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BP streamlines Alaskan business

British energy company BP said it was selling its stake in oil fields in the North Slope of Alaska in order to focus more on gas and the Prudhoe Bay oil field.Lamar McKay, chief executive officer for BP’s upstream operations, said the sale to Hilcorp, an energy company based in Houston, gives BP the opportunity to focus on managing larger oil and gas opportunities in Alaska. "This agreement will help build a more competitive and sustainable business for BP in Alaska," he said in a statement . "We will now concentrate on continuing development and production from the giant Prudhoe Bay field and working to advance the future opportunity of Alaska LNG." Alaskan legislators this week passed a measure that would advance a program to develop liquefied natural gas in the state. BP is a co-owner of the LNG development project. BP said its […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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U.S. East Coast Gasoline at Five-Month High on Imports

U.S. East Coast gasoline rose to a five-month high as imports to the area declined and refinery maintenance continued in eastern Canada and New Jersey . Reformulated, 84-octane gasoline, or RBOB, in the New York Harbor strengthened 0.88 cent to 3.88 cents a gallon above futures on the New York Mercantile Exchange at 3:16 p.m., the highest premium since Nov. 15, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. New York’s gasoline premium swelled for a fourth day. Motor fuel imports to the East Coast dropped 63,000 barrels a day to 402,000 barrels in the week ended April 18, the lowest level since March 14, according to weekly U.S. Energy Information Administration data. Stockpiles of RBOB gasoline fell to 15.8 million barrels, compared with 21 million barrels a year earlier, the data showed. “Imports to New York are limited and there are very few vessels arriving in the near term,” said […]

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El Nino Risk Increases as Pacific Gets Warmer: Carbon & Climate

The odds are increasing that an El Nino weather system will form this year, portending drought for Australia and Asia and a warmer winter in the U.S. Northeast. The U.S. Climate Prediction Center now says there’s a 65 percent chance the Pacific Ocean warming pattern will develop after August. It put the odds at 52 percent last month. The Australian Bureau of Meteorology, which expected neutral conditions at the start of the year, says the phenomenon may start as soon as July. The World Meteorological Organization of the United Nations sees an El Nino at midyear. “We should know more clearly in a month exactly whether this is going to wimp out on us or if it’s really going to take off,” Kevin Trenberth , distinguished senior scientist in the climate analysis section of the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado , said in an April 14 […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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El Nino Risk Increases as Pacific Gets Warmer: Carbon & Climate

The odds are increasing that an El Nino weather system will form this year, portending drought for Australia and Asia and a warmer winter in the U.S. Northeast. The U.S. Climate Prediction Center now says there’s a 65 percent chance the Pacific Ocean warming pattern will develop after August. It put the odds at 52 percent last month. The Australian Bureau of Meteorology, which expected neutral conditions at the start of the year, says the phenomenon may start as soon as July. The World Meteorological Organization of the United Nations sees an El Nino at midyear. “We should know more clearly in a month exactly whether this is going to wimp out on us or if it’s really going to take off,” Kevin Trenberth , distinguished senior scientist in the climate analysis section of the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado , said in an April 14 […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Very Little Cheap Natural Gas in New York Marcellus Shale, New Report Concludes

For years, the shale industry has touted the economic benefits it can provide. An overflowing supply of domestic natural gas will help keep heating and electric bills low for American consumers, they argue, while drilling jobs and astounding royalty windfalls for landowners will reinvigorate local economies. These tantalizing promises have caught the attention of politicians in Washington, D.C. who argue that the rewards of relying on shale gas outweigh the risks, especially because harm can be minimized by the industry or by regulators. But across the U.S., communities where drilling has taken place have found that the process brings along higher costs than advertised. Even when properly done, drilling carries with it major impacts — including  air pollution , truck traffic , and plunging property values  — and when drillers make mistakes, water contamination has left residents without drinking water or cleaning up from disastrous well blow-outs . And as […]

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Obama Warns Russia the U.S. Is Ready to Ramp Up Sanctions

U.S. President Barack Obama said Russia hasn’t abided by either the spirit or the letter of an agreement to de-escalate tensions in Ukraine, and he warned that the U.S. is prepared to impose additional costs. "There will be further consequences, and we will ramp up further sanctions," he said during a news conference in Tokyo Thursday. The White House warned earlier this week that it would act if evidence of Russia’s compliance with an agreement reached in Geneva isn’t evident "in the coming days." Mr. Obama didn’t offer a more specific timeline Thursday, saying only that the timing was a matter of days, not weeks. The president said that the sanctions involve technical work that must be completed before the U.S. can move forward. "The fact that I haven’t announced them yet doesn’t mean that they haven’t been prepared and teed up," Mr. Obama said. The president also said […]

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Obama Says U.S. Ready to Move on Further Russia Sanctions

President Barack Obama said the U.S. and its allies have additional sanctions against Russia ready to go as the crisis in Ukraine escalated, with security forces moving against pro-Russian separatists. Russia has yet to act in the spirit or the letter of an agreement reached in Geneva last week to defuse the confrontation, and if there’s no progress in the coming days, “we will follow through,” Obama said in Tokyo today. “We have been preparing for the prospect that we’re going to have to engage in further sanctions,” he told a news conference after meeting Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. All that’s required is some “technical work” and coordination with allies, he said. Ukraine continued an offensive against separatists in eastern cities today, Russia warned yesterday it would protect its citizens in Ukrainian territory, raising the prospect of a military move. An accord to disarm rebels signed last week […]

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Light Goes Out on U.K. Coal Industry

The U.K. coal industry is at the point of fizzling out following the planned closure of two of its three remaining deep mines in northern England. Among the beneficiaries: Russian exporters of the commodity. U.K. production of coal—still a major source of power in the country—has been in long-term decline since Margaret Thatcher ‘s government defeated a miners strike in the 1980s. When Mrs. Thatcher came to power in 1979, Britain produced 122 million tons of coal from 219 underground and 58 open-cast mines. Last year production was one-tenth that amount, the lowest to date. A further drop when the closures are completed in 18 months will underline how reliant the U.K. has become on foreign suppliers. Since 2002, annual imports of coal used in U.K. power generation have doubled. The country now imports nearly four times as much coal as it produces domestically. Problems for the U.K. coal […]

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WTI Trades Near 2-Week Low as China Economy Slows; Brent Steady

West Texas Intermediate crude traded near a two-week low as a manufacturing gauge added to signs of an economic slowdown in China , the world’s second-largest oil consumer. Brent was steady in London . Futures were little changed in New York after falling the most since Jan. 2 yesterday. A preliminary Purchasing Managers ’ Index from HSBC Holdings Plc and Markit Economics was at 48.3 for April, signaling a fourth month of contraction. U.S. crude stockpiles probably rose for the 13th time in 14 weeks, a Bloomberg News survey shows before government data today. Ukraine is considering resuming operations to oust militants as an accord to ease tension with Russia faltered. “The market is nervous about China,” said Jonathan Barratt , the chief executive officer of Barratt’s Bulletin in Sydney who predicts investors may sell West Texas contracts if prices advance to $104 a barrel. “The Russian situation remains […]

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Natural-Gas Futures Rise on Continued Cold Outlook

Natural-gas futures climbed Tuesday as new weather forecasts called for lower-than-normal temperatures into May, fueling concerns that extended late-season heating demand could eat into stockpiles needed for next winter. Natural gas for May delivery rose 4.2 cents, or 0.9%, to settle at $4.739 a million British thermal units on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The market moved higher shortly after the release of the revised weather outlooks, took a brief turn into negative territory and then resumed climbing for the rest of the session, hitting a new high for the day just before settlement. Several forecasts that had already been revised Monday to reflect the extended cold snap were further altered early Tuesday to show even more below-normal conditions. Commodity Weather Group said the Midwest and eastern regions of the U.S., which are key consuming areas for gas-fired heating demand, could see temperatures between 50 […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple