Welcome to PeakOil.com, an online community exploring oil depletion.

Why Oil Prices Will Continue Rising – And What Can Be Done About It?

Elevated gasoline and diesel prices have become a major focal point during this election cycle. While each party points the finger of blame at the other, millions of Americans are left searching for truth. Most know why gasoline and diesel prices are so high. Perhaps the most important question is what can be done about it? In this article, we will compare the price of oil during the first eight months of the Russia-Ukraine War with the price of oil during the first eight months of the Iran War. While there are similarities, there are also stark differences. I'm using West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude for oil. Types of Oil Producers: To begin with, oil is a global commodity, and no single person can manipulate its price. Let's divide oil producers into two buckets, OPEC producers and non-OPEC producers. OPEC accounts ...

Oil Prices Head for Fourth Monthly Gain as Middle East Tensions Escalate

Crude oil prices were set for another weekly gain today, also extending their monthly rise to four months in a row amid continued fears of escalation in the Middle East and Houthi attacks on Saudi infrastructure. At the time of writing, Brent crude was trading at $116.56 per barrel, with West Texas Intermediate at $103.35 per barrel ahead of the November 3rd U.S. midterm elections. President Trump has suggested repeatedly that the U.S. could resume strikes against Iran after the elections. Media have reported the U.S. and Israel are coordinating on those strikes, further fueling expectations of a return to hostilities. According to Reuters, Brent crude has booked gains of 11% this month alone, with WTI adding even more, at 14%. Since the end of June, Brent has gained over $40 per barrel, and WTI has gone up by some $34 per ...

Bodies Discovered After Rig Sinks Offshore Gabon

In a statement posted on its website on Thursday, Borr Drilling Limited, which announced the sinking of the Prospector 5 rig on Sunday, revealed that three bodies had been found following the incident. “Of the 115 personnel on board at the time of the incident, 110 have returned ashore,” the company said in the statement. “Those personnel remain in Gabon and are being provided with accommodation, care, and ongoing support, with their wellbeing remaining a priority for the company,” it added. “As part of the ongoing search and rescue operations, the company has been notified that an underwater remotely operated vehicle has located the bodies of three individuals,” it continued. “Recovery efforts are underway and extensive search and rescue efforts continue for the two individuals who remain unaccounted for,” it went on to state. Borr Drilling revealed in its statement that, at the time of ...

Ukraine’s War Goes Underground As Troops Battle Inside Gas Pipelines

Russian and Ukrainian soldiers are fighting a brutal underground war inside narrow Soviet-era gas pipelines, turning the battlefield beneath Ukraine into a deadly new front as drones make movement above ground increasingly dangerous. Ukrainian forces have launched an underground counteroffensive near Kupiansk, reversing a Russian tactic that previously allowed Moscow's troops to infiltrate behind enemy lines, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The operation has reportedly killed more than 100 Russian soldiers and resulted in dozens of prisoners, according to Ukraine's Defense Ministry. The fighting underground has become exceptionally dangerous. One video posted by Ukraine's 39th Brigade appears to show a heavily fortified position in a tunnel where a Ukrainian soldier is firing an M2 .50 caliber machine gun — so heavily fortified that the gunner cannot see what he is shooting at on the other side of the sandbags. "Drones and increasingly ...

BP Posts Highest Quarterly Profit in 18 Years

BP Plc said profit surged to the highest in 18 years as soaring refining margins boosted earnings, while a sharp drop in net debt moved the British energy major closer to a position where it could restart buybacks. Adjusted net income was $8.46 billion, up from $2.21 billion a year earlier, the London-based giant said in a statement on Friday. More than half the profit came from the unit that includes oil refining and trading. The results are Chief Executive Officer Meg O'Neill's second full quarter at the helm and offer a fresh look at the operational performance that she's identified as a priority. BP's first outsider CEO is cutting costs, selling assets and paying down debt while preparing to lay out her longer-term strategy for the firm in December. "It really was a banner quarter for the refining business," she said in ...

Budget watchdog’s worst case scenario for oil ‘has already been reached’

The Budget watchdog's worst-case scenario for oil has already been reached with yet more price shocks to come. In its predictions ahead of the Chancellor's statement this week, the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) forecast that oil prices would peak at $115 a barrel next year in a 'severe shock scenario'. But the benchmark Brent crude oil price climbed past $115.90 on Wednesday. And it is feared the cost of a barrel will peak again next week because Donald Trump has vowed to resume bombing Tehran after the US midterm elections on Tuesday. The unexpected increase prompted the OBR to significantly downgrade the growth forecast for next year. GDP is now projected to grow by just 1 per cent in 2027, 0.5 per cent lower than forecasts. In its forecast, the OBR said: 'We anticipate growth of around 1 per ...

Owners pull the plug on proposed $1B natural gas plant in northern Wisconsin

The owners of a proposed $1 billion gas-fired power plant in northern Wisconsin are officially calling it quits on the Nemadji Trail Energy Center in Superior. La Crosse-based Dairyland Power Cooperative and South Shore Energy notified the Public Service Commission that they're canceling the project in a letter filed Wednesday by Daniel McCourtney, manager of strategic environmental initiatives at Allete. Allete is the parent company of Duluth-based Minnesota Power, which backed away from the plant in December. "No construction has occurred on NTEC or the (generation tie line)," McCourtney wrote. "Accordingly, the owners respectfully request that the commission acknowledge their relinquishment of all rights associated with the (approvals)." In 2020, the PSC granted approvals, or certificates of public convenience and necessity, to the project's owners to build a natural gas plant that would produce between 550 and 625 megawatts of power. The utilities ...

Los Angeles approves ban on oil production after years-long fight

After a years-long battle, Los Angeles has approved a plan to end oil drilling and pumping within city limits once and for all. The City Council on Wednesday voted unanimously on an ordinance that halts new oil and gas drilling in the city and phases out existing production over the next 20 years. It applies to some 600 active and 1,200 idle oil wells, meaning idle ones cannot be brought back into production. Mayor Karen Bass signed the ordinance Thursday, making L.A. the largest city in the United States to phase out existing oil wells. Energy companies argue the action is an illegal taking of their property. "This isn't a debate about whether fossil fuels are good or bad," Councilmember Traci Park said during Wednesday's meeting, noting the city has already committed to 100% clean electricity by 2035 and is investing heavily in renewables ...

Existing Fossil Projects Put 1.5°C Far Out of Reach as Oil Change Calls for Faster Phaseout

Fossil fuel projects already under way will emit seven times more climate pollution than the atmosphere can absorb with even a one-in-two chance of holding average global warming to 1.5°C, according to an analysis released in the lead-up to the COP31 climate summit in Antalya, Türkiye next month. The report by Oil Change International concludes that existing oil, gas, and coal fields and mines will emit a combined 897 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions, at a time when the remaining carbon budget for a 1.5°C future has dwindled to 130 billion tonnes. Existing gas fields alone, at 150 gigatonnes, would be enough to exhaust and exceed the available carbon budget, Oil Change says. The 897 Gt of committed emissions are also 30% higher than the threshold for a high probability of keeping warming below 2°C. "The massive oversupply of fossil fuels is ...

Crude Freight: Past the Peak, But the Floor Should Hold

VLCC rates from the US Gulf and West Africa have fallen from historical peaks by 27% and 32% respectively over the past two weeks, with smaller tankers following. Is this a short-term correction, or the start of a deeper decline? And if rates fall further, would they reach pre-war levels? To answer that, we need to look at the five main drivers of this year's rally: Middle East Gulf (MEG) ship-to-ship (STS) shuttle relay delays, which tie up tonnage and tighten the Atlantic BasinWar risk premiaThe shift of trade flows from sanctioned to mainstream marketsMarket consolidationHigher bunker costs Bunker costs have doubled this year relatively in tandem with oil prices. That has naturally raised the floor for tanker rates, but it does not fully explain a tenfold rise in freight. This article therefore focuses on the first four factors. Atlantic Basin availability is tight, ...

More News By Topic...