Oil industry

IEEFA Research

IEEFA U.S.: Energy transition to renewables likely to accelerate over next two to three years

IEEFA U.S.: Energy transition to renewables likely to accelerate over next two to three years

Coal, gas set to become biggest losers as renewable generation climbs quickly

March 31, 2021 (IEEFA) — The speed and scope of the energy transition to renewables will pick up pace over the next two to three years, according to the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis’ U.S. Power Sector Outlook 2021. Solar and battery storage adoption is enjoying almost exponential growth, and wind and solar […]

, , and March 31, 2021 Read More →
IEEFA: Frackers produce positive cash flows in 2020 with deep capital expenditure cuts

IEEFA: Frackers produce positive cash flows in 2020 with deep capital expenditure cuts

Beleaguered fracking sector generates $1.8 billion cash flow, but only after $20 billion cuts in capex

March 24, 2021 (IEEFA)—A cross-section of 30 shale oil and gas producers marked the first full year of positive free cash flows since the fracking boom began—but only after deep cuts to capital expenditures that raise troubling questions about the industry’s future. The report by the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) found […]

, , and March 25, 2021 Read More →
IEEFA U.S.: Proposed Formosa, Louisiana petrochemical complex financially unviable

IEEFA U.S.: Proposed Formosa, Louisiana petrochemical complex financially unviable

IEEFA finds significant financial, market, regulatory and political risks for multibillion-dollar ‘Sunshine Project’ in Louisiana’s ‘Cancer Alley’

March 23, 2021 (IEEFA) ⎼  A report released today by the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) details the financial, legal, social and public opposition risks of Taiwan-based Formosa Plastics Group’s proposed petrochemical complex in St. James Parish, Louisiana. IEEFA finds that the project will begin operations at a time of market oversupply, […]

, and March 23, 2021 Read More →
IEEFA: Oil supermajors made $20.5 billion in 2020 but spent $49.9 billion to please investors

IEEFA: Oil supermajors made $20.5 billion in 2020 but spent $49.9 billion to please investors

Five largest private-sector oil supermajors have dropped more than a half-trillion on shareholders over last decade

March 4, 2021 (IEEFA) —The world’s five largest private-sector oil and gas companies collectively spent $29.4 billion more on shareholder payouts than they generated from operations, according to a new report by the Institute of Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA). The five supermajors—ExxonMobil, Chevron BP, Total and Shell—generated $20.5 billion in free cash flow, […]

, and March 4, 2021 Read More →
IEEFA U.S.: FERC gives blank check approval to pipeline builders, while investors and consumers pick up costs

IEEFA U.S.: FERC gives blank check approval to pipeline builders, while investors and consumers pick up costs

Commission’s 21-year-old pipeline policy puts contracts ahead of utility customers

December 17, 2020 (IEEFA) — The federal agency responsible for approving interstate gas pipeline projects is basing its decisions on contracts rather than on today’s consumer energy needs or the public interest, according to a report released today by the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis. The report—FERC’s Failure to Analyze Energy Market Forces—details […]

, and December 17, 2020 Read More →
IEEFA U.S.: Frackers cut capex to $5.8 billion during third quarter, lowest level in a decade

IEEFA U.S.: Frackers cut capex to $5.8 billion during third quarter, lowest level in a decade

Free cash flow surges as capital reductions may mark beginning of end for shale boom

December 8, 2020 (IEEFA) —Facing low prices and weak demand, a cross-section of 33 shale-focused oil and gas producers cut their capital expenditures (capex) to their lowest level in more than a decade, according to an analysis released today by the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis. Thirty-two of the 33 companies cut capex […]

, , and December 8, 2020 Read More →
IEEFA U.S.: Appalachian frackers report $504M in negative free cash flow despite capex slashing

IEEFA U.S.: Appalachian frackers report $504M in negative free cash flow despite capex slashing

Tide of red ink shows little sign of ebbing any time soon for shale-focused regional gas producers

December 3, 2020 (IEEFA)—Even after cutting their capital expenditures (capex) by more than one-third from the previous year, nine shale-focused gas producers in Appalachia spent a half-billion dollars more during the third quarter on drilling and building projects than they earned from selling oil and gas. Capex investments during the third quarter were the lowest […]

, , and December 4, 2020 Read More →
IEEFA update: ExxonMobil’s financials indicate slide under CEO Darren Woods’s leadership

IEEFA update: ExxonMobil’s financials indicate slide under CEO Darren Woods’s leadership

Profits, cash and shareholder return slip compared with rivals using company’s own performance metrics

October 28, 2020 (IEEFA) — A close look at ExxonMobil’s financial performance metrics compared with its peers reveals significant slippage during Chairman & CEO Darren Woods’s tenure (2017-2019) even before the coronavirus pandemic, according to a briefing note released today by the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA). IEEFA analysts found that the […]

, and October 28, 2020 Read More →
IEEFA U.S.: Plummeting oil and gas prices leave New Mexico’s budget short by hundreds of millions of dollars

IEEFA U.S.: Plummeting oil and gas prices leave New Mexico’s budget short by hundreds of millions of dollars

Industry problems hit before the pandemic, were made worse by it and will persist even after the economy improves

October 20, 2020 (IEEFA) — After years of benefitting from record oil and gas revenues, global markets are signaling the beginning of the end of New Mexico’s financial reliance on fossil fuels. Leases, royalty payments and taxes from the oil and gas industry have directly accounted for as much as 30 percent of the state’s […]

and October 20, 2020 Read More →
IEEFA: From zero to fifty, global financial corporations get cracking on major oil/gas lending exits

IEEFA: From zero to fifty, global financial corporations get cracking on major oil/gas lending exits

Accelerating divestment from oil and gas shows similar early trends to global financial institution’s exit from coal

20 October 2020 (IEEFA): Fifty globally significant financial institutions have introduced policies restricting oil sands and/or oil and gas drilling in the Arctic including 23 to date this year, highlighting global capital continues to flee fossil fuels, according to a new tracker developed by the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA). “Momentum is […]

, and October 19, 2020 Read More →

More News and Commentary

New York state pension fund to divest from six Canadian oil sands companies

Reuters: New York’s state pension fund is restricting investment in six Canadian oil sands companies because they have not shown they are prepared for a transition to a low-carbon future, the fund’s Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli said on Monday. The New York State Common Retirement Fund will divest more than $7 million in securities already held […]

April 13, 2021 Read More →
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IEEFA webinar: U.S. transition to renewables is likely to accelerate over next two to three years

IEEFA analysts explain why solar, wind and battery storage are poised to push fossil generation off the grid

April 2, 2021 (IEEFA) ⎼ The Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis will host a webinar on Thursday, April 8, 2021 to present findings from its recently released U.S. Power Sector Outlook 2021. Authors Dennis Wamsted, Seth Feaster, and David Schlissel will show how lower-cost wind and solar, coupled with battery storage, is rapidly […]

, , and April 6, 2021 Read More →
IEEFA U.S.: Energy transition to renewables likely to accelerate over next two to three years
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IEEFA U.S.: Energy transition to renewables likely to accelerate over next two to three years

Coal, gas set to become biggest losers as renewable generation climbs quickly

March 31, 2021 (IEEFA) — The speed and scope of the energy transition to renewables will pick up pace over the next two to three years, according to the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis’ U.S. Power Sector Outlook 2021. Solar and battery storage adoption is enjoying almost exponential growth, and wind and solar […]

, , and March 31, 2021 Read More →

Ovintiv sells Eagle Ford shale assets at steep discount

Bloomberg: Ovintiv Inc., the shale oil producer recently pressed by an activist investor to cut its debt load, agreed to sell drilling rights in South Texas to Validus Energy for $880 million. The price tag is less than one-third of the $3.1 billion Ovintiv paid Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. in 2014 to acquire the […]

March 26, 2021 Read More →
IEEFA: Frackers produce positive cash flows in 2020 with deep capital expenditure cuts
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IEEFA: Frackers produce positive cash flows in 2020 with deep capital expenditure cuts

Beleaguered fracking sector generates $1.8 billion cash flow, but only after $20 billion cuts in capex

March 24, 2021 (IEEFA)—A cross-section of 30 shale oil and gas producers marked the first full year of positive free cash flows since the fracking boom began—but only after deep cuts to capital expenditures that raise troubling questions about the industry’s future. The report by the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) found […]

, , and March 25, 2021 Read More →
IEEFA U.S.: Proposed Formosa, Louisiana petrochemical complex financially unviable
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IEEFA U.S.: Proposed Formosa, Louisiana petrochemical complex financially unviable

IEEFA finds significant financial, market, regulatory and political risks for multibillion-dollar ‘Sunshine Project’ in Louisiana’s ‘Cancer Alley’

March 23, 2021 (IEEFA) ⎼  A report released today by the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) details the financial, legal, social and public opposition risks of Taiwan-based Formosa Plastics Group’s proposed petrochemical complex in St. James Parish, Louisiana. IEEFA finds that the project will begin operations at a time of market oversupply, […]

, and March 23, 2021 Read More →

IEEFA: Major investment advisors BlackRock and Meketa provide a fiduciary path through the energy transition

BlackRock and Meketa say divestment from fossil fuels improves, not weakens, investment returns

Two major financial management firms, BlackRock and Meketa, have separately concluded that investment funds have experienced no negative financial impacts  from divesting from fossil fuels. In fact, they found evidence of modest improvement in fund return, according to draft reports undertaken at the request of New York City’s comptroller on behalf of three of the […]

March 22, 2021 Read More →

Study finds renewable stocks posted vastly better returns than fossil fuels in past decade

Bloomberg: Investing in renewable power stocks beat a fossil fuel-focused strategy by more than threefold in the last decade. Superior returns from green power could help push investors to provide the capital necessary to scale up low-carbon power sources in the coming years, according to the analysis by the International Energy Agency and Imperial College […]

March 19, 2021 Read More →

U.S. federal regulators tackle climate risks of gas pipelines in major policy shift

Associated Press: For the first time, a federal energy board is weighing how a proposed natural gas pipeline would affect greenhouse gas emissions, one of several steps taken this week by the Biden administration in its effort to slow climate change. With a new Democratic chair at the helm, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission voted […]

March 19, 2021 Read More →
IEEFA: Guyana’s oil future relies on ‘lower-than-average governmental take’

IEEFA: Guyana’s oil future relies on ‘lower-than-average governmental take’

Deal raises questions for ExxonMobil shareholders, Guyanese citizens

Last week, IHS Markit released an updated analysis of ExxonMobil’s progress in Guyana that projected significant oil and cash flow from the Yellowtail phase of development. The announcement is one of several upbeat reports about the progress of oil and gas development in Guyana. Buried in this optimistic assessment was an important insight: The company’s […]

March 10, 2021 Read More →
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