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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 […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple