Seems like just about everything to do with energy markets is up these days. Crude oil prices are back to the levels of late 2014. Crude production hit a 10.6 MMb/d record volume last week, while lower-48 natural gas has been bouncing around an 80 Bcf/d record level. Exports of crude, gas and NGLs are at all-time highs. But all those hydrocarbon molecules must find their way from the wellhead to market, and in several high-growth regions, that is becoming increasingly problematic, as midstream infrastructure struggles to keep up. In our recent School of Energy, we examined these developments, considering their impact on production trends, domestic demand and the outlook for growth in export volumes. Did you miss it? Not a problem. We taped the whole conference, and School of Energy Online is now available in 12 hours of streaming video, along with all the Excel models, slides, and graphics that we use to tie energy markets together. Today, in this unabashed advertorial, we review some of the highlights of the conference.
If you are a trend-follower, you should like Figure 1, which shows U.S. crude oil price, production and exports since 2016. From the depths of despair two years ago, crude oil prices have almost tripled, from $26/bbl in February 2016 to $68/bbl on Friday (April 27). U.S. crude oil production has ramped up 25%, from 8.5 MMb/d in mid-2016 to 10.6 MMb/d in the Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) most recent numbers. And crude oil exports have skyrocketed from about 0.5 MMb/d in 2016 to 2.3 MMb/d last week. It’s a similar story for production and exports of natural gas and natural gas liquids, although the prices of those commodities have not shot up like oil.
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About the song
“I Want to Take You Higher” was written by Sly Stone and appears as the third song on Sly and the Family Stone’s fourth album, Stand. The song has deep roots in the fact that it is a remake of “Higher” from the group’s Dance to the Music LP. “Higher” has its origins in the song “Advice,” which Stone co-wrote and arranged for Billy Preston’s 1966 album, The Wildest Organ in Town. “I Want to Take You Higher” is the B-side to the group’s hit single “Stand,” which was released in March 1969. It became a hit of its own in 1970, largely due to the performance of it at the Woodstock Music Festival and being prominently featured in the film of that festival that followed. The song went to #38 on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles chart. Ike and Tina Turner released their version later in 1970 — that went to #25 on the same chart. Sly and the Family Stone’s version starts with Freddie Stone’s bluesy guitar intro riff, progressing into a heavy funk jam featuring Larry Graham’s overdriven bass line, with shared vocals from Sly Stone, Rose Stone, Freddie Stone, and Larry Graham. Personnel on the record were: Sly Stone (lead vocals, keyboards), Freddie Stone (guitar, backing vocals), Rose Stone (keyboards, backing vocals), Larry Graham (bass, backing vocals), Greg Errico (drums), Jerry Martini (tenor sax), and Cynthia Robinson (trumpet).
Stand was recorded in 1968-69 at Pacific High Studio in San Francisco with Sly Stone producing. Released in April 1970, the album went to #13 on the Billboard 200 Albums chart and has been certified 3x Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. In 2015 the album was selected for inclusion in the National Recording Registry of the Library of Congress. Four Top 30 singles were released from the LP.
Sly Stone (Sylvester Stewart) is an American singer, songwriter, musician and record producer. He started his professional career as a rhythm and blues performer who moonlighted as a DJ at San Francisco’s KSOL radio station. He started working as a talent scout for Tom Donahue at Autumn Records, where his first production was Bobby Freeman’s hit record, “C’mon and Swim.” He formed Sly and the Family Stone in San Francisco in 1966 and remained with the group until 1975, when various drug and internal problems caused the band to break up. The band released 10 studio albums, two live albums, six compilation albums, and 19 singles. They are members of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Vocal Group Hall of Fame and have been awarded an R&B Foundation Pioneer Award. Founding member Cynthia Robinson died in San Francisco in November 2015 at the age of 71. Sly Stone was last seen in public in 2015 and his current residence is unknown. Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin), a Sly Stone memoir written with Ben Greenman, is scheduled to be released in October 2023.
