A federal judge’s ruling last week directing the Obama administration to issue a long-delayed smog standard is reanimating a battle between businesses and environmental groups that has been dormant for three years. The Continue Reading
The satellite images viewed by President Obama before a meeting with eight Western governors were stark, showing how snowpack in California’s mountains had shrunk by 86 percent in a single year. “It was a ‘Houston, we Continue Reading
Russian-speaking regions of Ukraine spun further out of the central government’s control on Sunday as a mob stormed a police station in this Black Sea port and freed from detention Continue Reading
As Ukraine tries to contain a pro-Russian insurgency convulsing its eastern region, a perhaps more significant struggle for the country hinges on what happens beneath the ground here in a Continue Reading
Ukraine continued military operations to dislodge rebels from its eastern industrial heartland as violence that’s spread to the Black Sea gateway of Odessa threatens to loosen Kiev’s control of the regions. Government troops Continue Reading
Given that shale oil production is, in fact, currently doing the most to meet growing oil demand, any shale oil ‘bust’ is likely to have significant implications for an already-strained oil market. [1] While there’s some (strained) logic to the efforts of fossil fuel industry officials and their spokespeople to do nothing but offer the most optimistic scenarios and forecasts about future oil supply and production, it’s impossible to imagine that those in charge are not contemplating the very same facts we on the “other side” of the discussion regularly share. Facts are stubborn things. They refuse to go away, for one. Ideology and optimism may carry one today, but eventually there simply is nothing left to contend with except those often-inconvenient truths. It’s also understandable that foregoing today the accessible and still-economically-feasible extraction and production opportunities at hand in favor of transitioning their own efforts to efforts largely […]
In this informal paper, I conduct Hubbert Linearization exercises on the world’s 11 topoil producers as well as the rest of the world. The results are used to project the Continue Reading
As the Obama administration puts off once again any decision on authorizing the Keystone XL pipeline, there are whispers of another intriguing possibility. If the U.S. government fails to approve the Continue Reading
In the ongoing battle of wits, Russia and the West are out – oiling their energy arsenals – to achieve strategic objectives. In this rather crowded geopolitical chess board, with Continue Reading
Oil prices ticked up Friday on several factors that could increase demand, especially growing U.S. employment. Light, sweet crude for June delivery settled up 34 cents, or 0.3%, at $99.76 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, rising from a five-week low it had set Thursday. Brent crude on the ICE Futures Europe exchange rose 83 cents, or 0.8%, to $108.59 a barrel. The U.S. added 288,000 new jobs in April, 73,000 more than expected, which could mean more workers on the roads. In addition, Ukraine launched a large-scale offensive, bringing geopolitical risk back into crude pricing. And the Energy Department announced plans to put $200 million of gasoline into new storage reserves to help the Northeast in case of disaster. "There are a lot of little things, but even when combined that’s not enough to really push us much higher," analyst Jim Ritterbusch said. "The record-high stockpile […]
The price of oil rose Friday as a report showed a big gain in new jobs in the U.S. But gains were tempered by ongoing concerns about record oil supplies. Prices fell below $100 earlier in the week, mostly due to a surge in U.S. supplies of crude oil, which rose to a record 399.4 million barrels, according to the Energy Department. The Labor Department said U.S employers added 288,000 jobs in April, the most in two years. The unemployment rate fell to 6.3 percent, its lowest level since September 2008. "The report may represent some catch-up from the hit the economy apparently took over the brutal winter months," said the Kilduff Report edited by Michael Fitzpatrick. At the gas pump, the average price for a gallon of gasoline slipped 1 cent to $3.68. That’s 12 cents higher than a month ago and 15 cents above where it was […]
Brent crude rose for the first time in three days on concern that escalating tensions in Ukraine may disrupt global supplies. WTI also gained after U.S. employers boosted payrolls by the most in two years. Brent advanced 0.8 percent. Ukraine sent armored vehicles and artillery to retake Slovyansk, a stronghold for pro-separatist forces, defying President Vladimir Putin ’s demand to pull back troops with Russia’s army massed across the border. WTI reduced weekly losses as the unemployment rate dropped to 6.3 percent in April, the least since September 2008. “Ukraine is engaging in a big military way and Brent is having greater value due to geopolitical influences of Ukraine,” Tom Finlon, Jupiter, Florida-based director of Energy Analytics Group LLC, said by phone. “The unemployment number is construed positively for increases in petroleum demand.” Brent for June settlement climbed 83 cents to close at $108.59 a barrel on the London-based […]
Natural gas prices are down 0.3% Friday as dueling increases in both supply and demand are dividing traders. Natural gas for June delivery is down 1.3 cents at $4.706 a million British thermal units on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The price has swung down and then up several times Friday, starting around 6 a.m. Prices have been retreating from a two-month high since Wednesday because stockpiles have been getting their largest additions of the year. The U.S. Energy Information Administration said Thursday that producers added 82 billion cubic feet of gas to storage for the week ended April 25, nearly 30% more than the five-year average. It was the second consecutive week that the addition beat Wall Street expectations. And it was the first week that additions were large enough to make a significant dent in a one-trillion-cubic-foot shortfall compared to what is usually […]
More than two years after the U.S. withdrawal and nearly a decade after the U.S. forces ousted Al Qaida in Iraq (AQI) from Fallujahh, Iraq is still grappling with an escalating sectarian crisis between the Shia-led government, but also an increasingly disaffected Sunni minority. Even more menacingly, however, AQI has relabelled itself as the Islamic State in Iraq and Levant (ISIS) and has taken over of parts of Ramadi and Fallujah in the notoriously rebellious Sunni-dominated Anbar province. While the Iraqi army managed to regain parts of the provincial capital, Ramadi, it has so far failed to make any headway in Fallujahh. Although Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki has repeatedly warned that the army was on the verge of storming Fallujahh, he has so far refrained, fearing that civilian casualties would trigger a fierce backlash by tribal leaders backing the army. Maliki, asserted on February 5th that the […]
ON APRIL 30th Nuri al-Maliki stepped behind a cardboard voting booth in a hotel ballroom in Baghdad, cast his ballot and raised a triumphant finger dipped in purple ink, urging other Iraqis to head for the polls, too. But this was in the relative safety of the fortified “green zone”, the government area which, he fears, is the ultimate target of opposition fighters now proliferating to the west and north of the capital. Elsewhere in Iraq the election took place amid bombs and bitter sectarian animosity between Sunni and Shia politicians. Even if most Iraqis managed to vote, there was no sign of this gulf being bridged. The dour, authoritarian Mr Maliki seems bent on keeping an almost exclusively Shia grip on Iraq. Since January the security forces have lost control of large chunks of Anbar province, west of Baghdad, to aggrieved Sunni fighters, some of them proclaiming allegiance […]
Oil flows at around 100,000 bpd since Sunday are leading up to expected sales, possibly to Turkish refining company Tupras. Iraq’s autonomous Kurdistan region has restarted independent pipeline exports of roughly 100,000 barrels per day (bpd) to the Turkish port of Ceyhan, in anticipation of first oil sales this month.The resumption of pumping signals the Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) determination to capitalize on a moment of political opportunity. Following April 30 national elections, Iraqi leaders are poised to enter negotiations to form a new government, in which the Kurds could try to force Baghdad …
Suicide bombers targeting a security checkpoint and a civilian bus killed at least two people in Egypt’s southern Sinai region on Friday, while in the capital, a police officer was killed in an explosion that struck a traffic post, the authorities said. The spate of attacks came just weeks before Egypt is to hold a presidential election, a milestone officials have asserted will help stabilize the country. The Sinai attacks occurred just after dawn in El Tor, the provincial capital, about 70 miles from the popular tourist resorts of Sharm el-Sheikh, the authorities said. One of the bombers approached a military checkpoint, detonating an explosive that killed two officers and the bomber. In the attack on the bus, the driver told state media that the bomber stood on the road that leads to Sharm el-Sheikh, holding what appeared to be a red icebox that presumably contained the […]
Gunmen attacked a security forces headquarters in Libya’s eastern city of Benghazi early Friday, killing nine people and wounding 24, authorities said, blaming an Islamic extremist group allegedly behind the attack of a U.S. diplomatic post there. A security official said the attack started when dozens of gunmen opened fire with machine guns and mortars. The onslaught lasted for an hour, with the fighting heard miles away. Libyan commandos later arrived and fought the attackers, though the official said they suffered heavy casualties. A statement issued by the interim government and read by Cabinet spokesman Ahmed al-Amin put the death toll at nine people. Milad al-Zowi, a commando spokesman, said the dead were six army commandos and three police officers. Al-Zowe said that three soldiers and a police officer were missing after the battle. A local hospital official said some of the slain troops were […]
Early results from a program off the coast of Angola show there may be as much as 700 million barrels of oil in the region, Cobalt International Energy said. Cobalt, through a partnership with national and international energy companies, released results from its Orca-1 pre-salt deepwater exploration well off the coast of Angola. The company said it tested the well at a rate of 3,700 barrels of oil and 16.3 million cubic feet of natural gas per day. The company, which has headquarters in Houston, said the results show this may be the largest oil discovery every found in the Kwanza basin off the coast of Angola. "Cobalt’s post drill estimates indicate a resource range of between 400 and 700 million barrels of oil," . Cobalt Chief Executive Officer Joseph Bryant said the field may be the "most significant oil discovery" ever made in […]
The US drilling rig count lost 7 units to settle at 1,854 rigs working during the week ended May 2, Baker Hughes Inc. reported. All 7 units were land-based oil rigs. There are now 1,786 land rigs in operation. Offshore rigs and rigs drilling in inland waters are unchanged at 54 and 14, respectively. Oil rigs now represent 1,527 units working. Gas rigs and rigs considered unclassified are unchanged at 323 and 4, respectively. Horizontal drilling rigs gained 2 units to 1,247 while directional drilling rigs lost 7 units to 211. In Canada, a 5-unit loss to 163 was comprised of a 3-unit drop in gas rigs to 96 and 2-unit subtraction in oil rigs to 67. Canada now has 42 more rigs compared with this week a year ago. Major states, basins Just three of the major oil- and gas-producing states reported increases in their rigs counts. Oklahoma […]
Chevron—the second-biggest U.S. oil company in market value behind Exxon Mobil—had warned last month that production would drop year-over-year as severe weather led to downtime in the U.S., Canada and Kazakhstan, among other regions. Chevron Corp. said its first-quarter profit fell 27% as revenue slipped amid lower oil prices and production. The results fell short of expectations. "Our first quarter earnings were down from a year ago, primarily due to lower prices and volumes for crude oil," Chairman and Chief Executive John Watson said. The company said its global oil-equivalent production for the period fell to 2.59 million barrels a day from the year-earlier tally of 2.65 million, as normal field declines and unplanned downtime related to poor weather–mainly in Kazakhstan–more than offset production increases in Nigeria, Angolia and the U.S. Chevron—the second-biggest U.S. oil company in market value behind Exxon Mobil Corp. —had warned last month that production […]
The federal government said only three companies have voluntarily turned over data on the from North Dakota, despite requests for this information dating back to January. The U.S. Department of Transportation said Friday that Exxon Mobil Corp. , Continental Resources Inc. and Savage Services Corp. had shared testing data, but none of the many other producers or shippers active in the area had done so. The government is seeking data on the crude after a series of railroad accidents in which oil exploded, including one in that left more than 40 people dead. Historically, crude hasn’t erupted into fireballs, raising questions about the composition of the oil from the Bakken. In January, Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said the oil industry had agreed to share testing data about the , but since then the government and industry have disagreed over what was promised. The amount of oil moving by rail […]
U.S. senators who drafted legislation in support of the Keystone XL oil pipeline received $21 million from the oil industry, an advocacy group says. U.S. Sens. John Hoeven , R-N.D., and Mary Landrieu , D-La., chairwoman of the Senate Energy Committee, introduced legislation that would immediately authorize pipeline company TransCanada’s application to build Keystone XL. Oil Change International, an advocacy group opposed to Keystone XL, said Hoeven and Landrieu received campaign support from the oil industry. It said Thursday its review of campaign contributions finds the nine Democratic senators who joined the entire rank of Senate Republicans in co-sponsoring the bill received an average $375,000 each in "dirty energy money." TransCanada submitted an application to the U.S. federal government to build the pipeline across the U.S.-Canadian border. A decision on the application is pending because of legal issues over the pipeline’s route through Nebraska. […]
The federal government will build its first gasoline storage reserves in the New York Harbor area and in New England in response to the shortages suffered after Hurricane Sandy , the secretary of energy, Ernest J. Moniz, is to announce on Friday. Together, the reserves will hold about a million barrels of gasoline and cost about $215 million. The fuel is intended to be held back in case another disaster cripples regional fuel supplies. Energy Department officials envision the reserves as the first in a series that will be built in parts of the country vulnerable to extreme weather, believed to be caused by global warming . “In addition to our mitigation and international efforts, the president’s Climate Action Plan calls on us to take measures today in order to better prepare for the effects of climate change we already see occurring here at home,” Mr. Moniz […]
Keystone XL supporters are falling short in their efforts to round up the Democratic votes in the Senate to bypass the White House and approve the Canada-to-U.S. oil pipeline. A bipartisan bill was introduced yesterday that would circumvent President Barack Obama by issuing a permit allowing construction. The move came after his administration delayed a decision on the $5.4 billion project, possibly into next year, citing a legal challenge to the route it would take through Nebraska. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid , a Nevada Democrat who opposes the pipeline, told reporters yesterday that there is a “75 to 80 percent chance” that a vote on a standalone Keystone bill will be allowed. That might seem like good news for pipeline supporters, but Democratic leaders are convinced they could defeat a binding measure to force a permit for the pipeline, said a Democratic leadership aide who spoke on condition […]
(Reuters) – Chevron Corp, the second-largest U.S. oil producer, posted a lower-than-expected quarterly profit on Friday on lower global production and crude oil prices. The company posted net income of $4.51 billion, or $2.36 per share, compared with $6.18 billion, or $3.18 per share, in the year-ago quarter. Analysts, though, expected earnings of $2.51 per share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. Globally, Chevron’s production fell 2 percent to 2.59 million barrels of oil equivalent per day (boed). The average price Chevron received for its crude oil fell as well. The results stood in contrast to rivals Exxon Mobil Corp and ConocoPhillips, which on Thursday posted quarterly profits that beat Wall Street’s expectations. Both companies produce more natural gas than Chevron inside the United States, and rebounding natural gas prices in the first quarter lifted their respective results. Chevron Chief Executive, John Watson attributed lower crude oil prices to "global […]
(Reuters) – Chevron Corp, the second-largest U.S. oil producer, posted a lower-than-expected quarterly profit on Friday on lower global production and crude oil prices. The company posted net income of $4.51 billion, or $2.36 per share, compared with $6.18 billion, or $3.18 per share, in the year-ago quarter. Analysts, though, expected earnings of $2.51 per share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. Globally, Chevron’s production fell 2 percent to 2.59 million barrels of oil equivalent per day (boed). The average price Chevron received for its crude oil fell as well. The results stood in contrast to rivals Exxon Mobil Corp and ConocoPhillips, which on Thursday posted quarterly profits that beat Wall Street’s expectations. Both companies produce more natural gas than Chevron inside the United States, and rebounding natural gas prices in the first quarter lifted their respective results. Chevron Chief Executive, John Watson attributed lower crude oil prices to "global […]
TransCanada Corp. (TRP) doesn’t expect to start building its proposed $5.4 billion Keystone XL pipeline this year, resulting in hundreds of job losses as construction contracts are wound down. The company has pushed the timetable to start building the northern leg of the project, intended to transport crude from Alberta ’s oil sands to Gulf Coast refiners, to 2015 after the Obama administration delayed a decision because of a legal challenge in Nebraska . TransCanada is still targeting startup of the line in 2016, Chief Executive Officer Russ Girling said today. “There will be several hundred that will be impacted by this decision, both employees and contractors,” Girling told reporters at the company’s annual meeting in Calgary. “At this point in time, there’s a very low probability that we would have a decision in time to meet this year’s summer construction period.” The State Department, which is leading an […]
Suncor Energy Inc. (SU) and Valero Energy Corp. are poised to use only North American crude in eastern Canada by 2015, helping to displace overseas imports. Suncor’s Montreal refinery will reach that point in 2015 and Valero’s Quebec City plant by the end of this year, the companies said April 29. Imports to Quebec, Ontario and Atlantic provinces from outside North America dropped by more than 50 percent in November from a year earlier. Enbridge Inc. plans to start a pipeline late this year allowing oil to flow to Montreal from fields in North Dakota and Alberta , further reducing higher-priced supplies from Europe and Africa . U.S. crude production reached a 26-year high in April, increasing stockpiles in the U.S. to the highest since 1931, while Canadian output is forecast to rise 4.1 percent this year. A shift of oil to eastern Canada, coupled with future potential to […]
Buckeye Partners may facilitate exports of Canadian crude to its BORCO terminal in the Bahamas from its Perth Amboy, New Jersey, terminal, where the company is rushing to make a new crude-by-rail unloading facility heavy-crude capable, CEO Clark Smith said Friday. "Customer demand has also accelerated the second phase of this rail project as we position the facility to handle heavier crude slates and facilitate exports of Canadian-sourced crude oil," Smith said on an earnings call. "Given this customer demand, we are adding certain equipment to fast track the completion of new infrastructure to handle the heavy crude oil slates." The "re-export" of Canadian crudes from US ports is an increasingly discussed topic as more heavy crude production from Western Canada moves on pipelines and tank cars to the East and Gulf coasts. For example, Texas-based Valero Energy has a license to re-export Canadian […]
Two days after Ukraine’s interim government declared itself all but helpless to control events in eastern Ukraine, Ukrainian military and police forces on Friday resumed their effort to retake this rebel-controlled city, forcing armed separatists from the city’s outskirts with armored vehicles, helicopters and ground troops. When clashes drew to a close by early afternoon, the Ukrainian troops had advanced, capturing separatist checkpoints and posting infantry and armored vehicles on a bridge overlooking rail lines beside the city’s southern border. In the previously tranquil port city of Odessa, on the Black Sea, 38 people died in a fire related to clashes that broke out between protesters holding a march for Ukrainian unity and pro-Russian activists. The fighting itself left four dead and 12 wounded, Ukraine’s Interior Ministry said. Ukrainian and Russian news media showed images of buildings and debris burning, fire bombs being put together and […]
Russia’s energy minister on Friday questioned Ukraine’s ability to pay for Russian natural gas and said state-controlled OAO Gazprom will ask that deliveries scheduled in June be paid for upfront, which he said poses a risk of supply disruption to European customers. Ukraine owes more than $3.5 billion for Russian natural gas, said Energy Minister Alexander Novak after meeting his Ukrainian counterpart, Yuriy Prodan and European Union energy Commissioner Günther Oettinger. Kiev and Moscow have long quarreled over the price of natural gas Gazprom charges Ukraine’s state-owned energy firm Naftogaz. As of April 1, Russia nearly doubled what it charges Ukraine to $485.50 per 1,000 cubic meters from $268.50 per 1,000 cubic meters. Mr. Prodan said Kiev isn’t ready to pay the price demanded by Gazprom, which supplies about 30% of Europe’s gas needs, with around half of that traveling through pipes that cross Ukraine. "We have discriminatory gas […]
Russia’s energy minister on Friday questioned Ukraine’s ability to pay for Russian natural gas and said state-controlled OAO Gazprom will ask that deliveries scheduled in June be paid for upfront, which he said poses a risk of supply disruption to European customers. Ukraine owes more than $3.5 billion for Russian natural gas, said Energy Minister Alexander Novak after meeting his Ukrainian counterpart, Yuriy Prodan and European Union energy Commissioner Günther Oettinger. Kiev and Moscow have long quarreled over the price of natural gas Gazprom charges Ukraine’s state-owned energy firm Naftogaz. As of April 1, Russia nearly doubled what it charges Ukraine to $485.50 per 1,000 cubic meters from $268.50 per 1,000 cubic meters. Mr. Prodan said Kiev isn’t ready to pay the price demanded by Gazprom, which supplies about 30% of Europe’s gas needs, with around half of that traveling through pipes that cross Ukraine. "We have discriminatory gas […]
Ukrainian forces attacked the rebel-held city of Slaviansk before dawn on Friday and pro-Russia separatists shot down at least one attack helicopter, killing a pilot, in a sharp escalation of the conflict. Describing the use of anti-aircraft missiles as proof of the presence of Russian special forces in the town that has become the military stronghold of the pro-Moscow movement, Ukrainian officials said Slaviansk was "tightly surrounded" and called on separatist leaders to release hostages and surrender. Reuters journalists in the city of 130,000 heard shooting from shortly after 4 a.m. (9 p.m. EDT Thursday) and saw a military helicopter open fire. Ukrainian troops could be in seen in armored personnel carriers in a southern suburb. The SBU security service said one military Mi-24 helicopter gunship had been shot down, killing one airman while a second had been taken prisoner by the rebels. It said […]
Not much new data to report this past week but I did try to hammer out a few things of interest. The EIA released their Crude Oil Production report for the US and individual states with data through February 2014. I combined Montana and North Dakota to show their production. Their combined production was 1,027 kb/d. This is still below their production of 1,055 kb/d in November. This is more than just the Bakken as both Montana and North Dakota have production outside the Bakken. Part of the EIA’s plan for 9.6 mb/d of C+C by 2016 has The Gulf of Mexico going to 2 million bp/d by 2016. The GOM does not appear go be going anywhere however. There are new fields coming on line but they are just barely keeping up with those very high decline rates of the deep water fields. The Gulf of Mexico has […]
The direction of oil prices is once again a hot topic. In a recent , Ed Morse, Citigroup’s head of global commodity research, forecasts a collapse in global oil prices to $75 /b over the next three to five years. By contrast, Chevron has announced that it is budgeting with $110/b oil for 2017, with the company’s CEO John Watson stating, “There is a new reality in our business… $100/bbl is becoming the new $20/bbl in our business… costs have caught up to revenues for many classes of projects.” And for good measure, he adds, “If $100 is the new $20, consumers will pay more for oil.” Thus, two diametrically opposed views of the future are emerging. The international oil companies (IOCs) have been unable to hold liquids production levels even in the face of soaring capital expenditures and rapidly increasing operating costs. Some, like ExxonMobil and Chevron, are […]
Oil futures are up this morning, but with Brent still well short of April highs and WTI just above $100 a barrel in a well-supplied market. June Brent crude is up 94 cents, or 0.87%, at $108.70 on ICE Futures Europe. U.S. crude futures for June are up 61 cents, or 0.61%, at $100.03 on the New York Mercantile Exchange. "We began April with the fall-out from the annexation of Crimea and Libyan production uncertainties hanging over the market and we have ended it in exactly the same places with an extra twist," said David Hufton at oil brokerage PVM. The difference between Friday and the start of the month is that the situation in Ukraine has worsened, despite some attempts at diplomatic solutions. Meanwhile, the "twist" in the case of Libya is that Marsa al Hariga, where Sarir crude oil is loaded, has re-opened and […]
West Texas Intermediate trimmed a second weekly drop before data forecast to show U.S. employers boosted headcount in April by the most in five months. Brent pared a weekly loss amid tensions between Russia and Ukraine . Futures rose 0.5 percent in New York , curbing this week’s decline to 0.7 percent. Payrolls rose by 218,000 last month after a 192,000 gain in March, according to a Bloomberg survey. Ukraine sent armored vehicles and artillery to retake Slovyansk from pro-separatist forces, defying Russian President Vladimir Putin ’s demand to pull back troops. “The uptick in prices seems to be a bit of adjustment of positions before the upcoming non-farm payroll figure,” Michael Poulsen, an analyst at Global Risk Management Ltd. in Middelfart, Denmark , said by e-mail. “Economic numbers have showed signs of an improving U.S. economy lately.” WTI for June delivery advanced as much as 67 cents to […]
Natural-gas futures fell for a second straight session Thursday after a larger-than-expected increase in stockpiles of the fuel eased concerns about the risk of a shortage. Prices for the front-month June contract declined 9.6 cents, or 2%, to $4.719 a million British thermal units on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Natural gas had hit two-month highs earlier this week before it started its retreat Wednesday. Prices dropped because of the year’s largest increase in stockpiles, which Wall Street predicted on Wednesday and the government confirmed on Thursday. Producers added 82 billion cubic feet of gas to storage for the week ended Friday, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said. That is 7 bcf more than what 20 traders, brokers and analysts forecast in a Wall Street Journal survey. "That’s a good sign. But we’re going to need more … " said Tom Saal, a broker at […]
Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki launched his post-election bid to hold on to power for a third term on Thursday, saying Iraq had "paid the price in blood" for disunity and calling on rivals to back his bloc to lead the country. Iraq held a democratic national vote in the absence of foreign troops for the first time ever on Wednesday, despite levels of violence unseen since the darkest days of its 2005-08 civil war and a revived al Qaeda-inspired Sunni insurgency. Maliki, a member of the Shi’ite majority, addressed reporters with a confident winner’s air and praised high reported turnout figures as a victory over insurgents who had vowed to kill anyone who voted. The final result will not be clear for weeks. As in past Iraqi elections, parties with sectarian and ethnic agendas are expected to lead the field, with no group coming close to […]
A growing energy shortage that helped inflame the protests against President Mohamed Morsi before his ouster last year is returning to vex Egypt’s new military-led government. Festering complaints by international energy companies that Egypt has failed to pay them for pumping its petroleum or to allow them promised gas to export spilled into the open on Thursday. BG, the British company that is one of the country’s biggest gas producers, warned in a statement that its Egyptian liquefied natural gas business “is increasingly at risk” without “concerted action from the Egyptian government.” A joint venture partly owned by the Italian oil giant Eni cited similar reasons more than a year ago when it closed the only other Egyptian plant making liquefied gas, which can be shipped as well as transported by a pipeline. BG’s statement was a blunt reminder of the challenges still facing the new government, […]
Future operations in the natural gas sector in Egypt are at risk because of poor reservoir performance and domestic offtake, BG Group said Thursday. BG Group announced its first quarter operations were hurt by issues with its liquefied natural gas business in Egypt. "Group production volumes for the first quarter were consistent with our anticipated seasonal phasing, although production entitlement from Egypt was lower than expected as domestic offtake remains well above contractual commitments and reservoir performance deteriorates," interim Executive Chairman Andrew Gould said in a statement . BG Group said that no cargoes of LNG left Egypt during the first quarter and profits from that sector of its operations were down 7 percent compared with the previous quarter. In terms of production, the company said it produced 66,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day in Egypt, down 35 percent from fourth quarter 2013. […]
Security officials say two suicide bombers have struck in Egypt’s restive Sinai Peninsula, killing one soldier and wounding nine people. The officials say the attacks happened early on Friday in the region of el-Tor. In the first attack, the bomber targeted an army checkpoint. One soldier died and five were wounded in the explosion. The second bomber stepped out on a road and blew himself up in front of a bus. Four passengers were wounded from that explosion. The officials say body parts of the bombers littered the sites of the attacks. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media. Insurgent attacks in Sinai have surged since the military’s ouster last July of Egypt’s Islamist President Mohammed Morsi.
Decreasing natural gas price seasonality keeps inventories in April at 11-year low Natural gas net storage injections for the Lower 48 totaled 82 billion cubic feet (Bcf) for the week ending on April 25. This was the fourth consecutive week of net storage injections, which this year began in the week ending on April 4. Over this period, cumulative net injections totaled 163 Bcf, a 53% increase when compared to the same weeks in 2013, but only 8% above the 5-year average for these weeks of 151 Bcf . Total Lower 48 working inventories totaled 981 Bcf, an 11-year low. This was well below the 2009-13 minimum for that week of 1,716 Bcf, as can be seen from the storage graph below this article. It is also the latest point in the year that inventories have remained below 1,000 Bcf since 2003. Despite a steady increase in natural gas […]
Toyota Motor Corp. (7203) is funding a startup led by General Motors Co.’s former marketing chief to speed up the opening of hydrogen-fuel stations in California needed for zero-emission cars. Toyota is backing FirstElement Fuel, led by Joel Ewanick , with at least $7.2 million, according to letters filed with the California Energy Commission and obtained by Bloomberg News . FirstElement, based in Newport Beach , California, plans to operate pumps and sell hydrogen for passenger cars from at least 19 new stations in California. The Japanese automaker’s support for the closely held company comes as California provides grants worth $46.6 million for hydrogen-fuel stations that will help companies including Toyota, Hyundai Motor Co. and Honda Motor Co. build a market for hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles arriving this year and next. “This is really the first step in creating a fueling network that for the first time allows people to […]
U.S. crude oil imports are on a general rate of decline, though the level is barely less than the same time last year, the U.S. Energy Department said. The Energy Information Administration, the statistical arm of the Energy Department, said in its weekly petroleum update crude oil imports averaged 7.5 million barrels per day last week, down 313,000 bpd from the previous week. "Over the last four weeks, crude oil imports averaged over 7.7 million barrels per day, 0.1 percent below the same four-week period last year," EIA’s Wednesday report said. The U.S. economy is relying less on imported crude oil because of the increase in domestic production from shale reserves. EIA said the amount for crude oil in the U.S. inventory, not counting those volumes in the Strategic Petroleum Reserves, increased by 1.7 million barrels from the previous week’s report. That puts total […]
There may be some environmental impacts from the Cameron liquefied natural gas in Louisiana, but they’ll be manageable, a U.S. regulator said. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission issued its final environmental impact statement on the Cameron LNG facility . It said Wednesday the construction and operation would result in some environmental damage, but that damage would be rendered "less-than-significant" by the company’s proposed mitigation strategies. There was no statement from the project company on FERC’s assessment. The project will be able to export about 12 million tons of LNG sourced from U.S. natural gas basins each year. In February, it received regulatory approval to ship LNG from a terminal in Cameron Parish, La., to countries that don’t have a U.S.-free trade agreement, such as India and Japan. Cameron is the sixth such project in the United States to receive non-FTA approval since 2011. Construction […]
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Thursday he was prepared to bring a measure approving the Keystone XL pipeline to the Senate floor, despite the Obama administration’s reluctance to decide its fate during an election year. Supporters were still searching for the handful of votes needed for such a bill to pass the Senate, but they were energized by the prospect of a floor vote. The Republican-controlled House strongly supports the pipeline. The administration two weeks ago said it was extending a State Department review of the proposed TransCanada Corp. pipeline—first proposed in 2008—because of litigation related to the project in Nebraska. Mr. Reid’s comments reflect the Democrats’ calculus that a Keystone vote could provide a boost to vulnerable Democrats running for re-election in conservative-leaning states who must hold their seats for the party to retain control of the chamber in November’s midterm elections. But it also would expose […]
Crude quality varies across West Texas’ Permian Basin, but the variation is particularly noticeable in the western areas of that mature oil field where production is fast ramping up, a top manager for ConocoPhillips said Thursday. The 4,500 feet of potentially productive "stacked," or layered, pay zones that underlies that basin is showing some "very significant variation" in the quality of crude oil, particularly in the Delaware sub-basin in the far-western Permian, said Matt Fox, ConocoPhillips’ executive vice president for exploration and production. "In some places it’s gas with a high liquids yields; in some areas it’s relatively low API [gravity] oil," Fox said during a quarterly company earnings conference call.. As industry’s understanding of the basin develops, "it will affect implications for what sort of offtake and infrastructure requirements are required to fully evacuate all these products from the area." Article continues below… […]
Exxon Mobil Corp, the world’s largest publicly traded oil company, posted a quarterly profit on Thursday that hands down beat Wall Street’s expectations as a bitterly cold winter throughout much of the United States boosted natural gas prices. The past winter, which affected much of the U.S. in January and February, pushed Exxon Mobil’s average U.S. natural gas sale price up 49 percent, helping offset a dip in global production. Prices for natural gas rose globally as well, even as the price the company receives for its crude oil slipped both in the U.S. and internationally. Exxon Mobil reported first-quarter net income of $9.10 billion, or $2.10 per share, compared with $9.50 billion, or $2.12 per share, in the year-ago quarter. The results surpassed analysts’ expectation for profit of $1.88 per share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. Total production fell about 6 percent to 4.2 […]
