Category:

Keystone Foe Steyer Urges Review of ‘Defective’ Analysis

Billionaire Tom Steyer, a Democratic Party donor and Keystone XL foe, called on U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry to begin a review of the “defective” environmental analysis on the pipeline released last week. The final environmental impact statement on Keystone “has suffered from a process that raises serious questions about the integrity of the document,” Steyer, who hosted President Barack Obama at his San Francisco home in April, wrote to Kerry yesterday in a letter. Steyer is the former chief executive officer of the hedge fund Farallon Capital Management LLC and a major donor to Obama, who is being pressed by political supporters to reject the pipeline amid more signs it is headed for approval. TransCanada Corp. (TRP) ’s $5.4 billion project would carry Canadian oil sands crude to U.S. refineries in Texas . The State Department, which reviews all pipelines that cross international boundaries, […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

GM, Ford sales stall

The top three U.S. sellers blamed extreme weather for poorer-than-expected auto sales in January, as analysts predicted a rebound in February and March. U.S. automakers Ford Motor Co and General Motors Co and Japan’s Toyota Motor Sales USA saw January auto sales plummet, missing analysts’ estimates for the month. But early sales results were mixed for other companies and brands, with Chrysler Group, a unit of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, and Nissan North America reporting increases and topping analysts’ estimates. "The bad weather only seemed to affect our competitors’ stores," teased Chrysler as it reported double-digit sales increases for its Jeep and Ram truck brands. While snow and bone-chilling weather likely hurt total U.S. auto sales for the month, analysts said any dip in January sales shouldn’t cut into the industry’s months’ long rebound, which has been outpacing the recovery of the overall U.S. economy since the […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Oh no! The oil price could fall

While I rarely agree with Ambrose Evans-Pritchard I do appreciate his continual columns on the energy industry and related topics. One recent column of his looked at oil price movements in the near term, predicting that oil prices may fall due to a surge in supply (and moving on to the even less likely conclusion that this will be the trigger for global deflation – surely the economic stimulus caused by cheaper energy would outweigh the loss in income for oil suppliers !) – Coming ‘oil glut’ may push global economy into deflation . Personally I think the US shale oil boom will end pretty quickly if oil prices drop much below current levels so there’s no chance of any long term "oil glut" depressing prices for any significant period of time. I do agree with his concluding paragraphs at leas… To avoid confusion, let me be clear that […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Oil Lower on Weak China Data

Oil futures were trading lower in London Monday, continuing a price drop that began Friday, after poor economic data called China’s recovery into question. Brent crude on the ICE futures exchange was down 55 cents, or 0.5%, at $105.85 a barrel. Light, sweet crude for March delivery was down 48 cents, or 0.5%, at $97.01 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Official Chinese Manufacturing PMI for January came in at a six-month low. The dip in fortunes for one of the world’s biggest manufacturers and oil consumers reinforcing concerns about the slowing growth, said JBC Energy. "Only the gloomiest of commentators would have predicted such a traumatic beginning to the year," said David Hufton, a market analyst at oil brokerage PVM. One cause might be Federal Reserve tapering, but PVM said this was well signaled and that a further $10 billion cutback was "priced in" to oil’s […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

WTI Drops a Second Day on Concern China Demand May Slow

West Texas Intermediate crude fell for a second day amid speculation that China ’s fuel demand will shrink as economic growth slows in the world’s second-biggest oil consumer. Futures dropped as much as 0.7 percent in New York , extending a 0.8 percent loss on Jan. 31. A Purchasing Managers ’ Index was at 50.5 for January, the National Bureau of Statistics and China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing said in Beijing on Feb. 1. That’s the lowest reading in six months, while a separate report on the non-manufacturing sector also signaled a deterioration. Manufacturing data from the U.S. and the euro region are due today. “Oil is joining other commodities in being a bit nervous about softer figures in China,” said Ric Spooner, a chief analyst at CMC Markets in Sydney who predicts investors may buy WTI contracts at about $95 a barrel. “Although the PMI figures were […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Energy Storage Market Set To Explode

hawaii maui wind project hawaii maui wind project Energy storage is often heralded as the “holy grail” of the energy market. It seems that a number of researchers and companies have worked hard and long enough that this holy grail is ready to see the light. According to market research firm IHS, the energy storage market is set to “explode” to an annual installation size of 6 gigawatts (GW) in 2017 and over 40 GW by 2022 — from an initial base of only 0.34 GW installed in 2012 and 2013. The IHS report  pits the US as the largest market for grid-connected energy storage installations through 2017. It projects that the US will install 43% of the capacity additions from 2012–2017. Germany and Japan are projected to be other top markets, as any regular reader, long-time of CleanTechnica would surely assume. What will rule the day in the energy […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Netanyahu Criticizes Kerry Over Boycott Remarks

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel and some of his senior ministers on Sunday strongly criticized groups who are threatening a boycott of Israel over its policies toward the Palestinians. Their remarks were a sharp retort to Secretary of State John Kerry, who warned a day earlier that the risk of boycotts would intensify should the current Middle East peace effort fail. In a swift response to the Israeli criticism, the State Department said that Mr. Kerry had always opposed calls for boycotts and expected “all parties to accurately portray his record and statements.” The heated exchange comes as the Obama administration prepares to complete and present a “framework” accord in the coming weeks, which would be a first step toward a comprehensive agreement and serve as a basis for a continuation of negotiations. “Attempts to impose a boycott on the state of Israel are immoral and […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Iran getting first batch of oil money

Iran’s chief nuclear negotiator, Abbas Araqchi, said some of the $4.2 billion in oil revenue freed by nuclear agreements is on its way to Iranian accounts. Araqchi said Saturday the funds would be deposited in an Iranian bank account in Switzerland. "As far as I know, all necessary measures have been taken and transfers are under way," he told the Islamic Republic News Agency. The Iranian Students News Agency reported the first transfer totals $550 million. Iran, under the terms of a six-month nuclear agreement reached with Western powers in November, secured access to funds frozen by international sanctions. In return, Iran agreed to suspend some of its nuclear research activity. The Iranian currency, the rial, collapsed in 2012 under sanctions pressure. Under new Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, the government said it’s expecting major new investments in its energy sector. Iranian oil officials said […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

733 Iraqis Killed in January, U.N. Reports

At least 733 Iraqis were killed during violence in January, not including casualties from an embattled western province, the United Nations said on Saturday. Most of the victims — 618, or 84 percent — were civilians; the other 115 were members of the security forces. The figures, issued by the United Nations mission to Iraq , excluded deaths in Anbar Province because officials could not verify the “status of those killed,” the mission said in a statement. They also excluded insurgent deaths. At least 1,229 more Iraqis were wounded last month, the statement said. Baghdad was the most affected province, with 297 people killed and 585 wounded. In Anbar Province, Islamist militants tied to Al Qaeda seized control of Falluja and parts of the provincial capital, Ramadi, after the authorities dismantled a protest camp of Sunni Muslims angry at what they see as second-class treatment by the […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Car bombings in Iraq kill at least 10 people

Iraqi officials say car bombings in and near Baghdad have killed at least 10 people. A police officer says a parked car bomb went off Monday near the local council building of the town of Mahmoudiyah, followed by another car bomb at an outdoor market nearby. The blasts killed six people and wounded 15. The town is located about 30 kilometers (20 miles) south of Baghdad. The officer also says an explosives-laden car ripped through a commercial area in Baghdad’s northern Hurriyah neighborhood, killing four people and wounding 11. Two medical officials confirmed the causality figures. All spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to talk to media. The attacks come as Iraq’s Shiite-led government is fighting a stubborn Sunni extremist-led insurgency in the western Anbar province. © 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple