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Apache Makes Big Oil Find Off Western Australia

PERTH, Australia—In what would be one of Australia’s largest oil discoveries in decades, U.S. energy company Apache Corp. said an exploration well offshore Western Australia state had found as much as 300 million barrels of crude. The drilling result from the Phoenix South-1 well in the offshore Canning Basin could reopen a frontier for oil exploration that some international energy companies abandoned decades earlier after wells turned up dry. "The oil and reservoir quality we have seen point to a commercial discovery," said Thomas E. Voytovich, a senior executive at Apache’s international arm. "If these results are borne out by further appraisal drilling, Phoenix South may represent a new oil province for Australia." Australia is in need of new sources of oil to replace fast diminishing reserves from existing fields. According to BP PLC, Australia’s oil production last year fell by 17% to 416,000 barrels a day—its lowest level […]

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Refinery Breakdowns Boost Gasoline as Labor Day Nears

Refinery breakdowns from Kansas to Texas are giving gasoline a boost, spurring speculators to increase bullish bets for the first time in six weeks as the Labor Day holiday approaches. Hedge funds raised net-long positions by 13 percent in the week ended Aug. 12, Commodity Futures Trading Commission data show. The wagers slumped 56 percent in the previous five weeks, while gasoline futures dropped 10 percent since the Memorial Day holiday on May 26, the traditional start of the driving season. Bets on rising prices reached this year’s high in late April on speculation that peak summer demand would reduce supply. Inventories expanded to a four-month high in July, as refineries produced a record amount of fuel and consumption was stuck at the lowest seasonal level since 2012. The outages are unlikely to stem a decline in prices, according to AAA. “The refinery outages spurred some buying,” John Kilduff […]

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Iran Lures Investors Seeing Nuclear Deal Ending Sanctions

Bloomberg Markets Magazine On a May afternoon in Tehran, a Russian in a dark suit sits in the crowded lobby cafe of the Espinas Persian Gulf International Hotel with his Farsi translator, sipping coffee with potential Iranian partners while discussing the price of soy fiber. No sooner do they vacate their armchairs than another group of besuited businessmen takes their place, this time conversing in Italian and Farsi about industrial motors. The Espinas, one of Tehran’s few luxury hotels, opened in 2009, just as successive rounds of sanctions over Iran’s nuclear program were drawing an ever-tighter noose around the economy. With the restrictions biting, the Espinas’s lobby, adorned with pink-granite columns and faux Achaemenid sculptures, emptied out. Today, however, amid glimmers that sanctions will be lifted, finding a room at the Espinas isn’t easy, Bloomberg Markets magazine will report in its September issue. “All the five-star hotels are full […]

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Russia says agreement reached on aid to Ukraine but not on ceasefire

BERLIN (Reuters) – Russia on Monday said all objections to it sending a humanitarian convoy to Ukraine had been resolved but said no progress had been made in Berlin talks toward a ceasefire between government and rebel forces in the east of the country. Following the talks between Russia, Germany, France and Ukraine on Sunday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said "finally, all questions have been resolved … related to the Russian initiative to send 300 trucks with humanitarian aid." "Everything has been agreed with Ukraine and the International Committee of the Red Cross," he said at a news conference in Berlin. Russia and Ukraine have been at loggerheads over a convoy of 280 Russian trucks carrying water, food and medicine. It has been parked for days in Russia near the border amid objections from Kiev, which believes the convoy could be a Trojan Horse for Russia to get […]

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Forget Peak Oil, We’re At Peak Everything

The idea that we’re running out of oil may have faded slightly from the list of concerns, but that’s just one of any number of precious natural resources we’re using up far too quickly. Peak oil is the concept that new discoveries of commercially exploitable oil resources do not keep pace with growing demand. By extrapolating the data, you can estimate when we will run out of it for all practical purposes. There are a lot of disagreements about whether we have reached peak oil or when the downhill slope will hit a point that brings a significant percentage of our vehicles to a grinding halt, but the concept has made scientists and policy makers ask the question: What other critical resources may be peaking? Asia Pulp & Paper Company, one of the world’s largest, announced last month that it will no longer use wood from natural forests for […]

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Oil Prices Jump as Attack on Convoy Boosts Ukraine Fears

Brent and West Texas Intermediate crudes advanced after Ukraine said its forces attacked and partially destroyed a convoy entering the country from Russia . Ukrainian troops engaged the vehicles that had arrived overnight through a rebel-held section of the border, Andriy Lysenko, a spokesman for the country’s military, told reporters in Kiev today. Brent dropped to the lowest level since June 2013 yesterday while WTI settled at a six-month low amid signs of weaker demand and ample global oil supplies. “When there’s the prospect of ground war in Europe you don’t want to be short oil,” Bill O’Grady, chief market strategist at Confluence Investment Management in St. Louis , which oversees $2.6 billion, said by phone. “Prices have already fallen a lot and the market was ready for a rebound.” Brent for October settlement climbed $1.46, or 1.4 percent, to $103.53 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe […]

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Oil complex arrests slide amid Russia incursion, US macro data

NYMEX September crude Friday rebounded from a seven-month low to settle $1.77 higher at $97.35/barrel amid overextended selling and profit taking among this week’s shorts. ICE October Brent bounced back from a 13-month low, rising $1.46 to settle at $103.59/b. In products, NYMEX September RBOB settled 3.2 cents higher at $2.6986/gal, while September ULSD finished 2.85 cents higher at $2.8480/gal. "It’s pretty puzzling," Tradition Energy analyst Gene McGillian said. "We’re seeing some profit taking from the shorts this week after getting a little overextended yesterday." ICE Brent fell below $102/b Thursday, lows not seen since June 2013. NYMEX crude fell as well as $95.26/b a day ago, lowest since January. McGillian said market fears regarding weak demand and slow economic growth had spurred Thursday’s selloff, but that left crude poised for a turnaround. He pointed to increased tensions between Ukraine and Russia after reports that Russian troops had crossed […]

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Natural Gas Slides as Summer Sizzle Fizzles

By Christian Berthelsen Natural-gas futures fell more than 3% on Friday after weather forecasts turned cool through the end of August, capping a season of tepid summer temperatures that have tempered demand for the fuel. The front-month September contract settled down 13 cents, or 3.3%, at $3.776 a million British thermal units on the New York Mercantile Exchange, its lowest level since July 28. Prices slid early in the trading session and remained in the red the rest of the day after new forecasts reversed earlier expectations for a belt of elevated temperatures over the Eastern Seaboard in the waning weeks of August. 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 has allowed producers and utilities to rebuild inventories badly depleted by the severe winter. With Friday’s slide, natural-gas futures prices have lost […]

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Iraqi Kurdistan's Largest-Producing Oilfield Working To Boost Output

Oil production at Iraqi Kurdistan’s largest-producing oilfield is set to rise to as much as 14,000 barrels per day by the end of the month. TAQ TAQ OILFIELD, Iraq, Aug 15 (Reuters) – Oil production at Iraqi Kurdistan’s largest-producing field is set to rise to as much as 140,000 barrels per day (bpd) by the end of the month despite the advance of Islamist militants, the general manager of the operating company told Reuters. "We have a target to ramp up production towards 140,000 bpd and I believe we would achieve this by the end of the month," Onder Tekeli from Taq Taq Operating Co (TTOPCO), a joint venture of Anglo-Turkish Genel Energy and Sinopec’s Addax Petroleum said late on Thursday. Radical Sunni militants of the Islamic State last week advanced to within a half hour’s drive of Arbil, the capital of Iraq’s Kurdish region and a hub for […]

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Iraqi Kurdistan’s Largest-Producing Oilfield Working To Boost Output

Oil production at Iraqi Kurdistan’s largest-producing oilfield is set to rise to as much as 14,000 barrels per day by the end of the month. TAQ TAQ OILFIELD, Iraq, Aug 15 (Reuters) – Oil production at Iraqi Kurdistan’s largest-producing field is set to rise to as much as 140,000 barrels per day (bpd) by the end of the month despite the advance of Islamist militants, the general manager of the operating company told Reuters. "We have a target to ramp up production towards 140,000 bpd and I believe we would achieve this by the end of the month," Onder Tekeli from Taq Taq Operating Co (TTOPCO), a joint venture of Anglo-Turkish Genel Energy and Sinopec’s Addax Petroleum said late on Thursday. Radical Sunni militants of the Islamic State last week advanced to within a half hour’s drive of Arbil, the capital of Iraq’s Kurdish region and a hub for […]

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Top Iraqi cleric backs new premier, calls for unity

BAGHDAD (Reuters) – Iraq’s most influential cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, threw his weight on Friday behind the new prime minister, calling for national unity to contain sectarian bloodshed and an offensive by Islamic State militants that threatens Baghdad. Speaking after Nuri al-Maliki finally stepped down as prime minister under heavy pressure from allies at home and abroad, the spiritual leader of Iraq’s Shi’ite majority said the handover to Maliki’s party colleague Haider al-Abadi offered a rare opportunity to resolve political and security crises. Iraq has been plunged into its worst violence since the peak of a sectarian civil war in 2006-2007, with Sunni fighters led by the Islamic State overrunning large parts of the west and north, forcing hundreds of thousands to flee for their lives and threatening the ethnic Kurds in their autonomous province. Sistani told the country’s feuding politicians to live up to their "historic responsibility" […]

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Islamic State 'massacres' 80 Yazidis in north Iraq: officials

BAGHDAD (Reuters) – Islamic State insurgents "massacred" some 80 members of Iraq’s Yazidi minority in a village in the country’s north, a Yazidi lawmaker and two Kurdish officials said on Friday. "They arrived in vehicles and they started their killing this afternoon," senior Kurdish official Hoshiyar Zebari told Reuters. "We believe it’s because of their creed: convert or be killed." A Yazidi lawmaker and another senior Kurdish official also said the killings had taken place and that the women of the village were kidnapped. A push by Islamic State militants through northern Iraq to the border with the Kurdish region has alarmed the Baghdad government, drawn the first U.S. air strikes since the end of American occupation in 2001 and sent tens of thousands of Yazidis and Christians fleeing for their lives. Yazidi parliamentarian Mahama Khalil said he had spoken to villagers who had survived the attack. They said […]

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Islamic State ‘massacres’ 80 Yazidis in north Iraq: officials

BAGHDAD (Reuters) – Islamic State insurgents "massacred" some 80 members of Iraq’s Yazidi minority in a village in the country’s north, a Yazidi lawmaker and two Kurdish officials said on Friday. "They arrived in vehicles and they started their killing this afternoon," senior Kurdish official Hoshiyar Zebari told Reuters. "We believe it’s because of their creed: convert or be killed." A Yazidi lawmaker and another senior Kurdish official also said the killings had taken place and that the women of the village were kidnapped. A push by Islamic State militants through northern Iraq to the border with the Kurdish region has alarmed the Baghdad government, drawn the first U.S. air strikes since the end of American occupation in 2001 and sent tens of thousands of Yazidis and Christians fleeing for their lives. Yazidi parliamentarian Mahama Khalil said he had spoken to villagers who had survived the attack. They said […]

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The US Humanitarian Intervention in Iraq: The Oil and Water Angle

The success of stated limited U.S. humanitarian goals for the latest intervention in Iraq could hinge on more than the fate of minorities trapped on top of the Mount Sinjar. That is because the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) has taken control of critical water and oil infrastructure including the Mosul Dam .  Flooding from improper management of the Mosul Dam or a purposeful use of the Dam as a weapon, either by releasing a torrent of flood water or cutting off access to water, would cause an unimaginable humanitarian catastrophe. Water is also a vital component for oil production in southern Iraq, where the fields require water injection to maintain field pressure. A sudden shortage of water for oil production in southern Iraq could both disrupt production and possibly cause permanent damage to reservoirs. Iraq would have difficulty coping with either contingency given violence-related recent evacuation […]

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PKK ‘terrorists’ crucial to fight against Isis

Kurdish peshmerga fighters To the west, they are terrorists, yet they are now fighting on the same side as their interests converge with the US in the fight to help Iraq’s Kurdish forces stave off a jihadi offensive. Battle-hardened Kurdistan Workers’ party (PKK) militants have come to the aid of peshmerga fighters in the war against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, known as Isis , augmenting US air strikes to halt the jihadi group’s advance into the autonomous region of northern Iraq. More On this story On this topic IN Iraq Sun-baked men and women from the outlawed Kurdish group, in baggy sirwal pants and dusty sneakers, stand guard at their base in the recently recaptured town of Makhmour. They greet visitors cheerfully, but keep their grenades in hand. “Our support is just as important for the peshmerga as these US strikes – bombings alone can’t […]

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US jets strike near Iraq's largest dam

Fighters from the Islamic State group captured Mosul Dam earlier this month [Still from YouTube video] US aircraft have launched air strikes near Iraq’s largest dam, killing up to 15 fighters from the Islamic State group, Al Jazeera’s correspondent reported. Several air strikes hit Iraq’s north on Saturday, including in the besieged Sinjar Mountains, where fresh reports emerged of a "massacre" against residents belonging to the Yazidi religious minority. There were suggestions that the attack near the Mosul Dam was the beginning of a US military operation to retake it from from the self-declared jihadists, who captured it earlier this month and thereby gained control over the water and electricity supply in the north of the country. The Islamic State, an al-Qaeda splinter group, has in the recent months seized swaths of territory in Iraq and Syria and declared a caliphate. Its swift push to the borders of Iraq’s autonomous […]

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US jets strike near Iraq’s largest dam

Fighters from the Islamic State group captured Mosul Dam earlier this month [Still from YouTube video] US aircraft have launched air strikes near Iraq’s largest dam, killing up to 15 fighters from the Islamic State group, Al Jazeera’s correspondent reported. Several air strikes hit Iraq’s north on Saturday, including in the besieged Sinjar Mountains, where fresh reports emerged of a "massacre" against residents belonging to the Yazidi religious minority. There were suggestions that the attack near the Mosul Dam was the beginning of a US military operation to retake it from from the self-declared jihadists, who captured it earlier this month and thereby gained control over the water and electricity supply in the north of the country. The Islamic State, an al-Qaeda splinter group, has in the recent months seized swaths of territory in Iraq and Syria and declared a caliphate. Its swift push to the borders of Iraq’s autonomous […]

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Panama Weighs Another Canal Expansion at Centennial Mark

A century after the U.S. steamship Ancon first sailed through the Panama Canal, a $5.3 billion expansion delayed by bickering contractors and angry workers is nearing completion. The problem is it might not be big enough. With the expansion 16 months behind schedule, canal administrator Jorge Quijano said officials are studying whether to dig a fourth set of locks to handle a growing fleet of super-sized ships. Those include the 400-meter-long “Triple E” vessels capable of carrying more than 18,000 containers, four times more than current ships passing through the canal. “We are always analyzing the market and as soon as we can economically justify it we will begin,” said Manuel Benitez, deputy administrator of the Panama Canal Authority, adding that he thinks the current expansion is sufficient for now. “If that changes and the demand exists we are ready to begin.” Panamanian officials today will celebrate the anniversary […]

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Brazil considers LNG options with Rosneft

Brazilian energy company HRT said Friday it was working with Russian energy company Rosneft on a work plan for the monetization of liquefied natural gas. Startup HRT in July signed memorandum of understanding with the Brazilian subsidiary of Rosneft and Brazilian state-owned energy company Petróleo Brasileiro, known also as Petrobras, for the monetization of gas in the Solimoes basin in the Amazonian jungle. HRT in its latest earnings report said the parties are working on ways to make LNG envisioned under the agreement a reality. "In the coming months, HRT, Rosneft and Petrobras will submit a work plan for the gas monetization project that will establish the steps and responsibilities, prioritizing the options in the scope of natural gas converted to LNG and the electric power generation, both of which are critical inputs for the development of the region and the country," HRT said in its report. The Brazilian […]

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NDIC Considers Bakken Crude Treatment

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

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Central America braces for drought-linked food crisis

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

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Beijing to step up air quality control for APEC

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

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U.S. working to drive down EV costs

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

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Colorado task force looks to energy future

Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper last week created a special task force that would outline ways to develop energy resources safely. The state has an obligation to develop natural resources like oil and gas in a way that is safe for residents, supports jobs and the economy, he said. Oil from Colorado accounts for one out of every 50 barrels produced in the United States and output is on the rise because of operations in the state’s Niobrara shale basin. The state is home to nine of the largest 100 natural gas fields in the country. Todd Hartman, a spokesman for the Colorado Department of Natural Resources, said the task force has its work cut out for it, but it’s working in earnest to find the right solutions for the state . "We certainly see the task force as a genuine effort on our part to get thoughtful people to […]

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U.S. Energy Rig Count Rises to 1,913, Baker Hughes Says

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

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Polish shale developments going 'smoothly'

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

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Polish shale developments going ‘smoothly’

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

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EU considers gas talks with Russia, Ukraine

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

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More Russian Oil Flows East as Relations With West Sour

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

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War for ‘New Russia’ drives Ukraine separatists

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

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

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

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Oil Futures Hold After Overnight Slump

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

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WTI Oil Set for Weekly Loss With Brent on Weaker Demand

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

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

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

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Maliki Agrees to Relinquish Power in Iraq

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

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Oil Producers Jump as Most Kurdistan Output Seen Safe

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

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

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

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India needs more energy imports, analysis finds

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

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

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

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IEA report implies US crude production may start to peak 2016

The Medium Term Oil Market Report of the International Energy Agency (IEA, Paris),  published in June 2014,  contains a graph which implies that US crude production will start to peak in 2016. Few took notice although the world is continuously occupied with oil and energy related conflicts and wars in Ukraine, Libya and Iraq. So far, oil prices increased only shortly when fights flared up. Apparently oil markets are at ease while the US tight oil “revolution” is underway. But for how long? Global situation Fig 1: US tight oil and crude oil in rest of world vs oil prices The graph shows that US tight (shale) oil sits on top of a bumpy crude production plateau in the rest of the world which clearly started in 2005 (average of  73.4 mb/d since Jan 2005).  Despite increasing tight oil production oil prices did not go down but stayed at […]

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Antarctica May Lift Sea Level Faster in Threat to Megacities

Antarctica glaciers melting because of global warming may push up sea levels faster than previously believed, potentially threatening megacities including New York and Shanghai, researchers in Germany said. Antarctica’s ice discharge may raise sea levels as much as 37 centimeters (14.6 inches) this century if the output of greenhouse gases continues to grow, according to a study led by the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research. The increase may be as little as 1 centimeter, they said. “This is a big range, which is exactly why we call it a risk,” Anders Levermann, the study’s lead author, said in a statement. “Science needs to be clear about the uncertainty so that decision-makers at the coast and in coastal megacities can consider the implications in their planning processes.” Related: Bet Against the Seven Horsemen of the Apocalypse The Antarctic ice sheet contains enough water to raise sea levels by over […]

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Oil Sands are Biggest Losers From Low Crude Prices: Study

ConocoPhillips (COP) and Royal Dutch Shell Plc (RDSA) are among global oil companies needing crude prices as high as $150 a barrel to turn a profit from Canada’s oil sands, the costliest petroleum projects in the world, according to a study. The next most-expensive crude projects are in the deep waters off the coasts of Africa and Brazil, with each venture needing prices between $115 and $127 a barrel, said Carbon Tracker Initiative, a London-based think tank and environmental advocacy group, in a report today. As the U.S. shale drilling boom floods the world’s biggest crude market with supply, explorers are at greater risk of a price collapse that would turn some investments into money losers. “In order to sustain shareholder returns, companies should focus on low-cost projects, deferring or cancelling projects with high breakeven costs,” the report’s authors wrote. “Capital should be redeployed to share buybacks or increased […]

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Gas prices 101 in the era of shale

| License Photo The rise in U.S. crude oil production hasn’t translated to cheap gasoline because output isn’t universal and energy markets are global, a market analyst said. Motor club AAA reports a national average price for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline Thursday at $3.47, down 14 cents from last month and 6 cents less than this date in 2013. Michael Green, a spokesman for AAA, said in an interview most people in the United States still think that’s too high. "According to our research, about half of Americans consider the cost of gas to be too high when the price reaches $3.30 per gallon," he said. While on the presidential campaign trail in 2012, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich said gasoline prices could fall to as low as $2 per gallon if more emphasis were placed on domestic energy production. The U.S. Energy Information Administration, part of […]

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Shell exits Pinedale, Haynesville gas plays, adds acreage in Marcellus, Utica shales

Royal Dutch Shell on Thursday said it plans to exit the Pinedale and Haynesville dry gas plays while adding acreage in the Marcellus and Utica shales in Pennsylvania, continuing its strategy of divesting large US natural gas assets in some plays, while adding assets in other plays to its portfolio. Shell announced two separate transactions in a statement Thursday. In one deal with Ultra Petroleum, Shell will acquire 155,000 net acres in the Marcellus and Utica shales in Pennsylvania and receive a cash payment of $925 million from Ultra in exchange for 100% of Shell’s Pinedale Anticline field assets in western Wyoming, including producing leases and associated gathering and processing contracts. In a separate agreement with Dallas-based Vine Oil & Gas and its partner Blackstone, Shell agreed to sell 100% of its Haynesville assets in northern Louisiana — including gas-producing properties and associated field facilities and infrastructure — for […]

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Colorado Fracking Task Force Faces Big Task, Mixed Reception

Having avoided an election filled with competing initiatives that were guaranteed to displease about half of the electorate, regardless of the outcome, Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper recently created a task force to forge a path that both accommodates activist concerns, while ensuring that the state’s strong energy history continues. And while the task force likely faces some difficult days ahead, Hickenlooper used the right approach, according to two groups interesting in seeing the state maintain a balance between business and the environment and quality of life issues. “We certainly see the task force as a genuine effort on our part to get thoughtful people to the table who are willing to downplay personal preferences and think about the best approach for the state of Colorado,” Todd Hartman, communications director at Colorado Department of Natural Resources, told Rigzone. “We know the task force has a tall order, and we’re confident […]

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Putin’s Pipeline Bypassing Ukraine Is at Risk Amid Conflict

Vladimir Putin ’s dream of a new pipeline to deliver Russian natural gas to the European Union without passing through Ukraine is fading amid escalating tit-for-tat economic sanctions. The $46 billion South Stream project, spearheaded by OAO Gazprom, is on hold and will probably remain in limbo for years as Russia continues to foment armed conflict in eastern Ukraine and the EU retaliates with bans, Eurasia Group said. That means the war-torn country will remain a key transit point for about half of Gazprom’s shipments to Europe, according to the New York-based risk research group. The EU previously had mixed positions on South Stream. With Russian troops massing near the Ukraine border, the bloc now has little choice but to stand united in opposition. “There’s no way Europe is going to put South Stream negotiations back on the table now, given the larger geopolitical context of the Ukraine crisis,” […]

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Norway's oil production up 8 percent

The National Petroleum Directorate, a government regulator, said preliminary production figures for July show an average daily production of 1.93 million barrels of oil, natural gas liquids and condensate, about 8 percent more than was produced in June. Around 80 percent of that production volume was crude oil. The NPD said oil production was 2 percent higher than what it expected for July, but 3.5 percent lower year-on-year. Technical problems at three fields — Draugen, Skuld and Valhall — were blamed for the decline, though NPD said oil production was still about 1 percent higher for the year than anticipated. Norway has more oil reserves than any other European country. Last year, it exported 1.19 million bpd worth of oil, with most of that headed to the British and Dutch economies. Total gas sales from Norway were about 282 billion cubic feet in July, around 7 percent more than […]

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Norway’s oil production up 8 percent

The National Petroleum Directorate, a government regulator, said preliminary production figures for July show an average daily production of 1.93 million barrels of oil, natural gas liquids and condensate, about 8 percent more than was produced in June. Around 80 percent of that production volume was crude oil. The NPD said oil production was 2 percent higher than what it expected for July, but 3.5 percent lower year-on-year. Technical problems at three fields — Draugen, Skuld and Valhall — were blamed for the decline, though NPD said oil production was still about 1 percent higher for the year than anticipated. Norway has more oil reserves than any other European country. Last year, it exported 1.19 million bpd worth of oil, with most of that headed to the British and Dutch economies. Total gas sales from Norway were about 282 billion cubic feet in July, around 7 percent more than […]

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Global and Russian Energy Outlook to 2040

Like BP, OPEC, the EIA and the IEA Russia also publishes an annual energy outlook. It is called the   Global and Russian Energy Outlook to 2040 . It is published by The Energy Research Institute of The Russian Academy of Sciences and The Analytical Center for The Government of The Russian Federation. I have no idea who these guys are but their titles sound impressive and they seem to be Russian think tanks funded by the Russian Government. But that is just an assumption of mine. It is a very large 175 page PDF file that appears to be very scholarly and well researched. However they appear to be very optimistic in their prediction of the future oil supply out to 2040.  In one scenario they are not optimistic at all for coal production however. The report has three scenarios, the Baseline Scenario where business as usual continues until […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple