crude
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Too much oil?
Oil prices were supposed to stabilize in 2017, but instead they dropped by about 20 percent. The reason appears to be more technological progress in the shale industry and the ineffectiveness of OPEC’s production cuts. In response, the oil cartel may decide to reverse its strategy and punish high-cost competitors by increasing supply – sending prices even lower.
OPEC and the scope for meaningful intervention
OPEC’s informal gathering in Algiers on September 28 has sent a signal to the international community that the organization can still act coherently. For the first time since 2008, OPEC announced a coordinated production cut. Market forces are at work to limit the impact of this intervention, however, even if ...
Russia and the Gulf – strange affinities
Russia and the Saudi-led Gulf states have been at loggerheads over Syria, Iran and oil markets. Yet in the power vacuum left by U.S. disengagement from the Middle East, they have more in common than meets the eye.
Kazakhstan-EU energy cooperation threatens Russian interests
In December 2015, the European Union and Kazakhstan signed a new “enhanced partnership and cooperation agreement,” which, among other things, calls for greater collaboration on energy issues. Closer ties – whether in the form of natural gas supplies or green technologies – could benefit both sides. However, the success of ...
Argentina weighs up energy price adjustment
Argentine President Mauricio Macri must cope with an energy sector in dire straits. Policy over the past decade has been inconsistent and often counterproductive. Subsidies weigh heavily on public finances. However, reforming the hydrocarbon extraction and refining industries should prove far easier politically than solving the country’s challenges in electricity ...
