Category:

Six Senate Democrats Ask DOI to Delay New Lease Sales in Arctic Waters

More As the race heats up for drilling in Arctic waters, several U.S. Senate members have requested the Interior Department to delay future oil and gas lease sales and permitting in the Arctic Ocean, including the proposed lease sale 237, until a thorough reevaluation of environmental risks is conducted. Six Senate Democrats, with Jeff Merkley of Oregon and Dick Durbin of Illinois leading the charge, published an addressed letter to Secretary Sally Jewel to suspend plans to auction new leases in the Chukchi Sea off Alaska’s northern coast in 2016, with Shell Oil Company being used as an example. “The myriad problems faced last year by Shell Oil Company as it attempted to drill exploration wells in the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas demonstrated the unpredictability, harsh conditions, and heightened potential for human error that characterize any industrial activity in the Arctic Ocean,” the letter stated.  In September, the Bureau […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Two case studies outline how Houston and Loveland are saving money with EVs in their fleets

Two case studies outline how Houston and Loveland are saving money with EVs in their fleets The Electrification Coalition released two case studies outlining how two cities— Houston, Texas and Loveland, Colorado —are saving money by using electric vehicles (EVs) in their vehicle fleets. The Electrification Coalition, launched in November 2009, is committed to promoting policies and actions that facilitate the deployment of electric vehicles on a mass scale in order to combat the economic, environmental, and national security threats posed by US dependence on petroleum. ( Earlier post .) City officials in Houston estimate that the city’s 27 Nissan LEAF electric vehicles will save the city $110,000 annually compared to internal combustion engine vehicles. A similar study examining Loveland, Colo. found that the city’s LEAFs will cost 41% less to own and operate than gasoline-powered vehicles. Houston first began using electric vehicles for the environmental benefits they offer, […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Study: Fracking fluids could disrupt hormones, raise infertility risk

Fluid used in hydraulic fracturing — better known simply as fracking — contain chemicals that can disrupt the functioning of human hormones and lead to a greater chance of infertility, cancer and other health problems, researchers said Monday. Fracking has accelerated under the Obama administration, with supporters of the practice suggesting that the method of extracting oil and natural gas from shale rock by injecting thousands of gallons of highly pressurized fluids could provide a means to greater energy independence and a boost to the U.S. economy. But environmentalists decry the practice, arguing that not enough is known about the chemicals used in the process and that the risk of pollution outweighs any benefits. A new study, however, suggests that endrocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) — substances that can interfere with the body’s normal hormonal functions — are found in the cocktail that makes up fracking fluid. “More than 700 chemicals are […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

BP Announces Significant Discovery in Deepwater US Gulf of Mexico

Integrated oil and gas company BP PLC (BP.LN), said Wednesday it has made a significant oil discovery at its Gila prospect, which it co-owns with ConocoPhillips (COP), in the deepwater US Gulf of Mexico. Appraisal drilling, including completion of drilling through the Paleocene section, will be required to determine the size and potential commerciality of the discovery, BP said. The Gila discovery was made by an exploration well on Keathley Canyon Block 93, about 300 miles southwest of New Orleans, in 4,900 feet of water. BP owns a majority interest in the Gila discovery. BP said the well, which penetrated multiple Paleogene-aged reservoir sands, was drilled to a total depth of 29,221 feet. Mike Daly, BP’s global head of exploration, said: "Gila continues our successful drill out of the prolific Paleogene play system in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico." "Subject to successful appraisal, Gila, Tiber […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Jury "at a standstill" in ex-BP engineer's trial

A deadlocked jury will return for a third day of deliberations in the case against a former BP engineer charged with deleting text messages to obstruct a probe of the company’s massive 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Jurors deliberated for more than eight hours over two days before telling U.S. District Judge Stanwood Duval Jr. late Tuesday that they were "at a standstill" and having trouble reaching a verdict in the case against 52-year-old Kurt Mix, of Katy, Texas. About an hour after Duval instructed them to continue their deliberations, jurors asked to adjourn for the night and return Wednesday morning. Mix is charged with two counts of obstruction of justice. He didn’t testify at his two-week trial. © 2013 The Associated Press . All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Learn more about our Privacy […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Jury “at a standstill” in ex-BP engineer’s trial

A deadlocked jury will return for a third day of deliberations in the case against a former BP engineer charged with deleting text messages to obstruct a probe of the company’s massive 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Jurors deliberated for more than eight hours over two days before telling U.S. District Judge Stanwood Duval Jr. late Tuesday that they were "at a standstill" and having trouble reaching a verdict in the case against 52-year-old Kurt Mix, of Katy, Texas. About an hour after Duval instructed them to continue their deliberations, jurors asked to adjourn for the night and return Wednesday morning. Mix is charged with two counts of obstruction of justice. He didn’t testify at his two-week trial. © 2013 The Associated Press . All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Learn more about our Privacy […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

U.S. Has Failed to Maximize Revenue From Drilling

Government auditors criticized the U.S. Interior Department for considering and then delaying plans to raise the royalty rate for oil production on public lands, saying that’s resulted in “foregone revenue.” The department’s Bureau of Land Management scrapped plans in 2012 to raise the standard royalty rate on public lands to 18.75 percent from 12.5 percent, according to a U.S. Government Accountability Office report released today. That delay stands in contrast to Interior’s increase of royalties on offshore production in U.S. waters. The report “drives home the point that the Interior Department, and especially BLM, may not be keeping up with times,” Oregon Democrat Ron Wyden said in response to the report. Interior Department spokeswoman Jessica Kershaw said in response to the report that “it remains a high priority for the Department to modernize its regulatory regime in order to set onshore royalty rates and ensure a fair return to […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Canada vows thorough review of Trans Mountain pipeline

Canadian Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver said no stone will be left unturned when reviewing Kinder Morgan ‘s bid to expand its Trans Mountain pipeline. Kinder Morgan announced it filed an application with the National Energy Board, a Canadian regulator, to expand the existing Trans Mountain pipeline. The company said its application included environment risk assessments. "Our government has been clear: we will only allow energy projects to proceed if they are found to be safe for Canadians after an independent, scientific, environmental and regulatory review," Oliver said in a statement Monday. Kinder wants to spend more than $5 billion to twin the existing pipeline from Alberta to British Columbia. The company said the expansion would at least double the corridor’s existing capacity of 300,000 barrels of oil per day. Advocacy groups in British Columbia have expressed concern about the potential environmental threat from […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

British energy minister publishes shale 'roadmap'

British Energy Minister Michael Fallon said Tuesday shale natural gas is part of his country’s energy future but it must be extracted responsibly. Fallon published a regulatory roadmap outlining ways in which oil and natural gas, including shale deposits, could be exploited in the country. "The government is keen to explore the potential for shale gas in the U.K., which could bring major benefit in terms of growth, jobs and energy security," he said in a statement. "However we must develop shale responsibly, both for local communities and for the environment." The British Geological Survey estimates there may be enough shale gas inland to last the country more than 40 years though only a small fraction of land is open for exploration. The 49-page report outlines ways in which oil and natural gas is regulated in the region. It says each application needs to […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

British energy minister publishes shale ‘roadmap’

British Energy Minister Michael Fallon said Tuesday shale natural gas is part of his country’s energy future but it must be extracted responsibly. Fallon published a regulatory roadmap outlining ways in which oil and natural gas, including shale deposits, could be exploited in the country. "The government is keen to explore the potential for shale gas in the U.K., which could bring major benefit in terms of growth, jobs and energy security," he said in a statement. "However we must develop shale responsibly, both for local communities and for the environment." The British Geological Survey estimates there may be enough shale gas inland to last the country more than 40 years though only a small fraction of land is open for exploration. The 49-page report outlines ways in which oil and natural gas is regulated in the region. It says each application needs to […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Russian amnesty bill to include Greenpeace crew

Russia’s parliament on Wednesday amended an amnesty bill to include the 30-member crew of a Greenpeace ship detained after a protest at a floating oil rig in the Arctic. The State Duma Wednesday morning adopted final amendments to the bill which gives amnesty to thousands of Russians, mainly minors, invalids, veterans, pregnant women, and women with children. The vote is expected on Wednesday afternoon. The amnesty was extended to suspects of hooliganism, which means that charges against 30 people abroad a Greenpeace ship who were detained after a protest in Russia’s Arctic in September are likely to be dropped. The bill is also expected to release Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Maria Alekhina, the jailed members of the Pussy Riot punk band who are serving two years in prison on charges of hooliganism for an impromptu protest at Moscow’s main cathedral. Pyotr Verzilov, Tolokonnikova’s husband, told The Associated […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Britain opens up much of countryside to fracking

An area more than two-thirds the size of England is to be opened up to shale gas drilling and other forms of exploration under plans set out on Tuesday that ministers said could produce thousands of jobs and other economic benefits. However, if fracking companies rush to exploit shale deposits, some areas may also experience “significant negative effects”, according to an environmental assessment of the move by the Amec consultancy, including a “substantial burden” on wastewater treatment plants. Depending on how many sites are eventually drilled, towns and villages could see lorries hauling water and other materials along their roads up to 51 times a day, the consultants said, adding that up to 150 shale gas licences could end up being awarded around the country. In addition, fracking companies could consume nearly a fifth of the water currently supplied to energy, water and waste industries each year. These impacts […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

High Speed Trains are Killing the European Railway Network

The Étoile du Nord Paris-Amsterdam (1927-1995). Almost as fast as the high speed train, but two to three times cheaper.   High speed rail is marketed as a sustainable alternative to air traffic. According to the International Union of Railways, the high speed train "plays a key role in a stage of sustainable development and combating climate change". As a regular long-distance train traveller in Europe, I have to say that the opposite is true. High speed rail is destroying the most valuable alternative to the airplane; the "low speed" rail network that has been in service for decades. The introduction of a high speed train connection invariably accompanies the elimination of a slightly slower, but much more affordable, alternative route, forcing passengers to use the new and more expensive product, or abandon the train altogether. As a result, business people switch from full-service planes […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Global oil reserves up

As a continuation to last week’s article titled "Oil industry’s R&D deactivates ‘peak’", and as reported by the 2013 BP Statistical Review of World Energy, the world has increased its global oil reserves by 15 billion barrels in 2012 reaching a total of 1,669 billion barrels by end of 2012. These additional global reserves amounted to 647 billion bbls between 2002 and 2012, the highest in the last few decade, was achieved despite the exponential cumulative global consumption of more than 300 billion bbls during the same period. It is worth mentioning here that 50% of today’s global reserves are located in the Middle East region and more than 72% with OPEC countries. The 26% over the 2002 figure can be directly correlated to the exponential Research & Development (R&D) investment that has been spent by the oil industry in the last decade. Although the literature lacks specific quantitative […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Forget Peak Oil, The World Is Heading to ‘Peak Food’

The world may be nearing the upper limits of agricultural production, raising questions about how we will feed a more crowded planet. US researchers say yields of about 30 per cent of crops, including rice and wheat, have decreased abruptly or have plateaued in recent years. Most future projections that would ensure global food security are typically based upon a constant increase in yield. However, this new research reported in Nature Communications , suggests this may not be possible. Past trends have been dominated by the rapid adoption of new technologies which allowed for an increase in crop production. Kenneth Cassman and colleagues at the University of Nebraska characterise past yield trends for cereal, oil, sugar, fibre, pulses, tuber, root crops, rice, wheat and maize, as evidence against a projected scenario of crop yield increase. Their data suggest the rate of yield gain has recently decreased or stopped for […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

The human over population is near

The human overpopulation is near over populated Earths maximum capacity Overpopulation remains the leading driver of hunger, desertification and species depletion across the planet. Conservative estimates report that China’s most recent food crisis, between 1958 and 1961, led to the starvation of over twenty million people, in part due to the erosion of China’s natural capital. Uncontrolled human fertility led to a depletion of the land’s fertility. Previous famines were worse. Over the years, hundreds of millions died a horrible death of hunger. Their misery should teach a sobering lesson about insouciant disregard for the balance between human numbers and natural resources. It gives little satisfaction for sustainable population advocates to point out that the past twenty years saw an […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Oil futures trended lower in Asian trading hours Tuesday but geopolitical issues and an uptick in economic data kept a floor on the two oil price benchmarks.

Oil futures trended lower in Asian trading hours Tuesday but geopolitical issues and an uptick in economic data kept a floor on the two oil price benchmarks. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for delivery in January traded at $97.37 a barrel at 0504 GMT, down $0.11 in the Globex electronic session. February Brent crude on London’s ICE Futures exchange fell $0.08 to $109.33 a barrel. Better-than-expected U.S. industrial data had reinforced some market expectations that the Federal Reserve may opt for an early withdrawal of monetary stimulus. The meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee later this week remains the dominant theme for financial markets. "Trimming of the monthly $85 billion asset purchases is likely to dampen demand of commodities and hurt dollar-denominated crude as the greenback strengthens," Phillip Futures said in a note. Later Tuesday, the American Petroleum Institute–a trade body–will publish its […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

WTI Oil Falls as U.S. Gasoline, Distillate Supplies Seen Rising

West Texas Intermediate fell amid speculation that gasoline and distillate stockpiles increased last week in the U.S., signaling ample supply in the world’s biggest oil consumer. Futures dropped as much as 0.3 percent in New York . U.S. gasoline inventories rose by 1.75 million barrels in the seven days ended Dec. 13, adding to three weeks of gains, according to a Bloomberg News survey of analysts before data from the Energy Information Administration tomorrow. The industry-funded American Petroleum Institute is scheduled to release separate stockpile data today. “Inventory figures will be important against a background of significant stockpile build-up,” said Ric Spooner, a chief analyst at CMC Markets in Sydney. “The market will want to see some inroads into that.” WTI for January delivery declined as much as 25 cents to $97.23 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange , and was at $97.38 at […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Global coal demand out to 2018 set to slow, says IEA

China will continue to drive global coal demand over the next five years, although growth is likely to slow amid uncertainties such as the country’s increasing adoption of cleaner technologies and implementation of coal consumption cuts in some regions, the International Energy Agency said Monday. The agency cut its average annual coal demand growth forecast for the 2013-2018 period to 2.3% from 2.6%, also citing increased competition from cheaper gas in the US. However, coal once again displayed the largest demand growth of all fossil fuels — including natural gas and oil — in 2012, at 7.697 billion mt, up 170 million mt on 2011. Launching its annual Medium-term Coal Market Report, IEA executive director Maria van der Hoeven said that in 2012, coal consumption in the world’s two largest markets, China and the US, was "abnormally weak." Article continues below… Request a free […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Energy Websites Fend Off Assaults

The Energy Department blocked about 2,200 attempts this year by users seeking to get data from its websites in ways that endangered equal access to the agency’s widely followed economic reports. The users were blocked because they asked for too much information or submitted too many requests for data, exceeding limits set by the agency. Officials disclosed the total in response to a request from The Wall Street Journal. The previously undisclosed number of blocked users is the latest sign of challenges facing government agencies and other information gatherers as they try to guard the data before releasing it to investors in an era of high-speed trading and nonstop technological advancement. It isn’t clear whether blocked users were traders trying to be among the first to see data such as gasoline prices and natural-gas storage; hackers hoping to snare the information before its release to the public; or unwitting […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Iran advises Pakistan to seek outside help on pipeline

An Iranian deputy energy minister said his government was recommending Pakistan look for a third party to help finance a natural gas pipeline from Iran. "Iran’s Petroleum Minister Bijan Zanganeh recommended Islamabad demand help from third-party companies for the completion and acceleration of the project on the Pakistani soil," Ali Majedi, a deputy petroleum minister in charge of international affairs, said. He was quoted by The News International, a Pakistani newspaper, as saying Monday it was possible that some of those companies could buy natural gas from Iran and then sell it to Pakistan. Iran last week backed out of a $500 million finance commitment to help Pakistan build the pipeline on its side of the border because of the sanctions constraints. Pakistani Minister for Petroleum and Natural Resources Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said his government was still interested in the project, though it was […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Car bomb hits Hezbollah stronghold in east Lebanon

A car bomb struck a stronghold of the Shiite militant Hezbollah group in eastern Lebanon early on Tuesday, causing a number of casualties, Lebanon’s state-run news agency said. A Lebanese official and the group’s Al-Manar TV confirmed the blast and said it occurred near the remote village of Sbouba in the Baalbek region, but there was no immediate word on the nature of the explosion or the target. The TV station owned by Hezbollah said there were no casualties. The explosion appears to be part of a wave of attacks on Hezbollah strongholds and interests in Lebanon. The group is fighting in Syria alongside President Bashar Assad’s troops and has received threats of retaliation from the largely Sunni rebels fighting to topple him. A Lebanese security official confirmed the explosion but said there was no immediate word on the nature of the target or casualties. He […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Dozens of Iraqis Killed in Attacks

More than 70 people were killed in a string of attacks across Iraq on Monday, including 37 Shiites preparing for an annual pilgrimage, among them a group who were pulled out of a bus and shot dead on the roadside, the police said. The violence followed 19 killings over the weekend, putting December on track to become one of the bloodiest months in the country in five years. On Monday, 12 Shiite pilgrims heading to Baghdad from the northern city of Mosul were taken out of their bus and killed, the police said. The pilgrims were on their way to the capital to begin a procession on foot to the city of Karbala for Arbaeen, an annual commemoration of the 40-day mourning period for Imam Hussein, a grandson of the Prophet Muhammad. In southern Baghdad, two car bombs targeting the pilgrims killed 25 Shiites and wounded 50 […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

IOCs happy with Nassiriya terms

IOCs happy with Nassiriya terms Oil companies appear to be optimistic that the model contract for a major oil field and refinery project in Nassiriya could represent an investor-friendly shift for Iraq’s Oil Ministry.In contrast to the ministry’s first four bidding rounds, the new joint project – to develop the Nassiriya oil field and a nearby refinery – has attracted praise from some of the companies that have been pre-qualified for the bidding, now scheduled for Jan. 23."They made a serious step forward," said a …

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

South Sudan’s Kiir Imposes Curfew After Failed Coup in Capital

South Sudanese President Salva Kiir imposed a curfew after soldiers supporting former Vice President Riek Machar tried to overthrow the government last night. The government is in control after attacks in the city, including one at at a meeting of the ruling Sudan People’s Liberation movement, at 6 p.m., Kiir told reporters in the capital, Juba. The curfew will be enforced between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m., he said. The governments of the U.S. and U.K. warned citizens in Juba to be careful amid reports that fighting was ongoing. “They tried an attempted coup but it failed,” Kiir said. “We are not going to say whom we have arrested and how many.” Kiir fired Machar in July along with the entire cabinet after the former deputy said he will contest the 2015 presidential elections against Kiir. The winner of internal elections for the ruling party will be the party’s […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Asia Faces Competition in Mexico's Energy Sector

Asian energy groups are looking at opportunities in Mexico following a decision to break Petróleos Mexicanos’s oil and gas monopoly, but they could face tough competition from Western rivals for the right to exploit the country’s huge and lightly developed reserves. Mexico’s relatively stable political environment and geographic proximity to the U.S. could attract investors from there, including companies that have been selling stakes in Asian and African energy projects to focus on exploiting shale gas and oil opportunities nearer to home. Attractive Mexico projects could also interest European companies such as Spain’s Repsol SA, REP.MC -0.77% Repsol S.A. Spain: Madrid € 18.11 -0.14 -0.77% Dec. 17, 2013 10:08 am Volume : 423,036 P/E Ratio 14.61 Market Cap €23.45 Billion Dividend Yield 0.44% Rev. per Employee €1,965,150 11/28/13 Repsol Deal With Argentina Was… 11/27/13 Repsol, Argentina Reach Tentat… 11/27/13 Repsol Bonds With Argentina More quote details […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Asia Faces Competition in Mexico’s Energy Sector

Asian energy groups are looking at opportunities in Mexico following a decision to break Petróleos Mexicanos’s oil and gas monopoly, but they could face tough competition from Western rivals for the right to exploit the country’s huge and lightly developed reserves. Mexico’s relatively stable political environment and geographic proximity to the U.S. could attract investors from there, including companies that have been selling stakes in Asian and African energy projects to focus on exploiting shale gas and oil opportunities nearer to home. Attractive Mexico projects could also interest European companies such as Spain’s Repsol SA, REP.MC -0.77% Repsol S.A. Spain: Madrid € 18.11 -0.14 -0.77% Dec. 17, 2013 10:08 am Volume : 423,036 P/E Ratio 14.61 Market Cap €23.45 Billion Dividend Yield 0.44% Rev. per Employee €1,965,150 11/28/13 Repsol Deal With Argentina Was… 11/27/13 Repsol, Argentina Reach Tentat… 11/27/13 Repsol Bonds With Argentina More quote details […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Mexican State Legislatures Approve Energy Changes

A majority of Mexican state legislatures have approved changes in the constitution that open the country’s state-run energy industry to greater private investment and end a 75-year-old monopoly of state oil company Petróleos Mexicanos. Early Monday, San Luis Potosí became the 17th state to vote in favor of the bill, which amends the constitution to allow for private firms to explore for and produce oil and gas for the first time since the 1938 expropriation of the industry. Constitutional amendments in Mexico require a two-thirds majority vote in the Senate and lower house, and approval by a majority of the 31 state legislatures. Last week, the Senate and the lower house of Congress approved the changes, which amend the three constitutional articles that formed the core of the country’s restrictive energy laws. With the necessary state approvals, the Congress can declare the changes constitutional and send the bill […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Venezuela revamping its currency control system

Venezuela is overhauling decade-old currency controls to benefit its struggling oil industry and arrest the decline of the bolivar on the black market. Oil Minister Rafael Ramirez says the government’s nine-month-old U.S. dollar auction system will be expanded next year to provide a more favorable exchange rate to oil companies, tourists and the central bank’s gold purchases. Ramirez denies the move represents a stealth devaluation, though he says the auction mechanism will gradually replace the so-called Cadivi system that’s used to mete out dollars to Venezuelans. The government currently sells a dollar for 6.3 bolivars, but access is restricted and the greenback costs more than 10 times that amount on the black market. Ramirez doesn’t say what exchange rate will be used at the auctions. Ramirez made the announcement Monday. […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

End of Mexico’s 75-Year Oil Monopoly Set as States Ratify Bill

Mexico’s bill that ends a 75-year state oil monopoly will be sent to President Enrique Pena Nieto for enactment after a majority of states ratified the proposal. San Luis Potosi, Puebla and Yucatan were among states that approved the legislation over the weekend, bringing the number of those that have endorsed the plan to 17 of 31. Mexico’s most significant economic overhaul since the North American Free Trade Agreement was enacted in 1994 had been approved by Congress on Dec. 12. The bill ends the monopoly held by Petroleos Mexicanos , or Pemex, and will allow companies such as Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) and Chevron Corp. (CVX) to develop the largest unexplored crude area after the Arctic Circle. The changes could bring an additional $20 billion in foreign direct investment and strengthen the peso, according to Carlos Capistran, chief Mexico economist at Bank of America Corp. The passage of […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Australian coal projects at risk of being 'stranded'

Australian coal projects are in danger of becoming "stranded," a new report by the University of Oxford warns. The report says Australia has proposals for 89 coal mines which could more than double annual output from about 430 million tons in 2011 to about 980 million tons by 2020. China is seen as a key export market for those projects. But the report, commissioned by HSBC’s Climate Change Center of Excellence, points to the changing nature of China’s outlook for coal and the impacts on resource-rich Australia, currently the world’s largest exporter of coal to China. "China’s demand for coal is changing as a result of environment-related factors, including environmental regulation, developments in cleaner technologies, air pollution, improving energy efficiency, developments in gas markets and political activism," Ben Caldecott, co-author of the report was quoted as saying by Business Green. "This could lead […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Australian coal projects at risk of being ‘stranded’

Australian coal projects are in danger of becoming "stranded," a new report by the University of Oxford warns. The report says Australia has proposals for 89 coal mines which could more than double annual output from about 430 million tons in 2011 to about 980 million tons by 2020. China is seen as a key export market for those projects. But the report, commissioned by HSBC’s Climate Change Center of Excellence, points to the changing nature of China’s outlook for coal and the impacts on resource-rich Australia, currently the world’s largest exporter of coal to China. "China’s demand for coal is changing as a result of environment-related factors, including environmental regulation, developments in cleaner technologies, air pollution, improving energy efficiency, developments in gas markets and political activism," Ben Caldecott, co-author of the report was quoted as saying by Business Green. "This could lead […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Executive Moving to Shanghai Finds No Escape From China’s Smog

Bill Russo moved more than 700 miles from Beijing to Shanghai on Dec. 1 and thought he’d left the smog behind him. Five days later, he was wheezing again. “What was shocking was how bad it’s been,” said Russo, a vice president at car stereo maker Harman International Industries Inc. “Shanghai over the years had a reputation of being better,” said the executive, who had some of the fine-particle masks he left behind in Beijing sent to him. Record levels of pollution this month busted perceptions of Shanghai as a place to escape the smog that’s shrouded Beijing and other parts of China. Worsening air quality in the country’s commercial hub prompted warnings to keep children indoors, spurred companies from Unilever to Uniqlo owner Fast Retailing Co. to give workers face masks, and may hinder Shanghai’s push to be a global financial center by 2020. “I […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

China energy corruption probe widens

The chief accountant for China National Petroleum Corp has been “taken into custody to assist in an investigation” into high-level corruption, in an apparent widening of a probe into Asia’s largest energy company. Wen Qingshan, the chief accountant at CNPC and chairman of CNPC subsidiary Kunlun Energy, was taken into custody to assist with the investigation in recent days, according to numerous reports from Chinese media. Kunlun’s shares were suspended in Hong Kong on Tuesday and the company released a statement in the afternoon saying Mr Wen had resigned as chairman and executive director of the company with immediate effect due to “personal matters” At least a dozen serving and former top executives of CNPC and PetroChina , its Hong Kong and New York-listed subsidiary, have been detained in recent months as part of a sweeping graft inquiry into the power base of one of China’s most powerful politicians. […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Coal group’s woes threaten China’s trust industry

A Chinese mining boss who threw a multimillion-dollar wedding for his daughter last year is now struggling under a pile of debts that threaten to trigger a major default in the country’s shadow banking industry. Until a few weeks ago Xing Libin was known as the wealthiest man in Liulin, a county in northern China that struck it rich over the past decade thanks to bulging coal deposits. Looking more like a tousled professor than a slick tycoon, Mr Xing acquired mining rights for what local media said was “the price of a cabbage” and built his unlisted company, Liansheng Resources Group, into a big player in the Chinese coal industry. Mr Xing put his success on display in March 2012 at a Rmb70m ($11m) party to jointly celebrate his daughter’s wedding and his company’s 10th anniversary. He rented three aircraft to fly family and friends to the resort […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

India may face gas shortage

A Parliamentary standing committee has expressed fear that India could witness acute shortage of natural gas in two years, which may not be met even through imports due to lack of infrastructure. “As the government pursued the economic policy to achieve high growth, the demand for natural gas has also sharply increased in India during the past few years, and is expected to escalate further,” said the Parliamentary standing committee on petroleum and natural gas in a report. “As during 2012-13 there was only 134 million standard cubic metres per day (mmscmd) of gas available including the imported LNG against the demand of 286 mmscmd. Thus there was huge unmet demand of 152 mmscmd,” it said. It said that in 2015-16, the expected gap would be to the tune of 300 mmscmd. “As against the demand of 439 mmscmd, the available gas supply would be 139 mmscmd […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

U.S. Crude Output to Climb Toward Record by 2016, EIA Says

U.S. crude oil production will approach a record by 2016, climbing to the highest level in 46 years as rising output from shale formations lifts domestic supplies, reducing the nation’s need for foreign oil. Domestic output will grow annually by about 800,000 barrels a day to 9.5 million in 2016, nearing the record level of 1970, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s Annual Energy Outlook for 2014. Natural gas production will grow 56 percent to 37.6 trillion cubic feet by 2040, boosting liquefied natural gas exports to 3.5 trillion, the EIA said today. “The production growth we’ve seen is exceeding what anyone would’ve predicted a few years ago,” John Auers , senior vice president of Tuner Mason & Co., a consulting firm in Dallas , said by phone today. “It’s surprised everyone. We’ll be reaching even higher production very quickly because of breakthroughs in technology.” U.S. oil production […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Oil boom brings relief to U.S. pumps, AAA says

The high rate of North American crude oil production helped U.S. consumers in 2013 recover from the highest retail gasoline prices on record, AAA said Monday. AAA reported a national average price for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline of $3.22, six cents cheaper than the same time last year. For the year, AAA said the national average so far was $3.50 per gallon. "Last year the annual average was $3.60 per gallon, which was the highest of all time," AAA spokesman Michael Green said in response to e-mailed questions. "Most drivers have paid cheaper gas prices this year because refineries increased capacity to take advantage of increased North American crude oil supplies." The U.S. Energy Information Administration said in a Dec. 10 market report the average rate of U.S. crude oil production for November was 8 million barrels per day, the highest monthly […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

US oil production to test record high in 2016

US crude oil production will come close to its record highs in just three years time as the shale boom sends output soaring, according to the government’s Energy Information Administration. The forecast marks a spectacular reversal from the assumptions of five years ago, when US crude production appeared to be in inexorable long-term decline. The EIA said on Monday that it had revised sharply higher its estimates of future US crude output to about 9.5m barrels a day in 2016. That is very close to the previous peak in US production of 9.6m b/d in 1970 and almost double its low point of 5m b/d in 2008. The prediction, made in the EIA’s Annual Energy Outlook , shows how improvements in the techniques of horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing – “fracking” – made economic by higher oil prices have unlocked oil and gas reserves that were not previously commercially […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Energy Efficiency Is Long Overdue

On a global scale, we humans are becoming more energy efficient with each passing year. Even so, we’re exploiting only a fraction of the technological opportunities to use energy more cost-effectively. There’s a lot governments can do to put this right. Worldwide, the amount of energy employed to produce a unit of gross domestic product fell by 0.4 percent a year from 2000 to 2010, according to the International Energy Agency . Last year and the year before, the annual decline accelerated to 1.5 percent. Looking ahead 20 years, though, the IEA (in effect, a club of energy ministers) estimates that two-thirds of the potential for energy efficiency will remain unexploited. Capturing a good part of this potential wouldn’t be technically difficult. Proven cost-effective technologies, and others in the pipeline (if you’ll forgive the expression), could reduce the expected growth in energy demand by as much as 50 percent […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

U.S. May Reach Records For Crude-Oil Production by 2016

The U.S. is on track to reach records for crude-oil production by 2016, as hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling techniques continue to unlock oil in shale rock. The renaissance in the oil sector feeds into the debate of whether the U.S. should allow crude oil to be exported freely. The U.S. has kept a lid on oil exports since 1973, when the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries stopped selling crude to the U.S. in retaliation for its support of Israel in a war with Egypt and Syria. The rising U.S. production "will weigh heavily on oil prices," said Ed Morse, head of commodity research at Citigroup […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

EIA: light duty vehicle energy consumption to drop 25% by 2040; increased oil production, vehicle efficiency reduce US oil and liquid imports

EIA: light duty vehicle energy consumption to drop 25% by 2040; increased oil production, vehicle efficiency reduce US oil and liquid imports Energy consumption by light-duty vehicles in the United States, AEO2013 and AEO2014, 1995-2040 (quadrillion Btu). LDV energy consumption declines in AEO2014 Reference case from 16.0 quadrillion Btu in 2012 to 12.1 quadrillion Btu in 2040, compared with 13.0 quadrillion Btu in 2040 in the AEO2013 Reference case. Source: EIA. Click to enlarge. Reflecting slow growth in travel and accelerated vehicle efficiency improvements, US light-duty vehicle (LDV, cars and light trucks) energy use will decline sharply between 2012 and 2040, according to the US Energy Information Administration’s (EIA’s) Annual Energy […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

EIA: US to approach highest oil production level since 1970

US crude oil production is expected to approach the historical high achieved in 1970 of 9.6 million b/d through 2016, the US Energy Information Administration said in an early release of its Annual Energy Outlook 2014 . However, crude oil production is expected to level off and then slowly decline after 2020 while natural gas production grows steadily, showing a 56% increase from 2012-40 when gas production reaches 37.6 tcf. EIA projects low gas prices will enable gas-fired electric power generation to overtake generation formerly supplied by coal and nuclear plants in some areas, with gas accounting for 35% of total power generation and coal accounting for 32%. US exports of gas via pipeline and as LNG are expected to increase to 3.5 tcf in 2029 and remain at that level through 2040, EIA said. Increased production of oil and gas will enable the US to sharply reduce its […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

U.S. shale oil production to peak in 2021 at 4.8 mln bpd-EIA

Production from shale formations in the United States, which has led to an unexpected reversal in long declining oil output, will peak at 4.8 million barrels per day (bpd) in 2021, according to an Energy Information Administration forecast issued on Monday. This year is the bumper year for production out of the tightly packed shale rock. Output should rise by 1.2 million bpd, the highest annual jump, to 3.5 million bpd this year, according to tables in the EIA’s Annual Energy Outlook. Production will exceed 4 million bpd next year and rise more gradually toward its peak. It will fall to 3.2 million bpd by 2040. Last year, the EIA expected shale oil production to peak in 2020 at 2.8 million bpd with this year’s production at 2.3 million bpd. (Reporting by Sabina Zawadzki; Editing by Bob Burgdorfer)

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

When Will US Light Tight Oil (LTO) Peak?

Ron Patterson has graciously allowed me to cross post this here.  It originally was posted at oilpeakclimate.blogspot.com     The rapid rise in oil output since 2008 has the mainstream media claiming that the US will soon be energy independent.  US Crude oil output has increased about 2.8 MMb/d (56%) since 2008 and about 2 MMb/d is from the shale plays in North Dakota ( Bakken/Three Forks) and Texas (Eagle Ford). My modeling suggests that a peak from these two plays may be reached by 2016, other shale plays (also known as light tight oil [LTO] plays) may be able to fill the gap left by declining Bakken and Eagle Ford output until 2020, beyond that point we will see a rapid decline. There are two main views:  There will be little crude plus condensate (C+C) output from any plays except the Bakken/Three Forks in North Dakota and Montana and the Eagle […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Energy Department predicts near-record oil output, moderate gasoline prices; natural gas soars

The Energy Department says the nation’s energy picture is getting ever rosier. Production is rising, consumption is slowing, and prices are expected to remain in check. According to the Energy Department’s annual outlook, domestic oil output may regain the peak it reached in 1970 over the next two years and gasoline prices will fall over the same period to just over $3 per gallon. Natural gas production and use will continue to soar, demand for gasoline will fall, and energy-related emissions of carbon dioxide will remain below 2005 levels for the next quarter-century. “The report confirms that the United States really is experiencing an energy revolution,” said Daniel Yergin, vice chairman of the research and analysis group IHS and author of “The Quest: Energy, Security, and the Remaking of the Modern World.” The increased oil and gas production, Yergin said, is giving “a big boost […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Is This the Next Major Shale Gas Producer?

I’m talking about Poland.  In an attempt to broaden its energy portfolio and wean itself off Russian natural gas, a renewed push for shale development is kicking off. As of last month, new Polish Environment Minister Maciej Grabowski has made it a personal mission to turn Poland around and remove the red tape that previously pushed out some of the biggest names in the industry.  The reversal of high coal consumption will also be at the top of the agenda. shale gas 19 In his first news conference early this month, he said, “If I decide that amendments are needed, I intend to present a final version within weeks, not months,” according to Bloomberg. He added, “Investors have been waiting for this for a very long time and they […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

U.S. forecasts natural gas boom through 2040

fracking America’s energy boom will continue for decades, and natural gas will replace coal as the largest source of U.S. electricity by 2035, the Department of Energy forecast today. U.S. production of crude oil will increase through 2016, when it will approach the record set in 1970, before leveling off and then slowly declining after 2020. Natural gas production will grow steadily, jumping 56% from 2012 to 2040, according to an early release of an annual report by DOE’s Energy Information Administration. "Advanced technologies for crude oil and natural gas production are continuing to increase domestic supply and reshape the U.S. energy economy as well as expand the potential for U.S. natural gas exports," Adam Sieminski, EIA Administrator, said in releasing the Annual Energy Outlook 2014. This energy bonanza is largely due to the combined use of horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing or fracking, which releases oil and gas […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

EU passenger car registrations up 1.2 percent

PARIS (AP) — The European car market is slowly mounting a rebound, with new car registrations up for the third month in a row. The European carmakers’ association reported Tuesday that EU passenger car sales were up 1.2 percent in November. But car sales for the year to the end of November are still below the same period last year. Amid Europe’s recession, car registrations fell nearly uninterrupted for about two years until September, when they began to rise again. Growth is now slowly coming back, so the car industry may have hit bottom. But some significant markets are still losing ground. Registrations in France fell 4 percent in November, while they dropped 2 percent in Germany. © 2013 The Associated Press . All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Learn more about our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use . ©2013 The […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple