By Sam Potter, Anchalee Worrachate and Justina Lee Mar 27, 2020 (Bloomberg) It’s more than a month since the sell-off began. In that time, tens of trillions of dollars of value was wiped off global stock gauges, corporate borrowing costs exploded, and access to short-term funding all but evaporated. It was nothing to what was happening … Read moreFive More Crazy Days on Wall Street Drag Markets Back From Brink

By Scott DiSavino March 27 (Reuters) – U.S. energy firms cut the most oil rigs in a week since April 2015, removing rigs for a second week in a row as a coronavirus-related slump in economic activity and fuel demand has forced massive retrenchment in investment by oil and gas companies. Drillers cut 40 oil … Read moreU.S. oil drillers cut the most rigs in a week in nearly 5 years -Baker Hughes

By Catherine Ngai Mar 27, 2020 (Bloomberg) The oil market turmoil sparked by Saudi Arabia and Russia is threatening U.S. jobs even in Cut Bank, Montana, and Magnolia, Arkansas — relatively obscure communities in the world of energy. In such places, mom-and-pop outfits run so-called stripper wells, which generate no more than 15 barrels a day. After … Read moreOil Pain Spreads Beyond Permian to Small Towns Across America

By Javier Blas  Mar 27, 2020 (Bloomberg) Only the old hands at the Coffeyville oil refinery could remember anything like the prices posted this month. The small Kansas plant in the heart of rural America was offering just $1.75 a barrel for Wyoming sweet crude. With more than two billion people on virus lockdown from India … Read moreOil Industry Braces for Biggest Idling of Wells in 35 Years

The U.S. Department of Energy said on Thursday it has ditched plans to purchase crude for the nation’s emergency reserve due to a lack of funding from Congress, dealing a blow to President Donald Trump’s plan to give relief to energy companies amid the global oil market collapse. Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette had asked lawmakers … Read moreU.S. Department of Energy ditches plans to buy oil for strategic reserve

By Ann Koh and Alex Longley Mar 26, 2020 (Bloomberg)Oil’s recovery rally went into reverse as broad weakness across physical crude markets compounded mounting evidence of the demand devastation being wrought by the coronavirus. Futures in New York fell 3.2% to below $24 a barrel. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. warned that crude demand would decline … Read moreOil Rally Falters With Demand Dread Precipitating Huge Glut

By Akshat Rathi Mar 26, 2020 (Bloomberg)Hydropower—converting moving water into energy—is the single biggest source of clean power in the world, but relies on a 200-year-old technology that hasn’t changed all that much. Natel Energy Inc., a California-based hydro power startup, has developed a new turbine that updates that technology, and now the company is … Read moreBill Gates-led Fund Invests in Startup That Built a New Hydropower Turbine

By Alex Longley and Annmarie Hordern Mar 25, 2020 (Bloomberg) Oil turned lower on an unprecedented hit to consumption, even as policy makers committed trillions of dollars to offset the harm from the global pandemic.Futures in London erased earlier gains to trade down 3.3%. The boss of Vitol Group said demand is down about 15 … Read moreOil Slumps Again as Collapsing Demand Counters Stimulus Efforts

By Alex Longley and Javier Blas Mar 25, 2020 (Bloomberg) As oil crashes due to the impact of the coronavirus, it’s easy to overlook an even more dismal reality for producers: the real prices they’re getting for their barrels are worse still. Having collapsed by about 60% this year, Brent and West Texas Intermediate crude have … Read moreOil’s 60% Crash Is the Tip of an Iceberg. The Reality Is Worse

By Jessica Summers and Barbara Powell Mar 24, 2020 Oil refiners across the U.S. are being forced to throttle back operations amid a historic plunge in gasoline demand and prices. Plants representing more than 10% of U.S. fuel-making capacity have cut back. Exxon Mobil Corp. has slowed rates at facilities in Texas and Louisiana, while … Read moreCheapest Gasoline Since 1999 Has America’s Refiners Throttling Back

(Bloomberg) Chevron Corp. became the latest major oil company to take an ax to its budget after halting its $5 billion-a-year share buyback and halving spending in the Permian Basin, which means a large decrease in projected output from America’s biggest shale region. The California-based oil giant said Tuesday it’s lowering projected 2020 capital spending by … Read moreChevron Halts Share Buybacks, Slashes Permian on Oil Rout

By Will Wade  Mar 24, 2020 (Bloomberg) U.S. regulators are willing to let nuclear power plants defer some maintenance and inspections as the coronavirus threatens availability of workers. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission expects to issue guidelines on Friday for operators to request permission for employees to work longer than allowed under current regulations. The agency expects … Read moreU.S. to Let Nuclear Plants Defer Repairs, Schedule Longer Shifts

By Mike Jeffers and Jackie Davalos Mar 23, 2020 (Bloomberg) U.S. gasoline futures settled at the lowest in more than two decades as the coronavirus pandemic crushed demand and forced local governments across the country to issue shelter-in-place orders. Nymex futures prices fell 32% on Monday. The price fallout has also forced widespread production cuts at … Read moreGasoline Futures Plummet to 20-Year Low On Flatlining Demand

March 23, 2020 Reuters The Trump administration will appoint Victoria Coates as a special energy representative to Saudi Arabia as Washington struggles to deal with a global oil price crash that drags on the economy and threatens U.S. energy producers, an Energy Department official said. Coates, who was one of President Donald Trump’s longest serving security … Read moreTrying to Find a Solution: U.S. to Send Coates as Special Energy Envoy to Saudi Arabia

By Joe Carroll Rachel Adams-Heard Kevin Crowley Texas regulators, drillers split over wisdom of imposing caps Proponent of limits in Texas fields says industry’s at risk Prospects of a rare détente between OPEC and the biggest U.S. oil state faded as quickly as they rose as Texas regulators and explorers clashed over a proposal to … Read moreFleeting OPEC-Shale Détente Exposes Wildcat Roots of U.S. Oil

By Ann Koh, James Thornhill and Grant Smith  Mar 23, 2020 (Bloomberg) Oil dropped toward the lowest level since 2003 as demand plunged as governments froze economic activity to combat the coronavirus, and prospects for a OPEC-Texas production deal faded.Futures in London fell 5.6% to near $25 a barrel as some traders estimate crude demand will collapse by … Read moreOil Falls to Near 2003 Levels as Demand Plunges, OPEC Hopes Fade

By David Wethe  Mar 20, 2020 (Bloomberg) One of the most painful busts in the history of crude oil happened just six years ago when a sharp price drop cost 200,000 roughnecks, almost half the entire workforce, their jobs.And now, the spread of the coronavirus coupled with an oil-price war between Russia and Saudi Arabia threatens … Read moreTens of Thousands Are Getting Laid Off in U.S. Shale Patch

March 20, 2020 Reuters U.S. energy firms cut the most oil rigs in a week in almost a year as a meltdown in oil and natural gas prices due to the coronavirus outbreak has forced producers to deepen cuts in spending on new drilling.Drillers cut 19 oil rigs in the week to March 20, bringing the … Read moreU.S. drillers this week cut most oil rigs since April -Baker Hughes

By Jackie Davalos Mar 20, 2020 (Bloomberg) Oil capped its biggest weekly decline in almost three decades as concern that the collapse of global fuel demand will deepen outweighed talks between OPEC and Texas’s energy regulator.Futures in New York tumbled 11% Friday, bringing the week’s plunge to 29%, the biggest since January 1991. Some traders … Read moreOil Suffers Biggest Weekly Loss Since 1991 With Demand in Focus

March 19, 2020 Reuters Continental Resources Inc and Diamondback Energy on Thursday unveiled drastic cuts to their annual budgets as oil and gas producers look to run a tight ship following the recent plunge in oil prices.North American shale producers have cut planned expenditures between 25% and 55% on average, as crude prices have plummeted to … Read moreMore North American producers trim budgets to cushion oil price crash

By Stephen Cunningham Mar 19, 2020 (Bloomberg) The $10 billion Jordan Cove project, which would be the first liquefied natural gas export terminal on the U.S. West Coast in the lower 48 states, was approved by federal regulators even as it faces intense local opposition.The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission cleared Pembina Pipeline Corp.’s plan to construct a terminal … Read moreFirst West Coast LNG Export Terminal Cleared by U.S. Regulator

By Steven T. Dennis, Billy House and Laura Litvan  Mar 19, 2020 (Bloomberg)Congressional leaders and the White House are racing to draft an economic rescue plan that could exceed the size and scope of the emergency measures taken during the 2008 financial crisis. Soaring layoffs, plunging markets and shuttered schools, shops and factories caused by the … Read moreCongress, White House in Race at ‘Warp Speed’ for Huge Stimulus

By Laura Hurst and  Kevin Crowley March 18, 2020 Yields of 10%-plus suggest concern the payouts may not be safe Oil is too low for most majors to cover spending and dividends To understand the crisis engulfing the world’s largest oil companies, just look at their dividend yields. Exxon Mobil Corp., for decades considered one … Read moreBig Oil’s Big Crisis: Saving Sacred Dividends From Collapse

By David Wethe and Lynn Doan  Mar 18, 2020 (Bloomberg) Halliburton Co., the world’s biggest provider of fracking services, will furlough about 3,500 workers at its Houston headquarters as crude prices plunged to an 18-year low.The mandatory time-off will last as long as 60 days, Halliburton said in an emailed statement. Employees will work one-week-on, one-week-off … Read moreHalliburton Furloughs 3,500 Workers at Texas Headquarters

By Bloomberg News Mar 18, 2020 (Bloomberg) President Donald Trump invoked the Defense Production Act, allowing the government to boost manufacturing of masks and protective equipment. Europe surpassed China in the number of coronavirus infections.The president also ordered a Navy hospital ship with 1,000 beds to head to New York Harbor. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo … Read moreWORLD VIRUS UPDATE: Trump Invokes Defense Act; Europe Passes China & More

Erwin Seba, Gary McWilliams HOUSTON (Reuters) – Major energy companies in the United States imposed work-from-home rules for office staff and began health checks for remote or critical workers as coronavirus spread and threatened an industry reeling from falling demand and profits. FILE PHOTO: Crew members look over idle oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico … Read moreU.S. Oil giants set health checks for critical staff, work-from-home rules

The U.S. oil drilling rig count rose for a second week in a row despite a massive drop in both oil and natural gas prices this week and projections by many analysts that the number of rigs will fall as producers deepen their spending cuts on new drilling.Companies added one oil rig in the week … Read moreU.S. oil rig count rises for second week in a row

By Jennifer A. Dlouhy, Stephen Cunningham and Ari Natter Mar 15, 2020 (Bloomberg)The U.S. is preparing to start buying as much as 77 million barrels of oil for its emergency stockpiles within the next two weeks, an effort by President Donald Trump to support the domestic industry and boost reserves at cheap prices.While purchases of … Read moreU.S. to Start Buying Oil for Emergency Reserve Within Two Weeks

By David Wethe Mar 13, 2020 (Bloomberg)  In a week of brutal equity market losses that were sparked in large part by a plunge in oil prices, the single biggest gainer in the S&P 500 Index was, curiously, one with the word oil in it. Cabot Oil & Gas Corp. amassed a 12% weekly advance, … Read moreBiggest Weekly Gainer in S&P 500 Is, Oddly, a Shale Driller

By Bloomberg News Mar 13, 2020 (Bloomberg)  House Democrats reached a deal with the Trump administration on legislation to help Americans cope with the coronavirus outbreak as U.S. cases topped 2,100. President Donald Trump, who declared a national emergency, said the next eight weeks will be critical. Trump’s plans to buttress the U.S. medical capacity … Read moreUPDATE: Pelosi Reaches Funding Deal; Stocks Rebound; U.S. Cases Top 2,100: Virus Update

By Alex Longley Mar 13, 2020 (Bloomberg) Oil is headed for its largest weekly collapse since 2008 as a bitter price war erupted between Saudi Arabia and Russia, and coronavirus contagion cratered demand. Futures in New York are down 18% this week. The crude surplus may reach a record high by April as the two former … Read moreOil Heads for Worst Week Since 2008 as Price War Grips Market

By Catherine Ngai and Michael Roschnotti Mar 13, 2020 (Bloomberg) In the aftermath of the 2014 oil crash, U.S. shale learned a painful lesson: Not all hedging strategies pay off. Countless producers were left exposed to big losses after oil plunged to levels that made their insurance less valuable. Now, as the shale industry tries to … Read moreOil Hedge Strategy That Failed Shale in 2014 Is Burning It Again

By Liam Denning Mar 12, 2020 (Bloomberg Opinion) Calls for the Trump administration to provide financial aid for frackers have drawn denunciations of socialism. If anything, with oil trading around just $31 a barrel, the critics don’t go far enough. Because directing state resources into producing yet more of a thing manifestly not in demand isn’t just socialism; it’s the Soviet-grade, tractor-quota good … Read moreFracking Needs a Shakeout, Not a Bailout: Liam Denning

By Michael Bellusci Mar 12, 2020 (Bloomberg) The worsening rout in oil prices is driving U.S. energy stocks to 16-year lows. The S&P 500 Energy Index fell more than 10% on Thursday to its lowest since March 2004. The 27-member index has fallen almost 30% this week as crude lost about a quarter of its value. The sector … Read moreEnergy Stocks Sink to Sixteen-Year Low on Crude’s Extended Drop

Mar 12, 2020 (Bloomberg)It had all the trappings of a classic Warren Buffett deal. There were the preferred shares created just for him, the warrants giving him an option to buy more common stock and a hefty dividend — 8%, which came to a cool $800 million a year on the $10 billion he plunked down.On … Read moreBuffett’s Occidental Bet That Infuriated Icahn Is Hit Hard by Oil Crash

By Pratish Narayanan, Stephen Cunningham and Jennifer A. Dlouhy Mar 12, 2020 (Bloomberg) If Donald Trump wanted to shield U.S. shale from oil’s crash, he could unleash a familiar weapon against rival producers such as Saudi Arabia: tariffs. The U.S. president’s trade war with China that spawned tit-for-tat levies has shown his administration is willing to … Read moreTrump’s Answer to the Oil Crash Could Be a Tax on Saudi Crude

By Elizabeth Low and Alex Longley Mar 12, 2020 (Bloomberg) Oil slumped further after President Donald Trump said the U.S. would restrict travel from Europe for the next 30 days in an attempt to contain the coronavirus, pummeling fuel demand.Futures in London fell as much as 7% with the market’s structure continuing to collapse. Trump also called on … Read moreOil Slump Deepens After Trump Limits Travel in Blow to Demand

By Jackie Davalos  Mar 11, 2020 (Bloomberg) Oil resumed its slide alongside equities after Saudi Arabia said it would raise its production capacity and the World Health Organization declared the coronavirus a pandemic. Futures declined 4% in New York. The battle for market share intensified as Saudi Aramco announced plans to boost its oil production capacity to 13 … Read moreOil Tumbles Amid OPEC Market Share Battle, Virus Pandemic

By Jennifer A. Dlouhy and Stephen Cunningham Mar 11, 2020 (Bloomberg) President Donald Trump has made the achievement of “American energy dominance” a centerpiece of his re-election bid and a symbol of his pledge to restore U.S. industrial might.There’s just one problem: It may no longer be true. The decision by Saudi Arabia and Russia to … Read moreOil-Price War Threatens to Erase Trump Bid for Energy Dominance

March 10, 2020 Reuters Occidental Petroleum Corp on Tuesday became the latest to join a growing list of hard-pressed North American oil producers slashing spending and drilling after crude prices slumped to their lowest levels in more than three years. Chevron Corp became the first global oil major to say it was also looking to cut … Read moreNorth American oil companies slash spending to cope with $30/bbl crude

By Matthew Martin, Javier Blas and Grant Smith Mar 10, 2020 (Bloomberg) Saudi Arabia escalated its oil price war with Russia on Tuesday, as its state-owned company pledged to supply a record 12.3 million barrels a day next month, a massive increase to flood the market.The supply hike — more than 25% higher than last month’s … Read moreSaudis Escalate Price War With Huge Output Hike, Russia Follows