Category:

State Department Says Keystone Pipeline Will Create Just 50 Jobs

Big news this afternoon: The U.S. State Department released its long-awaited “Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement” on the Keystone XL pipeline. The findings could determine whether or not the pipeline proceeds. The State Department concluded that the project would create 42,100 temporary jobs during the two-year construction period. But the report says once the pipeline enters service, it will support only 50 U.S. jobs—35 permanent employees and 15 temporary contractors. Here’s the relevant passage:   State Department Facebook’s Next Decade

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Oil Boom Increases Barge Operators' Fortunes

The rising tide of North American oil is lifting a lot of barges, as energy companies increasingly turn to rivers and coastal waterways to get U.S. and Canadian crude to refineries. Oil floating on barges from the Midwest down the Mississippi River to the Gulf of Mexico coast, for example, is up 13-fold since 2010, as companies find alternate routes where pipelines don’t exist or have sufficient capacity. Nearly five million barrels of crude a month is being sent by barge south after companies pump it from North Dakota’s Bakken Shale and, increasingly, Canada’s oil sands, according to federal data. Barge operators such as Houston-based Kirby Corp. , which is the biggest by fleet size, are generating healthy profits. The company last week reported a record profit, $64.3 million, for the fourth quarter, on revenue of $568.4 million. Kirby is spending $90 million this year to add 37 inland […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Oil Boom Increases Barge Operators’ Fortunes

The rising tide of North American oil is lifting a lot of barges, as energy companies increasingly turn to rivers and coastal waterways to get U.S. and Canadian crude to refineries. Oil floating on barges from the Midwest down the Mississippi River to the Gulf of Mexico coast, for example, is up 13-fold since 2010, as companies find alternate routes where pipelines don’t exist or have sufficient capacity. Nearly five million barrels of crude a month is being sent by barge south after companies pump it from North Dakota’s Bakken Shale and, increasingly, Canada’s oil sands, according to federal data. Barge operators such as Houston-based Kirby Corp. , which is the biggest by fleet size, are generating healthy profits. The company last week reported a record profit, $64.3 million, for the fourth quarter, on revenue of $568.4 million. Kirby is spending $90 million this year to add 37 inland […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

North Dakota Flares $100m of Natural Gas a Month

It is well known that advances in technology have enabled the US to experience a huge boom in oil production over the past several years. Since 2007, oil production from North Dakota’s Bakken formation has increased by 4,000% , and turning the state into the second largest oil producer after Texas. The problem is that a natural by-product of oil extraction is natural gas, and due to the lack of infrastructure to store, transport, and compress the gas, nearly 30% has to be burned at the well in a process known as flaring. Think Progress reports that an estimated $100 million worth of natural gas is flared in North Dakota every month, depriving the US economy of a huge source of revenue, and also releasing vast amounts of carbon emissions into the atmosphere. On Wednesday, the North Dakota Petroleum Council, comprised of hundreds of companies, promised to try and […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

French minister supports allowing 'clean' shale gas fracking

A split over France’s ban on shale gas development has emerged within the government, with one minister supporting an experimental type of "clean fracking." French Minister for Industrial Renewal Arnaud Montebourg, a member of President Francois Hollande ‘s Socialist Party, is calling on the president to reconsider his opposition to hydraulic fracturing due to what he calls the emergence of environmentally safer methods to extract natural gas trapped in shale rock. Despite Hollande’s public reiteration in July of opposition, on environmental grounds, to any exploitation of shale gas during his tenure, Montebourg has renewed his efforts to push for a change in policy — touting a potential of a type of fracking that uses fluoropropane, rather than a mix of water and chemical additives, to break apart underground rock formations. Other ministers, including Housing Minister Cecile Duflot of the Green Party, or EELV, and […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

French minister supports allowing ‘clean’ shale gas fracking

A split over France’s ban on shale gas development has emerged within the government, with one minister supporting an experimental type of "clean fracking." French Minister for Industrial Renewal Arnaud Montebourg, a member of President Francois Hollande ‘s Socialist Party, is calling on the president to reconsider his opposition to hydraulic fracturing due to what he calls the emergence of environmentally safer methods to extract natural gas trapped in shale rock. Despite Hollande’s public reiteration in July of opposition, on environmental grounds, to any exploitation of shale gas during his tenure, Montebourg has renewed his efforts to push for a change in policy — touting a potential of a type of fracking that uses fluoropropane, rather than a mix of water and chemical additives, to break apart underground rock formations. Other ministers, including Housing Minister Cecile Duflot of the Green Party, or EELV, and […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

A Forecast of Our Energy Future; Why Common Solutions Don’t Work

In order to understand what solutions to our energy predicament will or won’t work, it is necessary to understand the true nature of our energy predicament. Most solutions fail because analysts assume that the nature of our energy problem is quite different from what it really is. Analysts assume that our problem is a slowly developing long-term problem, when in fact, it is a problem that is at our door step right now. The point that most analysts miss is that our energy problem behaves very much like a near-term financial problem . We will discuss why this happens. This near-term financial problem is bound to work itself out in a way that leads to huge job losses and governmental changes in the near term. Our mitigation strategies need to be considered […]

Posted On : Published By : ASPO-USA
Category:

Big oil companies find it harder to turn a buck

Judging by pump prices, drivers might think oil companies were rolling in profits that only move higher. Lately, though, the big boys in the global oil industry are finding that earning a buck isn’t as easy as it used to be. Royal Dutch Shell, for instance, just announced that fourth quarter earnings would fall woefully short of expectations. The Anglo-Dutch energy giant warned its quarterly profits will be down 70 percent from a year earlier. Full year earnings, meanwhile, are expected to be a little more than half of what they were the previous year. The news hasn’t been much cheerier for Shell’s fellow Big Oil stalwarts. ExxonMobil, the world’s largest publicly traded oil company, saw profits fall by more than 50 percent in the second quarter to their lowest level in more than three years. Chevron and Total, likewise, are warning the […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Peak Oil vs. Peak Chocolate Chip Cookies

Peak Oil is a controversial concept. Some people actually think that the production of oil in nature is continuous (which is a tiny bit, but hardly at all, true) so we can keep pumping oil out of the ground and it will just keep being produced by tiny microbes. But aside from that particular, and annoying, made-up controversy, “real” Peak Oil (or should I say Peak Real Oil) is still controversial. Peak Oil is defined as the moment when the maximum rate of petroleum extraction occurs, and thereafter production declines steadily, like on a bell curve. But that is, in my view, the wrong way to look at it. I would like to propose a different way, and to understand this approach we first must understand chocolate chip cookies. Which is not difficult. If you make a batch of chocolate chip cookies, then […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

WTI Oil Falls on Emerging-Market Risk

West Texas Intermediate crude fell from the highest level of 2014 on concern that developing economies may shrink. The U.S. benchmark grade’s discount to Brent oil narrowed to the least in more than three months. Futures dropped 0.8 percent. Emerging-market currencies weakened this week as Chinese growth slowed and the Federal Reserve further cut stimulus. About $1.8 trillion has been erased from the value of equities worldwide in January. The WTI-Brent spread slipped as cold weather in the eastern U.S. bolstered the relative value of the U.S. grade. “We’re seeing a bit more correlation between oil and the global markets,” said Rob Haworth, a senior investment strategist in Seattle at U.S. Bank Wealth Management, which oversees about $110 billion of assets. “Some of the concern about emerging markets is bleeding into crude.” WTI for March delivery fell 74 cents to settle at $97.49 a barrel on the New York […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Diesel Futures Climb to 22-Month High on Heating-Oil Supply Tightness

Diesel futures roared to their highest in nearly two years Friday on a continued shortage of heating oil in the Northeast, while crude oil weakened as traders turned toward safer investments. Light, sweet crude for March delivery settled down 74 cents, or 0.8%, at $97.49 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Prices rose 0.9% this week but fell for the month. Brent crude on the ICE futures exchange fell $1.55, or 1.4%, to $106.40 a barrel. Prices fell 1.4% this week and 4% this month. Front-month February diesel futures finished up 6.24 cents, or 1.9%, at $3.2794 a gallon, the highest price since March 16, 2012. Diesel futures, which trade as a proxy for heating oil, […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Natural Gas Futures Decline as Milder Weather Likely to End Cold Snap

Natural gas futures slid Friday, falling for the second straight session, as weather forecasts projected above-normal temperatures in the Northeast U.S. in the next few weeks, potentially reducing demand for the heating fuel. Natural gas for March delivery settled 6.8 cents lower, or 1.4%, to $4.943 a million British thermal units on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Over the past two trading days, Nymex gas plunged roughly 11% after reaching a four-year high. Even with the steep decline, natural gas futures still soared 17% in January and posted their largest monthly percentage gain since September 2012. The sharp volatility underscores fears that natural gas supplies have dwindled as utilities pull near-record amounts of the fuel to meet […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Storing Up Trouble for Gas Prices

If wintry weather is to blame for natural gas surging to multiyear highs this week , then prices should shed those gains once spring arrives, traders say. The futures market supports the theory: While front-month futures settled Thursday at $5.011 a million British thermal units, contracts for delivery in April and later months are trading below $4.40 a million BTUs. Those lower prices won’t last, argues Teri Viswanath, senior natural-gas strategist for BNP Paribas SA. The market needs to pack away an unusually large amount of natural gas this summer to replenish inventories before next winter. If prices haven’t picked up by summer, she cautions, storage tanks could end up sitting empty instead. Thanks to strong demand for gas-fueled indoor heating, U.S. natural-gas inventories sit 17% below the five-year average for this week, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Natural gas is stored in depleted […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Chevron's Earnings Fall 32% on Lower Production

Chevron Corp. said its fourth-quarter profit fell 32% as the energy giant reported lower global production and weaker refined products margins. Though profit for the period met Wall Street’s expectations, revenue missed expectations by nearly $9 billion. Chevron’s global oil-equivalent production for the fourth quarter fell to 2.58 million barrels a day from 2.67 million barrels a day a year earlier, hurt by lower production in the U.S. and abroad. Chevron, the second-largest U.S. oil company in market value after Exxon Mobil Corp. , had previously signaled fourth-quarter global oil and gas production was poised to decline from year-ago levels, while commodity prices were also on pace to be slightly lower. "Global crude oil prices and refining margins were generally lower in 2013 than 2012," Chairman and Chief Executive John Watson said. "These conditions, as well as lower gains on asset sales and higher expenses, resulted in lower earnings." […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Chevron’s Earnings Fall 32% on Lower Production

Chevron Corp. said its fourth-quarter profit fell 32% as the energy giant reported lower global production and weaker refined products margins. Though profit for the period met Wall Street’s expectations, revenue missed expectations by nearly $9 billion. Chevron’s global oil-equivalent production for the fourth quarter fell to 2.58 million barrels a day from 2.67 million barrels a day a year earlier, hurt by lower production in the U.S. and abroad. Chevron, the second-largest U.S. oil company in market value after Exxon Mobil Corp. , had previously signaled fourth-quarter global oil and gas production was poised to decline from year-ago levels, while commodity prices were also on pace to be slightly lower. "Global crude oil prices and refining margins were generally lower in 2013 than 2012," Chairman and Chief Executive John Watson said. "These conditions, as well as lower gains on asset sales and higher expenses, resulted in lower earnings." […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

U.S. Warns Over Limits of Iran Sanctions Easing

U.S. officials are fanning out across the globe, privately warning international executives not to commit too much as they re-engage with Iran during a temporary easing of sanctions. The outreach echoes some of the statements U.S. officials have made in recent weeks cautioning about the limited and temporary nature of the sanctions relaxation. In recent days, senior U.S. officials have also started touring global commercial capitals—including London, Paris and Dubai—and meeting executives from blue-chip companies to hammer home the message. Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew said in an interview on Friday that he has personally taken on the issue in meetings with hundreds of American and international business executives in recent weeks. This effort included meetings he held at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland last week. "It’s really important that businesses understand that we are continuing to monitor transactions and enforce sanctions," Mr. Lew said. "It’s really been […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Lebanon pols battle over energy ministry to control gasfields

As deeply divided Lebanon struggles to form a new government after 10 months of political paralysis, one of the key issues is which faction will control the Energy Ministry and the development of potentially rich offshore gas fields. Indeed, it has become something of a Catch-22 situation that’s blocking progress toward extracting the rich natural gas fields that lie in 2,000 feet under the eastern Mediterranean that could rescue the tiny Mediterranean country from economic collapse. And, like just about everything else in Lebanon, the issue has assumed sectarian overtones with the various sects all wanting to control the financial bonanza that the gas fields, which officials say could hold at least 96 trillion cubic feet, plus 850 million barrels of oil, will bring — if drilling ever starts. Work on the 10 exploration blocks in Lebanon’s Exclusive Economic Zone cannot begin until […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

U.S. Apache Corp. keen on investing in Egypt, official says

Egypt’s oil and gas resources provide "continued opportunity for profitable investment," said Thomas Maher of Apache Corp. The U.S. company has 27 drilling rigs and 5 million acres targeted for exploration in Egypt’s Western Desert. "Apache sees continued opportunity for profitable investment developing Egypt’s oil and gas resources," Maher, a company general manager for Egypt, said in a statement Thursday. The company, which has headquarters in Texas, said some of its latest operations are already producing, or have discovered, oil and natural gas. Last year, Apache drilled more than 250 wells in the region. For the third quarter, the last full quarter for which data are available, gross production averaged 346,530 barrels of oil equivalent per day,Apache said. British energy company BG Group said Monday it declared force majeure in Egypt, meaning it’s unable to meet certain contractual obligations because of circumstances beyond its […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Peru Moving Forward With Energy Project Despite Concern for Native Tribes

Peru is pushing forward with an expansion of the country’s biggest natural gas project despite concerns about its potential impact on indigenous tribes living deep inside a remote Amazon reserve. The Mines and Energy Ministry this week approved a key environmental permit that will allow the Camisea consortium to carry out a $480 million exploration program at its Block 88 concession. The consortium, led by Argentina’s Pluspetrol Norte SA, plans to drill 18 exploration wells and conduct seismic testing in a part of the concession that overlaps with the Kugapakori-Nahua-Nanti indigenous reserve. President Ollanta Humala’s administration is keen on finding new reserves at the Camisea gas fields, which are an important source of tax revenue and seen as a supply of low-cost fuel for the national market. The consortium paid $1.3 billion in royalties in 2013. Camisea produces almost all of Peru’s natural gas from Block 88 and […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Study finds Mexico's energy reforms represent 'abundant opportunities'

U.S. energy companies will benefit from "abundant opportunities" as a result of Mexico’s energy reforms, a private economic analysis indicated. Mexico’s energy overhaul, approved by Congress last month, ends the monopoly of state-owned Mexican oil company Petroleos Mexicanos, known as Pemex, and opens all segments of the energy sector to private firms for the first time in 75 years. A report by financial services firm BBVA Compass, based in Birmingham, Ala.., concluded the investment and new projects expected to flow from Mexico’s energy reforms could mean 2.5 million new jobs in Mexico by 2025. "More jobs in Mexico could potentially reduce illegal immigration," BBVA Compass economist Marcial Nava said in a webinar this week, the Houston Chronicle reports. Nava predicts the reforms will pump about $1.2 trillion to the Texas-Northern Mexico region in the next decade. "If these border towns effectively seize the […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Study finds Mexico’s energy reforms represent ‘abundant opportunities’

U.S. energy companies will benefit from "abundant opportunities" as a result of Mexico’s energy reforms, a private economic analysis indicated. Mexico’s energy overhaul, approved by Congress last month, ends the monopoly of state-owned Mexican oil company Petroleos Mexicanos, known as Pemex, and opens all segments of the energy sector to private firms for the first time in 75 years. A report by financial services firm BBVA Compass, based in Birmingham, Ala.., concluded the investment and new projects expected to flow from Mexico’s energy reforms could mean 2.5 million new jobs in Mexico by 2025. "More jobs in Mexico could potentially reduce illegal immigration," BBVA Compass economist Marcial Nava said in a webinar this week, the Houston Chronicle reports. Nava predicts the reforms will pump about $1.2 trillion to the Texas-Northern Mexico region in the next decade. "If these border towns effectively seize the […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Venezuela Oil Sales to U.S. at 1985-Low Shows China Cost

Venezuelan energy sales to the U.S. are heading for the lowest levels in 28 years as President Nicolas Maduro steps up shipments to his main lender China and the shale boom floods North American refineries. Venezuelan exports of crude and petroleum products to the U.S. averaged 792,000 barrels a day in the first 11 months of 2013, which would be the lowest annual rate since 1985, according to data published yesterday on the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s website. State-run Petroleos de Venezuela SA is sending hundreds of thousands of barrels a day to China to pay back government loans. At the same time, refiners along the U.S. Gulf Coast are sourcing more domestic supply as a surge in drilling shale rock sends output to the highest in a quarter-century. “ Venezuela is losing out by selling crude to China, which is a market where they are netting back a […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

China factory output points to Q1 lull

Chinese manufacturing activity slipped to its lowest level in six months, with indications of slowing growth for the quarter to come in the world’s second-largest economy. The National Bureau of Statistics said its purchasing managers’ index (PMI) for January slipped to 50.5 , a reading just above the threshold for quickening growth. While output was still expanding, a sub-index for new export orders hovered for the second month below the midpoint, indicating slowing growth, and pointing to a lull in factory operations for the next few months. Concern over a slowdown in the Chinese economy contributed to the turmoil that has hit some emerging markets over the past 10 days. Saturday’s data are unlikely to ease those worries. The Chinese new year holiday, which began on Friday, normally corresponds with lower manufacturing activity as overseas orders dry […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Syria Geneva talks: Some common ground, says Brahimi

UN envoy Lakhdar Brahimi has said progress at the Syria peace talks has been slow but can form a basis on which the two sides can build, as he closed the week-long conference in Geneva. He said he had seen a "little bit of common ground" between government delegates and the opposition. Syria’s Foreign Minister Walid Muallem, however, said there had been no tangible results from the conference. Another round of talks has been scheduled for 10 February. The opposition has agreed to take part, but Mr Muallem refused to commit. "We represent the concerns and interests of our people. If we find that [another meeting] is their demand, then we will come back," he told reporters. The two sides discussed humanitarian issues and how to end the violence. More than 100,000 people have died in Syria since the uprising against President […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

China's manufacturing PMI drops to 50.5 pct in January

China’s purchasing managers’ index (PMI) for the manufacturing sector dropped to five-month low to 50.5 percent in January, according to official data released on Saturday. January continued December’s decline and marked the lowest factory activity since August 2013, according to a statement jointly released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) and the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing (CFLP). In January, the sub-index for production stood at 53 percent, down 0.9 percentage points from December, while the sub-index for new orders lost 1.1 percentage points to 50.9 percent, said the statement. Major PMI compounds all declined in January, indicating downward pressure on the economy, said Zhang Liqun, an analyst with the Development Research Center of the State Council. […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

China’s manufacturing PMI drops to 50.5 pct in January

China’s purchasing managers’ index (PMI) for the manufacturing sector dropped to five-month low to 50.5 percent in January, according to official data released on Saturday. January continued December’s decline and marked the lowest factory activity since August 2013, according to a statement jointly released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) and the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing (CFLP). In January, the sub-index for production stood at 53 percent, down 0.9 percentage points from December, while the sub-index for new orders lost 1.1 percentage points to 50.9 percent, said the statement. Major PMI compounds all declined in January, indicating downward pressure on the economy, said Zhang Liqun, an analyst with the Development Research Center of the State Council. […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Debate stirs over benefits of U.S. oil exports

The American Petroleum Institute said exporting U.S. crude oil could mean lower energy costs for consumers, an issue countered by others in the energy sector. API, an industry lobby representing more than 580 companies, said a study it commissioned from energy consultant group ICF International indicates exporting crude oil from the United States could translate to $6.6 billion in savings for U.S. consumers by 2020. "It’s undeniable that the American energy revolution has rendered our current export policies obsolete," API Vice President for Economic Policy Kyle Isakower said in a statement Thursday. "Allowing exports will ensure that U.S. production remains strong in a way that supports American consumers." The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee summoned industry officials to testify Thursday about the prospects of exporting more crude oil. Laws enacted after the 1970s Arab oil embargo restrict domestic oil exports. U.S. Sen. Lisa […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Development of Keystone XL pipeline won't worsen climate change: US State Department

Keystone XL pipeline backers got a lift Friday, with the US State Department concluding that the project would not significantly adversely affect the environment, or impact development of Canada’s oil sands, largely echoing the conclusions it found in a draft review last March. The agency’s long-awaited final supplemental environmental impact statement said that no one project would influence the pace of Canadian oil sands production, given that other pipelines and crude-by-rail infrastructure are being prepared to transport the heavy crude to ready markets. Therefore, TransCanada’s Keystone XL pipeline would not, by itself, seriously exacerbate climate change, the report stated. "Approval or denial of any one crude oil transport project, including the [Keystone XL] is unlikely to significantly impact the rate of extraction in the oil sands or the continued demand for heavy crude oil at refineries in the United States based on expected oil […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Development of Keystone XL pipeline won’t worsen climate change: US State Department

Keystone XL pipeline backers got a lift Friday, with the US State Department concluding that the project would not significantly adversely affect the environment, or impact development of Canada’s oil sands, largely echoing the conclusions it found in a draft review last March. The agency’s long-awaited final supplemental environmental impact statement said that no one project would influence the pace of Canadian oil sands production, given that other pipelines and crude-by-rail infrastructure are being prepared to transport the heavy crude to ready markets. Therefore, TransCanada’s Keystone XL pipeline would not, by itself, seriously exacerbate climate change, the report stated. "Approval or denial of any one crude oil transport project, including the [Keystone XL] is unlikely to significantly impact the rate of extraction in the oil sands or the continued demand for heavy crude oil at refineries in the United States based on expected oil […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Keystone XL oil pipeline clears significant hurdle

The long-delayed Keystone XL oil pipeline cleared a major hurdle toward approval Friday, a serious blow to environmentalists’ hopes that President Barack Obama will block the controversial project running more than 1,000 miles from Canada through the heart of the U.S. The State Department reported no major environmental objections to the proposed $7 billion pipeline, which has become a symbol of the political debate over climate change. Republicans and some oil- and gas-producing states in the U.S. – as well as Canada’s minister of natural resources – cheered the report, but it further rankled environmentalists already at odds with Obama and his energy policy. The report stops short of recommending approval of the pipeline, but the review gives Obama new support if he chooses to endorse it in spite of opposition from many Democrats and environmental groups. Foes say the pipeline would carry "dirty […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Teapots Boiling in Texas as Shale Spurs Refining Revival: Energy

Near the only four-way stoplight in Nixon, Texas , smoke rises off a pilot flare at the Blue Dolphin Energy Co. (BDCO) refinery that had sat cold for two decades. The employee parking lot is full, tanker trucks line up to unload crude and the silver distillation tower thrums. None of that was happening two years ago, when Blue Dolphin reopened the 10,000-barrel-a-day plant. Smaller refineries are known as “teapots” because of their size. The reason for the resurrection is illustrated across the street — the Screaming Eagle 1H Well. It’s one of thousands in South Texas, making the Eagle Ford shale formation among the world’s fastest-growing oil patches. Blue Dolphin, Valero Energy Corp. (VLO) , Kinder Morgan (KMI) Inc. and others are trying to capitalize on the biggest boom in U.S. history by building new crude-processing equipment, reviving mothballed plants and opening new refineries. “We […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Amid drought, California agency won't allot water

Amid an epic drought, California officials announced Friday they won’t send any water from the state’s vast reservoir system to local agencies beginning this spring, an unprecedented move that worsens a precarious situation for 25 million people and 1 million acres of farmland. The announcement marks the first time in the 54-year history of the State Water Project that such an action has been taken, but it does not mean that every farm field will turn to dust and every city tap will run dry. The 29 agencies that draw from the state’s water-delivery system have other sources, although those also have been hard-hit by the drought. Many farmers in California’s Central Valley, one of the most productive agricultural regions in the country, also draw water from a separate system of federally run reservoirs and canals, but that system also will deliver just […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Amid drought, California agency won’t allot water

Amid an epic drought, California officials announced Friday they won’t send any water from the state’s vast reservoir system to local agencies beginning this spring, an unprecedented move that worsens a precarious situation for 25 million people and 1 million acres of farmland. The announcement marks the first time in the 54-year history of the State Water Project that such an action has been taken, but it does not mean that every farm field will turn to dust and every city tap will run dry. The 29 agencies that draw from the state’s water-delivery system have other sources, although those also have been hard-hit by the drought. Many farmers in California’s Central Valley, one of the most productive agricultural regions in the country, also draw water from a separate system of federally run reservoirs and canals, but that system also will deliver just […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Gas continues to escape from rig off La. coast

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Crews worked Friday to stop natural gas from escaping an underwater well where a rig was drilling off the Louisiana coast. The Coast Guard said workers had cut the flow in half since losing control of the well a day earlier. No injuries or pollution have been reported. The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement said most crew members had been evacuated from the rig, which was drilling in 262 feet of water about 108 miles southwest of Lafayette. The rig operator is EnVen Energy Ventures of Metairie, La. Company spokesman David Blackmon said the flow from the well has "significantly diminished" and consists almost entirely of water and sand, with "just a trace" of natural gas. No sheen has been spotted in the area, Blackmon added. Work is underway to secure the well, said Deanna Castillo, a spokeswoman for rig owner Rowan Companies. "All […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

North Dakota governor backs plans for 375-mile natural gas pipeline

North Dakota Gov. Jack Dalrymple said building a 375-mile natural gas pipeline in the state will reduce the amount of gas wasted during oil production. Dalrymple said Thursday he backed plans by WBI Energy Inc., a subsidiary of MDU Resources Group, to build the pipeline to deliver natural gas from the Bakken reserve area in the west of the state to eastern North Dakota consumers. North Dakota lacks the infrastructure necessary to take full advantage of natural gas associated with oil reserves in the state at the heart of the shale oil and natural gas boom. Some of the natural gas associated with oil production is burned off, or flared, as a result. "We are committed to working with WBI Energy and the entire energy industry so that we continue to reduce flaring, add value to our energy resources and help meet the […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

New study links fracking to birth defects in heavily drilled Colorado

Living near hydraulic fracturing — or "fracking" — sites may increase the risk of some birth defects by as much as 30 percent, a new study suggests. In the U.S., more than 15 million people now live  within a mile of a well . The use of fracking, a gas-extraction process through which sand, water and chemicals are pumped into the ground to release trapped fuel deposits, has increased significantly in the U.S. over the past decade . Five years ago, the U.S. produced 5 million barrels of oil per day; today, it’s 7.4 million, thanks largely to fracking. Supporters of the industry say it creates jobs and spurs the economy, while critics say its development is largely unregulated and that too little is known about pollution and health risks. The report by the Colorado School of Public Health, released Jan. 28, gathered evidence from  heavily drilled  rural Colorado, which has  […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Baker Hughes: US drilling rig count climbs to 1,785

The US drilling rig count gained 8 units to reach 1,785 rigs working during the week ended Jan. 31, Baker Hughes Inc. reported. Seven of those units were land-based rigs, bringing that total to 1,708. One additional unit was offshore, making that total 57. Rigs drilling in inland waters were unchanged from a week ago at 20. Oil rigs were up 6 units to 1,422 while gas rigs claimed 2 more units to 358. Rigs considered unclassified remained at 5. Horizontal drilling rigs increased 3 units to 1,173. Directional drilling rigs jumped 9 units to 220. Canada’s rig count rose 18 units to 608, constituted by a 10-unit gain in oil rigs to 404 and a 8-unit increase in gas rigs to 204. Canada’s total is now off 17 units from this week a year ago. Major states, basins A week of light activity in major oil- and gas-producing […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Train Carrying Fuel Oil Derails, Spills In Mississippi

A Canadian National Railway Co train carrying fuel oil and other hazardous materials derailed and was leaking in southeast Mississippi on Friday, forcing the evacuation of nearby residents, officials said. No one was injured in the incident which involved the derailment of 21 railcars, eight of which have spilled their contents, a Canadian National Railway spokesman said. Several of the cars were carrying hazardous materials including fertilizer and methanol, but there was no fire, he said. The accident, the latest in a string of North American train derailments over the past year, occurred in the city limits of New Augusta in Perry County, near a mobile home park, according to the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency. Emergency services were on the scene and responding to the accident, local officials said. Local sheriff Jimmy Dale Smith said that fewer than 20 people have had […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Britain announces plan to become world leader in electric cars

Britain announced a program, backed by major vehicle manufacturers, with a goal of making the country a world leader in electric cars . The government said companies including BMW, Nissan and Toyota are standing behind what’s dubbed the Go Ultra Low campaign to encourage more British consumers to switch to electric or hybrid vehicles. "Electric cars are one of the most promising of our green industries and we want to secure the U.K.’s position as a global leader in both the production and adoption of these vehicles," Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said in a statement Thursday. Clegg said $14.8 million in funding would be used to build more charging stations across the country, including 140 that can charge an electric car in less than 30 minutes. British Transport Minister Robert Goodwill said the program is about "opening people’s eyes" to low-emission vehicles. The […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Fusion: Update on the International ITER Project – Event Review

  According to Brig. General Stephen Cheney, CEO of the American Security Project, “The science is proven, the engineering is not.” That is how Wednesday, January 29, 2014’s ASP hosted event “Fusion: Update on the International ITER Project” was introduced. ITER is an international fusion research and engineering project which combines the resources and intellect of China, Japan, South Korea, Russia, United States, and the European Union. Fusion is the process that powers the Sun and allows for all life to exist. Scientists are currently seeking to harvest this incredible power according to the presentation by Dr. Ned Sauthoff. Dr. Sauthoff, US ITER Project Director, gave an overview of the process of nuclear fusion, the history of man’s quest to exploit nuclear physics, and detailed ITER’s current project and construction of a test reactor in Cadarache, France. He began the presentation with the sun, the source of inspiration for […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple