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China Announces 12.2% Increase in Military Budget

China announced on Wednesday that it would increase its military budget for 2014 to almost $132 billion, a 12.2 percent rise over last year. The rapid growth in defense spending is another sign of the country’s goal of becoming a dominant military presence in the Pacific, with a navy able to project power across the region. The rate of growth in spending is greater than that of recent years. In 2013, China’s defense budget increased by 10.7 percent over the previous year. The country’s military spending is the second largest in the world, behind that of the United States. The buildup of the People’s Liberation Army, which also includes navy and air force branches, is considered by many analysts to be consistent with the size of China’s economy — the second largest in the world — and its global political influence. Nevertheless, the military expansion is being […]

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BP to Carve Out U.S. Onshore Assets

BP PLC said Tuesday that it would create a new business to manage its onshore oil and natural-gas assets in the U.S.’s lower 48 states. The decision is an attempt to reverse the struggles that BP—along with other large oil companies—has had trying to coax profits from the North American shale boom. By operating its U.S. onshore assets through a separate, wholly owned company, BP hopes to "compete more effectively with the independents"—the kind of smaller, nimbler producers that have profited on the shale boom, Chief Executive Bob Dudley said at a Tuesday investor meeting. The announcement came as part of a strategy presentation that Mr. Dudley and other executives made to investors in London Tuesday. BP has been retrenching since its 2010 Macondo explosion and oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, having sold about $40 billion in assets over the past few years with plans to sell […]

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Murkowski said U.S. crude oil exports make sense

U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski , R-Alaska, said the country has a "golden opportunity" to capitalize on oil production growth if the government allows for exports. Legislation enacted in response to the Arab oil embargo in the 1970s limits U.S. options for crude oil exports. Murkowski told an audience at the CERAWeek energy conference in Houston she will call on the U.S. Energy Information Administration, part of the Energy Department, to study the economic impacts of lifting the ban. "The United States cannot squander the golden opportunity that technology, geology and American grit have bestowed upon us," she was quoted by energy news website Rigzone as saying Monday. Murkowski, ranking member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, heard testimony in January about the prospects of exporting more crude oil. Graeme Burnett, a senior vice president from Delta Air Lines , which owns a […]

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U.S. oil group questions EPA rules, auto sector sings praise

Representatives from the automotive sector praised U.S. rules for lower emissions, though the oil industry said it questioned the benefits. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency introduced new so-called Tier 3 standards Monday aimed at cutting the amount of sulfur in gasoline by two-thirds by 2017. The EPA said the new standards would lower the health risks from smog and other airborne pollutants at pennies on the dollar. Michael Stanton, president of the Global Automakers Association, which represents the interests of companies ranging from Aston Martin to Toyota, said the standards would provide "instant benefits" to consumers as well as the environment. "This rule-making will reduce emissions from the existing fleet of vehicles on our roads today and opens the door for even cleaner cars in the future," he said in a statement Monday. Bob Greco, the director of downstream operations at the American Petroleum […]

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Sieminski Says EIA Ready to Analyze Impact of U.S. Crude Exports

The U.S. Energy Information Administration is “quite prepared” to review how American exports of crude oil would affect global markets as domestic production is expected to reach about 10 million barrels a day by 2017, agency Administrator Adam Sieminski said. Sieminski said a review should consider how crude exports would affect U.S. refining operations and foreign sales of other petroleum products. “I think we can address each one of these,” he said today at the IHS CERAWeek energy conference in Houston. The goal would be to “create building blocks” for policy makers to make sense of the issues involved, Sieminski said. As to whether the U.S. should export crude oil, Sieminski said “that’s a policy question” and not one he should answer. Sieminski’s comments came in response to a request yesterday from Senator Lisa Murkowski , an Alaska Republican and ranking member of the Senate Committee on Energy and […]

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U.S. LNG can contain Russia, Upton says

Getting more U.S. natural gas to the international market will reduce Russia’s influence in Eastern Europe, U.S. Rep. Fred Upton, R-Mich., said. Upton, chairmen of the Natural Resources Committee, has described the natural gas sector as the "bright spot" in the U.S. economy. Now it’s time to use that advantage for international gain, he said, through more exports of liquefied natural gas. "Expanding U.S. LNG exports is an opportunity to combat Russian influence and power, and we have an energy diplomacy responsibility to act quickly," he said in a statement Monday. European consumers get about 20 percent of their natural gas from Russia, though most of that runs through a Soviet-era pipeline network in Ukraine. Washington has expressed concern about Moscow’s reaction to the February ouster of Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych , a Kremlin ally. Upton said bureaucracy at the U.S. Energy Department meant […]

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IHS CERAWeek: Russia, West will have to cooperate to resolve Ukraine issues

Russia’s Energy Minister Alexander Novak cancelled his Mar. 4 appearance at IHS CERAWeek given rising tensions between Russia and the Ukraine, and conference panelists discussed the emerging geopolitical situation and what it might mean for energy. Thane Gustafson, IHS senior director of Russian and Caspian energy, said an interim government is going to have to maintain order in Ukraine and to find candidates for an upcoming presidential election. “Ukraine needs fixing,” Gustafson said, adding that he believes “Moscow and the Western countries have to work together” toward a peaceful resolution. Angela Stent, Georgetown University professor in Washington, DC, and an author on US-Russian relations, said, “This isn’t the Cold War…but it has the feel of a Cold War.”  She noted “a huge difference” between Russia and the defunct Soviet Union. “This is the worse time in relations between Russia and the West since the collapse of the Soviet Union,” […]

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U.S. Does Have Weapon vs. Putin: Energy

Is it true that the U.S. has few real options to pressure Vladimir Putin to get out of Ukraine? How about a straight business statement from Washington like this: "We are delighted to announce that the U.S. is accelerating its plans to export natural gas and will soon reverse our virtual ban on oil exports. We have such abundant, new supplies of gas and oil in America that we look forward to becoming a major supplier to world markets. And the first customers we aim to serve are our good friends in Europe." These are friends, we’re again reminded by events this week, who are currently hostage to energy supplied by Russia. To date, America’s debate over what to do with its sudden wealth of energy has been about business, economics and the environment—not about securing U.S. interests abroad. Companies like Exxon Mobil , ConocoPhillips and Royal Dutch Shell […]

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The well is running dry for big oil

Page added on March 3, 2014 Last week, I mused on the death of cars and big-picture factors working against the auto industry, including urbanization and declining driving rates in younger Americans. Now, I’ll trot out my crystal ball again and offer you another prediction: This is the beginning of the end for Big Oil, too. Now before you jump down my throat for trolling you again with hyperbole, I will state up front that I don’t expect Exxon Mobil XOM -1.01%  , BP BP -2.13%  and Chevron CVX -0.69%   to disappear tomorrow any more than I expect I-95 to start sprouting daisies. But as with the decline of automobile ownership — and in part because of it — we may also be witnessing a protracted decline in major energy stocks and fossil fuel demand. That’s bad for big oil, and bad for investors in these stocks. Efficiency […]

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Mackenzie: Keep Markets Free, Address Climate Challenges

More At IHS CERAWeek Tuesday, Andrew Mackenzie, BHP Billiton Ltd.’s chief executive officer, gave a keynote speech where he addressed the importance of the free market in marketing fossil fuels for the foreseeable future, while also addressing climate change. It is possible, he said, to use fossil fuels while also making use of technology to reduce emissions. While best known for being in the coal business – it is the largest mining company in the world – BHP Billiton has also been a player in the oil and gas industry since the 1960s. Today, BHP has a global upstream business, and is a large investor in U.S. shale, and has operations in the Gulf of Mexico. BHP also supplies oil, gas, coal and uranium, and Mackenzie said many say it will take an “all of the above” approach to meet energy demand. The company focuses on geology, technology and […]

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Tech Talk – Coal prospects

Last week was the annual Society of Mining Engineers annual meeting, this year in Salt Lake City, with the title “ Leadership in Uncertain Times .” To illustrate the point it had some 6,000 members or more in attendance, as I hear and was quite successful from that point of view. However, through the grapevine I also heard that some of the mining companies are less optimistic of the future, with job offers made for this summer being withdrawn in several cases. There is a considerable question as to the future of coal, as the title reflects, and this has as much to do with concerns over the construction or not of additional coal-fired powered stations around the world and the changing market as older plants are withdrawn from service. Some of the reason for uncertainty can be seen in the predictions from […]

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WTI Falls From Four-Month High With Brent on Ukraine Risk

West Texas Intermediate and Brent crudes dropped from the highest price since September amid speculation that heightened tension between Russia and Ukraine is unlikely to result in a disruption to oil supplies. U.S. futures fell as much as 1.4 percent, declining for the first time in three days. Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered troops back to bases from military exercises in the Leningrad region, Interfax newswire reported, citing Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov. Investor fears of a supply disruption are misplaced, according to Societe Generale SA. WTI’s rally was unsustainable, a technical indicator shows. “For the moment the position with regard to Ukraine has stabilized but it remains to be seen what will happen to the loyal Ukrainian forces surrounded in Crimea,” said Christopher Bellew , a senior broker at Jefferies Bache Ltd. in London. WTI for April delivery slid as much as $1.46 to $103.46 a barrel in electronic […]

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WTI Crude Rises to Five-Month High on Ukraine

West Texas Intermediate crude surged to a five-month high as Brent advanced amid escalating tension between Ukraine and Russia , the world’s biggest energy exporter. WTI climbed 2.3 percent. Ukraine mobilized its army reserves as Russia seized control of the Black Sea region of Crimea. The U.S. is weighing sanctions against Moscow during the worst standoff between the West and Russia since the Cold War ended. Futures also gained on speculation that supplies at Cushing, Oklahoma, slid for a fifth time last week. “The Russian foray into the Crimea is jacking up the geopolitical premium in the market,” said Gene McGillian , an analyst and broker at Tradition Energy in Stamford, Connecticut. “The bulls are having their way and the rally continues.” WTI for April delivery gained $2.33 to $104.92 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange , the highest settlement since Sept. 19. Volume was 49 percent […]

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Ukraine's False Spark for Oil Prices

Oil traders glued to images of Ukrainian and Russian troops in a standoff in Crimea are missing a much more obvious indicator: The stock market. It is characteristic for oil prices to jump at the first whiff of a potential conflict, and Brent crude obliged Monday with a 2% increase, taking it back above $110 a barrel. But Ukraine’s crisis is, if anything, likely a bearish development for oil. Ukraine’s own oil supply is negligible. Russia’s, at about 11 million barrels a day, is vital. But its sheer size means a broad embargo encompassing all major oil-consuming nations mean that is both highly unlikely and likely unenforceable. If anything, the crisis could encourage a release of strategic oil stocks on the part of the U.S. and allies. In the longer term, it could swing U.S. politicians toward allowing more exports of crude oil. Meanwhile, the threat to demand is […]

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Ukraine’s False Spark for Oil Prices

Oil traders glued to images of Ukrainian and Russian troops in a standoff in Crimea are missing a much more obvious indicator: The stock market. It is characteristic for oil prices to jump at the first whiff of a potential conflict, and Brent crude obliged Monday with a 2% increase, taking it back above $110 a barrel. But Ukraine’s crisis is, if anything, likely a bearish development for oil. Ukraine’s own oil supply is negligible. Russia’s, at about 11 million barrels a day, is vital. But its sheer size means a broad embargo encompassing all major oil-consuming nations mean that is both highly unlikely and likely unenforceable. If anything, the crisis could encourage a release of strategic oil stocks on the part of the U.S. and allies. In the longer term, it could swing U.S. politicians toward allowing more exports of crude oil. Meanwhile, the threat to demand is […]

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UN monitors: Iran cutting sensitive nuclear stocks, but much work remains

Iran is reducing its enriched uranium nuclear stockpile as required by its  landmark deal with world powers , but much work remains to be done to resolve all concerns about Tehran’s activities, the United Nations atomic watchdog chief, Yukiya Amano , said Monday. Among measures Iran is taking since the  interim agreement took effect on Jan. 20  is the dilution of its stock of higher-enriched uranium to a fissile concentration less suitable for any attempt to fuel an atomic bomb. Amano, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), indicated that Iran had made sufficient progress in this regard to receive a scheduled March 1 installment of $450 million out of a total of $4.2 billion in previously blocked overseas funds. The IAEA has a  pivotal role  in checking that Iran is living up to its part of the six-month accord in curbing its disputed nuclear program in […]

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Militants storm local council HQ in Iraq, kill 6

Iraqi officials say militants have stormed a government building in a city north of Baghdad, killing at least six people. Police officers say two suicide bombers first blew themselves up on Tuesday at the entrance to the local council in Samara, paving the way for five other attackers to storm inside after detonating a parked car bomb. The officers say security forces quickly arrived at the scene, besieged the building and after a two-hour gunbattle, killed all the attackers and freed an unspecified number of people who had been trapped inside. Among those killed in the attack were three policemen and at least three civilians. The officials say 34 people were wounded. All officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to talk to media. © 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. […]

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Oil Prices Retreat as Markets Watch Ukraine

Crude-oil prices on Tuesday retreated from the highs posted in the previous session, as the market reassessed the risks to supply arising from the crisis in Ukraine. April Brent crude on London’s ICE Futures exchange fell $1.36 to $109.84 a barrel, having traded above $112 a barrel for a time Monday. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for delivery in April fell $1.10 to $103.82 a barrel, having traded above $105 a barrel the prior session for the first time since September. Prices will continue to move on headlines from Ukraine, where Russian troops have been deployed in the Crimea region. Talk of sanctions against Russia, the world’s largest oil-producing nation, roiled the markets on Monday. Some 6 million barrels of oil are shipped to Europe from Russia each day. Tamas Varga, of oil brokerage PVM, said the price drawback suggests either that the risk […]

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Dana Gas to overhaul production facilities in Egypt

Emirati energy company Dana Gas said it was overhauling its el-Wastani natural gas plant in Egypt to increase its production by 25 percent. The company said it was shutting down the facility for two weeks to upgrade capacity by 40 million cubic feet per day to 200 million cubic feet. Mark Fenton, general manager for Dana’s subsidiary in Egypt, said the maintenance was planned as soon as his company received permission to bring new fields in the country into commercial production. "It is a necessary work and the tie-in of the new wells along with the maintenance program ensures that the plant is also fully upgraded prior to new wells coming on stream during the year," he said in a statement published Sunday. Dana announced last week it signed agreements with the Egyptian government to explore for natural resources in eastern […]

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Iraq exports rebound

Iraqi Oil Minister Abdul Karim Luaibi (center), Deputy Prime Minister for Energy Hussain al-Shahristani (second from right), and Nihad Mousa (right), the head of the State Company for Oil Projects, preside over a ceremony marking the expansion of the Basra refinery. (Photo courtesy of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister) Iraq’s average daily exports rose by 551,000 barrels per day (bpd) in February – a 26 percent jump from January – as the oil sector benefited from infrastructure repairs, upgrade projects, and debottlenecking work.That momentum will need to continue over the coming months because several major fields are scheduled to bring more than 500,000 bpd of new production online by the end of the year, led by the start-up of West Qurna 2, which operator Lukoil is set to push to 300,000 bpd. This… This content is for registered users. Please login to continue. If you are not […]

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Bahrain blast kills three policemen: Interior Ministry

An explosion killed three policemen in Bahrain on Monday during a protest in a village near the capital Manama, the Interior Ministry said, in one of the worst incidents of violence in recent months. The United Arab Emirates said one of its police officers, serving in a Gulf Cooperation Council force operating in the island kingdom, was among the three dead officers, according to the UAE state news agency WAM. The Bahraini Interior Ministry said on its Twitter account that a group of protesters had broken away from a mourning procession in the village of Daih and started blocking roads. The explosion took place as police were trying to disperse the rioters, it added. There was no immediate word on what had caused the blast. Both the UAE and Bahrain are members of the Gulf Cooperation Council, a political and military alliance that also includes Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman […]

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Sudan: Iraq Expresses Readiness to Supply Sudan With Oil

The Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister for Energy Hussein al-Shahristani on Monday expressed his country’s willingness to supply Sudan with crude oil and assist in the construction of a new oil refinery. Shahristani said in a statement released by his office as carried by Iraqi media that Baghdad is keen on supporting the Sudanese people and will stand by their side politically and economically. The Iraqi official made the statement after his meeting with the head of Sudan’s National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS) Gen Mohamed Atta Al-Mawla Abbas who heads a government delegation that includes the minister of oil Makkawi Mohamed Awad, director of the oil marketing company and a number of experts. Abbas visited Iraq as an envoy from Sudanese president Omer Hassan al-Bashir. "The two sides discussed ways of strengthening relations between the two countries and the mechanism of exporting Iraqi oil to Sudan. The […]

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Haze Shrouds Malaysian Capital Amid Forest Fires and Drought

Smoke from forest and peat-soil fires drove air quality to unhealthy levels in and around Malaysia’s capital of Kuala Lumpur today, adding to the burden of water rationing after a month-long drought. The government’s air pollutant index climbed to as high as 137 in Port Klang this morning, with seven parts of Kuala Lumpur and the states of Selangor and Negri Sembilan recording levels above 100, which is classified as unhealthy. Cloud-seeding has begun to induce rainfall over dams and water-catchment areas, the Star reported today, citing Malaysia’s Meteorological Department. “We are trying to identify fire-prone areas, especially peat-soil land and steps are being taken,” G. Palanivel, Malaysia’s natural resources and environment minister, said in a text message to Bloomberg News today. Disputes over haze flare up regularly between Indonesia and its neighbors. The latest was in June, when smog in Singapore reached a record […]

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EPA sees win-win-win with tailpipe rules

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said Monday new fuel and automotive emissions rules will create a better environment and improve public health. EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy said Monday so-called Tier 3 standards, which aim to curb emissions from cars and trucks, would help avoid 2,000 premature deaths and as many as 50,000 cases of respiratory illnesses. "These standards are a win for public health, a win for our environment, and a win for our pocketbooks," she said in a statement Monday. The new standards should reduce gasoline sulfur levels by more than 60 percent, cutting some of the components that make up smog. The new standards will be introduced gradually beginning with model year 2017. The Natural Resources Defense Council said the proposals would have a marginal affect on retail gasoline prices. "These standards will clean our air, protect our health and save money," […]

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In Dakota Oil Patch, Trains Trump Pipelines

Moving North Dakota’s oil riches out of state on trains was supposed to be a stopgap solution until pipelines could be built. But even as crude gushes from the state’s Bakken Shale at a rate of nearly 1 million barrels a day, some pipeline companies are abandoning proposed projects, and it is becoming clear that rail transport won’t be a temporary phenomenon. In January, Koch Pipeline Company walked away from a project because of what it said was tepid interest by local oil producers. A year earlier Oneok Partners LP canceled plans for a $2 billion pipeline from North Dakota to Oklahoma for the same reason. Rail is almost always a more expensive way to transport crude than pipelines—as much as twice the price a barrel over similar distances. But in North Dakota’s case, rail’s greater flexibility to ferry oil to where it fetches the highest price trumped the […]

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Federal Court Rejects BP's Effort To Stop Payouts

A federal appeals court rejected BP PLC’s effort to stop Gulf Coast businesses from collecting payouts from the Deepwater Horizon settlement fund, even when they can’t directly trace their losses to the 2010 oil spill. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling appears to leave the oil company on the hook for billions of dollars more in payments than it originally estimated when it reached a settlement in 2012 with tens of thousands of businesses and individuals along the Gulf Coast. "They have some options for appeal, but it’s a significant loss for BP," said Tom Claps, an analyst with Susquehanna Financial Group who has followed the case. BP spokesman Geoff Morrell said the company disagrees with the decision that could allow payouts to businesses that didn’t actually lose money because of the spill. The appeals court in New Orleans upheld a lower court judge’s ruling that the […]

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Federal Court Rejects BP’s Effort To Stop Payouts

A federal appeals court rejected BP PLC’s effort to stop Gulf Coast businesses from collecting payouts from the Deepwater Horizon settlement fund, even when they can’t directly trace their losses to the 2010 oil spill. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling appears to leave the oil company on the hook for billions of dollars more in payments than it originally estimated when it reached a settlement in 2012 with tens of thousands of businesses and individuals along the Gulf Coast. "They have some options for appeal, but it’s a significant loss for BP," said Tom Claps, an analyst with Susquehanna Financial Group who has followed the case. BP spokesman Geoff Morrell said the company disagrees with the decision that could allow payouts to businesses that didn’t actually lose money because of the spill. The appeals court in New Orleans upheld a lower court judge’s ruling that the […]

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IHS CERAWeek: Murkowski to ask EIA for analysis of US oil exports

US Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alas.) told IHS CERAWeek participants on Mar. 3 that she plans to ask the US Energy Information Administration for an economic analysis regarding the lifting of the ban on crude oil exports. She also called for a streamlining of regulations on condensate, condensate export permits, and more action by the administration regarding crude oil exports, specifically a determination by President Barack Obama that oil exports are in the national interest. “Timing with legislation is everything so we need to be doing the legwork with the Senate Energy Committee,” Murkowski said. Citing robust oil and gas production from US shale plays, Murkowski said US oil exports could provide a level of greater global economic stability. “We need to view our energy as an asset for global stability,” she told reporters during a news conference after her speech. “The oil market is clearly a global market.” In […]

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Russia to hike price on gas supplies to Ukraine

Russia’s state-controlled natural gas giant Gazprom says it will cancel a price discount for natural gas supplies to Ukraine. Gazprom chief Alexei Miller said Tuesday in televised remarks that Ukraine has accumulated a $1.5-billion debt for Russian gas supplies. He added at a meeting with Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev that Gazprom will cancel a price rebate for Ukraine starting April 1. Russia offered the discounted price and a $15-billion bailout to Ukraine in December following President Viktor Yanukovych’s decision to ditch a pact with the European Union in favor of closer ties with Russia. © 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Learn more about our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use .

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The energy transition tipping point is here

Page added on March 3, 2014 The economic foundations supporting fossil fuels investments are collapsing quickly, as the business case for renewables such as solar and wind finds a new center of balance. I have waited a long time—decades, really—for a tipping point in the energy transition from fossil fuels to renewables beyond which there can be no turning back. Fresh evidence pertaining to many themes I have explored in this column over the past three years suggests that tipping point is finally here. Oil and gas Underlying the abundance hype over tight oil, tar sands and other “unconventional” sources of liquid fuel has been a dirty little secret: They’re expensive. The soaring cost of producing oil has far outpaced the rise in oil prices as the world has relied on these marginal sources to keep production growing since conventional oil production peaked in 2005. Those who ignored the […]

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Beginning of the End? Oil Companies Cut Back on Spending

Steve Kopits recently gave a presentation explaining our current predicament: the cost of oil extraction has been rising rapidly (10.9% per year) but oil prices have been flat. Major oil companies are finding their profits squeezed, and have recently announced plans to sell off part of their assets in order to have funds to pay their dividends. Such an approach is likely to lead to an eventual drop in oil production. I have talked about similar points previously (here and here), but Kopits adds some additional perspectives which he has given me permission to share with my readers. I encourage readers to watch the original hour-long presentation at Columbia University, if they have the time.>Click here to view full article at ourfiniteworld.com

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Checking In On Peak Oil

In last week’s column, The Case of the Missing Propane , I explained how the widespread use of hydraulic fracturing (fracking) of shale oil deposits since 2008 has led to a 30% increase in the production of crude petroleum in the United States. While that statistic makes for snappy headlines, it is not particularly meaningful to the overall world oil supply or the phenomenon known as Peak Oil. If you are not familiar with Peak Oil, I published a column in June of 2011 called Peak Oil in Five Paragraphs or Less . Here are the key points: • Peak Oil refers to the time at which we reach the global maximum rate of oil production, which is followed by decades of declining rates of production. • Due to oil’s pivotal role as a transportation fuel and (as I explained in Everything Comes […]

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Ukraine Crisis Stokes Oil Price Surge

Crude-oil futures surged in Asian trading hours Monday after Russia seized Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula by force over the weekend, offsetting any impact from weak manufacturing data from China. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for delivery in April traded at $103.78 a barrel at 0519 GMT, up $1.19 in the Globex electronic session. April Brent crude on London’s ICE Futures exchange rose $1.62 to $110.69 a barrel. Russia’s parliament authorized President Vladimir Putin to use military force in Ukraine over the weekend, raising fears of an imminent conflict, but analysts say oil and gas supplies from Russia to eastern Europe have not yet been affected. Russia is the second-largest producer of natural gas and third-largest liquid fuels producer in the world, much of it supplied to European countries via Ukraine, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Ukraine is an important transit country for Russian […]

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Commodities Climb to Six-Month High as Oil, Corn Rise on Ukraine

Commodities advanced to the highest level in almost six months as escalating tension in Ukraine fueled concern that energy and agricultural supplies will be disrupted while increasing demand for gold as a haven. The Standard & Poor’s GSCI Index (SPGSCI) of 24 raw materials climbed as much as 1.6 percent to 660.26, the highest level since Sept. 9, and was at 659.55 at 8:10 a.m. in London. Brent crude in London jumped 2 percent, wheat in Chicago surged 3.9 percent, while gold futures in New York increased 1.9 percent. Natural gas and corn also advanced. Russia , the world’s largest energy exporter, seized control of the Black Sea region of Crimea in Ukraine, where tension has escalated since Russia-backed Viktor Yanukovych was overthrown as president on Feb. 22. More than half of Russia’s gas exports to the European Union are shipped through Ukraine, which is set to be the […]

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Ukraine Tension Seen Stoking Oil, Gas Prices on Supply Risk

Oil and natural gas rose amid investor concern that escalating geopolitical tension over Ukraine could curb energy supplies. Brent crude advanced as much as 2 percent to $111.24 a barrel on the ICE Futures Europe exchange in London today. Gas futures jumped as much as 2.8 percent to $4.736 per million British thermal units in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange , after sliding 25 percent last week. “The market will be incredibly nervous, and that caution should push prices higher,” Ole Hansen, a Copenhagen-based strategist at Saxo Bank A/S, said yesterday by phone before the resumption of trading today. The standoff over Ukraine, the main conduit for Russian gas to consumers in Europe, intensified over the weekend as the former Soviet state put its forces on combat readiness and Russia ’s President Vladimir Putin threatened to invade. Wholesale gas costs jumped in […]

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Speculators Boost Bullish Oil Bets to Record on Cushing: Energy

Hedge funds increased their bullish bets on West Texas Intermediate oil to a record as rising flows of domestic crude to Gulf Coast refineries cut demand for more costly foreign grades. Money managers bolstered net-long positions, or wagers on rising prices, on the U.S. benchmark by 2.2 percent in the week ended Feb. 25, Commodity Futures Trading Commission data show. The positions climbed to the highest level in CFTC data going back to 2006. Shipments to the Gulf from Cushing, Oklahoma , which is the delivery point for New York futures, began to surge in January, when TransCanada Corp. (TRP) started moving oil on the southern leg of the Keystone XL pipeline. The added supplies helped narrow the premium of Brent crude , the international benchmark, over WTI to a 21-week closing low of $6.48 a barrel on Feb. 28 from a 2014 high of $14.88 on Jan. 13. […]

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Frustrated With the Pace of Change, Rioters Storm Parliament Building in Libya

Dozens of armed rioters stormed into the Libyan Parliament in Tripoli on Sunday, setting fire to the grounds, looting furniture and wounding a prominent lawmaker in a spasm of anger at the clotted and chaotic transition after the ouster of Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi . Less than two weeks after a vote to elect an assembly charged with writing a new constitution, the bedlam at Parliament dampened hopes of renewed momentum for the transition, or even of a break from the violence. Security guards outside the building encouraged the rioters, witnesses said, and looters running amok suspended the symbolic white chair of the parliamentary leader from a lamppost. Later, they set the chair on fire. In Benghazi, Libya, at least three people were killed by gunshots, according to news reports, adding to an accelerating pattern of assassinations of former Qaddafi security officers and foreigners. Together, the events appeared […]

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Deportee in Saudi killed in detention center riot

A Saudi police spokesman says a foreign detainee died and nine others were injured in a riot at a center housing people awaiting deportation. Police spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Ati bin Attiya al-Qarshi said in a statement Monday that some of the foreign detainees at the al-Shemaisi center had rioted Sunday evening and clashed with security men. He did not give the reasons for rioting or reveal the victims’ nationalities. Yemeni online forums reported that 10 Yemenis were killed when police opened fire on rioters demanding that Saudi authorities speed up their deportation. The reports say between 6,000 to 10,000 Yemenis are detained in the prison in Jiddah. Since last year, the government has deported hundreds of thousands of illegal workers after an amnesty period. © 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Learn more […]

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For Iraqis fleeing Fallujah, it's 2004 again – but worse

In a trailer relocated from Camp Victory, Eman Rasheed brushes the dust off her clothes and tries to settle her children on thin foam mattresses after fleeing Fallujah for a second time. Children peer out of the stripped-down trailers, once parked in the sand at the main US military base, from behind doors dotted with peeling stickers of American flags and advertisements for energy drinks.  Skip to next paragraph The old signs taped to the door urging energy conservation when using the heaters or air conditioners seem taunting – there are no lights or heating units. There is no running water. At lunchtime a small pickup truck with large platters of rice and chicken cooked by resident s  of the city, Samarra , pulls up. A young volunteer jumps out to deliver a tin platter to each door. For many here, this is their second exodus from Fallujah. Ten years ago, US forces […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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For Iraqis fleeing Fallujah, it’s 2004 again – but worse

In a trailer relocated from Camp Victory, Eman Rasheed brushes the dust off her clothes and tries to settle her children on thin foam mattresses after fleeing Fallujah for a second time. Children peer out of the stripped-down trailers, once parked in the sand at the main US military base, from behind doors dotted with peeling stickers of American flags and advertisements for energy drinks.  Skip to next paragraph The old signs taped to the door urging energy conservation when using the heaters or air conditioners seem taunting – there are no lights or heating units. There is no running water. At lunchtime a small pickup truck with large platters of rice and chicken cooked by resident s  of the city, Samarra , pulls up. A young volunteer jumps out to deliver a tin platter to each door. For many here, this is their second exodus from Fallujah. Ten years ago, US forces […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Nigeria: Fuel Scarcity May Worsen As Most Petrol Stations Run Out of Stock

The current fuel scarcity in the country may worsen this week as more filling stations ran out of supply at the weekend. THISDAY gathered from the managers of some petrol stations in Lagos that the few filling stations that had fuel, exhausted their stock at the weekend and would likely not have the product this week. However, the marketers disagreed with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) that they were hoarding the product and attributed the scarcity to the delay in the release of the first quarter import allocation. According to them, the tight supply would linger until the marketers begin to bring in the product, adding that the situation was worse in Lagos, because of its large population as the commercial nerve centre. Sources hinted that the situation was getting out of hand in some parts of the North, South-east and South-west, as the Department of Petroleum Resources […]

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Shale-Oil Boom Spurs Refining Binge

U.S. refiners haven’t built a major new fuel-processing plant since 1976, in part because of environmental regulations. But a flood of oil from Texas, Oklahoma and North Dakota has companies rushing to expand existing plants and build small new processors around the country. Valero Energy Corp. , Marathon Petroleum Corp. and other refiners are engineering ways to expand fuel-making capacity at their aging plants without the cost of building entirely new refineries to take advantage of the increase in light sweet crude flowing from U.S. wells. The gasoline, diesel and other fuels they are producing can either be burned in the U.S. or sold around the world because they aren’t subject to the export ban Congress imposed on crude in the early 1970s. American refiners are set to add at least 400,000 barrels of oil-refining capacity a day to existing plants between now and 2018, according to information compiled […]

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Venezuela protests

Thousands of opposition demonstrators in Venezuela have marched through the streets of Caracas in new protests against the government. At the end of the march, activists clashed with police in the opposition strongholds of Chacao and Altamira. President Nicolas Maduro extended the traditional carnival holidays until the end of this week and asked Venezuelans to rest and celebrate peace. At least 17 people have been killed in more than three weeks of unrest. Opposition leaders have asked people to ignore the carnival season, when many Venezuelans traditionally go to the seaside. They are demanding the release of dozens of demonstrators and activists arrested since last month, including high-profile politician Leopoldo Lopez. The opposition blames the left-wing policies of Mr Maduro and his predecessor, Hugo Chavez, for […]

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A cascade of woes hitting Venezuela’s oil industry

At a conference that annually celebrates–for the most part–the explosion of North American supply, a panel that featured two PDVSA alumni turned into a bleak review of an almost unfathomable crisis gripping the Venezuelan oil industry. The strife in the streets of Caracas, and the lines of people waiting to buy the basic stuff of life, are almost secondary to the fact that, as the panelists noted, the Venezuelan government has mortgaged the future of its oil industry. Waiting for the country’s rapidly sinking ship of state to be righted by an increase in production, and maybe a boost in prices too, increasingly appears to be a pipe dream. The two panelists discussing this on day two of the Platts Crude Oil Market-Americas conference in Houston were Alberto Cisnernos Lavalier, CEO and president of Caracas-based Global Business Consultants, and Ramon Espinasa, the lead oil and gas specialist in the […]

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China discovers huge oil, gas deposits

China discovered nearly 1.1 billion tonnes of oil deposits and 616.4 billion cubic meters of natural gas reserves in 2013, said the Ministry of Land and Resources. Of the new discoveries, 202 million tonnes of oil and 381.9 billion cubic meters of natural gas can be exploited with the current technologies, according to the ministry. The production of oil and natural gas last year stood at 210 million tonnes and 117.6 billion cubic meters, rising 1.4 percent and 9.1 percent year-on-year, respectively. "Oil and natural gas discoveries maintained a strong momentum in 2013 with steady production increase as China strengthened its exploration efforts and made breakthroughs," said the ministry. China is one of the world’s largest energy consumers, and a large part of its demands, especially in oil and natural gas, depends on imports.

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Natural gas field discovered on Gaza’s coast

Palestinian MP Dr Salem Salama, a member of the economic committee of the Palestinian Legislative Council, announced that the Palestinian government in the Gaza Strip has discovered a natural gas field off the coast of the central province. In remarks to Sout Al-Aqsa on Monday morning, he noted that the field is only 200 to 300 meters away from the central province’s beach, which means that the natural gas can be easily extracted. “The fact that the field is so close to the beach will facilitate the work of any company that might invest in this field. The return will be great for the Gaza Strip, in economic terms” , he added. Salama also revealed that the Palestinian Legislative Council has summoned the Minister of Interior and the Minister of Economy to provide more details about the subject and to discuss the government’s […]

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China could meet 2015 shale gas target on Sinopec, CNPC efforts: analysts

Recent progress at shale gas projects operated by China’s state-owned giants Sinopec and China National Petroleum Corp. suggest the country is on track to meet the 2015 production target set by the central government, analysts said Monday. China is targeting shale gas output of 6.5 billion cubic meters/year by 2015 and 60 billion-100 billion cu m/year (5.8-9.7 Bcf/day) by 2020 under its official plans. Analysts had earlier criticized these targets as unrealistic given the huge challenges facing operators in China’s nascent shale gas sector. The country’s total shale gas output in 2013 was just 200 million cu m, the Ministry of Land and Resources said in January. Article continues below… Request a free trial of: International Gas Report International Gas Report International Gas Report is a biweekly report that intelligently analyzes what is happening in the natural gas industry, improving your vision and sharpening […]

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China's manufacturing, services sectors diverge in February

China’s services sector regained some momentum in February but its manufacturing sector struggled, separate surveys showed on Monday, with the divergence adding to the difficulty in assessing the strength of the economy at the start of 2014. Data for the world’s second-largest economy has been mixed, and the Lunar New Year holidays have made it harder to assess momentum. Weak investment and declining manufacturing PMI readings have been countered by surprisingly buoyant exports and bank lending. The official non-manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) rose to a three-month high of 55.0 in February, while the final Markit/HSBC manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index fell to 48.5, its third straight decline. That followed an official manufacturing PMI on Saturday which fell to an eight-month low of 50.2, just above the 50 level that separates contraction from expansion. "It’s a domestic investment-led slowdown. You see exports strong, so external demand is […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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China’s manufacturing, services sectors diverge in February

China’s services sector regained some momentum in February but its manufacturing sector struggled, separate surveys showed on Monday, with the divergence adding to the difficulty in assessing the strength of the economy at the start of 2014. Data for the world’s second-largest economy has been mixed, and the Lunar New Year holidays have made it harder to assess momentum. Weak investment and declining manufacturing PMI readings have been countered by surprisingly buoyant exports and bank lending. The official non-manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) rose to a three-month high of 55.0 in February, while the final Markit/HSBC manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index fell to 48.5, its third straight decline. That followed an official manufacturing PMI on Saturday which fell to an eight-month low of 50.2, just above the 50 level that separates contraction from expansion. "It’s a domestic investment-led slowdown. You see exports strong, so external demand is […]

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Hundreds of Keystone XL pipeline opponents arrested at White House

More than 500 protesters chanting, “Hey, Obama! We don’t want no pipeline drama,” marched to the White House Sunday, demanding that President Obama stop construction of the Keystone XL pipeline extension that would daily carry 830,000 barrels of crude oil from Canada to the Gulf Coast. About 200 protesters, who marched from Georgetown University, through the streets of D.C., stopping in front of the house of Secretary of State John Kerry to drop “a fake oil spill,” were arrested after they used plastic zip ties to lock themselves to the White House fence. “We are here to tell President Obama to stop a pipeline that he has the control to stop,” said Justin Filtz, 26, who traveled from Stevens Point, Wisc. “The XL pipeline is like a line in the sand if we are going to stop climate change.” The segment of the Keystone XL pipeline that would run […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple