(The Globe and Mail) The U.S. Congress voted on Friday to repeal the 40-year-old ban on exporting U.S. crude oil in an energy policy shift sought by Republicans as part of a bipartisan deal that also provided unprecedented tax incentives for wind and solar power.
(Wall Street Journal) For struggling U.S. oil producers, Congress’ plan to lift the ban on most crude-oil exports is too little, too late.
(FuelFix.com) Houston — Since Congress and the President agreed last week to lift the ban on oil exports the government’s energy forecasting arm decided on Monday to highlight a recent analysis it did on the topic.
(Bloomberg) Venezuela’s new economy minister , who has argued that inflation doesn’t exist “in real life,” said policies to be announced on Jan. 12 would seek to avoid sacrifices by ordinary people as the price the South American country receives for oil exports plunges to a 12-year low.
(artberman.com) Daniel Yergin and other experts say that U.S. tight oil is the swing oil producer of the world.
They are wrong. It is preposterous to say that the world’s largest oil importer is also its swing producer.
There are two types of oil producers in the world: those who have the will and the means to affect market prices, and those who react to them. In other words, the swing producer and everyone else.
(MSN/Reuters) Brent crude oil prices hit their lowest in more than 11 years on Monday, while U.S. crude flirted with seven-year lows on more signs that swelling global supply looked set to outpace tepid demand again next year.
Global oil production is running close to record highs and, with more barrels poised to enter the market from nations such as Iran and Libya, the price of crude is set for its largest monthly percentage decline in seven years.
Brent’s premium over U.S. crude narrowed further as the market braced for the end of a 40-year ban on U.S. crude exports. President Obama signed a law on Friday that will end the ban.
(NY Times) ANCHORAGE — Oil money no longer pays the bills here. The governor, facing a profound fiscal crisis, has proposed the imposition of a personal income tax for the first time in 35 years. State lawmakers, who recently moved into a palatial new office building here, where they work when not toiling in the far-off Capitol in Juneau, are now seeking less costly digs.
(Peak Oil Barrel) Guest post by Verwimp Bruno.
Peak Oil is the moment in time when, on a global scale, the maximum rate of oil production is reached. The moment after which oil production, by nature, must decline forever. Since Earth is a closed system, next to this production (supply) event, there must be an equal demand event: Peak Oil Consumption.
If the ban on US oil exports is lifted…] “The net effect of export of American oil on the market is zero. This will have no effect on the price because the U.S. still is an importing country. They export some, but they need to import the same quantity from somewhere else.”
Abdalla El-Badri, Secretary-General of OPEC
“The long-term price of oil is literally unforecastable. The only thing that can be said with absolute certainty is that oil prices will continue to defy the expectations of experts.”
John Kemp, Reuters
