Has Shale Broken OPEC’s Grip?
The Energy Report: The price of Brent is holding steady above $100/barrel ($100/bbl) while West Texas Intermediate’s (WTI) price is slipping back […]
Wind Power Rivals Coal With $1 Billion Order From Buffett
The decision by Warren Buffett ’s utility company to order about $1 billion of wind turbines for projects in Iowa shows how a drop in equipment costs is making renewable energy more competitive with power from fossil fuels. Turbine prices have fallen 26 percent worldwide since the first half of 2009, bringing wind power within 5.5 percent of the cost of electricity from coal, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. MidAmerican Energy Holdings Co., a unit of Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc., yesterday announced an order for 1,050 megawatts of Siemens AG wind turbines in the industry’s largest order to date for land-based gear. Wind is the cheapest source of power in Iowa, and the deal indicates that turbines are becoming profitable without subsidies, according to Tom Kiernan , chief executive officer of the American Wind Energy Association trade group. That’s a boost for suppliers including Siemens, […]
New Mercedes-Benz C-Class drops weight, adds new engines, diesel hybrid, w/ plug-in to come; up to 20% cut in fuel consumption
EIA: light duty vehicle energy consumption to drop 25% by 2040; increased oil production, vehicle efficiency reduce US oil and liquid imports | Main | GM investing nearly $1.3B in 5 US plants; supporting new V6, 10-speed transmission » Print this post New Mercedes-Benz C-Class drops weight, adds new engines, diesel hybrid, w/ plug-in to come; up to 20% cut in fuel consumption 13C1007_002 The new C-Class. Click to enlarge. Mercedes-Benz has launched its new C-Class, featuring a lightweight design concept with weight savings of up to 100 kg (220 lbs); excellent aerodynamics; and new, economical engines along with a hybrid model. The C-Class is the top-selling model series from Mercedes-Benz; sales of the preceding model, which was launched in 2007, total more than 2.4 million. Ordering for the C-Class sedan have begun in Europe, with the model range initially comprising the C180, the C200; and the diesel […]
Oil dips on China data, caution on US Fed meeting
The price of oil dipped slightly on Monday as a report on manufacturing in China signaled that a recovery in the world’s No. 2 economy would continue to be uneven. Benchmark U.S. crude for January delivery edged 23 cents lower, or 0.2 percent, to $96.37 a barrel at midday in Asia in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. China’s massive manufacturing sector grew at a slightly slower pace in December, according to a preliminary survey by HSBC. The purchasing managers’ index report found that the growth rate slowed marginally from the month before, though it was still high enough to indicate that China’s economy is continuing to recover since slowing to 7.5 percent growth in the second quarter. Investors were also staying on the sidelines ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve’s meeting to decide on whether to maintain its $85 billion in monetary stimulus. Expectations are growing […]
Brent Oil Rises; Rebels Refuse to Open Libya’s East Ports
Brent crude rebounded from the biggest weekly loss since October after Libyan rebels refused to hand over control of three oil ports to the government. Futures rose as much as 0.7 percent. The North Sea grade slid 2.5 percent last week on speculation the ports, shut since July, would be reopened. Ibrahim Al Jedran, a Libyan rebel leader, told a news conference yesterday that the oil-export terminals of Es Sider, Ras Lanuf and Zueitina will remain shut after the government rejected his conditions. Output from the country, which holds Africa ’s largest proven reserves, fell to 210,000 barrels a day last month, the lowest level since 2011. “The news out of Libya is a bit of a hiccup,” said Michael McCarthy , a chief strategist at CMC Markets in Sydney. “What we are seeing is a trader reaction.” The ports remaining shut is “short-term positive” for Brent prices, he […]
Bombs, suicide attacks in Iraq kill at least 21: police, medics
Suicide attacks and bombings across Iraq killed at least 21 people on Monday, medical and police sources said, the latest in a series of attacks that has brought violence in Iraq to its highest level in five years. The deadliest attack took place in Baiji, 180 km (112 miles) north of Baghdad, where four bombers wearing explosive belts took over a police station after detonating a parked car bomb outside the building, police sources said. Two blew themselves up inside the station, killing five policemen. The other two took control of the station for about an hour before detonating themselves as Iraqi special forces raided the station, the sources said. "We believe that the attack was aimed at freeing the detainees who are being held in the building next door," said Major Salih al-Qaisi, a police officer who was at the scene. "All militants were killed […]
Attacks in, around Baghdad kill at least 9 people
Iraqi officials say bombings in and around Baghdad have killed at least nine people and wounded 28. Police officials say a parked car bomb exploded at an outdoor market in Baghdad’s central Sadriyah neighborhood Monday, killing four people and wounding 11. They say another bomb went off near a bus station in the nearby al-Nahda area, killing three people and wounding seven. A car bomb in a parking lot in the southeastern Bayaa neighborhood and a bomb in the eastern suburb of Hussainiyah killed two civilians and wounded 10. Medical officials confirmed the figures. All officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to media. At least 233 people have died in attacks across Iraq so far this month, according to an Associated Press count. © 2013 The Associated Press . All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, […]
Gunmen in Iraq Kill an Official and His Family
Unidentified gunmen stormed the house of a Health Ministry employee in a city north of the capital on Sunday and killed him, his wife and their three children, the police and medical officials said. Other attacks across the country left at least 14 more dead, officials said. The ministry employee lived in Sadiya, a largely Sunni city in Diyala Province, about 60 miles north of Baghdad. The attackers entered the house early Sunday morning and killed all five members of the family, including the couple’s two sons, who were 10 to 15 years old, and a daughter, said to be 8. Witnesses said they saw three masked gunmen. Also on Sunday, gunmen in a car in Salahuddin Province opened fire on an army checkpoint, killing three soldiers, the police said. The attack was one of several that day, underscoring the deterioration of the country’s security since the […]
Libya’s Oil Sales Constrained as Eastern Ports Remain Shut
A Libyan rebel leader refused to hand over control of three oil ports to the government, keeping a lid on the North African nation’s crude sales in a development that shored up international prices. Ibrahim Al Jedran told a news conference yesterday that the oil export terminals of Es Sider, Ras Lanuf and Zueitina, closed since the end of July, will remain shut after the authorities rejected his conditions, including a demand to share oil revenue with his self-proclaimed government in the east. “We failed in making our conditions implemented, so we confirm that we won’t open the oil ports,” he said, speaking in the eastern city of Ajdabiya. “We now officially mandate the Executive Bureau of the Cyrenaica Region to start what it has been tasked with and preserve this wealth,” he said, signaling that the eastern region known as Cyrenaica may […]
Saudi Royal Blasts U.S.'s Mideast Policy
A leading Saudi prince demanded a place for his country at talks with Iran, assailing the Obama administration for working behind Riyadh’s back and panning other recent U.S. steps in the Middle East. Prince Turki al-Faisal, an Arab royal and a brother of Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal, said Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states were stunned by the secret American-Iranian diplomacy that led to the breakthrough deal between Iran and other world powers last month. His comments in an interview with The Wall Street Journal, rare in their bluntness, came on the sidelines of a security conference here at which he publicly blistered the U.S. for its role in Syria and in the region. The Arab royal said the failure by Washington and the United Nations to take decisive steps to end the violence in Syria—which has claimed over 130,000 lives—bordered on "criminal negligence." Last week, the State Department […]
Saudi Royal Blasts U.S.’s Mideast Policy
A leading Saudi prince demanded a place for his country at talks with Iran, assailing the Obama administration for working behind Riyadh’s back and panning other recent U.S. steps in the Middle East. Prince Turki al-Faisal, an Arab royal and a brother of Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal, said Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states were stunned by the secret American-Iranian diplomacy that led to the breakthrough deal between Iran and other world powers last month. His comments in an interview with The Wall Street Journal, rare in their bluntness, came on the sidelines of a security conference here at which he publicly blistered the U.S. for its role in Syria and in the region. The Arab royal said the failure by Washington and the United Nations to take decisive steps to end the violence in Syria—which has claimed over 130,000 lives—bordered on "criminal negligence." Last week, the State Department […]
Saudi Prince Criticizes Obama Administration, Citing Indecision in Mideast
An influential Saudi prince blasted the Obama administration on Sunday for what he called indecision and a loss of credibility with allies in the Middle East, saying that American efforts to secure a peace deal between Israelis and Palestinians would founder without a clear commitment from President Obama. “We’ve seen several red lines put forward by the president, which went along and became pinkish as time grew, and eventually ended up completely white,” said Prince Turki al-Faisal, the former intelligence chief of Saudi Arabia. “When that kind of assurance comes from a leader of a country like the United States, we expect him to stand by it.” He added, “There is an issue of confidence.” Mr. Obama has his problems, the prince said, but when a country has strong allies, “you should be able to give them the assurance that what you say is going to be […]
Israel Says Soldier Killed by Lebanese Sniper
An Israeli soldier was killed by a Lebanese army sniper late Sunday as he drove along the border, the Israeli military said, drawing Israeli threats of retaliation. The shooting near Rosh Hanikra raised the possibility of renewed fighting in the volatile area, which has remained mostly quiet since a monthlong war in the summer of 2006. Hezbollah, the guerrilla group that waged the war seven years ago, didn’t appear to be involved in Sunday’s incident. Lebanon’s National News Agency confirmed the shooting by member of the Lebanese army. It wasn’t clear why the soldiers opened fire. The Lebanese army has opened fire in the past after saying Israeli soldiers had tried to infiltrate. Lebanese security officials didn’t immediately comment. Lt. Col. Peter Lerner, an Israeli army spokesman, said Israel had protested "this outrageous breach of Israel’s sovereignty" with U.N. peacekeeping forces and heightened its state of preparedness. "We will […]
Troops shot on Israel-Lebanon border
The border has witnessed sporadic violence since the war of 2006 The Israeli army has shot two Lebanese soldiers on the border, hours after an Israeli was killed by a Lebanese army sniper, the Israeli military has said. An Israeli army spokeswoman said Israeli troops opened fire after noticing "suspicious movement". There is no word on their condition and Lebanon has not yet commented. The shooting came hours after the 31-year-old Israeli soldier was shot dead after his vehicle was hit by up to 10 shots fired from the Lebanese side. The cross-border violence is the most serious since 2010, when an Israeli officer was shot dead by a Lebanese army sniper, sparking clashes in which three Lebanese soldiers were killed.
North America to Drown in Oil as Mexico Ends Monopoly
The flood of North American crude oil is set to become a deluge as Mexico dismantles a 75-year-old barrier to foreign investment in its oilfields. Plagued by almost a decade of slumping output that has degraded Mexico’s take from a $100-a-barrel oil market, President Enrique Pena Nieto is seeking an end to the state monopoly over one of the biggest crude resources in the Western Hemisphere. The doubling in Mexican oil output that Citigroup Inc. said may result from inviting international explorers to drill would be equivalent to adding another Nigeria to world supply, or about 2.5 million barrels a day. That boom would augment a supply surge from U.S. and Canadian wells that Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) predicts will vault North American production ahead of every OPEC member except Saudi Arabia within two years. With U.S. refineries already choking on more oil than they can process, producers from […]
Heavy gunfire heard in South Sudan capital
Sporadic gunfire rang out early Monday in the South Sudan capital, Juba, in what a senior military official said were clashes between factions of the country’s military. Some military installations in Juba had come under attack from armed soldiers who have since been repulsed, said Col. Philip Aguer, the South Sudan military spokesman. He offered no more details, saying an investigation was underway and that the situation was tense but not likely to deteriorate. "So far the army is in full control of Juba," he said. An Associated Press reporter saw heavily armed soldiers patrolling the streets of Juba early Monday amid sporadic gunfire emerging from Juba’s main army barracks. There has been political tension in the world’s youngest nation since South Sudan President Salva Kiir fired Riek Machar as his deputy in July. Machar, who has expressed a willingness to contest […]
China's manufacturing PMI eases to 3-month low: HSBC
China’s manufacturing activity expanded in December, but growth slowed to a three-month low, according to HSBC’S preliminary purchasing managers’ index (PMI) released on Monday. The HSBC flash manufacturing PMI for December eased to 50.5, compared to 50.8 in November and 50.9 in October. However, the figure still remained above the boom-bust line of 50, HSBC said in a report. Growth in the new order and new export order sub-indices increased at a faster pace, while employment decreased at a faster rate compared with the preceding month, it said. According to Qu Hongbin, chief China economist with HSBC, the December HSBC flash manufacturing PMI reading slowed marginally from November’s final reading, but stands above the average reading for the third quarter, "implying that the recovering trend of the manufacturing sector starting from July still holds up." "We expect China’s GDP growth to stabilize at around […]
China’s manufacturing PMI eases to 3-month low: HSBC
China’s manufacturing activity expanded in December, but growth slowed to a three-month low, according to HSBC’S preliminary purchasing managers’ index (PMI) released on Monday. The HSBC flash manufacturing PMI for December eased to 50.5, compared to 50.8 in November and 50.9 in October. However, the figure still remained above the boom-bust line of 50, HSBC said in a report. Growth in the new order and new export order sub-indices increased at a faster pace, while employment decreased at a faster rate compared with the preceding month, it said. According to Qu Hongbin, chief China economist with HSBC, the December HSBC flash manufacturing PMI reading slowed marginally from November’s final reading, but stands above the average reading for the third quarter, "implying that the recovering trend of the manufacturing sector starting from July still holds up." "We expect China’s GDP growth to stabilize at around […]
4 Reasons Why China Needs Chevron
On December 6, Chevron announced that it would delay its $6.4 billion Chuandongbei gas project in China due to disagreements with partner PetroChina on how to develop the field. The project is Chevron’s largest investment in China and is slated to produce around 7.6 billion cubic meters of natural gas per year. For Chevron, China is a key market. China has the world’s largest population and, according to many economists, will have the world’s largest economy within a decade. Since electricity usage generally correlates with GDP growth, China’s energy demand is projected to increase significantly. As much as Chevron needs China, China also needs Chevron. Here are four reasons why. Huge potential that only Western tech can unlock According to the Energy Information Agency, China has the world’s largest technically recoverable shale gas resource at around 1,115 trillion cubic feet. China’s shale gas is located in tougher, more foreboding geological formations than […]
Pakistani Shi'ite cleric shot dead in reprisal attack
A prominent Pakistani Shi’ite Muslim cleric has been shot dead in an apparent reprisal attack following the murder this month of a Sunni Muslim leader, police said on Monday. Sectarian violence has been on the rise in Pakistan, adding to the list of concerns for Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif at a time when security forces are already stretched fighting an escalating Taliban insurgency in the northwest of the country. Allama Nasir Abbas, leader of Tehreek Nifaz Fiqah-e-Jafaria, a banned Shi’ite organisation, was shot by unknown gunmen on a motorbike as he drove home after addressing a religious gathering in the city of Lahore on Sunday evening. "It’s a targeted attack. The gunmen shot him from close range when he was driving home along with his driver and a friend," Lahore police chief Chaudhry Shafeeq told Reuters. "Abbas died on the way to hospital. His driver and […]
Pakistani Shi’ite cleric shot dead in reprisal attack
A prominent Pakistani Shi’ite Muslim cleric has been shot dead in an apparent reprisal attack following the murder this month of a Sunni Muslim leader, police said on Monday. Sectarian violence has been on the rise in Pakistan, adding to the list of concerns for Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif at a time when security forces are already stretched fighting an escalating Taliban insurgency in the northwest of the country. Allama Nasir Abbas, leader of Tehreek Nifaz Fiqah-e-Jafaria, a banned Shi’ite organisation, was shot by unknown gunmen on a motorbike as he drove home after addressing a religious gathering in the city of Lahore on Sunday evening. "It’s a targeted attack. The gunmen shot him from close range when he was driving home along with his driver and a friend," Lahore police chief Chaudhry Shafeeq told Reuters. "Abbas died on the way to hospital. His driver and […]
India inflation soars to 14-month high of 7.5 pct
India’s worrisome inflation rose to 7.52 percent in November, driven by soaring food and fuel prices, data showed Monday. The highest level in more than a year increases pressure on the central bank to raise interest rates this week. The wholesale price index was up from 7 percent in October. The sharp increase was the highest since September 2012 and was led by food prices jumping by 19.9 percent over the previous November, dashing hopes that favorable monsoon rains would slow the runaway food inflation. Prices for fuel were also up 11.1 percent. Higher prices for food and fuel hit the hundreds of millions of poor Indians living on $2 per day particularly hard because they spend roughly half of their income on the staple items. The grim inflation numbers increase the likelihood that the Reserve Bank of India will raise interest rates when it […]
Exporting American Oil: A Primer
Exxon Mobil says the U.S. should lift its decades-long restriction on exporting crude oi l. ”We are not dealing with an era of scarcity, we are dealing with a situation of abundance,” Ken Cohen, Exxon’s vice president of public and government affairs, told the Wall Street Journal. Here’s what’s behind the ban – and the energy industry’s effort to reverse it: Why can’t Pumped-in-the-USA crude be exported? In 1973, some members of the Organization of 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 oil embargo ,which sent crude prices soaring, scared the pants off U.S. policymakers. In response, Congress made it illegal to export U.S. oil without a license , as part of an effort to bolster conservation and cut oil imports. Later, exceptions to […]
Oil production up, natural gas down: No big wells found in northcentral Montana this year
The recent spurt in oil production in eastern Montana probably will continue for at least a year, a top Montana oil and gas official said, but efforts to find a similar big resource play in northcentral Montana are not panning out yet. In another top trend, Tom Richmond, longtime administrator for the Montana Board of Oil and Gas, said natural gas production at Montanas older wells will continue to lag due to a glut of natural gas on the world market because of large, successful shale natural gas development via hydraulic fracturing in Texas, Pennsylvania and New York. That plentiful production of natural gas has caused the price consumers pay to plummet, Richmond said. Thats probably good for the country, including making an industrial resurgence possible by reducing business overhead costs. But it has hurt Montana counties such as Blaine, Phillips and Hill that rely on natural gas production […]
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'Watch what we do, not what we say': Shell cancels U.S. gas-to-liquids plant
Resource Insights When civil rights advocates grew restless because of President Richard Nixon’s right-wing rhetoric on the issue of desegregation, then-Attorney General John Mitchell told them, ”Watch what we do, not what we say.” Those following the hype over America’s supposed newfound abundance of oil and natural gas would do well to follow that advice when evaluating what oil and gas company executives and their surrogates say. When Royal Dutch Shell pulled the plug on its U.S. gas-to-liquids project recently, the company offered the same explanation it used when it shut down its oil shale project earlier this year : Shell sees better opportunities elsewhere. This explanation–much like the I’m-resigning-to-spend-more-time-with-my-family explanation–tends to deflect questions about why things aren’t working out. What’s not working out for Shell is a planned $20 billion plant in Louisiana designed to turn natural gas into diesel, jet fuel, lubricants and chemical feedstocks, products typically […]
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‘Watch what we do, not what we say’: Shell cancels U.S. gas-to-liquids plant
Resource Insights When civil rights advocates grew restless because of President Richard Nixon’s right-wing rhetoric on the issue of desegregation, then-Attorney General John Mitchell told them, ”Watch what we do, not what we say.” Those following the hype over America’s supposed newfound abundance of oil and natural gas would do well to follow that advice when evaluating what oil and gas company executives and their surrogates say. When Royal Dutch Shell pulled the plug on its U.S. gas-to-liquids project recently, the company offered the same explanation it used when it shut down its oil shale project earlier this year : Shell sees better opportunities elsewhere. This explanation–much like the I’m-resigning-to-spend-more-time-with-my-family explanation–tends to deflect questions about why things aren’t working out. What’s not working out for Shell is a planned $20 billion plant in Louisiana designed to turn natural gas into diesel, jet fuel, lubricants and chemical feedstocks, products typically […]
Click here to view full article at resourceinsights.blogspot.com
As America enjoys cheap gas, Asia's top buyers to pay more
Asia’s biggest economies face paying twice as much for some natural gas as old supply deals are renewed, with a North American shale glut years from helping to meet soaring demand in the region. Rocketing prices will add billions of dollars to the power bills of Asian nations and threaten competitiveness, but mean an earnings bonanza for LNG producers such as Malaysia’s Petronas , BP and Australia’s Woodside Petroleum . Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and China bought 70 percent of global liquefied natural gas supplies last year. They can spend five times as much for the super-chilled fuel as U.S. buyers pay […]
As America enjoys cheap gas, Asia’s top buyers to pay more
Asia’s biggest economies face paying twice as much for some natural gas as old supply deals are renewed, with a North American shale glut years from helping to meet soaring demand in the region. Rocketing prices will add billions of dollars to the power bills of Asian nations and threaten competitiveness, but mean an earnings bonanza for LNG producers such as Malaysia’s Petronas , BP and Australia’s Woodside Petroleum . Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and China bought 70 percent of global liquefied natural gas supplies last year. They can spend five times as much for the super-chilled fuel as U.S. buyers pay […]
ExxonMobil Outlook: 35% growth in energy demand by 2040; hybrids to account for ~50% of new vehicle sales
ExxonMobil Outlook: 35% growth in energy demand by 2040; hybrids to account for ~50% of new vehicle sales Light-duty-fleet-by-type-chart_full By 2040, hybrids are expected to account for about 35% of the global light-duty vehicle fleet, up from less than 1% in 2010. Hybrids are expected to account for about half of global new-car sales by 2040. Source: ExxonMobil. Click to enlarge. Driven by increasing population, urbanization and rising living standards, the world will require some 35% more energy in 2040, according to ExxonMobil’s annual forecast report: Outlook for Energy: A View to 2040 . Anticipated population growth will reach nearly 9 billion in 2040 from about 7 billion today, and the global economy is projected to double—at an annual growth rate of nearly 3%—largely in the developing world. Demand for energy in non-OECD nations will grow by about two-thirds, accounting for essentially all of the increase in global energy […]
NE US spot natural gas prices up as much as $8.30/MMBtu on winter storm
Some Northeast US spot natural gas prices jumped by as much as $8.30/MMBtu in trading on Friday as a winter storm was forecast to hit the region this weekend. Algonquin Gas Transmission city-gates soared $8.30 to average in the lower $33.30s/MMBtu on IntercontinentalExchange, with Tennessee Gas Pipe Line Zone 6-200 surging $7.82 to average in the upper $33.60s/MMBtu. Iroquois Gas Transmission Zone 2 rose $1.19 to average in the lower $17.50s/MMBtu, with Iroquois, receipts up 15 cents to average in the lower $14.50s/MMBtu. Article continues below… Request a free trial of: Gas Daily Gas Daily Gas Daily offers the most detailed coverage of natural gas prices at interstate and intrastate pipeline and pooling points in major U.S. markets. Gas Daily keeps you informed about complex state and federal regulations that affect competition in the gas industry. You will also learn about business-critical issues such […]
Hedge Funds’ Natural Gas Bets Jump as Thermometer Drops: Energy
Hedge funds got more bullish on natural gas, betting the most on rising prices in 11 weeks as cold weather in the U.S. diminished fuel inventories. Money managers boosted net-long positions by 44 percent in the seven days ended Dec. 10, U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission data show. The total was the most since Sept. 24. Bullish wagers increased for a third week. Gas surged 6.6 percent during the report week as forecasts showed widespread below-normal temperatures. MDA Weather Services in Gaithersburg, Maryland , predicted it would be colder than average in most of the contiguous U.S. from Dec. 23 through Dec. 27. A government report on Dec. 5 showed a weekly drop in gas supply that surpassed analysts’ estimates. “The weather has been incredibly cold,” said Teri Viswanath, director of commodities strategy at BNP Paribas SA in New York. “The expectation is that we’re going […]
Insight: Wall Street's energy rivals – Big Oil, a French utility, the Koch brothers
As a historic oil and gas boom transforms the U.S. energy sector, Wall Street is losing the battle to remain the partner of choice for energy producers and major consumers seeking to protect themselves against volatile prices. In the thriving Texas Permian oil patch and beyond, banks are being edged out by a handful of the world’s biggest corporations including BP Plc, Cargill and Koch Industries. With Wall Street hamstrung by growing regulatory restrictions, a recently finalized ban on proprietary trading and increased capital requirements, these corporate behemoths are leveraging their robust balance sheets and savvy global trading desks to capture as much as a quarter of the global multibillion-dollar market for hedging commodity prices. New risks have arisen this year that could tilt the scales further, as the Federal Reserve considers limiting banks’ ability to trade in real physical markets, the kind of deals […]
Insight: Wall Street’s energy rivals – Big Oil, a French utility, the Koch brothers
As a historic oil and gas boom transforms the U.S. energy sector, Wall Street is losing the battle to remain the partner of choice for energy producers and major consumers seeking to protect themselves against volatile prices. In the thriving Texas Permian oil patch and beyond, banks are being edged out by a handful of the world’s biggest corporations including BP Plc, Cargill and Koch Industries. With Wall Street hamstrung by growing regulatory restrictions, a recently finalized ban on proprietary trading and increased capital requirements, these corporate behemoths are leveraging their robust balance sheets and savvy global trading desks to capture as much as a quarter of the global multibillion-dollar market for hedging commodity prices. New risks have arisen this year that could tilt the scales further, as the Federal Reserve considers limiting banks’ ability to trade in real physical markets, the kind of deals […]
Drills spin to keep up with shale well depletion
By Collin Eaton December 15, 2013 The stubborn rock that the energy industry breached to unleash a nationwide oil and gas rush remains a worthy foe, as producers must turn their drills ever faster to keep the boom’s lifeblood flowing. Engineers have long known that shale, the source rock that fed North American sandstone reservoirs for millennia, could never muster the natural pressure producers need to extract oil and gas. Its molecules are too tightly packed: Shale is about 1,000 times denser than brick, and so far, only hydraulic fracturing can induce enough artificial permeability to clear a path for the fossil treasure. But that technique also creates an initial production spike that soon turns south: Behind the headlines boasting of a U.S. oil boom, producers have been grappling with rapid production declines at aging shale-play wells. The only answer: drill more and more wells. In recent months, falling […]
WTI Crude Falls to 10-Day Low on Fuel Storage
West Texas Intermediate crude dropped to the lowest level in 10 days as falling demand boosted fuel inventories and on concern that the Federal Reserve will curb stimulus. Futures fell 1.1 percent this week. Prices slid 0.9 percent. Stockpiles of gasoline and distillate fuels jumped the most in 11 months in the seven days ended Dec. 6, the Energy Information Administration reported Dec. 11. More economists than a month before forecast that the Fed will start slowing its bond purchases at a meeting next week, according to a December Bloomberg survey. “Demand is weak and if we don’t see it become stronger, the market will come under pressure,” said Gene McGillian , an analyst and broker at Tradition Energy in Stamford , Connecticut . “Products are being put into storage, basically driving the market lower. The market is concerned about Fed tapering.” WTI for January delivery declined 90 cents, […]
Natural Gas Posts First Loss After Four-Day Rise to 2-1/2 Year High
Traders cashed in on natural-gas futures’ climb to a 2-1/2-year high, sending prices down 1.3% Friday in the first decline five sessions. Analysts said the market was due for a correction after a steady climb over much of the past four weeks. Forecasts that the southern and eastern U.S. will get a break from lingering below-normal temperatures in the next six to 10 days provided an impetus for sellers. "We’re just taking a breath and a step lower," said Kyle Cooper, director of research at IAF Advisors, a Houston energy consultancy. "But it’s still going to be cold and we’ll probably work higher." Natural gas for January delivery on the New […]
Ethanol Extends Weekly Decline to 11% on Senate Bill
Ethanol futures fell in Chicago, capping a second straight weekly drop, on concern a requirement to blend corn-based ethanol with gasoline will be eliminated, while U.S. production climbed to a 23-month high. The biofuel slipped 11 percent this week. U.S. Senators Dianne Feinstein from California and Tom Coburn from Oklahoma introduced a bill yesterday to remove the requirement from the federal Renewable Fuel Standard, Bloomberg BNA reported. Ethanol output in the U.S. rose to 944,000 barrels a day in the week ended Dec. 6, according to a Dec. 11 Energy Information Administration report. “You have a bipartisan legislation introduced to the Senate which would eliminate corn ethanol from the RFS mandate completely, and carryover from the bearish EIA report,” said Sean Wever, a biofuels broker at Green Key Markets LLC. “The bear has a lot of talking points right now.” Denatured ethanol for January delivery dropped 6.5 cents, or […]
Iran halts technical-level nuclear talks over US sanctions move
Iran pulled out of technical-level denuclearization talks with six world powers Friday to protest the expansion of a U.S. blacklist of companies and individuals allegedly supporting Iran’s atomic program. Tehran said the U.S. move violates the spirit of last month’s groundbreaking agreement on Iran’s nuclear development. But the White House said the action taken Thursday to freeze the U.S. assets of firms and people in several other countries did not violate the agreement, and was based on existing sanctions. In the first major hurdle to the interim deal reached last month in Geneva, the United States targeted more than a dozen companies and individuals in Panama, Singapore, Ukraine and elsewhere for allegedly evading sanctions against Iran and maintaining covert business with Iran’s national tanker company. Other companies the U.S. accused of being involved directly in the proliferation of material useful for weapons of mass destruction were also blacklisted from […]
Iran Says U.S. Move Puts Nuclear Deal in Jeopardy
Iran abruptly cut off nuclear talks with world powers and said their interim deal was in jeopardy after the U.S. extended its blacklist of those accused of helping Tehran skirt sanctions. The U.S. said it was confident the talks would soon resume, signaling that the tensions are likely to blow over. U.S. and European officials acknowledged the negotiations had been suspended but played down the seriousness of Iran’s threats. "We’re making progress, but I think we’re at a point in those talks where folks feel a need to consult, take a moment," Secretary of State John Kerry told reporters in Tel Aviv on Friday. He said he expected them back "in the next few days." Iranian negotiators ended talks in Vienna with the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council plus Germany and said they needed to go back to Tehran to consult. The Obama administration, facing […]
U.S. sanctions move angers Iran, Russia sees threat to nuclear deal
A breakthrough agreement to end the standoff over Iran’s nuclear program appeared to face its first major difficulty on Friday with Russia warning that expanding a U.S. sanctions blacklist could seriously complicate the deal’s implementation. Russia, which, along with the United States, is among the six world powers that negotiated the November 24 interim accord with Tehran, echoed Iranian criticism that it violated the spirit of the deal and could "block things". The United States on Thursday blacklisted additional companies and people under existing sanctions intended to prevent Iran from obtaining the capability to make nuclear weapons. Iran denies any such aims. Diplomats said Iran, in what appeared to be a response, interrupted technical talks in Vienna with the six nations over how to implement the agreement, under which Tehran is to curb its atomic activities in return for limited sanctions easing. The developments highlighted potential […]
Pakistan stands by Iranian gas pipeline
A Pakistani government minister said sanctions on Iran’s energy are curbing progress on a bilateral gas pipeline but Islamabad was committed nonetheless. Pakistani Minister for Petroleum and Natural Resources Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said Iran pulled out of a $500 million finance commitment because of the sanctions constraints, the Pakistani newspaper the Express Tribune reported Friday. "The compressor equipment required [for the pipeline] would not be available due to sanctions against Iran," he was quoted as saying. "However, we are committed and will make the Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline." The Pakistani government said the aging infrastructure in the country means it needs outside help to keep up with energy demand. Iran said construction on its end of the pipeline is making progress and had offered financial support to Pakistan to help build it on its side of the border. The U.S. government supports a rival […]
Iranian workers killed in Iraq pipeline attack
The escape of 22 terror suspects in Baghdad led to heightened security on Friday Fifteen Iranian and three Iraqi gas pipeline workers have been shot dead by gunmen north-east of Baghdad. The attackers sped up in three cars before opening fire on the workers as they dug a trench to extend the pipeline near the city of Baquba. Another five Iranians and two Iraqis were wounded in the attack. At least 17 people were killed in separate attacks elsewhere in Iraq on Friday and 22 terrorism suspects escaped from detention. The gas pipeline workers were digging a trench to extend the line, intended to connect Iraq’s gas network to supplies from neighbouring Iran. A worker injured in the attack told Reuters that the gunmen approached them in three cars. "Three of them got out […]
Oil from Kurdistan pipeline enters Turkey
Oil from Kurdistan pipeline enters Turkey Oil has begun to flow into Turkey through a new pipeline from Iraq’s autonomous Kurdistan region – a significant step toward Kurdistan’s first independent pipeline exports.The oil flow is part of the final stage of pipeline testing, according to an industry official and a senior Turkish official. Contrary to other media reports, the crude is not yet being marketed or sold: technically, pipeline exports have not yet begun.Still, Kurdistan’s pumping of crude into Turkish-controlled pipel… 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 .
25 Prisoners Flee Baghdad Jail
Twenty-five suspects held on terrorism charges, some facing the death penalty, escaped early Friday from a prison north of Baghdad, killing two guards and raising the question of whether they had received inside help, security officials said. The prison is where Saddam Hussein was hanged in 2006. In another sign of the escalating violence crippling the country, 16 Iranians working on a gas pipeline and three Iraqis were killed by gunmen in S.U.V.s who surrounded their bus on Friday and opened fire in Khanaqin in Diyala Province, north of Baghdad, according to the police and medical sources. Among the Iranians killed were engineers and construction workers; the bus driver and an escort were two of the Iraqis killed. Four Iranian workers survived and were taken to the hospital with gunshot wounds. The pipeline runs between Iraq and Iran. The prison escape came a few weeks short of […]
Bombings, shooting kill 6 people in Iraqi capital
Iraqi authorities say bombings and a shooting have killed six people around the capital. Police officials say the deadliest of Saturday’s attacks came when a bomb exploded at an outdoor market in Baghdad’s southeastern suburbs, killing three and wounding 11 others. Two people were killed and seven others were wounded in a bomb blast inside a restaurant in the capital’s northeastern suburb of Husseiniyah, said police. Also in Baghdad, gunmen killed the owner of a grocery store as he was walking near his house in the neighborhood of Hurriyah. Medical officials confirmed the casualties. All officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they’re not authorized to talk to media. At least 190 people have died in attacks across the country so far this month, according to an Associated Press count © 2013 The Associated Press . All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, […]
Libya faces economc dangers over oil shutdown
The six-month shutdown of Libya’s oil industry by rogue militias and disgruntled tribesmen has forced the government to dip into the country’s foreign reserves, a move that will likely exacerbate the political turmoil that led to the shutdown if no settlement is soon found. Prime Minister Ali Zeidan said he expects three Libyan oil ports on the Mediterranean to reopen Sunday, allowing vital exports to resume, restoring the flow of state revenues. This followed negotiations with tribal leaders in the east, the crucible of the unrest that followed the fall of longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi in August 2011. But Ibrahim Jadran, the charismatic warlord in eastern Libya where 60 percent of the country’s oil is, said that won’t happen unless the government meets his demands for a larger share of oil revenue for the increasingly lawless region and more political power. Zeidan flatly […]
Winter’s no wonderland for beleaguered Syrian refugees
The breathtaking beauty of the surrounding snow-covered mountains offers no consolation for the misery that winter has brought for thousands of Syrian refugees in the Bekaa Valley. In farmland repurposed as an unofficial refugee camp for those fleeing Syria’s war, snow dumped by Lebanon’s first storm of the season melts when the temperature rises a few degrees above freezing during the day, turning the narrow paths between tents into shin-deep patches of mud. Thursday found children standing shivering by a puddle, their rubber sandals sinking into the mud and their pajama pants rolled up in a futile attempt to keep them clean. “These children have no clothes — how can they not get sick?” said a refugee who identified himself by a nickname, Abu Ali. Like many refugees in Lebanon, he was afraid to disclose his real name. At least 80,000 Syrian refugees in Lebanon are living at winter’s […]
Bakken Weakens Against WTI Crude on North Dakota Output
Bakken crude weakened against West Texas Intermediate for the first time in a week as North Dakota reported record output from its portion of the shale formation. Bakken oil priced in Clearbrook, Minnesota , weakened by 50 cents to a discount of $9.50 a barrel to WTI at 2:04 p.m., according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Production from North Dakota increased by about 9,000 barrels a day to 941,637 in October, according to the state’s Industrial Commission. “In October, we again set a production record and a number of wells record,” said Lynn Helms, director of the state department of mineral Resources, on a call today. Production would have been higher in October except for heavy rains that shut roads in McKenzie County, home to one-third of the state’s drilling rigs, Helms said. November was a better month for weather, Helms said. This month will be ’’not so great’’ […]
U.S. Rig Count Rises by 7 to 1,782, Baker Hughes Says
Rigs targeting oil and natural gas in the U.S. increased by seven this week to 1,782, according to Baker Hughes Inc. (BHI) Oil rigs jumped 14 to 1,411, a six-month high, data posted on the company’s website show. The gas count dropped six to 369, the Houston-based field services company said. Miscellaneous rigs declined by one to two. The total count has risen six of the past seven weeks, adding 40 rigs since Nov. 1, as producers increasingly use a combination of horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing to reach shale deposits of crude in Texas ’s Permian Basin. The technological improvements have helped drive domestic oil production to the highest level in a quarter-century. Rigs drilling horizontal targets in the Permian jumped 19 percent in the third quarter from a year earlier “as operators continue to shift toward unconventional drilling,” Vincent Piazza, a Bloomberg Industries oil analyst in Princeton, […]
Global energy demand to increase 35 percent: ExxonMobil
Global energy demand is on course to be about 35 percent higher in 2040 than it was in 2010, ExxonMobil says in its annual long-term energy forecast. China and India together will account for half of the projected growth in global energy demand, the report released Thursday noted. "Understanding global energy trends is absolutely critical for effective energy policy," ExxonMobil chairman Rex W. Tillerson said in a statement. "The world depends on safe, reliable and affordable energy development to support economic growth and our modern way of life." ExxonMobil expects natural gas will become the world’s second most-used fuel on an energy-equivalent basis after oil around 2025 and expects natural gas consumption to rise 65 percent by 2040. Although some countries scaled back their nuclear expansion plans in the aftermath of Japan’s 2011 Fukushima nuclear plant disaster, nuclear energy "will see solid growth," […]