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Train Carrying Oil in North Dakota Ablaze After Derailing

A BNSF Railway Co. train carrying oil caught fire after a collision with railcars in North Dakota , causing a series of explosions that prompted police to urge local residents to evacuate the area. There were no injuries to the train crews involved, Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK/A) ’s BNSF said in a statement yesterday. The accident occurred at 2:10 p.m. local time near Casselton, about 25 miles (40 kilometers) west of Fargo and 21 railcars were ablaze as of 9.20 p.m. central standard time, it said. Residents in the city and those living within five miles (eight kilometers) to the south and the east were advised to leave on concern a plume of smoke from the blaze would envelop the area, Captain Judy Tollefson of the Cass County Sheriff’s Office said by phone. The accident is the fourth major North American derailment in six months […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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7 things everyone knows about energy that just ain't so (2013 Edition)

Mark Twain once said, "It ain’t what you don’t know that gets you into trouble. It’s what you know for sure that just ain’t so." And, there are many, many things that the public and policymakers know for sure about energy that just ain’t so. That list is very long indeed and getting longer as the fossil fuel industry (which has little interest in intellectual honesty) continues its skillful manipulation of a gullible and sometimes careless media. Pinocchio in a parade http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:1916MomusPinocchio.jpg Below I’ve listed seven whoppers that it would be charitable to call misleading. Longtime readers will recognize that I’ve addressed them before in various pieces. But I thought that it would be useful to review the worst of the worst of 2013 as the year ends. Here are seven things everyone knows about energy that just ain’t so: 1. Worldwide oil production has been growing by leaps […]

Posted On : Published By : ASPO-USA
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7 things everyone knows about energy that just ain’t so (2013 Edition)

Mark Twain once said, "It ain’t what you don’t know that gets you into trouble. It’s what you know for sure that just ain’t so." And, there are many, many things that the public and policymakers know for sure about energy that just ain’t so. That list is very long indeed and getting longer as the fossil fuel industry (which has little interest in intellectual honesty) continues its skillful manipulation of a gullible and sometimes careless media. Pinocchio in a parade http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:1916MomusPinocchio.jpg Below I’ve listed seven whoppers that it would be charitable to call misleading. Longtime readers will recognize that I’ve addressed them before in various pieces. But I thought that it would be useful to review the worst of the worst of 2013 as the year ends. Here are seven things everyone knows about energy that just ain’t so: 1. Worldwide oil production has been growing by leaps […]

Posted On : Published By : ASPO-USA
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IEA Forecasts Sustained Energy Growth, But No "Era of Oil Abundance"

The IEA’s latest long-term forecasts highlights the growth of unconventional oil and gas, especially in North America, but does not see this leading to much lower oil prices. In their main scenario fossil fuels will still meet more than three-fourths of the world’s energy needs by 2035, despite significant growth in renewable energy. The International Energy Agency (IEA) released its latest World Energy Outlook (WEO) in November, looking twenty-plus years into our energy future. The trends it describes add nuance and detail to last year’s projections , rather than upending them.  Among other things they advance the expected date of global oil production leadership by the US to 2015 but suggest these gains may be short-lived and will not lead to "cheap oil."  The IEA also envisions a reshuffling of the traditional roles of energy importing, exporting and consuming countries, against a backdrop of steadily increasing energy-related […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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IEA Forecasts Sustained Energy Growth, But No “Era of Oil Abundance”

The IEA’s latest long-term forecasts highlights the growth of unconventional oil and gas, especially in North America, but does not see this leading to much lower oil prices. In their main scenario fossil fuels will still meet more than three-fourths of the world’s energy needs by 2035, despite significant growth in renewable energy. The International Energy Agency (IEA) released its latest World Energy Outlook (WEO) in November, looking twenty-plus years into our energy future. The trends it describes add nuance and detail to last year’s projections , rather than upending them.  Among other things they advance the expected date of global oil production leadership by the US to 2015 but suggest these gains may be short-lived and will not lead to "cheap oil."  The IEA also envisions a reshuffling of the traditional roles of energy importing, exporting and consuming countries, against a backdrop of steadily increasing energy-related […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Oil Futures Supported by Bullish U.S. Oil Data

Crude-oil futures edged up in Asian trading hours on Monday as investors considered bullish weekly U.S. oil inventory data and developments in Libya and South Sudan. On the New York Mercantile Exchange light, sweet crude futures for delivery in February traded at $100.31 a barrel at 0559 GMT–down $0.01 in the Globex electronic session. February Brent crude on London’s ICE Futures exchange rose $0.22 to $112.40 a barrel. On Friday weekly U.S. Energy Information Administration data showed a sharper-than-expected drop in crude-oil stocks in the week ended Dec. 20 and smaller stocks of important transportation fuels–which was bullish for oil prices. U.S. oil stocks fell by 4.7 million barrels to 367.6 million barrels–more than twice the 2.2-million-barrel decline expected by market participants, EIA data showed. "Crude stocks fell on the back of higher crude runs. In addition refiners on the Gulf Coast delayed imports and minimized supplies to reduce […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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WTI Trades Near Two-Month High Above $100 as Stockpiles Decline

West Texas Intermediate traded near a two-month high above $100 a barrel after U.S. crude and distillate stockpiles fell more than forecast, while exports from Libya remained curbed by port closures. Futures were little changed near the highest settlement since Oct. 18. Crude inventories dropped by 4.73 million barrels to the lowest level since September last week amid an increase in refinery operations, while distillate supplies, including diesel and heating fuel, fell by 1.85 million barrels to 114.1 million, the Energy Information Administration reported Dec. 27. A possible agreement with rebels to reopen the Libyan port of Hariga collapsed, the oil ministry said Dec. 28. “The recovery of the U.S. economy is fueling expectations of higher oil demand in the U.S.,” said Olivier Jakob , managing director at Petromatrix GmbH in Zug, Switzerland . “Distillate stocks will end 2013 at a multi-year low for the season and that should […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Most-Accurate Oil Forecasters See Second Year of Losses

Brent crude prices, the benchmark for half the world’s oil, will weaken for a second year in 2014 as U.S. output expands and threats to Middle East and North African supply ease, the most-accurate forecasters said. Prices will average $105 a barrel in 2014, from $108.70 in 2013, according to the median of estimates from the seven analysts who most accurately predicted this year’s level in a survey last December. Brent averaged $111.68 in 2012. Global supply is expanding as the U.S. pumps oil trapped in shale-rock formations, driving domestic output to the highest in a quarter century and curbing demand for the crude priced off Brent. Iran , Iraq and Libya will also produce more in 2014, the forecasters said. While a second annual drop for Brent would be the first consecutive retreat since 1998, prices are still about 39 percent higher than the average over the past […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Iran and world powers resume expert level nuclear talks

Iran resumed technical talks with world powers in Geneva on Monday, a vital step in implementing a nuclear deal signed last month which suspends key elements of Tehran’s nuclear program in exchange for limited sanctions relief. The talks between expert teams from Iran and six world powers are meant to translate the political deal into a detailed implementation plan by the end of January, Iran’s state news agency, IRNA, quoted an unnamed source as saying. A key sticking point appears to be how much advance information Western governments will get so they can verify that Iran is meeting its end of the deal before they lift any sanctions. The third round of talks between technical experts from the permanent U.N. Security Council members – Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States – plus Germany, are set to last a day and resume in 2014, IRNA […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Maliki targets protesters as Anbar security crisis deepens

Maliki targets protesters as Anbar security crisis deepens Tensions are rising in Anbar province between Sunni protesters and Iraq’s Shia-dominated central government, as pressure is mounting on Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to push back against a rising tide of violence.Protesters in Anbar have rejected renewed threats from Maliki, who claims the demonstrations have been infiltrated by terrorists and has warned of imminent crackdowns. It has been a full year since protesters in Sunni-majority provinces across Iraq took to the streets to decry the… This content is for registered users. Please login to continue. If you are not a registered user, you may purchase a subscription or sign up for a free trial .

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple