Petropolitics

Retaliation Risk Rises Following Iranian Oil Tanker Seizure
Iranian threats to disrupt shipping through the Strait of Hormuz highlights the precarious political nature of the oil market—and recent events show why this threat must be taken seriously. Read More
Petropolitics

Venezuela Faces More Outages As Trump Admin Mulls Escalation
As the Trump administration weighs its geopolitical priorities, the future of Venezuela's oil sector hangs in the balance. Read More
Petropolitics

OPEC Cut Extension Highlights Need for NOPEC
OPEC's collusive actions run counter to established international anti-competitive norms at American expense. But by amending the Sherman Act, NOPEC offers a tool to combat these activities. Read More
Petropolitics

U.S-Iran Tension Still Simmers, But Oil Market Well-Supplied
Against the backdrop of rising tension in the Persian Gulf, OPEC+ will meet to decide next steps Read More
Petropolitics

Infrastructure Week Hearings Point Toward U.S. Solutions for Fallout From Rising Mideast Tensions
The oil price increase sparked by the recent attacks on Saudi oil tankers is concerning for the United States, because oil is the lifeblood of the American economy. Read More
OPEC/MENA

Geopolitical Risk Rises For Oil
A series of apparent attacks on oil infrastructure in the Arabian Peninsula thrusted geopolitical risk to the forefront of market concerns. Against a backdrop of an already tightening supply-demand balance, the possibility of a serious supply outage poses a major risk to market stability. Read More
OPEC/MENA

After the Shock: How to Interpret Oil Post-Abqaiq
The immediate impact of Abqaiq may have been minor, but the long-term lessons from this incident are bound to become more clear with time. Read More
OPEC/MENA

After Abqaiq, Major Questions About Security of Supply
After the Abqaiq attacks, some analysts believe the market is overlooking rising geopolitical risk. Read More
OPEC/MENA

A New Hand on the Wheel: Changes in the Saudi Energy Leadership
Saudi Arabia's third oil minister in three years, Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman will be tasked with delivering Saudi Aramco's IPO Read More
OPEC/MENA

Supply Surplus Puts OPEC+ in a Bind
OPEC has few choices at its disposal to manage the swelling oil market surplus, most of which are unpalatable. Read More
OPEC/MENA

Tepid Response to Persian Gulf Instability Highlights—and Masks—Bigger Problems
Weaker demand has allowed traders to shrug off recent events in the Persian Gulf. But a belief that a return to the days of the tanker war is unlikely may be misplaced. Read More
OPEC/MENA

OPEC+ Extends Cuts For 9 Months, But Risks Remain
While the result from Vienna is ostensibly a success, there are obvious cracks in OPEC’s cohesion, as well as in its strategy to tighten up the market. Read More
OPEC/MENA

OPEC: New and Improved?
Smaller producers are eager to work with OPEC or join the cartel in an effort to boost their reputation, amplify their market clout, and gather research, information, and resources to attract investment. Read More
OPEC/MENA

Petrostates, International Soccer, and Soft Power
Major oil producing countries, and wealthy individuals in certain petrostates, have injected billions of dollars into soccer clubs, mostly in European leagues, and their reach is spreading in an attempt to promote their “soft power.” Read More
Petropolitics

Polish Refinery’s Imports of U.S. Crude Send Strong Signal to Moscow
With purchases of U.S. crude, European countries are able to reduce Russia’s leverage and force Moscow to negotiate and be more cooperative. Read More
OPEC/MENA

Saudi Arabia and Russia Deepen Energy Ties, Set to Continue Oil Market ‘Cooperation’
Saudi Arabia and Russia successfully collaborating on tightening fundamentals and lifting prices, if it continues, will likely have large ramifications for the global oil market in the future, given that both are in a position of strength with high production volumes and large proven reserves. Read More
Oil and the Economy

U.S. LNG Arrives in Europe, Set to Compete With Russian Gas
While U.S. LNG will play second fiddle to pipeline gas from Russia in the European market, the mere fact that Gazprom has granted pricing concessions is a sign that Europe's LNG imports are having a significant effect. Read More
Petropolitics

Energy Implications of Tighter U.S. Sanctions on Russia
The new sanctions will still tighten the screws on Russia’s energy sector, altering how the country does business with the global energy industry and increasing risks of partnering with Russian companies. Read More