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Egypt military kills 7 militants in volatile Sinai

Egyptian troops killed seven suspected militants and arrested five as part of an ongoing offensive in the volatile Sinai Peninsula where the military has been trying to quell a spreading insurgency by Islamic militants, an army spokesman said. According to a statement posted on Brig. Gen. Mohammed Samir’s official Facebook page late Monday, the troops killed three militants in an exchange of fire while four others died when a group tried to attack a house of in the border town of Rafah. Five militants were arrested and five were wounded, the posting said but it was unclear if the five were the same people in both cases. Militant attacks in Sinai and elsewhere in Egypt have escalated since the military’s ouster last July of the country’s Islamist President Mohammed Morsi and its subsequent crackdown on his Muslim Brotherhood supporters. Militant attacks have also at times spread […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Japan Rejoining Nuclear Club Leaves Fossil Fuel Appetite

Japan is poised to rejoin the world nuclear club — barely. Yesterday’s report vouching for the safety of Kyushu Electric Power Co. (9508) ’s atomic station in southern Japan means the utility’s two reactors in Sendai may begin operating as soon as October or November, according to Yoko Nobuoka, a Tokyo-based analyst with Bloomberg New Energy Finance. Two more units may be working by the end of the year, she says. The lengthy approval process — utilities began applying to restart their reactors more than a year ago — indicates Japan may remain nuclear-free throughout the summer when power demand is typically at its highest. Even with some nuclear capacity restored, the contribution to Japan’s energy mix will remain marginal, leaving the nation reliant on dirtier-burning fossil fuels such as coal, oil and liquefied natural gas. “We still hold the view of not a wave of nuclear restarts, it’s […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Chinese Corruption Probe Stretches Into Canada

A Chinese government anticorruption investigation that already has swept aside dozens of officials is now stretching into Canada. A shake-up has hit state-run China National Petroleum Corp.’s Canadian operations and a billion-dollar oil-sands project is now in limbo. The head of a key China National Petroleum subsidiary was recalled to Beijing last month and has since fallen from public view, according to people familiar with the matter. Also in recent weeks, an email announced the replacement of China National Petroleum’s top representative in Canada. The two are being succeeded by a single executive dispatched from Beijing who will play senior roles at both units, according to emails reviewed by The Wall Street Journal. Canadian authorities are aware of "these investigations being conducted by Chinese authorities into Chinese officials," a government official familiar with the matter said. "At this point there is no reason to believe that any Canadians are […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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China to rank environmental performance

The performance of Chinese decision-makers will be vetted in part by their environmental stewardship, a political document said. A briefing issued Sunday by the Communist Party of China said the decisions and administrative activities of Chinese officials will be measured against social, economic and environmental impacts. China’s state-run Xinhua News Agency reported the results of the audits are used to evaluate promotions or punishment for Chinese officials. Beijing this year signed separate bilateral memorandums with the U.S. and British governments to advance the fight against climate-related issues. The United States and China in particular are at odds, however, over the climate responsibilities of developed and developing countries. China is the world leader in emissions. Beijing says it’s readjusted its economic structure in a way that promotes green energy and a low-carbon economy in an effort to combat climate change. The Chinese audits were first launched by the government in […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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U.S., EU Ready New Sanctions as Russia Prepares Response

The U.S. and the European Union may move as soon as today to impose tougher sanctions on Russia as Vladimir Putin ’s government formulates its response to the growing international pressure. The sanctions target “key sectors” of Russia’s economy — finance, defense and energy — and are being imposed in the face of Putin “doubling down” in support of separatists battling Ukrainian troops, U.S. Deputy National Security Adviser Tony Blinken said yesterday. EU governments agreed yesterday to impose travel bans and asset freezes on Putin’s “cronies.” “The longer this goes on, there is the risk of further outrageous actions by the separatists or by Russia that deepen the international crisis,” Blinken said. “So there’s a need to take further action now to convince Russia to change course.” ‘Concrete Steps’ Russia hasn’t effectively put pressure on the separatists to force them to negotiate and hasn’t taken the “concrete steps” asked […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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BP warns of impact of Russia sanctions on profits

Energy company BP warned Tuesday that further international sanctions on Russia could hurt its profits because of its stake in the country’s oil giant, Rosneft. The company said any erosion of its relationship with Rosneft – which is majority controlled by the Russian state, with BP holding a 19.75 percent stake – could also adversely impact its reputation. The U.S. has already put sanctions on Rosneft’s president and prohibited the company from tapping U.S. markets to raise money. The European Union is this week also considering broadening its sanctions to prohibit state-owned companies from using European capital markets. "If further international sanctions are imposed on Rosneft or new sanctions are imposed on Russia or other Russian individuals or entities, this could have a material adverse impact on our relationship with and investment in Rosneft, our business and strategic objectives in Russia and our financial position and […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Has The Gulf Of Mexico Hit Peak Oil?

There are enough articles on the “myth of peak oil” floating around the Internet to fill a book; and there are enough books on the subject to fill a small library.  One of the common threads throughout these publications is their lack of credible sources, because not only is peak oil real, but we’re rapidly approaching that threshold.  An example that is smacking the United States and the oil industry in the face right now is floating in the Gulf of Mexico.  According to a new government report , oil and natural gas production in the Gulf has been steadily declining for the last decade. The report looked at oil production in the Gulf of Mexico on federal lands only, not any privately-held lands where production is taking place. Since 2010, according to the report , the annual yield of oil from the Gulf has fallen by almost 140 million barrels.  […]

Posted On : Published By : ASPO-USA
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U.S. considers arctic Alaska lease for 2017

The U.S. government said it was calling for information about the oil and natural gas resource potential in the Beaufort Sea off the northern coast of Alaska. The U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management said it wanted to find out more about the oil and gas that could lie in the area as it plans a possible lease sale for 2017. In April, Royal Dutch Shell said that, as traditional oil and gas reserves decline, oil companies will have to look to more challenging locations to keep up with global energy demand. Shell in January suspended efforts to explore Alaskan waters because of costs and court challenges to its exploration campaign. The company maintained the energy potential offshore Alaska may be "enormous." Acting BOEM Director Walter Cruikshank said the federal government is committed to stepping lightly in the northern arctic region off the Alaskan coast. "There […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Protesters Arrested at America's First Tar Sands Mine

The Uintah County sheriff’s department arrested 21 protesters who chained themselves to a fence at the construction site of the first tar sands mining operation in the U.S., in the Uintah basin of northeast Utah, according to the activist group Utah Tar Sands Resistance . "Uintah sheriffs used force to pull the protesters apart, and also targeted those providing media coverage. One protester is reported as injured," stated a post from Peaceful Uprising , another activist group. The sheriff’s department has declined to comment on the arrests. The Utah Supreme Court dismissed a case against the project last month. Though the Uintah mine, owned by Canadian-based US Oil Sands , is the first tar sands mine in the US, Canada has been heavily mining the Alberta region for tar sands for several years. The heavily contested Keystone XL pipeline would transport Canadian bitumen–the stuff extracted from tar sands–from Alberta […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Protesters Arrested at America’s First Tar Sands Mine

The Uintah County sheriff’s department arrested 21 protesters who chained themselves to a fence at the construction site of the first tar sands mining operation in the U.S., in the Uintah basin of northeast Utah, according to the activist group Utah Tar Sands Resistance . "Uintah sheriffs used force to pull the protesters apart, and also targeted those providing media coverage. One protester is reported as injured," stated a post from Peaceful Uprising , another activist group. The sheriff’s department has declined to comment on the arrests. The Utah Supreme Court dismissed a case against the project last month. Though the Uintah mine, owned by Canadian-based US Oil Sands , is the first tar sands mine in the US, Canada has been heavily mining the Alberta region for tar sands for several years. The heavily contested Keystone XL pipeline would transport Canadian bitumen–the stuff extracted from tar sands–from Alberta […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple