Effect of ongoing nationwide strike by the oil workers was recorded on Thursday in Abuja as long queues by motorists for petrol were seen at many filling stations in the Continue Reading
The Minister of Labour and Productivity, Chief Emeka Wogu, on Thursday in Abuja urged Nigerians not to panic over the current fuel scarcity in the country. Wogu made the call Continue Reading
MILAN, Italy, Sept. 18 (UPI) — Italian energy company Eni said Thursday it made an oil discovery in Ecuador that could hold as much as 300 million barrels in place. Eni announced the discovery at the Olgan-2 exploration well. Drilling encountered a 236-foot column of crude oil and initial production tests yielded a flow rate of 1,100 barrels of oil per day. "Early estimates suggest that the Oglan discovery potentially contains about 300 million barrels of oil in place," the company said in a statement. Ecuador has the third largest oil reserves in South America after Venezuela and Brazil. A member of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, it exports an average 388,000 bpd and produces around 526,000 bpd. Eni said the discovery was made less than 10 miles away from processing facilities already producing about 12,500 bpd. The Italian company stressed its work in the Amazon rainforest in […]
Calgary (Platts)–18Sep2014/419 pm EDT/2019 GMT China will look to drive "a hard bargain" on prices when signing LNG off-take deals with Canadian producers in large part because of its recently signed supply deal with Russia, an official with China National Offshore Oil Corp. said Thursday. "We are in a strong position with the Russia deal and that puts us in the driver’s seat while conducting price negotiations in Canada," Chen Wei Dong, chief energy researcher with the national oil company’s Energy Economics Institute said on the sidelines of the Canada LNG Export Conference and Exhibition in Calgary. China in May signed an deal with Russia to import 38 billion cubic meters/year of gas through a pipeline for 30 years. "We are negotiating another deal with Russia, which we are hoping to sign late this year or early 2015," Dong said, noting the agreements are part of China’s efforts to […]
BEIJING, Sept. 18 (UPI) — Beijing said it expected to get at least 60 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day from shale deposits by 2020. Production this year will be around 1.5 bcf, but could increase tenfold within the next two years. "If measures are appropriate, there is hope that production can reach 40 bcm – 60 bcm, accounting for roughly a fifth of total gas output," Peng Qiming, director of exploration of the Ministry of Land Resources, said Wednesday. The Chinese government said its consumption of natural gas should increase as it embraces a low-carbon economy. By 2020, Beijing expects the share of natural gas in the energy mix should be about 10 percent, about double the current footprint. An August briefing from the U.S. Energy Information Administration says China may hold the largest reserves of technically recoverable shale natural gas in the world. Technical and […]
Few are as eager as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to see Japan ’s idled nuclear reactors brought back into operation. Since the country flicked off the switch to its nuclear energy program a little more than a year ago, expensive energy imports, particularly of liquefied natural gas, have worsened trade deficits. That’s placed an extra burden on an economy that contracted at an annualized rate of 7.1 percent in the second quarter, its worst showing since 2009, Bloomberg Businessweek reports in its Sept. 22 issue. Abe’s push to restore Japan’s 48 functioning reactors faces deep opposition from a public that can’t forget the radiation leaks from the Fukushima Dai-Ichi reactor complex following an earthquake and tsunami in 2011. Revelations of the regulatory lapses that led to the leaks galvanized local governments to keep Japan’s other reactors idle after they were shut down for scheduled maintenance. By September 2013 the country was without […]
WASHINGTON, Sept. 18 (UPI) — U.S. crude oil production for the second week in September was more than 10 percent higher than the previous year, government data show. The U.S. Energy Information Administration said in a weekly petroleum report total U.S. crude oil production for the week ending Sept. 13 was 8.6 million bpd, a 12.6 percent increase from the same week in 2013. The increase in U.S. crude oil production has generated debate over the durability of legislation enacted in response to the oil embargo from Arab members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries that limits crude oil exports from the United States. Supporters of lifting the ban say it will increase U.S. leverage overseas and push the price of petroleum products like gasoline lower. Opponents question those claims and argue more exports would come with environmental consequences. EIA data show overall crude oil imports into the […]
A TransCanada Keystone Pipeline pump station operates outside Steele City, Neb., in this March 2014 file photo. Reuters WASHINGTON— TransCanada Corp.’s chief executive said the cost to build the Keystone XL pipeline, currently estimated at $5.4 billion, is expected to double by the time the U.S. government completes its review of the largest part of the project. Russ Girling, chief executive of the Calgary, Alberta,-based company, in an interview this week said he expects the project’s cost could increase to a "number that gets you into the high single digits to a 10 number." He was hesitant to say the project’s cost could double. "I was actually trying to avoid saying those words," Mr. Girling said. "Obviously, the costs have increased significantly." The pipeline, which would send Canadian oil sands to the Gulf Coast, has faced delays and has become a political flash point in the nation’s debate over […]
Houston (Platts)–18Sep2014/631 pm EDT/2231 GMT Continental Resources unveiled results of the Springer Shale on Thursday, a new Oklahoma oil play that could help boost the state’s already growing production to levels not seen in decades. The Springer, chiefly sited in Grady and parts of Garvin counties at 12,500-foot depths, is yielding top-notch initial output rates and economic returns, company managers said Thursday in webcast remarks during Continental’s 2014 Analyst Day in Oklahoma City. The company’s results in the Springer, combined with its own and the industry’s mounting production at the South Central Oklahoma Oil Play and output from other formations in the state’s subsoil, is adding to Oklahoma’s already mounting production of 345,000 b/d in June, according to US Energy Information Administration data. "Oklahoma could potentially become the nation’s [third-highest] oil-producing state," Continental CEO Harold Hamm said in opening the 2014 event, its first such investor gathering in two […]
Hess To Form MLP For North Dakota Oil, Gas Transport Assets WILLISTON, N.D., Sept 18 (Reuters) – Some of North Dakota’s oil companies likely will experience a production dip starting next month as they try to meet aggressive new flaring standards, Governor Jack Dalrymple said on Thursday. Flaring, the wasteful burning of natural gas that is extracted alongside crude, has become a widespread problem in the state, the nation’s second-largest oil producer. In an effort to curb the problem, which harms quality of life and reduces tax revenue, state regulators will require companies to flare no more than 26 percent of produced gas starting Oct. 1, with standards tightening in the future. If producers fail to meet the standards, they will have to curb production. "A lot of people were surprised we took that step because there are going to be some operators impacted by this," Dalrymple, a Republican, […]
A California-based company claims that it has found a commercially viable technique to directly convert natural gas into liquid fuels or petrochemical building blocks. "Natural gas is the next logical step for the energy and chemistry industry," said Rahul Iyer, vice president of corporate development with Siluria Technologies, which is partnering with world-class refining and petrochemical companies to roll out its catalytic processes for producing ethylene and liquid hydrocarbon fuels or fuel blend stocks. Last month, Siluria announced that it raised nearly more than $30 million in a financing led by Saudi Aramco Energy Ventures (SAEV) – the venture investment arm of Saudi Arabia’s national oil company – in its fourth stage of financing, also known as a Series D financing round. In addition to SAEV, Siluria has partnered with Brazil-based petchem manufacturer Braskem and the German-headquartered gases and engineering firm The Linde Group to commercialize its oxidative coupling […]
Shipping companies probably will miss out on exports from the record U.S. grain harvest because the shale-oil boom is clogging up rail lines to ports. While the U.S. will reap the most crops ever, fourth-quarter export cargoes will be 15 percent lower than last year, according to RS Platou Markets AS, a Norwegian bank specialized in shipping. Rates for Panamaxes, the most commonly used vessels for grains, averaged $7,574 a day this year, headed for the lowest level since at least 1999, Baltic Exchange data show. The U.S. shale-oil boom means energy shipments are dominating rail networks at the expense of grains. The Association of American Railroads says crude moved by rail almost doubled last year. The bottlenecks may persist because the Energy Department is predicting the most oil output in 45 years in 2015. “If you’re an owner, you’re banking on a bumper season of exports,” Erik Nikolai […]
Few will invest in a country that uses state power so arbitrarily It is hard to imagine a worse moment for the Kremlin’s inner circle to launch an attempt to strong arm one of Russia’s wealthiest men out of a multibillion-dollar asset. For Tuesday’s house arrest of Vladimir Yevtushenkov , number 15 on the country’s rich list, on money-laundering charges, looks to be exactly that. If it is ever to achieve its ambition of catching up with more advanced economies, Russia urgently needs investment – both foreign and domestic – in new capacity and enhanced productivity to restart stalled growth. Yet even before it launched its military adventures in Ukraine , Russia’s rich preferred investing their profits in foreign assets, London mansions or Liechtenstein trusts to ploughing them into new Russian factories. More On this story On this topic Editorial The Kremlin’s undeclared war in Ukraine has sparked escalating […]
The skyscrapers of Moscow City business district, center, stand beyond the illuminated towers of Red Square and the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, on Thursday, July 17, 2014. OAO Rosneft, Russia’s biggest oil company, natural gas producer OAO Novatek and OAO Gazprombank, the third-largest lender, are among those hit by the penalties, the U.S. Treasury Department said. Photographer: Andrey Rudakov/Bloomberg Russia’s business community and economic officials are in shock over the arrest of Vladimir Yevtushenkov , one of the country’s leading industrialists, and they are afraid. When Alexander Shokhin, head of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, the country’s big business club, sent a petition in support of Mr Yevtushenkov to President Vladimir Putin, he thought it wiser to do so by courier than in person. More On this story On this topic IN Europe Mr Yevtushenkov, one of the country’s richest men and main shareholder of the conglomerate […]
LONDON, Sept. 18 (UPI) — The U.S. and European governments have imposed punitive sanctions on Russian energy companies Rosneft, Gazprom Neft and others in response to the crisis in Ukraine . Last week, the European Union increased the pressure with sanctions on deep water energy operations, arctic oil exploration and shale projects. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development said the sanctions were taking a toll on the Russian economy. "The Western sanctions, combined with uncertainty about their possible escalation in the future, have negatively affected business confidence in Russia, constrained the ability of corporations and banks to access international debt markets, and contributed to capital flight," the bank said in a briefing. The Kremlin last week said it was the duty of the government to support the energy sector during what Rosneft Chief Executive Officer Igor Sechin said were difficult operating conditions. In terms of Ukraine, the EBRD […]
BRUSSELS, Sept. 18 (UPI) — Russian energy company Gazprom touts South Stream as a pipeline that would help support European energy security by avoiding geopolitically sensitive territory in Ukraine. Russia meets about a quarter of Europe’s gas needs, though the bulk of those supplies run through the Soviet-era transit network in Ukraine. Members of the European Parliament passed a resolution Thursday expressing support for the ratification in Kiev of an association agreement with the EU. A cease-fire in eastern Ukraine appears to be holding, the resolution said, but it could break given recent Russian aggressions. "EU sanctions are just and must be stepped up," the resolution said. For South Stream, members of Parliament had their reservations, calling on "EU countries to cancel planned energy sector agreements with Russia, including the South Stream gas pipeline." European Energy Commissioner Guenther Oettinger in June said the South Stream project should be put […]
Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) halted drilling on an offshore oil well intended as the first step in unlocking billions of barrels of crude in Russia ’s remote Arctic, according to people familiar with the project. Work stopped just a few days after the U.S. and European Union barred companies from helping Russia exploit Arctic, deep-water or shale- oil fields , said three people with knowledge of the rig’s operations who asked not to be named since they weren’t authorized to speak about the project. The U.S. sanctions, meant to punish Russia for escalating tensions in Ukraine, gave American companies until Sept. 26 to stop all restricted drilling and testing services. Exxon and Seadrill Ltd. (SDRL) ’s North Atlantic Drilling (NADL) unit are under the gun to finish or temporarily seal the $700 million well off Russia’s northern coast before the sanctions deadline, said Chris Kettenmann, chief energy strategist at […]
Elon Musk, left, and Lyndon Rive at launch of SolarCity’s initial public offering on the Nasdaq Stock Market in 2012. Associated Press Elon Musk and his cousin, Lyndon Rive, have always been close. Their mothers are twins, and Messrs. Musk and Rive grew up together. "We’ve known each other for as long as we’ve been conscious," said Mr. Musk, speaking at a panel this week at a private conference in New York. There is an obvious, almost brotherly affection between the two men. Mr. Musk says Mr. Rive "is an awesome guy and really hardworking and driven, and you can trust him with anything." And when Mr. Rive recounts the drive to Burning Man in 2004 when Mr. Musk told him his next venture should be in solar power, Mr. Rive says that when Mr. Musk tells you what area to get into next, you get into it. Their […]
The possibility that the world’s population will climb to 11 billion by the end of the century is gaining traction now that demographers are using probability methods for their projections. A paper published online on Thursday in the journal Science details new methodology that shows that most of the world’s anticipated growth is in Africa, where population is projected to quadruple from about 1 billion today to 4 billion by 2100. “For the last 20 years, prevailing opinion was that world population would go up to 9 billion and level off in the middle of the century and maybe decline,” said Adrian Raftery, one of the paper’s lead authors and a professor of statistics and sociology at the University of Washington. “Population is going to keep growing. We can say that with confidence.” Not only with confidence but with an exact percentage. There is a 70 percent probability that world […]
West Texas Intermediate dropped for a second day as crude stockpiles increased for the first time in five weeks in the U.S., the world’s biggest oil consumer. Brent declined in London . Futures slid as much as 0.9 percent in New York . Crude inventories expanded by 3.67 million barrels to 362.3 million last week, a report from the Energy Information Administration showed yesterday. Supplies were forecast to fall by 1.5 million, according a Bloomberg News survey . The dollar rose after the Fed raised its target-rate forecast. “The surprise increase is adding weight to the market,” said Michael McCarthy , a chief strategist at CMC Markets in Sydney who predicts investors may buy West Texas contracts if prices drop to about $91.50 a barrel. “The Fed commentary with the raised interest-rate expectations fed directly into the currency markets , and that’s putting pressure on commodities.” WTI for October […]
New York (Platts)–17Sep2014/523 pm EDT/2123 GMT The oil complex turned lower Wednesday after data showed an unexpected rise in US commercial crude stocks for last week. NYMEX October crude settled 46 cents lower at $94.42/barrel, while ICE November Brent closed 8 cents down at $98.97/b. Data from the US Energy Information Administration showed stocks rose 3.67 million barrels, to 362.27 million barrels, for the reporting week ended September 12. That was counter to analysts’ expectations of a 400,000-barrel draw. In refined products, NYMEX October RBOB settled 1.04 cents higher at $2.5692/gal, while NYMEX October ULSD closed up 1.12 cents at $2.7451/gal. "The EIA gave a big number on crude stock build which in and of itself is fairly bearish," Tony Headrick, energy analyst at CHS Hedging, said. "We resisted moving sharply lower, due to a combination of support levels just under $92 and refiners operating at 93%, and these […]
Iranian foreign minister Javad Zarif, left, and Italian foreign minister and the European Union’s foreign policy chief, Federica Mogherini, speak at a joint news conference after a meeting in Rome this week. AFP/Getty Images NEW YORK—Iran is committed to reaching a nuclear deal and could "live with" an agreement that placed constraints on their activities for less than 10 years, Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif said Wednesday. Speaking at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York, Mr. Zarif said "we are committed to resolving this issue." Mr. Zarif said Iran couldn’t accept an agreement which lasted for 10 or 15 years "but I’m willing to live with less." U.S. officials have said privately they want an agreement that curtails Iran’s future nuclear program for as many as 20 years. After that, they say, Iran will be free to expand its nuclear program. Mr. Zarif’s comments come ahead of […]
A reduction in OPEC crude output deepened as Libya’s biggest producing oilfield stopped pumping amid supply cuts from Saudi Arabia and potential disruptions to Nigerian exports. Libya halted the Sharara oilfield as a precaution after a rocket attack on the connected Zawiya refinery three days ago, closing down about 30 percent of national output. In Africa ’s largest oil producer, state-owned Nigerian National Petroleum Corp. was in talks yesterday to prevent a strike that threatened to disrupt exports. Saudi Arabia told the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries that in August it made the deepest production cut in 18 months. Brent crude futures declined 14 percent in the past three months, falling to a two-year low of $96.21 a barrel on Sept. 15. Global oil demand growth is the slowest since 2011, while the U.S. shale boom means oil production outside OPEC is rising by the most since the 1980s, […]
WASHINGTON — A House divided along unusual and unpredictable lines voted Wednesday to authorize the training and arming of Syrian rebels to confront the militant group Islamic State, backing President Obama after he personally pleaded for support. The 273-to-156 vote was over a narrow military measure with no money attached, but it took on outsize importance and was infused with drama. Speaker John A. Boehner of Ohio and Representative Nancy Pelosi of California, the minority leader, actively and strongly backed the legislation, and both sought to portray it as a modest measure. The Senate hopes to pass it as soon as Thursday. “The American forces that have been deployed to Iraq do not and will not have a combat mission,” President Obama said Wednesday in addressing troops at MacDill Air Force Base in Florida. “I will not commit you and the rest of our armed forces to fighting another […]
DUBAI, Sept 17 (Reuters) – A lack of water threatens Iraq’s plans to raise its oil output, boost its stumbling economy and become a leading producer in the region after Saudi Arabia. A multi-billion dollar common seawater injection scheme designed to boost production from the giant export oilfields in Iraq’s south is snarled up in red tape and acrimony. The seawater injection project is core to the development of the southern fields – which account for most of Iraq’s production – and aims partly to flush oil to the surface and overcome declines in production at fields such as Rumaila, West Qurna, Zubair and Majnoon. While the Islamist insurgency has hit oil exports from Iraq’s northern pipeline, the southern oilfields have not been affected by Baghdad’s fight with Islamic State. But the shortage of water is hurting production at two main southern fields: West Qurna-1 and Zubair, official and […]
| License Photo ISTANBUL, Turkey, Sept. 17 (UPI) — The Kurdish north of Iraq is secured and positioned to become a global leader in the energy sector, the top executive at Genel Energy said from Istanbul. Genel in August said net working production for the second half of the year averaged 63,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, an increase of around 50 percent from the second half of 2013. The majority of that comes from the Kurdish north of Iraq. Genel Chief Executive Officer Tony Hayward told delegates gathered in Istanbul for a conference organized by the American Association of Petroleum Geologists the Kurdish region was open for business . "Without the oil industry, Kurdistan doesn’t exist," he said in his Tuesday remarks. "I am very confident in the capability of Kurdish security forces to insure that there is no sort of infiltration to the region." Iraqi and […]
Kenya expects its estimate of oil resources to almost double to 1 billion barrels as well-drilling climbs and the government forges ahead with plans to build an export pipeline, an energy ministry official said. Tullow Oil Plc. (TLW) and its partner Africa Oil Corp. (AOI) have discovered an estimated 600 million barrels of oil in the South Lokichar Basin since announcing the country’s first crude find in March 2012. The discovery has spurred the East African nation to accelerate infrastructure-development plans, including construction of an oil pipeline that will link Uganda to a planned port in the Kenyan coastal town of Lamu. Initial data acquired from northern Kenya indicates the figure for estimated oil resources is set to rise with increased drilling, said Petroleum Commissioner Martin Heya. “Most licenses will move to the drilling stage next year because that is when their initial license period of two to three […]
Eni SPA has made an oil discovery on Block 15/06 in the Ochigufu exploration prospect offshore Angola. It is the 10th commercial oil discovery for the block, and is estimated to hold 300 million bbl of oil in place. The Ochigufu 1 NFW well was directionally drilled by the Ocean Rig Poseidon drilling unit in 1,337 m of water, reaching a total depth of 4,470 m. Eni says it found 47 m of proved net oil pay of 34° gravity in the Lower Miocene and Oligocene sandstones. Data acquired in Ochigufu 1 indicate a production capacity of more than 5,000 b/d of oil. Studies are under way to evaluate an early tie-in to the 100,000-b/d Ngoma floating production, storage, and offloading vessel that lies in the nearby West Hub oil development project, which would enable Ochigufu 1 to be “brought into production in record time,” the company says. Separately, […]
Ships carrying crude oil and petroleum products are limited by size restrictions imposed by several of the main thoroughfares of maritime navigation: the Panama Canal, the Suez Canal, and the Strait of Malacca. These size restrictions provide another way to classify the large tankers that carry most of global crude oil and petroleum product trade. The Panama Canal , an important route connecting the Pacific Ocean to the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean, currently has a limited role in global crude and petroleum product transport. The canal’s current size restrictions means smaller vessels, with capacities of approximately 400,000-550,000 barrels of light sweet crude oil, are the only ships that can safely pass through the canal. These ships are referred to as Panamax tankers, and their smaller cargos lead to a higher per-barrel cost. However, the Panama Canal is undergoing an expansion that will allow for the passage of […]
AWE and Origin’s Waitsia gas discovery is about 217 miles north of Perth, Western Australia. This picture shows the Pearce Air Base in Bullsbrook, some 21 miles north of Perth. Agence France-Presse/Getty Images PERTH, Australia—Australian energy company AWE Ltd. said Thursday it may have made the largest onshore natural-gas discovery in Western Australia for 50 years, in partnership with Origin Energy Ltd. The Waitsia field could contain more than one trillion cubic feet of natural gas, AWE said, following an initial analysis of the recently drilled Senecio-3 well. The assessment helped to send shares in Melbourne-based AWE up 14%. Australia has long been a hot spot for oil and gas exploration, and international companies including Chevron Corp. and Royal Dutch Shell PLC are investing billions to build export facilities following success with the drillbit in previous years. However, industry groups say interest has been flagging recently, especially offshore where […]
Bakken Oil Well Bakken Oil Well | Click to Enlarge The oil & gas renaissance in the U.S. has nearly catapulted the country to the top spot for oil production in the world, and most experts believe the U.S. will hit this target by next year. But is it possible that the country and the Bakken has too much of a good thing? When it comes to natural gas that may be the case. According to the BP 2014 statistical world energy review, the U.S. is currently the top natural gas producing country in the world at 328 Bcf/d. Over the past five years, natural gas production has grown over 20% in the U.S., thanks in large part to the shale revolution. But the price of natural gas has struggled to break $4/mmbtu, and oil companies in North Dakota’s and Montana’s Bakken Shale and the Eagle Ford Shale in […]
Even as it faces $50 billion in potential liabilities from the worst U.S. offshore oil spill, BP Plc (BP/) is leading the effort to extract crude from deep below the sea, a place as extreme and inhospitable as the surface of Mars. BP, Chevron Corp. and Royal Dutch Shell Plc (RDSA) are among companies developing a new generation of oilfield technology to reach through more than seven miles of water and rock, where temperatures can reach 400 degrees Fahrenheit (200 degrees Celsius) and the pressure hits 20,000 pounds per square inch — and to do it safely. The conditions are more challenging than BP’s Macondo well in the Gulf of Mexico , where a 2010 rig explosion killed 11 people and caused a spill that fouled hundreds of miles of coastline. The companies are seeking to tap into $1 trillion in reserves offshore, where a major discovery can produce […]
WASHINGTON, Sept. 17 (UPI) — AAA reports a national retail average price for a gallon of regular unleaded of $3.37, down 6 cents from one week ago and 14 cents less than this date in 2013. Gasoline prices typically slide after the Labor Day holiday in the United States as demand subsides with the summer vacation season ending. Prices drop even further after Sept. 15, when national refineries shift to a winter blend of gasoline, which is less expensive to make Oil prices have stayed below $100 per barrel in recent trading, which AAA said suggests the global market is shrugging off geopolitical tensions in Eastern Europe and the Middle East. AAA said Tuesday the recent rate of decline for prices at the pump is the steepest in more than four months and prices at the pump, relatively speaking, are the cheapest they’ve been since 2010. Tom Kloza , […]
We use the period starting with January 2010 when crude production had come back to 2005 levels after the exceptional year of 2009. Fig 1: US crude oil vs crude oil in rest-of-world While US shale oil production is growing, there was a drop in crude production in the rest of world since February 2012 of almost 2 million barrels/d. How did this come about? As usual, there is decline and growth and then we have geopolitics. The following graphs show how much is contributed by whom. Incremental oil production is calculated as monthly oil production minus the minimum monthly production in a given period: Fig 2: Incremental Saudi crude production (yellow area) in relation to total production This is an example how incremental production is defined. The drop in Saudi production in the last quarter of 2012 and 1st half of 2013 has not been explained. There is usually […]
EDINBURGH, Scotland, Sept. 17 (UPI) — Energy companies working in the North Sea need a sense of fiscal confidence no matter how the Scottish referendum turns out, Wood Mackenzie said Wednesday. Scotland holds a one-sentence referendum Thursday for independence from the United Kingdom. The government in Edinburgh said it could support itself with oil and gas revenue while powering an independent Scotland with renewable resources . Energy consultant group Wood Mackenzie said fiscal uncertainty is a primary concern for oil and gas companies working in the region. "Regardless of which government is in charge of the industry, companies will seek stability and simplicity around existing fiscal terms as well as tax incentives for harder to produce reserves," it said. "Industry engagement will be paramount to maximizing value for both government and companies." Wood Mackenzie, which has headquarters in the Scottish capital, said much of the oil and gas remaining […]
MOSCOW, Sept. 17 (UPI) — The future relationship between Ukraine and natural gas company Gazprom depends on resolving lingering debt issues, the Russian company said. Gazprom says it’s owed $5.3 billion from Ukrainian energy company Naftogaz. Similar debt issues in 2006 and 2009 resulted in suspension of gas deliveries, and Gazprom said it’s time to pay up . "The future relationships between the companies are fully dependent on settling the debt payout issue," the company’s board said in a statement Tuesday. Political upheaval in November saddled an already struggling Ukrainian economy with significant debt. In August, the International Monetary Fund distributed $1.4 billion in assistance to Kiev, but said Naftogaz debt was one of the factors contributing to deeper recession in Ukraine. Members of the Ukrainian parliament met Wednesday in Moscow with their Russian counterparts to discuss ongoing tensions between both sides. A former Soviet republic, Ukraine this week […]
The arrest of one of Russia ’s oldest billionaires is sending shivers down the backs of business owners already reeling from U.S. and European sanctions over President Vladimir Putin ’s policies in Ukraine. A decade after Mikhail Khodorkovsky ’s imprisonment led to Russia’s largest nationalization since the Soviet era, the prosecution of Vladimir Evtushenkov, 65, may prod businesses to pull even more money out of an economy on the verge of recession and relocate abroad, Alexander Shokhin , who lobbies on behalf of the country’s largest companies as head of the Russian Union of Industrialists & Entrepreneurs, said yesterday. Evtushenkov was charged with money-laundering and placed under house arrest two days ago, triggering a sell-off in shares of his companies, including AFK Sistema, and slicing his net worth by a third, to $4.5 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Evtushenkov denies the charges. “This event could set a […]
West Texas Intermediate traded near the highest price in almost two weeks after OPEC’s secretary general said the group may cut crude-output targets next year. Brent was steady in London . Futures were little changed in New York after advancing 2.1 percent yesterday. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries’ daily output target may fall by 500,000 barrels to 29.5 million barrels in 2015, Abdalla El-Badri said yesterday at OPEC’s secretariat in Vienna. U.S. crude inventories probably declined last week, according to a Bloomberg survey before data today. WTI for October delivery was at $94.61 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange , down 27 cents at 8:59 a.m. London time. The contract gained $1.96 to $94.88 yesterday, the highest close since Sept. 3. The volume of all futures traded was about 25 percent more than the 100-day average for the time of day. Prices have […]
By Nicole Friedman NEW YORK–Natural-gas prices gained for a third straight session on Tuesday but held below $4 a million British thermal units, as traders began looking ahead to expected winter demand. Natural gas for October delivery settled up 6.4 cents, or 1.6%, at $3.995/mmBtu on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the highest settlement since Aug. 29. Futures traded down earlier in the session on expectations that demand for natural gas would be muted in the next two weeks due to moderate temperatures. Natural-gas demand is most active during extreme temperatures, when people use gas-powered air-conditioning or turn on natural-gas indoor heating. Temperatures are expected to be cooler than normal in the eastern U.S. and hotter than average in the West in the next two weeks. However, traders who had bet on lower prices likely closed out those positions once prices fell near $3.86/mmBtu in intraday trading, allowing buyers […]
A few days ago the EIA published the latest update to its International Energy Statistics . The data is updated through May 2014. The data on all charts below is through May unless otherwise stated and is in thousand barrels per day. Also, all data is Crude + Condensate. World C+C production was down 72,000 barrels per day in May to 76,540,000 bpd. It was down 708,000 barrels per day since reaching a new all time peak in February of 77,247,000 bpd. Matt, on his blog Crude Oil Peak , is saying the same thing I have been saying for months. That is US shale oil growth covers up production drop in rest-of-world. The trend is clearly down and is going to get worse. Below is my graph using the same data. World Less US & N-O Less US World C+C production, less USA, is down about 2 million barrels […]
Source: T. Mason Hamilton, U.S. Energy Information Administration The global crude oil and refined product tanker fleet uses a classification system to standardize contract terms, establish shipping costs, and determine the ability of ships to travel into ports or through certain straits and channels. This system, known as the Average Freight Rate Assessment (AFRA) system, was established by Royal Dutch Shell six decades ago, and is overseen by the London Tanker Brokers’ Panel ( LTBP ), an independent group of shipping brokers. AFRA uses a scale that classifies tanker vessels according to deadweight tons, a measure of a ship’s capacity to carry cargo. The approximate capacity of a ship in barrels is determined by using an estimated 90% of a ship’s deadweight tonnage, and multiplying that by a barrel per metric ton conversion factor specific to each type of petroleum product and crude oil, as liquid fuel densities vary […]
Haider al-Abadi Iraq’s parliament rejected defense and interior nominees on Tuesday, leaving the crucial ministerial posts unfilled as a U.S.-led coalition intensifies its air campaign against Islamic extremists who have seized a third of the country. The two powerful security portfolios have long been a source of tension among Iraq’s feuding political factions, and the failure to agree on the nominees marked the latest in a series of delays in forming a unified government that can confront the Islamic State extremist group. The parliament session was held as the U.S. carried out an airstrike near Baghdad for the first time since launching an aerial campaign in early August, and French warplanes flying from the United Arab Emirates began reconnaissance missions over Iraq. Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi put forward Sunni lawmaker Jaber al-Jabberi as his candidate for defense minister and Shiite lawmaker Riyad Ghareeb as his pick for interior minister. […]
West Texas Intermediate climbed to a two-week high and Brent gained after OPEC’s secretary general said the group may cut output targets next year. Abdalla El-Badri said today that the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries’ production quota could fall 500,000 barrels a day to 29.5 million barrels a day next year. El-Badri was speaking at OPEC’s secretariat in Vienna after talks with Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak. WTI has tumbled 13 percent since touching $107.73 a barrel on June 20 as Asian and European economies have showed signs of slowing while crude output gained. “After the significant decline in prices, investors were looking for a reason to get into the market and El-Badri’s comments gave them that,” Michael Lynch , president of Strategic Energy & Economic Research in Winchester, Massachusetts , said by phone. “El-Badri said this was an outlook, not a decision, but the market is still taking […]
OPEC, the group supplying about 40 percent of the world’s oil, may cut production next year, its Secretary-General Abdalla El-Badri said. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries’ daily output target could fall by 500,000 barrels to 29.5 million barrels in 2015, El-Badri said at OPEC’s secretariat in Vienna after talks with Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak today. The group’s monthly report on Sept. 10 showed demand for its oil will drop to 29.2 million barrels a day in 2015 from 29.5 million this year. Saudi Arabia cut its crude supply by 408,000 barrels a day in August, the biggest reduction since the end of 2012, a submission made by the country to OPEC shows. Brent crude is trading below $99 a barrel and is close to the lowest in more than two years. U.S. crude supplies are surging while those from Libya are rebounding and a conflict in Iraq […]
LONDON—Production at Libya’s largest field has been cut slightly after rockets fell near the refinery it supplies, a spokesman for state-owned National Oil Co. said Tuesday. The news underscores how a fast oil-recovery operation could be hindered by continuous chaos in the country. The NOC spokesman said staff had been reduced after rockets fell near the Zawiya refinery on Monday, forcing Sharara, the field that supplies the plant, to pare back its output. "People are afraid to go there," he said. Libyan oil production has been ramping up in recent months after agreements with protesters led to the reopening of ports and fields. The country’s output stood above 800,000 barrels a day, as of the most recent count on Monday. But the NOC spokesman said he had no update for Tuesday. Yet analysts have warned that fighting between militias—which are supported by two rival parliaments—could jeopardize progress in the […]
BAGHDAD — Militia justice is simple, the fighters explained. “We break into an area and kill the ones who are threatening people,” said one 18-year-old fighter with Asaib Ahl al-Haq, a Shiite militia that operates as a vigilante force around Baghdad. Another 18-year-old fighter agreed. “We receive orders and carry out attacks immediately,” he said, insisting that their militia commanders had been given authority by Iraqi security officials. That free hand has helped make Asaib Ahl al-Haq the largest and most formidable of the Iranian-backed Shiite militias that now dominate Baghdad. Once a leading killer of American troops, the militia is spearheading the fight against the Sunni extremists of the Islamic State, also known by the acronyms ISIS and ISIL. That means Asaib Ahl al-Haq and the United States military are now fighting on the same side, though each insists they will not work together. But the power and […]
Saudi Arabia will need to keep cutting oil output to sustain prices above $100 a barrel, even after the kingdom’s largest reduction in two years, according to BNP Paribas SA and Societe Generale SA. The world’s biggest crude exporter told OPEC last week it pumped 408,000 barrels a day less last month, about as much as Australia produces. Output rose in Iran , Iraq and Nigeria, adding to supply that drove benchmark Brent crude futures below $100 this month for the first time since June 2013. Saudi Arabia probably will have to cut a similar amount again to stabilize prices, the banks said. Global oil demand growth this year will be the weakest since 2011, just as the U.S. shale boom means oil production from countries outside OPEC rises by the most since the 1980s, according to the International Energy Agency. The glut is prompting most of OPEC’s Middle […]
Workers at Nigerian National Petroleum Corp., the country’s state-owned oil company, began an indefinite strike that may disrupt crude output from Africa ’s top producer and affect its domestic gasoline supplies, a union official said. “We have total shutdown at NNPC offices and all their subsidiaries, and that may affect the exports,” Babatunde Oke, a Lagos-based spokesman for both a managers’ union and a blue-collar workers’ union, said by phone today. “The refinery workers are also not working.” Staff operating flow stations that pump crude to export terminals are joining the action, meaning a protracted strike could disrupt cargoes, Oke said. Domestic gasoline supplies may also fall short as the workers protest pension terms at NNPC, he said. Union leaders should “exercise restraint,” the state-owned company said in a statement. Measures have been taken to reduce the pensions’ deficit to 85 billion naira ($520 million) currently from 298 billion […]
SHANGHAI (Reuters) – China’s central bank is injecting a combined 500 billion yuan ($81.35 billion) of liquidity into the country’s top banks, according to media reports, a sign that authorities are stepping up efforts to shore up a faltering economy. Global shares and commodity prices rose on the reported move, although local money market rates climbed on the day, reflecting continued tightness in liquidity. [MKTS/GLOB] The Wall Street Journal, citing an unnamed Chinese bank executive, said the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) is pumping in 100 billion yuan each into China’s top five banks via standard lending facility in the form of 3-month loans. When contacted by Reuters, a PBOC spokesman said: “We will make an announcement if we have any news.” The central bank may be worried that an expected tightening in liquidity ahead of the quarter-end as well as a series of upcoming initial public offerings could […]
Xingtai, a coal-mining hub home to 7.6 million people, has the worst air quality of any Chinese city. Last year, it only had 38 days when air quality met national standards. XINGTAI, China—It’s the heaviest polluter in the dirtiest city in China. Jizhong Energy Resources Co. operates six large coal mines and dozens of related facilities in this gray industrial center, which government data show has the worst air quality of any Chinese town. Five of the facilities are on a national list of top air polluters, and eight are on the Xingtai government’s list, more than any other company here. Now, Jizhong is moving to clean itself up, reflecting the balancing act taking place across China as regional governments and businesses try to tackle runaway pollution without wrecking local economies. The government is under rising pressure from China’s rapidly emerging middle class to address the country’s degraded air, […]
