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Nuclear Plants Across Emerging Nations Defy Japan Concern

Three years after Japan closed all of its nuclear plants in the wake of the Fukushima meltdown and Germany decided to shut its industry, developing countries are leading the biggest construction boom in more than two decades. Almost two-thirds of the 70 reactors currently under construction worldwide, the most since 1989, are located in China , India , and the rest of the Asia-Pacific region. Countries including Egypt , Bangladesh , Jordan and Vietnam are considering plans to build their first nuclear plants, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance in London . Developed countries are building nine plants, 13 percent of the total. Power is needed as the economies of China and India grow more than twice as fast as the U.S. Electricity output from reactors amounted to 2,461 terawatt-hours last year, or 11 percent of all global power generation, according to data from the Organization for Economic Cooperation […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Surging Middle East Oil Refining Increases Tanker Rates

The oil-refining wave in the Middle East is filling tankers to export the region’s processed fuels and driving freight rates to the highest for the time of year since 2008. Countries from Saudi Arabia to the United Arab Emirates will process 8.8 million barrels a day of crude this year, almost 10 percent of global consumption, the highest in International Energy Agency estimates starting in 2006. Traders booked 19 percent more Persian Gulf oil products on tankers in the spot market this year than the same period in 2013, charter data compiled by Bloomberg show. The largest vessels get rates of more than $22,000 a day, the most for September in six years. Crude exporters in the region are turning more of their oil into higher-value diesel and jet fuel while cutting dependence on imports of these products. Violence concentrated in Iraq and neighboring Syria isn’t restraining cargoes from […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Islamic State Oil Sites Targeted in U.S.-Arab Strikes

U.S. and Arab warplanes attacked small oil refineries in eastern Syria controlled by Islamic State to undercut the extremist Sunni group’s revenue and impede its mobility, the Pentagon said. As the U.K. prepared for a parliamentary vote tomorrow to authorize joining the broadest Arab-U.S. military coalition since the 1991 Gulf War, aircraft and drones operated by the U.S., Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates attacked 12 “modular” refineries Islamic State uses in its oil-smuggling operations, U.S. Central Command said in an e-mailed statement. “These small-scale refineries provided fuel to run ISIL operations, money to finance their continued attacks throughout Iraq and Syria and an economic asset to support their future operations,” the command said in statement, which used an acronym of another name used to identify the group. Islamic State may have been raising more than $2 million a day from oil sales in Iraq and Syria, paid […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Kurds call for action against terror oil

Kurdish government calls for military action to cut off oil smuggling. UPI/Mohammed al Jumaily ERBIL, Iraq, Sept. 25 (UPI) — The Kurdish government said Thursday it was calling on military forces to take tough action against oil smuggling from areas under terrorist control. Military air strikes on terrorists groups in Syria Wednesday targeted 12 oil refineries used by Islamic State terrorists to generate as much as $2 million per day. The Kurdish Ministry of Natural Resources said in a statement issued through its official Twitter account action must be taken to contain oil’s role in IS financing through action by the Kurdish Peshmerga and other forces. The Iraqi Ministry of Oil issued an appeal to U.N. member states to take action to prevent the export of smuggled crude oil. The ministry said it was troubled by reports that crude oil taken from territory controlled by the Sunni-led terrorist group […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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China takes on more oil

China taking on more oil despite a slowdown on the economy, data show. UPI/Stephen Shaver HOUSTON, Sept. 25 (UPI) — Chinese demand for oil in August reached a record level despite signs of a slowdown in the economy, analysis from Platts found. Platts found Chinese apparent oil demand, a reflection of how much oil goes into domestic refineries combined with net oil product imports, averaged 9.74 million barrels per day, a 3.7 increase from August 2013 and the highest level for the year. The assessment comes despite an economic production growth rate of 6.9 percent, the slowest rate since 2008. On a month-to-month basis, Platts found Wednesday that Chinese apparent oil demand in August was 1.4 percent above July levels. Through August, demand was up 1.2 percent from last year. The International Energy Agency in its monthly market report for September trimmed oil demand growth for 2014 to 900,000 […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Gasoline Surges to September High Amid Refinery Outage

Gasoline futures surged to the highest level this month on concern refinery outages will reduce production, threatening higher prices at the pump. Gasoline in New York rallied following a reported outage at Irving Oil Corp.’s Saint John, New Brunswick, refinery, which exports about half of its production to the Northeast market. Futures have jumped 7.9 percent since Sept. 12. Retail gasoline climbed for a third day yesterday, according to AAA. West Texas Intermediate crude fell as U.S. stock markets tumbled. The gains in gasoline “are prompted by refinery outages and drivers probably will have to pay a little bit more,” said Michael Lynch, president of Strategic Energy & Economic Research in Winchester, Massachusetts . “But that should be a short-term bump. The stock market is bringing down oil.” Gasoline futures gained 5.42 cents, or 2 percent, to end at $2.718 a gallon on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Oil industry offers crude-train testing standards

AP Photo/Matthew Brown US Video Buy AP Photo Reprints Interactives Producers Tap Old Wells in Search of Oil Interactives/Galleries Washington Commuter Train Crash BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — The oil industry’s lead trade group released new standards on Thursday for testing and classifying crude shipped by rail after prior shipments were misclassified, including a train that derailed in Canada and killed 47 people. As with earlier orders from the federal government, the industry standards leave it to individual companies to decide how often to test crude in order to gauge its danger. The American Petroleum Institute said the standards were crafted in cooperation with regulators and the rail industry. Shipping oil by rail has become far more common as domestic drilling booms in North Dakota, Montana, Texas, Colorado and other states. In July 2013, a crude train from North Dakota derailed and exploded in Lac-Megantic, Quebec, killing 47. The shipment […]

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Prices at the pump head below $3 in much of US

AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis NEW YORK (AP) — The price of a gallon of gasoline may soon start with a "2" across much the country. Gasoline prices typically decline in autumn, and this year they are being pulled even lower by falling global oil prices. By the end of the year, up to 30 states could have an average gasoline price of less than $3 a gallon. The average in Springfield, Missouri, is already below $3, according to Tom Kloza, chief oil analyst at the Oil Price Information Service and GasBuddy.com. Several other cities are on the brink. "And there will be more, many more," Kloza said. Cities in high-priced states such as California and New York will not be among them, though, which will probably keep the national average above $3. At the current national average of $3.35 a gallon, gas is a dime cheaper than a year […]

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Second U.S. newspaper probes aging gas pipelines

Second U.S. newspaper in a week publishes report on aging natural gas pipeline network. UPI/John Angelillo JACKSON, Miss., Sept. 25 (UPI) — Accidental damage to aging natural gas pipelines in Mississippi are a leading cause of accidents, newspaper investigations found. The Clarion-Ledger , a Mississippi newspaper, teamed up with USA Today to examine records on the network of natural gas pipelines in Mississippi. They said state laws mandating the public notify authorities before any land excavation aren’t enforced . "So many times, people will inadvertently hit a pipeline and, rather than call the gas company, they’ll wrap it or cover it up," Mark McCarver, former director of the Mississippi Public Service Commission’s Pipeline Safety Division, said in an article published Tuesday. "That’s the No. 1 risk." The newspapers found more than 48 percent of the state’s pipelines were installed before 1970, versus a national average of 38 percent. The […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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ND Regulators Hold Hearing About Bakken Crude Treatment

Crude Oil Rail Car | Click to Enlarge Executives at top oil and gas companies in the Bakken are fighting back against North Dakota regulators, opposing the treatment of Bakken crude before it shipped via rail, according to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ). On Tuesday, the North Dakota Industrial Commission (NDIC) heard testimony from oil executives, who claim Bakken oil is sufficiently treated at the well site. The paper first reported the NDIC would be holding hearings in August concerning further treatment of Bakken crude, which has been linked to several explosions, resulting from train derailments. Just under 70% of Bakken crude is transported out of North Dakota by rail to coastal refining markets and hubs like Cushing, OK. Read more : NDIC Considers Bakken Crude Treatment Critics believe Bakken crude is dangerous, and needs to undergo stabilization. In similar plays like the Eagle Ford Shale in South Texas, […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple