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Tensions rise as Iraqi Kurds’ oil flows to Turkey

As Iraqi Kurdistan exports oil northward to Turkey through its own pipeline despite dire warnings from Baghdad about the consequences of such independent action, the prospect of a collision between Iraq’s central government and the semiautonomous Kurds increases. But as parliamentary elections loom in April, with Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki seeking a third term amid a swelling al-Qaida insurgency raging in western Iraq, Baghdad may not be in a position to get tough right now or pick a fight with the restive Kurds and their new ally Turkey. Analysts have long speculated that the likely outcome of the Kurds’ defiance is that they could eventually declare their enclave across Iraq’s three northern provinces an independent state. The fear is that other regions, particularly the south, which contains two-thirds of Iraq’s oil reserves of 143.1 billion barrels, will also want greater autonomy from a […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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U.S. stands by Baghdad in oil contract policy

The U.S. State Department said it believes any revenue generated in Iraq through oil sales should go through the central government. The U.S. Embassy in Iraq said a meeting was held Wednesday in Baghdad between Deputy Prime Minister for Energy Hussain al-Shahristani and top U.S. envoys on energy policy. The embassy in a statement said both sides reaffirmed their commitment to cooperate fully in areas of oil production and contracts. "As you know, our position has long been that we believe that all of these [oil] contracts and any revenue should go through the central government," U.S. State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said during her Wednesday press conference. The central government in Baghdad threatened legal action against the semiautonomous Kurdish government in the north for working independently with foreign oil companies. Kurdish oil is planned for an export terminal in Turkey, something Baghdad says […]

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Woodside to Invest Up to $2.6 Billion in Israeli Gas Venture

Woodside Petroleum Ltd. (WPL) , Australia’s second-largest oil producer, plans to buy a quarter of Israel ’s biggest natural gas field under a revised agreement for as much as $2.6 billion as demand rises in the Middle East . Woodside agreed to pay Noble Energy Inc. (NBL) and its venture partners an initial $850 million when the deal is completed, due by the end of next month, the Perth-based company said today in a statement. The stake is smaller than the 30 percent negotiated in December 2012, worth as much as $2.3 billion, though the size of the resource estimate has risen to 18.9 trillion cubic feet of natural gas from 17 trillion cubic feet. A deal would put Woodside in the middle of Israel’s nascent natural gas industry as the company’s proposed projects in Australia face delays. Woodside’s original agreement in December 2012 was held up because of […]

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Uganda takes major steps with oil majors

Ugandan Energy Minister Irene Muloni said Thursday signing agreements with international oil companies gives the country significant production opportunities. Muloni said Uganda is close to becoming a major oil producer with the signing of memorandums of understanding with Chinese, French and British oil companies. "The signing of the MOU is therefore a significant step toward the production of Uganda’s discovered oil and gas resources," she was quoted by the Ugandan newspaper the Independent as saying. Tullow Oil, a British exploration company involved in the agreements, published a report last year on its Ugandan developments. It said it has uncovered more than 1 billion barrels of oil in Uganda since operations began and most of that was in the country’s Lake Albert basin. Muloni said the agreements gives Uganda a "harmonized commercialization plan for the development" of its oil resources. She said the government […]

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Late-arriving snowfall quenches thirst of Beijing, disrupts traffic

It has been a long time in coming, but the first snow of the winter began falling in Beijing early on Friday, the second-latest arrival in the capital for over 60 years. The snowfall, only averaging 1.1 mm from 1 a.m. to 8 a.m., ended 107 precipitation-free days in the city, which had suffered from a dry spell since light rain fell on Oct. 22 last year, said the municipal meteorological observatory. Snowflakes were first seen in the southwestern suburb of Fangshan, and by 9 a.m., snow was lying in most areas in the city. The snowfall is set to continue into Friday night. At 6:15 a.m., the observatory issued a warning […]

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India needs nuclear power, for now — minister

India needs to rely on nuclear power until it can further develop renewable energy, a government official said. New and Renewable Energy Minister Farooq Abdullah, speaking at the opening Thursday of Delhi Sustainable Development Summit 2014, cited India’s growing needs for energy amid its developing economy. "India is moving forward. India needs energy. Therefore, please forgive us. We have to use nuclear energy [until] renewable energy comes up to such a level that we are able to dispense with fossil fuels and nuclear energy," Press Trust of India quoted Abdullah as saying. India, the fourth largest energy consumer in the world after the United States, China and Russia, has increased its oil imports from about 40 percent of demand in 1990 to more than 70 percent of demand by 2011, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said. Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh , at […]

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Fracking's Thirst for Water: Investors Warned of the Hidden Financial Risks

Some of the nation’s driest, drought-plagued places have quickly become its busiest hot spots of drilling for shale gas and oil, especially in Texas, Colorado and California. It’s a dust-bowl-sized problem likely to become worse, according to a study released Wednesday by the nonprofit sustainability advocacy group firm Ceres . Fracking, the controversial drilling technique, is consuming billions of gallons of water each year in states where water is increasingly scarce. The report warns that investors need to demand information about how energy companies are managing this problem or risk their investment portfolios being clobbered. Put simply, Ceres is saying there probably isn’t enough fracking water where fracking most wants to happen. And eventually, there will be a price to pay. The study found that nearly half the wells being hydraulically fractured in the U.S. since 2011, a time of explosive growth in shale […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Fracking’s Thirst for Water: Investors Warned of the Hidden Financial Risks

Some of the nation’s driest, drought-plagued places have quickly become its busiest hot spots of drilling for shale gas and oil, especially in Texas, Colorado and California. It’s a dust-bowl-sized problem likely to become worse, according to a study released Wednesday by the nonprofit sustainability advocacy group firm Ceres . Fracking, the controversial drilling technique, is consuming billions of gallons of water each year in states where water is increasingly scarce. The report warns that investors need to demand information about how energy companies are managing this problem or risk their investment portfolios being clobbered. Put simply, Ceres is saying there probably isn’t enough fracking water where fracking most wants to happen. And eventually, there will be a price to pay. The study found that nearly half the wells being hydraulically fractured in the U.S. since 2011, a time of explosive growth in shale […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Senators ask EIA to study crude exports’ gasoline price effect

US Sens. Maria E. Cantwell (D-Wash.) and Ronald L. Wyden (D-Ore.) asked the US Energy Information Administration for more information on possible domestic gasoline price impacts from allowing more US crude oil to be exported. “We would like to understand how allowing unlimited export of American crude oil might affect US oil production and consumption, nationally and regionally; domestic supplies and prices, nationally and regionally, for both crude oil (paid by refiners) and refined products (paid by consumers); and exports of refined products,” they said in a Feb. 3 letter to Adam Sieminski. Cantwell, who is a senior Energy and Natural Resources Committee member, and Wyden, who chairs the committee, said they also would like EIA to identify transit modes and routes that exported crude might be expected to travel. Contact Nick Snow at [email protected] .

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Environmentalists say NC river is 'toxic soup' after coal ash spill

Environmentalists and residents of North Carolina and Virginia are anxiously waiting for toxicity test results from the Dan River, where tens of thousands of tons of coal ash spilled earlier this week. Danville’s city manager has released a statement saying that while preliminary findings indicate the area drinking water is safe, they await final confirmation. North Carolina’s Department of Environment and Natural Resources has yet to provide an official determination, but people around the Dan River report that the spill was having visible and adverse effects. The spill originated from a 27-acre pond of coal ash and slurry — the waste product of burning coal — at a defunct  Duke Energy  power plant along the Dan River in Eden, N.C.   Hundreds of workers are trying to cap the leaking pipe, which has so far allowed 82,000 tons of toxic ash and 27 million gallons of contaminated water to […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple