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Kurdish Forces Seize Control of Two Key Iraqi Oil Fields

Iraq’s Oil Ministry said Friday that Kurdish Peshmerga forces had seized control of production facilities at two key oil fields near the northern city of Kirkuk, in a move that could further worsen already frayed relations between the Kurdistan Regional Government and Baghdad. According to a statement published on the Iraqi oil ministry’s website, Kurdish Peshmerga forces accompanied by a number of civilians took control of the Kirkuk and Bai Hassan oil fields at dawn Friday, expelling employees of Iraq’s central-government controlled North Oil Company. "The ministry strongly warns the Kurdistan region about the seriousness of this irresponsible behavior," the statement said, adding that there could be "serious consequences" if the Kurdish forces didn’t withdraw from the oil fields. Kurdish forces have held control of the disputed and oil-rich town of Kirkuk since insurgents overran the nearby town of Mosul, though until now they have not […]

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Iraqi Kurdistan Oil Output Rose in June

The IEA says Iraqi Kurdistan is pumping around 120,000 barrels a day to the Turkish port of Ceyhan via a pipeline. Here, a worker performs checks at the Turkish oil port. Reuters Oil production from the Kurdistan region of Iraq increased by more than 50% last month, despite violence in the country’s north and as logistical problems at the port of Basra cut exports from the south. The shifting nature of Iraq’s oil sector reflects political developments in the country. In a bid to gain greater independence, the Kurdistan Regional Government has taken advantage of its relative stability to increase oil exports in the past two months, infuriating Baghdad which claims sovereignty over the country’s natural resources. Meanwhile, the federal government is struggling to contend with a Sunni extremist insurgency in the north and west, led by the group that calls itself Islamic State, that has shut the country’s […]

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Kurds take control of more oil

Kurdish forces in northern Iraq are called on to take on terrorist groups rather than seize control of oil operations, the Iraqi Oil Ministry said Friday. Kurdish forces, known as Peshmerga, took control over two key oil facilities in the north of Iraq. The seizure comes after Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki accused Kurds of being on the wrong side of the fight against a growing Sunni insurgency. The Iraqi Oil Ministry said Friday the Kurdish force is called on to "support security forces in confronting terrorist groups rather than using the conditions to raid and occupy oil fields." Already fragile ties between the federal government in Baghdad and the semiautonomous Kurdistan Regional Government have been strained further in the wake of the declaration by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria of a caliphate in parts of northwestern Iraq. ISIS militants declared they took over a refinery in […]

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Iraq Kurds Use Army to Boost Control of Kirkuk Oilfields

Iraq ’s semi-autonomous Kurds increased their control over oil resources in the north of the country after deploying armed forces to the Kirkuk and Bai Hassan oilfields. Kurdish Peshmerga forces took control of the two sites at the country’s fourth-biggest oil field today and ordered workers from Iraq’s state-run North Oil Co. to leave, the Oil Ministry said in an e-mailed statement. The Kurdistan Regional Government said in response that it acted to prevent the central government damaging an oil export pipeline. The Oil Ministry in Baghdad denied the claim. “Given the political context, the Kurds are solidifying their control,” Richard Mallinson, an analyst at consultants Energy Aspects Ltd., said by e-mail from London . “The Kurds have signaled their intentions to start moving Kirkuk oil through their pipeline network,” and this is another step toward making their ambitions a reality, he said. Iraq’s minority Kurds, who historically have […]

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Kurds seize Iraq oilfields, ministers pull out of government

BAGHDAD/KIRKUK (Reuters) – Kurdish forces seized two oilfields in northern Iraq and took over operations from a state-run oil company on Friday, while Kurdish politicians formally suspended their participation in Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki’s government. The moves escalated a feud between the Shi’ite-led central government and the autonomous Kurdish region driven by a Sunni insurgency which threatens to fragment Iraq along sectarian and ethnic lines three years after the withdrawal of U.S. troops. The Kurdish forces took over production facilities at the Bai Hassan and Kirkuk oilfields near the city of Kirkuk, the oil ministry in Baghdad said. It called on the Kurds to withdraw immediately to avoid "dire consequences". Kurdish forces took control of nearby Kirkuk a month ago after Iraqi troops withdrew in the face of a lightning assault by Islamic State militants, who have seized large parts of northern and western Iraq. The two oilfields have […]

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Premier’s CEO Seeks to Top Oil Target, Get Falklands Partner

Premier Oil Plc (PMO) ’s newly appointed Chief Executive Officer Tony Durrant has three immediate priorities to consolidate a share-price gain of more than 20 percent since he took the job this year. He plans to bring onstream the $1.4 billion Solan field located west of Shetland before the end of the year, find a partner to share a $5 billion investment to develop the Sea Lion project off the Falklands, and exceed an oil-production target. Durrant, who was promoted to the top job at the London-based explorer on June 25 after being chief financial officer for about nine years, also aims to double cash flow within five years to about $2 billion a year. “We have to continue to tick the boxes on the things we’ve been doing, continue to restore credibility, keep the production up, beat the guidance,” the CEO said in his first interview since taking […]

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India says it needs more gas pipelines

India’s finance minister said the country needs to double its existing natural gas pipeline infrastructure to diversify the national energy sector. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said the government aims to add another 9,300 miles to the existing network of about 9,300 miles of pipeline crisscrossing the country. "This will help increase the usage of gas, domestic as well as imported, which in the long-term will be beneficial in reducing dependence on any one energy source," he said Thursday. The government in April said it expected natural gas demand to more than double by the beginning of the next decade. According to the terms of a five-year energy plan , the Indian government has said it wants to add at least one transnational pipeline to the midstream sector from either Iran, Oman or Central Asia. The minister said the pipeline expansions could come through a mix of public- and private-sector […]

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Ailing Shale Gas Returns Force a 'Drilling Treadmill'

After studying production data from 65,000 wells from 31 different unconventional shale rock formations in 2012, David Hughes predicted big trouble ahead for North America’s unconventional hydrocarbon revolution. The prominent geologist, who has studied Canada’s energy resources for four decades, warned that shale gas and tight oil operations shared four big challenges: escalating capital costs, uneven performance and a growing environmental footprint, all followed by rapid depletion. "Shale gas can continue to grow, but only at higher prices and that growth will require an ever escalating drilling treadmill with associated collateral financial and environmental costs — and its long term sustainability is highly questionable," predicted Hughes just two years ago. Recent economic data on the industry from Bloomberg, Energy Analyst and even the International Energy Agency shows that Hughes was bang on. The tough economic news on shale, a dense rock that lies two to three kilometres underground, comes […]

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Ailing Shale Gas Returns Force a ‘Drilling Treadmill’

After studying production data from 65,000 wells from 31 different unconventional shale rock formations in 2012, David Hughes predicted big trouble ahead for North America’s unconventional hydrocarbon revolution. The prominent geologist, who has studied Canada’s energy resources for four decades, warned that shale gas and tight oil operations shared four big challenges: escalating capital costs, uneven performance and a growing environmental footprint, all followed by rapid depletion. "Shale gas can continue to grow, but only at higher prices and that growth will require an ever escalating drilling treadmill with associated collateral financial and environmental costs — and its long term sustainability is highly questionable," predicted Hughes just two years ago. Recent economic data on the industry from Bloomberg, Energy Analyst and even the International Energy Agency shows that Hughes was bang on. The tough economic news on shale, a dense rock that lies two to three kilometres underground, comes […]

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RRC: Energy Companies Reducing Water Use, Leading Conservation Efforts

Amid continued drought-like conditions across much of Texas, the state’s oil and gas industry is turning out to be an unlikely leader in the area of water conservation, wrote Christi Craddick, a commissioner at the Railroad Commission of Texas (RRC), in a June 26 article. The praise comes just over a year after a study by California-based CERES indicating that nearly 47 percent of wells were in water basins that were under stress from droughts. The fact that the oil and gas industry is helping to solve the water crisis might at first seem counter-intuitive, given the industry’s reliance of water for hydraulic fracturing in shale formations in a number of states across the country. However, those within the industry realize there is much to be gained from using as little water as possible in fracking operations. The amount of water used in oil and gas and mining operations […]

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Baker Hughes: US drilling rig count inches up to 1,875

07/11/2014 The US drilling rig count reflected another uneventful week, again edging up only 1 unit to reach 1,875 rigs working during the week ended July 11, Baker Hughes Inc. reported. Meanwhile, the average US rig count for June, released earlier this week, totaled 1,861 units, 2 more than 1,859 in May and 100 more than 1,761 in June 2013. The US onshore well count for the second quarter totaled 9,394 wells, up 428 compared with the first quarter. Compared with last year’s second quarter, the well count was up 383. Offshore rigs gained 2 units to 56, which was halved by a 1-unit loss in land rigs to 1,801. Rigs drilling in inland waters were unchanged from a week ago at 18. Oil rigs edged up a unit to 1,563 while gas rigs, at 311, and rigs considered unclassified, at 1, were unchanged. Horizontal drilling rigs climbed 8 […]

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Baker Hughes: U.S. well count hits 9,394

Activity in shale basins in Texas helped push the U.S. onshore well count above 9,000 for the second quarter, oil service company Baker Hughes Inc. said Friday. Baker Hughes said the U.S. onshore rig count for the second quarter was 9,394, up 428 compared to the first quarter. The oil services company said the well count was boosted by increased activity in the Permian and Granite Wash shale basins in Texas, which saw 11 percent and 23 percent increases in well counts from the first quarter, respectively. Baker Hughes explains its well count provides an indication of where companies are working most in the country. Permian is one of the premier shale basins in the country and has helped Texas maintain its top position among oil-producing states. Baker Hughes published a monthly report on global rig counts Thursday, reflecting the number of rigs actively exploring for oil or natural […]

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Crumbling Roads in Oil Fields Slow U.S. Energy Boom

The road to U.S. energy security is often unpaved. In southern Texas and North Dakota , where shale drilling has propelled U.S. oil production to the highest level in 28 years, thousands of 18-wheel trucks are rumbling to wells on roads designed decades ago for farmers to bring crops to markets. Road closures have slowed output, with diverted traffic increasing accidents, as Texas seeks $1 billion to maintain roads in the oil belt. With the U.S. projected to be energy self-sufficient by 2030, according to BP Plc (BP/) , crumbling highways may threaten billions of dollars of investment in the oil patch. Because more wells are being drilled using hydraulic fracturing, there’s greater need for truckloads of water, sand and chemicals, as well as steel structures used in the process in fields often miles from major roads. “If you drive a cattle truck one or two times a year, […]

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Greenpeace takes another swipe at LEGO

Greenpeace said it was calling on LEGO to review its relationship with Royal Dutch Shell because of the oil company’s environmental legacy. "We’re asking LEGO to square the circle between its values and the companies it chooses to endorse," James Turner , a spokesman for Greenpeace International’s Arctic campaign, said in a statement . Greenpeace last week published a 15-page pamphlet expressing concern over a decision by LEGO to put Shell images on toys available at service stations operated by the energy company. The advocacy group said Shell is building brand loyalty with the next generation of consumers, business leaders and politicians. In a July 1 response, LEGO said it was being used as a scapegoat for Shell’s operations in the arctic. "We firmly believe that this matter must be handled between Shell and Greenpeace," the company said . "We are saddened when the LEGO brand is used as […]

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North Sea Maintenance Means August Crude-Oil Loadings to Fall 24%

The amount of crude oil due to be pumped from the North Sea fields will by 24% in August, field maintenance takes out swathes of production. The big change comes in the amount of Forties crude to be loaded, according to provisional loading programs seen by The Wall Street Journal. The Buzzard oil field, where Forties is produced and which is the U.K.’s biggest contributor to oil production, will be out of action for two weeks for scheduled maintenance work. Only four cargoes of Forties will be loaded in August, compared with 19 in July. Other grades will increase loadings to compensate. There will be seven Brent cargoes in August, up from six in July, and seven of Oseberg, also up from six. Ekofisk will load 17 cargoes in August compared with 15 in July. Loading programs are released and circulated among oil traders […]

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OPEC Update also Moscow Confirms Russian Oil Production in Decline

OPEC has just published their latest Monthly Oil Market Report with the June production numbers. All data is in thousand barrels per day and is Crude Only. OPEC 12 All revisions in the May data were minor. The June OPEC Crude Only production was down 80,000 bp/d from May. The big story in June was the invasion or Iraq. It has has only minor effect on production. Iraqi production was down 169,000 bp/d in June. Saudi Arabia OPEC’s largest produce and the World’s largest exporter, Saudi Arabia, increased Crude production by 48,000 bp/d in June. There has been very little change in Saudi production in the last nine months. All other OPEC producers had very little change from May to June. Charts of all 12 OPEC nations can be found on the   OPEC Charts   page. The big story this month comes from Russia. JODI Russia The JODI […]

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WTI Set for Third Weekly Drop as Supply Risks Ease

West Texas Intermediate headed for a third weekly drop as supply risks ease in Iraq and Libya while crude inventories expand where U.S. crude is stored. Brent declined in London . Futures slid as much as 0.5 percent in New York and are poised for the longest run of declines since November. Libya’s supply gained as the Sharara field resumed production and two oil-export terminals reopened. Fighting in Iraq, the second-largest OPEC member, hasn’t spread to the country’s south, home to three-quarters of its output. Crude stockpiles at Cushing, Oklahoma, rose the most since January, the Energy Information Administration reported on July 9. “Recent news that Libya will resume the export from two major terminals have removed parts of the risk premium ,” Thina Saltvedt, an analyst at Oslo-based Nordea Markets, said by e-mail. “And no news that the fighting in Iraq is spreading to the southern oil rich areas […]

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Oil price sheds gains as supply worries ease

The price of oil began to fall again on Friday, giving up most of the gains it had made the previous day in the first rally in two weeks. Benchmark U.S. crude for August delivery was down 54 cents to $102.37 a barrel at 0815 GMT in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract closed up 64 cents at $102.93 a barrel on Thursday. Oil prices shot up in the last month to a 10-month high over concerns that strife in Iraq might disrupt supplies. However, they have since been easing back down as al-Qaida inspired militants’ gains in Iraq did not affect oil exporters. Also putting downward pressure on prices is the prospect of a sudden return of Libyan oil to the global market. Libyan exports have been all but cut off over the last several months because of labor and political strife that has […]

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Natural-Gas Prices Drop on Greater-than-Expected Surplus

By Timothy Puko Natural-gas futures closed at a six-month low Thursday after a weekly stockpile report showed a greater surplus than expected. Prices for the front-month August contract settled down five cents, or 1.2%, to $4.12 per million British thermal units on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It was a fourth-straight declining session, part of a month of losses that cut prices by 13.5% since June 12. Producers added 93 billion cubic feet of gas to storage for the week ended July 4, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said. The addition was 1 billion cubic feet larger than what analysts and traders had expected and 21 billion cubit feet larger than the five-year average addition for that week of the year. Beating the five-year average addition is an important measure of progress. Producers need to beat average storage additions by 20 to 35 billion cubic feet each week for […]

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Medium-Term Oil Market Report 2014

Oil futures surged in mid-June by $5/bbl to a nine-month high of more than $115/bbl for Brent as Islamist forces gained ground in Iraq, but later reversed their gains on confidence that Baghdad’s southern fields would remain untouched and improved prospects for a recovery in Libyan exports. Brent last traded at $108/bbl, WTI at $102/bbl. OPEC supplies were virtually unchanged in June at 30.03 mb/d, as lower Iraqi production offset gains in Saudi Arabia, Iran, Nigeria and Angola. The ‘call’ on OPEC for 2H14 was cut by 350 kb/d to 30.6 mb/d on improved non-OPEC supply and lower demand, and is forecast to dip to 29.8 mb/d in 2015 from 29.9 mb/d in 2014. Non-OPEC supply is forecast to grow by 1.2 mb/d in 2015, down slightly on 2013 and 2014 forecast […]

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Oil Demand Seen by IEA Rising Fastest Since ’10 on China

Global oil demand will rise at the fastest pace in five years in 2015 as China leads gains in emerging economies, the International Energy Agency said. World oil consumption will increase next year by 1.4 million barrels a day, the agency said in its first monthly report to assess 2015. The rate of growth will be the fastest since 2010. It’s also higher than a projected increase of 1.2 million a day in supplies from outside the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, the agency said. Demand growth will be led by China and other countries outside the 34-member Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development. While prices have retreated in the past month as threats to supplies in Libya and Iraq abate, they remain “historically high and there is no sign of a turning of the tide just yet,” according to the report. “The global economy is still expected to […]

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Prepare for Oil to Keep Falling on Libya to U.S. Supply

New U.S. pipelines and a revival in Libyan supply are increasing the likelihood that oil prices will slump through year-end after climbing in the first six months. Wall Street analysts tracked by Bloomberg predict West Texas Intermediate oil will average $100 a barrel in the fourth quarter, down 5.1 percent from June 30, while Brent drops 4.8 percent to $107. Violence in Iraq sent Brent to $115.71 in June, its highest level since September, on concern supplies would be disrupted. Brent is poised to decline in part on increased output in Libya as key export terminals were reopened. In the U.S., traders are focused on supplies at Cushing, Oklahoma , the delivery point for the WTI futures contract. Tallgrass Energy Partners LP plans to complete the conversion of the Pony Express pipeline to carry crude to Cushing from Wyoming . Enbridge Inc.’s Flanagan South will connect to the hub […]

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IEA Warns Little Room for Complacency in Oil Markets in 2015

Geopolitical tensions and the shaky economic recovery means there is little room for complacency in oil market in the next 12 months, the International Energy Agency warned Friday. In its closely watched monthly oil market report, the Paris-based energy watchdog forecast rising demand growth and a steady increase in supply from non-Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries for 2015. It said global demand for oil will accelerate to 1.4 million barrels a day from 1.2 million barrels a day this year, while oil supply from outside OPEC will increase by around 1.2 million barrels a day, continuing the trend of robust non-OPEC production. However, the IEA warned that the risks associated with its 2015 demand forecast are "particularly high" due to the uncertain global economic recovery and geopolitical tensions in a host of countries, including Iraq, Libya, Nigeria and Venezuela, are adding to the macroeconomic uncertainties. The same political […]

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OPEC Sees U.S. Fueling Acceleration in Global Oil Demand Next Year

Rising U.S. oil consumption will reverse a four-year demand decline in rich nations and drive a pick up world-wide next year, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries said Thursday. The assessment–the first given for 2015 by the oil producers’ group–shows the U.S. is scooping more of its own oil amid a production boom just as OPEC’s role continues to decrease. In its monthly oil market report, OPEC said global oil demand growth will pick up next year amid robust economic growth. World consumption will increase by 1.21 million barrels a day in 2015, compared with a rise of 1.13 million barrels a day this year, the group said. Oil consumption has recently been falling in most industrialized nations due to fuel-conservation measures and economic woes. But in 2015, the accelerating demand growth will be partly driven by an increase in oil demand in industrialized nations […]

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Iraq Crude Exports to Rebound in July Amid Unrest: IEA

Iraq should boost southern crude exports this month even after an armed insurgency disrupted the nation’s northern oil operations, according to the International Energy Agency. Shipments from Iraq’s southern region should recover this month to about 2.6 million barrels a day, compared with 2.42 million in June, barring technical problems, the Paris-based IEA said today. The increase will come from oil in storage tanks at Fao and added capacity from the West Qurna 2 and Majnoon fields. Production from the northern Kurdistan region surged last month even as the conflict escalated, the IEA said. “Iraq’s southern oil fields have so far remained untouched by the violence sweeping through the north and west,” the IEA said in its monthly oil market report. “The risk remains that militants will target the region’s vital infrastructure and cause a substantial or lengthy disruption.” Iraqi crude production fell to 3.17 million barrels a day […]

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Iran's Oil Exports Dropped to Lowest Level Since October, Says Watchdog

Iran’s oil exports dropped to their lowest level since October but are still set to narrowly surpass an agreed cap at the end of the month, data released by a top energy watchdog showed Friday. An interim nuclear agreement between Iran and six world powers requires the Islamic Republic to keep its crude exports at 1 million barrels a day on average over the six months ending July 20. In its monthly oil-market report, the International Energy Agency—which advises industrialized nations on oil policies—said Iran’s oil exports, including crude and condensates, had fallen by 26% in June to 1.08 million barrels a day amid sharp cuts by its two largest Asian buyers. That low level had not been reached since October when it stood at 715,000 barrels a day, according to previous IEA data. China has cut its Iranian oil imports by 36% in just two months to 510,000 […]

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Iran’s Oil Exports Dropped to Lowest Level Since October, Says Watchdog

Iran’s oil exports dropped to their lowest level since October but are still set to narrowly surpass an agreed cap at the end of the month, data released by a top energy watchdog showed Friday. An interim nuclear agreement between Iran and six world powers requires the Islamic Republic to keep its crude exports at 1 million barrels a day on average over the six months ending July 20. In its monthly oil-market report, the International Energy Agency—which advises industrialized nations on oil policies—said Iran’s oil exports, including crude and condensates, had fallen by 26% in June to 1.08 million barrels a day amid sharp cuts by its two largest Asian buyers. That low level had not been reached since October when it stood at 715,000 barrels a day, according to previous IEA data. China has cut its Iranian oil imports by 36% in just two months to 510,000 […]

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Kerry to Join Iran Nuclear Talks

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and other foreign ministers from the six-power group negotiating a final nuclear agreement with Iran will join the talks in Vienna this weekend, officials confirmed late Thursday. Michael Mann, the spokesman for European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, chairwoman of the six-power group, said on Twitter that she had invited foreign ministers "who are available to come to Vienna on Sunday to take stock of where we are in talks." A Western diplomat said some of the foreign ministers will likely start arriving on Saturday as Iran and the six powers try to forge a comprehensive nuclear deal by a July 20 deadline. The diplomat said it isn’t yet clear whether all the ministers will be able to come in person. However, State Department deputy spokeswoman Marie Harf confirmed that Mr. Kerry would join the negotiations, which will include Iranian Foreign Minister […]

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KRG takes Kirkuk, Bai Hassan fields

KRG takes Kirkuk, Bai Hassan fields The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has dispatched its armed forces and civilian staff to take over nearly the entire North Oil Company (NOC) early Friday, telling workers they are now in charge of the Kirkuk, Bai Hassan and other fields with nearly 500,000 barrels per day (bpd) of production capacity.The mobilization of Kurdish Peshmerga soldiers and civilian oil engineers comes after the Oil Ministry demanded NOC workers dismantle the valves of a KRG-installed pipeline connecting KRG-c… 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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Kurds threaten legal action over oil sales

The Kurdish government of Iraq said it may take legal action against any entity buying oil from the federal government because of constitutional issues. The semiautonomous Kurdistan Regional Government of Iraq said it’s entitled under provisions in the national constitution to 17 percent of all oil sales made by the federal government. "The federal Oil Ministry and State Organization for Marketing of Oil continue to sell and to seek to sell oil, gas and other petroleum products to third parties, and to retain the full proceeds of such sales, all in violation of the KRG’s express constitutional and legal rights, and without the participation or approval of the KRG," the Kurdish government said in a statement Wednesday. Because the federal government isn’t sharing revenue, the Kurdish government said buyers are also complicit in the violations and therefore may be subject to legal action. The Kurdish government has sent several […]

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Chesapeake Faces Trial On Bid-Rigging In Michigan Lease Sale

A judge in Michigan has ruled that Oklahoma-based Chesapeake Energy Corp must face a criminal trial on a charge of bid-rigging with competitor Encana Corp at a 2010 state land lease auction, citing evidence of a conspiracy between the companies that drove state lease prices down sharply. The ruling, issued on Wednesday by Judge Maria Barton of Michigan’s Cheboygan County District Court, dismissed two other criminal charges brought against Chesapeake by the office of Michigan’s Attorney General. The two other charges alleged that the company struck a deal with Encana to avoid competing for land leases from private landowners in Michigan, and had attempted antitrust violations against those landowners. "The direct and circumstantial evidence established that the parties did in fact strike an agreement to bid-rig the State sale," Barton’s ruling says. It cites evidence including an email sent by Encana USA Chief […]

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Turkey reviews options for shale gas

Turkey is interested in exploring its shale natural gas potential through a possible joint venture with U.S. energy company Exxon Mobil, an official said. The Turkish national oil and gas company, known by its Turkish initials TPAO, is in talks to form a joint venture with Exxon to explore shale gas. The Platts energy news service said Wednesday it was told by ministry officials in Ankara the work would extend to potential reserves in far western and southeast Turkey. TPAO and Shell started hydraulic fracturing operations in the Dadas shale basin in southeast Turkey in 2012. Dadas is one of two shale basins in Turkey. Combined with the Thrace basin in western Turkey, the country has an estimated 162 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. Analysis from Turkish daily newspaper Today’s Zaman in January said the "only reliable" source of information about the country’s shale gas potential comes from […]

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Exxon Fights Over Fracking With Pennsylvania Attorney General

Pennsylvania has filed charges against Exxon unit XTO Energy. Pictured, an XTO operation in the state. Corbis Exxon Mobil Corp. is fighting criminal charges over a wastewater spill in Pennsylvania with an unusual defense, contending that the state’s attorney general improperly singled the company out in an effort to stop hydraulic fracturing. Attorney General Kathleen Kane fired back on Wednesday in a court filing that calls the company’s claims "nothing more than weak attempts to obfuscate the truth." Prosecutors say Exxon subsidiary XTO Energy Inc. is criminally liable for a big leak of water that had been used in fracking in north-central Pennsylvania in 2010. The case involves the first criminal charges filed against a public company drilling in Pennsylvania’s Marcellus Shale. A spokeswoman for the attorney general said the state has convicted more than 800 individuals and companies of environmental crimes. "No single industry has been targeted," said […]

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EIA projections show hydro growth limited by economics not resources

U.S. Energy Information Administration, EIA-860, and the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) Note: Capacity values prior to 1989 are estimates. Existing capacity includes conventional hydroelectric and pumped storage. New stream-reach developments are stream segments without an existing dam. Expansions add power to existing dams. Some expansions are included in the Annual Energy Outlook 2014 projections. A recent study conducted by Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) for the U.S. Department of Energy, the New Stream-reach Development Resource Assessment , finds that 61 gigawatts (GW) of hydroelectric power potential exists at waterways without existing dams or diversion facilities. This value excludes Alaska, Hawaii, and federally protected lands. ORNL’s hydropower resource estimates contrast with the 2 GW of additional hydropower capacity projected to be added through 2040 in EIA’s latest Annual Energy Outlook (AEO2014) Reference case. The difference in the […]

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Global Oil Exploration Nears $1 Trillion – Where Are The Finds?

Two years ago Total’s chief Christophe de Margerie launched a "high risk, high reward" oil exploration strategy, betting he could hit a bonanza, even though his rivals had failed to make big discoveries. But Total risks joining the industry trend of making only smaller and fewer finds, despite global investments in oil exploration heading to a record $1 trillion by 2017. This week, Margerie told Reuters he gives himself until the year-end to find a major deposit or cut the exploration budget next year following several disappointing drilling campaigns. Top players are struggling to find enough conventional oil. Majors are caught between growing pressure from investors to cut spending and boost profits and the increasingly costly need to replace declining onshore and offshore reserves. "Over the last 10 years the rate of return from exploration has diminished with time," said Andrew Lodge, […]

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World Sets New Oil Production and Consumption Records

Last month BP (NYSE: BP) released the  Statistical Review of World Energy 2014 . This report is one of the most comprehensive sources of global and country level statistics on production and consumption of oil, natural gas, coal, nuclear power and renewables. Right after the release of the report, I wrote a short post discussing the highlights. Today I will take a deeper dive into oil production and consumption figures. In coming weeks, I will delve into the rest of the report. Oil Production First a note about BP’s definitions. “Oil” in the BP Statistical Review (BPSR) is defined as ”crude oil, tight oil, oil sands and natural gas liquids”, but excludes biofuels and liquid fuels produced from coal or natural gas. Consumption numbers do include all liquid fuels, so consumption numbers are always greater than production numbers, but this is merely an artifact of BP’s definitions. Global oil production advanced […]

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Brent Erases Iraq Rally With Price Below When Mosul Taken

Brent crude fell the most in more than two months, reversing a rally that started when Islamist militants seized the northern Iraqi city of Mosul almost a month ago. West Texas Intermediate also declined. The Islamic State, a splinter group of al-Qaeda, has taken control of provinces in northwestern Iraq after seizing Mosul on June 10. The insurgency hasn’t spread to Iraq’s south, the source of more than three-quarters of its oil output. Brent’s premium over WTI narrowed to a one-month low on expectations U.S. crude inventories decreased last week. “We still haven’t had supply disruption in Iraq,” said Gene McGillian , an analyst and broker at Tradition Energy in Stamford , Connecticut . “The market has erased the Iraqi part of the rally, but geopolitical risk is still a concern. WTI is a little bit more supported because of the expectation that we will see another drop in […]

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WTI Declines in Record Losing Run on Gasoline Supplies

West Texas Intermediate fell for a 10th day, the longest losing streak on record, after government data showed U.S. gasoline stockpiles expanded amid reduced demand in the world’s biggest oil user. Brent dropped in London . Futures declined as much as 0.6 percent in New York . Gasoline inventories increased by 579,000 barrels last week as a measure of consumption slid, the Energy Information Administration reported. Brent closed at a two-month low yesterday amid signs that Libya, the holder of Africa ’s largest crude reserves, will boost exports, while Iraqi production remains unaffected by an insurgency. “It’s drive time but we’re not really seeing a gain in consumption,” said Jonathan Barratt , the chief investment officer at Ayers Alliance Securities in Sydney who predicts investors may buy WTI contracts if prices fall to about $100 a barrel. “That might be the nail in the coffin for prices. The geopolitical […]

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NYMEX crude settles at five-week low as fuel demand sinks, Libya restarts output

NYMEX August crude settled Wednesday at its lowest level in five weeks, down $1.11 at $102.29/barrel, as a dip in US gasoline demand and the restart of a major Libyan oil field weighed on the complex. ICE August Brent settled 66 cents lower at $108.28/b, also a five-week low. Front-month Brent has retraced all of its gains made since reaching a nine-month high on June 19 and flipped into a 12 cents/gal contango on Tuesday. The contango rose to 19 cents/gal at Wednesday’s settle. In products, NYMEX August RBOB settled 3.52 cents lower at $2.9377/gal. The contract traded to its lowest level in five weeks at $2.9350/gal during the session. August ULSD settled 25 points lower at $2.8711/gal. Article continues below… Oilgram Price Report Oilgram Price Report is a daily report that covers market changes, market fundamentals and factors driving prices. Oilgram Price Report also brings a vast array […]

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Natural-Gas Prices Close at a Six-Month Low for Third-Straight Session

Natural-gas prices closed at a new six-month low for a third-straight session as cooler-than-normal forecasts continue to raise hopes for more large surpluses. Prices for the front-month August contract settled down 3.4 cents, or 0.8%, to $4.17 a million British thermal units on the New York Mercantile Exchange. That is the lowest closing price since gas landed at $4.053/mmBtu on Jan. 10. Weather forecasts suggest consumers won’t be running air conditioners as much as they usually do, dampening demand for electricity and the gas that fuels it. Forecasts for a week and two weeks out show cooler-than-average temperatures spreading across the Midwest, with some spots as much as 15 degrees Fahrenheit cooler than normal next week, according to MDA Weather Services. "If we don’t have sustained cooling demands across the major gas-consuming regions of the country, then the production is just going […]

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Industry watchers cautious on Libyan oil rebound

Energy industry watchers said Wednesday optimism over the rebound of Libyan oil production should be tempered. Forecasts of the potential in Libya’s oil sector have waxed and waned since the end of civil war in 2011. The country has yet to pass its pre-war peak of 1.4 million barrels per day and early 2014 output had plummeted to well below 500,000 bpd. The National Oil Co. said late Tuesday production from the giant El-Sharara field had resumed. It has a capacity for 340,000 bpd, but an unidentified industry source told the Platts energy reporting agency it was too early to declare recovery. "It was down for a long time," the source said . "It will not be at full capacity for weeks, or even months." The pipeline connecting the field to export terminals has been blocked off by protests for most of the year. In April, the Libyan government […]

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Fifty-three blindfolded bodies found in Iraq as political leaders bicker

Iraqi security forces found 53 corpses, blindfolded and handcuffed, south of Baghdad on Wednesday as Shi’ite and Kurdish leaders traded accusations over an Islamist insurgency raging in the country’s Sunni provinces. Officials said dozens of bodies were discovered near the mainly Shi’ite Muslim village of Khamissiya, with bullets to the chest and head, the latest mass killing since Sunni insurgents swept through northern Iraq. "Fifty-three unidentified corpses were found, all of them blindfolded and handcuffed," Sadeq Madloul, governor of the mainly Shi’ite southern province of Babil, told reporters. He said the victims appeared to have been killed overnight after being brought by car to an area near the main highway running from Baghdad to the southern provinces, about 25 km (15 miles) southeast of the city of Hilla. The identity and sectarian affiliation of the dead people was not immediately clear, he said. Sunni militants […]

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Iraq oil exports drop in June

Iraq oil exports drop in June Oil exports from Iraq averaged 2.423 million barrels per day (bpd) in June, a 157,000 bpd decline from May averages and the lowest since March, when the Iraq-Turkey Pipeline (ITP) was taken offline by insurgents.For the past four months Iraq has only been able to export from the Basra Gulf, via the al-Basra and Khor al-Amaya oil terminals (ABOT and KAAOT) and the three single point mooring (SPM) buoys, as violence in the north kept the Turkey pipeline shut and cut off the tanker trade by roa… 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 .

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Iraq says oil sector secure

The Iraqi Ministry of Oil said Wednesday it was dedicated to providing a safe environment for international companies working in the oil sector. Sunni-led militants have declared an Islamist state in part of northwestern Iraq and have threatened to push south into the predominately Shiite areas of the country. Iraqi Oil Minister Abdul Karim Luaibi said the government was dedicated to supplying the ideal safe environment for international companies working in Iraq. "Work in oil refining facilities and oil fields is normal and the ministry has supplied the extra protection needed for those locations by coordinating with security authorities and energy officials," he said in a statement . The U.S. Energy Information Administration said violence in Iraq has not reduced the availability of Iraqi oil on the global export market. Nevertheless, EIA said there was a degree of uncertainty in the Iraqi oil sector because of the Sunni insurgency. […]

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Iraq's Kurds announce boycott of government

Iraq’s Kurdish political bloc says it is pulling its ministers from the Cabinet and suspending its participation in the government of embattled Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. The announcement comes a day after al-Maliki accused the largely autonomous Kurdish region in northern Iraq of harboring the Sunni militants who have overrun much of the country. The prime minister provided no evidence, and the Kurds denied the allegations. Deputy Prime Minister Roz Nouri Shawez, the highest level Kurdish official in the government, told reporters Thursday that "such statements are meant to hide the big security fiasco by blaming others, and we announce our boycott of Cabinet meetings." Kurds also hold the minister posts for foreign affairs, trade, health and immigration and displacement. It was unclear what immediate impact the decision would have.

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Iraq’s Kurds announce boycott of government

Iraq’s Kurdish political bloc says it is pulling its ministers from the Cabinet and suspending its participation in the government of embattled Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. The announcement comes a day after al-Maliki accused the largely autonomous Kurdish region in northern Iraq of harboring the Sunni militants who have overrun much of the country. The prime minister provided no evidence, and the Kurds denied the allegations. Deputy Prime Minister Roz Nouri Shawez, the highest level Kurdish official in the government, told reporters Thursday that "such statements are meant to hide the big security fiasco by blaming others, and we announce our boycott of Cabinet meetings." Kurds also hold the minister posts for foreign affairs, trade, health and immigration and displacement. It was unclear what immediate impact the decision would have.

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Oil Futures Slide as Libya Boosts Oil Production

Crude-oil futures extended their sell-off in Asian trading hours Thursday as Libya’s oil output ramped up, and after Chinese oil imports in June fell from a month earlier. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for delivery in August traded at $101.75 a barrel at 0555 GMT, down $0.54 in the Globex electronic session. August Brent crude on London’s ICE Futures exchange fell $0.13 to $108.15 a barrel. Libya’s largest oil field Sharara is ramping up production much faster than expected and is almost at two-thirds of its output capacity, a manager at the field said Wednesday. Overnight, U.S. Energy Information Administration data showed oil stockpiles fell by 2.4 million barrels last week. But a 600,000-barrel increase in gasoline stocks during the summer driving season was bearish for oil prices. The build in U.S. gasoline stocks was mainly due to lower demand, which […]

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Foreign Ministers to Join Iran Nuclear Talks

Foreign ministers from the six-power group negotiating a final nuclear agreement with Iran will step into talks in Vienna this week in an effort to break a stalemate and salvage a deal by a July 20 deadline. The decision to bring ministers into the talks comes a week into what was supposed to be the final round of negotiations, with western diplomats saying progress has been painfully slow. While no official plans have been announced, three diplomats said foreign ministers could arrive in Vienna as early as Friday. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, who is currently in Asia, could come to Vienna over the weekend, two officials said. As the pressure builds, signs of strains have emerged within the six-power group, with French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius on Tuesday citing growing differences with Moscow over the talks. Since July 2, negotiations have gone on around the clock in […]

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Iran reviews gas relationship with Russia

Iran’s deputy minister for gas affairs said Wednesday he was expecting Russia to start investing in the Iranian natural gas industry. Deputy Minister for Gas Affairs Hamid-Reza Araqi said Russian companies may be interested in building natural gas pipelines in Iran. Both sides, he said , "are determined to boost their cooperation" in the gas industry. Iranian and Russian officials met in April to discuss upgrading Iran’s power plants and electrical transmission lines. The U.S. State Department has said direct energy cooperation between Iran and Russia "would be of concern." Iran is under pressure for its controversial nuclear program, while the U.S. government and its allies have expressed frustration with Russia’s stance on geopolitical issues in Syria and Ukraine. Both sides already work together in the nuclear sector, with Russia supplying fuel for Iran’s Bushehr nuclear facility. Iran last year said it would to bring more foreign investors into […]

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