OPEC, for some quiet moments..

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The U.S. is about to change the global LNG market forever. When the first tanker carrying LNG from shale fields leaves the Sabine Pass terminal in Louisiana in December, it will turn consumers into traders with more bargaining power. That will transform a market dominated by long-term contracts into one where spot trading gains prominence, similar to crude oil.

Shale set to pummel another market, as U.S. LNG plants arrive

When OPEC started a price war last November, driving oil down to its current $65 bbl, U.S. shale drillers looked doomed. Six months later, it’s the world’s largest oil companies that are emerging as the unexpected casualties. The reason: the multibillion-dollar projects at the heart of the oil majors’ strategy need prices closer to $100 to make them economically feasible.

OPEC’s shale war leaves big oil companies as unexpected casualty

OPEC nations’ revenue from petroleum exports plunged below $1 trillion last year for the first time since 2010, highlighting how slumping crude prices hurt countries reliant on oil sales to fund their economies. The group’s 12 members earned $993.3 billion in 2014, a decrease of 11% from a year earlier, according to the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries’ annual report published Tuesday. Their combined current account balance slumped by 35% to $273.6 billion as the drop in exports was accompanied by an increase in imports.

OPEC revenue slumps below $1 trillion first time since 2010

In many ways the iPath Crude Oil Futures ETF (OIL) has been a trader’s dream over the last few months. Ever since the March resistance at around the $11.50 level was broken in April and a top around $13.20 was established the next month, OIL has been a very well behaved range trading instrument. That can’t last forever, however, and looks set to change any day now. The question for traders and investors, of course, is how they can position themselves to take advantage of that likelihood.

Why OIL Will Break Out Of Its Range Soon & What To Do About It | OilPrice.com