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OPEC+ members say they'll cut oil production. Global markets don't seem to believe them.

Nov 30, 2023
Production cuts may no longer be as effective at propping up prices because electric vehicles are cutting into global demand.
OPEC+ members are promising a pullback of as much as 2 million barrels a day, at least half of that from the Saudis.
Joe Klamar/AFP via Getty Images

Exxon is shelling out $60B to double its Permian production. Why there?

Oct 12, 2023
The Permian Basin, which runs through West Texas and New Mexico, produces more oil than most countries.
If the Permian Basin were its own country, it would be among the top five oil producers in the world, said Karr Ingham with the Texas Alliance of Energy Producers. Above, an oil pumpjack in Odessa, Texas.
Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Why are oil prices suddenly dropping?

Oct 6, 2023
Since the end of September, Brent Crude has been sliding — down to the $84-a-barrel range, more than a 10% decline in just over a week. This is also playing out at the pump, with gas down about eight cents a gallon in the last week.
Along with oil prices, the average price of gas in the U.S. has fallen in the last week. Above, a gas station in Los Angeles, California.
Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images

High oil prices may hurt poorest Americans most

Sep 27, 2023
Tight global supply raises costs for industry and motorists, but for now, the pain is milder than it was during price spikes decades earlier.
Gasoline prices in Burbank, California, last week.
Mario Tama/Getty Images

Fracking made the U.S. a major oil producer, but not energy independent

Sep 12, 2018
Author of "Saudi America," Bethany McLean tells us about why the key ingredient in fracking is capital, not chemicals.
A Cabot Oil & Gas natural gas drill stands at a hydraulic fracturing site in South Montrose, Pennsylvania. The process is controversial with critics who say it could poison water supplies, while the natural-gas industry says it's been used safely for decades.
Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Why China loves American natural gas more than it hates our tariffs

Jul 11, 2018
Ever since the shale revolution turned the U.S. into one of the world’s biggest energy exporters, other countries have been clamoring to buy American oil. One product in particular is seeing huge demand abroad – liquefied natural gas. Refineries turn natural gas into liquid to make it easier to ship overseas. In fact, as trade […]