Important Takeaways:
- Should Venezuela invade its oil-rich neighbor? Maduro will put it to a vote Sunday
- Venezuelans going to the polls Sunday will be asked to answer an unusually provocative question:
- Should their government be given a blank check to invade neighboring Guyana, and wrest away three-quarters of its oil-rich territory?
- The question will be on the ballot in a five-part referendum that, among other things, would grant Maduro special powers to invade Guyana and create a new Venezuelan state encompassing 74% of English-speaking Guyana’s current landmass. The new area would be called Guayana Esequiba.
- Some experts see the whole thing as a political ploy, though many Guyanese see the threat as real and fear, among other things, the loss of their citizenship.
- The growing tensions became evident this week when Brazil — a close ally of both nations that shares its border with both — sent top foreign advisor Celso Amorin to mediate while announcing that it was increasing its military presence along its northern border amid fears that the long-standing dispute could turn into a war.
- The border dispute between Guyana and Venezuela stretches back to the second half of the 19th century, and escalated after Guyana began discovering oil on its territory a few years ago. Venezuela claims ownership of about 61,600 square miles of Guyana — a chunk of land slightly smaller than the state of Florida called the Essequibo — tracing its possession to the time both countries were European colonies. Although Venezuela has unceasingly contested an 1899 ruling made by international arbitrators that established the current borders between the two countries, it had allowed the issue to remain on the back burner for decades
Read the original article by clicking here.
Important Takeaways:
- Oil prices could reach ‘uncharted waters’ if the Israel-Hamas war escalates, the World Bank says
- The World Bank reported on Monday that oil prices could be pushed into “uncharted waters” if the violence between Israel and Hamas intensifies, which could result in increased food prices worldwide.
- The World Bank’s Commodity Markets Outlook found that while the effects on oil prices should be limited if the conflict doesn’t widen, the outlook “would darken quickly if the conflict were to escalate.”
- And the threat of escalation looms. Israeli tanks and infantry pushed into Gaza over the weekend as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced a “second stage” in the war. Hamas officials have called for more regional assistance from allies, including Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon.
- The World Bank report simulates three scenarios for the global oil supply in the event of a small, medium or large disruption.
- Effects should be limited if the conflict doesn’t widen in a “small disruption” scenario — as oil prices are expected to decline from current levels of roughly $90 a barrel to an average of $81 a barrel next year, the World Bank estimates.
- But during a “medium disruption” — equivalent to the disruptions experienced during the Iraq war — the global oil supply of about 100 million barrels a day would decline by 3 million to 5 million barrels per day, driving oil prices up possibly by 35%.
- In a “large disruption” scenario — comparable to the Arab oil embargo of 1973 — the global oil supply would shrink by 6 million to 8 million barrels per day and prices could go up by 56% to 75%, or to $140 to $157 a barrel, according to the report.
- Indermit Gill, the World Bank’s chief economist, said Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has already had disruptive effects on the global economy “that persist to this day.”
- “If the conflict were to escalate, the global economy would face a dual energy shock for the first time in decades — not just from the war in Ukraine but also from the Middle East,” Gill said.
Read the original article by clicking here.
Important Takeaways:
- Oil could hit $150, sending ‘shock through system,’ says top shale CEO
- That’s Doug Lawler, chief executive of Continental Resources, the shale-drilling giant controlled by billionaire Harold Hamm, telling Bloomberg News on Monday that crude prices are set to remain elevated and could press to the $120- to $150-a-barrel range without new production.
- More price pressure is coming, he said, unless policies are put in place to encourage more output.
- West Texas Intermediate crude CL00, 0.00% CL.1, 0.01%, the U.S. benchmark, edged back below $90 a barrel on Monday but remains up more than 34% from its 52-week low of $66.74 hit on March 17.
- Lawler said he thought oil “absolutely” would hit the $100-a-barrel threshold and that he expects to see continued volatility in the $80- to $100-a-barrel price environment.
Read the original document by clicking here.
Important Takeaways:
- FBN’s, Energy Analyst Flynn: We Can’t Do Anything About Saudi, Russian Oil Cuts Because SPR Is Drained
- FOX Business Contributor and Price Futures Group Senior Account Executive Phil Flynn stated that consumers will feel the rise in crude oil prices in the wake of Saudi Arabia and Russia extending production cuts, and noted that due to the low levels in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve due to releases from the reserve, “there’s not anything that we can do about” Saudi Arabia and Russia “trying to stick it to the United States” by slashing oil production.
- Host Bret Baier asked, “[C]rude oil prices rising above $87 for the first time since November ’22. The last time oil neared $90, the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve had 250 million more barrels of crude oil than it does. And if you look at the last three months, it’s a steady rise here. So, consumers are feeling it, right?”
- Flynn responded, “They’re going to be feeling it, and probably more than ever. And it’s great that you pointed out the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, because the releases from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, Bret, gave the market this false sense of confidence that everything was okay in the global oil market. By releasing that oil, though, they artificially lowered prices. They discouraged investment. So, U.S. oil production is starting to plateau at a time [when] it normally would be rising to meet demand. That’s not happening. That’s leaving a void. And now, Saudi Arabia and Russia are taking advantage of this, trying to stick it to the United States by cutting production, and there’s not anything that we can do about it.”
Read the original article by clicking here.
Revelations 18:23:’For the merchants were the great men of the earth; for by thy sorceries were all nations deceived.’
Important Takeaways:
- Saudi Arabia Is Open To Discuss Non-Dollar Oil Trade Settlements
- In Davos, Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Finance Mohammed Al-Jadaan surprised the world’s oil industry by saying that they are open to the possibility of conducting oil trade in a currency other than the US dollar.
- “There are no issues with discussing how we settle our trade arrangements, whether it is in the US dollar, whether it is the euro, whether it is the Saudi riyal,” he said. This is another blow to the dominance of the dollar in world trade.
- However, Saudi Arabia is willing to deepen its strategic cooperation in oil trade with China, the world’s largest crude oil importer.
- Last month, China and Saudi Arabia agreed to expand crude oil trade as they upgraded their relations to a strategic partnership during the visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping in the Saudi capital Riyadh.
- China, for its part, plans to make its own currency, the yuan, more prominent in international oil trade.
- During a visit to Saudi Arabia last month, Xi Jinping pledged to ramp up efforts to promote the use of the yuan in energy deals, suggesting at a summit in the Saudi capital that the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries should make full use of the Shanghai Petroleum and Natural Gas Exchange to carry out its trade settlements in yuan.
Read the original article by clicking here.
Revelations 18:23:’For the merchants were the great men of the earth; for by thy sorceries were all nations deceived.’
Important Takeaways:
- Biden approves largest oil, gas lease sale in US history, steamrolls eco review with inflation bill
- The Inflation Reduction Act reinstates Lease Sale 257, an oil and gas sale spanning 80.8 million acres across the Gulf of Mexico
- “Congress has acted, the leases must be issued, and the lawsuit must be dismissed,” he continued.
- In November, the DOI held the lease sale which generated more than $191 million in bids for 308 tracts from fossil fuel companies despite criticism from several prominent Democratic lawmakers and environmental groups. However, a federal court blocked the sale in January ruling in favor of a coalition, led by Friends of the Earth and the Sierra Club, that argued the Biden administration failed to properly analyze the climate impacts of the sale.
Read the original article by clicking here.
Rev 6:6 NAS “And I heard something like a voice in the center of the four living creatures saying, “A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius; and do not damage the oil and the wine.”
Important Takeaways:
- Some Greek Supermarkets Will Start Rationing Sugar Now Too
- ATHENS – After limiting the sale of some flours and sunflower oil online, Greek supermarkets are turning to rationing the sale of sugar as well, now including in their stores, over supply problems. [with a maximum of four packs]
- The New Democracy government said it would require companies to declare their inventory in some food categories
Read the original article by clicking here.
Rev 6:6 NAS “And I heard something like a voice in the center of the four living creatures saying, “A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius; and do not damage the oil and the wine.”
Important Takeaways:
- Joe Biden Plans to Take ‘Millions of Cars Off the Road’ to Reduce Oil Consumption
- The president spoke about public transit during his speech on high gas prices
- “We’re investing almost $100 billion in public transit and rail, for all the studies show that it will take millions of cars off the road and significantly reduce pollution if there’s a serious transportation system available,” he said.
- “We will take literally millions of automobiles off the road — off the road — saving tens of millions of barrels of oil, dealing with cleaning up the air,” he boasted during an October event at an electric trolley museum in Scranton, Pennsylvania.
- During the event, he admitted he was envious of China’s high-speed trains and wanted more of them in America.
Read the original article by clicking here.
2 Chronicles 7:14 “If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land
Important Takeaways:
- Massive U.S. oil refinery on track to shut down amid fuel shortages, record prices
- The Houston, Texas, facility — which is operated by LyondellBasell Industries, spans 700 acres and was built in 1918 — is scheduled to permanently close by the end of 2023, but could shut down earlier if a “major equipment failure” spreads to major units, two people familiar with the issues told Reuters.
- The refinery processes 268,000 barrels per day (bpd) of oil and produces 92,600 bpd of diesel fuel, 89,000 bpd of gasoline and 44,500 bpd of jet fuel.
- The company announced in April that it would shut the refinery by 2024 due to the heavy financial burden of upgrading its more than 100-year-old infrastructure, Barron’s reported at the time.
- Meanwhile, six refineries with a capacity of about 801,000 bpd of oil have shuttered over the last two years amid the pandemic, federal data showed. In addition, five refineries with a capacity of 408,100 bpd of oil are idle, the largest number of idle refineries since 2012.
Read the original article by clicking here.
Rev 6:6 NAS “And I heard something like a voice in the center of the four living creatures saying, “A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius; and do not damage the oil and the wine.”
Important Takeaways:
- Biden administration cancels Alaska oil and gas lease sale
- The Biden administration has canceled one of the most high-profile oil and gas lease opportunities pending before the Interior Department. The decision, which halts the potential to drill for oil in over 1 million acres in the Cook Inlet in Alaska, comes at a challenging political moment, when gas prices are hitting painful new highs.
- The department also halted two leases under consideration for the Gulf of Mexico region because of “conflicting court rulings that impacted work on these proposed lease sales.”
Read the original article by clicking here.
