http://nrgmatters.blogsome.com Just another WordPress weblog Wed, 14 Dec 2005 17:04:22 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en U.S. and global oil demand will slip as winter weather ebbs in 2Q 2006, but crude oil prices will rise from winter levels, according to a close reading of the Energy Information Administration’s latest Short-Term Energy Outlook, which was released Tuesday. The forecast, if borne out, will be another example that ... http://nrgmatters.blogsome.com/2005/12/06/eia-sees-2q-06-weakness-for-oil-demand-but-not-crude-price/ The trial of Saddam Hussein in a Baghdad court room isn’t lacking high drama, grisly testimony or bizarre theater. What it does lack - so far - is any testimony directly linking the former Iraqi leader to the killing of 148 Shiite men in Dujail, north of Baghdad, in ... http://nrgmatters.blogsome.com/2005/12/06/grisly-testimony-but-saddam-not-yet-linked-to-iraq-killings/ A visit to Dharan, Saudi Arabia, by a reporter from The New York Times yields some interesting color and an exotic dateline, but story Tuesday doesn’t shed much light on what’s motivating the world’s largest oil producer and exporter. The story attempts to unwrap the enigma in the ... http://nrgmatters.blogsome.com/2005/12/06/cant-talk-about-saudi-oil-policy-without-talking-price/ The record-breaking 2005 hurricane season officially ended less than a week ago. So, it is time to start buying plywood, nails and duct tape - and energy futures - ahead of next year? Veteran Colorado State University hurricane forecaster William Gray predicts 2006 will be active, but not as severe at ... http://nrgmatters.blogsome.com/2005/12/06/busy-06-hurricane-season-but-not-deja-vu-forecaster-says/ Exxon Mobil on Monday announced a return to doing business with Libya while seeming to downplay the news under the cryptic headline: ExxonMobil Signs EPSA IV Agreement for Exploration in Offshore Cyrenaica Basin. Exxon confirmed that its subsidiary, ExxonMobil Libya Ltd., has signed an exploration and production sharing agreement, or ... http://nrgmatters.blogsome.com/2005/12/05/exxon-cryptically-returns-to-libya/ OPEC ministers, ahead of their Dec. 12 talks, are saying they want to keep output policy steady and oil prices near current levels of $50 for their reference basket (about $57 for US benchmark crude). That sets the stage for a potentially routine meeting. But there’s an interesting twist to ... http://nrgmatters.blogsome.com/2005/12/05/opec-pressing-its-luck-with-warm-weather-winter-talks/ It’s hard to believe Hugo Chavez was on the ropes just two years ago. Venezuela’s oil industry was paralyzed by a crippling strike and exports were choked off to its most important market - the U.S. - at the start of the winter. Fast forward to a buoyant Chavez, claiming a ... http://nrgmatters.blogsome.com/2005/12/05/chavez-turns-up-heating-on-bush-with-cheap-oil-offer/ Nymex January crude oil surging Monday to return firmly above $60 as the season’s first snows and continued cold temperatures chill the Northeast. With OPEC meeting Dec. 12 and expected to continue to pump at current levels, future moves will be based on weather-related demand, expectations of weather-related demand or ... http://nrgmatters.blogsome.com/2005/12/05/be-short-or-be-wrong-but-for-how-long/ With oil prices up 36.5% this year and producers keeping taps wide open, where are all those petrodollars flowing to? One clue comes Monday from a report by the Bank for International Settlements. In a quarterly report, BIS said oil-exporters are pumping a bigger share of their wealth ... http://nrgmatters.blogsome.com/2005/12/05/where-have-all-the-petrodollars-gone/ The Bush administration has come under fire for paying Iraqi newspapers to publish ‘’good news'’ stories. Headlines Monday of a surge in Iraqi oil revenues this year seem to be the kind of news Washington would love to see - and it didn’t cost a dollar or even a ... http://nrgmatters.blogsome.com/2005/12/05/more-good-news-from-iraq/