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New passenger vehicle diesel registrations in US up 11.5%, hybrids up 65% from 2010-2013; diesel 2.5x hybrids

« General Motors posts May record of 276,109 Vehicles in China | Main | ANSYS Fluent now includes Li-ion battery models; ANSYS, GM, NREL, ESim CAEBAT project » New registrations of all types of diesel passenger vehicles—passenger cars, light-duty trucks, vans, SUVs and heavy-duty pickup trucks (> 8,500lbs gvwr)—increased 11.5% (from 6,337,460 units to 7,068,439), and registrations of hybrid-electric passenger vehicles increased 65% (from 1,717,601 units to 2,826,885) from 2010 through 2013, according to a new analysis and supporting data released by the Diesel Technology Forum . Diesel registrations were 2.5 times those of hybrids over the period, according to the data. When looking only at cars and SUVs over that period, diesel registrations in the US increased 30% from 640,779 units to 833,324 units; registrations of hybrid cars and SUVs climbed 65% from 1,714,966 units to 2,821,599. Hybrid car and SUV registrations were 3.4 times those of diesel […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Gulf Of Mexico Crude Oil Production

Folks who follow this blog know that I am a data hog. That is I track data from the US as well as production from the rest of the world. But there are periods during the month when there is just no new data coming in. During the first 10 days or so of a month is such a time, almost no new data is posted anywhere. So I try to find something else to post. It is on the oil production in the Gulf of Mexico. The last data point on all charts is March 2014. All data is in barrels per day except the first chart below which is in thousand barrels per day. The EIA gets their data from BSEE, (Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement), a branch of Department of the Interior, not the Department of Energy as you might expect. The BSEE is a little […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Lower crude feedstock costs contribute to North American refinery profitability

First-quarter 2014 financial results continued a three-year trend of North American refineries showing considerably higher profitability than European refineries as measured by earnings per barrel processed. While many factors contribute to refinery profitability, lower North American crude oil prices compared with world prices have been a key factor driving this outcome. North American refiners’ earnings per barrel processed were more than $6 per barrel (bbl) higher than their European competitors for the first three months of 2014, based on an analysis of 26 energy companies with refinery operations that submit financial and operating information by segment to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). These SEC financial data allow for analysis of the entire refining sector by comparing just the refining business of global integrated companies (that explore and […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Energy Industry Placing Big Bets on Republican Senate Win

Energy companies are giving more to Republicans to help them win a U.S. Senate majority and counter President Barack Obama ’s environmental agenda. Electric utility political action committees have donated 63 percent of their cash this election cycle to Republican candidates. That represents a partisan flip from four years ago when they gave 55 percent to Democrats and just 43 percent to Republicans, according to data from the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics in Washington . Oil-and-gas company committees skew even more to Republicans. They’ve given 83 percent of their cash to the party’s Senate and House candidates so far, 11 points higher than in 2010, the last election in the middle of a presidential term, according to data compiled by the center. Employees of one company, Occidental Petroleum Corp. (OXY) , have more than tripled donations to the Republicans’ Senate election fund from four years ago, at $94,800. […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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More inspections needed for oil trains, senator says

More inspections are needed to ensure oil delivered on the U.S. rail network is safe, a leading senator from North Dakota said. U.S. Sen. John Hoeven , a Republican member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, said an appropriations bill at the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development Subcommittee calls for ways to improve crude oil transportation by rail. "Rail safety begins with the rails, which means we need more inspectors, more inspections and more technology to monitor rail conditions and train movement," Hoeven said in a statement Wednesday. "The measures we’re including in the [appropriations] bill will help to prevent accidents in the first place, and to mitigate their impact when they do occur." About 950 barrels of oil spilled when two trains operated by BNSF Railway collided and derailed in North Dakota in late December. More than 40 people died in a similar accident in Lac-Megantic […]

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Chesapeake Energy Faces Charges It Misled Landowners in Michigan

Michigan’s attorney general filed criminal charges against Chesapeake Energy Corp. , alleging that the natural-gas producer misled landowners to obtain leases in the state. Prosecutors contend that Chesapeake in 2010 assured Michigan landowners that holding mortgages weren’t obstacles to signing leases allowing the company to drill for gas, but later cited those mortgages as a reason for canceling the deals. "Chesapeake therefore obtained uncompensated land options from these landowners by false pretenses, and prevented competitors from using the land," the attorney general’s office said Thursday. The complaint says that Chesapeake signed leases with as many as 800 landowners, but honored fewer than 30 leases. "We believe this action has no merit and we will vigorously contest these baseless allegations," said Gordon Pennoyer, a spokesman for the company, which is based in Oklahoma City. The charges include one felony count of conducting a criminal enterprise and eight felony counts of […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Canada Aims to Sell Its Oil Beyond U.S.

The proposed Keystone XL pipeline would ship from oil fields in Alberta, Canada (above) to the Gulf of Mexico, but the project remains uncertain. The Washington Post/Getty Images Last fall, Canadian oil producer Husky Energy Inc. sent a batch of crude on a journey to India. It was just a drop in a sea of global oil transactions, but a step toward reshaping North American energy trading. The million-barrel shipment to Indian Oil Corp. , described by Husky as a test sale, foreshadowed what Canadian producers hope will become many new overseas markets for their oil. "We are doing it opportunistically to have the wheels greased" for more exports far afield if they become feasible, said Asim Ghosh, Husky’s chief executive. Recently, Husky also shipped a batch of oil to Italy’s Eni SpA. While the U.S. debates whether to loosen a decades-old prohibition on shipping its oil overseas, Canada […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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2014: Peak Oil Sands Investment?

Does the shelving of the Total SA Joslyn mine signal that the recent wave of oil sands investment has peaked? This past week, Total SA And their business partners  decided to shelve the Joslyn Mine project , which places $11 bn in oil sands investment into the “unlikely” category. As an economist, I always look at other informal indicators of macroeconomic trends. Some other informal indicators are pointing to a crest in the recent wave of oil sands investment. – The price of diesel at the pump is approaching its 2007 levels, which raises variable costs for operating machinery. – Multiple fatalities in oil sands projects as S-A-F-E-T-Y is trumped by P-R-O-D-U-C-T-I-O-N. – Companies shedding contract employees, layoffs or hiring freezes as corporations regroup. – House flipping is back in Calgary as more people enter the market to sell $600,000 duplexes. – More frequent instances of rude wait staff […]

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TAP pipeline for southern Europe seeking bids

Potential contractors for the planned Trans-Adriatic pipeline for Europe need to demonstrate "very specific expertise," the project consortium said Thursday. The TAP consortium, based in Switzerland, said it was moving forward with the pre-qualification of potential contractors for the construction of the planned 540-mile gas pipeline through Greece, Albania, the Adriatic Sea and Italy. "The scope of work for this contract is rather complex — potential contractors must demonstrate very specific expertise in constructing natural gas compressor stations, as well as other multi-disciplinary energy infrastructure experience, including strong project management skills," TAP Procurement Director Knut Steinar Kvindesland said in a statement . TAP said it issued a contract notice this week for the compressor stations needed in Albania and Greece for the transport of natural gas through the pipeline. Companies interested in the contracts need to reply no later than June 16. TAP would transport natural gas from the […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Ukraine gets extra day of gas debt relief

| License Photo Ukraine gets an extra day to pay off its $2.2 billion debt for Russian gas deliveries, Russian energy company Gazprom said. Gazprom had set a June 9 deadline for Ukraine to pay off its debt to avoid potentially triggering a repeat of gas shortages that gripped Europeans in 2006 and 2009. Debt rows in those years prompted Gazprom to cut gas through Ukraine, which hosts the bulk of the Russian gas bound for Europe through its Soviet-era transit network. Alexei Miller , the top executive at Gazprom, met in Berlin with Andrei Kobolev, his counterpart at Ukrainian energy company Naftogaz, to discuss the debt issues. "On request of the Ukrainian party, the debt settlement deadline was postponed until June 10, due to June 9 being a holiday in Ukraine," the Russian energy company said in a statement Wednesday. The $2.2 billion in debt covers gas bills […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple