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If the rumors are true and Dallas billionaire Trevor Rees-Jones is set to sell his Chief Oil & Gas for $2.4 billion to Chesapeake Energy — it would be the single biggest payday for the most successful shale fracker of the Great American oil and gas boom.

Forbes

America’s Winningest Fracker Said To Be Near $2.4 Billion Shale Gas Sale

After declining in 2020, the combined production of U.S. fossil fuels (including natural gas, crude oil, and coal) increased by 2% in 2021 to 77.14 quadrillion British thermal units. Based on forecasts in our latest Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO), we expect U.S. fossil fuel production to continue rising in both 2022 and 2023, surpassing production in 2019, to reach a new record in 2023.

EIA expects U.S. fossil fuel production to reach new highs in 2023

Oil slipped on Thursday as investors took profits after a recent price rally, but strong demand and short-term supply disruptions continue to support prices close to their highest since 2014.

Reuters

Oil prices slip from 2014 highs, supply concerns limit losses

America’s largest oil firm claims its history of publicly denying the climate crisis is protected by the first amendment

The Guardian

How Exxon is using an unusual law to intimidate critics over its climate denial

Concerns about spare capacity are valid, but often involve a misunderstanding of capacity estimates—and the potential for them to increase.

Oil Production Capacity For Dummies

President López Obrador wants to halt most oil exports and imports of gasoline and other fuels. Critics say he is reneging on Mexico’s climate change commitments.

The New York Times

In Quest for Energy Independence, Mexico Is Buying a Texas Oil Refinery

U.S. energy giant ExxonMobil announced Tuesday a formalized plan to cut its scope 1 and scope 2 carbon emissions to “net-zero” by the year 2050.

ExxonMobil Formally Joins The Net-Zero By 2050 Bandwagon

Oil prices were steady on Monday, as investor bets that global supply will remain tight amid restraint by major producers were offset by a rise in Libyan output.

Oil steady as rising Libyan output offsets supply worries

This year I predict that several trends from 2021 will reverse direction.

Energy Sector Predictions For 2022

The number of active drilling rigs in the United States rose by 13 this week, bringing the total rig count at 601, as oil prices keep to bull territory even as the fresh wave of Covid-19 cases brought by the new variant threatens to diminish demand.



Oil Price

U.S. Rig Count Jumps As Crude Rally Continues

OPEC Plus, the United States and others have been slow to ramp up output, lagging production goals.

OPEC Plus and Other Oil Producers Aren't Keeping Up With Demand

The SPR release had a small impact on prices, but might be repeated close to mid-term elections.

SPR Release Had A Minimal Market Impact—But Might Be Repeated

On November 23, 2021, as the price for West Texas Intermediate crude hit $78.50 per barrel, U.S. President Joe Biden issued an order to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to release 50 million barrels of oil from America’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR).

Biden’s SPR Release Shows Another Failure Of Interventionist Energy Policy

In our January Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO), we forecast that the natural gas spot price at the U.S. benchmark Henry Hub will average $3.79 per million British thermal units (MMBtu) in 2022, slightly less than its 2021 average of $3.91/MMBtu. Natural gas prices increased between March and early October 2021, but they declined in the last three months of the year. We expect natural gas prices to decline slightly in 2023, averaging $3.63/MMBtu, as growth in dry natural gas production outpaces growth in domestic demand and exports.

EIA forecasts natural gas prices to remain near $4/MMBtu in 2022, slightly lower in 2023

Energy Trend

Drinda’s New Energy Subsidiary Will Invest RMB 11.2 Billion to Build PV Cell Production Base in Anhui

In our January 2022 Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO), we forecast that crude oil prices will fall from 2021 levels. In the fourth quarter of 2021, the price of Brent crude oil, the international pricing benchmark, averaged $79 per barrel (b). We forecast that the price of Brent will average $75/b in 2022 and $68/b in 2023.

EIA forecasts crude oil prices will fall in 2022 and 2023

Higher gasoline prices will continue to be a thorn in the side of U.S. consumers in the first half of the new year, as global oil markets struggle with tight supply and continued uncertainty around demand and pandemic shutdowns.

Drivers Should Prepare For Higher Prices At The Pump In 2022

Kenyan president, Uhuru Kenyatta inspected the ongoing construction of the Shs40 billion (approximately $350 million) offshore Kipevu Oil Terminal, the largest of its kind in Africa.



ESI Africa

The largest oil terminal in Africa is almost complete

Regional prices of crude oil pumped in Western Canada and in North Dakota have risen this week to lower their discounts to the U.S. benchmark, WTI Crude, after freezing winter temperatures disrupted crude flows from Alberta’s oil sands and the Bakken shale play in the United States.


Cold Weather In North Dakota And Alberta Forces Oil Producers To Curb Production

Oil prices settled lower on Friday, as the market weighed supply concerns from the unrest in Kazakhstan and outages in Libya against a U.S. jobs report that missed expectations and its potential impact on Federal Reserve policy.

Oil slips, but gains 5% in the week on Kazakh, Libyan concerns

With Shell’s seismic plans in disarray, South African activists are turning their sights on more offshore plans from Searcher Seismic.


Energy Voice

After victory over Shell, South Africa turns to Searcher Seismic plans

Royal Dutch Shell said it will pursue "at pace" a $7 billion share buyback largely funded from the sale of its U.S. shale business as it faces liquefied natural gas (LNG) outages and slower fuel sales due to the economic hit from Omicron.

Shell pursues $7 billion buyback 'at pace' despite LNG troubles

With today's high oil prices and record gas prices, it is easy to forget that the situation was reversed as recently as two years ago. At the end of 2019, an over-supply of fossil fuels had left producers concerned about low prices. Saudi Arabia and Russia fell out over the need for further production cuts to support prices. Then the scale and impact of the pandemic became apparent, economies locked down, and energy demand plummeted—most significantly for oil, given its links to transport.

Tech Xplore

Energy prices are unlikely to fall in 2022 or beyond, not until major importers get serious about green transition

2021 was a mirror image of 2020 in the energy sector, as it was the S&P 500's top-performing sector.

Energy Was The Top-Performing Sector In 2021

Rising crude oil prices and increased gasoline demand contributed to the average U.S. retail price for regular grade gasoline increasing to $3.01 per gallon (gal) in 2021, the highest average nominal price since 2014. The average price for retail gasoline increased by more than $1.00/gal between the start and the end of 2021.

Retail gasoline prices rose across the United States in 2021 as driving increased

The energy secretary met oil industry bosses for a private dinner days after the Cop26 climate summit to encourage them to keep drilling in the North Sea.



The Times

Kwasi Kwarteng courted oil bosses after Cop26

Crude oil prices increased in 2021 as increasing COVID-19 vaccination rates, loosening pandemic-related restrictions, and a growing economy resulted in global petroleum demand rising faster than petroleum supply. The spot price of Brent crude oil, a global benchmark, started the year at $50 per barrel (b) and increased to a high of $86/b in late October before declining in the final weeks of the year.

Crude oil prices increased in 2021 as global crude oil demand outpaced supply

In a year of seemingly continuous bad news, there are many reasons to be hopeful about the environment

National Geographic

5 environmental victories from 2021 that offer hope

Oil prices eased on Thursday after the world's top importer China cut the first batch of crude import allocations for 2022, offsetting the impact of U.S. data showing fuel demand had held up despite soaring Omicron coronavirus infections.

Oil prices slip after China cuts import quotas

The Dallas Federal Reserve Bank published a new poll this week showing that almost half of 131 oil and gas firms surveyed plan to increase oil and gas production during 2022.

Fed Survey Shows Oil And Gas Firms Planning A Modest 2022 Comeback

Bidi New Energy Will Invest RMB 2.7 Billion to Build a Production Base for HJT Cells and Modules in Shaanxi

Libya's state-owned NOC said more than 300,000 b/d of crude production is shut in at fields in the western part of the country. Local and trade sources reported shutdowns at the El Sharara, Wafa and Hamada fields earlier today.



Argus Media

Libya's NOC says 300,000 b/d crude shut in

America’s longest running oil spill dispute is close to a resolution after a Louisiana-based energy firm has agreed to a proposed multi-million dollar settlement.

Louisiana energy firm to pay millions following oil spill that began 17 years ago

The number of active drilling rigs in the United States last week rose by 7, bringing the total to 586 as oil prices remain relatively strong despite the fresh wave of Covid-19 cases brought by the new variant of the coronavirus.



U.S. Oil Rig Count Jumps Along With Crude Prices

Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC) has signed an agreement with Italian energy group Eni (ENI.MI) for oil exploration in the Gulf of Suez and Nile Delta regions worth "not less than $1 billion" of investments, the petroleum ministry said on Friday.

Egypt's Petroleum Corporation signs $1 bln oil-exploration agreement with Eni

A Louisiana-based oil company will pay $43 million in civil penalties and damages and $432 million to a clean-up trust fund over a spill in the Gulf of Mexico, the Justice Department announced Wednesday.

Axios

Louisiana firm to pay $475M over longest-running U.S. oil leak

PV Industry Price Trend: Upstream Sector Continues to Drop in Prices amidst Market Adjustment Period; Demand Provides Restricted Degree of Fallback in Polysilicon Prices

Malaysia's state-run upstream company Petronas is looking to enhance its carbon capture and storage capability through a close partnership with South Korea's POSCO Engineering & construction, raising the prospect South Korean refiners could source carbon-neutral crude from the Southeast Asian producer in the future.

S&P Global

Malaysia-South Korea CCS collaboration may open low carbon crude trade opportunity

The UK government launches a consultation on the design of a new climate compatibility checkpoint for the oil and gas industry.

GOV.UK

UK government seeks views on new oil and gas climate checkpoint

The UK will still allow the development of new oil and gas oilfields in the North Sea if they pass a so-called net-zero test, the government said on Monday as it opened a consultation seeking input on a new climate compatibility checkpoint for the oil and gas industry.

New Oil And Gas Projects In UK Need To Pass Net-Zero Test

Japan's naphtha demand for petrochemical production may not decline as much as biomass or chemically-recycled feedstocks as limited demand has slowed transition to such products.

Japan may continue naphtha use for petchem

In the six years since that 2014 record total, Canada-U.S. trade has fallen 20.15%, equal to $132.64 billion.

Canada’s Record $658b In Trade In 2014 Stands, Just Not Its Ranking

This year I got four of my five energy predictions right. The one I missed was still directionally correct, but not aggressive enough.

Grading My 2021 Energy Predictions

Golden Glass Completes Equipment Installation for Its First HJT Cell Production Line

Despite exacting a heavy environmental and financial toll, routine flaring remains a persistent practice in the oil and gas sector. The technical solutions for ending flaring are both practical and financial in nature. Three hurdles are commonly faced when implementing flare gas to power projects.

World Oil

Overcoming technical hurdles to eliminate routine flaring

Although the market put in a mixed performance throughout the week, a bearish consensus seems to be developing as surging cases of the Omicron coronavirus variant raised fears that new curbs may lead to demand destruction.

Surge In Omicron Cases Spooks Oil Traders

The U.S. Department of Energy on Friday said it will sell 18 million barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, with offers from companies to purchase it due on Jan. 4, as part of a previously announced release aimed to cool fuel prices.

U.S. offers 18 mln barrels of oil from emergency reserve

The senator from West Virginia, a coal and gas stronghold, has single-handedly stripped key elements from his party’s plan to tackle climate change.

Joe Manchin Rejects Democratic Plan to Ban New Drilling in Atlantic and Pacific

About half of U.S. oil pipeline space is sitting unused, heating up competition for barrels in higher-output areas like the Permian Basin in Texas.

About half of U.S. oil pipeline space is empty after boom time building spree

Energy Monitor's second end-of-year forecast looks at the global pipeline of fossil fuels, and whether what is due to happen up to 2030 is in line with net zero by 2050 requirements.

Energy Monitor

Energy Monitor’s end-of-year forecast: Fossil fuels

Oil & Gas | Upstream

Major Chinese liquefied natural gas (LNG) importers are now offering to resell some cargoes on the spot market this year, suggesting that China has stocked up more than enough to see it through the winter and easing concerns about the global gas crunch.



China Is Reselling LNG Cargoes, Driving Gas Prices Lower

Hours before the window for lodging objections closes, EU environment and energy ministers meeting in France Friday differed sharply on a European Commission provision that would classify nuclear and natural gas energy as "sustainable".

EU nations quarrel over whether nuclear, gas are 'green'

Spain saw the largest increase in citizens at risk of energy poverty in the EU in 2020. Now, with soaring gas and electricity prices, Madrid is increasingly worried about the impact of climate policies on its most vulnerable citizens.

Spain’s rising energy poverty: A cautionary tale for Europe

Some rightwingers claim renewables have increased costs, but Energy UK blames over-reliance on gas. Energy companies want the government to implement policies to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions, the industry’s leader has said, despite claims from some on the political right that high energy prices should spark a rethink. Emma Pinchbeck, chief executive of Energy UK, which represents the industry, said: “The government should press on with net zero policies. That’s something they still need to do. We are missing the carbon budgets.” 

UK energy industry urges ministers to stick with net zero plan

As some in our state and national news media seem to be actively hoping for another grid failure, those of us who live in Texas really aren’t all that worried about it despite some cold weather setting in this week.

It’s Cold In Texas, But No Reason To Expect Grid Failure

Customers saddled with paying 600 times the usual price for energy as regulators are accused of being too close to the industry they monitor. When Neil Crittenden heard that an extreme winter storm was about to hit Oklahoma last winter, he did what officials advised him to do and kept his heat on and water running so that his pipes wouldn’t freeze. The 40-year-old Oklahoma City resident even used hair dryers to keep them thawed. What Crittenden didn’t know at the time was that the energy he used was going to cost him significantly. As winter storm Uri swept across the south central US last February, utilities that weren’t prepared scrambled. The storm caused blackouts in several states and resulted in the deaths of at least 223 people. 

Winter gas bill from hell: Oklahomans face paying $1.4bn over snowstorm

Not for the first time, global energy markets are in turmoil. Internationally traded gas prices more than quadrupled in 2021. In their wake, many energy suppliers have gone bust and household bills across Europe are set to soar. Energy prices are driving up the cost of living and inflation, but this is also a moment to realize the old saying: "never waste a good crisis."

Renewables are cheaper than ever, so why are household energy bills only going up?

The Turkmenistan–Afghanistan–Pakistan–India (TAPI) natural gas pipeline has been long aborning, but its prospects recently got a shot in the arm.



Is The TAPI Pipeline Finally Ready To Go?

In our January Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO), we forecast that increasing electricity generation from renewable energy resources such as solar and wind will reduce generation from fossil fuel-fired power plants over the next two years. The forecast share of generation for U.S. non-hydropower renewable sources, including solar and wind, grows from 13% in 2021 to 17% in 2023. We forecast that the share of generation from natural gas will fall from 37% in 2021 to 34% by 2023 and the coal share will decline from 23% to 22%.

New renewable power plants are reducing U.S. electricity generation from natural gas

The number of households suffering from “fuel stress” – those spending at least 10% of their family budgets on energy bills – is set to treble to 6.3m overnight when the new energy price cap comes in on 1 April, according to a leading research group.

 UK households facing ‘fuel stress’ will treble to 6.3m – thinktank

The Yamal-Europe pipeline, which usually sends Russian gas west into Europe, continued to send gas eastward from Germany to Poland for a 28th successive day on Monday, data from German network operator Gascade showed.

Yamal gas pipeline flows still heading eastward from Germany to Poland

Australia matched the country’s highest temperature on record, triggering a bushfire warning and temporarily shutting a liquefied natural gas (LNG) export plant on Friday.


Australia’s hottest day in 60 years triggers LNG plant outage

The USDA is making it easier for farmers to market their meat as “low-carbon.” Not everyone is happy about it.

Wired

Is There Really Such a Thing as Low-Carbon Beef?

Britain faces years of high energy prices and needs to have a conversation about what policies are needed . The good news is that energy prices will be coming down. The bad news is nobody knows when for sure. The UK’s biggest energy supplier, Centrica, says high gas and electricity prices could last for another two years. The International Energy Agency (IEA) reckons that’s too optimistic. Expensive bills are a problem for firms, consumers and the government. Households could face a doubling of annual energy bills to £2,400 a year from October - a cost-of-living catastrophe for millions. While Labour proposes a support package, Conservative ministers have said little – fuelling suspicions that they intend to reduce demand for energy by making people poorer. Carbon-based energy will fade, but it won’t disappear completely. To keep temperatures to 1.5C above pre-industrial levels, the IEA says the world in 2050 would have to use about half as much natural gas as today and about one-quarter as much oil. British policymakers must wake up to the security implications of greening the economy. Britain replaced coal-fired plants with wind power to reduce carbon emissions, becoming dependent on natural gas imports – especially in calm weather. Traditional suppliers like Russia might see opportunities in volatile fossil fuel prices that result from the transition to net zero. This is not reassuring. Fuel price protests sparked unrest in Kazakhstan this month, but they also brought Britain to a halt 22 years ago. 

The Guardian view on high energy prices: buffer stocks can stabilise them

Technology can be a tremendous force for good. When leveraged for the right purpose it can improve the state of the planet at an incredible rate.


GreenBiz

Scaling the circular economy requires a digital revolution

The U.S. government has held talks with several international energy companies on contingency plans for supplying natural gas to Europe if conflict between Russia and Ukraine disrupts Russian supplies, two U.S. officials and two industry sources told Reuters on Friday.

U.S. talks to energy firms on EU gas supply in case of Russia-Ukraine conflict

The Global Methane Pledge to reduce emissions by at least 30 per cent by 2030, was signed by more than 100 countries at the COP26 Conference in November 2021. Reducing methane emissions from fossil fuel sources by up to 75 per cent by 2030 has been identified as an essential contribution to reducing the rate of global temperature increase.

Oxford Inst. for Energy Studies

Measurement, Reporting, and Verification of Methane Emissions from Natural Gas and LNG Trade: creating transparent and credible frameworks

An alliance of 25 charities has called for increased funding for energy efficiency upgrades and clean energy technologies to help "wean the UK off expensive gas" as part of measures to combat rising energy costs.  

Business Green

 Charities urge government to ramp up insulation and clean energy to tackle cost of living crisis

Renews Ltd provides news-focused coverage through unrivalled insights into the inner workings of offshore and onshore wind, wave and tidal power and other generation technologies.

Renews

'Surging power demand boosting GHG emissions'

The head of the International Energy Agency has accused Russia of throttling gas supplies to Europe at a time “of heightened geopolitical tensions” implying Moscow has manufactured an energy crisis for political ends.

Fatih Birol said on Wednesday that the IEA, which represents many big fossil fuel consuming countries, believed Russia was holding back at least a third of the gas it could feasibly send to Europe, while draining Russian-controlled storage facilities on the continent to bolster the impression of tight supplies.

Financial Times

IEA chief accuses Russia of worsening Europe’s gas crisis

Industry expected to report near-record cashflows thanks to rising gas prices, low wind generation and Chinese demand.

Calls for windfall tax as North Sea oil and gas profits soar

While the chief executive of Ukraine’s biggest private energy company scrupulously mentioned the role renewables could play in counteracting the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, he called for his country’s gas market to be liberalized just as the European Commission appears set to rubber stamp gas as ‘sustainable.’

PV Magazine

‘Ukrainian gas – and renewables – can offer Europe energy security’

Operators have scheduled 14.9 gigawatts (GW) of electric generating capacity to retire in the United States during 2022, according to our latest inventory of electric generators. The majority of the scheduled retirements are coal-fired power plants (85%), followed by natural gas (8%) and nuclear (5%).

Coal will account for 85% of U.S. electric generating capacity retirements in 2022

If researchers could find a way to chemically convert carbon dioxide into fuels or other products, they might make a major dent in greenhouse gas emissions. But many such processes that have seemed promising in the lab haven't performed as expected in scaled-up formats that would be suitable for use with a power plant or other emissions sources.

Why some attempts to convert the greenhouse gas into fuel have failed

Croatian LNG import terminal, located on the island of Krk, has received the first cargo in 2022 from a BP-chartered LNG carrier Kinisis.



Offshore Energy

Croatian FSRU takes LNG cargo from Kinisis LNGC

President Berdymukhamedov orders experts to find way to put out five-decade-old blaze Karakum desert.

Turkmenistan plans to extinguish vast gas crater fire dubbed ‘Gateway to hell’

Emissions rose 6 percent last year after a record 10 percent decline in 2020, fueled by a rise in coal power and truck traffic as the U.S. economy rebounded from the pandemic.

U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions Bounced Back Sharply in 2021

Banning Natural Gas, NYC Legislates to Fully Electrify Buildings

Despite the drop in December, LNG exports from the three LNG export facilities off Gladstone Port hit a record high in 2021 with 23.28 million metric tonnes of the chilled fuel.



Australia: Gladstone LNG exports excel in 2021

Normal to above-normal temperatures expected for the Pacific Northwest could deflate regional spot gas prices after wintry weather pushed regional temperatures below normal over the last two weeks.



US Pacific Northwest spot gas prices could fall next week as region warms

Residents in the Groningen area in the Netherlands have voiced their anger at a plan by the Dutch government to potentially double this year production from the Groningen gas field, which has been hit by earthquakes in the past.



Dutch Plan To Boost Gas Output At Earthquake-Prone Site Sparks Anger

Rising fuel costs, especially those of natural gas, drove up wholesale electricity prices in all U.S. regions in 2021, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said in an analysis on Friday.



Higher Natural Gas Prices Push Up U.S. Wholesale Electricity Prices

In the last ten years, Ukraine has sharply reduced its dependence on gas imports, and stopped direct purchases from Russia. In the next ten years, the gas sector will be shaped by Ukraine’s own policy choices. Key issues include the potential role of gas in electricity generation, as coal is phased out. On the consumption side, heat sector reform could produce significant reductions in gas demand. On production, the challenge in the coming years will be to maintain output at around 20 bcm/year, Ukraine is also faced with managing the decline of its gas transportation business, as continued reduction of east-west flows is the most likely prospect.

Ukraine’s energy policy and prospects for the gas sector

Emerging economies in South and Southeast Asia are returning to the spot liquefied natural gas (LNG) market these days, despite the high prices of cargoes, creating additional gas demand globally amid a supply crunch that has seen European gas prices hit record highs in recent weeks.



Rising LNG Demand From South Asia Worsens Global Gas Crisis

Average wholesale prices for electricity at major trading hubs in the United States were higher in 2021 than in 2020 as increasing costs for power generation fuels, especially natural gas, pushed electricity prices higher in the second half of 2021. Constraints on electricity supply as a result of cold weather in the central United States also created price spikes in February 2021.

Wholesale electricity prices trended higher in 2021 due to increasing natural gas prices

Rosneft is seeking access to export gas on Gazprom’s Nord Stream 2 pipeline project

Putin faces judgment call on allies over gas supplies

If Russia sent its troops into the heart of Ukraine, it could spell the end of Nord Stream 2 — an $11 billion natural gas pipeline. Who has the power: Russia or the western allies?

A Russian Invasion Of Ukraine Would Have Profound Implications For International Energy Markets

Natural gas and nuclear are not “bridge fuels” or “transition” fuels, they are the fuels of the future. Why? They  are low- or no-carbon, have small footprints, are affordable, and scalable.

EU Finally Admits Natural Gas And Nuclear Are Key To Decarbonization

The European Commission (EC) called on January 1 for some natural gas and nuclear investments to be included in the EU's taxonomy for what qualifies as sustainable finance, prompting criticism from some member states.

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