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EIA mapping tool shows which U.S. energy facilities are in areas at risk of flooding

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration A new component of EIA’s Energy Mapping System allows users to view critical energy infrastructure that may be vulnerable to coastal and inland flooding. These new map layers enable the public to see existing energy facilities that could potentially be affected by flooding caused by hurricanes, overflowing rivers, flash floods, and other wet-weather events. The mapping tool combines flood hazard information from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) with EIA’s existing U.S. Energy Mapping System that shows power plants, oil refineries, crude oil rail terminals, and other critical energy infrastructure. The maps can help readers understand what energy infrastructure assets are currently exposed to flood risk. The maps show areas that have a 1% and 0.2% annual chance of flooding (essentially a 1-in-100 and 1-in-500 chance, respectively). The tool also contains regulatory floodways, levees, areas with levees (and therefore reduced flood risk), and areas […]

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API: Energy exports boost US economic vitality, diplomatic strength

American energy exports are revitalizing the economy and shifting the balance of power around the world, as shown by the Aug. 6 trade report from the US Department of Commerce, said American Petroleum Institute Chief Economist John Felmy. According to the report, US exports in goods and services totaled $2,280 billion in 2013, up from $2,216 billion in 2012. The US trade deficit in 2013 decreased by $61 billion from 2012. Exports in this year’s first half were $1,159 billion compared with $1,127 billion and $1,101 billion for the same periods of 2013 and 2012, respectively. The report also showed that exports of crude oil and petroleum products are up from the same month last year more than $1.2 billion to $12.7 billion. For year-to-date, the total trade deficit for crude oil and petroleum products is down $20.4 billion from the same period last year. “Domestic oil and natural […]

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US crude exports seen helping consumers

Ending the US ban on exports of crude oil would hurt refiners now profiting from low feedstock costs but help producers and consumers, says an analyst at the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas . In a July report, Michael D. Plante, senior research economist in the bank’s Research Department, describes how transport constraints have created localized oversupply, lowering regional crude prices in relation to global prices of similar crudes. With the transportation system adjusting to new production from unconventional resources in the US interior, oversupply is developing rapidly on the US Gulf Coast. “If the export ban were not in place, this would not be a problem,” Plante writes. “The extra oil would be shipped to other countries with the appropriate refining capacity for light crude. Crude oil prices in the US then would reflect global prices.” Complicating the problem is a quality mismatch. Many […]

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Range Resources Faces Fine Over Pennsylvania Fracking Wastewater Leak

Oil and gas producer Range Resources did not properly monitor leaks from a wastewater containment pond in Pennsylvania and the state has begun enforcement action that could lead to a fine, state officials said on Wednesday. A leak was detected earlier this year at the Yeager impoundment in Amwell Township in Washington County, in southwestern Pennsylvania, according to the Notice of Violation issued by the state Department of Environmental Protection on July 24. The pond contains a briny mixture of fluids, including drilling water that returns to the surface after fracking, the process that involves pumping chemical-laced water and sand underground to fracture rock to release oil or gas, said Range Resources spokesman Matt Pitzarella. "During its operation of the (pond), flow was often detected in the leak detection zone, but Range did not satisfy the permit’s weekly chlorides testing requirements," the notice […]

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Russia Favorite With Banks to Energy Unless Sanctions Hit

Some of the most lucrative banks and energy companies in the world are also among the cheapest. What’s the catch? They are Russian. While OAO Novatek has the best return on equity and assets among the 100 largest energy companies and OAO Sberbank has the second-highest net interest margin among lenders, deepening international sanctions against Russia are turning investors away. The two stocks have lost about $23 billion in combined market value in the past six weeks, leaving both at discounts of more than 40 percent to their industry rivals, as they became targets of the measures aimed at punishing Russia for its support of Ukrainian rebels. Look beyond Novatek in the energy industry and the findings are similar. Six of the biggest Russian oil and gas companies, including OAO Lukoil, OAO Bashneft and OAO Rosneft, have an average return on equity of 18.8 percent, almost four times the […]

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Russia: U.S. ruined Iranian oil deal

An official inside the Kremlin said Wednesday the U.S. government got in the way of a possible deal between Iranian and Russian oil companies. Iran can export around 1 million bpd under the terms of a November arrangement that brought some relief from economic sanctions in exchange for a commitment to curb nuclear research activity. In the wake of the agreement, Iran said it was in serious negotiations with the Russian government to swap oil for goods. Both sides already cooperate in the energy sector, with Russia supplying fuel for Iran’s nuclear reactor in Bushehr. A source inside in the Russian government told Russian business daily newspaper Kommersant the U.S. government "attempted to torpedo the [oil] deal by threatening both Russian and Iranian companies with sanctions." When the deal surfaced early this year, U.S. Rep. Ed Royce, R-Calif., chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, said it was […]

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Russia hits back at sanctions with food ban

Russian president Vladimir Putin Russian president Vladimir Putin Russia banned imports of all meat, fish, seafood, vegetables, fruit, milk, dairy products and a wide range of processed foods from the US, the EU, Australia, Canada and Norway for a year on Thursday, in a massive retaliation against western sanctions over its role in the Ukraine crisis . The government also threatened more counter-sanctions. Prime minister Dmitry Medvedev confirmed that the cabinet was discussing a proposal to ban European and American Airlines from flying over Russian airspace en route to Asia. He added that Moscow was also “potentially ready” to introduce protective measures in a number of industrial sectors including the automobile industry, shipbuilding and aircraft production. More On this topic IN Europe Moscow’s harsh move comes as tension over Ukraine is again spiking, with Nato warning of a renewed Russian troop build-up on its border with Ukraine and some […]

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Nearly 4% of the world’s oil supply is offline due to wars, unrest, sanction

The world’s oil prices have stayed high since 2010 — bouncing around $100 per barrel — for two basic reasons. Oil demand keeps rising, and production is struggling to keep up. But why is production struggling to keep up? One big factor has been geopolitical conflict. Wars, unrest, and sabotage have increasingly plagued oil producers like  Iraq ,  Libya , and Syria since 2011. The US and EU  sanctions on Iran’s oil industry have also removed a lot of oil from global markets. All told, some 3.3 million barrels of oil per day — equivalent to nearly 4 percent of global supply — are currently offline due to “unplanned outages”: Hamilton, 2014 The chart above comes from  a new paper (pdf) by James Hamilton, an economist who studies oil at the University of California, San Diego. He argues that the oil markets have changed dramatically in recent years — and […]

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Making Sense of the US Oil Story

We frequently see stories telling us how well the United States is doing at oil extraction. The fact that there are stories in the press about the US wanting to export crude oil adds to the hype. How much of these stories are really true? If we believe the stories, the US is now the largest producer of oil liquids in the world. In fact, it has been the largest producer since the fourth quarter of 2012. Figure 1. US Total Liquids production, including crude and condensate, natural gas plant liquids, "other liquids," and refinery expansion. Oil “Extenders” One of the issues is that a few years ago, the US created a new oil-related grouping, combining valuable products with much less valuable (lower energy content, less dense) products. Using this new grouping, the US was able to show much improved growth in total “oil” supply. The US EIA now […]

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Oil Futures Steady Ahead U.S. Inventory Report

By Eric Yep Crude-oil futures were slightly higher in Asian trading hours Wednesday but were unable to recover most of the losses from the previous trading session. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for delivery in September traded at $97.49 a barrel at 0513 GMT, up $0.11 in the Globex electronic session. September Brent crude on London’s ICE Futures exchange rose $0.20 to $104.81 a barrel. Nymex crude lost 91 cents per barrel in overnight trade and has been down for eight of the past 11 sessions, while Brent crude lost 80 cents overnight and has settled lower for four of the past five trading sessions. The U.S. oil benchmark was supported by expectations of another drop in weekly oil stockpiles. Late Tuesday, the American Petroleum Institute said its data indicated a 5.5-million-barrel draw in crude supplies in the week ended Aug. 1. The more […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple