Category:

Obama Makes Diplomatic Push to Defuse Crisis in Ukraine

President Obama and Ukraine’s interim prime minister opened the door on Wednesday to a political solution that could lead to more autonomy for Crimea if Russian troops withdraw, as the United States embarked on a last-ditch diplomatic effort to defuse a crisis that reignited tensions between East and West. The tentative feeler came as Mr. Obama dispatched Secretary of State John Kerry to London to meet with his Russian counterpart on Friday, two days before a Russian-supported referendum in Crimea on whether to secede from Ukraine. Mr. Obama said the world would “completely reject” what he called a “slapdash election,” but added he still hoped for a peaceful settlement. In a show of solidarity for the […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Shell Sets Plan to Boost Returns

LONDON—Royal Dutch Shell PLC said Thursday it would separate some of its Americas downstream businesses and sell nonstrategic positions, as well as cut spending in its Americas upstream business by 20% this year, in a bid to improve returns. In a statement before an investor presentation the Anglo-Dutch energy giant said it would drive sharper performance management of its portfolio than in the past, through a more detailed segmentation of the business into performance units. "With sharper accountability in the company, this approach will target growth investment more effectively, focus on areas of the business where performance improvement is most required, and drive asset sales from nonstrategic positions," Shell Chief Executive Ben van Beurden said. The move follows PLC’s as it and other major oil companies have struggled to profit from the explosion of shale oil and natural gas there. BP is keeping ownership of such assets but is […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Exxon's Tillerson makes case for 'pro-energy policies'

Exxon Mobil Corp. Chairman Rex Tillerson called on energy sector employees to embrace the industry’s policies, including more export opportunities. Tillerson told the North America’s Building Trade Unions during a conference in Washington "sound energy policies" like more natural gas exports could add as many as 452,000 new jobs for the U.S. market by 2035. "Pro-growth energy policies can spur our economy by opening access to American resources, enabling investment and innovation, and by advancing energy and infrastructure projects that employ millions of Americans," he said in his Tuesday address. Lawmakers on Capitol Hill have called for more oil and natural gas exports to increase U.S. economic leverage overseas. On the domestic front, Tillerson said the energy sector accounts for $1.2 trillion of the U.S. economy, which he said is the equivalent of 8 percent of the nation’s gross domestic product. Leo Gerard, president […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Exxon’s Tillerson makes case for ‘pro-energy policies’

Exxon Mobil Corp. Chairman Rex Tillerson called on energy sector employees to embrace the industry’s policies, including more export opportunities. Tillerson told the North America’s Building Trade Unions during a conference in Washington "sound energy policies" like more natural gas exports could add as many as 452,000 new jobs for the U.S. market by 2035. "Pro-growth energy policies can spur our economy by opening access to American resources, enabling investment and innovation, and by advancing energy and infrastructure projects that employ millions of Americans," he said in his Tuesday address. Lawmakers on Capitol Hill have called for more oil and natural gas exports to increase U.S. economic leverage overseas. On the domestic front, Tillerson said the energy sector accounts for $1.2 trillion of the U.S. economy, which he said is the equivalent of 8 percent of the nation’s gross domestic product. Leo Gerard, president […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Gazprom says South Stream making progress

The South Stream natural gas pipeline for Europe is making steady progress, Alexei Miller , chairman of Russian energy company Gazprom, said. Miller briefed members of the South Stream supervisory board in Zurich, Switzerland, to review the pipeline’s progress. "The South Stream project is steadily progressing," he said in a statement Tuesday. "Contracts for laying the first string as well as for procuring pipes for the second string will be signed before the end of this March." Gazprom said it plans to commission parts of South Stream before the end of 2015. The pipeline is designed to have an annual capacity of 2.2 trillion cubic feet. Gazprom envisions South Stream as a means to add diversity to an export market that depends on Soviet-era gas transit networks through Ukraine, where geopolitical tensions add a layer of risk to Russia’s export options. Ukraine descended into chaos when ousted President Viktor […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Harsh winter curbs U.S. crude oil production

A harsh winter season curbed U.S. crude oil production, though future activity should make up for the loss, EIA Administrator Adam Sieminski said. The Energy Information Administration said in its short-term energy outlook severe winter weather cut into production in Northern Plains states like Montana and North Dakota, hosts to the Bakken reserve areas. Output from Bakken hit the 1 million barrels per day mark in November, but averaged 900,000 bpd because of late-season storms. "Bad weather conditions cut into U.S. crude oil production this winter, but much of the production slowdown will be made up over the next few months by accelerated well completions," Sieminski said in a statement Tuesday. "Crude oil production in the Bakken formation in North Dakota and Montana fell in December, but is expected to rebound to 1 million barrels per day this month." EIA expects strong growth from […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

U.S. to Sell 5 Million Barrels in Test for Oil Reserves

The U.S. has conducted two previous test sales from the oil reserve, including a 4… The U.S. has conducted two previous test sales from the oil reserve, including a 4 million barrel sale in August 1990, months before the U.S. attack on Iraq. Close Close Open Photographer: Daniel Acker/Bloomberg The U.S. has conducted two previous test sales from the oil reserve, including a 4 million barrel sale in August 1990, months before the U.S. attack on Iraq. The Obama administration said it plans to sell 5 million barrels of crude from the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve in a test of the distribution system. The sale of less than 1 percent of the total stockpile has been scheduled for some time and isn’t tied to turmoil in Ukraine or other geopolitical events, said William Gibbons, an Energy Department spokesman. “Due to the recent dramatic increase in domestic […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Canada sees some future energy work in arctic waters

Canada, despite tough operating conditions, expects future projects to target its northern arctic waters, the head of the National Energy Board said. NEB Chairman Gaetan Caron told delegates at an arctic energy conference in Calgary of the risks and prospects of operating in the frigid northern climate. Caron said more than 100 wells were drilled in the Canadian waters of the Beaufort Sea since 1973, though only one was completed in the last 20 years. "However, seismic exploration has continued and there is potential for further drilling activity," he said in his Tuesday remarks. U.S. drilling operations in arctic waters are generally on hold. Shell Chief Executive Officer Ben van Beurden said in January a series of mishaps in its drilling campaign off the Alaskan coast meant his company lacked a "clear path forward" in the arctic. For Canada, a joint venture between BP and Exxon Mobil has expressed […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Putin Opens Up Europe’s Energy Fault Line Along Oder-Neisse

By moving forces into the Crimea region, the Russian president caused a jump in natural… By moving forces into the Crimea region, the Russian president caused a jump in natural gas prices from the U.K. to Germany, highlighting Europe’s dependence on gas piped through Ukrainian territory. Close Close Open Photographer: Vincent Mundy/Bloomberg By moving forces into the Crimea region, the Russian president caused a jump in natural gas prices from the U.K. to Germany, highlighting Europe’s dependence on gas piped through Ukrainian territory. Vladimir Putin’s play to wrest control of Ukraine is accentuating divisions in the European Union over how to balance climate and energy policies, driving a wedge between and its eastern neighbor Poland. By moving forces into the Crimea region, the Russian president caused a jump in natural gas prices from the U.K. to Germany, highlighting Europe’s dependence on gas piped through Ukrainian territory. […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Angela Merkel accuses Russia of adopting ‘law of the jungle’

German chancellor Angela Merkel on Thursday accused Russia of resorting to “the law of the jungle” in the Crimea crisis, in a tough speech to parliament in which she warned that the EU would go ahead with its planned sanctions unless Moscow changed course. In the strongest language she has ever employed in her dealings with Russia, Ms Merkel said: “In a period of great uncertainty in Ukraine, Russia has not proven to be a partner for stability in a neighbouring country to which it is historically, culturally and economically closely related, but exploits its weaknesses.” Moscow had acted illegally, using the methods of the 19th and 20th centuries, she said. ”The law of the jungle is placed against the strength of the law, unilateral geopolitical concerns against understanding and co-operation.” Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2014. You may share using our article tools. Please don’t cut articles from […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple