Energy In-depth: Predictions Of A Crude Oil Price Plummet

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PREDICTIONS OF A CRUDE OIL PRICE PLUMMET
Predictions that crude oil could fall as low as $30 a barrel are reaching a crescendo as fears are increasing that lifting of sanctions against Iran will mean that more cheap oil is dumped into the international marketplace.

Several top Wall Street analysts are now predicting that prices will slide to $30 a barrel even before the end of the year, given that crude inventories are already bursting at the seams. West Texas Intermediate, the nation’s benchmark crude fell to a six-year low at $41 on Wednesday.

“Given where we are now, there is a 90% likelihood that we will dip into the $30s,” Chris Main, oil strategist at Citigroup Inc., told the Wall Street Journal.

EPA UNVEILS VIRTUAL TRAINING TOOL TO HELP COMMUNITIES PREPARE FOR CLIMATE CHANGE
As part of President Obama’s Climate Action Plan, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released an online training module to help local government officials take actions to increase their communities’ resiliency to a changing climate.

The virtual training is the latest addition to the U.S. Climate Resilience Toolkit announced in November 2014. It includes successful examples of effective resilience strategies that have been implemented in cities and towns across the country.

The training explains how a changing climate may affect a variety of environmental and public health services, such as providing safe drinking water and managing the effects of drought, fires and floods. It also describes how different communities are already adapting to climate-related challenges. It also provides links to a number of federal and state resources that can help communities assess their unique climate-related risks.

SEVERANCE TAX COLLECTIONS HIT ALL-TIME ANNUAL HIGH, BUT SHALE SPENDING CUTS LEAD TO DECLINE
Arkansas severance tax collections tumbled nearly 59% in the first month of state’s fiscal year 2016 as Fayetteville Shale drillers were unable to sustain production levels due to continued weak natural gas prices, spending cuts and fewer operating rigs.

Severance tax revenue rose slightly to $78.6 million for the fiscal year ended June 30, compared to collections of $77.3 million in fiscal 2014, state revenue data shows. But rig counts and drilling activity have been declining in recent months. What are the economic ramifications of all of this? Read more here.

GEORGE SOROS: NEW ‘KING COAL’
Billionaire investment banker and Democratic Party supporter George Soros, who has been a staunch clean energy advocate in the past, made both business and political news this week when it was reported that he purchased huge stakes in Peabody Energy and Arch Coal, two of the nation’s largest publicly-traded coal miners.

In the political sphere, Soros’ purchase of more than 1 million Peabody shares and over 500,000 shares in Arch Coal had several conservative bloggers and news sites saying that President Obama’s “war on coal” will allow the billionaire to be the new “King Coal.”

“It’s possible that Soros is only looking for a ‘dead cat bounce’ from his Peabody and Arch Coal investments, but the companies together have provable coal reserves of about 11 billion tons, worth hundreds of billions of dollars,” said BreitBart.com. “I doubt the shrewd Soros is looking to make just a few million dollars on these investments.”

Also, Fox News, the Daily Caller and Newsmax also wondered aloud why the clean energy advocate was snapping up shares of “dirty coal.” No word from Soros yet on what he plans to do with his new investments.