U.S. LNG producers are scaling back ambitions and are looking to survive in what could be the worst economic environment since the Great Depression. U.S. LNG will get through this, but not without serious pain. COVID is shaking assumptions about demand growth. Most industry analysts believed 2020 incremental world LNG… Read more »
Posts Categorized: Blogs
2020: The Year of Shut-Ins
U.S. shale, spooked by negative prices last Monday, shows some signs of averting a storage max-out – but it is far too soon to declare victory. The latest EIA data suggests inventory builds are slowing. On the demand side, refinery inputs rose slightly, crude imports and exports ticked up, and… Read more »
Shut-ins update: U.S. crude production is declining
In last week’s article we warned that the next few weeks and months could be very ugly for crude prices due to fundamental supply and demand factors. Even so, our jaws were on the floor at seeing Monday’s WTI May contract trade at -$37/barrel. As most of our readers are… Read more »
Production shut-ins: financial and physical constraints
With WTI prices flirting with $20/barrel or even lower, many U.S. tight oil producers are considering shut-ins. Which types of producers are at the greatest risk of shut-ins, and why? While COVID-19 is injecting uncertainty into the market, we believe that many U.S. and international producers are at very high… Read more »
An umbrella in a hurricane: the pause in US-China trade war and implications for U.S. LNG
The US and China have reached a (temporary) truce in the trade war, raising hopes that U.S. LNG exporters can tap demand in the world’s second largest LNG importer. Indeed, four tankers carrying U.S. LNG are en route to China. We are skeptical that Chinese buyers will ink long-term contracts… Read more »
Corpus Christi is the new king of U.S. crude oil exports
Corpus Christi has replaced Houston as the largest port for U.S. crude exports. Although COVID-19 is injecting extreme uncertainty into energy markets, Corpus will likely remain the king of U.S. crude oil exports due to its proximity to producing basins, pipeline and storage buildouts, and commercial operation of new export… Read more »