Geopolitics and Energy Mash Up

Surprisingly, the geopolitics in play in my last post are not much different than today's. The Q&A below offers some insights into Putin's moves on the world stage. With low oil prices still lingering and whipsawing around, the green side of energy has seemingly decoupled from oil's tethers. In offering a balanced lineup of subject matter —from global security and shale gas to edgy academic research and energy market plays, the following new works are highlighted:

• A Q&A with Ambassador Pinkering on global hot spots. See the 11/06/15 entry.
• New findings that shale gas wells are not over-drilled.
• Re-freshed content and design of the Cox School faculty research site. (The profile about crowd-sourced investment research is interesting.)
• A look at Toyota's claim about conventional gas engines going by the wayside in 2050, and how various scenarios could present themselves.
• Finally, a couple of firm's reporting in the third quarter offer clues as to how various sides of the oil and gas business are faring: Halliburton here and Pioneer here. In a depressed pricing environment, firms are focused on strengths like never before.

U.S. Energy Supply Alters Benchmarks and Trade

The Dallas Committee on Foreign Relations recently posted the inaugural publication of its "Global Themes Forum," an occasional series of articles, essays and thought pieces about topical global affairs issues. The first installment is a thought piece on global oil markets titled, "U.S. Energy Supply Alters Benchmarks and Trade Scenarios." See the item listed January 27,2015. And if the big picture isn't of concern, a dive into global oil markets after the Saudi succession, or how consolidation in the U.S. energy industry is beginning, may be of interest.

1) "Post-Saudi Succession, Oil Markets Seeking An Elusive Equilibrium" here.

2) The Energy Transfer merger between "family" members: "Energy Transfer Merger Creates Second Largest MLP, Scale Economies" here.