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Coal-fired power generation in US revised lower for 2014-2015: EIA

The US Energy Information Administration Tuesday lowered its estimates for coal-fired electricity generation in 2014-2015, while natural gas and renewables were revised higher. The EIA’s updated forecasts were included in its September Short Term Energy Outlook. Coal-fired electricity generation for all sectors, including residential, commercial, and industrial, was revised 0.8% lower to 4.502 million MWh/d from 4.541 million MWh/d in 2014, and 0.6% lower to 4.374 million MWh/d from 4.398 million MWh/d in 2015. Natural gas-fired generation was revised 0.4% higher to 2.995 million MWh/d in 2014, and 0.3% higher to 3.112 MWh/d in 2015. "Other renewables" generation, which includes wind, biomass, geothermal, and solar generation, was taken 1% higher to 759,000 MWh/d in 2014, and raised 0.9% higher to 811,000 MWh/d in 2015. ONLY TWO COAL PLANTS TO COME ONLINE IN 2014 According to preliminary data, power generators added 4.35 GW of new capacity during the first half […]

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Short-Term Energy Outlook

Highlights Driven in large part by falling crude oil prices, U.S. regular gasoline retail prices fell to an average of $3.49/per gallon (gal) in August, 12 cents below the July average and 21 cents below the average in June. U.S. regular gasoline retail prices are projected to continue to decline to an average of $3.18/gal in December, 12 cents lower than projected in last month’s STEO. EIA expects U.S. regular gasoline retail prices, which averaged $3.51/gal in 2013, to average $3.46/gal in 2014 and $3.41/gal in 2015, 4 cents lower and 6 cents lower than last month’s STEO, respectively. Weakening global demand and increased Libyan oil exports contributed to a drop in the North Sea Brent crude oil spot price to an average of $102 per barrel (bbl) in August, $5/bbl lower than the July average and $10/bbl below the average in June. For the first time in 14 […]

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US crude output in 2014 to average 8.53 million b/d: EIA

The US Energy Information Administration on Tuesday again lowered its 2014 price estimates for both WTI and Brent, due to weakening global demand and near-record US production. In its September Short-Term Energy Outlook, EIA decreased its 2014 forecasts for WTI to $98.28/b and Brent to $106/b, which is $2.17 and $2.11, respectively, below last month’s estimate. EIA forecasts WTI at $94.67/b and Brent at $103/b in 2015, $1.41 and $2, respectively, lower than last month’s 2015 forecast. The WTI discount to Brent, which averaged $11/b in 2013, is expected to average $8/b in both 2014 and 2015. EIA last month had projected the same discount for 2014, but said it would be $9/b in 2015. Price projections continue to fall as total US crude oil production averaged 8.6 million b/d in August, the highest monthly production since July 1986, global demand weakens and increased Libyan oil exports put downward […]

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Bakken Shale Rig Count Stays Flat at 191

Saskatchewan Ethane Processing Plant Saskatchewan Ethane Processing Plant|Click to Enlarge The  Bakken-Three Forks rig count  stayed flat at 191 rigs running across our coverage area by the end of last week. The NDIC notes 198 rigs are active in North Dakota, but around 15 of those are in the process of moving in and rigging up. In recent Bakken news, Pembina Pipeline Corp. announced in early Sept. 2014 it will acquire Bakken midstream assets for $650-million from entities affiliated with Riverstone Holdings, LLC. The U.S. rig count increased by 11 to 1,925 rigs running by the end of last week. A total of 340 rigs were targeting natural gas (two more than  the previous week) and 1,584 were targeting oil in the U.S. (nine more than the previous week). The remainder were drilling service wells (e.g. disposal wells, injection wells, etc.).  192  rigs are running in the Williston Basin across MT, ND, and SD.  […]

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Oil industry fight erupts over exports

The Independent Petroleum Association of America said it rejected complaints over decisions that cleared the way for the export of petroleum products. Crude oil exports are restricted under legislation enacted in the wake of the oil embargo imposed in the 1970s by Arab members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries. Refinery consortium Consumers and Refiners United for Domestic Energy last week said a June decision by the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security to clear exports of so-called condensate as a petroleum product rather than crude oil was incorrect. IPAA said the refiner’s real complaint has more to do with competition than the "realities surrounding U.S. energy security." IPAA argues for more exports, citing the exponential rise in U.S. oil production that came as a result of the shale boom. "It’s sad that an organization that purports to stand up for consumers would distort the plain language […]

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Fossil fuels behind climate change, WMO says

"We know without any doubt that our climate is changing and our weather is becoming more extreme due to human activities such as the burning of fossil fuels," WMO Secretary-General Michel Jarraud said in a statement. WMO published its annual Greenhouse Gas Bulletin Tuesday. It found the level of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere last year reached a new record in part because of an increase in the amount of carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide levels are 142 percent higher than a 1750 benchmark, a year WMO set as the start of the industrial era. For methane, emissions are 253 percent higher and nitrous oxide emissions were 121 percent more than the 1750 benchmark. Since 1990, the WMO said radiative forcing — the warming effect on the climate — is up 34 percent because of the persistence of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Last year, WMO said, CO2 levels in […]

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Tighter rules for U.S. crude oil trains

The U.S. Department of Transportation said Tuesday it adopted new measures aimed at securing unattended freight trains in response to oil train accidents. The Department of Transportation’s Federal Railroad Administration issued a new proposal aimed at strengthening rules on unattended freight trains . The rules are part of a series of federal procedures outlined in the wake of the deadly 2013 derailment in Lac-Megantic, Quebec. "This rulemaking will solidify our existing securement regulations and provide additional safeguards against the rolling of unattended freight trains, especially those carrying hazardous materials," Federal Railroad Administrator Joseph Szabo said in a statement. At least 40 people were killed in Lac-Megantic, Quebec, in the derailment of a train carrying tankers of crude oil from North Dakota to Canadian refineries. Montreal, Maine and Atlantic Railway blamed the air brakes on the locomotive for the accident. Canadian Transport Minister Lisa Raitt announced new regulations in April […]

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Shell pins oil growth to deep water projects

Deep water oil reserves are part of a fundamental growth area for Royal Dutch Shell, the company said after starting a Gulf of Mexico project. Shell last month said the start of oil production from the deepwater Bonga North West development off the coast of Nigeria was an "excellent addition" to a growing portfolio of offshore assets. At its peak, an offshore floating processing facility is expected to process as much as 40,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day. The company said Monday production started at its Cardamom project , its second deepwater project in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico brought online this year. Marvin Odum, upstream director for North American operations, said Cardamom is a high-value addition to its deepwater portfolio. "Our future opportunities in deep water mean that this will remain an important, high-return growth area for Shell," he said in a statement. Cardamom is about 225 […]

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London rolls out climate agenda

"You can go green and continue to prosper and develop — that is the strong message we will be taking to the global community in the coming months," British Energy and Climate Change Secretary Ed Davey said in a statement. The British government launched its so-called Paris 2015 document ahead of next year’s international climate summit in France. The document outlines how acting now on cutting greenhouse gas emissions can help deter future climate disasters. The government’s agenda describes how it’s giving "a decisive political signal" that the future of energy is low-carbon . Davey said the United Kingdom is already feeling the worst impacts of climate change. The British government said winter storms in December and January led to the wettest period in the country since record-keeping began. There’s an "increasing body of evidence" to suggest intense weather is "consistent with what is expected from the fundamental physics […]

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Operator: Production Resumes At UK North Sea Buzzard Oilfield

LONDON, Sept 9 (Reuters) – Production has resumed at Britain’s North Sea Buzzard oilfield, the field’s operator said in a statement on Tuesday, the latest phase of the stuttering return of one of the key streams underpinning Brent oil futures. "Production has resumed following a brief outage yesterday night, Monday 8 September, and ramp-up will continue over the coming days," Calgary-based Nexen said. Nexen was bought by China’s CNOOC last year. Since returning from summer maintenance in late August the 200,000 barrel-per-day field has gone through a number of shutdowns and restarts. Buzzard is closely watched by oil traders worldwide as it is the biggest contributor to the Forties oil stream, the largest of the four benchmark crudes that are the physical supply behind international benchmark Brent crude oil futures. (Reporting by David Sheppard and Claire Milhench; editing by Keiron Henderson) WHAT DO YOU THINK?

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