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War for ‘New Russia’ drives Ukraine separatists

Pro-Russian separatists carry an ammunition part in Donetsk The resignation of Igor Girkin, the Russian military mastermind behind the takeover of large parts of eastern Ukraine by rebel fighters, this week was the latest crack to appear at the top of the months-long rebellion that has become increasingly strained. His departure is the third high-profile change in the rebel hierarchy in the past week. Alexander Borodai, also a Muscovite, stepped down last week as prime minister of the self-declared Donetsk People’s Republic. With Mr Girkin, he was part of Russian-backed separatist forces in Moldova’s breakaway region of Transnistria in the early 1990s. More On this story On this topic IN Europe The replacement of both with Ukrainians marks a transition in the leadership from highly trained Russian military officers to locally recruited warlords in an increasingly tense stand-off with Ukrainian forces . “It will be like Stalingrad,” an armed […]

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It Is My Shale Gas and I Want It Now!!!

The shale gas that lies beneath the surface of Upstate New York belongs to real people who need it now. It’s time they stood up for themselves! I recently read a comment on an online anti-drilling site that made me laugh out loud.  I have made and read many comments on many articles, but surely this one deserved first place in three specific categories; Most Ignorant, Most Thoughtless and Most Typical. The writer was complaining about a pipeline that will deliver natural gas to other peoples’ homes. Here is the substance of the comment: Pipelines are a bad thing. They have to cut down lots of trees through the woods. During construction of one near my home, traffic was bad due to the many trucks and equipment being used to build the pipeline. If I knew that pipeline was going by my home I wouldn’t have built my “Log Cabin” in Lycoming County. It makes you wonder if […]

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Oil Futures Hold After Overnight Slump

LONDON—Oil futures traded flat in Europe on Friday after both Brent and Nymex crude lost more than 2% overnight. Many of the risks that had been building in the market have receded for the time being. Conciliatory words from Russian President Vladimir Putin has eased some of the tension over Ukraine, while in Iraq, embattled Nouri al-Maliki has stepped down as prime minister , averting a deeper political crisis. Libya, meanwhile, has reopened its largest export port , which will help with supplies, while disappointing second-quarter euro-zone economic growth means demand could now be weaker. The scenario is keeping Brent in a contango structure—where the front-month contract is cheaper than future contracts—triggering demand for floating storage. "While the focus has been on ample supplies, demand-side concerns have now also emerged in the wake of a number of disappointing economic data this week," Commerzbank said. October Brent crude on London’s […]

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WTI Oil Set for Weekly Loss With Brent on Weaker Demand

West Texas Intermediate crude headed for a fourth weekly drop, the longest losing streak since November, on signs of slowing demand. Brent traded near a 13-month low as threats to supplies in Iraq eased. Futures were little changed in New York and London. The U.S. Energy Information Administration and Paris-based International Energy Agency cut 2014 forecasts for global demand this week. Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said yesterday he has agreed to leave office and clear the way for his designated successor to take over. WTI will probably decline further in coming days, a Bloomberg News survey shows. “The reports from the EIA and IEA confirm what the market was already expecting, a near-term outlook where supply growth easily keeps up with demand growth,” Ole Sloth Hansen, an analyst at Saxo Bank A/S in Copenhagen, said by e-mail. “If it wasn’t for geopolitical worries oil prices would be lower […]

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Natural-Gas Prices Climb on Smaller-than-Expected Surplus

By Timothy Puko NEW YORK–Natural-gas prices closed higher Thursday after a weekly stockpile report showed a smaller surplus than expected. The front-month September contract settled up 7.5 cents, or 2%, to $3.906 a million British thermal units on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It was the third-largest one-day percentage gain since late June. Producers added 78 billion cubic feet of gas to storage for the week ended Aug. 8, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said. The addition was 4 bcf smaller than what analysts and traders had expected. Natural gas for September delivery shot up 1.8% immediately after the update’s release. Power plants probably played a big role in the smaller-than-expected surplus by switching fuels to buy more gas, analysts said. Gas has dropped in price this summer, making it more competitive with coal for fuel, and some hotter weather has also created more demand for electricity to power […]

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Maliki Agrees to Relinquish Power in Iraq

BAGHDAD — Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki said Thursday night that he had agreed to relinquish power, a move that came after days of crisis in which his deployment of extra security forces around the capital had raised worries of a military coup. Mr. Maliki’s decision held out the prospect of a peaceful transition of power, based on democratic elections and without the guiding hand of American military forces, which would be a first in modern Iraq’s troubled history of kings, coups and dictatorships. His decision to step aside came after heavy pressure from the United States, which has deployed warplanes in Iraq to target Sunni Islamist militants and suggested that more military support would be forthcoming if Mr. Maliki was removed from power. Iran also played a decisive role in convincing Mr. Maliki that he could not stay in power. Mr. Maliki, 64, agreed to end his legal […]

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Oil Producers Jump as Most Kurdistan Output Seen Safe

Oil producers in Iraqi Kurdistan are an attractive investment after falling at least 25 percent since early July on fears that violence in the region would disrupt operations, analysts said. It’s unlikely that the northern semi-autonomous Kurdistan region will be overtaken by Islamic State fighters, and that risk has been reduced as the U.S. and France moved to arm Kurdish forces, analysts from Swedbank AB, Pareto Securities AS, and RBC Capital Markets said. Swedbank today raised its recommendation on Oslo-based DNO ASA (DNO) to buy from neutral, and the shares rose 8.3 percent in Oslo trading. Genel Energy Plc began a share buyback, repurchasing 155,000 ordinary shares and sending its stock rallying 7.6 percent. “It’s worth betting on,” Swedbank analyst Teodor Sveen Nilsen said in a phone interview, referring to DNO. “The discount is big, and the values we’re basing it on already take into account that it’s not […]

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Exxon Ends Oil Search With Total in South Sudan as War Rages

Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) , the U.S.’s largest oil company, ended exploration plans with Total SA (FP) in South Sudan, Total and the government said, a sign of faltering investor confidence in the African nation as a civil war enters its eighth month. Exxon in April didn’t renew an agreement with Total to negotiate for joint-exploration over parts of a 120,000 square-kilometer (46,300 square-mile) concession in Jonglei state, Total spokeswoman Anastasia Zhivulina said in an Aug. 12 e-mailed response to questions. Total is still bidding to explore in partnership with Kuwait’s state-owned Kuwait Foreign Exploration Petroleum Co. she said. Exxon spokesman Patrick McGinn said by e-mail that the company doesn’t comment on specific ventures. “Losing the American oil company’s interest is definitely a blow for the future prospects of South Sudan ’s oil industry,” Luke Patey, a researcher on the country’s industry at the Danish Institute for International Studies, […]

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India needs more energy imports, analysis finds

India ranks among the top energy consumers in the world, with demand increasing at a double-digit rate, analysis from the U.S. Energy Department found. The Energy Information Administration, a division within the Energy Department, said economic growth and modernization in India is leading to increased demand for energy . "India’s dependence on imported fossil fuels rose to 38 percent in 2012, despite the country having significant domestic fossil fuel resources," EIA said in a Thursday brief. The government in April said it expected natural gas demand to more than double by the beginning of the next decade. According to the terms of a five-year energy plan , the Indian government has said it wants to add at least one transnational pipeline to the midstream sector from either Iran, Oman or Central Asia. "Because India has not been able to produce an adequate supply of domestic natural gas and has […]

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India is increasingly dependent on imported fossil fuels as demand continues to rise

India’s dependence on imported fossil fuels rose to 38% in 2012, despite the country having significant domestic fossil fuel resources. India ranked as the fourth-largest energy consumer in the world in 2011, following China, the United States, and Russia. The country’s energy demand continues to climb as a result of its dynamic economic growth and modernization. India is the third-largest economy on a purchasing power parity basis and has the world’s second-largest population, according to World Bank data. As India modernizes and the population moves to urban areas, the country has shifted from using traditional biomass and waste to relying on other energy sources, including fossil fuels. India’s newly elected government, with the Bharatiya Janat Party as the majority party, faces challenges to meet the country’s growing energy demand, to secure affordable energy supplies, and to attract investment for domestic hydrocarbon production and infrastructure development. Petroleum and other liquids. […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple