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TransCanada sees no Keystone XL delay from Nebraska court’s ruling

TransCanada Corp. does not expect a Nebraska court’s decision to affect the US Department of State’s consideration of the proposed Keystone XL crude oil pipeline project’s cross-border permit application, the Calgary company said. It said Nebraska Attorney General Jon Bruning’s (R) immediate appeal effectively stayed Lancaster County, Neb., District Judge Stephanie F. Stacy’s Feb. 19 decision. She ruled that 2012 legislation giving Gov. Dave Heineman (R) the power to approve a new route for the project was unconstitutional under state law ( OGJ Online, Feb. 20, 2014 ). “As we said last week, this latest development concerning Keystone XL is a solvable problem and we are undeterred,” a TransCanada spokesman said on Feb. 24. “We have dealt with many issues related to this project in the past and are confident we can overcome this latest hurdle,” he said, adding, “It is our view the current 90-day national interest determination […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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New York Harbor ethanol prices soar amid anxiety over logistics, supply

New York Harbor ethanol prices soared Monday morning amid a cluster of mounting logistics issues and concerns over supply, sources said. NYH ethanol for prompt delivery skyrocketed from an early morning bid reported at $2.58/gal all the way up to a bid last heard at $2.85/gal before offers dried up. Meanwhile, the spread between March and April product — which was assessed at 27 cents Friday, up from 3 cents on Thursday — skyrocketed to trade as high as 37 cents. Article continues below… Request a free trial of: Biofuelscan Platts Biofuelscan is a daily report, covering the latest worldwide biofuel news and prices. It provides a daily summary of market events and developments, along with closing market price assessments from the Americas, Europe, and Asia. Platts Biofuelscan includes prices assessmenst for ethanol, ETBE, renewal indentification number (RIN) biofuels (US market0 and biodiesel. It […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Pennsylvania fracking-related jobs numbers questioned

Facing a daunting re-election year, Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett has been touting his all-out support for natural gas drilling as a job creator in his state. But economists and environmentalists are questioning his claim that the industry props up more than 200,000 Pennsylvania jobs. They say that the governor’s administration has greatly inflated the number and that it may be getting lower every day. A new analysis by The Allentown Morning Call  newspaper and published Monday indicates that growth in the industries associated with drilling in the Marcellus Shale — one of the country’s main areas for hydraulic fracturing, or fracking — fell by 29 percent from 2010 to 2013. There are now just under 30,000 that can directly be linked to the Marcellus. Industry supporters say that the decline is a temporary fluctuation and that ancillary jobs created and supported by shale gas development — including ones in […]

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GOP upbeat on Keystone XL pipeline prospects

Republican governors said they had assurances from President Barack Obama a decision on the Keystone XL pipeline from Canada will be made by the summer. Obama met Monday with representatives from the Republican Governors Association behind closed doors at the White House. The state leaders said Obama gave them an update on TransCanada’s pipeline planned from Alberta oil fields. Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin was quoted by online news agency Politico as saying after the meeting the president "anticipates an answer one way or the other in a couple months." Texas Gov. Rick Perry was quoted as saying Obama was "going to approve the [Keystone] XL pipeline" TransCanada submitted an application for Keystone XL more than five years ago. It needs federal consent as a cross-border pipeline and Obama said he’d weigh the project against its environmental footprint. Pipeline opponents say the more viscous grade […]

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Mississippi Oil Spill Highlights Risk of U.S. Oil Boom

A barge crash that spilled enough oil to temporarily shut a stretch of the Mississippi River highlights the transportation risks of the U.S. energy boom just as regulators respond to several rail accidents involving crude. A 65-mile portion of the river about 50 miles (80 kilometers) upstream from New Orleans reopened with restrictions yesterday as federal and state officials responded to a Feb. 22 spill, which stalled shipments of goods including grain and chemicals on the nation’s busiest waterway. “We’re facing the imminent risk of a barge disaster or a rail disaster” as more oil is shipped to the Gulf of Mexico for refining, Jonathan Henderson, a spokesman for the New Orleans-based Gulf Restoration Network, said by phone after attending a meeting with U.S. Coast Guard officials. A surge in U.S. oil production, reflecting in part advances in drilling techniques, has unlocked millions of barrels of oil from geologic […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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BP's ready for new U.S. energy contracts, official says

British energy company BP is close to getting relief from a 2012 ban on new oil contracts secured through the U.S. government, a company official said. The U.S Environmental Protection Agency barred BP from bidding on new contracts after the company pleaded guilty to environmental crimes in a major 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. John Minge, president of BP’s subsidiary in the United States, told investors in Louisiana things were about to change, the Daily Telegraph in London reported Saturday. "We’re working with the Environmental Protection Agency. I think we’re getting closer to an agreement," he was quoted as saying. BP wasn’t prohibited from working on existing contracts in the region. In December, the company said it was appraising a discovery in the Gila prospect in the U.S. waters of the Gulf of Mexico, its first since the 2010 spill. […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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BP’s ready for new U.S. energy contracts, official says

British energy company BP is close to getting relief from a 2012 ban on new oil contracts secured through the U.S. government, a company official said. The U.S Environmental Protection Agency barred BP from bidding on new contracts after the company pleaded guilty to environmental crimes in a major 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. John Minge, president of BP’s subsidiary in the United States, told investors in Louisiana things were about to change, the Daily Telegraph in London reported Saturday. "We’re working with the Environmental Protection Agency. I think we’re getting closer to an agreement," he was quoted as saying. BP wasn’t prohibited from working on existing contracts in the region. In December, the company said it was appraising a discovery in the Gila prospect in the U.S. waters of the Gulf of Mexico, its first since the 2010 spill. […]

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AAA reports steady rise in U.S. gasoline prices

The average price for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline in the United States rose nearly 2 percent in the past week, AAA said Monday. The national average was $3.41 per gallon, up from the $3.35 reported for Feb. 17, AAA said. Montana had the lowest state average, $3.14, while California had the highest, $3.79, for the Lower 48. A dozen states reported an average price higher than $3.50 per gallon. The national average price one month ago was $3.28, though Monday’s average price is nearly 50 cents cheaper than the same time last year. AAA said regional refineries are preparing for regular seasonal maintenance, which is expected to lead to higher gasoline prices. The auto club said it may be April before drivers see prices start to decline. The American Petroleum Institute said last week demand for gasoline in January was 1.1 percent […]

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Harsh weather tests optimism over U.S. economy

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Unusually cold weather will take a bite out of U.S. economic growth this quarter, but a rebound seems likely on the horizon and expectations for stronger growth this year have not changed. Economists estimate that freezing temperatures and the ice and snow storms that have blanketed much of the nation will shave as much as half a percentage point from gross domestic product in the first quarter. That comes on top of the drag from efforts by businesses to sell off bloated inventories and a one-time hit from the expiration of benefits for the long-term unemployed. "The slowdown is testing everyone’s optimism about the economy, but so far it’s just a soft patch. The economy will regain strength," said Ryan Sweet, a senior economist at Moody’s Analytics in West Chester Pennsylvania. "Outside housing, we don’t believe the recent data signal a change in fundamentals." Moody’s Analytics […]

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Can Austin survive the current Texas drought? Part 1

drought map There is sound science that says there is likely to be big trouble, even in supplying Austin’s current population with enough water. Federal officials have designated portions of 11 drought-ridden Western and Central states as primary natural disaster areas. Map from UDSA.gov. Image from NBCDFW.com. First of three . I met a traveller from an antique land Who said: “Two vast and trunkless legs of stone Stand in the desert. Near them on the sand, Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown And wrinkled lip and sneer of cold command Tell that its sculptor well those passions read Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things, The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed. And on the pedestal these words appear: `My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings: Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair!’ Nothing beside remains. Round the decay Of that […]

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