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WTI Crude Declines on Rising U.S. Fuel Inventories

West Texas Intermediate crude fell for the second time in three days after industry data showed fuel supplies increased in the U.S., the world’s largest oil consumer. Brent was little change in London. Futures dropped as much as 0.9 percent in New York. Gasoline and distillate inventories each expanded by 400,000 barrels last week, the American Petroleum Institute was said to report yesterday. Government data today is forecast to show stockpiles of the motor fuel shrank by 1.4 million barrels, according to a Bloomberg News survey. WTI’s moving averages have formed a “death cross,” a bearish chart signal. “The API figures indicate a rise in stockpiles at the end of driving season,” Thina Saltvedt, an Oslo-based analyst at Nordea Bank AB, said today by telephone. “The market has reacted and is now waiting to see what the weekly inventories will show.” WTI for October delivery slid as much as […]

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Natural Gas Closes Lower on Cool Weather Forecasts

(Adds analysts comments, details and prices) By Timothy Puko NEW YORK–Natural-gas prices closed lower for the second straight session as cool weather forecasts keep setting low expectations for demand starting next week The front-month October contract settled down 4.3 cents, or 1.1%, to $3.847 a million British thermal units on the New York Mercantile Exchange. After a two-day surge that broke $4/mmBtu last week, prices have fallen back into the 30-cent range they had traded in since July 18. Traders may have been too excited by a temporary burst of heat that is now hitting the country, said Jan Stuart, global energy economist at Credit Suisse Group AG. September just isn’t a hot enough month to get people to use so much air conditioning and gas-fired electricity that it would balance out the unrelenting production coming from the shale drilling boom, he said. "It makes you want to question […]

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ISIL and the Confused Energy Picture

ISIL and the Confused Energy Picture For everyone following today’s energy developments the overall picture is confusing, to say the least. This is particularly apparent with regard to oil supplies from mid-June onwards when the Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL — also referred to as ISIS — Islamic State in Iraq and Syria) conflict flared up, with the insurgents making rapid advances across northern Iraq. It could be expected that the immediate knock-on effect of this conflict would be a surge in oil prices, much like the world experienced back in 2008 when there were similar tensions in the Middle East. Indeed, some commentators suggested that this would happen, claiming that ISIL was bent on controlling Iraqi crude oil and as a result there would be a global oil shock as prices skyrocketed. However, over at Chatham House and the Brookings Institution calmer heads were more cautious. […]

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Australia considering ‘general request’ on military action in Iraq

Australian Defence Force planes Australia has received a “general request” surrounding a potential military role in Iraq and is “considering what we may be able to make available”, Tony Abbott has told parliament. The prime minister raised the prospect of a greater role for Australia in countering the advance of Islamic State (Isis) in an update on Wednesday. He did not elaborate on the nature of the general request, but the government has previously signalled that it was prepared to consider making Australian Super Hornets available for US-led air strikes on Isis targets in Iraq. The Australian Defence Force (ADF) has participated in humanitarian airdrops of supplies to Iraqi people trapped by Isis. The ADF also announced on Wednesday that it had completed a mission to deliver arms for use by Kurdish Peshmerga forces fighting Isis in northern Iraq. Australian political leaders expressed their revulsion at the emergence of […]

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Israel Plans to Sell Natural Gas to Jordan

A group of Israeli companies has signed a preliminary deal to export natural gas from the country’s offshore Leviathan field to Jordan. Reuters JERUSALEM—A group of Israeli energy companies said Wednesday they have signed a letter of intent to sell natural gas to a Jordanian power company, in a potentially multibillion-dollar deal that could strengthen ties between the two Middle East neighbors. The Israeli companies said they would supply 45 billion cubic meters of gas over 15 years from the offshore Leviathan field to Jordan’s state-owned National Electric Power Co. The companies—which include U.S.-based Noble Energy Inc. ‘s Noble Energy Mediterranean Ltd. unit, along with Israel’s Delek Drilling LP, Avner Oil Exploration LP and Ratio Oil Exploration LP—didn’t disclose the value of the deal. Delek Drilling and Avner declined to comment on the deal. Israeli media have reported that the deal is valued at roughly $15 billion. The Israeli […]

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Oryx Petroluem: Kurdish security improved

| License Photo Canadian energy company Oryx Petroleum said "tangible improvements" in the Kurdish north of Iraq mean it can return to work at the Hawler license area. The company in June sold its first volumes of crude oil from the Demir Dagh reserve area to the domestic market. Most of the company’s work there was secured from violence, but Chief Executive Officer Michael Ebsary said operations had experienced a short interruption . "We are very pleased that tangible improvements to the security environment in the Kurdistan Region have enabled us to resume all activities at our core asset, the Demir Dagh field," he said in a statement Wednesday. The British Foreign and Commonwealth Office said Wednesday it was no longer advising against all travel to the Kurdish capital, Erbil, though much of northwestern Iraq is considered too dangerous for British nationals . The rise of the Islamic State, […]

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Iran, U.S. in another round of bilateral nuclear talks in Geneva

GENEVA (Reuters) – Iran and the United States began bilateral nuclear talks in Geneva on Thursday, the second time the two sides have met since Iran and six world powers failed to meet a July 20 deadline to resolve differences in the long-standing dispute. State news agency IRNA and a U.S. official confirmed the talks were underway. Iran and the United States, France, Germany, Britain, China and Russia have set a new deadline of Nov. 24 to negotiate a comprehensive agreement under which Tehran would scale back its nuclear activities in exchange for gradually ending the sanctions that have crippled its oil-dependent economy. "If there is good will and a constructive approach, we can reach a desired result before Nov. 24," IRNA quoted Iran’s deputy foreign minister Majid Takht-Ravanchi as saying late on Wednesday. The United States last week penalized a number of Iranian and other foreign companies, banks […]

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Saudi Arabia Oil Sales to U.S. Imperiled by Shale Boom

After years of keeping the price of crude sold to the U.S. low enough to maintain market share, Saudi Arabia is losing ground as the shale boom leaves U.S. refiners with ample supplies of inexpensive domestic oil. Arab Light crude for sale in the U.S. averaged 48 cents a barrel less than Light Louisiana Sweet, a Gulf Coast benchmark, in August, the narrowest discount in data compiled by Bloomberg back to 1991. The U.S. imported 878,000 barrels of Saudi crude a day in the first four weeks of August, the least since 2009. Shale drilling has boosted U.S. oil output to the highest level since 1986. As refineries turn to lower-priced domestic oil to make fuel at a record pace , the Saudis and other foreign suppliers are left with dwindling slices of the market. In June, imports from Saudi Arabia accounted for the smallest share of crude processed […]

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Former Libya Rebels Keep Oil Flowing Amid Islamist Surge

The group that controls Libya ’s largest oil port pledged to work with the government to keep crude flowing to international markets and defend oilfields against any advance by Islamist militias that seized Tripoli, the country’s capital. “We are in agreement with the government of Prime Minister Abdulla al-Theni to work together and defeat Islamist terror,” said Ali Al-Hasy, a spokesman of the Executive Office for the Barqa region, which seeks self-rule for eastern Libya. “The oil fields and oil ports in the region between Benghazi and Sirte are well under our control. Our role is to make sure oil is flowing and production is rising, to ensure that the government has the means to provide for the needs of the people and to successfully confront these terrorists.” While Islamist militias seeking to expand their political power seized control of Tripoli last month, forcing the government to move its […]

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IMF: Oil attacks hurting Yemen’s economy

The IMF said it approved a $552.9 million credit to Yemen to help the country maintain a level of economic stability. The amount is available in semi-annual disbursements, though the IMF’s executive board said $73.8 million was unleashed immediately. Yemen has struggled to sustain a level of political stability and national security since the Arab Spring in 2011 led to the resignation of longtime President Ali Abdullah Saleh . The current administration of President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi is under pressure from the Houthi movement, a Shiite militia. Naoyuki Shinohara, acting chairman of the IMF board, said national security challenges are in the way of Yemen’s economic growth . "In particular, fiscal and external balances have weakened due to delays in key reforms and increased sabotage of oil facilities," he said in a statement Tuesday. The Yemeni government has said militants have tried to use attacks on oil infrastructure […]

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Sudan and South Sudan

Map of key oil infrastructure in Sudan and South Sudan Since its independence in 1956 from joint British and Egyptian rule, Sudan has experienced several armed conflicts that have affected the country’s economic development, particularly its natural resources. The longest conflicts in the unified Sudan were the two civil wars fought between the Northern Sudanese government in Sudan (1955-1972) and the government in Southern Sudan (1983-2005). The second civil war ended with the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) that was in place from 2005 to 2011.The CPA set standards for sharing oil revenue (50:50 split) and a timetable toward a referendum on the South’s independence. A referendum took place in January 2011 in which the people of the South voted to secede from Sudan. In July 2011, Sudan became two countries: Sudan (Khartoum as the capital) and South Sudan (Juba as the capital). The border separating Sudan […]

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PDVSA Chances of Lifting Output Seen Boosted by Reshuffle

President Nicolas Maduro ’s removal of his main economic and oil policy maker improves Venezuela’s chances of tapping more of the world’s largest crude reserves, according to Barclays Plc and Medley Global Advisors LLC. While Rafael Ramirez ’s exit from the posts of vice president for economy and energy minister dims hopes for economic reform, it may give his successor at Petroleos de Venezuela SA the opportunity to focus more on the job of pumping oil. Besides running PDVSA, Ramirez oversaw the exchange system and housing programs among other non-oil duties. His deputy on the PDVSA board, Eulogio Del Pino, will take over as part of a series of government changes unveiled by Maduro on Sept. 2. With a master’s degree in exploration from Stanford University , Del Pino oversaw the company’s operations and coordinated agreements with international oil firms as head of Corporacion Venezolana del Petroleo, or CVP. […]

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Venezuela Leader Scraps Expected Economic Revamp

Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro speaks during a news conference at Miraflores Palace in Caracas on Tuesday night. He disappointed investors with a cabinet shake-up. Reuters CARACAS, Venezuela—In recent weeks, the government here hinted it was considering controversial steps to ease a deepening economic crisis, including raising the price of gasoline. But on Tuesday night, in a widely anticipated address, President Nicolás Maduro didn’t unveil any major economic adjustments. Instead, the president announced a cabinet shake-up that removed Rafael Ramírez, the powerful oil minister, who was seen as a proponent of modest changes. Investors didn’t take long to deliver their verdict. The price of Venezuela’s benchmark bond on Wednesday fell hard for the second consecutive day to levels last seen in April, while yields on some bonds from Petróleos de Venezuela climbed to nearly 15%, among the highest in emerging markets. "All of those promises have fallen flat because he […]

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A once-proud industrial city, now a monument to Venezuela’s economic woes

Residents of a neighborhood in Ciudad Guayana, Venezuela, block traffic with burning tires to protest a broken sewer main. (Nick Miroff/The Washington Post) Long before Hugo Chávez launched his socialist revolution, government planners came here to Venezuela’s eastern frontier, where the mighty Orinoco and Caroni rivers converge, and envisioned an industrial workers’ paradise. President Rómulo Betancourt, a key partner in John F. Kennedy’s “Alliance for Progress,” founded the city in 1961, inviting his countrymen to turn Ciudad Guayana into a tropical Pittsburgh. More than a city, “it felt like you were building a country,” said Alfredo Rivas, who arrived as a young engineer and went on to become president of the huge steelworks here. A half-century later and 15 years after Chávez came to power, Ciudad Guayana’s factories are crippled, starved for investment and roiled by labor disputes. So faint is Betancourt’s vision that his own monument is coated […]

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Modi Vies With Widodo as India Set to End Diesel Subsidy

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is closer to scrapping controls on diesel prices that led to $66 billion of losses on sales of the fuel in the past decade. The loss has fallen to 0.08 rupees (less than 1 U.S. cent) a liter from 13.4 rupees in September last year after Modi continued with gradual price increases that began in January 2013, Oil Ministry data show. The ministry will seek Cabinet approval to remove diesel controls once losses end, one of its officials with direct knowledge of the matter said last week, while requesting anonymity citing rules. Modi is vying with counterparts including Indonesian President-elect Joko Widodo to woo investors by curbing petroleum subsidies, which frees up funds to invest in infrastructure for faster growth. The government and state-run crude producer Oil & Natural Gas Corp. (ONGC) bore the brunt of the 4 trillion-rupee cost of cushioning diesel in […]

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China’s Petroleum Reserve Builds Shaky Floor for Oil

An oil field in Panjin, Liaoning province, China. Sheng Li/Reuters China’s secretive effort to build a Strategic Petroleum Reserve has given oil bulls comfort that the underpinnings for global oil prices are strong. Yet in the near term, there are reasons to believe this mysterious hoard won’t offer much support. The world’s second largest consumer of oil after the U.S. began building its strategic reserves a decade ago and recently stepped up construction of storage facilities. China aims by 2020 to squirrel away 100 days of net imports, according to state media. At current rates of imports, that would mean 600 million barrels of crude oil at least. Analyst estimates of how much China has managed to fill so far vary hugely, ranging between 120 million and 260 million barrels. Beijing doesn’t divulge details regularly on the program, which is thought to buy oil when the price dips. If […]

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Shell makes Utica gas discovery in Pennsylvania

Royal Dutch Shell PLC has made a natural gas discovery within the Utica shale in Tioga County, Pa. The Neal and Gee wells were respectively drilled to total measured depths of 14,500 and 15,500 ft with respective lateral lengths of 4,200 ft and 3,100 ft. Shell says the results are comparable to the best publically announced thus far in the emerging southeast Ohio Utica dry gas play. The Gee and Neal discovery wells extend the “sweet spot” of the Utica formation beyond southeast Ohio and western Pennsylvania, where previous discoveries have been located, and into an area where Shell holds a major leasehold position of 430,000 acres, the company said. Shell expanded its Utica acreage in Pennsylvania last month ( OGJ Online, Aug. 14, 2014 ). Producing for almost a year, Gee was drilled more than 100 miles northeast of the nearest horizontal Utica producer, and had an initial […]

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In Speech on Mexico Trip, Gov. Christie Lays Out Vision for Energy ‘Renaissance’

MEXICO CITY — Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey offered a prescription for what he called a “North American energy renaissance” in an expansive speech here, calling for an end to Washington’s 40-year ban on crude oil exports, faster approval of natural gas pipelines between the United States and Mexico , and construction of the Keystone XL pipeline from Canada to the Gulf Coast. On the opening day of Mr. Christie’s trip to Mexico, a rare journey abroad as he considers a run for the presidency, he abandoned his trademark swagger for a data-filled, policy-rich and humility-heavy approach. He quoted the writer Bill Bryson and the energy expert Daniel Yergin. He offered lavish praise for the market-oriented overhauls of the Mexican president, Enrique Peña Nieto. And he took pains to present himself, over and over, as an eager student prepared to absorb the lessons of his Mexican counterparts. “I […]

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Demand Ebbs for Electric, Hybrid Cars

Auto makers’ efforts to put more electric vehicles on the road appears to be shorting out. Despite a booming U.S. auto market, sales of electric and hybrid cars have stalled this year, capturing 3.6% of the market through August, slightly down from last year’s 3.7% share, says research firm Edmunds.com. The leveling off comes as surprise. Many auto industry executives and analysts predicted that hybrid and electric car sales would continue to grow incrementally as car makers expanded new offerings and public awareness increased. In 2011, the Obama administration put forth the lofty goal of putting one million electric vehicles on the road by 2015. Last year, a total of 581,240 electric and hybrid cars were sold in the U.S., said Edmunds.com. "As the summer months wind down, we’re approaching the time of the year when sales of these vehicles tend to be slower, so a late-year surge isn’t […]

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AAA: Gas prices keep falling

The national average price for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline in the United States is the lowest it’s been in more than four years, motor club AAA said. AAA reported a national average price Wednesday of $3.43, relatively unchanged from last week, but 7 cents lower than one month ago and 16 cents less than this date in 2013. The price also reflects the lowest price in four years, the motor club said. AAA said the price at the pump reflects a steady decline in crude oil prices , which make up nearly 60 percent of the retail price for gasoline. "While geopolitical developments in Ukraine and Iraq remain front page news, oil markets have marched steadily lower reflecting the assessment that global supplies remain unaffected," AAA said in a report published Tuesday. Gasoline prices in the United States typically fall after the Labor Day holiday as the […]

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Shell Finds Stretch Utica Shale Boundary Many Miles East

Royal Dutch Shell Plc (RDSA) ’s natural gas discoveries near the Pennsylvania-New York border indicate that the Utica shale formation extends hundreds of miles farther east than originally thought. Two gas finds in Tioga County, Pennsylvania , announced today by Europe’s largest oil company are more than 300 miles (483 kilometers) away from the epicenter of Utica shale drilling in Monroe County, Ohio . Shell, which has been selling gas assets in other parts of the U.S. to focus on its highest-profit prospects, said it owns drilling rights across about 430,000 acres in the discovery zone, an area five times the size of Philadelphia. Since the discovery of Utica four years ago, exploration has been dominated by a handful of domestic wildcatters such as Chesapeake Energy Corp. (CHK) and Gulfport Energy Corp. Oil majors including Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) were late to the race after initially assuming the formations […]

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Strong factory orders, auto sales brighten U.S. economic picture

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – New orders for U.S. factory goods posted a record gain in July and auto sales last month accelerated to their highest level in 8-1/2 years, offering further bullish signals for the economy. Another report on Wednesday from the Federal Reserve showed manufacturing expanding across a broad base of sectors and auto sales hitting "high levels" in recent weeks. "U.S. economic activity continues to improve," said Jennifer Lee, a senior economist at BMO Capital Markets in Toronto. The Commerce Department said new orders for manufactured goods jumped 10.5 percent in July on robust demand for aircraft and autos, compared to a 1.5 percent rise in June. Orders excluding the volatile transportation category slipped 0.8 percent in July, but that drop followed a 1.4 percent increase the prior month, leaving intact the upbeat trend for manufacturing activity. Separately, industry research firm Autodata Corp said auto sales rose to […]

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Putin Seen Waging Ukraine Shadow War Until Veto Assured

Vladimir Putin will continue his shadow war until he’s created quasi statelets in Ukraine’s easternmost regions with veto power over the country’s future, five current and former Russian officials and advisers said. Even after Putin and his counterpart Petro Poroshenko agreed on steps to end more than five months of fighting, the Russian president won’t settle for less than broad autonomy for Ukraine’s mainly Russian-speaking regions of Donetsk and Luhansk, including the right to reject key decisions at the national level such as joining NATO, according to the people. Putin is willing to wait until November, after Ukraine elects a new parliament and the heating season starts, to ensure his goals are met, in part by extending a natural gas cutoff to force a compromise if needed, one official said on condition of anonymity after speaking with Putin last week. Related: “Putin’s goal is to force Ukraine to its […]

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Putin Sets Out Peace Terms for Ukraine

The Ukrainian President’s office said that he and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to a cease-fire regime in eastern Ukraine. The Kremlin took issue with that wording, saying the two leaders only discussed steps towards peace. WSJ’s Paul Sonne joins Simon Constable on the News Hub with more on this. Photo: Getty MOSCOW—Russian President Vladimir Putin pushed a cease-fire deal with Ukraine that would freeze in place gains made by Russian-backed separatists, setting the stage for the kind of partitioning Moscow has used to tame other neighbors. Mr. Putin said he and Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko were "very close" on agreeing to a path for resolving the nearly five-month conflict. The Russian leader proposed an end to the rebel offensive, but also a pullback of Ukrainian troops, which would be a major concession for Kiev. Mr. Poroshenko said he "supported Russia’s readiness to implement a joint plan for peaceful […]

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EU energy chief not ruling out ‘worst case scenarios’ on energy security

BRUSSELS (Reuters) – European Energy Commissioner Guenther Oettinger warned on Tuesday he was not ruling out "worst case scenarios" on Europe’s energy security due to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s "lies" amid Moscow’s actions in Ukraine. "That Putin would use false information, lies and weapons was beyond my imagination," Oettinger said at an event of German energy utility RWE in Brussels. "That’s why I am not ruling out worst case scenarios any more," he added, referring to Europe’s energy security. The war in Ukraine, which has led to the worst stand-off between Russia and the West since the Cold War, has heightened fears in Europe of gas shortages in the winter. Russia is Europe’s biggest supplier of oil, coal and natural gas, and its pipelines through Ukraine are currently subject to political maneuvering, not for the first time, as the West and Moscow clash over the latter’s military action in […]

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Wales wind farm gaining momentum

German energy company RWE said Wednesday half of the turbines at what will be the second-largest offshore wind farm are operational. More than half of the 160 turbines planned for the Gwynt y Mor wind farm off the coast of North Wales are in service. The second half could possibly be in service in time for a final commissioning at the end of the year. Project Director Toby Edmonds explained the offshore facility is already the largest renewable energy source in Wales , but final operations are contingent upon circumstances beyond the company’s control. "We hope to have all 160 turbines commissioned this side of Christmas but with the impact that the winter weather can have on our program, it may be the early part of 2015 before the wind farm is fully operational," he said in a statement Wednesday. The wind farm will have a peak operational capacity […]

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Nuclear outage heightens UK energy supply fears

Heysham 1 and Heysham 2 nuclear power stations are seen near Lancaster, northern England…The Heysham 1 and Heysham 2 nuclear power stations are seen near Lancaster, northern England, July 11, 2006. Britain must build new nuclear power stations, generate more electricity from wind and waves and curb domestic demand in the battle against global warming, Trade Secretary Alistair Darling said on Tuesday. REUTERS/Phil Noble (BRITAIN) Heysham 1 and Heysham 2 nuclear power stations in Lancashire, northwest England Britain’s energy capacity shortage deepened on Thursday when EDF Energy warned that four nuclear reactors it had shut down for safety reasons might be out of action until the end of the year, two and a half months longer than expected. National Grid said on Tuesday it was seeking emergency electricity supplies because of shortages triggered partly by the shutdown of the nuclear plants. EDF said in August it had found a […]

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WRI: Shale oil, gas face tight competition for water

WASHINGTON, DC, Sept. 3 09/03/2014 Governments and businesses trying to develop tight oil and gas resources could face intense competition for water that would be used in hydraulic fracturing , the World Resources Institute said in a recent report. It found that 38% of the world’s tight shale resources face high to extremely high water stress or arid conditions. The Sept. 2 report, “ Global Shale Gas Development: Water Availability ,” is the first publicly available water availability analysis across shale gas and tight oil resources worldwide, the environmental organization said. Its research also indicated that water availability could limit shale resource development on every continent except Antarctica. “With 386 million people living on land above shale plays, governments and business face critical choices about how to manage their energy and water needs,” said WRI Pres. Andrew Steer. “Energy development and responsible water management must go hand in hand.” […]

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WRI: Insufficient Water Might Curtail Fracking in Some Countries

http://www.rigzone.com/news/oil_gas/a/134840/WRI_Insufficient_Water_Might_Curtail_Fracking_in_Some_Countries Hess To Form MLP For North Dakota Oil, Gas Transport Assets A global resources institute finds that many countries might not have enough water to practice hydraulic fracturing. While fracking has been of great benefit to the United States’ economy, other countries have been slow to move away from more traditional methods of production. However, political circumstances and economics have accounted for much of the delay from other countries in following in the tracks of the United States, according to an April 7, 2013 article in Forbes. And now, one issue – that of inadequate water supply – could derail other countries’ fracking efforts before they even leave the station, a new report by the World Resources Institute (WRI) suggests. The amount of hydrocarbon resources that might not be realized unless the challenge of inadequate water supply is solved is significant, the WRI said in a report called […]

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Water Shortages Will Limit Global Shale Gas Development, Especially in China

Water Shortages Will Limit Global Shale Gas Development, Especially in China If all the world’s theoretically recoverable shale gas could be developed, our supply of clean-burning natural gas would expand 47 percent—lowering both greenhouse gas emissions and energy prices, according to estimates from the Washington-based World Resources Institute. The hitch is that the process for extracting shale gas, called hydraulic fracking, sucks up as much as 25 million liters (6.6 million gallons) of water for each well. A report from WRI (PDF), “Global Shale Gas Development: Water Availability and Business Risks,” released on Tuesday, shows that roughly 38 percent of the world’s shale gas and oil lies buried beneath water-stressed regions. This means that extraction efforts will be difficult and expensive, as well as economically and environmentally risky. China has the world’s largest estimated deposits of shale gas (1,115 trillion cubic feet), according to studies by the U.S. Energy […]

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2014 Is the Year of the Energy-Water Nexus

Page added on September 3, 2014 2014 Is the Year of the Energy-Water Nexus 2014 is shaping up to be the year of the energy-water nexus. First, the United Nation’s World Water Day centered on this topic. Then, the U.S. Department of Energy released a 250-page report on the energy-water nexus and indicated that it will be included in its Quadrennial Energy Review . And, this week, the biggest international water conference, World Water Week , is taking on the nexus. Held every year in Stockholm, Sweden, World Water Week is led by the Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI) and serves as a platform for over 200 collaborating organizations and 2,500 participants from 130 countries around the world to discuss global water and development issues. In choosing the energy-water nexus as this year’s theme, SIWI and its supporters are affirming – on a global stage – what policy experts […]

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WTI Rises From January Low Before U.S. Supply Data; Brent Climbs

West Texas Intermediate crude rose from the lowest price in more than seven months before U.S. supply data that may signal the strength of fuel demand in the world’s biggest oil consumer. Brent climbed in London. Futures rebounded as much as 0.5 percent in New York. Crude stockpiles probably shrank by 1 million barrels to 359.5 million last week, a Bloomberg News survey showed before an Energy Information Administration report tomorrow. Authorities in Saudi Arabia, OPEC’s largest producer, said they arrested 88 members of a group that was planning attacks inside and outside the kingdom. “The drive season was pretty good, and that’s kept the price from collapsing,” David Lennox, a resource analyst at Fat Prophets in Sydney, said of the peak U.S. driving period that typically ends on Labor Day. “The market will be watching for the EIA numbers and the jobless claims to see the current direction […]

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Oil Prices Fall Sharply on Weak Demand Outlook, Stronger Dollar

Oil prices dropped more than $3 a barrel Tuesday as disappointing Chinese and European economic data and a stronger dollar weighed on demand expectations. Oil prices have tumbled in recent weeks as weak demand from European and Asian refineries forced sellers to cut prices and global supplies remained ample despite violence in some regions. Recent data indicates that tepid demand could continue in the coming months. U.S. oil prices rose last week for the first time in five weeks as traders who had bet on lower prices closed out their wagers, in case unrest in any geopolitical hot spots worsened during the long holiday weekend. The Nymex market was closed Monday for Labor Day and reopened Tuesday. "What kicked us off was, obviously, nothing bad happened over the weekend" to disrupt global oil supplies, said John Kilduff, founding partner of Again Capital in New York. On top of that, […]

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Natural-Gas Futures Drop as Heat-Wave Forecasts Fizzle

By Christian Berthelsen NEW YORK–Natural-gas prices suffered their largest single-day drop in more than six months on Tuesday after forecasts for a heat wave turned more moderate, ending hopes for a late summer surge in gas demand to cool homes and offices. Natural gas for delivery in October fell 17.5 cents, or 4.3%, to $3.89 a million British thermal units on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The decline erased more than a week’s worth of gains in the market, and the drop was the largest in percentage terms since Feb. 27. The market opened lower, and the losses accelerated throughout the session. Prices had climbed on forecasts of scorching temperatures throughout the U.S. in the first two weeks of August. But natural-gas futures fell Tuesday after newly revised forecasts said temperatures would moderate after this week, with hot weather remaining only in pockets of the South, the Southeast and […]

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Gazprom Neft exporting new Iraqi oil

Russian energy company said oil from the Badra field in southern Iraq is making its way to the Persian Gulf for exports. The company, the oil arm of Russian gas company Gazprom, brought Badra online in December and testing of new pipeline infrastructure to the export terminal at Basra began in May. Now, the company said, the field is sending 15,000 barrels of oil per day to the southern port city. "Over the period of just a few years, a consortium of companies led by Gazprom Neft has fully prepared Badra, one of the most complex geological field structures in Iraq, for full-scale commercial development," Alexander Dyukov , Gazprom Neft board chairman, said in a statement Monday. "This is the first major international project in the upstream sector the company has implemented from scratch." In June, the company started preliminary oil production from the Badra oil field in Iraq, […]

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Group: Islamic militants killed 770 Iraqi troops

BAGHDAD (AP) — An international rights group says Islamic State militants carried out a mass killing of hundreds of Iraqi soldiers captured when the extremists overran a military base north of Baghdad in June. Human Rights Watch said Wednesday that new evidence indicates the Islamic State group killed between 560 and 770 men captured at Camp Speicher, near the city of Tikrit. The New York-based watchdog says the number of slain Iraqi soldiers is several times higher than previously reported. Earlier, Human Rights Watch said between 160 and 190 men were killed. Human Rights Watch says the new number is based on analysis of new satellite imagery, militant videos and a survivor’s account. In June, the Islamic State group claimed it had "executed" about 1,700 soldiers and military personnel captured from Camp Speicher.

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U.S. not open for Kurdish oil, Baghdad says

The semiautonomous Kurdistan Regional Government last week declared victory in a Texas court case involving the status of oil loaded onto the vessel United Kalavrvta, circling currently near the port city of Galveston. The Iraqi Oil Ministry published a letter saying the KRG was making misleading statements on the case. The court’s decision was "quite narrow," the ministry said, and does nothing to prevent U.S. authorities from seizing what Baghdad said is illegal cargo. "The U.S. market is far from being open for illegal KRG exports," it said. Both sides make competing claims over whether or not Kurdish oil exports are legal. The U.S. government has sided with Iraq, saying Baghdad has exclusive rights to determine exports. The issue over United Kalavrvta, however, is a commercial matter , Washington said. Baghdad said an independent Iraqi court is the best forum to settle the dispute. It added, however, it has […]

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Statoil restarts Algerian gas work after terror attack

Norwegian energy company Statoil said it was ready to return to work in Algeria more than a year after terrorists stormed a gas facility there. Terrorists sympathetic with al-Qaida stormed the country’s In Amenas natural gas facility in January 2013, leaving 38 civilians and 29 militants dead. Statoil and its joint venture partners said they’re ready to resume ordinary operations at the plant after implementing new security measures at the facility. "The decision to resume ordinary operations at In Amenas is the result of a thorough and stepwise process of identifying necessary security measures, implementing them and validating that they are in place and operational," Lars Christian Bacher, executive vice president for production at Statoil, said in a statement Monday. In Amenas has a production capacity of approximately 315 million cubic feet of natural gas per year. Algeria’s state-run energy company Sonatrach operates the facility alongside British energy company […]

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Iran boasts of nuclear energy potential

| License Photo Following an announcement of new U.S. sanctions on Iran, an energy official in Tehran said the country is looking to vastly expand its nuclear power capacity. Ebrahim Karkhaneh, the director of a nuclear energy subcommittee in the Iranian parliament, said Iran is already generating 1,000 megawatts of power from its Bushehr nuclear power facility. Studies are under way to expand that output , in part with the help of Russia, which already supplies nuclear fuel to Bushehr. "We hope that the country would be able to increase nuclear power generation to 8,000 megawatts," Karkhaneh said Monday. The U.S. Treasury Department last week unveiled what it said was a diverse new set of sanctions meant to curb Iran’s nuclear and missile ambitions. Iran secured relief from some sanctions last year in exchange for curbing its nuclear research activity, though U.S. Undersecretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence David […]

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Aging oil fields can turn the Arabian Peninsula into a powder keg

300×300 Monetising Summit If one studies the world’s oil resources and oil production then the Arabian Peninsula is of central interest. The remaining monarchies of the region have established the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). This was formed in 1981 as a response to the Iranian Revolution and Iraq’s attack on Iran. The GCC is comprised of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, The United Arab Emirates and Oman. Within the GCC exist enormous oil resources. According to the BP Statistical Review of World Energy 40% of the world’s remaining conventional oil reservs exists within the GCC. The world’s largest conventional oil field is Ghawar in Saudi Arabia and there are also many other gigantic oilfields in the region. Since the 1950s it is mainly oil from the Arabian Peninsula that has been decisive for the economic growth of the global economy. The problem at the moment is that the fields […]

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Nigeria’s Oil Export Slides to 1.83 Million Barrels Per Day

NIGERIA’S oil export programme may have continued on the downward swing, as indications emerged that the nation would only export 1.83 million barrels per day in October. According to the loading schedules, Nigeria will export about 1.83bpd of crude oil in October, down from 1.94 million bpd exported in September. Traders said some Angolan crude grades have been cleared for October loading, while Nigerian cargoes appeared to be finding buyers more slowly. Nigeria’s Qua Iboe offers to be at dated Brent plus $2.00, unchanged. A trader said cargoes were likely to be sold at dated Brent plus $1 to plus $1.50. Sources however said that, about four Qua cargoes loading in October have traded, leaving as many as eight still looking for buyers. However, Brazil emerged the largest buyer of Nigeria’s crude oil, overtaking India that occupied the position in the first quarter of this year. The development followed […]

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Venezuelan President Replaces Oil Minister Rafael Ramírez

Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro speaks at a news conference in Caracas on Tuesday. Reuters CARACAS—Rafael Ramírez, who has overseen Venezuela’s oil industry for more than a decade, was removed from that role late Tuesday in a cabinet shake-up announced by President Nicolás Maduro. As part of the shake-up, Mr. Ramírez was appointed foreign minister. Venezuela’s then-energy minister, Rafael Ramírez, attends an OPEC meeting in December 2011 in Vienna. Agence France-Presse/Getty Images Mr. Ramírez had served as Mr. Maduro’s top economic adviser and was scheduled to lead an investor roadshow this month in New York in search of financing for the cash-strapped government. He was one of the most vocal proponents of economic overhauls such as slashing domestic gasoline subsidies and simplifying a cumbersome foreign-exchange system, two areas where the government has been bleeding money. The cabinet changes come as Mr. Maduro’s approval rating has tumbled to 35.4% as he […]

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Build starts on Russia-China gas pipeline

Russian President Vladimir Putin was on hand for the launch ceremony for construction of the Power of Siberia natural gas pipeline. A contract between Russian natural gas company Gazprom and China National Petroleum Corp. is for 30 years and calls for 1.3 trillion cubic feet of natural gas per year . "The new trunk gas pipeline will help considerably strengthen economic cooperation with Asia-Pacific countries, first of all, with our key partner China," he said. Gazprom officials have expressed interest in moving deeper into a growing Asian economy in an effort to offset a stagnant European Union. Europe, for its part, has sought to break the Russian grip on the regional energy sector by securing new sources of natural gas, notably from Azerbaijan. Putin said the new 2,500-mile gas pipeline to China will tie the Russian energy sector to both poles of the economic world . "This [pipeline] will […]

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Halliburton to Settle Deepwater Horizon Claims for $1.1 Billion

The Deepwater Horizon explosion and sinking in 2010 led to the largest offshore oil spill in U.S. history. Getty Images Halliburton Co. will pay $1.1 billion to Gulf Coast residents, local governments and businesses affected by the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill, moving to limit its liabilities ahead of a court ruling that could have increased its costs. The settlement announced Tuesday by the company and plaintiffs’ lawyers includes claims for punitive damages brought by the commercial fishing industry and others affected by the spilled crude. The amount is less than the $1.3 billion Halliburton has set aside for its costs stemming from the largest offshore oil spill in U.S. history. Some legal analysts say the settlement will eliminate most of the oil-field-services company’s liability from the incident. The deal comes as Halliburton, BP PLC and Transocean Ltd. await a ruling from U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier in New […]

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Petroleum Supply Monthly and Other News

The EIA’s Petroleum Supply Monthly  has just come out. That report gives production from individual states as well as offshore production. The below chart is thousand barrels per day with the last data point June 2014. GOM BSEE For February, March and April there is about 60 thousand barrel per day difference between what the EIA and BSEE reports. Eventually the EIA and BSEE will be the same and it will be the EIA data that suffers the greatest revisions. I believe they have the June GOM numbers quite a bit too high here. Texas 1 The EIA is still tweaking its guess as to what Texas production will be when it finally comes in. Largest changes in US Production, May to June, in thousand barrels per day: Alaska             -40 Colorado          20 GOM             […]

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Aided by refined product growth, Houston leads US in exports

Bolstered by $35.3 billion in refined petroleum and coal product exports, the Houston metropolitan area shipped the most goods to foreign markets of any US metro region, the US Commerce Department said Tuesday. Overall, the Houston area exported $115 billion of goods in 2013, the most of any region for the second year in a row after it exported $110.3 billion in 2012. The New York metropolitan region exported $106.9 billion in goods in 2013, the second most of the 387 US metropolitan regions. Overall, $1.4 trillion in goods was exported from all US metropolitan regions last year, Commerce said. Despite the increase in refined petroleum product exports from Houston, Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker downplayed the role that oil and gas has had on US export growth, pointing out that only a third of Houston’s record export levels are oil and gas related. "What’s exciting about the whole export […]

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Dominion heads 1.5-bcfd Atlantic Coast gas pipeline joint venture

Dominion , Duke Energy , Piedmont Natural Gas , and AGL Resources have formed a joint venture to build and own the proposed 1.5-bcfd Atlantic Coast Pipeline. The 550-mile natural gas pipeline would move Marcellus and Utica shale gas from Harrison County, W.Va., southeast through Virginia, with an extension to Chesapeake, Va., and then south through central North Carolina to Robeson County. The main pipeline would have a 42-in. OD in West Virginia and Virginia, and 36-in. OD in North Carolina. The lateral to Chesapeake-Hampton Roads, Va., would measure 20-in. in diameter. Dominion plans three compressor stations for the pipeline, one at its West Virginia starting point, one in Buckingham County, Va., and one near the Virginia-North Carolina border. The partnership, called Atlantic Coast Pipeline LLC, will own the pipeline initially proposed by Dominion as the Southeast Reliability Project. It is designed in part to meet demand identified in […]

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Ukraine rebels say they are poised to recapture Donetsk airport

BRUSSELS/DONETSK Ukraine (Reuters) – EU officials proposed sanctions on Tuesday to starve Russian firms of cash as punishment for Moscow’s role in Ukraine, where rebels said they were storming Donetsk airport, potentially their biggest prize since turning the war’s tide last week. Western countries accuse Moscow of sending armored columns of troops into Ukraine, where the momentum in a five-month war shifted last week decisively in favor of pro-Russian rebels, who are now advancing on a new front towards a major port. Russia denies its troops are involved in fighting on the ground, in the face of what Western countries and Ukraine say is overwhelming evidence. In Washington, Pentagon spokesman Rear Admiral John Kirby estimated there were thousands of Russian forces inside Ukraine. “You want to talk provocative? Let’s talk about a few thousand Russian troops inside eastern Ukraine, continuing to support separatists, with heavy weapon systems, and more […]

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Statoil cleared to move controversial rig

Norway’s Petroleum Safety Authority said the company received consent to move the Transocean rig, Spitsbergen, to a license area in the Barents Sea, where the water depth is approximately 1,400 feet. "In its decision to grant permission under the Pollution Act, the Norwegian Environment Agency has determined that Statoil may not drill in oil-bearing strata before Sept. 18," the regulator said. "This condition has been set to allow for appeals before the riskiest part of the operation gets under way." More than a dozen Greenpeace demonstrators took part in a protest against Statoil’s drilling plans for arctic waters by boarding the Transocean rig in May. Around half of them surrendered their campaign voluntarily and Statoil said the seven activists who remained behind were arrested by Norwegian police . Greenpeace said drilling operations in the region present a threat to regional species and the environment. Statoil in August abandoned an […]

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Ukrainian President’s Office Announces Cease-Fire With Russia

KIEV, Ukraine — President Petro O. Poroshenko of Ukraine reached an agreement with Russia on Wednesday for a cease-fire in eastern Ukraine, the presidential office said in a brief announcement on its website. The Ukrainian announcement said the agreement had come during a telephone call with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia. “The conversation resulted in an agreement on a lasting cease-fire in Donbass,” or eastern Ukraine, said the announcement, which consisted of three sentences. The two presidents agreed on the steps needed to establish peace, it said. No other details were given. But Dmitri S. Peskov, the Kremlin’s press secretary, said Mr. Putin had not negotiated a cease-fire with Mr. Poroshenko because Russia was not a party to the conflict in Ukraine’s southeast. “Putin and Poroshenko did indeed discuss steps which could facilitate a cease-fire between the militias and the Ukrainian military,” Mr. Peskov was quoted as saying […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple