Category:

BP Is Biggest Loser Among U.S. Government Contractors

BP once the Pentagon’s top fuel supplier, is now the biggest loser among U.S. government vendors. A combination of no big contracts awarded and promised military work withdrawn left BP with a net loss of $654 million in federal contracts in the year that ended Sept. 30, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. That compared with $2.51 billion in awards in fiscal 2012. “I have never heard of a contractor falling in anything remotely like the distance from plus $2 billion to minus $600 million,” said Charles Tiefer, a University of Baltimore law professor and former member of the U.S. Commission on Wartime Contracting. “The government has come down on BP because it needs to see that BP does not merely talk the talk of behaving responsibly but actually walks the walk.” The London-based company was temporarily barred from new federal contracts and other work after […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Polar Vortex Emboldens Industry to Push Old Coal Plants

The polar vortex may give new life to aging coal and nuclear power plants in the U.S. Masses of arctic air rolling down from the North Pole have driven electricity prices to more than 10 times last year’s average in many parts of the country and have threatened some cities with winter blackouts. They’ve also emboldened energy companies to call for extending the lives of older and dirtier coal plants, as well as aging nuclear reactors. Despite a concerted campaign by environmentalists and public health experts to stanch its use, coal, the most plentiful and cheapest fuel in the world, is proving globally resilient. In the U.S., rising natural gas prices are prodding utilities to switch back to coal at levels not seen since 2011. Now, Edison Electric Institute, the Washington-based trade group of U.S. investor-owned utilities, is turning to the latest series of cold snaps to bolster their […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Americans riding public transit in record numbers

Americans are boarding public buses, trains and subways in greater numbers than any time since the suburbs began booming. Nearly 10.7 billion trips in 2013, to be precise – the highest total since 1956, according to ridership data reported by transit systems nationally and released Monday by the American Public Transportation Association. Transit ridership has now fully recovered from a dip caused by the Great Recession. With services restored following economy-driven cutbacks, ridership numbers appear set to continue what had been a steady increase. "People are making a fundamental shift to having options" aside from a car in how they get around, said Michael Melaniphy, president and CEO of the public transportation association. "This is a long-term trend. This isn’t just a blip." Expanding bus and train networks help spur the growth. Ridership on Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority light-rail trains increased […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Ukraine, Russia and the nonexistent U.S. oil and natural gas "weapon"

Commentators were falling all over themselves last week to announce that far from being impotent in the Ukraine crisis, the United States had a very important weapon: growing oil and natural gas production which could compete on the world market and challenge Russian dominance over Ukrainian and European energy supplies–if only the U.S. government would change the laws and allow this bounty to be exported. But, there’s one very big problem with this view. The United States is still a net importer of both oil and natural gas. The economics of natural gas exports beyond Mexico and Canada–which are both integrated into a North American pipeline system–suggest that such exports will be very limited if they ever come at all. And, there is no reasonable prospect that the United States will ever become a net exporter of oil. Natural Gas Tank  (Image credit: Shutterstock ) U.S. net imports of […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Ukraine, Russia and the nonexistent U.S. oil and natural gas “weapon”

Commentators were falling all over themselves last week to announce that far from being impotent in the Ukraine crisis, the United States had a very important weapon: growing oil and natural gas production which could compete on the world market and challenge Russian dominance over Ukrainian and European energy supplies–if only the U.S. government would change the laws and allow this bounty to be exported. But, there’s one very big problem with this view. The United States is still a net importer of both oil and natural gas. The economics of natural gas exports beyond Mexico and Canada–which are both integrated into a North American pipeline system–suggest that such exports will be very limited if they ever come at all. And, there is no reasonable prospect that the United States will ever become a net exporter of oil. Natural Gas Tank  (Image credit: Shutterstock ) U.S. net imports of […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Natural Gas Will Not Save the US Economy

Economist Kenneth Boulding famously said, “Anyone who believes exponential growth can go on forever in a finite world is either a madman or an economist.” But it’s not just economists who believe that anymore. Such ideas are still widely accepted by thought leaders, journalists, and politicians who, together, form a strong consensus that the U.S. recovery should be bolstered by natural gas exploration and production. The McKinsey Global Institute claims in a recent report that a natural gas boom is one of the most important “game changer” ideas for U.S. economic growth, while The Economist writes , “Become a champion of a global fracking revolution, Mr. Obama, and the world could look on America very differently.” And in his recent State of the Union address, President Barack Obama said “I’ll cut red tape” for factories that use natural gas, and that “Congress can […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Oil Grinds Out Gain for Day, But Virtually Unchanged on Week

U.S. oil futures ended Friday with a small rally to gain 1%, after a volatile week driven by geopolitical disruptions in Ukraine and the appearance of bearish fundamental factors in domestic supply data. Prices for West Texas Intermediate crude rose $1.02, or 1%, to settle at $102.58 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The global Brent contract finished up 90 cents, or 0.8%, at $109.00. The ending price for the U.S. benchmark was just one cent below its level a week ago, meaning, essentially, the past week’s bullish and bearish factors in the market canceled out each other. "If we look at what happened for week as whole, we’re virtually unchanged on the week," said Citigroup analyst Tim Evans. "If you put the week in perspective, we tested the upside on the Ukraine story, then we tested the downside, and then parked the nearby WTI price almost […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

WTI Crude Rises After U.S. Payrolls Gain

West Texas Intermediate crude rose for a second day after U.S. employers added more workers than projected in February, bolstering optimism about the economy. The WTI-Brent spread narrowed. Futures increased 1 percent in New York. Labor Department figures showed a 175,000 gain in employment. Analysts surveyed by Bloomberg projected a 149,000 advance. Futures dropped earlier this week as concern eased that Russia ’s incursion into Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula would spark a broader conflict and disrupt energy shipments. “The jobs number was much better than expected and as a result we’re going into the weekend on an up note,” said Michael Lynch , president of Strategic Energy & Economic Research in Winchester, Massachusetts . “Attention has shifted to the economy for now. Crimea already seems like old news.” WTI for April delivery advanced $1.02 to settle at $102.58 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange . Prices fell 1 […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

NYMEX April natural gas future contract settles 4.4 cents lower after day of consolidation

The NYMEX April natural gas futures contract fell 4.4 cents to settle at $4.618/MMBtu Friday after a day of largely directionless trade and consolidation, sources said. "We continue to consolidate above $4.50[/MMBtu]," TFS Energy Futures broker Gene McGillian said. "The market took on a little bit of a bounce [Thursday] … but when we failed to attract new buying, it kind of came off. Now it’s just treading water." As for fundamentals, McGillian said that while temperatures are poised to rise next week in the US Midwest and Northeast, that trend will reverse and turn colder again by the end of March. Article continues below… Request a free trial of: Gas Daily Gas Daily Gas Daily offers the most detailed coverage of natural gas prices at interstate and intrastate pipeline and pooling points in major U.S. markets. Gas Daily keeps you informed about complex […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Natural-Gas Futures Slip on Brief Letup in Cold

–April contract falls 0.9% to $4.6180/mmBtu –Intermission from frigid temperatures cited, but cold expected to return –Prices still well below highs set last month Natural-gas futures edged lower Friday as warmer temperatures entered the picture in the Midwest and Northeast, putting a break on a season of unrelenting cold that has driven gas-fired heating demand. Gas futures for April delivery fell 4.4 cents, or 0.9%, to $4.6180 a million British thermal units on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Prices soared during the severe cold winter but are now off nearly 25% from the multiyear highs set last month as the end of winter approaches and demand for gas heating eases. "We have to keep in mind that what drove the rally was severe cold and record demand," said Gene McGillian, an analyst and broker at Tradition Energy. "The markets are readjusting from an oversupplied market to one where supplies […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple