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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 […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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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 […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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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 […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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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 […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple