Good morning, here's what the Oilman has for you today:

• Musk Speaks In Defense of Oil, Gas

• The Year that U.S. Shale Surprised Everyone

• Upcoming Oil and Gas Events

• Tweet of the Day

Musk Speaks In Defense of Oil, Gas

The maker of the best-selling electric car in the U.S. has called on the world to stop demonizing oil.

That’s what it has come to. The EV king is telling everyone to stop bashing oil and gas.

Musk also told climate activists to stop exaggerating.

Cue mass meltdown of activists.

Time for common sense to return

When one of the biggest natural enemies of oil and gas speaks in defense of the industry, something is afoot.

That something may well be a return of some common sense to the energy conversation.

Musk didn’t mine his words. Here are a few quotes.

“I think the climate change alarm is somewhat overblown in the short term.” 

He went on to add that while the changing climate is a problem, “It won’t destroy humanity.”

The Tesla CEO then went on to slam activists for going too far.

He said many of them have come to see humanity as “a plague on the surface of the Earth.”

It’s hard to argue with the man. They really did go too far.

Changing narratives

This year saw an explosion of alarmist reports in media and think tanks.

At the same time, none other than the new head of the IPCC said the climate issue is being overblown.

Awkward, but they couldn’t fire him for that after just hiring him.

Meanwhile, more people – more scientists – are starting to question the transition publicly.

Criticism and doubts about the cost-benefit ratio of the transition are on the rise.

And EV subsidies are ending in key markets, by the way.

Time to see if oil’s challengers can stand on their own four wheels.

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The Year that U.S. Shale Surprised Everyone

U.S. oil production hit a record 13.2 million bpd in September.

This was much higher than forecasts.

And came amid consistently lower rig counts throughout the year.

Analysts were stunned.

Quantity versus quality

2023 may well have been a turning point in the history of U.S. shale.

The rig count has been followed religiously by observers and traders for years.

Now, it is no longer a reliable indicator of production changes.

Because drillers boosted efficiency.

Because now they can get a well done in less time and pump more oil and gas out of it.

And that’s how production grew by a million barrels daily this year and not just a few hundred thousand.

Chances are, the EIA’s prediction of 180,000 bpd in total growth next year will also be exceeded.

If drillers have the motivation.

Record exports, growing clout

This year, U.S. oil exports surged to a record.

The surge followed the addition of WTI Midland to the Brent basket.

This lowered the overall price of the benchmark as WTI Midland is cheaper than North Sea grades.

It also stimulated greater demand for U.S. crude, especially in Europe and Asia.

Because it was so cheap.

Europe may be very transition-oriented, but it appreciates an affordable barrel of crude as much as any Asian refiner.

The record output driving record exports is also boosting the clout of U.S. oil over global markets.

At the expense of OPEC.

This should be interesting.

Upcoming Oil & Gas Events

• January 16: TIPRO/IPAA Leaders in Industry Luncheon, Petroleum Club of Houston, Houston, TX

• January 17: IPAA Private Capital Conference, The Post Oak at Uptown Houston, Houston, TX

• January 17-18: GO-WV Winter Meeting, Marriott Town Center Hotel, Charleston, WV

• January 18: Kansas Oil and Gas Day Legislative Reception, Kansas State Capital, Topeka, KS

• January 23-25: POWERGEN International, Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, New Orleans

Around the Global Patch

🇨🇺 Cuba's oil future: appraisal well commences.
🇳🇴 Norway fund divests ethical concerns in Israel.
🇷🇺 Russian uranium: export ban warning issued.

Tweet of the Day

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