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Brent Crude Heads For Weekly Loss

Crude-oil futures extended losses in Asian hours Friday due to an uncertain demand outlook that has kept oil prices choppy throughout the trading week. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for delivery in April traded at $101.99 a barrel at 0624 GMT, down $0.41 in the Globex electronic session. April Brent crude on London’s ICE Futures exchange fell $0.21 to $108.75 a barrel. Both Nymex WTI and Brent crude fell overnight and have settled lower for two of the past three sessions, after a strong rally last week. The easing of strong winter demand in the U.S., warmer temperatures in Europe and worries over China’s sustained economic growth are together weighing on crude-oil prices. "It’s also probably worth bearing in mind that the global supply/demand balance typically swings to a surplus for the second quarter, when global demand is at its weakest for the year," […]

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WTI Crude Trims Monthly Gain as U.S. Fuel Demand Declines

West Texas Intermediate crude fell for a second day, trimming a monthly advance amid speculation demand may slow in the U.S., the world’s biggest oil consumer, as refineries enter the spring turnaround season. Futures decreased as much as 0.5 percent in New York and were set for the first weekly drop in one-and-a-half months. A measure of U.S. fuel use slid to the lowest level since June, data from the Energy Information Administration show. OPEC’s production declined to the least in more than two years as Saudi Arabia curbed output and Libya ’s supply was disrupted, according to a Bloomberg News survey. “Supply is still ample, winter demand is coming off, and refineries will enter maintenance season,” Carsten Fritsch , an analyst at Commerzbank AG in Frankfurt , said by e-mail. “ Oil prices should continue trading marginally lower today and the days ahead.” WTI for April delivery fell […]

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Asia's Iran oil buys start to rise after nuclear deal

Asian buyers increased purchases of Iranian crude by 22 percent in January from a year ago as the grip of sanctions imposed since 2012 loosened following a landmark agreement in November to curtail Tehran’s nuclear programme. The OPEC member’s oil sales in January to its four biggest buyers topped the 1 million barrels per day (bpd) where Western powers wanted to hold shipments to maintain pressure on Iran to end the disputed programme. China, India, Japan and South Korea together bought an average of 1.25 million bpd last month, government and industry data showed. They bought 1.03 million bpd in January a year ago. Increased crude exports from Iran may […]

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Asia’s Iran oil buys start to rise after nuclear deal

Asian buyers increased purchases of Iranian crude by 22 percent in January from a year ago as the grip of sanctions imposed since 2012 loosened following a landmark agreement in November to curtail Tehran’s nuclear programme. The OPEC member’s oil sales in January to its four biggest buyers topped the 1 million barrels per day (bpd) where Western powers wanted to hold shipments to maintain pressure on Iran to end the disputed programme. China, India, Japan and South Korea together bought an average of 1.25 million bpd last month, government and industry data showed. They bought 1.03 million bpd in January a year ago. Increased crude exports from Iran may […]

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Bombings kill at least 31 in Iraq

A bomb hidden on a motorcycle exploded at a secondhand market in Iraq’s capital, the deadliest of a series of bombings Thursday around Baghdad that killed at least 31 people, authorities said. The motorcycle market blast struck Baghdad’s sprawling eastern Sadr City district as night fell, killing at least 22 people and wounding 45, officials said. It appeared as though the motorcycle bomb had been slipped in among the other bikes on display, officials said. A wounded man, who identified himself as Ahmed, rested in a nearby hospital. "I was about to leave the market when a huge explosion happened," Ahmed told Reuters. "I was hit in my face and my hands and when I got up, everyone was screaming and running towards me away from the blast." Meanwhile, two other bombs struck across the capital targeting minibuses ferrying home laborers at the end of the workday. In Sadr […]

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New trouble sends Libya's oil production nosediving again

Libya’s oil production has tumbled to about 230,000 barrels per day after armed groups shut down the el-Sharara oil field in the Murzuq desert in the southwest, adding to a crippling seven-month oil crisis centered in the rebellious east. The shutdown of el-Sharara, one of Libya’s biggest fields with a normal output of 340,000 bpd, was a serious setback to efforts by the problem-plagued transitional government to push national production back to the 1.4 million bpd it achieved last summer. But about 2 1/2 years after Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi was driven from power in a NATO-backed uprising, the North African producer remains mired in lawlessness and anarchy, with the government powerless to restore stability or control dozens of heavily armed militias and tribal groups. The current production level marked a significant decline from the 370,000 bpd the National Oil Corp. announced last […]

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New trouble sends Libya’s oil production nosediving again

Libya’s oil production has tumbled to about 230,000 barrels per day after armed groups shut down the el-Sharara oil field in the Murzuq desert in the southwest, adding to a crippling seven-month oil crisis centered in the rebellious east. The shutdown of el-Sharara, one of Libya’s biggest fields with a normal output of 340,000 bpd, was a serious setback to efforts by the problem-plagued transitional government to push national production back to the 1.4 million bpd it achieved last summer. But about 2 1/2 years after Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi was driven from power in a NATO-backed uprising, the North African producer remains mired in lawlessness and anarchy, with the government powerless to restore stability or control dozens of heavily armed militias and tribal groups. The current production level marked a significant decline from the 370,000 bpd the National Oil Corp. announced last […]

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Egypt plans dam-busting diplomatic offensive against Ethiopia

CAIRO, Feb. 27 (UPI) — Egypt may be in the throes of political turmoil, but the government has begun a diplomatic offensive aimed at stopping Ethiopia from building a huge hydroelectric dam on the Nile River that Cairo says will be a disaster for the Arab world’s most populous nation. The military-backed administration began its effort to internationalize the thorny issue in hopes of gathering support for its case against Ethiopia, where the Blue Nile rises in the northwestern highlands, after bilateral negotiations deadlocked in January. "The campaign initiated by Egypt … aims to persuade the international community to reject the dam’s construction because it may lead to further conflict and instability in the region of the Nile Basin," an Egyptian diplomatic source in Cairo told the Middle East’s al-Monitor website Feb.19. "More negotiations with Ethiopia only waste time and directly threaten Egypt’s water security," said the source, who […]

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Jordan expects huge savings from shale oil

Jordanian officials say shale oil exploration in the country could save it an estimated $300 million per year in heavy oil and diesel imports. Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour met Thursday in Amman with Estonian Finance Minister Jurgen Ligi to discuss investments in Jordan’s shale oil deposits, the official Jordan News Agency reported. Both sides are planning work on a plant that will use shale oil to produce electricity and reduce imports, the report said. In 2008, Jordan and Estonia agreed to funnel shale oil to the Attarat power station, which is expected to begin service in 2017. The plant should have an operating capacity of 540 megawatts, officials say. The Jordanian government says it estimates it holds about 34 billion barrels in shale oil that it expects to tap into with the help of Estonian investments. Estonian officials have described Jordan’s shale potential […]

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Nigeria: Shell Shuts Nembe Creek Trunkline Due to Oil Leak

Shell has shut a key oil pipeline in southern Nigeria to stop a leak caused by oil theft and sabotage, a spokesman said yesterday, without disclosing the volume of output loss. "We closed the Nembe Creek Trunkline on Sunday for the removal of crude theft points," spokesman Precious Okolobo told AFP. Shell has deployed engineers to repair the pipeline in the Niger Delta region, which feeds the Bonny exports terminal and would reopen "as soon as repair works are completed," he added. Oil majors do not usually give information on production losses. Local media in Nigeria estimated that about 95,000 barrels of crude per day might have been shut in as a result of the closure. Nigeria is Africa’s largest producer, accounting for more than two million barrels per day. Crude oil theft or "bunkering" is a major problem in Nigeria, with estimates that the country loses some $6 […]

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Deal Reached on Panama Canal Expansion

Panama and a consortium of European construction firms, which have been locked in a bitter dispute over cost overruns on a multibillion-dollar project to expand the Panama Canal, say they have reached a preliminary deal to end the spat and ensure final completion of the work. A final agreement still needs to be signed but both sides said this could happen as early as this weekend. Panama says the deal will allow for the expansion of the canal, which stretches 50 miles through the Central American isthmus between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, to still be completed by the end of 2015. The $5.2 billion construction project on the 100-year-old waterway began in 2007, an effort to widen and deepen the canal so larger ships could fit through. When finished, Panama stands to greatly increase its more than $1 billion in annual revenue from toll fees. The U.S., which […]

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Venezuela student protest in Caracas ends in clashes

Security forces in Venezuela have used tear gas to break up a student demonstration in the capital, Caracas. Hundreds of protesters were demanding the release of fellow students detained during two weeks of unrest, and called a fresh march for Sunday. In another part of Caracas, a large pro-government march was held. Earlier this week, President Nicolas Maduro declared an early start to the week-long Carnival public holiday in an attempt to end the unrest. On Monday, Venezuela’s Attorney General Luisa Ortega said 13 people had died in the violence, although President Maduro put the figure of protest-related deaths at more than 50 on Wednesday. ‘No Carnival’ Despite the start of the long holidays on Thursday, students again gathered in Caracas. "There’s no Carnival for anybody here. Here we are […]

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Venezuelan Protests Mark Start of Six-Day Holiday

Several thousand anti-government demonstrators marched in Caracas yesterday after President Nicolas Maduro tried to defuse two weeks of protests by granting Venezuelans an unexpected six-day holiday. In the eastern Caracas municipality Chacao, an opposition stronghold, demonstrators held banners urging Venezuelans to ignore the holidays and continue protesting against crime, inflation and shortages of goods. As they attempted to block the city’s main east-west highway, the National Guard broke up the march with tear gas and water cannons. Two U.S. senators proposed a resolution threatening sanctions for “violent repression of peaceful demonstrations in Venezuela.” Maduro this week expanded the annual Carnival festivities by decreeing national holidays for yesterday and today, in addition to the scheduled days off on March 3-4. At least 14 people were killed in the past two weeks in the biggest demonstrations against the government since the former bus driver won presidential elections in April. “This is […]

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Thirteen Workers Exposed to Radiation at New Mexico Plant

More workers at a New Mexico nuclear-waste depository will be tested for radioactive exposure after results showed that 13 employees had been contaminated, officials with the U.S. Department of Energy said Thursday. The 13 employees at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in the outskirts of Carlsbad were working Feb. 14 when a radiation leak was detected at the facility. The government contractor that runs the plant, Nuclear Waste Partnership LLC, is now asking employees who were present the following day to also submit samples for testing, said Farok Sharif, the company’s president. The Energy Department is still in the process of determining the cause of the leak, the first ever reported at the site, which has been storing waste material from the research and production of nuclear weapons deep underground since 1999. But the agency said Wednesday that initial tests show the workers were exposed to americium, a contaminant […]

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Australia's LNG exports face competition from U.S.

The United States is emerging as a major competitor to Australia’s gas export market, says a former U.S. Department of Energy official. Speaking at the Australian Domestic Gas conference Wednesday in Sydney, Randa Fahmy Hudome, who was appointed by President George W. Bush to serve as the U.S. associate deputy secretary of energy, said the United States viewed Asia as its biggest market and was increasing liquefied natural gas export approvals to fill future demand from that region, The Australian newspaper reports. Hudome now heads up a Washington, D.C.-based government relations and strategic consulting firm she launched in 2003. "In the U.S. we see the demand in Asia as the biggest bite of the apple for us. We intend to compete in that market," she said. Earlier this month, the U.S. Department of Energy conditionally authorized approved Cameron LNG, LLC to export domestically produced […]

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Australia’s LNG exports face competition from U.S.

The United States is emerging as a major competitor to Australia’s gas export market, says a former U.S. Department of Energy official. Speaking at the Australian Domestic Gas conference Wednesday in Sydney, Randa Fahmy Hudome, who was appointed by President George W. Bush to serve as the U.S. associate deputy secretary of energy, said the United States viewed Asia as its biggest market and was increasing liquefied natural gas export approvals to fill future demand from that region, The Australian newspaper reports. Hudome now heads up a Washington, D.C.-based government relations and strategic consulting firm she launched in 2003. "In the U.S. we see the demand in Asia as the biggest bite of the apple for us. We intend to compete in that market," she said. Earlier this month, the U.S. Department of Energy conditionally authorized approved Cameron LNG, LLC to export domestically produced […]

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Pakistan frustrated with gas import options

Pakistan’s former petroleum secretary expressed doubts about gas supplies from neighbors but the government said Iranian negotiations could bring relief. Gulfraz Ahmad told delegates at an energy forum in Islamabad the U.S. government’s nuclear energy assistance to India partly derailed a trilateral gas pipeline from Iran, the Pakistani newspaper Express Tribune reported Friday "After withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan , I fear Washington will again be opposing TAPI pipeline following a shift in its policies," he was quoted as saying. TAPI refers to the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India natural gas pipeline, which the United States has backed in favor of the Iranian gas pipeline. Foreign Office spokeswoman Tasnim Alsama was quoted by rival newspaper the Nation, however, as saying waning sanctions pressure on Iran could breathe new life into that pipeline option. "We hope that the process [nuclear negotiations with Iran] would lead to successful settling […]

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Coal crunch gives impetus to India's solar switch

For six years in a row, India’s monopoly coal producer has missed its production targets, leading to chronic electricity shortages and sending power producers scrambling for pricier imports. But what looks like a looming crisis could turn out to be an almost accidental energy overhaul. Like many developing nations, India has relied for decades on cheap coal to provide electricity for burgeoning industry and fast-expanding cities, putting aside worries about pollution and global warming. But from three years ago when solar capacity was almost zero, the country has added 2.2 gigawatts of solar to its electricity grid, enough to power 20 million Indian homes. It plans another 2 GW this year, toward a total 15 GW addition by 2017. Individual states plan even more. India has also added about 26 GW in coal-fired capacity since 2011, but already plants are sitting idle for […]

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Coal crunch gives impetus to India’s solar switch

For six years in a row, India’s monopoly coal producer has missed its production targets, leading to chronic electricity shortages and sending power producers scrambling for pricier imports. But what looks like a looming crisis could turn out to be an almost accidental energy overhaul. Like many developing nations, India has relied for decades on cheap coal to provide electricity for burgeoning industry and fast-expanding cities, putting aside worries about pollution and global warming. But from three years ago when solar capacity was almost zero, the country has added 2.2 gigawatts of solar to its electricity grid, enough to power 20 million Indian homes. It plans another 2 GW this year, toward a total 15 GW addition by 2017. Individual states plan even more. India has also added about 26 GW in coal-fired capacity since 2011, but already plants are sitting idle for […]

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India’s Diesel Subsidy Spurs Pollution Worse Than Beijing

Molecular biologist George Easow’s move to India to start a clinical diagnostics business lasted just three weeks before he was convinced to return to the U.K. The convincing was done by his seven-month-old daughter Fiona. Within days of moving to New Delhi , the child was wheezing and gasping for air because of smog. “She could hardly breathe,” said her father. Fiona was kept indoors and put on medication. Nothing worked. “We had to make a call,” Easow said, adding her symptoms disappeared once back in the U.K. and haven’t returned. For the 16.8 million residents of India’s capital, the wheezing continues. The bad news is it’s going to get worse. New Delhi isn’t alone as cities across the nation suffer from some of the worst air quality in the world. That’s costing the country 1.1 trillion rupees ($18 billion) in shortened life spans of productive […]

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For Storing Electricity, Utilities Push New Technologies

From backyard tinkerers to big corporations, inventors have been struggling to find a way to store solar, wind and other renewable energy so it can furnish electricity when the sun doesn’t shine or the wind doesn’t blow. Now California is offering businesses a big incentive for success—contracts that the utility industry estimates could total as much as $3 billion for successful, large-scale electricity-storage systems. Starting this year, big utilities that do business here must begin adding enough battery systems or other technology so that by 2024 they can store 1,325-megawatts worth of electricity—nearly 70 times the amount that the handful of mostly experimental systems in the state store now. Regulators are also requiring municipal utilities to buy or lease energy-storage equipment. The storage systems California wants don’t exist on such a scale, so the new rules amount to a big bet—paid for by utility customers—that creating demand will […]

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Will Natural Gas Fuel America’s Big Trucks? Shell Treads Carefully

Shell is tapping the brakes on plans to push natural gas as a fuel for the trucking industry. The company confirmed it will not build a previously announced plant 20 miles west of Calgary that would turn natural gas into liquid form, known as LNG, for use in heavy duty trucks. Shell still plans to build out a network of LNG fueling stations along a 900-mile stretch between Alberta and Canada’s Pacific Coast. But those LNG service stations, which will be operated by Pilot Flying J, will sell natural gas fuel created by a company other than Shell. “We are definitely still interested, but it’s an emerging market so Shell has to take a balanced approach to these developments,” Shell spokeswoman Destin Singleton said. So far Shell has not changed plans for two other LNG fuel plants – one in Geismar, La. and one in […]

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Calif. lawmakers pass drought relief bill

California lawmakers on Thursday overwhelmingly passed a $687 million plan to provide immediate relief to drought-stricken communities, a package that includes emergency money for communities running low on drinking water and farming communities where fallow fields are leading to  high unemployment . The bill now awaits Gov. Jerry Brown’s signature. Amid one of California’s driest years on record, the Assembly and Senate voted to approve SB103 and SB104 and send the legislation to the governor. The legislative package moved quickly after it was announced last week by Brown and Democratic legislative leaders. It will take effect immediately if signed, as expected, by the governor. The plan redirects money in the state budget and draws from two bonds previously approved by voters. It includes $472 million in accelerated grant funding for water conservation and recycling projects. Another $15 million will go to communities running low on drinking water supplies while […]

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Shale Brings High Hopes In Mississippi, Louisiana

Residents living above an oil-rich shale formation that stretches across southwest Mississippi and Louisiana have been waiting on a boom for years. A steady trickle of drilling is already boosting the rural region’s economy, and spending by two oil companies could make 2014 the year that many other locals finally cash in on the oil far beneath their feet. Already, Max Lawson has spent hours watching the round-the-clock work of shoving pipe into the ground in his back pasture. The process began two years ago when Encana Corp. built a big gravel pad, but didn’t take off until late last year when a convoy of 200 trucks carted in a drilling rig and other equipment to bore into the earth looking for oil. "They call it the Gillsburg Christmas tree," he said while standing near the brightly lit rig. "It looks like a little […]

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Euro Zone Inflation Stays Low; Joblessness Remains High

PARIS — Inflation in the euro zone remained stuck at a very low level in February, while the jobless rate was unchanged in January, official reports showed Friday, providing the European Central Bank with crucial data before its monetary policy meeting next week. Consumer prices in the 18-nation euro zone rose 0.8 percent in February, unchanged from the revised figure for January, Eurostat, the statistical agency of the European Union reported from Luxembourg. The “core” inflation rate, which excludes energy and food prices, ticked up to 1.0 percent from 0.8 percent in January. The January jobless rate for the euro zone remained at 12 percent, Eurostat reported. For the full European Union, made up of 28 nations, the jobless rate stood at 10.8 percent, also unchanged. The numbers were largely in line with market expectations, and financial markets reacted calmly. The Euro Stoxx 50 index slipped about 0.1 percent […]

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EU environment ministers to debate 2030 climate framework

European Union environment ministers are set to open debate on controversial 2030 targets for greenhouse gas emissions and renewable energy, the Greek presidency says. The EU Environment Council will meet Monday in Brussels, where Greece says it will put the European Commission’s proposed targets on the table for the first time since they were announced in January and subsequently dismissed by the European Parliament as "shortsighted and unambitious." Monday’s debate is meant to produce a report to be presented at the full European Council meeting of March 20-21, when the commission is hoping to forge a consensus among European heads of state in time for the Sept. 23 U.N. Climate Summit in New York. The 2030 framework represents a "next step" after EU’s current, legally binding greenhouse gas targets expire in 2020. The 28-nation bloc says it is well on the way to achieving […]

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Have We Reached the Point of "Peak Cars"?

We’ve all heard a lot about Peak Oil, the point at which global oil production begins to decline because the accessible supply is simply not as big as it was the year before. Whether it has been passed or is looming in the near future, is still being debated, especially in the light of the recent boom in U.S. production. But it is highly likely that it is imminent, which is really a good thing, given the carbon emissions entailed, which has not been reason enough for many people, institutions and governments to press for alternatives. But what about all of those cars and trucks that most of that oil goes into? There are a number of analysts who think that, despite the optimistic sales projections of automakers, we may be approaching the point of peak cars. Given the fact that more and […]

Posted On : Published By : ASPO-USA
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Have We Reached the Point of “Peak Cars”?

We’ve all heard a lot about Peak Oil, the point at which global oil production begins to decline because the accessible supply is simply not as big as it was the year before. Whether it has been passed or is looming in the near future, is still being debated, especially in the light of the recent boom in U.S. production. But it is highly likely that it is imminent, which is really a good thing, given the carbon emissions entailed, which has not been reason enough for many people, institutions and governments to press for alternatives. But what about all of those cars and trucks that most of that oil goes into? There are a number of analysts who think that, despite the optimistic sales projections of automakers, we may be approaching the point of peak cars. Given the fact that more and […]

Posted On : Published By : ASPO-USA
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Peak oil and the ignorance of crowds

As our civilization proceeds down the slope of the post-peak-oil curve, global trade will become more and more expensive, so our economies will naturally localize. The energy-efficiency benefits of localized economies are obvious to us, but there are also social and even psycho-social benefits that aren’t often contemplated. I had the good fortune to work with respected crowd-behavior expert Alan Berkowitz several years ago on a film project about “bystander behavior.” Berkowitz is a psychologist and sociologist who advises, writes, and speaks on bystander behavior, as well as a number of other health and social justice subjects. He founded and edited the Report on Social Norms . I later interviewed him for my documentary, GrowthBusters: Hooked on Growth . I was curious about why human beings react so irrationally to evidence we are harming our planet and the life support systems on which […]

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1000 researchers, 400 reports on fusion progress

Nearly 1,000 of the world’s preeminent fusion researchers from 45 countries gathered last week in San Diego to discuss the latest advances in fusion energy. The 24th International Atomic Energy Agency Fusion Energy Conference, organized by the IAEA in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Energy and General Atomics, aims to “provide a forum for the discussion of key physics and technology issues as well as innovative concepts of direct relevance to fusion as a source of nuclear energy.”   Those in attendance in San Diego included Nobel Prize-winning physicist Burton Richter; Physicist Steven Cowley, CEO of the United Kingdom’s Atomic Energy Authority; Frances Chen, a plasma physicist and UCLA professor emeritus who wrote the book An Indispensable Truth: How Fusion Power Can Save the Planet; and keynote speaker William Brinkman, director of the Office of Science in the US Department of Energy. […]

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Peak Oil: Reasoned Exuberance

The key take-away from the US EIA’s Annual Energy Outlook released [in December] jumps out in the graph below: US crude oil production should peak in 2016 at a level 26% higher than that projected just one year ago. That’s an additional 2 million barrels a day (mb/d), pushing the US total to 9.6 mb/d within three years—the same total that the US produced during its first peak in 1970, as an acquaintance at the EIA pointed out last week. That’s three more break-through years like the last two. Then flat. Finito. As some wag asked last week, is that really a recipe for a continuing oil revolution or an oil retirement party? [1]   Data: EIA’s Early Release Annual Energy Outlook, 2014.  From Ron Patterson. [A] full appraisal of the challenge posed by oil depletion must extend beyond geological assessments of resource size to […]

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Surge in U.S. Natural Gas Prices Deflates Hopes in Asia

The near doubling of U.S. natural gas prices this winter has damped Asian hopes of buying American gas on the cheap when exports begin in a couple of years. Winter storms and bitter cold in recent weeks boosted demand in the U.S. Prices have eased recently , but had surged to more than $6 per million British thermal units this month from around $3.70 per mBtu in late November. Although seasonal, this price surge has confirmed worries by some Asian gas buyers that much-hyped U.S. gas exports, when they begin, won’t be available at prices as low as previously expected. Asian power producers may now be reassessing the share of U.S. gas in their future energy mix, and reconsidering calls for the benchmarking of regional gas prices against the volatile U.S. gas market. "I think a lot of people were thinking that U.S. LNG export volumes were a no-brainer, […]

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Oil Futures Eased in Asia; Brent-WTI Spread Narrows Further

Crude-oil futures were slightly lower in Asian trading hours Thursday as oil prices continue to fluctuate this week on uncertainty over post-winter U.S. oil demand and supply issues in the Middle East. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for delivery in April traded at $102.29 a barrel at 0615 GMT, down $0.30 in the Globex electronic session. April Brent crude on London’s ICE Futures exchange fell $0.28 to $109.24 a barrel. Overall crude stockpiles in the U.S. grew for the sixth week in a row but the rise was less than expected, while supplies at the Nymex delivery point of Cushing declined for a fourth-straight week. "The other surprise was the first build in distillate inventories since the third of January, against forecasts of a further draw," ANZ Research said in a note. "The rise likely signals the start of a seasonal […]

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WTI Crude Trims Monthly Gain After Rising Most in a Week

West Texas Intermediate crude trimmed its monthly advance after rising the most in a week. Brent slid in London . Futures fell as much as 0.4 percent in New York . Crude supplies at Cushing, Oklahoma , the largest U.S. oil-storage hub, fell by 1.08 million barrels to 34.8 million last week, the lowest level in four months, Energy Information Administration data showed yesterday. Distillate inventories, including heating oil and diesel, increased for the first time in seven weeks. “Despite the fact we saw a bit of a rally last night, crude is really still within the range of the last couple of days,” said Ric Spooner, a chief analyst at CMC Markets in Sydney. “There’s a chance we’ll see it lose a bit ground from here in the short term.” WTI for April delivery dropped as much as 37 cents to $102.22 a barrel in electronic trading on […]

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Iraq breaks ground on Karbala refinery

Iraq has started construction on a long-planned refinery in southern Karbala Province, 100 km south of Baghdad ( OGJ Online, Aug. 1, 2011 ). In a recent groundbreaking ceremony, Iraq’s Prime Minister Noori Al-Maliki laid the first cornerstone for the refinery, which is being built by a four-company consortium of South Korean companies led by Hyundai Engineering & Construction ( OGJ Online, Jan. 9, 2014 ), according to a Feb. 25 release from the Iraqi Ministry of Oil. Delayed construction on the $6.04 billion refinery resulted from political circumstances facing Iraq, particularly Baath regime policies of sabotage, Al-Maliki said during the ceremony. The planned 140,000-b/d Karbala refinery, which will contain more than 20 processing units to produce liquefied gas, gasoline, gas oil, fuel oil, jet fuel, and asphalt meeting international standards equivalent to European production, will serve growing domestic Iraqi demand, Iraq’s Minister of Oil Abdulkareem Liaybi said. The […]

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Syria Ships Mustard Gas to Port to Be Destroyed

After weeks of deepening foreign frustration over missed deadlines and other delays in Syria’s elimination of its chemical weapons, the international mission policing the process reported on Wednesday that Syria had delivered a significant consignment of mustard gas, one of the deadliest toxic agents, to the Syrian port of Latakia to be exported and destroyed. Sigrid Kaag, the coordinator of the international mission of the United Nations and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, called the delivery “an important step” toward eliminating Syria’s chemical weapons in the middle of the three-year-old civil war there. Continue reading the main story The latest shipment came after a series of meetings at the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons in recent days, aimed at resolving a rift between Syria and its allies, notably Russia, Iran and China, and most Western governments over how to deal with the […]

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Civilians Flee as Violence Worsens in South Sudan

PMartha Akuoch survived two offensives in the South Sudanese civil war, but the third pitched battle in the city of Malakal was more than she could take. She packed up and crossed the border into Sudan with her six children. “The rebels would come into homes, kill men, boys, take mobile phones, money, and now they are even killing women,” said Ms. Akuoch, 43, a secondary-school teacher who left her husband behind in South Sudan. “Even inside the church,” she added. So, like most of her neighbors, she decided it was time to leave Malakal, the capital of the oil-rich Upper Nile State. About 14,000 people have crowded into this remote Sudanese outpost, just a small […]

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Maduro Bets 6-Day Holiday Will Diffuse Venezuela Protests

s Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro is betting that an unexpected six-day holiday starting today will help defuse two weeks of demonstrations that have left 14 people dead. Maduro this week expanded the annual Carnival festivities by decreeing today and tomorrow national holidays, in addition to previously scheduled days off on March 3-4. Antonio Iskandar, an eye doctor in western Caracas who has taken part in protests, said that while Maduro’s strategy may offer the government a respite, it won’t keep people off the streets. “Six days of holidays is a very tempting opportunity for people to see their families,” Iskandar, 25, said in a telephone interview. “This is our best chance and we can’t stop now. We aren’t leaving the streets until Maduro is out.” Maduro has argued that his government is gaining support as daily demonstrations begin to alienate voters. The 51-year-old president heard from […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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What’s the context of Venezuela’s street uprising?

Hugo Chavez’ Bolivarian Revolution had leveraged Venezuela’s enormous oil wealth by selling oil cheaply to Caribbean neighbors, and heavily subsidizing consumer goods for the masses at home. But recently, the Venezuelan economy has not been performing. At the time of Chavez’ death last March, it was predicted that the country would have to devalue its currency, cut back on subsidies, and back off from many of the policies that had won the loyalty of lower-income Venezuelans and the disdain of wealthier citizens. Many airline carriers have suspended their flights to Caracas, and others won’t accept payment for tickets in the Venezuelan currency, the bolivar. Nicolas Maduro, a vice president who had gradually taken power during Chavez’ long battle with cancer, was elected in his own right after Chavez died. Now, after less than a year in charge, Maduro is facing rising opposition from his people. In recent weeks the conflict has turned more violent […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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China's official PMI seen hitting eight-month low

China’s factory activity likely expanded only slightly in February, a Reuters poll showed, dropping to an eight-month low that would indicate a modest slowdown is continuing. China’s official manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) may slip to 50.1, down from January’s 50.5, according to the median forecast of 12 economists in the poll. A reading above 50 indicates expanding activity while one below that level points to a contraction. If February’s reading is below 50.5, it will be the third straight month of decline since November’s 51.4. The last time the index was below 50 was in September 2012, when it was 49.8. A preliminary survey released last week by HSBC and Markit Economics showed that the factory sector activity hit a seven-month low of 48.3, from 49.5 in January. The index for new orders dropped below 50, and employment reached its lowest point since the global […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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China’s official PMI seen hitting eight-month low

China’s factory activity likely expanded only slightly in February, a Reuters poll showed, dropping to an eight-month low that would indicate a modest slowdown is continuing. China’s official manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) may slip to 50.1, down from January’s 50.5, according to the median forecast of 12 economists in the poll. A reading above 50 indicates expanding activity while one below that level points to a contraction. If February’s reading is below 50.5, it will be the third straight month of decline since November’s 51.4. The last time the index was below 50 was in September 2012, when it was 49.8. A preliminary survey released last week by HSBC and Markit Economics showed that the factory sector activity hit a seven-month low of 48.3, from 49.5 in January. The index for new orders dropped below 50, and employment reached its lowest point since the global […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Electric Cars Get a Needed Jolt in China

China and global companies are taking new steps to fulfill the country’s ambitions for electric cars, which so far have exceeded Beijing’s grasp. Chinese auto makers BYD Co. and BAIC Motor Co. on Wednesday won approval from Beijing’s municipal government to sell electric cars in the city. Shares of BYD, which is partially backed by Warren Buffett , jumped 9.6% in Hong Kong. BYD’s all-electric e6 crossover has been sold mainly in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen, where the company is based. Most of the vehicles operate as taxicabs and buses. Meanwhile, Switzerland’s ABB Ltd. said it would make and market home, wall-mounted, electric-car chargers in China, part of an effort to address a lack of charging stations and other infrastructure necessary if electric cars are to hit China’s roads in serious numbers. Chunyuan Gu, ABB’s China chairman and president, said he believed demand for cars and charging […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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US Northeast 2014 oil-fired power generation at 9.9 GWh/day: ISO New England

US Northeast oil-fired electric generation has accounted for about 2.8% of total generation in 2014, up from less than 1% during the same time last year, according to data from regional grid operator ISO New England. ISO New England, which handles electric markets for Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont, showed generation from oil-fired units has averaged 9.893 GWh/day in 2014 through February 23, according to data released Wednesday. That compares with about 3.022 GWh/day, or 0.94%, during the same 54-day period last year. ISO New England’s oil-fired generation has been particularly high this winter because of several cold snaps and also a winter reliability program initiated by the grid operator that provided a number of incentives for oil use in power generation. The data for oil-fired generation only considers power plants that burn exclusively petroleum products. Dual-fuel units that can […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Chesapeake Energy Swings to Loss

Chesapeake Energy Corp . posted a surprise fourth-quarter net loss on asset-sales and other one-time items that masked the oil and natural-gas producer’s production and revenue growth. The unexpected loss of $116 million, or 24 cents a share, spooked investors, sending its shares down 4.9% to $25.61 in 4 p.m. New York Stock Exchange trading on Wednesday. The company’s one-time items included an impairment charge of $120 million related to the ending of property obligations in Texas, $37 million to end drilling-rig leases and $43 million related to job-cutting and restructuring costs. Excluding asset-sale write-downs and other items, adjusted fourth-quarter earnings rose to 27 cents a share from 26 cents a share. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters were expecting Chesapeake to report a per-share profit of 41 cents excluding items. Revenue increased 28% to $4.54 billion. The company has struggled to reduce its spending while boosting oil and natural-gas […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Talk About Natural Gas: Cow Belches Top Methane List

There’s a new methane champ, says the Environmental Protection Agency ,  which found in a new draft report on greenhouse gases that cattle passed the natural-gas industry as the biggest source of U.S. methane emissions in 2012. The EPA also revised some of its 2011 findings, again turning to cows as the culprit—specifically, enteric fermentation in cattle—in methane emissions, according to the EPA. The multiple-compartment stomachs in cattle create the methane, resulting in bovine belches. Despite better digestibility in cattle feed over the years, methane emissions from cattle has risen more than 2% since 1990,  said the EPA, because of upward trends in cattle populations. The conclusions are part of the EPA’s […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Surge in U.S. Natural Gas Prices Deflates Hopes in Asia

The near doubling of U.S. natural gas prices this winter has damped Asian hopes of buying American gas on the cheap when exports begin in a couple of years. Winter storms and bitter cold in recent weeks boosted demand in the U.S. Prices have eased recently , but had surged to more than $6 per million British thermal units this month from around $3.70 per mBtu in late November. Although seasonal, this price surge has confirmed worries by some Asian gas buyers that much-hyped U.S. gas exports, when they begin, won’t be available at prices as low as previously expected. Asian power producers may now be reassessing the share of U.S. gas in their future energy mix, and reconsidering calls for the benchmarking of regional gas prices against the volatile U.S. gas market. "I think a lot of people were thinking that U.S. LNG export volumes were a no-brainer, […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Dream of U.S. Oil Independence Slams Against Shale Costs

The path toward U.S. energy independence, made possible by a boom in shale oil, will be much harder than it seems. Just a few of the roadblocks: Independent producers will spend $1.50 drilling this year for every dollar they get back. Shale output drops faster than production from conventional methods. It will take 2,500 new wells a year just to sustain output of 1 million barrels a day in North Dakota’s Bakken shale, according to the Paris-based International Energy Agency . Iraq could do the same with 60. Consider Sanchez Energy Corp. (SN) The Houston-based company plans to spend as much as $600 million this year, almost double its estimated 2013 revenue, on the Eagle Ford shale formation in south Texas, which along with North Dakota is one of the hotbeds of a drilling frenzy that’s pushed U.S. crude output to the highest in almost 26 […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple