The biggest news this week was a spike in crude prices after the attack on Saudi Arabia's oil facility.
As is usually the case, such things are temporary.
Oil prices retreated when the market learned that Saudi oil would be back to full capacity in a few short weeks if that.
Crude prices gained more than 10% on the news and surrendered most of that shortly after.
But there are fundamentals in the oil sector that show we're due for a huge rally...
The biggest news this week was a spike in crude prices after the attack on Saudi Arabia's oil facility.
As is usually the case, such things are temporary.
Oil prices retreated when the market learned that Saudi oil would be back to full capacity in a few short weeks if that.
Crude prices gained more than 10% on the news and surrendered most of that shortly after.
But there are fundamentals in the oil sector that show we're due for a huge rally...
A potential conflict between Iran and the United States is brewing, and the world’s fifth- largest oil producer could see its oil exports crushed.
And Iran sanctions could send oil prices rising in a hurry. We’ll show you exactly what to expect, including how you can make money off of the price action.
Money Morning Global Energy Strategist Dr. Kent Moors recently shared his 2019 crude oil price prediction with his readers.
While his paid-up subscribers got to see it months ago, it’s too important to ignore.
Here’s a complimentary look at exactly where Dr. Moors sees oil prices heading in 2019…
On Dec. 3, a week-long rumor finally saw the light of day.
I had heard it prior to my departure for Singapore last week, and it had at the time been the substance of some talk on its potential importance – if true – during our meetings.
Well, it is no longer just a rumor.
On Monday morning, Qatari Energy Minister Saad Sherida al-Kaabi announced that the Persian Gulf state was leaving OPEC, effective Jan. 1, 2019.
Qatar is a minor oil producer, averaging some 600,000 barrels a day, putting it at the bottom of the OPEC ladder along with Ecuador.
However, it is a major natural gas producer and the world's leading exporter of liquefied natural gas (LNG).
But there is a more important reason why Qatar leaving OPEC is likely to shift the regional tensions into a higher gear.
And it's not about oil.
It's all about using natural gas as an increasing global lever...
Here in Singapore, things influencing the oil world continue to make themselves clearer.
Recently, the oil market has been slammed with a tidal wave of volatility, and back a few weeks ago we had the largest drop in oil prices since 2015.
However, since I've been attending meetings here at OSEA 2018 in Singapore, one signal that the implosion in oil prices is nearing its end has surfaced.
In each of the last several downward cycles in the price of both daily pegged benchmarks (West Texas Intermediate in New York and Brent in London), a divergence has emerged prior to the recovery of pricking levels.
That divergence has begun over the past few trading sessions.
It amounts to a recovery in the market prices of crude oil and natural gas production companies while the underlying price of oil continues to move downward, and it has already become a topic of conversation here in Singapore.
From the floor, the issue even made its way into my plenary address before the OSEA 2018 conference.
Just when oil investors thought the worst was over and oil prices were on an upward trajectory, they were hit with the 2018 oil crash.
And it may not be over, as oil continues to stumble.
But you can turn it into an opportunity to bag a big-time payday...
Crude oil prices are rising again.
Much to the relief of oil investors.
The rise has been reflected both by the West Texas Intermediate, the benchmark used for futures contracts set on New York, and Brent, the equivalent set daily in London.
As of close of trade Sept. 19 – which happened at 2:30 for oil – WTI was at $71.12 a barrel, the highest since July 10. Meanwhile, Brent closed slightly higher at $79.23.
I have previously addressed the main reasons for why the price is moving up here in Oil and Energy Investor, and for some time now, the supply side of the market balance has been tightening.
Thanks to this, there is something interesting stirring in the oil sector – something that manifested in a recommendation to my Energy Inner Circle premium subscribers just a couple days ago.
The primary summer driving season is over, and Labor Day, the last vacation weekend of the season, is fast approaching.
Travelers are winding down their end-of-summer vacation plans as we head into the autumn, and traffic between cities is lightening.
Normally, this time of year produces a decline in retail gasoline prices as the driving season ends and autumn and winter hibernation begins. And refineries are already switching primary production cuts from retail gasoline to produce more low-sulfur heating oil for the upcoming colder months.
In this 2018 season, the expected adjustment downward is not kicking in as in years past.
So, why are we witnessing an unusual increase in costs at the pump?
We've seen the term "disruption" everywhere in the media for the past few years.
Ride-sharing company Uber disrupted the taxi industry. Amazon.com Inc. disrupted most of retail and moved into groceries and streaming services. And when you think about it, Ford Motor Co. disrupted personal transportation a century ago when it replaced the horse and buggy with motor cars.
Sailing the oceans in search of treasure is something of a fantasy for a lot of people.
Just imagine it, the gentle rocking of the boat...
Learning the language of the sea...
Manning the big, wooden ship's wheel...
The eventual end goal: finding the buried treasure on the deserted island that you located using the ratty, ancient map with a giant black "X" marking the spot.
Usually this type of imagining involves a hook for a hand, eyepatches, peg legs, and other such pirate accessories.
But it's the buried treasure that's central to this dream.
Unfortunately, in real life, "X" marking the spot is just that... a dream.
There is, however, unmarked buried treasure.
You won't find it in the ocean though...
West Texas Intermediate (WTI) is currently trading for $65.80 per barrel, but one analyst has made a 2020 oil price prediction of $400 per barrel, a staggering 491% climb.
And the reason for a $400 per barrel oil price might surprise you even more...
About 13 years ago, I was at a meeting of energy experts close to Dominion Energy's liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal in Cove Point, Md.
At the meeting, it was unanimously concluded that at least 15% of U.S. natural gas demand would be met by LNG imports within the next decade.
In those days, nearly 70% of the U.S crude demand was projected to be met by imports.
At that time, American oil production was not even 7 million barrels a day, with well over 60% of total volume coming from "stripper wells" – each providing less than 10 barrels daily, but many more barrels of water than oil.
Back then, we were aware of the potential lurking in shale, tight oil, and gas...
But nobody could have foreseen (myself included) the largesse LNG would provide.
One analyst is predicting oil prices could skyrocket to $400 a barrel by 2020.
The only thing more surprising than the price target is the reason why.
And this trigger will almost certainly drive up the price of oil...
If there's any industry whose sentiment can go from hot to cold in just the span of a week, it's the oil industry.
That's how this past week has been, with both WTI and Brent - the U.S. and global benchmarks, respectively - down more than 7% since July 11 when prices logged their worst daily drop in over a year.
Naturally, this has analysts and talking heads across the industry in a fit of frenzy. After all, WTI had been on an unstoppable long-term rally, gaining over 23% since the start of the year.
Let them worry.
I'm not the least bit surprised about the recent pullback. With such an incredible run to three-and-a-half-year highs, prices were bound to get overheated and drop below the psychologically important $70 at some point.
Geopolitics have been so front-and-center lately that despite boosting prices to record highs earlier this month, they have now turned on us and dragged prices back lower.
Here's how this switch happened - and why I'm confident oil markets will turn back in our favor...
According to Money Morning Global Energy Strategist Dr. Kent Moors, oil prices in 2018 still have plenty of upside.
Despite West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil prices trading north of $70 per barrel, Moors says the current spread between Brent and WTI is an incredibly bullish indicator right now.
And that makes these three oil stocks strong buys today...
