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WTI Gains On Stockpiles

West Texas Intermediate rose for a second time in three days after an industry report showed crude stockpiles declined in the U.S., the world’s biggest oil user. Brent climbed in London . Futures advanced as much as 0.4 percent in New York . Crude supplies shrank by 5.5 million barrels last week, the American Petroleum Institute was said to report yesterday. Data from the Energy Information Administration today is projected to show inventories slid by 1.55 million, according to a Bloomberg News survey . Kurdish oil exports remain unaffected by the turmoil in Iraq , producer Genel Energy Plc said. “There is a possibility that the market is starting to develop a bit of a range around here,” said Ric Spooner, a chief strategist at CMC Markets in Sydney who predicts investors may sell West Texas contracts if prices climb to about $98.70 a barrel. “Iraq looks to be […]

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Natural-Gas Prices Jump to Two-Week High on Warming Weather Forecasts

Natural-gas prices closed at a two-week high as warming weather forecasts encouraged an end to aggressive selling, analysts said. Prices for the front-month September contract settled up 6.3 cents, or 1.6%, to $3.897 a million British thermal units on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The gains broke gas out of a 17-cent trading range it had stayed in since July 21, with nearly all of the gains Tuesday coming within a few minutes after the trading floor opened at 9 a.m. Analysts are saying the move likely confirms an end, or at least a break, in the steep selloff gas had seen for most of the summer. Prices dropped 21% between June 12 and July 23, which should have enticed more power generators to switch from coal to gas, several analysts have said. The weather has also stabilized. Much of the country is still likely […]

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Kurds Ask US Court To Scrap Seizure Order, Allow Crude Delivery

The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) of Iraq asked a U.S. court on Monday to throw out an order to seize some 1 million barrels of disputed crude oil and allow the cargo to be freely delivered in Texas. The United Kalavrvta tanker, carrying about $100 million worth of Kurdish crude, has been anchored near Texas for nine days, as the Iraqi region of Kurdistan wages a legal battle over ownership with the central government of Iraq. At the request of Baghdad, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas ordered the U.S. Marshals Service to take control of the cargo last week, but then said the tanker was outside its jurisdiction and beyond U.S. territory in the Gulf of Mexico. KRG said the court lacked the authority to sign the order in the first place, claimed the right to export oil under […]

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Podesta plays matchmaker for estranged US, Iraq

Podesta plays matchmaker for estranged US, Iraq Sunday, Aug. 3, 2014 | Julian Pecquet, Congressional Correspondent The United States and Iraq both hoped they’d be seeing a lot less of each other when the last American troops left the country in 2011. Instead, they find themselves in intensive couples counseling as they try to save a failing marriage of convenience that could hold the key to defeating the biggest terrorist threat since al-Qaeda. With Sunni militants threatening to tear the country apart, Baghdad turned to Democratic super-lobbyist Tony Podesta early last year to encourage the US government to get back in the fight. It has been a tough sell for the administration of President Barack Obama, who had boasted of pulling the United States out of Iraq, but rapid gains by the Islamic State group (IS) over the past few weeks have forced a re-evaluation. Obama vowed in a June […]

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Iraq’s Yezidi minority faces massacre

Many thousands of members of Iraq’s Yezidi minority in Ninewa province are likely to die unless they can be rescued from extremist militants. Iraq’s Yezidi minority faces massacre A refugee camp in Kurdistan houses members of Iraq’s ethnic Yezidi minority, who fled from ISIS. (PATRICK OSGOOD/Iraq Oil Report/Metrography) Ali Haji Ali is one of at least 10,000 civilians stranded on a mountain in northern Iraq, following a weekend offensive by Sunni extremists. Without food, water, or shelter, he and his family face a stark choice: die a slow death by starvation and dehydration, or descend the mountain and face militants who have sworn to exterminate them."We have been trapped here on the Sinjar Mountain for three days now,” Ali said, speaking by telephone on Aug. 4. “ISIS has blocked our escape route to K… This content is for registered users. Please login to continue. If you are not a […]

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Kurdish Pipeline Exports Unaffected by Iraq Turmoil

The largest oil producer in Iraqi Kurdistan is confident that the region will maintain independent pipeline exports unimpeded by the violence and political turmoil engulfing the country. The Kurdistan regional government has loaded five cargoes in Ceyhan, Turkey , and two have been sold and paid for, Julian Metherell, chief financial officer at Genel Energy Plc (GENL) , said in an interview today. One went to Singapore and one to Israel , he said. A third is docked off the U.S., where it’s the subject of a legal dispute with Iraq ’s federal government. Genel, the London-based explorer led by former BP Plc (BP/) Chief Executive Officer Tony Hayward , said that production rose to a record level in the first half and operations haven’t been affected by the fighting between Islamic militants and the Kurdish military known as Peshmerga. The company expects to export more than 20,000 barrels […]

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Oil crisis solved, Libya says

The Libyan government has managed to resolve its oil crisis and all ports are in operation, the Libyan prime minister said from Washington. Libyan Prime Minister Abdullah al-Thinni met with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry in Washington for the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit as his administration took steps to end a period of political change. The new parliament met for the first time Monday about 900 miles east of Tripoli, where pro-government forces are battling heavily armed militias. Thinni said he valued Washington’s role in helping bring stability to the region, including a decision to raid a vessel loaded with oil taken from rebel-held territory earlier this year. "As a result, the Libyan government has managed to solve the crisis of the oil," he said in a statement Monday. "We have four oil ports that are able to export oil." Data provided by the Platts energy news service show […]

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New clashes break out in Lebanese border town

Fighting erupted Wednesday in a Lebanese border town held by Islamic extremists from neighboring Syria after a negotiated truce collapsed overnight. Muslim clerics launched new efforts to broker another cease-fire in what has been the most serious spillover from Syria’s civil war. The initial truce, brokered on Tuesday, was meant to end days of fighting in the eastern town of Arsal and allow for negotiations for the release of captive Lebanese soldiers. According to the Lebanese National News Agency, clashes broke out again after Syrian militants in Arsal opened fire on Lebanese troops early Wednesday and then spread through several fronts across the predominantly Sunni town. Later in the morning, a delegation of Sunni clerics entered the town to try to mediate another ceasefire, said Sheik Raed Hleihel from the Association of Muslim Scholars and a Syrian activist who uses the name Ahmad Alqusair. The two […]

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Egypt Has Ambitious Plan for Suez Canal Expansion

When the Suez Canal opened in 1869, it had taken hundreds of thousands of Egyptian workers 10 years to complete it. On Tuesday, President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi said he was ready to build another one. At a lavish groundbreaking ceremony that included a military air show and the symbolic detonation of demolition explosives, Mr. Sisi’s government announced an ambitious plan to build a new waterway that would expand the capacity of the existing canal while creating jobs and revenue for the government. Mr. Sisi set an equally ambitious timeline for the project, which would involve the digging or dredging of approximately 45 miles of earth and wetlands, saying the new waterway would open next year. “We are racing time, because we are very late,” he said. There has been talk for years of expanding the development along the canal, a crucial passage for international shipping that links […]

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Shell Starts Up Oil Production at Bonga North West

Royal Dutch Shell reported Wednesday that its Nigerian subsidiary, Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company, has started up oil production from the first well at the Bonga North West deep-water development off the country’s coast. Shell Upstream International Director Andrew Brown commented in a company statement: "This is an excellent addition to our deep-water portfolio – a key growth theme for Shell’s world-wide upstream business. It’s also good news for Nigeria, as it is a new source of oil revenues and strengthens Nigeria’s deep-water expertise, a key driver of economic development." The original Bonga project began producing oil and gas in 2005. It was Nigeria’s first deep-water development in water depths of more than 3,250 feet. Bonga North West is the next step in the project’s development.  The Bonga project, which began producing oil and gas in 2005, was Nigeria’s first deep-water development in water depths over 1,000 metres. […]

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Bombing targets Irish drilling campaign

An energy company planning to drill for shale natural gas in Northern Ireland said the home of one of its workers was bombed. Tamboran Resources said last month it aims to drill what it says was a "scientific borehole" at a site in Northern Ireland. Since the July 21 announcement, the company said it secured an injunction that prevents outsiders from interfering with its operations because of a string of protests. The company said its workers have been the target of threats from groups worried the drilling campaign would lead to hydraulic fracturing, the controversial drilling practice dubbed fracking. A petrol bomb was thrown at the home of one of the company’s workers, though nobody was injured in the attack. "This was an orchestrated and abhorrent attack on a local family in the middle of the night," a statement published in the Daily Telegraph in London said Monday. "We […]

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Japan hits Russia with more sanctions

The Japanese government said Tuesday it enacted sanctions on dozens of entities in response to Russia’s actions in eastern Ukraine. Tokyo said it was imposing additional sanctions on Russia for violating Ukraine’s sovereignty through the continued support of separatists in the east of the country. Rebels there are suspected in the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 last month, which left all 295 people on board dead. The list of those sanctioned include dozens of high-ranking officials in Crimea as well as Crimean oil and gas company Chernomorneftegaz. Tokyo’s sanctions follow similar actions by the U.S. and European governments targeting Russia’s energy sector. When Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper unveiled his list of sanctions against Russia, he sad it was in response to Russia’s occupation of the Crimean region in Ukraine and its military action in eastern Ukraine. Japan receives Russian oil through the 2,900-mile Eastern […]

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Colorado energy measures praised

| License Photo Despite some outside reservations, the energy industry said Colorado has the right regulations in place for oil and gas development. Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper announced a deal with environmental groups and the energy industry he said would prevent ballot measures from curbing oil and gas development in the state. The governor said he created a special task force that would outline ways to develop energy resources safely. "Colorado is fortunate to have an abundance of energy resources, and we have an obligation to develop them in a way that is safe for our residents, supports jobs and the economy, respects private property rights and protects our environment," he said in a statement Monday. Oil from Colorado accounts for one out of every 50 barrels produced in the United States and output is on the rise because of operations in the state’s Niobrara shale basin. The state […]

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Pain at the pump subsiding, AAA says

The average price for a gallon of gasoline in the United States is below the $3.50 mark for the first time since March, motor club AAA says. AAA reports the national average price of $3.49 per gallon for Tuesday is lowest national average for this date in four years. Tuesday’s average price was unchanged from the previous day, though the average price at the pump has fallen steadily for about a month. A flare-up in violence in Libya and a Sunni insurgency in Iraq means supplies from two members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries may be at risk. Libyan oil production, however, remains at historic lows while the Iraqi government said July exports were higher than the previous month. AAA said prices at the pump may be influenced by crises in the Middle East and North Africa, though "special attention" was warranted for the […]

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California Takes Record Amount of Oil by Rail From Utah

California , home to two-thirds of refining capacity in the western U.S. , brought in a record volume of waxy oil by rail from Utah in June as crude imports from Canada and North Dakota slid. The state, the biggest gasoline market in the U.S., received 2,737 barrels a day of oil by rail from Utah in June, almost twice the volume of the previous month and up from nothing a year ago, data on the state Energy Commission’s website showed yesterday. Canadian oil-by-rail imports dropped 25 percent to 6,669 barrels a day. North Dakota shipments shrank by 34 percent to 4,035. California’s oil-by-rail deliveries are at a seasonal record as refiners in the western U.S., lacking direct pipeline access, use trains to reach surging crude production from shale formations in the center of the country and in Canada. Utah is shipping record volumes of oil by rail as […]

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Colorado Deal Would Keep Fracking Off Ballot

Gov. John Hickenlooper, right, listens as Rep. Jared Polis (D., Colo.) speaks at a Monday news conference. Associated Press DENVER—A last-minute agreement on Monday between two of Colorado’s top Democrats would keep off the November ballot a pair of anti-fracking measures that some in the party feared would weaken its candidates on Election Day. Under the deal, Democratic Rep. Jared Polis will drop his support for two ballot initiatives that would limit fracking, even though the congressman has spent millions of dollars of his own money on the effort. The lawmaker instead will support a new plan from Gov. John Hickenlooper to have a commission advise the state legislature on the best ways to address residents’ concerns about oil and natural-gas drilling. Groups aligned with Mr. Polis and critical of fracking have been pushing for ballot questions to limit the drilling practice, which prompted pro-industry groups to push a […]

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Russia troops build up on Ukraine border

A Ukrainian serviceman checks cars driving away from Donetsk near the village of Maryinka, a suburb of Donetsk in eastern Ukraine, on August 5, 2014. Terrified residents on August 5 fled the besieged rebel bastion of Donetsk in eastern Ukraine along a perilous humanitarian corridor, as government forces pushed their offensive to the outskirts of the city. AFP PHOTO / ANDREY KRASNOSCHEKOVAndrey Krasnoschekov/AFP/Getty Images Russia has sharply increased the number of troops and vehicles positioned on the eastern border of Ukraine in the past few days, raising fears of an invasion to stop the Ukrainian army’s recent advances against pro-Russian separatists. Moscow has around 20,000 troops deployed in battle-ready formations on the border, according to senior Nato military officers – significantly more than the 15,000 US officials said were deployed there last week. More On this story On this topic IN Europe While the number is still well below […]

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Marcellus Region production continues growth

Natural gas production in the Marcellus Region exceeded 15 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) through July, the first time ever recorded, according to EIA’s latest Drilling Productivity Report . The Marcellus Region, mostly located in West Virginia and Pennsylvania, is the largest producing shale gas basin in the United States, accounting for almost 40% of U.S. shale gas production. Marcellus Region production has increased dramatically over the past four years, increasing from 2 Bcf/d in 2010 to its current level. The rig count in the Marcellus Region has remained steady at around 100 rigs over the past 10 months. Given the continued improvement in drilling productivity , which EIA measures as new-well production per rig, EIA expects natural gas production in the Marcellus Region to continue to grow. With 100 rigs in operation and with each […]

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Volkswagen and Audi launch sustainability programs for US introduction of e-Golf BEV

Volkswagen of America, Inc. introduced several e-mobility sustainability initiatives to commence with the US launch of the battery-electric e-Golf ( earlier post ). These begin with an investment in carbon reduction projects via a partnership with 3Degrees to offset emissions created from e-Golf production, distribution and from the estimated emissions produced from keeping the vehicle charged through the initial 36,000 miles of its life. VoA made the announcement at the Management Briefing Seminar, hosted by the Center for Automotive Research. Volkswagen of America also selected SunPower as VW’s official solar energy partner; Bosch Automotive Service Solutions as its preferred home-charging and installation services provider; and ChargePoint to provide charging stations to the VW dealer network and to provide US e-Golf owners access to consumers to more than 18,000 charging stations nationwide. The 2015 e-Golf will go on sale later this year at participating dealerships in select states. Separately, Audi […]

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Study: Bakken no greater transport risk than other light crudes

The North Dakota Petroleum Council (NDPC) has released the final report on a study it commissioned to examine the characteristics of crude oil produced from the Bakken shale region. The third-party study, completed by Turner, Mason & Co., Dallas, and SGS Laboratories, indicates Bakken crude is similar to other North American light, sweet crudes and does not pose a greater risk to transport by rail than other crudes and transportation fuels, NDPC said. The final report follows preliminary results of the study presented in May ( OGJ Online, May 20, 2014 ). Designed to better understand the safety aspects of moving Bakken crude by rail, the study came as a response to concerns raised by government and industry groups as to the stability and safe transportability of the regional crude after its involvement in a series of high-profile railcar incidents in both the US and […]

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EIA: Marcellus accounts for 40% of US shale gas production

Natural gas production from the Marcellus shale has surpassed 15 bcfd through July and now represents 40% of US shale gas production, making it the largest producing shale gas basin in the country, according to the US Energy Information Administration’s Drilling Productivity Report . While the region’s rig count has leveled off at around 100 rigs over the past 10 months, improvements in drilling productivity have enabled operators to more efficiently support new wells. EIA expects wells coming online in August to add more than 600 MMcfd to existing production, more than offsetting a drop in production due to existing well decline rates, thus increasing the production rate by 247 MMcfd. Marcellus production in recent years has shot up to record levels after accounting for just 2 bcfd in 2010, resulting in record gas storage injections, multiple pipeline expansion projects to remedy bottlenecks, and stabilized or decreased prices ( […]

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Colorado Democrats Avoid Fracking Fight

Colorado Democrats avoided a politically costly fight over oil and gas drilling after a quid pro quo deal pitched by the state’s fracking-friendly governor prompted groups to drop their dueling ballot proposals. The cease-fire compromise from Gov. John Hickenlooper was announced with great fanfare at the state Capitol Monday morning with U.S. Rep. Jared Polis, a fellow Democrat who helped finance two initiatives that sought to limit hydraulic fracturing, or fracking. He agreed to back off his proposals, and groups pitching two pro-fracking proposals said later in the day they would end their campaigns as well. A ballot-battle over drilling had Democrats worried about the implications. Taking the issue to voters could have negatively impacted Democrats in November by increasing fundraising for Republicans who favor oil and gas development and possibly boosting GOP turnout. Hickenlooper […]

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Groundwater Depletion in Colorado River Basin Poses Big Risk to Water Security

Resilience Published on Resilience (http://www.resilience.org) Published by National Geographic Newswatch on 2014-08-05 Original article:tellites of NASA’s Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE). Using data from this mission, scientists have determined that a vast volume of groundwater has been depleted from the Colorado River Basin over the last decade. Credit: NASA/JPL Let’s step back for a minute and consider the implications of  the study  released last week on the depletion of groundwater in the Colorado River Basin. For anyone concerned about the future of the American West, the findings of this study – which was published online in the journal  Geophysical Research Letters  and conducted by a team of scientists from NASA, the University of California-Irvine, and the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado—can make the heart pound. Let’s start with a little context above ground, before going below. Lake Mead […]

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California Experiencing Most Severe Drought Ever Recorded

One of the worst North American droughts in history could be getting a whole lot worse. According to the latest U.S. Drought Monitor Map released on Tuesday, more than 58 percent of California is in an “exceptional drought” stage. That’s up a staggering 22 percent from last week’s report. And, in its latest drought report released earlier today, the National Drought Mitigation Center warned that “bone-dry” conditions are overtaking much of the Golden State, and noted that, overall, California is “short more than one year’s worth of reservoir water, or 11.6 million acre-feet, for this time of year.” All across California, streams are drying up, crops are dying off and local communities are struggling to maintain access to water , thanks to 3 years of persistent drought conditions. The situation is so dire that on Tuesday, California […]

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Lukoil dumps assets in Central Europe

Russian energy company Lukoil said it sold off its service stations in Hungary, the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic as part of an optimization strategy. Hungarian energy company MOL acquired 44 retail service centers from Lukoil. It builds on a similar acquisition in the country from Italian energy company Eni, giving it 319 service stations in the Czech Republic. Rival company Norm Benzinkut purchased 75 filling stations in Hungary and 19 in Slovakia. The Russian energy company said the sales were part of an effort to streamline its asset base in Central Europe. "The decision to sell the assets was taken as part of the effort to optimize LUKOIL’s business in petroleum-product marketing," the company said in a statement Monday. Lukoil last week made a similar move with its network of filling stations in Ukraine. Lukoil was spared from the latest round of U.S. and European sanctions targeting […]

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Russia plans energy talks with EU

Members from the European Union are expected to meet with Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak at the end of August, the Kremlin said Tuesday. European leaders are trying to diversify a natural gas sector that depends heavily on Russia. Most of the gas Russia sends to Europe runs through a Soviet-era pipeline network in Ukraine and ongoing crises there adds a layer of risk to the European energy sector. An unnamed representative from the Energy Ministry told RIA Novosti a meeting between Novak and European Energy Commissioner Gunther Oettinger is scheduled for the end of August to review the situation. "Preliminarily, the meeting is scheduled to take place on Aug. 29," the representative said Tuesday. No venue was announced. Russian energy company Gazprom said Ukraine owes billions of dollars for recent gas deliveries. Debt disputes in 2006 and 2009 resulted in a Gazprom decision to cut gas through Ukraine, […]

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Dirtiest Fuel Threatens 700-Year-Old Villages in Europe

Europe’s energy dilemma — burning the dirtiest coal while meeting pollution targets — is crystallizing in opposition to a plan that would uproot 700-year-old villages and dig two pits the size of Manhattan. PGE SA and Vattenfall AB , the Warsaw- and Stockholm-based utilities, want to tap Europe’s richest lignite deposit, along the German-Polish border. They’re opposed by communities already suffering sporadic sand storms and crumbling roads, in an area where the 12 kilometer (7.5 miles) long Jaenschwalde mine has dominated the landscape for three decades. Locals will form an 8-kilometer cross-border human chain on Aug. 23 in protest. The battle reflects the divide across Europe. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk sees coal, used to generate 90 percent of his nation’s power, as a way for Europe to depend less on Russian natural gas. German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government calls lignite “the black gold” that will help smooth out […]

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Defiant Putin Readies Retaliation Against Western Sanctions Over Ukraine

Dozens of Ukrainian soldiers who had crossed the border into Russia on Monday returned to Ukraine, after both Ukrainian and Russian officials gave conflicting explanations of why the Ukrainian soldiers had entered Russia. WSJ’s Niki Blasina reports. (Photo: AP) Russian President Vladimir Putin said he has ordered his government to prepare retaliatory measures against U.S. and European sanctions imposed on Russia last week, as the Kremlin stepped up pressure on Ukraine. Mr. Putin has shown no outward sign of buckling under the weight of sanctions—the harshest yet imposed by Brussels and Washington—aimed at getting him to stop supporting pro-Russia rebels across the border in Ukraine. The Russian Foreign MInistry described eastern Ukraine as on the verge of a "humanitarian catastrophe" and said Tuesday it would push for an international mission to help masses of civilians fleeing the fighting. At Russia’s request, the United Nations Security Council met for a […]

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Reducing Carbon by Curbing Population

Remember the population explosion? When population was growing at its fastest rate in human history in the decades after World War II, the sense that overpopulation was stunting economic development and stoking political instability took hold from New Delhi to the United Nations’ headquarters in New York, sending policy makers on an urgent quest to stop it. In the 1970s the Indian government forcibly sterilized millions of women. Families in Bangladesh, Indonesia and elsewhere were forced to have fewer children. In 1974, the United Nations organized its first World Population Conference to debate population control. China rolled out its one-child policy in 1980. Then, almost as suddenly as it had begun, the demographic “crisis” was over. As fertility rates in most of the world dropped to around the replacement rate of 2.1 children per woman — with the one major exception of sub-Saharan Africa — population specialists and politicians […]

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The Secret, Simple Reason For High Oil Prices

Why are  oil prices so high, after inflation above 1980 record highes? Peak oil enthusiasts have explanations (usually wrong, like their forecasts). There are many factors at work, including one simple but hidden reason: American foreign policy. The USA has played a large role in the suppression of oil production in three major oil producers, including two nations with some of the world’s largest petroleum reserves — and having the greatest potential for increased production. Perhaps it’s a coincidence that we’ve intervened in three oil producing nations, and high oil prices are an accidental by-product of our good intentions. Contents Iran Iraq Libya Another perspective For More Information (1)  Iran After a long history of interference in Iran’s government, we initiated an ever-tightening and broadening array of sanctions on Iran after the 1979 revolution — continuing until today. See a list here ; Wikipedia has details on US sanctions […]

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Can an Economy Develop Without Coal?

While all fossil fuels are contributing to the accumulation of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, coal stands apart as really problematic, not just because of its CO2 emissions today (see chart, global emissions in millions of tonnes CO2 vs. time), but because of the vast reserves waiting to be used and the tendency for an emerging economy to lock its energy system into it. Global energy emissions I recently came across data relating to the potential coal resource base in just one country, Botswana, which is estimated at some 200 billion tonnes. Current recoverable reserves are of course a fraction of this amount, but just for some perspective, 200 billion tonnes of coal once used would add well over 100 billion tonnes of carbon to the atmosphere and therefore shift the cumulative total from the current 580 billion tonnes carbon to nearly 700 billion tonnes carbon; and that is just from Botswana. […]

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Oil Reflects Libyan, Iraqi Tension

Brent crude oil appeared stable Tuesday morning, recovering some ground from last week’s falls on news of ongoing violence in Libya and renewed confusion in Iraq. ICE September crude was down 0.02% at $105.39 a barrel. On Monday it dipped as low as $104.52 a barrel. September WTI crude on the Nymex exchange was up 0.25% at $98.54 a barrel. "For some days, the market focused entirely on ample physical supplies, but they now seem to be paying more attention to the supply-side risks again," wrote analysts at Commerzbank in a note to clients. The situation in Iraq remains unclear, they said, after fighting between Kurdish forces and militants over some oil installations. Exports from the south of the country amounted to 2.44 million barrels a day in July, according to the oil ministry, slightly more than in June. However, Commerzbank says that according to shipment details oil exports […]

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WTI Trades Near Three-Day High Before U.S. Supply Data

West Texas Intermediate crude traded near the highest price in three days before supply data that will signal the strength of fuel demand in the U.S., the world’s biggest oil consumer. Brent in London was steady. Futures were little changed in New York after snapping a five-day losing streak yesterday. Gasoline stockpiles probably fell for the first time since June last week, according to a Bloomberg News survey before a government report tomorrow. Kurdish fighters in Iraq retook northern border towns seized by militants from Islamic State, a breakaway al-Qaeda group, the Kurdistan Democratic Party said on its website. “The market seems to have marked the bottom of its recent sharp downward correction,” Christopher Bellew , senior broker at Jefferies Bache Ltd. in London, said by e-mail. “Prices are holding as geopolitical tension offers support.” WTI for September delivery was at $98.49 a barrel, up 20 cents at 8:58 […]

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Natural Gas Gains as August Forecasts Turn Hotter

Natural gas advanced Monday on expectations that current low prices could spur additional demand, especially with some above-average temperatures expected this month. Natural gas for September delivery settled up 3.6 cents, or 1%, at $3.834 a million British thermal units on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Weather forecasts released Monday called for above-average temperatures on the West Coast and in Texas in the next six to 10 days, though moderate weather is still expected in the east. "Domestic weather models are finally seeing something resembling normal summer temperatures," said energy-advisory firm Gelber & Associates in Houston in a note. "The increased power demand that will come with normal summer temperatures will accentuate the current preference for natural gas." Prices are still trading near their lowest point of the year, as a mild summer has reduced demand for gas-powered electricity to fuel air-conditioning units and allowed […]

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Libyan responders flee fuel depot fire

A fuel fire near the international airport in Tripoli may be on the verge of creating a humanitarian and environmental disaster, the Libyan government said. The Libyan government said a fuel depot near the airport suffered a direct hit after militias armed with heavily artillery surrounded the area. "This led to the withdrawal of firefighters," Sameer Kamal, spokesperson for the Ministry of Oil, said Sunday . The spokesman said the smoke and fire could present a major threat to the surrounding area in Tripoli. At least 200 people have died as a result of fighting between Islamist militias and pro-government forces since July. Foreign governments, including the United States and European powers, have suspended diplomatic operations in Libya because of the recent outbreak of violence. The interim government in Tripoli said last week it needed outside help in controlling the violence. International forces intervened in Libya’s […]

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Libyan lawmakers elect judge as new speaker

Libyan lawmakers, gathered far from the country’s chaos and warring militias, have elected a judge as the new parliament speaker. Ageila Saleh Eissa narrowly defeated his rival for the post, Abu-Bakr Baeira, in a 77-74 vote late Monday night from among 158 lawmakers who convened the parliament’s inaugural session in the eastern city of Tobruk. Weeks of fighting in the capital, Tripoli, and the nation’s second-largest city, Benghazi, have killed more than 230 people and forced most foreigners and diplomats to leave Libya. Because of the violence in Tripoli and Benghazi, the parliament session was held in Tobruk, an anti-Islamist stronghold and a militia-free zone. Eissa is the country’s third parliament speaker since the downfall and killing of longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi in the 2011 uprising and civil war. He held several judicial posts in the east under Gadhafi but his political affiliation is unknown. […]

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Border Fighting Intensifies Between ISIS and Lebanon

A deadly confrontation worsened on Monday between Lebanon’s armed forces and Islamist insurgents from Syria who seized the border town of Arsal over the weekend in what appeared to be the most serious spillover of the Syrian civil war into Lebanese territory since the conflict began more than three years ago. The Lebanese Army said in a statement that its forces were engaged in fierce battles with the Islamists in Arsal, where witnesses reached by telephone, including the deputy mayor, said shelling had hit the town from multiple directions and thousands of residents had fled. Arsal is also one of the temporary homes for many of the Syrian war refugees who have sought sanctuary in eastern Lebanon, and witnesses said Lebanese Army checkpoints were refusing to let the refugees relocate deeper into the country. Some refugees said they were panicking because they had nowhere to go. […]

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Peshmerga in Ceasefire with IS South of Kirkuk at Tribal Behest

Kurdish Peshmerga forces have declared a three-day unilateral ceasefire south of Kirkuk after a demand by Arab tribal chiefs in the area. Peshmerga military officials in the town of Daquq told Rudaw that Arab tribes had asked for the ceasefire – that started Saturday evening —  to give them a chance to try and persuade Islamic State (IS/ISIS) militants to leave the area. The tribes fear that a resumption of fighting between the Peshmerga and IS would cut off the Kirkuk-Tuz Khurmatu highway and affect many ethnically-mixed villages that lie in the frontlines. Meanwhile, Kurdish commanders said they fear that the Islamic militants might use the truce to regroup and bring in reinforcements from elsewhere. Until now the Sunni militants, who have declared an Islamic State straddling large parts of Iraq and portions of Syria, had locked in sporadic clashes with […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Islamic State seizes town of Sinjar, pushing out Kurds and sending Yazidis fleeing

The ancient northern Iraqi town of Sinjar emptied Sunday, with thousands of people fleeing on foot as Sunni extremist militants made their first significant punches through the defenses of overstretched Kurdish forces. Sinjar is an ancestral home of the long-persecuted Yazidi religious sect, which the Islamic State has branded as devil worshipers, and few of its residents stayed to find out what was planned for them when the group’s militants entered Sunday. Until Sunday, Sinjar had been protected by Kurdish fighters known as pesh merga, but officials from the semi-autonomous northern region have been warning for weeks that they are poorly equipped to sustain the defense of the nearly 650-mile border they now share with the militants. The town of Wana also fell Sunday, putting the Islamic State within striking distance of Mosul’s hydroelectric dam, the largest in the country. After nearly two months of skirmishes, it […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Iraq’s Biggest Dam at Risk as Islamists Fight Kurds for Control

Kurdish security forces clashed with a breakaway al-Qaeda group that’s trying to extend its control in northern Iraq by seizing the country’s largest dam. Fighting is raging near the Mosul dam, and it is a “no man’s land,” Sheikh Ahmed Al-Simmari, a resident of the nearby city of Rabia’ah, said in a phone interview. The Kurds retook the Rabia’ah border post with Syria and the nearby town of Sinjar from the militants after fierce fighting late yesterday, the Kurdistan Democratic Party, one of the groups that governs the largely autonomous region of Kurdish northern Iraq, said on its website. Islamic State, which was previously known as Islamic State in Iraq and Levant, has seized territory throughout Iraq and Syria and declared its own self-styled caliphate, highlighting the central government’s inability to ensure security under Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. The group this week seized two oil fields and predominantly Kurdish […]

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Kurdistan Oil Explorers Fall as Militants Seize Oilfields

Oil explorers in Iraq ’s Kurdistan region slumped in Oslo and London after Islamic militants seized two oilfields in Northern Iraq. DNO International ASA (DNO) , which gets most of its output from the Kurdish region, fell as much as 11 percent, the biggest drop in more than six months. Genel Energy Plc (GENL) sank as much as 6.6 percent and Gulf Keystone Petroleum Ltd. (GKP) as much as 3.1 percent. The Ain Zala and Batma oilfields, which together produce about 30,000 barrels a day, are under the control of the Islamic State, a breakaway al-Qaeda group, according to the state-run Northern Oil Co. The Sunni Islamist militants last month occupied the Qayyara oilfield north of Baghdad . Islamic State, previously known as Islamic State in Iraq and Levant, has seized territory in northern and western Iraq, taking over oil wells and fighting for control of refineries. Fighters continued […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Iraqi oil exports up in July

Though exports from a northern pipeline are idled, the Iraqi government said Monday its oil exports for July were higher than the previous month. Assim Jihad, a spokesman for the Iraqi Oil Ministry, said southern ports exported 75.7 million barrels of oil in July and brought in close to $8 billion for the Iraqi economy. Iraq exported 72.8 million barrels of oil from southern ports in June. The pipeline from the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk to the Turkish port city of Ceyhan has been closed because of terrorist threats since May. Iraqi oil exports so far this year peaked at 80 million barrels in May. A Sunni-led insurgency emerged shortly afterward, putting pressure on the central government in Baghdad. The U.S. State Department said it was monitoring a new push by the so-called Islamic State of Iraq and Syria in the northwestern Iraqi border town of Sinjar. "The […]

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China to ban all coal use in Beijing by 2020

BEIJING (AP) — China’s smog-plagued capital has announced plans to ban the use of coal by the end of 2020 as the country fights deadly levels of pollution, especially in major cities. Beijing’s Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau posted the plan on its website Monday, saying the city would instead prioritize electricity and natural gas for heating. The official Xinhua News Agency said coal accounted for a quarter of Beijing’s energy consumption in 2012 and 22 percent of the fine particles floating in the city’s air. Motor vehicles, industrial production and general dust also contributed to pollution in the 21 million-person city. Even with the Beijing ban, coal use is expected to soar in China. Coal-fired power and heating is a major generator of greenhouse gases and has helped turn China into the world’s largest emitter of carbon and other heat-trapping gases. Pressure is growing on China’s central government to […]

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In Libya, Parliament Convenes Amid Battles

Libyan leaders, struggling to keep their country from spinning further out of control, convened a newly elected Parliament for its first session on Monday. But raging militia battles in Tripoli, the capital, and in Benghazi, the second-largest city, forced them to hold the meeting in Tobruk, a relatively stable port in the east. And a senior Egyptian political figure suggested on Monday that his country might intervene in Libya militarily if calm cannot be restored. The newly elected lawmakers vowed to prevent the collapse of their state. “We will prove to the world that Libya is not a failed country,” Abu Bakr  Bueira, the lawmaker presiding over the session, declared, according to news reports. Although the street fighting in Tripoli and Benghazi is driven mainly by local militia rivalries, it is converging into the same national conflict. Islamists and their tribal or regional allies are on one […]

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PetroChina to Seal Takeover of Athabasca Oil Sands Project by End-Sept

State oil giant PetroChina plans to pay the more than $1 billion it needs to complete a takeover of the Dover oil sands project from Canadian firm Athabasca Oil Corp by the end of September, a person with knowledge of the deal told Reuters. PetroChina was supposed to complete the acquisition of Athabasca Oil’s 40 percent stake in the project in June, but delayed the payment while it reassessed the deal amid a government-led corruption probe into the Chinese national oil company, the person said. The internal review showed the geological structure of the project is more complicated than previous estimates, which would increase development costs, but the acquisition will go ahead, the person added. "The next step is to complete the transaction," said the source, who declined to be named as […]

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Energy companies looking deeper offshore

Energy companies are drilling in waters deeper than ever before, though the industry still could tap even deeper, a Danish drilling engineer said. Frederik Smidth, chief technology officer for Danish energy company Maerks Drilling, told Fuel Fix — the energy arm of the Houston Chronicle — that energy companies were looking to the future of offshore energy development. "We’re drilling wells that we couldn’t have drilled 20 years ago," he said in statements published Sunday. "But there’s a lot more we haven’t seen yet." Maersk said it’s trying to breathe new life into an industry working with a fleet of offshore rigs in need of replacement. The company this year established a goal of reaching further into ultra-deep waters and ultra-harsh drilling environments with new rig technologies. The Macondo well, which failed and led to the BP oil disaster in 2010, was drilling to a total depth of more […]

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Bakken Shale Rig Count Increases by Two to 184

SM Energy Grabs 61,000 Bakken Net Acres – $330 Million SM Energy Bakken Map SM Energy Bakken Map | Click to Enlarge The  Bakken-Three Forks rig count  increased by two to 184 rigs running across our coverage area by the end of last week. The NDIC notes 193 rigs are active in North Dakota, but around 21 of those are in the process of moving in and rigging up. In recent Bakken news, SM Energy recently announced it will acquire approximately 61,000 net acres in Divide and Williams Counties for $330-million from Baytex Energy. The acreage is directly adjacent to the company’s Gooseneck focus area. Upon closing, the company will have ~97,000 acres in the area. Read more :  SM Energy Grabs 61,000 Bakken Net Acres – $330 Million The U.S. rig count increased by six to 1,889 rigs running by the end of last week. A total of 313 rigs were targeting natural gas […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Colorado Fracking Opponents Losing Local Control Fight

Colorado ’s compromise with drilling opponents has dealt a blow to environmentalists’ expanding battle to give local communities more control to limit fracking. Governor John Hickenlooper and Representative Jared Polis agreed to a deal that weakened the prospects for two proposed ballot initiatives aimed at restricting oil and gas activity, the two men said at a news conference in Denver yesterday. Polis, who was expected to help finance the campaign for the measures, agreed to withdraw his support after Hickenlooper promised to create a task force to study the industry’s impact on local communities. “Responsible oil and gas development in Colorado is critical to our economy, our environment, our health and our future,” said Hickenlooper. The Democrat, who told a Senate committee last year that he drank fracking fluid to prove its safety, has been a strong proponent of drilling. Colorado crude output grew faster than in any other […]

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Colorado Deal Would Keep Fracking Off Ballot

A last-minute agreement on Monday between two of Colorado’s top Democrats would keep off the November ballot a pair of anti-fracking measures that some in the party feared would weaken its candidates on Election Day. Under the deal, Democratic Rep. Jared Polis will drop his support for two ballot initiatives that would limit fracking, even though the congressman has spent millions of dollars of his own money on the effort. The lawmaker instead will support a new plan from Gov. John Hickenlooper to have a commission advise the state legislature on the best ways to address residents’ concerns about oil and natural-gas drilling. Groups aligned with Mr. Polis and critical of fracking have been pushing for ballot questions to limit the drilling practice, which prompted pro-industry groups to push a […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple