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Rebels in Colombia Hit Energy Sector Hard in 'Black October'

BOGOTA—Colombia’s energy sector, the main driver of its economy, is limping away from “Black October,” a term coined by Marxist rebels who set forth on a month-long blitzkrieg, attacking oil pipelines, coal trains, electricity plants and transmission towers in a show of strength during peace talks with the government. There were roughly two dozen attacks during October on high-profile targets like oil pipelines, according to security analysts and companies. That was more than double the number of attacks in September and by far the highest for any month this year, according to analysts. The Colombian government usually comes out with a count months later. Colombia’s army declined to comment. Most of the attacks are believed to be the work of the country’s main guerrilla force, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC. The attacks add to doubts about the rebels’ sincerity in reaching a peace agreement with the […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Rebels in Colombia Hit Energy Sector Hard in ‘Black October’

BOGOTA—Colombia’s energy sector, the main driver of its economy, is limping away from “Black October,” a term coined by Marxist rebels who set forth on a month-long blitzkrieg, attacking oil pipelines, coal trains, electricity plants and transmission towers in a show of strength during peace talks with the government. There were roughly two dozen attacks during October on high-profile targets like oil pipelines, according to security analysts and companies. That was more than double the number of attacks in September and by far the highest for any month this year, according to analysts. The Colombian government usually comes out with a count months later. Colombia’s army declined to comment. Most of the attacks are believed to be the work of the country’s main guerrilla force, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC. The attacks add to doubts about the rebels’ sincerity in reaching a peace agreement with the […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Venezuela’s government seizes US-owned oil rigs

Page added on November 3, 2013 Venezuela has quietly seized control of two oil rigs owned by a unit of Houston-based Superior Energy Services after the company shut them down because the state oil monopoly was months behind on payments.   The seizure took place Thursday after a judge in the state of Anzoategui, accompanied by four members of the local police and national guard, entered a Superior depot and ordered it to hand over control of two specialized rigs to an affiliate of PDVSA, the state-owned oil producer.   PDVSA justified the equipment’s expropriation, calling it essential to the South American nation’s development and welfare, according to a court order obtained by The Associated Press. Company workers were instructed to load the rigs, known as snubbing units and used to repair damaged casing, onto trucks to be deployed at “critical wells” elsewhere, according to the document.   “It […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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China’s grandees ready for crucial political event

A soldier outside parliament in Beijing ©Reuters A soldier in Beijing. The party will discuss ‘unprecedented’ reforms at their meeting, according to one leader In the coming days, the Communist Party of China will hold the country’s most anticipated political event of the year. The show trial of disgraced politician Bo Xilai may have given the masses a dose of high political theatre but the forthcoming closed-door meeting of party grandees could prove to be far more significant and far-reaching. The third plenary session of the 18th Congress of the CPC Central Committee will take place between November 9 and November 12. The party leadership has strongly hinted that Mr Xi will use this occasion to send a powerful message to the world about his plans for the rest of his decade in power. Last week, Yu Zhengsheng, the fourth-ranked leader in the party hierarchy, described the reforms to […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Indonesia likely to miss revised 2013 crude output target: SKK Migas

Jakarta (Platts)–4Nov2013/226 am EST/726 GMT Indonesia is likely to miss the government’s revised 2013 crude production target of 840,000 b/d, by pumping only 827,000 b/d on average this year, Elan Biantoro, spokesman for upstream regulator SKK Migas, said Monday. But the country may manage to arrest the rate of decline in output, Biantoro added. “The average production as of October this year is 827,000 b/d on average. We estimate that the production figure is likely to be same until the end of the year. It is difficult to meet the government’s target,” Biantoro said. Article continues below… Request a free trial of: Oilgram News Oilgram News Oilgram News brings you fast-breaking global petroleum and gas news on and including: Industry players, upstream and downstream markets, refineries, midstream transportation and financial reports Supply and demand trends, government actions, exploration and technology Daily futures summary Weekly API statistics, and much more […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Coal Displacing Nat Gas…Already

In January, 2012, the price of nat gas plunged to below $2/mcf due to overproduction by shale operators. Such low prices did, indeed, prompt utilities to switch from coal fired generation to natural gas fired generation if they had the capacity. Industry crowed that this was the shape of things to come with electricity costs plummeting for consumers and heralding the end of “King Coal”. Unfortunately, as with most aspects of unconventional shale production, this proved short lived and oversold. Glaring numbers show another picture altogether. Electricity generation from natural gas began to fade only months after it had gained ground in much the same way that shale gas wells fade only months after initial production. As gas prices moved up to trade between $3.50-4/mcf, utilities promptly began switching back to using coal for generation. According to EIA (Energy Information Administration): “During the first half of 2013…the price of […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Alberta Says ‘Quid Pro Quo’ With U.S. Required on Carbon Rules

Alberta won’t raise its levy on greenhouse-gas emissions unless the U.S. acts on the issue, Premier Alison Redford said. “In Alberta, we’re not looking to increase our price on carbon unless there’s going to be a move from the United States ,” Redford said in a Canadian Broadcasting Corp. radio interview that aired today. “There has to be a quid pro quo.” Redford is heading to Washington this month to lobby for U.S. approval of the Keystone XL pipeline that would connect Alberta’s oil sands with Gulf Coast refineries. She plans to discuss the existing C$15 ($14.40) per metric ton that the province levies on carbon from emitters that don’t meet greenhouse-gas reduction targets, she said. Canada has delayed implementing regulations regarding greenhouse gas emissions for the oil and natural gas industry. The federal government has said it’s working with Alberta, where most of Canada’s energy companies are based, […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Ukraine minister: Naftogaz debt to Gazprom to be resolved Monday

KIEV, Ukraine, Nov. 4 (UPI) — A dispute over late payment of $882 million owed by Ukraine’s Naftogaz to Russia’s Gazprom will be resolved Monday, a Ukrainian minister said. Minister of Energy and Mines Eduard Stavytskyy told Ukrainian broadcaster Channel 5 Saturday during a soccer game between ministers and members of Parliament the problem of debts for Russian gas will be hammered out Monday. He said the talks between Naftogaz and Gazprom are in the the final stages, but wouldn’t reveal the nature of any of the negotiations, or if the government will step in to provide financial help for the Ukrainian company. “I want to emphasize that the issue is actually solved and on Monday you will learn the details,” Stavytskyy said. He said last week he had given the two energy companies until Thursday to come to an agreement on the debt, but that deadline was pushed […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Russia breaks oil output record

Page added on November 3, 2013 Russian oil output, the largest in the world, reached 10.59 million bpd (barrels per day) in October, setting the record for the country’s post-Soviet period, Energy Ministry data showed. The landmark was reached due to Rosneft increasing production at the Vankor field in the Krasnoyarsk Region, the Vedomosti paper reports. The output at the field was 18.3 million tons last year, with the company planning Vankor reach 25 million tons annually. Another influential factor is the larger amount of Gazprom-produced gas condensate, which has now reached 350,000 bpd. The country’s total output in October reached 44,773 million tons, which is 1.3 percent higher than during the same period last year. According to the International Energy Agency, Russia’s all-time production of black gold reached its peak at 11.41 million bpd in 1988, when it was still part of the Soviet Union. The production of […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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What’s After Oil ?

What’s After Oil ? If you’re wondering about the direction of gasoline prices over the long term, forget for a moment about OPEC quotas and drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and consider instead the matter of Hubbert’s Peak. That’s not a place, it’s a concept developed a half-century ago by a geologist named M. King Hubbert, and it explains a lot about what’s going on today at the gas pump. Hubbert argued that at a certain point oil production peaks, and thereafter it steadily declines regardless of demand. In 1956 he predicted that U.S. oil production would peak about 1970 and decline thereafter. Skeptics scoffed, but he was right. It now appears that world oil production, about 80 million barrels a day, will soon peak. In fact, conventional oil production has already peaked and is declining. For every 10 barrels of conventional oil consumed, only four new […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple