April 17th, 2012

Thurber quoted on Argentina's planned re-nationalization of YPF

PESD associate director Mark Thurber argues in Bloomberg News that Argentina’s government should not expect a near-term boost in domestic fuel production from its planned re-nationalization of oil company YPF, which is majority-owned by Spain’s Repsol. Even over the longer term, national oil companies are not always effective instruments for serving government goals like increased domestic production. The timing is especially sensitive given the nascent development of Argentina’s massive unconventional hydrocarbon resources. Read more »

April 9th, 2012

US on the verge of becoming major coal exporter

As abundant domestic natural gas production erodes coal’s market share in the US, coal producers are looking to overseas markets for growth. At the Argus Americas Coal Summit, Richard Morse gave a presentation discussing the competitive dynamics of US coal exports in world markets. Morse argued that conditions for expansion of US steam coal exports are favorable, but key risks remain that could make or break this “globalization” of the US coal market. Read more »