I think that the last decline in oil prices is influenced by political decision, and, therefore, there will not be a formation of a new "oil world".

I think that the last decline in oil prices is influenced by political decision, and, therefore, there will not be a formation of a new "oil world".

I think that the member states of OPEC are quite happy that they achieve the best price for their limited supplies of oil, and through having a (near) monopoly on oil for export, they can control world prices and maximum their profits.  So I agree that they may not want to go beyond OPEC.  But in a world of changes, what we see as logical may not always hold.

There are winners and losers from falling oil prices just as there are winners and losers from tumbling interest rates. Producing nations suffer while consuming nations benefit. The net effect, though, should be positive for growth since producers are more likely to save than consumers.

There are two provisos, however. The first is that lower prices stick. The second is that falling oil prices do not lead to a period of outright deflation from which countries find it difficult to escape.

http://www.theguardian.com/business/live/2014/nov/27/oil-hits-four-year-low-opec-greek-strike-german-unemployment-live#block-547739fce4b0bf2ade60cf51

Darko, in my opinion, this change may indicate a fundamental change in the oil business.

Politicians will have their say!

Unfortunately, cheap oil can temporarily divert attention of investors from alternative energy sources.

I guess the result of this decline in oil prices will be the biggest transfer of wealth in history from oil producing countries (OPEC) to US and Japan..

Dear Professor @Mahmoud, in all cases, the capital goes in American financial agencies.

Last Thursday, OPEC decided not to cut production. Oil prices declined by 10% following the decision.Russia is especially vulnerable to those prices. The picture of Russia’s economic future is grim. However, we can't expect oil prices to remain at current levels over the next year. 

The last decline in oil prices is a political decision, and I think oil prices will be declined more.

Dear @Darko and friends, new times in oil business are coming. For Saudi Arabia, plunging oil prices are a political weapon! 

"The main Saudi concern is to protect market share. If there is any “politics” involved here, analysts add, it is an attempt to force US shale producers with higher production costs out of the market."

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/27cbd5e0-7fa0-11e4-b4f5-00144feabdc0.html#axzz3LUeG3pcp

A few observations:

• It seems OPEC’s ability to boost prices by cutting production is decreasing
• Global oil demand is slowing d since 2011 due to the ongoing economic slowdown in China and emerging economies
• Oil production and exports will increase  in many countries that experienced severe disruptions in recent years (Iraq,...)
• Oil will have  smaller share of energy market in the future with affordability of new sources of energy (Renewable!)

I agree with Abdellah and Mahfuz, oil prices are highly influenced by political decisions

Whether such a decline in crude oil prices leads to a proportional decrease in prices of fuel! There is no proportion in Serbia! Prices went down just a little!

No where in the world Costs have come down, this is an outcome of exploitation by a few rich nations on the Oil Producing Countries.

Even in India, the cost of oil fuels are incrementally dropped, but this price reduction have not affected positively small / domestic consumers.

It has researched that expressed that once 50% of oil is extracted, the amount of oil we can extract will gradually begin to decline, for geological reasons. This view is only true if high prices prevail, as we hit limits. With low oil prices, the hit is hard on the producing companies forcing them consider to be (may be) left in the ground.

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-12-08/10-reasons-why-severe-drop-oil-prices-problem

The price of oil is nearly six months in constant decline and decreased by 44% from peak this year, that was the end of June when a barrel cost $ 107.26. The fall in prices is a result of an increase in global oil production, especially in the USA.

The price of oil has absolutely crumbled over the past few months. Weaker than expected demand in Asia along with surging supplies from America have caused supply and demand to become imbalanced.

The demand story

While demand for oil is currently lower than had been expected, that trend isn't expected to continue forever. Lower oil prices tends to create more demand for oil. Further, population growth and expanding incomes from a rising middle class throughout the world is expected to fuel a 15% increase in oil demand by 2030 along with a 33% increase in demand for energy

HISTORY (attached figure):

While the recent drop is stark, it still pales in comparison to the oil bear market of 2008. That year, the price of oil fell 72% between September and December. The 2008 drop was due to a weakened U.S. dollar and weak economic growth globally.

Prices fell from $120 to below $34 during that span. So while that bear market had a bigger impact on oil prices, our current bear market has lasted 12 months longer.

The second-largest drop came during a four-month span from November 1985 to March 1986. The collapse was attributed to Saudi Arabia boosting production in an attempt to gain global market share. Oil prices fell from nearly $32 per barrel to just above $10 per barrel.

The other biggest drops include the 46% drop for oil in 2001, when oil fell from roughly $32 to $17. The 42% drop from October 1997 through March 1998 rounds out the top five. Oil dropped from just below $23 per barrel to near $13.

While today's bear market from oil is far from the biggest price fall we've seen in the last 30 years, it is by far the longest among the top five

The ruble and Russia's energy-reliant economy have been battered for months by falling world oil prices and sanctions imposed by the United States, the European Union, and other nations over Moscow's seizure of Crimea and its support for pro-Russian separatists fighting government forces in eastern Ukraine!

http://www.bloomberg.com/quote/USDRUB:CUR

http://www.rferl.org/content/ruble-dollar-record-low/26738967.html

Dear Ljubomir,

Yesterday, I launched a new question similar to what you were talking about the relation between the oil prices and major exchange rates and more: What are the interrelationships between Oil, Gold and Stock market prices?

https://www.researchgate.net/post/What_are_the_interrelationships_between_Oil_Gold_and_Stock_market_prices#548ba6f4d3df3e1a788b4683

In the past month, crude oil prices on world commodity markets have recorded a continuous slight increase but they are still about 35-40% lower levels compared to the same period of 2014. Possible increase in crude oil prices in the second half of the year could contribute to the following factors: the expected strengthening of the European economy, the continued geopolitical unrest and a possible decline in production of crude oil in the United States and a possible increase in demand in the OECD countries.

Increase in and decrease in prices of oil are not permanent, rather dependent on few factors:

1. Level of production of oil

2. Market function

3. Political and geopolitical issues

4. International politics

5. Etc.  ---- .

Historical experience suggests that a policy of supply management at the global level in order to support prices tends to bring new suppliers and/or lead to the creation of substitute products. Low oil prices, if they persist, will push other commodity prices down, especially those of natural gas, fertilizers, and food commodities.

--------------

MENA-8 (low oil prices for eight developing countries)

• oil importers: Egypt, Tunisia, Lebanon and Jordan
• oil exporters: Iran, Iraq, Yemen and Libya

http://www.worldbank.org/content/dam/Worldbank/GEP/GEPcommodities/GEP2015a_commodity_Jan2015.pdf

Any decline or increase, which is a common phenomenon, in oil prices can not be sufficient enough to lead to formation of a new "oil world".

Falling oil prices: Who are the winners and losers? "Global oil prices have fallen sharply over the past seven months, leading to significant revenue shortfalls in many energy exporting nations, while consumers in many importing countries are likely to have to pay less to heat their homes or drive their cars..."

http://www.bbc.com/news/business-29643612

Thanks much for sharing this article @ Ljubomir

The oil price crash is now upending the global economy, with ramifications for every country in the world. Low prices are excellent news for oil consumers in places like Japan or the US, where gasoline is the cheapest it's been in years.

But it's a different story for nations reliant on oil sales. Russia's economy is facing a potential meltdown. Venezuela is facing unrest and may default on its debt. Even better-prepared countries like Saudi Arabia could face heavy pressure if oil prices stay low.

http://www.vox.com/2014/12/16/7401705/oil-prices-falling

Oil's wild ride: where will prices go? Over the next six months, we may expect a Goldilocks scenario in which prices are neither too high nor too low.

http://fortune.com/2015/05/07/oils-wild-ride-where-will-prices-go/

Good resource : Myths of the Oil Boom - American National Security in a Global Energy Market! " In Myths of the Oil Boom, Steve A. Yetiv, an award-winning expert on the geopolitics of oil, takes stock of our new era of heightened petroleum production and sets out to demolish both the old myths and misconceptions about oil and the new ones that are quickly proliferating. As he explains, increased production in the US will not lead to a major reduction in longer term oil prices, even if it has contributed to their precipitous fall in the short run." 

http://ukcatalogue.oup.com/product/9780190212698.do

Oil prices have dropped like a lead balloon from more than $105 a barrel in August 2014 to around $42 a barrel now. The steep fall in prices to multiyear lows is altering the world from Iran and Russia to the local gas pump. 

http://www.nydailynews.com/opinion/steve-yetiv-cheap-oil-dangerous-myth-article-1.2156053

Declining prices of oil in international marker have little declining impact in India, may be political reason.

Imaginary reasons

The two consecutive hikes have wiped away more than one-third of the gains that had accrued to consumers when global rates began to fall in August last year.

IOC, the nation's largest oil retailer - statement.

"Since last price change (effective May 1), there has been a steep increase in international prices of both petrol and diesel. Rupee-US dollar exchange rate has also depreciated quite significantly during this period. Combined impact of both these factors warrant an upward revision in prices, the impact of which is being passed on to consumers with this price increase,"

http://profit.ndtv.com/news/economy/article-petrol-price-hiked-by-rs-3-13-a-litre-diesel-rs-2-71-a-litre-763451

Asia oil pricing change to raise trade volumes

http://www.scmp.com/business/commodities/article/1826721/asia-oil-pricing-change-raise-trade-volumes

The International Energy Agency said late last year that a slowing Chinese economy and a boom in U.S. shale production had brought about a new era for oil.

http://www.cnbc.com/id/

GUNDLACH: If oil goes to $40 a barrel, something is 'very, very wrong with the world'

http://www.businessinsider.com/jeff-gundlachs-december-2014-call-on-oil-2015-8

"I hope it does not go to $40," Gundlach said in a presentation, "because then something is very, very wrong with the world, not just the economy. The geopolitical consequences could be — to put it bluntly — terrifying."

"Oil prices rose Thursday as a more upbeat demand outlook buoyed sentiment, even as the strong dollar kept those gains in check.

Earlier this week, U.S. crude fell to a six-year low, battered by China’s surprise currency devaluation and the persisting glut of oil..."

http://www.wsj.com/articles/crude-oil-futures-mixed-in-asian-trade-1439430615

9 Reasons Why We Should Be More Worried About Low Oil Prices

http://oilprice.com/Energy/Oil-Prices/9-Reasons-Why-We-Should-Be-More-Worried-About-Low-Oil-Prices.html

Crude oil prices plunged to a six-year low Tuesday in a potentially painful threat to oil-exporting nations that rely on crude to power their economies. The drop brings some welcome relief to countries that have been struggling with economic headwinds, but brings a mixed bag for others, like the United States, that are both big producers and consumers of oil.

http://foreignpolicy.com/2015/01/13/the-good-bad-and-ugly-of-plunging-oil-prices/

How Low Will Oil Prices Go?

"When the week began with a 588-point drop in the Dow Jones Index and crude oil dropped to $38 per barrel, pundits on the news blamed the slowdown of China's economy (while Donald Trump blamed President Barack Obama) and the phones at GasBuddy's offices, as expected, rang non-stop.

Inquiring reporters wanted to know: "How low can it (crude oil and gasoline) go?"..."

http://www.usnews.com/opinion/economic-intelligence/2015/08/26/how-low-can-oil-and-gas-prices-go

New "oil world" is contingent on multiple factors including decline in oil prices.

Goldman Sachs Sees A New World Order Ahead In Oil Markets Amid Lost Decade

http://www.valuewalk.com/2015/08/new-world-order-oil/

Oil price rises: is this the end of the slump?

http://www.theweek.co.uk/oil-price/60838/oil-price-rises-is-this-the-end-of-the-slump

“The complex has yet to feel the full impact of coattail spending cuts and project cancellations that will provide a tighter market of oil in the future, when the global economy comes back,” Flynn said. “Already this year, global oil-demand growth is the strongest we have seen in five years and if we see that surge in the last half of the year, we could see the market tightening much quicker than anticipated.”

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/oil-prices-extend-gains-as-markets-rebound-2015-08-28-11032224

Hopefully, the decline will lead into oil-less world! This is what the UN has publicly demanded.

It means, Dear  Michael Issigonis, that it will lead to excessive use of oil, so excessive extracting.

Russia says oil output could decline if prices stay low!

"OPEC and Russia, one of the world's biggest oil producers, have held regular meetings but have not agreed on any coordinated action to prop up falling prices..."

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2015/09/01/russia-oil-opec-idUKL5N1171X520150901

Thanks for sharing very interesting information, dear Ljubomir.

Venezuela, Russia Agree on Joint Actions to Boost Oil Price Growth

"Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Venezuelan counterpart Nicolas Maduro agreed on joint actions to promote the growth of the oil prices..."

 http://in.sputniknews.com/world/20150903/1015596102.html

Crude Shock: Petrol and diesel prices set to rise in 2 weeks!

"Global oil prices jumped spectacularly on Monday after oil cartel OPEC said it was ready to coordinate with other oil producers to ensure "reasonable" oil prices..."

Read more at:

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/48765375.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst

Why Vladimir Putin Won't Be Helping OPEC to Cut Oil Production

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-09-10/why-vladimir-putin-won-t-be-helping-opec-to-cut-oil-production

Beware of Cheap Oil!

http://www.naturalgaseurope.com/beware-of-cheap-oil-25782

"... When oil prices go up, governments of oil-importing countries worry. But when oil prices go down, there is a sigh of relief. Low oil prices give European economies a boost, but in terms of foreign and security policy, Europe’s neighbourhood faces more instability as oil-producing countries struggle with a fiscal crunch..."

You are right dear @Darko. Here is another impact! Beside, the number of students in petroleum engineering took off like oil prices...!

http://www.dailytoreador.com/news/petroleum-engineering-affected-by-oil-prices/article_0eeeb0e0-7083-11e5-a2d6-0bde310c5076.html

I share your point of view, dear @Ljubomir.

The Peak Oil Crisis: Forests & Trees!

"...Does this mean that we have reached peak oil? The short answer is that it is too early to tell. As we know, industries have numerous embedded feedbacks which self correct perturbations. Lower oil prices lead to lower production, but also to more demand as consumer prices are cheaper. The lower production leads to shortages and higher prices and which in turn leads to more production – but only if more production is available at going prices. How these cycles will play out over the rest of the decade and into the 2020s is nearly impossible to predict.

There are many outside factors in the equation such as the current contraction of the global economy led by China. The Middle East is clearly coming unstuck in many ways. Oil is no longer freely flowing from a number of countries in the region; Iran is about to ramp up its production, if it can sell it; Iraq certainly seems on the way to fracturing into smaller countries; and the forces that want to overthrow the Gulf oil producing monarchies are growing in strength all the time. The rest of the decade is going to be an interesting time."

http://fcnp.com/2015/10/12/the-peak-oil-crisis-forests-trees/

The American energy boom is finally showing some cracks from the crash in oil prices.

"... U.S. oil production decreased by 120,000 barrels per day in September from August, according to a report released by the Energy Information Administration on Tuesday.It marks the lowest monthly output in the last 12 months. And it was the fourth in the past five months that U.S. production has declined.That doesn't mean that it's time to call this the beginning of the end of the shale oil boom. The U.S.'s oil output still stands at a robust 9 million barrels per day, nearly double the amount of oil pumped in late 2008...

http://www.newsits.com/cracks-emerge-in-us-oil-boom

Operators turn to robotic drilling, other innovations to battle low oil price!

http://www.ceasiamag.com/2015/10/operators-turn-to-robotic-drilling-other-innovations-to-battle-low-oil-price/

Beware of Cheap Oil!

http://www.naturalgaseurope.com/beware-of-cheap-oil-25782

"...When oil prices go up, governments of oil-importing countries worry. But when oil prices go down, there is a sigh of relief. Low oil prices give European economies a boost, but in terms of foreign and security policy, Europe’s neighbourhood faces more instability as oil-producing countries struggle with a fiscal crunch.Between 2005 and 2014 there was an extended period of high oil prices. From 2011 to 2014, Brent oil averaged $107 per barrel. But in mid-2014 prices plummeted. Oversupply – booming US shale oil production in combination with unchanged levels of production in OPEC countries – met falling demand, particularly from a slowing Chinese economy. Supply disruptions, sanctions and conflicts – which removed more than 3 million barrels per day from the market in 2015 – had little effect on the downward trend in oil prices. On October 6, Brent oil was trading at around $52 per barrel..."

Goldman Sachs: Chance Of Oil Falling Below $20 Is Under 50%

http://www.rigzone.com/news/oil_gas/a/141117/Goldman_Sachs_Chance_Of_Oil_Falling_Below_20_Is_Under_50

Goldman Sachs head of commodities research and commodities bear Jeff Currie said on Thursday that he does not see the price of oil breaking above $50 a barrel in the next year, but the chances of it dropping to $20 are below 50 percent. Persistent oversupply, along with slowing demand from China and other emerging-markets as well as a stronger dollar, will create enough of a headwind to keep the price of oil below $50 a barrel through the coming 12 months...

What a consequences of low oil prices! The company cited low current and forecast wholesale energy prices, tamped down by cheap gas, as a primary reason for the decision.

Entergy to Permanently Close Troubled Pilgrim Nuclear Plant!

http://www.powermag.com/entergy-to-permanently-close-troubled-pilgrim-nuclear-plant/?hq_e=el&hq_m=3166216&hq_l=3&hq_v=3b171a1d10

Dear @Darko, read my good friend and colleague Branko Terzic. 

Electricity Markets: Still not right!

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/electricity-markets-still-right-branko-d-terzic?trk=hb_ntf_MEGAPHONE_ARTICLE_POST

IEA Sees Oil Prices at $80 by 2020

"The International Energy Agency (IEA) expects oil prices to increase to $80 per barrel by 2020, adding in its yearly report that there are clear signs that an energy transition is underway. A period of low oil prices is the moment to reinforce our capacity to deal with future energy security threats” IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol commented in a statement released on Tuesday.European authorities welcomed the evidence reported in the World Energy Outlook 2015.The good news is that the report shows the world is shifting towards clean energy” Miguel Arias Cañete, European Commissioner for climate action and energy, commented. As said in the document, the IEA also provided a forecast of oil prices in the next 5 years. ‘In the central scenario of WEO-2015, a tightening oil balance leads to a price around $80 per barrel by 2020’ reads the press release.Meanwhile, Total’s CEO Patrick Pouyanne said that oil majors can reap the benefits of the current market conditions. My advice is to be patient with M&A,” Pouyanne said as reported by Reuters, explaining that values of assets have to yet fallen far enough."

http://www.naturalgaseurope.com/iea-sees-oil-prices-at-80-by-2020-26293

Field Automation and Low Oil Prices!

"In the current low oil prices environment, automation is crucial to optimize production, allowing operators to achieve higher levels of operational efficiency. By implementing effective surveillance and predictive analytics strategies, automation can contribute to substantial savings, through areas such as improved maintenance and downtime reduction..."

http://www.automation.com/portals/process-automation/scada-rtu/field-automation-and-low-oil-prices?utm_source=bronto&utm_medium=email&utm_term=Image+-+Field+Automation+and+Low+Oil+Prices&utm_content=SCADA+%26+RTU+-+Field+automation+and+low+oil+prices,+SCADA+mobility+infrastructure,+News+and+products&utm_campaign=SCADA+%26+RTU+-+October+2015

The average oil price in the last 140 years was 30 USD per barrel, and from 2000 to today is around $ 64.5 per barrel. The price of oil on world markets fell to 44 USD per barrel, while US futures traded at $ 40.9 per barrel. Analytical Moody's said that only in 2017 can expect that the price of oil exceeds 55 USD per barrel. The International Energy Agency (IEA) said in turn that the price closer to USD 80 per barrel by 2020.

Oil price slump: can it still fall further?

http://www.theweek.co.uk/oil-price/60838/oil-price-vulnerable-after-opec-shock

"The oil price broke lower again yesterday and set a new nadir for the year, at a level not seen since early 2009.Opec's decision on Friday not to cut its production target - in fact to offer no certainty on a production ceiling at all - has shaken up traders..."

Oil can be bought from OPEC only if you have dollars. Non-oil producing countries,  first have to sell their goods to earn dollars with which they can purchase oil. If they cannot earn enough dollars, then they have to borrow dollars from the WB/IMF, which have to be paid back, with interest, in dollars.

http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Iraq/Iraq_dollar_vs_euro.html

US crude oil traded below the psychological level of $40 per barrel for the third day in a row in yesterday’s trade.

https://marketrealist.com/2015/12/will-crude-oil-prices-hit-32-per-barrel/

From the horse’s mouth: The new oil world is radically different from the old one

 http://www.energypost.eu/horses-mouth-new-oil-world-radically-different-old-one/

 ".. We have entered a new oil world in which most of the old oil market truths can go overboard. This was the stark message given off by BP’s Chief Economist Spencer Dale in a speech he gave in London on 13 October. According to Dale, oil market realities have changed fundamentally: “We need a new set of principles reflecting the New Economics of Oil”. Karel Beckman discusses the profound implications following from Dale’s ground-breaking analysis..."

"The Saudis understand, that to avoid catastrophic global warming, most of the world’s carbon reserves will need to stay in the ground. That’s why they have decided to sell their oil wealth before it’s too late"

http://www.energypost.eu/end-oil-age-great-stories/

I think it's an alternative of the Cold War.

Thanks for sharing very interesting information, dear @ Krishnan

How to Combine Gas, Renewables... and Coal?

"How can we get rid of coal? What role will gas play in the energy mix? How can we best combine gas with renewable energies? These core questions illustrate the concerns gas players had about the future of gas as a transition fuel before the Paris climate summit (COP21). Those questions remain unanswered despite the final agreement reached at the summit in December. At the summit, Gas Naturally hosted a lively discussion addressing these issues. The panel featured Ian Duncan, a conservative member of the Environment committee of the European Parliament for the United Kingdom, Giles Dickson, CEO of the European Wind Energy Association (EWEA), and Olivier Schäfer, President of SolarPower Europe..."

http://www.naturalgaseurope.com/cop-21-how-to-combine-gas-renewables-and-coal-27121

Gas is one of large losers of the financial and economic crises that in 2008 from the USA expanded to Europe. Gas consumption has never recovered compared to the pre-crises period, and year after year, demand for gas decreases despite the optimistic forecasts of Eurostat on increasing demand. Thus in 2014 demand for gas was by 23% lower compared to 2010 when it reached its peak.

Oil Prices Slide Again, and the Bottom Is Not Yet in Sight

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/12/business/energy-environment/oil-prices-slide-again-and-the-bottom-is-not-visible

 "... With oil prices collapsing, renewables on the rise and coal companies going bankrupt, we are at a key inflection point in the energy transition,” said Michael Webber, deputy director of the Energy Institute at the University of Texas at Austin. “Inflection points produce a lot of uncertainty and volatility for investors...”

Thanks for sharing very interesting materials, dear @ Ivica

Russia’s Exports to Europe, Turkey hit 159.4bn m³

Exports of Russian gas to the ‘far abroad’ rose 8% in 2015, compared with the previous year, reaching 159.4bn m3, Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller said January 11.“I would like to mention a significant growth of Russian gas deliveries to our biggest consumers. In 2015, exports to Germany rose 17.1%; to Italy, by 12.6%; to France, by 36.8%; to UK, by 10.2%; and to Austria, by 11.5%. One should add that in 2015 Gazprom hit an absolute record of gas export to Germany: 45.3 bn m³,” Miller said.

http://www.naturalgaseurope.com/gazprom-hits-record-in-gas-deliveries-to-germany-27590

Europe dominated gas purchases from Gazprom and prices are linked to oil prices, and fuel oil, sometimes with the inflation factor. Last year, Gazprom's exports to Europe was a record, because gas prices dropped following oil

Oil is a power source of XX santury. Now we have many alternatives. So I think the future is for eco-friendly alternatives like wind or solar.

Crude reckoning: what will oil price slump mean for the global economy?

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/oilprices/12093667/Crude-reckoning-what-will-oil-price-slump-mean-for-the-global-economy.html

"Oil hits new low of less than $30 per barrel and could plunge further, increasing pressure on US and Middle East producers. Analysts at Deutsche Bank said that “history shows the potential for geopolitical tensions in the Middle East to push oil prices higher”, and the possibility of instability in the region could interrupt production. Low prices themselves could provide a catalyst, as cheap oil undermines the outlook of Middle East economies..."

America’s Looming Gas Revolution

After years of waiting, the United States is ready to start exporting natural gas — into a very different world from what it expected. 

 http://foreignpolicy.com/2016/01/22/americas-looming-gas-revolution-lng-exports/

"... The United States is finally set to start exporting some of its natural gas bonanza, potentially becoming not just the world’s biggest energy consumer but also a key provider of fuel for the rest of the globe..."

"Power can be, and at no distant date will be, transmitted without wires, for all commercial uses, such as the lighting of homes and the driving of aeroplanes. I have discovered the essential principles, and it only remains to develop them commercially. When this is done, you will be able to go anywhere in the world — to the mountain top overlooking your farm, to the arctic, or to the desert — and set up a little equipment that will give you heat to cook with, and light to read by. This equipment will be carried in a satchel not as big as the ordinary suit case. In years to come wireless lights will be as common on the farms as ordinary electric lights are nowadays in our cities."

 Nikola Tesla

Weekly Overview: How Low can Gas Prices Go?

"There were more predictions of doom for oil and gas producers this week, despite apparently contradictory facts: hundreds of billions of dollars have been cut since 2014 from companies' upstream investment plans; oilfield output is presumably still declining each year with pressure as it naturally will; and US shale oil producers are on the skids as hedges run out and cash flow evaporates. What is already being built upstream will go ahead but with Brent at $50/b translating into gas at around $7.00/mn Btu, integrated gas to LNG projects in Alaska and Canada are unlikely to see the light of day. We are, one argument goes, heading for a shortage, implying higher prices sooner or later – as the majors had said earlier this month..."

http://www.naturalgaseurope.com/weekly-overview-oil-down-28097

EC Adopts Energy Security Package

http://www.naturalgaseurope.com/revision-on-intergovernmental-agreements-its-not-snooping-28193

"... The European Commission formally adopted February 16 an energy security package that focuses on security of supply, but also enhances the stability of the European energy market, according to EC  vice president Maros Sefcovic, in charge of the energy union project. The package will now be handed over to the European Parliament and European Council for deliberation.Recalling the turmoil created by the events in Ukraine, he said that such crises can have direct impacts upon security of energy supply in Europe, influencing formulation of the package. Incidentally, as a Slovak he comes from a country whose gas supplies have been repeatedly affected by gas disputes between Ukraine and Russia.“Such threats to our energy supply come on top of existing vulnerabilities of certain European countries, as we learned from the stress tests of 2014, which were a direct consequence of those crises, so we could learn how to address such challenges in the future,” he said. .."

" ... 2018 started on a positive note for oil markets with Brent prices breaking through $70 a barrel for a few days and all the key international crude oil benchmarks flipping into backwardation. Yet, there is still a wide uncertainty engulfing the oil market, with very divergent views among market observers about how the oil price path could evolve in 2018, with some revising upwards their forecasts to higher than $80/b while others are less convinced that the market fundamentals can sustainably support a price above $70/b, expecting a lower path in the mid $60/b. In 2017, the Brent price averaged at $54.5/b, an increase of around $10/b from the 2016 average of $44.7/b. Another strong year of global oil demand growth estimated at 1.6%, driven by a synchronised global growth upsurge in economic activity last seen in 2010, and the unexpectedly high OPEC/Non-OPEC compliance to the joint production cut of 1.8 mb/d agreed in November 2016 have led to tighter oil market balances, as well as a substantial drop in OECD oil stocks by about 110 mb year-end.

Preliminary IEA data show that as of December 2017, OECD oil inventories stood only 55 mb above the five-year average, down from the peak of 366 mb in July 2016..."

https://www.oxfordenergy.org/wpcms/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Oil-Price-Paths-in-2018-The-Interplay-between-OPEC-US-Shale-and-Supply-Interruptions-Insight-28.pdf

What Is Keeping Oil From Breaking $70?

The protests in Iran have helped push oil prices up to fresh multi-year highs this week, but a lot of questions remain about the durability of the oil price rally.

Repeated and ongoing protests in various cities around Iran has raised questions about a possible disruption of supply, which, to be sure, remains highly unlikely. But the needling from the U.S. President’s Twitter account added fuel to that fire, helping to keep the price rally going...

https://oilprice.com/Energy/Oil-Prices/What-Is-Keeping-Oil-From-Breaking-70.html

Thanks for sharing very interesting materials, dear @ Ljubomir