Tag: The Energy Information Administration (EIA)

Speculators' Risk Assessments Key to Crude Price Changes

Posted on by Robert Boslego

Robert Boslego - INO.com Contributor - Energies


August crude futures prices edged $0.20 higher in the week ending July 12th (to correspond to the data below), closing at $46.80. However, prices are down about 7% since early June when a confluence of events caused supply disruptions in multiple locations.

Crude Oil Prices

Though U.S. crude oil inventories have dropped more than 20 million barrels since the end of April, petroleum product stocks reached a new peak in the week ending July 8th. Continue reading "Speculators' Risk Assessments Key to Crude Price Changes" →

Charting The Energies Data Release

Posted on by Robert Boslego

Robert Boslego - INO.com Contributor - Energies


Each week, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) reports estimates for crude oil and petroleum products. These supply, demand and inventory estimates are used by traders to assess the inventory surplus (or deficit), the supply-demand balance and whether the market is tightening or not. The best measure of the latter is to look at the crude stock change and petroleum product stock change graphs.

These stocks and trends are best understood in perspective and so comparisons are made to previous years. Interpreting the data reported by the EIA might otherwise be difficult or time-consuming.

It is important to note that these estimates are provided from surveys and EIA models and are subject to revision. The EIA crude production data, in particular, has been revised substantially in monthly data released a few months after the weeklies.

US Crude Oil Production 4 Week

Other US Energy Supplies

US Crude Production + Other Energy

US Net Crude Oil Imports 4 Week


Continue reading "Charting The Energies Data Release" →

Charting The Energies Data Release

Posted on by Robert Boslego

Robert Boslego - INO.com Contributor - Energies


Each week, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) reports estimates for crude oil and petroleum products. These supply, demand and inventory estimates are used by traders to assess the inventory surplus (or deficit), the supply-demand balance and whether the market is tightening or not. The best measure of the latter is to look at the crude stock change and petroleum product stock change graphs.

These stocks and trends are best understood in perspective and so comparisons are made to previous years. Interpreting the data reported by the EIA might otherwise be difficult or time-consuming.

It is important to note that these estimates are provided from surveys and EIA models and are subject to revision. The EIA crude production data, in particular, has been revised substantially in monthly data released a few months after the weeklies.

US Crude Production, 4 Week Trend, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016

Other US Supply Four Week Trends, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016

US Crude Production and Other Supply, 4 Week Trend, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016

US Net Crude Imports, 4 Week Trend, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016


Continue reading "Charting The Energies Data Release" →

2 Strong Plays In A Struggling Natural Gas Market

Posted on by admin

By: Adam Fischbaum of Street Authority

Once heralded as the bridge to an oil-free energy future, natural gas seems to have been relegated to stepchild status in the hierarchy of carbon fuels. Why?

It's cheap, clean, efficient and plentiful. That's part of the problem. The Energy Information Administration (EIA), estimate that there are 388.8 trillion (yes… trillion) cubic feet of proven natural gas reserves in the United States. That's a lot of product to be pumped along with the 20+ trillion cubic feet of dry natural gas we pump annually.

And we keep discovering more. Take a peek at a 20-year study of the spot price.

After a couple of flirts with ridiculous prices, we're pretty much back to where we started when I still had hair and wore size 32 jeans.

The other challenge is lack of industry consolidation. The top 10 U.S. natural gas producers control 31% of the market. That's a decent number. But compare that to the top 10 petroleum producers who tap 52% of the market. Thin margins due to low prices don't get companies excited about acquisitions.

So with prices in the toilet and lack of merger activity, can investors make any money with natural gas? The answer is "yes". I've found two companies that are thriving despite challenging sector fundamentals. Continue reading "2 Strong Plays In A Struggling Natural Gas Market" →

How To Profit From Government Mandates In Biofuels

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The Energy Report: New proposed Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) requirements for the renewable fuel standards (RFS) program could change the landscape for biofuels. What is the new supply-and-demand picture for corn ethanol, biodiesel and sugarcane ethanol?

Brett Wong: This is a proposal, and not a confirmed mandate, which we expect to get by the end of November. The two most important pieces in the standards cover corn ethanol and biodiesel usage requirements. The new proposal for minimum corn ethanol use would be 13.4 billion gallons (13.4 Bgal), which creates a floor. The blendwall, based on Energy Information Administration's (EIA) expectations for gasoline consumption this year, is about 14 Bgal based on 10% ethanol content in gas, which car manufacturers say is a safe level for the fleet. That is the domestic ceiling. This leaves discretionary blending from 13.4 up to 14 Bgal. Beyond that, the demand is from exports, which use up the overall capacity of about 14.7 Bgal. Some people talk about 15 Bgal, but I think that includes some facilities that will never come back on line.

"Renewable Energy Group Inc. could be the biggest winner within the nonintegrated biodiesel providers."

We send a good amount of our ethanol to Canada, which has blending mandates as well. We send some to South America. Brazil has a large blend requirement of 27.5%, which was an increase from 25% last year. That country produces a lot of ethanol from sugarcane, but it has had some rough crop years and must import biofuel to fulfill mandates. There are also more exports going to Asia, where China is trying to clean up its air. Continue reading "How To Profit From Government Mandates In Biofuels" →