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Strife in Libya Could Presage Long Civil War

TRIPOLI, Libya — “The fire is inside the airport!” a militiaman cried, as he fired an antiaircraft cannon on the back of a pickup truck toward the runway of Libya’s main international airport. “God is great, the flames are rising!” “Intensify the shooting,” responded his commander, Salah Badi, an ultraconservative Islamist and former lawmaker from the coastal city of Misurata. Captured on video by the proud attackers just one month ago, Mr. Badi’s assault on Libya’s main international airport has now drawn the country’s fractious militias, tribes and towns into a single national conflagration that threatens to become a prolonged civil war. Both sides see the fight as part of a larger regional struggle, fraught with the risks of a return to repressive authoritarianism or a slide toward Islamist extremism. Three years after the NATO-backed ouster of Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi, the violence threatens to turn Libya into a pocket […]

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Algeria Postpones Oil Bids to Sept. 30

LONDON—Algeria has delayed the deadline for its next oil-licence bids by about four weeks, people familiar with the matter said, as companies complain about investment conditions despite recent oil-sector reform. The date set for the submissions to the tender for oil and gas blocks has been reset to Sept. 30 from Sept. 4 previously, people familiar with the matter said. The development comes despite a new Algerian law—passed last year—that improves revenue sharing for companies that invest in difficult blocks, such as the country’s sizable natural-gas shale resources. One main concern for bidders is a clause that allows national oil company Sonatrach to make investment decisions without consulting its foreign partners, according to people at international companies involved in the licensing round. But an Algerian official said the delay was due to the need to handle "numerous applications" for the licensing round. At previous bidding rounds, Algeria has struggled […]

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Surge in Investment Recharges India’s Sputtering Power Sector

ByKenan Machado A pedestrian walked past a pole hosting mangled electricity wires at a slum in New Delhi in 2009. Agence France-Presse/Getty Images MUMBAI—Investors are ploughing money into India’s energy sector again, betting that there are brighter days ahead as the country’s new government clears the path for power producers and distributors. India’s utilities and energy companies—which have struggled for years with high government restrictions and low returns—have attracted a total of $2.61 billion in investment so far this year, according to data from Dealogic. The last time the sector attracted so much money was before the global financial crisis, when $2.67 billion was invested over the same period in 2006. “People expect the economy to grow,” said Tan Cheng Guan, an executive vice president at Singapore utilities company Sembcorp Industries Ltd. which invested $204 million this year, buying stakes in two Indian power plants . India needs its power […]

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Drivers Won’t Get China Oil Market’s Engine Racing

China’s diesel consumption shrank 1.2% year over year between January and July this year. Here, a driver fills diesel into oil containers at the back of his truck at a gas station in Suining, Sichuan province on December 21, 2011 . Reuters Oil bulls have swapped friends in China, parting with the country’s industrial complex in favor of its burgeoning class of car drivers. They are going to discover that these new pals aren’t as dependable. China’s economy may be rebalancing away from investment toward consumption, and its petroleum use is starting to reflect that. Global energy investors can’t afford to ignore these changes, given that China accounts for 40% of the world’s oil-demand growth. On the industrial side, the slowdown has begun. Because industrial inputs such as diesel, fuel oil and petrochemicals constitute 70% of this market, China’s oil demand was mostly flat between January and July compared […]

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Bakken Oil Peak by Jean Laherrère

This is a guest post by Jean Laherrère The problem of forecasting future Bakken production is that estimating reserves of shale oil is harder than for conventional oil and is very unreliable because many confuse reserves and resources, and shale oil reserves depend more from economy than from technology. Many estimate the amount of hydrocarbons generated by the source-rock and believe that a significant percentage could be recovered: the study of the main Petroleum Systems in the world estimate than only about 1% will recovered in conventional fields, no more could be expected in unconventional fields. US Shale gas production started in 1821 in Fredonia for lighting when whale oil price was about 2000 $2014/b, but was replaced by conventional oil in 1859 because a largely lower price. How to estimate future production? Drilling activity is a good way to model production with a shift. In my MIT Paris paper […]

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Spontaneous Solar Combustion

The sprawling Ivanpah solar power station in the Mojave Desert probably never would have been built without environmental activists and the subsidies and mandates they created, so there’s more than a little irony that BrightSource Energy, Google and another clean-tech utility are now getting an education in the green opposition that bedevils other American businesses. Lobbies like the Sierra Club and Audubon Society are turning on solar farms for avian mass murder. Ivahpah’s solar thermal technology uses 300,000 giant computer-controlled mirrors spread over 3,500 acres to follow the sun and concentrate energy on water towers, where boiler turbines generate electricity. The problem with this $2.2 billion feat of engineering is that birds that fly into the 800 degrees Fahrenheit rays sometimes singe or catch fire in midair. Plant workers call them "streamers" after the trail of smoke that follows the carcasses to the ground after they ignite, according to […]

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Oil Producers to Pump Up Lobbying to Remove U.S. Export Ban

WASHINGTON—The oil industry is gearing up for a postelection lobbying push to loosen the four-decade U.S. ban on exports of crude oil, saying that relaxing the prohibition would create jobs and stimulate the economy. But oil producers face several challenges in the effort, even if Republicans—frequent allies of the industry—win control of the Senate in this fall’s elections. While some GOP lawmakers favor lifting the ban, many others are signaling that they would resist the idea, particularly as voters remain concerned about its impact on gasoline prices. At least 10 companies—including Marathon Oil Corp. , ConocoPhillips , Hess Corp. , Continental Resources Inc. and Pioneer Natural Resources Co. —are starting an organized effort to lobby for lifting the ban. Companies that operate oil refineries present additional opposition. Refiners typically align with oil producers on policy matters, but on this issue have parted ways as their bottom lines benefit from […]

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Scientists develop a water splitter that runs on an ordinary AAA battery

Stanford scientists develop a water splitter that runs on an ordinary AAA battery In 2015, American consumers will finally be able to purchase fuel cell cars from Toyota and other manufacturers. Although touted as zero-emissions vehicles, most of the cars will run on hydrogen made from natural gas, a fossil fuel that contributes to global warming. Now scientists at Stanford University have developed a low-cost, emissions-free device that uses an ordinary AAA battery to produce hydrogen by water electrolysis. The battery sends an electric current through two electrodes that split liquid water into hydrogen and oxygen gas. Unlike other water splitters that use precious-metal catalysts, the electrodes in the Stanford device are made of inexpensive and abundant nickel and iron. "Using nickel and iron, which are cheap materials, we were able to make the electrocatalysts active enough to split water at room temperature with a single 1.5-volt battery," said […]

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Breaking: Nuclear Sabotage in Europe?

Here’s a curious story out of Belgium that is receiving no media attention (outside a few mentions in the specialized press) in the US: PARIS, Aug 14 (Reuters) – Belgian energy company Electrabel said its Doel 4 nuclear reactor would stay offline at least until the end of this year after major damage to its turbine, with the cause confirmed as sabotage. . . The shutdown of Doel 4′s nearly 1 gigawatt (GW) of electricity generating capacity as well as closures of two other reactors (Doel 3 and Tihange 2) for months because of cracks in steel reactor casings adds up to just over 3 GW of Belgian nuclear capacity that is offline, more than half of the total. . . Energy experts have raised the spectre of possible blackouts this winter and say Belgium will have to boost interconnection capacity with neighbouring countries to prevent power shortages. A […]

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Ukraine border guards clash with rebels near Russian border: military

KIEV (Reuters) – Ukrainian government forces engaged with a separatist armored column near the southeastern town of Novoazovsk, about 10 km (6 miles) from the Russian border, Ukraine’s military information service said on Monday. Border guards halted the advance of the column about 5 km northeast of the town, which is on the Azov Sea, it said in a Facebook post. (Reporting by Pavel Polityuk; Writing by Alessandra Prentice; Editing by Christian Lowe )

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Russia plans to send second aid convoy to Ukraine

MOSCOW (AP) — Russia has announced plans to send a second aid convoy to rebel-held eastern Ukraine, where months of fighting have left many residential buildings in ruins. Russia unilaterally sent about 200 tractor-trailers across the border on Friday, a move that Ukraine characterized as an invasion. By Saturday, all of the vehicles had returned to Russia after delivering the goods to the hard-hit rebel stronghold of Luhansk. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Monday that Russia had notified the Ukrainian government that it was preparing to send a second convoy along the same route in the coming days. Lavrov also said distribution in Luhansk of the food, water and other goods delivered by the first convoy began Monday with the participation of the International Committee of the Red Cross.

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Oil Prices Edge Lower Amid Ample Supplies

Oil futures edged lower Friday in the absence of strong market forces to drive prices. Light, sweet crude for front-month October delivery fell 31 cents, or 0.3%, to settle at $93.65 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude, the global benchmark, fell 34 cents, or 0.3%, to $102.29 a barrel on the ICE Futures Europe Exchange. The Nymex settlement was the lowest since Jan. 14. Crude prices have been on an extended slide of more than 12% over the last two months as fears of supply disruption stemming from geopolitical tensions have eased and oil has become more abundant. Brokers and analysts said there appeared to be little in the way of news or fundamental developments to drive trading Friday. The market generally looked past escalating geopolitical tensions in Ukraine. U.S. and Western military leaders condemned Russia for sending a convoy of trucks believed to be […]

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U.S. Oil Futures Cap Fifth Weekly Drop on Demand Outlook

West Texas Intermediate crude capped a fifth weekly decline, the longest losing streak in nine months, on concern refineries will reduce demand for crude as the end of summer driving season approaches. Brent slid. Gasoline demand slid to a two-month low last week, according to the Energy Information Administration. Retail gasoline prices are at the lowest seasonal level in four years, according to AAA. U.S. refineries typically schedule seasonal maintenance for September and October, when they move from maximizing gasoline output to producing winter fuels. “WTI is weakening because we are approaching refinery turnaround season,” said Tom Finlon, Jupiter, Florida-based director of Energy Analytics Group LLC. “Refinery runs aren’t going to go up much further.” WTI for October delivery dropped 31 cents, or 0.3 percent, to $93.65 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the lowest settlement since Jan. 14. The volume of all futures traded was about […]

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Death Toll in Syria Estimated at 191,000

GENEVA — The number of dead in Syria’s civil war more than doubled in the past year to at least 191,000, the United Nations human rights office said Friday. The agency’s chief, Navi Pillay, bluntly criticized Western nations, saying their inaction in the face of the slaughter had “empowered and emboldened” the killers. In its third report on Syria commissioned by the United Nations, the Human Rights Data Analysis Group identified 191,369 deaths from the start of the conflict in March 2011 to April 2014, more than double the 92,901 deaths cited in the group’s last report, which covered the first two years of the conflict. “Tragically, it is probably an underestimate of the real total number of people killed during the first three years of this murderous conflict,” Ms. Pillay said in a statement that accompanied the report, which observed that many killings in Syria were undocumented. The […]

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Talks on Iraqi Government Suspended after Attack on Sunni Mosque

BAGHDAD—Militants killed 65 members of Iraq’s Sunni minority in two attacks on Friday, one of them on a mosque, further inflaming sectarian tensions and imperiling an already fragile effort to form a unity government. The attacks, which Sunni officials blamed on Shiite militia members, came as the governments in Baghdad and Washington are trying to forge a broad alliance against the militant forces of the Islamic State, the Sunni-led insurgency that has seized huge swaths of the country since June. Within hours of the separate attacks in the province of Diyala north of Baghdad, Iraq’s Sunni political parties pulled out of coalition talks to register their anger over what they characterized as state-backed retribution against the country’s main religious minority. Leaders of three of the largest Sunni electoral blocs announced they would suspend negotiations to form a new cabinet until the perpetrators of the attacks, which also injured 17 […]

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Shi'ite militia kill dozens of Iraqi Sunnis in mosque shooting

BAGHDAD (Reuters) – Iraqi Shi’ite militiamen machine gunned minority Sunni Muslims in a village mosque on Friday, killing dozens just as Baghdad was trying to build a cross-community government to fight Sunni militants whose rise has alarmed Western powers. A morgue official in Diyala province north of Baghdad said 68 people had been killed in the sectarian attack staged on the Muslim day of prayer. Ambulances took the bodies 60 km (40 miles) to the provincial capital of Baquba, where Iranian-trained Shi’ite militias are powerful and act with impunity. Attacks on mosques are acutely sensitive and have in the past unleashed a deadly series of revenge killings and counter attacks in Iraq, where violence has returned to the levels of 2006-2007, the peak of a sectarian civil war. Two influential Sunni politicians, Deputy Prime Minister Saleh al-Mutlaq and Parliament Speaker Salim al-Jibouri, quickly suspended participation in talks with the […]

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Shi’ite militia kill dozens of Iraqi Sunnis in mosque shooting

BAGHDAD (Reuters) – Iraqi Shi’ite militiamen machine gunned minority Sunni Muslims in a village mosque on Friday, killing dozens just as Baghdad was trying to build a cross-community government to fight Sunni militants whose rise has alarmed Western powers. A morgue official in Diyala province north of Baghdad said 68 people had been killed in the sectarian attack staged on the Muslim day of prayer. Ambulances took the bodies 60 km (40 miles) to the provincial capital of Baquba, where Iranian-trained Shi’ite militias are powerful and act with impunity. Attacks on mosques are acutely sensitive and have in the past unleashed a deadly series of revenge killings and counter attacks in Iraq, where violence has returned to the levels of 2006-2007, the peak of a sectarian civil war. Two influential Sunni politicians, Deputy Prime Minister Saleh al-Mutlaq and Parliament Speaker Salim al-Jibouri, quickly suspended participation in talks with the […]

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Kurdish Oil Breakthrough Said to Enable Quadrupled Export

Iraq ’s Kurds, who have defied the central government by selling oil independently, are working to quadruple the capacity of their export pipeline within months, according to an official with knowledge of the situation. The Kurdistan Regional Government, or KRG, more than doubled daily capacity to 300,000 barrels on its pipeline to Turkey as of yesterday with installation of a new booster station at Fishkabur, the official said, asking not to be named because of policy. The region is considering a fourth booster to allow delivery of as much as 500,000 barrels a day to the Mediterranean port of Ceyhan within as little as three months, he said. The KRG didn’t answer phone calls to its press office outside working hours today. The KRG’s efforts to export their own crude has provoked legal action by authorities in Baghdad and fanned speculation that the semi-autonomous region will pursue greater independence. […]

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Kurd Claim to Stranded Oil Tanker Turns on Iraq Control

Aug. 22 (Bloomberg) –- Iraq and the Kurdistan Regional Government must wait awhile longer for a U.S. judge to decide if he has authority to let federal agents seize $100 million worth of Kurdish crude waiting in a tanker off the Texas coast. Lawyers for the Iraqi Ministry of Oil convinced a magistrate judge last month to issue an arrest warrant for the 1 million-barrel cargo if the tanker enters U.S. territorial waters. That order would let U.S. marshals store the oil ashore at Iraqi expense until the dispute is resolved. U.S. District Judge Gray Miller, who now presides over the case, told lawyers at a hearing today in Houston federal court that he needs more time for his decision, which will turn in large part on where and when Iraq lost control of the oil. If control of the crude changed when it was loaded onto the tanker […]

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Turkey calls for patience in Iraqi energy sector

Turkish Energy Minister called for patience after a state-run energy company suspended drilling operations in Iraq as a security precaution. Eight workers from the state-run Turkish Petroleum Corp., known by its Turkish initials TPAO, were evacuated from Iraq in June, and the company said it’s now decided to suspend operations because of safety concerns. Yildiz said Turkey’s southern neighbor was an important partner in energy security . "We need patience," he said Thursday. "Iraq is an important market for Turkey and the TPAO should resume work once the tension eases." The Islamic State, a Sunni-led terrorist group known also as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, has taken control of territory in parts of Iraq and Syria. Several energy companies have pulled non-essential staff out of northern Iraq in the face of increased violence in the region. The semiautonomous Kurdish government in northern Iraq has sent oil produced […]

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Baku, Tehran sign energy agreements

Azerbaijan said it signed a memorandum of understanding to broaden energy ties in the Iranian oil and natural gas sector. The State Oil Co. of the Azerbaijan Republic said its delegates have spent the last three days in Iran visiting with ministers and representatives from the energy sector. SOCAR said it reviewed interests expressed by Iran’s Khazar Exploration and Production Co. to work on oil and gas issues ranging from production to transportation of reserves between the two Caspian nations. "The event ended with signing of a memorandum of understanding between Iran’s Khazar Exploration & Production Co. and SOCAR," the Azeri company said Thursday. Iranian Minister of Communication and Information Technologies Mahmoud Vaezi met in Baku with SOCAR Director Rovneq Abdullayev in early August to review an offer from Baku to coordinate energy policies more closely for the sake of the needs of the European community. Azerbaijan is scheduled […]

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Pemex Tax Burden Bloated by Water Content in Oil Barrels

Petroleos Mexicanos , the crude producer that accounts for about a third of state revenue in Mexico, said it pays taxes on oil production volume that’s inflated by water and other measurement inaccuracies. Under existing law, the company known as Pemex pays some taxes based on reported volume at the wellhead, it said by e-mail yesterday. In the statement, Pemex cut its year-to-date production to 2.34 million barrels a day from a previously reported 2.47 million. Output was overstated because of water content and inefficient measuring and separation systems. “The water content and measurement distortions have increased the fiscal burden on Pemex,” the Mexico City-based company said in the statement. Facing a 10th straight year of production declines, Pemex said output at the end of the year would be about 2.35 million barrels a day. That’s the second revision in a month after Exploration and Production Director Gustavo Hernandez […]

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Pemex says miscalcuation leads to slashed crude output

Mexican state Pemex has revised its annual production target for the year to 2.35 million b/d from 2.44 million b/d, its lowest level for three decades, the oil and natural gas monopoly said Friday. January-through-July production data has been reduced by 126,000 b/d, or 5%, because of miscalculations by antiquated measuring equipment, Pemex said. Water had been counted as oil in the calculations, it added. –Ronald Buchanan, [email protected] –Edited by Richard Rubin, [email protected]

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Siluria turns natural gas into gasoline for $1 per gallon

Pete Bergstrom monitors the conversion of natural gas to gasoline at Siluria Technologies in Hayward. Photo: Paul Chinn, The Chronicle The clear gas produced from natural gas is made for about $1 per gallon. Photo: Paul Chinn, The Chronicle A control panel monitors the production of ethylene from natural gas. The ethylene can be converted to gasoline, diesel or jet fuel. Photo: Paul Chinn, The Chronicle Pete Bergstrom monitors the conversion of natural gas to gasoline at Siluria Technologies in Hayward. The process costs much less than refining crude oil. Photo: Paul Chinn, The Chronicle Erik Scher, vice president of research and development engineering, monitors production of ethylene from natural gas at a Siluria Technologies plant in Hayward, Calif. on Tuesday, Aug. 19, 2014. The startup energy company is announcing that Saudi Aramco, one of the world’s largest oil companies, is its latest major investment partner. Photo: Paul Chinn, […]

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Siluria Technologies Turns Natural Gas Into Gasoline in Hayward, Calif.

Siluria Technologies says it can produce large quantities of gasoline, diesel, jet fuel and chemicals at roughly $1 per gallon. The clear liquid flowing from a collection of pipes and wires in a Hayward, Calif., industrial park smells just like gasoline, and for all practical purposes, it is. But it wasn’t made from crude oil. Instead, it came from natural gas, the fuel whose sudden abundance in America is reshaping the country’s energy landscape. Siluria Technologies says it can produce large quantities of gasoline, diesel, jet fuel and chemicals at a lower cost than traditional refineries and chemical plants. At today’s natural gas prices, Siluria’s technology could make gasoline at roughly $1 per gallon, according to the company. The oil industry has taken notice. Siluria reported Wednesday that its latest, $30 million fundraising round was led by Saudi Aramco, the world’s largest oil company. For Aramco, the move may […]

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Gulf of Mexico lease draws advocacy fire

The advocacy group said it was frustrated with the latest auction of 434,000 acres in the Gulf of Mexico to energy explorers. Campaigner Marissa Knodel said the sale comes despite the lack of comprehensive congressional action taken in response to the BP oil spill in 2010. "The federal government’s addiction to fossil fuels threatens the health and vitality of the waters, wildlife and coastal communities in the Gulf of Mexico," she said in a statement Thursday. The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management said the acreage auctioned off this week could lead to the production of between 116 million and 200 million barrels of oil and 538 billion and 938 billion cubic feet of natural gas. A coalition of oil and gas groups pressing for more access to offshore reserves said in a letter to the Interior Department this week offshore incident response has improved dramatically in the wake of […]

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Oil Rigs Slide Most Since 2012 With Crude at 7-Month Low

The number of rigs targeting oil in the U.S. shrank this week by the most since 2012 as crude trades at a seven-month low and drillers redirect equipment to focus on the most profitable plays. Oil rigs tumbled by 25 this week to 1,564, the lowest level in a month and the largest drop since Dec. 21, 2012, data posted on Baker Hughes Inc. (BHI) ’s website today show. Those targeting gas meanwhile jumped to the highest in five months, the Houston-based field services company said. U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude declined for a fifth week, the longest losing streak in nine months. Lower prices threaten to halt a surge in the oil rig count as energy producers use a combination of horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing to draw record volumes out of shale formations from North Dakota to Texas. The shale boom has raised domestic production to […]

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Native concerns over oil vetted in Canada

The Canadian government said it set the schedule to hear concerns from the aboriginal community about expansion of the Trans Mountain oil pipeline. Pipeline company Kinder Morgan wants to spend more than $5 billion to twin the existing pipeline from Alberta to British Columbia. The company said the expansion would at least double the corridor’s existing capacity of 300,000 barrels of oil per day. Advocacy groups and members of the aboriginal community have expressed concern about the potential environmental impact of more oil pipelines to the western Canadian coast. The National Energy Board, a Canadian regulator, said it would hear oral evidence at a Monday hearing in Edmonton. "The board recognizes that aboriginal peoples have an oral tradition for sharing stories, lessons, and knowledge from generation to generation," NEB said in a statement Thursday. "This information cannot always be shared adequately in writing yet it will make up an […]

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Russian Trucks Reach Luhansk as Kiev Denounces 'Invasion'

Trucks carrying what Russia says is humanitarian aid reached the embattled eastern Ukrainian city of Luhansk, after crossing the border in what the government in Kiev denounced as an “invasion.” Tension escalated as Oana Lungescu, a spokeswoman for NATO, said by e-mail that since the middle of this month the alliance had received “multiple reports” of direct involvement of Russian airborne, air defense and special operations forces in eastern Ukraine. Vitaly Churkin, Russia’s ambassador to the United Nations, said that no Russian artillery or military forces are there. The U.S., European Union and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization denounced the convoy’s entrance into Ukraine, with a Pentagon spokesman saying Russia continues to add troops near the border with Ukraine. The convoy is a “flagrant violation of Ukraine’s sovereignty,” White House Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes told reporters at a briefing today. Related: Russia is invading under the cover […]

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Russian Trucks Reach Luhansk as Kiev Denounces ‘Invasion’

Trucks carrying what Russia says is humanitarian aid reached the embattled eastern Ukrainian city of Luhansk, after crossing the border in what the government in Kiev denounced as an “invasion.” Tension escalated as Oana Lungescu, a spokeswoman for NATO, said by e-mail that since the middle of this month the alliance had received “multiple reports” of direct involvement of Russian airborne, air defense and special operations forces in eastern Ukraine. Vitaly Churkin, Russia’s ambassador to the United Nations, said that no Russian artillery or military forces are there. The U.S., European Union and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization denounced the convoy’s entrance into Ukraine, with a Pentagon spokesman saying Russia continues to add troops near the border with Ukraine. The convoy is a “flagrant violation of Ukraine’s sovereignty,” White House Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes told reporters at a briefing today. Related: Russia is invading under the cover […]

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Russians Open Fire in Ukraine, NATO Reports

KIEV, Ukraine — Russia on Friday escalated tensions with Ukraine to the highest level since its stealthy invasion of Crimea in the spring, sending more than 200 trucks from a long-stalled aid convoy into rebel-held eastern Ukraine over the objections of Kiev and, NATO said, conducting military operations on Ukrainian territory. NATO officials said that the Russian military had moved artillery units inside Ukrainian territory in recent days and was using them to fire at Ukrainian forces. Russia has repeatedly denied sending troops or military hardware into Ukraine, just as it denied any link to the unidentified gunmen who paved the way for Moscow’s annexation of Crimea — until President Vladimir V. Putin stated in April that Russian troops were “of course” involved. There has been “a major escalation in Russian military involvement in eastern Ukraine since mid-August, including the use of Russian forces,” Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen […]

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Russia's Rosneft grabs Norwegian drilling assets

"This deal will allow Rosneft to acquire new capabilities in the sphere of oilfield services, by engaging the best professionals, with unique expertise in operations in harsh climate conditions," Rosneft Chief Executive Officer Igor Sechin said in a statement Friday. Rosneft was the target of sanctions imposed by Western powers in response to Russia’s stance on crises in Ukraine. Sechin himself was sanctioned by the U.S. government. Nevertheless, the Russian oil company has signed a string of agreements with its international counterparts, including an Aug. 1 deal to acquire Venezuelan assets from oil services company Weatherford International. Last week, Rosneft announced it started an exploration program in the arctic waters of the Barents Sea with Norwegian energy company Statoil. On the latest deal, Sechin said Rosneft and its Norwegian partners are creating an international partnership in drilling services. "The company will notably strengthen its positions on the market of […]

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Russia’s Rosneft grabs Norwegian drilling assets

"This deal will allow Rosneft to acquire new capabilities in the sphere of oilfield services, by engaging the best professionals, with unique expertise in operations in harsh climate conditions," Rosneft Chief Executive Officer Igor Sechin said in a statement Friday. Rosneft was the target of sanctions imposed by Western powers in response to Russia’s stance on crises in Ukraine. Sechin himself was sanctioned by the U.S. government. Nevertheless, the Russian oil company has signed a string of agreements with its international counterparts, including an Aug. 1 deal to acquire Venezuelan assets from oil services company Weatherford International. Last week, Rosneft announced it started an exploration program in the arctic waters of the Barents Sea with Norwegian energy company Statoil. On the latest deal, Sechin said Rosneft and its Norwegian partners are creating an international partnership in drilling services. "The company will notably strengthen its positions on the market of […]

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Germany Approves RWE's Sale of DEA to Russian Entrepreneur

BERLIN—The German Economics Ministry said Friday it has approved the sale of RWE AG ‘s oil and natural gas exploration subsidiary RWE Dea AG to an investment holding vehicle of Russian entrepreneur Mikhail Fridman , despite growing Russo-German tensions over the Ukraine crisis. Fridman’s LetterOne Group and RWE agreed the deal in March which valued Dea at €5.1 billion ($6.8 billion), including €600 million in liabilities. The ministry said it has no objections to the sale to Luxembourg-based LetterOne. "The decisive factor for our decision was that LetterOne is an EU-based investor and that we see no indication for any kind of improper bypassing," said Economics Ministry spokeswoman Tanja Alemany Sanchez de León. "In addition, we don’t expect that this planned acquisition will have any negative impact on Germany’s security of [oil and gas] supply." An RWE spokeswoman said: "With this decision, we have cleared another hurdle." The company […]

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Germany Approves RWE’s Sale of DEA to Russian Entrepreneur

BERLIN—The German Economics Ministry said Friday it has approved the sale of RWE AG ‘s oil and natural gas exploration subsidiary RWE Dea AG to an investment holding vehicle of Russian entrepreneur Mikhail Fridman , despite growing Russo-German tensions over the Ukraine crisis. Fridman’s LetterOne Group and RWE agreed the deal in March which valued Dea at €5.1 billion ($6.8 billion), including €600 million in liabilities. The ministry said it has no objections to the sale to Luxembourg-based LetterOne. "The decisive factor for our decision was that LetterOne is an EU-based investor and that we see no indication for any kind of improper bypassing," said Economics Ministry spokeswoman Tanja Alemany Sanchez de León. "In addition, we don’t expect that this planned acquisition will have any negative impact on Germany’s security of [oil and gas] supply." An RWE spokeswoman said: "With this decision, we have cleared another hurdle." The company […]

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Nuclear Shutdowns Leave Belgium Looking for Power

BRUSSELS—Belgian authorities are racing to map out emergency plans in case of a severe energy crunch this winter. The country could face energy shortfalls in the depths of winter after the sudden closure of three major nuclear power plants over the past months. Two nuclear reactors, Doel 3 and Tihange 2, were closed in May after cracks appeared in the steel reactor casings, and another large plant, Doel 4, closed down on Aug. 5, after an oil leak which its French parent company GDF Suez said was due to sabotage. The incidents mean that all three plants are likely to remain out of action until the end of the year, depriving Belgium of more than half its nuclear capacity. Belgium’s parliament is holding a special session on Friday to discuss situation and it has commissioned the national crisis center to set out possible scenarios in case of a power […]

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Grandmothers lead U.K.-wide wave of direct action against fracking

On a U.K.-wide day of action on Monday, anti-frackers locked-on to gates to defend planned fracking sites and occupied fracking companies. They closed down PR companies and blocked government departments. In total, 12 anti-fracking actions took place across the U.K. The coordinated protests aimed to highlight the dangers of fracking and the corrupt web of corporate and government power aggressively pushing the process forward despite widespread public opposition. Catalyzed by, and created within, the week-long Reclaim the Power camp taking place in Lancashire in North West England, the actions couldn’t have happened without grandmothers and mothers first occupying the land on which U.K. fracking giant Cuadrilla plans to begin drilling full-scale in earnest. Grandmothers and Mums Lead the Fight to Rid the U.K. of Fracking Twenty-five women, some retired, and three men met at a covert rendezvous point at 5 a.m. on August 7. Sporting camouflage, they rushed onto […]

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WTI Oil Set for Longest Weekly Slide Since November

West Texas Intermediate crude headed for a fifth weekly decline, the longest falling streak in nine months, while investors await a speech from Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen. Brent slipped amid adequate supplies. Futures declined 0.4 percent in New York , bringing the weekly loss to 3.9 percent. Traders are watching for signs of the timing of interest-rate increases from Yellen, who speaks today at a Fed symposium in Jackson Hole , Wyoming . A preliminary gauge of Chinese manufacturing missed estimates yesterday, bolstering concerns that demand growth will slow. “The main pressure is because of the oversupply we see in the market,” Hans van Cleef, energy economist at ABN Amro Bank NV in Amsterdam, said by phone. “There’s a lot of cash at the moment that needs to be invested somewhere, perhaps in commodities. If something comes out of the meeting that will hurt the amount of money, […]

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Average Brent crude oil prices trade within $5 per barrel range for 13 months in a row

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration Brent crude oil spot prices averaged $107 per barrel (bbl) in July, marking the 13th consecutive month in which average Brent crude oil prices were between $107/bbl and $112/bbl (see graph above). Although supply growth from non-OPEC countries has outpaced world consumption in the past year, its potential price-reducing effect has been offset by unplanned supply outages among producers in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). The result has tightened world oil markets and placed upward pressure on prices. This price stability has been remarkable compared with the volatility seen as recently as two years ago, when Brent spot prices ranged from as high as $125/bbl in March 2012, to as low as $95/bbl in June 2012. Implied volatility (a measure of expected price variation) for the near-month Brent futures contract has averaged 18% over the past 12 months, compared with 28% […]

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Natural-Gas Prices End Higher

(Updates to add tables.) By Timothy Puko Natural-gas prices closed higher Thursday, rebounding in the afternoon despite a stockpile update that showed a larger surplus than expected. The front-month September contract settled up 6.6 cents, or 1.7%, to $3.889 a million British thermal units on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Prices fell 1.9% immediately after the weekly stockpile update at 10:30 a.m., but then steadily rose through the afternoon to close at their highest point in a week. Traders and analysts had trouble explaining the turn. It could have been because of heat that is peaking in the Midwest and South this week, Jim Ritterbusch, president of energy-advisory firm Ritterbusch & Associates, said in a note. But the most recent updates had pointed to cooler weather, suggesting that there would not be a lingering demand spike for gas-fueled power to run air conditioners. "It’s very hard to figure out […]

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Gazprom Neft readies arctic oil shipments

The company said it would ship a low sulfur blend of crude oil , dubbed Novy Port, from the field bearing its name from the Yamal peninsula. "A sea tanker will deliver the oil to Europe in September and over 80,000 tons of the new Novy Port oil classification are scheduled to be delivered from the field by two tankers during the 2014 ice-free season," the company said in a statement. Changes in global weather patterns are leaving parts of the arctic region ice-free for longer periods of time. Gazprom Neft said it confirmed in 2011 that using a nuclear-powered icebreaker would facilitate transportation of oil from the port on the northern peninsula, where pipeline infrastructure is lacking. When ice is heavy, the company said it would ship oil by rail to a northern rail terminal for transportation to the regional market until an export terminal is completed in […]

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Premier Oil to Sell Down Falklands Project

LONDON— Premier Oil PLC has held discussions with companies interested in buying a stake in its Sea Lion project in the Falkland Islands, newly appointed Chief Executive Tony Durrant said Thursday. The U.K.-listed oil and gas explorer, which wants to reduce its exposure to the $5.2 billion project, aims to launch the formal sale process in the fourth quarter and to have sold the stake by the middle of next year, when it also plans to take the final investment decision on the development. "We don’t have any doubts about the project, but we currently have a 60% interest and it makes sense for us to bring in a partner," said Mr. Durrant, who stepped up from his role as finance director to CEO of Premier in late June. Premier is looking to sell a 20% to 30% stake in the project. He said there was "significant interest" in […]

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Natural Gas Production Falls Short in China

SHOUYANG, China — Jin Peisheng, a drilling rig foreman, knows the challenges of trying to extract natural gas from a coal seam under the cornfields here in north-central China. Cracks in the subterranean coal are flooded with water that needs to be pumped out before the gas will emerge. The coal seams are so cold that gels injected into the well, which are meant to help release the gas, sometimes become gummy and block the flow instead. And there is constant concern about hitting the labyrinths of active coal mines that honeycomb the area. “The big uncertainty is what’s underground — if there’s a tunnel, that’s a big danger. It would be dangerous for the miners,” Mr. Jin said. Faced with severe air pollution from coal and a rising dependence on energy imports, China has been eager to follow the United States by rapidly increasing natural gas output. Replacing […]

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China Said to Mull Subsidies for Energy-Saving Appliances

China is considering a plan to offer subsidies to encourage wider use of energy-saving home appliances, people familiar with the matter said. Shares of appliance makers rose. The State Council would need to approve the subsidies plan, which targets makers of appliances including energy-efficient air conditioners and refrigerators, said the people, who asked not to be identified because they weren’t authorized to speak publicly about the matter. The Ministry of Finance , National Development and Reform Commission and Ministry of Commerce are drafting the plan, they said. The subsidies would follow a yearlong program begun in 2012 offering financial incentives to consumers of energy-efficient appliances. China’s household electronic sales rose 8.6 percent in the first seven months of the year, lower than the 15 percent sales growth in the same period last year, according to the National Bureau of Statistics. Companies would need to submit applications for their products […]

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Maersk to Lay Off Portion of Houston Workforce

Maersk Oil confirmed to Rigzone that it would let 54 employees go from its Houston office and relocate eight employees from Houston to its headquarters in Copenhagen, Denmark. The operational challenges of growing a non-operated exploration portfolio in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico prompted Maersk to scale back exploration in the basin, resulting to a refocusing of Maersk’s Houston office and merger of a number of activities with global functions in Copenhagen. Maersk Oil is part of the A.P. Moller-Maersk Group. The company will retain 150 employees as part of its refocused Houston organization, Maersk spokesperson Charlotte Holst Frahm told Rigzone in a statement. “The Houston team will continue to play a key role in managing Maersk Oil’s interests in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico and supporting its key project developments in deepwater, including the Chissonga field offshore Angola, and the Chevron Corp.-operated Jack discovery and Buckskin prospect in […]

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Statoil to Supply Gas to Lithuania in Five-Year Deal

Lithuanian gas supplier Litgas said Thursday it has signed a five-year deal with Norway’s Statoil AS A to deliver 540 million cubic meters of natural gas annually from 2015, a move that could put an end to Lithuania being wholly dependent on Russian gas. "This strategic contract will help to ensure the availability of an alternative natural gas import source, which will enable us and other Lithuanian companies to procure natural gas on international markets from various suppliers at any time," said Dominykas Tuckus, general manager of UAB Litgas. The Baltic nation is currently dependent on Gazprom for 100% of its gas, and Lithuanians have been paying 15% higher than the European average gas price. Concerns about price and energy security have prompted Lithuania to lease a ship—dubbed ‘Independence’—that will allow it to process liquefied natural gas from non-Russian sources and deliver it to Lithuanian customers at potentially lower […]

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Gas prices dropping, Energy Department says

The Energy Information Administration, the statistical arm of the Energy Department, said gasoline prices have decreased in all parts of the United States apart from the Rocky Mountains region, where the average price as of Aug. 18 was up less than one cent from the previous week. Motor club AAA reports a national average price Thursday of $3.43 per gallon, nearly four cents lower than the previous week and about 10 cents less than the price for this date in 2013. The average price is the lowest it’s been since February and the lowest price for August in four years. In a Monday report, AAA said traders have shrugged off tensions in Russia, Ukraine and Iraq. "This is largely due to the relative stability of global supply projections, attributed to the U.S. approaching its highest annual level of oil production since 1972 and Libya’s returning to previous production levels," […]

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Gulf of Mexico auction draws $100 million in bids

Acreage up for auction in Lease Sale 238 could lead to the production of between 116 million and 200 million barrels of oil and 538 billion and 938 billion cubic feet of natural gas, the U.S. Interior Department said. The auction in New Orleans attracted $109 million in high bids for 81 tracts covering more than 433,000 acres off the coast of Texas. Deputy Interior Secretary Mike Connor said the bid totals are a testament to the importance of the Gulf of Mexico. "The Gulf of Mexico has been and will continue to be a cornerstone of our domestic energy portfolio, with vital energy resources that spur economic opportunities and further reduce our dependence on foreign oil," he said in a statement. Lease sales included under a five-year energy plan outlined by President Barack Obama have generated $2.3 billion in bid revenues. A consortium of energy industry leaders called […]

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Texas, N.D. oil push imports down

Bentek Energy, the analytical division of Platts, said July oil production from the Bakken area in North Dakota and the Eagle Ford shale play in Texas increased 3.4 percent year-on-year , or more than 86,000 barrels per day. "Oil production gains from the Bakken and Eagle Ford shale formations are a major reason why U.S. imports of crude oil have dropped to levels not seen since the mid-1990s," Benteck Director of Energy Analysis Jack Weixel said in a statement Thursday. The Energy Information Administration, the statistical arm of the Energy Department, said in its monthly short-term market report total U.S. crude oil production reached 8.5 million barrels per day in July, the highest monthly level since April 1987. The rise in domestic oil production in turn means lower imports of foreign crude oil . EIA said imports nearly halved from 2005 to average 33 percent of the market share […]

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Shell committed to Ukrainian shale

| License Photo Russia’s state media RIA Novosti said it’s received word Royal Dutch Shell remains committed to shale gas reserves in Ukraine despite the violence. "Shell’s interests in shale gas production in Ukraine remain the same, and we will continue to execute all kinds of operations that we can carry out safely," a spokesman told the Russian news agency on condition of anonymity. Shell Chief Executive Officer Ben van Beurden said in early August some of the company’s operations in Europe may be influenced by ongoing crises in Ukraine. As a result, he declared force majeure , releasing the company from contractual obligations because of circumstances beyond its control. Shell in early 2013 signed agreements to produce gas from the Kharkiv and Donetsk regions of Ukraine. Ukrainian forces this week advanced on rebel-held territory in Donetsk . Heavy fighting was reported in the area this week as Ukrainian […]

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