James Stafford

Latest articles from James

• U.S. Seizes On Venezuelan Weakness To Regain Caribbean Energy Foothold

  Published 09 April 2015 | viewed 13,312 times

  The collapse of oil prices is opening up a new diplomatic opportunity for the United States in the western hemisphere. The U.S. has a spotty…

• Bad Jobs Report Could Be Good For Oil Industry

  Published 06 April 2015 | viewed 9,627 times

  The tepid monthly jobs report that came out in the U.S. on April 3 is actually good news for the oil and gas industry. The…

• Earthquake Case Could Doom Fracking In Oklahoma

  Published 31 March 2015 | viewed 24,782 times

  The rise in earthquakes as a result of fracking poses a massive problem for the oil and gas industry. It is not hydraulic fracturing per…

• Impending Iran Deal Could Crush Current Rally

  Published 27 March 2015 | viewed 12,193 times

  The headline for the week was Saudi Arabia’s attack on rebels in Yemen, which threatens to ignite tensions between regional rivalries in the Middle East.…

• The Most Challenging Oil And Gas Projects In The World

  Published 25 March 2015 | viewed 34,219 times

  The fifth anniversary of the Deepwater Horizon disaster is approaching, but in the intervening years since the well blowout deep offshore, oil and gas drillers…

• Global Shale Revolution On Hold

  Published 20 March 2015 | viewed 15,541 times

  Along with the rest of the energy world, we have been closely tracking rig counts (now down 40 percent from last fall) and other data…

• Can Big Oil Keep Paying High Dividends?

  Published 18 March 2015 | viewed 57,246 times

  Low oil prices have compelled the Italian oil company Eni to slash its dividend, the first major oil company to do so. With the biggest…

• This Week In Energy: The Markets Defy Expectations Once Again

  Published 13 March 2015 | viewed 7,161 times

  Oil production levels are finally starting to decline after months of depressed prices. New data from North Dakota shows that the state’s oil output fell…

• Texas: From Shale Boom To Water Revolution

  Published 12 March 2015 | viewed 26,409 times

  Texas is famous the world over for two things on a massive scale: oil and droughts. Now the slick but dry state is becoming famous…

• Can Utilities Survive 21st Century Energy Market?

  Published 11 March 2015 | viewed 14,987 times

  The electric utility is at a crossroads. Facing flat electricity demand and a sudden insurgent campaign from rooftop solar, the large centralized utility company is…

• This Week In Energy: LNG Could Be 2015’s Big Winner

  Published 06 March 2015 | viewed 6,997 times

  The major news out of Washington this week was the address to a joint session of Congress by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The speech…

• This Week In Energy: Data Pointing To Another Fall In Oil Prices

  Published 27 February 2015 | viewed 13,399 times

  Oil prices have stabilized somewhat around the $60 per barrel mark, and over the past few weeks oil has shown less volatility than what we…

• Roman Abramovich Invests $15M In New US Fracking Technology

  Published 23 February 2015 | viewed 45,417 times

  Are the Russians coming to Texas riding the tailwinds of fracking? That depends on who you ask, as some believe Russian forces were behind the…

• An Explosive Week For Energy

  Published 20 February 2015 | viewed 7,525 times

  Oil prices fluctuated up and down over the course of this week, with a wider gulf opening up between WTI and Brent crude. The U.S.…

• This Week In Energy: ExxonMobil On The Hunt

  Published 13 February 2015 | viewed 9,159 times

  Oil prices continued to pick up steam for the week ending on February 13. Brent crude traded above $60 per barrel for the first time…

• This Week In Energy: Is Oil Back?

  Published 06 February 2015 | viewed 19,067 times

  Oil Prices are flirting with a rebound, poised to jump the most in four years for the week ending on February 6. The markets do…

• Oil’s Survival Of The Fittest: Interview With Stan Szary

  Published 05 February 2015 | viewed 22,518 times

  With crude oil prices collapsing and small American oil producers faced with grim choices for survival, the Darwinian nature of commodity market cycles rears its…

• Back To Basics: Why Conventional Drilling Makes Sense in 2015

  Published 13 January 2015 | viewed 30,073 times

  This New Year, an old trend may become a new trend as conventional drilling in North America is once again in the spotlight at a…

• This Week In Energy: Asian Energy Empire Expansion

  Published 09 January 2015 | viewed 5,910 times

  This week saw WTI prices break the psychological $50 threshold, compounding trader and oil company woes further. However, recent price updates from certain shale areas…

• The Real Cause Of Low Oil Prices: Interview With Arthur Berman

  Published 03 January 2015 | viewed 78,520 times

  With all the conspiracy theories surrounding OPEC’s November decision not cut production, is it really not just a case of simple economics? The U.S. shale…