Title Title Title (11/30/2016)

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Tighter marine fuel sulfur limits will spark changes by both refiners and vessel operators (11/23/2016)

The sulfur content of transportation fuels has been declining for many years due to increasingly stringent regulations. In the United States, federal and state regulations limit the amount of sulfur present in motor gasoline, diesel fuel, and heating oil. New international regulations limiting sulfur in fuels for ocean-going vessels, set to take effect in 2020, have further implications for both refiners and vessel operators at a time of high uncertainty in future crude oil prices, which will be a major factor in their decisions. ... More »

Planned refinery outages through year-end not expected to constrain availability of transportation fuels (11/16/2016)

A recently released report by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) finds that planned refinery maintenance is not expected to affect adversely the supply of gasoline, jet fuel, and distillate fuel in the United States through the end of 2016. Refinery outages result from both the planned shutdown of refinery units for maintenance and upgrades, and from unplanned shutdowns from a variety of causes such as mechanical failure, bad weather, power failures, fire, and flooding. Planned maintenance is typically scheduled when refined petroleum product consumption is relatively low. ... More »

EIA forecasts $51 per barrel 2017 Brent crude oil price (11/9/2016)

The U.S. Energy Information Administration's (EIA) Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO) released on November 8 forecasts that North Sea Brent crude oil prices will average $43 per barrel (b) in 2016 and $51/b in 2017. EIA expects that West Texas Intermediate (WTI) prices will average $43/b in 2016 and $50/b in 2017. ... More »

Stable oil prices, improving credit conditions contributing to rise in merger and acquisition activity (11/2/2016)

Exploration and production (E and P) companies are increasing merger and acquisition (M and A) spending in the United States as stable crude oil prices and improved credit conditions in recent months allowed some companies to purchase assets or entire companies. The increase in M and A spending also suggests improved investor sentiment in the oil industry. The deals are concentrated in the Permian region of the United States, the area where the most drilling rigs have been deployed recently. The Permian is also the only onshore area where production is expected to increase in the next few months. ... More »