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Fed govt failed to inspect higher risk oil wells

The government has failed to inspect thousands of oil and gas wells it considers potentially high risks for water contamination and other environmental damage, congressional investigators say. The report, obtained by The Associated Press before its public release, highlights substantial gaps in oversight by the agency that manages oil and gas development on federal and Indian lands. Investigators said weak control by the Interior Department’s Bureau of Land Management resulted from policies based on outdated science and from incomplete monitoring data. The findings from the Government Accountability Office come amid an energy boom in the country and the increasing use of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking. That process involves pumping huge volumes of water, sand and chemicals underground to split open rocks to allow oil and gas to flow. It has produced major economic benefits, but also raised fears that the chemicals could spread to water supplies. […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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6 Cars of Oil Crude Train Derail in Colorado

Crews from Union Pacific Railroad worked to clear a six-car oil train derailment that leaked some crude into a ditch Friday in northern Colorado. State and local emergency officials determined that one car of the 100-car train was leaking after the 8 a.m. derailment near LaSalle, about 45 miles north of Denver. The cause of the derailment was under investigation, said Micki Trost, a spokeswoman for the Colorado Division of Emergency Management. Crews had contained the spill to a ditch away from any waterways, Trost said. The amount of oil spilled wasn’t immediately known, but a vacuum truck was brought in to suck up the spill. Tanker trucks lined up nearby to transfer the oil. According to The Greeley Tribune ( http://tinyurl.com/m96ows9 ), the train was loaded in nearby Windsor with Niobrara crude and was bound for New York. Niobrara oil comes from the Niobrara shale formation in Colorado, […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Russia Revisits Its History to Nail Down Its Future

As many Russians spent a holiday weekend reveling in the annual display of military might that marks their victory over Nazi Germany, the tension in Ukraine has fueled a passionate debate over how to exalt the country’s history without distorting it. The issue took on greater urgency with a new law, signed last week by President Vladimir V. Putin , that mandates up to five years in jail and heavy fines for anyone who tries to rehabilitate Nazism or denigrate Russia ’s World War II record. The Kremlin has long enshrined the history of the war against Hitler as a heroic, collective victory. But skeptics argue that the victory itself is too often used to promote what they consider an excessive obsession with fascism abroad — vividly played out over the past two months in lurid coverage on Russian state television of the Ukraine crisis. Some argue […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Ukraine Authorities Dismiss Referendums as ‘Farce’

Ukraine’s interim president, Oleksandr V. Turchynov, on Monday dismissed weekend referendums in the country’s restive, Russian-speaking eastern region as a farce with no legal basis, as the European Union prepared to announce a relatively modest tightening of sanctions against Moscow and its allies. The Kremlin said Russia “respects the will of the population” in two provinces in eastern Ukraine that participated on Sunday in chaotic ballots offering them a question about self-rule. But a statement from Moscow left open the possibility of dialogue and mediation to resolve the crisis. The ballots left the destiny of the east — Ukraine’s industrial heartland — unclear, as armed forces loyal to the interim government in Kiev and pro-Russian militants remained locked in a tense standoff that sometimes overflowed into gunfire. According to early results cited by The Associated Press, 89 percent of voters in the Donetsk region and 96 percent in neighboring […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Ukraine crisis: Pro-Russia separatists claim referendum victory

Pro-Russia separatists in eastern Ukraine who organised referendums on two regions’ links with Kiev claimed resounding victories on Monday, saying about 90 per cent of voters backed greater self-rule. Organisers of Sunday’s ballots , which were widely condemned by Kiev and the west as a “farce”, said 89 per cent of voters in Donetsk and up to 98 per cent in Luhansk backed greater autonomy. Turnout was about 75 per cent, the organisers said, but myriad irregularities were reported in many areas and there was no independent scrutiny of the process. Oleksandr Turchynov, acting president of Ukraine , told parliament on Monday that turnout was 24 per cent in Luhansk and 32 per cent in Donetsk. The separatists, who held the vote despite Russia calling for it to be postponed, have yet to decide how much self-determination they want. Voters backing greater self-rule in Donetsk said they wanted different […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Threat of Further Sanctions Against Russia Intensifies

Brent crude ticked higher Monday following the weekend’s contentious referendum in Ukraine, but gains were limited by indications of ample supply. The unofficial referendum in one Ukrainian province raised the prospect of deteriorating relations between Russia and the West, but Saudi Arabia said it would increase output should there be any disruption to supply from Russia. Brent June crude is up 0.5% at $108.41 a barrel on ICE Futures Europe. June crude is up 0.3% at $100.31 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. "Further price strength in Brent crude oil may be limited given a big rebound in non-OPEC output, improved prospects for OPEC supplies and no acceleration in global oil demand growth," Bank of America Merrill Lynch wrote in a note to clients. The bank sees Brent prices averaging $106 a barrel in 2014. Recently, ICE Gasoil was up $2 at $903.75 a metric ton. Gasoline […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Russia Calls for 'Civilized Implementation' of East Ukraine Referendum Results

The Kremlin said Monday it respects the secession referendum in eastern Ukraine and hopes for a "civilized implementation" of the results through talks between Kiev and representatives in the east. , ratcheting up tensions between the West and Moscow. In its first comments since the referendum, the Kremlin appears to challenge the West and Kiev’s standpoint that it was illegitimate. The Kremlin statement said that Moscow welcomes all possible efforts to start negotiations between Kiev and separatist regions with the involvement of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. "Moscow views with respect the expression of the will of the people of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions and expects that the practical implementation of the outcome of the referendums will be carried […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Russia Calls for ‘Civilized Implementation’ of East Ukraine Referendum Results

The Kremlin said Monday it respects the secession referendum in eastern Ukraine and hopes for a "civilized implementation" of the results through talks between Kiev and representatives in the east. , ratcheting up tensions between the West and Moscow. In its first comments since the referendum, the Kremlin appears to challenge the West and Kiev’s standpoint that it was illegitimate. The Kremlin statement said that Moscow welcomes all possible efforts to start negotiations between Kiev and separatist regions with the involvement of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. "Moscow views with respect the expression of the will of the people of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions and expects that the practical implementation of the outcome of the referendums will be carried […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Putin's Export Machine Rolls Right Over Sanctions, Outcry

incursion into Ukraine and the international condemnation that followed haven’t put a dent in Russia ’s exports of gas and raw materials. The world’s largest energy producer shipped 2 percent more gas to Europe in the first three months of 2014 than it did in the same period last year, government data show. Diesel output for export increased, while cargoes of grains, palladium and nickel either climbed or were about the same. Russia’s crude oil exports fell 0.2 percent from last year. Economic sanctions from the U.S. and European Union haven’t dimmed demand for what Russia can sell even as price increases betray investors’ anxiety over future supplies. Any plan to pinch the country’s trade to punish Putin for his March annexation of Ukraine ’s Crimea peninsula would have to overcome Europe’s dependence on Russian gas and China ’s appetite for the country’s metals. “Investors are paying more […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Putin’s Export Machine Rolls Right Over Sanctions, Outcry

incursion into Ukraine and the international condemnation that followed haven’t put a dent in Russia ’s exports of gas and raw materials. The world’s largest energy producer shipped 2 percent more gas to Europe in the first three months of 2014 than it did in the same period last year, government data show. Diesel output for export increased, while cargoes of grains, palladium and nickel either climbed or were about the same. Russia’s crude oil exports fell 0.2 percent from last year. Economic sanctions from the U.S. and European Union haven’t dimmed demand for what Russia can sell even as price increases betray investors’ anxiety over future supplies. Any plan to pinch the country’s trade to punish Putin for his March annexation of Ukraine ’s Crimea peninsula would have to overcome Europe’s dependence on Russian gas and China ’s appetite for the country’s metals. “Investors are paying more […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple