In The News

Monday, 08/24/2015

August 21, 2015 – Houston Chronicle

Oil's latest milestone means another setback for Houston

By Robert Grattan and Rhiannon Meyers

U.S. oil fell below $40 per barrel for a time Friday, and U.S. stocks fell sharply for the second straight day as China's slowing economy reverberated across the globe.

The drop in oil prices continues to shake the Houston economy, portending more layoffs and budget cuts as analysts say there's no sign of a quick turnaround. Oil and gas companies hoped they had found price stability earlier this year...

Friday, 08/21/2015

August 20, 2015 – FuelFix from the Houston Chronicle

Analysts: Little hope for more oil exports despite Mexico crude swaps

By: Robert Grattan

HOUSTON — About one week after the U.S. Commerce Department signaled it would allow trades of Mexican heavy crude for lighter U.S. oil, analysts have mostly dismissed the swap’s impact on the oil markets as only a minor improvement to refining efficiency.

Instead, market watchers say, the largest impact of the decision could be its symbolic value, cementing a crack in the long-standing...

Friday, 08/21/2015

August 14, 2015 – Real Money

A Lesson From Oil: the Consensus Can Be Right

By: Jim Cramer

Sometimes you just have to own that you got it wrong, or at least that you might be "early." For ages I simply didn't believe that oil would take out $43, because oil was so universally hated that I didn't think the whole boat could be right. I had never, in my career, seen such uniform negativity EXCEPT from two people I trusted most: Boone Pickens and David Demshur, the CEO of Core Labs (CLB)…

Read the full article here:...

Tuesday, 08/18/2015

August 14, 2015 – FuelFix from the Houston Chronicle

Refiners running full throttle could lead to a heavier fall maintenance season

By: Rhiannon Meyers

Refineries running full throttle have likely delayed making much-needed repairs, and the strain is starting to show.

As plants operate at record-high capacities to soak up cheap crude and satisfy a growing demand for gasoline, a spate of refinery shutdowns have cropped up across the United States, including a recent shutdown of the BP Whiting plant, the largest refinery in the...

Thursday, 08/13/2015

August 13, 2015 – Reuters

Indiana refinery outage escalates fears Cushing will top out

By: Catherine Ngai

Concerns among oil traders are escalating that a combination of surprisingly resilient U.S. shale production and lower autumn refinery demand will cause storage tanks in Cushing, Oklahoma, to fill to the brim with surplus crude as early as October.

The biggest U.S. refinery in the Midwest is suffering through an unexpected outage that may take months to resolve. The shutdown may free up enough crude to top off Cushing in just...

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