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Oil at $100 Loss Warning Rejected by Norges Bank: Nordic Credit

Oeystein Olsen, Norway’s central bank governor, rejected industry warnings that oil at about $100 a barrel is too cheap to support growth in western Europe ’s biggest crude exporter. “We have been quite lucky and we have benefited from relatively high oil prices, $100 per barrel or just above,” Olsen said in a Feb. 28 interview after a press conference in Oslo. “Given other developments all over the world, we should be relatively content if this level remains.” Statoil ASA (STL) , Norway’s biggest crude producer, said last month it would cut planned investments by 8 percent over the next three years as the stagnant price of oil weighs on cash flow . The decision triggered a warning from the government, which owns 67 percent of Statoil, and has said that planned projects must go ahead and that it may seek to attract more competitors. While […]

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Russia Gas Threat Shows Putin Using Pipelines to Press Ukraine

OAO Gazprom (OGZD) ’s threat to end natural gas discounts for Ukraine adds to the financial burden on the near-bankrupt government in Kiev and makes Europe’s energy supply part of the escalating crisis. Russia ’s gas-export monopoly said on March 1 it may end last year’s agreement to supply Ukraine at a cheaper rate unless it’s paid $1.55 billion owed for fuel. It’s the first time since the otherthrow of pro-Moscow president Viktor Yanukovych last month that Russia has directly used its position as Ukraine’s dominant energy supplier to pressure the new regime. Vladimir Putin , who has permission from lawmakers to deploy troops to Ukraine, has repeatedly used gas to strong-arm his western neighbor, cutting off supplies twice since 2006 over payment disputes. Because Ukraine hosts a network of Soviet-era pipelines that carry more than half of Russia’s gas exports to the European Union, any […]

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U.S., Europe Threaten to Punish Putin

The U.S. and its European allies vowed Sunday to isolate Russian President Vladimir Putin and punish his nation’s economy, demanding he withdraw what they called an occupation force from Ukraine’s Crimean region. Washington began canceling joint economic and trade initiatives with Moscow, including preparations for the summit of the Group of Eight leading nations scheduled to be held in Sochi, Russia, in June. Senior U.S. officials said the administration was also beginning discussions with Congress on implementing targeted economic and financial sanctions on Russian companies and leaders if the Kremlin didn’t begin pulling back from Crimea. "Russian forces now have complete operational control of the Crimean peninsula, some 6,000-plus airborne and naval forces, with considerable materiel," a senior official said. "There is no question that they are in an occupation position in Crimea, that they are flying in reinforcements, and they are settling in." Officials in Washington and around […]

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Waltzing in the dark. Will Russia shut off gas supplies to Europe?

With the successful Ukrainian uprising underway, Europe must start thinking about coping strategies if the conflict were to escalate. What would happen if Russia decides to up the ante and retaliate with higher gas prices or even a cutoff of supplies, in an effort to strong-arm the new administration in Kiev? What is the status of Europe’s energy security strategy? Map of the major existing and proposed Russian natural gas transportation pipelines to Europe (15 November 2009). Source:  Samuel Bailey via Wikiimedia Commons . [Added by Resilience editor.] It takes two to tango. But what about when there are 28 dance partners, each trying to show off their own dance moves, while pretending to follow the same tune? This is how one can begin to interpret the uncoordinated steps coming from the principal dance hall of Europe, Brussels. Take energy security for example. Since the start of 2014, Gazprom […]

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Did Natural Gas Debt Trigger the Ukraine Crisis?

Defending Moscow’s December 18, 2013 agreement to provide Ukraine with an aid package estimated at about $15 billion, and cheaper natural gas through discounts and “gas debt forgiveness” estimated as able to save Ukraine $7 bn in one year, Vladimir Putin said the decision to invest $15 bn in ‘brotherly slavic’ Ukraine, and grant the gas discount was “pragmatic and based on economic facts”. At the time, the “investment” in Ukraine was already conditional – not only on the political issue of Ukrainian loyalty to Moscow – but on Ukraine complying with previous longstanding, often revoked, modified or extended commitments to repay gas debts dating from as far back as the early 1990s.  In December, Russia’s Finance minister Anton Siluanov said payment of the “aid or investment” funds to Ukraine, in tranches of about $2 bn each, would need Ukraine making a serious […]

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Global riot epidemic due to demise of cheap fossil fuels

Earth insight badge A pro-European protester swings a metal chain during riots in Kiev A protester in Ukraine swings a metal chain during clashes – a taste of things to come? Photograph: Gleb Garanich/Reuters If anyone had hoped that the Arab Spring and Occupy protests a few years back were one-off episodes that would soon give way to more stability, they have another thing coming. The hope was that ongoing economic recovery would return to pre-crash levels of growth, alleviating the grievances fueling the fires of civil unrest, stoked by years of recession. But this hasn’t happened. And it won’t . Instead the post-2008 crash era, including 2013 and early 2014, has seen a persistence and proliferation of civil unrest on a scale that has never been seen before in human history. This month alone has seen riots kick-off in Venezuela , Bosnia , Ukraine , Iceland , and […]

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Global riot epidemic due to demise of cheap fossil fuels

Venezuela protests February 2014 image via aandres/flickr. Creative Commons 2.0 license . If anyone had hoped that the Arab Spring and Occupy protests a few years back were one-off episodes that would soon give way to more stability, they have another thing coming. The hope was that ongoing economic recovery would return to pre-crash levels of growth, alleviating the grievances fueling the fires of civil unrest, stoked by years of recession. But this hasn’t happened. And it won’t . Instead the post-2008 crash era, including 2013 and early 2014, has seen a persistence and proliferation of civil unrest on a scale that has never been seen before in human history. This month alone has seen riots kick-off in Venezuela , Bosnia , Ukraine , Iceland , and Thailand . This is not a coincidence. The riots are of course rooted in common, regressive economic forces playing out across every […]

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New Spy Technology to Spawn Oil Revolution

The future of oil exploration lies in new technology–from massive data-processing supercomputers to 4D seismic to early-phase airborne spy technology that can pinpoint prospective reservoirs. Oil and gas is getting bigger, deeper, faster and more efficient, with new technology chipping away at “peak oil” concerns. Hydraulic fracturing has caught mainstream attention, other high-tech developments in exploration and discovery have kept this ball rolling. Oil majors are second only to the US Defense Department in terms of the use of supercomputing systems, which find sweet spots for drilling based on analog geology . These supercomputing systems analyze vast amounts of seismic imaging data collected by geologists using sound waves. What’s changed most recently is the dimension: When the oil and gas industry first caught on to seismic data collection for exploration efforts, the capabilities […]

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WTI Crude Caps Monthly Gain on Cushing Supply

West Texas Intermediate crude capped a monthly gain as inventories at Cushing, Oklahoma , dropped and the euro strengthened against the dollar. Brent advanced. WTI closed above $100 for a 12th day. Stockpiles at the futures’ delivery point slid 7.04 million barrels in the four weeks ended Feb. 21 as the southern leg of TransCanada Corp. (TRP) ’s Keystone XL pipeline moved oil to Texas from the hub. The euro surged to a 2014 high against the dollar. Brent’s increase in February was the biggest since August. “Crude prices have reached a lofty plateau and I don’t see them weakening,” said Tom Finlon, Jupiter, Florida-based director of Energy Analytics Group LLC. “There is no reason for Cushing inventories to build in the near term. The dollar looks very bad against the euro and that supports the prospect for stronger crude prices.” WTI for April delivery climbed 19 cents to […]

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Brent-WTI spread settles at 5-month low; US GDP keeps futures contained

New York (Platts)–28Feb2014/413 pm EST/2113 GMT The front-month Brent-WTI spread settled at a fresh five-month low of $6.48/barrel Friday, as steady drawdowns in crude stocks at the Cushing, Oklahoma, delivery hub have lent upside support to WTI, while Brent remains subdued. NYMEX April crude settled 19 cents higher at $102.59/b on moderate support from a firm US equities market, but upside gains were limited by a disappointing revision to the fourth quarter US GDP estimate. ICE April Brent settled 11 cents higher at $109.07/b. The front-month Brent-WTI spread dropped as low as $6.29/b during the session. Article continues below… Request a free trial of: Oilgram Price Report Oilgram Price Report Oilgram Price Report is a daily report that covers market changes, market fundamentals and factors driving prices. Oilgram Price Report also brings a vast array of Platts international prices for crude and products, netback tables, and market critical data. […]

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Speculators Hold Record Bullish Position on Crude

Speculators, including hedge funds, held a record-high bullish bet on U.S. crude-oil prices in data released Friday by U.S. commodity regulators. Money managers raised their net wagers on rising prices in the futures market to 339,052 contracts as of Tuesday, a 2.2% increase from the previous week. Those positions were worth a combined $34.5 billion at Tuesday’s settlement price of $101.83 a barrel. Futures have rallied in recent weeks as a new pipeline transported crude oil out of storage in Cushing, Okla., the delivery point for futures contracts on the New York Mercantile Exchange that act as a benchmark for U.S. oil prices. A storage glut has built up in Cushing in recent years as U.S. oil production rapidly increased without sufficient transportation channels to connect the crude to existing refineries. The bottleneck kept U.S. prices below that of Brent crude oil, the international benchmark, in recent years. […]

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Diesel Futures Rise as Another Storm Heads to U.S. Northeast

Diesel futures rose as snow and another winter storm heads from the U.S. Midwest into the Northeast, increasing demand for heating fuel. There’s at least a 30 percent chance for 8 inches (20 centimeters) of snow in New York from late March 2 to 3, the National Weather Service said. East Coast inventories of distillates, which include heating oil and diesel, were 46 percent below the five-year average as of Feb. 21, Energy Information Administration data show. “A good portion of the Northeast from the Upper Lakes, Ohio Valley up through New England are going to get pounded,” said Stephen Schork , president of the Schork Group Inc., an energy advisory company in Villanova, Pennsylvania . Ultra low sulfur diesel for March delivery rose 0.44 cent to $3.0909 a gallon at 11:05 a.m. on the New York Mercantile Exchange on volume that was 12 percent below the 100-day average. […]

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Natural Gas Climbs on Forecasts of Prolonged Cold

Natural-gas futures ended the week on a high note with a modest gain Friday, bolstered by forecasts that cold winter weather will continue to loom over the U.S. in March. Natural gas for April delivery settled up 9.8 cents, or 2.2%, at $4.609 a million British thermal units on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Futures fell 6.8% this month, snapping a four-month winning streak and suffering the worst monthly loss since June. The commodity in recent days had declined as traders looked ahead to warmer spring weather, though conversely, a cold weather pattern is on the horizon and warmer-than-normal temperatures that had been forecasted for mid-March have now been replaced with expectations of more cold air. Colder-than-average temperatures have eaten away at natural-gas stockpiles this winter […]

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Iraq: 'This is war,' say Kurds in oil fight with Baghdad

Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki ‘s dispute with Iraq’s Kurdish minority over its independent oil exports has escalated with the central government blocking Kurdistan’s share of the state budget and banning two airlines that operate between Europe and the Kurds’ semiautonomous northern enclave. Kurdistan’s president, Massoud Barzani , warned Maliki that his actions are "a declaration of war against the people of Kurdistan." The simmering feud between the autocratically inclined Maliki and the independence-minded Kurds seems set to escalate sharply. But Maliki is facing a potentially explosive parliamentary election on April 30, the first since U.S. military forces withdrew in December 2011. He hopes it will bring him a third term as premier, while battling a widening insurgency by the minority Sunnis and al-Qaida that many in Baghdad fear will eventually spread to Iraq’s all-important oil industry, which is largely in the Shiite-controlled south. Some […]

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Iraq: ‘This is war,’ say Kurds in oil fight with Baghdad

Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki ‘s dispute with Iraq’s Kurdish minority over its independent oil exports has escalated with the central government blocking Kurdistan’s share of the state budget and banning two airlines that operate between Europe and the Kurds’ semiautonomous northern enclave. Kurdistan’s president, Massoud Barzani , warned Maliki that his actions are "a declaration of war against the people of Kurdistan." The simmering feud between the autocratically inclined Maliki and the independence-minded Kurds seems set to escalate sharply. But Maliki is facing a potentially explosive parliamentary election on April 30, the first since U.S. military forces withdrew in December 2011. He hopes it will bring him a third term as premier, while battling a widening insurgency by the minority Sunnis and al-Qaida that many in Baghdad fear will eventually spread to Iraq’s all-important oil industry, which is largely in the Shiite-controlled south. Some […]

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Fourth-quarter growth cut to 2.4 percent

The U.S. government slashed its estimate for fourth-quarter growth as consumer spending and exports were less robust than initially thought, leaving the economy on a more sustainable path of modest expansion. Gross domestic product expanded at a 2.4 percent annual rate, the Commerce Department said on Friday. That was down sharply from the 3.2 percent pace reported last month and the 4.1 percent logged in the third quarter. Economists polled by Reuters had expected growth would be cut to a 2.5 percent pace. It is not unusual for the government to make sharp revisions to GDP numbers, as it does not have complete data when it makes its initial estimates. In fact, the latest figures will be subject to revisions next month as more information is received. The revision left GDP just above the economy’s potential growth trend, which analysts put somewhere between a 2 percent […]

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Libyan colonel shot dead in Benghazi

A Libyan security official says gunmen have shot dead an officer in the air defense branch in the eastern city of Benghazi. The official says Colonel Wanis Massoud al-Barghathi was gunned down Friday night. He didn’t provide further details, and spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to brief the media. A wave of assassinations and bombings has targeted police and army officers in Benghazi, a stronghold of militias with roots in the rebel brigades that fought against slain dictator Moammar Gadhafi. Some of the groups are Islamic hard-liners with al-Qaida links. © 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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Slum Dwellers in Caracas Ask, What Protests?

On the east side of this capital city, where the rich people tend to live, most children have stayed home from school for more than a week, protest bonfires burn in the streets at night, stores shut early and carnival celebrations have been canceled. But on the west side, where many of the poor people live under tin roofs, you would hardly know that the country has been stirred by weeks of unrest. Schools operate normally, restaurants serve up arepas, and residents, enjoying the extra days off that President Nicolás Maduro has given the country, prepare to crown their carnival queens. Both sides of this city, the better off and the poorer, are dealing with many of the same […]

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Maduro Reaches Out to Critics as Venezuelan Death Toll Increases

Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro said yesterday he is open to meeting with student protesters and opposition leaders as the death toll from more than two weeks of demonstrations rose. “The country would gain if we met and talked, with respect as always,” Maduro said in a nationwide address after calling on two-time presidential hopeful Henrique Capriles to hold talks. “We are inviting actors, artists, private and public entities, opposition leaders, students, governors, mayors, the Catholic Church and whoever wants to participate.” Maduro spoke after the opposition alliance, which has boycotted two meetings with the president, said it would negotiate only when he shows respect and offers an agenda worked out with mediators. In a message passed on by his wife, opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez wrote that the invitation lacked sincerity considering the government jailed him and seeks to arrest his political coordinator, Carlos Vecchio. Maduro has attempted to defuse […]

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How To Take Apart Fukushima’s 3 Melted-Down Reactors

A radiation-proof superhero could make sense of Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in an afternoon. Our champion would pick through the rubble to reactor 1, slosh through the pooled water inside the building, lift the massive steel dome of the protective containment vessel, and peek into the pressure vessel that holds the nuclear fuel. A dive to the bottom would reveal the debris of the meltdown: a hardened blob of metals with fat strands of radioactive goop dripping through holes in the pressure vessel to the floor of the containment vessel below. Then, with a clear understanding of the situation, the superhero could figure out how to clean up this mess. Unfortunately, mere mortals can’t get anywhere near that pressure vessel, and Japan’s top nuclear experts thus have only the vaguest idea of where […]

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Natural Gas Inventories are Headed Toward Zero

Gas in Underground Storage This winter has been one of the coldest on record. It’s been the coldest winter in at least 30 years, and I saw a report today that there is a chance that this will be Chicago’s coldest winter on record. Presently it is the 3rd coldest on record for Chicago, but another blast of cold air is just moving into the Midwest and East Coast. Natural gas is a major energy source for heating homes, and prices have been spiking periodically in recent weeks as the weekly draws on natural gas inventories are higher than normal. Natural gas consumption in the US is highly seasonal, so producers use a system of underground pressurized storage that builds inventories until mid-fall, which are then depleted through the winter. Natural gas can be stored in depleted oil or gas reservoirs, in natural aquifers, or in salt caverns. The […]

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EIA’s Petroleum Supply Monthly by State, Texas Reporting Problems

Texas + North Dakota The EIA releases two monthly petroleum data sets for US oil production. The Monthly Energy Review  which gives the US production and consumption of all forms of energy, oil, natural gas, coal and electricity.  The other, the  Petroleum Supply Monthly  deals only with petroleum but gives every possible statistic, production, refining, export and import from every state and district. Concerning total US crude oil production the two should agree but they don’t. From December 2011 back they have the exact same production numbers but the near months differ greatly. I have found that the latter, the Petroleum Supply Monthly is the most accurate. The Monthly Energy Review usually changes their numbers to match the Petroleum Supply Monthly but both revise their numbers as more accurate numbers come in. They both are published the last week of the month but  the M.E.R is always a month ahead […]

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In a Host of Small Sources, Scientists See Energy Windfall

The emerging field of “energy scavenging” is drawing on a wide array of untapped energy sources­ — including radio waves, vibrations created by moving objects, and waste heat from computers or car exhaust systems — to generate electricity and boost efficiency. Computers feasting on their own exhaust heat. Super-efficient solar panels snaring lost thermal energy and recycling it into electricity. Personal electronics powered by stray microwaves or vibration-capturing clothing. Cellphones charged with a user’s footsteps. These and more innovations may be possible with free, green energy that is now going to waste. Ubiquitous sources like radio waves, vibration and pressure created by moving objects, heat radiating from machines and even our bodies — all have the potential to produce usable electric power. Until recently, ambient energy was largely squandered because of a lack of ways to efficiently exploit it. Now, advances in materials and engineering are […]

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Bakken Oil Rail Slows, Regulators Deny Terminal Closures

BOil shipments by rail from the booming Bakken have slowed over the past two days, data showed, but a US regulator knocked down rumors that some terminals have been shut down due to new rules. NEW YORK/WASHINGTON, Feb 28 (Reuters) – Oil shipments by rail from the booming Bakken shale in North Dakota have slowed over the past two days, data showed on Friday, but a U.S. regulator knocked down rumors that some terminals have been shut down due to new rules. Oil traders are on edge over concerns that an emergency order from the U.S. Department of Transportation this week requiring shippers to test all crude before it is carried by train could cut into deliveries of Bakken crude, as much as 800,000 barrels per day (bpd) of which is shipped […]

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Devon completes $6 billion purchase of Eagle Ford assets

Devon Energy Corp. , Oklahoma City, has completed its $6 billion purchase of 82,000 net acres in the Eagle Ford play from Woodlands, Tex.-based GeoSouthern Energy more than 3 months after the agreement was reported ( OGJ online, Nov. 20, 2013 ). The assets, in DeWitt and Lavaca counties in Texas, are part of Devon’s plan to invest $1.1 billion in the Eagle Ford this year while drilling more than 200 wells. The company’s net production in the play for the remainder of the year is expected to average between 70,000-80,000 boe/d. Devon previously said it expects the assets to expand at a compound growth rate of 25%/year over the next several years, reaching a peak production rate of 140,000 boe/d.

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US DOE OKs FTA application for ConocoPhillips' Alaska LNG project

The US Department of Energy has approved an application by ConocoPhillips to ship the equivalent of 40 Bcf of natural gas as liquefied natural gas over a two-year period from its plant on the Kenai Peninsula south of Anchorage to countries which have free trade agreements with the US. The approval, however, is seen largely as a technicality since ConocoPhillips is expected to target Japan, a country which does not have a free trade agreement with the US, for the LNG from the Alaskan facility. A separate application from ConocoPhillips to ship to non-FTA countries, such as Japan, is still pending before DOE. LNG market sources said that while the approval was promising, it would take an approval for exports to non-FTA economies like Japan to have an impact on pricing. However, market participants noted that South Korea was an FTA partner, and could […]

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US DOE OKs FTA application for ConocoPhillips’ Alaska LNG project

The US Department of Energy has approved an application by ConocoPhillips to ship the equivalent of 40 Bcf of natural gas as liquefied natural gas over a two-year period from its plant on the Kenai Peninsula south of Anchorage to countries which have free trade agreements with the US. The approval, however, is seen largely as a technicality since ConocoPhillips is expected to target Japan, a country which does not have a free trade agreement with the US, for the LNG from the Alaskan facility. A separate application from ConocoPhillips to ship to non-FTA countries, such as Japan, is still pending before DOE. LNG market sources said that while the approval was promising, it would take an approval for exports to non-FTA economies like Japan to have an impact on pricing. However, market participants noted that South Korea was an FTA partner, and could […]

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Chesapeake Energy to Sell $520 Million in Assets to Exterran, Access Midstream

Natural gas producer Chesapeake Energy Corp. (CHK) said it reached agreements to sell its midstream compression assets to Exterran Partners LP (EXLP) and Access Midstream Partners LP (ACMP) for a total of $520 million to streamline its operations. Exterran Partners and owner Exterran Holdings Inc. (EXH) said Friday they agreed to acquire 334 compression units from Chesapeake–servicing gathering systems in Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Texas and Wyoming–for about $360 million to continue expanding the contract operations business. The company said the acquisition is expected to add to its distributable cash flow, but may not increase its distribution per unit. Meanwhile, Access said it will purchase 103 compression units that service gathering systems in Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia for $160 million to add more natural gas components to its business. The natural gas operator said it expects the deal to immediately add to its distributable cash flow. […]

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California soaked but little drought help, damage

A storm that brought some of the highest rainfall totals to the Los Angeles area in years, including eight inches on some mountains, was just the beginning of what the region needs to pull out of a major drought. Although the storm was expected to remain strong Saturday, forecasters said such systems would have to become common for the state to make serious inroads against the drought. "We need several large storms and we just don’t see that on the horizon," National Weather Service meteorologist Eric Boldt said Friday. "This is a rogue storm. We will dry out next week." But the storm had yet to do serious damage either. At least not yet. In Azusa and neighboring foothill communities about 25 miles east of Los Angeles that sit beneath nearly 2,000 acres of steep mountain slopes that just weeks ago were menaced […]

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EPA Said Poised to Issue Lower Sulfur Limits on Fuel

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency plans to unveil new regulations March 3 to reduce smog from automobiles, including cutting by two-thirds the level of sulfur in gasoline, people familiar with the agency’s deliberations said. The EPA is expected to stick to the broad targets included in a proposed rule published last year that would lower sulfur in gasoline to 10 parts per million from the current 30 parts, the three people said. New limits will also be imposed on tailpipe emissions. “This is the most significant move to protect public health that the EPA will make this year,” said Frank O’Donnell , president of Clean Air Watch , who said he hasn’t seen the final rules though supported the proposal. “There is literally no more effective tool to fight smog. Every American will breathe easier because of these standards.” Supporters of the rules say they could be one of […]

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Winter Storm Aims at U.S. East as Commute Starts Monday

The 28th snowfall of the season is aiming at New York City for the start of the workweek as a storm threatens to coat roads with snow, sleet and ice from Washington to Boston. New York City may get 8 to 10 inches (20 to 25 centimeters) of snow and Philadelphia 6 to 8 on top of a coating of ice, the National Weather Service said. “The most likely scenario is the Monday morning commute will be the most impacted, and that impact could be significant,” said Joey Picca, a weather service meteorologist in Upton, New York. Wave upon wave of storms this winter has grounded tens of thousands of flights, frozen pipes, collapsed roofs and disrupted business across the U.S. New York has had 27 storms since December with at least a trace of snow, weather service data show. Insured losses have reached more than $1.5 billion since […]

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Harsh weather likely to skew economic data again

After months of subpar economic data that has been blamed at least partially on the brutal winter weather, investors may still struggle to discern the real picture of the economy next week. The closely watched monthly jobs report due on Friday is expected show that employers stepped up hiring a bit in February, but there is a greater-than-unusual amount of uncertainty around forecasts given that the weather remained unseasonable. In addition, questions over whether Russia could be drawn into the conflict in Ukraine will likely weigh on investor sentiment. March futures on the CBOE Volatility index, Wall Street’s so-called fear gauge, shot up nearly a percent even as the S&P 500 closed at another record high on Friday. "It will be interesting to see the action on S&P futures on Sunday night based on the kind of developments we see in Ukraine. There are definitely […]

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Rail delivery of oil up 7.8 percent from 2013, AAR says

WASHINGTON, Feb. 28 (UPI) — U.S. rail delivery of petroleum and petroleum products was up 7.8 percent last week from the same period in 2013, the American Association of Railroads said. The AAR said 14,317 carloads of petroleum and petroleum products, or about 1 million barrels of oil, were delivered on the rail system for the week ending Feb. 22, up from the same time last year. Since Jan. 1, 114,290 carloads, or about 80 million barrels of oil, were delivered on the U.S. rail system, a 7.8 percent increase from the same period last year, the AAR said Thursday. The U.S. Energy Information Administration said this week the sustained cold gripping much of the eastern half of the country disrupted everything from crude oil refining to pipeline operations and rail deliveries. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reports a cold snap is expected to continue through the end […]

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Review of Atlantic energy draws mixed reactions

Exploring U.S. waters in the Atlantic Ocean will enhance an already booming energy sector, the oil industry says, though the environmental community cried foul. The U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management released its final environmental impact statement for proposed seismic surveys in U.S. waters of the Atlantic Ocean. The BOEM said the review establishes ways to minimize the impacts to marine life while "setting a path forward for survey activities that will update nearly four-decade-old data on offshore energy resources in the region." Erik Milito, director of upstream operations at the American Petroleum Institute, said the BOEM measure is a critical step in ensuring energy security for the United States. "To continue America’s energy renaissance in the future, we must explore and plan for the future now," he said in a statement Thursday. Athan Manuel, an advocacy director at the Sierra Club, said opening […]

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Seismic testing for Atlantic oil and gas?

The Obama administration has unveiled an environmental analysis that could pave the way for seismic testing for oil and gas in the Atlantic. The U.S. Interior Department’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, in releasing the review Thursday, specified in a statement that it does not authorize any geological and geophysical testing activities, "but rather it establishes a framework for additional mandatory environmental reviews for site-specific actions and identifies broadly-applicable measures governing any future" such activities. Interior says oil and gas industry contractors have already submitted nine applications to do seismic surveys covering hundreds of thousands of miles, the Wall Street Journal reports. While President Obama had said in early 2010 that he planned to open up the Outer Continental Shelf off Virginia and several Atlantic states to leasing by the energy sector, he postponed consideration of those plans after the massive BP oil spill […]

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Canadian oil exports to U.S. increased last year

Canada sent an average of more than 2.5 million barrels of oil per day to the United States in 2013, up 10 percent from the previous year, government data show. The National Energy Board published crude oil export figures for 2013 that showed nearly 70 percent of the oil went to the Petroleum Administration for Defense District II, the U.S. Midwest. Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper said he wants to add a layer of diversity to an export market that relies almost exclusively on the United States as its oil export designation. The NEB said about 82,880 bpd were sent to markets other than the United States last year, more than twice sent to non-U.S. markets. The board didn’t provide a breakdown of export destinations outside the United States. The Harper administration has expressed support for TransCanada’s Keystone XL pipeline, which would send […]

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Traders Watch Ukrainian Pipelines, Ports Amid Crimean Tensions

LONDON—As tensions ratchet higher in Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula, the country’s port operators, international shipping executives and European energy officials reported few disruptions to the vast commodities infrastructure that has made the country a linchpin in the global economy. Ukraine is a key supplier of wheat and corn, and it exports metals and minerals to Europe, Russia and beyond. Ukrainian farms rank as the world’s fourth and fifth largest exporters of corn and wheat, respectively. Much of that feeds African and Mideast markets. Its mills make it the world’s fifth-largest steel exporter. Ukraine also serves as a critical gateway for Russian natural gas to Western Europe. About a fifth of Europe’s annual gas needs flow across the country. Together with Russia, Ukraine forms the northern coast of the Black Sea, a major shipping route for energy, agricultural products and metals. The current unrest in the Crimean peninsula , which juts […]

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The rising of the waters

I grew up in the south of England. It is where my family comes from and has lived for centuries. It is my heritage, and wherever I go, it will be in me. This is what your culture does to you: there is no escape from the sediment it leaves within. It is best to get to the point where you don’t need to escape. The south of England of my childhood, and young adulthood, was overcrowded, mostly suburban, crawling with motorways and spreading chain stores; its old human culture was shrinking away. But still, it had frosty downs, green hills, white fields, hedges of blackthorn and woodbine, chalk carvings, ancient barrows, bluebell woods and small, old pubs. Our ancestral home, or our childhood place, stirs conflicting feelings in us. I once wrote a book which, in retrospect, seemed to be trying to reconcile those feelings with each other. […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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1000 researchers, 400 reports on fusion progress

Nearly 1,000 of the world’s preeminent fusion researchers from 45 countries gathered last week in San Diego to discuss the latest advances in fusion energy. The 24th International Atomic Energy Agency Fusion Energy Conference, organized by the IAEA in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Energy and General Atomics, aims to “provide a forum for the discussion of key physics and technology issues as well as innovative concepts of direct relevance to fusion as a source of nuclear energy.”   Those in attendance in San Diego included Nobel Prize-winning physicist Burton Richter; Physicist Steven Cowley, CEO of the United Kingdom’s Atomic Energy Authority; Frances Chen, a plasma physicist and UCLA professor emeritus who wrote the book An Indispensable Truth: How Fusion Power Can Save the Planet; and keynote speaker William Brinkman, director of the Office of Science in the US Department of Energy. […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple