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Libya rebels say oil crisis can be resolved, but no end in sight

Eastern separatists blockading three of Libya’s oil export terminals say the six-month-old crisis crippling the country’s energy industry could be resolved within weeks. But there’s little sign of any breakthrough. Prime Minister Ali Zeidan said Monday he’s ordered the army, a force that has still to coalesce as a state institution capable of protecting the state, to lift the blockade of the ports of Es Sider, Ras Lanuf and Zueitina that began in July 2013. But on Tuesday the military said it had received no orders, from Zeidan or the Defense Ministry, to move against the rebels holding the ports through which the bulk of Libya’s oil exports pass. "If we receive any orders, the matter will be studied at that time," said army spokesman Ali Alsheikhi — a reply that suggested the army doesn’t seem to be in any hurry to confront […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Oman’s $3 Billion Railroad Plan to Blunt Iran Oil Risk: Freight

Oman , which faces Iran across the Strait of Hormuz , said it’s poised to start raising cash for a $3 billion rail line offering an alternative route for oil and freight shipments that funnel through the 21 mile-wide channel. The nation of 3.3 million people, located on the southern side of the strait, is considering issuing bonds by the end of 2014 to kick-start funding for the track across some of the Arabian peninsula’s harshest terrain, Abdulrahman Al Hatmi, a director at Oman National Railway Co., said in an interview. Iranian threats to close the Hormuz waterway have been a recurrent theme in Western relations with the Islamic republic since the 1979 revolution. While tensions have begun to ease after an interim deal aimed at halting Iran’s nuclear program , Al Hatmi said the “very expensive” rail line is more than justified by the new trade opportunities bypassing […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Uganda Signs Deal With Foreign Companies to Develop Oil Sector

The government of Uganda has signed a long awaited deal with foreign oil companies to develop its oil sector, bringing to an end several years of protracted talks and opening the way for the development of the country’s crude oil reserves. The deal is based on a Memorandum of Understanding with U.K.’s Tullow Oil PLC, France’s Total SA and China’s Cnooc Ltd. cooperating on plans to develop the country’s oil sector. Those plans include a 60,000 barrels-a-day oil refinery, an oil export pipeline to Kenya’s northern port of Lamu and a crude-fired electricity plant in Uganda’s oil region, Irene Muloni, Uganda’s energy and minerals minister, told reporters in Kampala Thursday. The agreement between the energy multinationals and the Ugandan government could result in up to $15 billion to $17 billion in new investment, company officials said. The new investment will go toward the development of up to 20 […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Panama Canal Expansion on 'Brink of Failure' Due to Financing Dispute

Work to expand the Panama Canal so bigger ships can fit through the 100-year-old waterway has virtually ground to a halt, and the consortium in charge of the construction effort said the project is now on the "brink of failure" after talks broke down between the contractors and Panama’s government over who is going to pay for $1.6 billion in cost overruns. The storied canal, built by American engineers, is among the world’s most vital shipping routes, acting as a shortcut between the Pacific and Atlantic oceans that shaves nearly two weeks off travel times for ships that otherwise would need to travel around South America at Cape Horn. But the canal has become too narrow for the world’s ever-larger ships, including those hauling products such as natural gas and other fuels. Countries including the U.S., which is fast becoming a net exporter of natural gas as it uses […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Panama Canal Expansion on ‘Brink of Failure’ Due to Financing Dispute

Work to expand the Panama Canal so bigger ships can fit through the 100-year-old waterway has virtually ground to a halt, and the consortium in charge of the construction effort said the project is now on the "brink of failure" after talks broke down between the contractors and Panama’s government over who is going to pay for $1.6 billion in cost overruns. The storied canal, built by American engineers, is among the world’s most vital shipping routes, acting as a shortcut between the Pacific and Atlantic oceans that shaves nearly two weeks off travel times for ships that otherwise would need to travel around South America at Cape Horn. But the canal has become too narrow for the world’s ever-larger ships, including those hauling products such as natural gas and other fuels. Countries including the U.S., which is fast becoming a net exporter of natural gas as it uses […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Warring parties trade fire over Keystone XL pipeline

U.S. Sen. David Vitter said he’s had enough "dilly dallying" on the Keystone XL pipeline, but environmental groups said a federal review needs more vetting. The U.S. State Department published its final report on Keystone XL Friday saying there were few environmental problems tied to TransCanada’s proposed 1,179-mile oil pipeline. A federal permit is needed because the pipeline would cross the U.S. border with Canada. The State Department said its report isn’t a "decision document" and President Obama said he’d weigh the project against its environmental footprint. Vitter, R-La., ranking member of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, said Keystone XL has been through a thorough review since it was submitted for approval more than five years ago. "The [Obama] administration should now move beyond dilly dallying and approve this job creating project," he said in a statement Tuesday. Vitter was joined […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Marathon Oil Sales Volume Drops

Marathon Oil Corp. reported lower fourth-quarter sales volume, though the crude oil and natural gas producer’s bottom line grew 16% due to fewer income tax provisions. The company had generally posted higher production in recent periods, boosting earnings. Marathon, which has focused on drilling in oil-rich unconventional fields since it spun off its downstream and petroleum operations in 2011, has boosted investments in U.S. oil plays such as shale formations like the Bakken in North Dakota. For the latest quarter, Marathon Oil posted a profit of $375 million, or 54 cents a share, up from $322 million, or 45 cents a share, a year earlier. Excluding asset sales, adjusted profit from continuing operations rose to 60 cents from 55 cents a share. Revenue fell 22% to $3.29 billion. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expected a profit of 71 cents a share on $3.57 billion in revenue. […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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US shale under fire over thirst for water

Gov. Jerry Brown formally proclaimed California in a drought Friday Jan. 17, 2014, saying the state is in the midst of perhaps its worst dry spell in a century and the conditions are putting residents and their property in "extreme peril." (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli, File) ©AP Folsom Lake in California recedes in state’s worst dry spell in a century Water shortages have put the US oil and gas industry on a “collision course” with other users because of the large volumes needed for hydraulic fracturing , a group of leading investors has warned. Almost 40 per cent of the oil and gas wells drilled since 2011 are in areas of “extremely high” water stress, according to […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Victory for the Arctic Ocean: No Drilling Next Summer or Maybe Ever

The wild Arctic Ocean just got a blast of good news. Yesterday Shell Oil bowed to the inevitable and announced it will not be drilling for oil off the coast of Alaska this summer. Now the region’s coastal villages and its whales, dolphins, and polar bears will be spared a repeat of Shell’s disaster-laden attempt to drill two summers ago. Shell’s decision follows on the heels of a federal court ruling last week. The court agreed with NRDC and our allies that the Bush administration wildly underestimated the potential for oil spills and other hazards when it decided to issue oil leases off Alaska’s remote north coast. That violates federal law and throws the whole lease program into limbo. This opens up a priceless opportunity for the Obama administration. It is their chance to step back from a leasing program not of their making and develop a fresh approach […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Poland to Accelerate Work on Setting Regulations for Shale Gas Industry

Poland will speed up work on setting regulations for its nascent shale gas industry, officials said Wednesday after a London-listed operator hit reserves it described last month as being potentially commercially viable. Poland is one of the most promising exploration sites for shale gas in the European Union, with enough estimated reserves to allow for decades of consumption. So far only some 50 wells have been drilled, with mixed results and too few to evaluate Poland’s shale gas potential more precisely than in initial estimates. According to a report from the Polish Geological Institute in March 2012, the country has reserves of between 346 billion and 768 billion cubic meters of recoverable shale gas. Poland’s Environment Minister Maciej Grabowski said Wednesday he expects to see some 30 new shale gas drillings carried out this year as the government puts its new, more business-friendly regulations on a fast track. The […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple