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Vietnam: China moved oil rig

A Vietnamese surveillance agency said Wednesday an oil rig stationed by China in disputed waters has moved under guard by six warships. The official Vietnam News reports the rig has moved east-southeast. It’s accompanied by six warships, 13 cargo vessels and 19 tugboats. The Vietnam Fisheries Surveillance Department said Chinese fishing boats in the area, accompanied by two Coast Guard vessels, have been circling Vietnamese fishing boats in what the official news agency said were traditional fishing grounds near the rig. Tran Van Hang, chairman of the External Relations Committee at the Vietnamese National Assembly, sent a letter Tuesday to lawmakers saying China’s actions were provocative. "Peace, stability, security, maritime and aviation safety and freedom in the East Sea are being seriously threatened," his letter read. China this week sent a letter to U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki -moon saying the rig was deployed in its territorial waters, a claim […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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IEA Investment Report – What is Right; What is Wrong

Recently, the IEA published  a “Special Report” called World Energy Investment Outlook . Lets’s start with things I agree with: 1. World needs $48 trillion in investment to meet its energy needs to 2035.  This is certainly true, if we assume, as the IEA assumes , that world economic growth will actually improve a bit, from 3.3% per year in the 1990 to 2011 period to 3.6% per year in the 2011 to 2035 period. It is likely that the growth in investment needs will be even higher than the IEA indicates. In my view, this is a CYA report . The IEA sees trouble ahead. There is no way that investment of the needed amount (which is likely far more than $48 trillion) can be met. With the publication of this report, the IEA can say, “We told you so. You didn’t invest enough. That is why energy supply […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Oil boom produces jobs bonanza for archaeologists

Drilling crews are eager to plunge their equipment into the ground. Road builders are ready to start highway projects, and construction workers need to dig. But across the hyperactive oil fields of North Dakota, these and other groups have to wait for another team – archaeologists, who often must survey the land before a single spade of dirt can be turned. The routine surveys have produced a rare jobs bonanza in American archaeology, a field in which many highly educated professionals hop from project to project around the world and still struggle to make a living. The positions also come with a constant tension: The archaeologists are trained to find evidence of the past, but the companies that pay them would prefer not to turn up anything that gets in the way of profits. Without the oil boom, a lot of young archaeologists might "never […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Canadian leader bows out of refinery review

British Columbia Premier Christy Clark said she’s recusing herself from decisions about a planned oil refinery in the province, citing a conflict of interest. "Out of an abundance of caution I’ve decided to take action today to ensure that there is no conflict, whether that is perceived or real," she said during a Tuesday meeting with reporters. Clark said she would sit on the sidelines of any government decisions regarding an oil refinery planned in her province by Pacific Future Energy Corp. Her former husband, Mark Marissen, was named executive vice president of communications at the company. Pacific Future Energy said it would spend the next nine to 12 months conducting feasibility studies for an oil refinery planned for the north coast of the province. The $10 billion project was billed as the "world’s greenest refinery," and would process oil sands into refined petroleum products like […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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North American LNG output to grow, IEA says

The United States and Canada will account for about 8 percent of the global liquefied natural gas market by 2019, the International Energy Agency said. "While demand growth is driven by the Asia-Pacific region, and especially China, supply growth for the international gas trade is dominated by private investments in LNG in Australia and North America," IEA Executive Director Maria van der Hoeven said Tuesday. Global demand for natural gas is expected to increase by more than 2 percent by the end of this year. By 2019, LNG, a super-cooled form of gas, will meet about 40 percent of world’s demand. Australia , van der Hoeven said, is expected to account for half of the new LNG exports expected on the international market by 2019, with the United States and Canada combining to represent 8 percent of the market. LNG is less constricted by the geopolitical […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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U.S. gasoline prices 4 cents higher year-on-year

Gasoline prices through the summer could be as much as 4 cents higher than the same time last year, the U.S. Energy Department said. The average retail price for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline in the United States for Wednesday was $3.63, reports motor club AAA. That price has held steady for nearly a month. The U.S. Energy Information Administration said in its monthly report , published Tuesday, the summer average is near its expected peak of $3.62 per gallon, which is 4 cents higher year-on-year. EIA, the statistical arm of the Energy Department, said the retail price for a gallon of gasoline is largely based on the price of crude oil and the difference between that price and the price for wholesale gasoline. In last week’s report on the U.S. petroleum sector, the administration said refineries were working at 90.8 percent capacity and gasoline […]

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How Bakken Crude Price Nearest Wellhead Impacts Industry

Platts, an energy news and price publisher, began offering value assessments of Bakken crude nearest the wellhead. The service captures the value of Bakken crude at the point where there is transportation flexibility either by rail, or rail/pipeline, providing industry with greater intelligence before the decision is made on using truck, rail and/or pipeline to deliver the crude to customers. Founder of BakkenShale.com and industry veteran Kenny DuBose, commented, “It is important to attempt to establish pricing points as close to the wellhead as possible, in order to separate and distinguish between the commodity value and any transportation expenses.” Since 2012, Bakken crude transport by rail has grown significantly, to where nearly 70% of all crude produced is transported to the refining markets by rail. In a written statement, Sharmilpar Kaur with Platts, alluded that the growth of […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Ukraine wants Russian gas contract changed

As disputes drag on, Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk said Wednesday he was questioning a discount offered by Russia for natural gas. Ukraine, before political upheaval in November pushed it closer to the European Union, was paying $268 per 1,000 cubic meters of natural gas, the standard purchase volume. Russia later suspended the discount and changed the price to $485.50. It has now offered a $100 discount from that price. Yatsenyuk said Wednesday he was frustrated with Russian changing the price terms at a whim. "The contract [itself] must be changed," he said . European countries get about a quarter of their gas needs met by Russia, though most of those supplies run through a Soviet-era transit network in Ukraine. Price disputes in 2006 and 2009 resulted in Russian energy company Gazprom cutting gas supplies briefly through Ukraine. Members of the European Union met Russian and Ukrainian delegates this […]

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Russia Extends Ukraine Gas Talks Deadline

Russia gave Ukraine a further six days to reach a final agreement on natural gas prices, postponing its threat to cut off supply, Gazprom Chief Executive Alexei Miller said Wednesday, Interfax news agency reported. The move comes after talks between Gazprom , Ukraine’s state-run Naftogaz and the European Comission in Brussels failed to come up with an agreement. The deadline for a deal is now June 16. Ukraine is urging Russia to keep the price for natural gas supplies at a discount level agreed between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukraine’s ousted President Viktor Yanukovych. After annexing the country’s Crimea region, Moscow raised the price it charges Ukraine for gas to $485.5 for 1,000 cubic meters in April, more than $200 above the price agreed between the two neighboring countries in late 2013. Ukraine’s Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk said Wednesday that the government had refused a $100 discount offered […]

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Cuadrilla Drilling Application Accepted by Lancashire Council

UK-focused shale gas firm Cuadrilla Resources is a step closer to beginning fracking operations in the northwest of England after Lancashire County Council formerly validated and accepted an application to drill in the county, the firm announced Wednesday. The planning application, to drill up to four shale gas exploration wells at Preston New Road, and its accompanying environmental statement is now accessible to the public. Cuadrilla said the environmental statement details the findings of an "extensive" environmental impact assessment of the sites, which was carried out by experts at independent consultant Arup. Arup Project Director Des Correia commented in a statement: "The work we’ve undertaken for both the environmental impact and environmental risk assessments has been tremendously comprehensive. We’ve been using best practice standards throughout our work and we’ve covered a full exploration life-cycle as well as considering cumulative impacts in both our scope and analysis work. “Our approach […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple