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NDIC Considers Bakken Crude Treatment

Bakken Oilfield StorageTanks Bakken Oilfield Storage Tanks | Click to Enlarge The North Dakota Industrial Commission (NDIC) plans to hold a public hearing in the next few weeks to determine ways to reduce the volatility of Bakken crude before it is stored or transported. The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported North Dakota officials are considering requiring oil & gas companies to treat Bakken crude before it is loaded onto trains. Stabilization, which is common in similar shale plays like the Ealge Ford Shale, is also being discussed among officials. While some industry players argue Bakken crude shouldn’t be subject to stabilization, a process by which the vapor pressure of crude oil is lowered, making it less volatile, they may not have a choice in the matter. According to the WSJ, the federal government has been weighing the idea of making stabilization a requirement. Differing Opinions on Bakken Crude Volatility In […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Central America braces for drought-linked food crisis

BOGOTA (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – Low rainfall linked to the El Nino weather phenomenon has led to drought in parts of Central America, causing widespread damage to crops, shortages and rising prices of food, and worsening hunger among the region’s poor. An unusually hot season and extended dry spells have brought drought to areas in eastern and western Guatemala and El Salvador, southern Honduras and northern and central Nicaragua, destroying swathes of bean and maize crops, the region’s staple foods, and putting pressure on subsistence farmers and food prices. “Extremely poor households across large areas of Guatemala, Nicaragua, Honduras, and El Salvador will experience a rapid deterioration in their food security in early 2015. "Atypically high levels of humanitarian assistance, possibly the highest since Hurricane Mitch in 1998, will likely be required in order to avoid a food crisis,” said a recent report by the Famine Early Warning Systems […]

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Beijing to step up air quality control for APEC

BEIJING, Aug. 16 (Xinhua) — China will strengthen air pollution control in its capital Beijing during the APEC senior officials’ meeting this month through stricter emergency actions in the event of a pollution warning, Saturday’s China Daily reported. Beijing is hosting the Third Senior Officials’ Meeting and related meetings of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation in Beijing from Aug. 6 to 21, including some 100 sessions covering topics such as trade, investment, agriculture, food and anti-corruption. The city will launch tougher, comprehensive measures to control air pollution for the events, said Yao Hui, deputy director of the Beijing Environmental Protection Bureau, adding that updates on air quality will be issued and sent to the public quickly if air quality worsens. If the air quality index is expected to top 200 for three consecutive days, an orange alert, the second highest in China’s four-level warning system, will be issued, but the […]

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U.S. working to drive down EV costs

The U.S. Energy Department said it was investing more than $55 million on more than two dozen projects aimed at improving electric vehicles. "Investments in the next generation of vehicle technologies will both strengthen our economy and lead to a more fuel efficient, clean energy future," Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz said in a statement. The initiative is part of a project launched in 2012 that aims to put plug-in electric vehicles on the same footing as fuel-powered vehicles in terms of cost and convenience by 2022. The Department of the Army is collaborating with the Energy Department at a facility in Warren, Mich., in a research project focused on battery technology and reduced friction from vehicle power trains. "Improving vehicle efficiency is instrumental to establishing a 21st century transportation sector that creates jobs as well as protects future generations from harmful carbon emissions," Moniz said Thursday. The Energy Department […]

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Colorado task force looks to energy future

Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper last week created a special task force that would outline ways to develop energy resources safely. The state has an obligation to develop natural resources like oil and gas in a way that is safe for residents, supports jobs and the economy, he said. 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 is home to nine of the largest 100 natural gas fields in the country. Todd Hartman, a spokesman for the Colorado Department of Natural Resources, said the task force has its work cut out for it, but it’s working in earnest to find the right solutions for the state . "We certainly see the task force as a genuine effort on our part to get thoughtful people to […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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U.S. Energy Rig Count Rises to 1,913, Baker Hughes Says

Rigs targeting oil and natural gas in the U.S. increased by five to 1,913 this week, according to Baker Hughes Inc. (BHI) Oil rigs gained one to 1,589, gas rigs rose five to 321, and miscellaneous rigs decreased by one to three, the Houston-based field services company said in an e-mail. Rigs rose the most in the Denver-Julesburg Basin and Niobrara formation spread across Colorado and Wyoming . The total has surged from 1,757 this year as producers use horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing to draw record volumes of oil and gas out of shale formations across the middle of the country. The boom will raise domestic crude production next year to the highest level since 1972, the Energy Information Administration said in a report Aug. 12. U.S. oil production jumped 103,000 barrels a day, or 1.2 percent, in the week ended Aug. 8 to 8.56 million, Energy Information […]

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Polish shale developments going 'smoothly'

British energy company 3Leg Resources said Friday efforts to bring Polish shale natural gas into production are going "very smoothly." The company said it put a well in the Lublewo research area in to a test phase to determine its potential to produce natural gas following a successful hydraulic fracturing program. Kamlesh Parmar, the company’s chief executive, said the well is a milestone for the exploration program in Poland . "The operations to bring the well into test production have gone very smoothly and we are delighted to see the well has flowed [natural gas] from the beginning," he said in a statement. The European Investment Bank in June loaned Poland $132 million for the expansion of a pipeline that could bring gas, including domestically sourced liquefied natural gas, to the border of the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Ukraine. The EIB said the Polish gas project is "crucial" to […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Polish shale developments going ‘smoothly’

British energy company 3Leg Resources said Friday efforts to bring Polish shale natural gas into production are going "very smoothly." The company said it put a well in the Lublewo research area in to a test phase to determine its potential to produce natural gas following a successful hydraulic fracturing program. Kamlesh Parmar, the company’s chief executive, said the well is a milestone for the exploration program in Poland . "The operations to bring the well into test production have gone very smoothly and we are delighted to see the well has flowed [natural gas] from the beginning," he said in a statement. The European Investment Bank in June loaned Poland $132 million for the expansion of a pipeline that could bring gas, including domestically sourced liquefied natural gas, to the border of the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Ukraine. The EIB said the Polish gas project is "crucial" to […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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EU considers gas talks with Russia, Ukraine

European Commission President said future trilateral talks with Kiev and Moscow would focus on energy and national security issues. Barroso said he spoke by phone with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss the overall context of the situation in Ukraine . Ukraine and Russia have historic differences over natural gas. Russian energy company Gazprom in 2006 and 2009 cut gas supplies through Ukraine, jeopardizing downstream supplies to Europe , in response to contractual woes. That problem was exacerbated when in late 2013 Ukraine, a former Soviet republic, started tilting toward the European Union through an association agreement. "It was agreed to hold consultations between the presidents of Russia, Ukraine and the European Commission on the issues related with the implementation of the association agreement as well as on the supply of gas, in parallel with the efforts to stabilize the political and security situation," Barroso’s office said in a […]

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More Russian Oil Flows East as Relations With West Sour

As Moscow’s relations sour with the West, Russia’s energy sector is pivoting to Asia, with oil exports to the region jumping to record highs and analysts predicting a boost for some Asian energy companies. Russia has sent more than 30% of its oil exports—more than 1.2 million barrels a day, the most ever—to Asia this year, trade and analyst data showed. Around a fifth of Russia’s oil exports went to Asia Pacific in 2012, according to the International Energy Agency. Meanwhile, Russian oil exports to Europe via its largest pipeline network have fallen from a peak of 3.72 million barrels a day in May 2012, to less than 3 million barrels a day in July. Most of the oil heading to Asia is shipped to China, and comes as Russia seeks to boost ties to the energy-hungry region amid heightened tensions with Europe. While the crude oil is priced […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple