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Nigeria: Pipeline Fire Kills Scores in Port Harcourt

AN unconfirmed number of people have been killed in a pipeline fire that erupted at one of the local pipelines belonging to the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation NNPC in Port Harcourt, Rivers State. Residents said vandals who were siphoning fuel from one of the corporations damaged pipeline caused the fire explosion. The Chairman of Okrika local government area, where the incident took place, Tamuno Williams, confirmed the incident. “The fire incident is as a result of oil thieves who were siphoning oil from NNPC pipelines. As you can see, there is no management staff of the NNPC or persons you can say are in-charge of the corporations operations here. "The gates of the NNPC remain closed to visitors, so, we have not seen anybody that we can officially lay our complaints.” He berated the NNPC management for allegedly covering up accidents in their facilities. “Those who survived […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Putin sees China as logical gas partner

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Monday from Shanghai that a stronger energy relationship with China would provide mutual benefits. A 2009 framework agreement between Gazprom and China National Petroleum Corp. calls on the Russian company to export as much as 2.4 trillion cubic feet of natural gas to the Chinese market each year. Both sides have discussed options for building a natural gas pipeline to enhance deliveries. "For Russia, implementing these agreements means diversifying gas supply destinations, while for our Chinese partners … it could be a remedy for energy shortage and helps ecological security," he told China’s official Xinhua News Agency. Formal natural gas deals, he said, are in their final stages. Putin is expected to spend two days on a state visit to Beijing this week. Alexei Miller , the top executive at Russian energy company Gazprom, met Sunday in Beijing with Zhou […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Why China is Driving a Hard Bargain with Russia Over Gas

Russian President Vladimir Putin ’s state visit to China this week has fueled speculation that both sides will finally reach a deal to supply Russian natural gas to China after a decade of wrangling. There are plenty of reasons Beijing and Moscow will finally see eye to eye. But an analysis of the situation shows they still have plenty of room to disagree. China and Russia have signed non-binding agreements before — most notably in 2009 and in 2013 — where they ironed out details that included the construction of a pipeline to ship 38 billion cubic meters of gas annually to China from fields in eastern Siberia. However, neither side has ever agreed on pricing . Analysts say Beijing and Moscow have never been closer to a deal. Russia needs energy customers due to its standoff with the West over Ukraine. China need to meet rising energy needs […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Fukushima Seawater Radiation Rises To New All Time High

The mainstream media may have long forgotten about the Fukushima tragedy (as it certainly goes against the far more popular and palatable meme of a Japan “recovery” courtesy of Abenomics) but that does not mean it is fixed or even contained. Quite the contrary. As a rare update from Japan’s Jiji news agency reminds us, on Friday radiation at five monitoring points in waters adjacent to the crippled Fukushima No. 1 power station spiked to all-time highs according to the semi-nationalized TEPCO. The measurements follow similar highs detected in groundwater at the plant. Why the surge in radioactivity? Officials of Tepco, as the utility is known, said “the cause of the seawater spike is unknown.” This is the same Tepco which for years lied that there is nothing to worry about in Fukushima, which arbitrarily hiked the maximum radiation exposure threshold as it saw fit, and which with the […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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U.S. 'thinking through' potential oil exports

The White House is reviewing its policy options regarding legislation enacted in 1975 that restricts U.S. crude oil exports, a presidential assistant said. Crude oil exports are restricted because of a law enacted in response to an oil embargo from Arab members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries. Dan Utech, an energy adviser to the White House, told the Platts energy news service the administration was reviewing the measure. "We’re thinking through the implications [of growing U.S. crude oil production,]" he said in an interview Sunday. The U.S. Energy Information Administration, the statistical arm of the Energy Department, said in its latest monthly report total U.S. crude oil production averaged 8.3 million barrels per day in April, the highest monthly average since March 1988. By 2015, the average should reach 9.2 million bpd, the highest level in more than 40 years. Utech said the […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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U.S. ‘thinking through’ potential oil exports

The White House is reviewing its policy options regarding legislation enacted in 1975 that restricts U.S. crude oil exports, a presidential assistant said. Crude oil exports are restricted because of a law enacted in response to an oil embargo from Arab members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries. Dan Utech, an energy adviser to the White House, told the Platts energy news service the administration was reviewing the measure. "We’re thinking through the implications [of growing U.S. crude oil production,]" he said in an interview Sunday. The U.S. Energy Information Administration, the statistical arm of the Energy Department, said in its latest monthly report total U.S. crude oil production averaged 8.3 million barrels per day in April, the highest monthly average since March 1988. By 2015, the average should reach 9.2 million bpd, the highest level in more than 40 years. Utech said the […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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BP Faces Billions in Spill Payments as Court Upholds Deal

BP Plc (BP/) faces billions of dollars in additional payments after failing again to convince an appeals court that the company is being forced to pay claims that aren’t directly related to the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill . The decision leaves BP with two options — pay claims the company has called “fictitious,” or appeal further to the U.S. Supreme Court. Paying these claims will cost additional billions of dollars, BP has said in court filings. Payments for disputed business economic losses have been on hold while BP appealed . A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals in New Orleans earlier rejected BP’s view that the claims administrator for the company’s $9.2 billion settlement had misinterpreted the agreement and was paying for economic losses that weren’t caused by the spill. BP yesterday lost its bid for reconsideration by the full appeals court. BP contends a […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Why Electric and Natural-Gas Cars Will Gain Traction

Ten years from now, electric (EV), hybrid and natural-gas powered cars will make some, albeit not yet decisive, inroads in our lives. There are economic, lifestyle and technological reasons for this. First, it is the technology of hydraulic fracturing, and improved 3-D seismic and imaging techniques, which provides us with the ability to find even small oil and gas fields in abundance. Cheaper natural gas produces cheaper electricity, which can then be loaded onto and stored in a battery in an EVs. The electricity may then be stored on board the vehicle using a ,  flywheel , or  supercapacitors . The natural gas abundance allows us to run fleets of trucks, buses, delivery vehicles like FedEx , and even taxicabs. In turn, less gasoline is needed, including from Venezuela and the Middle East, but more U.S.-produced gas is powering our cars and trucks. Technology is also a limiting […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Shale could be the answer to Ukraine's energy woes, candidate says

Ukrainian presidential candidate Oleh Liahsko said shale gas could help bring a layer of political and economic independence to a new Ukrainian government. Liahsko, founder of the minority Radical Party, said the Ukrainian government needs to break the Russian grip on the energy sector for the sake of independence. Shale gas, he said Sunday, offers a good possibility for Ukraine. "We depended on Russia [for] over 23 years [since] independence — on gas," he said . "And this dependence is not only economic, but political." European consumers get about a quarter of their gas needs met by Russia, though most of that supply runs through the Soviet-era transit network in Ukraine. The Kremlin has used energy as a geopolitical tool in its disputes with Ukraine, which has moved closer to Europe since a November uprising. The Ukrainian government last year said there may be […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Shale could be the answer to Ukraine’s energy woes, candidate says

Ukrainian presidential candidate Oleh Liahsko said shale gas could help bring a layer of political and economic independence to a new Ukrainian government. Liahsko, founder of the minority Radical Party, said the Ukrainian government needs to break the Russian grip on the energy sector for the sake of independence. Shale gas, he said Sunday, offers a good possibility for Ukraine. "We depended on Russia [for] over 23 years [since] independence — on gas," he said . "And this dependence is not only economic, but political." European consumers get about a quarter of their gas needs met by Russia, though most of that supply runs through the Soviet-era transit network in Ukraine. The Kremlin has used energy as a geopolitical tool in its disputes with Ukraine, which has moved closer to Europe since a November uprising. The Ukrainian government last year said there may be […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple