation mix and also a signal that natural gas supplies could get tighter than many analysts had previously expected.

Today's Downturn Sets Markets Up For A Dramatic Oil Price Spike<

Another oil price downturn threatens to deepen the plunging levels of investment in upstream oil and gas production, which could create a more acute price spike in the years ahead.

Did Oil Kill The Dinosaurs?

What killed the dinosaurs? It's a question as old as--well the dinosaurs themselves, and one that everyone from school children to scientists have been asking for decades. Movies like Jurassic Park and the Land Before Time only heighten that sense of wonder and raise the stakes behind that question. Now according to a new scientific study, it seems that black gold may have been the source of the dinos' demise.

Why Lithium Will See Another Price Spike This Fall

So far, lithium has been the hottest metal of 2016, beating out gold, with exponential demand expected over the coming years. Although the price trajectory of the metal has been subdued in recent months, the fundamentals behind the long-term trajectory suggest strong potential for long-term growth. Price doubling from 2014/2015 was first seen in China and is now being felt worldwide, with lithium hydroxide prices from $16-20 and carbonate prices from $12-14 thousand USD per ton.

Oil Industry Faces Huge Worker Shortage

The rig count has rebounded from the lows seen in late May, a small indication that oil companies in the U.S. could begin drilling anew. Shale drilling is a short-cycle prospect, requiring only a few weeks to drill and bring a well online. Because of this, the collective U.S. shale industry has been likened to the new "swing producer": low oil prices force quick cutbacks but higher prices trigger new supplies. In essence, shale could balance the market in the way OPEC used to.

Bill Gates And Other Billionaires Backing A Nuclear Renaissance

Let's for a second imagine a world without nuclear energy. That's a tough one but let's try. No nuclear bombs, of course, no Chernobyl and Fukushima, no worries about Iran and North Korea. A wonderful world, maybe?

Potash Price Surge Could Lead To Higher Food Costs For Billions

We are on the precipice of a food fight among 7 billion people, and potash will be right at the center of it.

Move Over Oil - Lithium Is The Future Of Transportation

Just a few years ago, we would have scoffed at the idea that electric vehicles could be mainstream anytime soon, or that the global appetite for lithium-ion batteries and mass power storage would be so voracious, and so sudden. Today, no one is scoffing, and lithium is being viewed as our new super-mineral that will catapult us firmly into the next century.

Increase In U.S. Rig Count Will Not Cap Oil Prices

The impact of rising oil prices on North American light tight oil (LTO) production is said to be a “Catch 22”, the title of Joseph Heller’s popular 1961 novel set in WWII. The premise was you could get out of the army if you were crazy but you weren’t crazy to try to get out of the army. So this avenue to escape the war didn’t work for the book’s main character John Yossarian.

Uranium Prices Set To Double By 2018

With prices set to double by 2018, we've seen the bottom of the uranium market, and the negative sentiment that has followed this resource around despite strong fundamentals, is starting to change.