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With Stable Gas Prices, Who Still Cares About Fuel Economy?

As the WSJ reports today, President Obama has announced the next phase in his administration’s push to improve fuel efficiency on U.S. roads: stricter economy rules for the nation’s fleet of medium- and heavy-duty trucks. That’s a big deal for overall U.S. fuel consumption, because while big trucks make up fewer than 5% of the vehicles on the road, they account for about a quarter of all greenhouse-gas emissions from the transport sector.  The move comes after the government introduced ambitious fuel-economy standards for passenger vehicles  back in 2012, which aim to cut U.S. oil consumption by two million barrels a day by 2025. But there’s one big challenge in promoting fuel-efficient vehicles: without rising gas prices, it’s getting harder to convince consumers to buy small, economic cars.   There’s precedent for what happens to fuel economy when pump prices aren’t part of the […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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As Fracking Booms, Growing Concerns About Wastewater

With hydraulic fracturing for oil and gas continuing to proliferate across the U.S., scientists and environmental activists are raising questions about whether millions of gallons of contaminated drilling fluids could be threatening water supplies and human health. An hour south of Pittsburgh, in Pennsylvania’s Washington County, millions of gallons of wastewater from hydraulic fracturing wells are stored in large impoundment ponds and so-called "closed container" tanks. The wastewater is then piped to treatment plants, where it is cleaned up and discharged into streams; trucked to Ohio and pumped deep down injection wells; or reused in other fracking operations. But tracking where the fracking wastewater from Washington County and sites across the United States ends up — and how much pollution it causes — is exceedingly difficult. In a study conducted last year , researchers from the environmental consulting firm, Downstream Strategies , attempted to trace fracking water — from […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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200 Years Of Scorchitude: Professor Warns California To Brace For A "Mega-Drought"

Two years into California’s drought and locals are repeating (mantra-like) " we’ve never seen anything like it ." They are right, of course, since this is the worst period of rainlessness since records began… but if Cal Berkeley professor Lynn Ingram is correct, they ain’t seen nothing yet. The paleoclimatologist fears, if very long-run history repeats, California should brace itself for a mega drought, as National Geographic reports , a drought that could last for 200 years or more .   Via National Geographic, California is experiencing its worst drought since record-keeping began in the mid 19th century, and scientists say this may be just the beginning. B. Lynn Ingram, a paleoclimatologist at the University of California at Berkeley, thinks that California needs to brace itself for a megadrought—one that could last for 200 years or more.   As a paleoclimatologist, Ingram takes the long view, examining tree rings […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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200 Years Of Scorchitude: Professor Warns California To Brace For A “Mega-Drought”

Two years into California’s drought and locals are repeating (mantra-like) " we’ve never seen anything like it ." They are right, of course, since this is the worst period of rainlessness since records began… but if Cal Berkeley professor Lynn Ingram is correct, they ain’t seen nothing yet. The paleoclimatologist fears, if very long-run history repeats, California should brace itself for a mega drought, as National Geographic reports , a drought that could last for 200 years or more .   Via National Geographic, California is experiencing its worst drought since record-keeping began in the mid 19th century, and scientists say this may be just the beginning. B. Lynn Ingram, a paleoclimatologist at the University of California at Berkeley, thinks that California needs to brace itself for a megadrought—one that could last for 200 years or more.   As a paleoclimatologist, Ingram takes the long view, examining tree rings […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Report: Gas pipeline not enough to avert New England energy crisis

New England is facing an energy crisis brought on by high natural gas prices, and the call by governors in the six states for a new, publicly funded natural gas pipeline does not go far enough to solve the problem, according to a detailed analysis of the region’s energy options. The 30-page analysis, released on Feb. 11, was conducted by a consulting group, Competitive Energy Services of Portland, Maine, on behalf of the Industrial Energy Consumer Group, which represents large-scale users of electricity in New England. "The governors’ recommended addition of one billion cubic feet of natural gas pipeline capacity will help lower energy prices," according to the analysis, "but will still leave New England paying $600 million more for energy annually than if adequate pipeline capacity existed." The consultants used 12 months of 2013 data to estimate future trends, and concluded that New England needs two billion cubic […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Nova Scotia wants to host TransCanada pipeline

The port of Hawkesbury, Nova Scotia , "could be an option" for the terminal point of a 1,864-mile oil pipeline planned by TransCanada, a provincial minister said. TransCanada last year said it was moving ahead with its Energy East pipeline designed to carry 1.1 million barrels of oil per day from Alberta and Saskatchewan to eastern Canadian refineries. Canadian Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver said the project would help offset the estimated 700,000 bpd imported for eastern refineries from overseas markets. Nova Scotia Natural Resources Minister Andrew Younger told the Platts energy news website from Calgary his province made more sense as a terminal point than neighboring New Brunswick. "Port of Hawkesbury [in Nova Scotia] could be an option," he said in an interview published Monday. "It is the closest port in North America for exports to Asia, particularly India, and Europe." Canadian […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Cuadrilla gearing up for new fracking campaign in England

British energy company Cuadrilla Resources said it was reaching out to the public to discuss new hydraulic operations planned near Lancashire, England. The company said its officials started speaking with local residents to discuss proposed exploration work in The Flyde, in western Lancashire. Cuadrilla said it plans to apply for a permit to conduct a hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, campaign and test for the flow of gas at two wells from two separate sites. Cuadrilla Chief Executive Officer Francis Egan said public engagement was part of a responsible business model. "There will be many more chances for people to contribute to the process and I hope that people will take those chances and get involved," he said in a statement. The company was the target of major demonstrations last summer when its work in the southern village of Balcombe was viewed as a prelude […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Guest blog: A 10-year oil supply retrospective shows unwarranted optimism

Our guest blog today comes from Steve Andrews, who is  a retired energy consultant and contributor to the Peak Oil Review, reachable at [email protected] . We reached out to CERA to determine its interest in providing a response, but did not hear back. “False optimism leads to very poor investment decisions.”: Jeremy Grantham, co-founder and Chief Investment Strategist, GMO Ten years ago this month the Oil & Gas Journal published a story from CERAWeek—an annual elite conference for the oil industry put on by Cambridge Energy Research Associates—that bears revisiting. Why go back? Three reasons. First, CERA arguably has maintained the highest profile of any oil industry analytical shop since at least the turn of the century, thanks in large part to founder Daniel Yergin’s reputation. Every time there is a surprise in world oil supply, he’s the media’s go-to guru. When the National Petroleum Council convenes a world oil […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Crude Prices Hover At Still Elevated Levels

Crude-oil futures were becalmed Tuesday, with trading volumes yet to recover from the Presidents Day holiday. Many market makers were also absent at an industry event in London. Crude for April delivery was up just 3 cents at $109.15 a barrel on ICE Futures Europe. U.S. crude-oil futures were up 60 cents at $100.90 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The cold weather in the U.S. continues to underpin WTI crude-oil futures, with demand for products remaining high. U.S. distillate stocks are 22% below their usual level for this time of year, while East Coast heating oil stocks are 47% below their five-year average, according to analysts at Commerzbank . This has lifted both distillate and Brent refining margins in Europe, "which if sustained, could lift local demand for Brent," Morgan Stanley said in a note. Brent prices are also supported by outages in the Buzzard oil […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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US Demand, Supply Issues Keep Oil Futures High

U.S. winter demand and global supply issues continued to keep crude-oil futures elevated with both Nymex and Brent crude trading within a tight price range in Asia Tuesday. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for delivery in March traded at $100.72 a barrel at 0529 GMT, up $0.42 in the Globex electronic session. April Brent crude on London’s ICE Futures exchange fell $0.13 to $109.05 a barrel. U.S. markets were closed for the Presidents Day holiday on Monday with no floor trading for oil. Markets are set to reopen later Tuesday and the weekly oil inventory report from the American Petroleum Institute has been postponed by a day to Wednesday. The Energy Information Administration’s weekly petroleum report is now due on Thursday. Strong winter-driven fuel demand in the U.S. has resulted in distillate stocks dropping well below five-year average levels, and the […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple