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Crude exports would reduce US gasoline prices, RFF paper suggests

US crude oil exports would lead to more efficient use of the country’s refineries, resulting in more gasoline and lower prices, a Resources for the Future issue brief concluded. “With the increased efficiency of Western Hemisphere refinery operations that would come from lifting the ban, US prices for refined products will be reduced—even if world oil prices increase,” it said. Most US refineries are configured to process heavy grade of crude and cannot process light crudes from the Bakken and other US tight oil plays, said Stephen P.A. Brown, a visiting fellow at RFF and director of the University of Nevada at Las Vegas’s Center for Business and Economic Research. Brown and three others wrote the issue brief. High levels of US light, sweet crude oil production , combined with a general ban on crude exports and transportation bottlenecks, have led to sharply lower prices for crude oil–but not […]

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Report: US Energy Secretary Favors Reducing Oil Shipped By Rail

U.S. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz supports reducing the amount of crude oil shipped by rail in favor of pipelines that are safer, cheaper and cleaner, Capital New York reported on Wednesday. "What we probably need is more of a pipeline infrastructure and to diminish the need for rail transport over time," he said in an interview published on the Capital New York website. He said the infrastructure is "not there" to handle the surge in North Dakota Bakken oil production from near zero to 1 million barrels per day (bpd). "Frankly, I think pipeline transport overall probably has overall a better record in terms of cost, in terms of emissions and in terms of safety." A Department of Energy spokesman was not immediately available to provide more detail on Moniz’s comments. His comments are among the first by a senior Obama Administration […]

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Fog, smog to blanket north, central China

Fog and smog will blanket China’s north and central regions on Thursday, the National Meteorological Center (NMC) said. It will affect regions including those along the Yellow, Huaihe and Yangtze rivers, as well as south of the Yangtze, according to the NMC. The national weather observatory forecast that visibility will be reduced to less than 1 km in parts of Shanxi, Shaanxi, Hebei, Henan, Shandong, Anhui, Jiangsu, Hunan, Jiangxi and Guizhou provinces on Thursday morning. In some areas, visibility will be less than 500 meters. The NMC also said that light smog will shroud parts of northern China, areas along the Yellow, Huaihe and Yangtze rivers, Shaanxi Province and the southwestern Sichuan Basin on Thursday morning. Some parts of these regions will experience moderate and heavy smog.

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Moniz wants closer look at methane emissions across gas system

US Energy Secretary Ernest G. Moniz called for more scrutiny of methane emissions from natural gas operations beyond exploration and production. “We certainly need more data not just from production wells, but also from transmission and distribution systems,” he said in response to a question after a Feb. 19 speech at the National Press Club. The administration already has a very active methane emissions study group that includes the Domestic Policy Council, the US Department of the Interior , and US Environmental Protection Agency, Moniz said. “There also are private efforts, by groups such as the Environmental Defense Fund and a blue-green alliance of organized labor and environmental organizations, that are doing important work,” he said. “Certainly, the technologies for capturing methane emissions at the wellhead exist and are being used,” Moniz said. “Green technologies have been deployed in North Dakota to reduce the amount of gas associated with […]

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Group seeks fracking ban in Texas town

A group of residents from a heavily drilled Texas town have banded together in an effort to ban hydraulic fracturing in their city. If they are successful, Denton would become the first city in the state to ban fracking outright. “We’ve spent years trying to make fracking compatible with our city,” Adam Briggle, a member of Denton Drilling Awareness Group, the group organizing the ban, told Al Jazeera. “But we’ve realized that you can have fracking, or you can have a healthy city — but you can’t have both.” Denton, a city northwest of Dallas and with just over 100,000 residents, is home to hundreds of gas wells and hundreds of miles of pipelines. Fracking critics say the drilling — shooting pressurized water, chemicals, and sand underground to release oil and gas trapped there — impacts public health and safety. Briggle said there is strong support for the ban, and that residents who […]

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Coal ash still contaminating NC river, but state response lags

A new leak again raised concerns about water contaminated with coal ash flowing into the Dan River on the border of North Carolina and Virginia. The second leak of arsenic-tainted water comes from the same pond where earlier this month at least 82,000 tons of ash mixed with 27 million gallons of contaminated water — which had been stored in an unlined pond at a decommissioned Duke Energy plant in Eden, N.C. — escaped through a damaged storm drain into the river. The spill caused concerns about the water quality for residents who rely on the Dan River for drinking water, and prompted fierce reactions from environmental watchdog groups that said the spill was indicative of too-lax regulations for coal ash. The newly discovered leakage of arsenic-tainted water, made public by Duke Energy and the North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) on Tuesday, comes from a […]

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Sun, mild weather in Midwest offers new headache

Blue skies and temperatures above freezing had giddy Chicago residents basking in the rare sunshine after one of the cruelest winters in recent memory. But there were signs – melting snow, growing puddles – that Mother Nature was about to unleash a whole new miserable on the Midwest. Flooding. Weeks of subfreezing weather are giving way, at least briefly, to temperatures in the 40s and 50s, putting many Midwestern cities on guard for flooding, roof collapses and clogged storm drains. Some areas expected a double whammy: warm, spring-like air combined with heavy rains that could compound the problem and turn the big melt into a muddy, damaging mess. A whole new layer of snow and sleet was forecast to accumulate early Thursday, particularly across Wisconsin, northern Illinois and parts of Indiana, before temperatures rise and change the precipitation to rain, according to the National […]

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Obama Keystone Pipeline Review Roiled by Nebraska Judge

A Nebraska judge’s decision throwing out the Keystone XL pipeline route in the state may push President Barack Obama ’s final decision on the contested project until after the midterm congressional elections. Judge Stephanie Stacy in Lincoln yesterday invalidated legislation that let Republican Governor Dave Heineman approve the route and bypass the state Public Service Commission. TransCanada Corp. (TRP) will need commission approval, a process that by state law can take seven months. The judge’s decision gives Obama a reason to delay a politically sensitive decision that could roil Democratic plans to keep control of the Senate. Democrats seeking re-election in Republican states, such as Mary Landrieu of Louisiana and Mark Begich of Alaska , want Obama to approve Keystone. Putting off a decision lets Obama avoid angering voters in energy-rich states if he decides to back environmentalists and reject the project. Former hedge-fund manager Tom Steyer said he […]

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Governor plans $687 million for California drought

Gov. Jerry Brown and the top Democratic lawmakers on Wednesday announced a $687 million plan to provide immediate help to drought-stricken communities throughout California, including $15 million for those with dangerously low drinking water supplies. The proposal comes amid one of the driest periods in the history of the nation’s most populous state, forcing farmers to fallow fields and some communities to warn of low water supplies. "There’s many ways we can better use the water we have," Brown said during a news conference at a state office near Sacramento. "You can’t manufacture water." The Democratic plan, which now goes to the Legislature, does not address long-term improvements to California’s water supply and distribution system. Rather, it provides money for immediate aid. Most of the money – $549 million – will come in the form of accelerated spending from two bonds approved previously […]

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Asian Tigers Stalk U.S. Gas as Louisiana Shale Profits Taper

DeSoto Parish, Louisiana, has a problem. The solution may lie 10,000 miles away in Jakarta. A rustic stretch of bayous and timberland, DeSoto and other communities in the Haynesville shale formation have become victims of the energy industry’s success in extracting natural gas from deeply buried rock. Even as U.S. gas production surges to a record, outpacing domestic demand, Haynesville output has slumped 40 percent since 2011 amid falling prices as companies shift rigs to reservoirs richer in lucrative oil and gas liquids. Tax revenue has tumbled by the same percentage over the past two years from a record $50 million in the parish, home to Civil War battlefields and Billy B’s Cajun Grill. In Jakarta, a city of 10 million, high-rise buildings crowd the skyline and auto-rickshaws, motorcycles and taxis vie for space on gridlocked roads. Indonesia’s energy use may more than […]

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TransCanada Nebraska Ruling Seen as Delaying Keystone

TransCanada Corp. (TRP) ’s Keystone XL pipeline route through Nebraska was ruled illegal by a state court judge in a decision seen as setting back the project by as long as a year as U.S. officials consider needed approval. The ruling sends the pipeline back to Nebraska for review as the Obama administration studies whether to approve the northern portion of the international project. “This gives the U.S. State Department and Obama an out,” said Bob Schulz, a University of Calgary business professor, who predicted there will be an appeal of the ruling. “Why would they decide if they don’t have to decide? I think he’s going to push it back another year.” Judge Stephanie Stacy in Lincoln, the state’s capital, today struck down legislation that shifted the power to approve the pipeline route to Governor Dave Heineman, a Republican, from the state’s Public Service Commission. Legislation depriving the […]

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Keystone pipeline approval in limbo after Nebraska ruling

A Nebraska court on Wednesday voided the governor’s decision to allow the Keystone XL pipeline to pass through the Midwestern state, creating another snag for the controversial project to link Canada’s oil sands with refineries in Texas. Nebraska Governor Dave Heineman last year supported legislation that cleared the way for TransCanada Corp’s $5.4 billion pipeline to cross parts of his state. But some landowners objected to the legislation, saying it disregarded their property rights. On Wednesday, the District Court of Lancaster County sided with landowners, a move that makes inevitable additional months of delay to the project, already more than five years in the planning. The Nebraska Public Service Commission, or PSC, is the proper state agency to decide pipeline matters, Judge Stephanie Stacy wrote in a lengthy ruling, declaring the governor’s decision "unconstitutional and void." State officials and a lawyer for landowners agreed a new […]

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Greenpeace Pours Coal Outside French Presidential Palace

Activists from environment group Greenpeace Wednesday poured five tons of coal in front of the gates of Elysee Palace in a protest against Franco-German energy policy ahead of a meeting between French President Francois Hollande and German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Greenpeace parked a truck in the rue du Faubourg Saint-Honore and started to pour the coal on the street outside the French president palace a little before 0600 GMT. The police quickly intervened and ordered the 10 activists to leave while cleaning staff evacuated the coal and the truck from the street, said Sebastien Blavier, who is in charge of nuclear matters at Greenpeace France. The truck also contained two barrels with 2,000 liters of water that Mr. Blavier said was pumped from a groundwater deposit near a nuclear plant northern France and is mildly radioactive. Greenpeace didn’t pour the water in the street. Officials at […]

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Peak Oil is Real and the Majors Face Challenging Times

Surging Oil Industry Brings Opportunity To Rural California The idea that global oil production was nearing its peak , only to plateau and then decline was a common view in the energy world for many years. The geophysicist M. King Hubbard predicted in the 1950’s that US oil production would peak in the 1970’s, a forecast that held true until technology allowed companies to economically extract oil and gas from tight geologic formations like shale. The recent surge in US liquids output – crude plus natural gas liquids (NGLs) – quieted the peak oil community. A well-known, largely peak oil-focused website – The Oil Drum – shut down in 2013, an event some considered the death knell of the peak oil theory. But not so fast says Steven Kopits from energy business analysis firm Douglas-Westwood. Total global oil supply growth since 2005 – 5.8 million barrels per day – […]

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Brent Crude Trades Close to 2014 Highs on Libya Unrest

Brent crude is trading close to 2014 highs Wednesday, supported by renewed unrest in Libya, while U.S. crude is at four-month highs. Brent crude for April delivery on London’s ICE futures exchange traded down 25 cents, or 0.2%, at $110.21 a barrel. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for delivery in March traded up 35 cents, or 0.3%, at $102.78 a barrel.  Libyan production "was at a mere 375,000 barrels a day on Tuesday, according to the National Oil Corp. and one of the country’s militia groups threatened to remove the parliament from power if it doesn’t dissolve itself," wrote Tamas Varga of PVM, an oil brokerage, in a note to clients. U.S. crude held gains made Tuesday on predictions of more severe cold weather next week. The freeze has increased demand for heating fuels, supporting the price of crude oil. There have also been […]

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Amid nuke talks, Iran digs in for long sanctions

Even as Iran negotiates on a nuclear pact in exchange for an end to sanctions, the country’s top leader is taking precautionary steps in case the talks fail. As the nuclear talks entered a second day Wednesday, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has ordered the government to create an "economy of resistance" to counter the sanctions. The program requires the government to diversify Iran’s exports, reduce dependence on sales of raw materials and promote knowledge-based high-tech industries. A nuclear deal reached in November with six world powers has eased some sanctions but the core remains in place, including measures targeting Iran’s oil exports, the pillar of its economy. Iran and the six countries began talks for a final deal in Vienna on Tuesday. Khamenei says he doubts talks will succeed. —- Associated Press writer Ali Akbar Dareini contributed from Tehran. © 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. […]

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Saving dying lake is priority for Iranian leader

The first cabinet decision made under Iran’s new president, Hassan Rouhani, wasn’t about how to resolve his country’s nuclear dispute with world powers. It was about how to keep the nation’s largest lake from disappearing. Lake Oroumieh, one of the biggest saltwater lakes on Earth, has shrunk more than 80 percent to 1,000 square kilometers (nearly 400 square miles) in the past decade, mainly because of climate change, expanded irrigation for surrounding farms and the damming of rivers that feed the body of water, experts say. Salt-covered rocks that were once deep underwater now sit in the middle of desert. Experts fear the lake — famous in years past as a tourist spot and a favorite stopping point for migrating flamingos, pelicans and gulls — could disappear within two years if nothing is done. "The lake is gone. My job is gone. My children are […]

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Libyan militias extend ultimatum to parliament

Two powerful militias that earlier demanded that Libya’s interim parliament step down or face arrest now say the country’s political factions have 72 hours to resolve their crisis, while the United Nations urged Wednesday that the deadlock be resolved by holding new elections. The demands issued Tuesday by the Al-Qaaqaa and al-Sawaaq militias, which some politicians likened to an attempted coup, brought the restive North African country’s long-running political showdown to a head. Parliament is split between Islamist and non-Islamist blocs. Its mandate was to have expired this month, but the Islamists led a motion to extend its mandate by another year. Under street protesters’ pressure, the parliament voted to hold early elections in the spring. But many are angry that parliament, widely viewed as a failed institution, should hold power until then. The two militias at first said that parliament had until 9 p.m. […]

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Bombs Strike Southern Beirut, Killing at Least Five

Two powerful explosions struck a busy area in southern Beirut near an Iranian cultural center on Wednesday, killing at least five people and wounding dozens in the latest in a series of bomb attacks on civilians here as violence continued to spill over from the war in neighboring Syria. The Abdullah Azzam Brigades, an offshoot of Al Qaeda, claimed responsibility, saying that it would continue such attacks until the Iranian-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah withdrew its forces from Syria, where they are supporting the government’s fight against Syrian rebels and foreign-backed jihadist groups. “We tell our people in Syria that Iran’s party won’t enjoy security in Lebanon until you restore security in Syria,” the group said in a statement posted on its Twitter account. Until Hezbollah pulls out of Syria and Sunni militants are released from Lebanese jails, it said, “We will continue targeting Iran and […]

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Militant Group Says It Attacked Tourist Bus in Sinai

An Egyptian militant group that has carried out months of deadly assaults on the police and the military has claimed responsibility for the bombing of a tourist bus that killed four people in the Sinai Peninsula on Sunday. The assertion by the group, Ansar Beit al-Maqdis, signaled an ominous turn in a battle militants have waged against the government since the military ouster of President Mohamed Morsi in July. The bombing, in the Sinai town of Taba, was the first attack against tourists in years. Three South Korean citizens and an Egyptian bus driver were killed. In a statement posted on jihadist websites late Monday, Ansar Beit al-Maqdis said that the bombing was part of an “economic war against this regime of traitors.” It said that one of the group’s “heroes” had carried out the attack, but did not say how. Egyptian officials have said a suicide […]

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Nigeria's Boko Haram crisis: Bama attack mars victory claims

North-eastern Nigeria is under emergency rule, but attacks have intensified There are reports of a "massive" attack in northern Nigerian border town of Bama, a day after a presidential spokesman said the army was "winning the war" against Islamist militants. Borno state senator Ahmed Zanna told the BBC the attack on Bama had lasted for five hours on Wednesday morning. On Tuesday, spokesman Doyin Okupe said the military was "on top of the situation". More than 245 people have been killed this year alone by suspected Islamists. Several thousand have lost their lives since Boko Haram began its uprising in 2009. ‘Better armed’ Mr Okupe’s statement contradicted the comments of the governor of Borno state, where Boko Haram was founded. Governor Kashim Shettima called for reinforcements and said the insurgents were "better armed and better […]

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Nigeria’s Boko Haram crisis: Bama attack mars victory claims

North-eastern Nigeria is under emergency rule, but attacks have intensified There are reports of a "massive" attack in northern Nigerian border town of Bama, a day after a presidential spokesman said the army was "winning the war" against Islamist militants. Borno state senator Ahmed Zanna told the BBC the attack on Bama had lasted for five hours on Wednesday morning. On Tuesday, spokesman Doyin Okupe said the military was "on top of the situation". More than 245 people have been killed this year alone by suspected Islamists. Several thousand have lost their lives since Boko Haram began its uprising in 2009. ‘Better armed’ Mr Okupe’s statement contradicted the comments of the governor of Borno state, where Boko Haram was founded. Governor Kashim Shettima called for reinforcements and said the insurgents were "better armed and better […]

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South Sudan Fighting Resumes Around Oil-Rich State’s Capital

South Sudanese rebels and government forces fought for control of the capital of oil-rich Upper Nile state, the only region in the world’s newest nation that’s still producing crude two months after violence erupted. Both sides claimed control of the town of Malakal after fighting started yesterday in violation of a cease-fire they signed on Jan. 23 in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa . Sounds of shelling could be heard from a United Nations compound in Malakal as early as 8 a.m. today, Grace Cahill, a spokeswoman for Oxfam, said by phone from Juba, the South Sudanese capital. Some of the internally displaced people seeking shelter inside the compound have left “because they felt they weren’t protected enough, while others came in to receive treatment last night,” Cahill said. Fighting that started Dec. 15 has left thousands of people dead and forced at least 860,000 more to flee their […]

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Lopez’s Arrest Sends Venezuelan Protests Into Second Week

Venezuela ’s opposition vowed to continue street demonstrations into a second week after National Guard troops arrested leader Leopoldo Lopez following protests that have left four people dead. The opposition Voluntad Popular party called on supporters to rally in downtown Caracas in front of the Palace of Justice at 10 a.m. local time (9:30 a.m. EST). Lopez was forced into a police vehicle yesterday while speaking to supporters after President Nicolas Maduro blamed him for instigating demonstrations over shortages of basic goods and 56 percent inflation in a country with the world’s biggest oil reserves. Related: “We are on the right side of history, on the side of justice, of truth,” Lopez, 42, said in a video that he recorded before his arrest. “Our cause has been and continues to be the departure of this government.” Confronting the biggest challenge to his 10-month-old presidency, Maduro announced plans to import […]

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Venezuela opposition leader surrenders, protesters flood streets

Venezuelan security forces arrested opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez on Tuesday on charges of fomenting unrest that has killed at least four people, bringing tens of thousands of his angry supporters onto the streets of Caracas. Crowds of white-clad protesters tried to block the vehicle carrying the 42-year-old Harvard-educated economist after he made a defiant speech, said an emotional farewell to his family, and gave himself up to soldiers. Opposition leaders hope Lopez’s arrest will galvanize street demonstrations against President Nicolas Maduro, though there is no immediate sign the protests will topple the socialist leader. "I am handing myself over to an unfair justice system," the protest leader told supporters, standing on a platform next to a statue of Cuban poet and independence hero Jose Marti. "May my imprisonment serve to wake the people up." The crowd lifted his wife up to give him a final embrace […]

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Venezuelan Opposition Chief Surrenders, but Not Without a Rally

A prominent Venezuelan opposition leader surrendered to the authorities on Tuesday in the midst of a large crowd of supporters who tried to block his arrest on accusations that he was responsible for violence that erupted during recent antigovernment protests. Before giving himself up, the opposition politician, Leopoldo López , walked through a sea of thousands of supporters in the largest rally in more than two weeks of growing protests fueled by discontent over runaway violent crime, a stalled economy, government pressure on the news media and other issues. “We are living in a dark time when criminals are rewarded and they want to imprison the Venezuelans who want peaceful, democratic change,” Mr. López said, standing on the base […]

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China and Russia at the Altar of Gas

The saga over whether Russia will supply natural gas to China has always resembled rival families negotiating a marriage dowry. For a decade, the two sides have wanted different things. Now a match between the world’s largest gas exporter and one of the world’s fastest-growing gas markets seems within reach. That’s in part because Russia is afraid that the longer it waits, the less it will get in dowry. And if the deal goes through, it has the potential to change the way Asia gets its energy. An outline of a deal hashed out last year would have Russia’s state champion Gazprom supply counterpart China National Petroleum Corporation with 3.75 billion cubic feet a day for 30 years starting in 2018. China’s current daily gas demand is about 16 billion cubic feet, which the government aims to double by 2020. Russia says the two sides have agreed on a […]

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New crude oil terminal planned for Baton Rouge

– Genesis Energy, which has headquarters in Houston, said it would invest $150 million on a new crude oil import and export terminal in Baton Rouge, La. The company said the terminal will be on a 90-acre plot near the Port of Greater Baton Rouge and connect to existing facilities in the area. Initially, a company statement said, the facility will be able to store approximately 1.1 million barrels of crude oil and refinery petroleum products. The site will have the capability to expand to provide additional services to customers, Genesis said. The company said it had arrangements in place with Exxon Mobil, which has already secured the rights to a portion of the facility’s expected capacity. "We are … pleased with our growing relationship with Exxon Mobil, which has led to the successful development of this new project," Genesis Chief Executive Officer Grant Sims […]

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EPA Emission Rules Face Test at High Court

Seven years after a landmark Supreme Court ruling cleared the way for federal regulation of greenhouse gases, the justices will consider whether the Environmental Protection Agency has stretched its powers too far in applying new emissions rules. The stakes are high for both the EPA and the industries it is targeting to help curb pollution. Businesses say a win for the EPA could pave the way for the agency to dictate the design and operation of a wide range of industrial facilities, imposing billions of dollars in new costs. A loss could threaten the EPA’s immediate ability to require greenhouse-gas controls and complicate its broader carbon-emissions agenda. "EPA is under so much political fire that any legal loss will be portrayed as a reason why the agency shouldn’t be doing this," said Harvard University law professor Jody Freeman, who previously served in the Obama White House as a counselor […]

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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 […]

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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 […]

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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 […]

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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 […]

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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 […]

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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 […]

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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 […]

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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 […]

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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 […]

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'Big oil' getting smaller as production keeps falling

T* Top seven western majors all seeing liquids output fall * Supermajors’ share of global market dropping every year * BP reports fastest decline of 30% from 2009-13 * Production becoming more evenly split between oil and gas The biggest western oil companies are continuing to see their oil output decline , despite record investment in recent years spurred by sustained crude prices in excess of $100/barrel, according to data released by the companies. Furthermore, with total world oil output continuing to rise every year, the western majors are seeing their share of the global market fall even faster, with new volumes coming largely from their rivals in places like Russia and a host of smaller companies at the heart of the shale oil boom in the US. Analysis continues below… Request a free trial of: Oilgram News Oilgram […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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‘Big oil’ getting smaller as production keeps falling

T* Top seven western majors all seeing liquids output fall * Supermajors’ share of global market dropping every year * BP reports fastest decline of 30% from 2009-13 * Production becoming more evenly split between oil and gas The biggest western oil companies are continuing to see their oil output decline , despite record investment in recent years spurred by sustained crude prices in excess of $100/barrel, according to data released by the companies. Furthermore, with total world oil output continuing to rise every year, the western majors are seeing their share of the global market fall even faster, with new volumes coming largely from their rivals in places like Russia and a host of smaller companies at the heart of the shale oil boom in the US. Analysis continues below… Request a free trial of: Oilgram News Oilgram […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Oil Firms Seen Cutting Exploration Spending

Global oil firms are about to cut exploration spending, pulling back from frontier areas and jeopardizing their future reserves, industry insiders say. OSLO, Feb 17 (Reuters) – Global oil firms, hit by one of the worst years for discovery in two decades, are about to cut exploration spending, pulling back from frontier areas and jeopardising their future reserves, industry insiders say. Notable exploration failures in high-profile places such as Africa’s west coast, from Angola all the way up to Sierra Leone, have pushed down valuations for exploration-focused firms and are now forcing oil majors to change tack. "It is becoming increasingly difficult to find new oil and gas, and in particular new oil," says Tim Dodson, the exploration chief of Statoil, the world’s top conventional explorer last year. "The discoveries tend to be somewhat smaller, more complex, more remote, so it is very difficult to see […]

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Oil-Shipping Routes Lengthen

A tectonic shift under way in the global oil trade is increasing the average distance traveled by a typical barrel of oil. This is likely to push shipping rates higher and benefit shipping companies as well as shipbuilders. The U.S. energy boom is largely responsible for the shift, as sharply higher domestic production of oil and gas is moving the country off its perch as the world’s largest oil importer even as Asian appetites for hydrocarbons continue to rise—a good thing for traditional U.S. suppliers, including Latin America and West Africa, who are finding ready customers (much) farther away. For consumers, longer voyages mean increased fuel costs and freight rates, as the availability of shipping vessels diminishes in line with the increased time tankers are booked to cover extended distances. A team of analysts from DNB […]

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New Fighting Threatens South Sudan Oil

South Sudan rebels Tuesday attacked the capital of the state that is home to the country’s only functioning oil fields, further fraying a tattered cease-fire and threatening to choke off a trickle of crude exports from the beleaguered nation. The attack on Malakal, the capital of South Sudan’s Upper Nile State, ended a lull in fighting that had lasted nearly a month. It also came as rebels and government representatives failed to restart peace talks aimed at ending the nearly three-month-old conflict. The two sides remain far apart on important issues, such as the release of prisoners and Uganda’s military support for the South Sudanese government. Early Tuesday, heavily armed rebel fighters loyal to South Sudan’s former vice president, Riek Machar, attacked with machine guns and heavy artillery in a surprise assault, government military spokesman Col. Philip Aguer said. The ambush forced government troops to retreat northward, toward […]

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Diplomats express scepticism over progress of Iran nuclear deal

World powers start talks with Iran on a final agreement on their nuclear dispute on Tuesday. If successful, the negotiations could put to rest a decade of hostility between the West and the Islamic Republic, and head off the danger of a new war in the Middle East ©Reuters Iran’s ambassador to Austria Hassan Tajik arrives at the nuclear talks in Vienna Western diplomats are increasingly sceptical that a comprehensive agreement with Iran over the country’s nuclear programme will be found in time for a key July deadline. Senior diplomatic sources from two of the western delegations meeting Iran’s representatives in Vienna for nuclear talks on Tuesday said they saw little – if any – chance of early success in the talks. Under the terms of the landmark November […]

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Iran Nuclear Talks Resume Amid Deep Caution

The U.S. and Iran voiced caution over the prospect of a deal permanently curbing Tehran’s nuclear program on the eve of international talks. The diplomacy in Vienna, slated to last six months, follows an interim agreement in November between Tehran and global powers that froze parts of Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for an easing of Western sanctions. The new round of diplomacy aims to end what the West views as Iran’s pursuit of nuclear weapons. The Obama administration has outlined a negotiating position that calls for Tehran to drastically roll back its nuclear infrastructure to ensure it is solely for peaceful purposes. U.S. officials say this likely would have to include the dismantling or mothballing of thousands of centrifuge machines, which are used to produce nuclear fuel, and the shuttering or conversion of nuclear sites. Senior Iranian officials say they won’t accept any major curtailment of the program. […]

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U.S. sees Iran nuclear talks difficult, success uncertain

The United States said on Monday that talks between Iran and six world powers on a long-term deal for Tehran to limit its nuclear program and see international sanctions lifted will be long and complicated with no guarantee of success. The remarks came from a senior U.S. official, who spoke on condition of anonymity on the eve of the first round of high-level negotiations since an interim deal struck on November 24 under which Tehran curbed some nuclear activities for limited sanctions relief. "These next days this week are the beginning of what will be a complicated, difficult and lengthy process," the administration official told reporters in the Austrian capital. "When the stakes are this high and the devil is truly in the details, one has to take the time to ensure the confidence of the international community in the result," the official said. "That can’t […]

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Car bombings kill at least 33 people in Iraq

Officials say a wave of car bombs in Baghdad and areas to the south has killed at least 33 people. Police say all Tuesday’s attacks were explosives-laden cars parked in or near commercial areas and bus stations. In Baghdad, four such bombings killed at least 17 people and wounded 49 others. They added that four car bombs went off simultaneously in different areas in the southern city of Hillah, killing at least 11 people and wounding 35 others. Hillah is about 60 miles (95 kilometers) south of Baghdad. Outside Hillah in the town of Musayyib, a parked car bomb explosion killed five civilians and wounded 13. Medical officials confirmed the figures. All spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to release information. THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP’s earlier story is below. In a rare televised […]

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Bomb attacks kill at least 24 in Iraq capital

At least 24 people were killed in bomb explosions in the Iraqi capital late on Monday, including blasts near two Shi’ite Muslim mosques and at a busy bus station, police and medics said. No group immediately claimed responsibility for any of the attacks, but Shi’ites are often targeted by Sunni Islamist insurgents who have been regaining ground in Iraq over the past year and overran several towns in recent weeks. In Monday’s deadliest attack, a minibus packed with explosives blew up at a bus station in the mainly Shi’ite district of Ur in northern Baghdad, killing at least 11 people, police and medical sources said. "The parked minibus inside the garage raised suspicions and when drivers started shouting for its driver, it exploded," said bus driver Farah Abbas. "Many people were thrown back by the blast and vehicles caught fire". A further nine people were killed […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple