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Obama Envisions Russia Sanctions Limiting Global Impact

The U.S. is looking to minimize the global harm from further penalties on Russia over Ukraine , as the International Monetary Fund moves forward with a multibillion-dollar lifeline to the government in Kiev. President Barack Obama said that Russia’s military, energy and finance industries are possible targets if it moves deeper in Ukraine. While additional sanctions would inevitably also affect the economies of the U.S. and Europe, Obama said, the goal is to limit the collateral damage. “Hopefully, we can design sanctions that minimize the impact on U.S. companies or Italian companies, and maximize the impact on the narrow set of interests in Russia that help drive the decisions that they’re making,” he said yesterday at a news conference in Rome with Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi. Obama spoke hours after the IMF unveiled a preliminary accord with Ukraine for a two-year loan of $14 billion to $18 billion […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Obama Issues Climate Plan to Plug Methane Leaks

The Obama administration says it will propose rules to cut methane emissions at landfills and coal mines and conduct a study that may result in regulations to plug leaks from oil and gas production. A 15-page plan released today pledges to work with utilities on curbing leaks in transport and distribution of natural gas and calls for the Environmental Protection Agency to study methane emissions from drilling to determine whether rules are needed. If it decides to regulate, the standards would be issued in 2016. “Today’s announcement is a big step in the right direction,” David Doniger , director for climate at the Natural Resources Defense Council , said in a statement. “But more needs to be done.” Methane is a greenhouse gas that’s 21 times more potent than carbon dioxide, and climate advocates have warned that without efforts to curb emissions from the nation’s booming oil and gas […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Oil traffic by rail grows, industry says

March 28 (UPI) — About 10.3 million barrels of petroleum and petroleum products traveled the U.S. rail system last week, the Association of American Railroads said. AAR released its rail traffic report for the week ending March 22. It said 14,811 railcars, or about 10.3 million barrels barrels of petroleum and petroleum products, were delivered last week, a 10.3 percent increase year-on-year. Last week’s total was 3.1 percent higher than for the week ending March 15. The rail group said Thursday that so far this year, 120 million barrels of petroleum and petroleum products were delivered by rail in the United States, a 6.9 percent increase from the same period in 2013. Industry officials said the increase in oil production from shale deposits in the U.S. has strained existing pipeline capacity, forcing some energy companies to turn to rail as an alternative transit method. The U.S. Energy Information Administration […]

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White House Calls for New Rules to Cut Methane Emissions

The Obama administration on Friday directed several federal agencies to clamp down on emissions of methane, a potent greenhouse gas emitted from natural gas and other industries, fleshing out an initiative that attempts to address environmental concerns without harming the nation’s booming natural-gas industry. The White House move is part of President Barack Obama’s broader plan announced last June to tackle climate change. The administration’s methane strategy reflects a reluctance to commit right now to new federal regulations targeting the natural-gas industry, which could be politically unpopular. New rules could also contradict the administration’s rhetoric and actions supporting natural gas in the past few years, including the Energy Department’s conditional approval earlier this week of the seventh U.S. project to export gas. Reaction from oil and natural-gas companies was muted, while environmentalists cheered the news. Statements from senior officials at the two trade associations representing producers—America’s Natural Gas Alliance […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Putin Calls Obama to Discuss Ukraine, White House Says

President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia reached out to President Obama on Friday to discuss ideas about how to peacefully resolve the international standoff over Ukraine, a surprise move by Moscow to pull back from the brink of an escalated confrontation that has put Europe and much of the world on edge. After weeks of provocative moves punctuated by a menacing buildup of troops on Ukraine’s border, Mr. Putin’s unexpected telephone call to Mr. Obama offered a hint of a possible settlement. The two leaders agreed to have their top diplomats meet to discuss concrete proposals for defusing the crisis that has generated the most serious clash between Russia and the West since the end of the Cold War. But it remained uncertain whether Mr. Putin was seriously interested in a resolution that would go far enough to satisfy the United States, Ukraine and Europe, or instead […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Texas Gas seeks shippers for lateral moving Marcellus, Utica output to Midwest

Texas Gas Transmission plans to expand its natural gas pipeline system in order to move Marcellus and Utica shale supplies to markets in the Midwest, according to an binding open season notice issued Friday. The company is looking at building a pipeline lateral, to be known as the Southern Indiana Market Lateral, that would begin at Texas Gas’ Slaughters-Montezuma Lateral near Robards, Kentucky, and extend westward about 30 miles to a location west of the city of Mount Vernon, Indiana, it said. The lateral’s targeted in-service date is July 2016, with the capacity to be determined by the open season, Texas Gas said as it sought shippers. Article continues below… Request a free trial of: 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 […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Lawmakers question how retiring US coal-fired power plants could affect winter grid challenges

US House of Representatives Republicans are concerned about how the retirement of a significant number of coal-fired power plants could affect the transmission grid in coming winters and are seeking answers from four grid operators on how those retirements will be handled, letters show. Citing the spikes in electricity prices, forced outages and other events of this past winter, top Republicans on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, including its chairman, Fred Upton, are concerned that "such outages and price increases could be further exacerbated in the future" as coal plants used to respond to acute needs this winter shut, they said. The lawmakers sent nearly identical letters on Wednesday to PJM Interconnection, New York Independent System Operator, Midcontinent Independent System Operator and ISO New England seeking answers on how their grids would have fared had the plants slated for retirement been unavailable. Article […]

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Oil Rigs Extend Record as Texas Eagle Ford Drilling Rises

Rigs targeting oil in the U.S. jumped to a record as energy producers used the most in a year to drill for crude in Texas’s Eagle Ford shale formation. Oil rigs increased by 14 to 1,487, the highest level since Baker Hughes Inc. (BHI) split the oil and gas counts in 1987, data posted on the company’s website today show. Rigs drilling for oil in the Eagle Ford of South Texas jumped by nine to 209, matching a record set in May 2013, according to the Houston-based field services company. Hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling are helping producers extract record volumes from shale formations across the middle of the U.S., boosting domestic crude output to the highest in a quarter-century. The nation met 87 percent of its energy needs in 2013, the most since 1985, according to data from the Energy Information Administration. “The Eagle Ford is doing well, […]

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Baker Hughes: US drilling rig count drops to 1,803

The US drilling rig count gained back the 6 units it lost last week to reach 1,809 rigs working during the week ended Mar. 28, reported. Rigs on land claimed 11 more units to reach 1,741, more than offsetting the 5-unit loss in offshore rigs to 50. Rigs drilling in inland waters were unchanged from a week ago at 18. Oil rigs increased 14 units to 1,487 while gas rigs decreased 8 units to 318. Rigs considered unclassified were unchanged at 4. rigs gained 5 units to 1,211. Directional drilling rigs edged up 1 unit to 214. In Canada, another week brought a precipitous decline in its overall rig count, as a 91-unit subtraction shrunk the country’s total to 298. Oil rigs plunged 55 units to 155 while gas rigs took a 36-unit loss to 143. Despite the recent declines, Canada still has 52 more rigs than the comparable […]

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Russian Energy Denied Detonators as U.S. Exports Halted

Russia ’s energy industry will be denied detonators from the U.S. used for oil and gas drilling as the Obama administration expands its response to the annexation of Crimea by suspending sales of goods with military uses. The State Department said yesterday it halted licensing for exports of defense items and services on March 24. The Commerce Department posted a notice on its website saying it had also suspending export licensing, effective March 1. Goods licensed by Commerce alone represented $1.5 billion, or 14 percent of all U.S. exports to Russia last year. “This is a lot more significant than blocking some oligarchs,” said Michael Burton , a Washington lawyer who works on export controls. “In light of the allegations that have been made, how could we continue to license, say, rifle scopes to Russia?” The U.S. has previously imposed sanctions on business leaders and government officials with ties […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple