Category:

Lukoil ships oil from southern Iraqi port

Russian oil company Lukoil said Tuesday a tanker loaded with crude oil taken from the West Qurna project in Iraq has left the southern port city of Basra. Lukoil said Sea Triumph, a tanker chartered by its international marketing subsidiary, left port with 1 million barrels of oil. Lukoil said it’s the first batch of oil from its operations in the West Qurna-2 project in Iraq. "The vessel is bound for Augusta, Sicily," the company said in a statement. "Upon unloading, the oil will be transported for refining to Lukoil’s refinery in Priolo [Italy]." First oil was produced from West Qurna-2 , located in southern Iraq, in March. Lukoil, Russia’s largest private oil company, signed a contract revision in June to build two 75-mile pipelines and associated infrastructure. The system links the oil field to an export terminal in Basra, situated along the coast of the Persian Gulf. The […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Iran claims boost in gas production

Iran said Tuesday natural gas production is on the rise and on pace to reach 35 billion cubic feet in the next three years with help from the South Pars field. Iranian Deputy Petroleum Minister Rokneddin Javadi said Iran has stopped importing some types of fuel because production has increased . "During the first four months of the current [calendar] year [which started on March 21], our country’s gas production has increased 30 percent from the year before," he said in a statement Tuesday. Iran has held out its vast gas resources as an option for a European community looking to break the Russian grip on the energy sector. Sanctions imposed by Western powers limit some of Iran’s energy ambitions. Iran was eager to take part in the now-shelved Nabucco natural gas pipeline planned for Europe by sourcing gas from the South Pars field , which accounts for about […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

China Port Seen as Economic Barometer Plans Cargo Record

Qinhuangdao, home to China’s largest coal port that’s been called an indicator of Asia’s biggest economy, is set for record commodity deliveries over the next three years as urbanization boosts demand for the fuel. Shipments of mainly coal and ores via the port, also a popular resort where the late Chairman Mao Zedong holidayed, may rise by 20 million to 30 million metric tons by 2017, Xing Luzhen, the chairman of Qinhuangdao Port Co. (3369) , said on Aug. 14. Supplies hit a record high of 279 million tons in 2011. Power demand in China, the world’s largest energy consumer, is accelerating as a growing rural population uses more household appliances and as urban residents buy more electric cars, according to Xing. The country depends on coal for 66 percent of its energy, data from the National Energy Administration show. “Qinhuangdao port’s coal business will keep rising together with […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

LG Chem to Supply Batteries For Audi Plug-In Hybrids

An Audi A3 e-tron hybrid vehicle at the New York auto show in April. Bloomberg News SEOUL—South Korean battery maker LG Chem Ltd. has reached a deal to supply hundreds of millions of dollars of batteries for plug-in hybrid vehicles to Audi AG , a unit of German auto maker Volkswagen AG . LG Chem, the world’s largest battery maker by sales, didn’t disclose details of the deal, but said it would help Volkswagen bolster sluggish global sales of plug-in hybrid or electric vehicles. "The batteries will be used in Audi’s next-generation plug-in hybrid electric vehicles. Given that Audi shares many auto platforms with parent Volkswagen, we expect more such deals from the German auto group," LG said in a statement Wednesday. LG Chem didn’t disclose the exact value of the deal, saying only that it is worth hundreds of billions of won. It also declined to reveal when […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Chinese Coal Consumption Just Fell for the First Time This Century

Co Authored by Lauri Myllyvirta, Greenpeace International Sources: Compiled from China National Bureau of Statistics and China National Coal Association statistical releases. There may be a light at the end of the long dark tunnel: It appears China’s coal boom is over. While positive signs have been emerging from China for well over a year , it appears the ‘ war on pollution ‘ is not just talk. According to analysis produced by Lauri Myllyvirta and Greenpeace International in the first half of this year, China’s coal use dropped for the first time this century — while the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) actually grew. You read that right: coal and GDP growth have decoupled in China. At the same time, the growth of imports — the seemingly endless source of optimism for the moribund U.S. coal industry — ground almost to a halt, with only 0.9 percent growth […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Agency Issues Two New Safety Recommendations

This July 9, 2013, file photo shows workers combing through debris three days after a train derailed, causing explosions of railway cars carrying crude oil in Lac-Mégantic, Quebec. The Canadian Press/Associated Press Canada’s transportation safety agency Tuesday said inadequate Canadian government oversight and a railway company’s "weak safety culture" were among a host of factors that led to last year’s devastating oil-train derailment in Quebec. It also recommended even more measures to strengthen safety in a North American rail network dealing with a surge in the transportation of crude by rail. In the months following the July 6, 2013 accident in Lac-Mégantic, a handful of oil trains crashed and caught fire in the U.S., most recently in April at the edge of downtown Lynchburg, Va. No one was injured in those crashes, but those incidents added to concerns about the proliferation of crude-by-rail shipments across the continent. The Transportation […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Texas RRC Report + More About Russia

The Texas RRC Oil and Gas Production Data is out with the June production numbers. I must repeat, as I do every month, that this data is much delayed and is and will be subject to updates every month, for about two years. Of course the latest months will be the ones which will be subject to the greatest revisions. Texas Crude Only I have six months of data here to give you some idea of the revisions that can be expected in the coming months. Texas crude only is still increasing. My guess is that it is increasing by about 40 thousand barrels per month. Texas Condensate Texas condensate declined for three months in June, July and August of 2013 but has now started to increase again. I estimate that Texas condensate is currently increasing but only some months. It looks like Texas condensate production in some months […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Raymond James Labels Dry Holes a '20th Century Problem’

The relentless escalation in well productivity is proving as impactful to exploration and production (E&P) operators as are commodity prices, say analysts with Raymond James & Associates Inc. The production growth largely has been credited to the discovery of new resources and the elevated rig count, noted analysts John Freeman, J. Marshall Adkins and Praveen Nara. But that’s not necessarily the headline. "The bigger driver is the fact that, on a per-well basis, production rates have continued to move higher in almost every formation where horizontal drilling is being applied," said the trio. "This more important part of the story is clearly evident" based on recent initial production (IP) rate trends for several horizontal plays, including the Bakken, Eagle Ford and Marcellus shales. Most attention each day is given to commodity prices and now they drive production and E&P value because the price to sell oil and gas has […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Raymond James Labels Dry Holes a ’20th Century Problem’

The relentless escalation in well productivity is proving as impactful to exploration and production (E&P) operators as are commodity prices, say analysts with Raymond James & Associates Inc. The production growth largely has been credited to the discovery of new resources and the elevated rig count, noted analysts John Freeman, J. Marshall Adkins and Praveen Nara. But that’s not necessarily the headline. "The bigger driver is the fact that, on a per-well basis, production rates have continued to move higher in almost every formation where horizontal drilling is being applied," said the trio. "This more important part of the story is clearly evident" based on recent initial production (IP) rate trends for several horizontal plays, including the Bakken, Eagle Ford and Marcellus shales. Most attention each day is given to commodity prices and now they drive production and E&P value because the price to sell oil and gas has […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Plenty of Room at the Top of Ukraine’s Fading Rebellion

DONETSK, Ukraine — To outward appearances, Fyodor D. Berezin is the picture of a senior military commander. He wears camouflage, has bodyguards and confidently gives orders as the newly named deputy defense minister of the separatist Donetsk People’s Republic. Yet, just four months ago he was an obscure author of 18 science fiction novels, one play and a dozen or so short stories. In an interview, Mr. Berezin said he was as surprised as anybody by his rapid promotion through the rebel ranks. “Reality became scarier than science fiction,” he said in an interview over iced tea at the Havana Banana bar, a favorite rebel haunt. “I live in my books now. I fell right into the middle of my books.” In the real war in eastern Ukraine, it is an inauspicious time to hold a high command in the separatist forces. Under relentless pounding by the Ukrainian military, […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Norway oil fund sets out expansion plans

Norway’s $885bn oil fund is shaking up its top executives after criticism about its investment in Formula 1 and worries about how it will deal with its growing size. Norges Bank Investment Management, the arm of the central bank that manages the fund, will double the number of top executives to 12, creating new positions for compliance and several in its nascent property portfolio. More On this topic IN Capital Markets Three chief investment officers will be appointed to take over the asset allocation responsibilities currently held by chief executive, Yngve Slyngstad. “We are moving in the direction of trying to exploit the fund’s characteristics more clearly,“ Mr Slyngstad said to explain the move to three CIOs for allocation, asset and equity strategies. The CIOs will deal with both equities and bonds as well as benchmark indices increasingly tailored for the fund and its long-term outlook. The shake-up is […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Russian President Vladimir Putin to Meet With Ukraine President Petro Poroshenko

Ukrainian soldiers walk in a trench as they guard their position in the Luhansk region on Monday. AFP/Getty Images Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet his Ukrainian counterpart next week for the first time in two months, officials in both countries said, intensifying a fresh diplomatic push that could force Ukraine’s government to choose between pressing ahead with its military campaign against pro-Russia separatists or making concessions to Russia to stop the bloodshed. Calls for a cease-fire are growing louder from both Moscow and Europe amid a deepening humanitarian crisis. But Ukrainian politicians and voters are deeply skeptical of agreeing to a truce now, since doing so could give separatists the chance to consolidate control over some territory and provide Russia with a long-term mechanism to influence events in Ukraine. Ukrainian officials said the meeting in Minsk, Belarus, on Aug. 26 could lead toward a peace plan to end […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

European Gas Reverses Biggest Drop Since 2009 on Ukraine

European natural gas prices are reversing their biggest slump in five years as concern mounts that tension between Russia and Ukraine will again disrupt flows to the region. Gas for next-month delivery in the U.K. rallied 18 percent over the past six weeks as Ukraine said it may ban OAO Gazprom, Europe’s biggest supplier, from shipping the fuel across its territory because of Russia’s support of separatists. The Moscow-based company, which meets 15 percent of European gas demand through Soviet-era pipelines across Ukraine, halted supplies to its neighbor on June 16 in a debt and price dispute. Gas storage in Ukraine is less than half full and the nation began this month to limit domestic use to conserve fuel. U.K. prices, the regional benchmark, fell to their lowest since 2010 last month after a mild winter left storage sites across the 28-nation European Union at their fullest for this […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Russian President Vladimir Putin to Meet With Ukraine President Petro Poroshenko

Ukrainian soldiers walk in a trench as they guard their position in the Luhansk region on Monday. AFP/Getty Images Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet his Ukrainian counterpart next week for the first time in two months, officials in both countries said, intensifying a fresh diplomatic push that could force Ukraine’s government to choose between pressing ahead with its military campaign against pro-Russia separatists or making concessions to Russia to stop the bloodshed. Calls for a cease-fire are growing louder from both Moscow and Europe amid a deepening humanitarian crisis. But Ukrainian politicians and voters are deeply skeptical of agreeing to a truce now, since doing so could give separatists the chance to consolidate control over some territory and provide Russia with a long-term mechanism to influence events in Ukraine. Ukrainian officials said the meeting in Minsk, Belarus, on Aug. 26 could lead toward a peace plan to end […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Bulgaria puts South Stream on hold

The Bulgarian government said it was suspending all actions related to the planned Russian natural gas pipeline, South Stream, because of European rules. Bulgarian Minister of Energy and Economy Vasil Shtonov called Monday for a suspension of all actions on South Stream because "the project does not meet the legal requirements of the European Commission." European Energy Commissioner Guenther Oettinger in June said the South Stream project should be put on hold because it’s not in compliance with legislation passed in the European Union . European leaders are wary of allowing companies that produce gas to control the corresponding transit systems. South Stream is a Russian gas pipeline meant to avoid geopolitically sensitive territory in Ukraine. Russia meets about a quarter of Europe’s gas needs, though the bulk of those supplies run through the Soviet-era transit network in Ukraine. In May, Gazprom said it signed the necessary contracts needed […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Construction on Russian gas line to China slated for September

Construction on a natural gas pipeline meant to feed the Chinese market is set for the beginning of September, a Russia official said Tuesday. A pipeline contract between Gazprom and China National Petroleum Corp. is for 30 years and calls for 1.3 trillion cubic feet of natural gas per year. Russian energy company Gazprom said it started working on the infrastructure necessary for the pipeline almost immediately after signing a contract for gas to China in May. A Russian source told state news agency RIA Novosti construction on the pipeline should begin next month. "Sept. 1 is a tentative date, and it will all depend on the schedules of the country’s leaders," the source said Tuesday. Gazprom has been looking to expand into the growing Asian market in an effort to diversify an asset base tied to a European economy still struggling to grow. Ongoing disputes over gas debt […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Statoil formally opens new production platform

Norwegian oil company Statoil said Tuesday the nation’s prime minister attended a ceremony for the launch of its first new regional oil platform in nine years. Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg opened the Gudrun platform in the North Sea , the first new oil platform operated on the Norwegian continental shelf since 2005. "Gudrun has proven that we are able to take our industry into a new era with global competition and local value creation," Statoil Chief Executive Officer Helge Lund said in a statement. Statoil, alongside its partners at French energy company GDF Suez and Austria’s OMV, said the field should produce as much as 184 million barrels of oil and gas equivalent over its lifespan. Discovered in 1975, the Norwegian company described it as a megaproject, representing more than $1.9 billion in investments. Initial production from Gudrun is estimated at 30,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day. […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Crude-Oil Futures Bounce in Europe

Crude-oil futures rose in Europe Tuesday, bouncing after the previous session’s slump. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for delivery in September traded at $96.70 a barrel in morning European trade, up $0.29 on the day. October Brent crude on London’s ICE Futures exchange rose $0.22 to $101.82 a barrel. Oil prices fell to 14-month lows on Monday amid concern over rising supply in Libya. Oil production in the country has been held well below capacity in recent months due to labor unrest and port closures. However, exports are now increasing, and the state-owned National Oil Co. is planning to restart exports at the country’s largest oil port, Es Sider, this week. Despite steadying Tuesday, oil prices look likely to remain in a downward trend, analysts at Commerzbank said. Oil "is still under pressure from a combination of factors: plentiful supply, a lack of supply […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

WTI Crude Rises Before Supply Data; Brent Close to 14-Month Low

West Texas Intermediate advanced for the second time in three days before supply data that may signal the strength of fuel demand in the U.S., the world’s biggest oil consumer. Brent traded near the lowest in almost 14 months. Futures climbed as much as 0.7 percent in New York . Crude stockpiles probably fell by 1.75 million barrels to 365.3 million last week, a Bloomberg News survey showed before an Energy Information Administration report tomorrow. CVR Energy Inc. (CVRR) ’s refinery in Coffeyville, Kansas is restarting operations, Genscape Inc. said yesterday. Brent plunged yesterday as Kurdish and Iraqi forces regained control of Iraq ’s largest dam, stalling an advance by Islamic State militants. “WTI is being supported by the restart of the Coffeyville, Kansas, refinery, and by the expectation of a draw in U.S. crude oil inventories,” Tamas Varga, an analyst at PVM Oil Associates Ltd. in London , […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Slump in Oil Prices Continues on Reduced Geopolitical Fears

By Nicole Friedman NEW YORK–Oil prices slid Monday as Iraqi and Kurdish forces made gains against Islamic insurgents, reducing investor concerns about threats to Iraq’s oil production and exports. Iraqi and Kurdish forces recaptured the core of a critical dam on Monday. Militants had seized the dam Aug. 7. Oil prices jumped to nine-month highs in June when Sunni insurgents first captured cities in northern Iraq, as traders worried that the insurgents could spread to the south of Iraq, where the country’s oil production and exports are based. The current campaign is the latest indication to market watchers that Iraq’s oil output isn’t in immediate risk. "The Iraq situation, although very troubling, has not resulted in any real disruption of oil coming out of the fields there," said Richard Soultanian, co-president of NUS Consulting Group. Light, sweet crude for September delivery fell 94 cents, or 1%, to $96.41 a […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Natural-Gas Market Arrests Slide Despite Cooler Outlook

By Christian Berthelsen Natural-gas prices edged higher Monday, arresting Friday’s steep slide in a move analysts attributed to traders closing out bearish positions and locking in profits from the recent selloff. Front-month September futures ended the day up 1.6 cents, or 0.4%, at $3.792 a million British thermal units on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The market touched a low of $3.727 in overnight trading but rebounded in the morning and stayed aloft the rest of the day. The market fell more than 3% on Friday as the fundamental picture for natural-gas supply and demand weakened. That picture didn’t improve on Monday, with fresh forecasts continuing to turn cooler for the northern U.S. and the eastern seaboard through the end of August, and continued projections for larger-than-average additions to gas stockpiles. But a combination of low prices and traders closing out bets that the market would fall likely stopped […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Libya Oil Output Rises as Fields Ramp Up Production

LONDON—Libya’s production has jumped to 550,000 barrels a day, state-owned National Oil Co. said Monday, as production ramps up at fields across the country . The recovery of Libya’s oil sector is in contrast with continuous fighting between militias in the capital of Tripoli—which is far from Libyan oil fields. NOC spokesman Mohamed el-Harari said Libya is now producing 550,000 barrels a day, compared with 400,000 barrels a day last week. The number remains less than half the country’s production capacity of about 1.6 million barrels a day. Mr. el-Harari said the increase was due to a ramp up in production, including in Sharara—the largest field in the country located in Western Libya—and Misla and Sarir; two large fields in the east. The news follows last Wednesday’s resumption of exports by the key eastern terminal of Ras Lanuf after a year-long interruption. Libya’s largest oil port, Es Sider, is […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Visit to Iran to Discuss Nuclear Program Was 'Useful' Says IAEA Chief

Iranian President Hasan Rouhani, right, met Yukiya Amano, left, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency at the weekend ahead of a deadline for Tehran to answer allegations of past nuclear weapons research. Agence France-Presse/Getty Images The chief of the International Atomic Energy Agency said a weekend visit to Tehran was "useful" as the IAEA continues to push for clarification on Iran’s previous nuclear work. Iran is scheduled to deliver information on two key aspects of its past nuclear work by next Monday. The West suspects the research was aimed at developing nuclear weapons , which Tehran denies. The intensifying talks between Iran and the IAEA are separate from the broader international talks over Iran’s nuclear future, but are considered critical to the success of those talks. The visit to Iran by Yukiya Amano, IAEA’s director general, was his first since a broad agreement last November in which […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Visit to Iran to Discuss Nuclear Program Was ‘Useful’ Says IAEA Chief

Iranian President Hasan Rouhani, right, met Yukiya Amano, left, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency at the weekend ahead of a deadline for Tehran to answer allegations of past nuclear weapons research. Agence France-Presse/Getty Images The chief of the International Atomic Energy Agency said a weekend visit to Tehran was "useful" as the IAEA continues to push for clarification on Iran’s previous nuclear work. Iran is scheduled to deliver information on two key aspects of its past nuclear work by next Monday. The West suspects the research was aimed at developing nuclear weapons , which Tehran denies. The intensifying talks between Iran and the IAEA are separate from the broader international talks over Iran’s nuclear future, but are considered critical to the success of those talks. The visit to Iran by Yukiya Amano, IAEA’s director general, was his first since a broad agreement last November in which […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Iran leans on oil for economic recovery

An economic adviser to Iranian President said developing the oil and gas industries could pull the nation’s economy back from the brink. An April report from the International Monetary Fund said inflation and unemployment are both high in the Iranian economy and the outlook was "highly uncertain." Constraints on oil revenues as a result of Western economic pressure means the Iranian economy is expected to continue contracting at least through the rest of this year, the bank said. Masoud Nili, the economic advisor to the president, said the economy could recover with the help of oil and gas sector development. A package developed for Tehran puts much of the focus on oil. "The package is expected to remove hurdles and challenges in the production sector and spur production," he said Sunday. The government said oil production increased 11 percent in the four months since the March 21 start of […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Obama Says U.S. to Keep Up Airstrikes to Halt Militants

Photographer: Ahmad al-Rubaye/AFP/Getty Images Related President Barack Obama said the U.S. will continue “limited” airstrikes against Islamic State militants, which have stopped their advance on the city of Erbil and helped Iraqi and Kurdish forces recapture a key dam at Mosul. The U.S. approach has led to “important progress” against the insurgents, Obama said yesterday at the White House. He said the U.S. is working to pull together an international coalition to support humanitarian relief in northern Iraq. Obama, who pressured former Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki to step down, is seeking quick appointment of a new Iraqi government under Prime Minister-Designate Haidar Al-Abadi as a stabilizing step for the region for both Iraq and Syria. The future of Iraq depends on formation of a “credible Iraqi government,” he said. “They’ve got to get this done because the wolf’s at the door.” Obama spoke after meeting with Vice President […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Oil Search Temporarily Suspends Well in Kurdistan Due to Turmoil

Oil Search Ltd. (OSH) temporarily suspended a well in Iraqi Kurdistan after violence in the region disrupted its ability to get skilled technicians and equipment to the Taza oil project. Oil Search’s other operations in the area are continuing with the security situation stable, the oil producer said today in a statement as it posted a 34 percent gain in first-half profit. Oil Search declined 0.4 percent to A$9.41 as of 10:52 a.m. in Sydney trading. “We are continuing to monitor the security situation closely and plan to re-commence Taza-2 operations once we are confident that the long-term integrity of our supply chain has been safely re-established,” according to the statement. Oil companies including Chevron Corp. and Afren Plc evacuated staff and halted drilling operations in Kurdistan earlier this month as Islamist militants advanced into northern Iraq. Oil Search plans further drilling in the semi-autonomous region where the economy […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Kurds retake key Mosul dam in morale boosting victory over Isis

Kurdish forces advance to fight jihadis at Mosul dam on Monday Kurdish forces wrested control of Iraq ’s Mosul dam from jihadis on Monday, after the US launched its most intensive day of air strikes since intervening in the conflict 10 days ago. Although Kurdish peshmerga forces, with the support of US air power and Iraqi military on the ground, were still clearing the last resistance by fighters from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant , local officials said they had retaken the dam in the most significant defeat for Isis so far. More On this story On this topic IN Iraq Iraqi and US officials feared that Isis could use the Mosul dam, three decades old and poorly maintained, as a weapon. Whoever controls the dam could cut off power or water to millions of Iraqis. If destroyed, the dam could cause devastation that would destroy […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Troops in Iraq Rout Sunni Militants From a Key Dam

WASHINGTON — Iraqi and Kurdish ground troops overran Sunni militants and reclaimed Iraq’s largest dam on Monday, President Obama said, as American warplanes unleashed a barrage of bombs in an expansion of the limited goals laid out by the president in authorizing the military campaign in Iraq. Mr. Obama, who interrupted a family vacation on Martha’s Vineyard to meet Monday with his national security team in Washington, maintained that the airstrikes around the Mosul Dam were within the constraints of what he initially characterized as a limited campaign meant to break the siege of stranded Yazidis on Mount Sinjar and protect American personnel, citizens and facilities in Iraq. Administration officials repeatedly painted that second directive — the protection of Americans in Baghdad, 290 miles away — as the justification for the intense air campaign over Mosul Dam, seized two weeks ago by militants with the Islamic State in Iraq […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Mexico Oil Output Bloated by Water Barrels, Official Says

Petroleos Mexicanos , facing a 10th straight year of production declines , is including water in its oil output and may revise previously reported data, according to a company official briefed on the matter. A record gap this year between reported output and what the state-owned company processes is partly explained by measuring systems at older fields that are unable to differentiate water-heavy oil from actual crude, the official said, asking not to be named as Pemex debates reducing figures for the past three years or more. Last month, the company cut its 2014 output forecast to 2.44 million barrels a day. Pemex, which is preparing to form partnerships with private producers for the first time in seven decades, produced 2.48 million barrels a day through June, while its distribution system processed 2.32 million barrels a day, according to the National Hydrocarbons Commission . The commission didn’t give a […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Climate change to slash south Asian GDP, development bank warns

A young Indian man walks across Upper Lake, Asia’s largest artificial lake, west of Madhya Pradesh state capital Bhopal on May 27, 2009. Built by Raja Bhoj during his tenure as a king of Malwa (1005-1055), the lake once served around 40 percent of the surrounding area’s residents with nearly 30 million gallons per day but now lies completely dried up due to a lack of rains for the past three years. AFP PHOTO/STR South Asian economies will be badly squeezed by climate change within a few decades if no action is taken to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions responsible for global warming, according to a report published on Tuesday by the Asian Development Bank. The report calculates that the six countries studied – India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bhutan and the Maldives – would on average lose 1.8 per cent of their gross domestic product by 2050 and […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

China taking on more natural gas

"Natural gas accounted for only 4.9 percent of China’s total energy consumption in 2012, but large investments in domestic natural gas production and infrastructure, along with growing imports, are likely to underpin a significantly larger role in the future," a brief from EIA said. The Chinese government said it’s committed to a low-carbon economy. The share of natural gas in the energy mix should increase by 10 percent by 2020. China is the world leader in emissions. Beijing says it’s readjusted its economic structure in a way that promotes green energy and a low-carbon economy in an effort to combat climate change . EIA said China more than tripled its gas production since 2003. Nevertheless, since 2007, Chinese gas consumption has outpaced production, forcing the company to rely more on gas imports. The brief said China could replace imports by tapping into what could be the largest deposits of […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Natural gas serves a small, but growing, portion of China’s total energy demand

China relies heavily on domestic coal (and to a lesser extent oil) to meet rising energy consumption. To reduce air pollution and carbon dioxide emissions, the Chinese government is attempting to replace some of the country’s coal and oil use with natural gas. Natural gas accounted for only 4.9% of China’s total energy consumption in 2012, but large investments in domestic natural gas production and infrastructure, along with growing imports, are likely to underpin a significantly larger role in the future. The Chinese government anticipates increasing its natural gas share of total energy consumption to around 8% by the end of 2015 and 10% by 2020. China more than tripled natural gas production since 2003, producing 3.8 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) in 2012, and the government is targeting production to reach about 5.5 Tcf of natural gas per year by the end of 2015. Most of the anticipated production […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

EIA: China to increase natural gas consumption, investment

HOUSTON, Aug. 18 08/18/2014 China more than tripled natural gas production since 2003, producing 3.8 tcf in 2012, and the government is targeting production to reach about 5.5 tcf/year of gas by the end of 2015, according to a recent analysis from the US Energy Information Administration . China is attempting to use more natural gas to reduce air pollution and carbon dioxide emissions, which are largely caused by coal and oil usage for energy. Underpinned by large investments in domestic gas production and infrastructure, along with growing imports, the Chinese government anticipates increasing its gas share of total energy consumption to around 8% by yearend 2015 and to 10% by 2020. In 2012, natural gas accounted for only 4.9% of China’s total energy consumption. “Most of the anticipated production growth is from large onshore fields in the western and north-central regions of China as well as from the […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

China's National Effort in Oil and Gas Fracking Fails

China’s “economic miracle” faces an existential threat now that the nation is the world’s largest importer of oil. The Chinese central authorities mandated a $275-billion crash investment in fracking to develop cheap energy from China’s 30 trillion cubic meters of natural gas trapped in the world’s largest shale fields. But China’s effort to knockoff America’s oil and gas fracking boom appears to have failed. China seems doomed to continue to destroy its industrial competitiveness by relying on high-cost energy imports. The head of China’s National Energy Administration (CNEA) quietly admitted last week that the country’s bold effort to follow the United States’s lead in launching an oil and gas boom based on hydraulic fracking of shale is failing. CNEA central planners promised domestic fracking would produce 80 billion cubic meters of cheap natural gas a year by 2020. But CNEA’s estimate for domestic gas production has been revised down […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

China’s National Effort in Oil and Gas Fracking Fails

China’s “economic miracle” faces an existential threat now that the nation is the world’s largest importer of oil. The Chinese central authorities mandated a $275-billion crash investment in fracking to develop cheap energy from China’s 30 trillion cubic meters of natural gas trapped in the world’s largest shale fields. But China’s effort to knockoff America’s oil and gas fracking boom appears to have failed. China seems doomed to continue to destroy its industrial competitiveness by relying on high-cost energy imports. The head of China’s National Energy Administration (CNEA) quietly admitted last week that the country’s bold effort to follow the United States’s lead in launching an oil and gas boom based on hydraulic fracking of shale is failing. CNEA central planners promised domestic fracking would produce 80 billion cubic meters of cheap natural gas a year by 2020. But CNEA’s estimate for domestic gas production has been revised down […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Bakken Production Data for June + EIA Data

The Bakken and North Dakota production numbers are in for June. There was a big jump in oil production in June. The Bakken was up 53,162 barrels per day to 1,028,352 bpd. All North Dakota was up 52,148 bpd to 1,092,617 meaning the area outside the Bakken was down about 1,000 bpd. Bakken Barrels Per Day May Sweet Crude Price = $88.31/barrel July Sweet Crude Price = $86.20/barrel Today’s Sweet Crude Price = $79.50/barrel (all-time high was $136.29 7/3/2008) The drilling rig count was up one from May to June, and up two more from June to July. The number of well completions increased as weather impacts eased in June with significant rainfall on 2 days near Minot and 1 day near Dickinson. However, there were still 6 to 8 days with wind speeds in excess of 35 mph (too high for completion work). At the end of June […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

US Energy Dept Finalizes Overhaul Of Natural Gas Export Reviews

WASHINGTON, Aug 14 (Reuters) – The U.S. Energy Department has finalized a plan to revamp its process for approving liquefied natural gas exports, and as originally proposed the changes eliminate conditional approvals for LNG projects. Beginning Thursday, the department will only issue final rulings on whether exports are in the public interest after the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, or another authorized agency, has completed an environmental review of the project. The move will likely shift focus from the Energy Department, which has been criticized for moving too slowly, to the more costly FERC process, which assesses the safety and environmental impacts of LNG export facilities. Making an export application with the DOE costs about $20,000 but companies pay up to $100 million to complete the FERC process, an investment that separates serious projects from those without the financial backing to actually construct what are often multibillion-dollar facilities. The new […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Rosneft, Statoil start Barents Sea work

Russian oil company Rosneft said Monday it started an exploration program in the Barents Sea with Norwegian energy company Statoil. "The start of this exploration operation marks an important milestone in developing the cooperation between Rosneft and Statoil," the Russian company said in a statement. "The companies plan to implement their experience of exploration and development of hydrocarbon fields in regions with harsh climate." Rosneft said its subsidiary RN Nordic Oil is working alongside Statoil at the Pingvin license area of the Barents Sea. Statoil last week received approval from the government to move the Transocean rig, Spitsbergen, to the area. Rosneft said both sides would review the drilling results from the region through the end of the year. Statoil was the target of a campaign from Greenpeace , which said exploration in the arctic waters of the Barents Sea puts the region’s ecology at risk. The Norwegian government […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Reverse gas flows tested for Ukraine

| License Photo The Ukrainian government confirmed Monday testing was under way for the reversal of gas flows from Slovakia to Ukraine. Russian energy company Gazprom in June cut gas supplies to Ukraine because of lingering debt disputes. The Ukrainian government said testing began to send 70 million cubic feet per day from Slovakia to Ukraine through the joint work of transit companies Uktransgaz and Eustream. Commercial operations from the Slovakian transit system could start as early as Sept. 2. Uktransgaz Chairman Igor Prokopiv credited his company’s professionalism with keeping energy issues in Ukraine in check . "Ukrtransgaz will have a lot of strategic objectives ahead, but I am convinced … we will be able to comply with them," he said in a statement. German energy company RWE in April said it reversed the flow of natural gas from Poland to supply a Ukrainian market under the Kremlin’s influence. […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Ukraine convoy attack near Luhansk leaves 'no survivors'

Ukrainian soldier with a Grad rocket launcher (18 August) Both sides in the conflict use Russian-made Grad rockets Continue reading the main story No-one survived an attack on a convoy of refugees in the Luhansk area of eastern Ukraine on Monday, a rebel source has told the BBC. Details of the attack are still unclear but a Ukrainian military spokesman has said 15 bodies have so far been recovered from the scene. Ukraine has accused pro-Russian rebels of attacking the convoy but they have denied involvement. Meanwhile, heavy fighting is reported in the centre of Luhansk itself. The government in Kiev said on Tuesday that street battles were taking place and an interior ministry aide told the Interfax Ukraine agency that the military was recapturing the city "block by block". The city centre was reported to have been shelled on Monday night. Tens of thousands of civilians have fled […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Ukraine convoy attack near Luhansk leaves ‘no survivors’

Ukrainian soldier with a Grad rocket launcher (18 August) Both sides in the conflict use Russian-made Grad rockets Continue reading the main story No-one survived an attack on a convoy of refugees in the Luhansk area of eastern Ukraine on Monday, a rebel source has told the BBC. Details of the attack are still unclear but a Ukrainian military spokesman has said 15 bodies have so far been recovered from the scene. Ukraine has accused pro-Russian rebels of attacking the convoy but they have denied involvement. Meanwhile, heavy fighting is reported in the centre of Luhansk itself. The government in Kiev said on Tuesday that street battles were taking place and an interior ministry aide told the Interfax Ukraine agency that the military was recapturing the city "block by block". The city centre was reported to have been shelled on Monday night. Tens of thousands of civilians have fled […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Russian import ban fuels food price rises

Shopper in St Petersburg supermarket Shopper in St Petersburg: For years the city has imported many basic products from the West Continue reading the main story Related Stories Food prices are rising in parts of Russia and experts say the state embargo on imports of Western food appears to be making things worse. Since the ban was imposed on 7 August imported pork used in processed meat in Moscow has gone up by 6%, Russian business daily Kommersant reports. In St Petersburg food prices have risen 10%. That inflation occurred even before the impact of sanctions. Russia’s ban on many Western foods is retaliation for sanctions over Ukraine. The St Petersburg government’s economic policy chief, Anatoly Kotov, said the pork price had risen by 23.5% and chicken by 25.8%. On Monday, Russia’s Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said he did not expect the ban on food imports to lead to […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

UK oil and gas forecasts 'incredibly pessimistic', says Scotland

Scottish oil and gas Among N-56’s recommendations is that a more competitive tax regime is established for the North Sea. Photograph: Andy Buchanan/PA Forecasts of future revenues from North Sea oil and gas by an economics watchdog have been described as "incredibly pessimistic" and could be six times lower than the actual levels, according to a report. The Scottish and UK governments have repeatedly clashed over the future of the industry, particularly around forecasts from the UK Office for Budget Responsibility on the amount of cash it expects to be raised from the North Sea. The Scottish government argues the OBR forecasts are based on a "very low estimate of future total production", while its own figures have been criticised by opponents who claim they are overly optimistic. In July, the OBR chairman, Robert Chote, revealed the body was now forecasting that revenues of £61.6bn would be raised between […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

UK oil and gas forecasts ‘incredibly pessimistic’, says Scotland

Scottish oil and gas Among N-56’s recommendations is that a more competitive tax regime is established for the North Sea. Photograph: Andy Buchanan/PA Forecasts of future revenues from North Sea oil and gas by an economics watchdog have been described as "incredibly pessimistic" and could be six times lower than the actual levels, according to a report. The Scottish and UK governments have repeatedly clashed over the future of the industry, particularly around forecasts from the UK Office for Budget Responsibility on the amount of cash it expects to be raised from the North Sea. The Scottish government argues the OBR forecasts are based on a "very low estimate of future total production", while its own figures have been criticised by opponents who claim they are overly optimistic. In July, the OBR chairman, Robert Chote, revealed the body was now forecasting that revenues of £61.6bn would be raised between […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Oil Futures Fall, Brent Crude Drops Below $103/bbl

By Eric Yep Crude-oil futures dropped in Asian trade Monday, reversing most of Friday’s gains as investor sentiment remained largely bearish. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for delivery in September traded at $96.67 a barrel at 0624 GMT, down $0.68 in the Globex electronic session. October Brent crude on London’s ICE Futures exchange fell $0.93 to $102.60 a barrel. Despite Nymex and Brent gaining on Friday on reports of Ukraine destroying a Russian convoy, oil prices registered a loss for the week ended Aug. 15. For the whole of last week, Nymex September crude lost 30 cents, and has been lower for four consecutive weeks; Brent crude for October lost $2.09 and has been down for two of the past three weeks. Money managers such as hedge funds continued to cut their bullish bets on WTI crude in the week ended Aug. 12, according […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Brent Falls as Iraqi Kurds Retake Most of Mosul Dam

Brent crude fell after Iraq ’s Kurds recaptured most of the country’s largest dam from Islamist militants. West Texas Intermediate declined in New York . Futures dropped as much as 1.1 percent in London , extending a 1.4 percent loss last week. Kurdish forces took control of the Mosul dam as the deployment of U.S. air power in the campaign helped reverse some of the gains made by Islamic State militants in the north. Production in Libya, also an OPEC member, increased to 540,000 barrels a day as the port of Es Sider prepared to ship crude, according to National Oil Corp. “Prices are sliding again and likely to break into fresh low ground, perhaps today, certainly this week,” Christopher Bellew , senior broker at Jefferies International Ltd., said by e-mail. “The civil war in northern Iraq has stabilized without the Islamic State moving towards Baghdad . Although IS […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Natural Gas Slides in Cool Weather

It has been a cruel summer for natural-gas investors. Gas prices were buoyed in early June by low supplies and the prospect for a hot summer, which would boost demand for the fuel. But temperatures have been tepid, with weather forecasts through the end of August turning cool. Prices have lost 20% since mid-June, ending Friday at $3.776 a million British thermal units on the New York Mercantile Exchange, a nearly three-week low. If the end-of-summer outlook holds true, it will serve as a fitting coda to a mild season that has kept demand in check and allowed producers and utilities to rebuild inventories badly depleted last winter. Utilities burn natural gas to generate electricity, and a hot summer can boost demand for gas to run air conditioning in homes and businesses. In the winter, natural gas is used to warm more than half of the homes in the […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Kurds push to drive militants from Mosul Dam with U.S. air support

DOHUK Iraq (Reuters) – Kurdish fighters pushed to retake Iraq’s largest dam on Sunday in an attempt to reverse gains by Islamic State insurgents who have overrun much of the country’s north, officials said. Islamic State militants have seized several towns and oilfields as well as Mosul Dam in recent weeks, possibly giving them the ability to flood cities or cut off water and electricity supplies. Asked about a Kurdish push to dislodge the militants on Sunday, a Kurdish official said they had not retaken the dam itself but had seized "most of the surrounding area". Islamic State militants have told residents in the area to leave, according to an engineer who works at the site. The engineer said the militants told him they were planting roadside bombs along roads leading in and out of the facility, possibly in fear of an attack by Kurdish fighters who have been […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

China Confronts Its Coal Problem

The Chinese government has indicated a strong desire — and made some specific proposals — to reduce its reliance on coal, a step that would be a welcome development for the Chinese people and the planet as a whole. But there is a lot we don’t know yet about Beijing’s strategy and whether it will be bold enough to have a meaningful effect on local air quality and climate change. State-owned news outlets reported this month that the government would ban the use of coal in Beijing and other urban areas by 2020 in an effort to reduce the noxious air pollution that chokes many cities. In July, a Chinese academic who is also a senior lawmaker said the government was considering a national cap on coal use as soon as 2016. China is the world’s largest consumer of coal , using about 45 percent of the global total. […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple