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Europe supply in jeopardy as Putin warns of Ukraine gas cut

Vladimir Putin warned that Russia was poised to halt gas supplies to Ukraine – placing European customers in jeopardy – unless immediate action was taken to resolve Kiev’s unpaid bills. In a letter to European leaders , the Russian president said state-controlled had a contractual right to force Ukraine to pay in advance for gas supplies, and would “completely or partially cease gas deliveries” if further payment violations occurred. The letter is the first time Moscow has so clearly threatened to cut gas supplies to Ukraine , a key transit route for 15 per cent of European gas. Kiev on Friday announced it had signed a contract with Westinghouse Electric Company, based in the US, to extend the supply of nuclear fuel to Ukraine’s 15 atomic power plants until 2020, thereby reducing the country’s dependence on Russian sources. It came as Kiev was still locked in a stand-off […]

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Putin Warns Gas Taps to Ukraine Could Be Turned Off

Russian President Vladimir Putin warned leaders in Europe on Thursday that Russia could cut supplies of natural gas to Ukraine if its unpaid bill isn’t addressed, potentially disrupting deliveries to the rest of the continent. In a letter sent to leaders in countries reliant on Russian gas, Mr. Putin ramped up pressure on the fledgling government in Kiev, repeating his threat that Russia may have to take the "extreme measure" of making Ukraine pays in advance for the gas it uses. He called for emergency talks with Europe to resolve the matter. "In the event of further violation of the conditions of payment, [state-run gas company Gazprom] will completely or partially cease gas deliveries," the letter stated. "We fully realize that this increases the risk of siphoning off natural gas passing through Ukraine’s territory and heading to European consumers. We […]

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BP Can Be Bridge Between Russia, West

PLC can play an "important role" as a bridge between the West and Russia, which remains vital for Europe’s energy security, Chief Executive Bob Dudley said Thursday. BP, the biggest foreign investor in Russia’s oil sector, will continue to seek ways of developing its business there, even as tensions grow with the U.S. and Europe over the crisis in Ukraine. "That has got to continue," Mr. Dudley said, in relation to its business in Russia. Mr. Dudley, who was addressing shareholders at the U.K.-based oil and gas company’s annual general meeting, said the situation regarding Ukraine was still very tense. BP has a 20% stake in Russia’s state-owned oil and gas company Rosneft . Mr. Dudley’s views were challenged by some investors, who cast doubt over the influence that BP, which holds a single seat on Rosneft’s board, could wield in reality. "If something should turn foul, should […]

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Russia says South Stream gas pipeline would help EU

The planned South Stream natural gas pipeline for Europe is more important than ever given ongoing crises in Ukraine, the Russian envoy to the EU said. Ukrainian and Russian officials have warned European natural gas supplies are at risk because of lingering contractual disputes that grew out of the political upheaval in Ukraine. European consumers get about a quarter of their gas needs met by Russia, though the bulk of those supplies run through the Soviet-era gas transit system in Ukraine. Russian Ambassador to the European Union Vladimir Chizhov told Russia’s state news agency RIA Novosti the South Stream pipeline, which avoids Ukrainian territory, was more important than ever. "I believe the relevance of the South Stream project has risen amid the Ukrainian crisis, because we have already heard not threats, but hints from Ukrainian authorities, including interim Prime Minister [Arseniy] Yatsenyuk, of yet […]

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US threatening tougher sanctions on Russia

Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew is warning Russia that it could face tougher economic sanctions because of its actions in Ukraine but so far other economic powers are showing a reluctance to go as far as the United States. Lew delivered his warning Thursday to Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov, telling him that the Obama administration was willing to impose "additional significant sanctions" if Russia escalates the Ukraine situation. Treasury said in a statement that Lew described Russia’s annexation of Crimea as "illegal and illegitimate." Lew met Siluanov in advance of talks between finance ministers and central bank presidents of the Group of Seven major economic powers and a broader Group of 20, which includes the traditional powers and emerging economies such as China, Brazil and India. Lew’s tough language did not find its way into a joint statement from the G-7, and there was no hint […]

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U.S. accuses Russia after Putin warning on gas supplies to Europe

President Vladimir Putin warned on Thursday that Russian gas supplies to Europe could be disrupted if Moscow cuts the flow to Ukraine over unpaid bills, drawing a U.S. accusation that it is using energy "as a tool of coercion". In a letter to the leaders of 18 European countries, Putin made clear that his patience would run out over Kiev’s $2.2 billion gas debt to Russia unless a solution could be brokered urgently. Russia has nearly doubled the gas price it charges Ukraine, whose economy is in crisis, since pro-Moscow President Viktor Yanukovich was overthrown two months ago. Russia then annexed the Ukrainian region of Crimea, provoking the biggest confrontation with the West since the Cold War. Putin said Russian exporter Gazprom would demand advance payment for gas supplies to Ukraine and "in the event of further violation of the conditions of payment will completely or […]

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Russian Deals Face Scrutiny, Firms Urged to List at Home

After a decade of snuggling up together, Russia Inc. and the global capital markets that finance it are starting to drift apart. Russia’s first deputy prime minister, Igor Shuvalov , this week encouraged domestic companies to delist their shares from overseas stock exchanges, where giants like OAO Gazprom and OAO Sberbank trade, for the sake of “economic security.” At the same time, U.S. and European banks such as Citigroup Inc. and Deutsche Bank AG are putting their business with Russian companies under the microscope as the Ukraine crisis continues. The moves on both sides herald a partial decoupling of Russia from the global financial system as the European Union and U.S. threaten economic retaliation for President Vladimir Putin ’s annexation of Crimea. That would make it harder for Russian companies to obtain foreign capital while hurting efforts by global banks to expand in an important emerging market. Despite the […]

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Commentary: The Greens’ Peak-Oil Limits-to-Growth Apocalypse that wasn’t

Saved Save Article My Saved Items « » 2014-04-10T05:30:00Z Commentary: The Greens’ Peak-Oil Limits-to-Growth Apocalypse that wasn’t By RON KNECHT Elko Daily Free Press A few years ago, some experts predicted the world was about to reach a peak in global oil and gas production to be followed soon by marked decline. It would cause “war, famine, pestilence and death” — the biblical Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. Another version: “war, starvation, economic recession, possibly even the extinction of homo sapiens.” Or, peak oil and gas “represents a mortal threat to the U.S. economy” and we “could plunge into a new Dark Age … in an overheated world.” This one lamented that it might well exacerbate “global warming” and thus it called for higher energy taxes and increased limits on coal alternatives. Besides the extravagant rhetoric typical of environmentalists, the Politically Correct and other statist liberals, even when these […]

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Worldwatch Institute: global biofuel production fell in 2012 for first time since 2000

In 2012, the combined global production of ethanol and biodiesel fell for the first time since 2000, down 0.4% from the figure in 2011, according to the Worldwatch Institute’s latest Vital Signs Online report. Global ethanol production declined slightly for the second year in a row, to 83.1 billion liters (22 billion gallons US), while biodiesel output rose fractionally, from 22.4 billion liters in 2011 to 22.5 billion liters (5.9 billion gallons US) in 2012. Biodiesel now accounts for more than 20% of global biofuel production, according to the report. Biofuels for transport—essentially ethanol and biodiesel—account for about 0.8% of global energy use, 8% of global primary energy derived from biomass, 3.4% of global road transport fuels, and 2.5% of all transport fuels. […]

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Crude Oil Slides After Weak China Trade, Oil-Import Data

Crude-oil futures fell in early Asian trade Thursday reversing overnight gains on weak China trade data and rising U.S. oil supply. On the New York Mercantile Exchange light, sweet crude futures for delivery in May traded at $103.31 a barrel at 0446 GMT–down $0.29 in the Globex electronic session. May Brent crude on London’s ICE Futures exchange fell $0.41 to $107.57 a barrel. China’s total exports fell 6.6% year over year in March, data from the General Administration of Customs showed Thursday. A median forecast predicted 4.2% growth. Imports also fell 11.3%–missing a median forecast for a 2.8% increase. "China is the world’s second-largest oil consumer after the U.S. The weak exports highlighted a possible further contraction in the nation’s manufacturing sector and exacerbating slowdown thereby trimming demand prospects for crude oil," analyst Tan Chee Tat at Phillip Futures said. China’s crude-oil imports also fell 8% […]

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Brent Drops as Premium to WTI Narrows to Least Since September

Brent crude fell, shrinking its premium to West Texas Intermediate to the least since September, as signs of a slowdown in China bolstered speculation of reduced demand in the world’s second-largest oil consumer. Futures dropped as much as 0.5 percent in London , narrowing the gap to WTI for a fifth day. China’s exports and imports unexpectedly declined in March as the economy headed for its slowest growth since the global financial crisis. U.S. crude stockpiles gained for the 11th time in 12 weeks while gasoline supplies slid, the Energy Information Administration reported. “These trade figures have cooled off the market,” Gordon Kwan , the regional head of oil and gas research at Nomura Holdings Inc. in Hong Kong , said by phone today. “That suggests intensifying concerns about weak manufacturing and slowing growth in the Chinese economy.” Brent for May settlement decreased as much as 52 cents to […]

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NYMEX oil price jumps on EIA’s reduced oil production forecast

The benchmark US crude oil futures price jumped more than $2/bbl on Apr. 8 after the US Energy Information Administration released a report saying government analysts reduced their earlier oil production forecast for this year and next. EIA estimates the US will produce 8.37 million b/d during 2014, down from an earlier forecast of 8.39 million b/d. During 2013, US oil production was 7.44 million b/d. For 2015, EIA revised its production forecast to 9.13 million b/d, down from an earlier forecast of 9.16 million b/d. US total oil consumption for 2014 was forecast at an average 18.9 million b/d, up slightly from EIA’s earlier forecast of 18.89 million b/d. EIA also increased its price forecast for 2014. Benchmark light, sweet crude was forecast to average $95.60/bbl for the year, up 27¢ from EIA’s forecast made in March, and $2.31/bbl lower than the 2013 average, the agency said in […]

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Natural-Gas Futures Climb Ahead of Key Storage Report

Natural-gas futures climbed to a four-week high as traders focused on forecasts calling for another late-season cold snap and fretted about a potentially disappointing storage report due Thursday. Natural gas for May delivery settled up 5.2 cents, or 1.2%, at $4.5860 a million British thermal units, the highest since March 11, on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Lower-than-average temperatures in the U.S. are expected to persist over the next week or two, supporting the need for gas to heat homes. Market observers appear divided over the ability of producers to replenish stockpiles that were depleted during the recent harsh winter. Energy-advisory firm Gelber & Associates said traders are "trying to make sense of tomorrow’s storage report, expected to be the first injection of the season." A survey of 20 analysts by The Wall Street Journal predicted the report would show 13.75 billion cubic feet of […]

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Nuclear Talks With Iran Need ‘Intensive Work,’ Envoys Say

Iran and the group of six major powers negotiating a permanent agreement to resolve the Iranian nuclear dispute concluded a two-day round of talks in Vienna on Wednesday, asserting that “a lot of intensive work” remained to complete a draft accord by their self-imposed deadline in three months. The lead negotiators, the Iranian foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, and Catherine Ashton, the top foreign policy official of the European Union, made the assertion in a joint statement that said the next round of talks would be held May 13. The statement suggested that both sides were still struggling with extensive disagreements and described the further negotiations as an attempt to “bridge the gaps in all the key areas.” The talks took place against rising tensions surrounding Iran’s estranged relations with the West, punctuated by new flare-ups with both the United States and the European Union on nonnuclear issues. The […]

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Iran, Major Powers Conclude Third Round of Nuclear Talks

Iran and six major powers wrapped up a third round of nuclear talks Wednesday with the parties saying a solution to the decade-old standoff remains possible by July but that the toughest work has barely begun. This week’s talks marked the halfway point in the five-month period Iran and the six powers fixed to seal a comprehensive nuclear agreement. A deal would aim to address all international concerns on Iran’s nuclear work in exchange for lifting the sanctions regime on Tehran. Iranian and Western officials said the next talks, which start May 13, would mark a transition from discussing key issues to the real drafting work—a crucial moment that may quickly reveal whether both sides are ready to make the tough political compromises a deal will require. The mood in Vienna was generally positive, with tentative signs of gaps narrowing on a few key issues. But the two sides […]

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Iran Nuclear Talks: The Real Work Is Just Beginning

Forget the last 11 years: the false starts, the glimpses of hope, the long periods of near-breakdown and despair. On May 13, Iran and six major powers will begin a grueling period of just over two months in which they hope to bury once and for all international concerns over the nature of Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for agreeing a phased lifting of sanctions. The two sides have set a target date of July 20 to finalize a deal. Talks could extend an additional six months if both sides agree but everyone seems keen to build on current momentum and seal an accord. But those who experienced the long days of tense negotiations in Geneva last October and November that eventually produced a landmark interim agreement probably ain’t seen nothing yet. After the latest round of talks closed Wednesday , European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton and […]

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Iraq Hopes to Complete Oil Pipeline to Raise Exports This Year

Iraqi Oil Minister Abdul Kareem Luaibi said on Wednesday his country hoped to complete construction of a 200 km (124 miles)oil pipeline to raise exports to Turkey to more than 1 million barrels per day (bpd) this year. “We are building a pipeline in Iraq,” Luaibi was speaking to Reuters on the sidelines of an oil and gas conference in the Turkish capital Ankara. “I believe the daily oil flow will exceed one million barrels a day when that line is completed. I hope it happens this year.” RIGZONE

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Deadly Wave of Blasts Hits Baghdad

The Iraqi capital, Baghdad, experienced a series of violent attacks on Wednesday when eight car bombs and two mortar shells killed as many as 25 people in episodes around the city, according to security personnel. Most of the attacks appeared to target Shiite areas of the capital, such as Kadhimiya, Shaab, Shamaiya and Sadr City. Another bomb placed in a car parked near a school in southern Iraq, in Kut, killed five civilians and wounded 18 others, according to a security official. The attacks come on the 11th anniversary of the toppling of a statue of Saddam Hussein in Baghdad, an event which many Iraqis regard as the fall of Baghdad, and just weeks before the first parliamentary elections since the United States withdrawal from Iraq in 2011. The vote is scheduled for the end of the month.

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Iraqi budget stalled until after election season

Key oil revenue disputes are too much to overcome now that campaigning for April 30 national elections has begun. Iraq will not pass its 2014 federal budget before national elections on April 30, according to several members of Parliament – a setback that threatens to complicate the formation of a new government and hamper the country’s ability to execute badly needed investment projects."The issue of the budget is over now," said Kassim Mohammed Kassim, a Kurdish MP. "The current MPs who are standing as candidates will be busy with their electoral campaign, and the other MPs who aren’t standing as… This content is for registered users. Please login to continue. If you are not a registered user, you may purchase a subscription or sign up for a free trial .

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Following Jail Breaks, Baghdad to Transfer Some Inmates to Kurdistan

The fortress prison is located between Sulaimani and Dukan, and was built in the 1980s by the former Iraqi regime as a military base. In 2004, US forces renovated the facility and used it to house important prisoners from the rest of Iraq. Photo: defense.gov ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – The Iraqi government is transferring a number of hardcore prisoners from Baghdad to the Fort Suse prison in the autonomous Kurdistan Region because of a worsening security situation in the capital, a Kurdish official told Rudaw . He said the inmates, from jails in Baghdad and nearby Abu Ghraib, were being transferred as a precautionary measure against the al-Qaeda splinter, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), which has freed hundreds of hardened militants in a series of daring prison breakouts. “Swapping prisons was according to a decision by the Iraqi government. The prisoners who will be transferred to […]

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Will the violence in Iraq ever ebb?

Wire reports attested that anonymous gunmen near Baghdad six men on April 6, while another 11 people were killed across the country. In what were routine assassinations, police investigators stumbled on the bodies, all with gunshot wounds to the head. No one claimed responsibility for these slayings, or for most of the others that have plagued Iraq for years. Few could decipher any motives for killings that have, regrettably, become part of Iraqi society. Even worse, while such executions , a new wave of violence that may have sectarian connotations, has seen the toll rise in recent months. According to the United Nations Mission to Iraq, 733 individuals were , while the toll reached 703 people in February. These figures showed a rising wave of militant attacks, which journalists labelled "a surge of violence that began 10 months ago", when the government launched a systematic crackdown that chiefly targeted […]

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In Libya, politicians in fear of powerful militias

In a humiliating video, Libya’s top politician – the head of parliament – is seen begging with a militia commander, trying to explain to him why he was caught with two women in his residence and insisting nothing scandalous was going on. "In God’s name," Nouri Abu Sahmein tells the militiaman, Haitham al-Tajouri. "I’m hiding nothing from you, Haitham." Visibly afraid, Abu Sahmein tells him the women claimed to have "sensitive information" at a time he has received tips about a cell plotting to assassinate him. "I want to close this all up, but I want to understand. I am not a fool," the militia commander replies, speaking from off camera. The video, taken and leaked by the militiamen and shown earlier this month on Libyan TV stations, sparked an uproar and prompted the prosecutor general to investigate, summoning Abu Sahmein and al-Tajouri for questioning. […]

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Nigeria: Refineries Are Best Abroad

QUEUES for petrol still dot many Nigerian cities and villages. This is to tell government that importation would never solve the country’s challenges with fuel. Groups that once challenged governments over the matter have long gone to other affairs, seeing how selective governments remain about matters on which they heed advice. Nobody bothers government any longer about the domestic refineries,which are oscillating between public and private ownership. In moments of apparent concern or fitful wakefulness, government announces privatisation or sale of refineries. After predictable public outbursts rejecting the proposal, our listening government relents. A long bout of silence ensures. What appears uttermost in the minds of Nigerians is getting affordable fuel for their vehicles and to run their power generators, without which they are guaranteed darkness. Many parts, these days, go for weeks without electricity. Where it is available, it is at most epileptic. The concentration on getting through […]

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Chinese Exports and Imports Unexpectedly Fell in March

China’s exports unexpectedly fell in March, and its imports dropped even more sharply, but the significance of the data for the Chinese economy was clouded by uncertainty over the extent to which exporters and importers were timing shipments to profit from currency market shifts. China’s exports fell 6.6 percent in dollar terms last month, compared with a year ago, while imports tumbled 11.3 percent, China’s General Administration of Customs said on Thursday. Economists had expected both to show small increases. But the change in exports was particularly hard to predict because many exporters had overstated the value of their shipments a year ago to circumvent China’s currency controls. The over-invoicing allowed exporters to bring more dollars into the country, placing a bet on further appreciation of the renminbi, the Chinese currency. By contrast, the People’s Bank of China, the country’s central bank, pushed the value of […]

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China rattles nerves with weak trade data

China’s imports and exports both contracted in March, with trade data falling well short of forecasts and rattling nerves over the state of the world’s second-biggest economy. Exports decreased 6.6 per cent in March from a year earlier, missing forecasts for a 4.9 per cent rise. It was the second consecutive weak month following February’s 18 per cent year-on-year contraction. More video The value of imports fell 11.3 per cent year-on-year in March – a weaker than expected performance. But in volume terms, most of China’s commodities imports rose in the first quarter even as international prices fell. Strong commodity imports reflect robust domestic demand, as well as some demand from companies that use commodities imports to access credit. That left China with a small trade surplus on the month of $7bn, rebounding from its $23bn deficit a month earlier. The weak export figures at the start of […]

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High depletion rates in Bakken

If you can, you could term it delusion, the theory that Shale gas is the answer to all problems in terms of energy. Just extract the gas, ship it across the pipeline and export the excess, or so goes the popular theory (boom. How easy!). Let’s call this ‘Sale for Energy Security Theory’ or SEST) If you believe in SEST, here’s a simple task for you: Take a towel or cloth soaked in water. Wring it. Note the amount of water that comes out. Now, wring it again. Okay, once more. How many drops of water did you get in the third time? Two, three? This is precisely what’s happening in the Bakken. Imagine that there aren’t buckets of oil underneath the Bakken but towels soaked with oil. And it is only recently that we figured out the technique called “fracking”: how to wring a towel full of oil. […]

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Alaska North Slope oil production to fall 1.8 pct for fiscal year -report

Alaska’s North Slope oil production is forecast to decline 1.8 percent for the fiscal year ending June 30 instead of falling 3 percent as predicted in December, according to a report released this week. The Alaska Department of Revenue predicts production of 521,800 barrels a day (bpd) versus its December forecast of 508,200 bpd. By 2023, North Slope production will fall to 315,000 bpd. The annual spring report comes four months after the state began cutting oil production taxes with hopes of spurring new investment and stemming the decline. Alaska gets more than 80 percent of its state tax revenue from oil production. North Slope production comes largely from leaseholders BP Plc, ConocoPhillips and Exxon Mobil Corp, and has been in a steady decline. More than 20 years ago, nearly 2 million barrels a day flowed through the 800-mile (1,300-km)trans-Alaska pipeline system. Last […]

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Speakers debate states’ oil, gas role at GMU conference

States are better qualified than federal and local governments to regulate hydraulic fracturing and other unconventional oil and gas activities, two speakers agreed at an energy and environment conference at George Mason University’s School of Law. But a third speaker argued that some states’ performances as the primary US oil and gas regulator are unsatisfactory and needs to be reevaluated. Rapid growth of US oil and gas production from tight shale formations is bringing new scrutiny to regulation at all levels of government, all three speakers agreed during a panel discussion at a day-long conference, “Old Fuels, New Technologies, and Market Dynamics,” at the law school’s campus in Arlington, Va., on Apr. 7. “There’s no convincing basis for the federal government coming in and trying to regulate fracing,” said Michael L. Krancer, a partner at the law firm Blank Rome LLP in Philadelphia who formerly led Pennsylvania’s Department of […]

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Kemp: Shale Revolution Reverses Global Energy Flow

The United States has replaced OPEC as the marginal petroleum supplier to the world thanks to the shale revolution and improvements in automotive fuel efficiency. Net U.S. imports of crude and products have halved over the last five years, or by an amount equivalent to the entire daily crude exports of Saudi Arabia. Net imports totalled 5.2 million barrels per day at the start of 2014, down from 11.2 million at the beginning of 2009, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). Not one barrel of U.S. shale oil has been sent overseas (except small quantities to Canada) because of the long-standing ban on crude petroleum exports. But increased U.S. production is still playing a role on global markets via a reduction in its crude imports and increased exports of refined […]

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Alaska adopts strict new rules on hydraulic fracturing

Alaska’s oil and gas regulatory commission has adopted new, more stringent rules governing hydraulic fracturing that include increased testing of water wells for contamination, its chairman said Wednesday in an interview. Final regulations are now being reviewed by state attorneys and still must be signed by Lieutenant Governor Mead Treadwell. The rules will require testing of all water wells within a half-mile radius of a well to be fractured, and will mandate testing of the water wells for contamination after the fracture job is completed, said Cathy Foerster, chair of the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, or AOGCC. In some cases, testing of water wells prior to the fracturing may be required at the discretion of the commission, Foerster said. Article continues below… Request a free trial of: Gas Daily Gas Daily offers the most detailed coverage of natural gas prices at interstate […]

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Russia presses Kiev on gas as armed stand-off continues

Pro-Russian activists stand guard at a barricade as they block access to the Ukrainian Security Service building in the eastern city of Lugansk on Tuesday Russia threatened to force Ukraine’s cash-strapped government to pay in advance for its gas imports, adding fresh pressure to Kiev as it struggled to defuse a stand-off with armed pro-Russian separatists in the country’s east. The prepayment idea was raised by Dmitry Medvedev, Russia’s prime minister, at a meeting of senior officials convened on Wednesday by President Vladimir Putin to discuss a feud over Ukraine’s unpaid gas bills after the country missed a $2.2bn payment on Monday night. “If this critical situation continues, I think we have every reason to move to a system of prepayment for gas supply,” Mr Medvedev said. Mr Putin took a more conciliatory stance, asking the government to “refrain from applying this possibility” until further consultations had taken […]

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Advisers Needed to Handle North Dakota's Oil Wealth — Practice Management

–State’s oil boom is creating more millionaire households that need financial advice –North Dakota now ranks 29th in millionaires households per capita –Advisory firms hope more advisers are willing to move to the state despite cold weather and lack of infrastructure By Matthias Rieker For two years, Wells Fargo financial adviser Melissa Moulton would commute from Sioux Falls, S.D., to western North Dakota, spending two work weeks a month with clients who needed advice on how to handle their newfound wealth. She kept getting invited to weekend barbecues and fishing excursions, so she decided to make a permanent move up north. "I saw an opportunity to reach new clients," Ms. Moulton says. Today, advisory firms such as Wells Fargo hope there are more advisers like Ms. Moulton willing to take a chance on a state getting richer but where advisers are scarce. The state’s historic oil boom, and businesses […]

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Advisers Needed to Handle North Dakota’s Oil Wealth — Practice Management

–State’s oil boom is creating more millionaire households that need financial advice –North Dakota now ranks 29th in millionaires households per capita –Advisory firms hope more advisers are willing to move to the state despite cold weather and lack of infrastructure By Matthias Rieker For two years, Wells Fargo financial adviser Melissa Moulton would commute from Sioux Falls, S.D., to western North Dakota, spending two work weeks a month with clients who needed advice on how to handle their newfound wealth. She kept getting invited to weekend barbecues and fishing excursions, so she decided to make a permanent move up north. "I saw an opportunity to reach new clients," Ms. Moulton says. Today, advisory firms such as Wells Fargo hope there are more advisers like Ms. Moulton willing to take a chance on a state getting richer but where advisers are scarce. The state’s historic oil boom, and businesses […]

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Chevron 1st Quarter Production on Pace to Slide

Chevron and Exxon have spent lavishly to boost their oil and gas output, but production has been dropping and profits have been muted. Chevron Corp. said its first-quarter global oil and gas production is expected to drop from the year-ago quarter, as poor weather led to downtime in the U.S., Canada and other regions. Chevron, the second-largest U.S. oil company in market value after , forecast first-quarter earnings to be lower than the fourth quarter, hurt by foreign-currency fluctuations and asset impairments and other charges. The company said global oil-equivalent production in January and February totaled 2.58 million barrels a day, down 2.5% from the year-ago period. Throughout the oil giant’s interim report, Chevron compared the first two months of the first quarter with the entire quarter of the year-earlier period and all of the fourth quarter […]

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Shell remains committed to Alaskan arctic

The arctic waters off the Alaskan coast may be one of the more promising reserve basins in the nation, but exploration will have to wait, Shell said Wednesday. Ann Pickard, executive vice president for Shell’s arctic programs, said arctic nations have decided to open their waters to exploration and her company aims to develop those reserves responsibly. Last week, the U.S. Coast Guard published a 152-page report on Shell’s operations in Alaska. Shell’s drillship Kulluk struck ground off the Alaskan coast in 2012, and the Coast Guard blamed harsh winter conditions and the company’s efforts to escape Alaskan tax laws for the incident. Kulluk’s grounding off the Alaskan coast followed a 2012 exploration season in the arctic waters of Alaska that was complicated by equipment failures. The company in January said it was suspending its efforts to explore Alaskan waters because of costs and […]

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Houston Fills With Crude Oil That Can’t Be Shipped Out

Houston and the rest of the U.S. Gulf Coast have more oil than the region can handle. Stockpiles in the region centered on Houston and stretching to New Mexico in the west from Alabama in the east rose to 202 million barrels in the week ended April 4, the most on record, Energy Information Administration data released today show. Storage tanks are filling as new pipelines carry light, sweet oil found in shale formations to the coast and U.S. law keeps companies from moving it out. Most crude exports are banned and the 13 ships that can legally move oil between U.S. ports are booked solid. The federal Jones Act restricts domestic seaborne trade to vessels owned, flagged and built in the U.S. and crewed by citizens. “You can’t get all that light, sweet crude out, it’s all kind of piling up,” said Jeff McGee , the founder of […]

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Two-Person Crews on Oil Trains to Be Required in U.S.

U.S. regulators, acting after a oil-train derailment last year ignited a fireball that killed 47 people in Canada , said they intend to require at least two crew members for crude shipments, a proposal opposed by the railroads. The Federal Railroad Administration also will establish minimum crew size standard for most freight trains and passenger rail lines, the agency said in a statement today. “We are committed to taking the necessary steps to assure the safety of those who work for railroads and shippers, and the residents and communities along shipping routes,” Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said in a statement. The agency is acting after a train that was operated by one person was left unattended for the night in July and rolled into the center of Lac-Megantic, triggering a fatal explosion that destroyed half the town. The Association of American Railroads , whose members include Berkshire Hathaway Inc.’s […]

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Citi vs. Chevron: two opposing views of the oil price future

In another of our occasional guest blog entries, Steven Kopits of Princeton Energy Advisors considers the clashing views of Citi Commodities Research and Chevron regarding the likely path of oil prices. Steve can be reached at [email protected]. The direction of oil prices is once again a hot topic. In a recent Barron’s article , Ed Morse, Citigroup’s head of global commodity research, forecasts a collapse in global oil prices to $75 /b over the next three to five years. By contrast, Chevron has announced that it is budgeting with $110/b oil for 2017, with the company’s CEO John Watson stating, “There is a new reality in our business… $100/bbl is becoming the new $20/bbl in our business….costs have caught up to revenues for many classes of projects.” And for good measure, he adds, “If $100 is the new $20, consumers will pay more for oil.” Thus, two diametrically opposed […]

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Countdown to 48-hour deadline in Donetsk

Ukraine’s top police official gave a 48-hour deadline to separatists who have occupied the regional government building  in Donetsk Wednesday, as activists in the eastern city continued to dig in and expand their makeshift defenses and arsenals. Donetsk’s regional governor, meanwhile, sounded a more conciliatory note after meeting for talks with leaders of the separatists for more than two hours. As crowds of at least 1,000 massed throughout the day outside the administration building in the center of the city, the comments by acting Interior Minister Arsen Avakov appeared to deepen the resolve of the scores of masked, camouflaged men roaming the building and its exterior — many wearing orange construction helmets, carrying makeshift clubs and hospital surgical masks. Speaking at a government meeting in Kyiv, Avakov said “antiterrorist operations" were underway in Donetsk and two other regions that have seen pro-Russian activists seize government buildings. […]

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Polar Politics Threaten Norway’s Deepest Drive in Arctic

An ice chunk that can swell to the size of Russia will shape Norway ’s future oil income. The Arctic ice cap floats above vast deposits of oil and gas while sustaining along its perimeter one of the most biologically productive ecosystems on earth, supporting polar bears , walruses, commercially important fisheries and huge populations of migratory birds. The Norwegian government, seeking to sustain oil revenues that have fueled the country’s prosperity, has floated plans to let drillers push closer than ever to the ice cap — only to run into the strongest opposition yet. The uproar frames a larger and increasingly contentious fight over whether the Arctic Ocean’s mostly untouched oil and gas reserves can be safely or economically exploited. Key political allies of Norway’s Conservative Party-led government that help keep it in power are pushing to cut plans to offer 54 blocks in the Arctic Barents Sea […]

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London: Scotland may face huge energy bills alone

Scottish consumers may end up paying "considerably more" to support an energy sector if they break from the United Kingdom, the British government said. The British government published a report Wednesday saying a single energy market would be better for the region’s economy. Scotland is to hold a referendum for independence from the United Kingdom in September. Its government says it could support itself in part with revenue from North Sea oil and natural gas reserves while powering its economy through renewable energy reserves. British Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change Ed Davey said a united market has helped support the Scottish energy sector and has kept consumer energy bills down. "Scottish consumers would end up paying more, possibly considerably more, for energy infrastructure in an independent Scottish state than they do as part of the United Kingdom," he said in a […]

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Crude Rally Stalls Amid Mixed Signals

Brent crude oil is trading slightly lower Wednesday after tension surrounding Ukraine pushed the price up by almost $2 in the previous session. Fundamental factors of increasing supply at a time of low demand are keeping prices in check, but geopolitical issues are still be having a supportive effect. Brent crude for May delivery was down 13 cents at $107.54 a barrel on ICE Futures Europe. U.S. crude-oil futures were down 32 cents at $102.24 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Tuesday, the Brent crude price rose to close up $1.85, to a seven-session high, while West Texas Intermediate climbed $2.12 to a one-month high. "Geopolitical concerns surrounding Ukraine which were heating up the market at the start of March appear to have made something of a comeback," said JBC Energy analysts in a note to clients. But the gradual return of Libyan crude, […]

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Crude-Oil Futures Ease; U.S. Stocks, Ukraine in Focus

Crude-oil futures eased in Asian trading hours Wednesday but held on to most gains from overnight as investors consider U.S. oil inventory data, heightened tensions in Ukraine and weak fundamentals. On the New York Mercantile Exchange light, sweet crude futures for delivery in May traded at $102.23 a barrel at 0440 GMT–down $0.33 in the Globex electronic session. May Brent crude on London’s ICE Futures exchange fell $0.14 to $107.53 a barrel. Data from the American Petroleum Institute industry group late Tuesday showed U.S. oil inventories rose by 7.1 million barrels last week while stocks at the Nymex delivery hub of Cushing, Okla. rose unexpectedly by 200,000 barrels. More definitive inventory data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration is due later today. Analysts surveyed by The Wall Street Journal expect inventories rose by 1 million barrels, on average, in the week ended April 4. "Market expectations are for a […]

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WTI Retreats From Month-High as Crude Supplies Gain

West Texas Intermediate retreated from the highest price in a month after an industry report showed crude inventories increased in the U.S., the world’s biggest oil consumer. Brent slipped after the Libyan government said it was working to resume exports from two ports handed over by rebels. Futures slid as much as 0.5 percent in New York after the American Petroleum Institute said crude stockpiles expanded by 7.08 million barrels last week. Government data today will probably show a 750,000 barrel gain, according to a Bloomberg News survey. Rebels in Libya said they will not backtrack on the handover of two oil ports to the government, while they are standing by a demand for a share of oil revenue before they surrender a further two export terminals. “Comfortable fundamentals, with slack demand and plentiful supply, are weighing on the market,” Andrey Kryuchenkov , an analyst at VTB Capital in […]

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Oil stays above $102 per barrel on Ukraine unrest

Oil declined Wednesday but stayed above $102 per barrel amid unrest in eastern Ukraine and the possibility of lower U.S. production. Benchmark U.S. crude oil for May delivery was down 44 cents to $102.12 at 0910 GMT in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract gained $2.12 to $102.56 on Tuesday. Brent crude, used to set prices for international oil varieties, shed 26 cents to $107.37 on the ICE exchange in London. Traders are uneasy about possible disruption of supplies due to conflict in eastern Ukraine and possible European sanctions on Russia. Pro-Russian separatists have seized government buildings in several cities in Ukraine’s east in the aftermath of Russia’s annexation of Crimea. Also this week, the U.S. Energy Department lowered its 2014 crude production forecast to 8.37 million barrels a day from 8.39 million barrels. – Wholesale gasoline shed 0.2 cent to $2.978 a gallon. – […]

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Natural Gas Advances on Tight Supply Outlook

Natural-gas prices beefed up Tuesday as a new government forecast projected stockpiles, currently at 11-year lows, would stand at their lowest level since 2005 heading into next winter. Natural gas for May delivery settled up 5.8 cents, or 1.3%, at $4.534 a million British thermal units on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Natural-gas supplies will total 3.422 trillion cubic feet by the end of October, the lowest pre-winter level in nine years, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said Tuesday. The five-year average for the last week of October is 3.832 tcf. Frigid temperatures this past winter have eaten away at natural-gas stockpiles amid record demand for the heating fuel. About half of all U.S. households use natural gas as their primary heating fuel, according to the EIA. Inventories stood at 822 billion cubic feet as of March 28, the lowest level since 2003. Natural-gas stocks […]

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Short-Term Energy and Summer Fuels Outlook

Highlights During the April-through-September summer driving season this year, regular gasoline retail prices are forecast to average $3.57/gallon (gal). The projected monthly national average regular retail gasoline price falls from $3.66/gal in May to $3.46/gal in September. EIA expects regular gasoline retail prices to average $3.45/gal in 2014 and $3.37/gal in 2015, compared with $3.51/gal in 2013. The July 2014 New York Harbor reformulated blendstock for oxygenate blending (RBOB) futures contract averaged $2.85/gal for the five trading days ending April 3, 2014. Based on the market value of futures and options contracts for this key petroleum component of gasoline, there is a 3% probability that its price at expiration will exceed $3.35/gal, consistent with a monthly average regular-grade gasoline retail price exceeding $4.00/gal in July 2014 (see EIA Summer Fuels Outlook slideshow ). The North Sea Brent crude oil spot price in March averaged near $110 per barrel (bbl) […]

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One in Five Global Shale Basins May Succeed

Only one in five global shale regions may succeed in producing significant amounts of oil and gas as countries from to Argentina seek to emulate the U.S. boom, said energy consultants Wood Mackenzie Ltd. Argentina is leading the pack, with plans to drill about 200 shale wells this year, more than three times the number in China, Andrew Latham, Wood Mackenzie’s vice president for exploration research, said in an interview in Perth, Western Australia, where he’s attending an industry conference. “You hear people talk about lots of different basins,” Latham said yesterday. “It’s all good, but it’s all potential, and I’d be surprised if more than one in five plays that gets drilled ever becomes commercially significant in terms of production. You only get to be one of the five by drilling.” Shale explorers are targeting China, Russia, Australia, India, South Africa and Argentina in pursuit of deposits similar […]

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Cars Become Biggest Driver of Greenhouse-Gas Increases

The greatest emerging threat to the global climate may rest in the side pocket of your trousers — or wherever you keep the car keys. Emissions from transportation may rise at the fastest rate of all major sources through 2050, the United Nations will say in a report due April 13. Heat-trapping gases from vehicles may surge 71 percent from 2010 levels, mainly from emerging economies, according to a leaked draft of the most comprehensive UN study to date on the causes of climate change. Rising incomes in nations like China, India and Brazil have produced explosive demand for cars and for consumer goods that must be delivered by highway, rail, ship or air. The new pollution, measured in millions of tons of greenhouse gases, may exceed all of the savings achieved through initiatives like subsidies for public transport and fuel efficiency. Cutting back on transportation gases “will be […]

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Western powers hail Libyan oil deal

Western powers praised a deal ending blockades at eastern Libya oil export terminals, saying their closure had spoiled the nation’s economy for nine months. A joint statement by the French, German, Italian, British and U.S. governments praised Libyan Prime Minister Abdullah al-Thinni for brokering a deal to end blockades at Libyan ports. They said in their statement Monday the blockade had "done so much damage to the Libyan economy and to the Libyan people over the last nine months." The International Monetary Fund said the Libyan energy sector represents about $63 billion to the government, a majority in terms of percentage of gross domestic product. In March, a progress report on Libya from the European Commission said a blockade on oil exports by eastern federalists has "severely" affected Libya’s fiscal situation. Last weekend, the Libyan government agreed on terms with eastern rebel leaders to […]

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