The Road To Mexico -- March 1, 2018

Rigzone notes that over the next few years the number of oil and gas producing countries with government instability will increase. Rigzone mentions Russia, Kazakhastan, Egypt, Kenya, and Uganda. But in the big scheme of things, these will not affect the price of oil, according to Rigzone. Rather, the two biggest geopolitical events that could affect the price oil:

• a skirmish on the Korean peninsula
• a skirmish between Saudi Arabia and Iran

Venezuela not even mentioned in the article. Nor was Mexico.

Most interestingly, Mexico was not mentioned. The tea leaves suggest geopolitical events in Mexico might have profound effects on the US.

But, of course, if Bernie Sanders is elected president of the US in 2020, everything changes.

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Meanwhile, Quietly And With Little Fanfare .... Big News For Big Oil

The US will cut offshore drilling royalty rates by a third -- from oilprice.com --

An Interior Department advisory committee voted unanimously to cut the royalty rate that oil and gas companies pay for offshore drilling in federal waters. The Interior Department’s Royalty Policy Committee held a meeting in Houston to evaluate a proposal to lower the royalty rate companies pay on offshore drilling from 18.75 percent to 12.5 percent to promote more offshore production.The lower rate would apply to the value of oil and gas from drilling-rights leases sold starting later this year.