Warren Buffett, Fear, and Greed in Fracked Oil Fields
By Justin Mikulka, DeSmog Blog
Despite the U.S. fracking industry's history of “capital destruction,” one of the top investors in the world has bet big that Occidental holds the secret to Permian profits. But perhaps this time really will be different, or perhaps Occidental will follow in the footsteps of Halcón and others who bet it all on the Permian and lost.
Chevron and Exxon Say They Can Turn Around the Failed Finances of Fracking Industry
By Justin Mikulka, DeSmog Blog
Why would major oil companies choose to invest in an industry that has failed to turn profits in the past decade?
What Norway’s Big Divestment Decision Means for Fracking, Tar Sands and Global Oil Exploration
By Justin Mikulka, DeSmog Blog
Norway’s sovereign wealth fund — a state-owned investment fund worth approximately a trillion dollars — recently announced it was divesting from oil and gas exploration companies around the world. Not surprisingly, many oil and gas stocks declined following the announcement.
Fracking 2.0 Was a Financial Disaster, Will Fracking 3.0 Be Different?
By Justin Mikulka, DeSmog Blog
And the solution to fracking's profits problem — according to the likes of ExxonMobil — is Microsoft. Apparently cloud technology has been the missing ingredient in the Permian.
Are Investors Finally Waking up to North America’s Fracked Gas Crisis?
By Justin Mikulka, DeSmog Blog
Enabled by rising debt, shale companies have been achieving record fracked oil and gas production, while promising investors a big future payoff. But over a decade into the “fracking miracle,” investors are showing signs they're worried that payoff will never come — and as a result, loans are drying up.
Fracking in 2018: Another Year of Pretending to Make Money
By Justin Mikulka, DeSmog Blog
2018 was the year the oil and gas industry promised that its darling, the shale fracking revolution, would stop focusing on endless production and instead turn a profit for its investors. But as the year winds to a close, it's clear that hasn't happened.
Yet Another Benefit of Renewable Energy: It Uses Practically No Water Compared to Fossil Fuels
By Justin Mikulka, DeSmog Blog
The Energy Information Administration (EIA) recently highlighted a little-discussed benefit of using renewables like wind and solar to produce electricity: Unlike most power sources, they require “almost no water.”
Peak Shale: Is the US Fracking Industry Already in Decline?
By Justin Mikulka, DeSmog Blog
As DeSmog's series on the finances of fracking has documented, there is no doubt fracking can lead to production of large volumes of light oil, but it comes at the cost of approximately a quarter trillion dollars more than the industry has made since 2007.