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Analysts: Oil-by-rail still attractive

A series of high profile accidents in North America involving crude oil transportation by rail won’t deter the industry, energy analysts say. U.S. legislators are calling for a closer look at the regulations governing the rail sector following a series of accidents involving the transportation of crude oil by rail. Ankur Jajoo, an analyst with market research company Frost & Sullivan, told energy news website Rigzone the industry would continue using rail as a transit option so long as it makes economic sense. “The industry looks to save where it can,” he said in an interview published Tuesday. “If using rail is more economic versus trucks, then that is what companies will use.” The National Transportation Safety Board said about 950 barrels of oil spilled when two trains operated by BNSF Railway collided and derailed near Casselton, N.D., in late December. No injuries were […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Spot Gasoline in Los Angeles Strengthens on Plant Maintenance

Los Angeles gasoline gained against futures on speculation that plant repairs in Southern California will cut supplies in the market. Gasoline’s discount narrowed as Air Products & Chemicals Inc. (APD) said it was preparing for maintenance at the Carson, California, hydrogen plant “in coordination with a key customer.” The Carson complex, which supplies hydrogen to refineries in the Los Angeles area to fuel process units, is expected to restart in mid-February, Art George, a company spokesman in Allentown, Pennsylvania , said by e-mail today. California-blend gasoline, or Carbob, in Los Angeles strengthened 1 cent versus futures traded on the New York Mercantile Exchange to a discount of 5 cents a gallon, according to data compiled by Bloomberg at 4:20 p.m. East Coast time. The prompt-delivery price jumped 6.05 cents to $2.6271 a gallon, a two-week high. Tesoro Corp. (TSO) ’s Wilmington plant, part of the company’s 363,000-barrel-a-day Los Angeles […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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TransCanada Gulf Pipe Start Opens Path for Canada Crude

TransCanada Corp. (TRP) started moving crude on its Gulf Coast Pipeline, opening up a pathway for more Canadian oil to reach U.S. refineries. The Gulf Coast line, also known as the southern leg of the controversial Keystone XL pipeline, was initially flowing at 288,000 barrels a day and transporting entirely U.S. light, sweet oil to Nederland, Texas , from Cushing, Oklahoma . It will ramp up over the course of the year toward its 700,000-barrel capacity and carry more heavy crude from Canadian oil sands formations, executives said in a press conference at the company’s headquarters in Calgary. “Refiners couldn’t access lower-cost domestic production and were forced to pay a premium to ship crude from foreign suppliers,” TransCanada Chief Executive Russ Girling said. “The Gulf Coast project will change that.” The $2.3 billion (C$2.55 billion) Gulf Coast line was split apart from the larger Keystone XL project in 2012 […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Alaska Coastal Oil Drilling Challenge Revived by Court

Alaskan coastal drilling by oil companies including ConocoPhillips and Royal Dutch Shell Plc (RDSA) may be further delayed after a federal appeals court ruled the government acted illegally in opening almost 30 million acres on the continental shelf to energy exploration. The Sierra Club and other organizations sued the government after the $2.6 billion sale of development leases for the Chukchi Sea off the northwest coast of Alaska in 2008, saying the amount of oil from the leases was far higher than the 1 billion barrels the U.S. Interior Department estimated in an environmental review approving the sale. The U.S. Court of Appeals in San Francisco today concluded the estimate was “chosen arbitrarily.” That meant the Interior Department “based its decision on inadequate information about the amount of oil to be produced pursuant to the lease sale,” the court said in a decision reinstating the lawsuit. “The agency is […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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What happens when the shale oil boom ends?

Saudi Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi said he viewed the increase in U.S. oil production as a new source of supply that will help stabilize oil markets. Oil from shale is providing a buffer against an unsteady Middle East market, but it’s not too early to consider what happens to markets after the revolution. Skip to next paragraph Recent posts Naimi said during a meeting in Riyadh with U.S. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz the increase in U.S. oil production was adding a level of stability to an international oil market unsettled by problems in the Middle East and North Africa. "It is necessary to continue consultations between our two countries to expand the horizons of cooperation, including joint investments, and working with oil producing and consuming countries for the stability of […]

Posted On : Published By : ASPO-USA
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Europe Forges Ahead With Climate Plan

BRUSSELS—The European Union executive stuck to its guns Wednesday in proposing far-reaching targets to combat climate change, defying expectations that it would ease off in the face of intense lobbying from heavy industry and even some member states. The European Commission said the 28-member bloc should cut carbon emissions by 40% by 2030, compared with 1990 levels. Heavy industry and utilities as well as some governments had sought a target of 35% . It also proposed that clean energy sources, such as wind and solar, make up at least 27% of the overall energy use by 2030, also compared with 1990 levels. That goal, however, applies to the EU as a whole and not to each member state individually. The commission also put forward legislation to fix structural weakness in the struggling European carbon-trading system, but set out guidelines only for the exploration of shale gas in the face […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Victory for Britain and Poland as EU Issues Guidelines on Controversial Fracking Technique

BRUSSELS—Britain scored a victory Wednesday, when the European Commission shied away from earlier plans to put forward legislation on the exploration of shale gas. The European Union’s executive issued only guidelines for the technology after strong pressure from Britain and Poland, which are keen to forge ahead with the controversial technique of hydraulic fracturing, or ‘fracking,’ used to tap shale gas reserves. The commission said it was responding to calls for "minimum principles…to address environmental and health concerns and give operators and investors the predictability they need," said the EU’s environment chief, Janez Potocnik. Britain and Poland are keen to tap into potential shale gas reserves after seeing the U.S. become the world’s largest gas producer from its reserves. But public opinion in Europe is largely set against the technique, amid concerns over its impact on the quality of water, soil and air. France has put in place a […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Europe, Facing Economic Pain, May Ease Climate Rules

For years, Europe has tried to set the global standard for climate-change regulation, creating tough rules on emissions, mandating more use of renewable energy sources and arguably sacrificing some economic growth in the name of saving the planet. But now even Europe seems to be hitting its environmentalist limits. High energy costs, declining industrial competitiveness and a recognition that the economy is unlikely to rebound strongly any time soon are leading policy makers to begin easing up in their drive for more aggressive climate regulation. On Wednesday, the European Union proposed an end to binding national targets for renewable energy production after 2020. Instead, it substituted an overall European goal that is likely to be much harder to enforce. It also decided against proposing laws on environmental damage and safety during the extraction of […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Oil Security 2025 report – US remains vulnerable

The inaugural work of the Commission on Energy and Geopolitics, “Oil Security 2025: U.S. National Security Policy in an Era of Domestic Oil Abundance,” explores the potential for U.S. oil production to impact American foreign policy and national security in the coming decade and presents a series of recommendations designed to safeguard and advance U.S. interests. Link to the report page Link to full report  (PDF) Released January 15, 2014   Click on the headline (link) for the full text. US still vulnerable to oil shocks, say generals Ed Crooks, Financial Times The US remains vulnerable to oil price shocks caused by disruptions in the Middle East and other producing regions in spite of the North American shale boom, a commission of former generals and senior officials has warned. (15 January 2014) How the oil boom could change U.S. foreign policy Brad Blumer, WonkBlog, Washington post The United States […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Oil Futures Extend Gains

Crude-oil futures extended gains in Asian trade on Wednesday ahead of initial weekly oil inventory data from the U.S. and as the southern leg of the Keystone pipeline goes into operation. On the New York Mercantile Exchange light, sweet crude futures for delivery in March were $95.37 a barrel at 0617 GMT–up $0.40 in the Globex electronic session. March Brent crude on London’s ICE Futures exchange rose $0.34 to $107.07 a barrel. Oil ended higher in overnight floor trade on positive sentiment after the International Energy Agency raised its estimate for world-wide daily demand in 2014 to rise 1.3 million barrels a day to 92.5 million barrels a day. Rising U.S. oil production may hit a wall in coming years if it maintains a ban on exports, the Paris-based energy watchdog said. The southern leg of TransCanada Corp.’s (TRP.T) Keystone XL pipeline in the U.S. is expected to go […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple