Too light, too sweet
Trump's deregulations will only touch the margins of production, but he will generate plenty of geopolitical risk
US light tight oil output is transforming world oil markets. After falling during the 2015 oil price crash, total American production—of which shale is now a major source—surged back onto markets, and the Energy Information Administration (EIA) expects output to rise another 0.5m barrels a day in 2018, to a record 9.9m b/d. Much of this new production is finding its way onto global markets, and exports now regularly run over 1m b/d. But can there be too much of a good thing? Specifically, with Opec's light sweet crude exporters Libya and Nigeria staggering back from extended production outages, and big Persian Gulf producers tightening availabilities of middle-gravity sour crudes, is there a
Also in this section
6 February 2026
The long close relationship between key supplier Qatar and pivotal buyer Japan becomes even deeper following new landmark deal
6 February 2026
Partnerships across the LNG value chain have evolved over time, growing in both complexity and importance, according to panellists at LNG2026
6 February 2026
Nigeria's mega-refinery is still trying to solve many challenges, all while its owner talks up expansion
5 February 2026
While broadly supportive of EU efforts to tackle methane emissions, representatives of the gas industry warn it could deter supply contracting if timelines and compliance requirements are not made more pragmatic
