Fracking through the "shale gas revolution" created an economic boost during a time the economy needed all the help it could get, according to a working paper published by the National Bureau of Economic Research. Fracking boosted the economy by $48bn per year between 2007-13, according to the study's authors: Catherine Hausman and Ryan Kellogg of the University of Michigan.

Worldwide oil production is outpacing demand, and oil prices have fallen by more than 50 percent since June 2014. Many factors - including soft demand, increasing U.S. production and diminishing storage for crude oil - suggest that the days of $100-a-barrel oil may not return. This scenario presents potentially disastrous consequences for oil and gas (O&G) firms that are not prepared to accelerate their digital transformation. Innovative oil and gas firms, however, believe today's turbulent market landscape provides an opportunity to grab competitive advantage by harnessing new technologies, such as the Internet of Everything.

Conflict in Yemen risks spilling out into the busy sea lanes that pass it and potentially disrupt the narrow Bab el-Mandeb passage through which nearly four million barrels of oil are shipped daily to Europe, the United States and Asia.

Global dry cargo demand growth, forecast at 5 percent per annum from 2016 to 2019, should be offset by falling project cargo volumes over the next 12 to 18 months, according to the latest edition of the Multipurpose Shipping Market Review and Forecaster, published by Drewry Maritime Research.

Manufacturers typically evaluate seven critical areas when it comes to operational decision making: transportation and energy costs; market demand for their products; rising labor costs in China and other developing nations; access to talent, tax and regulatory policies; availability of capital; and currency trends.

Following OPEC's decision at the end of November to maintain production at its current level, the Brent spot price of oil closed at $70.02 per barrel, down 39 percent from its closing price of $115.19 on June 19, 2014. Similarly, the WTI spot price fell by 39 percent over the same period, closing at $66.15 at the end of November. What's next? Will the price of oil continue to fall, and if so, how far? Will the price of oil level out? Or will it rebound?

Fred P. Hochberg, chairman of the U.S. Export-Import Bank signed a memorandum of understanding with Chairman K.S. Popli of the Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA) to explore options for utilizing up to $1bn to finance the sale of U.S. clean energy exports to India.