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China now gets more oil from the Middle East than the US does

China is quickly overtaking the United States as the world’s biggest importer of oil. Not only that, but China now buys more crude oil from the Middle East than the US does — a shift that some experts think could have big geopolitical implications in the years ahead. Roughly half of China’s imported oil now comes from the Persian Gulf, whereas America’s reliance on Middle Eastern crude has been steadily shrinking in recent years. Here’s  a good map from Bruce Jones, David Steven, and Emily O’Brien of the Brookings Institution laying out China’s situation: Where China’s oil imports come from china oil imports map (Brookings Institution) China currently imports around 5.6 million barrels of oil per day on net, with about half of those imports coming from the Persian Gulf region. As the map shows, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Oman, and Iraq dominate the list (as do Russia and Angola) — […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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In Keystone Pipeline Debate, Nebraska High Court Will Have Sway

Hess To Form MLP For North Dakota Oil, Gas Transport Assets WASHINGTON, Sept 4 (Reuters) – Nebraska’s top court will hear arguments on Friday about how the Keystone XL pipeline might cross the state – a narrow question of routing and permitting that has clouded the project’s fate after more than five years of wrangling at the federal level. At issue is a 2012 law that gave Governor Dave Heineman authority to approve a route for TransCanada Corp’s proposed Canada-to-Texas project. Siting issues are typically settled by the state’s Public Services Commission (PSC). In February, a Nebraska court ruled that the governor had been wrong to interrupt that process. The decision was a win for landowners and environmentalists who oppose the Keystone project, aimed at transporting at least 730,000 barrels per day from the oil sands region of Western Canada to Gulf Coast refineries. The Nebraska court decision forced […]

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As Keystone awaits fate, other tar sands projects move forward

The federal government has quietly approved major tar sands transportation projects with unstudied environmental effects — managing to circumvent the executive branch’s impact analysis that paralyzed development of the Keystone XL pipeline and bolstered activists’ claims that the project is dangerous and damaging to the environment. Over the past few years, the Keystone pipeline has become a household name. The controversy caused by Canadian pipeline company TransCanada’s project, which would bring hundreds of thousands of barrels of oil from Canada’s tar sands to the U.S. each day, has ignited an environmental movement across the country, and has elicited responses from top U.S. politicians, including President Obama. But the U.S. has approved other cross-border tar sands transportation projects with little fanfare. Those projects include one by TransCanada competitor Enbridge to build a facility in Illinois to transport crude oil from the tar sands via train, which was approved by the […]

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Solid U.S. employment growth eyed in August

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. job growth likely accelerated a bit in August and the unemployment rate probably fell to 6.1 percent, offering fresh evidence of sustained momentum in the economy. Economists predict that nonfarm payrolls increased 225,000 last month, according to a Reuters survey. It would mark the seventh straight month that employment has expanded above 200,000 jobs – a stretch last witnessed in 1997. The government reported last month that the economy added 209,000 jobs in July. Economists, however, expect June and July data will be revised to show more jobs created than previously reported, in line with a recent trend of upward revisions. "It would be further confirmation that the economy is strengthening and is poised to break out later this year or early next," said Ryan Sweet, a senior economist at Moody’s Analytics in West Chester, Pennsylvania. The Labor Department will release its monthly employment report […]

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Crime growing issue in North Dakota’s oil patch

Federal law enforcement agents need to be positioned in the heart of the North Dakota oil patch to address rising crime rates, Sen. said. The state attorney general said in a July report violent crimes in the state in 2013 increased by 7.4 percent while arrests for drug-related offenses increased 19.5 percent from 2012. Hoeven, R-N.D., said FBI and Drug Enforcement Agency officials aren’t stationed permanently in Williston, the heart of the state’s oil boom, to the frustration of local law enforcement agents . "Our local law enforcement officials have the best understanding of the situation and do a good job with the tools and resources they have, but we can better address drug trafficking and other serious crimes with the active engagement and permanent presence of experienced, well equipped federal agents," he said in a statement Wednesday. North Dakota in August received a $3 million federal grant to […]

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Statoil comes up dry in Gulf of Mexico

Norwegian energy company Statoil said it would reposition a rig in the Gulf of Mexico after coming up dry in the deep water Martin prospect. Statoil said it completed operations at the Martin well, coming up only with a small discovery the company said had no commercial prospects. Once abandonment operations are completed, the company said it would reposition the Maersk Developer drilling rig to the Persues project in the Gulf of Mexico. Statoil says it’s one of the largest lease holders in the Gulf of Mexico, describing the area as "among the most attractive in the industry." From an office in Houston, the company said it handles about 30,000 barrels of oil equivalent from the Gulf of Mexico, a level it says is on pace for a steady increase. In July, the company, one of the largest in the world, said it was cutting as many as 1,400 […]

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AAA: $3 per gallon gas possible

The official summer driving season runs from Memorial Day through Labor Day. On Sept. 15, U.S. refiners can switch to a winter blend of gasoline, which is less expensive to produce. In the days leading up to the refiner deadline, gasoline supplies can get limited, but motor club AAA said prices should continue to drop through the season. "The big crunch in summer travel is done and most of us can look forward to lower gas prices during the next few months," AAA spokesman Avery Ash said in a statement Wednesday. AAA says the national average price for gasoline is $3.43. AAA said prices could drop by as much as 20 cents by October and some gasoline retailers could post prices below $3 per gallon. Gasoline prices are a reflection of oil prices, which typically rise and fall in response to global geopolitical tensions. AAA in past reports said […]

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Nova Scotia may ban fracking

Dave Collyer, president of the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers, said the provincial government’s decision could leave Nova Scotia on the sidelines of the emerging shale gas boom . "The government’s decision appears to be largely based on considerations other than the technical knowledge and experience of industry regulators and experts in Canadian jurisdictions where hydraulic fracturing has been used safely for many decades to develop natural gas," he said in a statement Wednesday. Shale is in the pioneer stage in the province. CAAP said hydraulic fracturing has been used safely for more than 60 years in Western Canada with few incidents. Nova Scotia Energy Minister Andrew Younger said he had legislation prepared to prohibit hydraulic fracturing at inland shale basins. "Nova Scotians have overwhelmingly expressed concern about allowing high volume hydraulic fracturing to be a part of onshore shale development in this province at this time," he said […]

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Use Trains for Grain Not Oil, U.S. Urged to Tell Railways

Officials from North Dakota and other upper Midwestern states today urged U.S. regulators to pressure railroads to fix the logjams that are blocking grain shipments as harvest season approaches. Congestion on the rail lines operated by Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. (CP) and Berkshire Hathaway Inc.’s (BRK/A) BNSF railroad, caused by a harsh winter and growing demand for railcars to accommodate North Dakota’s oil boom, is already costing farmers millions of dollars, U.S. Senator John Hoeven, a Republican, told the Surface Transportation Board at a Fargo, North Dakota, hearing. As grain produced last year sits in storage, waiting for trains to carry the crops to market, the bottlenecks may get worse without immediate steps as an anticipated record grain harvest begins, officials warned. “There’s great apprehension in how things will go this fall,” said Governor Jack Dalrymple, a Republican, said. The board ordered the rail lines in June to provide […]

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The crisis of rising sea levels

Part 1: A Reuters analysis finds that flooding is increasing along much of the nation�� coastline, forcing many communities into costly, controversial struggles with a relentless foe. WALLOPS ISLAND, Virginia ��Missions flown from the NASA base here have documented some of the most dramatic evidence of a warming planet over the past 20 years: the melting of polar ice, a force contributing to a global rise in ocean levels. The Wallops Flight Facility�� relationship with rising seas doesn�� end there. Its billion-dollar space launch complex occupies a barrier island that’s drowning under the impact of worsening storms and flooding. NASA’s response? Rather than move out of harm�� way, officials have added more than $100 million in new structures over the past five years and spent $43 million more to fortify the shoreline with sand. Nearly a third of that new sand has since been washed away. Across a narrow […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple