By Neil Collins You may have noticed that the big oil companies had rather a good time last year. They could hardly fail to make bonanza profits given what was happening to the price of their principal products. Shares in both Shell and BP were among the best UK performers of 2022, and portfolio managers who had abandoned producers of the nasty black stuff lost out badly. Yet on a longer view, both shares look like feeble also-rans when compared to their biggest competitor, Exxon …

By Cyril Widdershoven The global oil sector is reeling from a combination of negative oil prices, storage overload, demand destruction, and calls for a renewable energy revolution in the post-COVID-19 era. US and European oil market analysts appear to be pinning their hopes on a rebound in oil demand from Asia. Even international financial institutions, such as the IMF, WB, ECB and OECD indicate that the future of economic and energy demand growth is inextricably linked to the future of China and, increasingly, India. OPEC …

By Steve Okoekpen | – In contemporary discuss, no issue has divided global opinion quite like climate change. Many including the US President Donald Trump dismiss notions of “global warming” and the idea that human-driven activity can impact weather on a global scale. Experts and climate change campaigners, including the former US Vice President Al Gore and Michael Bloomberg, UN Special Envoy for Climate Action, have raised concerns with the current US administration’s roll back of climate change rules put in place by its predecessor.  President …

By Ifeanyi Izeze | – Is it not curious that the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), the Navy, the Joint Military Taskforce (JTF) and the International Oil Companies (IOCs) seem not to bother anymore about the menace of crude oil theft from facilities in the nation’s Niger Delta, shallow, and deep offshore arenas? hat suddenly happened? Has crude oil stealing stopped? Is it not curious that the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), the Navy, the Joint Military Taskforce (JTF) and the International Oil Companies (IOCs) …

By Ugochukwu Joseph Amasike | – Devolution of powers to the states would serve as a catalyst for the development of non-oil exports, restart Nigeria’s industrialisation-drive, create jobs and strengthen the economy as a whole. The need to diversify Nigeria’s revenue base has continued to gain traction by the day, especially in light of recent economic challenges that were largely occasioned by over-dependence on oil and gas revenue. The drastic fall in oil prices in 2015 and the consequential foreign exchange crisis it triggered, reverberated …

By  Erik Norland | – Saudi Arabia, the top exporter among oil producers grouped under the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), and Russia announced on May 15 that they favoured extending production cuts for an additional nine months into 2018, rallying oil prices. The celebrations, however, might be short-lived. As we have pointed out on several occasions, fracking technology has made the United States a major swing producer in energy markets, diminishing the influence of Saudi Arabia and other OPEC members. OPEC members will …

By Patrick Bond | – What does a Trump victory mean for Africa? The most catastrophic long-term consequence is climate change. This is because Trump is a denialist. He will give the green light to widespread fracking, coal and oil exploration. Africa will be the most adversely affected continent. United Nations scientists estimate that nine out of 10 small-scale farmers are unlikely to farm by 2100 because of drying soils. Global warming plus extreme weather will also cause 180 million unnecessary African deaths by then, according to Christian Aid. Under Trump, …

By Omano Edigheji | – The Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) has lost its relevance. For almost twenty years now, it has been more reactive than proactive. It has not been able to develop a comprehensive development agenda that represents the interests of workers and the poor that could form a basis to engage with government. Such a broad development agenda should have clearly set out the short term sacrifices workers will make for their long term benefits and overall development of the country. Alas, it has …