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Report: Pennsylvania gas lines leaking

PITTSBURGH, Sept. 24 (UPI) — Billions of dollars are needed to update the vast network of natural gas pipelines, some at least 90 years old, beneath Pennsylvania, a newspaper report found. About 20 percent of the natural gas pipelines in Pennsylvania were installed before 1960, twice the average national age of pipeline infrastructure. Data compiled by the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review found a gas leak reported in one out of every three miles of pipe last year, making it one of the leakiest networks in the United States. "We have a ticking time bomb under most of our cities, especially in the Northeast where we have older cities," Allentown Mayor Ed Pawlowski said in a report published Tuesday. Gas explosions in the last 10 years left 10 people dead and 21 others injured, the Tribune found. Pennsylvania is home to the Marcellus shale natural gas basin . Energy consultant group Wood […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Under threat, California looks to greener future

PALM SPRINGS, Calif., Sept. 24 (UPI) — Deputy Interior Secretary Michael Connor unveiled a report showing winter runoff will increase , but decrease in the spring because of changing temperature patterns. That means water reservoirs will fill up earlier in the season, which will have an impact on everything from irrigation to ecosystems and hydropower generation. "This assessment is one of several that studies climate risks to water supplies and related resources in river basins in the western United Sates," Connor said in a Tuesday statement. His comments coincided with the release by Interior Secretary Sally Jewell and California Natural Resources Agency Secretary John Laird of a draft renewable energy and conservation plan covering more than 22 million acres in the California desert. The proposal calls for setting aside land for nature conservation while at the same time assessing where it’s appropriate to develop solar, wind and geothermal energy […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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More David Archibald on LTO plus Net Imports

David Archibald has recently revised his peak date for shale oil. The below was contained in a recent post I received from him: Ron, For what it is worth, just to let you know that I have recanted on my estimate of US LTO production. This is from reading the presentations put out in September by the US independents.   I started with the EOG presentation and then worked through the others that EOG referred to.  If Hubbert-type analysis works for LTO, it may be too early to apply it. The rig count for the Bakken etc may be down to flat but the fraccing units are pumping a lot more sand and the economics of fraccing have improved a lot over the last two years.  That in turn means that the resource is larger at a given IRR cutoff.  This is currently my best guess of the three major […]

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Canadian PM Says US Will Approve Keystone XL Pipeline Eventually

NEW YORK, Sept 24 (Reuters) – Logic dictates that the United States will one day approve the northern leg of TransCanada Corp’s controversial Keystone XL crude oil pipeline, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper told an audience of executives in New York on Wednesday. "I’m not going to speculate on timelines other than to say the obvious benefits and merits of the project…. mean that the logic is it will be approved at some point in the future," he said. "I think its eventual approval under the right circumstances is inevitable." Harper also said that while increased U.S. oil production has changed the economics of the industry, the need for the pipeline has not vanished. "Obviously there’s been a great growth in United States energy production capacity. We view that as a good thing but … American self-sufficiency is a long way off," he said. The debate in the United […]

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North Dakota Oil Producers Resist Wholesale Safety Overhaul

BISMARCK, North Dakota, Sept 23 (Reuters) – Hess Corp and other major North Dakota oil producers told the state’s top energy regulators on Tuesday that existing field practices used to prepare Bakken crude for rail transport are safe, and tighter standards could do more harm than good. The comments, at a special hearing of the North Dakota Industrial Commission (NDIC), came as federal, state and local officials grapple with how to ensure the safe transport of the state’s crude oil. The matter has come under increased scrutiny after a string of crude-by-rail explosions, including one last year in Quebec that killed 47 people. The NDIC asked companies, academics and others to testify about how regulatory changes could affect the safety of Bakken crude oil and producers’ costs. The NDIC has not set a timeline for any decisions. Oil producers laid out in detail the methods they say make the […]

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The Most Consumed Fuel by State

Most Consumed Fuel by State bobinget on Wed, 24th Sep 2014 7:41 pm  Oh btw, NYMEX will finally be going higher due to an inventory shortfall reported this AM. http://www.eia.gov/petroleum/supply/weekly/pdf/highlights.pdf (excerpt) Total products supplied over the last four-week period averaged about 19.4 million barrels per day, up by 1.5% from the same period last year. Over the last four weeks, motor gasoline product supplied averaged 8.9 million barrels per day, and remained unchanged from the same period last year. Distillate fuel product supplied averaged over 3.7 million barrels per day over the last four weeks, down by 0.2% from the same period last year. Jet fuel product supplied is up 3.4% compared to the same four-week period last year. posted note: if one opens above link, note that gasoline production was lower DESPITE increased consumption. This Did Not result in an increase in crude inventories as would be expected. […]

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Ukraine Urges Rebel Withdrawal as Obama Presses Moscow

Ukraine urged pro-Russian separatists to stop shelling government troops and start withdrawing their heavy weapons, while President Barack Obama said Russia must choose peace to have U.S. sanctions lifted. Separatists shelled government troop-held Donetsk airport and a checkpoint in the area, wounding eight servicemen, military spokesman Andriy Lysenko told reporters in Kiev today. He said Russia provided no information to Ukraine about the content of a fourth aid convoy that is on its way to the region. Russia denies U.S. and European Union allegations that it’s stoking the unrest in eastern Ukraine. NATO said yesterday Russia has embarked on a “significant” withdrawal of its forces from Ukraine, adding to signs that the truce is holding between the government in Kiev and separatist groups. The conflict, which erupted after Russia annexed Crimea in March, has killed more than 3,200 people, the United Nations estimates. Obama, in a speech today to […]

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WTI Trades Near 16-Month Low Before Stockpile Data; Brent Steady

West Texas Intermediate traded near the lowest price in more than 16 months on estimates that crude inventories increased last week in the U.S., the world’s biggest oil consumer. Brent was steady in London . Futures were little changed in New York and London. Crude stockpiles probably expanded by 750,000 barrels last week to 363 million, according to a Bloomberg News survey before an Energy Information Administration report today. Saudi Arabia and Qatar are among countries that joined the first wave of U.S.-led air strikes in Syria against Islamic State. “Weak demand, rather than rampant supply growth, is currently the Achilles heel of the market,” Amrita Sen, chief oil analyst at consultant Energy Aspects Ltd., said in a report. “Even in the U.S., despite strong economic momentum, most of the post-recessionary increase for oil demand is now largely behind us.”  WTI for November delivery was at $91.77 a barrel […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Natural Gas: Injections Soon To Turn Into Withdrawals

Summary The price of natural gas is volatile. Last year’s cold winter depleted inventories. This summer inventories were rebuilt, but remain below last year’s level and the five-year average. A cold winter this year will cause natural gas prices to explode. Natural gas is one of the most volatile commodities that trade. The New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) introduced futures on Henry Hub natural gas in April 1990. Henry Hub is a distribution hub on the natural gas pipeline system in Erath, Louisiana owned by Sabine Pipe Line LLC, a subsidiary of Chevron Corporation. Since 1990, active month natural gas futures have traded in a range between a low of $1.02 per million British thermal units (mmbtus) in January 1992 and a high of $15.65 per mmbtus in October 2005. Price spikes to the upside in 2005 and again in 2008 were due to hurricane activity in the Gulf […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Gas prices end long slide

WASHINGTON, Sept. 23 (UPI) — AAA lists a national average price of $3.34 for a gallon of regular unleaded, an increase of about 0.5 percent from Monday’s average. Prices for Brent crude oil, the international benchmark, increased Tuesday following reports of improvements in Chinese manufacturing and U.S.-led airstrikes on Islamic State targets in Syria. Military conflict in the Middle East could spark wider security concerns in the broader oil-rich region. Chinese manufacturing data, meanwhile, tempers some of the worries about the slowdown in the Chinese economy. Meanwhile, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries said it may cut back on production to make room for output coming from North America. The U.S. Energy Department explains oil prices account for 65 percent of what consumers see at the gasoline pump . Gasoline prices in the United States typically decline after the Labor Day holiday as refiners switch to a cheaper winter […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple