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Iran bullish about oil potential

TEHRAN, April 8 (UPI) — Iranian Petroleum Minister Bijan Zanganeh said the country is bent on increasing the level of oil production despite Western economic sanctions. Zanganeh told the Oil Ministry’s official news site, Shana, the Iranian government wasn’t waiting for the United States and its allies to relax sanctions on the energy sector. "[We] will readily tap all the resources to sell more oil despite sanctions," he said in an interview published Monday. "We are hoping to see sanctions shrink, however, we assume the harshest circumstances and draw up our roadmap assuming that sanctions will not be altered." The minister said Iran was ready to produce more than 4.2 million barrels of oil per day during the current calendar year, which began last month. Iran secured sanctions relief under the terms of an interim nuclear deal brokered in November. Another round of nuclear talks gets under way in […]

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Iran Official Signals Progress on Arak Reactor in Nuclear Talks

Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Majid Ravanchi on Tuesday signaled progress in Tehran’s nuclear talks with six world powers as the latest round of negotiations started in the Austrian capital. In an interview with The Wall Street Journal before the talks, Mr. Ravanchi said Iran would address "legitimate concerns" about Iran’s heavy-water plutonium reactor in Arak, which the West says could produce enough plutonium for a nuclear weapon. "We have not reached a conclusion on Arak, but at least we know very well where they are and where we are and how the positions of the two sides can merge," he said. Iran pledged in November’s interim nuclear accord to stop major work on the reactor, whose spent fuel would contain plutonium. The United Nations atomic agency, which oversees the accord, has said Tehran is complying. But Western countries remain concerned about Arak, which Iran says is intended to produce […]

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White House moves to block Iran’s UN ambassador nominee

The Obama administration said on Tuesday that the nomination of a new Iranian ambassador to the UN who was involved in the 1979 hostage crisis was “not viable”, intensifying a dispute that could have an impact on nuclear negotiations. Jay Carney, White House spokesman, said that the nomination of Hamid Aboutalebi to be Iran ’s ambassador to the UN was “extremely troubling”. He was speaking hours after the senate voted unanimously in favour of a bill that would prevent Mr Aboutalebi from taking up his post by denying him a visa. The measure is expected to pass the House of Representatives. The dispute over the Iranian nominee comes as a fresh round of negotiations with Iran over its nuclear programme opened in Vienna on Tuesday. Iran defended the nomination of Mr Aboutalebi on Tuesday. “Iran has selected a veteran diplomat with a clear and successful [diplomatic] record as […]

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Shell lifts first crude oil from the Majnoon oilfield

Shell announced today that the Majnoon oilfield it operates in partnership with South Oil Company (SOC), Petronas and Missan Oil in Southern Iraq has successfully exported its first shipment of crude oil to Shell trading, a significant milestone for the oilfield. The achievement comes as production at the Majnoon oilfield has reached a current average of 210,000 barrels of oil per day, well in excess of the 175,000 barrels per day (bpd) First Commercial Production target which initiates the commencement of cost recovery and was achieved after extensive rehabilitation works at the oilfield. “This is a historic event for Iraq’s energy industry. The lifting of Shell’s first oil shipment from Majnoon has great significance to us and our partners in the Government as it is a testimony to our shared progress and signals the start of Majnoon’s long-term journey toward generating further revenue for Iraq’s economy, and as an […]

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Iraq attacks kill 19 as soldiers ambush militants

Attacks in Iraq left 19 people dead Tuesday while security forces said they killed 25 militants near Baghdad amid worries insurgents are encroaching on the capital weeks ahead of elections. The latest violence is part of a protracted surge in nationwide bloodshed that has left more than 2,400 people dead since the start of the year and sparked fears Iraq is slipping back into the all-out sectarian fighting that plagued it in 2006 and 2007. The unrest has been driven principally by anger in the Sunni Arab community over alleged mistreatment at the hands of the Shiite-led government and security forces, as well as spillover from the civil war in neighbouring Syria. In Tuesday’s bloodiest incident, soldiers killed 25 militants in an ambush southwest of Baghdad, the capital’s security spokesman Brigadier General Saad Maan said. Maan said the fighters were part […]

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Uganda, Kenya to Build World's Longest Heated Oil Pipeline

Should Uganda and Kenya finally build a crude oil export pipeline, it will be the longest heated such facility in the world. According to a report released last month by Tullow Oil Plc, both countries have agreed to build the pipeline and have commenced a comprehensive study on the pipeline. "Tullow and its partners have agreed with the government of Kenya to commence development studies. In addition, the partnership is involved in a comprehensive study for an export pipeline," the Tullow Oil Plc annual report 2013 reads. According to the report, the export pipeline route on the Kenyan side is expected to run mostly underground, over 850 kilometres from the Lokichar basin to the coast. Kenya is to construct the pipeline from Lokichar basin while Uganda is expected to construct its part of the pipeline from the Lake Albert rift basin to link up with the Kenyan pipeline and […]

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Uganda, Kenya to Build World’s Longest Heated Oil Pipeline

Should Uganda and Kenya finally build a crude oil export pipeline, it will be the longest heated such facility in the world. According to a report released last month by Tullow Oil Plc, both countries have agreed to build the pipeline and have commenced a comprehensive study on the pipeline. "Tullow and its partners have agreed with the government of Kenya to commence development studies. In addition, the partnership is involved in a comprehensive study for an export pipeline," the Tullow Oil Plc annual report 2013 reads. According to the report, the export pipeline route on the Kenyan side is expected to run mostly underground, over 850 kilometres from the Lokichar basin to the coast. Kenya is to construct the pipeline from Lokichar basin while Uganda is expected to construct its part of the pipeline from the Lake Albert rift basin to link up with the Kenyan pipeline and […]

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Will Texas Ship Crude to California

Texas is eyeing the possibility of shipping its excess crude oil to California, a state that historically imports from the Middle East and Ecuador. In September 2013, Texas produced its highest monthly rate of natural resources on record – pumping 2.7 million barrels of crude per day, the highest average of oil output in over 32 years, according to data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. With this excess crude, Texas might become a supplier of oil to California if the trade is profitable. Once an oil exporter, the Golden State now depends on imports for more than 60 percent of its oil supply. About a quarter of California’s imports are from Alaska, with the rest coming from the Middle East and Ecuador, according to the U.S. Energy Information (EIA). However, because of California’s history as an oil producing and exporting province, its refining industry was […]

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Australia could emerge as shale powerhouse

The Australian energy sector is in the midst of a sea change, with investors retooling their strategies to focus on unconventional gas, industry officials said. Andrew Latham, vice president of exploration for energy consultant group Wood Mackenzie , said Australian exploration is dominated by frontier areas and long-term natural gas projects, two areas where he said the industry is losing interest. "Australia’s established unconventional gas industry is likely to rank highly, when benchmarked against other unconventional plays outside North America," he said Monday at an energy summit in Perth. Australia is a premier exporter of liquefied natural gas from conventional reserves. Several Asian countries have secured long-term natural gas supply contracts from companies operating in Australia. Rob Cole, chairman of the Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association, said development costs were inhibiting growth within the country’s energy sector. Latham, meanwhile, said parts of the country may hold some of […]

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Statoil said CO2 levels up at Alberta site

Norwegian energy company Statoil said Tuesday it wants to cut its carbon dioxide emissions from oil sands production, though there may be short-term spikes. Statoil operates oil sands production facilities primarily in Canada. It said its oil sands production declined "slightly" last year. The company said CO2 intensity should decrease as it introduces additional technology at its Leismer oil sands operations in Alberta, Canada. There may be spikes in the interim, however. The Norwegian company said in a report Tuesday about 69.7 kilograms of CO2 were produced per barrel of oil. That was higher than expected, the company said, but lower than the 72.7 kg of CO2 per barrel produced in 2011. "Our long-term CO2 targets for reduced carbon dioxide intensity in the production process, with 25 percent by 2020 and 40 percent by 2025, remain firm," Stale Tungesvik, Statoil’s manager in Canada, said in a statement . Tungesvik […]

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China’s Embrace of Foreign Cars

China — For more than a decade, Chinese automakers have been talking about starting large-scale exports to North America and Europe, prompting periodic worries in the West that companies like General Motors, Ford and Volkswagen might be crippled by Chinese competition the way they were by Japanese imports a generation ago. Now there are calls for protectionism, but from an unexpected direction: the biggest, most politically influential Chinese automakers. Multinational corporations are steadily clawing market share from Chinese brands in their home market, as a succession of global brands have pushed their way into China. The latest insurgent is Ford Motor, which has a joint venture based here in Chongqing and has nearly doubled its market share to 4.5 percent in the last […]

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Chinese automaker looks to overtake Tesla

As American electric car maker Tesla Motors Inc. is making a big splash in China, one Chinese auto manufacturer is aiming to take the lead in the electric car market. Xu Heyi, chairman of Beijing Automotive Group, speaks on the sidelines of the Boao Forum. [China.org.cn/He Shan] Xu Heyi, chairman of Beijing Automotive Group, told reporters on the sidelines of the Boao Forum for Asia that his company is partnering up with an American company to roll out a new model of electric car by the end of next year. "The new model will outperform Tesla’s Model S," he said. Tesla began to take orders of the Model S last August, in the price range of 734,000 yuan to 1.1 million yuan (US$120,000 to US$179,000). Xu said Tesla’s boldness in popularizing the electric car is worth taking a lesson from, but it presents nothing new in terms of technology. […]

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For Utilities, It's a Whole New Game

The power business is facing unprecedented change, Across much of the U.S., demand for electricity is flat or declining. The industry’s aging infrastructure needs to be beefed up with a big capital investment. And more people are turning to distributed generation—making electricity on-site with solar panels and other methods. To see how the industry can meet these challenges, Wall Street Journal contributing editor Jeffrey Ball spoke with Nicholas K. Akins, chairman, president and chief executive of Co. Here are edited excerpts of their discussion. MR. BALL: I want to give you a couple of numbers: 2009 at American Electric Power and today. Coal, as a percentage of total electricity generation, has shifted from 86% down to 70%. Natural gas has doubled from 6% to 12%. Nuclear has doubled, from 5% to 10%. Wind renewables have more than doubled from 2% to 5%. Energy efficiency has increased a lot as […]

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For Utilities, It’s a Whole New Game

The power business is facing unprecedented change, Across much of the U.S., demand for electricity is flat or declining. The industry’s aging infrastructure needs to be beefed up with a big capital investment. And more people are turning to distributed generation—making electricity on-site with solar panels and other methods. To see how the industry can meet these challenges, Wall Street Journal contributing editor Jeffrey Ball spoke with Nicholas K. Akins, chairman, president and chief executive of Co. Here are edited excerpts of their discussion. MR. BALL: I want to give you a couple of numbers: 2009 at American Electric Power and today. Coal, as a percentage of total electricity generation, has shifted from 86% down to 70%. Natural gas has doubled from 6% to 12%. Nuclear has doubled, from 5% to 10%. Wind renewables have more than doubled from 2% to 5%. Energy efficiency has increased a lot as […]

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Half of power plant capacity additions in 2013 came from natural gas

Natural gas-fired power plants accounted for just over 50% of new utility-scale generating capacity added in 2013. Solar provided nearly 22%, a jump up from less than 6% in 2012. Coal provided 11% and wind nearly 8%. Almost half of all capacity added in 2013 was located in California. In total, a little over 13,500 megawatts (MW) of new capacity was added in 2013, less than half the capacity added in 2012. Natural gas. Natural gas capacity additions were less than in 2012, as 6,861 MW were added in 2013, compared to 9,210 MW in 2012. The capacity additions came nearly equally from combustion turbine peaker plants, which generally run only during the highest peak-demand hours of the year, and combined-cycle plants, which provide intermediate and baseload power. Nearly 60% of the natural gas capacity added in 2013 was located in California. The state is facing resource adequacy concerns […]

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U.S. says energy diversity equals energy security

Increased oil production not only way to break from foreign markets, Energy Department says. WASHINGTON, April 8 (UPI) — Reducing the dependence on oil and increasing energy security involves more than just increasing production, U.S. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz said. The U.S. Energy Information Administration said oil production by 2020 should pass the 9 million barrel per day mark and shale production should account for more than 80 percent of the increase from U.S. reserves. U.S. policymakers said increased production would help wean the U.S. economy off foreign imports. Moniz in a 32-page report outlining the department’s strategic plan said the U.S. economy needs a break from oil. "Although domestic oil production has increased to the extent that in 2012 net imports of petroleum fell to their lowest level in nearly 20 years, we must continue our efforts to develop alternative fuels and vehicles; as we are far from […]

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EIA Increases 2014 WTI Price Forecast to $95.60 a Barrel

The U.S. increased its price forecast for West Texas Intermediate crude for 2014 and reduced the estimate for Brent. WTI will average $95.60 a barrel this year, the Energy Information Administration said in its monthly Short-Term Energy Outlook . That’s up from March’s estimate of $95.33. Brent, the North Sea-based grade, will reach $104.88, down from last month’s $104.92. WTI will average $89.75 in 2015 and Brent $100.92, according to the EIA, the Energy Department’s statistical arm. Those estimates are unchanged from the previous month. Brent’s average premium to WTI would be $9.28 in 2014 and $11.17 in 2015. The EIA decreased its forecast for this year’s U.S. crude output to 8.37 million barrels a day from 8.39 million. That level of 2014 production would be up 13 percent from 2013. The demand forecasts were 18.9 million for the U.S. and 91.61 million for the world versus last month’s […]

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Scale Model WWII Craft Takes Flight With Fuel From the Sea Concept

Navy researchers at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL), Materials Science and Technology Division, demonstrate proof-of-concept of novel NRL technologies developed for the recovery of carbon dioxide (CO) and hydrogen (H) from seawater and conversion to a liquid hydrocarbon fuel. Flying a radio-controlled replica of the historic WWII P-51 Mustang red-tail aircraft—of the legendary Tuskegee Airmen—NRL researchers (l to r) Dr. Jeffrey Baldwin, Dr. Dennis Hardy, Dr. Heather Willauer, and Dr. David Drab (crouched), successfully demonstrate a novel liquid hydrocarbon fuel to power the aircraft’s unmodified two-stroke internal combustion engine. The test provides proof-of-concept for an NRL developed process to extract carbon dioxide (CO) and produce hydrogen gas (H) from seawater, subsequently catalytically converting the CO and H into fuel by a gas-to-liquids process. (Photo: U.S. Naval Research Laboratory) Fueled by a liquid hydrocarbon—a component of NRL’s novel gas-to-liquid (GTL) process that uses CO and H as feedstock—the research […]

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Statoil’s oil sands production saw slight decline in 2013

Statoil ASA reported a slight decrease in its oil sands production in 2013 because of a planned multiweek plant shutdown for facility maintenance and the integration of new scientific research and experimental development measures, according to the company’s 2013 Oil Sands Report. Production decreased from to 15,000 b/d of oil in 2013 from 16,000 b/d in 2012 as carbon dioxide intensity increased to 69.7 kg CO/bbl from 55.6 kg CO/bbl. The CO intensity in 2011 was 72.7 kg CO/bbl. The report—which presents performance indicators for production, energy consumption, emissions intensity, and resource use at the Leismer Demonstration Project and in the Kai Kos Dehseh (KKD) leases in northern Alberta—stated that CO intensity rose because of facility maintenance and the integration of pilot technologies to reduce long-term CO intensity. The technology pilot measures are intended to both increase production and decrease CO intensity in the long term. Statoil said its […]

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Germany Amends Green-Energy Regime to Curb Rise in Prices

The German government has amended renewable-energy laws meant to help make the country nuclear-free but that have sent power prices rocketing—squeezing consumers and the country’s formidable export machine. The cabinet approved amendments on Tuesday that it said would contain soaring electricity costs while seeking to protect German jobs in the industrial sector. The changes include less ambitious targets for wind power and a cut in subsidies for certain forms of green energy. Chancellor Angela Merkel’s "energy transformation," a bold and initially popular experiment to make Germany the first major industrial economy to run largely on green energy, has met strong resistance from companies and households faced with steep rises in power costs. The project revolves around subsidies that are financed by end users via a levy and meant to encourage a buildup in renewable energy capacity. Overall, the government expects such subsidies to reach €24 billion ($33 billion) this […]

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Russian Gas Giant Discusses South Stream Project as EU Meets on Potential Gas Disruptions

As the European Union hosted talks Tuesday on the threat of disruptions to natural-gas supplies amid Russia-Ukraine tensions, OAO executives were in Brussels trying to press ahead with their own pipeline project. Russia’s state-run energy giant wants to build a €16 billion ($22 billion) pipeline to send natural gas from Russia, across the Black Sea, and into Italy. The route avoids Ukraine, through which about half of Europe-bound Russian gas flows. But in the wake of Russia’s annexation of Crimea, that pipeline, called South Stream, has become another political flash point between East and West. And a handful of large European companies, all partners with Gazprom in the offshore section of the project, are walking a fine line between the two sides. The talks held Tuesday by EU Energy Commissioner Günther Oettinger focused on growing concerns in Brussels about a potential disruption of natural-gas supplies to Ukraine itself. Those […]

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EU Said to Back More Energy State Aid in Concession to Industry

The European Union, under pressure from Germany , will allow more generous state aid to 65 energy-intensive industries than earlier planned to help with the cost of boosting renewable sources, according to three people with knowledge of the matter. The European Commission, the EU regulatory arm, will approve support in the form of cuts in environmental taxes if the beneficiaries cover at least 15 percent of the additional costs, compared with the previously proposed 20 percent, according to the people, who asked not to be identified because the talks aren’t public. The provisions will be included in state-aid guidelines for 2014-2020 to be adopted today. The guidelines will define state-support rules to help spur renewables as nations including Germany seek tools that would shield industry from rising power bills during the EU’s shift to a low-carbon economy. The own-contribution of state-aid beneficiaries may be further reduced to 0.5 percent […]

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BlackLight Power Announces Sustained Production of Electricity Using Photovoltaic Conversion

BlackLight Power, Inc. today announces that it achieved sustained electricity production from a primary new energy source by using photovoltaic technology to transform brilliant plasma, with power comprising millions of watts of light, directly into electricity. By applying a very high current through its proprietary water-based solid fuel in BlackLight Power’s breakthrough Solid Fuel-Catalyst-Induced-Hydrino-Transition (SF-CIHT) technology, water ignites into brilliant plasma, an extraordinary bright flash of extraordinary optical power that has a power density of over 1,000,000 times that of any prior controllable reaction. Remarkably, the light emitted from the plasma is nearly a perfect spectral equivalent of the Sun, but at 50,000 times the intensity. BlackLight Power has now successfully converted the brilliant plasma directly into electricity using photovoltaic cells (solar cells) which have been increasingly perfected to convert the Sun spectrum into electricity for more than five decades costing an estimated $1 trillion. […]

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Noted Scholar Vaclav Smil Says What We Produce and Use Depends on Where We Are

If you want to understand the future of energy, says Vaclav Smil, you need to think locally—and skeptically. There are no easy fixes or pat global answers in the slog to add energy while reducing carbon emissions—only hard choices, notably about getting people to use energy more wisely, the wide-ranging author and scholar at the University of Manitoba told Wall Street Journal contributing editor Jeffrey Ball. Bill Gates recently wrote this about Mr. Smil, who has penned some three dozen books, writing on subjects as varied as energy, food and the decline of U.S. manufacturing: "There is no author whose books I look forward to more than Vaclav Smil." Mr. Smil explored what he sees as the limits of wind and solar power; the profligate use of energy in China; the even more profligate use of energy in the U.S.; and the admirable energy efficiency of Japan. Here are […]

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Crude Rebounds Ahead of Inventory Data

Crude-oil futures bounced back in Asian trading hours Tuesday ahead of initial U.S. oil inventory data and with fresh tensions in Ukraine. On the New York Mercantile Exchange light, sweet crude futures for delivery in May traded at $100.94 a barrel at 0407 GMT–up $0.50 in the Globex electronic session. May Brent crude on London’s ICE Futures exchange rose $0.27 to $106.09 a barrel. Initial U.S. oil stocks data from the American Petroleum Institute trade body and the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s short-term energy outlook are expected later Tuesday. Nymex WTI crude prices have been supported by a nine-week downtrend in oil inventories at the delivery point of Cushing, Okla. and traders expect a further drop of 1 million barrels in the week ended April 4, analyst Tim Evans at Citi Futures said in a note. However, total U.S. oil stocks have increased in 10 of the last 11 […]

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WTI Rebounds as Gasoline Stockpiles Seen Shrinking; Brent Gains

West Texas Intermediate crude rebounded amid speculation gasoline supplies dropped for a seventh week in the U.S., the world’s biggest oil consumer. Brent rose in London on renewed tensions between the West and Russia over Ukraine. Futures gained as much as 1 percent in New York, rising for the third time in four days. Gasoline inventories probably shrank by 1 million barrels last week, according to a Bloomberg News survey of analysts before Energy Information Administration data tomorrow. Russia called on Ukraine to halt all military preparations in the east “immediately” or risk civil war. “The market is starting to look forward to tomorrow’s U.S. oil inventory data, where gasoline stocks are expected to fall for a seventh week in a row,” Bjarne Schieldrop, chief commodities analyst at SEB AB in Oslo, said today in a report. “The geopolitical risk is increasing with increasing tension between Russia and Ukraine […]

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Speculators Cut Bullish Oil Bets by Most in Nine Months

Fewer than three weeks into spring, oil speculators are already thinking about the summer. Hedge funds and other money managers boosted bullish wagers the most since February, betting that refineries will need to buy more crude to accelerate gasoline output before the peak U.S summer driving season. Fuel supply is already tight, with consumers paying the most at the pump in seven months. U.S. refineries are processing the most oil since January as plants come out of seasonal maintenance, squeezing crude stockpiles for the first time in 11 weeks. Speculative bets on rising prices for West Texas Intermediate, the benchmark grade, are the highest for this time of year since 2006, U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission data show. “Refinery runs are up and as long as they are up, it’s mighty hard to get crude to build,” said Tom Finlon, the Jupiter, Florida-based director of Energy Analytics Group LLC. […]

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Natural Gas Boosted by Colder Weather Outlook

Natural-gas futures gained Monday as weather forecasts indicated stronger demand for the heating fuel in the next two weeks than previously expected. Natural gas for May delivery settled up 3.7 cents, or 0.8%, to $4.476 a million British thermal units on the New York Mercantile Exchange. April typically represents a turning point for the natural-gas market, as demand falls enough to allow producers to begin refilling inventories after a winter of withdrawals. About half of U.S. households use natural gas as their primary heating fuel, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Due to this winter’s unusually frigid weather, stockpiles are at 11-year lows. Supplies as of March 28 stood at 822 billion cubic feet, meaning that producers would need to inject about 3 trillion cubic feet of gas into storage by the end of October to meet last year’s pre-winter level. The EIA is […]

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Greenpeace sees growth in renewable energy use

Environmental campaign group Greenpeace said Monday major world economies were showing an increase in renewable energy in their grids. "Renewable energy has expanded, fallen in price and is ready to challenge traditional, polluting forms of energy," Kaisa Kosonen, a senior political adviser for Greenpeace International, said in a statement . A report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change found the burning of fossil fuels was a contributing factor to abnormal weather phenomena. Greenpeace said, with IPCC members set to convene Saturday in Berlin, the focus should be on renewable energy resources. IPCC’s report showed the level of greenhouse gas emissions have increased since its 2007 report, though global solar power capacity has increased by a factor of 10 and wind capacity has increase threefold since then. Demand dynamics, meanwhile, have shifted to Asian economies. Chinese coal consumption is changing in response to major […]

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Obama Administration Shows Optimism on Iran Nuclear Talks

With nuclear talks set to resume in Vienna on Tuesday, the Obama administration says it is convinced it can conclude an agreement to limit Iran’s nuclear program by the July 20 target date despite significant political hurdles. U.S. officials said a string of meetings among the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council and Germany—the so-called P5+1—and Iran have steadily moved ahead since a temporary agreement was reached in November. Drafting of the terms of the deal is set to begin in May, U.S. and Iranian officials said ahead of the latest round of talks in Vienna. The P5+1 has set July 20 as the target to reach a permanent accord, although that can be extended by six months if necessary. "I’m absolutely convinced that we can [meet the deadline], though the real issue is…about the choices that Iran has to make, and some of them are […]

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Iran and Russia working on oil-for-goods deal

The director of the National Iranian Oil Co. said talks with Russia for a deal to swap oil for goods have taken on a serious tone. NIOC Director Roknoddin Javadi said Russian tankers could start taking on Iranian oil from southern ports under the terms of a deal that would see more Russian goods imported in exchange. "We are engaged in negotiations with the Russian side (on reverse crude swap)," he said in an interview published Sunday by the semiofficial Fars News Agency. "The negotiations are continued seriously but the time for the start of the swap operation has not been finalized yet." Iran and Russia are close partners in Iran’s controversial nuclear sector. Iran has touted its potential for oil exports since brokering an interim deal in November to roll back parts of its nuclear program. Iran in return secured modest relief from […]

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Russia oil talks pose new hurdle to Iran nuke pact

Reports of multibillion-dollar oil talks between Iran and Russia are emerging as the latest obstacle to a comprehensive pact eliminating the threat of an Iranian nuclear arsenal. The Obama administration is weighing potentially deal-breaking sanctions if a contract is completed. The Russian business daily Kommersant has reported Russia plans to buy 500,000 barrels of Iranian oil a day, shattering an export limit under the interim nuclear agreement world powers and Iran reached last year. Moscow and Tehran are far from finalizing the contract, the newspaper said, but the U.S. has expressed alarm. A senior U.S. official said the administration had no information to suggest the oil-for-goods contract had been reached. The arrangement would break the interim agreement reached in November in Geneva and "potentially trigger U.S. sanctions," said the official, who was not authorized to be quoted by name and briefed reporters on condition of anonymity. […]

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Iran Nuclear Haggling Hits Midpoint With Talks Over Arak Reactor

Diplomats gathering in Vienna will seek a compromise over an Iranian reactor that could produce weapons ingredients when they resume talks on the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program today. European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif will join diplomats from China , France , Germany , Russia, the U.K. and U.S. The sides have set a target of July 20 for a permanent accord after breaking a decade-long deadlock in Geneva last year. After the last round of talks in March, Russia called on Iran to “demonstrate goodwill” by finding a way to modify the Arak heavy-water reactor and allay concerns that it can produce plutonium, a key ingredient in nuclear weapons. Robert Einhorn, a former U.S. negotiator, said in a report for the Brookings Institution that Iran should convert the project into a light-water reactor that wouldn’t produce plutonium. Princeton University researchers […]

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Iraq: No vote in parts of Anbar due to clashes

An Iraqi electoral official says there will be no balloting in parts of the Sunni-dominated Anbar province engulfed in clashes between security forces and al-Qaida-inspired militants. Muqdad al-Shuraifi from the Independent High Electoral Commission said on Tuesday that families displaced by the fighting will be allowed to vote in areas deemed "safe" or in parts of the province where they found shelter. The April 30 parliamentary election is the first balloting in Iraq since the withdrawal of U.S. troops in late 2011. But the exclusion of major Sunni cities such as Ramadi and Fallujah – where most of the fighting is underway as Iraqi forces try to wrest back areas overrun by militants – from the voting could deepen Sunni fears of being marginalized by the country’s Shiite majority.

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Libya Oil Sales to Rise as Rebels Surrender Two Ports

Libyan rebels surrendered control of two oil ports to the government, potentially enabling the OPEC member to triple crude exports this month with an increase of at least 180,000 barrels a day. Brent futures dropped. The self-declared Executive Office for Barqa handed over the oil terminals of Zueitina and Hariga overnight, said Ali Al-Hasy, a spokesman of the group that seeks self rule for the region that is also known as Cyrenaica. An agreement yesterday with the government also provides for the rebels to relinquish the other two ports they control, Es Sider and Ras Lanuf, in two to four weeks, he said. The government confirmed the agreement in a statement on its website. With Africa ’s largest oil reserves, Libya’s oil production slumped by more than 1 million barrels a day in the past year as protests halted oil fields and ports. Brent crude futures, which fell 1.3 […]

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Kashagan oil field hits restart delays

It may cost as much as 15 times more to rebuild the pipelines needed to restart operations at the giant Kashagan field in the Caspian Sea, a metallurgist said. Kashagan is one of the largest oil fields in the world, with an estimated 16 billion barrels of oil reserves. Production was halted in October, less than a month after it started, when a pipeline associated with the field cracked open. A source close to the project told online energy news website Quartz corrosive hydrogen sulfide found within the natural gas associated with the field causes the field’s pipelines to crack open almost as soon the hydrogen sulfide is exposed to moisture. Barry Hindin, a corrosion engineer at Battelle Memorial Institute, told the news site a nickel-based steel alloy that would resist hydrogen sulfide may cost the consortium operating Kashagan as much as 15 times more than conventional pipelines. In […]

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Nigeria: Oil Production

Oil theft looks set to push Nigeria off its spot as top African crude oil exporter in May and exports could fall to their lowest since records began in 2009, data have shown. Nigerian exports in May are set to be at around 1.59 million barrels per day (bpd) excluding the Forcados and Ebok grades of crude oil, which had still not emerged. Exports are far below the high above 2.2 million bpd reached in 2011, and the May figure is set to fall beneath the exports of Angola, which is usually the continent’s second largest exporter. According to Reuters, Angolan exports in May were set to be 1.67 million bpd, a provisional shipping list indicated. Production of the Forcados grade has been hit by underwater pipeline leakage due to oil theft which led operator, Shell, to declare a force majeure on the grade last week.   Copyright © […]

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Nigeria's Crude Export to Us Declines By 91 Percent – India, Highest Buyer of Nigeria's Crude

NIGERIA has started to witness the negative effect of shale oil exploration in the United Stated of America, USA, and other parts of the world, as Nigeria’s crude oil export to North America dropped by 91.31 per cent in one year. Specifically, data obtained from the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation’s, December 2013 Petroleum Information, disclosed that Nigeria exported 1.438 million barrels of crude oil to North America as at December 2013, down by 15.111 million barrels in December 2012. North America accounted for 22.19 per cent of Nigeria’s total crude export by December 2012, but it dropped to 2.23 per cent by December 2013. Prior to the decline, the US was the highest buyer of Nigeria’s crude, purchasing 14.279 million barrels in December 2012, thereby, accounting for 19.15 per cent of Nigeria’s total crude export and 86.28 per cent of total crude export to North America. By 2013 end, […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Nigeria’s Crude Export to Us Declines By 91 Percent – India, Highest Buyer of Nigeria’s Crude

NIGERIA has started to witness the negative effect of shale oil exploration in the United Stated of America, USA, and other parts of the world, as Nigeria’s crude oil export to North America dropped by 91.31 per cent in one year. Specifically, data obtained from the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation’s, December 2013 Petroleum Information, disclosed that Nigeria exported 1.438 million barrels of crude oil to North America as at December 2013, down by 15.111 million barrels in December 2012. North America accounted for 22.19 per cent of Nigeria’s total crude export by December 2012, but it dropped to 2.23 per cent by December 2013. Prior to the decline, the US was the highest buyer of Nigeria’s crude, purchasing 14.279 million barrels in December 2012, thereby, accounting for 19.15 per cent of Nigeria’s total crude export and 86.28 per cent of total crude export to North America. By 2013 end, […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Brazil Vice President Sees No Fuel Price Boost as Election Looms

Brazilian Vice President Michel Temer said he sees no room for a fuel price increase before elections in October and that inflation surpassing 6.5 percent would be a “disaster.” “I don’t think so. I can’t say with complete certainty,” Temer, 73, said in an interview yesterday at Bloomberg’s headquarters in New York , in response to whether Petroleo Brasileiro SA would raise fuel prices before the election. “I don’t have information about it, but I’m not seeing the possibility.” Petrobras rose 6.6 percent to 16.46 reais yesterday, the biggest jump in more than a week, after a poll showed reduced support for President Dilma Rousseff’s re-election bid. The government controls Petrobras’s board with a majority of voting shares, and investors were encouraged by the possibility of a change in administration, said Paulo Brito, an investment manager at the brokerage firm HPN Invest in Recife, Brazil . The company’s refining […]

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Indonesian oil producers restart almost all output disrupted by haze

Indonesian oil producers have restarted almost all of the 12,000 b/d of crude output in central Sumatra that they shut last month during forest fires, a spokesman for upstream regulator SKK Migas said Tuesday. Haze from the forest fires forced producers to halt output starting March 11, as hazardous air prevented workers from continuing to work at oil fields in the region. "All producers have almost recovered their production," said Handoyo Budi Santoso, head of SKK Migas’ communications division. "The production is currently ramping up to reach their normal production. We expect the normal production figure can be reached as soon as possible." Chevron has restarted 573 wells, but output is fluctuating as the wells return to normal production, Santoso said. Energi Mega Persada and local company Bumi Siak Pusako, a joint venture between state-owned Pertamina and the local government, have also ramped up […]

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On Fracking Front, A Push To Reduce Leaks of Methane

Scientists, engineers, and government regulators are increasingly turning their attention to solving one of the chief environmental problems associated with fracking for natural gas and oil – significant leaks of methane, a potent greenhouse gas. Loose pipe flanges. Leaky storage tanks. Condenser valves stuck open. Outdated compressors. Inefficient pneumatic systems. Corroded pipes. Forty separate types of equipment are known to be potential sources of methane emissions during the production and processing of natural gas and oil by hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, of underground shale formations. As the fracking boom continues unabated across the U.S., scientists, engineers, and government experts are increasingly focusing on the complex task of identifying the sources of these methane leaks and devising methods to stop them.   Photo credit: Tim Evanson/Flickr. "Fugitive" methane escapes from natural gas production sites, such as this one in North Dakota. "There are many, many, many possible leaking sources," said […]

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Fracking With CO2 To Replace Water A Distant Goal, GE Says

Carbon dioxide, used for years to force crude oil out of old wells, likely will not replace water in fracking anytime soon because of technical challenges and limited infrastructure, says General Electric Co , which is studying the issue under a $10 billion research program. The delay means energy companies will continue to use more than 2 million gallons of water for each fracked well, equal to baths for some 40,000 people, stressing water supplies in arid American states and likely delaying fracking’s expansion to western China and other water-stressed regions. GE, which is making a push into oilfield technology, is studying how a chilled form of CO2 known as a "super-critical fluid" – neither a liquid nor a solid – could be used as the new industry standard for hydraulic fracturing, the process commonly known as fracking. The conglomerate is working […]

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Move carefully on crude exports, refiner urges House subcommittee

Tight oil formations have helped the US increase its crude production dramatically, an independent refiner conceded. But the nation should proceed cautiously as it considers authorizing more crude exports, he told a US House Foreign Affairs Committee subcommittee. “For decades, this country has worked to become energy secure or even energy independent, and now just recently, the expansion of production from both traditional and non-traditional sources has allowed the country to make great progress toward that goal,” said Michael Jennings, chief executive of Houston-based HollyFrontier Corp. , on Apr. 2. Higher US crude production also has reduced refined product costs for consumers, and has mitigated price volatility or prices that historically resulted from geopolitical events, he continued in testimony to the Terrorism, Nonproliferation, and Trade Subcommittee. “Given the great progress made in the last several years and the continued uncertainty in the global marketplace, HollyFrontier does not believe that […]

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Tight oil-driven production growth reduces need for U.S. oil imports

In the Annual Energy Outlook 2014 (AEO2014) Reference case, crude oil production rises from 6.5 million barrels per day (MMbbl/d) in 2012 to 9.6 MMbbl/d before 2020, a production level not seen since 1970. Tight oil production growth accounts for 81% of this increase, and sees its share of national crude oil production grow from 35% in 2012 to 50% in 2019. In the High Oil and Gas case, U.S. crude oil production reaches 11.3 MMbbl/d in 2019 and reaches 13.3 MMbbl/d in the mid-2030s. Under the Reference case, the import share of U.S. petroleum and other liquid fuels falls to about 25% during the last half of the current decade before rising again to 32% by 2040. In comparison, the High Oil and Gas Resource case projects that net U.S. oil imports will continue to decline through the mid-2030s and remain at or near zero between 2035 and […]

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EIA – Independent Statistics and Analysis

Issues in Focus U.S. tight oil production: Alternative supply projections and an overview of EIA’s analysis of well-level data aggregated to the county level Release Date: 4/07/14 U.S. production of tight oil has increased dramatically in the past few years, from less than 1 million barrels per day (MMbbl/d) in 2010 to more than 3 MMbbl/d in the second half of 2013. The Annual Energy Outlook 2014 (AEO2014) Reference case reflects continued growth in tight oil production. However, growth potential and sustainability of domestic crude oil production hinge around uncertainties in key assumptions, such as well production decline, lifespan, drainage areas, geologic extent, and technological improvement—both in areas currently being drilled and in those yet to be drilled. As a result, High and Low Oil and Gas Resource cases were developed to examine the effects of alternate resource and technology assumptions on production, imports, and prices. Potential of liquefied […]

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California’s big dry shows little let-up

California’s record-setting drought is touching the heart of Silicon Valley . With the rainy season ending with hardly any rain to show for it, the city of Mountain View, home to tech giant Google, declared last week a water shortage emergency. In the tech-heavy city, the impact of the emergency declaration is light. Restaurants, for example, cannot serve water except upon request. Drive or fly just a few hours inland from Apple’s home town in Cupertino, however, and the impact of the drought hitting the US’s most populous state and biggest agricultural industry is far more menacing. For a brief moment in February and March, light rains fell, giving grape growers in Napa Valley, lettuce farmers near Salinas and suburban and rural homeowners a glimmer of hope for an end to a drought now entering […]

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James River Coal Files for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy

Appalachian coal miner James River Coal Co. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Monday as it continues its search for a buyer or investor. The Wall Street Journal in February reported that the Richmond, Va., company , an effort the company will continue in Chapter 11. "We took this action to restructure under Chapter 11 because it will allow us to adjust the balance sheet and improve our liquidity in a controlled and definitive manner," James River Chairman and Chief Executive Peter T. Socha said Monday in a statement. "We will also continue to explore and evaluate potential strategic alternatives for the company, such as a capital investment through a plan of reorganization or a sale of one or more portions of the company." The company, which sells coal to electric utilities and industrial customers, said it has secured a $110 million bankruptcy loan to help it fund its […]

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Baker Hughes: U.S. rig count increasing

HOUSTON, April 7 (UPI) — The number of rigs actively exploring for oil and natural gas in the United States was up more than 2.5 percent in March year-on-year, Baker Hughes said Monday. Oil services company Baker Hughes released its rig count for March. The average count for the United States was up 34 from the 1,769 counted in February and up 47 from March 2013. In its latest assessment, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said more than 90 percent of the active rigs were spinning onshore. More than 80 percent were targeting crude oil reserves. The United States had more active rigs counted than any other region in the world, according to Baker Hughes. U.S. oil production is expected to reach 8.4 million barrels per day this year, an increase of nearly 1 million bpd from the previous year. The oil services company said the Canadian rig country […]

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U.S. shale to curb imports for decades, EIA says

U.S. imports of petroleum and liquid fuel sources should dip to 25 percent by the mid 2010s before rising again by 2040, the Energy Department said Monday. The Energy Information Administration, the statistical arm of the Energy Department, started the first in a series of phased roll outs from its annual outlook for 2014. It said in its initial report Monday the import share of petroleum and other liquid fuels declines to about 25 percent of the total fuel supply by the middle of this decade and doesn’t rise again above 30 percent until around 2040. According to EIA, part of the decrease in imports is because of the increase in production from so-called tight oil formations, a reference to reserves found in underground shale formations. EIA said U.S. oil production should hit 9.6 million barrels per day before 2020, a level not seen […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple