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Egypt Would Approve BG’s Israel Gas Deal If Local Demand is Met

Egypt is willing to approve a potential deal allowing BG Group PLC to import natural gas from Israel for its local facility if the parties involved agree to help meet the country’s domestic demand at a reasonable price, officials familiar with the matter said Monday. "Things are different in Egypt now and we see no issue in this deal if it is beneficial for the country," a senior oil official told The Wall Street Journal, referring to the recent change in government in Egypt that saw Abdel Fattah Al Sisi elected president. "We will give our approval on the deal if some of the gas is fed to the domestic market and is reasonably priced," the official said. The partners in Israel’s giant Leviathan natural gas field said last month they had signed a preliminary agreement with BG Group, a British oil and gas company, to […]

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China, US differ on global plan to cut emissions

BEIJING (AP) — China and the United States took small steps toward their shared goal of fighting climate change on Wednesday, but the world’s No. 1 and No. 2 carbon emitters remain significantly apart over a wider global plan to cut emissions. China’s chief climate official Xie Zhenhua said China should not be subject to the same rules for greenhouse gas emissions as the United States and other rich countries, signaling that Beijing will oppose any attempt to impose them at next year’s world climate conference. "We are in different development stages, we have different historical responsibilities and we have different capacities," Xie told reporters. The U.S. special envoy Todd Stern said Washington favors every country deciding what it is capable of doing, instead of being categorized either as a developed country or a developing country in deciding how much a country should contribute to reduce climate change. Asked […]

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Petrobras: Brazilian oil output up

Brazilian energy company Petrobras said its oil production for May was up 2.2 percent to 1.98 million barrels per day when compared with the previous month. Petrobras said it credited May’s production increase to the launch of operations at four new platforms in the offshore Campos Basin. In the Campos and Santos basins alone, Petrobras said oil production increased 8.8 percent from May to 447,000 bpd, a monthly record. Brazil ranks second behind Venezuela in proven oil reserves in South America. Offshore production is complicated because much of the oil reserves lie beneath a thick layer of salt. Petrobras , formally known as Petroleo Brasileiro, has struggled with production levels in the past, but attributed the declines to scheduled maintenance at its offshore fields. The company in a statement Tuesday said new production systems are expected to enter into service this year. A four-year business management plan envisions a […]

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A.P. Møller-Maersk Takes $1.7 Billion Impairment on Brazilian Assets

The oil unit of Danish conglomerate A.P. Møller-Maersk A/S will book a $1.7 billion impairment on its Brazilian assets as it changes strategy in the region, it said Tuesday. However, the company’s full-year guidance remains unchanged with underlying profit of about $4 billion and a group-wide result significantly above last year. Maersk Oil said it would no longer pursue growth for its business in Brazil and as a result has sold its ownership share in the Polvo field to the operator. The company bought stakes in three fields in Brazil for $2.4 billion in July 2011, but decided to take an impairment on them following appraisal drillings that came out at the lower end of expectations as well as increased development costs and a subdued oil price. It is thought that the operating partners in the remaining two fields will be able to present commercially viable development plans, the […]

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Highway Bill Gets Bogged Down in New Fight

With time running short before the Highway Trust Fund hits perilously low levels, House Republicans introduced a plan on Tuesday that would shore up the fund through May 2015. Interstate 75 in Dayton, Ohio, is undergoing a costly upgrade, but the project could be derailed if the federal Highway Trust Fund dries up. Associated Press The proposal from Republicans on the House Ways and Means Committee would transfer about $10.7 billion to the fund, the main source of federal financing for the nation’s highways and mass transit. To ensure that the bill’s price tag doesn’t add to the federal budget deficit, Republicans want to extend a provision known as pension smoothing and a measure from last year’s bipartisan budget deal that allows the Bureau of Customs and Border Protection to collect user fees for an additional year. The House plan is expected to be considered in committee on Thursday. […]

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Bay Area governments make big electric-vehicle buy

A group of San Francisco Bay Area cities, counties and water agencies has joined forces for what is being billed as one of the largest single government purchases of all-electric vehicles in the country. The six cities, two counties and two water agencies have united to buy 90 electric vehicles with the help of a $2.8 million grant from the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, a regional transportation agency, officials with the Bay Area Climate Collaborative said Tuesday. The vehicles will save more than $500,000 in fuel costs and about 2 million pounds of carbon dioxide emissions over five years, Bay Area Climate Collaborative Executive Director Rafael Reyes said. The collaborative – a public-private initiative of the Silicon Valley Leadership Group that was started by three Bay Area mayors – developed the proposal for funding that was submitted to the Metropolitan Transportation Commission. "The Bay Area is […]

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U.S. natural gas output setting records

June was a banner month for U.S. natural gas production from the Lower 48 states, a forecasting unit of Platts reported. June natural gas production was up 0.3 percent from May to a total 68.1 billion cubic feet per day, the highest monthly production average on record. Data from Bentek Energy, the forecasting unit of Platts, show June’s average was 5.4 percent higher year-on-year and any records set for June should be broken at some point this month. The forecast says the economics of production in some of the shale basins in the United States should translate to a yearly production average of approximately 67.5 billion cubic feet per day. In 2009, Bentek said the United States averaged 55.1 billion cubic feet per day in natural gas production. Most of the gains have come from the Eagle Ford shale play in the southern United States and other basins like […]

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British carbon capture project gets EU funding

The British government said Tuesday it received more than $400 million in funding from the European Commission to help build a carbon capture facility. The British government said it received financial support from the European Commission for its White Rose project, a so-called clean coal power plant that would capture as much as 90 percent of its emissions and store them underneath the North Sea. British Energy and Climate Change Secretary Ed Davey said White Rose will help with the development of a low-carbon economy in the country. "The U.K. is at the forefront of developing carbon capture and storage, with excellent potential for storage in the North and Irish Seas, and the expertise in operating offshore to make it a reality," he said in a statement . The British government said power plants equipped with carbon capture and storage technology could provide more than 20 percent of the […]

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Baker Hughes: North American drilling increasing

The North American energy sector shined in June with active oil and natural gas exploration activity greater than last year, Baker Hughes Inc. said Tuesday. Baker Hughes published its monthly report on global rig counts . The data reflect the number of rigs actively exploring for oil or natural gas. The oil services company said there were an average 1,861 rigs active in the United States in June, up two from the number counted in May but up 100 from June 2013. For Canada, Baker Hughes said the average rig count for June was 240, up 78 from May and 57 more than were counted in June 2013. North American production is increasing to the extent its markets are relying less on energy imports from outside the region. The Paris-based International Energy Agency in June said global oil supplies rose largely because of output from countries outside the Organization […]

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U.S. gasoline prices sliding

Gasoline prices continue to be inflated because of conflict in Iraq but the market seems adjusted and pain at the pump is easing, motor club AAA said. The start of a Sunni-led insurgency in Iraq last month pushed the national average price to $3.70, though prices spiked closer to $4.00 in some retail markets. "Market watchers are keeping a close eye on the situation, but the risk premium that had pushed oil prices to 2014 highs has subsided in recent trading sessions," AAA said in a Monday briefing. "These elevated oil prices have meant stubbornly high pump prices for motorists, but as oil prices have eased retail gas prices have finally started to follow suit." By Monday, the average retail price for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline had fallen for 10 straight days. Gas prices Sunday marked the first time since June 11 the national average price per […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple