Daily News and Commentary From OilSlick.com

Cheap Oil is Back

5/16/2012 7:13:09 PM: If you call $92 oil cheap then cheap oil has returned. Along with the drop in oil prices has been a decline in gasoline to $3.73 per gallon and a -23 cent drop since early April. Continue reading

OPEC Production Rises to 31.85 Mbpd

5/13/2012 6:51:43 PM: Oil production spiked in April to 91.0 mbpd according to the IEA. That is a whopping 3.9 mbpd over the same period in 2011. Production increases in Iraq, Nigeria, Angola, Kuwait, UAE and Libya accounted for 510,000 bpd. Algeria, Iran and Qatar saw production decline -190,000 bpd. Continue reading

Crude at 22 Year Highs

5/9/2012 7:14:05 PM: The EIA reported crude inventory levels on Wednesday that rose to 379.5 million barrels and the highest level since 1990. Gasoline prices fell to $3.75 per gallon and the OPIS said that could fall to $3.50 by July 4th. Continue reading

U.S. Gasoline Demand Down 5.6%

5/3/2012 7:41:28 PM: The MasterCard Spending Pulse report showed gasoline demand declined the prior week by -5.6% from year ago levels. There is no specific event to blame on the drop other than a cold spell in the north that brought back snow to many states. I believe that is grasping at straws to blame that for all of the shrinking demand. The key to this puzzle will be the gasoline demand over the next four weeks and into the Memorial Day weekend. If demand does not increase significantly then other factors are at work. Continue reading

Iranian Sanctions Can Proceed

4/29/2012 8:44:57 PM: The EIA produces a report for President Obama every 60 days on inventories and supplies as part of the pending Iranian oil sanctions on July 1st. That report for March and April showed supplies building. Continue reading

Inventories Topping Out?

4/25/2012 7:55:24 PM: The morning EIA inventory report showed one more week of gains as we approach the end of the refinery maintenance season. Over the next couple weeks the trend should reverse and begin a long series of inventory declines as refiners begin ramping up for the summer driving season. Continue reading

Chesapeake, Horizon, Earnings

4/22/2012 7:55:54 PM: Chesapeake CEO Aubrey McClendon proved once again how excessive leverage can ruin an investing strategy even when you have a great company behind you. Continue reading

Spanish Oil Demand Dropping?

4/18/2012 4:20:53 PM: You would think from the decline in oil prices over Spain's economic worries that they were a big consumer of oil. That is not the case with daily demand of only 1.5 mbpd. Still, concern over Spain and and its impact on Europe is weighing on prices. Continue reading

Headline Wars

4/11/2012 6:51:14 PM: I would like to proclaim we have seen the lows for oil but with the three Es of Economy, Earnings and Europe hanging over the market there is no guarantee the lows for the week will be "the" lows for this cycle. The seasonal fundamentals, production fundamentals and the Iranian oil embargo all support higher prices. This is a battle of the headlines and the last headline will always govern prices. Continue reading

Lack of Jobs, No Lack of Demand

4/8/2012 6:33:30 PM: The disappointing payroll numbers for March may not be good for the equity markets or the immediate price of oil but the lack of jobs is only a temporary drag on oil demand. Continue reading

Strong Dollar, Weak Oil

4/4/2012 7:34:38 PM: It has not been a good week for the energy sector or the market in general. The Fed minutes appeared to show a lot of disagreement among FOMC members on the future course of Fed monetary policy. The chances of QE3 declined significantly in the eyes of traders even though analysts only lowered estimates slightly. Continue reading

Gas Suffocating Energy Stocks

4/1/2012 5:39:45 PM: Natural gas prices at ten year lows. Gas production increasing despite a massive rig shift to oil and voluntary curtailment by producers. Falling nat gas prices are weighing heavily on all energy equities even if they have no gas components. When will this end? Continue reading

Seasonal Cycles and Political Ambitions

3/28/2012 7:40:18 PM: Political posturing, rising inventories and falling markets pushed oil prices lower on Wednesday but it was all smoke and no fire. Continue reading

Expect Volatility in Oil Prices

3/14/2012 6:40:45 PM: The IEA said they expect oil prices to remain volatile because of very tight supplies and the expected decline in Iranian oil sales. Continue reading

Iran Making Us Money Today

3/1/2012 3:12:57 PM: Crude futures rocketed higher this afternoon after Iran News claimed a major oil pipeline in Saudi Arabia had been blown up and was on fire. WTI rocketed to more than $110 and Brent crude traded at $128. Continue reading

Crude Prices Rebound Sharply

2/29/2012 8:11:21 PM: WTI crude prices traded down to $104.84 intraday, down from $109.95 on Friday. Buyers immediately bought the dip pushing WTI back to $107.09. Is the profit taking over? Continue reading

Prices Rise Despite Inventory Build

2/23/2012 3:12:43 PM: No stealth rally in Crude today. WTI rallied to $108.65 before easing back a few cents at the close. Continue reading

Driving To Disaster

1/4/2012 10:47:18 PM: Auto sales for December came in at 13.53 million units on an annualized basis. This was slightly less than the 13.6 million rate in November but still a strong close for the year. This was the strongest pace since 2008. Sales for the year were impacted by the Japanese earthquake and the resulting parts shortage. Continue reading

Growth Continues, Production Does Not

11/14/2011 8:22:05 PM: The International Energy Agency (IEA) recently released their Oil Market Report (OMR). In it they warned the debt crisis in Europe slowed demand in October but fundamentals began improving in November Continue reading

Seven Billion

10/30/2011 10:42:43 PM: Somewhere in the world on Monday the seven billionth person will be born. It took 150 years to grow from one billion people in 1850 to six billion in 1999. It only took 12 years to go from six to seven billion. Continue reading