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LNG growth to make US net natural gas exporter by 2016: report

T The US will become a net exporter of natural gas by the first half of 2016, largely due to the expected rapid growth of the US liquefied natural gas export industry along with a boost in Mexican pipeline capacity and a drop in domestic demand for Canadian gas, analysts with Barclays Commodities Research said in a report Thursday. "In a shift of tectonic magnitude, the US is firmly on track to become a net exporter of natural gas, with far-reaching implications for the US economy, geopolitics, natural gas markets and the global LNG space," the report said. Barclays analysts see US LNG exports, specifically six LNG export facilities it expects will begin shipping LNG by the end of the decade, as the largest driver shifting the US from a gas importer to a gas exporter by June 2016. Article continues below… Request a free […]

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Poland's PGE OKs $3.78 billion expansion of Opole coal-fired plant

Construction will begin next month on 1,800 megawatts of new coal-fired generating capacity at Poland’s Opole Power Plant, owner PGE announced this week. A statement released Thursday by the state-owned power producer said its management board had approved a program of internal financing to build two 900-megawatt generators in a $3.78 billion expansion of the Opole plant, to be designed by the French multinational Alstom. The move came two months after PGE’s former chief executive, Krzysztof Kilian, quit his job heading Poland’s biggest utility amid reports the company was being politically pressured to proceed with the expansion despite rejecting it in April as unprofitable. Now led by Marek Woszczyk, the company now says the financing will allow construction to begin as scheduled Feb. 1, with the first unit to be completed in 4 1/2 years and the second less than year later. In […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Poland’s PGE OKs $3.78 billion expansion of Opole coal-fired plant

Construction will begin next month on 1,800 megawatts of new coal-fired generating capacity at Poland’s Opole Power Plant, owner PGE announced this week. A statement released Thursday by the state-owned power producer said its management board had approved a program of internal financing to build two 900-megawatt generators in a $3.78 billion expansion of the Opole plant, to be designed by the French multinational Alstom. The move came two months after PGE’s former chief executive, Krzysztof Kilian, quit his job heading Poland’s biggest utility amid reports the company was being politically pressured to proceed with the expansion despite rejecting it in April as unprofitable. Now led by Marek Woszczyk, the company now says the financing will allow construction to begin as scheduled Feb. 1, with the first unit to be completed in 4 1/2 years and the second less than year later. In […]

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Michael Klare: Peak Oil Is Dead. Long Live Peak Oil!

The eulogies for peak oil came too soon. Among the big energy stories of 2013, “peak oil”—the once-popular notion that worldwide oil production would soon reach a maximum level and begin an irreversible decline—was thoroughly discredited. The explosive development of shale oil and other unconventional fuels in the United States helped put it in its grave. As the year went on, the eulogies came in fast and furious. “Today, it is probably safe to say we have slayed ‘peak oil’ once and for all, thanks to the combination of new shale oil and gas production techniques,” declared Rob Wile, an energy and economics reporter for Business Insider. Similar comments from energy experts were commonplace, prompting an R.I.P. headline at Time.com announcing, “Peak Oil is Dead.” Not so fast, though. The present round of […]

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Peak Oil: Clear As Mud

The U.S. will surpass Russia and Saudi Arabia as the world’s top oil producer by 2015, and be close to energy self-sufficiency in the next two decades, amid booming output from shale formations, the IEA said. (links in original) [1]  The International Energy Agency has sounded the alarm about a potential oil supply crunch…. (links in original) [2] The boom in oil from shale formations in recent years has generated a lot of discussion that the United States could eventually return to energy self-sufficiency, but according to a report released Tuesday by the International Energy Agency, production of such oil in the United States and worldwide will provide only a temporary respite from reliance on the Middle East. [3] [A]n analysis of a few key global oil production factors exposes the unstable foundation upon which hopes for North American oil independence are built. […]

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Crude Rebounds With Eyes on Payrolls

Crude-oil futures rebounded in London trading Thursday after falls in the previous session with some support from geopolitical tension, but the market is waiting for upcoming U.S. data before moving out of its current range. Brent crude for February delivery was up 70 cents, or 0.7%, at $107.86 a barrel on ICE Futures Europe. U.S. crude-oil futures were up 46 cents at $92.72 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. "The market is looking for direction, and all eyes are looking at the U.S. non-farm payroll data which will come out on Friday," said Gareth Lewis-Davies, an analyst at BNP Paribas in London. The data have gained more significance since the announcement that U.S. economic stimulus would be rolled back, as a stronger economy could prompt swifter tapering, Mr Lewis-Davies said. Although some Libyan oil has returned to the market, ongoing tensions in the country’s industry are buoying […]

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WTI Rebounds From Six-Week Low Before ECB Rate Decision

West Texas Intermediate crude rebounded from the lowest closing price in six weeks as the dollar weakened against the euro before a meeting of the European Central Bank today. Futures rose as much as 0.6 percent in New York , after sinking 1.4 percent yesterday as data from the Energy Information Administration showed U.S. gasoline and distillate stockpiles increased more than forecast. The euro strengthened from near a five-week low against the dollar on speculation the ECB will refrain from increasing stimulus. A technical gauge indicated oil’s recent losses may have been excessive. “There’s quite a good correlation between oil and the euro-dollar at the moment,” said Gerrit Zambo, an oil trader at Bayerische Landesbank in Munich. “The macro situation has a good chance of stabilizing here on a more healthy level, but that means underscoring stability, and not potential for big increases” in the oil price. WTI for […]

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Natural-Gas Futures Drop to One-Month Low on Mild Weather Outlook

-Natural-gas futures sank to a one-month low Wednesday as forecasts for warmer temperatures sparked concerns that demand for the heating fuel will fade in the next few weeks. Natural gas for February delivery fell 8.3 cents, or 1.9%, to $4.216 a million British thermal units on the New York Mercantile Exchange and posted their lowest settlement value since December 6. Prices had run up more than 20% since early November as unusually frigid weather boosted usage of the fuel that nearly half of all U.S. households rely on as their primary heating source. But the futures market has pulled back by 7% over the past two-and-a-half weeks as many traders […]

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EIA: Global oil demand to rise 1.2 million b/d in 2014

Global liquid fuels consumption is forecast to increase by 1.2 million b/d in 2014 and by another 1.4 million b/d in 2015, according to the US Energy Information Administration’s Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO), released this month. Countries outside of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, led by China, account for nearly all consumption growth over the forecast period, EIA said. OECD consumption is expected to decline by 0.1 million b/d in 2014 and remain flat in 2015. EIA forecasts OPEC crude oil production to decline by 0.5 million b/d in 2014, as some OPEC producers cutting back production to accommodate non-OPEC supply growth. In 2015, overall OPEC production is to remain close to its 2014 level while some key member countries continue to reduce their output to accommodate assumed production recovery from Iraq and Angola. In 2014, non-OPEC supply growth is expected to grow by 1.9 million b/d […]

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Iraq Is New Schism for Saudis in Strained Alliance With West

Few goods transit the desert border between the Middle East ’s two biggest oil producers, and Saudi authorities have built a fence to help ensure that political instability in Iraq doesn’t cross over either. Dysfunctional ties between the countries have come into focus as a wave of violence sweeps Iraq, turning it into another arena where Saudi interests are diverging from those of the U.S. Fighting is centered in Anbar province, bordering Saudi Arabia , where Sunni fighters with ties to al-Qaeda are rebelling against the Shiite-led government of Nouri al-Maliki, which is supported by Iran . The Saudi view is that Maliki is “aggravating the feelings of marginalization that some Iraqi Sunnis have long complained about, and that are at the root of the current violence,” said Fahad Nazer, a political analyst at Vienna, Virginia-based intelligence analyst JTG, and a former analyst for the Saudi embassy in Washington […]

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