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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.

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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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 […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple