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Nigeria: Fuel in Jerry Cans, Long Queues and Mr. President

I drove into Mobil fuel station on International Airport Road, Lagos, sometime last week and after sitting on the rather long queue, it finally got to my turn. I alighted, opened the boot of the car and made to bring out a 25 litre jerry can that has become a permanent companion since this lingering fuel scarcity started about two months ago but the meter attendant shocked me by saying, ‘Oga, we nor dey sell for keg o. I asked why, he said, ‘dem dey raid us, task force people, so our manager say make we nor sell for keg again’." I was now very angry and told him I would not move my car unless he sells in the jerry can. I guess he saw the resolve in my eyes and after using his eyes to pan around the fuel station, probably to see if his manager was […]

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Nigeria: Seeking Solutions to Oil Theft in Nigeria

The oil industry in Nigeria, like every other sector, has its own peculiar problems. In fact, it has been said over and over again by those who have ample knowledge about Nigeria oil industry that the greatest theft in the industry across the world, takes place in Nigeria. According to statistics, as much as $8 billion a year is lost to oil thieves operating in Nigeria. The figure, a report said, is based on an claims that an average of 100,000 barrels a day (b/d) are stolen from the country’s oil industry, a figure some persons have said, is conservative. Another report, while looking at the major challenges and reasons why the illicit trade thrives, says Politicians, security forces, militants, oil-industry staff, oil traders and members of local communities, all profit from "bunkering" of oil, so few have interest in stopping it. Profits from the crude stealing, are laundered […]

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Venezuela’s Oil Heads East

The late Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez used to berate the old management of state oil company Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) for sending oil to Europe. Chávez, who died in March 2013, said PDVSA’s sales to Germany, the U.K., and Sweden made no commercial sense because of the distance involved and the proximity of Middle East suppliers to European customers. Fast-forward 15 years, and PDVSA is firmly in the hands of the late president’s adherents. Last year, PDVSA sent more oil to Asia than to North America, the first time in the company’s history, even though it takes a month for Venezuelan crude to reach China and India. Sales to Asia rose 11 percent to about 1.03 million barrels a day, while sales to North America, chiefly the U.S., fell 12 percent to 879,000 bbl. per day. Today, Chávez’s old criticisms about the wisdom of having far-flung markets are forgotten, as his successors […]

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The Fracking Prostitutes of American Colleges

Lackawanna College, a two-year college in Scranton, Pa., has become a prostitute. The administration doesn’t think of themselves or their college as a prostitute. They believe they are doing a public service. Of course, streetwalkers and call-girls also believe they are doing a public service. Lackawanna College’s price is $2.5 million. That’s how much Cabot Oil & Gas paid to the School of Petroleum and Natural Gas, whose own nine-building campus is in New Milford in northeastern Pennsylvania.  On the School’s logo are now the words, “Endowed by Cabot Oil & Gas Corporation.” That would be the same Cabot Oil & Gas Corporation that has racked up more than 500 violations since it first used horizontal fracking to extract gas in the Marcellus Shale almost six years ago. That would be the same company that was found to be responsible for significant environmental and health damages in Dimock, Pennsylvania. […]

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EPA cuts 2013 cellulosic-ethanol mandate

The US Environmental Protection Agency lowered the amount of cellulosic ethanol required in 2013 to the amount actually produced, relieving refiners and importers of the need to buy credits to cover shortfalls against the earlier mandate. The adjusted volume is 810,185 ethanol-equivalent gal. The earlier requirement, published on Aug. 15, 2013, was 6 million gal. EPA made the change in response to petitions for reconsideration from the American Petroleum Institute and American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers. AFPM welcomed the move. “I expect EPA to use the same rational thinking to revise its proposed 2014 ethanol and biodiesel requirements, which are already long overdue,” said AFPM Pres. Charles T. Drevna. He said EPA has proposed a mandate of 17 million gal of cellulosic ethanol for 2014 and noted production of the material in the first quarter totaled less than 75,000 gal. Because commercialization of cellulosic ethanol has been slow to […]

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Bakken field production reaches 1 billion bbl mark

Citing data from IHS, Continental Resources Inc. reported that Bakken field has surpassed 1 billion bbl of cumulative light, sweet crude oil production during this year’s first quarter. Two thirds of the total was produced in the last 3 years, Continental said. The Oklahoma City independent remains the Bakken’s top operator, with more than 1.2 million acres, the largest remaining reserves, and the most advanced delineation program in the deeper Three Forks benches ( OGJ Online, Apr. 2, 2014 ). In 2013, Continental estimated 32 billion bbl of oil to be recoverable from Bakken at a 3.5% recovery factor, 36 billion bbl at 4%, and 45 billion bbl at 5%. The US Geological Survey said a mean of 8 billion bbl of oil and natural gas liquids remains to be discovered ( OGJ, May 20, 2013, p. 19 ).

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Ohio gas-fired power plant gets final approval from siting board

Advanced Power Services’ plans to construct a 742-MW natural gas-fired combined cycle plant near Carrollton, Ohio, gained final approval Monday from the Ohio Power Siting Board. The Carroll County Energy Generating Facility will be located on a 77-acre parcel of agricultural land and have a permanent footprint of 17 acres, the board said. The Boston-based developer said the $800 million plant is needed to offset the impending retirement of thousands of megawatts of older coal-fired generation in the Midwest. Article continues below… Megawatt Daily provides detailed coverage of power prices in major US and Canadian electricity markets, up-to-date information about solicitations and supply deals, and information about complex state and federal power regulations. The board’s order authorizes the construction of the facility, subject to 17 conditions agreed to in a stipulation filed by the company on March 10 with the board. Construction is […]

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Implications of accelerated power plant retirements

In 2012, coal-fired and nuclear power plants together provided 56% of the electricity generated in the United States. The role of these technologies in the U.S. generation mix has been changing since 2009, as both low natural gas prices and slower growth of electricity demand have altered their competitiveness relative to other fuels. Many coal-fired plants also must comply with requirements of the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS) and other environmental regulations. Some of the challenges faced by coal-fired and nuclear generators, and the implications for electricity markets if the plants are retired in significant numbers, are analyzed in this discussion. Implications of lower natural gas prices on industrial production Release Date: 4/23/14 This analysis focuses on variation in industrial output in the Low and High Oil Price cases and Low and High Oil and Gas Resource cases compared to the Annual Energy Outlook 2014 (AEO2014) Reference case. […]

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Cold economics may limit big LNG ambitions

Natural gas enthusiasts from Texas to Capitol Hill insist the world is clamoring to buy American supplies of the fuel and the only major obstacle is the federal government. But there’s an even bigger economic reality standing in the way: The facilities to super-chill gas for transport cost billions to build, and even with permits, few will ever make it past the drawing board. "It’s very easy for us in this country to blame everything on our regulators, but economics are the biggest driver here," said Joe Fagan, a partner at Day Pitney who advises clients on liquefied natural gas import and export matters. "Even […]

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Fracking comes to the world’s ‘greenest city’

From a plane landing in Vancouver, the city shimmers below. Skyscrapers sheathed in glass reflect water that lies on three sides of downtown. Forested mountains serve as a backdrop that has made it easy for politicians to brand Vancouver the world’s “ greenest city .” There is more to that reputation than just PR. Vancouver’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are among the lowest of any urban center in North America. The city council has made bicycling infrastructure a priority. And in 2008, the government of British Columbia enacted a relatively steep carbon tax that has earned international praise for lowering the province’s per capita consumption of fossil fuels to well below Canada’s average. Making B.C. look even cleaner by comparison is its dirty neighbor. Right next door in Alberta are the Athabasca oil sands, a development vilified around the world as one of the most environmentally […]

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Suncor First-Quarter Profit Rises as Oil Prices Climb

Suncor Energy Inc. (SU) , Canada’s largest oil producer by market value, said first-quarter profit rose helped by higher crude prices and shipments of North American crude to the Gulf and Atlantic coasts. was C$1.49 billion ($1.35 billion), or $1.01 a share, compared with C$1.1 billion, or 72 cents, a year earlier, the Calgary-based company said today in a statement. Chief Executive Officer Steve Williams has focused on boosting earnings by canceling less profitable projects including the Voyageur upgrader and stepping back from a production target of 1 million barrels a day by 2020. The company has protected itself from more volatile Canadian crude prices during the past year with its refineries, which benefit from lower commodity prices. “Our integrated model combined with improved market access allowed us to maximize the value of every barrel we produced,” Williams said in the release. Average production was the equivalent of 545,300 […]

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BP First-Quarter Profit Falls

BP PLC reported a fall in first-quarter profit as the energy giant continues to reshape itself in the aftermath of the Deepwater Horizon explosion and oil spill. BP’s production for the three months ended March 31 fell 8.5% to 2.13 million barrels of oil a day and the company warned that second-quarter production will be lower, mainly because of planned maintenance in the higher-margin North Sea and Gulf of Mexico regions. BP said underlying first-quarter replacement-cost profit, which strips out inventory gains or losses, fell to $3.23 billion, from $4.22 billion last year. Replacement-cost profit is similar to net profit, according to U.S. generally accepted accounting principles. Revenue slipped to $91.71 billion, from $94.11 billion a year earlier. Net profit was $3.53 billion, from $16.86 billion a year earlier, which was boosted by a $12.5 billion gain the sale of its stake in TNK-BP . BP increased its first-quarter […]

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Global energy crunch: how different parts of the world would react to a peak oil scenario

Peak oil theory predicts that oil production will soon start a terminal decline. Most authors imply that no adequate alternate resource and technology will be available to replace oil as the backbone resource of industrial society. This article uses historical cases from countries that have gone through a similar experience as the best available analytical strategy to understand what will happen if the predictions of peak oil theorists are right. The author is not committed to a particular version of peak oil theory, but deems the issue important enough to explore how various parts of the world should be expected to react. From the historical record he is able to identify predatory militarism, totalitarian retrenchment,and socioeconomic adaptation as three possible trajectories The Stone Age came to an end not for a shortage of stones. The Coal Age came to an end not for a shortage of coal. But, contra […]

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Rosneft, Exxon to explore Russian arctic

Russian oil company Rosneft said it was moving ahead with a joint effort with Exxon Mobil to explore for hydrocarbons in the arctic waters of Russia. The board of directors said Monday they’d work to develop the Ust-Lensky reserve area in the northern Laptev Sea and the Severo-Vrangelevsky-1 in the Chukchi Sea in eastern Russia. Both sides would also explore parts of the Kara Sea under the terms of a joint venture operation, they said. Neither side offered a reserve estimated of the targeted areas. Changing weather patterns are leaving parts of the arctic ice-free for longer periods, giving energy companies a greater opportunity to explore frontier oil and natural gas basins. Environmental groups like Greenpeace have expressed concern about drilling campaigns in the pristine arctic environment. The environmental campaign group was critical during the weekend after it learned French energy company Total purchased […]

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U.S. Drip-Feed of Sanctions Seen Risking Putin Backlash

The latest U.S. penalties against ’s inner circle may provoke the Russian president into escalating the Ukraine crisis without crippling key sectors of his nation’s economy. The sanctions imposed by the Obama administration yesterday on seven officials and 17 companies won’t go unanswered, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told Interfax. While markets showed relief as Russia ’s largest banks avoided U.S. measures, Putin may take this round personally, according to Konstantin Simonov, president of Russia’s National Energy Security Foundation. “Putin has been declared evil” and singled out personally by the U.S., Simonov said. “He won’t be able to respond economically, so he’ll retaliate politically. There will be escalation in the east of Ukraine and a new spiral of sanctions.” Warned by U.S. Secretary of State about making an “expensive mistake” in Ukraine, Putin has seen his approval rating at home soar to a six-year high after the seizure of […]

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Exxon’s $900 Billion Arctic Prize at Risk After Ukraine

Exxon Mobil (XOM) Corp.’s dream of drilling in the Russian Arctic may risk running aground on the politics of Ukraine. The company plans to start drilling in August in the Arctic’s remote Kara Sea — the centerpiece of Exxon’s global alliance with Russian state-controlled OAO Rosneft. (ROSN) The partnership, which includes shale exploration in Siberia and joint venture fields in Texas , will come under greater scrutiny after the U.S. placed sanctions on Rosneft’s Chief Executive Officer Igor Sechin . “With Sechin being sanctioned it may complicate relations for Rosneft with western companies,” said Mattias Westman, who oversees about $3.3 billion in Russia assets as CEO of Prosperity Capital . “Maybe some transactions will be threatened as a result and perhaps Russia will counter and they will be less keen for American companies to work on Arctic projects.” Patrick McGinn, a spokesman for Exxon’s exploration arm, said on April […]

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Sanctions on Rosneft's Sechin Muddy the Waters for Western Oil Majors

The U.S. Monday added Igor Sechin, a Putin ally and head of state-controlled oil giant , to its sanctions list, complicating the delicate dance U.S. and European energy giants have had to engage in amid the standoff between the West and Moscow. The most exposed company is U.K. oil company PLC, which has a 19.75% stake in Rosneft. Last year, it sold its stake in its previous Russian joint venture for $11.8 billion in cash plus shares in the state-controlled oil giant. Mr. Sechin owns 0.13% of Rosneft, making him the company’s third-largest shareholder after the Russian state and BP. BP also gained a seat on Rosneft’s nine-member board, currently held by BP Chief Executive Bob Dudley. Under the terms of the U.S. sanctions, BP wouldn’t be barred from dealing with Rosneft, though Mr Dudley, an American citizen, would be unable to have direct business dealings with Mr. Sechin. […]

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Sanctions on Rosneft’s Sechin Muddy the Waters for Western Oil Majors

The U.S. Monday added Igor Sechin, a Putin ally and head of state-controlled oil giant , to its sanctions list, complicating the delicate dance U.S. and European energy giants have had to engage in amid the standoff between the West and Moscow. The most exposed company is U.K. oil company PLC, which has a 19.75% stake in Rosneft. Last year, it sold its stake in its previous Russian joint venture for $11.8 billion in cash plus shares in the state-controlled oil giant. Mr. Sechin owns 0.13% of Rosneft, making him the company’s third-largest shareholder after the Russian state and BP. BP also gained a seat on Rosneft’s nine-member board, currently held by BP Chief Executive Bob Dudley. Under the terms of the U.S. sanctions, BP wouldn’t be barred from dealing with Rosneft, though Mr Dudley, an American citizen, would be unable to have direct business dealings with Mr. Sechin. […]

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The Gross Society

Seeing only its title, a prospective reader might guess this essay is about our nation’s epidemic of obesity. Or could it be a sarcastic observation on the evolution of Lyndon Johnson’s Great Society? Might it be a jeremiad about the gross (i.e., offensive and disgusting) ways we waste and over-consume natural resources, or a comment on current television trends? There’s plenty to be said on all those scores. No, the definition of gross I have in mind is “exclusive of deductions,” as in gross profits versus net profits. The profits we’ll be considering come in the forms not just of money but, more crucially, of energy. Sound boring? Well, you may be surprised. Here’s my thesis: As a society, we are entering the early stages of energy impoverishment. It’s hard to overstate just how serious a threat this is to every aspect of our current way of life. But […]

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Quietly, America Takes 1 More Step to Becoming an Energy Export Superpower

America is fast becoming the world’s energy superpower. Thanks to shale production, it leads the world in natural gas production. By next year, the U.S. should pass both Russia and Saudi Arabia in oil production. On top of that, America is also a top producer of natural gas liquids like propane and ethane. Producing the most energy is just one step as America is looking to become a leader in exporting its energy riches across the world. While limited natural gas exports have been approved and oil exports remain banned, it has quietly become the world’s top exporter of propane thanks to Enterprise Products Partners (NYSE: EPD  ) . That title isn’t likely to be ceded anytime soon as competitors like Boardwalk Pipeline Partners (NYSE:  ) and Williams (NYSE: WMB  ) are teaming up to compete with Enterprise Products Partners to export America’s propane riches. That’s just the start […]

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Peak Oil: No “Shock Moments”

There may never be a ‘shock moment’ of peak oil’s arrival; instead, peak oil may continue to play out as a gradual, unplanned transition to a new set of energy and consumption patterns that are less oil dependent, giving rise to social, economic, and ecological impacts that no one can predict with any certainty. [1] A key focus among the several hundred blog posts here has been my expression of concern that we’ve done almost no planning and very little preparation to deal with the consequences and challenges of peak oil. As Dr. Samuel Alexander noted in another of his well-considered reports on the topic, we’re not all going to awaken one morning to the Breaking News that peak oil has arrived. There will be several reasons for the absence of that advisory, not the least of which is that peak oil—insofar as conventional crude oil production is concerned […]

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Oil Underpinned By Russia-Ukraine Tensions

Crude oil is up and hovering around the $110 mark, still gaining support from the crisis in Ukraine. Brent crude for June delivery was up 40 cents at $109.98 on ICE Futures Europe, while WTI crude for June delivery was up 74 cents at $101.34 on the New York Mercantile Exchange. An escalation of the situation between Russia and Ukraine could lead to a leap in global energy prices, said David Hufton at oil brokerage PVM. "Were Russia to send troops into the Ukraine under the pretext of a peace-keeping role to protect its citizens a red line will have been crossed that not even very cautious European leaders could ignore," he said. "If the situation escalates it threatens to undermine the euro zone’s recovery and deliver a global energy price spike." The risk premium is being capped by plentiful oil supplies. Libya’s gradual return will add to those […]

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Brent Rebounds From Biggest Loss in 3 Weeks

Brent rebounded from its biggest loss in three weeks as the U.S. said it will toughen sanctions on Russia , the biggest energy exporter, over the Ukraine crisis. West Texas Intermediate rose after a weekly decline. Futures advanced as much as 0.6 percent in London . The U.S. and European Union will announce new sanctions as early as today on Russian companies and individuals close to President Vladimir Putin , officials said. Among those that may be targeted are Igor Sechin , chief executive officer of OAO Rosneft, the country’s biggest oil producer, people familiar with developments said. “The price is being supported by uncertainty as to the breadth and impact of sanctions taken against Russia,” Christopher Bellew , a senior broker at Jefferies Bache Ltd. in London, said by e-mail. “Another important consideration is how Russia might retaliate against sanctions.” Brent for June settlement climbed as much as […]

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Russia-West tensions pressure stocks, buoy oil prices

World stocks held just off 10-day lows on Monday, pressured by tensions between Russia and the West over Ukraine, although European markets were buoyed by a 15 percent jump in takeover target AstraZeneca. Markets, especially in Asia, also took a hit from signals that Chinese authorities are not likely to support the economy with more stimulus, but the main impetus was coming from developments in Ukraine. Leaders of the Group of Seven (G7) major economies could announce far-reaching sanctions on Russia as early as Monday, extending previous limited measures against some Russian individuals and companies for their role in Moscow’s annexation of Ukraine’s Crimea region. Heavily-armed pro-Russian separatists, who Kiev and the West believe are backed by the Kremlin, have proclaimed an independent "people’s republic" in the eastern Ukrainian city of Donetsk, while holding several European monitors hostage in nearby Slavyansk. Fears of outright war are weighing […]

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Iraq’s Make Up or Break Up Elections

Two years after the U.S. withdrawal and four years into Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki’s second term, Iraq is on the brink of breaking apart. The upcoming parliamentary elections scheduled for April 30, and the political process of government formation that will follow, present an opportunity to push for a return to more inclusive politics in Iraq. Unless Maliki is replaced or drastically changes his policies, these might be the last elections in a nominally united Iraq. Maliki has used the opportunity of the U.S. departure to consolidate his centralized rule and has alienated both the Kurdish and Sunni communities. Tensions from the ongoing war in Syria have only made matters worse. If Maliki secures a third term and maintains his current policies, the Kurdish region of the north might move toward secession and al-Qa‘ida groups might more firmly consolidate their hold on the western, Sunni parts of Iraq, effectively […]

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Iran, Russia Hold Electricity Talks as Russia Seeks To Build Relationship

Iran held talks with Russia over $10 billion worth of electricity deals on Sunday, in the latest attempt by Moscow to leverage a privileged relationship with Tehran. Russia is already in talks with Iran to swap food and other goods for Iranian oil. The move is seen by some as a Russian attempt to take positions in Iran’s vast market when it opens up and assert its international clout amid increased tensions with the West. In a statement posted on its website, Iran’s energy ministry said Energy Minister Hamid Chitchian met his Russian counterpart Alexander Novak in Tehran on Sunday to discuss $10 billion worth of power deals. They included the construction of hydroelectric power plants and, according to the Mehr news agency, the possibility of Russia exporting 500 megawatts of electricity to Iran. Iran’s political allies Russia and China have renewed efforts to develop economic ties with Tehran […]

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Iraq attacks kill at least 9 as police, army vote

Iraqi officials say suicide bombers have targeted polling centers as soldiers and security forces cast ballots ahead of parliamentary elections. The attacks killed at least nine people. Police say in one of the attacks on Monday, in the northern city of Tuz Khormato, the bomber blew himself up at a checkpoint leading to the polling center. Interior Ministry spokesman Saad Maan Ibrahim says another bomber struck a polling center in Baghdad’s western Mansour area, killing three troops and wounding four. A police officer says five security forces were wounded in another suicide attack, in the northern city of Mosul. He spoke on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to talk to media.

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Egyptian court seeks death sentence for Brotherhood leader, 682 supporters

An Egyptian court handed down a death sentence on the leader of the Muslim Brotherhood and 682 supporters, intensifying a crackdown on the movement that could trigger protests and political violence ahead of an election next month. A death penalty for Mohamed Badie, the Brotherhood’s general guide, will infuriate members of the Brotherhood which has been the target of raids, arrests and bans since President Mohamed Mursi was forced from power by the military in July. The movement says it is committed to peaceful activism. But some Brotherhood members fear pressure from security forces and the courts could drive some young members to violence against the movement’s old enemy the Egyptian state. In a separate case, the court handed down a final capital punishment ruling for 37 others. The 37 death sentences were part of a final judgment on 529 Muslim Brotherhood supporters who were […]

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Forced to Flee Radiation, Fearful Japanese Villagers Are Reluctant to Return

Ever since they were forced to evacuate during the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant three years ago, Kim Eunja and her husband have refused to return to their hilltop home amid the majestic mountains of this rural village for fear of radiation. But now they say they may have no choice. After a nearly $250 million radiation cleanup here, the central government this month declared Miyakoji the first community within a 12-mile evacuation zone around the plant to be reopened to residents. The decision will bring an end to the monthly stipends from the plant’s operator that have allowed Ms. Kim to relocate to an apartment in a city an hour away. “The government and the media say the radiation has been cleaned up, but it’s all lies,” said Ms. Kim, 55, who is from South Korea, and who with her Japanese husband runs […]

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Nigeria: Refineries – Why Nothing Worked

Some fifty-six years ago, Nigeria’s first barrel of crude oil made its uncertain entry into the global oil market. It was largely an event unnoticed. But with it, Nigeria put a knife to the string that bound it to the stake of poverty. It took a leap into that very desirable and rarefied realm of the dollar, petrodollar. The country’s vast forests of cocoa and palm trees, its pyramids of groundnuts rising like sculptured mountains into the sky and its extensive fields of cotton began their retreat as the wheels of fortune, oil fortune, rumbled on carrying Nigeria into the comity of nations blessed by God. Among the more than 40 countries on the face of the earth endowed with crude oil, there is none that does not have its refineries. Whereas Venezuela, a country the size of Lagos State in Nigeria and the ninth largest exporter of crude […]

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In Venezuela, Protesters Point to Their Scars

Clipso Martínez was shot at such close range by a soldier at a protest that his surgeon said he had to remove pieces of the plastic shotgun shell buried in his leg, along with the shards of keys Mr. Martínez had in his pocket, shattered by the blast. Jorchual Gregory was detained with 10 others who said that over three days they were kicked, pistol whipped, doused with pepper spray and battered with helmets and shotgun butts. “They wanted to make people afraid so we wouldn’t stay in the streets,” said Mr. Gregory, 19. “But what happened was more protests and more deaths.” Venezuela has been shaken by more than two months of often violent protests that President Nicolás Maduro says are designed to overthrow him. He has held the opposition responsible for violence that the government says has claimed more than 40 lives, including those […]

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Chinese pollution: A shift in the wind

When it comes to difficult government jobs, few are as tricky as the one held by Xie Zhenhua, China’s chief negotiator on climate change. On the day he agrees to meet the Financial Times, in a room the size of a basketball court near his office in the country’s economic planning ministry, the air outside is “unhealthy”. At least, that is what it says on the smartphone air quality apps people in Beijing check as obsessively as Londoners watch weather forecasts. Much of the smog comes from cars but it also drifts in from the coal-powered plants that have helped propel China’s economy into second place after the US – and turned it into a carbon dioxide polluter like no other. China’s hunger for coal meant it pumped out almost 10 gigatons of CO2 in 2012, more than the US and the EU combined and nearly a third of […]

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China's inability to achieve nuclear targets will be a boon for coal: Woodmac

China will be unable to achieve its target of increasing nuclear power generating capacity to 200 GW by 2030, translating into opportunities for coal producers to capture additional demand growth, Wood Mackenzie said Monday. Coal will remain the dominant fuel, at 64% of China’s power generation mix in 2030. China’s target is to increase nuclear generating capacity to 200 GW in 2030 from the current 14.6 GW, it said. However, Woodmac said China will only be able to increase its nuclear generating capacity to 175 GW in 2030, as some of its planned and proposed projects will be delayed or canceled. "The missed targets will translate into opportunities for coal producers to capture additional demand growth," Woodmac said. It added that by 2030, China’s nuclear capacity will account for 30% of the world’s total nuclear fleet, from 4.5% last year. And while China’s natural […]

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China’s inability to achieve nuclear targets will be a boon for coal: Woodmac

China will be unable to achieve its target of increasing nuclear power generating capacity to 200 GW by 2030, translating into opportunities for coal producers to capture additional demand growth, Wood Mackenzie said Monday. Coal will remain the dominant fuel, at 64% of China’s power generation mix in 2030. China’s target is to increase nuclear generating capacity to 200 GW in 2030 from the current 14.6 GW, it said. However, Woodmac said China will only be able to increase its nuclear generating capacity to 175 GW in 2030, as some of its planned and proposed projects will be delayed or canceled. "The missed targets will translate into opportunities for coal producers to capture additional demand growth," Woodmac said. It added that by 2030, China’s nuclear capacity will account for 30% of the world’s total nuclear fleet, from 4.5% last year. And while China’s natural […]

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China to finish analysis of air pollutant around Beijing

An analysis of the sources of air pollution in Beijing, Tianjin and Shijiazhuang will be finished by the end of June, an official with China’s environmental authority said on Sunday. The environmental authorities are working with the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Engineering to conduct the research and will jointly release reports on the results in the research, said Zhao Yingmin, director of the pollution control and management department of the Ministry of Environmental Protection. Zhao made the remarks when giving a report on air pollution in China to the Environment and Resources Protection Committee of the National People’s Congress, China’s top legislature. The analysis of the sources of air pollution in Beijing has already been finished and published earlier this month and the result revealed that about 64 percent to 72 percent of the air pollutants in Beijing are […]

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Why Marcellus Shale Gas Doesn't Get to New England

Nearly 15 million people in New England live within driving distance of America’s biggest natural-gas field, yet heating and electricity prices reached a record for the region this winter. As states stretching from Massachusetts to Maine thaw out from bitter cold, questions linger about why New England hasn’t benefited from the energy boom in the nearby Marcellus Shale. The short answer is not enough pipelines. And the reason is an impasse between pipeline operators and power plants over how to pay for new capacity. The problem is that pipeline operators want long-term contracts in place before they spend the hundreds of millions of dollars necessary to build a new pipeline or expand an existing one. But power companies, which buy gas to fuel generators on a need-to-have-it basis, work on a different timetable. Independent power-plant operators must supply electricity to utilities at the lowest cost possible, and utilities are […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Why Marcellus Shale Gas Doesn’t Get to New England

Nearly 15 million people in New England live within driving distance of America’s biggest natural-gas field, yet heating and electricity prices reached a record for the region this winter. As states stretching from Massachusetts to Maine thaw out from bitter cold, questions linger about why New England hasn’t benefited from the energy boom in the nearby Marcellus Shale. The short answer is not enough pipelines. And the reason is an impasse between pipeline operators and power plants over how to pay for new capacity. The problem is that pipeline operators want long-term contracts in place before they spend the hundreds of millions of dollars necessary to build a new pipeline or expand an existing one. But power companies, which buy gas to fuel generators on a need-to-have-it basis, work on a different timetable. Independent power-plant operators must supply electricity to utilities at the lowest cost possible, and utilities are […]

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Texas: When fracking comes to town

Denton, about 40 miles northeast of Azle, is in the heart of the Barnett Shale gas patch. In rural areas the telltale sign of a gas well is a fenced-in field and signs saying, “No Trespassing” and “No Smoking.” But in cities, the placement gets more creative. In Denton, there are wells near the University of North Texas’s football stadium and on the grounds of a high school. But the prospect of a fracked future for their city has prompted a group of activists to fight back. “I didn’t set out to be a fracktivist,” says Maile Bush, a fast-talking stay-at-home mother who lives near the Ogletrees in the Meadows at Hickory Creek. “We’re moms and retirees and doctors and lawyers and nurses. We’re not some Berkeley enclave.” Bush is active in a group called Frack Free Denton, which in February began circulating a petition to outlaw hydraulic fracturing […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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US Midwest ethanol margin tumbles to six-week low as prices slide

The estimated production margin for a typical US Midwest dry-mill ethanol plant for the week ended Friday fell 20.06 cents, or 15.6%, to a six-week low of $1.0854/gal, a review of US Department of Agriculture and Platts data showed. As weekly stocks data and added imports had a starkly bearish effect on ethanol prices, the margin retreated for a fourth straight week from an eight-year high hit in the last week of March. The estimated ethanol price used in calculating the margin was the weekly average of the Platts Chicago Argo ethanol assessment, which tumbled 19.4 cents, or 8.13%, to a seven-week low of $2.3870/gal. Article continues below… Platts Biofuelscan is a daily report, covering the latest worldwide biofuel news and prices. It provides a daily summary of market events and developments, along with closing market price assessments from the Americas, Europe, and Asia. […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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New York state shale gas: Not so much

A drilling foreman once told me, “Don’t believe ANY reserve number unless it’s linked to a price.” And, that is just what petroleum geologist and consultant Arthur Berman and his colleague Lyndon Pittinger have done in a new report on the viability of shale gas in New York state. Not surprisingly, when Berman and Pittinger considered what it would cost to extract the shale gas beneath New York state at a profit, the mammoth claims about recoverable reserves made by the oil and gas industry appeared heavily inflated. The stunning conclusion of the report is that at current prices–in the mid-$4 range per thousand cubic feet (mcf)–NONE of the natural gas trapped in the New York portion of the Marcellus can be profitably extracted. It’s possible, of course, that someone would try. But, the economics look very shaky at current prices given what we know about the nature of […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Fracking Is the Future

Fracking is the future according to Lord John Browne, the former chief executive for BP. He is known as the fracking czar due to his enthusiasm to bring the process to Great Britain. Hydraulic fracturing, known as fracking, uses a combination of water, sand, and chemicals to separate shale from natural gas and oil. Lord Browne wants to take fracking to a new level in Great Britain. According to the British Geological Survey, the Bowland-Hodder formation in England’s midsection contains shale deposits with more than 1,300 trillion cubic meters. Within that shale are deposits of oil and natural gas. With fracking, Great Britain will have enough oil and natural gas for 40 years. He believes fracking is a secure domestic energy source that will create a plethora of new jobs and generate billions in tax revenue. Lord Browne considers fracking a better alternative to constructing nuclear plants and importing […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Chernobyl: Capping a Catastrophe

Against the decaying skyline here, a one-of-a-kind engineering project is rising near the remains of the world’s worst civilian nuclear disaster. An army of workers, shielded from radiation by thick concrete slabs, is constructing a huge arch, sheathed in acres of gleaming stainless steel and vast enough to cover the Statue of Liberty. The structure is so otherworldly it looks like it could have been dropped by aliens onto this Soviet-era industrial landscape. If all goes as planned, by 2017 the 32,000-ton arch will be delicately pushed on Teflon pads to cover the ramshackle shelter that was built to entomb the radioactive remains of the reactor that exploded and burned here in April 1986. When its ends are closed, it will be able to contain any radioactive dust should the aging shelter collapse. By all but eliminating the risk of additional atmospheric contamination, the arch will remove the lingering […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Obama Says More Sanctions Against Russia Are Coming

President Obama, declaring that Russia was continuing to bully and threaten Ukraine, said here on Monday that the United States would impose additional sanctions on Russian individuals and entities, as well as freezing some exports of military technology. The announcement, during a visit by Mr. Obama to the Philippines, was widely expected. Last week, the president said that the sanctions were “teed up” and were being delayed only by technical issues and the need to coordinate with the European Union. The fact that the announcement was made on the last stop of Mr. Obama’s weeklong Asian trip underscored the sense of urgency about fears that Russia was destabilizing eastern Ukraine. The European Union is expected to announce similar measures within a day or so, as Mr. Obama and European leaders strive to keep a united front in their campaign of pressure on Moscow. “These sanctions represent the […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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EU, Ukraine Set to Sign Natural-Gas Deal

The European Union and Ukraine have agreed on terms to boost the flow of natural gas from the 28-nation bloc to the former Soviet state, Slovak pipeline operator Eustream said late Saturday. "Representatives of Eustream and [Ukrainian pipeline operator] Ukrtransgaz will sign the document on Monday," Eustream said in a statement. The two sides agreed that the fastest and least legally cumbersome way to provide Ukraine with a third EU-based gas delivery route—it already has gas-flow agreements with Hungary and Poland—is to use the pipeline between Vojany and Uzhgorod, an underutilized secondary pipe on Slovakia’s eastern border. The deal would mark Ukraine’s third significant energy agreement with the West since a pro-European caretaker government . To reduce dependence on Russia, its major trade partner, Ukraine earlier this month with Pennsylvania-based Westinghouse Electric Co. until 2020 and AG . Write to Sean Carney at

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Dude, where’s my North Sea oil money?

For a few years, the UK enjoyed a once-in-a-lifetime windfall – only, unlike the Norwegians, we’ve got almost nothing to show for it Last Wednesday, every single Norwegian became a millionaire – without having to lift a lillefinger. They owe the windfall to their coastline, and a huge dollop of good sense. Since 1990, Norway has been squirreling away its cash from North Sea oil and gas into a rainy-day fund. It’s now big enough to see Noah through all 40 of those drizzly days and nights. Last week, the balance hit a million krone for everyone in Norway. Norwegians can’t take a hammer to the piggy bank, amassed strictly to provide for future generations. And converted into pounds, the 5.11 trillion krone becomes a mere £100,000 for every man, woman and child. Still, the oljefondet (the government pension fund of Norway) owns over 1% of the world’s stocks, […]

Posted On : Published By : ASPO-USA
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Have We Reached The Limits Of Growth?

Robert Gordon has painted a dark picture of the world’s long-run economic growth prospects. But if the past is any guide, he will likely join the band of earlier distinguished economists who proved to be far too pessimistic about the human capacity to innovate. Dennis Robertson, the renowned Cambridge economist and a contemporary of John Maynard Keynes, famously remarked that economic fashion was like going to the greyhound races. If one stood still long enough, the dogs would come around one more time. This certainly seems to be the case with fashions in economic pessimism about the long-term economic growth prospects of the world’s advanced industrial economies. Each time these economies stumble, there is no shortage of economists who come out of the woodwork to advance plausible reasons as to why the limits of economic growth might have been reached. Yet each time, events seem to have proved these […]

Posted On : Published By : ASPO-USA
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Do the Math of Peak Oil and Convince Yourself

Until Colin J. Campbell and Jean H. Laherrère published their paper The End of Cheap Oil in 1998 (Campbell & Laherrére, 1998), the petroleum geologist Marion King Hubbert (1903 – 1989) was all but forgotten, including his correct forecast – back in 1956 – of the US’s peak of oil production in 1970 (Hubbert, 1956). In their paper Campbell and Laherrère warned that: “Barring a global recession, it seems most likely that world production of conventional oil will peak during the first decade of the 21st century.” It took another 12 years, but eventually the oil production optimist par excellence, the International Energy Agency (IEA, of the OECD countries), also had to admit the undeniable in their World Energy Outlook of 2010 (IEA, 2010): “Crude oil output reaches an undulating plateau of around 68–69 mb/d by 2020, but never regains its all‐time peak of 70 mb/d reached in 2006, […]

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Is Peak Oil Waiting for Godot?

Waiting for Godot was a two act play by Samuel Beckett where two men kept waiting for Godot and they just kept waiting and waiting and waiting… And no, I don’t think we will be kept waiting and waiting like the characters in that play. Peak oil is about to arrive, in my opinion anyway. Way back in 2005 we thought it likely that crude oil production had peaked at just under 74 million barrels per day. During the preceding three years C+C production had risen by 6,481,000 barrels per day or 2,160,333 barrels per day per year. The reason for that dramatic increase was a doubling in the price of oil from $25 per barrel in 2002 to $54.43 in 2005. So oil production depends, to a great extent, the price of oil. The more money the more oil. However…  The C+C data in all charts below are […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Oil Holds Onto Gains on Ukraine Tensions

Crude-oil futures held onto overnight gains in Asian trading hours Friday on heightened tensions between Ukraine and Russia that kept global financial markets on edge. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for delivery in June traded at $101.92 a barrel at 0549 GMT, down $0.02 in the Globex electronic session. June Brent crude on London’s ICE Futures exchange fell $0.01 to $110.32 a barrel. Ukrainian forces killed several militants outside a pro-Russian stronghold in eastern Ukraine on Thursday as it attempted to regain control of the region, prompting Russian military exercises on its side of the border. "With Russia warning of ‘consequences’ and Ukraine complaining of Russian ‘interference’ and ‘permanent threats and blackmail,’ worries over the possibility that escalation either via arms or sanctions could disrupt Russian oil and gas exports remained high," Citi Futures analyst Tim Evans said in a note. U.S. President Barack […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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WTI Crude Drops to Two-Week Low as Equities Decline

West Texas Intermediate crude fell to the lowest level in two weeks, widening the discount to Brent, as U.S. equities slipped and oil stockpiles expanded. Prices dropped 1.3 percent, following the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index (SPX) amid disappointing corporate earnings. WTI capped the first weekly loss since April 4 as inventories reached the highest level since government weekly data started in 1982. Brent fell less than WTI on concern the Ukraine crisis will escalate and disrupt supplies. “I don’t see anything physical or fundamental that’s bullish for oil,” Kyle Cooper , director of commodities research at IAF Advisors in Houston, said today in a telephone interview. “Equities are falling. The petroleum market is driven by short-term money flows. We probably will test $100.” WTI for June delivery fell $1.34 to $100.60 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the lowest settlement since April 7. The futures are […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple