OPEC delays and spending cuts: Uncertainty abounds in the oil and gas industry

Dec 1, 2020
OPEC and its allies are having trouble coming to an agreement, because individual countries see thing differently.
The Brega oil port in Libya in September.
AFP via Getty Images

"Flaring" is an environmental problem. What will stop oil companies from doing it?

Aug 24, 2020
It's often cheaper to burn off the natural gas than it is to sell it.
When oil producers deliberately burn natural gas, the process is called flaring. It can be a money-saving technique but has consequences for the Earth's climate.
Emiliano Lasalvia/AFP via Getty Images

Texas regulators want oil companies 'flaring' less gas

Aug 6, 2020
Burning excess natural gas can be less costly than figuring out a way to use it, but the practice spurs climate change and hurts air quality.
A gas flare burns at a Permian Basin plant. A study found that companies in the region  wasted $750 million worth of natural gas in 2018.
Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Reporter's notebook: a bitterly contested $8 billion pipeline along the Appalachian Trail

Feb 24, 2020
The Atlantic Coast Pipeline is the subject of a U.S. Supreme Court case to be heard Monday.
Climate activist groups protest the Atlantic Coast Pipeline in front of the U.S. Supreme Court on Feb. 24, 2020 in Washington, DC.
Mark Wilson/Getty Images

Oil companies may be able to solve supply, but what about demand?

Jan 30, 2020
“There’s alternate sources of oil supply in the market but no alternate sources of demand growth,” one analyst said.
Oil prices Monday crashed the most since 1991.
David McNew/Getty Images

Chevron's nearly $11B write-down reflects weak demand and low oil and gas prices

Dec 11, 2019
Some energy companies are questioning whether they can wait out the current dip in prices.
Chevron noted challenges in natural gas fields in the Marcellus Shale formation and in deepwater oilfields in the Gulf of Mexico.
Joe Raedle/Getty Images

What if the U.S. stopped protecting the Strait of Hormuz?

Jun 24, 2019
It wouldn't change much at the pump — at least here at home.
An oil tanker is protected by the U.S. guided missile frigate USS Gallery in the Strait of Hormuz in 1988. In a tweet Monday, President Donald Trump questioned the United States' decadeslong protection of the strait.
NORBERT SCHILLER/AFP/Getty Images

For public good, not for profit.

What the Chevron-Anadarko deal means for Permian shale

Apr 12, 2019
Will there be other deals like it?
Chevron recently launched a "news" website in the Permian Basin in Texas, complete with local stories about puppies followed by advertisements for the oil giant.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Saudi oil company profits impress

Apr 1, 2019
What’s the most profitable company on earth? We’ll give you three guesses. Nope, not Apple. Google? Try again. Exxon Mobil – wrong. It’s the national oil company of Saudi Arabia. Known as Saudi Aramco, it’s the runaway leader, according to new numbers put out by the company. These number are the first since … well, […]

Energy giants to ramp up Permian Basin fracking

Mar 5, 2019
The Permian Basin is now far from the preserve of the independent producer.
Pump jacks are seen using hydraulic fracturing, or fracking.
David McNew/Getty Images