The energy sector is undergoing a transformative period marked by significant investments in renewable energy alongside continued robust investment in oil and gas. Understanding these investment trends is critical for stakeholders, policymakers, and the public, as they shape the future of energy supply, economic growth, and environmental sustainability.

Earlier this month OPEC+ announced it intends to continue production cuts through the second quarter of 2024. This announcement left forecasters at the EIA scrambling to adjust the Short-Term Energy Outlook stating, “We now forecast significantly less global oil production than world oil consumption through the first half of 2024, requiring draws on world petroleum stocks (inventory). Stock draws tend to increase oil prices.”

Beginning January 1, 2024, the Corporate Transparency Act (“CTA”) will officially go into effect, which requires additional reporting obligations on U.S. entities and foreign entities doing business in the United States to provide beneficial ownership information to the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”). Congress established that the general intent of the CTA is to prevent illicit activities, including money laundering, financing terrorism, tax fraud, and other harmful activities related to national security interests, from occurring through the use of entity schemes. The CTA applies to any corporation, limited liability company, or other similar entity (limited partnership; limited liability partnership; limited liability limited partnership) that files an application (e.g., Certificate of Organization/Incorporation filed with the Secretary of State) under the laws of a State or Indian tribe, subject to certain exemptions. As a result, the CTA will impose the reporting burden on many farmers, landowners, and other industry professionals.

After reading yet another negative headline on the $20 trillion commercial real estate (CRE) market, I was reminded of the investment characteristic I once assumed the CRE market shared with the $4 trillion farmland market.