Until recently, the nation has insisted it wouldn’t unilaterally cut output until others agreed to contribute. All that has changed
Saudi Arabia is back in its role as the swing crude oil producer of the world. Until recently, the nation has insisted it wouldn’t unilaterally cut output until others, including Russia, agreed to contribute. But all this changed – almost overnight. On Jan. 4, while the ministers from Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its…
On the anniversary of the tragedy, the University of Alberta remembers the colleagues and friends who were lost
Russ Greiner’s artificial intelligence lab is made up of 15 or so grad students, post-docs and others who hold cheerful, heartfelt meetings, and why wouldn’t they? It’s a cohesive group made up of more friends than colleagues. And the one person most responsible for that cohesion during the 2019 iteration of the team was master’s…
United States President Donald Trump leaves office in three weeks. Anything could happen before then. Stakeholders are taking positions around the strategically-important Strait of Hormuz, the only sea passage for crude oil shipped from the Persian Gulf to the open ocean. In 2018, some 21 million barrels per day (bpd), or almost 20 per cent…
Oil-dependent economies are in a real quandary. Sliding markets, lowering demand and strong output capacities are set to hit the single-product, oil-rich economies of the Middle East, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said in a recent report. These oil-rich Persian Gulf states are now expected to see a six per cent real gross domestic product…
Supported by all these bullish factors, Brent crude spot prices rose. Yet oil markets also face bearish pressures
Faced with gloom and some good news at the same time, crude oil markets continue to be in a quandary. Retrenchment and lack of capital investment could eventually lead to crude shortages, argued David Messler in a piece in Oilprice.com in June. The shortage could result in firming up of oil prices. Messler also points…
Iran, Venezuela and Libya have virtually been forced out of production. But that hasn’t made the lives of other producers easier
An uneven playing field exists in the crude oil marketplace. Two major producers, Iran and Venezuela, face sanctions on their oil sales from the United States. Meanwhile, Libya is in the midst of civil strife. These circumstances mean a considerable volume of oil isn’t available to the markets. Yet the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries…
New U of A graduate Asal Andarzipour found herself in a leadership role in the wake of the Flight 752 disaster
In the days following the tragedy of Flight 752, Asal Andarzipour desperately held things together. Two missiles struck the Ukraine International Airlines flight on Jan. 8, killing 13 Iranians with connections to the University of Alberta among the 176 victims. As president of the Iranian Students’ Association, Andarzipour was suddenly thrown into crisis management, fielding…
He needs to do something to boost his electoral fortunes, with the presidential election looming in November
Is American President Donald Trump beating war drums in the Middle East to prop up the ailing crude oil industry? After having failed to turn around the oil markets by engineering an unprecedented output cut deal between Saudi Arabia and Russia, Trump seems to be looking desperately at other options. The crude oil industry is…
The daily news cycle often contains items of interest. In 2020, this would include the Senate impeachment trial involving U.S. President Donald Trump, the signing of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement, the tragic death of National Basketball Association legend Kobe Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter Gianna in a helicopter crash, and the passing of inspirational London,…
We’ve allowed market forces to replace a host of political-economic goals and considerations, and we’re far worse for it
Pax Americana, the long-standing U.S.-inspired post-war world order, is unravelling like a cheap carpet. Apart from catastrophes like Venezuela, Britain's chaotic retreat from the European Union, or the threat from President Donald Trump to pull the United States out of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, there’s the shocking rise of anti-western authoritarian regimes in Iran,…
Saudi Arabia is back in its role as the swing crude oil producer of the world. Until recently, the nation has insisted it wouldn’t unilaterally cut output until others, including Russia, agreed to contribute. But all this changed – almost overnight. On Jan. 4, while the ministers from Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its…
