Category:

CP Rail's CEO Sees Revenue Doubling in Crude-Oil Shipments

Ltd. ‘s crude-oil shipping business will likely see its revenue double to 10% of the rail’s overall total in the next two or three years, the company’s chief executive said. Hunter Harrison said demand from Western Canada’s oil producers to ship crude by rail to refineries is likely to increase as output rises. "In the next two or three years, it’ll probably go to 10% of the business," he said. "There’s a lot of opportunities." The risk of derailment and other safety issues associated with shipping crude led CP to consider getting entirely out of the business of shipping crude by rail about a year ago, he said. The company’s board discussed ending transporting oil and other hazardous material, such as chlorine and ammonia, through communities in the U.S. and Canada, he said. The board decided to continue moving the products as it believed it would do […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

CP Rail’s CEO Sees Revenue Doubling in Crude-Oil Shipments

Ltd. ‘s crude-oil shipping business will likely see its revenue double to 10% of the rail’s overall total in the next two or three years, the company’s chief executive said. Hunter Harrison said demand from Western Canada’s oil producers to ship crude by rail to refineries is likely to increase as output rises. "In the next two or three years, it’ll probably go to 10% of the business," he said. "There’s a lot of opportunities." The risk of derailment and other safety issues associated with shipping crude led CP to consider getting entirely out of the business of shipping crude by rail about a year ago, he said. The company’s board discussed ending transporting oil and other hazardous material, such as chlorine and ammonia, through communities in the U.S. and Canada, he said. The board decided to continue moving the products as it believed it would do […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

China tried to undermine economic report showing its ascendancy

China fought for a year to undermine new data showing it is poised to usurp the US as the world’s biggest economy in 2014 based on purchasing power, according to people who helped compile the report. The report, released this week by the International Comparison Programme under the auspices of the World Bank, included a line stating that the “National Bureau of Statistics of China has expressed reservations about some aspects of the methodology”. Beijing has declined to publish the headline number for China and the report said that the NBS “does not endorse the results as official statistics”. But, according to those involved in compiling the data, China’s distaste for the findings went further. “A year ago, there was a huge debate. China wanted to throw this out. They don’t want to be seen as number one. They’re worried about the political implications with the US,” said one […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Putin Urges Ukraine to Withdraw Troops as Unrest Persists

Russian President Vladimir Putin urged Ukraine to withdraw forces from its easternmost regions as the International Monetary Fund warned that extra financing may be needed if control of the industrial heartland is lost. In a telephone call yesterday with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Putin also demanded an end to violence gripping cities in southeastern Ukraine, according to a Kremlin statement. The Ukrainian conflict will top the agenda when Merkel and U.S. President Barack Obama meet today in Washington, according to White House spokesman Jay Carney. “We expect to continue a path that sees an international coalition escalating the costs that Russia will have to endure” if it “continues to destabilize the situation in eastern Ukraine and southern Ukraine, or even goes further and uses its forces to cross the border,” Carney told reporters yesterday. Ukraine no longer controls the eastern city of Donetsk, Acting President Oleksandr Turchynov said on […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Ukraine’s East Unravels as IMF Warns on Financing

Ukraine ’s easternmost regions are slipping from the government’s grasp as separatists take over more official buildings, with the International Monetary Fund warning extra financing may be needed if control of the industrial heartland is lost. Armed men stormed the Donetsk regional prosecutors’ office today, throwing stones and stun grenades. Pro-Russian rebels in nearby Slovyansk said they’d begun talks to swap international monitors abducted last week, the Interfax news service said. Acting Ukrainian President Oleksandr Turchynov signed a decree backed by lawmakers last month to reinstate a military draft, his office said on its website. “The government doesn’t control the situation in Donetsk as well as part of the Donetsk region,” Turchynov said yesterday in Kiev. “Because there is a real threat of Russia starting a continental war, our army is on full combat alert.” The IMF, which approved a $17 billion bailout for Ukraine early today, said “a […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Rosneft sees huge potential in arctic resources

Taking advantage of the resource potential in the Russian arctic is one of the top priorities for oil company Rosneft, President Igor Sechin said. The board of directors at Rosneft said Monday they were ready to start working in the arctic waters of Russia through a joint effort with U.S. energy company Exxon Mobil. Sechin said in an announcement coinciding with the release of the company’s first-quarter financial report that arctic exploration was an integral part of Rosneft’s strategy for the year. "Monetization of Russia’s enormous resource potential in the offshore arctic is the key priority for the company," he said in a statement Wednesday. The U.S. Geological Survey estimates the arctic holds 13 percent, or about 90 billion barrels, of the world’s undiscovered oil reserves and 1.6 quadrillion cubic feet, or about 30 percent, of the world’s undiscovered natural gas. Sechin said exploration […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

German Businesses Urge Halt on Sanctions Against Russia

Angela Merkel is carrying a clear message from Germany’s business lobby to the White House: No more sanctions. Several of the biggest names in German business—including chemical giant SE, engineering group Siemens AG , AG , Adidas AG and Deutsche Bank AG —have made their opposition to broader economic sanctions against Russia clear in recent weeks, both in public and in private. As a result, Germany’s position on additional, tougher sanctions is unlikely to shift, barring a dramatic escalation of the conflict in Ukraine—a message Ms. Merkel is expected to deliver to President Barack Obama when they meet in Washington on Friday, officials in Berlin say. Sanctions on Russia: Who is Who Europe and the U.S. announced new sanctions in late April in response to Russia’s actions in Ukraine. EU sanctions focus on individuals but U.S. sanctions also target banks and other companies. Here is a full list. […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Exxon Sticks With Russia Despite Ukraine Sanctions

Exxon Mobil Corp. is pushing ahead with its plans to drill in Russia’s Arctic seas—its biggest opportunity to discover untapped deposits of oil and gas—even though deteriorating relations between Moscow and Washington have increased the risks. America’s biggest energy producer is set this summer to tap what it calls the University Prospect in the Arctic’s Kara Sea, a trove that could hold the equivalent of 9 billion barrels of oil—more than a third of Exxon’s proven reserves. That prize looks riskier as tensions increase between the West and Moscow over Russia’s . U.S. sanctions this week targeted Igor Sechin, a close associate of President Vladimir Putin and head of OAO , Exxon’s Kremlin-controlled partner in the Arctic. The sanctions didn’t extend to Rosneft itself. "All of the activities that we had originally planned for this year are under way," David Rosenthal, Exxon’s vice president of investor relations, said Thursday […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

So Far, U.S. Sanctions Over Ukraine May Be Inflicting Only Limited Pain on Russia

As it tries to punish Moscow for its intervention in Ukraine , the White House asserts that the sanctions it has imposed have had a “significant impact” on Russia ’s economy, but their real effect so far, according to economic specialists, appears to be more psychological than tangible. White House officials have pointed to the fall of the Russian ruble and Moscow stock markets as evidence of the success they have had in pressuring the Kremlin. Yet the ruble and Russian markets fell before President Obama began imposing sanctions. Today, in fact, both the ruble and the markets are slightly stronger than they were before the first sanctions were announced. Russia’s economic downturn predated any action by the United States or Europe and, to some extent, predated the Ukraine crisis. Specialists said the volatility surrounding Ukraine has clearly aggravated Russia’s economic problems by sapping international confidence, punishing […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Soft on Putin? Blame Big Oil

The latest  sanctions against Russian officials, provoked by Russia’s ongoing violation of Ukraine’s territory, have sparked much criticism because of their perceived weakness. The U.S. is currently targeting wealthy and well-connected individuals, such as Igor Sechin, a crony of Russian President Vladimir Putin, but not companies such as the state-owned energy giant Rosneft, which is the source of Sechin’s wealth. This means that Sechin and other select members of Putin’s inner circle can’t personally travel to or invest in the U.S., but the companies they run can continue business as usual. The Wall Street Journal has accused President Barack Obama of watering down the sanctions, a claim echoed by The Washington Post and by hawkish members of congress such as Sen. John McCain . Russia has responded with mockery. As Sechin himself put it , “I consider Washington’s latest steps as high assessment of the effectiveness of our work.” […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Putin signals that he’s ready for an oil war

The US and Europe have yet to fully deploy their  bluntest weapon against Vladimir Putin. But if stronger sanctions are deployed against him, the Russian president is vowing to make life very painful for the western oil companies doing business in his country. The US this week  quietly targeted  some Russian oil industry bosses in its latest round of sanctions, and Europe has altogether avoided oil in its list of new targets. But on April 29, Putin suggested that he’s prepared to mount an oil war if antagonized further. “We would very much wish not to resort to any measures in response,” Putin said. “I hope we won’t get to that point. But if something like that continues, we will of course have to think about who is working in the key sectors of the Russian economy, including the energy sector, and how.” The remark appeared to be a swipe at lucrative long-term Russian projects […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

The Crisis No One Sees Coming

Energy Independence is a Hoax Everyone wants to talk about shale, about U.S. energy independence, about oil exports… But there’s a problem: We don’t have as much oil as everyone thinks. In fact, we’re actually closer to an energy crisis than we are to energy independence. Don’t get me wrong — we have oil. It’s just too expensive for us to extract. Think about it. Two decades ago, oil cost just $20 per barrel. Now it costs nearly $100 per barrel. Well, if we have more oil than ever before, how can that be? It’s because the oil we have is too costly to produce. Here’s what I mean… The Cost of "Energy Independence" According to Bernstein Research, it now costs $104.5 per barrel to produce non-OPEC crude. Furthermore, there was an "unprecedented" jump in the cost of oil from U.S. fields, which rose from $89 a barrel in 2011 to $114 […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Why Wave Power Has Lagged Far Behind as Energy Source

Researchers have long contended that power from ocean waves could make a major contribution as a renewable energy source. But a host of challenges, including the difficulty of designing a device to capture the energy of waves, have stymied efforts to generate electricity from the sea. It’s not difficult to imagine what wind energy looks like — by this point we have all seen the towering turbines dotting the landscape. The same goes for solar power and the panels that are spreading across rooftops worldwide. But there is another form of renewable energy, available in huge quantities, that doesn’t really call to mind anything at all: What does wave power technology look like? Wind and solar power have taken off in the past decade or two, as costs have come down rapidly and threats from climate change have made clear the need to transition away from fossil fuels. Meanwhile, numerous […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Tornadoes, extreme weather, and climate change

The return of tornado season with a vengeance has people asking again about a possible link to climate change. At the same time, tantalizing new preliminary research finds “some evidence to suggest that tornadoes are, in fact, getting stronger.” I talked to the lead scientist behind that research. Tom Karl, the director of the National Climatic Data Center, explained in a 2011 email: What we can say with confidence is that heavy and extreme precipitation events often associated with thunderstorms and convection are increasing and have been linked to human-induced changes in atmospheric composition. Insured losses due to thunderstorms and tornadoes in the U.S. in 2013 dollars. Data and image from Property Claims Service, Munich Re . And a September 2013 study from Stanford, “ Robust increases in severe thunderstorm environments in response to greenhouse forcing ,” points to “a possible increase in the number of days supportive of […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Guest blog post: more debate on the future of international oil companies

In another guest blog entry, Steven Kopits of Princeton Energy Advisors considers follows up on his previous post, examining whether the IOCs could really be headed to bankruptcy, as economist Philip Verleger suggests in a recent report.  Steve can be reached at    and his blog can be found at www.prienga.com/blog In my last Barrel post , I threw down the gauntlet to those casually predicting a collapse in oil prices, as such a collapse would effectively kill the oil business at the major oil companies.  We will know, I wrote, that such forecasters are serious when they declare the international oil companies (IOCs) “to be the walking dead.” No less than Phil Verleger, noted macro oil analyst, immediately took up the challenge.  In his weekly note (April 21st), Phil notes that “long run fundamentals may indicate bankruptcy for large oil companies.” He writes: “In the long run…companies betting […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category: Uncategorized

America the Food Desert: How Peak Oil Will Make Food Less Nutritious

There’s a great post up on Reddit that articulates something that I’ve been thinking for a while. Namely, that as people get hungrier, food won’t get more expensive — it’ll just get less nutritious and more toxic. Ultimately, the entire country will become a food desert , and even the suburbs will be the culinary equivalent of an inner-city ghetto where everyone eats junk food all the time, and where diabetes and other food-related health, behavioral, and psychological problems are rampant. The growing hunger of the public will not result in increasing food prices or food scarcity, it will see decreasing food quality. More hormone rich meat, genetically modified, chemically enhanced fruit and veg, and sub-par processed foods. This influx of “cheap” food, with the more expensive organic options being far out of the price range of the poor, will result in an epidemic of diabetes and other health […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

WTI Trades Near 4-Week Low as Supplies Rise; Brent Steady

West Texas Intermediate traded near a four-week low after crude inventories extended a record high in the U.S., the world’s biggest oil consumer. Brent was steady. Futures were little changed in New York after capping a 1.8 percent decline last month, the biggest since November. Crude stockpiles gained 1.7 million barrels to 399.4 million last week, the highest since the Energy Information Administration began reporting weekly data in 1982. U.S. economic growth stalled in the first quarter while China ’s manufacturing grew less than economists estimated in April, separate reports show. “The trend is set for the oil market,” said Jonathan Barratt , the chief executive officer of Barratt’s Bulletin in Sydney who predicts investors may buy WTI if prices fall to $99.40 a barrel. “Barring any geopolitical occurrences, the only support will come from economic growth. If that growth is subdued then you’ll see supply continue” to build, […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Oil holds steady below $100 on weak US growth

The price of oil edged lower Thursday after falling below $100 per barrel for the first time in three weeks on slower U.S. economic growth and higher supplies. Benchmark U.S. crude oil for June delivery shed 1 cent to $99.73 on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude, an international oil benchmark, added 1 cent to $108.08 on the ICE Futures exchange in London. On Wednesday, U.S. crude plunged $1.54 and Brent fell 91 cents after U.S. first-quarter economic growth of just 0.1 percent disappointed forecasters who expected an expansion of about 1 percent. The Energy Department said oil supplies rose by 1.7 million barrels last week. While the increase was less than expected by analysts, it still pushed the nation’s supply to a record 399.4 million barrels. In addition, gasoline supplies rose by 1.6 million barrels, whereas analysts had expected a decline. – Heating oil […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Natural Gas Ticks Lower as Demand Concerns Ease

Natural-gas prices pulled back from a two-month high, as weather forecasts called for warmer temperatures in the Midwest than previously expected, which could reduce demand for the heating fuel. Natural gas for June delivery fell 1.6 cents, or 0.3%, to $4.815 a million British thermal units on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Prices rose 10% in April, the largest monthly gain since January. The arrival of warmer weather is alleviating both short- and long-term demand concerns. The need for heat in the U.S. is now minimal, yet temperatures aren’t high enough for utilities to use extra gas to generate electricity for air conditioners. And the mild weather has probably allowed producers to make the year’s largest addition to gas stockpiles last week. "Bearish traders are hoping that this is a turning point," said Aaron Calder, senior market analyst at energy-consulting firm Gelber & Associates in […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

U.S. concerned by Iranian, Russian energy deal

If reports about an energy deal between Iran and Russia are true, it would be a concern to the U.S. government, State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said. Iranian Energy Minister Hamid Chitchian met Sunday in Tehran with Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak to discuss upgrading Iran’s power plants and electrical transmission lines. Both sides already work together in the nuclear sector, with Russia supplying fuel for Iran’s Bushehr nuclear facility. Russia is under pressure from a U.S. government frustrated with the Kremlin’s reaction to Ukraine’s move toward the European Union, while Iran is facing its own pressure from sanctions imposed for its controversial nuclear program. Psaki told reporters during her regular press conference Tuesday she had no confirmation the bilateral energy deal was in place. "If it were true, it would be of concern," she said . Novak said earlier this week the electricity […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Iraqis begin voting as violence grips a divided country

Iraqis headed to the polls on Wednesday in their first national election since U.S. forces withdrew from Iraq in 2011, with Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki seeking a third term amid rising violence. Iraq’s western province of Anbar is torn by fighting as Sunni Muslim militants battle the Iraqi military. Its economy is struggling and Maliki faces criticism that he is aggravating sectarian splits and trying to consolidate power. Polls opened at 7 a.m. (12.00 a.m. EDT), with a vehicle curfew imposed on the streets of Baghdad. Voters will choose from among 9,012 candidates and the parliamentary election will effectively serve as a referendum on Maliki, a Shi’ite Muslim who has governed for eight years. Maliki was among the first to cast a vote at a hotel next to the heavily fortified Green Zone enclave where the government is based. He urged people to follow suit despite […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

With Security Tight, Iraqis Cast Votes in Unaccustomed Peace

Millions of Iraqis voted for a new Parliament on Wednesday, defying threats from Islamist extremists, in an election that was carried out, by Iraq’s brutal standards, in remarkable peace. After a surge in violence leading up to the vote, and threats by a Sunni extremist group, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, or ISIS, to strike polling sites, no attacks were reported in Baghdad, and none with any large numbers of casualties were reported elsewhere in the country. The election, the first nationwide vote since the departure of American troops more than two years ago, was seen as a referendum on Nuri Kamal al-Maliki ’s eight years as prime minister as he seeks a third term amid a growing Sunni insurgency that has brought the country to the edge of a new civil war. But with results pending, the story on Wednesday was simply that the […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Analysis: Oil industry awaits election aftermath

Following Iraq’s elections, leaders are gearing up for the process of coalition-building that will reshape the political landscape, including key energy posts and oil policy. Iraqis braved sectarian polarization and insurgent violence to vote on Wednesday, and as the counting of ballots begins, much is at stake for both average citizens and the oil sector.The vote itself will not decide the next leader of the country, because nobody is likely to win an absolute majority. But the results of the election will help determine the relative strength of various political blocs and set the stage for a complicated process of backroom negotiating and political horse-tradi… This content is for registered users. Please login to continue.If you are not a registered user, you may purchase a subscription or sign up for a free trial .

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Iraq: Violence in Anbar Displacing Thousands

Violence in Iraq’s Anbar Province has forced hundreds of thousands of people from their homes, many of whom are suffering from severe wounds or burns and psychological distress and are now living in dire conditions and facing a lack of access to necessary medical care, the international medical humanitarian organization Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) said today. At least 380,000 people have fled their homes in Anbar. In the last month, more than 18,000 have sought refuge in Tikrit, the capital of neighboring Salah al-Din Province, where MSF is assisting them. “People are arriving with very few belongings,” said Fabio Forgione, MSF head of mission in Iraq. “Most are staying in abandoned schools and mosques. The fact that they will probably be displaced for some time is likely to worsen their already harsh living conditions.” Amid a very volatile security environment in Tikrit, MSF is […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

BG Group's Egypt Woes Continue

BG Group PLC on Thursday reported an 8% fall in first-quarter net profit because of ongoing issues in Egypt, where the company’s output fell and gas that would have been exported has been diverted to the domestic market. BG said volumes from Egyptian LNG were severely restricted with no cargoes lifted by the company in the first quarter. The U.K.’s third-largest natural gas producer posted a net profit of $1.11 billion for the three months ended March 31, compared with a profit of $1.21 billion for the first quarter of 2014. "As a result of the challenges in Egypt, the group’s 2014 production is now expected to be at the lower end of the guidance range," said interim Chief Executive Andrew Gould. Mr. Gould took the […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

BG Group’s Egypt Woes Continue

BG Group PLC on Thursday reported an 8% fall in first-quarter net profit because of ongoing issues in Egypt, where the company’s output fell and gas that would have been exported has been diverted to the domestic market. BG said volumes from Egyptian LNG were severely restricted with no cargoes lifted by the company in the first quarter. The U.K.’s third-largest natural gas producer posted a net profit of $1.11 billion for the three months ended March 31, compared with a profit of $1.21 billion for the first quarter of 2014. "As a result of the challenges in Egypt, the group’s 2014 production is now expected to be at the lower end of the guidance range," said interim Chief Executive Andrew Gould. Mr. Gould took the […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Mexico Outlines New Oil Sector Policies for Private Firms — 2nd Update

Mexico’s government on Wednesday outlined a raft of proposed laws to implement its historic drive to open up its oil and gas industry to competition, including rules that foreign companies will have to include a certain amount of Mexican parts and labor in their work by 2025. The rules set out by the government of President Enrique Peña Nieto were closely watched by the oil industry as a sign of how far the country might be willing to go to attract private investment. Analysts said the rules appeared to be aimed at drawing a large amount of investment quickly and would be positively viewed by most oil companies. The proposals–which were the fine print to sweeping changes to Mexico’s Constitution last December that ended the state monopoly on oil and gas and electricity–will now go to Mexico’s Congress, where they are widely […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

BYD’s “5-4-2” performance standard for New Energy Vehicles; 3 models over 3 years

Using the recent Beijing Auto Show as its stage, BYD introduced its new “5-4-2” New Energy Vehicle performance standard and a series of cars designed to meet it. “5” represents the maximum time in seconds to accelerate from zero to 100 km/h (0-60 mph in less than 5 seconds) in future car models. “4” stands for the number of wheels under power; BYD’s future new energy cars will be integrated with all-wheel drive. “2” stands for the maximum liters of gasoline maximum that will be consumed for 100 km traveled in a BYD car—i.e., 2.0 l/100 km, or 118 mpg US. BYD introduced its first 5-4-2 vehicle at the show, the Tang plug-in hybrid SUV. Tang accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h in only 4.9 seconds, has a 2.0-liter turbocharged engine paired with two electric motors and consumes less than 2L of fuel in 100 km traveled. “This is […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

China PMI steadies, but doesn't dispel growth worries

Activity in China’s factories increased marginally in April but export orders fell sharply, a government survey showed on Thursday, adding to questions about whether the world’s second-largest economy is stabilizing after its first-quarter slowdown. The data came a day after Premier Li Keqiang pledged to step up support for the trade sector, adding to measures taken over the past month on concerns that the economy may be losing momentum more quickly than expected. The Purchasing Managers’ Index rose to 50.4 in April from March’s 50.3, the National Bureau of Statistics said, one of the first indicators of how the economy started the second quarter. At just above the 50 level that separates growth from contraction, it indicated a slight pick-up in activity for the month, although it was a notch below economists’ expectations. Zhang Liqun, an economist at the Development Research Centre, which helps compile the […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

China PMI steadies, but doesn’t dispel growth worries

Activity in China’s factories increased marginally in April but export orders fell sharply, a government survey showed on Thursday, adding to questions about whether the world’s second-largest economy is stabilizing after its first-quarter slowdown. The data came a day after Premier Li Keqiang pledged to step up support for the trade sector, adding to measures taken over the past month on concerns that the economy may be losing momentum more quickly than expected. The Purchasing Managers’ Index rose to 50.4 in April from March’s 50.3, the National Bureau of Statistics said, one of the first indicators of how the economy started the second quarter. At just above the 50 level that separates growth from contraction, it indicated a slight pick-up in activity for the month, although it was a notch below economists’ expectations. Zhang Liqun, an economist at the Development Research Centre, which helps compile the […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Oil and gasoline prices: many still missing the big picture

Gasoline prices in the United States have risen sharply recently, leading some newspapers to round up the usual suspects . (Ed. note: further interactive charts relating to this point appear in the original article here .) Data Source: GasBuddy.com But the reality is the price of crude oil has been remarkably stable over the last three years. The international price of crude oil ultimately determines the price Americans pay for gasoline at the pump. Seasonal factors can bring the price temporarily below the long-run relation , and this accounted for the temporarily low gasoline prices that we saw last fall and winter. Movements in gasoline prices back up this spring are basically a return to normal. Average retail price of U.S. gasoline (black) and price predicted on the basis of price of Brent crude oil (blue). Black: average U.S. price of retail gasoline, all formulations, in dollars per gallon, […]

Posted On : Published By : ASPO-USA
Category:

House Energy Committee Passes Bill to Speed Up Natural-Gas Exports

Five Democrats joined all Republicans on the House Energy and Commerce Committee to pass legislation on Wednesday that would speed up the federal government’s review of natural-gas export applications. The legislation, sponsored by Rep. Cory Gardner (R., Colo.), has gained momentum in light of Russia’s encroachment into Ukraine, which is one of several European nations heavily dependent upon Russia for natural gas. The bill will be considered on the floor—and likely pass—sometime in May, Mr. Gardner said in an interview. The bill would require the Energy Department to make a decision on pending applications no later than 90 days after the comment period ends for each particular application or 90 days after enactment of the bill. As originally drafted, the measure automatically approved all of the applications already pending before the department. The committee also agreed to an amendment offered by Rep. Mike Doyle (D., Pa.) that would allow […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Fracking Sends Sand Sales Soaring

The oil and gas industry can’t get enough sand. U.S. Silica Holdings Inc., which mines sand that can be used in hydraulic fracturing of oil and gas wells, sold 1.3 million tons of sand to the energy industry during the first quarter–a 45% increase over the same period last year. That helped fuel the company’s 6% boost in quarterly profit to $18.4 million, or 34 cents per share. In fact, U.S. Silica’s energy customers are asking for new contracts seeking four to five times as much sand as they’re currently buying. The demand for finer grained sand is even cutting into supplies available to make glass and high-tech products. During the fracking process, millions of pounds of sand are pumped into wells to hold open fissures in rock formations that contain crude oil and natural gas. Grains of a special variety of sand found in northern states like Wisconsin, […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

CSX Oil Train Derails in Virginia With One Car Ablaze

A CSX Corp. (CSX) crude train derailed in Lynchburg, Virginia , sparking a fire in at least three tank cars, spilling oil into a river and forcing a partial evacuation of the city’s downtown. No injuries were reported, and the fire was out within about three hours after today’s accident. About 15 tank cars came off the tracks as the train rolled through Virginia from Chicago, according to a statement from CSX, the largest carrier in the eastern U.S. Crude, once an almost-negligible cargo for North American railroads, has grabbed regulators’ attention after recent U.S. and Canadian crashes including the Quebec derailment that killed 47 people in July. Canada tightened tank-car standards this month, and the U.S. is studying whether to follow suit. The Federal Railroad Administration sent inspectors to Lynchburg. The train was en route to a so-called transloading facility where crude is transferred to barges, Chief Executive […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Analysts See 75 Billion Cubic-Feet Add to U.S. Natural-Gas Inventories

Analysts and traders expect government data scheduled for release Thursday to show natural-gas inventories grew last week by nearly 30% more than they usually would this time of year. The U.S. Energy Information Administration is expected to report that storage levels rose by 75 billion cubic feet of gas during the week ended April 25, according to the average forecast of 18 analysts and traders surveyed by The Wall Street Journal. The EIA is scheduled to release its storage data for the week on Thursday at 10:30 a.m. EDT. For the April 25 week, the median estimate is for an addition of 76 bcf. Estimates range from an increase of 66 bcf to an increase of 84 bcf. The estimate for the latest week is higher than the 41 bcf added to storage for the same week last year and the 58-bcf five-year average injection for […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Lower electricity demand growth would reduce fossil fuels’ projected generation share

In EIA’s Annual Energy Outlook 2014 (AEO2014) Reference case, electricity generation is expected to increase by 29% between 2012 and 2040, at an average annual rate of 0.9%, to meet steadily increasing demand. In the recently released Low Electricity Demand case , total electricity use in 2040 is just 7% higher than 2012 levels. Under lower electricity demand growth, the share of generation from coal and natural gas declines compared with the Reference case, while the shares of generation from nuclear and renewables increase. Total electricity sales declined in four of the five years between 2008 and 2012, driven by declining sales in the industrial sector and flat sales in the residential and commercial building sectors. Although industrial sales have shown some recovery since the 2009 recession, there are a number of factors that could contribute to slower demand growth in the future across all sectors, including changing customer […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Implications of low electricity demand growth

Although electricity demand fell in only three years between 1950 and 2007, it declined in four of the five years between 2008 and 2012. The largest drop occurred in 2009 (Figure IF8-1). One contributing factor was the steep economic downturn from late 2007 through 2009, which led to a large drop in electricity sales in the industrial sector. Other factors, such as efficiency improvements associated with new appliance standards in the buildings sectors and overall improvement in the efficiency of technologies powered by electricity, have slowed electricity demand growth and may contribute to slower growth in the future, even as the U.S. economy continues its recovery. Variations in AEO2014 renewable electricity projections Release Date: 4/29/14 In the AEO2014 Reference case, renewable electricity generation grows by 69% from 2012 to 2040, including an increase of more than 140% in generation from nonhydropower renewable energy sources. Renewables are collectively the fastest-growing […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Company Level Imports

Monthly data on the origins of crude oil imports in February 2014 has been released and it shows that two countries exported more than 1 million barrels per day to the United States (see table below). The top five exporting countries accounted for 83 percent of United States crude oil imports in January while the top ten sources accounted for approximately 97 percent of all U.S. crude oil imports. The top five sources of US crude oil imports for January were Canada (2,594 thousand barrels per day), Saudi Arabia (1,450 thousand barrels per day), Mexico (790 thousand barrels per day), Venezuela (757 thousand barrels per day), and Kuwait (348 thousand barrels per day). The rest of the top ten sources, in order, were Iraq (290 thousand barrels per day), Colombia (288 thousand barrels per day), Ecuador (207 thousand barrels per day), Brazil (140 thousand barrels […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

US biodiesel production falls 48% in January: EIA

GMT US biodiesel production fell to 70 million gallons in January, down 48% from December, Energy Information Administration data showed Wednesday. Production was up 6.1% compared with January 2013. Of the 530 million lb of feedstock used to produce US biodiesel in January, soybean oil’s share reached 45.47%, down 8.85 percentage points from December, the EIA said. 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. Platts Biofuelscan includes prices assessmenst for ethanol, ETBE, renewal indentification number (RIN) biofuels (US market0 and biodiesel. It also includes graphs depicting historic and current trends for major assessments. Soybean oil remained the largest biodiesel feedstock, with 241 million lb consumed. The next three largest feedstocks were corn oil […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Increasing Costs in Deepwater Development May Impede Projects

The United States accounts for more than one out of every 10 barrels of crude oil produced around the globe each day, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. This is due in part to rising production of tight oil found in shale rock formations, but overall produced crude oil in the United States mainly comes from a handful of states and the Gulf of Mexico. Five states and the GOM supplied more than 80 percent, or 6 million barrels per day, of the crude oil (including lease condensate) produced in the United States in 2013, the agency reported. Texas alone provided almost 35 percent, according to preliminary 2013 data released in the EIA’s March Petroleum Supply Monthly. The second-largest state producer was North Dakota with 12 percent of U.S. crude oil production, followed by California and Alaska at close to 7 percent each and Oklahoma at 4 percent. […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Natural Gas-Gobbling Bacteria May Help Combat Oil Leaks

A type of bacteria that eats natural gases may provide a small defence against leaks such as BP’s Gulf of Mexico oil spill in 2010 and curb global warming, a scientific report said on Monday. The study identified a strain of microbe able to grow on both methane, a powerful greenhouse gas, and propane. Both are found in unrefined natural gas and scientists had previously thought that bacteria could only grow on one or the other. In consuming both methane and propane the bacteria prevent the gases reaching the atmosphere, Britain’s University of East Anglia said of the report written by two of its scientists in the journal Nature. That means the microbes "could help mitigate the effects of the release of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere from both natural gas seeps in the environment and those arising from man-made activity such as fracking […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Ukraine Says That Militants Won the East

It is by now a well-established pattern. Armed, masked men in their 20s to 40s storm a public building of high symbolic value in a city somewhere in eastern Ukraine, evict anyone still there, seize weapons and ammunition, throw up barricades and proclaim themselves the rulers of a “people’s republic.” It is not clear who is in charge or how the militias are organized. Through such tactics, a few thousand pro-Russian militants have seized buildings in about a dozen cities, effectively establishing control over much of an industrial region of about 6.5 million nestled against the Russian border. Day by day, in the areas surrounding the cities of Donetsk and Luhansk, pro-Russian forces have defied all efforts by the central government to re-establish its authority, and on Wednesday, Ukraine’s acting president conceded what had long been obvious: The government’s police and security officials had lost control. […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Balcombe oil plans spark outrage

The British Friends of the Earth said they were frustrated with council members in West Sussex County who voted in favor of oil operations near Balcombe. "We are extremely disappointed that councilors have not listened to local people," Friends of the Earth campaigner Brenda Pollack said in a statement Tuesday. "This is an attempt by Cuadrilla to set the wheels in motion for dirty fossil fuel extraction." Last week, Cuadrilla Resources said it would apply for permission to drill up to four exploration wells at sites near Balcombe. The village was the scene of demonstrations against the controversial drilling practice, hydraulic fracturing. While last year’s campaign didn’t involve hydraulic fracturing, the company said it now wanted approval to employ the technique. Pollack said that, instead of fossil fuels, the British economy should embrace more renewable forms of energy. The council heard public reaction to […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Greenpeace attempts to block Russian oil tanker

Greenpeace International activists are attempting to prevent a Russian tanker carrying the first oil from a new offshore platform in the Arctic from mooring at Rotterdam Port. The environmental group said Thursday it has sent two ships, Rainbow Warrior III and Esperanza, plus rubber rafts, paragliders and activists on shore, to meet the Mikhail Ulyanov, a tanker chartered by Russia’s state-controlled oil company, Gazprom OAO. Activists have painted the words "No Arctic Oil" in large letters on the hull of the Russian tanker, while rubber rafts are blocking access to the ship’s mooring place, the group said. Greenpeace opposes oil production inside the Arctic Circle, warning of the danger of a spill in a pristine and difficult-to-reach area – as well as the threat of worsening global warming caused by using fossil fuels. In September, 28 Greenpeace activists and two freelance journalists were arrested and charged […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Natural gas – Thoughts of a Lapsed Physicist

For those of us who follow energy issues closely, a long-standing, persistent question has been: Are methane hydrates for real? Are they a realistically large potential energy resource? The answer seems to be yes. Thirty years ago the information available to answer these questions was not available. Today the literature on methane hydrates (also known as methane clathrates, methane ice, fire ice) is extensive and growing. This blog post attempts to capture the main points I came away with in a detailed review of the subject. To this energy wonk it was both fascinating and disturbing – fascinating in nailing down a lot of details about a potentially new and very large energy resource, and disturbing in that it again raises serious concerns for me about our lack of a national energy policy. I will explain further. First a word about clathrates and hydrates: clathrate is a general term […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple