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Clark Williams-Derry
Energy Finance Analyst Clark Williams-Derry served for 18 years as director of energy finance and research director for the Sightline Institute, a multi-issue sustainability think-tank based in Seattle, where his research focused on U.S. and global energy markets. He was also a senior analyst for Environmental Working Group.
Markets, distance, and community opposition pose obstacles - proposal lacks private sector backers
August 19, 2020 (IEEFA) —A proposed $20 million state investment in a bankrupt California coal-export project would most likely result in a loss to the state, concludes a research brief published today by the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis. The brief—Utah Bailout of Bankrupt California Coal-Export Project Would Likely Fail—describes how weak export […]
Falling prices and shrinking demand constrain market, even before coronavirus crisis
July 29, 2020 (IEEFA) — A rebound of the ailing U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) industry isn’t likely to come from Chinese demand, according to a new study by the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA). Global LNG markets have been hammered by collapsing prices, falling consumption, and an enormous supply glut in […]
Capex reductions, financial hedging offset plunging demand
June 25, 2020 (IEEFA)—Nine fracking-focused gas companies in Appalachia reported a positive free cash flow during the first quarter of 2020—but only after slashing capital expenditures and reporting significant revenues from financial hedging, according to a new study by the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA). The positive first quarter results, however, didn’t […]
Spending on dividends and buybacks outpaces free cash flow by $216M over last decade
May 26, 2020 (IEEFA) — Four of the world’s five largest oil and gas companies spent more cash on dividends and share buybacks during the first quarter of the year than they generated from their core business operations, according to a briefing note released today by the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA). […]
The current glut of LNG globally will likely persist
The global fracking industry has a fundamentally broken business model which is: Let’s produce as much oil and gas as we can and hope that prices rise as a result. “It’s completely backward”, says IEEFA’s Clark Williams-Derry. “What we’ve ended up with is a global supply glut and weak demand.” With COVID-19, oil and gas […]
Cancellations mount due to coronavirus and falling demand
The financial prospects for Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) ‒ once one of the globe’s hottest energy commodities – seem to be imploding before our eyes. In the most recent step in a monumental market meltdown, front-month LNG futures prices in Asia settled yesterday at just $2.05 per MMBtu. As recently as a year and a […]
Price dive and demand slide lead to storage crisis
The Energy Information Administration (EIA) reports that U.S. oil stores grew by another 15 million barrels this past week. That’s the third-highest weekly storage build ever, trailing only the previous week and the week before that. In other words, the last three weeks have contributed to the fastest month-over-month storage build of all time: 63.3 million barrels […]
“Deficit spending” widens as companies continue to borrow heavily and sell off assets
April 6, 2020 (IEEFA U.S.) ‒ The world’s five largest publicly traded oil and gas companies shelled out a total of $71.2 billion in dividends and share buybacks last year, while generating only $61.0 billion in free cash flow. This “deficit spending” points to a deeper crisis in the increasingly volatile industry, according to a […]
Eight fracking companies hemorrhage $73 billion over ten years as low prices pummel sector
March 25, 2020 (IEEFA U.S.) ‒ Another year, another gusher of red ink. Fracking (Exploration & Production) companies in Appalachia have failed to produce positive free cash flow each year for the past decade, according to an IEEFA analysis released today. In a briefing note (In Extremis: Crisis Mounts for Appalachian Shale Producers), IEEFA analysts […]
Disappointing results cap “Lost Decade” for North America’s shale industry
March 19, 2020 (IEEFA U.S.) ‒ The U.S. fracking industry in 2019 continued its unsuccessful decade-long quest to produce positive free cash flow, according to a briefing note released today by the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA). Looking at a cross-section of 34 North American shale-focused oil and gas producers, IEEFA analysts […]
IEEFA U.S.: Utah bailout of bankrupt California coal-export project likely to fail
Markets, distance, and community opposition pose obstacles - proposal lacks private sector backers
August 19, 2020 (IEEFA) —A proposed $20 million state investment in a bankrupt California coal-export project would most likely result in a loss to the state, concludes a research brief published today by the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis. The brief—Utah Bailout of Bankrupt California Coal-Export Project Would Likely Fail—describes how weak export […]