Daily News and Commentary From OilSlick.com

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

ASPO Declares War on DOE

10/26/2011 10:42:08 PM: ASPO took the fight to the Dept of Energy on Wednesday by holding a news conference on the steps of the DOE. ASPO is attempting to call attention to the blatantly false and misleading projections of the EIA for future oil production. Continue reading

Merger Monday, Anadarko Surrenders

10/17/2011 11:56:24 PM: Multiple deals in the energy sector were announced before the open on Monday and that was instrumental in keeping the majority of energy stocks from losing too much ground on a very bad day in the markets. Continue reading

Peak Oil and Weak Global GDP

10/12/2011 8:07:36 PM: If the world is headed into a period of weak global growth as a result of Europe's credit crisis how will that impact the arrival of Peak Oil? Continue reading

That Time of the Month Again

10/12/2011 7:31:57 PM: Once a month energy investors are subjected to irrationality, irritability, mood swings and bipolar behavior. Continue reading

Superior Acquisition

10/10/2011 8:05:27 PM: Superior Energy Services (SPN) announced today it was buying competitor Complete Production Services (CPX) in order to expand its gas fracturing business. Continue reading

OPEC Talking About Meeting

10/9/2011 9:28:34 PM: You knew it had to happen. When the price for the basket of OPEC crude dipped below $100 last week the OPEC hardliners immediately started talking about holding a meeting to discuss cutting production. Continue reading

Trouble Brewing In Libya

10/9/2011 9:27:51 PM: The civil war is not even over and Gaddafi has not yet been found but a new civil conflict is bubbling up between the various tribes and ideological interests. Gaddafi kept the tribes isolated and encouraged hostilities as a way to prevent a unified uprising to throw him out of power. Continue reading

A Billion A Day

10/9/2011 9:26:52 PM: Exxon Mobil spends a billion dollars a day. That number is astounding but given the scope of their business it should come as no surprise. Continue reading

New High On Rigs Soon

10/9/2011 9:26:08 PM: US crude oil and natural gas drilling rig activity this week jumped 22 units to reach a total of 2,012, the first time the count was above 2,000 since the week ended Sept. 19, 2008, when the count was 2,018. This week's count is up by 341 units from the comparable period a year ago, according to Baker Hughes. Continue reading

Is OPEC Facing A Bear Market?

10/5/2011 9:55:00 PM: Some analysts are worried that OPEC is facing lower prices for oil once Libya begins producing again and that will endanger the social order in places like Saudi Arabia where they need high oil prices to survive. Continue reading

Three Strikes and You Are Out

10/5/2011 9:54:10 PM: Daniel Yergin's predictions fail time after time but the mainstream media continue to hail him as the king of predictions. If you say something long enough and loud enough the world may eventually believe it to be true even when it isn't. Continue reading

Discoveries Produced Faster in Gulf

10/5/2011 9:53:12 PM: The time from discovery to production has been shrinking dramatically in the Gulf of Mexico as additional deepwater infrastructure is completed. The time has shrunk from 10-14 years to as little as 2-4 years. Continue reading

Why Do Oil Prices Really Fall?

10/5/2011 7:44:19 PM: I continue to get emails asking why oil prices are down. First, they are normally down in Sept/Oct as the demand cycles and products change. However, there are other reasons with a lot more impact. Continue reading

Market Drop Not Sector Drop

10/3/2011 6:56:12 PM: The energy sector plunged again on Monday but it was falling in conjunction with the entire market. The declines we are seeing in energy are completely market related and caused by the uncertainty in Europe. Continue reading

Oil Depletion Realities

10/2/2011 9:50:34 PM: North Sea gas production slumped by 25% in the second quarter and total gas and oil production fell by 16%. It was the biggest decline since records began 16 years ago. Continue reading

BOEMRE Give Birth to Twins

10/2/2011 9:50:00 PM: The U.S. Dept of the Interior is creating two new agencies as of October 1st to deal with management of energy resources. The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE) will become the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM). Continue reading

New Pipeline from Cushing to the Gulf

10/2/2011 9:49:18 PM: Enterprise Product Partners and Enbridge Inc announced plans to build a 500-mile pipeline to transport oil from the current bottleneck at Cushing Oklahoma to refineries along the Gulf coast. Continue reading