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Use of Rail in Crude Transport Unlikely to Slow Down Despite Accidents

More Use of Rail in Crude Transport Unlikely to Slow Down Despite Accidents With limited pipeline infrastructure available to transport oil to refineries – and the downsides of greenhouse gas emissions, fuel costs and road damage resulting from hauling fuel by truck – the oil and gas industry does not have many other options available for transporting crude oil, said Ankur Jajoo, environmental industry analyst with Frost & Sullivan, in an interview with Rigzone. “The energy industry as a whole works on the economics. Whether it’s upstream, midstream or downstream, transportation is a key area for reducing costs. The industry looks to save where it can. If using rail is more economic versus trucks, then that is what companies will use,” said Ankur Jajoo, environmental industry analyst with Frost & Sullivan, in an interview with Rigzone. Barring any significant developments, rail will continue to be widely used over the […]

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No oil leaking from Philly train derailment

A Coast Guard office in Philadelphia said a train carrying crude oil slipped off a track on a bridge, though there were no reports of oil leaking from the cars. The Coast Guard said Philadelphia police notified its offices a train carrying crude oil derailed over a bridge crossing the Schuylkill River. "There is no report of material leaking from the derailed cars," the Coast Guard said in a statement Monday. There were no reports in injuries. The Coast Guard said it was notified of the incident early Monday and set up a safety zone around the bridge as a precaution. The train was operated by rail company CSX Corp. Company spokesman Gary Sease said six of the 101 cars were carrying crude oil and an investigation was under way to determine the cause of the accident, WCAU-TV, Philadelphia, reported. The train was traveling […]

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U.S. oil gains good for drivers, AAA says

The shift away from oil produced by members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries is a win for U.S. drivers, a AAA spokesman said Tuesday. OPEC, in its monthly report for January, said demand for its crude oil should decline in 2014 by about 400,000 barrels per day. This comes as oil production in the United States, one of the world’s leading energy consumers, increases. Michael Green, a AAA spokesman, said in response to email questions this translates to a win for U.S. drivers. "U.S. demand for OPEC oil is likely to continue to decline as domestic production increases and cars become more fuel efficient," he said Tuesday. "This is an enormous structural shift from the previous few decades and a win for American drivers, especially when compared to the oil crises of the 1970’s." The average price for a gallon of regular […]

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Koch Ends Plans for Pipeline to Illinois From Bakken

Koch Pipeline Co. called off plans to build a 250,000-barrel-a-day crude line to Illinois from North Dakota ’s Bakken formation, where a shale boom has helped lift domestic production to the highest in a quarter-century. The indirect subsidiary of Koch Industries Inc., one of the largest private companies in the U.S., is no longer developing the so-called Dakota Express pipeline, Jake Reint, a Koch spokesman, said by e-mail yesterday. He didn’t provide a reason for the decision. The Wichita, Kansas-based company was scheduled to begin a 45-day open season to gauge interest from potential shippers on the line in July. “The non-binding open season for the Dakota Express pipeline is no longer being pursued,” Reint, based in Wichita, said in the e-mail. Hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling have helped producers reach shale deposits of oil across the middle of the U.S. from North Dakota to Texas , sending domestic […]

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Brent Crude Rises for First Time in Four Days on Demand

Brent crude advanced after a three-day decline on signs that demand is strengthening as the economic recovery takes root in developed nations. Futures gained as much as 1.1 percent in London . Global oil consumption will increase more this year than previously forecast as growth gathers momentum, the International Energy Agency said today in its monthly market report. Demand in developed countries expanded last year for the first time since 2010, the Paris-based IEA said. The People’s Bank of China yesterday added funds and expanded access to a lending facility as money-market rates surged. “People are heartened by the rosy picture in the U.S.,” said Christopher Bellew , a senior broker at Jefferies Bache Ltd. in London. “The action by the Chinese central bank to inject money may improve the picture in China too.” Brent for March settlement climbed as much as $1.14 to $107.49 a barrel on the […]

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Medium-Term Oil Market Report 2013

  Crude oil markets firmed in December on seasonally stronger winter demand in the Atlantic basin. Brent prices were supported by continued supply outages in Libya while WTI reflected a surge in domestic refinery throughputs. Prices eased in January, though, with WTI last trading at $93.70/bbl and Brent at $106.35/bbl. The estimate of 4Q13 global oil demand was raised by 135 kb/d on unexpectedly strong US deliveries, partly offset by curtailments in China and elsewhere. For 2013 as a whole, growth is estimated at around 1.2 mb/d, accelerating to 1.3 mb/d in 2014 as the economy continues to recover. Global supplies inched down by 25 kb/d month-on-month in December to 92.23 mb/d, with a seasonal fall in […]

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IEA Sees Higher Oil Demand on Developed-Nation Economic Recovery

Global oil demand will increase more this year than previously forecast, the International Energy Agency said. A ban on U.S. crude exports may crimp output growth, the Paris-based group said. World consumption will climb by 1.3 million barrels a day, or 1.4 percent, to 92.5 million barrels a day, the IEA said today in its Oil Market Report. The increase of 90,000 barrels a day from last month is the first year of annual demand growth in developed nations since 2010, it said. U.S. restrictions on exports may mean its surging domestic production hits a “crude wall” that curbs further expansion, the IEA said. “Upside risks to oil demand growth are much more relevant this year than the same period last year, where concerns were for downside risks to materialize,” Miswin Mahesh, an analyst at Barclays Plc in London , said by e-mail yesterday. “Demand-supply metrics in the oil […]

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IEA Warns U.S. Oil Output Growth Could Hit a Wall

Surging U.S. oil production could hit a wall in the coming years if the country maintains its ban on crude exports, the International Energy Agency said. America’s crude output has surged in recent years, driven by a boom in shale oil production. Last year, the country’s oil production rose 15%, the fastest absolute annual growth in any country in 20 years. By next year, the IEA estimates imported oil of a similar quality to the crude produced from shale could be almost entirely backed out of U.S. coastal refineries. However, the U.S. tightly regulates exports of its oil, limiting the market for its new oil supply. "The growing volumes of light tight oil that cannot leave North America are increasingly posing a challenge to industry, putting the spotlight on the U.S. crude oil export ban," the IEA said in its monthly oil market report. For now, refinery, pipeline and […]

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US oil demand growth outstrips China in 2013 – IEA

Shale Gas Costing 2/3 Less Than OPEC Oil Converges With U.S. US demand for oil grew by more than China’s last year for the first time since 1999 according to the International Energy Agency, in a startling indication of how abundant energy supplies are driving an economic resurgence in the US. The IEA – the rich world’s energy club whose forecasts are the gold standard for the energy market – said US oil demand grew by 390,000 barrels a day or 2 per cent last year, reversing years of steady decline. Chinese demand grew by 295,000 b/d, the weakest in at least six years. Oil demand figures are closely followed as indicators of economic growth, because use of fuels such as gasoline and diesel indicate the strength of industrial and consumer activity.  As China’s economy has boomed over the past decade its oil demand has surged, while US consumption […]

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Talks Over Syria Are Set to Begin, but Iran Is Not Invited

American and other Western diplomats on Monday managed to salvage the long-awaited peace conference on Syria, which had seemed on the verge of unraveling before it even began when Ban Ki-moon, the United Nations secretary general, issued an unexpected invitation to Iran to attend. The possible presence of the Iranians infuriated Syrian opposition leaders, who said they would not attend the conference. But after a day of intensive consultations in which American officials made clear their unhappiness with Mr. Ban’s move, Iran was disinvited, and diplomats affirmed the conference will begin in Switzerland on Wednesday. The 24-hour controversy, while a diversion from the main issues about Syria’s future that will be on the table there, seemed a fitting prelude for what even the most optimistic American diplomats say will be […]

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Iran Seen Needing Big Steps for Final Deal

h;Iran would have to remove 15,000 centrifuge machines and take other drastic measures to forge a comprehensive nuclear agreement with the West, according to a report by a U.S. think tank that drew from conversations with senior U.S. officials. The steps required to preclude Tehran’s ability to develop nuclear weapons illustrate the challenge the U.S. and other world powers will face in moving over the next six months from an interim deal to a final one. In addition to removing the thousands of centrifuges that enrich uranium, Iran would have to shut down an underground uranium-enrichment site, convert a heavy water reactor and agree to a 20-year inspections regime, according to the Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS) in Washington. The findings were provided exclusively to The Wall Street Journal. The conclusions come as the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog confirmed Monday that Tehran had begun scaling back major […]

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Iran Oil Exports Seen Little Changed by IEA Amid Sanctions Deal

Importers of Iranian crude kept purchases little changed in December, the month after world powers agreed to relax some sanctions against the Persian Gulf state as part of an accord to curb its nuclear program, the International Energy Agency said. Buyer countries received 1.15 million barrels a day last month, compared with an upwardly revised 1.1 million barrels in November, the IEA, a Paris-based adviser to 28 nations, said in an e-mailed report today. Most shipments that arrived at Asian ports in December would have left Iran in the prior month. The deal to curb some sanctions was reached in principle on Nov. 23 and took effect yesterday. While the Geneva accord means nations no longer have to cut imports of Iranian oil to avoid U.S. sanctions, they’re barred from increasing purchases. The White House says Iran’s shipments slumped 60 percent to 1 million barrels a day since America […]

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Baghdad bomb blasts 'kill 16' as Iraq violence continues

At least 13 people have been killed in a series of bomb blasts across the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, say police and medics. At least 40 people were wounded in the explosions. The deadliest single attack, in which at least six people died, struck the south of the city. In an extended surge of violence, at least 759 people died in December alone. More than 650 have died so far in January, said AFP news agency.

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Baghdad bomb blasts ‘kill 16’ as Iraq violence continues

At least 13 people have been killed in a series of bomb blasts across the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, say police and medics. At least 40 people were wounded in the explosions. The deadliest single attack, in which at least six people died, struck the south of the city. In an extended surge of violence, at least 759 people died in December alone. More than 650 have died so far in January, said AFP news agency.

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Failed Talks With Militants Prompt Many to Flee in Iraq

Thousands of residents have fled Falluja in recent days, fearing worsening violence after the failure of negotiations between local leaders and jihadist militants to end a standoff that has lasted weeks, leaders from the city said Monday. A tentative agreement to allow the local police and other officials to return to the city fell apart on Sunday after militants, who took control of the city this month, briefly kidnapped tribal sheikhs and a local imam with whom they had been negotiating, people involved in the talks said. The failure of the negotiations was a blow to the government of Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki, who has pledged that the army will not storm the city to dislodge the militants, including some linked to Al Qaeda. Instead, Mr. Maliki […]

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Egyptian Refining advances refinery upgrade

Egyptian Refining Co. (ERC) is set to start construction on its long-delayed grassroots refining upgrade project to be built within the existing Mostorod Petroleum Complex (MPC), 20 km northeast of Cairo in Qalyoubia Governate, Egypt. Construction on the $3.7 billion project, which is designed to address Egypt’s demand for petroleum products and reduce the country’s dependence on imports, is scheduled to begin in late February or early March 2014, ERC’s Chief Executive Tom Thomason recently told OGJ. Unique undertaking A joint-development of both the private sector and Egypt’s government, the ERC project includes the construction of a hydrocracking and coking complex within the walls of government-owned Cairo Oil Refinery Co.’s (CORC) 145,000-b/d refinery, the nation’s largest. Once completed, the hydrocracking and coking plant—which will receive 67% of its feedstock from CORC in the form of fuel oil—will have the capacity to produce more than 4.1 million tonnes/year of refined […]

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With oil at stake, South Sudan’s crisis matters to its customers

At stake is one of the African continent’s most lucrative deposits of oil, generating billions of dollars for the world’s youngest nation and its partners. “The big powers, especially the Chinese, have a huge stake in this,” said Leben Moro, a professor at the Center for Peace and Development Studies at the University of Juba in South Sudan’s capital. “The oil could be a savior, but if there is more fighting over the oil, it could become a curse.” A dispute over political power, not oil, triggered clashes in Juba last month. But the conflict quickly turned into a fight over South Sudan’s strategic oil-rich regions. The capitals of two of these areas, Bentiu and Malakal, have changed hands more than once. Battles also have been fought in Bor, the capital of a region with untapped oil reserves that are potentially lucrative. “The opposition hopes that by capturing the […]

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For Venezuela, the magic land of cheap gas, a big hike

Gasoline is so dirt-cheap in this country that the comparison undervalues dirt. Or, for that matter, almost any other element Venezuelan drivers can think of. “It’s cheaper than water,” said one motorist, pointing out that bottled water costs far more than the 95-octane gasoline gushing into his Ford Explorer. Click Here to View Full Graphic Story “Cheaper than air,” said the driver of a Chevy Tahoe, after paying more to fill a tire than the tank. “The cheapest in the world,” a third SUV owner boasted. “We could wash our hands with it.” And why not? Venezuela sits atop the world’s largest oil reserves, and its government sets the price of premium gasoline at about 5 cents a gallon. Its real price — adjusted to the soaring street value of the U.S. dollar — is half a penny per gallon. Unlimited access to virtually free gasoline […]

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China's 2013 economic growth dodges 14-year low but further slowing seen

China’s economy narrowly missed expectations for growth to hit 14-year lows in 2013, though some economists say a cooldown will be inevitable this year as officials and investors hunker down for difficult reforms. The chance that the world’s second-largest economy may decelerate in coming months was underscored on Monday by data that showed growth in investment and factory output flagged in the final months of last year. Waning momentum capped China’s annual economic growth at a six-month low of 7.7 percent in the October-December quarter, a slowdown some analysts say may deepen this year as China endures the short-term pain of revamping its growth model for the long-term good. Full-year growth in 2013 was 7.7 percent, steady from 2012 and just slightly above market expectations for a 7.6 percent expansion, which would have been the slowest since 1999. "It’s like a Chinese medicine," said Lu Zhengwei, […]

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China’s 2013 economic growth dodges 14-year low but further slowing seen

China’s economy narrowly missed expectations for growth to hit 14-year lows in 2013, though some economists say a cooldown will be inevitable this year as officials and investors hunker down for difficult reforms. The chance that the world’s second-largest economy may decelerate in coming months was underscored on Monday by data that showed growth in investment and factory output flagged in the final months of last year. Waning momentum capped China’s annual economic growth at a six-month low of 7.7 percent in the October-December quarter, a slowdown some analysts say may deepen this year as China endures the short-term pain of revamping its growth model for the long-term good. Full-year growth in 2013 was 7.7 percent, steady from 2012 and just slightly above market expectations for a 7.6 percent expansion, which would have been the slowest since 1999. "It’s like a Chinese medicine," said Lu Zhengwei, […]

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Cnooc Sets 2014 Output Growth Estimate Lower Than Five-Year Goal

Cnooc Ltd. (883) , China ’s biggest offshore oil and gas producer, estimated it will increase output by as much as 5.6 percent this year, less than the targeted average for the five years through 2015. The Beijing-based explorer will produce 422 million to 435 million barrels of oil equivalent, it said in a statement to the Hong Kong stock exchange yesterday. The company produced 412 million barrels of oil equivalent in 2013, including 61 million barrels from Canada ’s Nexen Inc. Cnooc, which bought Nexen for $15.1 billion in China’s biggest overseas acquisition, maintained its 6 percent to 10 percent average annual production growth target from 2011 to 2015 with the proviso that key offshore projects start on time later this year or early next, Chief Executive Officer Li Fanrong said at a press conference in Hong Kong yesterday. “There isn’t enough time left for Cnooc to meet […]

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Cnooc Aims to Raise 2014 Oil, Gas Output

China’s biggest offshore producer of oil and gas expects its 2014 net crude-oil and natural-gas production to rise by 2.4%-5.6% and to sharply increase its capital spending as it seeks to expand domestic and overseas operations. The Hong Kong-listed Cnooc Ltd. said Monday that is maintaining its 2011-2015 compound annual growth projection of 6%-10%. It didn’t raise the projection despite having acquired significant gas assets last year with the purchase of Canada’s Nexen Inc. for US$15.1 billion, the largest overseas acquisition to date by a Chinese company. "Experiencing the upward trend on costs in the industry this year, the company will utilize capital more prudently through the capex plan to support the development of the company in the future," Cnooc Chief Financial Officer Zhong Hua said. Beijing-based Cnooc is targeting net production of 422 million-435 million barrels of oil equivalent this year, up from a 2013 estimate of […]

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Shell Sells Australian Assets for $1.14 Billion

Royal Dutch Shell PLC said Monday it is selling its stake in an Australian natural-gas project, the oil company’s first disposal since it issued a rare profit warning last week . Shell said it has agreed to sell its 8% equity interest in the Wheatstone-Iago gas field, which is operated by U.S.-based Chevron Corp. , and 6.4% interest in the Wheatstone liquefied-natural-gas project in Western Australia for $1.14 billion in cash to state-owned Kuwait Foreign Petroleum Exploration Co. "Shell will remain a major player in Australia’s energy industry," Shell Chief Executive Ben van Beurden said. "However, we are refocusing our investment to where we can add the most value with Shell’s capital and technology." Shell said Friday it expects fourth-quarter earnings, which it will announce next week, to be $2.2 billion, down about 70% from $7.3 billion a year earlier. It projected full-year earnings of $16.8 billion, down […]

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China Exports Pollution to U.S., Study Finds

A group of researchers found that trans-Pacific air pollution is a hidden price of the goods sent abroad from China. European Pressphoto Agency BEIJING — Filthy emissions from China’s export industries are carried across the Pacific Ocean and contribute to air pollution in the Western United States, according to a paper published Monday by a prominent American science journal. The research is the first to quantify how air pollution in the United States is affected by China’s production of goods for export and by global consumer demand for those goods, the study’s authors say. It was written by nine scholars based in three nations and was published by Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences , which last year published a paper by other researchers that found a drop in life spans in northern China because of air pollution. The latest paper explores the […]

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California declares statewide emergency amid worst drought on record

California’s worst drought in a century is devastating the state’s agriculture and destroying its forestland, which is being consumed by wildfire, Governor Jerry Brown said Friday as he declared a state emergency. The emergency declaration allows California to access federal help to battle the drought, which has left huge swathes of tinder-dry forest vulnerable to catching fire. On Thursday, a massive blaze raged just outside Los Angeles, damaging several homes and forcing residents to evacuate the area, where the fire risk had been elevated for weeks. Brown urged residents of his state to reduce their water use by at least 20 percent. “I’ve declared this emergency and I’m calling on all Californians to conserve water in every way possible,” he said in his statement. “We can’t make it rain,” he added. “But we can be much better […]

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Drought Emergency Declared in California as Residents Urge Halt to Fracking

The state of California formally declared a drought emergency today due to a lack of winter rainfall and water reserves at only 20 percent of normal levels. This is the third year of dry conditions across California, which poses a threat to the state’s economy and environment. cadroughts In addition to concerns about having an adequate water supply for food production, Californians are worried about Gov. Brown’s plan to increase fracking as oil companies are gearing up to frack large reservoirs of unconventional shale oil in the Monterey Shale. Photo credit: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Last year was declared the driest year in recorded history in California and Gov. Jerry Brown recently described the state’s current condition as “a mega-drought.” “The current historically dry weather is a bellwether of what is to come in California, with increasing periods of drought expected with climate change ,” said Juliet Christian-Smith, […]

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Oil Prices Slip With Iran Exports and China Imports in Focus

-Crude-oil prices were lower in London trading Monday amid ample supply, but Chinese demand increases could be on the horizon. Brent crude for March delivery was down 23 cents, or 0.2%, at $106.25 a barrel on ICE Futures Europe. U.S. crude-oil futures were down 67 cents at $93.70 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brokerage PVM said that with threat of tension emanating from Iran lessened, "concerns of a potential global oil shortage this year are more than matched by concerns of a huge excess." Monday marks the beginning of the lifting of sanctions against Iran, though it will still not be able to begin exporting its crude freely for at least six months. There has also been concern that a slowing economy in China, one of the largest global consumers of crude, would continue to have a depressing effect on demand. Chinese "implied […]

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WTI Falls From Two-Week High; China Factory Output Slows

West Texas Intermediate slid from the highest closing price in two weeks amid slowing economic growth and weaker industrial output in China, the world’s second-biggest oil consumer. Futures lost as much as 0.9 percent in New York. Factory production rose by 9.7 percent in December, the slowest expansion in five months, according to China’s National Bureau of Statistics. Iran ’s Atomic Energy Organization chief welcomed the start of the implementation of an interim nuclear deal with world powers that will see Iran curb its nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief. “The modest, tepid Chinese economic data surprised investors and is bringing more uncertainty about the prospects for the Chinese economy in the medium term,” said Myrto Sokou, senior analyst at Sucden Financial Ltd. London. “Signs about the situation with Iran’s nuclear program are also going to provide momentum in the coming days.” WTI for February delivery fell as […]

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U.N. Invites Iran to Syria Talks, Raising Objections From the U.S.

The announcement by Ban Ki-moon , the United Nations secretary general, that he had invited Iran to a peace conference to end the war in Syria drew strong objections on Sunday from American officials, who suggested that Iran had not met all the conditions for attending and that the invitation might need to be withdrawn. At the heart of the dispute is whether Iran has accepted the terms of the talks, which begin Wednesday in Montreux, Switzerland: to establish “by mutual consent” a transitional body to govern Syria. Mr. Ban said he had been privately assured that Iranian officials “welcome” those rules and that they had pledged to play “a positive and constructive role.” American officials said they had been in regular communication with the United Nations over the requirements Iran would need to meet to be invited, but they appeared to have been caught off guard by Mr. […]

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Opposition threatens to pull out of Syria talks

Syrian refugee children gather around a fire near their makeshift tents in central Ankara ©Reuters Syrian refugee children in Turkey Syria ’s main political opposition has threatened to withdraw from international peace talks aimed at bringing an end to the three-year long civil war unless an invitation to Iran to join the talks is rescinded. Ban Ki-moon, secretary general of the UN, on Sunday caused uproar after inviting Iran, President Bashar al-Assad’s main backer, to join the talks – known as Geneva II – that are planned to start on Wednesday. But Mr Ban said he had received reassurances from Tehran that it would play a “constructive and positive role”. Washington has said it is opposed to Iran attending the Syria talks unless it abides by the so-called Geneva communiqué signed in 2012, which calls for a “Syrian-led political process leading to a transition that meets the legitimate aspirations […]

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Powers and Iran to activate landmark nuclear deal after IAEA nod

World powers and Iran are due to start implementing a landmark deal on Monday curbing Tehran’s nuclear program, amid hopes that it will pave the way for a broad settlement of a decade-old standoff and ease fears of a new Middle East war. If, as expected, the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog confirms in the morning that Iran is meeting its end of the agreement, the European Union and the United States will later in the day suspend some economic sanctions in return. The mutual concessions are scheduled to last six months, during which time six powers – the United States, Russia, China, France, Britain and Germany – aim to negotiate a final accord defining the permissible scope of Iran’s nuclear activity. Western governments want such an agreement to lay to rest their concerns that Iran could produce an atomic weapon. Tehran is seeking an end to […]

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A look at the deal between Iran, world powers

Iran on Monday cut the connection to centrifuges enriching uranium at one of its nuclear facilities, beginning the implementation of its deal with six world powers. Here’s a look at the terms of the deal, as recently announced by the White House: — What Iran has committed to do: -Halt production of near 20 percent enriched uranium and disable the centrifuge process used to produce it. -Start neutralizing its near 20 percent enriched uranium stockpile. -Refrain from enriching uranium in nearly half of the installed centrifuges at its Natanz site and three-quarters of installed centrifuges at its Fordow site. -Limit centrifuge production to what’s needed to replace damaged machines. -Refrain from building additional enrichment facilities or advancing research and development of enrichment. -Refrain from commissioning, fueling or adding reactor components to its Arak reactor, and halt the production and additional testing of fuel for the reactor. -Refrain from building […]

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Iran Likely to Spend Oil Funds on Aircraft, Car Parts, Says Deputy Oil Minister

Iranian energy officials sketched out their vision of an economic détente with the West—promising a revamp of the energy sector and financial benefits for companies willing to re-engage with the Islamic Republic. On the eve of a temporary easing of sanctions against the Islamic Republic, an Iranian deputy oil minister said Tehran was likely to spend billions of dollars in soon-to-be-unfrozen oil proceeds on buying a wide range of goods from U.S. and European companies. A separate oil official, involved in drafting contracts for exploiting Iran’s energy reserves, said Tehran was soliciting feedback from Western oil firms about how to restructure those contracts in a way that would draw more global interest. Six Western powers have agreed to temporarily ease some sanctions, allowing Iran to buy Western goods such as cars, airplane parts and precious metals and to sell products including petrochemicals, among other measures. The deal will […]

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Iran's interim nuclear deal to take effect

UN inspectors visited Iran’s Arak heavy water production plant last month An interim deal on Iran’s nuclear programme is due to enter into force in a few hours’ time. The process will begin with the UN nuclear watchdog, the IAEA, confirming that Tehran has curbed its high-level uranium enrichment. This should pave the way for partial suspension of EU and US sanctions. It is expected that by the end of the day Iran should be able to resume petrochemical exports and trade in gold, worth billions of dollars. The interim deal was agreed in November during talks with the five permanent members of the UN Security Council – US, Russia, China, France and Britain – plus Germany. The West accuses Iran of seeking nuclear weapons, but Tehran denies the claim, […]

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Iran’s interim nuclear deal to take effect

UN inspectors visited Iran’s Arak heavy water production plant last month An interim deal on Iran’s nuclear programme is due to enter into force in a few hours’ time. The process will begin with the UN nuclear watchdog, the IAEA, confirming that Tehran has curbed its high-level uranium enrichment. This should pave the way for partial suspension of EU and US sanctions. It is expected that by the end of the day Iran should be able to resume petrochemical exports and trade in gold, worth billions of dollars. The interim deal was agreed in November during talks with the five permanent members of the UN Security Council – US, Russia, China, France and Britain – plus Germany. The West accuses Iran of seeking nuclear weapons, but Tehran denies the claim, […]

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Iran looking at exporting natural gas to India via deep sea

Sunanda Pushkar Tharoor was found dead in a Delhi hotel on Friday night. Follow us for the latest updates on the case. The Congress vice-president must rethink his speeches. He needs to bring these down to the level of the common man if he wants to make any impact. In 1947, one of the wealthiest businessmen in Calcutta, Adinath Sen, welcomed a young bride into his home. Given how rich and well-respected Sen was, to be his daughter in-law must have been something of a coup, even though there was gossip about how Sen junior was a party boy inclined to both alcohol and […] Its net revenue stood at Rs 1.03 lakh crore vs estimate Of Rs 1.04 lakh crore. The company’s earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation stood at Rs 7,622 crore, higher than the estimate of Rs 7,420 crore. Without […]

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Iraq Again Uses Sunni Tribesmen in Militant War

At a command center in western Anbar Province, Iraqi military officials are handing out guns and cash to local Sunni tribal fighters who are battling militants for control of Iraq’s largest province. The United States, at the same time, is rushing shipments of small arms and ammunition to the Iraqi government and urging the Iraqis to pass the weapons on to the tribes. As Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki struggles to put down an insurgency led by militants affiliated with Al Qaeda, he has embraced the same strategy the Americans used in 2007, one that has been attempted with varying degrees of success by the authorities here for nearly a century: paying and arming […]

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Iraqi forces face resistance in trying to push last of al-Qaeda affiliates out of Ramadi

Iraqi forces faced fierce resistance as they launched an offensive Sunday to vanquish pockets of al-Qaeda-linked militants in the city of Ramadi, underscoring the resilience of insurgents, who have also dug in further east in Fallujah. With the Iraqi armed forces lacking expertise and equipment, the government’s struggle to secure the key cities has stoked concerns that the unrest will spread. A Super Scooper firefighting plane makes a water drop on the Colby Fire in Azusa, California January 16, 2014. The blaze broke out about an hour before sunrise in the Angeles National Forest north of Glendora and quickly spread to 1700 acres. Glendora is located about 40 miles (64 km) east of downtown Los Angeles, near the southern edge of the Angeles National Forest. REUTERS/Jonathan Alcorn (UNITED STATES – Tags: DISASTER ENVIRONMENT TRANSPORT) In an unnerving sign, Baghdad was put on lockdown Saturday night amid a […]

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Panama Canal Expansion: Standoff Worries Locals

ABOARD THE MAERSK BATAM, On the Panama Canal—Everything about this Danish-flagged ship is big. It is longer than two football fields, as high as a seven-story building and carries 3,000 cargo containers weighing 30,000 tons. But as shipyards from India to Korea continue to build vessels that are longer, wider and taller, the Maersk Batam actually is a midsize ship. Some people even call it small. "Not that there’s anything wrong with smaller ships," says Capt. Mike Hands, a Briton who has spent 40 of his 57 years working on ships. "Smaller ships go to smaller ports, which are always more interesting," he says, as the Batam begins its 10-hour passage through the Panama Canal. Interesting isn’t what the Panama Canal is about. Panama’s government has kicked off a multibillion-dollar project to widen the canal’s navigation channels and build larger locks—the pools of water that lift boats from sea […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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China’s Refiners Processed Most Crude in 11 Months in December

China ’s refineries processed the most crude in 11 months in December as they prepared to meet increased fuel demand over the Lunar New Year holiday. Processing rose 0.2 percent from a year earlier to about 42 million metric tons, the National Bureau of Statistics said in Beijing today. That’s equivalent to an average of 9.93 million barrels a day, exceeding November’s rate of 9.81 million. Chinese refineries typically boost crude runs before the week-long new year to build inventories and supply gasoline as holiday travel increases. For 2013, processing volumes climbed 3.3 percent to 478.58 million tons, or 9.61 million barrels a day, the statistics bureau’s data show. China’s Lunar New Year begins on Jan. 31 and ends Feb. 6 this year. “While existing major refineries reduced runs in January after a strong December, the addition of new capacity and lower stocks will help offset some holiday-related weakness,” […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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China's Economic Growth Slows to 7.7%

China’s growth slowed slightly in the fourth quarter as Beijing eased back on efforts to rev up the economy, signaling a potential slow start for the new year as the country’s leaders seek to reshape the world’s second-largest economy. Many economists already expect the Chinese economy to slow further in the coming year as the country’s leaders prepare to introduce reform measures. These would be aimed at reducing the economy’s dependence on investment and trade and boosting its reliance on domestic spending and the expansion in the service industries. The nation’s economy grew 7.7% in the fourth quarter from a year ago, slower than the 7.8% it posted in the third quarter, according to data released Monday by China’s National Bureau of Statistics. For the year it also posted 7.7% growth, matching the revised pace it recorded in 2012. "There was steady economic progress [last year] and this was […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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China’s Economic Growth Slows to 7.7%

China’s growth slowed slightly in the fourth quarter as Beijing eased back on efforts to rev up the economy, signaling a potential slow start for the new year as the country’s leaders seek to reshape the world’s second-largest economy. Many economists already expect the Chinese economy to slow further in the coming year as the country’s leaders prepare to introduce reform measures. These would be aimed at reducing the economy’s dependence on investment and trade and boosting its reliance on domestic spending and the expansion in the service industries. The nation’s economy grew 7.7% in the fourth quarter from a year ago, slower than the 7.8% it posted in the third quarter, according to data released Monday by China’s National Bureau of Statistics. For the year it also posted 7.7% growth, matching the revised pace it recorded in 2012. "There was steady economic progress [last year] and this was […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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China economic growth continues to cool

China’s economy slowed in the fourth quarter of last year, highlighting the challenge facing Beijing as it attempts to implement painful reforms while maintaining the economic momentum needed to avoid defaults on its growing debt pile. Gross domestic product in the world’s second-largest economy expanded 7.7 per cent in the fourth quarter compared with the same period a year earlier – a slowing from 7.8 per cent growth in the third quarter, according to figures released by the government on Monday. Growth of 7.7 per cent for the whole of 2013 matched full-year growth in 2012, thanks in large part to an investment-heavy “mini-stimulus” in the third quarter last year that offered a temporary boost. Economists expect China’s full-year GDP growth in 2014 to come in at about 7.4 per cent, the slowest pace since 1990, when Beijing faced international sanctions as a result of the 1989 Tiananmen Square […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Japanese rivers unleash ‘perennial supply’ of radiation into Pacific Ocean

A study published in the Elsevier journal Anthropocene late last year has revealed that many of the rivers, streams and other waterways located throughout coastal Japan have inadvertently become delivery systems for transporting radioactive waste directly from the stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power facility into the Pacific Ocean. Researchers from both France and Japan discovered this after conducting a thorough sediment and soil erosion analysis, which revealed the presence of cesium-137, cesium-134 and even radioactive silver in the runoff from coastal rivers. A total of 2,200 soil samples were collected as part of the study, which was originally designed to look at the normal biogeochemical cycles and dispersion of contaminants via rivers and waterways. Since it is already known that rivers play a functional role in cleansing the natural environment of toxins, a team of scientists from the Laboratory for Climate Sciences and […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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California Water Crisis May Head off Potential Oil Boom

Drilling for oil in California dates back to the late 19th Century, allowing it to become the country’s top producer by the beginning of the 20th. One hundred years later, California still ranks third, but its aging fields have been in decline for decades. Yet the state is sitting atop the largest tight oil formation in the United States. The Bakken in North Dakota and the Eagle Ford in Texas may be leading the resurgence in U.S. oil production, but the reserves sitting in California’s Monterey Shale dwarf those of its more notable counterparts. The interest in the Monterey Shale is heating up, with the legislature passing a controversial law last year to put in place the state’s first regulations over hydraulic fracturing. The Director of the California Department of Conservation claims the “regulations include the strongest and most comprehensive public protections of any oil- and gas- producing state,” […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Water Restored for Nearly All 300,000 Affected by West Virginia Ban

Water was restored here Friday for nearly all 300,000 people affected by a chemical spill that contaminated the supply for more than a week, officials said as new details emerged about the company at the center of the incident. The lifting of the wide water ban marked a turning point in a crisis that began Jan. 9 after authorities said a substance called Crude MCHM had leaked from a storage tank, breached a faulty containment wall and infiltrated a water-treatment plant. Residents were told not to drink, bathe in or clean with tap water. Also on Friday, the owner of the storage facility, Freedom Industries Inc., filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection amid mounting civil lawsuits. A Freedom representative declined to comment, but the court papers revealed new details about the company, whose representatives have declined to comment since a brief Jan. 10 news conference. A supplier of […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Bullish Gasoline Bets Slump as Cold Blast Chills Demand: Energy

Hedge funds reduced bullish bets on gasoline by the most since June as stockpiles surged to an 11-month high before a cold blast that probably will curb demand in the U.S. Midwest and Northeast. Money managers cut net-long positions, or wagers on rising prices by 22 percent in the week ended Jan. 14 to the lowest level since Nov. 19, U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission data show. Short positions more than doubled. Gasoline tumbled to a two-month low last week after a government report showed supplies climbed to 233.1 million barrels, the highest since Feb. 8. Demand fell to the least in a year, pushing pump prices to a three-week low. Temperatures from the Midwest to New England are forecast to average below normal from Jan. 22 to Jan. 26, diminishing fuel use as drivers avoid icy and wet road conditions. “Everything out there right now is bearish for […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Boston Beats New York With Record Power Price Premiums: Energy

Electricity prices in Boston , which reached record premiums to New York costs last month, are poised to remain at all-time highs through March because of bottlenecks on natural-gas pipelines. New England’s reliance on the fuel for power generation has grown to 52 percent from about 30 percent in 2001, though there have been no new pipelines transporting gas to the six-state region in 40 years. In New York, lines from wells in the Marcellus shale deposits of Pennsylvania and West Virginia boosted deliveries by more than 1 billion cubic feet a day this winter, enough to heat about 3 million homes. Wholesale power in Boston is trading at the highest January premium to New York since at least 2005, according to grid data compiled by Bloomberg. Prices in New York recovered faster from a blast of arctic cold last week because of the increased gas supplies. The power […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple