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The dynamics of the oil industry have changed dramatically since the beginning of 2010. Because of the U.S. shale revolution, the U.S. is now a country with oil production rivaling that of Saudi Arabia and Russia. The fundamental shift in oil power has come as a direct result of investment in the technology of horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing of tight oil formations in the U.S. In 2010, U.S. production from tight oil shale formations were marginal in comparison to total U.S. oil production; however, tight oil now makes up 52 percent of all U.S. oil production.

The Financial Crisis Of 2016 Rolls On – China, Oil, Copper And Junk Bonds All Continue To Crash Never before have we seen a year start like this. On Monday, Chinese stocks crashed once again. The Shanghai Composite Index plummeted another 5.29 percent, and this comes on the heels of two historic single day crashes last week. All of this chaos over in China is one of the factors that continues to push commodity prices even lower. Today the price of copper fell another 2.40 percent to $1.97, and the price of oil continued to implode. At one point the...

Does The Gulf Spill Mean The U.S. Is Headed For Gas Lines, Higher Food Prices And A Broken Economy? Michael Snyder Jun. 23, 2010, 6:09 AM As the Gulf of Mexico oil spill crisis enters a third month, the economic impact of this environmental nightmare is starting to become clearer. The truth is that the "oil volcano" spewing massive amounts of oil into the Gulf has absolutely decimated the seafood, tourism and real estate industries along the Gulf coast. Not only that, but energy industry insiders are now warning that the chilling effect that this crisis will have on offshore...

HOUSTON - This month Iraq will finalize contracts with the likes of ExxonMobil, Royal Dutch Shell and BP to develop some of its biggest oil fields. These giants are among the world's last remaining pockets of so-called "easy oil." They don't require ultradeep drilling or innovative production techniques, just the application of Big Oil know-how. No wonder the oil companies agreed to develop Iraq's fields without even getting an ownership stake in the fields and collecting as little as $1.15 per barrel recovered. Given the size of Iraq's undeveloped giants there are no technical reasons why within 10 years the...

Dear Reader, Civilization as we know it is coming to an end soon. This is not the wacky proclamation of a doomsday cult, apocalypse bible prophecy sect, or conspiracy theory society. Rather, it is the scientific conclusion of the best paid, most widely-respected geologists, physicists, and investment bankers in the world. These are rational, professional, conservative individuals who are absolutely terrified by a phenomenon known as global “Peak Oil.” "Are We 'Running Out'? I Thought There Was 40 Years of the Stuff Left" Oil will not just "run out" because all oil production follows a bell curve. This is true...

Last week the price of benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil came within pennies of its nominal record of $55.67 per barrel. The recent oil-price run-up has ignited concerns that the trend could take some steam out of America's robust economy, which has grown by more than 8.5 percent during the past two years. There were also fears that the recent WTI price spike, which reflected an increase of more than 20 percent from one month earlier and more than 50 percent from a year ago, could jeopardize last year's solid expansion of the global economy.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices retreated sharply after setting record highs above $55 a barrel on Monday as dealers took profits on signs that energy costs are hurting economic growth. U.S. light crude slid a $1.26 to settle at $53.67 a barrel, after hitting a new $55.33 peak, on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude in London fell $1.02 to end at $48.91 a barrel on the International Petroleum Exchange.