World Oil's Daily Brief - podcast cover

World Oil's Daily Brief

Cameron Wallace, Digital Editor at World Oilblubrry.com
World Oil's round up of the day's Oil & Gas news; just in time for your commute home.

Episodes

Biden prepares to tackle fossil fuels in the U.S. and abroad

Joe Biden's cabinet picks, and his interest in working with China to stage elections in Venezuela, will make 2021 a transformative year for fossil fuels. Wall street is already looking at ex-U.S. energy producers take up the mantle of growth from domestic shale plays, and an increasing drilling rig count suggests operators are trying to get ahead of potential new rules.

Dec 20, 202025 min

As the world focuses on climate change targets, the Middle East doubles down on oil (with U.S. producers' help)

With the Paris Agreement's decarbonization plans suddenly not ambitious enough for the West, key Middle East producers see an opportunity, and are putting serious money down to cover their bet. In this episode, World Oil editors take a look at how ambitious renewable energy programs will depend on oil and gas technology to come to fruition, review the money moves Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Oman are making to fill the void they see Western producers leaving in the global oil market, regulatory she...

Dec 13, 202029 min

There's something rotten in the state of Denmark's grand energy plans

It's a tale of two cities with the EU's largest oil producer swearing off production by 2050, as OPEC+ stalwarts Saudi Arabia and the UAE grapple over who will lead the group's drive to meet the world's future oil demand. World Oil editors discuss Denmark's grand plan to lead other oil-producing nations into OPEC's pocket, and how a climbing rig count in the U.S. and Canada is already impacting 2021 crude production models.

Dec 06, 202023 min

Internal divisions and a historic demand split complicate OPEC's oil production plans

When OPEC+ meets this week in Vienna to decide how and when to increase oil output, impatient member states, surging Libyan production, and Chinese demand splitting off from the West will create headaches for ministers. Also, World Oil editors discuss how Arctic drilling plans in the U.S. and Norway are being motivated less by economics and more by geopolitical maneuvering, and the North American drilling rig count shows strength that exceeds even the most optimistic predictions from earlier in ...

Nov 29, 202023 min

From chess match to street fight: The world's courtrooms are the battleground for the future of fossil fuels

In Alaska, Michigan and Norway, partisans on the left and right are sparring in the courtrooms to implement their vision for the future of energy. Operations from small shale plays to multi-billion-dollar offshore installations suddenly hang in the balance as the regulatory outlook becomes increasingly cloudy. World Oil editors discuss a few of these latest moves, and how oil companies are reacting, including: Trump tries to establish a foothold for drilling in the ANWR, just as Norway's Supreme...

Nov 15, 202026 min

Climbing rig counts may signal a turnaround, but that's no comfort for Exxon Mobil

Despite increased drilling activity and strong Q3 results across the board for the supermajors, Exxon Mobil spent the week slashing headcount and planning major asset sales to meet its dividend commitments. In this week's podcast, World Oil editors take a look at where drilling activity is picking up, and what that means for the timeline of a turnaround. Kurt and Cameron also summarize a tough week all around for Exxon Mobil, and some exciting exploration developments off Canada's eastern seaboa...

Nov 01, 202020 min

What the drilling rig count's ongoing climb says about the future of crude oil production

While opinions differ on oil demand and production rates, a fourth week of growth in the rig count appears to prove some projections right, while invalidating others. World Oil editors discuss how the rig count reflects the magazine's recent Mid-Year Drilling Forecast outlook, and what more drilling means for some other industry leaders' ideas on the future of oil and gas production.

Oct 18, 202017 min

Will a flurry of oilfield M&A activity spur innovation in fossil fuels?

The past few weeks have seen extensive merger and acquisition activity in oil and gas, from new operators consolidating legacy field holdings to new, up-and-coming oilfield services providers. In today's podcast, World Oil editors review how these companies are positioning to drive a step change in how fossil fuels are explored and produced.

Oct 11, 202022 min

Despite traders' weak demand outlook, oil and gas drilling activity continues to rise

This week, World Oil editors discuss a seeming disconnect as drilling activity across the board continues to rise, while oil traders are expecting a long road to demand recovery. Also, Venezuela and Iran flout U.S. trade sanctions with more crude and refined product shipments; and Libya's post-civil-war oil export recovery looks set to create challenges for the continuing OPEC+ production agreement.

Oct 04, 202020 min

Political moves, both current and projected, are placing outsized influence on U.S. and Canadian oil markets

While Canada's leaders promise measures to protect oilfield livelihoods, shale drillers in the U.S. are working to minimize the effects of a potential Biden victory. In this week's podcast, World Oil editors discuss the scope and viability of a plan in Newfoundland and Labrador to ensure a future for the offshore oil and gas sector, as well as the lengths shale drillers are taking to ensure their own livelihoods should Joe Biden win the Presidential election in November.

Sep 27, 202023 min

BP makes its peak oil demand prediction amid historic drilling trends in the U.S. and abroad

BP has boldly claimed that global oil demand will peak in the next ten years in its 2020 Energy Outlook. In this week's episode, World Oil editors discuss that prediction, BP's track record on such models in the past, and take a look at some emerging trends in the upcoming World Oil 2020 Drilling Forecast reveal how future production capacity may make that happen.

Sep 20, 202023 min

In a post-Schlumberger world, how will the new frac services landscape change the way shale explorers operate?

Between Halliburton and Liberty Oilfield Services, hydraulic fracturing's two major players have fundamentally different field capabilities and technology ambitions. World Oil editors Kurt Abraham and Cameron Wallace discuss how the differing strategies these two companies offer will change how operators large and small will approach future shale project developments. Also discussed, Canadian disappointment at a lack of leadership from the Prime Minister on preserving offshore oil and gas jobs, ...

Sep 06, 202022 min

How "lower for longer" has become the new baseline for the oil and gas industry

As forecasts show no near-term end in sight for depressed oil demand, operators are making dramatic adjustment to meet the new oil and gas industry reality. World Oil's Kurt Abraham and Cameron Wallace discuss how another record low rig count, projections for continued demand weakness across the board, and dramatic CAPEX budget cuts demonstrate a challenging new reality for operators and service companies.

Aug 16, 202014 min

Negative impacts of record-low drilling activity reverberate across the oil and gas industry

From bankruptcies and asset fire sales to job losses and record declines in crude production, drilling activity levels not seen since 1940 are affecting every corner of the oil and gas industry. In today's podcast, Kurt and Cameron explore this new low-output reality, how companies large and small are maneuvering to survive, and the potential effects of emerging political and grasroots action.

Aug 09, 202022 min

As the oil industry struggles, are national leaders waiting until it's too late to intervene?

As major service companies present their Q2 earnings results, they are offering what is perhaps the industry's leas-politically-biased assessments of future oil and gas demand - and it contradicts where OPEC+ and the IEA want to lead the market in the coming quarters. In Canada, the industry's hardest-working trade association puts Ottawa's Seamus O'Regan on the spot, seeking tax incentives modeled after Norway's system. Based on Equinor's Q2 results, it's a model well worth following. In a 180-...

Jul 26, 202027 min

How might Joe Biden and his new $2 trillion climate plan affect the energy industry?

A billion here, a billion there, and soon enough you're talking about real money... Kurt and Cameron explore Joe Biden's multi-trillion-dollar climate change plan, what it means for the energy industry, and how it compares to his previous large-scale infrastructure programs. (Spoiler: there's a reason you won't hear him say "shovel-ready jobs" on the campaign trail this year.) Meanwhile, OPEC expects global oil demand in 2021 to eclipse its pre-pandemic high in 2019 - are major oil and gas produ...

Jul 15, 202017 min

As the U.S. drilling decline continues, Canada's offshore industry puts Ottawa on the spot

In today's episode, World Oil Editor-in-Chief Kurt Abraham and Digital Editor Cameron Wallace review new drilling rig count numbers that look like they need to get a little worse before they get better; take a look at now Canada's offshore Newfoundland & Labrador trade association, Noia, is offering a textbook example of how to push for government support; review the latest OPEC+ compliance work, and what could add new risk to oil prices; and discuss how the Marcellus shale recovery could me...

Jul 12, 202020 min

Is the drilling rig count finding a bottom?

As the working rig count reaches historic lows, World Oil Editor-in-Chief Kurt Abraham and Digital Editor Cameron Wallace take a look at what it means for future production and inevitable consolidations to follow. Can technical innovation lead the industry out of the wilderness?

Jul 05, 202022 min

Are crude production models ignoring rig count and oil price realities?

World Oil Editor-in-Chief Kurt Abraham and Digital Editor Cameron Wallace review the Dallas Fed's recent oil production survey, and discover a "split personality" between production estimate and pricing models that could lead to an oil supply shock in 2021. Service companies' role in record-breaking U.S. oil production rates, as well as Russia's motivations for actually complying with the OPEC+ agreement, are also covered.

Jun 28, 202021 min

Wednesday, June 17th

Kurt and Cameron explore the potential impact of gas flaring reforms in Texas, what a "new normal" might be for global demand, and why IEA and EIA projections diverge.

Jun 17, 202018 min