❗Let's close the gap: We still need your help to raise $40,000 by April 1. Donate now

OPEC+ members say they'll cut oil production. Global markets don't seem to believe them.

Nov 30, 2023
Production cuts may no longer be as effective at propping up prices because electric vehicles are cutting into global demand.
OPEC+ members are promising a pullback of as much as 2 million barrels a day, at least half of that from the Saudis.
Joe Klamar/AFP via Getty Images

Why are oil prices suddenly dropping?

Oct 6, 2023
Since the end of September, Brent Crude has been sliding — down to the $84-a-barrel range, more than a 10% decline in just over a week. This is also playing out at the pump, with gas down about eight cents a gallon in the last week.
Along with oil prices, the average price of gas in the U.S. has fallen in the last week. Above, a gas station in Los Angeles, California.
Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images

U.S. crude is playing a bigger role in pricing global oil

Jul 12, 2023
The addition of American crude oil to the Brent benchmark had an immediate impact on global oil prices.
Adding plentiful American crude to the Brent benchmark means the price is now influenced by a more stable source, said Eli Tesfaye of RJO Futures.
Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images

The benchmark for determining global crude oil prices is changing

Mar 31, 2023
Dated Brent, used to set the price of most of the world's oil, will include supplies from Texas for the first time.
West Texas Intermediate crude oil has the qualities needed for an update of the Brent index. Above, storage tanks in Midland, Texas.
Joe Raedle/Getty Images

What does the price cap on Russian oil mean for global oil prices?

Dec 7, 2022
The $60 price cap was designed to limit Russian oil revenues, while keeping the oil itself flowing to avoid a global price shock.
After debating how high to set a price cap on Russian oil, Western allies agreed to $60 per barrel. 
Above, an oil refinery in Moscow.
Natalia Kolesnikova/AFP via Getty Images

Strategic oil release comes with guaranteed buybacks, but will anyone do the drilling?

Oct 20, 2022
Oil companies have been hampered by labor and capital costs and $70 a barrel may not be enough to lure them.
The White House plans to buy oil to refill the strategic petroleum reserve at roughly $70 per barrel — a break-even point for most on-shore U.S. oil producers.
Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images

U.S. oil refiners' margins smash records, but few plan to build more plants

May 23, 2022
"Crack spreads" are higher than ever. But investors aren't interested in dumping money into fossil fuel expansion.
A "COVID hangover" is keeping the price of gas high, one expert says.
Brandon Bell/Getty Images

For public good, not for profit.

There's an oil market crisis even without sanctions on Russian exports

Mar 2, 2022
Brent crude rose above $113 a barrel Wednesday — the highest level in eight years.
Though oil prices have reached the highest levels in eight years, OPEC+ is choosing not to ramp up production.
Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images

$100-a-barrel oil may soon be a reality — and stick around

Jan 19, 2022
“It is ultimately about supply and demand,” one expert says. And COVID-19.
High oil prices mean high gas prices. The costs at the pump may not go down anytime soon.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images