Energy Crunch: the global picture
Three things you shouldn’t miss this week The dwindling emissions budget if we are to limit global warming to no more than 2°C. International Energy Agency World Energy Outlook 2013 Continue Reading
Oil rises above $94 as Yellen defends stimulus
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — The price of oil rose above $94 a barrel Friday after incoming Federal Reserve chief Janet Yellen indicated that economic stimulus will remain in place pending further improvement in the U.S. economy. Benchmark U.S. crude for December delivery was up 35 cents to $94.11 a barrel at midafternoon Kuala Lumpur time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract slipped 12 cents to close at $93.76 on Thursday. Brent crude, the international benchmark, was up 13 cents to $108.41 a barrel on the ICE exchange in London. Yellen, who is slated to replace Ben Bernanke in late January, testified Thursday to the Senate Banking Committee. She said the U.S. economy has gained ground but still needs the Fed’s support because unemployment remains too high at 7.3 percent. The Fed is buying $85 billion of government bonds and mortgage securities a month […]
WTI Trims Sixth Weekly Loss as Investors Weigh Stimulus Outlook
West Texas Intermediate crude rose, trimming a sixth weekly decline, as speculation the U.S. will maintain economic stimulus countered a surge in supplies in the world’s biggest oil consumer. Futures gained as much as 0.6 percent in New York and are poised for the longest weekly losing streak since December 1998. U.S. crude stockpiles climbed to the highest level since June as production expanded last week, according to the Energy Information Administration. Janet Yellen , the nominee for Federal Reserve chairman, said she will ensure the central bank’s asset purchases don’t end too soon. “Dovish comments from Yellen are providing support,” said Michael McCarthy , a chief strategist at CMC Markets in Sydney. “Some of those funds that are being redeployed across asset classes are flowing into oil. The fundamentals, the supply side in particular, are pointing in the other direction and that’s another reason why today looks like […]
WTI Crude Falls on Supply as Brent Spread Widens
West Texas Intermediate crude fell as rising U.S. inventories overcame optimism that Janet Yellen will maintain Federal Reserve stimulus efforts. WTI’s discount to Brent grew to the steepest since March. WTI slid 12 cents after touching a five-month low in intraday trading as the Energy Information Administration reported a 4.6 percent surge in supplies at Cushing, Oklahoma, the futures’ delivery point. Crude reduced losses as Yellen, the nominee for Fed chairman, said she will ensure the central bank’s asset purchases don’t end too soon. “Rising stockpiles are going to keep the pressure on WTI,” said Chip Hodge , who oversees a $9 billion natural-resource bond portfolio as senior managing director at Manulife Asset Management in Boston. “The discount to Brent keeps widening, as a result, and I don’t see it abating anytime soon.” WTI for December delivery settled at $93.76 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange after […]
IEA sees steady decline in OPEC output
PARIS, Nov. 14 (UPI) — The International Energy Agency said in its monthly market report, released Thursday, oil production from OPEC declined in October for the third straight month. The IEA, which has headquarters in Paris, said cuts from Saudi Arabia helped push oil production down from members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries for the third month in a row last month. OPEC, in its monthly report, said its members produced, on average, 29.89 million barrels of oil per day in October. The IEA said OPEC ministers are expected to keep their production benchmark of 30 million bpd in place when they meet in Vienna next month. The IEA said oil-producing countries outside the 12-member OPEC cartel recorded a “record-high” output, which lifted global oil supplies by 600,000 bpd in October to 91.8 million bpd. In its World Outlook Report for 2013, published earlier this week, the […]
Hello Warsaw, This Is Haiyan Calling
Via Flickr from hmcotterill This commentary is a joint publication of Foreign Policy In Focus and TheNation.com . It seems these days that whenever Mother Nature wants to send an urgent message to humankind, it sends it via the Philippines. This year the messenger was Haiyan, known in the Philippines as Yolanda. For the second year in a row, the world’s strongest typhoon barreled through the Philippines, Yolanda following on the footsteps steps of Pablo, a.k.a Bopha, in 2012. And for the third year in a row, a destructive storm deviated from the usual path taken by typhoons, striking communities that had not learned to live with these fearsome weather events because they were seldom hit by them in the past. Sendong in December 2011 and Bopha last year sliced Mindanao horizontally, while Yolanda drove through the Visayas, also in a horizontal direction. That it was climate change creating […]
IEA Says Mideast Disruptions Pose Risk to Oil Market
Supply losses in the Middle East and North Africa may offset rising shale oil output and push prices higher next year, the International Energy Agency said. Crude prices may “come under renewed upside pressure” as refiners returning from seasonal maintenance eat into supply already curtailed by unrest in Libya and Iraq , the agency said today in its monthly market report. The IEA slightly increased estimates for global oil demand in 2014, and for production from outside the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, resulting in a “comfortable” balance for early next year. “Production problems in Libya and Iraq, among others, continue to relentlessly fester, and may prove more market-supportive in a context of rising demand than they have been during the recent” refinery overhaul season, the Paris-based adviser to 28 nations said. Brent futures have slipped 3.1 percent this year to trade at about $107.70 a barrel in London […]
Obama Calls for Patience in Iran Talks
WASHINGTON — President Obama made a vigorous appeal to Congress on Thursday to give breathing space to his efforts to forge a nuclear deal with Iran, and the prospects for an interim agreement may have improved with the release of a report by international inspectors who said that for the first time in years, they saw evidence that the Iranians have put the brakes on their nuclear expansion. The inspectors, from the International Atomic Energy Agency, said that very few new advanced centrifuges had been installed since President Hassan Rouhani of Iran took office in June, promising a new start with the West, and that little significant progress has been made on the construction of a new nuclear reactor, which became a point of contention in negotiations in Geneva last week. The slowdown, according to diplomats familiar with the Iranian work, was clearly political, not driven by technical problems. […]
Iran puts brakes on nuclear expansion under Rouhani, IAEA report shows
VIENNA (Reuters) – Iran has virtually halted a previously rapid expansion of its uranium-enrichment capacity since Hassan Rouhani became president, a U.N. inspection report showed on Thursday, in a potential boost for diplomacy to end the Iran nuclear dispute. In another finding that may be seen as positive by the West, the quarterly report by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said no further major components had been added to a potential plutonium-producing reactor since August. The marked slowdown in the growth of Iranian activity of possible use in developing nuclear bombs may be intended to back up Rouhani’s dramatic shift in tone towards the West after years of worsening confrontation, and strengthen Tehran’s hand in negotiations with world powers due to resume on November 20. The Arak reactor, which Iran previously said it would start up in the first quarter of 2014 but later postponed, is of great […]
Iran FM hopeful on next round of nuclear talks
AP Photo TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran’s foreign minister says he is hopeful ahead of next week’s negotiations with world powers and reiterated Tehran’s demand for recognition of what it calls its “nuclear rights.” Talks between world powers and Iran are set to resume on Wednesday in Geneva after failing to strike an accord last weekend. Both Iran and the United States have blamed each other for the failure to reach agreement to limit Tehran’s uranium enrichment in exchange for an easing of Western sanctions. Mohammad Javad Zarif says in comments carried by the semi-official Fars news agency on Friday that there is no chance for the upcoming round of talks to succeed if the West ignores Iran’s demand for formal recognition of its right to enrich uranium. Iran denies it’s pursuing a nuclear weapon. © 2013 The Associated Press . All rights reserved. This material may not be […]
Iran’s nuclear expansion slows, says IAEA
Hassan Rouhani addresses the 68th United Nations General Assembly at UN headquarters in New York ©Reuters Hassan Rouhani addresses the UN General Assembly in New York Iran has sharply slowed down the expansion of its nuclear programme over the past three months, the international nuclear watchdog said on Thursday, providing a potential boost to ongoing nuclear talks with Tehran . The International Atomic Energy Agency said that Iran was continuing to enrich uranium which could potentially be used to build a nuclear bomb , in contravention of a series of UN resolutions. However the Vienna-based watchdog said the rapid expansion in the Iranian programme had come to a near-halt since August, coinciding with the start of the new government of Iran’s more pragmatic president Hassan Rouhani . The report comes ahead of a new round of international talks next week to try and strike a deal that would place […]
Israeli PM dismisses IAEA report on Iran
• Netanyahu said he was “not impressed” by the report which charged Iran slowed nuclear activities. • Netanyahu reiterated his stance that the world powers must keep sanctions against Iran intact. • Netanyahu campaigns against lifting sanctions and “hurrying into a deal”. JERUSALEM, Nov. 14 (Xinhua) – Israel i Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday dismissed a report released by the International Atomic Energy Agency ( IAEA ), which indicated that Iran had significantly slowed down its efforts to reach nuclear capabilities. Speaking at a convention for American Jewish youth in Jerusalem, Netanyahu said he was “not impressed” by the report which charged that the rate of uranium enrichment at the nuclear facility in Natenz had dropped significantly in the past three months, under the regime of the recently-elected Hassan Rouhani. The report specifically stated that the stockpile of high-level enriched uranium had risen by five percent since […]
Hezbollah Chief Says His Forces Will Stay in Syria
LONDON — The head of Hezbollah, the Lebanese Shiite militant group whose armed followers are fighting in Syria on the side of President Bashar al-Assad, pledged on Thursday that his forces would remain there as long as necessary. The leader, Hassan Nasrallah, spoke at a Shiite ceremony in his stronghold in southern Beirut, the Lebanese capital, held to observe Ashura, one of the most important holidays on the Shiite religious calendar. It commemorates the killing of Imam Hussein, a grandson of the Prophet Muhammad. Mr. Nasrallah’s battle-hardened fighters joined the fray in Syria earlier this year to recapture a border town, and Mr. Assad’s foes say they have also been deployed on other fronts in the south near Damascus, the capital, and Aleppo in the north. “As long as the reasons remain, our presence there will remain,” Mr. Nasrallah told thousands of his followers. “Our fighters, our mujahedeen, are […]
Insight: As powers push for talks, Syria balance tilts towards Assad
BEIRUT (Reuters) – More than two and a half years into the civil war devastating Syria, the United States and Russia are pushing the combatants to the negotiating table in Geneva, but on terms that mark a shift in favor of Bashar al-Assad against the increasingly fragmented rebels seeking to oust him. Since the August 21 nerve gas attacks on rebel suburbs ringing Damascus, which brought the U.S. to the brink of a missile assault on Assad’s forces, the diplomatic tide has turned against the opposition, which briefly believed external intervention would enable its forces to launch a final offensive. Instead, the combination of hesitation by President Barack Obama’s administration and an 11th hour deal brokered by Russia, a key Assad ally, to decommission Syria’s chemical arsenal, has wrong-footed the rebels, now under intense U.S. and European pressure to attend talks in Geneva with a vague agenda. Syrian opposition […]
Exclusive: Assad allies profit from Syria's lucrative food trade
LONDON (Reuters) – As food begins to flow into Bashar al-Assad’s Syria after several months of disruption, some of the president’s close allies stand to make substantial profits from the secretive trade, according to trade and opposition sources with knowledge of the situation. While civil war grinds on, Syria is facing its worst wheat harvest in three decades and Assad has been scrambling to bolster depleted food supplies. Using front companies and shipping lines, a discreet commercial and logistical network is now emerging, which aims not only to procure food commodities but to generate big returns for members of Assad’s inner circle, trade sources familiar with the matter say. The sources declined to be identified due to the sensitivity of the trade in time of war. Rami Makhlouf, Assad’s cousin and top financial ally, together with Ayman Jaber, another prominent figure subject to international sanctions, are among those involved […]
Exclusive: Assad allies profit from Syria’s lucrative food trade
LONDON (Reuters) – As food begins to flow into Bashar al-Assad’s Syria after several months of disruption, some of the president’s close allies stand to make substantial profits from the secretive trade, according to trade and opposition sources with knowledge of the situation. While civil war grinds on, Syria is facing its worst wheat harvest in three decades and Assad has been scrambling to bolster depleted food supplies. Using front companies and shipping lines, a discreet commercial and logistical network is now emerging, which aims not only to procure food commodities but to generate big returns for members of Assad’s inner circle, trade sources familiar with the matter say. The sources declined to be identified due to the sensitivity of the trade in time of war. Rami Makhlouf, Assad’s cousin and top financial ally, together with Ayman Jaber, another prominent figure subject to international sanctions, are among those involved […]
In Iraq, a Day of Religious Observance, and of Blood
BAGHDAD — A wave of attacks against Shiite Muslims in Iraq killed at least 47 people and wounded dozens on Thursday, security officials said, as they were marking the holy day of Ashura, which commemorates the killing of Imam Hussein, a grandson of the Prophet Muhammad, 1,300 years ago. In the worst violence, 35 people were killed and 75 wounded in Diyala Province, northeast of Baghdad, when a suicide bomber blew himself up at an arena where a crowd had gathered to watch a play about the death of Imam Hussein. Women, children and actors in the play were among the dead. One witness, Mohammed Saadoun, 40, said the explosion took place at the end of the death scene. “I saw those who were acting out the death had died in reality,” he said in an interview. “They were on the ground covered with blood.” He added, “We have […]
Apache, Sinopec complete Egyptian deal
Apache Corp. has completed its sale to Sinopec International Petroleum Exploration & Production Corp. of a one-third interest in its Egyptian oil and gas business ( OGJ Online, Aug. 30, 2013 ). After closing adjustments, Apache received $2.95 billion in cash. It will remain operator of the interests, which cover 9.7 million gross acres, mostly undeveloped.
East Libya breakaway blocks bid to reopen oil ports
BENGHAZI, Libya, Nov. 13 (UPI) — Efforts to revive Libya’s oil industry, crippled by militia fighting and post-revolution chaos, have suffered a major setback with a unilateral declaration of a self-rule by the oil-rich Cyrenaica region in the oil-rich east. Leaders of the autonomy movement in the eastern region, whose capital Benghazi was the cradle of the 2011 revolution that toppled longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi , said Monday they have already set up a shadow government and established a regional oil company to handle exports separately from the shaky central government in Tripoli. Oil fields, pipelines, terminals and ports in the east, where 60 percent of Libya’s oil is produced, have been closed in a wave of protests that began in July with a strike by armed guards in the oil fields and grew into a blockade of most of the country’s energy industry. In Cyrenaica, the original economic […]
Lure of Israel's gas may dampen Turkish ire
TEL AVIV, Israel, Nov. 14 (UPI) — Israel is on the cusp of becoming a natural gas exporter and key energy power in the Middle East, a move that could produce significant geopolitical changes in a region beset by turmoil. That includes a new alliance with Turkey, which seems to be moving toward setting aside its political differences with the Jewish state, just as it is doing with Iraq’s oil-rich Kurds, in the interest of achieving its ambition to become the main energy broker in the region. Israel is now considering its options for exporting gas from its Tamar field, which began production March 30, and the larger but still undeveloped Leviathan field, which is due to come onstream in 2015. Between them these fields contain an estimated 30 trillion cubic feet of gas. Israel has set aside 40 percent of its gas production for export, expected to earn […]
Lure of Israel’s gas may dampen Turkish ire
TEL AVIV, Israel, Nov. 14 (UPI) — Israel is on the cusp of becoming a natural gas exporter and key energy power in the Middle East, a move that could produce significant geopolitical changes in a region beset by turmoil. That includes a new alliance with Turkey, which seems to be moving toward setting aside its political differences with the Jewish state, just as it is doing with Iraq’s oil-rich Kurds, in the interest of achieving its ambition to become the main energy broker in the region. Israel is now considering its options for exporting gas from its Tamar field, which began production March 30, and the larger but still undeveloped Leviathan field, which is due to come onstream in 2015. Between them these fields contain an estimated 30 trillion cubic feet of gas. Israel has set aside 40 percent of its gas production for export, expected to earn […]
Exxon: Nigeria not living up to oil potential
LAGOS, Nigeria, Nov. 14 (UPI) — Elijah White, a vice president of Exxon Mobil Production Co., said Nigeria needs to create a “stable and attractive” climate for energy investors. “Nigeria needs to create a stable and attractive investment climate, competitive fiscal terms to attract capital and develop clear regulatory and competitive policies that would enable her to realize the full potential of the industry,” he was quoted as saying Wednesday from Lagos by the Platts energy news service. Nigeria aims to increase its proven crude oil reserves from 35 billion barrels currently to 40 billion barrels by 2020. Companies like Exxon said that’s unlikely, though the Nigerian government said it’s on pace to meet its goals despite a fragile national security situation and declining international investments. Royal Dutch Shell has repeatedly said it was unable to fulfill its contractual obligations in Nigeria because of issues involving militants who, in […]
In Blow to Coal, TVA to Shut 8 Units
The Tennessee Valley Authority will retire eight coal-burning generating stations at three locations in Alabama and Kentucky, a decision that deals another blow to the coal industry, which is shrinking under more stringent environmental regulations and struggling to adjust to changing fuel prices. The TVA’s power-generation overhaul is intended to save the utility money and sharply reduce its coal use. Across the U.S., utilities are shuttering coal-fired power plants, but the trend is hitting the mining industry hardest in the Central Appalachian states of Tennessee, Kentucky, Virginia and West Virginia. Coal is costlier there than in other parts of the U.S., and it’s becoming more labor-intensive to extract because mining companies are being forced to tap coal seams deeper in the earth. Forty years ago, the TVA got more than 80% of its power from coal. Today coal accounts for 38%, a number that is dropping fast as a […]
In Venezuela, Campaign Takes the Form of a Fire Sale
CARACAS, Venezuela — The transportation minister appeared on live television from an auto-parts store, trumpeting prices that had been slashed in half, at least. A top regional official, broadcasting from another shop, boasted that prices of toys and other goods had been cut to the bone. From an appliance store, the commerce minister called on shoppers to buy washers and dryers at new, low-low prices. This week, the entire cabinet of President Nicolás Maduro of Venezuela has been waging a battle against soaring inflation like a socialist version of Crazy Eddie, the onetime electronics chain store famous in New York for its goofy 1980s ads that trumpeted its “insane” prices. It is all part of a fever-pitch campaign to quell frustration with the economy by forcing retailers to slash prices, giving a much-needed shot of adrenaline to Mr. Maduro’s government just weeks before municipal elections that opponents want to […]
New climate pact must consider historical emissions: Chinese official
WARSAW, Nov. 14 (Xinhua) — A new global pact under discussion at the ongoing UN climate talks should take into account historical carbon emissions by developed countries, a Chinese official said here Thursday. Su Wei, deputy chief of the Chinese delegation, said industrialized countries are mainly responsible for greenhouse gas emissions in the past two hundred years. The current climate change was caused mainly by developed countries since the industrial era as greenhouse gas has an atmospheric life of 50 to 200 years, he said. “It is important to take the historical responsibility element into the context of climate actions after 2020,” said Su, who is also director of the climate change department of China’s National Development and Reform Commission. China supports Brazil’s proposal to study the historical responsibility for the accumulated carbon emissions, he added. The two-week climate talks held in the Polish capital is set to lay […]
China Prepares to Open Its First Deep-Water Gas Project
HONG KONG—China is set to start the pumps at its first deep-water natural-gas project, an engineering feat using a Chinese-made platform designed to withstand typhoons and using hundreds of miles of undersea pipelines. The field is part of Beijing’s effort to more than double its use of gas to 10% of China’s energy mix by 2020, helping to wean the country off the dirtier coal that produces two-thirds of its electricity. The Liwan-3 gas field in the South China Sea about 200 miles southeast of Hong Kong is expected to go online by early next year and eventually to pump about 4% of the country’s gas supply. It has the potential to send more gas to China than current imports from Australia, China’s second-largest supplier of liquefied natural gas. For all its complexity, the $6.5 billion project is located well. The field is in undisputed waters in the South […]
Japan dials back climate change emissions target
AP Photo TOKYO (AP) — Japan has drastically scaled back its target for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, possibly complicating efforts to forge a global climate change pact. The new target approved by the Cabinet on Friday calls for reducing emissions by 3.8 percent from their 2005 level by 2020. The revision was necessary because the earlier goal of a 25 percent reduction from the 1990 level was unrealistic, the chief government spokesman, Yoshihide Suga, told reporters in Tokyo. He called that target “completely baseless.” The new target represents a 3 percent increase over 1990 emissions. Given Japan’s status as the world’s third largest economy and fifth largest source of greenhouse gas emissions, the decision to back away from the more ambitious target could be a significant setback for efforts to reach a new agreement at world climate talks now underway in Warsaw, Poland. Under the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, Japan […]
China to drive world's renewable energy increase
BEIJING, Nov. 14 (UPI) — China’s increase in renewable energy is on course to surpass the European Union, the United States and Japan combined, says the International Energy Agency. In its annual World Energy Outlook released Tuesday, the IEA said China will be the strongest driver in the worldwide trend in which renewable energy is expected to account for almost half of the increase in global power generation by 2035, China Daily reports. China’s 12th five-year plan, covering 2011-2015, calls for 30 percent of electricity to come from non-fossil fuels by 2015, up from 5 percent in 2001. By 2015, China also aims to cut its energy consumption per unit of gross domestic product by 16 percent and CO2 emissions per unit of GDP by 17 percent. China is the world’s largest emitter of greenhouse gases. Fatih Birol , the IEA’s chief economist, said in an interview with China […]
China to drive world’s renewable energy increase
BEIJING, Nov. 14 (UPI) — China’s increase in renewable energy is on course to surpass the European Union, the United States and Japan combined, says the International Energy Agency. In its annual World Energy Outlook released Tuesday, the IEA said China will be the strongest driver in the worldwide trend in which renewable energy is expected to account for almost half of the increase in global power generation by 2035, China Daily reports. China’s 12th five-year plan, covering 2011-2015, calls for 30 percent of electricity to come from non-fossil fuels by 2015, up from 5 percent in 2001. By 2015, China also aims to cut its energy consumption per unit of gross domestic product by 16 percent and CO2 emissions per unit of GDP by 17 percent. China is the world’s largest emitter of greenhouse gases. Fatih Birol , the IEA’s chief economist, said in an interview with China […]
China's smog threatens health of global coal projects
SHANGHAI (Reuters) – A choking smog across much of northern China threatens not just the health of local residents, but also of major coal projects globally that are still on the drawing board. Beijing’s plans to tackle pollution largely target coal-fired power, which will hit already slowing demand in the world’s top importer of the fuel. With China’s coal demand the primary driver for a slew of mine investments over the past decade, this trend could derail a list of capital intensive coal projects from Australia to Indonesia and Mozambique. Even without the environmental drive, new railways from mines to ports, falling investment in coal-fired generation and slowing power demand growth could see China’s miners export some of their surplus output at competitive prices, hitting regional miners and the viability of new projects. This is a major shift for a country that built an average of two coal-fired power […]
China’s smog threatens health of global coal projects
SHANGHAI (Reuters) – A choking smog across much of northern China threatens not just the health of local residents, but also of major coal projects globally that are still on the drawing board. Beijing’s plans to tackle pollution largely target coal-fired power, which will hit already slowing demand in the world’s top importer of the fuel. With China’s coal demand the primary driver for a slew of mine investments over the past decade, this trend could derail a list of capital intensive coal projects from Australia to Indonesia and Mozambique. Even without the environmental drive, new railways from mines to ports, falling investment in coal-fired generation and slowing power demand growth could see China’s miners export some of their surplus output at competitive prices, hitting regional miners and the viability of new projects. This is a major shift for a country that built an average of two coal-fired power […]
Texas town evacuated after Chevron pipeline explosion
HOUSTON (Reuters) – A pipeline operated by Chevron Corp exploded in rural Milford, Texas, on Thursday and while no injuries were reported residents of the town of 700 were asked to evacuate, said company and emergency officials. Chevron did not identify the line, but it is the majority owner of a 2,295-mile common-carrier pipeline system that transports natural gas liquids from New Mexico and Texas to Mont Belvieu, Texas for processing. Atlas Pipeline Partners has a 20 percent interest in the West Texas LPG Pipeline Limited Partnership, which is 80 percent owned by Chevron. Tom Hemrick, director of Hill County Emergency Management, told KTVT-TV in Dallas that a construction crew accidentally drilled into a 10-inch liquified petroleum gas (LPG) line. All workers on the construction crew were accounted for. "The fire is definitely getting smaller," Hemrick said. Another 14-inch line sits a few feet from the one that exploded […]
North Dakota sends financial relief to oil, gas areas
BISMARCK, N.D., Nov. 14 (UPI) — North Dakota Gov. Jack Dalrymple said $12.2 million in funds were awarded to emergency services and fire districts in oil and gas producing parts of the state. “These grants are an important part of a larger state commitment to help the oil and gas region meet the challenges created by rapid growth,” he said in a statement Wednesday. Oil production from the Bakken and Three Forks shale reserve areas in western North Dakota are providing substantial stimulus to its economy. The federal government said the state’s gross domestic product in 2001 ranked 38th out of the 50 states. By 2012, the GDP per capita of $55,250 was 29 percent greater than the national average. North Dakota’s government said it committed approximately $2.6 billion to help support growth in the state’s oil and gas producing regions through 2015. Funds for emergency services were allocated […]
Berkshire Acquires $3.7 Billion Exxon Mobil Stake
Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK/A) reported a stake in Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) valued at about $3.7 billion as Warren Buffett ’s company disclosed its largest new holding since adding International Business Machines Corp. in 2011. Buffett’s company owned 40.1 million shares of Exxon on Sept. 30, Omaha, Nebraska-based Berkshire said today in a regulatory filing. The world’s biggest oil company by market value closed at $93.22 today in New York . It rose to $93.90 in extended trading at 5:14 p.m., after the filing. Berkshire has benefited this year as its stock picks rallied along with the broader market, affirming a strategy of favoring equities instead of bonds amid near record-low interest rates. Buffett has tracked Exxon and bought its stock in the past, holding a stake in the Irving, Texas-based energy producer as recently as 2011. Exxon Mobil “is undervalued, in his opinion, and pretty much being ignored […]
Ethanol Futures Rise After Output Gain Fails to Replenish Stocks
Ethanol gained for a sixth straight session after a government report showed that rising U.S. output wasn’t enough to boost supplies. Ethanol increased 0.5 percent as inventories declined 12,000 barrels to 15.2 million barrels in the week ended Nov. 8, the Energy Information Administration said today. Production jumped 2.8 percent to 927,000 barrels a day, the highest level since Feb. 10, 2012, Ethanol’s discount to gasoline widened 4.67 cents to 90.57 cents after stockpiles of the motor fuel dropped, sending gasoline prices to a four-week high. “Demand is outpacing output, leaving little room to replenish stockpiles,” Renato Dias, a Campinas, Brazil-based analyst for Intl FCStone Inc., said in a telephone interview. Denatured ethanol for December settlement extended its longest winning streak since May, advancing 0.9 cent to close at $1.778 a gallon on the Chicago Board of Trade. Prices have dropped 19 percent this year. Ethanol output will rise […]
State Eyes Refinery As Ticket To Shale Gas Boom
A Brazilian conglomerate unveiled a proposal Thursday to build a multibillion-dollar natural-gas refining complex in West Virginia—the biggest such development in the state as it tries to profit from the region’s drilling boom. The proposed project by Odebrecht Group, a privately held São Paolo-based engineering, construction and petrochemical company, would include a plant known as an ethane cracker, where natural gas is turned into ethylene, a chemical-industry feedstock. The complex would also include three plants to produce polyethylene, which is used to make numerous products, from plastic bags to pipes. Odebrecht said the project is subject to securing both financing and long-term contracts to obtain ethane through pipelines, as well as regulatory approvals. A company spokeswoman declined to provide further details on the project’s cost or timing. Drilling in the Marcellus Shale and Utica Shale—massive natural-gas deposits beneath parts of West Virginia, Pennsylvania and Ohio—have made Appalachia one of […]
US coal production rises more than 2% year on year, week on week
Washington (Platts)–14Nov2013/307 pm EST/2007 GMT US coal production totaled about 19.8 million st in the week that ended Saturday, the Energy Information Administration said Thursday. This production estimate, based on railcar loadings, is 2.4% higher than the previous week’s estimate and 2.8% above output in the comparable week in 2012, EIA said. Coal production east of the Mississippi River totaled 8.1 million st while output west of the Mississippi totaled 11.7 million st, it said. Article continues below… Request a free trial of: Coal Trader Coal Outlook Platts Coal Trader provides:The latest prices for key benchmark coals Daily pricing for tons and allowances for SO2 and NOx emissions The exclusive Platts OTC Broker Index, a market assessment compiled from three of the largest and most respected coal brokers What happened in yesterday’s OTC markets, and why An analysis of coal price trends in all major U.S. producing areas Details […]
Will Mexico amend its constitution to drill for oil?
M exico’s oil industry is in a bad way. The country’s once massive petroleum reserves have basically been sucked dry. Production is plummeting , and the state oil monopoly, Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex) is hemorrhaging money . Unless something is done soon, for the first time in decades Mexico could fall from its coveted spot among the world’s top 10 oil producers. At the same time that classic oil drilling is stalling, the country is sitting on top of fuel sources that are harder to tap: massive amounts of shale oil and gas , as well as deep-water reserves in the Gulf—just like the ones the United States drills. (What, you thought those geological formations stopped at the border?) So why isn’t Mexico going after the same resources that have been so lucrative for its northern neighbor? According to President Enrique Peña Nieto, there’s just one thing standing in the […]
Gazprom Says Europe Exports to Hit 5-Year High
MOSCOW—Russian state natural gas firm OAO Gazprom OGZPY +2.40% Gazprom OAO ADS U.S.: OTCBB $ 8.96 +0.21 +2.40% Nov. 14, 2013 3:58 pm Volume (Delayed 15m) : 1.37M AFTER HOURS $ 8.84 -0.12 -1.34% Nov. 12, 2013 4:07 pm Volume (Delayed 15m): 419,636 P/E Ratio 2.65 Market Cap $103.25 Billion Dividend Yield 6.24% Rev. per Employee $384,616 11/14/13 Paul McCartney Asks Vladimir P… 11/14/13 Gazprom Says Europe Exports to… 11/12/13 Russia, Vietnam Sign 17 Deals … More quote details and news » OGZPY in Your Value Your Change Short position Thursday said it was on track to deliver its highest volumes of gas to Europe this year since 2008, as demand for its pipeline gas spiked amid lower supplies of liquefied gas delivered by tanker. Gazprom profits slumped last year as sales in Europe dropped due to increased competition and lower demand. But exports to Europe were up 15.6% […]
Gazprom Raises Concerns Over Gas Transit to Europe via Ukraine
By James Marson MOSCOW–Ukraine is taking gas from its underground storages, which could have a “negative effect” on gas transit to Europe, a senior executive from Russian state gas firm OAO Gazprom (GAZP.RS) said Thursday. Ukraine said this week that it stopped taking gas from Gazprom at the start of November as it had sufficient supplies until the end of the year. “That means domestic production and underground storages are used to provide for the needs of the domestic market,” said Pavel Oderov, head of Gazprom’s International Business Department. He said gas reserves in storage are needed to ensure gas transit to Europe. Russia accounts for one-quarter of Europe’s gas needs, the bulk of which flows via Ukraine. Supplies to Europe were disrupted in 2006 and 2009 amid price and contract disputes between Ukraine and Russia. Ukraine owes $1.3 billion for gas deliveries, and Gazprom is considering granting an […]
NASA, Boeing finish tests of 757 vertical tail with active flow control technology
« Coca-Cola Company and Ford unveil Ford Fusion Energi with PlantBottle Technology interior | Main Print this post NASA, Boeing finish tests of 757 vertical tail with active flow control technology Aircraft_tail_600 The full-sized test tail modified and equipped with sweeping jet actuators. (Image credit: NASA Ames Research Center) Click to enlarge. NASA’s Ames Research Center and NASA’s Langley Research Center, in partnership with The Boeing Co., have completed wind tunnel testing of a full-scale Boeing 757 vertical tail model equipped with active flow control (AFC) technology. The project is one of eight large-scale integrated technology demonstrations that are part of NASA’s Environmentally Responsible Aviation (ERA) Project. ( Earlier post .) Active flow control involves the manipulation of a flow field—through the addition of energy—to improve the aerodynamic performance of an aircraft structure. Active flow control can enable the design of simpler, smaller and more aerodynamically efficient structures that […]
Why the Government Now Cares What You Spend on Gas
Why the Government Now Cares What You Spend on Gas Page added on November 13, 2013 locationaffordability.info The housing crisis was, of course, primarily about housing: housing that people couldn’t afford, housing that banks helped them finance anyway, housing that too many treated as a sure-fire investment . But in a less noticed way, the housing crisis was also very much about transportation. The money we spend getting around is largely dictated by the choices we make in where to live. Buy a house 20 miles down the highway from your job, and your costs of getting around on $4-a-gallon gas are much steeper than they would be if you lived a short walk from the office (or the bus stop). Those costs – half a tank of gas here, a bus ticket there – are much harder to track than a single monthly housing payment. They’re practically invisible. […]
Recollecting the false messiah of peak oil
Page added on November 14, 2013 Oil prices continue to decline, with WTI currently leading the charge: So where are the oil bulls of 2008 now? Hard to say. But long-standing oil market watcher Stephen Schork, of the Schork Report, offers some colourful views on the topic this Wednesday. They come in the shape of a somewhat self-congratulatory nostalgic yarn, but it is worth the read, in so much as it really takes you back to how things were back in those scary September days. Here he goes: Back in September 2008 we were in Vienna giving a presentation to our friends at OPEC. In between copious amounts of Sachetorte and Grüner Veltliner, we had the opportunity to sit down with one of the largest hedge fund managers in Austria. At the time, crude oil on the NYMEX was imploding. That is to say, after peaking at a record […]
Field test shows Volvo Buses’ plug-in hybrid reduces fuel consumption by 81% and energy consumption by 61%; 21 mpg
Field test shows Volvo Buses’ plug-in hybrid reduces fuel consumption by 81% and energy consumption by 61%; 21 mpg Volvo Plug-in hybrid_EN_2013 Volvo Bus’ plug-in hybrid. The pantograph for rapid charging can be seen on the roof. Click to enlarge. Field tests being conducted in Gothenburg show that Volvo Buses’ plug-in hybrid reduces fuel consumption by 81% and total energy consumption (diesel plus electricity) by 61% compared to a comparable Euro 5 diesel bus. ( Earlier post .) The field test in Gothenburg began in June 2013 and includes three plug-in hybrid buses, the batteries of which are rapidly recharged at the terminals. This makes it possible for the buses to run on electric power for most of the route. The plug-in hybrids are based on the Volvo 7900 Hybrid, Volvo Buses’ second series-produced hybrid bus model. The plug-in hybrids have been further developed, and enable rapid recharging from […]
WTI Oil Swings After Biggest Gain in Week
West Texas Intermediate crude was little changed after the biggest increase in a week. A report today is forecast to show stockpiles rose to the highest level since June in the U.S., the world’s biggest oil consumer. Futures swung between gains and losses in New York after the industry-funded American Petroleum Institute said crude supplies increased 599,000 barrels last week. The government will report today that inventories rose by 800,000 barrels to 386.2 million, according to a Bloomberg News survey. Brent’s premium widened for a fourth time yesterday on speculation that protests in Libya will disrupt the nation’s oil exports. “The anchor is U.S. supply,” Phil Flynn , a senior market analyst at Price Futures Group in Chicago said by phone. Protests in Libya that blocked an oil tanker from loading “raised market concerns,” he said. WTI for December delivery was down 7 cents at $93.81 a barrel in […]
Oil prices mixed ahead of US data, Yellen speech
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Oil prices were mixed Thursday ahead of the release of data on U.S. crude stocks. Investors are also watching for testimony by incoming Federal Reserve chief Janet Yellen for clues about when the U.S. will cut back, or taper, its $85 billion monthly bond purchases that have kept interest rates low to support economic recovery. Benchmark U.S. crude for December delivery was down 4 cents to $93.84 a barrel at midafternoon Kuala Lumpur time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract gained 84 cents to close at $93.88 on Wednesday. Brent crude, the international benchmark, was up 39 cents to $107.29 a barrel on the ICE exchange in London. The U.S. benchmark is down by about 8 percent in the past month. Traders say further declines are likely. U.S. crude stockpiles data for the week ended Nov. 8, due later […]
Natural Gas Snaps Six-Day Streak of Gains as Cold Snap Eases
By David Bird and Nicole Friedman NEW YORK–Natural-gas futures snapped a six-session rally Wednesday ahead of an expected break in a sustained cold spell that has lifted gas-heating demand. December delivery gas fell 5.1 cents, or 1.4%, to settle at $3.566 per million British thermal units on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The loss follows a rise of 17.2 cents, or 5%, over the prior six trading days fueled by a bout of below-normal temperatures that blanketed the eastern half of the nation. Forecasters call for a moderating temperatures this weekend, with low temperatures expected to be 20 degrees above levels seen early this week in parts of the Midwest, the nation’s biggest market for gas-fired home heating. Broad temperature swings […]
IEA World Energy Outlook 2013 sees CO2 emissions rising by 20% to 2035; oil use on upward trend
« TomTom launches real-time traffic service in Brazil | Main | ClipperCreek announces $549 LCS-25 charger with more wall plugs; direct replacement for ECOtality residential customers » Print this post IEA World Energy Outlook 2013 sees CO2 emissions rising by 20% to 2035; oil use on upward trend Energy demand growth moves to Asia. Source: IEA. Click to enlarge. The newly released 2013 edition of the IEA World Energy Outlook (WEO) depicts a world in which some long-held tenets of the energy sector are being rewritten; importers are becoming exporters, while exporters are among the major sources of growing demand. However, the report advises, long-term solutions to global challenges remain scarce; as one example, the report sees global CO 2 emissions rising by 20% to 37.2 Gt by 2035. WEO-2013 presents a central scenario (“New Policies”) in which global energy demand rises by one-third in the period to 2035, […]
Emissions of CO2 driving rapid oceans 'acid trip'
Great barrier reef By Matt McGrath Environment correspondent, BBC News 14 November 2013 Last updated at 01:13 Corals all over the world are threatened by rising rates of acidification in the oceans The world’s oceans are becoming acidic at an “unprecedented rate” and may be souring more rapidly than at any time in the past 300 million years. In their strongest statement yet on this issue, scientists say acidification could increase by 170% by 2100. They say that some 30% of ocean species are unlikely to survive in these conditions. The researchers conclude that human emissions of CO2 are clearly to blame. The study will be presented at global climate talks in Poland next week. In 2012, over 500 of the world’s leading experts on ocean acidification gathered in California. Led by the International Biosphere-Geosphere Programme, a review of the state of the science has now been published. You […]
Emissions of CO2 driving rapid oceans ‘acid trip’
Great barrier reef By Matt McGrath Environment correspondent, BBC News 14 November 2013 Last updated at 01:13 Corals all over the world are threatened by rising rates of acidification in the oceans The world’s oceans are becoming acidic at an “unprecedented rate” and may be souring more rapidly than at any time in the past 300 million years. In their strongest statement yet on this issue, scientists say acidification could increase by 170% by 2100. They say that some 30% of ocean species are unlikely to survive in these conditions. The researchers conclude that human emissions of CO2 are clearly to blame. The study will be presented at global climate talks in Poland next week. In 2012, over 500 of the world’s leading experts on ocean acidification gathered in California. Led by the International Biosphere-Geosphere Programme, a review of the state of the science has now been published. You […]