The crashing price of oil may be good for Americans on the road, but in some cases, it is bad for their jobs. As the price of oil collapses, jobs in Oklahoma City are now being lost, as Devon Energy Corp. has announced it is shedding up to 700 jobs.
It looks as if a cease-fire might be on tap for the Oil Wars, as Russia has reached a tentative agreement with Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Venezuela to freeze oil production at current levels, to shore up falling prices.
The continuing drop in oil prices is negatively affecting tax revenues and economic numbers in Texas.
Reuters reports: “Wall Street tumbled on Wednesday, with the S&P 500 hitting its lowest since February 2014 and deepening this year’s selloff as oil prices plummeted unabated.”
Ambassador Charles (Chas) W. Freeman, the former career US Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, (US Foreign Service Retired), has outlined the Saudi Arabia position on the Oil Price Collapse. Ambassador Freeman served as President George H.W. Bush’s representative to Saudi Arabia from 1989 to 1992.
President Obama is not alone in wielding governmental power to clamp down on carbon-emitting energy. While he weaponizes the Environmental Protection Agency to take on coal-powered energy, potentially shutting down hundreds of coal-fired power plants, Alberta’s new socialist NDP government is pushing ostensibly environmentally-minded policies against oil on shared premises of combating “climate change.”
The Mexican peso on July 20th continues it fall and it broke 16 to 1 US dollar. An economic and political stable Mexico is essential for the United States and Texas. Over the past year the Mexican peso has been weakening. A year ago it was 12.97 to the US dollar; 6 months ago 14.66; one month ago 15.34; and July 20th 16.02. On July 22, the peso exchange rate is 16.09.
President Obama celebrated his monumental agreement with Iran over its nuclear program, adamantly defending the lengthy process that blew by several deadlines before finally concluding on Monday. “America negotiated from a position of strength and principle,” Obama said in an
Over the past year the Mexican peso has been falling. A year ago the peso stood at 12.94 to the US dollar; six months ago, 14.75; one month ago, 15.49; and on June 30th 15.73.
OPEC’s attempt to over-produce crude oil for export to crush prices and bankrupt the American shale-fracking oil boom has failed, according to a draft OPEC long-term strategy report seen by Reuters ahead of the cartel’s policy meeting in Vienna on June 1st.
Nigerian officials reached a preliminary agreement with multinational oil firms to pay back the $800 million Nigeria owes the oil suppliers in an effort to bring an end to the country’s dire fuel shortage.
After a year in which the oil price plummeted and the industry adjusted to a period of global oversupply, an analyst has claimed that the world is running short of oil.
HOUSTON, Texas – In spite of low oil prices, there were still 94,700 in attendance at the 2015 Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) at NRG Park in Houston May 4-7. The OTC reports that these attendance numbers still represent the sixth-largest gathering in the conference’s 47-year history.
U.S. economic growth stalled out in the first quarter of 2015 as the domestic energy boom caused a short-term collapse in capital spending, large lay-offs in the oil industry, and a 15 percent jump in the exchange rate of the US dollar. A pattern of slowing GDP just before a consumer spending boom takes off is consistent with what happened the last time a big rise in U.S. crude oil production tanked gasoline prices beginning in 1986.
The Venezuelan government will begin rationing electrical supplies this week in response to high demand triggered by heat. Public employees will only have to work six hours a day until further notice, and police units will be sent to inspect private businesses to ensure they only use their allotted amounts. Venezuelan Vice President Jorge Arreaza blamed the measures on climate change.
HOUSTON, Texas – Despite a sharp downturn in the price of oil, Houston remains the top Texas city for the sales of luxury homes and ranks fifth in the nation. This ranking was reported from Coldwell Banker Previews International’s spring 2015 luxury market report by Paul Takahashi with the Houston Business Journal.
Iran, which has had its oil exports restricted between 2012 and 2014 by economic sanctions so its exports were virtually cut in half, would likely increase its imports if the U.S. and the other P5+1 nations make a deal regarding Iran’s nuclear program. Their increased exports might cause American gas prices to dip, leaving consumers happier until the Iranian nuclear program becomes operational.
Putin’s return leaves more questions than answers for Russia; The talking points of the Russian and Chinese internet trolls; Oil prices continue to crash
We will finally learn, after more than 40 years of not knowing, what the free market supply/demand price of crude truly is. This knowledge will make it harder for secretive governments and corporations to manipulate prices in the future, while strengthening domestic production to weather supply shocks in the future.
In 2014, GDP growth bounced back in the spring and summer from a tough winter, but in the fourth quarter, it fell off to 2.6 percent. History indicates the country should be doing a lot better—simply, too many prime working-age Americans are despondent and have permanently dropped out of the workforce.
The government of Venezuela, believed to be the most oil-rich nation in South America, is considering raising gas prices to keep the national economy afloat, though such a move could spark protests and unrest in a nation already rife with political tension.
King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia has died aged 90 after suffering with pneumonia for the last few weeks. The king ruled Saudi Arabia since 2005 and has been credited with bringing in moderate reforms to the conservative Muslim country. He
HOUSTON, Texas – Nine thousand workers are set to be laid off by Texas-based oil giant Schlumberger. The oil tool services company said it must fire 9,000 workers because of plummeting crude oil prices and a slow-down in 2015 production and exploration. The employee reduction comprises about 7.5 percent of the company’s 120,000 global labor force.
President Obama and his minions, who refused to believe that increasing U.S. oil production would drive the price of gas into the ground, are now eating oily crow.
Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts Glenn Hegar released the Biennium Review Estimate (BRE) on Monday in Austin. He predicted Texas will have $113 billion available for general purpose spending during the 2016-17 biennium. This represents a 9.5 percent increase over the 2014-15 biennium. The new Comptroller predicted a moderate growth rate during the coming two years.
Texas Governor Rick Perry predicted “This is going to be a painful period of time” in regards to the ever falling price of oil. The remarks came Friday as Perry was speaking to a conservative forum in Austin.
Despite tumbling oil prices, Saudi Arabia’s oil minister has insisted the country will not slash production in order to keep prices up. Brent crude oil – whose per barrel price is used as a world bench mark – dropped by another
Lower gas pump prices could mean a loss of jobs and lower tax revenue for the State of Texas. The rapidly dropping gasoline prices are a result of the price of oil dropping into the $55 per barrel range. The
