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US jobs data puncture recovery hopes

New year hopes for an accelerating recovery in the US in 2014 were punctured on Friday after December saw the slowest pace of growth in new jobs for three years. Jobs growth, at just 74,000, came in far below expectations of a 197,000 increase. The data highlight the ongoing vulnerability of the US labour market, although the most likely cause of the recent weakness was miserable winter weather . The news is unlikely to put the US Federal Reserve off a further slowing of its asset purchases this month, from a pace of $75bn to $65bn. But it all but rules out a faster taper for now. In one of the most perverse jobs reports for months, the unemployment rate plunged from 7 to 6.7 per cent, despite weak jobs growth, as more people dropped out of looking for work. “We suspect that the unexpectedly weak 74,000 increase in […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Court upholds approval of BP oil spill settlement

Over BP’s objections , a federal appeals court Friday upheld a judge’s approval of the company’s multibillion-dollar settlement with businesses and residents who claim the massive 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico cost them money. BP has argued that U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier and court-appointed claims administrator Patrick Juneau have misinterpreted settlement terms in ways that would force the London-based oil giant to pay for billions of dollars in inflated or bogus claims by businesses. During a hearing in November before a three-judge panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, a BP lawyer argued that Barbier’s December 2012 approval of the deal shouldn’t stand unless the company ultimately prevails in its ongoing dispute over business payments. But the divided panel ruled Friday that Barbier did not err by failing to determine more than a year ago whether the class of eligible claimants included individuals […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Baker Hughes: U.S. oil well count declines but efficiency improves

Baker Hughes said Friday the number of oil wells counted inland in the United States in the fourth quarter declined but drilling efficiency improved. The oil services company, which has headquarters in Houston, issued a report saying the number of wells inland was 9,056, 19 fewer than the number recorded during the previous quarter. Despite the quarter-to-quarter decline, Baker Hughes said the well count for the final quarter was up 5 percent year-on-year. "Due to improved drilling efficiencies, the average U.S. onshore drilling rig now produces 9 percent more wells compared to the same quarter last year," the report said. Baker Hughes said the number of wells counted in the Eagle Ford, Mississippian and Marcellus shale basins increased but that gain was offset by declines in the Fayetteville and Granite Wash basins. New drilling technologies used in shale formations in the United States are […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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U.S. energy review welcomed by bipartisan think tank officials

Bipartisan Policy Center President Jason Grumet and other members of the Washington think tank welcomed a plan for a federal energy review. "It’s good to have a plan but what really matters is execution," Grumet said Thursday, responding to a White House announcement that it had begun its Quadrennial Energy Review. "Having all of the key agencies involved in a process like the QER increases the likelihood that the plan will lead to coordinated action," Grumet said. The White House said the nation’s energy sector was strained by climate change, cybersecurity threats and an increase in domestic oil and natural gas production. The QER will offer recommendations on how to transform the U.S. energy sector to meet 21st century conditions, Energy Department officials said. "The QER will identify important opportunities to modernize, expand, replace or transform our energy infrastructure system so that it better […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Safety of seismic surveys in Atlantic questioned

WASHINGTON, Jan. 10 (UPI) — A top member of a U.S. House committee on natural resources said he was worried about the ecological impact of potential energy surveys of the Atlantic Ocean. Rep. Peter DeFazio , D-Ore., ranking member of the House Committee on Natural Resources, was joined by fellow Democrats from states bordering the Atlantic in expressing their concerns to the Department of Interior and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. DeFazio and his counterparts said they were concerned about how marine mammals would be impacted by potential seismic surveys used to get a better understanding of the reserve potential offshore. "Recent reports have shown that these activities can have significant impacts on marine mammals, fish, and their habitats, yet it is not at all clear that these impacts are being given serious consideration when decisions about offshore resource development are being made," they said in a joint statement […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Alaska unveils new way forward on gas line

Gov. Sean Parnell on Friday announced a new way forward on a long-hoped-for natural gas pipeline, including getting out from under terms of a 2007 law that he said no longer works well for the situation. In a major policy speech in Anchorage, Parnell said the state and Canadian pipeline builder TransCanada Corp. have agreed to terminate their involvement under the Alaska Gasline Inducement Act. He made clear, however, that TransCanada would remain a partner in the project, just under new terms. Parnell said he would seek legislative approval for state participation in a new commercial agreement with TransCanada and the North Slope’s three major players, Exxon Mobil Corp., BP PLC and ConocoPhillips. He said he expected an agreement with a set of terms to be signed soon. The governor said he also would propose legislation that would allow the state to enter into shipping […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Chemical spill brings W.Va. capital to standstill

A chemical spill left the water for 300,000 people in and around West Virginia’s capital city stained blue-green and smelling like licorice, with officials saying Friday it was unclear when it might again be safe for even mundane activities like showers and laundry. Federal authorities began investigating how the foaming agent escaped a chemical plant and seeped into the Elk River. Just how much of the chemical leaked remained unclear. Officials are working with the company that makes the chemical to determine how much can be in the water without it posing harm to residents, said West Virginia American Water president Jeff McIntyre. "We don’t know that the water’s not safe. But I can’t say that it is safe," McIntyre said Friday. For now, there is no way to treat the tainted water aside from flushing the system until it’s in low enough […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Total of 69 vessels backed up at Mississippi River lock due to repairs

Some 69 barges and other craft remained backed up early Friday at a Mississippi River lock that feeds the primary barge route between Louisiana and Florida, the US Army Corps of Engineers said. The Corps website indicated 45 ships were backed up on the river side of the Inner Harbor Canal Lock and 24 were waiting in Lake Ponchartrain near New Orleans mid-morning Friday. The gear that operates the river entry to the lock sheared in half on the evening of January 3, Corps spokesman Rickey Boyett said. Repairs are expected to be completed by January 17, he said. The 5.5-mile lock feeds the saltwater Gulf Intracoastal Waterway, which runs 1,100 miles from Brownsville, Texas, to Carrabelle, Florida. The waterway is the primary link for barged gasoline shipments moving from the Gulf Coast to Florida. "The backup has been holding steady. As news has […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Canada Plans Tougher Tank-Car Standards

Canada plans tougher standards for new tank cars used to ship dangerous goods by rail, as concerns mount about the increased use of trains to ship crude oil across the continent in the wake of several fiery derailments. Canada’s Transport Department said Friday the proposed regulations would apply to newly built tank cars and require, for instance, that thicker steel be used in their construction. Canada will also require new designs for tank cars that carry liquefied natural gas. The changes would apply to general-purpose DOT-111 tank cars, the type involved in a tragic derailment last July in Lac-Mégantic, Quebec, which killed 47 people. There have since been non-deadly derailments involving tank cars filled with crude in North Dakota and Alberta, and just this week, 150 residents of a small New Brunswick town were forced from their homes when a Canadian National Railway Co. CNR.T +1.40% Canadian National Railway […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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So much for “peak oil”

The Romans named the first month of the year after the double-headed god Janus, the symbol of thresholds and transitions. He reminds us how life often involves choices between opposites. Janus stands at January’s doorway looking at both 2013 and the New Year. One Janus-like debate in the energy sector revolves around the world’s oil and gas supply. Views are always vacillating between “there’s not enough” and “there’s more than enough”. This point would be trivial were it not for a recent dramatic shift towards the first view. Until the middle of the last decade, the popular view was that production of “non-renewable” energy resources was peaking. In a sense, […]

Posted On : Published By : ASPO-USA