Robert Rapier

Latest articles from Robert

• Demand Destruction Will Decimate Oil Prices

  Published 04 April 2020 | viewed 54,324 times

  I have been warning since January that the long-term ramifications of the ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak on the oil industry could be significant and long-lasting.…

• Oil Stocks Haven’t Hit The Bottom Just Yet

  Published 31 March 2020 | viewed 54,640 times

  It’s hard to overstate the nature of what has happened in the oil markets since the beginning of the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak in early January.…

• The U.S. Can’t Afford To Let Shale Fail

  Published 31 March 2020 | viewed 35,596 times

  It’s no secret that the growth of U.S. shale oil has been a thorn in the sides of both Saudi Arabia and Russia. They have…

• How Chevron Could Win Big On “The Worst Oil Deal Ever”

  Published 19 March 2020 | viewed 92,264 times

  Last week someone commented to me that Chevron could now buy Occidental Petroleum cheaper than it offered to acquire Anadarko. There is an element of…

• Why Didn’t Russia Just Cut Oil Production?

  Published 15 March 2020 | viewed 82,762 times

  Last week OPEC conducted meetings with a coalition of partners that have worked together to limit oil production since 2016. It was widely reported that…

• Coronavirus Causes Unprecedented Oil Demand Destruction

  Published 09 March 2020 | viewed 13,382 times

  The oil markets have been anticipating a big impact on oil demand from the coronavirus outbreak. That’s why we have seen a 30 percent drop…

• Why Russia Is Rooting For Bernie Sanders

  Published 08 March 2020 | viewed 32,665 times

  Recently Senator Bernie Sanders acknowledged that he had been briefed by U.S. intelligence on Russia’s attempts to interfere in U.S. elections on his behalf. In…

• Spending Jeff Bezos’ $10 Billion For Climate Change

  Published 29 February 2020 | viewed 20,780 times

  Last week Jeff Bezos, founder, president and CEO of Amazon — and the world’s richest person — announced in an Instagram post that he would commit…

• Is Energy Storage As Clean As We Think?

  Published 20 February 2020 | viewed 10,241 times

  Since the turn of the century, there has been a global explosion in the production of renewable power. According to the 2018 BP Statistical Review…

• OPEC Aims To Balance Oil Markets Against All Odds

  Published 13 February 2020 | viewed 14,847 times

  As 2019 came to a close, oil prices were under pressure from the continued surge of U.S. shale oil. Although OPEC and its partners had…

• The “Black Swan” Event That Could Unravel OPEC’s Efforts

  Published 10 February 2020 | viewed 31,923 times

  The book “The Black Swan” was written by former Wall Street trader Nassim Nicholas Taleb to describe rare, outlier events that can’t be predicted beforehand,…

• Reinstating An Oil Export Ban Would Be A Disaster For The U.S.

  Published 03 February 2020 | viewed 14,714 times

  In December 2015, President Obama signed into law the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2016. A provision of this bill repealed a crude oil export ban that…

• Oil Bankruptcies Are Reaching Worrying Levels

  Published 01 February 2020 | viewed 56,131 times

  Law firm Haynes and Boone recently released its updated Energy Bankruptcy Reports. These reports cover North American oil and gas producers, oilfield services and midstream bankruptcies from…

• Could Oil Prices Fall Below $50?

  Published 29 January 2020 | viewed 31,231 times

  One of my energy sector predictions for this year was that oil prices would not drop below $50 a barrel. This may turn out to…

• Which Is Safer For The Environment? Lithium-Ion Or Lead-Acid Batteries?

  Published 25 January 2020 | viewed 27,824 times

  Following recent articles I wrote on both lithium-ion and lead-acid batteries, I received significant correspondence about the environmental pros and cons of both types of battery. In this article…

• Oil Will Stay Above $50 Per Barrel In 2020

  Published 16 January 2020 | viewed 25,251 times

  We begin 2020 with the stock market again testing record highs. We just finished a year in which oil prices rose by more than 30…

• How The U.S. Has Reduced Its Dependence On Middle East Oil

  Published 15 January 2020 | viewed 15,012 times

  With tensions in the Middle East high, I have fielded a number of queries on how this might impact the world’s oil markets. Today I…

• This Was The Most Successful Energy Niche Last Year

  Published 13 January 2020 | viewed 9,888 times

  I had originally intended on presenting my 2020 energy sector predictions today, but those aren’t quite ready. I expect to publish that column no later…

• The Five Most Important Oil Stories Of 2019

  Published 31 December 2019 | viewed 13,545 times

  I close out every year with a story on how my annual predictions fared, followed by what I felt were the top energy stories of…

• How Accurate Were This Year's Oil Price Predictions?

  Published 30 December 2019 | viewed 20,104 times

  At the beginning of each year, I make several predictions about the energy sector for the upcoming year. You can see those predictions and read…