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US claims Russia supplied tanks to Ukraine separatists

The US claimed on Friday that Russia had supplied tanks and other heavy weapons to separatists in eastern Ukraine and warned of further “costs” to Russia if more weapons crossed the border . More On this story The state department said that in recent days three T-64 tanks, several rocket launchers and a number of other military vehicles had crossed the Russian border into eastern Ukraine . The statement was the most detailed in a series of accusations the US and other countries have made about Russian military assistance to armed groups in Ukraine and could be used as the basis to impose further sanctions on Moscow. “This is unacceptable,” said Marie Harf, spokeswoman for the US state department. “A failure by Russia to de-escalate the situation will lead to additional costs.” The US comments support an almost identical accusation made on Thursday by […]

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Energy Crunch: The writing’s on the wall

Coal power via eutrophication&hypoxia/flickr. Creative Commons. Three things you shouldn’t miss this week Chart: Mapping the US carbon cap. Necessary emission reductions for existing power plants broken down by state: Source: Source: SNL Article : Solar to match coal in China by 2016, threatening fossil dominance – Wuxi Suntech Power expects the cost of electricity from solar modules match to coal-powered stations in China as soon as 2016. Commentary: The Global Energy Market’s Moment of Truth – this is not a temporary market blip but a fundamental shift. Is the writing finally on the wall for fossil fuels? In the last fortnight we’ve seen new rules on coal emissions in the US, the prospect of a cap on coal consumption in China, and a report from the International Energy Agency (IEA) highlighting the risks to fossil fuel investment. Though the focus of the IEA report was energy investment, what came […]

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Oil Futures Surge on Iraq Fears

Crude-oil futures surged in Asian trading hours Friday with both global oil benchmarks trading near their highest levels in nine months as investors focused on escalating violence in Iraq, an important oil producer. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for delivery in July traded at $106.96 a barrel at 0519 GMT, up $0.43 in the Globex electronic session. July Brent crude on London’s ICE Futures exchange rose $0.26 to $113.28 a barrel. Nymex WTI crude for July delivery gained $2.13 a barrel overnight to touch its highest settlement since September and was well above the $107 mark for most of the Asian morning. Brent gained more than $3 overnight, its largest one-day gain in dollar terms since late-August. The situation in Iraq continued to deteriorate as Sunni fighters headed toward Baghdad . Iran has deployed Revolutionary Guards units to Iraq and the U.S. is also […]

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WTI Heads for Biggest Weekly Gain This Year Amid Iraq Conflict

West Texas Intermediate headed for the biggest weekly gain this year as violence escalated across northern and central Iraq , OPEC’s second-biggest oil producer. Futures rose for a third day in New York after advancing 2 percent yesterday, the most in two months. Militants linked to al-Qaeda extended control over Mosul, the nation’s second-largest city, and moved south toward Baghdad as Oil Minister Abdul Kareem al-Luaibi said U.S. planes may bomb northern Iraq. The OPEC member produced 3.3 million barrels a day last month, data compiled by Bloomberg show. WTI for July delivery climbed as much as 0.4 percent to $106.98 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange and was at $106.95 at 8:56 a.m. Sydney time. The contract rose $2.13 to $106.53 yesterday, the highest close since Sept. 18. The volume of all futures traded was about 63 percent below the 100-day average. Prices […]

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Natural Gas Posts Largest One-Day Gain Since February

Natural-gas prices surged to the largest one-day percentage gain since February on Thursday, after U.S. stockpiles of the fuel increased at a slower rate than expected. Natural gas for July delivery rose 5.6%, or 25.4 cents, to $4.762 a million British thermal units on the New York Mercantile Exchange, following three straight sessions of losses. The boost comes after the latest stockpile update by the U.S. Energy Information Administration failed to meet projections. The EIA said 107 billion cubic feet of natural gas were put into storage in the week ended June 6, slightly less than analysts’ expectations of 110 bcf. The weekly report has regularly jolted the market this spring. Traders use it to gauge how quickly stockpiles are recovering from high demand that drained them to 11-year lows this winter. This was the first addition in months that fell short […]

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Naimi’s Good Times Will Last as Lost Output Lifts Prices: Energy

Twelve of the world’s most powerful petroleum ministers gathered around a horseshoe of tables in Vienna this week to pass judgment on the oil market. One of them sounded happier than the rest. “This is the best time for the market,” Ali al-Naimi , Saudi Arabia’s minister, told journalists before the meeting of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries on June 11. A day later, U.S. and European crude prices, which have exceeded $100 a barrel for a record time, surged to multi-month highs, spurred by worsening conflict in Iraq, the group’s second-biggest producer. Libya, with 48 billion barrels of reserves, is pumping 10 percent of what it can because of unrest. Saudi Arabia is showing satisfaction with oil prices at a time when OPEC’s collective influence seems diminished. Years ago, its utterances mattered to the market […]

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Insurgents Broaden Attacks in Advance on Baghdad

BAGHDAD — Sunni insurgents pressing toward Baghdad were reported on Friday to have fanned out to the east, taking two towns near Iraq’s border with Iran, further splintering the country into hostile fiefs and raising the stakes in a perilous regional crisis. The capture of the towns of Saadiyah and Jalawla came a day after Kurdish forces further north seized on the accelerating rout of government troops to take over the oil city of Kirkuk, long contested by Iraqi Kurds and the country’s Arab leaders in Baghdad. The Kurds control a semiautonomous region and have long eyed independence. The Kurdish moves on Thursday presented Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki with a twin challenge by Kurds and Sunni militants to restore Iraq’s cohesion and his government’s authority in face of the worst security crisis since the American withdrawal in 2011 and the apparent disintegration of the American-armed Iraqi Army. Kurdish […]

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The Iraqi Army Was Crumbling Long Before Its Collapse, U.S. Officials Say

WASHINGTON — The stunning collapse of Iraq ’s army in a string of cities across the north reflects poor leadership, declining troop morale, broken equipment and a sharp decline in training since the last American advisers left the country in 2011, American military and intelligence officials said Thursday. Four of Iraq’s 14 army divisions virtually abandoned their posts, stripped off their uniforms and fled when confronted in cities such as Mosul and Tikrit by militant groups, principally fighters aligned with the radical Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, or ISIS, the officials said. The divisions that collapsed were said to be made up of Sunni, Shiite and Kurdish troops. Other units made up of mainly Shiite troops and stationed closer to Baghdad, the Iraqi capital, were believed to be more loyal to the government of Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki, a Shiite, and would most likely put up greater […]

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Sunni militants capture 2 towns north of Baghdad

Al-Qaida-inspired militants who seized large swaths of Iraq’s Sunni heartland this week have pushed into an ethnically mixed province northeast of Baghdad, capturing two towns there, officials said Friday. The fresh gains by the fighters from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant come as Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s Shiite-led government struggles to form a coherent response after the Sunni militants blitzed and captured the country’s second-largest city of Mosul as well as other, smaller communities and military and police bases – often after meeting little resistance from state security forces. The new reality is the biggest threat to Iraq’s stability since the U.S. withdrawal at the end of 2011, and it has pushed the nation closer to a precipice that could partition it into Sunni, Shiite and Kurdish zones. Police officials said militants driving in machinegun-mounted pickups entered two towns in Diyala province late […]

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Obama warns of U.S. action as jihadists push on Baghdad

President Barack Obama on Thursday threatened U.S. military strikes in Iraq against Sunni Islamist militants who have surged out of the north to menace Baghdad and want to establish their own state in Iraq and Syria. Iraqi Kurdish forces took advantage of the chaos to take control of the oil hub of Kirkuk as the troops of the Shi’ite-led government abandoned posts, alarming Baghdad’s allies both in the West and in neighboring Shi’ite regional power Iran. "I don’t rule out anything because we do have a stake in making sure that these jihadists are not getting a permanent foothold in either Iraq or Syria," Obama said at the White House when asked whether he was contemplating air strikes. Officials later stressed that ground troops would not be sent in. Obama was looking at "all options" to help Iraq’s leaders, who took full control when the U.S. […]

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Obama Won’t Rule Out U.S. Airstrikes to Aid Iraq’s Army

President Barack Obama said he won’t rule out using airstrikes to help Iraq’s government beat back Islamist militants who’ve seized cities and threatened to re-ignite a sectarian war in OPEC’s second-largest oil producer. Government forces are seeking to dislodge fighters from the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant from cities north of Baghdad after they overran army positions in Mosul this week and advanced on the Iraqi capital. Clashes continued today between the sides in former President Saddam Hussein’s hometown of Tikrit about 80 miles (130 kilometers) north of Baghdad and in the surrounding countryside, which consists of farmland with a Sunni-Muslim majority. Three years after the U.S. withdrew forces from Iraq , the army of the Shiite-led government has collapsed in many areas when confronted by the radical Sunni forces, threatening the stability of oil production in the north of the country. Militants seized the town of […]

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Iraq Insurgency Risks Biggest Source of New OPEC Oil, IEA Says

The Islamist insurgency in Iraq highlights the risks to oil supply from a nation forecast to provide about 60 percent of OPEC’s output growth in the rest of this decade, the International Energy Agency said. Iraqi Oil Minister Abdul Kareem al-Luaibi speculated yesterday that U.S. planes may bomb his nation’s north as militants linked to al-Qaeda, who captured the city of Mosul this week, moved south toward Baghdad . The country’s crude output capacity will increase by more than 1.2 million barrels a day in the six years through 2019, the Paris-based IEA estimated in its monthly oil market report today. “While Iraq’s production potential is huge, so are the political hurdles it is facing – and nothing provides a clearer example of that risk than the military campaign,” the IEA said. “Concerning as the latest events in Iraq may be, they might not for now, if the conflict […]

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IEA Says Iraqi Oil Supplies Aren't at Immediate Risk

The International Energy Agency said Friday Iraqi oil supplies aren’t at immediate risk, though the return of oil exports from the country’s north look increasingly elusive. The oil market has been focused on events in Iraq since Islamist militants seized control of the northern city of Mosul Tuesday. Crude prices shot higher this week, climbing to their highest level since September as news emerged that the militants had made rapid gains across northern Iraq, raising concerns about oil supply. Iraqi oil supply is crucial to meeting growing global oil demand in the coming years, with the IEA predicting roughly 60% of the growth in oil production capacity from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries in the next decade will come from Iraq. However, in its closely watched oil market report, the IEA said that provided the conflict in Iraq doesn’t spread further, it is unlikely […]

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IEA Says Iraqi Oil Supplies Aren’t at Immediate Risk

The International Energy Agency said Friday Iraqi oil supplies aren’t at immediate risk, though the return of oil exports from the country’s north look increasingly elusive. The oil market has been focused on events in Iraq since Islamist militants seized control of the northern city of Mosul Tuesday. Crude prices shot higher this week, climbing to their highest level since September as news emerged that the militants had made rapid gains across northern Iraq, raising concerns about oil supply. Iraqi oil supply is crucial to meeting growing global oil demand in the coming years, with the IEA predicting roughly 60% of the growth in oil production capacity from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries in the next decade will come from Iraq. However, in its closely watched oil market report, the IEA said that provided the conflict in Iraq doesn’t spread further, it is unlikely […]

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Kurdish forces step into security void in disputed Kirkuk

Beaming Kurdish fighters were dropped by the busload on the outskirts of Kirkuk on Thursday, eager to defend a city they say is on its way to becoming part of their autonomous region after the Iraqi army left. “The Iraqi army didn’t argue, they didn’t fight. They left behind their weapons. They didn’t even take their uniforms,” said Tayeb Younis, a young member of the peshmerga, the autonomous Kurdish region’s forces. […]

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Turkey: Baghdad may lose oil row

A Turkish energy official said Thursday any sale of oil from the semiautonomous Kurdish north of Iraq would get consent from international arbiters. United Emblem , the latest tanker to leave the Turkish port of Ceyhan loaded with Kurdish oil, was heading west Thursday toward Sicily. United Leadership , which left the Turkish port in May, is parked off the coast of Morocco. The Iraqi government filed a case against the semiautonomous Kurdish government over the exports, arguing the Kurds had violated the national constitution. A senior official in the Turkish Energy Ministry told Turkish newspaper Daily Sabah the Iraqi central government may lose the case. Ankara is "pretty sure" the courts would rule against Baghdad, he said. The Kurdistan Regional Government last week issued a statement saying its oil policies were "fully in line with the federal constitution of Iraq." Washington said it sided with the central government […]

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New Exxon-Turkey contracts bolster Kurdish export plans

New Exxon-Turkey contracts bolster Kurdish export plans A night view of the rig drilling ExxonMobil’s Maseif-1 well at the Pirmam block in Iraq’s autonomous Kurdistan region. (PATRICK OSGOOD/Iraq Oil Report) This spring, as U.S. diplomats worked to broker a temporary solution to the oil disputes between Iraq’s federal government and the autonomous Kurdistan region, the largest American oil company was quietly making a contrasting pitch. ExxonMobil was in negotiations with the state-owned Turkish Energy Company (TEC), which was keen to take a stake in the super-major’s six exploration contracts in Kurdistan. But the talks weren’t just about the contracts, according to two people involved in the de… 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 .

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Why higher Iran oil exports are not roiling nuclear deal

At first glance, Iran appears to have exported more oil than allowed under a nuclear agreement with major powers, but rather than complaining, U.S. officials argue Tehran is skating just inside the deal’s ambiguous limits. Iran’s higher exports reflect its exploitation of a loophole in U.S. law that allows its customers to buy condensates, a very light oil, without fear of U.S. sanctions. Rising gifts of crude oil to Syria are not covered by the deal. The major powers and Iran resume talks in Vienna on Monday aimed at reaching a comprehensive deal by July 20 for Iran to curtail its nuclear program in exchange for the easing of economic sanctions that have crippled its economy. With officials on all sides saying it will be hard to strike a final deal in the next five weeks, critics argue that whether Iran and its customers are respecting […]

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Iran Says Parties to Nuclear Deal Are 'Far' Apart

A comprehensive nuclear deal between Iran and six major powers is "within reach" but the two sides are still "very far" apart on some issues, Iran’s deputy foreign minister said Thursday. Iran and the six powers—the U.S., the U.K., France, Germany, Russia and China—are seeking to seal a comprehensive nuclear deal by July 20. An agreement would seek to address international concerns about Iran’s nuclear ambitions in exchange for eventually lifting tight sanctions on Tehran. Speaking at the European Council on Foreign Relations event in Rome, Abbas Araghchi, Iran’s deputy foreign minister and pointman in the nuclear talks said "negotiations are now in a very critical stage." "There are still gaps. We need hard work, wisdom and creativity to bridge the gaps," he said. "A deal is within reach." If Iran and the six-power group fail to reach a deal by July 20, they could agree to extend the […]

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Iran Says Parties to Nuclear Deal Are ‘Far’ Apart

A comprehensive nuclear deal between Iran and six major powers is "within reach" but the two sides are still "very far" apart on some issues, Iran’s deputy foreign minister said Thursday. Iran and the six powers—the U.S., the U.K., France, Germany, Russia and China—are seeking to seal a comprehensive nuclear deal by July 20. An agreement would seek to address international concerns about Iran’s nuclear ambitions in exchange for eventually lifting tight sanctions on Tehran. Speaking at the European Council on Foreign Relations event in Rome, Abbas Araghchi, Iran’s deputy foreign minister and pointman in the nuclear talks said "negotiations are now in a very critical stage." "There are still gaps. We need hard work, wisdom and creativity to bridge the gaps," he said. "A deal is within reach." If Iran and the six-power group fail to reach a deal by July 20, they could agree to extend the […]

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Building Nuclear Weapon Would Take Years, Not Months, Iran Says in Report

The Iranian government this week published its first detailed study of how long it estimates it would take its scientists and engineers to assemble a nuclear weapon, saying that with its current infrastructure, “the required time span is in years.” Iran described the estimate as entirely hypothetical, and it was clearly intended to allay fears that Iran has the ability to race for a bomb. Not surprisingly, American officials immediately disputed the conclusions, which contradicted both classified assessments by the United States government and many estimates by outside experts. But the very fact that Iran’s nuclear energy establishment wrote the eight-page report, titled “How Long Would an Iranian ‘Breakout’ Really Take?” was itself notable. Until now, Iran’s public position has been that its program is entirely peaceful and that it has never studied what it would take to amass the fuel for a weapon, which is known […]

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Drug Gangs Attacking With Tanks Block Mexican Shale Boom

e Oil shale drillers in Texas have had to contend with environmental opposition and soaring costs. A few miles south of the border in Mexico, Angel Torrez and co-workers duck gunfire sprayed from drug traffickers. When gunmen pulled up in April in a makeshift tank and riddled the Hotel Asya with bullets, Torrez dropped to the floor. After the attack, the 21-year-old machine operator for Weatherford International Ltd. and his crew of about 30 left town under police escort. Ciudad Mier, in the gas-rich region along the Texas border known as the Burgos Basin, had already become a ghost town after most of its inhabitants had fled following years of bloodshed. “My girlfriend says she doesn’t want me here,” Torrez said as he rested on a bench outside his new hotel […]

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California Warns of Oil-by-Rail While Keeping Data Secret

California ’s government agencies aren’t ready to handle the safety risks accompanying a boom in oil shipments by train, the state said in a report this week. The warning comes even as the most populous U.S. state declines to disclose oil-by-rail data handed over by Burlington Northern Santa Fe on June 9. The railroad company deemed the summary of its oil shipments “sensitive security information” containing trade secrets. It’s only available to public safety agencies until the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services determines whether it’s confidential. “The report is spot on in highlighting the risks of crude-by-rail transport going through heavily populated areas,” Devorah Ancel, a San Francisco-based attorney for Sierra Club, an environmental group, said by telephone. “They need to take it a step further by disclosing this very important information. The fact that not all of it is coming out and that the public is not made […]

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EIA expects oil, gas disruptions from hurricanes

Oil and natural gas disruptions from hurricane activity in the Gulf of Mexico may be much higher than last year, the U.S. Energy Department said Thursday. The Energy Information Administration, the statistical arm of the Energy Department, said its mean estimate is that 12 million barrels of crude oil and 30 billion cubic feet of natural gas could be forced offline during the current hurricane season. That would be three and four times higher than 2013, respectively, if forecasts are accurate. EIA said its estimates are "highly uncertain" given the difficulty in predicting the intensity of storms in the Atlantic. The U.S. National Hurricane Center shows no tropical cyclones in the Atlantic Ocean. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says it expects this year to be mild for named storms. Tropical Storm Karen was the only 2013 storm to effect production in U.S. waters of the Gulf of Mexico. […]

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North Dakota's economy booming

The economy in North Dakota, the state at the heart of the U.S. oil boom, is growing faster than all other states, Gov. Jack Dalrymple said. For the fourth year in a row, the gross domestic product in the state increased 9.7 percent to top all other states. North Dakota oil production is increasing at a rapid pace. Oil production in March, the last full month for which data are available, averaged 977,051 barrels per day, an all-time high. State officials expect production, mostly from the Bakken reserve area, should reach an average 1 million bpd at some point this summer. The state’s mineral resources accounted for 3.6 percent of the GDP growth. Dalrymple said he’d move the state forward in a way that supports strong economic growth. "It’s very encouraging that our continued economic growth stems from nearly every business sector and that no single industry tells the […]

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North Dakota’s economy booming

The economy in North Dakota, the state at the heart of the U.S. oil boom, is growing faster than all other states, Gov. Jack Dalrymple said. For the fourth year in a row, the gross domestic product in the state increased 9.7 percent to top all other states. North Dakota oil production is increasing at a rapid pace. Oil production in March, the last full month for which data are available, averaged 977,051 barrels per day, an all-time high. State officials expect production, mostly from the Bakken reserve area, should reach an average 1 million bpd at some point this summer. The state’s mineral resources accounted for 3.6 percent of the GDP growth. Dalrymple said he’d move the state forward in a way that supports strong economic growth. "It’s very encouraging that our continued economic growth stems from nearly every business sector and that no single industry tells the […]

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Fukushima Fires Up Atomic Industry’s Removal-of-Liability Drive

Japan will introduce legislation this year to ratify a controversial treaty backed by General Electric Co. and other atomic-plant manufacturers seeking protection from damage claims caused by nuclear accidents. The treaty, known as the Convention on Supplementary Compensation for Nuclear Damage or CSC, will encourage experienced U.S. companies to assist in the cleanup and decommissioning at the Fukushima atomic accident site, Japan’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement today. Protection from accident claims is needed because of the dangers and risks that remain at Fukushima, said U.S. Deputy Energy Secretary Daniel Poneman in an interview in Tokyo yesterday. The plant has three melted reactors and thousands of tons of radioactive water. “The important thing is to do everything that we can to facilitate the cleanup and decontamination of the Fukushima site,” Poneman said. The CSC is a means to support U.S. companies in that role, he said. Poneman was […]

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Gulf of Mexico 2014 production shut in by storms seen higher than last year

Graph of shut-in crude oil and natural gas production, as explained in the article text Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Short-Term Energy Outlook, June edition The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is predicting a relatively mild hurricane season , but even a quiet season like last year can lead to disruptions to offshore crude oil and natural gas production in the Gulf of Mexico. EIA recently analyzed the potential for Gulf shut-in production during the upcoming months, given NOAA’s outlook for hurricane activity. EIA’s mean estimate of offshore production outages during the current hurricane season totals 12 million barrels (bbls) of crude oil and 30 billion cubic feet (Bcf) of natural gas, more than three and four times higher than last year, respectively. These estimates are highly uncertain as it is difficult to predict the location and intensity of individual storms. If the actual storm activity in the […]

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War on Coal being waged by Geology and Markets, Not EPA

With the release of the Environmental Protection Agency’s  proposed rules limiting carbon pollution  from the nation’s electricity sector, you’ve no doubt been hearing a lot of industry outrage about “Obama’s War on Coal.” Don’t believe it. Despite the passionate rhetoric from both sides of the climate divide, the proposed rules are very moderate — almost remedial.  The rules  grade the states on a curve , giving each a tailored emissions target meant to be attainable without undue hardship.  For states that have already taken action to curb greenhouse gasses, and have more reductions in the works, they will be easy to meet.   California ,  Oregon, Washington , and  Colorado , are all several steps ahead of the proposed federal requirements — former Colorado Governor Bill Ritter  told Colorado Public Radio  that he expects the state to meet the proposed federal emissions target for 2030 in 2020, a decade ahead […]

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Canadian Oil Sands Projects Continue to Vie for Skilled Talent

Article title More than 98,000 oil sands construction, maintenance and operations jobs will be generated over the next decade, according to a new report “the Oil Sands Construction, Maintenance and Operations Labour Demand Outlook to 2023”. “Accurate labor market information gives us a clear understanding of the workforce issues affecting oil sands development, and helps ensure that $172 billion in wages and salaries continues to generate economic benefits right across this country. This new information helps government and industry make the best possible decisions, and helps Albertans and Canadians make informed choices about their careers,” said Kyle Fawcett, minister of Alberta Jobs, Skills, Training and Labour, in the report. The Labour Demand Outlook report analyzed data and viewed insights from the construction sector, the oil sands sector and government to highlight the need for the construction and oil and gas industries to work together to ensure the supply of […]

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Cheap Oil is Gone Forever

Sixty years ago, a man stood in front of a crowd that had gathered at a small hotel in San Antonio. Minutes before approaching the podium, however, he was quietly ushered off the stage to take an urgent phone call. On the other end of the line was a PR rep for one of the largest oil companies in the world, begging him not to give his speech. Luckily, Dr. Marion King Hubbert wasn’t persuaded. He went on to deliver what was arguably the most important oil prediction since Edwin Drake first drilled a hole into the Pennsylvanian soil in search of salt brine. Essentially, Dr. Hubbert believed there would be a point in time when oil production in the U.S. would peak and begin to decline. Even though his work became the basis for the peak oil theory, far too many people haven’t realized that this isn’t a […]

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Gazprom delays pre-payment scheme for Ukraine

Russian energy company Gazprom said it was delaying a move to force Ukraine to pay in advance for gas because of the intensity of contractual negotiations. Russian President Vladimir Putin this week said he was ready to offer Ukraine a discount on natural gas on a permanent basis. The Ukrainian government had balked on earlier proposals , something Putin said would take the gas relationship to an "absolutely different stage." Gazprom has said it would force Ukraine to pay in advance unless it settles the billions of dollars of debt owed for natural gas deliveries. Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller said Wednesday he was holding off on the pre-payment scheme because of trilateral talks involving members of the European Union. "The Russian side made a move towards continuing talks which have been very intense lately," he said . "The Russian side has decided to postpone the switch to prepayment until […]

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OPEC Update and news from Iraq

The new  OPEC Monthly Oil Market Report just came out with their Crude Only production numbers for May. All data in the OPEC charts are in thousands barrels per day. OPEC 12 There was very little in production changes and no surprises in the May data. Total OPEC production was up 142,000 barrels per day and that was after the April numbers had been revised up by 29,000 bpd. Everyone is concerned about Iraq. Iraq’s April numbers were revised down by 22,000 bpd and May production was up 18,000 above that revised number. Iraqi production stood at 3,331,000 bpd in May but I expect that number will change in June and most definitely in July. Saudi Arabia Of course everyone is concerned about Saudi Arabia. Nothing much happened to Saudi Production in May either. April production was revised up 35,000 bpd and May production was up 32,000 above that. […]

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IEA Investment Report – Stumbling on the Real Story

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 […]

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Crude Rises Ahead of OPEC, EIA Data

Crude-oil futures remained supported in Asia Wednesday amid twin expectations of a fall in crude supplies in the U.S. and the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries keeping its supply quota unchanged. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for delivery in July traded at $104.48 a barrel at 0505 GMT, up $0.13 in the Globex electronic session. July Brent crude on London’s ICE Futures exchange rose $0.22 to $109.74 a barrel. The U.S. Energy Information Administration will publish its closely watched inventory survey, which is due at 1430 GMT. Analysts expect the EIA to report that supplies fell by 1.7 million barrels in the week ended June 6, according to a survey by The Wall Street Journal. Expectations that crude supplies in the U.S. declined in the week to June 6 remains the key fundamental support for prices, Timothy Evans, energy futures specialist at Citigroup, said […]

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OPEC Ministers Agree to Maintain Output Quota

Delegates of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries agreed to roll over the group’s production quota, maintaining the group’s current official production output. The decision comes despite concerns over adequate global supply. Libya has struggled to lift its output amid political turmoil in the country. Meanwhile, global growth—and by extension, oil demand—has been picking up. OPEC, which is holding its semiannual meeting in the Austrian capital, agreed to keep its official output quota at 30 million barrels a day, delegates said. OPEC produces about one in three barrels of the world’s crude. Oil prices had been rising most of Wednesday on the expectation the cartel would keep output steady and amid fresh violence in Iraq. Militants there earlier this week overran one of Iraq’s key cities, Mosul, threatening the security of the country’s northern oil fields. By early afternoon in Europe, benchmark U.S. oil for July delivery was […]

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OPEC can't act alone, minister says

Maintaining stable global oil market conditions isn’t something the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries can do alone, a top delegate said Wednesday. OPEC members met Wednesday in Vienna for a regular conference. Acting Libyan Oil Minister Omar Ali El Shakmak, serving as conference chairman, told delegates market stability was the top focus of member states. The acting minister said the cartel expects world oil demand to increase by 1.1 million barrels per day and keeping markets satiated required a global effort. Market stability, he said, benefits all market players. "To achieve this, though, OPEC cannot stand alone," he said in his address . "It will need the support and contribution of many stakeholders, who must do their part." The 12 OPEC members combine to produce about 40 percent of the world’s crude oil and their exports represent about 60 percent of the international market. An increase in oil production […]

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OPEC can’t act alone, minister says

Maintaining stable global oil market conditions isn’t something the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries can do alone, a top delegate said Wednesday. OPEC members met Wednesday in Vienna for a regular conference. Acting Libyan Oil Minister Omar Ali El Shakmak, serving as conference chairman, told delegates market stability was the top focus of member states. The acting minister said the cartel expects world oil demand to increase by 1.1 million barrels per day and keeping markets satiated required a global effort. Market stability, he said, benefits all market players. "To achieve this, though, OPEC cannot stand alone," he said in his address . "It will need the support and contribution of many stakeholders, who must do their part." The 12 OPEC members combine to produce about 40 percent of the world’s crude oil and their exports represent about 60 percent of the international market. An increase in oil production […]

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Militants Sweeping Toward Baghdad

Sunni militants extended their control over parts of northern and western Iraq on Wednesday as Iraqi government forces crumbled in disarray. The militants overran the city of Tikrit, seized facilities in the strategic oil refining town of Baiji, and threatened an important Shiite shrine in Samarra as they moved south toward Baghdad. The remarkably rapid advance of the Sunni militants, who on Tuesday seized the northern city of Mosul as Iraqi forces fled or surrendered, reflects the spillover of the Sunni insurgency in Syria and the inability of Iraq’s Shiite-led government to pacify the country after American forces departed in 2011 following eight years of war and occupation. By late Wednesday, witnesses in Samarra, 70 miles north of Baghdad, were reporting that the militants, many of them aligned with the radical Islamic State of Iraq and Syria or ISIS, were on the outskirts of the city. They […]

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Iraq forces lacked grit to stop militants taking Mosul

On the streets of Baghdad, Iraq ’s security problems are glaring. On a recent visit, soldiers manning checkpoints could be seen staring off into space. Some chatted on mobile phones as they hurriedly gestured for cars to pass. Others pointed useless but still ubiquitous gadgets at passing cars in hopes of detecting explosives and weapons. The collapse of Iraqi security forces in Mosul has heightened worldwide attention on the grave shortcomings of the country’s national army and police, which melted away and abandoned the country’s second-biggest city after an attack by an insurgent group, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (known as Isis). More On this story IN Iraq “Effective leadership was lacking from the outset in choosing, training and co-ordinating Iraqi army units to stand their ground in one of Iraq’s biggest cities,” says Ahmed al-Attar, of the Delma Institute, an Abu Dhabi research institute. “As […]

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The nightmare emerging in Iraq

Gains by the jihadis are tearing the country apart The ease with which a gang of heavily armed, black-shirted hoodlums, waving the banners of jihad, has overrun Mosul , Iraq’s second city, should send a chill down the spine of the world. The strategic nightmare of a new Afghanistan in the heart of the Middle East just got a lot closer. Mosul, a city of 2m people, has fallen without a fight to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, a cross-border jihadi movement that split from al-Qaeda, judging it too moderate. The event raises the question of whether Iraq can remain a unified nation state for much longer. More On this story On this topic Editorial This latest chapter in Iraq’s tragic regress began last year when a purge of Sunni leaders by the Shia government of Nouri al-Maliki opened the gates to a return of jihadi […]

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Militants step up Iraq attack and take 49 people hostage

Militants from an al-Qaeda splinter group stormed the Turkish consulate in Mosul, Iraq’s second city, on Wednesday and took 49 people hostage. The jihadi group, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (known as Isis), expanded its offensive just 24 hours after taking control of Mosul. The militants pushed south and appeared to have taken over Tikrit, the home town of Iraq’s executed former leader Saddam Hussein. A Turkish official confirmed that the hostages in Mosul included the country’s consul, diplomats, special forces and three children. The official said the hostages had been moved to the jihadis’ headquarters in the city. Hoshyar Zebari, Iraq’s foreign minister, urged his country’s divided political leaders to unite to face what he called a “serious, mortal” threat. Isis’s seizure of Mosul on Tuesday and its continuing offensive underline how Iraq has again been driven to the brink of civil war by political […]

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Islamic gunmen push into Iraq's Sunni heartland

Al-Qaida-inspired militants pushed deeper into Iraq’s Sunni heartland Wednesday, swiftly conquering Saddam Hussein’s hometown of Tikrit as soldiers and security forces abandoned their posts and yielded ground once controlled by U.S. forces. The advance into former insurgent strongholds that had largely been calm before the Americans withdrew less than three years ago is spreading fear that Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, struggling to hold onto power after indecisive elections, will be unable to stop the Islamic militants as they press closer to Baghdad. Fighters from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant militant group took control Tuesday of much of Mosul, sending an estimated half a million fleeing from their homes. As in Tikrit, the Sunni militants were able to move in after police and military forces melted away after relatively brief clashes. The group, which has seized wide swaths of territory, aims to create an […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Islamic gunmen push into Iraq’s Sunni heartland

Al-Qaida-inspired militants pushed deeper into Iraq’s Sunni heartland Wednesday, swiftly conquering Saddam Hussein’s hometown of Tikrit as soldiers and security forces abandoned their posts and yielded ground once controlled by U.S. forces. The advance into former insurgent strongholds that had largely been calm before the Americans withdrew less than three years ago is spreading fear that Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, struggling to hold onto power after indecisive elections, will be unable to stop the Islamic militants as they press closer to Baghdad. Fighters from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant militant group took control Tuesday of much of Mosul, sending an estimated half a million fleeing from their homes. As in Tikrit, the Sunni militants were able to move in after police and military forces melted away after relatively brief clashes. The group, which has seized wide swaths of territory, aims to create an […]

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Iraqi Leaders Urged to Unite to Push Insurgents Out of Mosul

The fall of the major northern Iraqi city of Mosul to insurgents must push the country’s leaders to work together and deal with the "mortal threat" facing Iraq, the country’s foreign minister said Wednesday. Speaking in Athens on the sidelines of a meeting of European Union and Arab League foreign ministers, Hoshyar Zebari said he had assured his colleagues there would be "closer cooperation" between Baghdad and the Kurdistan regional government to push the insurgents out of Mosul. Most of the city was seized Tuesday in a major assault by al-Qaida-inspired militants known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, who took control of government buildings and pushed out security forces as thousands of residents fled. Zebari said it was "dramatic" for a large city like Mosul to fall and the security forces to be overrun, but added he was confident Iraqi security forces, along with […]

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Iraqi insurgent commander is jihad's rising leader

The leader of radical Sunni fighters who have made rapid military advances in Iraq is the rising star of global jihad, driven, Islamist fighters say, by an unbending determination to fight for and establish a hardline Islamic state. Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, commander of the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), now controls large parts of eastern Syria and western Iraq, a vast cross-border haven for militants in the Sunni Muslim core of the Middle East. Despite his power – and a $10 million U.S. reward for information leading to his capture – little is known about a man who for his own survival has shunned the spotlight. Fighters from ISIL and its rivals who spoke to Reuters praised Baghdadi as a strategist who succeeded in exploiting turmoil in Syria and Iraq’s weak central authority after the U.S. military withdrawal to carve out his powerbase. […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Iraqi insurgent commander is jihad’s rising leader

The leader of radical Sunni fighters who have made rapid military advances in Iraq is the rising star of global jihad, driven, Islamist fighters say, by an unbending determination to fight for and establish a hardline Islamic state. Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, commander of the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), now controls large parts of eastern Syria and western Iraq, a vast cross-border haven for militants in the Sunni Muslim core of the Middle East. Despite his power – and a $10 million U.S. reward for information leading to his capture – little is known about a man who for his own survival has shunned the spotlight. Fighters from ISIL and its rivals who spoke to Reuters praised Baghdadi as a strategist who succeeded in exploiting turmoil in Syria and Iraq’s weak central authority after the U.S. military withdrawal to carve out his powerbase. […]

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Fighting in North Iraq to Delay Return of Region Oil Exports

The seizure of Iraq’s second-largest city by militants from a breakaway al-Qaeda group is hobbling the OPEC producer’s effort to fix its main pipeline for crude exports and boost output at one of its biggest oilfields. Fighting in the northern city of Mosul forced a halt in repairs to the main pipeline from Kirkuk to the Mediterranean port of Ceyhan, Turkey , the state-run North Oil Co. said in a statement yesterday. Shipments through the pipeline, a frequent target of sabotage, have stopped since March 2, leaving Iraq with a single outlet, by tanker via the Persian Gulf , for its most lucrative export. The nation’s semi-autonomous Kurds have yet to find buyers for two cargoes they shipped via Turkey. “The Kirkuk pipeline has been out of action for months, and there’s no chance now of starting it up again,” Robin Mills, who works with Iraq as head of […]

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Natural-Gas Prices Drop as Traders Expect Large Addition to Stockpiles

Natural-gas prices slid for a third straight session Wednesday as traders expect stockpile additions to hit an important benchmark. Prices for the front-month July contract settled down 2.2 cents, or 0.5%, to $4.508 a million British thermal units on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It was the lowest closing price for gas in two weeks. Wall Street analysts and brokers on Wednesday predicted the gas producers added 111 billion cubic feet of gas to storage last week. That is 23 bcf larger than the five-year average for that week of the year, and would put stockpiles about on pace to recover from an 11-year low before the peak winter demand season. Producers need to beat average storage additions by 20 bcf to 35 bcf each week for six months in order for power plants and gas utilities to have enough gas on hand next winter, […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple