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Liquefaction contracts let for Texas LNG terminal

FLNG Liquefaction LLC and FLNG Liquefaction 2 LLC have let contracts for construction engineering for planned LNG export from the LNG import terminal on Quintana Island near Freeport, Tex. Recipients of the $2.5 billion in contracts are CB&I and Zachry Industrial Inc. for construction of two 4.4 million tonne/year LNG trains. In 2012, CB&I and Zachry received front-end engineering and design contracts on the liquefaction terminal ( OGJ Online, Feb. 17, 2012 ). The most recent award includes a “limited notice to proceed” on engineering and procurement while the project awaits governmental approvals.

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BHP Says US Shale Business To Generate Cash From 2016

BHP Billiton, the world’s largest miner and a top investor in U.S. oil and gas, said on Tuesday its U.S. shale business would break even from 2016, generating cash that would grow to almost $3 billion a year by the end of the decade. Analysts have voiced concern over the growing proportion of BHP’s spending being allocated to petroleum, where volumes and returns have proven disappointing for now. In a presentation to analysts in Houston, BHP said it was on track to hit its 2014 petroleum production target. It said a spending programme of $4 billion per year would help it hit a goal of increasing liquids production from its shale business to 200,000 barrels per day in 2017. The company sees total onshore U.S. production of 500,000 barrels of oil equivalent per […]

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Obama Pollution Rule Revival Weighed by Supreme Court

U.S. Supreme Court justices hinted they might revive one of President Barack Obama ’s biggest air-quality efforts, a rule that would curb emissions from coal-fired power plants in 28 states. In a 90-minute argument session today featuring analogies to last-second shots in close basketball games, the justices questioned contentions made by challengers to the Environmental Protection Agency rule, which targets air pollution that crosses state lines. The rule — struck down by a lower court and being tested by power companies, states and miners — has never taken effect. It would force companies including Texas ’s largest power producer, Energy Future Holdings Corp.’s Luminant, to either shutter old plants or invest billions of dollars in pollution-control technology. The administration says the rule would prevent as many as 34,000 premature deaths a year. The rule would use a modified cap-and-trade system to limit emissions of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide […]

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Canada Makes an Audacious Move on the North Pole

The most ambitious land grab is under way, and the unexpectedly expansionist nation is…Canada! In a bold move, Ottawa plans to make a claim on the North Pole . In a submission to the United Nations, Canada says its nautical border should be extended by around 1.2 million square kilometers, adding an area the size of Alberta and Saskatchewan combined (for those unfamiliar with those fine provinces, that’s about the equivalent of Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, North Dakota and South Dakota all put together.) What’s it all aboot, eh? Well there are riches in them there ice-flows. Possibly as much as one-third of […]

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Putin orders Russian military to boost Arctic presence

Russian President Vladimir Putin has told his military leadership they should build up their forces in the Arctic as a priority. Commending the recent restoration of an airfield in the region, he said Russia needed to use every means to protect its national interests in the region. He was speaking after Canada announced plans to claim the continental shelf under the North Pole. Russia and Denmark also lay claim to parts of the resource-rich shelf. Mr Putin has spoken about the need to increase Russia’s military capacity in the Arctic before but this was one of his most […]

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Robert Rapier: The Cost of Production and Energy Return of Oil Sands

Today’s article continues the series covering my recent trip to the Athabasca oil sands around Fort McMurray, Alberta. This is an annual trip that the Canadian government hosts for energy journalists, and expenses for the trip were paid for by the Canadian government. Previous articles in this series include: Today I want to discuss in more detail the two companies that we visited on this trip: Canadian Natural Resources Limited  (NYSE: CNQ, TSE: CNQ) and  Cenovus Energy  (NYSE: CVE, TSE: CVE). I will detail the cost of oil sands production via the different methods these companies utilize, as well as the energy return on energy invested (EROEI) of extracting the bitumen. Canadian Natural Resources One of the visits we made on the trip was to Canadian Natural Resources’ (CNRL) Horizon Oil Sands Project. The project consists of surface oil sands mining, a bitumen extraction plant, and on-site bitumen upgrading that […]

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Oil Futures Rise as China Data Supports Sentiment

Oil futures are higher in Asian trading hours following the release of upbeat data from China. Value-added industrial output in China rose 10.0% in November from a year earlier, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed Tuesday. The data is in line with a similar forecast by 11 economists in a Dow Jones Newswires survey. Although November’s growth was slightly lower than October’s increase, it added to positive sentiment generated over the weekend when data showed that the world’s second-largest economy in November posted its largest trade surplus in nearly five years. Exports rose by a hefty 12.7% from a year earlier, while imports rose 5.3%. “This points to steady growth in China, helping crude-oil prices which are also getting a lift from winter demand,” said Kaname Gokon, a deputy general manager in the research section at Tokyo-based brokerage Okato Shoji Co. 8705.TO +1.58% Okato Holdings Inc. Japan: […]

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WTI Rebounds as U.S. Supplies Seen Falling a Second Week

West Texas Intermediate rose before a government report that may show crude inventories declined for a second week in the U.S., the world’s biggest oil consumer. Futures gained as much as 0.5 percent in New York , rebounding from the first drop in seven days yesterday. U.S. crude stockpiles probably shrank by 3 million barrels last week, according to a Bloomberg News survey before a report from the Energy Information Administration tomorrow. Members of Libya ’s Al Magharba tribe in the country’s east will meet today to discuss the reopening of closed oil export terminals, according to its head, Saleh Al Etweish. “We’re getting good figures from the U.S., which would suggest that perhaps the long-awaited revival in demand may be on its way,” said David Lennox , a resource analyst at Fat Prophets in Sydney. “The EIA numbers will be carefully watched because we’ve seen the markets react […]

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Natural-Gas Futures Rise 2.9% Amid Widespread Cold

Natural-gas futures climbed 2.9% Monday on expectations of continued strong demand for gas-fired heat as below-normal temperatures are expected to linger in the Midwest and much of the East Coast. Front-month gas on the New York Mercantile Exchange ended at the highest level in six and a half months, propelled by signs that commodity funds have turned bullish on gas for the first time since October. The same freeze that is driving up demand to warm homes also played havoc with production facilities in several parts of the country. Anne Swedberg, a senior energy analyst at Bentek Energy in Denver, said frozen equipment at wells could temporarily limit output by 1.7 billion cubic feet per day […]

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Iran hardliners attack Zarif over nuclear comments

Designated Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad-Javad Zarif Hardliners in Iran are piling pressure on the country’s main nuclear negotiator and foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif , after he suggested that the US could destroy the country’s defence system “with one bomb”, leaving diplomacy as the only way to resolve the nuclear crisis. In a meeting with students at Tehran University last week, Mr Zarif defended the interim nuclear deal reached with six major powers – the US, UK, France, Russia, China and Germany – in Geneva last month and said the Islamic regime was not capable of military confrontation with the US. Domestic media reported on Monday that 20 hardline members of the 290-strong parliament have written to Hassan Rouhani , the centrist president, and urged him to “revise” his decision to appoint Mr Zarif as foreign minister. Hossein Naghavi, a spokesman for parliament’s national security committee, went further and […]

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Iran's Rouhani pins economic hope on oil, taxes

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani pegged economic recovery in the country on greater activity in the oil sector and increased tax revenues. Rouhani submitted a $7.8 billion general budget to the Parliament Sunday “Getting out of the status quo requires undertaking measures to push [the country] out of stagnation and adopting policies to contain inflation,” Rouhani was was quoted as saying by the Iranian Oil Ministry’s news website. “Therefore, we have tried to increase the general budget’s resources and to that effect we have put higher oil and tax revenues on the agenda.” Iran’s economy is struggling to cope with Western sanctions designed to starve it of oil revenue it could use to finance a controversial nuclear program, which Iran says is for peaceful purposes. Rouhani vowed to reverse the course set by his predecessors when he took office in August. Iranian Oil Minister Bijan […]

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Iran’s Rouhani pins economic hope on oil, taxes

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani pegged economic recovery in the country on greater activity in the oil sector and increased tax revenues. Rouhani submitted a $7.8 billion general budget to the Parliament Sunday “Getting out of the status quo requires undertaking measures to push [the country] out of stagnation and adopting policies to contain inflation,” Rouhani was was quoted as saying by the Iranian Oil Ministry’s news website. “Therefore, we have tried to increase the general budget’s resources and to that effect we have put higher oil and tax revenues on the agenda.” Iran’s economy is struggling to cope with Western sanctions designed to starve it of oil revenue it could use to finance a controversial nuclear program, which Iran says is for peaceful purposes. Rouhani vowed to reverse the course set by his predecessors when he took office in August. Iranian Oil Minister Bijan […]

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Pakistan to push forward on gas project with Iran

Pakistan will push forward with a controversial pipeline to import natural gas from neighboring Iran, Pakistan said Tuesday, a project opposed by the United States. The pipeline will link Iran’s gas fields with energy-starved Pakistan, but by going ahead with the project, Pakistan may incur U.S. and international sanctions imposed on Iran – or anyone doing business with Iran – over that country’s nuclear program. The U.S. has opposed the project and instead supported an alternative proposal to build a pipeline from the gas fields of Turkmenistan to Afghanistan, Pakistan and India. Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement Tuesday that petroleum ministers of the two countries met in Tehran on Monday to discuss the project, which has been beset by repeated delays. The two countries decided to fast track the pipeline and formulate a road map to work out challenges, the ministry said. […]

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Saudi call for Gulf Arab union faces hurdles at summit

Saudi Arabia’s dream of binding the Gulf Arab states into a union will get a sceptical hearing at a summit this week, with differences over Iran, Egypt and Syria demonstrating that the Gulf’s absolute monarchs do not all speak with one voice. Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah proposed two years ago for a stronger union with Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman and the United Arab Emeriates. The plan is expected to be one of the main topics on Tuesday when the leaders of the Gulf Cooperation Council hold their annual meeting in Kuwait. But just days before the leaders were due to arrive, Oman dismissed the proposal with unusual directness in a region […]

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Tullow announces dry hole onshore Ethiopia

Despite several recent successes in East Africa, Tullow Oil PLC has announced that its most recent Ethiopian wildcat is a duster. The company reached a total depth of 6,893 ft on its Tultule-1 exploration well in the South Omo block onshore Ethiopia. Tullow reported that the well will now be plugged and abandoned as a dry hole. The Tultule-1 was targeting oil-bearing sand drilled in its nearby Sabisa-1 well, but the formation was not encountered. The company did report however that gas shows were present. Results from both the Sabisa-1 and the Tultule-1 wells will now be analyzed to organize future exploration plans in the region. Tullow serves as operator of the Tultule-1 well with a 50% interest along with partners Africa Oil Corp. (30%) and Marathon Oil Corp. (20%). Tullow is now moving into Ethiopia’s Chew Bahir basin to drill the Shimela prospect, also in the South Omo […]

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Parents push schools to install air purifiers

With Shanghai suffering one of its worst bouts of pollution, concerned parents, worried about their children’s health, are urging schools to install air purifiers in classrooms. Parents said the purifiers are necessary after Shanghai’s pollution hit a record high with both the air quality index and PM2.5 density soaring to new highs since last Thursday. Weihai and Fortune kindergartens, Soong Ching Ling School and Shanghai United International School have already installed air purifiers in some of their classrooms. Jiang Yayun, the mother of a two-year-old child, said her daughter has been coughing for two months and doctors had told her it was due to pollution. Jiang and other parents with similar problems then approached the principal of Fortune Kindergarten and urged the school to buy air purifiers, which they think is better than having doing nothing at all. “Not many of us […]

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Eight Chinese cities fined for air pollution

Local governments in eight cities in northeast China’s Liaoning Province have been fined a total of 54.2 million yuan (8.9 million U.S. dollars) for air pollution, the provincial department of environment protection said Tuesday. The fines, the first the provincial agency has imposed on lower-level governments, send a clear signal that the provincial government is becoming more serious about tackling air pollution. The tough penalties come as severely polluted air has become a main source of complaints and frustration over health concerns among urban residents. Choking smog attracted wide attention again last week as it blanketed 100 cities across more than half the country. Many rushed to buy face masks and air purifiers to ward it off, and primary and middle schools in the eastern city of Nanjing were even forced to close for two days. According to a regulation which went into effect […]

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South Korea's long-term gas demand to rise 1.7% annually; oil consumption to fall: ministry

South Korea’s natural gas demand is forecast to grow 1.7% annually on average to 35.3 million mt of oil equivalent in 2035, compared with 23.7 million mtoe in 2011, the country’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said in a report released Tuesday. But the country’s oil demand is expected to shrink 0.11% annually to 99.3 million mtoe in 2035, compared with 102.0 million mtoe in 2011, according to a draft version of the ministry’s Energy Basic Plan. The country’s electricity consumption, meanwhile, is forecast to nearly double to 70.2 million mtoe in 2035, from 39.1 million mtoe in 2011, the report said, noting that the government will seek further power price hikes to curb growing demand. The country’s demand for coal for power generation is expected to increase 0.6% annually to reach 38.6 million mtoe in 2035, compared with 33.5 million mtoe in […]

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South Korea’s long-term gas demand to rise 1.7% annually; oil consumption to fall: ministry

South Korea’s natural gas demand is forecast to grow 1.7% annually on average to 35.3 million mt of oil equivalent in 2035, compared with 23.7 million mtoe in 2011, the country’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said in a report released Tuesday. But the country’s oil demand is expected to shrink 0.11% annually to 99.3 million mtoe in 2035, compared with 102.0 million mtoe in 2011, according to a draft version of the ministry’s Energy Basic Plan. The country’s electricity consumption, meanwhile, is forecast to nearly double to 70.2 million mtoe in 2035, from 39.1 million mtoe in 2011, the report said, noting that the government will seek further power price hikes to curb growing demand. The country’s demand for coal for power generation is expected to increase 0.6% annually to reach 38.6 million mtoe in 2035, compared with 33.5 million mtoe in […]

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Strong China retail data defy predictions of slowdown

As China GDP Figures Are Released China’s economy is riding its strong momentum into the end of the year, with retail sales accelerating and industrial output slowing just a touch in November. Following on previous figures that showed a jump in exports and subdued inflation, the data published on Tuesday confirmed that the world’s second-largest economy remained in good health and had once again defied predictions for a more pronounced slowdown . Just a few months ago, analysts had expected that Chinese economic growth would tail off more sharply in the fourth quarter, but for now it appears to be close to its 7.8 per cent year-on-year pace of the third quarter. Industrial output increased 10 per cent in November from a year earlier, down from 10.3 per cent in October but above its average this year. Annual growth in fixed-asset investment edged down to […]

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Why Nuclear Rules Scare Foreign Companies

India wants to boost its nuclear power-generation by more than ten times over the next two decades to cut dependence on imported fossil fuels, but there’s one problem: global companies don’t want to sell India the equipment it needs to run nuclear power-plants under existing rules. Foreign equipment-makers are worried about an Indian law, passed in 2010, which would make them liable to pay compensation in the event of an accident, says Dipankar Bandyopadhyay, a Mumbai-based partner at Indian law firm Verus, and one of the few lawyers in the country who specialize in India’s nuclear liability law. Mr. Bandyopadhyay says that in most other countries, if there is a nuclear accident, the damages are borne only by the company which runs the nuclear plant, not companies which supplied equipment to the plant. Still, given the large size of India’s market for nuclear power, some equipment-makers are negotiating with […]

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China Releases Blueprint for Adapting to Climate Change

China issued its first nation-wide blueprint for adapting to climate change, as governments around the world shift their efforts from focusing solely on curbing global warming to minimizing its impact on people and the environment. “Addressing climate change isn’t only about reducing greenhouse-gas emissions, it’s also about taking initiative on adaptation,” the National Development and Reform Commission, China’s top economic planning agency, said in a report posted to its website. The agency calculated that climate change has cost China more than 200 billion yuan ($32.9 billion) since 1990. In the same period, more than 2,000 people have died here because of extreme weather-related disasters such as floods, droughts, typhoons and storms, it said. “China isn’t only the world’s largest carbon-dioxide emitter but also a vulnerable country that suffers a lot […]

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China's 2014 growth in focus as leaders met on reform plans

China’s leaders began mapping out their economic and reform plans for 2014 behind closed doors on Tuesday, and would have drawn confidence from data showing the economy has sustained momentum from a mid-year pick-up into the final quarter. Even as the government’s 7.5 percent growth target for this year looks increasingly secure, some advisors think it may not issue a specific target for 2014 in order to have more room to pursue reforms intended to lead to more sustainable growth. The government has repeatedly said it has the appetite to overhaul the world’s second-largest economy, and last month outlined an ambitious agenda for the next decade, but it has also shown a distaste for growth slowing towards 7 percent. Top government think tanks, which make policy proposals, were still debating whether the growth target should be cut to 7 percent in 2014 from this year’s 7.5 […]

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China’s 2014 growth in focus as leaders met on reform plans

China’s leaders began mapping out their economic and reform plans for 2014 behind closed doors on Tuesday, and would have drawn confidence from data showing the economy has sustained momentum from a mid-year pick-up into the final quarter. Even as the government’s 7.5 percent growth target for this year looks increasingly secure, some advisors think it may not issue a specific target for 2014 in order to have more room to pursue reforms intended to lead to more sustainable growth. The government has repeatedly said it has the appetite to overhaul the world’s second-largest economy, and last month outlined an ambitious agenda for the next decade, but it has also shown a distaste for growth slowing towards 7 percent. Top government think tanks, which make policy proposals, were still debating whether the growth target should be cut to 7 percent in 2014 from this year’s 7.5 […]

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Peak oil action plan cuts risk in Meander Valley

The Meander Valley Council is implementing the first Local Government Peak Oil Action Plan in Tasmania. The Council has ratified its oil risk action plan, and the report is being picked up as a template by other local government councils in the state. Meander Valley mayor, Craig Perkins says the blueprint identifies opportunities for the Council, local businesses and communities to take action to reduce exposure to rising fuel costs. Craig Perkins says the valley’s dispersed rural communities and businesses and some Council services are very vulnerable to changes in the price and availability of fuel. “There are different views in the community about where oil vulnerability goes, or doesn’t go. “But one thing we do know is that if the price of oil continues to rise that poses risks for us as a council and risks for the community […]

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U.S. Retail Gasoline Falls Second Week as Refinery Runs Rise

U.S. retail gasoline declined for a second week, led by a price drop in the Rocky Mountain region, as refiners returned from maintenance. Regular, unleaded gasoline at filling stations averaged $3.269 a gallon in the seven days through yesterday, down 0.3 cents from a week earlier, the Energy Information Administration said on its website. Prices are 3.7 percent below year-earlier levels. The biggest drop was in the Rocky Mountains , where the motor fuel fell 3.6 cents to $3.145. U.S. pump prices are at a three-year low for this time of year as refiners take advantage of cheaper domestic crude supplies. Gasoline slid 2.1 cents the previous week as refiners produced a record seasonal amount of the fuel as they increased operations after maintenance. “We could be looking at a couple pennies of relief by the time the next report comes around,” James Williams , the president of energy […]

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AAA: Great Lakes experiences 'wild ride' on gasoline prices

Though most retail gasoline prices in the United States are steady, the Great Lakes region may experience a high degree of volatility, AAA said Monday. AAA reports a national average price for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline of $3.26, unchanged from the same time last week but 7 cents more expensive than one month ago. For the Great Lakes region, however, prices experienced more volatility. AAA said the state average Monday in Ohio was $3.24 per gallon, 10 cents more expensive than the same time last week and 20 cents more expensive than one month ago. Michael Green, a spokesman for AAA, said the Great Lakes region can often “go on a wild ride” before settling back near the national average. “Averages in the Great Lakes region change very quickly because many of the local gas stations are owned by a few major […]

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AAA: Great Lakes experiences ‘wild ride’ on gasoline prices

Though most retail gasoline prices in the United States are steady, the Great Lakes region may experience a high degree of volatility, AAA said Monday. AAA reports a national average price for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline of $3.26, unchanged from the same time last week but 7 cents more expensive than one month ago. For the Great Lakes region, however, prices experienced more volatility. AAA said the state average Monday in Ohio was $3.24 per gallon, 10 cents more expensive than the same time last week and 20 cents more expensive than one month ago. Michael Green, a spokesman for AAA, said the Great Lakes region can often “go on a wild ride” before settling back near the national average. “Averages in the Great Lakes region change very quickly because many of the local gas stations are owned by a few major […]

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EIA Shale Oil Drilling Productivity Report

The new EIA Drilling Productivity Report  has just been published with their shale oil production and prediction numbers out through January 2014. I have discovered something very strange about their numbers. But first here is the Bakken data. I have shortened the time frame to just two years in order to better show what is happening. I have plotted what the EIA reported last month along with what they reported in this last report. The data is in barrels per day. There was extremely little revision in the data from the report last month. And now Eagle Ford Production in barrels per day. Eagle Ford was revised downward and like the data, the revisions were extremely linear. But the dead give away was when I plotted the percent change of from month to month. The last eight months show almost the exact rate of change, about 2.5 percent increase […]

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America, The Energy Exporter

Bolstering North American energy infrastructure will solidify the United States as an energy exporter by the end of this decade. It is time to start the conversation about changing U.S. laws to allow exporting of American crude oil. U.S. Government estimates released this month show the United States producing 25 million barrels of oil equivalent a day of natural gas and oil in 2013 surpassing Russia which produces 22 million barrels a day. The U.S. already took the lead in natural gas production in 2012 passing Russia for the first time since 1982. The U.S. is leading because of development the Bakken in North Dakota and the Eagle Ford in Texas. North American energy self-sufficiency is within reach, but only if advancements such as horizontal drilling are matched by improvements to North American energy infrastructure such as its pipeline, railway and seaborne transportation. There are two obstacles keeping the […]

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Canada files to define outer limits of expanded Atlantic continental shelf; preliminary filing on Arctic, targeting North Pole

Canada files to define outer limits of expanded Atlantic continental shelf; preliminary filing on Arctic, targeting North Pole Canada Overview of the outer limits of the expanded Canadian continental shelf in the Atlantic Ocean. Click to enlarge. On 6 December, Canada filed a submission to define the outer limits of its expanded continental shelf area in the Atlantic Ocean with the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf . At the same time, Canada also filed preliminary information concerning the expanded outer limits of its continental shelf in the Arctic Ocean, which could include the North Pole. In a news conference on the submission, Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird said that Canada will indeed […]

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EU to Approve Change to Emissions Program

European Union lawmakers are set Tuesday to approve a long-sought fix to the bloc’s struggling system for trading carbon-emission rights as Germany and other nations have recently indicated support for the plan to make it more expensive to pollute. The Emissions Trading System was designed to put a price on greenhouse-gas pollution by utilities as the bloc seeks to cut carbon-dioxide emissions by 20% by 2020 versus 1990. But because of an initial oversupply of the emission rights and Europe’s economic slowdown, a surplus of roughly two billion credits has sent their price to €4.50 ($6.17) per metric ton now from a high of nearly €30 per ton five years ago. EU nations have struggled for almost two years to agree on a change that would delay the release of 900 million carbon-emission allowances to market. The European Parliament will vote Tuesday on a proposal to delay the release […]

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Russia expects post-Soviet record for oil production

Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said oil output from the country for 2013 should reach a post-Soviet record of 3.8 billion barrels. Russian state news agency RIA Novosti reported Russia in 2012 increased oil output from the previous year by 1.3 percent to 518 million metric tons, approximately 3.79 billion barrels. “This year we expect oil [output] to be about 520 million tons, despite setting a goal of pumping between 505 [million] to 510 million tons,” he was quoted as saying Saturday during a meeting in Washington with U.S. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz. The U.S. Energy Information Administration lists Russia as the No. 3 energy producer in the world, behind Saudi Arabia and the United States. There was no statement from the U.S. Energy Department about the visit by Novak. Last week, Russian energy company Rosneft, one of the largest energy companies in the […]

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Heinberg: Snake Oil and the End of Growth

The last newsletter of 2013 brings together an essay, an interview, and a blog post, all with the common theme of the intersection between economic growth and energy. Thank you for your support in 2013, and my very best wishes for the Holidays and the New Year. Richard Preface to the Romanian edition of Snake Oil In the United States, fracking is widely regarded as the biggest energy development in decades, a revolution that is making America self-sufficient in oil and natural gas. Now the petroleum industry wants to bring fracking to Europe, and promises equally grand results. But there is a problem: if we look beyond mere claims and promises, and examine the actual data on environmental impacts and on oil and gas production potential, the shale revolution in America is revealed to be a costly, destructive project whose benefits are short-lived. […]

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Crude-oil futures traded in a tight price range in Asian hours on Monday as recent U.S. jobs data and speculation about the Federal Reserve's monetary policy dominated market sentiment.

Crude-oil futures traded in a tight price range in Asian hours on Monday as recent U.S. jobs data and speculation about the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy dominated market sentiment. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for delivery in January traded at $97.79 a barrel at 0544 GMT, up $0.14 in the Globex electronic session. January Brent crude on London’s ICE Futures exchange rose $0.14 to $111.75 a barrel. “The steady gains in employment over the last few months increase the chances that the Federal Reserve will start to taper its asset purchases sooner rather than later,” ABN Amro said in a note. Although the Fed may act this month, it will likely wait until next year, probably around March, ABN Amro said. The next meeting of the U.S. Federal Open Market Committee on Dec. 17-18 will be closely watched for indications of a change in […]

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Crude-oil futures traded in a tight price range in Asian hours on Monday as recent U.S. jobs data and speculation about the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy dominated market sentiment.

Crude-oil futures traded in a tight price range in Asian hours on Monday as recent U.S. jobs data and speculation about the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy dominated market sentiment. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for delivery in January traded at $97.79 a barrel at 0544 GMT, up $0.14 in the Globex electronic session. January Brent crude on London’s ICE Futures exchange rose $0.14 to $111.75 a barrel. “The steady gains in employment over the last few months increase the chances that the Federal Reserve will start to taper its asset purchases sooner rather than later,” ABN Amro said in a note. Although the Fed may act this month, it will likely wait until next year, probably around March, ABN Amro said. The next meeting of the U.S. Federal Open Market Committee on Dec. 17-18 will be closely watched for indications of a change in […]

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WTI Trades Near Six-Week High on China Crude Import Gain

West Texas Intermediate traded near the highest in almost six weeks as China ’s net crude imports rebounded and the U.S. jobless rate fell, signaling recovery in the world’s two biggest oil consumers. Crude in New York extended gains to increase for a seventh day after advancing 0.3 percent on Dec. 6. China’s net crude imports rose 19 percent to 5.73 million barrels a day last month, climbing from the lowest level in 14 months, data from the Beijing-based General Administration of Customs showed yesterday. U.S. unemployment dropped to 7 percent in November, the lowest rate in five years, according to Labor Department figures. Refinery runs in the U.S. increased in late November, data from the Energy Department showed last week. “U.S. crude is starting to get more bids as refineries are starting and there are not-that-large stock builds in Cushing,” the Oklahoma delivery point for WTI, Torbjoern Kjus, […]

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Iraq to Become Iran’s Largest Gas Customer

Iraq is willing to boost its gas imports from Iran to 90 million cubic meters (mcm) per day, a senior Iranian gas official said. This comes as on July 21, Iranian and Iraqi oil ministers signed the first deal to transfer Iran’s natural gas to power plants in Baghdad and Diyala provinces. Iran expects to begin exporting gas to neighboring Iraq by July next year, with initial volumes set at 7 million cubic metres per day, an the volume expected to increase to 25 mcm/day by 2015 and ultimately 40 mcm/day, said National Iranian Gas Export Company Director General Alireza Kameli on Saturday. The pipeline will stretch from Assaluyeh, near the massive offshore South Pars gas field in southern Iran, and will continue into neighboring Iraq to feed Iraqi power plants running on gas. Iraq’s electricity ministry said earlier this year it had signed […]

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Car bomb near Iraqi cafe used by Sunni militia kills 11

A car bomb exploded near a cafe in northeastern Iraq on Monday, killing 11 people and wounding 23, police said, as the country grapples with its deadliest violence in at least five years. The explosion took place in Buhriz, 60 km (35 miles) northeast of Baghdad, close to a cafe popular with members of the government-backed Sunni Muslim Sahwa militia. The force of the explosion pushed Ahmed Saied off his chair at a nearby store, wounding him in the leg. "I opened my eyes minutes later and dust covered the place. Many cars were burning and shrapnel was everywhere," he told Reuters by telephone. "While police were evacuating me, I saw many killed and wounded people at the scene." No group has claimed responsibility for the bombing in Diyala province, but Sunni insurgents linked to al Qaeda have frequently attacked Sahwa members this year. The Sahwa, […]

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Beirut seeks bids for LNG import facility

Lebanese Energy Minister Gebran Bassil said he was soliciting bids for a liquefied natural gas plant to lower the nation’s energy import bill. Bassil, the caretaker minister, launched the solicitation to cut energy costs by $2 billion per year, the Daily Star reported Saturday. “This is a strategic and important subject, and irrespective if we are a caretaker Cabinet, we should not stop pursuing such vital projects,” the minister was quoted as saying. Bassil said the savings would emerge because Lebanon would pay only for the natural gas from a new LNG facility and not the cost of building the facility itself. He said the deadline for bids for the LNG plant is Dec. 23. “We can sign the contracts in the third and fourth quarter of 2014,” the minister said. Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati resigned in March because of differences between […]

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Syrian refugees face harsh winter in Iraq

When the rains started at the beginning of November, creating streams of mud, Amoud Mohamed found herself fighting to keep her tent dry. “During the rain the tent was moving, at night we couldn’t sleep because of the rain and the wind,” she told DW, pointing to a pile of rugs at the entrance of the tent she shares with her family. “The water came in here under the floor. We must manage for the whole winter – we can’t go back to Syria.” Amoud and her family of eight are originally from Qamishli in northern Syria. The matriarch of the family, she is a thin woman with strong features. A few weeks later we stood with Amoud’s family in the mud where tire tracks had created sunken puddles, surrounding the tents in Arbat, Sulaymaniyah governorate, in northern Iraq, where just under 3,000 refugees live. Arbat is one of […]

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Leviathan gas only in late 2017

Development of the Leviathan natural gas field will cost $8 billion and production will begin in late 2017 said Noble Energy Inc. (NYSE: NBL ) EVP Eastern Mediterranean Keith Elliott at the “Globes” 2013 Israel Business Conference. “Leviathan is our next major project in Israel.” Elliott continued, “Leviathan will be developed in stages, a domestic component and an export component. The expected cost of developing the field is $8 billion, and we’ll start production in late 2017, a year behind our initial estimate. The reasons for this are known, such as Israel’s export policy. We need an environment that supports investment. We intend to develop Leviathan as fast as we can, and we’re confident that the challenges will be solved. We’re committed to working with our Israeli partners and the Israeli government.” Commenting on the potential of oil at Leviathan, Elliott said, “We’ve […]

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Eni Shuts Flow Stations at Nigeria Pipeline After Fire

Eni SpA said Saturday it has shut flow stations serving a key pipeline following a fire in the Niger Delta of Nigeria. A spokesman for the Italian company said “a fire occurred along the Tebidaba-Brass line.” “We have promptly started the shut-in operations for the flow stations related to the pipeline,” the spokesman said. The pipeline, which is operated by Eni’s Agip unit, normally carries 75,000 barrels a day of the high-quality Brass grade for export. A Nigerian official said oil theft was the suspected […]

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Tullow dry but unfazed by Ethiopian drilling efforts

British energy explorer Tullow Oil said Monday it encountered natural gas but no oil while drilling into a frontier area in Ethiopia. Tullow said its Tultule-1 wildcat well, a well positioned in a region not known previously to contain oil and natural gas reserves, will be categorized as a dry hole after drilling to a depth of 6,893 feet in the South Omo prospect. Tullow said it was targeting a region similar to another area in Ethiopia that had oil potential, though no oil was encountered during the drilling. The company said Monday it found some natural gas deposits, which it says proves the presence of a hydrocarbon source in the region. Tullow said it would move its drilling rig to a different section of the South Omo prospect “where new seismic [survey information] has delineated a number of exciting new prospects.” New wells […]

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Mexico Joint Energy Proposal to Break $95 Billion Monopoly

Senators from Mexico’s two biggest political parties proposed a bill to break the nation’s 75-year oil monopoly by amending the constitution to allow production sharing contracts and licenses for outside producers. The joint legislation would allow private companies such as Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) to develop fields in the largest unexplored crude area after the Arctic Circle as state-owned Petroleos Mexicanos seeks to reverse eight years of falling output. The bill would allow companies to log crude reserves for accounting purposes, which may make it easier to secure project financing . The bill comes after four months of political wrangling following the release of separate plans from President Enrique Pena Nieto’s ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party , or PRI, and the opposition National Action Party , known as the PAN. The government says an energy overhaul would lift economic growth 1 percentage point by 2018 and reverse oil production losses. […]

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Venezuela's socialists win majority in local polls

CARACAS (Reuters) – President Nicolas Maduro’s government won a majority of votes in Venezuela’s local elections on Sunday, disappointing the opposition and helping his quest to preserve the late Hugo Chavez’s socialist legacy. With votes in from three-quarters of the nation’s 337 mayoral races, the ruling party and allies had combined 49.2 percent support, compared with the opposition coalition and its partners’ 42.7 percent, the election board said. Since taking power in April, Maduro, a 51-year-old former bus driver, has faced a plethora of economic problems including slowing growth, the highest inflation in the Americas, and shortages of basic goods including milk and toilet paper. Yet an aggressive campaign launched last month to force businesses to slash prices proved popular with consumers, especially the poor, and helped Maduro’s candidates on Sunday. "The father of the revolution has gone, but he left the son who continued helping the poor," said […]

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Venezuela’s socialists win majority in local polls

CARACAS (Reuters) – President Nicolas Maduro’s government won a majority of votes in Venezuela’s local elections on Sunday, disappointing the opposition and helping his quest to preserve the late Hugo Chavez’s socialist legacy. With votes in from three-quarters of the nation’s 337 mayoral races, the ruling party and allies had combined 49.2 percent support, compared with the opposition coalition and its partners’ 42.7 percent, the election board said. Since taking power in April, Maduro, a 51-year-old former bus driver, has faced a plethora of economic problems including slowing growth, the highest inflation in the Americas, and shortages of basic goods including milk and toilet paper. Yet an aggressive campaign launched last month to force businesses to slash prices proved popular with consumers, especially the poor, and helped Maduro’s candidates on Sunday. "The father of the revolution has gone, but he left the son who continued helping the poor," said […]

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China inflation slows on lower food prices

Chinese shoppers Inflation in China slowed in November, giving the government more room to push ahead with its slate of financial reforms. The consumer price index rose 3 per cent year-on-year, down from its 3.2 per cent pace in October and comfortably below the official 3.5 per cent target for 2013. A drop in food prices from a month earlier was the main source of downward pressure on inflation in November. Producer prices remained in deflationary territory, dropping 1.4 per cent year-on-year, though that was up slightly from October’s 1.5 per cent decline. Weak commodity prices have suppressed factory-gate inflation this year. When Chinese financial institutions unleashed a flood of credit earlier this year, there were concerns that the country would eventually face higher inflation. But the central bank began to act in June to withdraw excess cash from the financial system, and the subdued inflation readings are testament […]

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Lured by cheap coal, Southeast Asia turns away from gas

Southeast Asian power generation capacity to rise 50 pct this decade * More than half of new Southeast Asian capacity to be coal-fired * LNG-fired power twice as expensive as coal-fired power in Asia Southeast Asia’s power sector will tilt away from gas to use more coal by the end of this decade, chipping away at demand for liquefied natural gas as the region of more than 600 million people tries to cut costs to meet soaring electricity needs. With a wave of LNG projects due to come online this decade, this shift in consumption from a region long expected to be a key growth market could help take some of the heat out of rising Asian prices of the cleaner fuel. Gas prices in Asia are about five times more expensive than in the United States, driven by demand for LNG […]

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China environmentalists slam inaction over smog

The smog that blanketed over 100 cities in half of China last week has rekindled criticism of insufficient efforts in the fight against air pollution. Among urban residents, severely polluted air has become a main source of complaints and frustration over health concerns. Late last week, the Air Quality Index (AQI) in dozens of cities in eastern China topped or neared 500. AQI of over 300 cities is defined as “serious pollution.” Many rushed to buy face masks and air purifiers to ward off the choking smog, a result of decades of breakneck economic growth. The dirty air even forced all primary and middle schools in the eastern city of Nanjing to close for two days. “The smog is everywhere,” said Xiong Yuehui, head of the science and technology department of the Ministry of Environmental Protection, at a meeting on Sunday in Shanghai. “If […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple