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February 10th, 2016:

Opinion: Will oil be so cheap that it won’t pay to pump it out of the ground?

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By Paul Spedding: Published: Feb 9, 2016

The conventional wisdom regarding the recent plunge in the price of oil CLH6, -0.50%   is that we are seeing a repeat of the 1985-1986 collapse, when Saudi Arabia ramped up production as part of a dispute with other members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries cartel. This time, the thinking goes, Saudi Arabia is doing the same in response to its loss of market share to shale-oil production in the United States.

But there is another parallel that is even more relevant — with important implications for the long-term price of oil. The recent collapse is reminiscent of a similar dive in the price of coal — which crashed from a brief high of $140 a ton in 2008 to about $40 a ton today — which led some deposits to become “financially stranded,” meaning that the cost of developing them outweighs potential returns. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Stung by Low Oil Prices, Companies Face a Reckoning on Debts

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The oil industry regularly undergoes booms and busts. But the downside of this cycle may prove more extreme…

By CLIFFORD KRAUSS and MICHAEL CORKERYA version of this article appears in print on February 10, 2016, on page A1 of the New York edition

MIDLAND, Tex. — On the 15th floor of an office tower in Midland looms a five-foot-long trophy black bear, shot by the son of an executive at Caza Oil & Gas. But it is Caza that has recently fallen prey to a different kind of predator stalking the Texas oil patch: too much debt.

While crude prices have dropped more than 70 percent over the last 20 months, a reckoning in the nation’s vast oil industry has only just begun. Until recently, companies were able to ride out the slump using hedges to sell their oil for higher than the low market prices. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Shell: Industry faces major renaissance

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Written by Rita Brown – 09/02/2016

The industry is in the crux of its own renaissance as it grapples with job losses, low oil price and lagging efficiency, according to Shell’s project & technology director.

Speaking at GE’s annual meeting in Florence, Harry Brekelmans said: “Florence is the birthplace of the renaissance, the time of exploration of discovery and great inventions and of course the oil and gas industry is in need of its own renaissance.

“This will be how we collectively respond to the tough business environment we find ourselves in. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.