Does the winter energy crunch mark the start of a much longer energy crisis? New studies into the oil industry’s diminishing energy returns (EROI) suggest we are slipping down a perilous energy cliff. If the models are to be believed, simply ‘producing more’ might not be possible, and would only make matters worse…

“The reason why oil is $86.50 per barrel today is traditional non-ESG investors saying to the oil sector, ‘you guys stink, you didn’t generate any profits over the last five years’.” That’s a cracking quote from last night’s high-energy podcast with…

Offshore oil and gas operators are by necessity a conservative bunch, but the energy transition is nudging them out of their comfort zone. A major new project to power North Sea offshore platforms using floating offshore wind turbines will require operators to get comfortable with variable output power supply and contract with third party generators und…

The oil market is entering a period of structural volatility amid upstream underinvestment and extreme uncertainty over long-term demand. Against this backdrop, short turnaround investments that can get barrels to market quickly are highly sought-after. The chastised US shale space is sitting on its hands, opening a small-scale but high-margin investmen…

Natural gas prices are soaring across Europe and Asia, propelled by resilient demand and patchy supplies. This demonstrates how deeply gas has become entrenched in the global economy – and how poorly equipped the gas industry is to provide the affordable ‘bridge fuel’ it says the energy transition needs. The partially commoditised nature of gas trade co…

Welcome to the first premium edition of Energy Flux. This issue is securely behind the paywall, so only paying subscribers can read it. Lucky you! 😉 Thank you for supporting Energy Flux. As usual, a million things happened in the energy world last week while I was helping to keep my kids entertained and out of trouble. In today’s ‘catch-up’ issue…

The US fracking industry is redoubling efforts to convince investors that the energy transition will not put it out of business. Amid last month’s frenzy of defensive merger and acquisition deals in the North American shale patch, companies responsible for not insignificant amounts of natural gas flaring, venting and methane leaks—not to mention the pro…

US oil supermajor Chevron’s headline-grabbing USD 13 billion deal to acquire independent outfit Noble Energy was hailed in some quarters as proof that Big Oil is far from dead and buried, no matter what the fossil fuel divest movement might say. Battered and bruised, the supermajors still have a lot of life left in them. Armed with enviable credit rating…