According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), the world’s demand for energy is going to increase by nearly 50 percent by 2035. Based on EIA projections, this graphic from API’s 2012 State of American Energy report shows that oil and natural gas is expected to supply 52 percent of that energy, only slightly less than today’s share (55 percent).

This means finding and producing oil and natural gas will remain critical to the global economy in the decades ahead. The International Energy Agency:

“Every advanced economy has required secure access to modern sources of energy to underpin its development and growing prosperity. … In developing countries, access to affordable and reliable energy services is fundamental to reducing poverty and improving health, increasin... more »

Lots of insight in a speech this week by Shell's Hugh Mitchell, chief human resources and corporate officer, speaking at the Edinburgh University Business School.

The challenges: rising population - the world's population is expected to increase by a third over the first half of the century, from 7 billion to more than 9 billion - and rising wealth. Mitchell:

"As countries like India and China continue their economic development, by 2050 billions of people will be buying phones, fridges and cars which their grandparents would never have dreamed of. For the global energy system, these trends are already having a profound effect. Driven by rising demand and prosperity, global energy demand is set to double in the first half of this century. In China, energy demand could rise by 75% between 2... more »

No matter where you live, the cost of filling up your car with gasoline has increased in recent months, which has some consumers asking: "What's causing this spike in gas prices?"

A number of factors help dictate the price of gasoline, but the cost of crude oil on the global marketplace is the main component, and crude oil prices have been steadily rising. With current economic conditions improving worldwide, global demand for oil is rising, leading to the higher prices we're seeing today.

Gasoline prices are also affected by other factors, including weather events, inventories, refining and distribution costs, marketing and taxes. For example, every time U.S. motorists pull up to the pump, they pay an average of 48 cents in state and federal taxes per gallon of gasoline.

One way to ad... more »

The administration is erecting more roadblocks to offshore drilling. According to published reports, the government will require an environmental assessment for each and every deepwater well. It also plans to extend the government's timeframe for exploration plan review from 30 to 90 days.

As a result, the plan approval and permitting process will take longer than ever before and further delay the offshore development of U.S. oil and natural gas.

API's Upstream Director Erik Milito told the Houston Chronicle the decision to require an environmental assessment for each well adds more red tape to the permitting process and gives less flexibility to regulators who have the authority to waive environmental assessments when appropriate.

Mark Shuster of Shell Oil said it's a matter of sig... more »

Crude oil prices reached a two-year high on Friday. At the end of the trading day, it closed at $89.19 per barrel, up nearly 21 cents a gallon since November 17.

During the same time period, gasoline prices rose 9.7 cents per gallon to a nationwide average of $2.951, which is the highest level since October 18, 2008. AAA reports that 17 states have retail pump prices above $3.00 a gallon.

As we've noted here, historically gasoline prices have tended to track crude oil. The cost of crude oil is the largest factor in the pump price of gasoline. Several factors also can have an impact, including the value of the dollar (oil is traded in U.S. dollars worldwide) and weather. But the fundamentals of supply and demand play the biggest role. As API statistics show:

• Gasoline supplies are above las... more »