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WTI Drops on Speculation Gain to Month-High Was Excessive

West Texas Intermediate oil fell amid speculation that its increase to the highest price this year was excessive. Futures declined as much as 0.5 percent in New York , trimming a third weekly advance. Government data tomorrow may show a Chinese manufacturing index fell to the lowest in six months, according to a Bloomberg News survey. WTI will probably decrease next week amid concern that emerging economies will slow, curbing fuel demand, according to a separate survey of analysts and traders by Bloomberg. “Traders are locking in gains,” said Michael McCarthy , a chief strategist at CMC Markets in Sydney who predicts investors may sell WTI at about $98.50 a barrel. “Not only because they’ve seen significant rises in their positions but also we’re now approaching several technical resistance points.” WTI for March delivery lost as much as 45 cents to $97.78 a barrel in electronic trading on the […]

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WTI Crude Rises to Highest Level of 2014 on Growth Signs

West Texas Intermediate crude rose to the highest level of 2014 after data showed that increased consumer spending boosted the U.S. economy. Prices advanced 0.9 percent. Gross domestic product of the world’s biggest oil-consuming country grew at a 3.2 percent annualized pace in the fourth quarter, the Commerce Department said. WTI also gained as cold weather pushed heating oil futures to an 11-month high with demand for distillate fuel at the highest level in almost six years. “It’s a pretty good GDP number,” said Bill O’Grady, chief market strategist at Confluence Investment Management in St. Louis, which oversees $1.4 billion. “U.S. oil demand is picking up. Cold weather traditionally has always been a bullish factor for crude oil.” WTI for March delivery advanced 87 cents to $98.23 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the highest settlement level since Dec. 31. The volume of all futures traded was […]

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Natural-Gas Futures Drop 8.3%, the Most in Nearly Four Years

Natural-gas futures plunged the most in nearly four years on Thursday, pulling back from a four-year high, after government data showed U.S. stockpiles of the fuel shrank less than expected last week. Weather forecasts also projected more moderate temperatures in the middle of February, contributing to the selling pressure on the heating fuel, even as concerns lingered about tight inventories. Natural gas for March delivery sank 45.4 cents, or 8.3%, to $5.011 a million British thermal units on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It was the largest one-day percentage decline since April 29, 2010. The steep drop came a day after the February contract soared more than 10% into expiration on Wednesday. "Even in light of the increased […]

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OPEC to Trim Shipments as Demand Declines, Oil Movements Says

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries will reduce shipments through to mid-February as western demand falls with the end of winter in the northern hemisphere, according to Oil Movements. OPEC, supplier of about 40 percent of the world’s oil, will reduce sailings by 90,000 barrels a day, or 0.4 percent, to 23.72 million barrels in the four weeks to Feb. 15, the researcher said today in a report. That compares with 23.81 million in the period to Jan. 18. The figures exclude two of OPEC’s 12 members, Angola and Ecuador . “There is still a definite reduction in crude demand from here on,” Oil Movements founder Roy Mason said by phone from Halifax, England . “In the west it’s weakening because turnaround season is round the corner,” he said, referring to maintenance at refineries in the U.S. and Europe due to start next month. Global oil demand typically falls […]

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Iran expects major foreign oil investments

An Iranian director of international investment said as much as $200 billion in foreign investments may be headed to the nation’s oil sector. Mohammad Mazraati, an investment director at the National Development Fund of Iran, told an investment conference in Tehran the attitude of investors has changed in recent months. He told delegates Wednesday the Iranian oil industry has the potential to attract billions of dollars in new foreign investments because of concessions with the West, the official Islamic Republic News Agency reported. The European Union last week lifted restrictions on insurance and transport of Iranian crude oil. The decision was made in response to Iran’s decision to suspend some nuclear research activity according to the terms of an interim deal reached last year with Western powers. Some of Iran’s oil ambitions are still curtailed by sanctions. The U.S. government said it would hold […]

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Its Great Lake Shriveled, Iran Confronts Crisis of Water Supply

Iran — After driving for 15 minutes over the bottom of what was once Iran’s largest lake, a local environmental official stepped out of his truck, pushed his hands deep into his pockets and silently wandered into the great dry plain, as if searching for water he knew he would never find. Just an hour earlier, on a cold winter day here in western Iran, the official, Hamid Ranaghadr, had recalled how as recently as a decade ago, cruise ships filled with tourists plied the lake’s waters in search of flocks of migrating flamingos. Now, the ships are rusting in the mud and the flamingos fly over the remains of the lake on their […]

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Kurdish exports stop, giving room for political talks

Unions representing the oil sector and other Iraqi workers are pressing Parliament to pass labor and union laws before their current session ends, measures that would end Saddam Hussein-era imposition on worker rights and go far toward addressing outstanding demands by workers of the state-owned South Oil Company (SOC) .

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OMV gives upbeat assessment on Libyan oil

Austrian energy company OMV said oil production this year should be in line with its annual outlook. The Austrian company said Libyan operations has resumed and production of 320,000 to 340,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day is in line with expectations for 2014, the Wall Street Journal reported Thursday. The company said in a statement emailed in November production was offline "since the end of October," but provided no explanation for the disruption. Overall production from the company declined last year in part due to Libyan security issues but that was offset by gains from the North Sea, the Journal reported. Rebels who helped fight Moammar Gadhafi ‘s forces in 2011 in November declared independence for the region known as Cyrenaica, which hosts some of Libya’s key oil terminals. Labor strikes, internal battles for supremacy and general conflict have curbed Libya’s oil output. […]

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Al-Qaida financed by Syrian oil, executive says

Syrian rebels, some of which are aligned with al-Qaida, may be financing their rebel campaign through the sale of oil, an Emirati oil executive said. Syria relies on oil and natural gas revenue to help pay off its government debt. The U.S. Energy Information Administration says Syria’s energy sector is in decline because of war and Western economic sanctions. A report published Tuesday by the New York Times, citing unnamed U.S. counter-terrorism officials, says much of Syria’s oil and natural gas resources are in the hands of the Islamic States of Iraq and Syria, a group affiliated with al-Qaida. The report said ISIS is selling petroleum products to the Syrian government. "Even sold at discounted prices, this oil could be generating significant revenue for rebels to arm themselves," Badr Jafar, chairman of Emirati energy company Crescent Petroleum, was quoted in the report as […]

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Mexico's Pemex makes new light crude oil find in deep water Gulf field

Mexico’s state-run oil company Pemex has found light crude at its deep water Exploratus-1 well in the Perdido Fold Belt in the Gulf of Mexico, a senior company official said in an interview on Wednesday. Exploratus-1 struck light crude at a depth of approximately 3,600 meters (11,811 feet) below the sea floor, said Carlos Morales, Pemex’s exploration and production chief. Morales said the company does not yet have an estimate of the total amount of crude associated with the find.

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Mexico’s Pemex makes new light crude oil find in deep water Gulf field

Mexico’s state-run oil company Pemex has found light crude at its deep water Exploratus-1 well in the Perdido Fold Belt in the Gulf of Mexico, a senior company official said in an interview on Wednesday. Exploratus-1 struck light crude at a depth of approximately 3,600 meters (11,811 feet) below the sea floor, said Carlos Morales, Pemex’s exploration and production chief. Morales said the company does not yet have an estimate of the total amount of crude associated with the find.

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Venezuela Oil Exports to U.S. Hit Lowest Rate Since 1985

Venezuela ’s annual oil exports to the U.S. are on track to reach a 28-year low as the South American country faces declining production, rising domestic demand and increased shipments to China . Venezuelan exports of oil and petroleum products to the U.S. have averaged 792,000 barrels a day in the first 11 months of 2013, the lowest annual rate seen since 1985, according to data through November published by the U.S.-based Energy Information Administration on its website today. Petroleos de Venezuela SA , the state-run oil company , sends hundreds of thousands of barrels of oil a day to China to pay back loans for billions of dollars made to Venezuela’s government. The company’s production, which averaged 2.9 million barrels a day in 2012, according to the company’s annual report for that year, averaged 2.45 million barrels a day in December last year, a Bloomberg survey showed. “Venezuela […]

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Initial agreement signed for mega solar project in India

A group of state-owned Indian companies have signed an initial agreement for setting up what the government says is the world’s largest solar power plant. The 4,000-megawatt plant in the northwestern state of Rajasthan would be spread across 19,000 acres. "The MOU signed today will have to get the approval of the Cabinet and then the project will move forward," Minister of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises Praful Patel said at the signing ceremony in New Delhi Wednesday, Press Trust of India reports. The consortium of six state-run companies includes Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited, known as BHEL, and Power Grid Corporation of India Limited. Construction for the first phase of 1,000 megawatts is expected to start in about three years. The plant will rely on crystalline silicon technology. The Hindu newspaper cited New and Renewable Energy Minister Farooq Abdullah as saying at the […]

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New study links fracking to birth defects in heavily drilled Colorado

Living near hydraulic fracturing — or "fracking" — sites may increase the risk of some birth defects by as much as 30 percent, a new study suggests. In the U.S., more than 15 million people now live  within a mile of a well . The use of fracking, a gas-extraction process through which sand, water and chemicals are pumped into the ground to release trapped fuel deposits, has increased significantly in the U.S. over the past decade . Five years ago, the U.S. produced 5 million barrels of oil per day; today, it’s 7.4 million, thanks largely to fracking. Supporters of the industry say it creates jobs and spurs the economy, while critics say its development is largely unregulated and that too little is known about pollution and health risks. The report by the Colorado School of Public Health, released Jan. 28, gathered evidence from  heavily drilled  rural Colorado, which has  […]

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American Energy Partners Buys Utica Shale Gas Fields From Hess

American Energy Partners LP, led by Aubrey McClendon , continues to bulk up in Ohio’s Utica Shale, purchasing natural-gas fields from Hess Corp. for $924 million, according to people familiar with the matter. Hess said Wednesday it struck an agreement to sell 74,000 acres in the Utica to an undisclosed buyer. The company has sold more than $7.8 billion in assets over the past year to raise cash and narrow its focus on growing oil output in the U.S. Hess issued fourth-quarter financial results on Wednesday, reporting a profit of $1.93 billion, up from $374 million in the year-ago period. It will use the proceeds from the Utica sale to repurchase stock. American Energy Partners said on Wednesday that an affiliate had raised $500 million to invest in wells across the country, but a spokesman for the company declined to comment on the Utica deal. It was a year […]

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Chicago Diesel Strengthens to Seven-Month High

Ultra-low-sulfur diesel in Chicago strengthened to the highest level relative to futures in more than seven months as a refinery in Ohio halted production of the fuel as it repairs a unit. Diesel’s premium in Chicago grew 14 cents to 9 cents a gallon more than futures on the New York Mercantile Exchange, according to data compiled by Bloomberg at 4:15 p.m. That’s the highest level since June 14. February ULSD futures settled at an 18.95-cent premium to March contracts on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the largest backwardation in 14 years. Husky Energy Inc. (HSE) ’s Lima refinery in Ohio won’t produce diesel until it replaces a pump in a hydrotreating unit, a person familiar with operations at the plant said. Workers hope to complete repairs this weekend, said the person, who asked not to be identified because the information isn’t public. “Diesel is just tight, it’s well […]

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Keystone Report Said Likely to Disappoint Pipeline Foes

The U.S. State Department is preparing to issue a report as soon as today that will probably disappoint environmental groups and opponents of the Keystone XL pipeline, according to people briefed on agency discussions. While the report will deviate from a March draft in some ways to the liking of environmentalists, the revisions won’t be as sweeping as they had sought, several people familiar with the government’s deliberations over the review told Bloomberg News. Changes could still be made to the report before its release. The March report concluded that the Canada-U.S. oil pipeline would have only a minimal impact on carbon emissions, because the oil sands in Alberta will be developed anyway. Several people briefed on the findings, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss private conversations, said they expect the final report will track that conclusion. The State Department findings will influence whether President Barack […]

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ExxonMobil Profit Tumbles As Energy Production Tapers

Exxon Mobil Corp, the world’s largest publicly traded oil company by market value, posted lower-than-expected quarterly profit on Thursday as it failed to offset declining production but spent heavily to find fresh reserves. The problem of declining production at legacy oil and natural gas wells has become endemic for multinational energy groups, which have tried to offset the trend by launching massive and risky exploration projects. Exxon’s oil and natural gas production dropped 1.8 percent in the fourth quarter from year-ago levels, with natural gas production falling around the world and oil output slipping in half the regions where the company operates. The results reflected a "mediocre quarter" for Exxon, especially in international production, Edward Jones analyst Brian Youngberg said. "They’ve lost momentum already, reverting back to declining production and stagnant earnings," Youngberg said. Exxon rival Royal […]

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Senate panel hears arguments for, against US crude oil exports

Witnesses on both sides of the debate over whether to expand US crude oil exports used improved energy security and creation of more domestic jobs to support their viewpoints during a US Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing on the subject. “It’s hard to believe that only a few years after campaigns for America’s energy independence were dominated by slogans such as ‘drill, baby, drill,’” Chairman Ronald L. Wyden (D-Ore.) said in his opening statement. “Now, this country is in the enviable position of having choices about its energy future,” Wyden said, adding, “In other words, the question becomes how this energy boom can create the greatest benefit for America.” Lisa Murkowski (R-Alas.), the committee’s ranking minority member, reiterated her Jan. 7 call for the US to lift its ban on crude exports ( OGJ Online, Jan. 8, 2014 ). ““We should send a powerful signal to the […]

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LCA study finds carbon intensity of corn ethanol decreasing, gasoline rising; ethanol estimated 43-60% lower than oil by 2022

The carbon intensity (CI) of corn ethanol—i.e., the greenhouse gas emissions produced via the production of a volume of the fuel—is declining, while the average CI of gasoline produced from petroleum sources is gradually increasing, according to a recent report prepared by Life Cycle Associates, LLC for the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA). Life Cycle Associates has completed numerous life cycle analysis studies, including those […]

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US coal railcar loads up 6.4% on year in week ended Saturday: AAR

Coal car loads originated by US railroads totaled 111,269 in the week that ended Saturday, up 6.4% from the corresponding week of 2013, the Association of American Railroads said Thursday in its weekly traffic report. In the year-to-date period through Saturday, total US-originated coal carloads totaled 430,476, essentially unchanged from the same period of last year, AAR said. In the week ended Saturday, Canadian railroads, including the US operations of Canadian National and Canadian Pacific, originated 8,127 coal carloads, down 8.9% from the year-ago level, AAR said. Article continues below… Request a free trial of: Coal Trader Coal Outlook Platts Coal Trader provides:The latest prices for key benchmark coals Daily pricing for tons and allowances for SO2 and NOx emissions The exclusive Platts OTC Broker Index, a market assessment compiled from three of the largest and most respected coal brokers What happened in yesterday’s […]

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WBI Energy starts open season for pipeline to move Bakken gas output

WBI Energy Transmission on Thursday launched an open season for the sale of long-term firm natural gas capacity on the planned Dakota Pipeline, which will connect Bakken Shale production to the Emerson hub in northwestern Minnesota. In a notice to customers posted on its website, WBI said it expects the pipeline to enter service on November 1, 2017. The open season is scheduled to end on May 30. The interconnecting pipelines at Emerson may include Viking Gas Transmission, Great Lakes Gas Transmission and TransCanada Pipelines, WBI said. The primary markets served by those pipelines include those in eastern North Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan and Canada. 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 […]

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ExxonMobil adds rigs in large North American unconventional plays: official

ExxonMobil continues to add oil and liquids-directed rigs to drill in large North American unconventional and shale fields, gaining expertise in diverse resource plays which is showing up in rising crude oil volumes, a company official said Thursday. "We’ve been really orienting our rigs toward more liquids areas…in the Bakken Shale, the Permian Basin and the Woodford Shale-Ardmore," David Rosenthal, ExxonMobil’s vice president of investor relations, said during a quarterly earnings conference call. The plays are located in North Dakota/Montana, West Texas and Oklahoma, respectively. Article continues below… Request a free trial of: Oilgram News Oilgram News Oilgram News brings you fast-breaking global petroleum and gas news on and including: Industry players, upstream and downstream markets, refineries, midstream transportation and financial reports Supply and demand trends, government actions, exploration and technology Daily futures summary Weekly API statistics, and much more Request a trial to […]

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Eagle Ford shale straining oil refinery capacity

A spokesman for Valero Energy Corp. said the company needs to overhaul some of its refineries in Texas to handle output from the Eagle Ford shale reserve. The Valero refinery in Houston can process 160,000 barrels of oil per day while its Corpus Christi facility can handle 325,000 bpd. The company said it plans to spend $730 million to upgrade the refineries to add a combined 160,000 bpd to capacity. "We’re processing as much light sweet crude as we can at both of those facilities right now," Valero spokesman Bill Day said in an interview published Wednesday by the San Antonio Business Journal. "Because our proximity to the Eagle Ford Shale, we’d like to be processing more." The Eagle Ford shale area is spread out over southern Texas. The Texas Railroad Commission, the state’s energy regulator, said in December the average production rate […]

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Greenpeace welcomes freeze in Shell's Alaska campaign

Greenpeace said Thursday a decision from Shell to suspend Alaskan drilling efforts is evidence the arctic campaign was "an albatross around Shell’s neck." James Turner , a spokesman for Greenpeace International, said Shell’s efforts in arctic waters off the coast of Alaska have been a curse for the company. "The arctic has become an albatross around Shell’s neck," he said in a statement. "Years of failure have made a major dent in the company’s reputation." Last week, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco ruled the U.S. Interior Department did not properly evaluate the scale of oil production that could result in the Chukchi Sea when it sold more than $2.6 billion in development leases in 2008. Ben van Bueden, Shell’s newly appointed chief executive officer, said the decision was a setback for its exploration campaign in the region. "This […]

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Greenpeace welcomes freeze in Shell’s Alaska campaign

Greenpeace said Thursday a decision from Shell to suspend Alaskan drilling efforts is evidence the arctic campaign was "an albatross around Shell’s neck." James Turner , a spokesman for Greenpeace International, said Shell’s efforts in arctic waters off the coast of Alaska have been a curse for the company. "The arctic has become an albatross around Shell’s neck," he said in a statement. "Years of failure have made a major dent in the company’s reputation." Last week, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco ruled the U.S. Interior Department did not properly evaluate the scale of oil production that could result in the Chukchi Sea when it sold more than $2.6 billion in development leases in 2008. Ben van Bueden, Shell’s newly appointed chief executive officer, said the decision was a setback for its exploration campaign in the region. "This […]

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Brown tells Californians to conserve amid drought

Gov. Jerry Brown provided some very practical guidance for Californians amid a deepening drought: Take shorter showers, turn off the water while brushing teeth, and "don’t flush more than you have to." "Make no mistake, this drought is a big wakeup call," Brown said Thursday in downtown Los Angeles before meeting with local water district officials. "Hopefully it’s going to rain. If it doesn’t, we’re going to have to act in a very strenuous way in every part of the state to get through." The governor’s pragmatic plea came as wet weather finally moved through northern portions of the state, which has been in an extraordinary dry period during what is normally the time for rain and snow. But the stingy storm system was squeezing out only dribs and drabs of moisture in most areas. The National Weather Service office in San Francisco […]

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Lifting Oil Export Ban Sidelined by Wyden Skepticism

Senate Energy Committee Chairman Ron Wyden said the U.S. must weigh the costs to consumers before ending the 40-year ban on crude oil exports and he predicted a prolonged debate. “It’s fair to say this conversation is not going to be resolved any time in the next few weeks,” Wyden, an Oregon Democrat and head of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, said at a hearing today. It was the first hearing on the issue in 25 years, he said. Harold Hamm , chairman of Oklahoma City-based Continental Resources Inc. (CLR) , told the panel that ending the limits will cut gasoline prices. Graeme Burnett, senior vice president of Delta Air Lines Inc., said ending restrictions will raise fuel costs. The differences between oil producers and users suggest a lobbying battle ahead as lawmakers reconsider the export ban enacted after the Arab oil embargo in the 1970s. Senator […]

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Explainer: whatever happened to the threat of peak oil?

Despite the arguments that once raged and the considerable volumes written to advocate certain viewpoints and disparage others, interest in peak oil is at an all time low. Indeed some commentators have confidently declared that peak oil is dead and that the theory has turned out to be nonsense . But this attitude stems largely from the explosion of tight or shale oil production in the US. This oil, trapped in shale rock formations in the same way as shale gas, and similarly extracted by fracking, was almost unheard of just over five years ago. Yet recent projections suggest production of it could exceed 7m barrels per day by 2035 . Despite this, some analysts maintain that tight oil has no bearing on peak oil, and others claim that it is a point we have already passed . So we are in the strange position where both sides of […]

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Selloff's Spread to Europe Is Sign of Broad Fear

Until this week, European emerging markets had largely dodged the vicious selloff that has swept through their peers elsewhere. Now, they are showing cracks . The Hungarian forint took a heavy blow early Thursday, dropping as much as 1% against the dollar. The Polish zloty and the Czech koruna also stumbled. The currencies clawed back some ground late in the day, but analysts cited Thursday’s gyrations as a sign that the market’s fear of investments seen as risky is broad. Whether bouts of weakness in such countries persist will be a barometer of wider emerging-market strains. The turmoil in emerging markets also has spilled over to stock funds. Emerging-market stock exchange-traded funds saw their second-biggest withdrawal on record last week. The ETFs had $2.7 billion in net outflows in the week ended Jan. 29, according to Lipper, the largest one-week outflow since February 2011. Some $2.5 billion flowed out […]

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Selloff’s Spread to Europe Is Sign of Broad Fear

Until this week, European emerging markets had largely dodged the vicious selloff that has swept through their peers elsewhere. Now, they are showing cracks . The Hungarian forint took a heavy blow early Thursday, dropping as much as 1% against the dollar. The Polish zloty and the Czech koruna also stumbled. The currencies clawed back some ground late in the day, but analysts cited Thursday’s gyrations as a sign that the market’s fear of investments seen as risky is broad. Whether bouts of weakness in such countries persist will be a barometer of wider emerging-market strains. The turmoil in emerging markets also has spilled over to stock funds. Emerging-market stock exchange-traded funds saw their second-biggest withdrawal on record last week. The ETFs had $2.7 billion in net outflows in the week ended Jan. 29, according to Lipper, the largest one-week outflow since February 2011. Some $2.5 billion flowed out […]

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John Michael Greer: A Bargain with the Archdruid

My anomalous position as a writer and speaker on the future of industrial society who holds down a day job as an archdruid has its share of drawbacks, no question, but it also has significant advantages.  One of the most important of those is that I don’t have to worry about maintaining a reputation as a serious public figure. That may not sound like an advantage, but believe me, it is one. Most of the other leading figures in the peak oil scene have at least some claim to respectability, and that pins them down in subtle and no-so-subtle ways. Like it or not, they have to know that being right about peak oil means that they might just pick up the phone one of these days and field an invitation to testify before a Senate subcommittee or a worried panel of long-range […]

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Obama's Hopelessly Wrong on the Environment — Here's the Reality of What We Face

Are there any self-respecting environmental organizations out there that are still behind President Obama? After his State of the Union on Tuesday it’s hard to imagine there could be. In his address, Obama proudly declared, "The ‘all the above’ energy strategy I announced a few years ago is working, and today America is closer to energy independence than we have been in decades." Based what we know from the most recent climate science, Obama’s "all-of-the-above" energy policy is actually suicidal. To say that we’re approaching a dangerous precipice would be too optimistic or simply unrealistic. For a decade we were peering over the edge, but now we’re falling—how long and how hard depends on what we do this year and in the next few years. The biggest reason for our desperate situation is our failure to address climate change. Obama acknowledges that the problem is real, but his approach […]

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Obama’s Hopelessly Wrong on the Environment — Here’s the Reality of What We Face

Are there any self-respecting environmental organizations out there that are still behind President Obama? After his State of the Union on Tuesday it’s hard to imagine there could be. In his address, Obama proudly declared, "The ‘all the above’ energy strategy I announced a few years ago is working, and today America is closer to energy independence than we have been in decades." Based what we know from the most recent climate science, Obama’s "all-of-the-above" energy policy is actually suicidal. To say that we’re approaching a dangerous precipice would be too optimistic or simply unrealistic. For a decade we were peering over the edge, but now we’re falling—how long and how hard depends on what we do this year and in the next few years. The biggest reason for our desperate situation is our failure to address climate change. Obama acknowledges that the problem is real, but his approach […]

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WTI Rises to Four-Week High as U.S. Chill Boosts Demand

West Texas Intermediate rose to its highest level in four weeks as cold weather in the U.S. boosted demand for heating fuel in the world’s largest oil consumer. Futures advanced as much as 0.6 percent in New York. Demand for distillates, which includes heating oil, surged to the highest level in almost six years amid colder weather in the U.S., data from the Energy Information Administration showed yesterday. WTI slipped yesterday as the Federal Reserve said it would continue stimulus cuts. Brent crude was little changed as a Chinese manufacturing gauge signaled the first contraction in six months in January. “Now we have extreme cold in the U.S., it does increase demand for refined products and that will lower crude stockpiles,” Hans van Cleef, an energy economist at ABN Amro Bank NV in Amsterdam, said by telephone. “We see Fed tapering going on. At some point the strong recovery […]

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Global stocks hit 2-1/2 month lows as EM selloff continues

Global equities hit 2-1/2 month lows on Thursday after the U.S. Federal Reserve pushed ahead with reducing stimulus, raising concern about more emerging markets weakness and pushing investors towards safe-haven bonds. The Fed trimmed its monthly bond-buying program by $10 billion and made no mention of the turbulence in emerging markets which some investors had thought might delay the widely-flagged policy move. The prospect of a steady withdrawal of stimulus coupled with improving economies in the developed world has attracted funds away from many emerging markets, particularly those with current account deficits or political troubles – or a combination of the two. "I think there is a lack of positive triggers right now, and there is a growing concern about what happens. It’s no 1998 … we have a very cautious stance on all emerging market equities and currencies at the moment," said Hans Peterson, global […]

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Natural Gas Jumps on Demand Expectations

-Natural-gas prices rocketed more than 10% to a four-year high Wednesday on concerns that sustained frigid weather would lead to robust demand for the heating fuel well into February. Natural gas for February delivery jumped 52.4 cents to $5.557 a million British thermal units on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the highest closing price since Jan. 25, 2010. Futures posted their largest one-day percentage gain since June 14, 2012. The February contract expired at settlement. The more actively traded March contract rose 52.4 cents, or almost 11%, to $5.465/mmBtu. Prices have soared 31% this month as forecasts continue to call for colder-than-average weather, maintaining demand for indoor heating sources. About half of U.S. households use natural gas as their primary heating fuel, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. The February contract surged late in the session Wednesday. The buyers […]

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Sanctions-hit Iran oil to take 'years' to return to market: FGE's Fesharaki

A landmark interim deal last November between the Western powers and Iran over the latter’s nuclear program could see about 200,000-300,000 b/d of additional oil released into the markets by mid-year, but any further increments are likely to take years, according to US-based consultancy FACTS Global Energy’s chairman Fereidun Fesharaki. The November deal between Iran and the so-called P5+1 — Britain, China, France, Russia, the US and Germany — took effect on January 20 and holds for six months. The agreement, which has eased some of the crippling economic sanctions against Iran for a period of six months, could see Iranian crude supplies going up by around 200,000-300,000 b/d by July, Fesharaki told the 32nd JCCP International Symposium in Tokyo Wednesday. But a full return of the estimated 1.2 million b/d of Iranian crude locked out of the markets as a result of several […]

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Sanctions-hit Iran oil to take ‘years’ to return to market: FGE’s Fesharaki

A landmark interim deal last November between the Western powers and Iran over the latter’s nuclear program could see about 200,000-300,000 b/d of additional oil released into the markets by mid-year, but any further increments are likely to take years, according to US-based consultancy FACTS Global Energy’s chairman Fereidun Fesharaki. The November deal between Iran and the so-called P5+1 — Britain, China, France, Russia, the US and Germany — took effect on January 20 and holds for six months. The agreement, which has eased some of the crippling economic sanctions against Iran for a period of six months, could see Iranian crude supplies going up by around 200,000-300,000 b/d by July, Fesharaki told the 32nd JCCP International Symposium in Tokyo Wednesday. But a full return of the estimated 1.2 million b/d of Iranian crude locked out of the markets as a result of several […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Libya's eastern district lays down oil gauntlet

Oil will flow again from eastern export terminals once the government in Tripoli meets demands from the region, a Cyrenaica administrator said. Abdraba Abdulhameed al-Barasi, leader from the regional Cyrenaica government, told the Libya Herald the central government agreed to form a committee to oversee future production and exports from Cyrenaica, Fezzan and Tripolitania states. Tripoli has yet to answer, however, on whether Cyrenaica can take in profits generated from oil produced in the region, the Libyan newspaper reports. Agreeing to all of the demands is the only way to restart exports from eastern terminals, Barasi said Tuesday. In November, rebel groups in the east of the country, some of which helped topple the regime of Moammar Gadhafi in 2011, declared independence for Cyrenaica, which hosts some of Libya’s key oil terminals. Before the 2011 conflict, Libya produced on average 1.6 million bpd […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Libya’s eastern district lays down oil gauntlet

Oil will flow again from eastern export terminals once the government in Tripoli meets demands from the region, a Cyrenaica administrator said. Abdraba Abdulhameed al-Barasi, leader from the regional Cyrenaica government, told the Libya Herald the central government agreed to form a committee to oversee future production and exports from Cyrenaica, Fezzan and Tripolitania states. Tripoli has yet to answer, however, on whether Cyrenaica can take in profits generated from oil produced in the region, the Libyan newspaper reports. Agreeing to all of the demands is the only way to restart exports from eastern terminals, Barasi said Tuesday. In November, rebel groups in the east of the country, some of which helped topple the regime of Moammar Gadhafi in 2011, declared independence for Cyrenaica, which hosts some of Libya’s key oil terminals. Before the 2011 conflict, Libya produced on average 1.6 million bpd […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Baghdad waiting for Kurdish response on oil plan

Iraq’s deputy prime minister called on the government in the Kurdish north to respond to a proposal from Baghdad on oil sales from the region. Deputy Prime Minister Hussein al-Shahristani sent a written proposal to the Kurdish government calling for oil sales from the region to be handled by the State Oil Market Organization. Once funds are deposited, the Kurdish government would draw 17 percent of its share in the revenue to pay oil companies, the Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday. Genel Energy, a company with large investments in the Kurdish north, said in mid-January exports of Kurdish oil through a pipeline to Turkey are "expected to commence in the near future." The Kurdistan Regional Government has already sent oil to a storage facility at the Turkish port of Ceyhan and Genel said deliveries should ramp up throughout 2014. A January announcement from the […]

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Militants storm government office in Baghdad

An Iraqi official says militants have stormed a government office in eastern Baghdad, triggering a firefight with police and a siege of the building by security forces. Interior Ministry spokesman, Saad Maan Ibrahim, says at least six gunmen stormed the state-run Company for Transportation on Thursday morning. Maan told state TV the police shot and killed three of the militants while the rest remain inside. Maan says security forces managed to get most of the employees out. It was unclear if anyone remained inside the building or was taken hostage. The brazen attack comes as Iraq is facing a stubborn insurgency in the country’s western Anbar province led by a local al-Qaida branch, which seeks to undermine government efforts to maintain security ahead of national elections on April 30. © 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or […]

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Syria ships out less than 5 percent of chemical arms

Syria has given up less than five percent of its chemical weapons arsenal and will miss next week’s deadline to send all toxic agents abroad for destruction, sources familiar with the matter said on Wednesday. The deliveries, in two shipments this month to the northern Syrian port of Latakia totaled 4.1 percent of the roughly 1433 metric tons of toxic agents reported by Damascus to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), said the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity. "It’s not enough and there is no sign of more," one source briefed on the situation said. The internationally backed operation, overseen by a joint OPCW-United Nations mission, is now 6-8 weeks behind schedule. Damascus needs to show it is still serious about relinquishing its chemical weapons, the sources told Reuters. Failure to eliminate its chemical weapons could expose Syria to sanctions, although […]

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Seoul gives green light to two nuclear reactors

The South Korean government has granted final approval to build two nuclear reactors at the Shin Kori Nuclear Power Plant in Ulsan, about 255 miles southeast of Seoul. Construction on the $7.09 billion project is scheduled for September, with completion slated for December 2020, Yonhap News Agency reported Wednesday. Each reactor will have a generation capacity of 1.4 million kilowatts. Yonhap reported Reactor Unit 5 at the Hanul Nuclear Power Plant came to an automatic halt Wednesday morning after a warning signal was activated at the facility, 205 miles southeast of Seoul. "The reactor currently remains stable," Yonhap quoted a Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co. official as saying. The official, whose name was not reported, said an investigation was in progress and may take up to two days. It is the second time since July operations at Hanul’s No. 5 reactor have had […]

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As China’s Economy Slows, the Pain Hits Home

Piles of unsold coal line rural roads in north-central China. Some iron ore mines near Beijing are operating at a fraction of capacity. Chinese farm products are even increasingly scorned by the Chinese consumer. While China remains nearly self-sufficient in all these categories, it is importing more from other emerging markets. Economists and investors around the world have been fretting in recent days about the effects on smaller emerging markets if China’s economic slowdown worsens. Those concerns have driven down share prices and currencies from Jakarta to Istanbul to Buenos Aires, although emerging markets staged a partial recovery on Wednesday. They helped to prod the central banks of Turkey and India to raise benchmark interest rates unexpectedly on Tuesday. Yet the most vulnerable producers these days may not […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple