U.S. Shale Production Continues Its Decline

1. Energy catches fire amid broad rally

– Oil prices have remained mostly stuck in the low-$40s for months, but the oil market has participated in the broader lift in financial markets stemming from optimism surrounding effective vaccines.

– Oil prices surged to their highest levels since March this week. Needless to say, energy stocks rocketed upwards on the news.

– Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ: FANG) shot up more than 15 percent over two trading days.

– “It’s a total change of vibe,” Robert Yawger, director of the futures division at Mizuho Securities USA, told the WSJ. “Everything is much more positive now.”

– The S&P 500 energy sector surged more than 35% this week.

2. New green supermajors

– Enel (BIT: ENEL) and Iberdrola (BME: IBE) have emerged as new clean energy giants, or Green Supermajors, as the WSJ framed it.

– Enel said it will nearly triple its installed renewable capacity to 120 GW by 2030. Iberdrola hopes to double its capacity to 60 GW by 2025.

– In the U.S., NextEra Energy (NYSE: NEE) has become the largest clean energy provider. NextEra’s market cap tops $146 billion, briefly surpassing ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM) a few weeks ago. (Exxon has climbed back to $172 billion market cap as oil prices have rebounded).

– The WSJ notes that the clean energy giants share characteristics to Big Oil: vertical integration, scale, and a pipeline of new projects.…