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New U.S. Tank Car Rules Won't Come Until 2015

New regulations that could require the railroad industry to improve, phase out or retrofit the tank cars it uses to haul crude oil and other flammable liquids are still more than a year away, according to a schedule published by the U.S. Department of Transportation Tuesday. The new schedule, an update published in a short notice in the federal register, gave the most specific timetable yet for the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Administration’s rule-making process. PHMSA is the agency responsible for the safety of hazardous-material transport. According to the schedule, PHMSA will publish its proposed changes to tank-car rules in November. It then will give the public 60 days to comment. Only after that period is scheduled to end in January 2015 would the agency incorporate the comments and issue final rules. Tank-car safety has become a hot issue following recent crude-oil derailments that have resulted in fiery crashes […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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New U.S. Tank Car Rules Won’t Come Until 2015

New regulations that could require the railroad industry to improve, phase out or retrofit the tank cars it uses to haul crude oil and other flammable liquids are still more than a year away, according to a schedule published by the U.S. Department of Transportation Tuesday. The new schedule, an update published in a short notice in the federal register, gave the most specific timetable yet for the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Administration’s rule-making process. PHMSA is the agency responsible for the safety of hazardous-material transport. According to the schedule, PHMSA will publish its proposed changes to tank-car rules in November. It then will give the public 60 days to comment. Only after that period is scheduled to end in January 2015 would the agency incorporate the comments and issue final rules. Tank-car safety has become a hot issue following recent crude-oil derailments that have resulted in fiery crashes […]

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Greenland Targets $4 Billion in Offshore Funds to Double Its GDP

Photographer: Joe Raedle/Getty Images Greenland is looking for investors from the U.S. to Asia as the world’s largest island targets $4 billion in funds that the government predicts will allow the economy to double in size over the next decade. Investors with “the biggest risk appetite come from the east,” Business Minister Jens-Erik Kirkegaard said in a Jan. 13 phone interview from Nuuk, Greenland’s main city. “We welcome European and North American money just as much as investments coming from the Far East. We don’t have any priority.” The world’s most sparsely populated nation and home to some of the globe’s biggest untapped fossil fuel and mineral reserves says the strategy will help it win independence from Denmark , which still counts Greenland as part of its kingdom. The home rule government in Nuuk is now trying to explain the risks and political landscape to prospective investors, according to […]

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Natural Gas Rises a Third Day on Forecast for Falling Stockpiles

Natural gas increased for a third day on speculation the U.S. government will report a record drop in stockpiles after last week’s cold weather. Futures for February delivery rose as much as 1.4 percent to $4.333 per million British thermal units in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange and were at $4.315 at 4:18 p.m. Singapore time. The contract climbed 5.5 percent yesterday, the most since April 29, to settle at $4.274. The volume of all futures traded was about 13 percent above the 100-day average. Prices are up 2 percent so far this year. Gas inventories probably fell by 303 billion cubic feet in the week ended Jan. 10, Citi Futures Perspective said before Energy Information Administration data on Jan. 16. That would surpass the biggest-ever decline of 285 billion on Dec. 13. Stockpiles totaled 2.817 trillion cubic feet on Jan. 3, 10 percent below the […]

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Polish auditors slam government for slow pace of shale gas development

Poland’s national auditing agency this week criticized the slow place of developing the country’s shale gas industry, blaming government inefficiency. The Supreme Audit Office, or NIK, Monday issued a report warning that high hopes for establishing shale gas as a viable Polish industry by 2015 are being imperiled by “irregularities” in awarding concessions and the painfully slow establishment of a law governing the sector, Polish Radio reported. In the meantime, several foreign energy firms that came into Poland seeking to tap its shale gas potential, such as Exxon Mobil, Marathon Oil and Talisman Energy, have pulled out due to mixed exploration results and the uncertain regulatory landscape. At the current rate, it will take 12 years before Poland’s shale gas potential can be properly tapped, the NIK said. “In order to carry this out, it would be desirable to have about 200 wells,” […]

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Study cautions on sole focus on energy crop biomass yield; perennial grasslands deliver greater ecosystems services than corn

«Study cautions on sole focus on energy crop biomass yield; perennial grasslands deliver greater ecosystems services than corn A study by a team from the DOE’s Great Lakes Bioenergy Center has concluded that focusing on the yield of an energy crop alone can come at the expense of many other environmental benefits. The study, published as an open access paper in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), found that switchgrass and prairie plantings harbored significantly greater plant, methanotrophic bacteria, arthropod, and bird diversity than corn. Although the corn biomass yield was higher, all other ecosystem services, including methane consumption, pest suppression, pollination, and conservation of grassland birds, were higher in perennial grasslands. Agriculture is being challenged to provide food, and increasingly fuel, for an […]

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Fears of global oil crisis aired at Transatlantic Energy Security Dialogue

Jeremy Leggett column in Recharge magazine : “We are betting our entire national economic life on the hope — indeed the expectation — that the fracking boom will continue until well into the 2020s, and that, at a rate and cost we desire, significant amounts of ‘yet to be discovered’ oil will somehow be found to meet the demand.” “If any of that proves incorrect, we have no plan, no alternative, and have given no thought to how we would respond in such a case.”The speaker is national-security expert Lieutenant Colonel Daniel Davis, a veteran of four tours of duty with the US Army in Iraq and Afghanistan. I am not a military man, but I worry just as much about the energy security of my own country as he does about his. In the UK, the government, the civil service and most of the big energy companies seem […]

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Oil prices remain near $92 on Iran, Libya outlook

The price of oil struggled to advance much beyond $92 a barrel Tuesday on expectations that supplies will rise with ramped up output in Libya and the North Sea, along with more exports from Iran if a deal on its nuclear program succeeds. By midday in Europe, the benchmark U.S. oil contract for February delivery was up 23 cents at $92.03 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell 92 cents to close at $91.80 on Monday. Brent crude, used to set prices for international varieties of crude used by many U.S. refineries, was flat at $105.27. An agreement Sunday between Iran and six world powers may enable Iran’s oil industry, whose exports were severely limited by economic sanctions over its nuclear program, to sell more crude after the deal takes effect Jan. 20. The planned six-month interim agreement will limit Tehran’s uranium […]

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WTI Oil Trims Worst Start to Year Since 2009 Before Supply Data

West Texas Intermediate crude trimmed its worst start to any year since 2009 amid estimates U.S. fuel stockpiles increased for a third week, signaling slowing demand in the world’s biggest oil consumer. Futures gained as much as 0.6 percent in New York , paring their decline since Dec. 31 to 6.2 percent. Distillate inventories, including heating oil and diesel, probably rose by 1.38 million barrels last week, a Bloomberg News survey showed before Energy Information Administration data tomorrow. Deutsche Bank AG lowered its 2014 forecasts for WTI and Brent amid “rampant U.S. oil-supply growth.” “We’re bearish for the first few months of the year,” said Frank Klumpp, an analyst at Landesbank Baden-Wuerttemberg in Stuttgart, Germany . “The market will be driven by the supply side in 2014. Maybe the trend of better-than-expected U.S. supplies will continue in 2014.” WTI for February delivery rose as much as 53 cents to […]

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Oil Price Forecasts Cut by Deutsche Bank on U.S. Supply

Deutsche Bank AG (DBK) reduced its price forecasts for Brent and West Texas Intermediate crude this year as “rampant” increases in crude supply from U.S. shale resources will help create a glut of oil. The German bank cut its 2014 forecast for Brent to $97.50 a barrel, from $106.25, and its estimate for WTI to $88.75 a barrel, from $98.75, according to an e-mailed report today. A recovery in Iranian oil exports, should sanctions be resolved, is a “non-negligible” risk for this year, the bank said. “A third year of rampant U.S. oil supply growth propelled by tight/shale oil development combined with the potential for the normalization of Iranian oil exports is increasingly painting a picture of an oversupplied global oil balance,” Soozhana Choi, a markets research strategist for the bank in Washington , wrote in the report. Such a balance “poses meaningful downward pressure on oil prices ,” […]

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Natural Gas Rises a Third Day on Forecast for Falling Stockpiles

Natural gas increased for a third day on speculation the U.S. government will report a record drop in stockpiles after last week’s cold weather. Futures for February delivery rose as much as 1.4 percent to $4.333 per million British thermal units in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange and were at $4.315 at 4:18 p.m. Singapore time. The contract climbed 5.5 percent yesterday, the most since April 29, to settle at $4.274. The volume of all futures traded was about 13 percent above the 100-day average. Prices are up 2 percent so far this year. Gas inventories probably fell by 303 billion cubic feet in the week ended Jan. 10, Citi Futures Perspective said before Energy Information Administration data on Jan. 16. That would surpass the biggest-ever decline of 285 billion on Dec. 13. Stockpiles totaled 2.817 trillion cubic feet on Jan. 3, 10 percent below the […]

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Hard-Liners in Iran Offer Mild Praise for Interim Nuclear Agreement

Iranian hard-liners on Monday cautiously welcomed the completion of an interim nuclear agreement that will provide Tehran with some relief from Western economic sanctions in return for a suspension of certain nuclear activities for six months. “This is the first step toward a cease-fire,” Rasoul Sanaeirad, a political assistant to the Revolutionary Guards, told the semiofficial Fars news agency on Monday. “It seems the Americans are determined to overcome the atmosphere of conflict.” The agreement was reached on Sunday after seven weeks of negotiations over the details on how to put in place the compromises in principle outlined in November by Iran and the so-called P5-plus-1, the five permanent members of the Security Council and Germany. The agreement will now officially be carried out next Monday. According to the Obama administration, Iran will get around $7 billion in sanctions relief that will be doled out over the […]

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Iran deal progress dampens push for new U.S. sanctions bill

President Barack Obama is more likely to win his battle with the U.S. Congress to keep new sanctions on Iran at bay now that world powers and Tehran have made a new advance in talks to curb the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program. Despite strong support for a bill in the Senate to slap new sanctions on the Islamic Republic, analysts, lawmakers and congressional aides said on Monday that the agreement to begin implementing a nuclear deal on January 20 makes it harder for sanctions supporters to attract more backers. Senator Richard Blumenthal, a Connecticut Democrat, was one of several of the 59 co-sponsors who said there is no clamor for a vote any time soon. "I want to talk to some of my colleagues. I’m encouraged and heartened by the apparent progress and certainly the last thing I want to do is impede that progress. But […]

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Fighting Among Rebels Boosts Syrian Regime

The Assad regime is gaining ground as it takes advantage of infighting between Syrian opposition groups, in a sign of how the rise of extremists could tip the balance in the three-year-old civil war. Pro-regime forces have consolidated recent gains in and around the northern city of Aleppo, Syria’s economic hub. These forces are also geared up to recapture more territory around the city, in a potential major setback for rebels after 18 months of battles to oust the regime from parts of the city that have remained under its control. In one area, moderate rebels late last week succeeded in forcing extremists from Naqareen, northeast of the city. That withdrawal enabled pro-regime forces to move in against a weakened rebel contingent on Sunday. Pro-regime forces are also preparing for an assault on rebels in the nearby Sheikh Najjar area—a sprawling industrial district, said a resident and opposition activists. […]

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Egypt referendum: Vote to begin amid tight security

Egyptians are to vote in a referendum on a new constitution, which could pave the way for fresh elections. The new charter aims to replace the constitution passed under Islamist President Mohammed Morsi months before he was ousted by the army. Correspondents say the military wants a strong "Yes" vote as a popular endorsement of Mr Morsi’s removal. Mr Morsi’s Muslim Brotherhood, which has since been designated a terrorist group, has called for a boycott. A huge security operation is being mounted amid fears of violence. The interior ministry says 200,000 police officers, 150 central security units and 200 combat groups are being deployed around polling stations on both days of voting. Egyptian soldiers stand guard outside a school being used as a polling station Advertisements in […]

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Panama Canal expansion project: Have American fears come true?

A view of Panama canal construction work on August 20, 2013. The US has a lot riding on a successful expansion of the Panama canal More than four years ago, when Panama awarded the lucrative contract to expand its inter-oceanic canal to a mostly European consortium, the United States was not pleased. An American company whose bid was unsuccessful, Bechtel, thought the winning tender would barely pay for pouring the concrete and that the consortium would probably try to renegotiate the price at some stage during the construction process. Some might argue that those American doubts have been justified, especially in view of the ongoing economic row between the European consortium and the Panamanian government agency that runs the waterway. The spat has threatened to bring work to a grinding halt , unless the two parties manage to resolve a $1.6bn (£1bn) dispute over cost overruns. A series of […]

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Petrovietnam Suspends Venezuela Oil Production

Vietnam Oil & Gas Group, or Petrovietnam, has suspended production of crude oil at a block in Venezuela, citing a tough economic conditions. "Basically, we are just slowing things down, and we haven’t decided to withdraw from the project yet," said Pham Ngoc Khue, head of the investment and development division of PVEP, the Petrovietnam unit that jointly operates the Junin-2 block in Venezuela’s Orinoco belt with Petróleos de Venezuela SA. "The investment environment there is not suitable for us right now—and even for several other foreign investors," Mr. Khue said Tuesday. PVEP previously said the project started producing oil in October 2012, with an initial target of 200,000 barrels of crude a day by 2016. The block is Petrovietnam’s only operation in Venezuela. A Petrovietnam official said on condition of anonymity that skyrocketing inflation in Venezuela makes the cost of doing business there too high. Consumer prices in […]

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China's power consumption accelerates in 2013

China’s electricity consumption, a key indicator of economic activity, rose 7.5 percent year on year in 2013, the National Energy Administration said on Tuesday. Electricity used in 2013 stood at 5.32 trillion kilowatt hours, according to a statement on the administration’s website. The growth rate is 2 percentage points higher than that in 2012. In breakdown, the service sector consumed 10.3 percent more electricity than a year earlier, the industrial sector 7 percent more, while power used by the agricultural sector was 0.7 percent more than a year earlier, the statement said. Data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed China’s economy expanded by 7.7 percent in the first nine months of 2013, higher than the government’s full-year target of 7.5 percent. Figures on China’s annual economic performance are due to be released next Monday.

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China’s power consumption accelerates in 2013

China’s electricity consumption, a key indicator of economic activity, rose 7.5 percent year on year in 2013, the National Energy Administration said on Tuesday. Electricity used in 2013 stood at 5.32 trillion kilowatt hours, according to a statement on the administration’s website. The growth rate is 2 percentage points higher than that in 2012. In breakdown, the service sector consumed 10.3 percent more electricity than a year earlier, the industrial sector 7 percent more, while power used by the agricultural sector was 0.7 percent more than a year earlier, the statement said. Data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed China’s economy expanded by 7.7 percent in the first nine months of 2013, higher than the government’s full-year target of 7.5 percent. Figures on China’s annual economic performance are due to be released next Monday.

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India to cut Iran crude imports to 9-9.5 mil mt in 2014-15

India will lower its crude oil imports from Iran by 15% to 9 million-9.5 million mt in fiscal year 2014-2015 (April-March), from an estimated 11 million mt in fiscal 2013-2014, a senior petroleum ministry official said Tuesday. Essar Oil and Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd. — two of the largest importers of Iranian crude in the country — are expected to end the current fiscal year with imports of 4 million-4.5 million mt each, and Indian Oil Corp. will import around 1 million mt, R.K Singh, joint secretary for refineries at the petroleum ministry, said on the sidelines of the Petrotech 2014 conference near New Delhi. This is down from 13.3 million mt in fiscal year 2012-2013. The cut is in line with the 15% annual reduction countries have to show to be eligible for US waivers from sanctions against Iran, he said. […]

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The Primary Energy Tale of Two Continents

UK Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, Ed Davey, is worried about rising energy costs in Europe whilst energy costs in N America are going in the opposite direction. But he doesn’t seem to understand the root cause of the situation or how to tackle the problem. Primary energy production peaked in Europe in 1996 at 1138 million tonnes oil (mmtoe) equivalent and has since fallen to 970 mmtoe in 2012. That is a drop of 15% (Figure 1) In N America, primary energy production hit a new peak in 2012 of 2512 million tonnes oil equivalent. That is up 8.5% since 1996 (Figure 1) Rising energy production in N America and falling Energy production in Europe lies at the heart of energy prices trading in opposite directions on either side of The Atlantic. Europe has a population of ~ 739 million who produce 1.31 tonnes oil […]

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Peak oil is real and it’s here, suggests new research

The fear that we have reached peak oil seems to have abated in recent years as the US and other countries began extraction of shale oil. But that doesn’t mean we should think that this problem has gone away. According to UPI.com , new research published by the Royal Society’s Philosophical Transactions A suggests that the shale gas reserves are just a false dawn and that oil production has reached a terminal tailspin, as supply increasingly struggles to keep up with demand. Oil rig with gas flare: we’ve already passed peak oil according to new research The impact of this will be felt by economies all around the world, resulting to exploiting ever-more difficult to extract oil supplies in an attempt to prop up supply. Former BP Geologist and co-author of the new research paper, Dr Richard G Miller told students at the University College London that data from […]

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Why EIA, IEA, and Randers’ 2052 Energy Forecasts are Wrong

What is correct way to model the future course of energy and the economy? There are clearly huge amounts of oil, coal, and natural gas in the ground.  With different approaches, researchers can obtain vastly different indications. I will show that the real issue is most researchers are modeling the wrong limit . Most researchers assume that the limit that they should be concerned with is the amount of oil, coal, and natural gas in the ground. This is the wrong limit . While in theory we will eventually hit this limit, because of the way fossil fuels are integrated into the rest of the economy, we hit financial limits much earlier . These financial limits include lack of investment capital, inability of governments to collect enough taxes to fund their programs, and […]

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Crude Slides After Iran Deal Advances

Crude-oil futures were trading somewhat lower Monday, after further cementation of a deal that could return some Iranian crude to the market and with weaker U.S. economic data and prospective Federal Reserve tapering of economic stimulus both on the agenda. Brent crude for February delivery was down 52 cents, or 0.5%, at $106.72 a barrel on ICE Futures Europe. U.S. crude-oil futures were down 57 cents at $92.15 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Iran and six major powers reached an agreement over the weekend, which means a deal reached in November to curb Tehran’s nuclear program will come into force Jan. 20. Next Monday will therefore mark the start of a six to 12-month period in which the conditions for a final nuclear agreement must be fulfilled. In November Iran committed itself to eliminate its stocks of 20% enriched uranium within six months and limit the […]

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Oil price falls to near $92

Oil prices fell Monday after a big jump in the previous trading session that was sparked by expectations the Fed might delay stimulus reduction. Benchmark U.S. oil for February delivery was down 36 cents to $92.36 a barrel at 0825 GMT in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract surged $1.06 to settle at $92.72 a barrel on Friday. The U.S. added just 74,000 thousand jobs in December, way below market expectations of 196,000 jobs. The unemployment rate fell from 7.0 percent to 6.7 percent, but it was mostly because of a drop in the number of people seeking work. The weaker hiring led to speculation the Fed would halt or slow plans to reduce its bond purchasing program. The stimulus, which has kept interest rates low, has helped underpin oil prices by weakening the dollar and also by attracting investors to commodities in search of […]

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Hedge Fund Bullish Oil Wagers Drop as Fuel Supply Gains: Energy

Hedge funds became less bullish on crude oil for the first time in six weeks as U.S. inventories of fuel expanded at a time of weakening demand. Money managers cut net-long positions, or wagers on rising prices, for benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude by 8.6 percent in the week ended Jan. 7, U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission data show. It was the biggest decline since June. Short positions gained the most since April. Crude fell to an eight-month low on Jan. 9, propelled by rising U.S. supplies of gasoline, diesel and heating oil. Fuel demand dropped in the three weeks ended Jan. 3, the longest stretch of losses since June 2012 and domestic crude production rose to the highest level since 1988, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. “At the end of last year there was a big run-up in prices that was impossible to […]

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Deal on curbing Iran's nuclear activity to take effect January 20

A deal for Iran to freeze parts of its nuclear program in return for sanctions relief will take effect on January 20, giving world powers and Tehran six months to agree a complete end to a standoff that has raised the risk of a wider Middle East war. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry cautioned that the next stage in negotiations would be "very difficult" after Iran, Washington and the European Union announced the launch date for the interim deal struck in Geneva in November. Iran will receive some easing of economic sanctions from January 20, including the suspension of restrictions on Iranian exports of petrochemicals, a senior U.S. official said. The official said such immediate relief – which will hinge on U.N. inspectors confirming that Iran is curbing enrichment of uranium – would include imports for its auto manufacturing sector and trade in gold and […]

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Deal on curbing Iran’s nuclear activity to take effect January 20

A deal for Iran to freeze parts of its nuclear program in return for sanctions relief will take effect on January 20, giving world powers and Tehran six months to agree a complete end to a standoff that has raised the risk of a wider Middle East war. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry cautioned that the next stage in negotiations would be "very difficult" after Iran, Washington and the European Union announced the launch date for the interim deal struck in Geneva in November. Iran will receive some easing of economic sanctions from January 20, including the suspension of restrictions on Iranian exports of petrochemicals, a senior U.S. official said. The official said such immediate relief – which will hinge on U.N. inspectors confirming that Iran is curbing enrichment of uranium – would include imports for its auto manufacturing sector and trade in gold and […]

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Iranian Nuclear Accord Advances

World powers and Iran agreed to begin implementing a pact to curb Tehran’s nuclear program on Jan. 20, setting the stage for six months of diplomacy intended to end Tehran’s atomic weapons threat, officials said. Under Sunday’s deal, Iran will stop producing near-weapons grade nuclear fuel and start rolling back or freezing other nuclear work next week, said U.S., European and Iranian officials. In turn, the U.S. and European Union will start easing some of their punitive economic sanctions on Iran, starting next week with suspending a ban on Iran’s trade of petrochemicals, autos and precious metals. U.S. and European officials hailed the latest milestone as a way to peacefully contain Iran’s nuclear program, while acknowledging that failure was a real possibility given the complexity of the talks. Still, the accord fueled political friction within the U.S. Senior U.S. lawmakers quickly criticized the deal for not going far enough […]

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Negotiators Put Final Touches on Iran Accord

Iran and a group of six world powers completed a deal on Sunday that will temporarily freeze much of Tehran’s nuclear program starting next Monday, Jan. 20, in exchange for limited relief from Western economic sanctions. The main elements of the deal, which is to last for six months, were announced in November . But its implementation was delayed as negotiators worked out technical details. The agreement faced opposition from Iranian hard-liners and Israeli leaders , as well as heavy criticism from some American lawmakers, who have threatened to approve further sanctions despite President Obama’s promise of a veto. It comes as Tehran has sought to expand its influence in the Middle East by providing weapons and sometimes members of its own paramilitary Quds Force, in what Western nations view as destabilizing activities in countries including Syria, Bahrain and Yemen, according to interviews with intelligence, military, diplomatic […]

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Senior Libyan Official Assassinated, First Since Qaddafi Era

A Libyan deputy cabinet minister was killed by gunmen on Saturday evening in the first assassination of a senior government figure in the country since the ouster of Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi more than two years ago. The deputy minister of industry, Hassan al-Droui, was hit by a spray of bullets in the former Qaddafi stronghold of Surt, which he had represented in the wartime transitional council and then in the elected Parliament. Assassinations of military and police officers, usually presumed to be the work of Islamist extremists, have been accelerating in the eastern cities of Benghazi and Darnah . But the government had usually been able to negotiate its way out of threats to central institutions or top officials, as it did with the kidnapping of Prime Minister Ali Zeidan from a Tripoli hotel a few months ago. Previous attempts to assassinate senior officials had all […]

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Iraq threatens legal action over Kurdish oil sales

Iraq’s Oil Ministry threatened legal action against entities that receive oil from the northern Kurdish region, singling out a deal made with Turkey. The Turkish seaport of Ceyhan is set to receive the first oil from the Kurdish region of Iraq this month and the ministry said Sunday the move "is an avowed violation of the Iraqi constitution." The Kurdistan Regional Government and the central government in Iraq are at odds over who controls what aspects of the country’s oil sector, The central government took aim at its Turkish counterparts in particular, saying the oil sale would violate the spirit of regional agreements not to export crude oil from Iraq without the government’s consent, the Voices of Iraq news agency reported.. The Kurdish government said last week it was inviting "reputable and financially capable companies" to register for crude oil sales. The first parcel […]

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Clashes Between Militants and Army Spread in Iraq

Sunni gunmen on Sunday took up position in the city of Falluja, Iraq, which residents have fled. Mohammed Jalil/European Pressphoto Agency BAGHDAD — A confrontation between Iraqi insurgents and government forces in the western city of Falluja edged closer to the capital on Sunday, after clashes between militants and the army left at least 14 people dead in the Abu Ghraib district in Baghdad Province, according to security officials. Separately, in Ramadi, another battleground in the western Anbar Province, militants captured and executed four members of an elite military unit, an official said. And in Baghdad, two car bombs exploded near bus stations, killing at least 14 civilians. The violence posed a further challenge to Iraq’s prime minister, Nuri Kamal al-Maliki, whose government has struggled for a response after Sunni insurgents, including fighters linked to Al Qaeda, captured Falluja and parts of Ramadi almost two weeks ago. On Sunday, […]

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Iraq's Maliki Threatens to Cut Funds If Kurds Pipe Oil to Turkey

Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki threatened on Sunday to cut Kurdistan’s share of the federal budget if the autonomous region exports oil to Turkey via a new pipeline without central government consent. The Kurdistan Regional Government said last week that crude had begun to flow to Turkey and exports were expected to start at the end of this month and then rise in February and March. "This is a constitutional violation which we will never allow, not for the (Kurdistan) region nor for the Turkish government," Maliki told Reuters in an interview. He reiterated Baghdad’s insistence that only the central government has the authority to manage Iraq’s energy resources. "Turkey must not interfere in an issue that harms Iraqi sovereignty," Maliki said. The central government and the Kurds differ over how to interpret the constitution and share revenue from the world’s fourth-largest […]

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Iraq’s Maliki Threatens to Cut Funds If Kurds Pipe Oil to Turkey

Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki threatened on Sunday to cut Kurdistan’s share of the federal budget if the autonomous region exports oil to Turkey via a new pipeline without central government consent. The Kurdistan Regional Government said last week that crude had begun to flow to Turkey and exports were expected to start at the end of this month and then rise in February and March. "This is a constitutional violation which we will never allow, not for the (Kurdistan) region nor for the Turkish government," Maliki told Reuters in an interview. He reiterated Baghdad’s insistence that only the central government has the authority to manage Iraq’s energy resources. "Turkey must not interfere in an issue that harms Iraqi sovereignty," Maliki said. The central government and the Kurds differ over how to interpret the constitution and share revenue from the world’s fourth-largest […]

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Libyan oil production rises to 600,000-650,000 b/d: minister

Libyan oil production has risen to 600,000-650,000 b/d from 546,108 b/d in early January, the Minister of Oil and Gas Abdulbari Arousi said on Monday. This follows the resumption of production from the major Sharara field in the west of the country. Arousi, on the sidelines of the Petrotech-2014 conference in the outskirts of New Delhi, said he could not give specific timing as to when production would return to 1.6 million b/d due to the closure of oil ports in the country. He however, did add that the port closures could end by the end of this month. He said that the port closures have so far amounted to a revenue loss of $9 billion due to the inability to export. State-owned National Oil Corp. had previously issued a statement which said: "Total production of crude oil on Tuesday, January 7, amounted […]

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Syria Rebels Turn Against Most Radical Group Tied to Al Qaeda

As a government warplane soared over the northern Syrian city of Raqqa recently, a fighter from the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, the country’s most radical group linked to Al Qaeda, watched from behind an antiaircraft gun mounted on a pickup truck. Fighters and activists from rival insurgent factions urged him to fire. He did not. The others were incredulous, recalled one, who supports the Nusra Front, a rival group that has Al Qaeda’s official stamp of approval as its representative in the fight against President Bashar al-Assad. But the man on the truck replied, “We are here to establish the Islamic state, not to fight Assad.” Such disputes helped set off the infighting that has swept insurgent-held northern Syria for the past week, leaving more than 500 dead, as a broad array of factions have turned against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, […]

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Sudanese Rebels Loot Oil Installations in Unity State – Reports

Oil workers based in South Sudan’s Unity state have confirmed the looting of oil installation facilities, including computers, alleging rebels from Sudan’s Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) fighting alongside government troops in the area were responsible. In a telephone interview with Sudan Tribune on Saturday, one of the oil workers said rebels stormed the offices of oil facilities, taking important items, including food supplies meant for those guarding equipment at the sites. "When the fighting broke out on Friday, we saw many Sudanese rebels carrying heavy ammunitions to attack the areas. They manage to take control of Bentiu town from rebels with [a] few soldiers from [the] government side", said a source that spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal. After falling to South Sudanese rebels aligned with former vice-president Riek Machar, government troops on Friday regained control of Unity state capital, Bentiu. JEM have […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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U.K. to Pay Up To $3M a Well to Councils Allowing Shale Gas

Prime Minister David Cameron will give millions of pounds to local authorities that allow shale gas developments to go ahead, part of a drive to create more jobs and encourage investment in the U.K. Councils will be allowed to keep 100 percent of the business rates they collect from shale gas sites, double the current 50 percent figure, in a move that may be worth 1.7 million pounds ($2.8 million) per site in central government funding per year, according to figures released by Cameron’s office. Business rates are taxes to help pay for local services, charged on most non-domestic properties. “That’s going to be quite a significant boost for that local council’s coffers,” Business Minister Michael Fallon told the BBC . “We want local councils and local people to benefit from this exploration. We expect 20-40 wells to be drilled in exploration over the next couple of years.” Research […]

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West Virginia Chemical-Spill Site Avoided Broad Regulatory Scrutiny

The site of a West Virginia chemical spill that contaminated the water supply for 300,000 people operated largely outside government oversight, highlighting gaps in regulations and prompting questions on whether local communities have a firm grasp on potential threats to drinking water. The storage facility owned by Freedom Industries Inc. on the banks of the Elk River was subject to almost no state and local monitoring, interviews and records show. The industrial chemical that leaked into the river, 4-methylcyclohexane methanol, isn’t closely tracked by federal programs. Before last week’s spill, a state regulator said environmental inspectors hadn’t visited the site since 1991. Residents and businesses in the state capital of Charleston and nine surrounding counties have been without water for drinking, bathing or other uses since Thursday, when an estimated 7,500 gallons of MCHM leaked from a one-inch hole in a tank at the Freedom site, breached a containment […]

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Ford's Aluminum F-150 Marks New Era

When Ford Motor Co. unveils its new, aluminum F-150 pickup truck on Monday, it will do more than reveal a critical new product. It will mark a new era for the auto industry in which successfully managing big technological risks will separate winners from losers. Six years after the financial crisis, oil prices have stabilized and the U.S. auto industry has rebounded from depths not seen since the […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Ford’s Aluminum F-150 Marks New Era

When Ford Motor Co. unveils its new, aluminum F-150 pickup truck on Monday, it will do more than reveal a critical new product. It will mark a new era for the auto industry in which successfully managing big technological risks will separate winners from losers. Six years after the financial crisis, oil prices have stabilized and the U.S. auto industry has rebounded from depths not seen since the […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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West Virginia water emergency nears fifth day, with no end in sight

Around the swollen Elk River, now flowing with a chemical that no one can pronounce, myriad streams and rivulets tumbled from the hillsides this weekend, the result of a drenching downpour. Logs and branches floated downstream, toward the junction with the Kanawha in the heart of the city. Potholes on the beat-up country roads had turned into deep puddles. As they say: Water, water everywhere, but not a drop to drink. “DO NOT USE WATER” say the signs taped over sinks at the airport, and in the state capitol the sinks are entirely wrapped in plastic bags. People line up for free water at the fire stations, or buy it directly at the Dollar General, $1.60 for a 20-ounce Dasani, $39 for a flat of 24 bottles. A chemical used in coal processing has leaked from an old tank along the Elk and invaded the water […]

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Shell Venture Starts Fracking Giant Russian Shale Oil Formation

Royal Dutch Shell Plc (RDSA) and OAO Gazprom Neft began a drilling campaign to assess the potential of Siberia’s Bazhenov formation, reckoned to be one of the world’s largest deposits of shale oil. Salym Petroleum Development, the venture between Shell and Gazprom Neft, has started drilling the first of five horizontal wells over the next two years that will employ multi-fracturing technology, according to a statement today. The Bazhenov layer, which underlies Siberia’s existing oil fields, has attracted Shell and Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) because it’s similar to the Bakken shale in the U.S., where advances in drilling technology started a production boom. Exxon will also start a $300 million pilot project drilling in a different part of the Bazhenov with OAO Rosneft (ROSN) this year. “This is a big theme for Russia,” according to Ildar Davletshin, an oil and gas analyst at Renaissance Capital in Moscow. “Bazhenov holds […]

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Italy Taps Oil for Crisis Fix

The impoverished region of Basilicata, in the instep of the Italian boot, has long been called the Texas of Italy for oil reserves so abundant that crude bubbles out of natural springs. For years, though, local governments have hindered production amid complaints that the region wasn’t getting its fair share of the rewards and worries about potential harm to its tourism industry and the environment. Now, the Italian government—hungry for revenue and desperate to create jobs and jump start the recession-weary economy—is trying to clear the path for the country’s own Eni ENI.MI -0.17% ENI S.p.A. Italy: Milan € 17.37 -0.03 -0.17% Jan. 13, 2014 10:31 am Volume : 1.89M P/E Ratio 8.64 Market Cap €63.23 Billion Dividend Yield 6.33% Rev. per Employee €1,611,870 01/10/14 Italy’s Eni Shuts Nigeria Pipe… 01/08/14 Lebanon Again Delays Offshore … 12/26/13 For Big Oil, Asset-Sale Option… More quote details and news » […]

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France's Total enters UK shale gas market through license buys

France’s Total has bought a 40% interest in two shale gas exploration licenses in the UK, the company said Monday, confirming reports over the weekend. The deal marks Total’s entrance into the UK shale gas exploration market, and the licenses 139 and 140 are situated in Gainsborough Trough, East Midlands. The licenses lie on the Bowland Shale region and span a total of 240 square kilometers. Total and fellow French company GDF Suez have both looked to strengthen their shale gas expertise abroad after France banned shale gas exploration using hydraulic fracturing in 2011. GDF Suez announced in October that it had bought stakes in 13 UK shale gas licenses from Dart energy, also in the Bowland Shale region. The transaction announced by Total Monday is a farm-in deal and partners in the licenses will include GP Energy Limited, a subsidiary of Dart Energy […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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France’s Total enters UK shale gas market through license buys

France’s Total has bought a 40% interest in two shale gas exploration licenses in the UK, the company said Monday, confirming reports over the weekend. The deal marks Total’s entrance into the UK shale gas exploration market, and the licenses 139 and 140 are situated in Gainsborough Trough, East Midlands. The licenses lie on the Bowland Shale region and span a total of 240 square kilometers. Total and fellow French company GDF Suez have both looked to strengthen their shale gas expertise abroad after France banned shale gas exploration using hydraulic fracturing in 2011. GDF Suez announced in October that it had bought stakes in 13 UK shale gas licenses from Dart energy, also in the Bowland Shale region. The transaction announced by Total Monday is a farm-in deal and partners in the licenses will include GP Energy Limited, a subsidiary of Dart Energy […]

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Fears of global oil crisis aired at Transatlantic Energy Security Dialogue

“We are betting our entire national economic life on the hope — indeed the expectation — that the fracking boom will continue until well into the 2020s, and that, at a rate and cost we desire, significant amounts of ‘yet to be discovered’ oil will somehow be found to meet the demand.” “If any of that proves incorrect, we have no plan, no alternative, and have given no thought to how we would respond in such a case.”The speaker is national-security expert Lieutenant Colonel Daniel Davis, a veteran of four tours of duty with the US Army in Iraq and Afghanistan. I am not a military man, but I worry just as much about the energy security of my own country as he does about his. In the UK, the government, the civil service and most of the big energy companies seem perfectly content to replicate the grand gamble […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple